The knit-along started June 21 - I started a couple days late, but full of good intentions. My plan was to knit a pair of Anastasia socks with my skein of “lemongrass” Socks That Rock lightweight.

Since this colorway was bound to make for a stripey pair of socks I was looking for a pattern that would show off the colors rather than muddle them up with too much stitch pattern. Thought I’d found the perfect pattern - I even got as far as halfway up the instep when I realized it just wasn’t working. I tried several times with several different needle sizes to get gauge - I don’t know how anyone can get 8-10 stitches per inch on size 0 needles using STR. The closest I got was 7.5 stitches per inch on size 0’s and that was with me knitting as tightly as I could and creating a really stiff fabric (gross). And, it was huge!

Orange sock = sock that fits, Green sock = sock that sadly does not fit.

So, I decided to hell with it and ripped it all out. Now, I know that as patterns go, this one is actually super simple to modify, but I just wasn’t going to be happy with it. One last look at the instep that was:

Since I didn’t want to go to big with the needle size, I thought I’d keep the size 0’s, loosen up the tension, and embrace the slightly stiff fabric at 7 stitches per inch with a ribbed pattern instead of one based on stockinette stitch to give it some stretch. That brings me to this summer’s issue of Interweave Knits - it has a whole section on knitting socks from the toe up and a pattern for toe-up ribbed socks (On Your Toes socks). Perfect! Except… I had to do and redo the toe a few times before I was happy. I didn’t like the suggested toe after trying it out. So, I went with the figure-8 cast on toe. Much nicer. Now, I’m happily knitting away until I get to the heel. Try the pattern’s short-row heel? Try a gusset heel? I try the short-row heel first - super easy to do and it looks very nice, but… the short-row heel just doesn’t give enough ease across the instep-to-heel area. Its just too darn tight thanks to my high arches. Now, I must rip it out and attempt a gusset heel - which I believe should give me some more ease.

Shot of very nice looking, but soon to be ripped out short-row heel:

All of this has been a fantastic learning experience for knitting toe-up-socks but its also made me feel like a huge slacker when it comes to the knit-along.

In other semi-sock related news - I’ve been playing around with dyeing my own yarn. I did a test run with 9 different colors to see how the dye would react to the yarn (see results here). Now, I need to come up with some colorways to dye the couple skeins of Knitpicks Bare I picked up. After that, hopefully even more sock knitting.

The first was a lace shawl for Gord’s grandma - my grandma-in-law. Grandma was headed into the hospital for surgery and since she lives in Canada with the rest of my husband’s family, I thought it would be nice to knit her a shawl so that she knew we were thinking of her. I picked out the Arctic Diamonds Stole from IK Winter 2006 and chose the Socks that Rock Lightweight in Lover’s Leap (reddish-hot pink colored yarn) from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. Now, I know that Blue Moon hand-paints their yarns, but in general, when you order several skeins of one color, you expect them to come from the same dye lot. What a surprise when I received my order in the mail and found 3 different dye lots. Two were very similar, but the third was way off. Unfortunately, I simply did not have the time to send them back, so I did the best I could. I put the two lighter skeins on the outside edges and the darker skein in the middle. That way, if she wears the stole around her neck, the front pieces match pretty closely.

I managed to knit this stole in less than two weeks - it helps to have a deadline, and two seasons of “Kathy Griffin - My Life on the D-List” to watch. I had just enough time to wash the shawl (massive amounts of dye released from the yarn - washing in vinegar helped much), block it, and FedEx it overnight to Canada. Gord’s parents couriered it over just in time. Hooray.

Project #2: I had the tiniest bit of Socks that Rock yarn leftover and decided that Dagmar the Viking Baby (aka Fetus Fischer) needed a Viking Baby Cap. After reading and seeing photos of this baby cap on Adrian’s blog, I knew it would be perfect. I used up the remaining Socks that Rock and some leftover Koigu KPPPM from my Charlotte’s web shawl. I wish I had a baby to model it for me. I’ll just have to wait til September…

Next up: Anastasia Socks for the Summer of Socks knitalong.

The first sweater completed is the Elizabeth Zimmermann “February Baby Sweater” from her Knitter’s Almanac.

I borrowed this book from the Austin Public Library and boy has it been around the block a few times. It was stamped with due dates all up and down the inside cover - dating from the early ’70’s. A little mind blowing to be using a book that is older than me to make a sweater for an unborn baby.

