Oogyknitter

We've had some really lovely weather here lately - sunny, breezy, cooler days, and very cool nights.  There's a bit of rain in the forecast for the rest of the weekend.  I really love this weather - it's the time of year inbetween the super hot summer and the dark and snowy winter.  We can have the windows open all day and night.  I don't like what comes next, but I'm certainly enjoying this. I'm also in a yarn inbetween, of sorts.  I just learned that the date for the Granny Log Cabin isn't until October 1 - so I can stop risking repetitive crochet injuries and slow down a little on that.  And I've just gotten to the brioche part of All About.  It seems like it's time to pick up some of those other projects, the ones that I can finish up inbetween these other, larger ones.  I can enjoy those, and also enjoy these larger projects that happen around them. However, we remain under siege.  This afternoon we were outside, stacking the rest of...

A little bait and switch - I'm going to lead with a pic of the completed O is for Oogy socks - no mystery there! I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but I'm totally keeping these for myself :) Now for the latest mystery - Since I knew I'd be spending a lot of time with a crochet hook (Granny Log Cabin Afghan), I looked around for my favorite one.  There's nothing really unusual about it, and I've got several others like it in various sizes and colors (not sure what the brand is, but they're stamped with "Made in Germany" on the back).  I like them because they're efficient - no weird shapes, outcroppings, bendy parts, etc.  But my favorite was nowhere to be found.  I grabbed a greenish yellow one (that strangely coordinates with the afghan colors!) in the same size and off I went. Until this morning, when I pulled a semi-finished article out of the bin and decided I was going to rip it all out and repurpose the yarn for...

Much to my surprise, the MKAL shawl ( Perfect Blend , by Casapinka ) did not require aggressive blocking; the yarn was very cooperative just being placed (sometimes pushed) into shape.  Here it is in the blocking room: Because there are so many colors and a few different stitch patterns in this shawl, I took some closer-up pics of the various sections so you can see it a little better. Top section (at the widest part as seen in the above): Middle section: Lowest section: I'm glad I did this MKAL because I really don't like changing colors so often and having to deal with working in all those ends (although it was surprisingly painless).  So I wouldn't ordinarily make something so colorful.  Another reason - it's a two-fer!  Casapinka is going to release another pattern next month that will use the leftovers, when combined with a skein of something neutral.  I've got the neutral all lined up (thank you, Webs Summer Sale!).  Of course t...

Life in the country has been interesting lately, as it feels more and more like we are under siege.  I'll work backwards in chronology: There are presently two farmers with two tractors and two unidentifiable attachments kicking up a bunch of dust out in the fields.  I can only guess at what they're doing - one, the dustier of the two, appears to be even more finely breaking up the soil; the other appears to be pulling what looks like a giant grass seed (you know, the kind you usually fill up with seed and push around your yard).  I don't see any swirls of seed coming out of it, but then again it is very dusty out there and of course they're kind of far away for all that. A couple of times over the weekend we heard a loud knocking noise coming from one of the external walls.  Oogyhubby looked outside and saw nothing; I remained inside and tried to figure out where the noise was originating.  And banging on the logs to see if I could scare it off, whatever va...

So yesterday I dove into All About That Brioche after seeing that the first section is entirely garter stitch (so I don't need to worry about a practice 2-color brioche swatch just yet; although I'd made an entire scarf in 2-color brioche stitch last year but I'm fairly certain my fingers don't remember how that went after all this time).  This section is a 6-row repeat (having to do with variation involving increases and decreases), and so I tried something I'd seen recently on a knitting podcast: using a stitch marker with a lobster clasp as a progress tracker: (But first - take some time to admire the lovely dark iris colored yarn - isn't it awesome???) This trick works amazingly well.  In the past, I've kept manual track of rows, and so many times I'd forget to keep count.  Some patterns don't lend themselves to easy reading of the knitting, so this often ended badly.  This combination of pattern and counting is perfect - hook the marker ...

