More productive than I thought

If you'd asked me if I'd been a productive knitter so far this year, I would've said no.

And, as it turns out, I would have been wrong.

I've been busier than I realized, but the output has all been in the form of boring big-ass socks for Goldisox. Enough already with the socks. He only has two feet. How many socks does the man need? It's time for sweaters and scarves and -- okay, more socks. But this time for me.

Here's a sample of 2009 sockage. (I'll show you the rest tomorrow. I'm too lazy to go upstairs and poke around in search of the other renegades.) (Besides, you've seen one boring vanilla sock, you've seen them all, right?)


1. This is sock #1. Sock #2 is approaching heel flap status. It's Regia Crazy Colors Stretch. Size 2 (I think) Harmony circular. 64 stitches, K7 P1.

And I apologize for the crappy photo. You really shouldn't stuff your left hand into a sock then photograph it with your right.

Also I don't recommend standing in front of a screen door when you do so.




2. Two strands of Crazy Color non-stretch. Don't remember the needle size but I'd guess a US4. Definitely circular. Meant as cushiony boot socks.



3. I didn't realize how porny that poor sock looked until I saw it on screen. Good freakin' grief. There's a photography lesson to be learned there somewhere. It looks like a knit condom for Andre the Giant. Berroco Comfort Chunky, charcoal grey, US4 Options circular.



4. I've told you that this house takes hostages, haven't I? It will pluck certain objects at random, hide them somewhere within the structure, then just when you've finally given up on ever seeing said object again, it spits it out like an angry snake. No apologies. No explanations. Poof! It's gone. Poof! It's back again.

The pink Best Foot Forward reappeared about two weeks ago, to my relief and delight. I'm in the home stretch on sock #2 and loving every minute. It's Rowan Cash Soft in a lovely dusty pink on US4 Options circ.



This time the camera pointed out a wee gap at the gusset that I swear is invisible to the naked eye.

More plain old vanilla socks tomorrow. Bet you can't wait . . .

I Missed You!

I really did. I missed all of you so much. I've written at least ten witty and entertaining blog posts in my head the last two weeks but so far not a single one of them has made it to my keyboard. Which led me to the realization that I don't need to be witty or entertaining right now. I just need to be here with all of you and tell you that 1) I'm still alive and 2) I finished my book and 3) I've been knitting socks.

And let's face it, the socks are what's important. Nothing fancy. Just plain old vanilla heel-flap/gusset/Magic Loop cuff-down socks in Berroco Comfort and Lion Brand Wool-Ease and some unidentifiable brightly-colored sock yarn that I'd cleverly wound into two matching balls then tossed away the ball band. Clearly I like to live dangerously.

I promise lots of stuff tomorrow night or Thursday. I have to tell you about the cold that became the flu, New Year's Eve in the emergency room, the Book that Wouldn't Die, and knitting plans for 2009 and beyond.

But mostly I wanted to say hi and to let you know that I'm giving away a baker's dozen books (all mine so if you were looking for Stephen King or Harlan Coben I apologize) over at Yankee Romance Reviewers. The info is in my guest blog (which is about The Call) (you know The Call: the "I want to buy your book" call) which you can find right here.

I'm so glad to be back among the knitting again!

A big fat box of WHITE

I blame Willa. Willa is my friend and my web designer and one of the first on-line journalers. I've been following her life for maybe twelve years now and its entirely her fault that I followed her right back into knitting.

It was the Chinchilla scarf that did it. I read the instructions. They seemed easy enough, even for someone who hadn't touched a pair of needles since 1986. I read about Berroco Chinchilla yarn. I bought some on eBay. I dug out a pair of aluminum straights.

And then I cast on and the rest is (sadly for my bank account) history.

Oh the wonders of a Chinchilla scarf! The soft splendor of it! The miracle of fluffy goodness that hides a multitude of sins. And when you strand it with sequins -- oo la la!

Do I really have to tell you that I bought a whole mess of Chinchilla? Do I really have to tell you that I knitted so many Chinchilla scarves that PETA investigated my output just to be sure I was endangering only Acrylics?

And are you the least bit surprised that I found a motherlode tucked away in my office closet behind the college-ruled spiral notebooks and the boxes of Paper Direct goodies I haven't touched since the early 90s?

Of course you're not surprised. You know me too well for that. So how about helping a struggling knitter make room for some new goodies and casting in your lot for a box of fluffy WHITE? Send me an email here with WHITE in the subject header and sometime tomorrow I'll announce a winner. (It's not as snaggled as it looks in the photo. It's still neatly tied together in a hank but a tad rumpled.)

You too could be the proud knitter of 587 fluffy sequinned scarves!

(If you have a moment, check out Willa's terrific jewelry on Etsy. Her storefront is called Intentional Charms--a great place to do some holiday shopping.)

In Progress: a knitter's report

Remember The "Famous" Fiesta La Boheme shawl I made last year? Remember how I swore I would never, not in a million years, knit with La Boheme no matter how beautiful it was? Remember how the mohair strand kept getting away from the sparkly strand and made me crazy?

I lied. I fell in love with a dark green and purple shade that would be perfect for my friend B. S. for Chrismas and I cast on. I'm already regretting it but oh is it gorgeous in person.

Plain old garter stitch and lots of fringe. Sometimes that's all you need.


That bunch of pink spaghetti is my third Vintage Velvet in progress. It looks loopy, wormy, and formless but just wait until it gets run through the washer and dryer. If you've ever doubted that knitting is a magical experience, this will put those doubts to rest permanently.

And this is a completed (except for the felting part) Vintage Velvet. I can't wait to see how it looks post its run in the washer and dryer. Both scarves are Muench Touch Me. I wish you could see the big fat juicy reversible cable running up the middle.

This is Wavy from Knitty. I'm about 1/3 of the way finished. Noro Silk Garden #8, Addi Turbo Lace US4.

I had quite a bit of white Berroco Comfort left over from the Baby Surprise Jacket and decided to make a pair of plain vanilla (in every sense) socks for Goldisox. Knit Picks Options US3. I'm working both socks simultaneously but photographed one.

So what's on your needles?

Baby Surprise Jacket #2 - almost done!

bsj2-prefinished, originally uploaded by wickedsplitty5.

The photo is ten minutes old. (I'm reasonably sure my neighbors think I'm crazy. "Who is this woman who hangs knitting from trees?")

The knitting part of the project is completed. I wove in my ends. Now all I have to do is seam it and button it and light a candle to the genius that is Elizabeth Zimmermann.

My husband is an engineer. He has an analytical mind. I tossed him the completed BSJ and said, "Turn this into a sweater."

I think I heard his brain cry.