Crochet-Magnon Man

I picked up a new yarn craft today! Well, at least I  made a start at it, anyway. I took Staci’s two-hour Crochet for Knitters class today. Totally worth every penny and then some.

The great thing about this class was that, as knitters, we all had a grasp of what a stitch was and how to make a slip-stitch – you know, all those little things that can be hard for beginning crafters to grasp, but once you’ve got it, you can’t ever remember not knowing them. So we moved along pretty rapidly from chain stitching, to slip stitches, to single and double crochet. Within an hour, we were starting our very first granny squares.

I clearly have some tension issues to work through, but I think I got the basics down.

I know I just got started on the Vaila Slipover, but I so totally want to just drop everything I’m doing and learn more about crocheting. And make a big, huge granny square afghan. Thanks, Staci. And Stephanie – I’ll never make fun of crocheting again. However, I will reserve the right to gasp at some  crocheted things…

Swatcheroo

I spent a few evenings this week working up a swatch with the yarn I chose  for a Vaila Slipover. Reviews are mixed.

I like the overall pattern and don’t think it will be hard to follow. I’m a little concerned about the green sections. A darker green that I had originally wanted was on backorder until September(!), so I shifted the whole green family one shade lighter. I’m just not sure what I think of the main green color through the middle of that section – it’s called Celadon Heather, and is just a bit lighter than I’d like.

I’m afraid that the large X pattern that runs between all the crossed diamonds will fade out too much through the green sections. Could it be that when there are more brown and green striped sections that they eye will be able to follow the Xs better?

I’m also a little worried about gauge. Before washing, I’m getting about 32.5 stitches over 4 inches. The gauge calls for 30. I don’t want to go down to size 2 needles (I’m currently on 3s), and I don’t want to go down  size – that would be too drastic, I think. I could knit tighter. My gauge with the background colors, which I’m throwing with my right hand, is terribly inconsistent.

I’m going to take this to some experts this weekend and see what they have to say. I’m hopeful that it will all work out. I still can’t believe that stack of balls of yarn from my last post could turn into this.

Stranded

I’ve been thinking of doing a stranded knitting project, and I’ve settled on a pattern, yarn and colors. I think I’m pretty much committed at this point. And the yarn showed up in the mail today. Yay, yarn mail!

The yarn is Palette from KnitPicks. I’d gotten some of this a while back for a hat. I swear back then that they had only a handful of colors. Now they have over 80 – quite a choice! These are the 12 colors that I settled on. Clicking on the picture will take you over to my Flickr site where I have notes with all the colors names. Let’s just say the word “Heather” features in most of them. Oh – and to get free shipping I had them throw in a couple of balls of Felici sock yarn in the colorway Green Veggies. Yum!

All this Palette going to become, if all goes according to plan, a Vaila Slipover from Ann Feitelson’s The Art of Fair Isle Knitting. The original one calls for very muted browns and tans – and those will be in mine, but I wanted to feature green, too. Which is kind of predictable, I know.  The original pattern’s blue horizontal line will be replaced with a deep red. And don’t worry about all those deep pinks and bright oranges. They’re little accent colors that probably won’t register all that much. That’s what I’ll keep telling myself, anyway.

I can’t wait to see how all this comes together. Let the swatching begin!

Lace on the Edge

I didn’t do a lot of knitting today, but I certainly knit in public, thought about knitting, learned about knitting and hung out with some fabulous knitters.

This morning, I went to a cafe for breakfast with some knitterly friends. An elderly woman came by our table to find out what we were doing. I loved her direct way of asking each of us what craft we were practicing (three different ones), what we were specifically working on, and what we called ourselves. She, in turn, had strong opinions on how long orange juice could be left out at room temperature. It was quite the WWKIP day experience.

Then, I headed over to the knitting nest to do a little more public knitting while waiting for my afternoon class on knitting lace edgings with Franklin Habit. The Knitting Nest had some new Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in that was dyed specifically for the store’s grand re-opening, and since some it was dark green, i had to get my hands on some. Stephanie and I grabbed some lunch for Franklin and we wolfed it down before class began.

