So Long, Farewell

The blog will be quiet for the next little while as our much-awaited summer holiday will begin as soon as Cameron gets off work this evening. For a while yesterday it looked like we might have to cancel because of a crisis at work but happily Cameron was able to iron things out. I’m glad—he really needs this vacation. Although he won’t be able to unplug entirely, some of the places we are going won’t have cell phone reception or internet access so he will be able to kick back and forget about work for the most part. As for me, I have plenty of simple but interesting vacation knitting planned, including two more pairs of socks for July Sockdown:

Faceted Rib Socks in Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in the “Quadra Island” colourway (exclusive to Fun Knits).

And Basket Check Socks in Mountain Colors Bearfoot in “Tamarack”. I love this yarn—the colours are amazing and it’s so soft.

Both patterns are from The Little Box of Socks. One major complaint I have about “The Little Box” series of patterns is that aside from a few photos on the outside of the box, you really don’t know what you’re getting until you open it. While that might be okay for chocolates, it’s not so great when it comes to knitting patterns. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but frankly I wasn’t exactly impressed with most of the designs they chose to highlight on the outside of this Little Box and it was only after seeing some of the inside projects on Ravelry that I decided I really needed to own it. While there are a few socks I would never make in a million years, I like the majority of the patterns and plan to make several more pairs from here.

Well, the laundry is done, the house is clean, and all that remains is the packing and a few last-minute chores. Best get to it. I don't expect to do any blogging while we're away but you never know. Just think how much I'll have to write about when I get back. Goodbye ‘til then!

Golden Year

Once upon a time someone told me that when the day of your birthdate and the age you are turning are the same it is your Golden Birthday. Yesterday, it was with great pleasure that we helped our daughter, Jessica, celebrate turning twenty-three on the 23rd. It's been three years since we were all together on her birthday so it was a particularly special day.

Happy Birthday, Jessica!

Day at the Beach

My latest square for the Great American Afghan.

Sculptural knitting is a little too fiddly for my tastes but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

This was way more fun to work on. One Crosshatch Lace sock down, one to go...

Two Squared

In what can probably be best described as a moment of weakness, I have embarked on yet another large-scale project, this time the Great American Afghan. When my sister, Alison, and I were in Apple Yarns a few weeks ago Alison was quite taken with the shop’s sample of this blanket, which was made up in blocks of earth-toned colours. It would match her family room perfectly. I suggested that perhaps she should take up knitting again and work through it, square by square, but she thought it would be too difficult a project for her and dismissed the idea.

At that she likely forgot all about it but I couldn’t get it off my mind. Maybe we could knit the afghan together, she taking the easier squares and me the more difficult. Or perhaps I could knit it for her and surprise her with it on a suitable occasion, like her birthday or Christmas. Sure, it was a huge investment of time and money but think how much she’d love it.

I would just buy the book, I decided, and a few skeins of yarn, and play with it a little, a block here and a block there. I would buy more yarn as needed, bit by bit, not worrying about a specific colour scheme. It didn’t matter if it took months or years to make. For once, I’d go with the flow, let the project unfold as it would over time.

Have you stopped laughing yet?

You’d think I’d know by now that when it comes to knitting it is utterly impossible for me “go with the flow”. I want my socks to match, I don’t want my hand-dyed yarns to flash or pool, and I am entirely incapable of knitting an afghan without a plan. Having admitted as much to myself after knitting the first square, it was back to the yarn shop to carefully choose the colours, then back home again to plan out each block. I’m still not imposing any time limits on myself, working on it whenever the mood strikes me, but I am secure in the knowledge that it will all match when I am done. So far I’ve completed two squares and am halfway through the third.

Each 12”x12” block features a unique design so in a way it is like working on twenty-five small projects, instead of one large one.

Besides making some progress on my Ella Jacket and YOL shawl, I have finally chosen a pattern for July’s Sockdown. Remember “Monet”? After being returned to the sock yarn stash months ago, it is now in the process of being knit into Crosshatch Lace Socks.

Cameron and I have planned a summer vacation, more or less following the route of our honeymoon in reverse, visiting Barkerville and the Rockies, before driving home via the Kootenays. One major difference is that this time we will be staying in hotels, rather than camping—with age comes wisdom! We leave in a couple of weeks, plenty of time for me to come up with the perfect travel project…

Three Times is Not a Charm

Sometimes, no matter how much we want something, it’s not meant to be. After four attempts with three different yarns I’ve resigned myself to the fact that the Stansfield 304 socks just might be one of those things.

When I began to knit socks a couple of years ago Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch was an invaluable resource. My plain socks are modeled after her basic pattern and I have knit a number of the variations from her book. When she came out with More Sensational Knitted Socks I wasn’t convinced I needed another sock book but one pattern kept drawing me back. You guessed it: Stansfield 304.

I loved everything about it: the wavy garter stitch cuff, the textured triangle pattern, and the blue, green, and purple yarn that had been chosen for the sample.

