Swatchless

First of all, I’d like to thank all of my guest blogging friends who have shared their knitting adventures over the past month while I was out having some adventures of my own.  This past month has been a whirlwind of road trip and camping adventures with my friend Evan.  For the full story check here.

Of course, I brought along a knitting project with me–a sock!

Pattern: My recipe for Basic Toe Up Socks (Ravelink)

Yarn: Regia self striping sock yarn of some variety

The first sock was knit while relaxing on the Nile, and chilling out in the desert with the nomads last summer.  I started this sock when I was staying at my cousin’s house in Connecticut on my first evening on the road.  We watched a movie, and I knit, trying to stay awake and figure out “who done it” before the film ended, or I fell asleep.  I had never driven more than 3 hours in a day before, to either Toronto or Montreal.  This day marked many firsts: first time to drive across the border, first time to drive almost 7 hours in a day, first time to meet my cousin’s baby girl who is now 17 months old.

The next day I continued on my journey, visiting Yale campus…

…and skirting the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island so I could see the ocean before heading to Providence to meet my friend.

sunset at Watch Hill Rhode Island

We camped in Myles Standish state park, and then visited a near by cranberry bog to see the crop as it grew, then we followed some signs to find the Ocean Spray cranberry processing plant.

Ocean Spray, Carver MA.

The next stop was Cape Cod, where we visited some gorgeous beaches, played in the freezing cold surf, and went whale watching!  We saw so many humpback whales, but either because they moved so fast, or I was too excited, or the boat was lurching too much on the swells, I ended up with very few good pictures of whales.  It was such a spectacular day, even the naturalists on board were excited by what we saw.  This whale was much more cooperative, posing for a picture with my sock.  I had to wait a while for all the passing kids to get off of it.  For some reason everyone wants to ride whales (even Evan).

Dolphin Fleet Whale Watching, Provincetown MA

After our stay on the cape, we explored Boston museums and aquariums, then went to Six Flags New England, all of those places were far too exciting for knitting.  Things calmed down a bit when we returned to Providence to get Evan all settled in his residence room and get things like student cards and meal plans figured out.

Brown University, Providence RI

At the end of my journey, just as I was preparing to leave, Evan’s panda was willing to pose with my vacation socks.  The completed one was the 2009 version, and the one that is almost done is the 2010 version.  They match, up to a point.  For some reason, there was a knot in the ball of wool for the 2010 sock, so the stripes suddenly reverse their orientation.  Now I will know which sock is which!

Evan's Room, Providence RI

I have not yet finished this summer’s sock.  I think it is because I am not willing to admit that my vacation is over.   I’m going to wait until the last possible moment before I finish those final rows of ribbing, cast off and weave in all the ends.  There’s something symbolic about finishing this project for me, something that signifies the end of summer, the end of my adventures, and the beginning of a more structured and stressful routine for the next 10 months.  I need to take time to make this transition.

Here’s the question you have been asked each September of your youth…What did you do on your summer vacation?

I’m headed off on Saturday for a little bit of a vacation on the east coast of the USA.  A friend and I are roadtripping and camping through Massachusetts, and spending some time on Cape Cod.  Relaxation on the beach, seeing the sights, whale watching, museum hopping–all sounds good to me!

image source visitrhodeisland.com

I’ve packed up all the necessary camping gear, and all that remains is to pack up my knitting.  My plan is to work away on sock #2 of the pair that I started last summer on my vacation in Egypt and Jordan (vacation pics here!).  Socks are a project that you can always keep with you for ferry/train rides, and these particular socks are very plain, so I’m sure I could knit them in the dark around the campfire too!  My travel companion has mentioned that he wants to try knitting….so who knows, maybe he’ll do a row or two as well.

One of the neat gadgets I picked up this year from Knitpicks.com was a set of sock needle protectors.

image source: knitpicks.com

They are two cardboard tubes blocked off on one end, open at the other, with a slot cut in them large enough to hold socks/mittens in progress.

Hopefully this will save me from impaling my fingers, poking a hole in my bag, losing needles, or accidentally dropping a needle’s worth of stitches and having them unravel in my bag all day long.

I have several friends that have scars to prove the power of an accidental sock needle impaling.  I don’t need to tempt fate!

Tonight, I cast on, and we’ll see how things go.  I will do my best to blog from the road if I can find the internet.

I’m having fun searching for inspiration on Ravelry now…but when the new search features kick in, I’m ready to have my socks knocked off!

I usually get excited about fiddly colour work or interesting lace patterns, but today I was looking for something extra creative and colourful.  Here are some of the fabulous socks I’ve found in my search today.  May you be equally inspired!

1.  These socks are remarkable.  I’m not sure how people come up with this kind of completely different idea.  The pattern is called Hexagons and it is by Kirsten Hall (blog).  I’m thinking of having a look at the book Think Outside the Sox (the source of this and many other inspirational sock designs).

