the wooly-brained ramblings of a knitter and novice spinner...
it may be 'a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing'...but it's mine ;-)
(not the best pic in the world i'm afraid but i have a hard time taking decent pictures of my feet *sigh*)
i have to admit, i'd seen these when looking through the blogs of those who had completed their socks, and drooled over them really hoped they might be for me...such gorgeous colors...and they're made of KOIGU!
jennifer says this is only the second pair of socks she's completed but i'd never have known if she hadn't said--didn't she do a great job?? i'm very impressed :-)
see her blog (above) for more pictures (better than mine), and the details...she was even generous enough to send the leftover yarn for repairs etc.
thank you so much jennifer for the wonderful socks (wriggling my toeses in the cushy comfort of koigu...i understand now why people rave about socks out of this yarn!) and thanks also to alison for organizing such a fun swap (my first!)...will be watching for the next installment *grin*
it's a crappy day in the neighborhood...so i'm going back to my knitting...hope everyone's having a great weekend :-)
note: thanks to those of you who made such nice comments on the siren socks...i'm really very pleased with them :-) leslie, i'm sorry, but i wasn't the one who made your socks...i hope you found the right person though!
finally getting a break from the antics of this misbegotten machine my computer...it's behaving at the moment so i can post...we'll see how long it lasts grr
here is the final picture of the socks formerly known as "mermaid" but are now known (at least to me) as 'siren' socks! i feel this is a much more appropriate epithet title for them, as the first one lulled me into a false sense of security singing of its beauty, then promptly crashed me on the rocks of the "nyah-nyah-you-don't-have-enough-yarn-to-finish-us" shoals ;-) they were mailed out to my sock pal, Mandy [edit: i had her name blanked out til i was sure she got her socks...she has--HURRAY!], on the 15th (more shock and amazement...i still can't quite believe i had them done in time!), though it's distinctly possible that they didn't go out til friday, considering that they were being mailed from a village post office that collects earlier than i remembered *sigh*
she ought to have them by monday i should think...i just hope she likes them *biting nails* [edit: she did (saturday) and she does! *whew*]
Project Details:
Pattern: "Mermaid" socks from Lucy Neatby's "Cool Socks, Warm Feet". i found this very easy to memorize, and i really like how the pattern works up...definitely thinking about trying to make myself a pair of these at some point. i wasn't too sure about the garter st short-row heel, but once i'd done the first one i really liked how it looked (was easy to do too!), and it sort of 'echoes' the top border. it also seems very 'cushiony' which should make for a good heel. spiral toe design meant no kitchnering! (i can do it, i'm just not fond of it lol)
Materials: 1 skein (BARELY enough) of Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Socks That Rock" 100% Superwash Merino, colorway "Ruby Slippers" (if you peek at the name of her blog, you'll understand why i chose this color *grin*). i REALLY like this yarn (was easy on the hands to knit with, it washes up so soft, and there was no bleeding of the dye despite the color). this was a 4.25 oz skein, approx. 325 yards...see comments below re 'enough yarn for a pair of socks'. worked on US size 1 and 2 Addi Turbos (2.5 and 3mm respectively), using the 'magic loop' technique (this could well make me a more avid sock knitter!)
Notes: this pattern seems to take a bit more yarn than the average pair of socks--i missed the comment in lucy's directions about needing more yarn for larger/longer feet or longer than ankle length socks *sigh*, so it's not fair for me to blame it on the yarn/skein for not having enough--i suspect (will find out) that in a simpler design there'd be plenty of STR to complete a pair. the upper section of the original sock was longer than i'd realized (apparently i can't measure?)...somewhere between 7 and 8 inches. that combined with a slightly longer foot led to the above mentioned "crash". i would definitely encourage anyone to try these (they're not nearly as complicated as they seem, and lucy's directions are clear...well if you read them all lol), just be certain you have a goodly amount of yarn available :-) they were a fun knit, and i'm glad i decided to join, if only to give me the opportunity to try them out.
a bit sad i suppose to see these leave...but there's a new project in the wings: making some special socks for emily, my pal in the sock exchange thingy!
well...i've finished with a couple days to spare...apparently i CAN (much to my amazement) knit a pair of socks (or at least one-and-a-half socks) in a week.
(please excuse the keyboard...apparently it's in dire need of cleaning...yecch)
that is ALL the yarn that is left...if i'd had a spare hand i'd have been biting my nails for sure...as it was, i spent several hours muttering over and over "i'm not gonna have enough damn it!...there is no way i'm gonna have enough..."
needless to say the end was a bit nervewracking! working in the ends was a new adventure in why not to leave really short tails...there's a reason they tell you to leave 6" lol
i'll post again with a picture once they're washed/blocked...but i wanted at least a minimal post available for the last update-before-mailing ;-)
it's a piddling little thing, compared to all that's happened in the world lately (i won't even try to get into that...i don't have the words) ...merely a trifle...hardly anything really...but in my little corner of the world it's disastrous
...and i knew better than to wait this long to find out...
remember that "horrible sneaky suspicion" i had about not having enough yarn?
yup you got it...there's no way i have enough left to complete the second *sound of hair being ripped out by the handful* i even got the scale out and weighed the finished sock vs the partial plus remainder of yarn...no dice
soooooooooo...guess what i'm going to be doing frantically for the next few days/week because per usual i was stupid enough to leave this project til the last minute argh
rippit...rippit...rippit...i'll have to shorten the leg in the first one and hope that's enough to make the difference.
one small bright note: i should be able now to do them both on two circs, so that might speed things along...at least i hope so.
since my camera is off on vacation without me being borrowed, you won't be treated to the pathetic image of a tear-drenched crinkled pile of red yarn...or anything else for that matter.
thanks much to those of you who have visited recently and made nice comments on the victim previously completed sock...keep your fingers crossed for me that the completed pair is suitable to send to someone expecting nice socks *sigh*
