Half A Sheep

Teh year of teh Sock

Y es esta la moral de mi Oda: 

Dos veces es belleza la belleza, 

y lo que es bueno es doblemente bueno, 

cuando se trata de dos calcetines

de lana en el invierno. 

~ Pablo Neruda, Oda a los Calcetines

(The moral of my ode is this: 

beauty is twice beauty, 

and what is good is doubly good 

when it is a matter of two socks 

made of wool in winter.)

Gotta love Pablo, even if his reading of his wonderful poems is inexpressibly depressing!  Very drone-like voice!

Yes, I'm actually posting again, this month!  I find it very hard to believe, myself!  

My new laptop actually has WiFi built in, so I can take it with me to work and actually do something!

And I have been knitting muchos cosas!

This is, apparently, the YEAR OF TEH SOCK!

For your approval, I present the first socks of 2009:

This is a particularly crappy picture, but it was taken at work on my phone.  The finished pair will be posted, as soon as I can keep them clean long enough to snap a picture!  They are:

Leyburn socks by MintyFresh.  I dug through my stash for some really colorful yarn and came up with this.  It is Interlacements "Tiny Toes" #206.  Love them!  Although there is a KAL of these on the Socks that RAWK!  group in Ravelry, I did these for fun, not glory!  And fun, they definitely are!

The second pair is a pair that I have wanted to make since I first saw them!  I am a great fan of Lord of the Rings, and quite agree that the only name for this particular sock had to be 

Rivendell!    

Janel Laidman, the perpetrator of this pattern, is the author of the book "The Eclectic Sole", and is, IMHO, fabulous!  The yarn is Dream in Color, Smooshy, in the Jade colorway!

The third sock of the year is where I fall into the rabbit hole of sock knitting!  The Sock Knitters Pentathalon, International, 2009

Now, I'm a rotten joiner.  I love the idea of being in KAL's, but constantly overestimate my knitting time, speed, or motivation.  Every KAL I join, I'm late, inconsistant, or absent.  But I love them, anyway!  This year, I decided that I would, by the Yarn Goddess herself, actually finish!  And participate!  And I did!

Please meet "Salida".  These were done with yarn from KnitItUp's "Pride and Prejudice Sock Yarn Club", in the colorway "Mr. Bingley, exceedingly agreeable"!  And he is!

And last, but not least, the inestimable Cookie A has become my downfall, with the publication of her new book:

This is the best book, almost, ever!  (I do love Cat Bordhi, you know!) The entire first half of the book is devoted to design, from beginning to end, and is incredibly informative.  There's a world of burgeoning sock knitters out there, jumping up and down, and cheering "Thank you, Cookie!" at the top of their lungs!  The second half....well, you have to see it!  Fifteen (count 'em) 15! glorious patterns!  All drool-worthy!  

Now, leave it to the Ravelry groups to come up with something to honor such an effort!  Knitsomniac came up with a Makin'Cookies KAL in which we knit one pattern per month for the next 15 months, beginning May 1st.  In the meantime, we are training up by knitting various Cookie A patterns until everyone has the book.  As of today, there are 740 members...and growing, as people find out about it!  Theresa (or Treesa, as they apparently pronounce it in Scotland) is an awesome moderator, and has amassed a surprising number of prizes!  She is also incredibly good at keeping everyone included and motivated!  

This is the saga of the fourth sock!

May I present "Hedera" by Cookie A.  Knit in DIC Smooshy, Cloud Jungle Colorway.  I. love. them. period.

Mr. Neruda, if you were still alive, you wouldn't have to worry about my having socks next winter, at all!

It's Spring, and I'm Sprung!!!

A wretched soul, bruised with adversity,
We bid be quiet when we hear it cry; 
But were we burdened with like weight of pain,
As much or more we should ourselves complain.

                                  William Shakespeare

WARNING:  Picture heavy post!!!!!