We learned three main schools of thought for knitted on edges, and I definitely had my favorite by the end of the afternoon. We did samples of all three. Pictured here is what Franklin dubbed  The Stupid Little Snowflake – which Franklin designed specifically for the class. He says its the smallest possible sampler of Orenburg lace knitting that can be made!

The class was, of course, awesome. I love Franklin’s approach of mixing history, hands-on activity, detailed explanation and finely made examples. He’s so patient, supportive, and informative. For instance – I learned something about sipping stitches along selvedge edges that I’d never known before. Apparently, if the second stitch in the row is to be knitted, the slipped edged stitch should be slipped with the yarn in front. Conversely, if the second stitch in thee row is to be purled, the slipped edge stitch should be slipped with the yarn in back. When I did this, I could immediately see the clean, smooth chain along the selvedge edge. Before, I’d always had strange bumps. Why didn’t I ever know this before? Have I just not been paying attention? That was worth the price of admission right there.

On top of it all, I got to meet some Ravelry friends that I’d never met in person before, which is always a good thing. All in all – a very nice way to spend World Wide Knit in Public Day.

Homework

I’m going to be taking a class from Franklin Habit at The Knitting Nest on Saturday -- Lace Edgings: Before, During and After. I may have mentioned this a few times! Today, I got an email with my pre-class homework assignment, which I took care of tonight.

Our instructions were to knit a 20-stitch wide, 20-row long swatch in Dalegarn Baby Ull (or equivalent) on size 4 needles. I still had some Baby Ull from the lace class I took from Mr. Habit last year. I can’t believe this will be the third time I’ve met him. I’m really looking forward to it. He’s informative, helpful, patient and funny. All good educative skills.

(I just had to use the word “educative.” I’m reading a book about the making of Gray’s Anatomy (yes, the medical reference book, not the television show – which I have only just realized spells the name Grey) and the author discusses the book’s publishers and their role in disseminating 19th century British “educative” literature. Trust me – it’s interesting.)

Ahem. I found the exact same yarn I’d used last time and made short work of my homework. I’m going out on a limb here, but I’m thinking that we might be adding some lace around the edge of this thing. We’re supposed to bring some size 4 dpns, and so far I’ve only located size 3 metal dpns – very slippery. I’m going to keep digging.

Can’t wait for the class. Saturday is also World Wide Knit in Public day. So I hope everyone grabs a project, gets out there and recruits for the cause. I’ll be doing so, working on a new version of the Oliver socks I had to abandon a while back. More on them later.

Click! Snap! Tote!

A little something I ordered came in the mail today.

I’d been wanting to get one of these for a while – a soft sided case for my Addi Click interchangeable needles. The original set came in something that looked like it should hold my grandmother’s silver service. It was a big hard box with slots for all the needles. It looked nice, but it wasn’t very practical. Mine lived on the shelf below a coffee table near the chair where I do most of my knitting.

This soft-sided case is great. It holds all the needle tips and cords that I have just fine. It snaps closed and folds up much smaller than I would have thought. I practiced wagging it around under my arm like my grandmother used to do with all of her handle-less and strap-less handbags. She did this even when she used a walker, which bothered me to no end. But I’ll probably just end up carrying it around in my knitting bag.

As purchasers of the original set may be aware, they didn’t come with size 5 tips. So I ordered a set while I was at it. The first two or three projects I made after getting the Clicks required size 5 needles. Now that I have some, I probably won’t need them. But it’s nice to know they’re there.

Larkin Baby Blanket

Last night I finished all but the 15-stitch garter stitch graft to join the two ends of the border, and this morning, I spent way too much time grafting and weaving in the ends. The whole thing is blocking on our spare bed and will be ready to hand off to the wee one soon.

About that grafting. I’d never done garter grafting before. It’s actually easier than stockinette grafting. Rather than having to switch which stitch you do for the dropped of stitch as you work back and forth, you always knit and drop, then purl and keep – for both sides. Easy, right? Unless you’re me. After looking at several explanations of whether you should see purl or knit stitches on the two needles before getting stared, I must have started the grafting four times. Turns out the instructions in the pattern were accurate! Imagine that? When in doubt – trust the designer. It wasn’t that I doubted you, Snowden – it was more like I second-guessed myself. This trait (among other things) is what would make me such a bad contestant on The Amazing Race.

