One Crazy Fiber Lady

In order to keep up with the steading incoming supply of sock yarn, I decided that I need to knit at least one pair a month.  Towards that end I have two pairs of socks that are complete.  The first is a the last FO for 2011:

These socks are Cherry Tree Hill Supersock.  I’m pretty sure this is my first completed pair out of that yarn.  I’ve purchased other skeins, but I don’t recall actually finishing anything before.  These are pretty nifty.  I actually finished these guys on New Years Eve, shortly before midnight.  That made my total production for 2011 higher than it has been in a long time.

I just finished these socks this evening.

I would have finished these earlier, except I futzed up the second sock.  For some odd reason, while I had no problem increasing the toe to 56st for the first sock, I couldn’t quite manage that on its mate.  Took me to having finished the heel to realize it though.  I ripped it out and started again.  The yarn is Pakokku sock yarn from ITW in Minotaur color way. I picked this up at NYSW this yearn and really liked it.  The base is a fine multi-plied yarn which reminds me of Lorna’s.

Finally, another FO to show off, but not knitting this time.  Most know that I’ve been working on a iOS version of my KnitCounter app.  I submitted it to the Apple App Store on 1/2 and it was approved.  It is available for $.99 (just like the droid version)

It is available here.  I’m quite proud of it and would welcome comments and suggestions!

Now to decide which yarn is next.  Will be important as on Friday we’re off on our annual family vacation on the Explorer of the Seas.  The trip is very similar to this one, but one day longer and with one stop different.  We’re going to St. Martin instead of Dominican Republic this time and the islands are in a different order.  Labadee, Haiti is our first stop.

Craft on!

I know it has been a long time since my last post. And no, my prolonged silence does not indicate that I’ve been job hunting again! I am quite happy at my new job. While I won’t go into all the reasons why I could be lured into interviewing by the recruiter in this very public of fora, if you should really want to know, email me or leave a comment.  Suffice it to say, the things I didn’t like are no longer a problem.  I hit the one month mark today.  Yay!  I’m still loving it.

However, the learning a new company and new gig has me somewhat, well quite exhausted by the end of the day.  When the kids go to sleep, I’m ready to call it a day, which is why you haven’t seen a post from me in a bit.  It also means that the development work that I had started on the iOS port of KnitCounter is once again on hold.  I’m still plodding through the books, but not writing anything yet.  Soon.  Be patient grasshopper.

I am knitting though!  And I have lots to show progress-wise since my last posting.  Right before leaving the last job, I needed a bus project.  Enter another pair of basic socks.  This is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock that I got from Deb when we went to visit her towards the end of October.

I had even made some decent progress before ending that job.  I vaguely recall finishing the first sock and then the knitting sat and sat in my bag untouched.  I’ve been reading on the train/path (yes shorter commute!) and had other portable projects steal this one’s thunder.

Having finished the boy’s DriveThru, it was time to make the girl one.  Since she kvetched that the last one made from 220 was itchy, it also meant a trip to the yarn store for something “softer” for my princess.  She picked ack-rylic.  Decent ack-rylic, but still ack-rylic all the same.  It was Patons Canadiana at least, and not something terrible.  Glad I took her to a real yarn store and not a big-box. Goodness only knows what she’d pick there!  Anyway, here’s her finished DriveThru:

Drive Thru

• Size:  10
• Yarn: Patons Canadiana
• Needles: US7 & 8
• Started: November 12 2011
• Completed: December 4 2011

The kid is happy.  And mommy is happy that the kid wish list is now complete!  I can go back to knitting for me

I have a couple more that are finished in name only.  One is waiting on a picture of the finished item:

The yarn is some Jade Sapphire 2ply Cashmere lace weight that I tried to knit a number of items out of but the original color just made me ill working with it.  It was a clown-barf inspired bright pinks and greens.  Don’t know what I was thinking when I bought it but it was cashmere in the 50% bin at the yarn store.  Leann was awesome enough to overdye it and make it useable and gorgeous!  It is now a finished cowl that I’ve been wearing daily since the weather got cold.  Thanks Leann!

The other is waiting for a trip to the washing machine to felt.  I’ll give the project deets when all is done.

It will end life as a felted hat for Alexander’s teacher.

Finally, I just need to show this!  It made me smile when I saw the request to follow my twitter feed…

So say we all!

