A Little Yarn On The Side

The monkey socks are done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm still not wild about the pattern, but I don't care!  I needed to be at 41.666667 projects by the end of May, and the socks are project 42!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Granted, I'm only 0.3333333 projects ahead, but this is ME we're talking about--I would be excited even if I were only 0.00000000000001 projects ahead. Of course, I REALLY wanted to cast on something new, but persuaded myself to work on a dress I cut out last week but hadn't started but haven't gotten very far.  There was * ahem* a bit of browsing patterns on Ravelry, though nothing new actually on the needles.  However, it's only 5:40 PM and the knitting night is young...........

DRUM ROLL PLEASE................ Project 41 , which puts me on target for the year, is done: Did I mention project number 40? More napkins!  Becoming a bit like the coasters, isn't it? Technically, I think I might look like some sort of Pepto-Bismal mascot in the new ensemble, but it really is one of my best colors.  AND it used up 4 1/4 yards of material that has been in the stash for well over a year, so perhaps I just won't wear it around anyone suffering from a hangover or nausea....... There HAS been knitting, I swear!  The second monkey sock is progressing and it is my fondest wish that this is at least a teensy bit smaller than it was at the start of the week.  I have been knitting from it for the last two hours and I swear that it looks exactly the same, but I keep hoping...... Meanwhile, Theo is finding all his new fame a bit exhausting And Calisto, out of jealousy and a desperate need for attention, has started posing for skanky kitty cal...

If I knew how to attach sound to my blog, you would be hearing the theme for Rocky right now.  I have gimped! In case you didn't guess from the days without blogging, the idea of gimping on the wall hanging was frightening me.  I mean, decorative stitching is a commitment that one can't really back away from--ripping it out usually leaves a mark, if it doesn't ruin the material altogether.  Yesterday, just to make sure, I marked a corner of scrap tan material with one of my "disappearing" markers.  I put it in quotes because I've learned the hard way that it may not disappear from really fussy material.  Luckily, it worked on this one, so I drew a little freehand curving, got in touch with my spine, and jumped in.  It isn't perfectly symmetrical or anything, but I'm okay with that.   It was a successful learning opportunity, and my drawing skills have always pretty much stunk, so I don't expect much of them. If this were any other year , I wou...

Okay--I think I'm the only person in the entire knitting world who is ever going to say this, but....... I don't care much for the Monkey Sock pattern .  I know, I know--it's one of THE most popular sock patterns on the planet, and I don't hate it enough to frog the socks, but I have a real problem with this which does NOT photograph well, but the two increases are lopsided.  The problem is from the increase--there's a double yarn over, then one YO is knit into, then one is knit into the back, which does create the two desired stitches for the next row but IS NOT symmetrical--I have that one yarn over at the bottom and then the sloppy little stitch on the left side.  It annoys me.  I know, I know--it's just me, but still.....I think it's awkward and it simply irritates me every time I get to that point in the pattern.  Obviously, I have symmetry issues..... In other news, the overwhelming vote is for SOMETHING on the wall hanging--which I agree with....

Tonight I decided to finally cast on the Monkey Socks for the May Project of the Month.  Since I am NOT using the stretchy yarn and they are not toe-up socks, I decided not to use my traditional cable cast on as it doesn't have very much stretch and tends to make sock bands that cut off circulation.  I decided to use the long-tail cast on. Which, it turns out, I had forgotten. Now, I don't particularly like the long-tail cast on.  EITHER I run out of "tail" with just 5 or 6 stitches left to cast on OR I end up with a humongous tail which generally turns out to be the exact amount of yarn I'll ultimately be short to finish the project.  But, I have been knitting for over 30 years and have used the long-tail cast on quite often--often enough that it's embarrassing to find a stick & string in my hand and be unsure what to do with either one.  I actually had to look it up!!!!!! I have had a lot of ups & downs with projects, but I think it's fa...