I’m quite pleased with how this turned out. As I’d mentioned earlier, I didn’t have a lot of experience with lace knitting. It was great to see how what kind of looked lumpy and misshapen turned out so orderly and symmetrical after a good soaking. This is getting me excited about my upcoming Franklin Habit class.

Beautiful design, Snowden! When Jeff asked me to knit a baby blanket for his department’s administrative assistant’s new granddaughter, I though of this right away. It was inspiring to see the examples that both Snowden and Abbe knitted. I’m so fortunate to be surrounded  by such talented knitters and designers!

If and when I get a picture of the little one snuggled up in this, I’ll be sure to share.

Knitting Everywhere

Today was an awesomely knitterly day. I started the morning by getting the dogs walked and then riding my bike downtown. The men’s chorus I sing with was in charge of the national anthem at Austin’s first ever Pride Run 5K. It’s not often that I cover 5 miles of walking and running before 9:30am on a Saturday. And because it’s so humid these days, I probably did a little swimming as well – so let’s just say I did a mini-triathlon.
  Then I headed off to meet some fellow knitters for Saturday morning knitting. Which, as usual, was awesome. We celebrated the penultimate spring birthday in the group and did our usual knitting, chatting and chowing down. But today, we had basenjis !
We met at Staci’s house. Staci is the wonderful person who fostered our Pona during his convalescence before we adopted him. All three of his foster brothers were there – Ike, Abe and Tippy. Tippy was a little eager to partake of the donuts, so we all took turns keeping him occupied. I love how he’s perfectly happy to sit in laps – very different from our dogs. Stephanie took several cute pictures of the dogs, too.
Staci was also downsizing her knitting book collection and I got a couple of titles at bargain basement prices! I managed to snag Meg Swansen’s Knitting: 30 Designs for Hand Knitting. It has a lot of great Fair Isle patterns and a nice men’s cardigan I’d like to try. I also got  The Best of Interweave Knits: Our Favorite Designs From the First Ten Years. I have my eye on a nice fair isle sweater pattern in it, too.
After I was all caffeinated and full of carbs, I headed over to take a gander at  the new digs for my LYS, The Knitting Nest. They’ve moved only a short distance away, but it’s a larger space with better natural light. It’s also easier to get to traffic-wise, and it has a roomier parking lot. I’m looking forward to much shopping and knitting here. While I was there, I signed up for Franklin Habit’s class on knitted lace edgings which will be held on Saturday, June 19th. Just two weeks away!
And now, to see if I can finish up the knitting on that baby blanket today…

Ooh, Baby Baby

I hear all kind of stories from knitters about babies not arriving until the knitted projects created for their impending arrival have been completed. But the future recipient of this gift couldn't wait.

Jeff got word that she arrived early last week. However, knowing that she is here has really goaded me into knuckling down and finishing. It's gone much faster than I thought it would -- hard to believe I've only been working on this for 9 days. Granted, they've been vacation days -- but still...

I'm using a larger yarn and needles than called for in the pattern, but I bought the same length of yarn. I should have bought a ball more, because it became apparent as I progressed that I might run out of yarn. I decided to stop short of the total number of repeats called for in the pattern. With blocking, I should end up with the dimensions (32"x32") called for, so it's all good. I started knitting on the edging Thursday evening, and I've already made great progress. I don't know that I'll have it finished before heading back to work on Tuesday, but if not, it should be done soon after.

Please pardon the yucky colors for this picture. Blame it on indoor iPhone photography.

Knitting on the Road

I thought I was all prepared, knittingwise, for my trip to the in-laws' in north Texas this week. I stopped by my LYS to get some dpns that I thought I'd need for putting the edging on the baby blanket before I left town. But somewhere in my muddled brain, I think I interpreted the 6 inch length of the needles on the packaging to mean "size 6 needles." After getting up here, I could clearly see that I had bought a bunch of size 5 needles. Oh, well, I can always use them later, right?