Craft on

Today is my next to last day at the current gig. im on the bus stuck in traffic on the way to the lincoln tunnel. since the boy’s sweater is no longer bus friendly i started something else. introducing the Last Bus Socks.

Location:Secaucus,United States

I’m late in giving details and finished photos of projects that I’ve been working on recently.  Its time to rectify that little oversight.  First up:

Mommy Socks

• Yarn:  Forbidden Woolery Quattro – Poisoned Apple
• Needles:  US0
• Pattern:  Hedera on the cuff
• Started: 9.16.11
• Finished: 10.8.11

These socks were primarily knit on the bus.

Alex’s Hat

• Yarn:  Forbidden Woolery Footloose – Eastwick
• Needles: US1
• Pattern:  Sabeanie
• Started: 10.8.11
• Finished: 10.16.11

Kat’s Hat

• Yarn:  Forbidden Woolery fiber – Jack n Jill
• Needles: US5
• Pattern: the knitter’s handy book of patterns
• Started: 10.16.11
• Finished: 10.17.11

And now so as to avoid having the next project make its blog debut as a finished item, here’s this year’s first DriveThru sweater for boy.

The yarn is Valley Yarns Colrain.  I bought the blue off someone on Ravelry and the rest from Webs.  I knit both the body and one sleeve twice.  I had that brain fart where I was intending to make one size due to the gauge I was getting and totally muffed the cast on count.  Sweater would have been huge on the boy.  Then for the sleeve I followed the directions as written but that makes for a really tight sleeve.  Boy wanted something loser so after the cuff, I increased half the finished width stitches on the first plain row and then followed the pattern to the full width.  I finished the bulk during a Star Trek movie marathon today on MAX.

I found these wood buttons in stash and I think they go great with the sweater.  I’ll probably do the bands tomorrow, work in ends and sew these bad boys on shortly.  I’ll probably start Kat’s sweater tomorrow on the bus.  This is no longer travel friendly.

Speaking of which:  TWO MORE DAYS!!!

Craft on!

Wow another Monday. I have to admit that my previous awesome knitting clip is slowing down. Two reasons.

First I found that I can actually read on the bus without having a queasy reaction. Yay!

Second the techie in me has been reasserting herself. I know I’ve mentioned it in the past that I’ve wanted to port my Android knitting counter app over to iOS. To that end, I’ve read books on the subject on and off for probably close to a year. Each time I feel like I’m { this } close to actually starting to code, something bad happens: hit by car, job in jeopardy, etc. But now things have settled down and last week I dug out the books again. This time it is really clicking. I wake up in the morning thinking about how to solve/code/handle various aspects of the app. A good sign! Fingers crossed that nothing bad happens (I am somewhat apprehensive as things do have a tendency to come in threes as to what would be next in that bad list).

While the knitting has been minimal it has indeed happened. Friday night on the bus I finished the first sock. This morning I did the toe on the second.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Eastway,,United States

There are pros and cons to traveling to work by bus. Which is something that I’ve been experimenting with recently. The three legged train to path to subway has been getting to me. So the only two legged option is the bus to the Port Atrocity Bus Terminal followed by the subway. There is another bus I could take to the GWB but that’s an icky ride on both the bus and subsequent long assed subway ride. So two legs is good. But the bad is something I didn’t have to deal with on the train: traffic. Ugh. Stuck in it now actually trying to get to the tunnel. But it does offer up superb knitting time.

Alex’s second sock after only two commutes by bus.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:9th Ave,,United States

I finished the first items on the knitting request list. Kat now has a new pair of socks.

Kat Socks

• Yarn:  Footloose in Electric Youth
• Needles:  US0 – Blackthorn
• Toe up over 48 st. (cast on 12)
• Started:  8/30/11
• Finished: 9/4/11

She’s pleased as punch with them.  Nearly killed herself running through the kitchen with these things on.  The tile is insanely slippery.  You either need to wear shoes or walk barefoot on it.  I cast on for Alex’s sock but haven’t gotten very far.

I’ve been working on my Kauni sweater, but I think that work deserves its own posting.  I’ll put that one up tomorrow.  Instead, here are more sights of my commute.

