The Knitting Pirate

I never thought I’d be saying this, but here goes:

I think I have too much yarn.

Not that I don’t love it, you understand. Not that I don’t take it all out of the basket every so often, arrange it in a neat semi-circle on the floor, and admire it. Not that I don’t pull up my stash on Ravelry when I’m having a particularly frustrating day at work and need to remind myself of what wonderfulness awaits me at home.

It’s more that I can’t decide what to knit next. I’m having a terrible time keeping myself from casting on another project just so I can try out another yarn – it doesn’t help that I really must work on the baby blanket, although I’m not fond of the acrylic yarn I’m using and one pattern repeat takes an hour which means I have about 53 hours of work left to go on it. Not to mention, I know that in a month I’ll be casting on for a new sock when I take Cookie A.‘s design class.

I want to try the Jojoland Melody that Pirate-Husband bought for me, and have those socks as a reminder of how awesome he can be. I want to try the Brooks Farm Acero that I got at Sheep and Wool in 2007, because it’s like nothing else I’ve ever seen. I want to knit with the Austermann Step yarn, not only because it’s aloe-infused but because I’m going to knit my own toe socks with it. I’m dying to try the Kureyon sock yarn and see what all the fuss is about. I’ve loved the Clessidra socks from the moment I first saw the pattern, and I’m starting to feel the first hints of fall in the air, so the idea of knee socks is incredibly appealing right now.

And those are just the socks. That doesn’t take into account the sweater I want to knit for myself, or the one for Pirate-Husband. It certainly doesn’t take into account the spinning I want to do, which only leads to more yarn – or the 150 yards of brand new handspun I have that I keep eyeing with not-so-secret longing.

But no, I’m not going to let myself start anything new. It’s just so nice to think about sometimes…

No kidding, there I was, picking out another two balls of Sugar and Cream in Michael’s with Pirate-Husband so that I can make a Swiffer cover for an online friend who commissioned one in yellow and blue. Those selected, I commented that I still didn’t know what to knit for my friend Asa, who is expecting her second baby this fall.

“Why don’t you knit a blanket?” suggested Pirate-Husband.

“I suppose I could,” I said, “but… I don’t know. They take a long time, and they’re big and boring, and I’m not so sure about blankets after the last one.”

He held up a ball of Red Heart and said, “This is a good neutral color. I think you’ll probably need three. Here.”

And that’s how I was suckered into left the store with five balls of yarn when I meant to buy none until next year’s Sheep and Wool festival. I’m thinking perhaps a feather and fan blanket, since the pattern’s already in my head from the Ostrich Plumes scarf, and it’s easy but not boring. Besides, what baby doesn’t need a washable blanket? And it was an excuse to order another set of Addi Lace Turbo needles, in size 8 this time. As I didn’t have the right length circular needles in size 8, I don’t feel any guilt about this at all. (I do have a set of 16″ long size 8 circs for hat-making, but there is no way I can make a baby blanket on 16″ needles.)

I know I said I was on a yarn diet, but sometimes exceptions have to be made. In this case, two balls of Lily Sugar and Cream for my swiffer cover. My theory is that if I don’t buy the yarn, I can’t make the cover – and if I don’t have the cover, I can’t mop the floors. I do have one disposable pad left, but that’s obviously single-use, and the floors need mopping more frequently than I’d like to admit. And, probably, more often than I actually do it!

Besides, this should be a really quick project. It’s 69 stitches and 33 rows 34 rows, plus a bit of seaming – I can knock that out in a day, right? I also had to get new needles for this project. Who’d'a thought that I didn’t have size 7 straights? Fortunately I carry a card in my wallet with all my needles catalogued, so I was able to double-check before just buying ‘em. Now the question is – do I cast on RIGHT NOW, or do I keep working on the sock?

I thought you might like to see a picture of the Jojoland Melody that Pirate-Husband bought for me last week. He asked me if I had a pattern in mind, but I don’t yet – I only know that I want to knit them toe-up so I can make use of every last inch of the yarn. Maybe I’ll finally try the toe-up flap heel with gusset about which I’ve been hearing such good things lately. A complex stitch pattern might not work so well with this yarn. I’m thinking something mostly plain, maybe with a little texture. A fancy rib, perhaps, or a feather & fan variation. I have no doubt that whatever pattern I choose, even if it’s a plain stockinette foot with a ribbed cuff, the socks will be gorgeous – and I will have Pirate-Husband to thank for my warm feet!

To the commenters on my previous post about this – Pirate-Husband says he is available for loan, but I’m not sure cloning would be the best idea… I did tell him about the “hooking and looping” and his reaction was “…pfff, that’s not knitting, that’s crochet.”

Pirate-Husband was working at a job site in Bethesda today. From the top of the roof he surveyed the town. “There’s the Mongolian barbeque,” he said to himself, “I should eat there for lunch. And… I think I remember that there’s a yarn store right across the street.”