Plus, I now had a legitimate excuse to make a 70 mile round trip to a yarn shop. I'm sure you'll all understand. I went to Jennings Street Yarns, near downtown Fort Worth, housed in an old dry goods store, complete with the original (and peeling) stamped tin ceiling.

I zoomed on in some size 6 dpns pretty fast -- 7.5", but size 6! -- and then did some shopping. This shop arranges a lot of its yarn by color, rather than by fiber or weight. As a librarian, I find this confusing organizationally; it's the equivalent of shelving all the yellow books together, which, although it's been done, isn't as useful to someone like me who is more goal-oriented than serendipitous in his shopping habits. The effect here was beautiful, though. Don't think I didn't gasp in amazement and longing at the shelves of green, brown and gray yarn all together with similar shades. It was a cool thing to see. Somehow, I was able to resist temptation and stuck to my dpns.

This shop had more pattern booklets out on display than I think I've seen anywhere else. The staff was friendly and helpful, gave me some ideas, and were not at all weirded out by the unshaven hulk shuffling around their store. I'll be sure to stop in again the next time I'm in Fort Worth.

Oh -- and a quick update on the Men's Argyle Socks -- they're now Women's Argyle Socks. Or rather, a particular woman's argyle socks. I finally had to own up to the fact that these were just too snug for me and not likely to see much wear. While in Houston last weekend, my friend Shelly was admiring these, so I had her try them on. Shelly's mom is a knitter so she knows from handknit socks. They fit like a charm and they're now hers. I'm glad they're going to get used and I'm glad they're being appreciated by such a good friend.

And Now for Something Completely Different

 

Some time ago, Jeff mentioned that the administrative assistant for his department was about to become a grandmother for the first time. This happened to coincide with the creation of a lovely baby blanket design by my friend Snowden. Having finally put the argyle socks to rest, I can now take advantage of these two events and merge them together in what’s shaping up to be a very satisfying knitting experience.

I don’t have a whole lot of experience knitting lace. I’ve done a pair of socks, and I took a beginning lace knitting class from Franklin Habit when he was in Austin a year or so ago. He’ll be back teaching a class called Lace Edgings: Before, During and After at my LYS next month. I’m seriously thinking of taking it, although I haven’t done much homework between the two. But who can pass up something like that?

In the meantime, I’m enjoying this project. To paraphrase Freddie Mercury – bad mistakes? I’ve made a few. Luckily, they were early on and the worst I’ve had to do is tink back three or four rounds. Now I’m reading the pattern better and it’s easier to see where all the leaves fit into each other. I love the rhythm of this kind of knitting.

I am changing things up a little – I’m using a superwash light worsted (Cascade 220 Superwash in Lime Sherbet) rather than the cotton blend called for in the pattern. And I’m knitting on the smallest needle size recommended on the ball band rather than the size called for. But it’s just going to be a big square right? Thanks to Stacy for pointing out this color to me – I think it’s going to be perfect for the little one – even if it’s a bit bright for me!

Addendum 5/22/10. I can’t believe I didn’t mention what this project is! I’d made a note on the pictures at Flickr, but neglected to say anything here. This is the beautiful Larkin Baby Blanket designed by my good friend and fellow librarian, Snowden Becker. I believe Janna is working on one of these, too. Thanks, Suzy, for pointing out this omission!

Argyles Complete

This morning, I completed the second of the pair of Argyle socks. I’ve been working on this pair for six long weeks, and I pretty much did 3/4 of the work in the past four days. So any of my projects seem to end up that way – at some point I reach a “this is it” moment and all I want to do is just get it over with.

That makes it sound like I wasn’t pleased with this project. Overall, I was. But I found I was dependent on the pattern instructions throughout the whole process – constantly consulting them wore me down. Then there was the bobbin issue. For the cuff, this  involved 9 separate live knitting yarns to keep up with. Also exhausting. The gray background color needed to be carried through the whole sock, so it wasn’t in bobbins. I tried to use rubber bands to manage them, but it seemed like every time I picked this project, I spent the first half hour just untangling everything.

