Knits

 

Hooray! I’ve managed to finish something thanks to lots of time sitting on trains this past week. Okay so they don’t match, but it’s still a pair, no? That’s Anastasia on the left in Knit Picks Memories in Pansy and Charade on the right in Piece of Beauty in Dark Matter. I gave up with trying to use up all the Knit Picks on that sock because I was getting tremendously bored and I still have another sock to do. They’re still rather tall (9″ from the floor) and I have 11 grams of yarn left. Charade are also tall, 7.5″ from the floor, and I wasn’t sure how much yarn I’d need for the ribbing so I stopped the pattern and did the ribbing to find that I could’ve probably added another half-inch. Oh well.

When I finished casting off the Charade, I was so eager to cast off Anastasia that I got right to it. When I had 10 stitches left I realised I’d actually forgotten to do the ribbing hahaha. Ooops. So I ripped out the cast off and finished it off correctly. I can’t find a name for the bind off I used, but it is definitely very good and stretchy for toe-up socks. You k2 as usual, slip those two stitches back to the other needle, k2tog, k1, slip the two stitches back to the other needles, k2tog… rinse and repeat. When the sock isn’t on your foot it flares a bit, but it looks neat and tidy and fits great. Enough details since they’re not really done, heh.

Both of these socks fit really well - they’re snug, but not tight. I now realise that I knit my Saucy socks too loose and I’m somewhat tempted to rip them out and reknit them on a slightly larger needle so I can follow the pattern and have 3 repeats of the pattern horizontally instead of four and not have mismatched toes. Maybe some day.

Other projects? I’m doing a test knit for a cabled hat. I hope to get it done this weekend. I only started this morning and I forgot that cable patterns mean lots of purling - bah. I hate purling so much I might try to figure out backwards knitting.

 
Jaeger extra fine merino aran in peacock — Rowan all seasons cotton in native (it looks tea-dyed and I love that) — RYC bamboo soft in pompadour — Rowan calmer in kiwi (I’m not a yarn sniffer, but Trigger is)
 

I still haven’t finished uploading my pictures from Paris. There aren’t even that many. Hmm. I’ll do that today and post about Paris tomorrow.

I do have a funny story to share. Last weekend my ex-pat friend K came up to Oxford. The plan was to eat, drink, knit, and whinge as needed. We set out to a pub near the river. After walking about 2 miles, we get to the pub to find out it’s burnt down. I don’t know where I’ve been because it’s one of the more famous/popular pubs and it burnt down in May hahaha. Oops. So off we went for another mile or so to this other famous/popular pub that K went to often when she was a student in Oxford about 10 years ago. They’ve done it all up and it’s kind of sad that it’s lost it’s old pub feel — dark, low ceilings, exposed beams, small rooms — it’s now very open and bright.

We had a drink and two women stopped to comment on how unusual it was to see two young people knitting. K said “It’s the new smoking”. I was knitting Charade and they said they couldn’t believe what tiny needles I was using. It was nice to have people stop and compliment us. We then ate and set off back to the city centre. We decided to cut across Port Meadow in an attempt to cut the time it took to get back to town since the next stop was to be the QI Vodka bar for a delicious girly drink.

As we’re about 2/3 across the meadow, the ground started getting a bit squishy. You may have heard about parts of Oxford getting flooded about a month ago. Well this was part of it since it is sort of like an island between the River Thames/Isis and the canal. Now, K and I weren’t really prepared for this type of walk. She was more prepared than me since she had on sneakers and jeans while I was in a just-below-the-knee skirt and mary janes. Water started pouring into my shoes. A bit ick at first since it was smelly and dirty water (there are cows, horses, sheep, all matter of bird life that reside in this meadow). Then the land started looking deceptively solid. We’d take a step and sink to our ankles in mucky water and mud. And then midway up our shins.

This is long, but funny.

This post has nothing to do with green eggs & ham. Nor knitting. I just have had that line (well the verse) in my head all morning and I’m hoping putting it down helps expunge it.

This is the only knitting content: I am still not done with the first sock of Anastasia. I am about to start increasing so it will go over my calves. Or calf since it is only one sock. Is it a singular muscle or what? I am sort of bored with it which is not surprising since it is miles long. But I am also determined to finish it. However, I will not be taking it with me to knit on in France. I will start some other socks. Haven’t quite decided which pattern -

I was going to go to a craft show today at Blenheim Palace. A number of factors have played into me not going. 1. I would have to cycle or bus it - cycling there no big deal (kinda - only 10-11 miles), but I know it will be hot and I will be tired on the way home so I don’t fancy that 2. I would be going on my own and don’t really fancy that either 3. It is a bit expensive to get in (£10) and after all the effort of getting there, I’d feel obligated to buy something. Instead I am finishing tidying my flat before I leave tomorrow morning (I cannot leave it all messy ’cause it’s just depressing to come back to that) and will probably venture to a park or the Botanic Gardens to knit.

