New Sock!

Right after I finished those last grey socks, I immediately cast-on for another one! I had been thinking about this one while working on the grey pair, so had to get started while it was still fresh in my mind.

I have been thinking about doing a small workshop with a few girls at work that had asked about knitting socks. But I wanted to have a "teaching sock" to show them the different things involved in knitting a sock. I had seen this somewhere on a site, but really needed to make one for myself as a teaching aid.

So here is my "teaching sock":

-- and yes, I just made one!

Each colour represents a different part of the sock. There is a different technique or pattern used in each section. Looking at it this way, I think it will be less daunting for anyone to start on a sock. It really is not that hard! By working each section, one at a time, in the right order, you can easily complete a sock. There are no new techniques used here that any intermediate beginner doesn't already know, so there won't be anything new to learn. You already know everything necessary to knit a sock! You just need to know which to use where and how to switch from one to the other.

That's why I find knitting a pair of socks so interesting to do. Each section is quite short -- there really isn't time to get bored with it before you have to switch to something else. There is always something "new" to do to keep your interest high. And each sections is quite short that you are finished the sock before you know it! This one took me about 3 evenings, which is a lot faster than most other things we knit.

Now all I need is to get the girls together all at the same time, and we can get started!

Uncle socks

About two years ago, I decided I wanted to knit something for my uncle. And, looking around, it seemed obvious that he would like a nice pair of socks. That is something everyone can use. He was having some trouble with his feet, or legs, or something, so socks seemed like a nice idea.

I started on the socks with commercial yarn since I had it handy. I started on the toes, and when I got to the heel, I couldn't decide on how to do them. I wanted to reinforce the bottom of the heel in some way since that is where most socks get holes. But I had trouble determining how to do it properly, so I just left them. For a very long time! And there they still sit, mocking me!

Eventually, I started a new pair but with my hand spun this time. It is not the softest wool, but I wanted these to wear well. They aren't scratchy, but are good enough for socks. Since it is not very fine yarn, they are a little thicker and will work well in boots, or sandals. And that is how these will be used, I think.

I started these at the toes, since I like that construction. I just love doing Jenny's Magic Cast-on! I think it is so ingenious, and so simple to do, and looks great! So that is what I used.

I couldn't find long enough circulars to do two at a time, so used only one circ and then double points! Hey, you use what you have handy. You can see below how I did them -- one circular needle for the top and then double points for the sole of the sock. I decided to put in some ribs on the top half of the sock, just to make it fit snugly. (Yes, I used red yarn markers)

I increased for the gusset, then turned the heel -- which again is very interesting to do -- and did the peasant heel flap in reverse.

Again, all fun to do. I did the ribbing all the way around the leg.

I decided not to do anything different for the cuffs -- just use the ribbing I had already established, and they worked just fine. I cast off loosely, and darned in that one end! Done.

I had originally planned on doing the toes and heels in a contrast colour, and completely forgot when I got these started! I was so excited doing the Magic Cast-on that I didn't realize I was using the wrong colour. Never mind. These work just fine as they are. Next time, I'll pay more attention. Which reminds me -- I should cast on for a pair for myself!

More Spinning

I think I may have mentioned some time ago that I had received a part of a fleece from a woman I know that has three "pet" ewes. They are of indeterminate breed, but do have quite a nice fibre. I had used some of it before, and asked if I can get some more. She very kindly brought me more.

It was raw fleece. There is the usual dirt and grime in the fleece, but were relatively free of vegetable matter.

I was able to pick out the locks, and I washed them individually. I then laid them out to dry, making sure they were in the same direction. Later, I combed them carefully, and made a sliver out of each combing. I spun all the singles from the cut end, naturally very fine and all on my trusty CD spindle.

Because I wanted a very soft spun yarn, I put only enough twist in the singles to hold together. Usually, I put in added twist, which produces a good firm yarn and give me good definition when knit. But I wanted something very light this time. I used my spindle as a supported spindle, so that there was little weight on the very fragile single strand. Being so fine, it could not support that much weight. But it only took a few spins to give enough twist to hold these fibres together. You really don't need that much twist in a yarn!

It took a very long time to fill one cop on the spindle. Of course, I am spinning as fine as possible, and I think as I get more practice, I am getting finer and finer! It was fun to do. I would put on a movie or some TV shows, and spin away. I can get many kilometres done in very little time!