On the other hand, it was kind of mathematically soothing to watch the lines and angles growing and shrinking, moving back and forth across the fabric. Overall, argyle is not that complicated a concept – but you do have to pay attention. There were several times I had to tink back a row or tow after finding a mistake. And I could never quite figure out how to avoid holes at the tops and bottoms of the colored diamonds where typically several new strands of yarn were introduced. I just decided to handle it while weaving in the ends, which I was more or less able to do. These are still a bit snug. I’m going to block them later – but I’ve got months and months to go before I’ll actually want to wear these.

For now, I’m pleased that they’re finished, mostly happy with the result, and ready to tackle some more projects. Some of my knitting friends have been laughing about pregnancy being contagious since there were so many fecund friends and relatives were making announcements about soon-to-arrive bundles of joy. And then Jeff’s mom called with news about his cousin. Time to peruse the patterns…

Progress

The past week was very busy with the usual end-of-the-semester madness coupled with intense evening rehearsals for a men's chorus performance on Saturday. But that is all behind me now, and I can concentrate on these argyle socks.

Not much to report -- just wanted to show that I'm getting something done. I'm having trouble concentrating -- my mind keeps wandering to potential new projects -- but these past few days I've hunkered down with a stream of unwatched PBS documentaries on the DVR and got to work. So while I learned about The Doors, the origins of Earth Day, and the My Lai Massacre, I got the cuff of the second sock done. The fun never stops around here.

Now I'm facing many fewer bobbins and a simplified pattern -- hope to have these done shortly!

Still Knitting

Just checking in to keep the blog alive and let you know I'm also still among the knitting.

I just haven't done much knitting in the past several week, so I don't have much to post about. I did manage to start the second sock last week, but didn't even touch it during an out-of-town trip last weekend. When I met my fellow knitters this morning it was the first time I'd picked up my needles in well over a week. But now that I'm getting back into the patterning, it's coming back to me quickly.

Not to worry -- knitting is still a big passion. It's just taken a temporary dip while I work through end-of-the-semester craziness. I've got some free time coming up soon and I'm hoping to jump-start into some new projects. Please stay tuned!

But in the meantime, the Argyle socks endure.

Be-gyled Again

I'm feeling so much better about these socks. Because the first one is finished -- mostly.

I was in a funk about these all week. I decided that, to determine whether these would really fit, I should seam it up to the point I'd knit so far and try them on. Because I knew I'd need all the circumference I could get and didn't want a thick seam, I tried seaming along the middle of the selvage edge. Tricky, under the best circumstances -- darn near impossible on such tiny (and sometimes quite dark) stitches. So there was that. Then, I had to get the triangles and cross hatches to match up along the seam. So there was also that. And then I tried it on.

A bit snug! This morning, with the encouragement and support of my fellow knitters, I went ahead and did the side seams and decided that, while snug (about as snug as the patent stitch socks I made recently), they would still work -- especially after a little hard-core blocking. When doing the side seams, I didn't pay attention to making them end on the same row along the sole. I'd overshot the sole a bit thinking I could rip back, but because I had room, I ended up with one seam taking up more of the sole than the other. So I ripped that one back. I still may have been a few rows off, but I finally got it back in the round and finished off the toes this afternoon.

Ye of weak stomach might not want to look at the second photo in this post. Yes -- those are just some of the ends that must be woven in. Some have already been done and some are hidden on the other side of the sock. This could take some time.

I'm back in the swing of things with these, though, and hope that all I've learned on this sock will make the second one fly by. I do know that I need to count the sole rows ahead of time, and then I need to divide the gray better this time around. I also know exactly how long to cut the yarn for the bobbins for the color parts, too.

I've really had a mood swing on this project. I was down in the dumps about it just a few days ago, but now I believe diamonds are a boy's best friend.

Puke of Argyll

Wikipedia, which never lies, tells me that the argyle pattern is derived from the tartan of Clan Campbell of the Argyll region of Scotland. Now, one of my 5th great grandparents was a certain Mary Campbell, who lived from 1783 to 1873. So one would think I would have at least a trace of a genetic affinity for this pattern, it being a remote part of my heritage and all. But we all have 128 5th great-grandparents, so it appears the strain has been watered own a bit.

