ISE3 Progress Post 3

Five minutes later and I'm still traveling, and want to thank Holly, my International Scarf Exchange 3 pal, who put together a thoughtful, seasonally color-coordinated (!) parcel for me. Just look at that well-balanced secondary triad.



In the parcel there were all sorts of small niceties to delight a fellow knitter: the scarf, neatly tied with a bit of its own yarn; two holiday potholders and three holiday refrigerator magnets (perfect – I was just bemoaning the dearth of Halloween items in my kitchen), notecards, delicious candycandycandy! and a sweet note. I use the past tense because in a trice the scarf was untied and much of the candy devoured.

No doubt every knitter who has progressed beyond dishcloths can recognize the scarf and the yarn at a hundred paces, even when bundled. I did: it's a Multi-Directional, in a gorgeous Noro Silk Garden colorway. I love the way the color runs worked out. It's even prettier in person and it's mine, all mine.



Thank you, Holly! [Chortle] I feel spoiled. I brought the scarf with me to wear on this trip, but the weather has turned warmish again, so it's sitting in my luggage. Not to worry, though, I'm sure the scarf will see good use soon enough.

ISE3 Progress Post 2

I'm traveling this week, but wanted to post my progress on the scarf for my International Scarf Exchange 3 pal. Here she is, off the needles but still curled.



Uncurled, she's over six feet (but under two meters) long. The pattern is My So-Called Scarf, worked in neck-friendly Malabrigo Merino in colorway Lime Blue.

To help control shazaaming, I knit from two balls alternately. The technique mostly worked. The scarf began with flattish navy blobs which turned into tallish navy blobs, continued with randomish navy stripes, and finished with roundish navy blobs. Had I used one ball at a time, I suspect there would be significant and ever-changing pooling and flashing.

         

I've sent the scarf to my pal along with a few goodies – I hope she enjoys them.

MORE Rhinebeck

I'm glad I went to Rhinebeck yesterday. On the way it occurred to me that the last time I'd been, the old Kingston-Rhinebeck bridge had been in place. The new bridge is quite spiffy, with shoulders (I've never seen a bridge with shoulders before... hm, wonder if cyclists are allowed to use them). The festival has changed as well. Most noticeably, there's MORE.



In general, I like the Rhinebeck vibe. To me, autumn (= sweater weather) is an ideal time for a fiber festival. I like the plainspoken signs advertising fried dough and other fine produce of the Hudson River valley, the earnest young 4-H volunteers, the glorious turning leaves. I'm glad the vendors are predominantly small and regional rather than huge retailers. The live music and juggling and broom guy all add to the pleasant ambience.

Even so, by the time I took this photo, the cumulative impact of MORE had become staggering. It was after I made the newbie spinner's doh! discovery that fiber takes up 'way more space than yarn. After I had given up trying to carry stuff in a succession of larger and larger tote bags and just crammed everything into a garbage kitchen bag, except for the scarf for my ISE3 pal and my Blogger Bingo button. After learning that thundering hordes had descended on The Fold and bought all the Socks That Rock. After the llama parade and the petting zoo with kangaroos, albino boa constrictor, and alligator (???) and the catapult versus trebuchet pumpkin flinging competition. After chicken pot pie and apple crisp and cheese-tasting. Long after the milkshake that Kristen recommended, which was indeed very tasty. Lo, I had reached the point where obsolete interjections and improbable delicacies like deep fried pickles begin to seem intriguing (yea, without the need for wine-tasting or mad science beforehand). It must have been the potent combination of fiber fumes and exhaustion.

I suppose that combination explains why a knit blogger informed me with greatly exaggerated accuracy that I wasn't there. Well, I may not have been all there and I didn't get Bingo!, but I did chat briefly with Bingoists Andrea, Cara, Debbie, Jessica, Mel, and Risa, among others, and even spotted Dolores in the Red Maple Sportswear booth. I also gushed over chatted with Jonathan Bosworth of Journey Wheel, who made my featherweight spindle; Joan Berner of Cloverleaf Farms, who dyed the Blue Face Leicester roving that I won blue ribbons with; and Galina Khmeleva of Skaska Designs, who graciously inscribed a copy of her book Gossamer Webs to me in Russian.

No doubt the fiber fumes also explain the extreme giddiness in the carpool going home. And why I accidentally bought (and drank) a vile diet Vanilla Pepsi ("it was cold") at the rest stop when I meant to get a regular Pepsi. Many, many thanks to Karen, Paige, and super-organized super-motivated Risa for driving!

Once at home, I spun up some micro-skeins. Skeins 1-6 are from fiber acquired at Rhinebeck. Skeins 7 and 8 are from my dyeing experiments for the Twisted Knitters D-S-K-along. Teehee, they look like those collectible STR keychains.

1. Lincoln lambswool from Four Directions Weaving
2. Lincoln x in Cappuccino colorway from Barneswallow Farm, Dewittville, NY
3. Black Blue Face Leicester from Barneswallow Farm
4. Baby Camel from Barneswallow Farm
5. Blue Moon Fiber Arts Superwash Merino in Purple Rain colorway from The Fold
6. Hyperfine Merino (15 microns) from The Fold
7. Kool-Aid dyed Finn
8. Kool-Aid dyed mystery blend

I'm happy with them, although I can't believe 7 and 8 look so... preppy.

Not pictured are the tangled messes I spun from the vast quantity of Border Leicester (the featured breed) and Blue Face Leicester that I bought. The samples seemed nice, but what came home with me turned out to be mostly long, coarse hair that's almost impossible to spin. I tend to underspin and yet given the least opportunity these both counterspin with a will, as if badly overspun, and their long hairs interlock into irreversible pigtails. Given I have beautifully behaved, not hairy BFL, I can only conclude this is from an inferior vendor, sold to an insufficiently wary buyer. Maybe studying mohair spinning techniques would help overcome these difficulties, but I'm inclined to think three words apply: caveat emptor and f-f-f-felt!

