Of felting and other monsters

I finally finished the Noro bag. Yes, I went and bought a whole additional skein to do four rows, but glad I did it, because I got to the end of the bag, cast off, and noticed that the handles were off center!!! I don't know how it happened, I don't know how I didn't notice it before, I don't know why I didn't check it before I bound off! So, I tried to unwind it, but it, well,.....it tangled (what is it with me and tangles lately!). You can see the resulting Noro monster in the photo below. My daughter enjoyed it (tangled noro makes quite a monster whig!). But I did finish, and then I felted and felted and felted some more, until I finally got the pretty cool looking bag being modeled by both daughters. It took 3 days to dry, but I like how it came out! Then, I happened to be listening to Lime & Violet, and heard a tip about using dish soap and putting a pair of flip flops in the washer with a front loader to help the agitation.
So I knitted up this really pretty new craftstore yarn: Patons Soy Wool Stripes, and the clutch pattern from One Skein. It felted really well and really fast (well, it was fast except for the extra trip I had to make to the craft store to get, yes, you guessed it, another skein of the yarn to finish the bag). The pattern calls for buttons to be sewn on; I'm still deciding about that. I have some cool things on the needles, including the toe of my formerly tangled sock (almost done!), a Baby Kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting (no, I am not having a baby....) and a scarf for a friend out of the prettiest wool ribbon yarn I found on that last LYS trip. It's called Tagliatelli, and it is gorgeous! But my hands are itching to start more socks. More socks. More socks!

Oh the agony....

I ran out of yarn. I am an inch or two from finishing the bag and I ran out of yarn (if I keep repeating that over and over I think perhaps I will believe it). Now you may be asking, how did you not notice you were getting near the end? I can only answer this by saying that I am great at denial--I kept looking at the rapidly diminishing second ball of noro and thinking, "I'm sure I only used two balls or noro last time I knitted this pattern, surely I am going to make it." Well, surely, I am not going to. So I am not felting tonight, (nor am I sleeping of course...) I am trying to figure out how I can sneak out of a lunch time meeting tomorrow to run to the LYS that I don't particularly like (but it's within sneaking distance of my office) and get one more ball of noro. Oh boy. On another note that certainly deserves to be its very own post, I spent four hours in the car today and listened to 4 side-splitting hours of the Lime & Violet podcast. Do give it a listen; but not necessarily while driving, lest you be pulled over by a kindly police officer who just doesn't understand that you're fully capable of driving even though you can't stop laughing! And oh yes, Lime & Violet talked me into a knit-a- long, too. I'm so impressionable! But I am still out of yarn...sniff.

The unwind...

Thanks to all for the helpful comments on how to wind my newest ball of hip hop to avoid another tangled disaster--it worked, yeah!!! I am happily knitting away on sock number two and am on the heel flap (in the end, it's the small things that matter, right--where did I find such thrills in my life before I took up obsessive knitting?) In the meantime, my bag that will be felted is progressing--amazing how used I am to very tiny needles--this bag is just flying by! I should finish it in carpool line, and then it's on to felting, which is not my gift, nor my washer's gift (I have a front loader and it's hard to get that agitation). But this is a big weekend, so I am determined to get it done (hope I'm not up all ALL night tomorrow opening and closing my washer) :) If anyone has any insight on felting in a front loader, feel free to share (yes, I do need some sleep)!

Good, and Plenty done....

Here are the finished "Good and Plenty" socks (I know you've been waiting with bated breath after that last post!). I just had to get a box of Good & Plenty for the photo after Twig's suggestion (though I do admit to a definite fondness for this candy, well, pretty much any candy on some days). And thanks again to Yarnbeans for the contest that got me this cool yarn in the first place! These were a lot of fun to knit; Broadripple is one of the best combinations of looks complicated and easy to memorize I know. The "extra skein" of hip hop arrived last week from the very friendly "Yarn and Thread by Lisa". Now I am ready to go back to work on the tangled web socks in progress. But here's the riddle: since I had so much trouble when I pulled from the center of that skein, if I pull from the outside and wind it back into a center pull ball, can I knit from the outside and have the pattern repeats in the right order???? This is too much logic for me at this point (I am babysitting three of my sister's children right now, so I am blaming that for my inability to figure this out.) Any input very much appreciated!

Homeward bound

Okay, I have no pictures yet, but I just had to post this. While at my very crowded conference, I wound up seated (well squeezed) on a back bench in the meeting room. The man next to me was an old friend, so I decided I could take out my sock and start knitting. I was happily knitting away (and of course paying attention to the speaker), when I noticed my benchmate squiriming a little. Finally, he leaned over and whispered in my ear "Is that a knitting needle brushing my leg, or are you just glad to see me?" Lesson: socks in very tight quarters are best knitted on dpns, which makes for no needles hanging down to "caress" the leg of the man sitting next to you. Good thing he was an old buddy! Hee Hee! Enough said! Good and Plenty sock pictures tomorrow!

On the road again....

Have I mentioned before that I really dislike business travel....but off I go, for just a few days, into the wild, blue yonder (wild and blue enough, anyway, that I will probably NOT be able to blog, boo hoo). The crucible for me is whether or not I will be able to knit with all the men at this conference ogling me (well, ogling my hands if they [my hands that is] do anything but look like they are diligently taking notes!). We'll see, wish me luck. I hope to bring back a pair of finished "Good and Plenty" socks--(a big thanks to Twig for the name suggestion). Ciao.

Oh what a tangled web....

It is someting about me and ball winders.....and in this case, something about the stickiness of this Kroy Sock, which once tangled will never, I mean, never, ever, let go. This is the mate for the lonesome sock of my recent post--and it will be awhile before it is warming a foot. I wound up with such a tangled mess with this I had to cut the yarn to try to work it out, and I fear it is hopeless. I managed to find a matching yarn and dyelot on ebay and have ordered another ball, because when I finished the first sock, I had about 25 inches of yarn left--so there's no way I will get all the way to the toe on this one once I get this tangled mess cut out. Sheesh. I know, I must wind too fast. I try, I really do, try, to slow down and to keep it loose, and yes, I use a swift, but boy, what a mess. But on a sunnier note, I did finish, largely without incident, one of my Broadripple socks. The yarn is very soft and nice, and the colors knit up beautifully in the broadripple pattern. I have the second one cast on, and since this is both sport weight yarn and for a small footed friend, it should go quickly. I love this pattern. It looks so cool, and it really is simple enough to memorize (if I can memorize it, anybody can! I travel this week for a few days for work (car trip, alas), and should be able to get some knitting in. Now I just have to plan what to pack!

Dog days

Happy Labor Day weekend, all. It has been a busy one around our house. I started another pirate sock and had to frog it, knit away on my self-striping thuja, and started a pair based on the Broadripple pattern from Knitty with the cool pink and black yarn I won from Yarnbeans. I have no pictures, because, basically, well, I've been busy taking pictures of our new dog. Yes, we already have a dog, no we had not actually planned on another one, but had been thinking about it, and when we went to Pet Smart on Sunday for supplies, their weekly "Rescue Fair" was there. The rest is history, but we are happy, and so is Honey, our new dog (the little one in this picture) and Laika, our "old" dog (too shy for this picture) and especially our younger daughter, who is thrilled, of course. Our cat, well, we're working on that one! All is mostly well so far, and blessedly, Honey the new dog is as uninterested in messing with my yarn as Laika the old dog! Pictures of knitting soon, promise!