The knit bombing was chained to a street sign under the Brooklyn Bridge.  From the datestamp, yes, I have been sitting on this for a bit.  Shortly after I took this picture, the bicycle disappeared.  I’m glad I was able to capture it when I did.

Leann requested a picture of the progress at One World Trade Center (aka Freedom Tower).  I took this one a couple of weeks ago just before I entered the WTC PATH station.

You can see it pretty well from across the East River as well…

Hope everyone who celebrates had a good Labor Day.  Ours was quiet.  Kat had a playdate.  I knitted.  We did the boat thing Sat/Sun.  All in all, a nice weekend.  Back to everything tomorrow.

Craft on!

This will be a post with lots of randomness to it.  First, the last finished project.

Spunky Neapolitan Socks

• Yarn:  Spunky Eclectic
• Colorway:  Neapolitan
• Needles:  US1
• Pattern:  Basic over 52 st
• Started: 08/03/11
• Finished: 08/27/11

Next up:

I had to restart Kat’s sock.    I started with too few stitches yesterday and wound up with a really really pointed toe.  This time, instead of six(12), I cast on 12(24) using that awesome method I linked a while ago.  I’m much further along as of my morning commute, however, I learned a very important lesson:  you can’t take a decent picture of knitware on your lap while on a moving subway train  I would have waited but next stop was mine.  Better picture tomorrow.

The kids have me dizzy.  For quite a while they not only refused to wear my handknit items, they actually pointedly asked me to buy them something instead.  Okay.  Fair enough.  I respected their wishes, and really, redirected the knitting energy on ME.  I am a selfish knitter after all.  So now?  They’ve both put in a request list:  socks, hats and sweaters!  Wow.

This has me scratching my head a bit.  All over the city, they are removing cobblestones and/or paving over them.  What’s going on out here in the boondocks known as DUMBO?

They’re actually putting down cobblestones!  I’m not a huge fan of the pretty bricks.  Chalk it up to my foot size and/or my terrible ankles, but I have a heck of a time walking on these things.  They are a broken ankle waiting to happen if you ask me!

Pet peeve:  listening to people chew.  Totally squicks me out.  Sadly, two days a week I have to hear it at work.  I have a co-worker who blessedly works from home most of the week.  I saw blessedly as when she’s here she nibbles on ice.  ALL.  DAY.  LONG.  She sits in my bionic hearing rang.  I hope after the move that my desk is across as it is getting old having to sit with the headphones in all day.  I think I’m beyond the point where I can gently ask her to knock it off in a nice way.  UGH.

I’ve discovered that this blog is good for more than figuring out when I knit something or bought this or that item.  I found a true practical usage.  Last week I suffered through a terrible headache for the better part of it.  Like always, I initially wrote it off to stress, weather, not sleeping so well, for staring at a monitor all day long… all of the above.  All good excuses for a headache, but nothing out of the ordinary that should be causing misery for that long.  Then I had a vague memory of another weeklong misery period that I remembered blogging.  I couldn’t remember when it had fallen so I did a little reading of the archives.  I found it had been in the early fall of Sept 2008 for well over a week.    I smell a pattern Batman.  I pointed it out to mom.  She went:  Hay fever.  Awesome.  I think she’s right.  I went back to taking regular allergy meds, adopted a Neti Pot and now the headache is gone.  thanks to 2008 CFL for recording this info for her future self.

Finally, we all know that I’m a bit of a collector of things:  yarn, fiber, wheels, electronics, purses.  I don’t need all the stuff I have and well, some of it needs to find new homes periodically.  I’m considering putting up a small ‘store’ on the blog, an online garage sale if you will, to find new homes for all the excess stuff.  I’d list things like the once loved by now replaced electronics, commercial and handspun yarns, fiber, and like new Coach bags.   Good idea?  Bad idea?  Feedback would be much appreciated..

We survived Irene with nothing more than a small puddle in the basement, which in itself is not unusual.  We get puddles down there with any sustained rain storm.  Same thing goes for the small lake that forms in the backyard.  There’s a low spot that formed when the tree stump that had buried back there when the pool was put in, rotted away.  Well now water congregates there during heavy storms and we have our own pond.  Its gone now, along with all the droppings the mighty oak in the middle of the yard decided to part with during the windy parts of the storm.  The kids would probably tell you that the worst part was the 8 or so hours without electricity.  I knitted and read an actual paper book during that time as I’d let my Kindle battery die before the storm and hadn’t added the current book to the iPad (and it wasn’t a book I’d purchased online) but was still sitting on my powerless desktop computer.  On the up side, I had the nice version of the book which stayed open by itself, which allowed me to knit while I read.

