Ravelry and Bearfeet

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

When the Ravelry wind started blowing, I can't say I was even interested. I didn't really understand what it was and it just seemed like too much work. I mean, if I can't even keep up with my blog, how am I going to find time to add content to a new knitting site? It just seemed like a knitting Myspace to me.

Well, I've been converted. Ravelry is the coolest! For those of you who haven't checked it out yet - or haven't received an invite - it lets you easily catalog your stash, all of your projects, your needles, and keep tabs on all of your online knitting buddies. But that's just the beginning, you can also search for projects with links to patterns, see what the most popular patterns are, search for a specific yarn and see what other people are making with it, find substitutes for yarn... it just seems freaking endless. It is easily the neatest site I've ever used. Very well put together and organized and jeez, it all just makes sense, you know? So if you're an organizing freak like me, or even if you're not, you should sign up for Ravelry. They admit new beta testers every week and they're caught up to people who signed up about mid-May so it won't take too terrible long to get in.



As for current projects, here are my Mountain Colors Bearfoot socks in Indian Corn. I love Bearfoot. I tried a couple different patterns but the Indian Corn just wanted to be a stockinette sock so I let it. Surprisingly, I've never knit just a plain stockinette sock and I'm really liking it. I don't know if it's the yarn, the pretty colors, or just the relief at finally having put away the Argyle sock but this puppy is FLYING. Last night I did most of the foot and tonight I'm sure I'll finish up the toe. I also get paid on Friday so I can look at buying "Fitted Knits" and maybe starting the cardigan. Yay!

Arrrrrrrgyle, Walking the Plank

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Dudes, these argyle socks are driving me mad. The knitting's got to change. I can make excuses forever but here are the main reasons this sock is being abandoned to the UFO drawer:

1. The main body of the sock is in old Knitpicks sock yarn. Like pre-soft and nice sock yarn which means it's scratchy and I know they won't be real comfortable when they're done.
2. The foot is a little wide. I know it'll shrink up when I dry them in the dryer (I dry all my old Knitpicks socks in the dryer) but it annoys me.
3. I keep screwing up the decreases for the toe. I know it's because I keep trying to do it when I'm engrossed in something else but I don't feel like doing it again.

I need something new, something fresh, something exciting. I was browsing around on the old internets for some ideas and came across Belle Epoque, Bad Penny, and Glampyre's Puff-Sleeved Feminine Cardigan.

Okay, so Bad Penny is out because it's worsted weight and it's summer. Belle Epoque would be really great - I love the scoop neck and the empire waist but would get rid of the fuzzy yarn (mohair and acrylic, can you imagine wearing that?) and shorten it a bit. I'm getting frustrated trying to find a yarn substitute though. I bet Ravelry would be nice for this... I'd like to use my Merino Style for it but technically the gauge shouldn't work. But since my gauge was all screwy with it maybe it will be right! I think I'll swatch tomorrow and find out.

Glampyre's cardigan led me to her book, Fitted Knits, which I know at least one of my readers has because she knit the same sweater I'm thinking of knitting. ;-) That would be Big Geek Beth. Beth! What do you think of the book? And anyone else if you have it, give me your thoughts. Email me if you'd prefer at katiedid at gmail dot com.

In other news, I did finish Mon Petit Chou and it seems to fit alright. I don't have ribbon for it yet and haven't figured out a classy way to take pictures yet but I hope to soon.

Update On My Cabbage

Friday, June 08, 2007

I've gone back to Mon Petit Chou, my most current UFO. The Argyle socks are on US 1's and, not real surprisingly, they're kind of killing my wrists. So I finished the bottoms to Mon Petit Chou and started the top... three times now. I don't know if it's my foggy sick-brain (I've had a cold for about a week and a half now) or if I'm just failing as a knitter but I can't seem to follow directions. Last night was the last straw, I thought I had finally done the picot edge, on 107 stitches mind you, correctly so I spread it out to take a look. I even started grinning, thinking that this time I had really nailed it... and it didn't look too picot-y. I forgot the last purl row before knitting the two sets of stitches together. Damn.

So I knit on the Argyle socks instead and actually got a couple of inches done on the foot. I hope I remember everything I changed when I go to do the second sock. I even took a picture last night but did I remember to get the picture off of my phone before I left home today? Um, no. So my post is pretty worthless but at least you now know what I'm knitting, right?

I'll be back and I'll try to blog better next time.