Image source: Ravelry Pattern: Hexagons by Kirsten Hall

2. These socks inspire me because they are so cute, and the idea could be transformed to many other different kinds of animals.  The yarn she used is Opal in the colourway Tiger.  The pattern isn’t available yet, but there are notes so you could do it yourself….I think I might have to try it sometime!  Thanks so much to Marlene (blog) for her creativity and inspiration.

Image Source: Ravelry Pattern: Wovenflame's Tiger Toes Socks

3. These are a pair of knee socks (pattern) knit by someone who doesn’t usually make or wear socks.  Kelly (blog) sure did a lot of knitting!!  I am impressed by how they match, and that she dyed some of the yarn herself.  Really cool project.  They’d brighten up my day for sure.  I’d wear them with my rubber boots!

Image Source: Ravelry Pattern: Knee Socks by Diana Parrington

4.  The next pair of socks are totally different from anything I’ve seen before, or even imagined.  They are knit first, and painted later!  What’s cooler is that they look just like bananas–Who would have thought of that?!  Brigitte from Germany (blog–in German)–Here are the pattern notes for these socks.

Image Source: Ravelry

5.  Another great pattern from Think Outside the Sox, is the Lonely Socks Club:Entrelac Sock by Natalia Vasilieva.  Kirsten (blog) knit these lovely socks.  I’ve never tried the Entrelac knitting technique, but I really like how it looks.  These socks are unique because the entrelac part goes all over the heel and toe too!  Pretty amazing design work.

Image Source: Ravelry

What patterns inspire you?

Goal setting is a difficult art.  Setting a challenging, yet attainable goal is something I struggle with, particularly with my knitting.  The nice thing is that I know that if I don’t meet my knitting deadlines the world isn’t going to end, yet I continue to make lofty goals to challenge myself.

photo souce: Julie P. Miller's Flickr

My self induced challenge this month was to knit a pair of eclipse socks for the movie release June 30th.  Yes, I’m a grown up that lined up to see Eclipse….yes, I’m a grown up that went to a pre-party to watch New Moon again before Eclipse…..We did this before the New Moon movie, and I’m sure that we’ll be doing the same for the next in the series!

The past few days had been far busier, and I was far more tired than planned, and my poor little Eclipse sock was not much more than a toe on the morning of June 30th. It had been carried around in my bag most of the week.  Every time I reached in to grab my keys, or wallet I got jabbed by those double pointed needles.  (I am sporting a bandaid now from a key finding mission).  It was a constant reminder of how I should really take a minute to knit a bit and breathe a bit.

Finally at 4:00PM I had my chance.  I sat in a friend’s blacked out living room, and knit, watched New Moon being projected on the big screen while we all munched on delicious snacks, and had moments to breathe, and be silly.

I knit through the car ride to the theatre (I wasn’t driving).  I knit in line, and was glad that we were inside this time!  Arriving 1.5 hours early to the movie has its perks.  I knit in the theatre waiting for the big show.  I even turned a heel during the movie!  It’s not a perfect heel, but that’s proof that it was done in the dark. I knit at a coffee shop after the movie, and when we got kicked out–they were closing, we weren’t rowdy–I knit at a friend’s house.

Such dedicated crazy knitting allowed me to complete an entire sock by midnight on June 30th.  I’m halfway there!

What are you doing between now and the 30th?  I’m not sure I have time to read the book AND knit these cool socks, but I’m looking forward to a night out to see the movie with some friends.  I’ll check the stash, and see if I have enough to knit up a pair.  It’s June, it’s rainy, my brain is tired, and I’m ready to knit something fairly simple.  Maybe I can get it done in time.

photo souce: Julie P. Miller's Flickr

Check out the pattern here [Ravelry].  It is a free download!

If you are looking for a smaller project to complete between now and the movie opener, check out these ipod/mp3 player socks.  These are also a free [Ravelry] download.

Image source Nancy Fry's Ravelry

For a blast from the past…check out these Twilight Cover Socks/mittens/gauntlets.  They are also a free [Ravelry] download.

Image Source: Chelsea21 (a buddy of mine)

A great stash-buster, and quick project for all your vampire obsessed friends….A coffee sleeve (or wrist band) with “Be Safe” on it.  It is available for free here.  [Ravelry]

Image Source: MyFairKatie's Flickr

Image Source: MyFairKatie's Flickr

The wonderful thing about long weekends is how long they are, and how wonderful they are when the weather is warm, and there’s a relaxing place to be.  My family gathered at our cottage to swim and enjoy nature, good food and great company.  I had a chance to wander along the lane to see what’s growing.

Even dandelions look more spectacular on a long weekend in the sunshine.

My socks are steadily growing, and I took time between flower picking and going for a very chilly swim to knit lots more.

These socks are my new favourites.  I like how they match.  I like how the stripes are not all the same size.  I like how the wool was dyed with natural things.  I like how nobody else in the world will ever have socks that are just like this.  I like how I finished them and had only one meter of wool left over.  I like how they fit me perfectly, how they stay up thanks to the calf shaping (I increased 2 stitches at the back of the sock every 6 rows until the ribbing).  I like how this picture makes me look like the wicked witch of the west–I feel like there should be a house dropped on me!