I have plied all these singles I had. Then this weekend, I decided it was time to put them into a skein and wash the yarn, and get working with it. I have a project I want to make with it, and there is a time crunch now! I didn't measure how much yarn I have in the skein.

The fleece is natural white, which is actually an off-white. I washed the two skeins I produced, and then hung them to dry. It really didn't take that long to dry. Our climate is very dry and now very hot, and perhaps the finer yarns meant it dried very fast.

So here is a look at my skeins. That is one strand on the dime, but there is a reflection off the mirror finish which I didn't notice at the time I took the photo. This is all two-ply, even though you can't see the strands too clearly this way.

There is a great deal of elasticity in the yarn -- it looks very soft and delicate, but when you put some tension on the yarn, it stretches very far, and holds together surprisingly well! It is quite strong. I'm very pleased with it.

So now to start the knitting. This time, I will do a gauge swatch!

Newest Lace Project

For the last little while, I have spinning some wool I got from a friend. I am enjoying washing the locks, combing them, and spinning the very fine singles.

But to take a break from all that spinning, I wanted to have some knitting on the go as well. I have been watching Chicago Fire (and the companion series, Chicago PD) and need to have something to do with my hands or else I fall asleep!

I found a really nice shawl called Ashton shawlette, by Dee O'Keefe, free on Ravelry. It's very simple to do, basic design of double-down triangular shawl. As I was working on it, I thought it looked rather small, so repeated some of the patterns to add more rows than usual, and I'm glad I did. It ended up being a good size this way, and I do like the additional pattern repeats. It is really very simple to do, rather basic and boring if you are used to something more complicated, but is interesting enough to keep you going through it. It's a very good introduction to lace knitting, since it is very logical, and you will be able to "read" your knitting as you work, and can predict what is to come just from seeing where you have been! Simple pattern with astounding results.

Here are some pics of it on my blocking wall:

I used a bright red yarn for this from my stash. I thought it was wool, but there was no label on the cone. As I was working with it, it felt rather harsh in my hands, so I thought it was some sort of acrylic. But I stayed with it, despite the feel. When I washed it, a lot of the red came out in the water, so I knew it wasn't acrylic! It softened up really well once washed, so I think it is wool. It has a very high twist to the ply, which is probably why it felt hard. But I like the elasticity in the yarn because of that.

I really liked doing this one, and I think I may do another, in a different colour. Maybe with the yarn I am spinning now!

Check Everything!

Last week, I went over to Safeway since there were a few things in their flyer that I wanted. The prices were acceptable, although not at any reduced price. I know the regular prices, and Safeway (as well as every other store) will artificially inflate the prices for a short time, and then "reducing" the price down to regular, and we [less-than-bright] shoppers think it is a good deal. But you can't always trust those lower prices.

So they had 10-lb bags of potatoes for $3.99, which a good price considering they normally are at about $9. On the other side of the table were 5-lb bags for $3.49...and the 10-lb bags were $3.99. Now I don't understand the logic here! I don't normally like a large bag like that because I don't have anywhere to keep potatoes for so long, and by the time I get to the bottom of the bag, they are soft or have sprouted.

However, I decided to take the larger bag, and will have to use them up quickly in some way. I picked up a few other things as well.

The cashier was one of those chatty types, which I find annoying, but I was civil and tried to respond when I really had to (at the minimal). And there was some confusion about which bag I wanted to use, since I had brought my own. Anyway, I filled my shopping bag and left the store. The one thing I always have to do is go over the receipt before I leave the cashiers counter, no matter how long the line is behind me. This time, I didn't. I have been surprised by what they charge me other times.

When I got home, I started supper, and had to cook up a couple of potatoes. I really do enjoy my potatoes! And while it was cooking away, I went to the computer and entered my expenses on my accounting program. I am a former bookkeeper, so like to do these entries and get all kinds of reports (okay, so I am a nerd), and see who is taking all of my money! That is when I discovered that I was charged $8.99 for the potatoes! I know the sign at the store clearly said these were on special for $3.49!! I made the mistake of not checking the receipt at the store, even though I thought the total was slightly higher than it should have been for a few items. I think it was this same cashier that tried to distract me at another time and she failed to give me a $10-dollar bill in change. That is why I always check before I leave.

