Humbugs

Over the holiday weekend, which included Thanksgiving and the start of Advent, I saw Deathly Hallows and, like Ebenezer Scrooge, changed my mind. The hats I've been knitting are nice, but they're not what's in the movie. Guess I was humbugged.



Sigh. Ah well, they'll still look well on the Mitten Tree.

With all the Overt Christmas Knitting going on, when the Vestvember vest achieved the vast expanse o' stockinette stage, I stowed it to get it out from underfoot keep my precious handspun pristine. This time of year it's FO or stow!

In that spirit, I finally finished the cuff down I Heart Toe Up cycling socks started during Summer of Socks. I'm pleased with the socks, even though the designer made a newbie mistake in the knit-purl heart motif. As a rule knit stitches are wider than they are tall, so a motif that is well-proportioned on standard graph paper will be vertically compressed when knit up or when charted on knitter's graph paper, as these hearts are. To my eyes they look like sharrows, not a bad motif for cycling socks.



In between contemplating recipes for leftovers (edible) I selected leftovers (fibery) to use in Grumperina's recipe for Helical Stripe Socks. It'll be my December Sockdown project. Should the knitting police inquire, the yarns are true leftovers from Tropical Mer-tini, and green and red cycling anklets.



Lastly, I signed on to Stephanie van der Linden's Advent calendar KAL. I've seen humbuggery in some mystery KALs, but Steffi's looks very promising – the Advent calendar even chides those who try to peek ahead (guess how I know that)!

Of Two Minds

After pondering the merits (and pitfalls) of Mitten Tree mittens, I turned to ruminating on Mitten Tree hats. I wanted the sort of gift hat that would make the recipient feel happy and NOT as if dressed from the bottom of the charity bin. Then I saw a publicity still from Deathly Hallows I and thought, "I could un-vent something like that."



I channeled the spirit of EZ and knit up a child-sized reasonable likeness, and was happy.



Then I saw another photo of Emma Watson, presumably in character (albeit blonde), sporting a hat that looks rather different. The color isn't the issue – it's the texture.



Knowing how persnickety Potterheads can be about verisimilitude, now I'm stricken with renewed indecision. Which hat is in the movie? Either? Neither?? Both??? Could this be – gasp! – a continuity error? Guess I'll have to wait 'til I see the movie – I'm sure I'll be very distracted whenever knitwear is on the screen.

Take a Moment

This evening I'm participating in the third Worldwide Moment, a nonprofit photography project to document what one is doing at 09/09/09 +09GMT 09:09. Roundabout Exit 151 that translates into September 8, 2009 at 8:09 p.m. EDT (click for FAQs and your time zone). Wouldn't ya know it, I'll be at a meeting, trying to save the planet.



In the meantime, here's some moments from the holiday weekend. On Friday DH and I went to the U.S. Open. Because every sock deserves an adventure, I brought Molly's happy Horcrux Sock. Above is a bad photo of sock and second-seed Serena Williams taken from our usual center court nosebleed seats. Williams had a surprising amount of trouble defeating her opponent, Maria Martinez-Sanchez, who played the net superbly. The rallies were so exciting I started knitting faster and faster!



Thanks to the first-come, first-seated rule in the other courts, we got to watch part of the epic match between Ivan Navarro and Taylor Dent from courtside (it started at dinnertime and lasted over 4 hours; we got tired and hungry, and left). A year ago Dent was in a full body cast following spine surgery, today he has a monster serve which regularly clocks in at over 140 mph (225 kph). This one was 146 mph (235 kph), it says so on the serve speed monitor. When the ball would hit the back of the court, the noise was so extraordinary that spectators would laugh a tad nervously, then cheer.



My digicam got cranky, so I didn't get any pix of the Unisphere (sigh), but I did finally get a decent photo of a sight that never fails to make me smile, fans eagerly holding out giant tennis balls for autographs – in this case, to Li Na (in the fuschia top, partly obscured by ball boys and girls).



Let's hope my digicam is cooperative this evening!

