Deja Who?

I'm trying really hard to get back on schedule. Really, I am. The move just seems to have schlepped itself out. The furniture may be here, but order does not yet reign...

I am getting knitting in, here and there. Actually more there than here, but I pretend.

Does this picture look familiar?

Look again. This was taken today.

This is the picture taken March 16.


Hey, I'm not making this up.

Two triangles completed. And grafted together. A third on its way. At this rate the pillow should be done in time for New Roommate's first anniversary!!!

Moving Again

Again. Again. Again. 4th move in less than a year and 3rd apartment in Passaic.

Yes, it's moving day again. And perhaps the only post for this week. Or at least for the next few days. We'll see what goes with the cable guy. So for now here's a quick update.

Purim was fab and the Sushi was LOVED by its recipients.

New Roommates wedding is now less than two weeks away and I have completed ONE triangle out of 20. Ummmmmm. Still not sure about the yarn overs. You can't really see the holes here, but when this is stretched out? And I am still planning on buying a dark brown for the lining so they may not show up on the completed ball. And for those of you who were wondering about size, pre stretching out this triangle is 4.5". Remember, there will be no seams. In fact, it will grow a bit since the the triangles are grafted together.


Oriel Sock
As per my standard two at a time rule, I tend to go one at a time for the gusset section. Well after finishing one and a bit, I realized a couple of things. First, I screwed up!

See that lovely gusset edge. Well it isn't supposed to be one stitch in. It is supposed to be right on the edge and though I'd really love to say I can live with it the way it isn't, I can't. Which takes us to the second point. I think the legs are going to be too loose.

These two things combined guarantee I will be ripping!

Now I am liking the heel (gotta like something, right?) Starting at the gusset section (which is also the beginning of the pattern repeat,) I had switched to 2.5 mm for the bottom part of the sock. I think this time I will try using the 2.5 mm needles for the pattern section too.

As you can see, it doesn't look too bad on the foot, only around the leg. For a big, widish foot, I don't actually have big ankles so the smaller needles should work out just fine.

And I finally finished my Rock and Weave socks.

Though I still need the buttons. I am leaning towards orange or maybe lime green.

Go With the Flow

The longer I knit, the more I learn. And sometimes too much knowledge isn't a great thing. Last night I finally cast on for New Roommate's Icosa Ball Pillow. This all I have to show for myself.

Why? Because I know too much.

For goodness sake, I know how to cast on for the round. I've done it for hats. I've done it for socks, both toe-up and cuff down. The silly instructions provided weren't necessary. Wrong. I hate working with DPNs, Magic Loop will be just fine. Wrong again. In fact every time I thought I knew better than the instructions, I ended up frogging. And frogging and frogging. My advice on this project: Go with the flow. Follow the instructions. Don't second guess. Maybe even learn something new.

As fiddly as that cast on was, the next time I cast on for something round that expands from the center, I'll be using it again. All those crazy loops have a purpose, and as clever as I think I am, pulling the tail to tighten this up and thus removing any hole in the center is pure genius.

So for those of you who don't have the pattern, here are a few pictures of this Cast On technique:

1. Make a loop and put your needle in the center.
   
2. Pull up another loop.
   
3. Now make a loop through the newest loop
   
   
4. Pull the newest loop snug, creating a stitch, but leaving the original loop.
   
   
5. Repeat steps 2-4 for each stitch
6. Once all the stitches have been cast on, distribute them over the DPNs. In this case, over three to make a triangular shape
   
   
7. Now here comes the fun part, pull the tail from the Cast On.
   

Once you've pulled that snug there is no discernible hole in the center.

However there is another hole to worry about in this pattern. There are two types of increases in this pattern: KFB for knit rows (and corresponding PFB or purl rows) and Yarn Overs. And as we know yarn overs leave holes. And I don't like the holes.Still, after playing with different options, I realized that those holes are necessary to create the triangular shape and instead of fighting them, I've decided to just make them. (BTW, I am manipulating the work to show off the hole. The real thing isn't that obvious, take a look at the top picture.) I will try to match the lining as close as I can to the Bark yarn and hope for the best.

You've Got Mail!

Not since I received my ball winder and swift have I been so excited to receive a package in the mail! My Icosa Ball pattern and ShiBui Knit Sock yarn have arrived. That Allison at Simply Socks Yarn Company is on the ball. It was here lickety split. OMG! I wish I was making this thing for myself. This pattern is just too cool!

In case you are thinking of making this for yourself, here are the specs:
Yarn: 3 skeins each of MC and CC ShiBui Sock (each skein is 50g, 191 yds)
Needles: 3.25 mm DPNs and circs
Gauge: 24 sts/34 rows = 4" in Stockinette using 3.25mm needles
The exact dimensions of the pillow are not given in the instructions or the website, but each wedge is about 9.5" high. I plan on taking a lot of progress shots on this one, especially of the grafting process which will turn 15 flat wedges into one amazing ball!

And New Roommate is as excited as I am.

So just sit back and enjoy the view.

Can we just take a moment to look at the richness of the color?

You can almost feel it's sproingy goodness.

Don't you want to touch it?

I'm thinking this pillow is going to be like Charmin. Squeezabley soft!

Did you notice the color? You see, I can knit a pillow in something other than cranberry. Cast on should commence in about a week. Thank goodness I get to keep the pattern. I'm hoping not to suffer any burn out on this because when the time is right, I want one too!

In other, totally unrelated, news I want to mention a great yarn contest. The Enchanted Yarn & Fiber is run by a mother/daughter team who are about to leave the safety net of cyberspace and open a brick and mortar shop. They are currently running a contest with fabulous prizes. And everyone's a winner because your input may help create a fabulous yarn store. To enter their contest click here. Don't forget to tell them who sent you!