Sleepy day...

The cold has finally hit here. My body is rebelling and telling me all it wants to do is cuddle up with something warm and sleep. I think I was already yawning my day away before I even woke this morning.

I finished up a pair of socks yesterday. They are washed and drying now. It's official....I love Malabrigo sock yarn (super soft merino wool). I swear it knits itself. It flows so smoothly off the needles that I just flew through that pair of socks.

I'm already 3" into my next sock. Red lace this time. I have a feeling I will need to start yet another pair too. I like this pattern. Technically it isn't difficult but I have to pay attention. History has shown that spells disaster for me and knitting. I've already had 3 near misses that I have thankfully managed to fix (I hope so anyway). So it is most likely best to have a pair of mindless socks on the needles too.

Back to work for me. I have a list a month long to complete today.

Woohoo!

12 more rounds and another pair of socks will be complete! I couldn't even make myself spin because these were just too close to finishing. That is saying a lot because I have been wanting to spin for 4 days now! Okay, so part of it might be that I need to ply. I'm not as crazy about plying as I am in spinning singles. It was a wee bit easier than it should have been to talk myself out of spinning.

Silly me

Remember the other day I was wanting/needing red sock yarn? Guess what I found!?! I keep a small travel bag packed for spur of the moment, might-be-gone-overnight, day trips. Pulled it out this morning, to change some things out, and there was red yarn! I would have swore I had a self-striping yarn in there for mindless knitting.

I'm delighted. I already have the sock pattern picked out. I was just holding off casting on because I needed to talk myself into dark purple socks. Not that purple isn't a great color because it is! I just wanted a brighter or lighter color so the lace would better show for this particular pattern.

I'm in the middle of a second sock now so will most likely convince myself to hold off casting on the new pair for a few more days.....maybe.

Temptation...

Why am I looking at sock yarn? Craziness. I have enough yarn for at least 10-12 pair, most likely more since I have to consider leftovers. I've yet to make a pair of socks, in fingering weight, that weighed in over 65g. I'm short with the accompanying short legs and small feet. Usually they are even less than 60g so I easily get 1.5 pair out of a 100g skein, often 2 full pair because I like anklets. For the leftover amounts, I just do a different color toe, heel and, if needed, cuff. All this counting isn't even including all the sports weight or worsted weight socks I could make. Technically the heavier weights weren't purchased for socks but since that seems to be all I am willing to knit in the past year, I started throwing them in the potential sock pile.

Yet here I am early in the morning catching myself looking at various websites checking out colors. Apparently my brain is telling me I need red or maybe a semi-solid rich pink (not pastel, not too light, and not really dark. harder to find than I imagined). There is absolutely nothing wrong with the sock yarn I have here. I even like 95% of it and can't wait to knit with it. The other 5% is the yarn I call icky yarn...knits or wears poorly.

I haven't bought any knitting yarn since April 1, before that I think it was the previous October. I did buy other yarn, for weaving, back in the summer. I don't need lots of yarn but I seem to need a variety of color on hand. I like to shop the yarn bag when I am ready to cast on and if I have my heart set on red that morning and there is no red? Somewhat disappointing. It doesn't seem to matter that I love purple and have 4 very lovely purples to choose from...there just isn't any red!

Ah well.....I am sure I will cave eventually but for now I'll just haunt the websites making a dreamy wish list.

Ahhhhh.....Spinning

Such a lovely way to start a morning. I'm working on this small bump.



I finished the first bobbin off this morning and got a good start on the second. It is, a very lovely and soft, merino wool I dyed. I definitely need to spend more time at the wheel. My consistency is, sadly, impacted by the long breaks. No matter though, I thoroughly enjoy my time spinning.

Interesting lessons

The smaller needle, the faster I knit, by a lot. The smaller the needle, the more 'average' I knit. I'm working with 2mm needles currently and it feels like the fabric is just flying off the needles. With a rough timing, I am literally knitting 20% faster, just moving from 2.5mm needles to 2mm.  I'm a tight knitter. I'm very used to going up several needle sizes to get even close to gauge. What I am discovering though, is the smaller I go with needle size, the more average my gauge becomes. Maybe even (shock!) loose.

 

What does this all mean? Not much. Just a curiosity in my wandering thoughts today.

 

Teeny-tiny...

Needles. Funny how if you had asked me 3 or even 4 years ago...will I ever knit on Size 0 (2mm) needles?...I would have laughed and said... not by choice.

They are crazy small. I've used them a time or two for turning a heel, back in my early days of knitting socks, but only because I purl crazy loose. I changed the type heel I prefer (fleegle) and my purling style(Norwegian) so having to use a 2mm needle hasn't come up in a few years now.

Either my knitting is loosening up a lot the past few months or the yarns I am choosing are getting smaller and smaller because the last socks I made with fingering yarn I needed 2.25mm (size 1) to barely get 8spi.

Now I have cast on with 2.25mm and this oh so lovely Malabrigo yarn. It is obviously very thin but I am only getting 7.75spi on the toe. My experience has taught me I will drop 0.75-1spi in the foot. So now here I am knitting with teeny tiny 2mm needles AND enjoying it. Funnier, is my mind is wandering, as I knit, wondering do they make nice circulars in size 00?

5 minutes again...

Why always 5 more minutes? That's all I ever need to finish a sock before I have to stop for the day. Never fails.......5 minutes. Now it is going to bug me until I can find 5 uninterrupted minutes today because I am NOT waiting until tomorrow to call this sock done!