You know, a well turned quote is worth a thousand words.  Suffice it to say that I've been buried under mountains of obligations, both at work and at home.  As much as I've missed all of you, I had to make some hard choices...to blog or to knit.  Guess which I chose!

Christmas was wonderful this year!  We had my DIL's brother here from Chile, and, despite my utter failure in willing my eldest daughter to fall madly in love with this guy, so I could keep him as a real son, a wonderful time was had by all!  And DH FINALLY GOT IT! (By IT, I mean that he now finally understands that the only thing he can get me to make me very happy will be fiber-related)  After much ordering, returning, ordering again, phone calls, and a personal relationship with Otto Strauch, these arrived the Friday after Christmas:

Isn't it prettyful!

Makes my little plastic ball winder and plastic/wire swift look like children's toys!  I heart them with great passion, these!

I knit hats with great abandon all through the holidays, so that each one in the family got one.  I even knit an emergency one for  our Chilean kid!  But, as children do, they ran off with them before I thought to get the camera out!

January rolled around.  Kids went back to school.  I actually thought I might have a little extra time, but wound up teaching a sock class at my LYS!  (Yeah, I couldn't believe it, either!)  While I was there, I saw a beautiful 4 harness LeClerc loom for sale, with bench, shuttles, books, etc.  I managed to resist it until Valentine's day...but the price was so good (less than a third of new), that it had to come home with me!  Ladies and gentlemen, my I present...

Now, those of you that know me, know that I've never woven.  In fact, some of my Tuesday night group seemed to think that it was really funny when I announced that I didn't have time to take weaving lessons, and that I planned to teach myself.  They even posted about it.  All I can say is:

THAT THERE IS FABRIC!

I warped it myself (which is an ungodly long and tedious process)!  It may not be perfect, but I think I did rather well, and certainly learned why you never want to lose your cross when warping!  Next project will be slightly more ambitious, I think.  I hate the idea of warping that thing for a scarf!

Some of you may know that I have been expecting a new granddaughter.  I've been knitting like crazy for the grandchildren, in hopes of having everything done by Christmas.  Well, it was done, but not sent until this week, when we were presented with Princess Sophie!

Lungs like her Grammie, I think!  And, of course, a BSJ to wrap our little Sophie in!

E.Z.'s "Baby Surprise Jacket" in Sublime by Knitting Fever.  (70% extra fine merino, 20% silk and 5% Cashmere).  Gotta absolutely love it!  It feels like knitting clouds!

Of course, something was in the package for the big brother, as well....

Of course, this is the Weasley Sweater from "Charmed Knits" by Alison Hansel.  The yarn is Kathmandu   by Queensland Collection.  This is 85% wool, 10% silk and 5% Cashmere.  

Guess y'all can figure out how much Grammie loves those kids!

Coming soon:  Sock smack-downs!  Spinning circles!  Fiber progeny!

Merry Christmas to all...

and to all a good night!

Un-Raveled Redux

Still catching up on all that you've missed since I've fallen into the vortex of Ravelry...

've done some spinning...

This is Louet Northern Lights roving in the "Tropical Skittles" colorway.

Spun as a thin single and Navaho plied!  Whee!

I am truly loving my Julia!  The Victoria is great, but very short.  Since I've aged, getting "very short" is on my "Don't even think you can still do that!" list.

This is my baby. She is a truly fine tuned little machine!

I've taken this lovely handspun (a bit overspun, I think) and am knitting the Baby Surprise Jacket from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Workshop.

These pictures don't reflect the amount I've gotten done on this.  All that's left to do is the seaming!  I adore this pattern!  The "surprise" really gets you, every single time it folds!  Amazing mind, that EZ!

I've also recruited friends on this particular adventure.  This is Susan's first BSJ (although I hear she's planning another one!)  She gets just as excited about the "Surprise" part as I do!

In addition the the many UFO's that I'm still working on, I've started a new project, just for me!  It's a top down raglan Cardigan made of Brooks Farm "Riata" #93 colorway.