So with the train being out (yesterday) and requiring patience (today), I’ve been working from home.  I tell you, I do so like working this way.  I fixed all my assigned bugs yesterday while the kids had a Godzilla movie marathon.  Today, I’m reading documentation and reverse engineering a previous implementation.  I can do that AND knit as well.

Both Kat and Alex have requested hand knit socks.  Last weekend when Leann was here for a little spinning, she brought along some of her gorgeous yarns.  I let the kids each pick their own yarn for the socks.  Since I finished the last pair of socks on Saturday (will post final project details shortly), I cast on for Kat’s this morning after spending some time with her bare foot and a tape measure.  Buggers have gotten much larger since her last pair!  Still cute though   I’m enjoying the weather, sitting outside on the patio with my laptop….

• Yarn:  Footloose in Electric Youth
• Needles:  US0 – Blackthorn
• Toe up over 48 st. (cast on 12)
• Started:  8/30/11

Munchkins are off at the park with PopPop as I sit here and toil.  Okay, gotta get back to researching which is the better approach.  Boss let me know that they will be relying on my recommendation as to whether we use the new SDK or not.  I haven’t a clue at present.

Craft on!

After a day spent on the boat in warm and humid weather, the kids are now in bed and I can sit and give a quick update of the goings on since last posting.

I cast on for the next socks as promised.  The yarn is Spunky Eclectic in Neapolitan colorway.  I’m using my standard pattern for the “heavier” yarns:  52st on a US1, toe up, short row heel.  Its coming along nicely I think.

I haven’t touched it since Friday morning on the train.  Friday was the company picnic and I brought the twins with me.  It was a long, hot, fun day which saw them commuting with me to the new office in Dumbo via Train to Path to Subway to get to the office.  We were there for about 90 minutes before it was time to head to the ferry to Governor’s Island for the picnic.  Another ferry to Pier 11 followed by yet another ferry from Pier 11 to Hoboken and then the train home.  Waiting on line to head to Hoboken a few folk behind us who do I find but Yarny Old Kim!  We had a lovely ride home on the upper deck of the ferry.  I napped on the train so there was no knitting.

Yesterday I did some shopping with Kat, who had a birthday party, while Alex went to the boat with the folks.  I had some returns to make (traded one bag for another at the Coach store and took advantage of a technology trade in program at Target to get the shiny that has been calling to me:  iPad 2 )  There was face painting at the party..

There’s Hello Kitty on one cheek, a heart on the other.  A dolphin on her forehead and a paw print on the tip of her nose.  That face painting is very popular, isn’t it.

I didn’t make any further progress on the sock this weekend as I might have bought more yarn…

Yup.  Kauni.  This is the EH colorway.  The colors remind me of that sweet kitty that I had not too long ago, Baron.  Last night after getting Kat washed and off to bed, I cast on for the Kauni Rainbow Cardigan.  I know I haven’t finished the previous one.  But its too small and requires too much attention.  I checked it for gauge before casting this one on and found I was half a stitch an inch too tight in the gauge, which caused the darn thing to come out too small and with all that fair isle going, it isn’t blocking much larger.  Someday I’ll finish it. Maybe.  But in the meantime, I always liked the sweater, and while surfing through Ravelry, saw that someone used this colorway, which I totally love.  So I ordered from Webs

Between TV time last night and sitting on the boat today, I think I’ve made some pretty fair progress.  I spent some time with the four different skeins studying the color progressions and where the skein started with the deepest hope that I continue to get contrasts.  Thought right now I’m hoping the strand with the blue moves to the dark brown which is next before the light brown starts into the blue.  The progression is  Blue -> Dark Brow -> Med Brown -> Light Brown.  Rinse.  Repeat.  Knitting with the wool was probably not the smartest thing to do today in the humidity, but you know that early honeymoon period with any project where its all you want to do!  Not to mention its a long time, April I think, since I worked on a sweater.

I need to make a phone call and then I can settle back with the knitting and the Sox v. Yankees (go Sox!).

Craft on!