Now the horror......when I finish this sock I will have nothing on the needles! Shhh....I remain in denial over the hate (hat, that I can not ever, type as h-a-t without adding an e then having to correct it). I caked some yarn a few days ago so I will be correcting that within 24 hours! Can't wait to try out the yarn, it is a new one for me, though it has been sitting in my stash since last year sometime.

Cookies, Wonderful Cookies!

Shall we dream of cookies?  I've got cookie dough....lots and lots of beautiful cookie dough. Oatmeal pecan, of course (3 batches), and a batch of sugar cookies (new recipe yet again. Still on the hunt for the 'perfect' cookie).

Of course, none have been baked and there is no telling when that will happen. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next month. Just never know. In the meantime, I will dream of warm from the oven, melt in your mouth, cookies.

I very seldom purchase store bought cookies so I mix up a lot of cookie dough and freeze it. Sometimes I will bake part of the dough and freeze the cookies. Other times I just keep the dough then when we need/want cookies we can have them fresh from the oven. Nothing beats spur-of-the-moment homemade cookies!

Happy Morning....

I actually spun this morning! It was such a joy. It has been a couple months since I have been able to set some time aside for spinning. I am going to try to get back in the habit of at least one morning a week. We'll see though. I'm still obsessed with socks so hate giving up my knitting time. I had a small mental tussle with myself this morning...spin or knit? Spinning finally won but it was terribly close.

Cravings...

Winter approaches and I start getting knitting cravings. Socks.....always. A gal can't have enough pretty socks. It's the shawl cravings that amuse me though. I make them, I love them, I don't wear them. It always seems to be either too hot or too cold for one. I seem  unwilling to devote time into a huge, wrap-yourself-up in cozy warmth shawl (would cut into my sock time, don't you know). Yet this time of year I start looking for the next shawl. I've said several times that I am not making any more shawls this year. I'm slipping.

Some of my new finds....

so tempting
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/seaside-shawlette-2 

~~

just so pretty

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/zenaura
~~
love the red one
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fleurdelise-one-skein-triangle-shawl
~~
I'll take two please
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/catkin
~~
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/amberwell-shawll
love the edge
~~
simple yet elegant
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/atalanta-sideways

Happy

Happy, happy me. I finished a pair of socks(Wollmeise yarn) this morning. Perfect fit. They are washed and now drying.

My colorwork socks are getting close to finished now too. I'm almost finished turning the heel on the second sock. 

It is time to start picking out my next socks. I've already wound a skein of Malabrigo sock yarn for my mindless knitting socks. I know I am going to do at least the foot in plain vanilla but am considering doing some kind of design up the leg, rather than anklets this time. As to socks with a bit more interest to them, I'm still undecided. I would like to do more full colorwork but think that would be better left until after the holidays.

Too hard for me apparently

Just how hard should it be to keep up with one measly stack of papers? I keep my WIP* notes on a 5" x 5" piece of paper. Since i have several, I have them stacked and clothes-pinned (it was handy) on my desk. I cannot tell you how many times I have lost them in the past month. I just spent several minutes once again hunting for them.

I give up. I just added a notebook to the shopping list. Hopefully I can find a small one that will fit in my project bag yet be noticeable enough that I can keep up with it.

Thing is I don't lose stuff. I know where my glasses are at all times, I haven't lost/misplaced keys in well over 20 years ((knock on wood!!) still say I wasn't the one to lose them then)). These pieces of paper? It's like they run away as soon as I turn my back.

Now after that grumble, I am off to chore shop. Disappointing because I would prefer to knit but we need fresh food. I have high hopes of Chinese food for lunch, too. It's been way too long, for my liking.

*Work-in-progress

It's Tuesday again

I realized it was Tuesday an hour ago. I also realized my goal of posting at least every Tuesday was in serious danger. I scrambled to the computer and.....I've got nothing.

Everything is in process. No pictures either. So you get my ramblings today.

I cooked supper last night. Smelled great right up until I burnt it all up. I know better than to leave hearing range of the kitchen when cooking, I forget all about it. At least it was a fast and simple supper. Current favorite fast meal is marinate some meat(chicken or center cut pork tenderloin around here) in balsamic vinegar, chopped/sliced onion, bit of brown sugar, chopped garlic if any available. Toss meat and onions in a hot iron skillet to brown on both sides then into the oven to finish. Reduce the remaining marinade on the stove to a syrup. Fix some fast sides (roasted broccoli and potato last night because they could hit the oven too) and you've got a fast but tasty supper. Make enough meat for leftovers, it makes lovely cold sandwiches for lunch/supper the following day.....if you aren't me and burn it all up!

If you have one in the family that doesn't like vinegar, only marinate an hour or less, and add some extra sugar to the marinade to tone down the twang. I don't like vinegar but I am loving this marinade.


What's on the needles:
I am still working on my stranded socks. I'm into the gusset area of the second sock so it is progressing nicely. I can only work on it in the quiet mornings when I am the only one up because of distractions. I'm estimating at least another 2-4 weeks to finish as I seem to max out at 5 rows a session, usually less. Yesterday I didn't get to even touch it and today I overslept so didn't bother with it.

My other pair of socks from the lovely Wollemeise yarn are almost done. I've turned the heel on the second sock and only a couple-three more rows before I am off to the cuff. They are just anklets so the finish is approaching quickly. When I get to this point, I start getting anxious to have a finished pair of socks. This means I will be trying to get those needles in my hands every spare second. Winter is coming too quick, I need more socks!

On the hook:
Fingerless mittens. Somehow I ended up with yarn and hook in hand the other day. More on these another day. It's time for me to officially get this day started. I've been up for at least 5 hours, still haven't eaten, so that is my next goal.