Wool and Mohair and Silk!  Oh, my!

I think it is progressing nicely!

I've made it past the armholes and am now in stockinette purgatory, knitting rows and rows and rows!

I made it a V-neck (I hope).  The arms are waiting on waste yarn, to be knit down later.  The underarm was done with a provisional cast on, which will, I think, be easy to pick up with the arm stitches.

I don't know what I'm going to do for the bottom.  I think I'll just turn it under for a hem.

Oh, and lest we forget....FO!

No I haven't forgotten my Rockin' Sock Club!  May I present Gumdrops, knit of STR lightweight in the "Goody,Goody" colorway!

I loved making these.   The pattern was actually memorizable, and I took them everywhere!  And they feel delicious!

Now that I'm sort of caught up, I guess I'll set my timer for my 10 minutes of Ravelry...or maybe I'll just go knit!

Un-Raveling

I'm looking at you through the glass, don't know how much time has passed... Oh, God, it feels like forever.....

Stonesour, "Through Glass"

And here we are again.

My last post was sometime in July, around the time I did the death-spiral into the whatever-a-longs, and began circling the drain that is the interwebs!

Despite reports that I had vanished (true in cyberspace), died (untrue, ANYWHERE!), or joined some weird anti-fiber cult, which demanded that I give them all my wool (not a bat's chance in Hell!), I have been here all along!  I have proof, as I continue to see boxes of fiber and yarn occasionally show up at my door!  I'm certain that I had to be there to order it.  Actually, I've been doing some knitting, and much spinning, and working an awful lot (nothing new here).

And I've been on Ravelry.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I absolutely LOVE Ravelry with the heat of a thousand suns!  Jess & Casey are my absolute idols!  They have created a cultural phenomenon!  There is absolutely nothing about Ravelry that I am not absolutely enchanted with!  I love to chat it up, here and there with my lovely fiber friends! I love to look at what others are knitting!  I love to plan what I would like to knit next.  I'm positively hypnotized by the number of groups that seem like they were made just for me (my interests are ecclectic and far ranging)!  And I will not mention the number of knit-alongs.

And therein lay the problem.

I was on Ravelry so much, that I had almost no time to knit!

I tried to cut back.  I would allow myself to check patterns only at work, where my computer time is limited.   That lasted for a week.  I tried diversionary tactics.  (PLURK is almost as bad as RAVELRY as a giant time worm!)  I tried reading more, but, unlike Wendy, I can't read and knit at the same time!  (I did get to preview the Twilight series for my youngest daughter, though.)  I even cleaned the house!  Still, when I had five free minutes or more....back to the computer I would slink, to get my Rav-fix.

Now, it's not as if I were doing anything on Ravelry that was even remotely productive, like posting about a project, updating needle or book counts, photographing and organizing stash, or even just writing a comment or two.  No, I was simply oogling each and every project I could find!  My queue has grown to the size of a giant sequoia!  (And that's just the ones I have the patterns for!)  I've coveted....yes coveted my neighbor's yarn!  I have lusted after the luxury of cashmere!  I have yearned for the stitch compositions of Yarnissima!  I have Dreamed in Color!  I have answered the call of the sirens that are sock clubs!  And I have positively lusted after lace, in my heart.

Then, one day, I went to work and left my knitting at home!

Oh, dear fiber friends, how can one face the day when one must give up the thing one treasures, for one's own good?  How can one live without the nearly constant contact with new and endlessly entertaining forums?  How can one close one's eyes to the delight that is a whole whack of new patterns? Every. Single. Day?  Yet, that is what Ihave done this past week.

I allowed myself to get on the computer only for 15 minutes each day, in which I had to check e-mail, and conduct business.  I've actually set the timer on my phone!  The only time I'm allowed to get on Ravelry is "remainder time" from that 15 minutes.  This allows me to quickly peruse the pattern page, make any updates, or answer mail, but not to wander from page to page, willy-nilly, in a fiber-fog!