I like how as soon as I sat down on the lawn to photograph the finished version, I found several four-leaf clovers.

Is there a rule about wearing wool socks after Victoria day?  If there is, I think I might have to break it.

Today was a long and wonderful day.  It started off bright and early with a bus ride to Montreal (very productive for knitting!), an adventure through the Biodome where we explored several different artificial biomes.

There were monkeys and macaws and otters and lots of fish and frogs and starfish…

…and penguins…

…and puffins…

…and so much more that were hiding–I never did see the 3 sloths that were apparently up in the vegetation.

In the gift shop I found lots of cute things, including these knitted beauties!  Can you imagine that there are people in Kenya knitting life size penguins?

It seems a bit strange to me, but I was impressed by the “made from scratch” aspect–hand spun, hand dyed, hand knit…right up my alley!

After the biodome and a quick lunch downtown we headed to the Cirque Du Soleil tent at the old port.  I had walked past this site once before, never thinking that I’d have the chance to see a show.  I’m so glad that I took the opportunity to go today!

I am not able to sum up in words what I saw–and photography wasn’t allowed.  There were  feats of strength and balance, daring acts on a trapeze, incredible synchronized performances of unicyclists who kicked metal bowls onto their heads and the heads of other unicyclists–you have to see it to believe it.  There was a hoop dancer, and a rollerskating duo, and a couple of clowns who made several appearances and were very funny!  There were people in monkey suits that you’d swear were ACTUALLY monkeys, and guys doing trampoline stunts on a flexible balance beam.

The costumes, were elaborate and beautiful.  The music was rhythmic and blended so well with the action–at one point scientists in lab coats were playing percussion on giant test tubes, and playing small test tubes like panpipes.

I strongly recommend going to see a show if you ever have the opportunity.

Of course, I took the opportunity to finish my my sock during intermission.  I will always remember that this was my Cirque Du Soleil sock.

People laughed a lot when I was taking these pictures–most of my family and friends know that I knit a lot, and take pictures and post them up here, but to strangers in Montreal I must have been quite a sight.  Some stopped to talk to me, but others giggled and walked right on by.

Trying on my finished sock!  Very excited that it fits and it stays up thanks to calf shaping (increasing 2 stitches every 6 or 7 rows up the back of the leg).  I must get started on the second sock because I want to be able to wear them before it gets too warm for wool.

I’m happy to announce that the pigeons have made their grand escape from the flower pot!  While making dinner, I heard cooing, peeping and flapping noises from outside.  I saw the parent encouraging Bernie to flap.  It was funny to watch.  Bernie sat there flapping away without lifting himself off of the bench.  It must take several workouts to develop strong wing muscles.

Bernie and Bernice are on the loose

I quietly snuck out onto the balcony to watch their progress–the parents seem quite scared of me and took off immediately, but the little ones hopped onto my shelves and into my dishpans of dirt (that will eventually grow things that are greener than pigeons!)

It’s Tuesday today, and that means cheap movie tickets…so I planned a great escape of my own!  I packed up my knitting and headed to watch “A Shine Of Rainbows” at the Screening Room.  It is an Irish movie which is charming and a bit sad, as most Irish movies are.

before the movie

Last night I had already turned the heel on the socks so during the movie it was smooth sailing…

after the movie

I’m wondering if there is a better heel construction for self striping wool.  I really like the solid construction of the heel flap and reinforced heel, but it doesn’t keep the matching stripe pattern so well.  Short row heels would probably maintain the pattern better.

What’s your favourite heel construction?

A cold and blustery day had me inside under the covers knitting to warm up from time to time.

I am enjoying these stripes so much!!!

I like that they are symmetrical.  This comes from dyeing the very large skein from the warping board in segments from end to end like the skein is a long rectangle.

The resulting stripes are as follows:

Blue, green, white, orange, brown, white, gold, white, brown, orange, white, green, blue

To make a non symmetrical, but repeated pattern you need to take the large skein, and take meter-long segments around the circle and dye them in order in the round.

The resulting stripes would be as follows:

Blue, green, white, orange, brown, white, gold, blue, green, white, orange, brown, white, gold.

It’s always a curious thing how these stripes will work out at the heel…can’t wait to see!

Have you noticed that when it gets cold, you start to knit more?  Maybe it is just a problem for me, but as soon as the forecast mentioned a chance of snow, and the sky clouded over and the cold rain began to fall and the wind began to howl, I couldn’t wait for my freshly dyed wool to be completely dry.  It is mostly dry, and that seemed to be good enough for now.

wool dyed with turmeric, onion skins (partially overdyed with beans), black bean dye, and bean dye dipped in ammonia

I wound it up into a ball….

….and promptly cast on for a new pair of wool socks.

the colours look a little different in real life.

The colours are pretty exciting, and I think I might just turn on a movie and knit late into the night.  I’m sure by the time I have them knit, it will be sandals and shorts weather once more.