Woolgathering

Add one more WIP sock kit to that list. My “boat sock” kit (Thorfinn) didn’t make it as far as the siting room for the photo session. I’ll be taking that with me on Thursday when I go to the hospital.

After tidying my workroom (well, a lick and a promise anyway) I did what I have been threatening to do and I assessed the sock situation for Socktoberfest. It has been on my mind that the month is wearing on and I have done nothing to diminish the sock stash yet, unless you call my Mama Janes slippers “slipper socks,” which I think that I shall, because that makes me feel better about this situation.

What situation?

This situation:

That’s the sockpile stockpile. Scary, huh?

Much larger than I thought.

I decided to investigate just what was in it…

… and to make a plan for reducing it via the impetus of Socktoberfest.

But socks are slow, and there isn’t much month left, and I have many other things that I need to be doing. So I don’t expect the pike to shrink by much at all.

(All photos bigger at Flickr - just click)

Here’s the stash of new yarns (untouched)

SEVEN balls of standard sock yarns from Regia and Trekking etc.

TWO Trekking Hand Art,

and one Bonny from The Yarn Yard.

And here we have some rather nominally designated WIPS

The HipKnits cashmere #1 Husband sock, due for completion 31st Dec 2007. *blush*

The Opal “mixed recipe” sock, with one sock completed.

Two Cookie.A designs: Mingus and Pomatomus. Mingus in Yarn Yard “Bonny” and the other in Rowan Cashsoft

Next, the truly WIP - the Vanilla Mansock aka The Monster Sock (much too large but progresses due to knitterly denial)

Then the awful realisation of the size of the Frog pond…

Shall we gloss over that and make our way to the Socktoberfest Plan?

Yes, I think so. The plan is pretty modest and yet, I feel, quite unattainable…

1. Complete the Vanilla Mansocks
2. Use one of those two new balls, maybe two if things go well, to learn Magic Loop knitting on some plain stocking stitch socks
3. Begin the Teosinte socks again with that gorgeous Hug yarn from The Yarn Yard.

See you in November!

Conker Feet are almost done. I finished the second slipper in bed last night. But I am not yet properly done - for when I say “finished” I have indeed done all the knitting and cast off, but have yet to apply the “finishing treatment”. I have the choice of crocheting an edge - and I don’t crochet - or, wait for this… picking up all the stitches that I just cast off and then casting them off again, but purlwise.

Now, that’s a difficult choice. I could crochet and make a mess or I can pick up and make a mess - because picking up it’s not my best skill. Let’s face it, if I plan to pick up all the stitches again, those slippers are going to languish at the bottom of my workbasket for many moons to come.

Now, where did I put those crochet hooks?

*quiver*

Rather tempting new pattern from Anne Hanson at Knitspot. These would make a good Socktoberfest project, methinks - especially if my Solids Club yarn from The Yarn Yard turned out to be sock yarn (if it ever arrives, which it has not yet - boats have been cancelled due to adverse weather and I fear my parcel is held up somewhere along the line)

winding diamonds | knitspot

Conker Feet, my “Mama Janes” slippers are coming along nicely. I completed the first one in bed last night and then rattled off the second sole before going to sleep. I reckon it would be perfectly possible to make a pair of these in one afternoon, with some dedication and concentrated knitting. They would make perfect last minute gifts.

I shall make mods to any later pairs, to suit my own peculiar feet - detailed thoughts on this are at Ravelry and I’ll report back here as and when I attempt them.

All together now!

I came, I saw, I conker-ed
I came, I saw, I conker-ed
I can’t dany it’s got that I, yi, conker-,
I, yi, conker-, I, yi, conker-, yi….

(with apologies to James Cavanaugh / John Redmond / Frank Weldon and Edmundo Ross)

Oh, my.

Just brilliant.

Those slippers knit up mighty fast. I took them to bed last night and by the time we put the light out I had just the one round left to go. I discussed with Mr L my love of the engineering side of knitting, I laid the toe out to be admired by the pair of us, I stretched it this way and that (so neat!), I found the hole… It’s a good job that these are so quick and easy to do - because I shall be re-knitting this one. Somehow, I have a dropped stitch at the toe end where the sole was picked up to knit the welt. For now, I knit on. I am so far on with it that I might as well get it cast off and check the size before starting another one. It does look fairly diminutive on the needles, it must be said. (Swatch! Who said Swatch?)

I must get a move on - I have someone coming for an 11am appt and I have been lolling in my bed trying to to alleviate a migraine.

It saddens me that these days hosting spinning group almost always gives me a migraine. I need to rethink my approach, I think.

Oh, there’s a mystery sock KAL for Socktoberfest. Shall I? (Ravelry account required KAL here)

This is really by way of a Note To Self post - just thinking that Socktoberfest could perhaps provide the impetus to try making a pair of socks using the Magic Loop method.

No promises. Just a maybe.

I really must go stash diving tomorrow and draw up a plan.

Up and at ‘em this morning and I had the bread rising by 7:30am. I am now showered and ready to begin my other baking. I have discovered that I have no milk for the spinning ladies’ tea/coffee and no time to go seek some.

*sigh*

I got up to find that the cats had discovered by Blink; carefully washed, blocked, folded, and laid on a table by me - now in a crumpled tangled heap on the floor.

*double sigh*

Last night I began my slippers. This Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend is fabulous stuff. I knitted my first sole in bed and hope to make progress today. No chance of pictures today, light levels are v low.

And now I am off to make eclairs…

…but have no milk for my crème patisserie!

Blink is blocking. I didn’t plan to block it because I liked its texture but after I soaked it I found that it really wanted to contract, so I pinned it out roughly. I only did the basic 12 and a half repeats in the end - then fretted as I knitted the decreases because I didn’t think that it would be long enough… but it has blocked to 67″ by 8″ or thereabouts. I do believe that I could have got more length out of it quite easily, but it is on the kitchen table and just fits that nicely as it is.

Time to move on. A few rows on the Morning Surf today, I think, so that I see some progress there, then I’ll cast on my slippers  if needles are available.