And, guess what happened!

I'm knitting again!   (Pictures will follow.....promise!)

Spinning my way to Victory!

Bonjour, mes amis!

I thought it only appropriate to dredge up the residue of my high school French to bid you hello on this, the beginning of the 2008 Tour de Fleece In my quest for le malliot jaune, I have set myself a wonderful challenge.

 Last month, in a rare (cough) fit of fiber acquisition, I purchased 8 ounces of a lovely pencil roving by Louet, called Northern Lights. I would love to post a picture, but, since I am at work, c'est impossible! It is a lovely jumble of colors that should spin up to a complete circus of color frenzy, by the time it is plied! (I promise, I will put up pictures later!). At the same time, I acquired some lovely royal blue corriedale, also by Louet. When I signed up for the Tour de Fleece, these two instantly came to mind! Why?

 Why, to make socks, of course! Which socks? Why Nordic Lights socks, naturally, from Janet Laidman's new book, The Eclectic Sole! The Northern lights roving should make a wonderfully colorful pattern yarn against the background of the royal blue! So, my challenge is: Spin 16 ounces of fiber into "energized" sock yarn, ply it, skein it and set the twist by the end of the Tour. Just in time for the Summer Olympics when I plan to knit them into socks! This, from the girl who has trouble posting because she works too much, has 3 socks already in progress, has at least 3 long term WIP's that have taken up a good part of this year, as well as a couple of skeins of handspun sock yarn that is sitting at the table, just screaming to be knit!

So...check back here occasionally to see if they've hauled me off to the mental hospital yet!

In Which Our Heroine Disappears...and Reappears!

...or "That which does not kill us will make us batshit!"  ~ Halfasheep

I looked on my blog and realized that I haven't posted a single thing since April!  I was honestly shocked!  It seemed like only yesterday that the Firebird kit arrived (and, trust me, it looks like it was only yesterday, as well!).  Now, it is the end of June, and I can feel life spiraling out of control!  Tanasay from Ravelry and I have been talking alot about knitting vortices, this week.  But I think I've fallen into a life vortex...all of my time is being sucked down into a black hole!

April, which is now known as the month of the arthritic(!) hip, was fairly crazy.  I have somehow injured one little spot on my left hip, which sent shooting pain into my groin every 5th step or so.  Please understand that this arthritis(!) developed literally overnight!  Also, understand that I walk constantly at work! So, for about 3 weeks, I walked constantly leaning on one crutch!  Did I take off work?  NO!  One of the surgeons greeted me one morning with "Hi, Crip!" to which I responded "It's Gimp, to you, sir!"  I've never had issues with mobility, ever!  But I can tell you, my heart goes out to anyone with chronic issues like this.  Not only is it painful, but it's completely flippin' annoying!  I couldn't carry anything and negotiate with the crutch, so housework went right out the window!  As did large knitting projects (unless I was home).  No grocery shopping.  No shopping at all (except on-line)!  But all is not lost!  A friend in pain management injected the joint with anesthetic and steriods, and all is improved!  It still hurts if I'm very tired, but not in the let's stick a cattle prod in your left hip socket and see how fast you go down sort of way.  Hip resurfacing will, hopefully, be another 10 years down the road.

While I was incapacitated, I was sucked into a side-vortex of Ravelry...and watched as one after another train-wreck occurred before my very eyes!  Now, I assume that knitterly folk are all fiber-sistahs (and brudders) and would never threaten to poke someone's eyes out with pointy sticks unless their stash was being threatened.  I had my eyes opened, and have been  throroughly transfixed by the war of words between zombies, pseudozombies, sock-puppets, and righteously angry knitters! (Extra credit if you guess which train-wreck of a thread I'm referring to!)  