As I wrote in my last post, I had some Claudia Handpainted that I thought would be perfect but the colours ended up pooling and I didn’t like the effect. I was much more optimistic about the Sweet Georgia yarn I’d reclaimed from the ill-fated Pomatomus socks. In fact, this yarn did work very well; not only were the colours similar to the ones used in the sample, they also distributed well across the pattern, with no pooling or flashing. Unfortunately, it was too good to be true. After I knit a few inches of the leg I realized that they were going to be too tight and, given my recent experience with the Spring Forward socks, I wasn’t about to ignore my instincts. I cast on again with a 2.25 mm needle but while this corrected the fit, the larger needle size also altered the colour distribution and once again I was faced with unattractive pooling.

What I needed, I concluded, was a yarn that wasn’t prone to flashing or pooling. I had several yarns of that description in my stash and even though I had already designated it for another project, I decided to try again with some Oceanwind Knits. This time, however, I was disappointed to find the textured pattern obscured by the multiple specks of blue and purple. Although it didn’t look too bad, it wasn’t spectacular either so off the needles it came.

I’m frustrated with my lack of production this weekend, despite the hours that I have put into knitting this sock. To me, knitting is all about finding the perfect marriage between yarn and pattern and I don’t like to settle for second best. I’m sure there are dozens of yarns that would make a beautiful pair of Stansfield 304’s but I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t own any of them. I think my only hope is to track down a skein of Schaefer Lola in blue and green. Meanwhile, I’m going back to square one and finding a new Charlene Schurch pattern to knit for July’s Sockdown.

On a brighter note, I ripped back my shawl without incident and have since reknit not only the first pattern repeat but also an additional twenty rows. I’ve also begun a new cardigan, knit from cuff to cuff in fisher rib in a tweedy silk and lambswool blend.

It’s the Ella Jacket from Simply Shetland.

Finally, the camera is once again in my possession so I’m happy to show you a picture of my sister, Alison, modeling her new scarf.

It’s the Sheer Lace Scarf from Paton’s Warming Trends, knit in Manos Silk Blend. And here are some closing shots of us celebrating Canada Day in the US, with good food, good wine, good company,

and most importantly,

our flashing maple leaf necklaces.

Aw, F*** It

Frog it, that is.

Yesterday was spent dealing with various family crises. Generally we all get along pretty well but when you have five different personalities occupying one house they are bound to clash now and then, especially when you throw in a little drama. When I finally went to bed last night all I could think about was that I would have the house to myself today. A whole day of peace and solitude. Ah, bliss.

The morning started off well enough. One by one Cameron and the kids left for work. I drank my first cup of tea, checked email, and downloaded the latest episodes of my favourite podcasts before settling down to cast on for my July Sockdown project. This month the challenge is micro-gauge (10 stitches or more per inch) or a design by Charlene Schurch. The choice was easy. I’ve had some lovely Claudia Hand Painted Yarn set aside for Charlene Schurch’s “Stansfield 304” pattern (from More Sensational Knitted Socks) for ages. The colourway, called “Blue Fields”, is a soft blend of blues and yellows. Last week I’d brought it out and put it on the coffee table with the pattern book, where it had sat tempting me while I made myself finish the Spring Forward socks.

The only problem was that after knitting the first pattern repeat I realized that I didn’t like the way the yarn and the pattern worked together. Or rather, didn’t work.

R-i-i-i-p!

Disappointed, I dug through my sock yarn stash, looking for a replacement. There were a few skeins that were suitable but I’ve already reserved them for other projects and didn’t want to use them. Okay, Plan B. I went through my Charlene Schurch books, searching for an alternate pattern, but nothing caught my eye.

Admitting defeat--at least temporarily--I decided I’d blog about our little holiday. I’d even remembered to take a few photos, including one of my sister modeling her new scarf. I reached into my knitting bag to pull out the camera and came up empty. A quick phone call to Cameron confirmed my suspicions; he had taken the camera to take some photos at work. Alright, so much for Plan C.

Back to the socks. Once again I went through my sock yarn stash. The only yarn that really appealed to me was some Sweet Georgia in the "Coal Harbour" colourway; however, it was already in use, knit up into about ¾ of a Pomatomus sock. I briefly considered the odds of ever completing this project, which has spent well over a year in hibernation, and pulled out the needles.

R-i-i-i-p!

Ten minutes later, just like magic, the sock had disappeared and been replaced with a skein of yarn. It’s now soaking in a nice bath of Eucalan and water and when it dries, it will be just like new.

So, what to do ‘til then? Well, it just so happens that I noticed a mistake on my new shawl, way back on the first row of the pattern. I had myself convinced that I could live with it until I saw a photo of someone else’s blocked shawl and realized how noticeable it would be. That’s right, into the frog pond I go again, for the third time today. Maybe when I surface I’ll be in a better mood.

Ripit, ripit.

P.S. Happy 4th of July to our neighbours to the south!