So before he went home, Pirate-Husband went over to Knit and Stitch = Bliss and said, “I’m looking for some yarn for my wife.”

“What does she like?”

“She’s bought that really soft stuff from that women’s collection in Uruguay,” he said, and tried to figure out which colors of Manos del Uruguay I have. “If you have internet access, we could look at her stash on Ravelry.” The woman was floored. How great is this guy, that he’s buying yarn for his wife *and* he knows about Ravelry?

“She’s a frantic sock knitter,” offered Pirate-Husband, and was shown over to the sock yarn. “This is so totally Pirate,” he said, picking up two balls of Jojoland Melody in greens and purples, and so he bought them.

The woman at the store told him as she was ringing up his purchase, “You get a gold star for being cool!”

Curses! Darn, rats, phooey and grr! I have run out of yarn halfway through the toe of the second Garter Rib Sock. There are ten rounds to go and only ten inches of yarn left. Blue Moon doesn’t sell emergency mini-skeins, so I’ve gone to the “Socks that Rawk” group on Ravelry and asked them for help.

If anyone has leftovers of STR Lightweight in “Pirate Booty,” I’m willing to buy, beg or barter. And if not, then I’ll have to resign myself to having a mis-matched sock toe.

I knew the yardage of this yarn was on the light side, so I made the sock leg shorter than I normally do. Guess the garter rib pattern ate a lot of the yarn. Next time I use lightweight I will make the leg even shorter and pick a different stitch pattern… and after that I might just order mediumweight yarn, which goes further. Or I’ll stick to the yarns with more yardage.

The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival signified the break in my yarn and fiber diet. I drove up by myself, wandered around for a bit, and bought this rainbow skein of Trekking XXL before meeting up with Veronica. We goaded each other into buying stuff. After she left, I met up with friends Angie and Joel, and Joel’s parents. We shopped the rest of the festival together and I bought some more yarn. I also picked up a handmade broom of real straw. A log house needs a real broom!

First I bought this roving, and I was so excited that I forgot to note what booth I got it from. Drat! It’s grayish green with purple and blue. The colors are so subtle that the camera ate them. I hope that they’re not so subtle that they get lost when I spin it up. There was some matching purple roving that I decided not to buy, but my original thought was that I could ply them together for a barberpole effect. Then I thought that might be a bit ugly, and it was still early in the day, so I didn’t buy the purple.

…the next thing I remember is picking up this eight ounces of merino roving from Yarn Barn of KS in the “sandalwood” colorway. I think it would make awesome tall socks to go with blue jeans, though with eight ounces of it I could even think of a larger size project!

“Cranberry Bog” merino and “Autumn” BFL, four ounces of each from Cloverleaf Farms. At this point in the shopping, I had the idea that I was going to try to sell some of this handspun on Etsy and perhaps recoup some of my expenditures. I know people do it, but I have no idea how successful they are at it, if at all.

Although I was trying to keep from buying too much of the same color families, I didn’t realize how similar the color of this merino from C*EYE*BER Fiber was to the BFL above. Ah well, it’s a whole different fiber, right?

While this one is superwash, I think for the sake of not felting *any* socks I’m going to start handwashing all of them, even the ones which can be machine-washed. Pirate-Husband suggested that I put a little basket by our regular hamper for the handwash items, and I think that’s a fantastic idea. I’d be so mad if I felted a sock that I’d spun and knit! (And I’d probably be even more mad if Pirate-Husband did it, though I’m not worried. He’s better with the laundry than I am.)

This stuff is bright, bright, bright green. Pirate-Husband suggests that I should design a scaly sort of sock with it, something lizardy or dragonesque. It’s from Ellen’s Half-Pint Farm and is a full 500 yards – how great is that? I did say I wanted solid or semi-solid sock yarns, but I wasn’t expecting to get something quite so bright. Gotta switch things up every once in a while!

The last purchases of the day were these three skeins of sock yarn from Tess’ Designer Yarns. I plan to use the silvery-gray ones for Clessidra socks, but I have no plan for the amber color yet. Each skein is 450 yards, plenty for my oversize feet.

But the biggest, baddest, best purchase of the day… I bought a Strauch Finest drum carder. I’m sure you all know by now that I’ve been wanting one. With Pirate-Husband’s goading, I was able to buckle down and spend the money. He helped me set it up when I got home and we ran some practice batts. It is freaking awesome. I can’t express how amazing this tool is, and how much pain it will save my wrists now that I don’t have to hand-card eight pounds of alpaca fleece. I did take out the fleece to card, but it had a little too much vegetable matter in it. I’ll have to pick that out before carding, I think.

All in all, Sheep and Wool was a great time! I skipped the Ravelry meetup but I did meet several other Ravelers. And, aside from the drum carder, I even managed to stay within my yarn and fiber budget! Now, of course, I’m back on the ‘diet’ until I use some of this stuff up.