May might have been a little better, but with many of my co-workers on vacation, work became almost the only thing I had time to do!  I did manage to meet with my peeps in Lancaster, TX, for the Second Saturday on the Square.  The "Over the Wheel Gang" meets in the town square (brick streets, live oaks, etc.) to spin, knit, whatever each 2nd Saturday, weather permitting, right outside the Sassy Spinster, which is a lovely new shop for knitting, spinning and weaving.  I had arrived with my trusty Victoria, and set up my chair next to a woman who was trying to put together a new wheel...the Louet Julia!  The owner of the store was showing her this wheel, and they were unsure of how to assemble the bobbin and flyer.  I was able to help them, as it is almost exactly like the Victoria...and I fell in love!  I've been looking at full sized wheels for about 3 months, as the Victoria is a little low for comfort when spinning at home, but is perfect for a mobile project.  I had looked at the Schacht Matchless, but it was a little pricey.  But this was absolutely perfect!  Tense negotiation began.  This woman didn't know if she wanted it, but wanted to try it out.  "I'll take it if she doesn't!" popped right out of my mouth!

The woman looked at me strangely.  Then I took a second look at her! OMG!  It was Sherry from Brooks Farm Yarn!  My hero!  I groveled obsequiously at her feet for awhile, trying to absorb her sense of color, while, at the same time, trying to nab the wheel!  No such luck, since Sherry knows her wheels!  However, thanks to the good owner of the shop and Louet, orders were placed and a new Julia is now residing in my spinning corner!  As are several skeins of Solo, which I scoredsince Sherry was there!  You'll see it in the Clapotis, if I can ever get the pictures loaded onto the computer!  

June has been devoted to work and to getting DD's ready for summer!  Big DD is off for 6 weeks in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Venia del Mar, Chile.  Little DD is doing her softball thing and whining about being bored.  DH keeps coming up with things that I need to do (because they are too, too difficult for his addled little brain), like charging the iPod he got for Father's Day!  I've had three complete days off in the month of June, so far (it's the 25th!)   I'm buried in laundry, the floors are unbelievable, my printer has died, and I can't find the cord to upload pictures!  My dogs don't recognize me anymore.  The cats have taken to swiping at me as I pass.  And every time I walk in the door, someone has lists of things for me to do! 

Maybe I'll really disappear this time....if I can pack all this yarn!

Mission Maybe 2008

My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to knit all of the things I have listed before December 31st, 2008. If I should fail in this mission, the government, and most of my knitting buddies, will disavow any knowledge of me or my whereabouts. To this end, this blog will self destruct at midnight on New Years Eve 2008. Good luck, Jo!

Another sock, another club!
Despite the Yarn Harlot's attempt to derail all sock clubs by knitting Vintage Socks, the mill finally came through! The yarn was dyed, skeined, packaged and.....SENT!

Say hello to Firebird! You've got to give our lovely Tsarina of Tsocks her props! This pattern is absolutely fabulous! I can't wait to start! Different textures, plus embroidery!?! WTF!?! I have a feeling that this one may take a while!

Whether it takes a month, or a year, the color is fabulous! And check out the lovely little helper book!

And, just to prove that it can be done, a picture!

They don't call her the Tsarina for nothin'!

One more FO!

Yes, the Leafling socks are done! They are indeed a marvel of crazy sock construction, which has been an absolute joy to knit! I'm convinced that Cat Bordhi is not from here. She may not be from anywhere near here, either! Possibly Pluto. But she can sure put sock knitting on its head! To avoid spoilage, pictures are posted after the break...

Cat Bordhi Rulz!

(Or..."How I overcame my fear of weird sock construction!")

My dear blog peeps!
Holy mother of all things fibrous! I'm in the throes of an obsession!

I have a lot of projects that I need to work on, already on my needles. I have several BIG projects that all are screaming at night for small bits of my time, in attempts to become FO's before next winter! There's the lovely Kauni sweater that everyone in Ravelry has commented on (well, not quite everyone!), the Dunadd wrap that I really, really want to wear, and the "I want to be buried in this" Malabrigo lace Feather and Fan shawl. I've got bunches of roving that I'm dying to spin! And Mission Possible 2008 is looming large. So, what do I do?

