Monthly Archives: October 2007

The Gauge Gnomes

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No matter how long I’ve been knitting, I can’t always resist the temptation to play fast and loose with gauge swatches.

Needless to say, this isn’t always a good thing.

I discovered, upon further contemplation of the traveling sock, that it looked….well it looked a little large, honestly. So I measured.

Yeah.

I so don’t have 9″ ankles.

I spent the better part of my evening commute on Wednesday ripping out the sock and casting on again, this time with 48 stitches and a 2×2 cuff. I had somewhat of an epiphany regarding ribbing. While I understood intellectually that the number of total stitches played a role in the type of ribbing used, as well as how to divide up the rib between knit and purl, something about it clicked and it all started making perfect sense.

I love it when math does that.

Now, I could blame this error on my impatience, and the fact that I was measuring gauge in a hurry.

Or…I could blame gnomes.

Fritz With Sock

I caught this one at my desk the other day…sure, he looks all innocent, but I suspect gauge interference.

Happy Socktoberfest!

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Lest you think my recent bout of startitis is causing me to abandon my previous project, let me assure you I am still working on the sleeves for Tubey.

Tubey Sleeve 2

All 5’3″ inches of them. (Thank God I’m short, that’s all I’m saying.)

But, I hit a snag. While I love all my projects–Cherie Amour, Tubey, Sizzle, the long-abandoned Rogue–none of them are very portable.

Especially since I just bought a new purse as part of the slightly disturbing girlification that has occurred since I moved here.

Purse

It’s a very cute purse,but there’s not whole lot of room in there. What I needed was something small. Something portable. Something that didn’t require a lot of complicated measuring or counting or switching of yarns.

What I needed was a commuter sock.

Commuter Sock Cuff Purple

I cast on for this sock using Knitpicks Memories in Rocky Mountain Dusk (I think–it was stashed and they don’t seem to carry it any more). It’s a basic, plain sock that requires very little thinking on my part.

I used the Yarn Harlot‘s sock recipe from Knitting Rules as a guide and cast on 70 sts on US3s, and knit about an inch in 3×2 rib for the cuff, and now it’s just plain knitting for the leg. It couldn’t be simpler, which is just what I need on my commute.

Plus, it’s the perfect way to celebrate Socktoberfest!

Tubey Construction

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First of all, let me say, you never realize how long arms are until you knit Tubey. Intellectually, I may have recognized that wingspan is roughly equal to height, but it took being in the midst of 5’3″ of stockinette stitch to truly drive that point home for me.

I’m having a lot of fun with Tubey though–I really like the construction of the sweater. It’s so easy to get caught up in doing things the same way (Hmm, shall this sweater be a traditional bottom up sweater or a top down raglan?) all the time and never take a step back to look at things in a different way.

It’s very inspiring–I want to explore new ways of constructing things, seeing what I can come up with. Because if this rectangle:

Tubey back

Can turn into sleeves!

Tubey Sleeves1

Well, a sleeve at this point.

Tubey Sleeve

What else is possible if you try something new?

Slow Progress

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Tubey is still a small swatch of black stockinette. I was going to take a picture, but it’s not very interesting right now.

I think I’m going to sign up for Netflix again. I am woefully deficient in my movie knowledge, and that needs to change. Starting with Bladerunner.

Also, I need to get caught up for Battlestar Galactica. (Or so I’ve been told.)

Don’t ask me when I’m going to have time to do this. I don’t know.

This weekend? Is going to be all about catching up on TV shows and crafting.

I Think I Have Startitis

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Sizzle? Is still on the needles, just inches, mere inches, away from being bound off. Then all I have to do is finish it.

Cherie Amour? Again, inches away from finishing the body, then I will only have sleeves and finishing.

So what do I do?

I cast on for Tubey, of course!

See the thing is–lest you think I am just a fickle knitter–the thing is that Sizzle and Cherie Amour are not, at this point, public transit friendly. They require charts, measuring, counting repeats.

Tubey? Is 19″ of stockinette on size US8s. No danger of running out of project. No danger of needing to measure (for a while) or count or remember how many repeats I’ve done.

Besides, it’s a really cute sweater.

Quick Cherie Amour Post

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Last night I worked on Cherie Amour:

Cherie Amour Front

I was so distracted by Cold Case and the re-living of my high school years through the music in the episode (Semi-Sonic! Dishwalla! Goo Goo Dolls! Everclear!) that I completely spaced on the part where it said, continue in pattern until armhole measures 6″ so I’ll need to go back and do that on the left front.

Looking at the picture, it’s looking really small. I’m hoping the ribbing stretches…a lot. I think it will, though.

I also watched part of Jurassic Park last night. It was a very nostalgia filled night for me. Jurassic Park, I have to say, played a pretty defining role in who I am.

I was, surprisingly enough, an excessively girly child. I had long hair and wore dresses and was quiet and sweet and all of those things that girls are told to be. Everyone told me that I would hate this movie. It was too bloody and scary and gross. I wouldn’t make it through.

When I finally saw it? Best. Thing. EVAR.

It was fantastic. This was COOL. And there was Sattler, who was kick-ass and smart and a girl and who had great lines like “Dinosaurs…eat man, woman inherits the Earth.” And Malcolm, who I maybe had a little bit of a crush on, because did I mention I like geeky? I couldn’t have told you which one of those characters I was more in love with, but that movie was probably the start of my slide into becoming a massively geeky feminist.

Also? There were velociraptors. And who doesn’t love raptors?