I was so looking forward to getting back to these socks after putting them on hiatus for the past month or so, but as soon as I picked them up again, I started having problems. I miscalculated the lengths of yarn I needed for bobbins. I dropped stitches. I crossed the wrong strands. I had to stop for hours while untangling unruly yarn. I somehow added a stitch at one point. I just can't seem to get back into the swing with these things. I'm also a bit worried that I might be running out of gray yarn. If that's the case, I can always make the toes a solid color (either the navy or burgundy), but I'd like to use the gray.

I'm not giving up on this project by any means -- I just wish it would flow more smoothly. This sock does a lot of things differently from normal socks, and I suppose much of my frustration comes from the feeling of doing something for the first time. I need to remember that these aren't ordinary socks, and let go of the assumptions and habits that I've gotten used to in my sock knitting. That's one of the points of trying something new, isn't it?

It could be that my Campbell-ness is just too watered down for me to take to argyle naturally.I suppose I could contact Torquhil Campbell, the current (and 13th) Duke of Argyll to see if he has any tips. But Wikipedia also tells me he is the captain of Scotland's national elephant polo team (!), so perhaps he's best left alone...

Night Gulls

I haven't posted in over three weeks because I've been on a secret mission. But now the cat (or the sea bird, rather) is out of the bag, and all can be revealed.

Behold, a new sock pattern -- Night Gulls -- created by my good friend, fellow librarian, and fellow knitter, Janelle. Aren't they cool? And Janelle chose me to test knit the large size. So much responsibility! But Janelle was thorough and kind and carefully considered all suggestions. I was a little nervous about it -- not knowing whether I would be able to be objective about a friend's pattern, wondering whether I would be able to be thorough (I tend to gloss over some parts of patterns) -- but the whole process was fun. A lot of hard work (especially on Janelle's part!), but extremely rewarding.

As Janelle mentions in her pattern notes, the socks have a kind of sampler feel. The top has a slipped gull stitch pattern that leaves the effect of a flock of seagulls (no, not that kind), and after a garter ridge divider section, a diagonal rib stitch that brings to mind rolling waves. So if your interest is piqued, check it out. If you do decide to do this, I can highly recommend using Dream in Color Smooshy. It was awesome to knit with.

I should say that I haven't spent the entire preceding month working on just this project, although it is the only knitting I've managed to accomplish. The weather here has warmed up considerably and our poor yard, much neglected after a couple years of intense drought, needed some attention. So weeds have been pulled, plants added, bamboo eradicated (as much as one can -- sigh), and ibuprofen ingested. All of this pulled me away from knitting and I didn't get to spend as much time at the needles as I would have liked. But the yard's under control, the Night Gulls have flown, and now I need to get back to those Men's Argyle Socks -- if I can even remember how to do them anymore.

More posts soon -- I promise.

Arggggh!(yle)

I made some progress on the Argyle Socks while at the in-laws' earlier this week. The days were filled with many activities (musical theater, family reunions, museum exhibitions), so I didn't get as much done as I would have liked. And, I ran into problems.

I've found that the bobbins don't always naturally drape on the side that you want them to. Especially the ones at the opposite end of the needle from where I'm working. Several times, the bobbins have fallen on the wrong side and caused quite a bit of confusion. I managed to figure it out when it happens -- every time but once. And oh, that one time.

I got to the end of a row and found that the bobbin had flopped over to the other side and I had just blithely knit past it. So I had a strange navy loop that ran from the front of the sock, around the selvage edge, and then to the back. I had done this about ten rows back. You would think a mistake would be easy to see, but with all the bobbins bouncing around, it must not have registered. I had two choices -- tink back much of a day's work, or pull the needle out and rip back.

Naturally, I thought the former would be best, but after the first row it was driving me nuts. So, I went with plan B. I got all spread out on the kitchen table (the knitting I mean, not me) pulled the needle out, and then just methodically frogged, color by color, untwisting at the color changes as I went. It was very unnerving, but it worked. I even managed to get all 70 stitches back on the needles in the right combination. I sweated bullets, but I had the whole thing done in half an hour.