Cool Wave

This August – and the Summer of Socks 2009 – closes with a summer cool wave. Y'know, the opposite of a heat wave. And after tropical quantities of heat and rain, I'm loving the temperate weather and this excellent pattern, Clouds Socks by Rebecca A. The felicitous combination of colors and shapes make me think of water, the late Sen. Kennedy and his love of sailing, and the decades-long drought in the U.S. West.



Clouds is perfect for self-striping yarn, in this case Regia Design Line Kaffe Fassett, colorway 4261 Landscape Caribbean. The clouds are formed by w&t short rows. There's only one sock at the moment (which would benefit from blocking), but I'm not stressing about that.



Ordinarily I avoid short row heels and toes because of fit issues, but they seemed fitting technique-wise, so that's what I knit (gasp!). I substituted the yo short row heel and toe from Priscilla's Dream Socks by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts for the w&t short rows. I also used zigzag bind off to emphasize the undulating stripes. Some find the technique fussy and the resulting ridge bothersome; I like the decorative effect – we'll see how it wears.

Meanwhile, Molly's happy Horcrux Sock is coming along: the lace section and calf shaping are finished, on to the heel.



Despite my distraction and meager output this year, I'm glad to have participated in SOS – and I'm glad it was low stress. As always, many thanks go to Jessica and her helpful elves for an excellent knit-along!

Vicissitude

Tralala.



Sigh.



V2.0 next.

Green Stash Flash

Just for Molly, a quick post – and a flash of yarn, Dream in Color Smooshy, Happy Forest. It's a lovely new line at the newly revived Modern Yarn. Double yay!



I'm swapping Molly a pair of my handknit socks for a set of her hand-wrought dpns in the Great Hand Knit Sock Trade '09. She asked for Horcrux Socks by Susan Lawrence (a Six Sox Knitalong pattern from 2007), so that's what I'll be casting on. To be continued.

Doggone

One of my favorite meditative practices is breath prayer, which can be applied in many ways. (This morning's: Monday mornings make me crabby. Mornings make me crabby. Make me crabby. Me crabby. Crabby.) Yesterday some neighborhood kids built this whimsical snowman, which some neighborhood adults let their dogs mark in the, erm, wee hours.



When it's blustery, DH likes to wear a short scarf inside his coat and a long muffler outside it. This scarf in progress was started for someone else, but DH petted it, declared it good, and claimed it to wear on his commute. He says no one will recognize it. What do you think?



Uh-huh.

As long as Risa is displaying her singleton socks, here's three of mine. Each has a fiddly embellishment that I [cough] didn't write down.



The plan is to finish the scarf before Christmas and the socks before year end. Crabby or not, it's good to have a plan.

ETA: Deb is running a survey (with prize). Click over to check it out!

Shrunk Funk

Look, if ye dare, on my poor Slytherin-colored Horcrux Socks after a cold wash, cold rinse in my front-loader. They are greatly changed.



I thought Panda Wool is machine-washable. It isn't. The label specifies handwash, but that detail eluded memory because I didn't think wool and bamboo sock yarn could transmogrify f-f-felt. This yarn can and does, remarkably readily – the felt is as thick as that from worsted-weight yarn. Alas, fatal inattention! Was it for this that I knit these socks!?

In happier days the socks (pictured with pineapple shortbread for Prof. Slughorn) were stretchy and very comfortable, deserving of a bit of extra bother on laundry day – had I only remembered.



Excuse me whilst I mourn them. Chat quietly amongst yerselves or have a gander at this sock opera.

P.S. If my Gryffindor parents named me Albus Severus Potter, I'd be worried about being sorted into Slytherin House, too.

Almost Potterdämmerung

Just in time for the holiday weekend, my reservation at the public library reached the top of the queue. So I got book, bookscarf, Horcrux socks (it's too warm to wear 'em, but I got 'em), snifs (recommended by Dragon Knitter); there's food in the fridge (family, feed yerselves!); almost all wips have been safely stowed. It's almost time for Potterdämmerung.