I used Knit Pick’s Shine Sport in Hydrangea for this sweater. I ordered about 12 balls of this yarn back in October to make a sweater for myself, but I’ve come to the realization that it just wasn’t going to happen. And the cotton is so soft, sproingy, and shiny, I thought “why not” and used it for the February Baby Sweater. The yarn was a little splitty, but other than that, knitted up perfectly.

I used a modification I found on Austraila blogger Linda’s site - rather than the garter stitch yoke, I used her notes for a stockinette stitch, raglan yoke - which I much prefer (after having first tried out the garter stitch).

The second sweater, also in Knit Picks Shine Sport, is from Debbie Bliss’ Special Knits. Its the “Ribbon Edged Cardigan” minus the ribbon edging.

I omitted the ribbon edging because I couldn’t find any ribbon that I liked. I found one ribbon that would have been cute - a ruffled white ribbon, but thought it would be too itchy to put around baby’s neck. So, instead, I opted for really cute bunny buttons. Who doesn’t love bunny buttons?
The other modification I made on this pattern was to use short rows to shape the shoulders rather than the bind off method written in the pattern. I tried the bind off method first and just hated the way it looked when seamed together. So, I ripped it out and did the short rows instead with a three-needle bind off - much more clean looking. The super nice thing about baby clothes is how it doesn’t hurt too much to rip out since they are so tiny to start with.

Other knitting news - I’ve ripped out my “We Call Them Pirates Hat“. I had taken such a long break between the second and third pattern repeat that when I finally picked it back up again, my tension was off. The pirate skulls on the third repeat were almost a third larger than those of the bottom two. Knowing that I would never wear a hat that looked so crappy (and Gord would never wear a purple and green hat, even if it did have pirates on it), I ripped it all out and rewound the balls of yarn (yummy cashmerino). So, now they’re waiting for inspiration again.

This Friday Gord and I are making the drive to Austin, TX permanent-like. We decided in January that the place we best like in world to live (at least at this point in our lives) is Austin so why don’t we just move there.

Our sabbatical in Harveyville has been great. The original plan was to take a break from the daily grind for 3 months (Oct - Dec) and come January we’d look for a job and move to wherever that job was located. Well, finding a job when the address on your resume is a 100-person town in the middle of Kansas is a little tricky so we’re just gonna dive in with both feet and move to Austin, knowing that employment will come to us soon enough.

I would highly recommend the Harveyville sabbatical to anyone looking for a little me-time. The folks here are super nice and dinner is cooked for you. I am ready to rejoin the world though. Its been almost 5 months and I feel ready to get back to my regularly scheduled programming.

We’re in a mess of boxes right now. And I’ve been having my typical moving-stress-induced headaches for the past couple days, but in all, we’re in really good shape. Half of our stuff is still in boxes from when we moved to Harveyville from KC, including all the kitchen stuff which I find to be the most time consuming to pack. Pretty much all that’s left are clothes, tech equipment, and miscellaneous odds and ends. Its not too bad, but I am looking forward to the move being over.

I’ll post more once we arrive in ATX. Until then…

I’m working on three knitting projects right now.

The first is the Grannie Smith cardigan knit out of a purply-gray Kidsilk Haze. I’ve finished the back and am 1/3 done with the right front side. Here is a detail of the lace pattern:

The second project is for Gord. He asked for a fisherman-type sweater and picked one out of my Interweave Knits magazines - a cabley sweater with lots of twists and turns. I’m using a grayish tan wool. For some strange reason, when I ordered the yarn on the web I didn’t order enough to complete the sweater - I’ve never made that mistake before. When I caught my error, I ordered an additional skein and am hoping that its from the same batch so the colors match up. If not, I’ll just use it for the sleeves and hope that is a close enough match. Gord probably would not even notice. I’m about 1/3 done with the back of the sweater. Here is a photo of the swatch I knit to check my gauge. This swatch doesn’t show the full cable pattern - just the twisted stich patter on the sleeves and edges of the sweater.

Lastly, I’m working on a hat as part of the “We Call Them Pirates” knitalong. Nikol mentioned to me that she was starting this knitalong and I’ve seen Kelly Sue’s finished hat and thought it was super cool. I’m not sure who this hat will be for - I think it depends on what size head it fits. I thought about purchasing yarn specifically for this project, but remembered that one of my 2007 goals is to knit up 50% of my stash before buying new yarn. So I dug out some 50g balls of KFI Cashmerino that I had leftover from a fairisle vest I knit in 2004. I had only one light color so it was light green for the skulls. I had a choice between dark green or dark purple for the background and went for the purple after seeing a light green/purple WCTP hat on Flickr. Here is a detail shot of the skull:

Hope everyone is keeping warm in the cold weather!