Yesterday I went into town to find some warmer weather clothing as I don’t have any since I shrank and got rid of the ridiculously oversized clothing I had. I am so tired of having to try on three sizes of clothing because every manufacturer has a different sizing structure and even within that manufacturer, different lines of clothing are sized differently. I don’t know if I have been “lucky” to keep picking up mislabelled items or if things are just that bad.

I picked up a pair of linen trousers yesterday from a designer label. The size sewn in read (UK) 12. They looked a bit big which is why I decided to try them on (usually I wear a UK 14/16). I am hoping these were mislabelled because they were easily a UK 20+. Me and a very skinny friend could’ve worn them together. At another shop I bought a pair of linen trousers in a 14, but I couldn’t even button the size 14 cropped jeans. I got a 16 (which has an annoying flaw that I only discovered after washing them) which I did try on and they fit. (I hate snug fitting trousers. I do not want to feel constricted and have my belly fat pushed up and over the top of the trousers so I like them to have a bit of give.) After washing them, they’ve miraculously expanded and are too big. *sigh* I know water retention fluctuates a bit daily, but this is just crazy. I have to take the jeans back anyway because of the flaw. So my lesson? Continue trying on a variety of sizes and probably try on several of the same item in a particular size.

Anyway, I’m off tomorrow morning and will be back late in the week. I’m only visiting one yarn shop and have a list of a couple patterns so I know what to buy if I see something I like. Have a good week, everyone.

Minus Johnny Depp looking really creepy. I mean, really, was it necessary to have him play an uber-creepy Willy Wonka?

I digress.

I swear this skein of Knit Picks Memories is a neverending skein. I have knit the foot and SEVEN INCHES of leg (I’m counting from the floor up) and I still have nearly half the skein left. I may have to rethink this knit-until-I-run-out-of-yarn thing with these socks since I was planning on using one skein for each sock. It’s not exactly the yarn I’d like to have a neverending supply of to be honest.

Oh, and is it just me or do wooden needles wear out quickly? I know I’ve raised this before with bamboo needles, but these Brittany Birch needles are beginning to feel a bit too bendy and dull. I may have to invest in a set of Knit Picks DPNs since they are shorter than most DPNs (I like 5″ lengths, but could probably cope w/ the 6″ Knit Picks length) and should hold up better what w/ being metal. I hope my Lantern Moon Sox Stix hold up better ’cause those are not cheap!

Anyway, I’m feeling peppier because there’s just two days of work left this week and I’m going away for a few days next week. I was sort of on the fence about going to Paris because it’s never been on my list of destinations. I don’t really know why, but I’ve just never felt the urge to go. So that said, outside of the Eiffel Tower, where should I go (and I don’t mean yarn shops ;))? I will say I’m not big on museums as I get kind of bored quickly, but I will go to a couple to see highlights.

I was making fast progress on the Anastasia sock. And then it stopped. I realised I’d lost a stitch and tinked back only to realise that it was pretty far back that I lost it (forgot a yarn over) so just got on with it and snuck in the stitch. Oh and the extra stitches did make a deep enough heel, but I think it’s a bit tight really and would require more stitches. I’ll detail this when I finish the socks up. These are hopefully going to be very tall socks as I am planning on knitting them until I run out of yarn because I really hate those little bits and I like me some tall socks.

And I’ll need tall socks because I think this time autumn is seriously upon us. I heard the neighbours turn on their heat last night (their boiler makes a terrible knocking noise — I hope they get it fixed ’cause I don’t know how they can put up with the noise) and last night cycling home I was seriously wishing I had another layer on as I was freezing.

Part of my lack of knitting the last couple of days is because I am feeling exhausted still. I am also trying to get myself into a better place mentally so have been taking some time to reflect on a number of recent events, thoughts, and feelings and put them down on paper (or electronically) because it certainly helps to purge the mind of overwhelming thoughts and feelings. There’s just too much on my plate right now and I need to focus on bits and pieces in order to start making any progress.