The Bamboo Socks are done, blocked, and ready for yarn mule-ing to their intended recipient next month: A few observations: - I have no idea why I got them done so far ahead of their deadline. - I had several knots to contend with in the first sock; the second sock had none! - The pattern matches for both socks - I didn't even plan it that way! - I have a bit of yarn leftover, which is now sitting in the marinating pile thinking up some ideas. - Yes, I snuck in some grafting; however, Crazed Scandinavian continues to glare at me. In other knitting news:  O is for Oogy sock #1 is soaking, and I've just started the toe on #2, and I spent some time yesterday wrangling with the Latvian Braid on August Hat, to no avail.  I need to find something successful to accomplish today! Country life updates:  the farmer returned briefly on Tuesday to continue breaking up the soil, then left his tractor and has not yet returned.  The deer continue to graze at the ...

A possible new theme - a blog entry without any pictures!!  Imagine that!! In my mind I did have a pretty interesting photo opp planned, and I may still carry it out if I don't get carried away in the meantime.  I've got to graft toes on two socks (Bamboo #2 and Oogy #1) as well as the entire Crazed Scandinavian.  Picture them all lined up - it's kitchener stitch all the way down.  We'll see what happens with that. I returned this afternoon to find the farmer going wild on the next level of tilling - breaking up all the clumps of dirt into smaller clumps.  At least now I know how he manages to arrive and depart without incident - there is an ATV parked out there at the moment.  I've (jokingly) imagined hotwiring the tractors and backhoes and driving them all over the place, but an ATV would definitely be more practical around here.  We'll see what happens with that too :) I cast on for the O is for Oogy sock #2 and am about 3 inches in, and still...

Can you see the O?? Of course by now I'm at the toe, ready to graft - and then cast on for Oogy Sock #2!!  I'm having a blast with this yarn and seeing what colors and patterns are emerging, so it's hard to stop.  I'm also going to keep these socks for me - yay!!! I'm also approaching the toe on Bamboo Sock #2.  It was pretty much a sock knitting weekend! In other news - the farmer returned the next day with another tractor and a device that breaks up the clumps formed by the tilling.  It seems like someone came to pick him up right in the middle of it all; he parked the equipment and left.  We've had some periodic thunderstorms over the weekend, so I'm not sure if  he's avoiding them or has other work to do because of them.  But it's still fun to imagine the conversation possibilities: "Quick - get in!!  The wedding's in 10 minutes, you can still make it!!" "Hey - your wife says you were supposed to pick the...

I'm well enough into the second pair of O is for Oogy Socks to feel comfortable with continuing to move forward with the pattern selection - Library Socks .  It's a fairly straightforward pattern, and so far the yarn has provided an interesting fade effect: It also reminded me that, in spite of the warmer weather we'll be getting in the coming days, summer is starting to fade.  It was still fairly dim when the alarm went off at 6:00 this morning, and the sunsets are moving further south and earlier in the evening. Also, this afternoon the farmer appeared with the largest tractor yet, pulling a tiller apparatus.  He is in the process of plowing up the whole field.  I'm assuming this means no second cut of hay this year?  If so, then the summer is really on the way out! In wildlife news - as I was raising all the blinds downstairs this morning, I spotted our foxy loping across the lawn and closer to the house than I'd seen before.  He looked fairly s...

I certainly have plenty to do yarn-wise!!  First off, a couple of finished items: MONKEYSOCKS, in their amazing Hocus Pocus yarn; I am totally keeping these for myself: Spectra, completed at long last after a couple of days of near obsession (I am a few wedges short of what the pattern called for - I ran out of the gray yarn but still have a bunch of the single ply "sock" yarn left over!): Emboldened by the completion of Spectra, I'm ready to face the insane amount of grafting needed to finish this one at long last (Neuro has had hers finished for a long time now!!): Still in the works - Bamboo Sock #2, O is for Oogy Sock #1, and Dunella.  And of course tons of spinning. Next up:  All About That Brioche , in the two iris-colored yarns that Neuro and LW dyed when they were here in May; here they are again in bright sunlight: Lastly - my intent for all of the recent spinning (especially for Only One) is to weave the yarns into scarves.  I ...