“My 2007 Uberlist”

1. Professional - Find a job that I will really enjoy
2. Professional - Gather my references
3. Professional – Freelance
4. Professional - Attend an industry conference
5. Professional - Join a professional organization and practice networking
6. Professional - Build fischerwolf.com using CSS
7. Professional - Launch fischerwolf.com
8. Professional - Write my e-book on event marcom
9. Professional - Organize, re-build, and post marketing templates
10. Professional – Gather best practices in marketing metrics
11. Professional - Learn Illustrator
12. Professional - Learn Flash
13. Professional - Learn JavaScript
14. Professional - Build on existing PhotoShop & InDesign skills
15. Professional – Re-learn statistics
16. Professional - Dress for the job I want, not the job I have
17. Professional - Study for the GMAT
18. Professional - Take the GMAT
19. Professional - Read five books from the Personal MBA list
20. Professional - Spend less time doing research and more time actually doing
21. Personal - Be better at responding to phone calls and emails
22. Personal - Read GTD and implement it – at work and at home
23. Personal - Volunteer
24. Personal - Look forward to turning 30
25. Personal - Stop being afraid to start new things
26. Personal - Work on not comparing self to others
27. Personal - Confidential
28. Personal - Get a new haircut
29. Personal - Change name on last two remaining credit cards
30. Personal - Use my perfumes instead of just looking at them
31. Personal - Work on having a positive attitude when doing things I’d rather not be doing
32. Personal - Curtail the cursing, especially when driving and when playing Super Mario Brothers
33. Personal - Self-advocate
34. Personal - See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil
35. Health - Get back on a regular sleep schedule
36. Health - Learn relaxation techniques
37. Health – Start a weekly weight lifting routine
38. Health – Get back to running and enter a race
39. Health - Start yoga again
40. Health - Stretch every day
41. Health - Fix my bike or get a new one, then use it weekly
42. Health - Eat more fruits and vegetables
43. Health - Eat healthy treats instead of junk food
44. Health - Eat breakfast
45. Health - Stop eating when I’m full
46. Health - Drink more water
47. Health - Take my vitamins daily
48. Health - Use Listerine at least four times a week
49. Health - Use sunscreen all over, not just face
50. Hobbies - Knit for others more often
51. Hobbies - Knit a sweater for Gord
52. Hobbies - Write out patterns for sweater designs
53. Hobbies - Participate in a knitalong
54. Hobbies - Buy a yarn winder
55. Hobbies - Use up 50% of my yarn stash before buying new yarn
56. Hobbies - Learn to use the serger
57. Hobbies - Sew knitting needle case
58. Hobbies - Sew case for Nintendo DS
59. Hobbies - Blog more than once a week
60. Hobbies - Stop feeling guilty about not reading every blog post in my RSS feeder
61. Hobbies - Fix my photo page on Sleepy Lisa
62. Hobbies - Take more photos
63. Hobbies - Finish uploading old photos to Flickr
64. Hobbies - Scan and upload paper photos – using Dig My Pics?
65. Hobbies - Finally make iPhoto wedding album
66. Hobbies - Develop film in underwater camera
67. Hobbies - Learn screen-printing
68. Hobbies - Learn about real estate as currently have no clue
69. Domestic - Buy new underwear
70. Domestic - Mail Xmas cards on time
71. Domestic - Get car check up
72. Domestic - Get a new pair of glasses
73. Domestic - Wash the vacuum filter
74. Domestic - Keep accrued library fees under $5.00
75. Domestic - Keep desk organized
76. Domestic - Purge old clothes before buying new ones
77. Domestic - Dust twice a month
78. Domestic - Purge and organize toiletries
79. Domestic - Buy a king size bed
80. Domestic - Use, not lose, my store coupons
81. Domestic - Recycle
82. Domestic - Learn to make full Punjabi dinner
83. Domestic - Cook using my new cookbooks
84. Domestic - Sell/donate botched wedding dress
85. Domestic - Organize computer files
86. Domestic - Get a new computer
87. Domestic - Back up computer 2 times a month as 4-year-old computer might possibly die
88. Domestic - Make list of essential applications for future new computer
89. Domestic - Water the plant on a schedule not just when it starts to droop
90. Domestic - Create a master list of magazine subscriptions and record account info
91. Culture - Listen to the music on my iPod instead of just buying more and forgetting about it
92. Culture - Listen to the podcasts on my iPod instead of just downloading more and forgetting about them
93. Culture - Read my magazines instead of stockpiling
94. Culture - Read the books I own before buying new ones
95. Culture - Take a class on something I want to learn about
96. Culture - Indulge my wandering gypsy side
97. Culture - Visit the Kansas State Capital building
98. Culture - Visit the Brown v. Board of Education site
99. Culture - Visit NYC
100. Culture - Visit California
101. Culture - See the Grand Canyon
102. Culture - Tour a winery
103. Culture - Go on a camping trip
104. Culture - Renew my passport
105. Culture - Go roller-skating
106. Culture - Learn to solve a Rubik’s Cube
107. Culture - Beat Super Mario Brothers on Nintendo DS