Tonight I think I will focus on some knitting and just try to relax. I’ve been trying to plan a lot of meetings and other work obligations in September and have realised that I only have about 4 days that aren’t taken up with other work-related obligations (either meetings/conferences or time to actually do serious amounts of work to meet deadlines) - for some reason that totally frightens me as I’m used to actually not having a lot of obligations and being able to be very flexible. Perhaps this is actually good as it forces me to say “no” which I need to work on.

I haven’t used my new camera any more. The weather and my mood have been too shit. Steep learning curve in Paris.

And some handy information for me should the day come that I actually decide to make a top - they always seem to stop just above my boobs.

• Bust-Darts: A Comprehensive Tit-torial — it covers what a Bust Dart is, horizontal and vertical darts, and which to use when. Awesome.
• How to Create a Bust-Dart: Part 2 — actually puts the technique to work. Double awesome.

First, thank you all for all the kind comments. I’m sorry I didn’t respond to each of you individually, but I just couldn’t. Everytime I read a comment I’d break down in tears.

I’m getting better. Monday and Tuesday I bawled my eyes out until they stung; and bawled some more. I didn’t even make it to work. I pretty much didn’t sleep on Sunday night / Monday-day even with a heavy sleeping pill — it only gave me about 90 minutes of “peace”. I was so emotionally exhausted that I did sleep nearly 12-hours Monday night (I also had a sleeping pill to help me get there). I also didn’t really eat until Thursday. I tried. From Sunday dinner until Wednesday night I had all of a half piece of toast, two kid-sized pots of yog(h)urt, and two small bowls of cereal. Thursday was the first day I’d eaten actual meals.

 
This terracotta bowl that the previous owner left was one of Dakota’s favourite places to sleep. It was out on the deck and would warm up. He fit inside it really well and would sometimes spin himself around it it to scratch his back. I didn’t bring it with me to the UK as it was too heavy and probably would’ve broken. My mom and sister now have it as they took care of Dakota and Trigger until I could get them here, and my sister’s cat, Ha Ma, now sleeps in it even if he is far too big for it.

I wrote a big list of all the charming things about my man, Dakota, that I will miss. Some of them were definitely annoying, but also “him” and thus charming (e.g. his penchant for using the litter box and running out of it at such high speed that a trail of kitty litter was always left in his wake which meant having to vacuum 2-3 times per week). It helped me smile and get past the horribleness of having to watch him die. I do keep reliving that moment, but it was so unreal that it’s getting easier to detach myself from it.

My other cat, Trigger, is slightly confused. I don’t know if she’ll become more confused when she realises that he’s not off having a holiday. She’s changed some of her habits — especially her bedtime habit of getting in the sink while I brush my teeth because at the same time Dakota would come charging into the bathroom and leap over the side of the tub, through the shower curtain and then attack the shower curtain; she often looked down her nose at him. I feel bad that she’s alone at home since she’s had a companion for the last eight years. I’m not going to rush out and get another cat right now — not until I’m ready.

I had Dakota cremated and brought him home Wednesday. It is very weird to have him there in this tiny wooden box. I let Trigger have a sniff and she rubbed her face all over it. I need to get a little plaque made for the box although I may get a different urn as I wanted something unique for him. I understand that a plain item can be good to help you remember the true meaning of that item, but I want something beautiful and special just like he was.

I have a few more thoughts on owning a pet and the value I find in it even when things like this, inevitably, happen, but I will save those for another post.

I had started knitting a sock on Sunday, but it wasn’t working out. It was to be the Jigsaw sock, but the chart either doesn’t convert well to toe up or it didn’t appear to because of the yarn choice (Knit Picks Memories¹ - Pansy). I then tried something else (can’t think right now what it was) and decided that didn’t work either. So now I am knitting Anastasia. It is definitely a quick pattern (I had to stop myself before I made a clown sized foot), but thanks to the current issue of Yarnival, I discovered a post about knitting toe up socks and how short row heels don’t really work for those of us with high insteps. Maia has written up a sort of recipe/tutorial on doing a gusset/flap toe up which is far more accommodating for those with a high instep. Since these socks are for me, I am going to knit one with the short row across more stitches which, apparently, creates a deeper heel, and the other with the gusset/flap as suggested in that post and see how I find each fit.

I also got a new camera. Because of the week I had I wasn’t as excited as I normally would be. I’ll be practicing using it this weekend as much as I can as in just over a week I’ll be off to Paris for a few days. The sock picture was taken with the new camera.

¹ I guess they’re discontinuing this yarn? I bought 4 colours and this has really been the only time that I wish I had a colour card first as I find the colours to be hideously bright really. As The Boy said when he saw it “That looks like School Wool. You know, the stuff they use in schools that’s cheap and bright to teach kids crafts.”