Aha!

It seemed like the experiment on the Mermaid Socks was working; I decided to stick with the pattern on 36 sts and do stockinette on the other 42. I did 16 rounds like that, then a short-row heel, and took another look at it. Hmm, the fishtail pattern stopped spiralling. Put it aside. Went to run some errands. Mulling it over, I realized that I could solve the problem by shifting where I start the patterning. It needs to start with the k2tog, so that the left-slanting ribs will blend into the stockinette, and end with the increase to offset the k2tog.

See? It has lost the slant:

So I have ripped back, and started the experiment again. I am 4 rows into it, and it looks like I may have it right this time. Oh, and I switched from a size 1 to a size 0 needle.

Thank you for the nice comments on these silly socks.

To answer Kristin (because I can't find a better way to do this), yes, I ordered 2 of the same color of the Kauni, in 2 different weight skeins. I haven't figured that part out -- whether each seller gets a random assortment of skein sizes, or whether I could have gotten 2 250g skeins instead of a 250 and a 240.

And now, since I have a paper to write (for Geometry!) that is due tomorrow at midnight, and family coming to visit tomorrow, I have to hide my knitting & do something that other people would define as productive. ;-)

A Blast from the Past

I started these socks last summer -- they are the Mermaid Socks from Lucy Neatby's Cool Socks Warm Feet. Blithely ignoring her instructions to swatch, I cast on the multiple of six that is closest to my "usual" sock cast-on. So I went round and round on 66 stitches, did the heel, and started the foot. Tried it on -- way too tight. Ripped it out, did the gauge swatch and some calculations, and started again on 78 stitches. So far, so good. I think I've done about 40 rows today (safety pins mark every 10th row).

Now I'm wondering about doing some modifications -- in the pattern, the spiral rib thing goes all the way around the sock, including the foot. I think I'm going to experiment and see what happens if I do stockinette on 36 sts and the rib on the other 42 (it's a 6-stitch repeat).
The yarn is Regia Cotton Surf Color, color 5412, in case you were wondering.

Oh, and no yarn in the mailbox today.

Um, there's more....

And in today's mail, we have 490g of Kauni, to make this gorgeous sweater. There's a knitalong for it, too. This yarn came all the way from Germany in 8 days.


The June sock kit from Susan's Spinning Bunny, containing a beautiful merino/tencel blend in a color called "roses for you".


4 oz. each White and Ebony Zephyr from theknitter.com. These are my options for MysteryStole3, along with bead options. The first clue for the stole will be posted this Friday, June 29th!

The Kauni has been wound into large cakes (six inch ruler included for scale). I used a regular-size ball-winder, but had to gently pull the metal guide away from the ball toward the end.


In yesterday's comments, Cindy asked, "Now, is this stash in addition to other stash, or is this your almost total stash? Or is it your only stash?" I actually have a shamefully large amount of yarn. Most of it was acquired with specific projects in mind, but I bought faster than I could knit, and it seems I have not managed to stop. I think I will have to knit 24 hours a day from now till I'm 99 to use it all. And there are two more orders on their way, but I think that's all... I'm pretty sure....

Yarn!

The consequences of a major yarn buying binge have started to arrive in the mailbox. Today's mail contained my 6th order from The Loopy Ewe. I'm now officially a "Loopy Groupie". In addition to the yarn I'd ordered, I received a tote bag, a bonus ball of sock yarn, and some "Loopy Kisses". And since I'd already earned a $25 store credit with my first 5 orders, I applied it to this order, as well.

The picture above shows the whole order in a lovely clear plastic tote. Below, the bonus skein, ONline supersocke 100 Summer-Color, color 791, and the Loopy Kisses (peppermint candy).

The yarn I ordered, from left to right:
The Knittery, Chocolate Royale
Fiesta Boomerang [5 oz, 320 yds., Extra Fine Superwash Merino], Safari and White Zinfandel
Fleece Artist Sea Wool [115 gr (~4 oz.), 354 yds (325 m)], Cosmic Dawn and Aegean

The Fiesta is quite a bit thicker than fingering weight sock yarn. The gauge on the label is 18 sts = 4" on size 8 needles. Obviously, I'm not going to use size 8 needles for socks, so I'll have to swatch (ack!) In yards per oz., it's a smidge heavier than STR mediumweight, which calls for 8 sts per inch on size 2 needles, so that at least gives me a jumping-off point.

And from ebay seller Yarnbow, 2 skeins of Noro Silk Garden in color 270, to combine with 2 skeins of color 245 already in my stash, to make this gorgeous striped scarf.

Stitch N Pitch

Baseball, anyone? I had heard of Stitch n Pitch, but didn't know much about it. Then I got an email from a not-so-local yarn shop, saying they had tickets for a game in St. Louis. So I started thinking, checking the date & time, asking the family if they'd be interested. We live about 150 miles south of St. Louis, but that would be "our" MLB team. My daughter called me from work today to ask if I'd gotten the tickets yet. I told her I would. She called later and I still hadn't gotten the tickets, but I made the call after I got off the phone with her. The tickets are discounted over the regular price tickets, and everyone gets a goody bag (even the non-knitting family members! more for me!). There are Stitch N Pitch nights all over the country. The schedule is on the website. It will also tell you where you can get tickets. See you August 6th in St. Louis!
This seemed like a good family activity to finish summer vacation. We all go back to school the following week. Seems like it gets earlier every year.

Geometry? !@#%!

I am taking a geometry course online, the last 3 hours of math I need to complete the math requirements for certification (I'm going to be a high school math teacher this fall). It started yesterday, with an endless reading assignment that made me want to poke my eyes out with a dpn. There was a homework assignment, too, due tonight at midnight. I got it turned in 7 hours before deadline. Take that! New lessons will be posted every TWThF until hell freezes over August 3rd. Pray for me, people.

Last week was Vacation Bible School. As I have done for the past 6 years, I taught the 5th graders. This year, I don't know why, but I just lost it a couple of times -- not a good example of Christlikeness. Fifth graders don't listen, especially when you have 20 or so in a room, in a rather informal atmosphere, with terrible acoustics (cinderblock walls and tile floors). I'm afraid they just didn't learn as much as they could/should have. But the funny thing is, they kept coming back. I have realized that I make an entirely new set of mistakes every year. I hope someday to have learned enough from my mistakes that VBS will run more smoothly!

Oh, knitting... that's probably why you're here.... I did start socks with the Colinette JitterBug, but once I finished the toe increases, I found myself flipping through Sensational Knitted Socks, and More Sensational Knitted Socks to find a pattern to use. Finally settled on Beaded Rib, and they're looking quite nice:

Other socks on the needles are the Inside Out socks, in STR mediumweight, Monsoon. These were the Feb. 2007 package from the Rockin' Sock Club. There was also an April shipment, and I'm hearing rumors that the June shipment may be on its way. I'm a little behind.

And the Big Black Socks for SocksForSoldiers. I thought I was finished with the legs at 12", and then I read a post that indicated that the legs need to be 14" (they'll shrink some in the wash, and they also lose some length when stretched widthwise). These legs are now 5 rounds from being 14" (or 140 rounds) long. I think I'll go work on them. Or do the next geometry assignment.


I almost forgot: if you love lace, you might want to sign up for Mystery Stole 3. It starts June 29th, so you'll still have time to gather supplies. One caveat -- lots and lots of posts, so you might want to set your delivery to digest right off the bat.