So my warning to you is always keep an eye on what you are being charged. Check it before you leave the cashier counter... and you can catch any error right then. I don't know if the cashier takes the extra herself, or whether she gets any kind of bonus, but I was overcharged, and I don't like it much.

This is one of the reasons I haven't been to Safeway for a long time. This kind of thing has happened a couple of times, and I just scratch them off my list of places to shop. I thought I was being careful, but got distracted once more. I am very careful when I go to any store, but this time I slipped up. I have to say she was pretty good. Very unassuming, really slick and that is why she is so successful.

You just can't trust anyone anymore!

I'm Ba-a-a-ack!

Okay, so I didn't realize how long since I have posted to my blog. But I haven't been away, just busy. You know how it is, you get things working on on a few things, time just goes by, and suddenly it's months later.

I have been knitting, and will post a few pics of some of the things I made. I also have been spinning, and have used up most of my fibre. I do have one bundle of lovely combed top, which I am not sure how to spin, so it is waiting. I did spin up another bundle in the same colourway previously, trying to separate out all the different colours, and then plying them back in different combinations, but nothing was quite what I liked. So it needs to wait until it decides how it should be finished.

The other night, as I got into bed, I heard a crashing in the other room! I got up to take a look, and found a pile of boxes had fallen into my one open working area but couldn't really see where they had come from! And then noticed one of my towers of boxes had fallen over -- it was bound to happen since it was slightly on an angle -- but I didn't want to deal with it then. In the morning, I got up and decided I had to clear it up before I could get to work on anything. In the process, I found many of the scarves I had woven so many years ago. They had price tags on them, from the time I was selling them at some sales. I packed them up into boxes once more! It was nice to see them again, and remember that I did good work back then.

I also found that a couple of boxes had cones of yarn on them! Some were huge cones, of very fine yarn. I don't know when I will ever use them up, unless I get back into weaving. Knitting would last a lifetime, I'm sure. Not sure yet what I will do with those.

But the greatest find was a box with huge bags of fibre in them. I could just barely make out the writing on the outside of the bag -- 1 lb alpaca. Wow! I was just saying that I wanted some alpaca, and here it is. Amazing how the Universe provides when you ask properly! I guess I had purchased these so very long ago, put them away (as I do with most things) and promptly forgot about them. There is a rusty grey/brown, a mottled silver/grey and a white. This is raw fleece, very dusty, what I saw had a lot of VM in it. I combed and spun a bit of it last night, and will continue to do more. I am spinning it fine, but would like a thicker yarn. I'm going to have to try very hard to spin it thicker, but it just wants to be this fine! Really, it does. After I ply it, I'll see how it looks, and may use it just as it is for something. I'm trying very hard not to put much twist into it.

I do want to do some very thick cowls, but I really don't think I will be able to spin yarn that thick. I just can't do it! I may have to combine it with some other yarns to make a bulky yarn that way.

The main reason I haven't posted here much is that I don't have internet at home anymore. Late in the summer, the cable company I was with (Shaw), had a fire in their office complex. After that, connection with them was very sporadic and intermittent. Eventually, it just stopped. When I went down to their office, they told me everything is working fine. Except I know it was not. And that was the end of that. I paid for the month of August and only got a few days out of it, and never heard from them since.

I've been trying to get internet only (without telephone service) with Telus, another provider here. But they have high connection fees, or something, and after paying over $900, I still don't have anything. I keep on trying, and I won't pay any more money to them, so I think we've reached an impasse. Of course, they have the controls, so there isn't much I can do until they deem me worthy of their over-priced services! I don't know where this will end. That money may just be lost now.

It's been bitterly cold here for the last few weeks. Winter came early this year, and hard. Although this is Canada, and I have seen winters with a lot of snow before, this time it seems to be much harder to bear. Perhaps I am older, or perhaps the winters are much more severe. It's a good time to stay indoors, and knit. Which I will do. I will attempt to get some pics posted in the next few days to show you what I have been up to lately.

I just realized that this is my anniversary day! I started blogging this date in 2005. Wow -- nine years! Doesn't seem that long, and I've got nothing so show for it! :-)