We’re currently in Nottawa, ON staying with Gord’s parents. We opened our gifts on Christmas eve and today we spent in Orillia, ON visiting Gord’s grandmother and his Aunt Leigh and her family. Leigh has young kids who kept us entertained the whole afternoon.

Tomorrow, Gord’s Aunt Nela and her daughter and grandaughter come to visit in Nottawa. A few more days here and then we’re back to Toronto for a party with Gord’s college friends.

I brought my knitting with me but so far have not had the chance to knit anything. Oh well, if I hadn’t brought it, I would have wished I did.

The rain also prevents me and Gord from going on our walk. We walk the 2 miles loop around the town at least every other day. Technically, we can take today off since we walked yesterday, but I like to get out as much as possible.

I did drive to the post office today to buy stamps and drop of my Christmas Cards. I ordered them from Shutterfly in early December and they arrived yesterday. So, I cranked them all out and they are done. Hoorah! Of course, I left one behind, and the mailman had already been by, but fortunately Nikol had to run to the post office just now to drop off her stuff so she took my last little card with her.

Gord and I have had a nice mini-Christmas here in Harveyville. Um, rather, I mean we got to open up Christmas presents early since it seems silly to haul them up to Canada just to open them and then bring them back here again. We scored on our Amazon.com wish lists. Thanks Mom and Dad. And thanks Gord.

Here are some photos for fun.

The first is the water pump we pass on our walk. This water pump is the only thing left at the site of the original old Harveyville Grade School. The town tore it down and built the “new” one that is right next to the Highschool where Gord and I live. “New” is in quotes since its been closed for a few years and Ron & Nikol own it. Anyway, in the place of the old schoolhouse is a seed building and next to it is this old water pump. I think about Helen Keller everytime I walk by. “Water, Helen, W-A-T-E-R!”

And here is a photo of me and Gord after opening up Christmas presents. Gord is showing off his new CD compilation and I’m testing out my new tabletop tripod for my camera.

Hope everyone has a great holiday season!

Here is me outside the school - today was a super nice day outside:

Here is a closeup of the hood - re-blocking will take care of the little wiggle on the side:

And here is a closeup of the side and sleeve detail - so pretty:

Details:

Pattern: Rogue Hooded Pullover from www.girlfromauntie.com,
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed 100% Wool
Mods: extra cable repeat on side for added length, short-row shaping for extra bust ease, no kangaroo pocket
Finished: December 2006

I really enjoyed knitting this sweater. It took about 6 weeks to knit. I learned several new techniques and am less afraid of seaming now.

What’s next? Gord wants a cabled sweater of his own.

Just for fun, here is Sarken the snow leopard trying on the knits:

For the bonnet, I used a fantastic pattern by Adrian of Hello Yarn. I learned a new cast on technique - the figure 8 - which will come in handy in future projects I’m sure. I did not get even close to getting gauge with the yarn I used (Rowan Calmer) so I had to knit the adult hat in order to get it to fit an infant head!

I had leftover yarn and wanted to make some matching booties so I dug around my pattern books and found a fun one in “Morehouse Farm Merino Knits“. Very easy to make - garter stitch with some stockinette stitch short rows to make the bridge of the bootie. I made the laces out of leftover Koigu KPPPM - makes it more girlie looking for a little girl baby. I was going to cross stitch some hearts on the bonnet but after I did a few tests, I thought that the backside would be too scratchy on a babies head, so instead I opted for some cute little “barrettes” on the bonnet ears.

Overall, I believe it was a success. Here’s a photo of the happy parents-to-be opening their gift.

and here’s a photo of me & Gord and Sarah, a former co-worker of mine at Cerner.

I’m still plugging along on Rogue. I hope to be done in the next week. Photos to follow.