Purlene’s Corner

Picture-heavy, but wordage light. It’s been a busy busy week, omg.

The Stashbuster sock continues apace. No rush on this one – I knit on it when I’m in the mood to fiddle with three balls of yarn at once. I’m still pretty pleased with it, though.

I promise, I’m farther along than this! Knitty Friend Linda’s thrummed mitten. Pretend there’s stockinette with gray thrums scattered about. It’s lovely, I swear.

This will be a lovely chunky scarf. Handspun roving plied with hematite beads, by Neauveau Fiber Arts. xoxoxoxxoxo I don’t know why the picture is so blurry, it really shouldn’t be. Gr.

Bus knitting! Nothing like a good old pair of zens. These went straight back into the commuter bag – I won’t knit on them at home until it’s time to do the toe, so I can try it on. Other than that, Bus Knitting stays on the Bus! Or the elevated, whatever I happen to be riding at the time.

This is taking forever to knit. Holy cow. Ella, by Wendy Wonnacott. It’s fun, don’t get me wrong, but sloooooow.

Picture title: There is no good way to photograph this! It looks like crap, but it’s a sweater, I promise.

I think part of my reluctance to blog these days is related to my keyboard. Sticky keys, man, sticky keys. They lead to typos and frustration.

Hi! So, I wrote this Sunday afternoon, and then never actually took the pictures or uploaded them (as I never took them) because I was toasty warm on my couch and therefore NOT MOVING. It’s now Monday morning, I’m at work, and just remembered about it – so I post now. It is half-assed, but it is mine.

It is COLD. 8F (-13C)with a Feels Like of -12F (-24C), which means that my tentative plans to walk to the hardware store are not going to happen. I’ve been meaning all winter to get that plastic stuff that you use to insulate the windows, and I never did, and now that I need it – it’s too cold. So goes the procrastinator’s life. It’s so dry in my apartment that the cat and I crackle whenever we’re within five feet of each other. I finally got smart and plugged in the hot pot. I filled it with water and am letting it boil away – instant humidifier! And cheap, too. I’m on the third pot now and I suspect this will do it; I snuggled the cat a minute ago and didn’t leap back from being shocked.

So what does a girl do when it’s too cold to go play? Well, I’ve nested. I spent the day yesterday curled up on the couch watching Doctor Who and Supernatural, and knitting my heart out. Same routine today, although I may switch to Sports Night. I’m not generally one for background noise, but I do like having something to knit along to. I think it’s because I do so much knitting on the bus, listening to audiobooks on my iPod. When it works. ::smite::

[pretend there is a picture of a mitten here. The wrist cuff is done; about 15 rows of k2p2 ribbing, in a deep cranberry red chunky alpaca]

Thrummed mittens, for Knitty Friend Linda. Yes, it’s a tiny amount, but I only just started today. The schedule is do the cuff today, get up past the thumb tomorrow, bulk of the hand done by Thursday, and hopefully meet her for dinner Thursday so she can try it on for hand and thumb fitting. I’m tweaking the pattern a bit from my first pair. I love those, but they are pretty big. Sadly, the one friend I have who they would fit is probably allergic to them. Anyway, it’s yet another WIP for the basket, holy cow. Also, it is the last pair of thrummed mittens I’ll be making this winter.

[pretend there is a picture of a sweater here. It's top-down, back-and-forth stockinette, in pretty gray yarn, and it doesn't look like anything yet.]

Simple Knitted Bodice from Stitch Diva. I’m using Knit Picks Andean Silk in Slate, and it’s been really nice to work with. There were some issues with gauge – you use one size needle for the bulk of the sweater, and another for the lace insert, but I’m not entirely sure I’ll be doing the lacy bit. I’m not really feeling it, you know? But I love the deep v-neck of the sweater, and I think with a few mods, it will be really cute on me.

I really need to hit the hardware store. Maybe I will go after work tomorrow (woe). Also, I am revelling in my new cable connection. I dumped Comcast for pathetic service and for being too expensive, and switched to RCN, where I hope to have better service and for less. Woo!

Mom gave me the new Cat Bordhi sock book for Christmas, which is excellent because I had about talked myself out of getting it. I’m a contrary person, and I didn’t see any reason why I needed to stop doing socks the way I like, so I was resisting. And, in one way, I still am. Many of the socks in the book are not to my taste (although this could just be a function of yarn choice – but I do not know when I would ever wear socks that look like Robin Hood’s boots). BUT. They’re pathways, new ways of doing things, so I dug up a skein of mystery yarn (that I have since fallen in love with, and I wish I knew what it was), my size 6 dpns, flipped to the first “learning” sock, popped a DVD in the machine, and dove in.

Cuff, no big deal. Leg, same old, same old. In fact, I didn’t even take a picture of them.

The increases go across the top of the foot, which you can’t really see in my yarn choice (partially why I chose it – I find it to be rather odd-looking) but I didn’t realize the significance of that until later. At the time, I mentally shrugged, decided I didn’t care for her method of increasing, and went on.

There is lots of rearranging stitches on needles, which I’m not a total fan of, but whatever. I persevere (and as you can see, I persevered in being an obstinate cranky-girl). At this point I have now finished a re-watch of Stargate: Atlantis 4×11 (Teyla!), and have queued up episode 2 of Season 3 Doctor Who. (Martha!) Then we do short rows for the heel and I do my first ever wrap-and-turn. (we will ignore the fact that I talked my mom through doing the w&t but had never actually done one. I understood the concept, I’d just never actually done it.) I suppose I see the point of wrapping the stitches – they do seem to be nestled somewhat snugger, but I find that mine shake out the same way after a wear or two. So far, I’m not seeing the big deal. So. La, la, la, knit 8, ssk, turn, purl 8, p2tog, turn, repeat as necessary, blah blah, still not seeing the point. . . and then I realized that I was on the sole of the foot.

