The Knitting Pirate

January was supposed to be the month in which I made fingerless glove/flip-top mittens. But I was so frustrated at the last sock’s failure that I cast on for a new sock instead – a garter rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks. It will be good to travel with. I’m using Socks that Rock Lightweight in “Pirate’s Booty,” which looks an awful lot like Mardi Gras. These are very bright, festive socks.

Pirate-Husband gets the *next* pair of socks I make, out of two 50g balls of brown Regia. I measured his feet (geez, 10.5 inches around? that’s a lot of sock!) and I think I’m going to go for the toe-up, short-row-heel thing. I know there’s a way to do a flap heel on a toe-up sock, but it would probably be easier and quicker for me to just do a short row heel. Unless someone wants to give me a pattern for a toe-up flap-heel on an 84-stitch sock…

The yarn from the failed sock is wound into a hank, ready for a wash and de-kinking. I’m still kicking myself for not taking a gauge measurement before ripping it out, so I’m going to be smart and do a swatch before I try to make socks out of this stuff again!

Nope. It’s not going to work. I need to accept that and move on. This morning I tried on the sock, everything in place but the toe. It’s too tight. I had to fight to get it on, and then when I took it off I had ribbing marks on my leg and foot. And the heel flap is too short. I’m giving up on the sock.

I don’t know anyone with feet as long as mine (women’s 10.5) but even narrower. And the heel flap would still be too short. So the next steps are: tear it out, skein up the yarn, skein it, wash it, dry it, re-wind it into a ball and start over again, with more stitches and less ribbing.

PHOOEY.

Cici commented, “I liked seeing your ostrich plumes.. I just got the pattern and am ready to cast on.. I was dissapointed that there wasn’t a chart. Did you make a chart for yours? Is it easily read without it? I think charts are lifesavers.”

The Ostrich Plumes pattern is so simple that I didn’t bother to make a chart. I did, however, write out the pattern with each instruction on its own separate line, which made it easy for me to follow. By the second run through the pattern, I found that I didn’t even have to look any more. It’s repetitive and easy to memorize (especially the odd rows, which are “purl across”). If you are more comfortable working from a chart, there are only two rows which would need charting – the pattern for rows 4, 8, 12 and 16, and the pattern for rows 20, 24, 28, and 32.

On the other hand, I’ve found the chart invaluable for Pomatomus. I don’t think I’d make it through those socks without referring back to the chart at every round!

In other news, last night at SnB, I was able to borrow the needles for my Sekrit Winterholiday Gift Project, and that should be cranked out this weekend. I’ll take pictures, but I can’t post anything until the gift has been given!

Also at SnB, I got up to the part of the Trekking Ribbed Sock where the toe begins. I wanted to re-measure against my foot before starting the decreases, so I stopped there and chatted for a bit before heading home with the toe-less sock. I’m still a little worried that the sock will be too small, but I’ve had this fear before and everything turned out okay then.

Samantha asked, re my plan to block the socks right on my feet, “Won’t your feet be cold? Mine would shiver…” That’s what the hairdryer is for, to keep my feet warm and expedite the drying/blocking process! Unfortunately, I don’t have real radiators in my apartment, and I don’t think I can hold my feet up to the registers in the ceiling. (I love having central air, really I do, but sometimes I miss radiators.)

I’m back from Christmas with the inlaws, and back to knitting on the Trekking Ribbed Sock. I’ve been worried that it’s going to be too small. My previous sock was too loose at 68 stitches on size 1 needles, so I overcompensated made this one with 64 stitches on size 0 needles, and also added quite a bit of ribbing. Today I decided that it’s finally long enough in the foot to attempt a try-on.

It might fit.

I didn’t bother putting the stitches onto waste yarn, so I couldn’t pull it all the way up my foot. But I was able to get the cuff over my heel. My plan is to finish the thing with the hope that it will fit when the foot is done. As long as I can get it on, I know it will be all right and I’ll knit the second sock. Then I’ll put them both on, get them sopping wet, and wear them dry (maybe with some help from the hairdryer). That oughta block ‘em out into perfect shape.

Next time, I will compensate with less stitches OR smaller needles OR lots of ribbing, but not all three at once.

So I finished spinning up all the blue-green-pink parts of the roving last night, and excitedly went to get the orange that I’d spun on the drop spindle, so that I could ply them together… and was disappointed to find that I’d spun it in the other direction. So much for that idea. I guess I’ll just ply the blue-green-pink with itself, and ply everything from the drop spindle together, and have two opposite-twist yarns. Ah well, it’s just practice stuff anyway. Note to self: when using the drop spindle, go the other way.

The next thing I have to do is find someone who will let me borrow or rent their drum carder. I have no desire to go through eight pounds of alpaca by hand… but I will if I really have to. I do have hand cards, after all.

Oh yeah. I’m spinning.

What a difference a pre-prepped fiber makes, eh? After a few fits and starts, I got out the Romney roving from last year’s MD Sheep and Wool Festival, made sure it was pre-drafted evenly, and spun away. Now I have half a bobbin full, in about half an hour. This is just too freakin’ awesome. Unfortunately, while there’s plenty of light to spin by, there’s not enough light to take a good picture, so that will have to wait until tomorrow. It might be a little overspun, but I hear that’s normal. At this point I don’t care; I just want to get the hang of the treadling while drafting thing. The issue with overspinning can be resolved after.

In yarn and knitting news, the shipment with the yarn for the Sekrit Holiday Gift arrived. I’ve already spoken to the recipient and probably won’t see him until after the holidays, so he knows it’s going to be late, and that’s okay. The pressure is off! And I’m pretty sure I can make this thing quickly, so I should have it ready just in case I do see him at New Year’s.

And I got my first knitting-related Winterholiday gift – a copy of Naughty Needles! Not that I can really see myself wearing handknit lingerie, but it’s a nifty book with some cool ideas in it. Including a knitted eyepatch. Now there’s something piratey that I could make!

Okay. Hm. Spinning is harder than it looks. Maybe I *will* bring the wheel to SnB tomorrow night… I think I could use some pointers.

After a quick spinning lesson in Borders on Sunday, I went to my company’s Winterholiday party and got home late. No spinning.

Last night, Pirate-Husband and I were invited to dinner at friends’, with the guest of honor being one of our Army buddies who’s home on leave. We got home late. No spinning.

Today is Pirate-Husband’s birthday, and I don’t really expect to have any time for spinning…

Tomorrow there will be time! …if I skip SnB.

I don’t want to jinx anything by making this post, but I’ve made an agreement to buy a spinning wheel, and I’m picking it up tomorrow! The seller lives south of Richmond and agreed to meet me halfway. Conveniently, I had plans to go to my company’s Christmas Winter Holiday Party on Sunday in Fredericksburg, which is halfway to Richmond. Pirate-Husband and I are going to drive down there in the afternoon, meet up with her, get a quick spinning lesson, and then meet up with co-workers for the party in the evening.

It’s an older Ashford Traditional, single-treadle and single-drive, with a bunch of extra bobbins and the updated flyer, and some other accessories as well. I am so excited! I’m also wondering where in heck I’m going to put it. We’re so totally out of room in this apartment. I really, really want to be moving into a house already. (House news: still no news yet.)

The most important part is that this is Pirate-Husband’s gift to me for my birthday! How awesome is that? Okay, so my birthday isn’t until mid-January, but the wheel was available now, so it’s a little in advance. Thank you, Pirate-Husband! <3