The wips still in progress are my entry for the Summer of Socks Design Contest. I was plodding along on a conventional design, but after I saw New Pathways for Sock Knitters by Cat Bordhi, I was gobsmacked! I tossed the previous design, emailed the author (who was most gracious and encouraging), and worked up a new entry based on Cedar architecture. That set me back considerably – I'm knitting like a house elf to make the September 1 submission deadline! – but I think it's well worth it.



The book (New Pathways, not H-P) is currently backordered at full price on Amazon, although alert LYSs still have stock. As I've said before, it's worth every penny. If the new sock architectures aren't enough value, the book is also chock full of elegant, innovative takes on familiar techniques – just look at this short row heel turn (and Cedar expansion).



The wrap-and-turn and conceal wrap techniques are among several that may be viewed in Cat Bordhi's YouTube videos.

Incidentally, such is the power of sock that a Google Images search on "i am lord voldemort" causes the sock I made during Sockapalooza 2 for Beate to appear! According to my blog stats, the old Sockapal-2-za progress report has become one of my most popular posts. I borrowed that copy of Half-Blood Prince from the public library, too.

Have a great Labor Day weekend – see you on the other side of the veil.

Expecto Harry

In anticipation of a very Harry weekend, I transfigured my HP bookscarves into wristbands. They're a bit easier to wear in this weather than most HP finery and also less likely to provoke stares of uncomprehending hostility. Although while I was struggling to take this picture (with my digicam, photographing one's own wrist requires about as many contortions as photographing one's own feet) my neighbor actually came out on her deck to gawp. Muggles.



That wisp about my wand needle is not a corporeal Patronus, it's something from the Department of Mysteries. More on that later.



Two-thirds of participants in the bean poll favored waiting to see what the bean arch would do. Alas, gentle readers, it started rotting (DH: "See, I said you should have helped it!").



I usually plant pole beans at two-week intervals, so I had some good-sized replacements ready.



The odd thing is this year it takes a discerning eye to distinguish between the beans I planted six weeks ago, four weeks ago, and two weeks ago. Usually it's obvious. Dunno what's going on.



My humble thanks to everyone who commented on the last post. It would seem that for many people who experienced them, the 1967 Newark riots were more deeply and lastingly traumatic than even the September 11 attacks. Ground Zero almost immediately became a place of pilgrimage; 40 years later the Central Ward remains a place of fear. That in part may explain the long silence. It's no small thing to confront the painful past and break that silence.

Ready to Rock the Muggles

OK, I'm all set. Here's what I'm donating, showing off, and wearing on NYC Rock the Muggles Day, March 22, aka the Yarn Harlot bookbookbook4 launch.

But first, a word for visiting knitters: Thanks largely to the efforts of the beyond-fabulous Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, many tall NYC buildings must provide public access space, kinda like indoor public parks. These urban oases can be lovely: nicely appointed with café tables and chairs, amenities, and even live music at lunchtime. NYC would be a far meaner place without them. So don't wander disconsolately through the streets of Gotham – look for tall buildings bearing discreet signs indicating public access, sit and knit, refresh yourself, and enjoy this enduring legacy of a most gracious First Lady.

Speaking of gracious, while some may fondly wish to "freak out" the Muggles tomorrow, kindly remember we are talking about New Yorkers. Who on the one hand tend to be tolerant of harmless eccentricity and on the other hand have likely seen worse (jesting references to drug addiction, gangs, and urban terror rather pale beside the real deal). Not to mention many knitters are Muggle-born (moi aussi) and countless Muggles are appreciative beneficiaries of knitcraft. We're all about diversity hereabouts. So the hat I'm donating is Hermione's Cable-and-Bobble Hat by Lauren Kent, worked in Cascade 220 (cf HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the movie). It's just the thing for a book launch. Currently no cause is specified – I trust a good one will be selected. (ETA: Teehee, the hat is on the Harlot's blog!)