The sole. Of the foot. I stared at the little sock, and something was different about it, and I could almost see it, and then it hit me like the proverbial 2×4. NO GUSSET. No gusset. I hadn’t picked up any stitches, but I didn’t have that odd diagonal line that you get with the short-row and afterthought heel. Instead, I have a nice smooth heel cup, two lovely lines that run parallel to the ground, and no holes where the flap and the gusset meet. NO hole. The hole there is the bane of my sock-knitting existence, and there just isn’t one here.

No hole there, either. Yes, I had sloppy SSKs, but that’s not the point, the point is that the hole that I struggle with is GONE. How?

The gusset is on the TOP of the foot. Not along the sides. The top. It grows organically out through simple increases.

As I stared at this little wonder of a sock, and the faintly oily taste of crow hovered in my near future, I experienced a moment of complete clarity. My mind emptied. My world coalesced to this little half-finished sock. And as I slowly understood what had happened here, all I could say was – “huh.”

Then I explained it to the cat. He wasn’t as impressed as I was.

Sidebar: does anyone recognize the yarn? Here’s some pictures of it in-skein and with a penny.

I really loved it, but it’s mystery yarn – no label, and I don’t even know where I got it. Thoughts?

You know how I said that I come from a long line of crafters, and that there is quilting galore around me? Look what I got in the mail yesterday:

Isn’t it beautiful? It’s called Stars Over Ft. Sumter, and my grandmother made it for me, and I love it. I especially like the pattern, and that it’s named for a Charleston, SC landmark. First shot of the Civil War, very important in my country’s history, and a place I have been to often. It feels like it ties me back to home, no matter how far I wander.

A side view. Boring wall, but pretty, pretty bed. Also, please note the brown pillowcases; Mema bought those to “tone down the pink”. :D

I finished Chara’s hat!

I did at one time have a really cute picture of her in it, but something went wonky with my flickr uploader and memory card, and it’s gone. Sadness. But she looked very cute in it, and it fit perfectly, and all was right in the world until. . .

Her dog ate it. The girls at Knitting tell me I have to run a lifeline two rows underneath and cut the top off, and just redo it. Man, this hat is doomed, I’ve already redone it once. Poor hat. Poor me.

So, here’s how I’m defining Knitting for Me – if I want to start a project, I do. I am going to work on finishing projects, but my to-do list is so long that I’ll never get to the good stuff.

And so, in the interests of self-indulgence – my sock. Let me show you it.

This is the Stashbuster Spiral Sock from hipknitism.com. It’s my first time doing toe-up socks, and I have to say that I found the caston (Judy Becker’s Magic Cast-on) to be incredibly fiddly. Yes, it made a lovely toe, but so does Kitchener stitch, which I actually enjoy doing. Hand sewing is fun! But I’m opening myself up to new experiences in 2008, one of which is Getting Over Myself and Learning New Knitting Techniques (more on that in a week or so), so I’m sticking with it. The sock is going to be kind of cute, although I’m not going to have remotely enough green yarn; I don’t even know if I’ll make it to the gusset. It’s no big deal – I have another small ball that I’ll use for the toe of the next sock, and I’ll make them match. I’ll substitute some other sock remnant for the green.

Anyway, the yarn here is Claudia’s Handpainted Merino in Jungle (green) and Stormy Days (grey), and a mystery remnant from Knitty Friend Linda (who is blogless). It reminds me of Lorna’s Laces Flame, but honestly, I would totally fail a Name That Colorway contest.

Pictures to come: Chara modelling her thrummed mittens and new hat, as soon as it gets cold here again. It’s 58F now, it’ll be the same tomorrow. Where did winter go? Crazy. Although, I shouldn’t complain – last year at this time, we were freezing, and by February, the temperature was in the single digits without the wind chill. BRRRRR.

Drive-by movie recommendation: Men With Brooms. It’s like Dodgeball, except with 90% less vulgarity, 100% less wrenches, and 100% more Paul Gross. And CURLING. (for the record, I loved Dodgeball. *g*)

Pictures. Because hey, anything to keep from working, right?

This is not Project365, even if I somehow manage to take a picture a day and post it.

My desk at home, as it stands right this second. Chai, honey, stupid work (Vizcaino v. Microsoft Corp. can bite me), leftover yarn from a project, Kate Hewlett decorating my desktop and adding adorable prettiness to my life. ♥

My messy messy handwriting. No, I don’t dot my “i”s, nor do I often cross my “t”s. People manage to read it anyway.

Sergei, modelling Chara’s new hat that I am almost done with. Purple and electric lime green, hahaha. I love it.

Ginny, from a couple of days ago when I was doggie sitting while Chara was out of town. Yesterday? Monday, maybe, I don’t really remember.

Sleepy dog, sleepy cat.

Chara and I have seen the first two episodes of S3 Supernatural now, and we heartily approve of the blonde chick, as well as the new opening title graphic animation thingie. (I wasn’t that thrilled with the flames.) I’m also quite happy because my final Christmas present arrived – I got holiday cash from a couple of family members and spent it on Battlestar Galactica: Razor and Season 3 Stargate Atlantis. Hooray!

Oh, and I finished Chara’s mittens. I’ll try and grab her one of these days to model them.