Anyway, that was my Rhinebeck 2006. It occurs to me that Sunday people have a completely different experience than Saturday people and commuters a different experience than overnighters. One of these days I'd like to take a Friday class (I'm kicking myself for missing this year's with Beth Brown-Reinsel), stay over, bicycle around a bit, tour the mansions and other historic attractions. There really is MORE to Rhinebeck.

My Rhinebeck Lists

My tote bag is packed (it's ready to go).



As you can see, I'm happy to support (literally) the Presby Iris Gardens (Exit 151), a place of special beauty – here's an entire Project Spectrum in irises, from the 2006 open house.

I have my list of Rhinebeck must-sees:

      Fanatica Fibers - A 1
      Anne's cute f-f-f-felting kits.

      Journey Wheel - 22 28
      Makers of my Bosworth Featherweight spindle.

      Moving Mud - 29 L
      Collectible glass shawl closures and buttons.

      Golding Ring Spindles - A 35-36
      Not that I need another spindle.

      Morehouse Farm 22K and 31 F, G
      Coupons! and hospitality at their nearby store.

      Great Adirondack Yarn Company - 22 2-3
      Not that I need more yarn.

      The Fold - A 25
      Just to see how fast STR sells out this time.

      The Herd of Northern Vermonters - 36 P
      No idea who these folk are, but they sound like fun.

      Plus Kristen recommends the milk shakes.

Super-organized Risa, who thinks of everything, is driving the carpool. Lemmesee... I have my Blogger Bingo card, map, directions, and every medium of exchange accepted by vendors: cash, checks, credit cards (no, they don't take yap stones or fractious first-borns). So that's all set.

Deborah asked which socks I plan to wear. Er, dunno. If I manage to finish them (har!), Embossed Leaves, but more likely Queen of the Jungle Stripe, which are comfortable and still have endearingly mismatched toes despite all threats of a coup.

   

Hope to see you there!

Socktober Embossed Leaves

Ever since I saw Embossed Leaves by Mona Schmidt in Interweave Knits Winter 2005, I've wanted to make a pair for myself. Now, I know perfectly well that lace is usually more effective in a solid color, but when I saw Socka Color colorway 2419, I couldn't resist trying autumn Embossed Leaves. Seems doubly appropriate as my first (eek) Socktoberfest socks, pictured here on a DIY sock blocker to show off the lace.



I am loving the results. The yarn is fascinating, a marled three-ply in which each ply is also variegated. The combinations are a primer of color theory – so far I've seen complements, split-complements, primary and secondary triads, and more. With so much going on in the yarn, it's an endless surprise to me which colors dominate in the knit fabric.

The pattern as written uses 1x1 rib cast on and twisted rib cuff. I like the look but prefer a more elastic cuff, so replaced them with elastic cast on and 1x1 rib. The charted leaf motif produces true lace knitting (not "mere" lacy knitting), that is, there is pattern knitting on every round and no rest round. The decreases on every round put more tension in the fabric than I usually like, although that extra tension does heighten the embossed effect, useful with such a colorful yarn. I rather think a set up round might be helpful and will try it on the second sock.

I don't believe this. I'm actually looking forward to the second sock.

For a time I was afraid I'm the only Socktoberist starting after mid-month, but if the blogs I've seen are any indicator, it would seem I'm in good company. Even Lolly took a while to respond to her own sock history questions. Here's my responses.

* When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
The precise moment is mercifully lost in the mists of time, but the month was January or February. I recollect watching winter sports on TV, so I suppose one could consider it a proto Knitting Olympics challenge. As should be apparent from the next response, I'm a self-taught process knitter.

* What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?
Toe up, fully fashioned Argyle knee socks made from worsted and sport weight oddments. Colors A, B, and C were Christmas red, Christmas green, and jungle green, with orange-yellow for contrast. I wanted to learn technique, wasn't worried about the finished product, and the yarn was lying around. The socks turned out well, except they looked like venomous sea serpents. I usually keep my swatches and learning projects – this was one of the very few I threw out. (I had to. Someone who shall remain nameless deliberately frightened the cat with them. Cats have a way of getting back their own – she eliminated from multiple orifices, hid under the sofa, and wouldn't come out. Until that moment, we didn't realize she could fit. Later she took to stashing dead things there.) I learned a lot.

* What would you have done differently?
Lol. Where to start? I don't think I would have picked an easier pattern – the technical challenge was the draw. But I learned that color is important, even in a learning project. That mixing yarn weights can be unwise, but can be accommodated. That figure-8 cast on, heel-turning, and calf shaping aren't nearly as scary as they're made out to be. I'd been told if one could knit Argyle socks, one could knit anything – I discovered I had pretty good skills.

* What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
There are so many (and I'm always happy to try more)! Currently on the needles besides Embossed Leaves in Socka are two favorites, Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock and Claudia Handpaint fingering.

* Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
DPNs are the default technique, but it depends on the task at hand. IMO, crochet is usually better suited for slippers than socks because the fabric is so firm.

* Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
Flap is the default, but again, it depends. Incidentally, I've always wondered why heels have nationalities (at least in English knitting terminology).

* How many pairs have you made?
No idea. Most end up as gifts. Production tends to come and go, usually sparked by seeing an inspiring pattern. One of these days I want to try making Debbie New's Maple Swirl Socks (the cover pattern in Socks, Socks, Socks). But not in oddments leftover from holiday knitting.