My traveling sock is Grumperina's ubiquitous Jaywalker, worked in Lion Brand Magic Stripes colorway Jelly Bean Stripe. I'm knitting my first Jaywalkers (with mods) partly to honor the Boston knitters heading to the Big Apple and partly because Cara, mightiest of Jersey knitbloggers, has made so many, but also because it's a gentle symbol and reminder that knitters command vast powers of craft, networking, philanthropy, and finance – and deserve R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Finally, I'll be wearing my Clapotis mini, a scarf-sized version of Kate Gilbert's contemporary classic design, worked in Koigu PPPM. Teva's Steek Vest is brilliant, but I couldn't get the substituted yarn to behave to my liking. Bergamo it's not – the vest still looks pretty much like a hat and is headed for the frog pond. Ah well. If you can't beat 'em, you may as well join the crowd in Clapping.

Hope to see you tomorrow at FIT! If you'll miss the Harlot this time, never fear, full details to follow.

Anguipede

Star-gazers may be familiar with Serpens Caput, the snake's head, and Serpens Cauda, the snake's tail; gamblers know about snake eyes. Thanks to Susan Lawrence, now there are snake feet (??) as well.



I love these socks, knit from Susan's clever Horcrux Socks pattern. They're a lot of fun for HP fans and lace knitters. I particularly like the S-shaped lightning bolts (Z-shaped bolts just wouldn't do!). The 3x2 ribbing at the ankle and modest gusset give the socks an excellent, no-bag fit, and the square heel looks handsomer with the strongly linear lightning bolts and ribbing than a wedge heel. I used a finer weight yarn than suggested, so added a few extra repeats to give more width and length to the sock.



Untenanted, the ribbing on the sock draws in, making the cuff and leg look a bit like pineapple-shaped shortbread. (Surely Prof. Slughorn would approve.) The yarn is Crystal Palace Panda Wool (46% bamboo, 43% wool, 11% nylon), bought at the tiny Whitney Avenue Yarn LLC store in New Haven. The new-fangled stuff knits up somewhat like cotton, with outstanding stitch definition and a bigger gauge than might be expected, yet the resulting fabric is both cushier and much lighter than cotton. This colorway, 4108 Vine Green, has marled green and sage-blue-gray strands that sometimes look solid, sometimes look stippled, and sometimes gleam slightly – an appropriately Slytherine mutability.

Taking pix of one's own feet is quite a task – I fell over more than once, as neatly as if tripped. Which leads me to leave the reader with a question: What do you suppose would happen if one tried Impedimenta on Nagini?

ETA: To view more socks, see the Horcrux Socks Flickr group. Susan is currently adapting the pattern for sockweight yarn.

Bean Counting

Back to the quotidian and bean counting. With help, I carefully investigated the box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from Good Girl Purl and discovered that it contained every flavor listed but one. (In the course of photography, a few cherry, green apple, and buttered popcorn beans magically disappeared, but you get the idea.)



Top row: Bacon, Black Pepper, Blueberry, Booger, Buttered Popcorn
2nd row: Cherry, Cinnamon, Dirt, Earthworm, Earwax
3rd row: Grape Jelly, Grass, Green Apple, Lemon Drop, Rotten Egg
4th row: Sardine, Soap, Toasted Marshmallow, no Tutti-Frutti, Vomit

No one has been brave enough to try the more unusual flavors.

The beans gave me a brain wave. A couple years ago, I did a favor for a Japanese colleague and she did the obvious (to her, anyway): she gave me a narrow length of unhemmed cotton cloth. Although machine-made, it's a traditional handloom size, about 34 cm (13.5 in) wide and 90 cm (35.5 in) long, with neat selvedges and a charming edamame (soybean) print. I finally know what to do with it: while others have been busy deciphering the mysteries of the Ferragamo bag, I knit up a SoHo Sling*. The bean print will make perfect trim and pockets. And the flower pin from Good Girl Purl is the perfect spring accessory for it.



The pattern appears in Bags: A Knitter's Dozen, but I got it as a freebie at Knit Out New York. Basically, the bag is a knit tube as tall as it is wide, with the top zipper rotated 90 degrees from the bottom seam (which forms a tetrahedron, if you must know).