I considered what I might want to buy at the upcoming Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I must not let myself be lured in by stripy or variegated sock yarns, no! Solids and semi-solids, if I buy any yarn at all. What I’d really like to buy is fiber. I have the wheel, I have the lazy kate, and I have a swift which can double as a skein-winder, if it really has to. Perhaps a niddy-noddy is in order.

I briefly considered the possibility of buying a drum carder for the fiber, then decided that it’s probably out of my budget this year. It’d be so convenient for those eight pounds of alpaca fleece, though! I’ve got my “wish list” narrowed down to either a Strauch Finest or a Pat Green Deb’s Delicate Deluxe – has anyone reading owned/used either one, and can you give me recommendations? It’s tough to decide, but I think I’m seriously leaning towards the Strauch. (Eventually.)

Then I considered splurging on the drum carder. If I don’t buy anything unnecessary for a few months, I could do it. But I’m not a big fan of spending big chunks of money, and I did just buy a house. On the other hand, this is something I want, and if I stop wanting it, then I can resell it.

I considered saving my money and not going to Sheep and Wool at all, but that was silly and I didn’t consider it for very long. Although not buying a drum carder means I can buy another guitar that much sooner.

I considered whether to head up there by myself or to see about going with any of the local knitters. I had a great time with Janis last year and I’m sad that she can’t go again this year, though I completely understand. Maybe next year!

I considered whether I should try to meet Jess and Casey of Ravelry fame, then decided that if I do I do, and if I don’t I don’t. While I’d like to meet them, I’m sure thousands of other people at the festival would, too. Will they remember me? Doubtful. Is that time I could spend shopping for yarn and fiber? Absolutely. On the other hand, I’d love to be there for the Ravelraiser! prize drawings; I donated money to the cause and I’m sure we’ve raised well over $60k by now. Isn’t that amazing? Ravelers rock! (And so do the prizes, but I didn’t donate just to win something. I donated because it’s a kickass website and I’m happy to support it!)

Janis wrote,
I think self-striping sock yarns are a good standby for when you need a mindless knitting project. That way they look fantastic in just a plain stockinette. *enables*

Janis, I love you, but have you seen my stash lately? I so don’t need any more self-striping sock yarn! I do love the plain stockinette sock, and I’ll be making a pair for Pirate-Husband out of some brown non-striping yarn, but then I have six balls of stripy stuff, three balls of Trekking which may or may not be considered stripy, and three skeins of variegated stuff. That’ll keep me busy for a while, don’t you think?

Last night I sat down and put a couple of rows onto Pomatomus. I’m almost done with the second pattern repeat on the leg. One more to go, then the heel, then three and a half pattern repeats for the foot. Once again, I regret having such long feet!

I’d like to think that I’ll spend my lunch break putting the heel flap onto the Garter Rib Sock, but I know it’s just not going to happen that way. Ah well, there’s always post-work time.

You wanted a picture, you get a picture! Here is the Shapeless Amoeba Baby Surprise Jacket just after the buttonhole row. I have five more rows to knit. The color is about right, I think, but the dark pink may be showing up a little more vibrant than it is in real life. I may have to invest in a better camera if I want to keep showing off my work, or maybe build a lightbox. Despite my frustrations with garter stitch, this is actually an easy knit and a cute little sweater. I’ll have enough yarn left over to knit a matching hat – the questions are 1) how big is a baby hat supposed to be and 2) will I have the time to get it done?

I do plan to knit the Baby Surprise Jacket again, and this is the next colorway, “Amarillo y Verde.” It’s more of the 100purewool worsted merino. Ideally, I’ll knit this up before I know that anyone’s expecting. It’s a nice, neutral baby color and then I’ll have it ready to give at a moment’s notice! (Not that anyone’s ever had a baby at a moment’s notice, really, but you know what I mean.) Also, I might enjoy knitting it up more if I’m not working with a deadline.

I’ve also got two skeins of this colorway, “Winter Joy.” I wasn’t expecting the green in it; the picture on the website only showed blue and brown. But I really like it and think it would be great for a baby boy, even with the green. The gauge I’m getting makes this a sweater for a 9-month old, so I guess these will only be good presents for a baby who’s born between March and May. That means if someone has an out-of-season baby, I’m going to have to come up with a totally different project to knit. Maybe a pair of cute pants? I’m not sure I ever want to knit a baby blanket again, unless it’s a really interesting pattern and a quick knit.

Because I’m showing off pictures already, here’s a long exposure of the moonrise from my front porch. I took a dozen of these pictures and this was the best one of the bunch. (Again, I may have to invest in a better camera.) You can’t quite see it in this picture because it’s out of frame to the left, but on a very clear night I’m able to see the Washington Monument on the horizon, about 40 miles away.