As you can see from these pictures, the construction is kind of weird in order to accommodate the intarsia. It's knit flat to the heel, and then joined for the heel, with the gusset decreases being knit on either side, also flat. The sole is knit out to where the toes start, and then the patterned instep will be knit, with the seams on either side of the foot. Then everything will be joined in the round at the end for the toe decreases. As if there weren't enough ends to weave in already.

But the Argyle Socks may be delayed a bit as I've taken on a semi-secret project. A dear knitter friend is entering a contest, and has asked me to knit one of the samples in a man-size. I don't want to let the cat out of the bag until she's had a chance to blog about it, but I do have her permission to post pictures. I've only barely gotten started, but here's what's happened so far. I think this is going to be wonderful, and I can't wait to see it develop. More pictures as I make progress.

in-ˈtär-ʒə

Clearly the editors at the Merriam-Webster Dictionary online are not knitters. Check out their pronunciation of "intarsia." You can click on the little speaker symbol to hear it. Weird, huh? Or is this the way it should be pronounced? I've never heard it like that.

I had my partner the speech professor correct it to the way I pronounce it. Now that I can say it, let's hope that I can do it. Because I've launched into the argyle socks that I've been planning.

The electric blue is out altogether after consulting with some fellow knitters. I was convinced that yellow was the way to go. And despite my aversion to wearing the brightest of bright colors, my fellow knitters were right. This was definitely the color to use. It really pops, but not in an obnoxious way. The yellow is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Sunflower, which is noticeably thicker than the Lang Jawoll Superwash that I'm using for the other colors. I think the cross-hatching lines would be neater and tidier if they were of a similar size, but it's not too bad.

I've done only one other intarsia project in my relatively short knitterly life, and that was with thicker yarn -- and many, many fewer color blocks. I wasn't really planning on using bobbins -- I thought that I could get by with just making some little butterflies at the back. But now that I have the bobbins, I'm very grateful for them.

And this is how this particular sausage is made. Terrifying, no? Because there are parts of five solid diamonds being worked at any time, and there are four yellow one-stitch-wide lines traveling across the fabric, this piece requires 9 bobbins across only 70 stitches. It's a lot to keep up with. I'm really only using 7 bobbins, though. Since the gray yarn doesn't have to be broken, I'm trying to just knit those two sections off the ball of yarn. Believe me, there will be plenty of ends to weave in without them.

I know this looks scary, but it's actually kind of fun. The most difficult thing about the process is remembering to twist the yarn when switching colors. It doesn't help that twisting looks different on the two edges of a color block. But it's really not all that complicated. You only ever have one strand in your hand at a time, and you don't have to be nearly as conscious of tension issues (not to mention carrying floats) as is required in stranded knitting.

So far, so good. Spring break is coming up, so I hope to have some time to devote to this.

For Me?

Someone knit something -- for me!

And that someone is my super-talented knitting designer friend, Snowden Becker. When Snowden is trying out new design, she often uses some of her fellow knitters as models/guinea pigs. I was lucky enough to be the recipient of her first design for men. It was inspired by vest worn by Jon Hamm in a GQ magazine photo spread some time back. She assured me that I would like just like him when I wore it. I'm not going to hold her to that promise.

Like all of Snowden's designs, this one is full of all kinds of neat little details, from the herringbone pattern that gives the entire thing a woven look, to the functional pockets with i-cord trim. The small rolled collar is a nice touch, too. I'm amazed that she was able to take a few quick measurements and then just whip this up. For me to try something like this for someone else, I'd be sleeping at their house, waking them up every hour to try something on, then ripping back....just ask Pona.

If it looks a little wrinkly, it's because I've barely taken it off since she presented me with it Saturday morning. I wore it to an event last night where I received many compliments, even though I had some competition in the stylish clothing department.

I just can't say enough nice things about this well-crafted design and this thoughtful gift. I'm grateful to be able to learn and bounce ideas off of talented knitters like Snowden. Her designs are really taking off, and she deserves all the attention she's garnered. I promise to take good care of this. I imagine this vest is going to be on a table in the front of a class someday, with awe-struck students fingering it gently, and whispering to each other, "This is the very first one."

Thanks, Snowden!