Knitting the tube was basically mindless. I used a jumbo ball of crochet cotton that had been languishing in stash, Aunt Lydia's Denim, tweaking the pattern to make a bigger bag in a smaller gauge than specified, casting on 140 stitches. The crochet cotton made a somewhat coarse fabric with a soft drape – a strange combination of characteristics that would be horrible for a sweater, but is just right for a sling bag.

There will be a brief pause in assembly whilst I find the right zipper, lining, interlining, and findings. The bag in the pattern is not lined, but bean-counter that I am, I prefer a more finished turnout.

* For those who don't know New York City, SoHo stands for South of Houston Street, Houston being pronounced house-ton, not hyus-ton. It's one of the trendy parts of the city. The fabulous Purl and its new sister store, Purl Patchwork, are in SoHo.

Lumos et Nox

Today it was warm enough and sunny enough to resume photography on the porch, just in time to record my latest science experiment. After hearing me mumbling about dingy blog pix, BIL rummaged through the basement in search of the Sylvania Sun Gun. For those who don't remember the glory days of home movies (not video!), the Sun Gun is the home version of a portable handheld movie light. In its day, it was considered such a valuable innovation that Sylvania received an Academy Award for the professional version. Here it is in its original box, with camera mount. I assume the product was marketed mainly to men – I just love the packaging.

   

Amazing to relate, this mid-century relic still works. The heart of the Sun Gun is an 850-watt bulb, which is intensely bright and hot. When it's on, it gives off a characteristic odor as dust on the bulb starts crisping. Compared with a new-fangled full-spectrum fluorescent, it seems to give off about as much heat as light. The light is not the pearly white of a GE Reveal incandescent or the intense blue-white of a camera flash, but it's much less red-brown than an ordinary incandescent bulb.

In honor of a specialist at conjuring bluebell fire, to amuse HP knitters, for my last Project Spectrum project for March, and in the interest of science, here's side-by-side pix of a Hermione hat and a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans (thanks, Good Girl Purl!), taken with ambient light and Sun Gun, with ambient light and flash, and with ambient light only. The yarn is Cascade 220 from stash; the band was missing so I don't know the colorway number, but it's a true red. The photography towel background is true white.

      

As you can see, the different lighting schemes greatly affect the appearance of color and texture. Overall, I prefer the way ambient light only brings out the texture of the cable and bobble hat, just as bright overcast light brings out architectural detail on buildings. Guess that means continued dingy blog pix.

The hat was a quick, fun knit – I especially enjoyed its clever decreases. The pattern warns the fabric pulls in and needs stretching laterally; compounding this tendency, I never seem to get stitch gauge with Cascade 220. Sure enough, the hat turned out ectomorphic, skinny and tall (lament: I miss Brunswick Germantown!). I'm giving this one to a young friend; were I to make one for myself, I'd add another pattern repeat to accommodate my mesomorph head. I used four bobble techniques: the one given in Lauren Kent's pattern, the traditional one in Barbara Walker's Treasury, Annie Modesitt's heretical one, and short row. While I can distinguish between the finished products, one doesn't seem outstandingly better than the others to me, at least for bobbles of this size. I like the short row technique for bigger bobbles and boobies.

Meanwhile, Tom sent along links for a nice safety gadget for night riders: fluorescent downtube and chainstay tube lights. The ready-made version is called Down Low Glow by Fossil Fool but here's a DIY version as well. Ooh, I want, I want!

I Am Lord Voldemort?!??

The Sockapal-2-za sock is not merely a diva and a good sport, she's also (cough) a pointy-heel bluestocking. Miss America may have abandoned Atlantic City (roundabout Exit 40), but here she is, striking a pose with Laura's clever bookscarf and The Half-Blood Prince.



Here she is with her favorite quote from the book, "I do love knitting patterns." And world peace, too!



As for me, ordinarily I'm a fan of online quizzes and Myers-Briggs personality typing. But...

Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

Actually, that sounds like a lot of opinionated knitters. See all the possible results.

At least the Sorting Hat has better news.

^{be sorted @ nimbo.net}

Time for a Ravenclaw bookscarf! I like heraldic copper better than silver with the deep blue tincture, so it's a book bookscarf for me.