You guessed it! I cast on another sock!

Pattern: Bevo House Socks (my own)

Yarn: Queensland Collection Rustic Wool

Color: # 13 (for all you Longhorn fans!)

Needles: Size 5 DPN'sd

Maybe I just needed a quick FO. Maybe I felt that my eldest DD needed to wear something on her feet in her apartment (for safety!). Maybe when I was at The Knitting Nest in Austin, I reached out and touched this stuff, and it magically jumped onto the counter (most likely!) Whatever the reason (assuming reason had anything to do with it), I made these in about 3 days. Nothing like instant gratification! Simple construction. Almost no leg! Eye of the partridge heel (I think). Easy peasy!

Then the mail came. The next installment of "As the Socks Rock". Yes, the March edition of BMFA's Rockin' Sock Club. If you haven't gotten yours yet... go no farther! *****SPOILER ALERT***********
The colorway "Lucky" is greens with some gray and is lovely (Although the pattern shows the yarn as completely in shades of green). I started looking at the pattern "Leafling", which has some lovely little leafy looking stitches down the front of the sock. Dang. I've already done a pair of socks almost exactly like these, from the "Gathering of Lace" book by Meg Swanson! Then I saw the gusset! It went DOWN!!!! NOT ACROSS! AND THE HEEL WAS ALL THE WAY INTO THE FOOT!

JC Briar designed the pattern, taking a chapter from and giving credit to Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters. OMG! This was Knitting with a capital K! I had no idea what I was doing, about half of the time! I just followed the directions blindly, trusting the Blue Moon people to have tested this one thoroughly. And, as I knit, I suddenly GOT IT! One of those knitting epiphanies! I'm in serious lurve with the construction of this sock!

Pattern: Leafling by JC Briar

Yarn: Socks That Rock (Mediumweight)

Color: Lucky

Needles: Size 2 DPN's

And just check out this heel!

If you had to choose, which sock would you knit?

Me, too!

Serendipi-done

FO! FO!
Finally!
Serendipity socks are finished! (And before I received the next Rockin' Sock Club kit!) That means I get to check one off on my Mission Possible 2008 list!

Pattern: Serendipity (BMFA Rockin' Sock Club 2008)
Yarn: BMFA Socks that Rock
Colorway: Dragon Tail
Now gifted to my eldest DD for her birthday (next week)! She's turning *gasp* 21!

Much knitting is being done, but not much is being finished. The projects I have going are almost all long-term, which is incredibly frustrating. I'm trying to resist casting on anything little (like socks) until my March/April Sock Club kit gets here! I have a pair of socks on the needles, specifically for a sock class that I'm holding for our fiber group. But I can't finish them, or I won't have anything to teach the toe decreases and Kitchener stitch with!

Pattern: International Socks of Doom
Designer: Julie Gardener
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK

I knit these before, in Knit Picks "Elegance", for the first edition of "Sock Wars". They are a lovely, easy pattern. Perfect for newbie sock knitters, I think. Plus, my blue ones in Rowan "Wool-Cotton" are wearing rather thin! Time for a new pair!

Progress has been made on the Feather and Fan Shawl as well! I'm up to about 888 sts per round now, so each round takes a huge whack of time! If I get three rounds done, I've used up about all of my knitting time for one day! Needless to say, this one may take a while. I'm nothing if not an instant gratification junkie! Still, the Malabrigo laceweight is absolutely heavenly!

And finally, there is the Kauni Cardi! She's been resting for a month or two, since doing the collar/front band. So I picked her up and started the sleeves.

So, I've got all of these projects going. I'm knitting every day. Spinning when I can. And all I can think of is casting on some fabulous new project with this:

Do YOU see a problem here?