There seems to be a theme to the things I want to tell you about today - in most cases, there is more than there was before!! More Only One (this is the first of the four remaining bobbins): More palate cleansers: Also, I've been working obsessively on Spectra, and there is definitely more of that now.  Unfortunately, I'm going to run out of the gray yarn before I complete the 85 or so wedges that the pattern calls for.  I'm thinking it will be sufficiently long, it will just be - well, less than intended!  Even the wildlife have contributions - the other evening there were FIVE deer grazing around in the field.  And this morning - foxie!!!  The hay is still short enough for me to see the top of him, but not for much longer!

The other day Neuro sent me a picture of her Dunella lace progress thus far, and it is looking really amazing!  When she informed me that she was at Row 30 of the second pattern repeat, I just had to catch up: OK, so I'm at Row 30 of the first pattern repeat.  BUT - the last many rows have gone very well.  No disasters, no tinking back, not even a forgotten YO or a misplaced SSK.  (Of course I've got a whole process now - work at the kitchen table, no distractions, and mark both latitude and longitude on the pattern chart, moving the marker to each motif as I move down the row).  It's time for a new lifeline, and then I'll continue on my merry way.  This is definitely a long-term commitment! Close to You is now on the blocking mats: Additional knitting progress:  MONKEYSOCK #1 is drying on the sock blocker (and looks awesome!!!), and #2 is awaiting a toe graft; I have enough Hocus Pocus yarn left over for something more than baby mitts so I...

As I was scrounging around in the "to-be-finished" bin the other day to retrieve the second giant ball of Only One roving, I was reminded that I still needed to deal with Transient . It all started when LW and I wandered into a yarn store in Provincetown last summer.  We weren't looking for it, but when we saw it there we decided to go in.  There on the shelf was a large assortment of Concentric - a 4-ply, gradient, alpaca yarn.  There were several super fun colors, and for some reason I just had to have one of them.  It wasn't cheap, but what the heck - we were on vacation!! Uncharacteristically, I chose a pattern for it and started knitting right away.  The Transient pattern was designed specifically for this yarn, so the changes in the patterns coincided with the changes in the yarn color (one of the few times something like a scarf/shawl needs to be close to gauge!).  I don't think I stopped knitting on this thing, and was done with it really so...

Last evening I was thinking about what take-along project I'd like to start next.  I just finished the knitting on the Close to You shawl and, although I still have Bamboo and MONKEY socks going, I figured it was about time to start something new.  I rummaged around in a box of sock yarn and found: This is the second of the two "O is for Oogy" sock blanks that Neuro had dyed for me an embarrassingly long time ago.  The first pair, in mostly greens and blues, became socks shortly after I got these, but I must have wanted to save this set for a rainy day.  It's been anything but rainy here lately, but I'm really excited about these colors and also to be working with something else from Neuro.  It will be fun finding a pattern that this yarn wants to become! Speaking of all things Neuro - I've finished plying and setting the twist on the two remaining skeins of Only One; they are drying alongside one of the palate cleansers.  I may have gone a little...

I thought it might be fun to provide you with a niddy noddy comparison, using the standard sized noddy and the wee one I mentioned the other day: The empty noddy makes the regular-sized skeins that we're all used to, whereas the little one is perfect for smaller amounts of yarn.  It's made by Ashford, but I'm not sure if they make them anymore - Ashford has a wee one, but it's much different.  Mine comes apart, so it can be stored flat. I'm still contemplating the population of potentially intended recipients for July Hat.  It doesn't scream BOY or GIRL at me, so perhaps that's a sign in itself.  Here's a pic, what do you think? I haven't mentioned the KAL shawl I've been working on in some time, but my latest thought project has been just how should I go about securing and weaving in the 8 million yarn ends that are involved when changing colors once every inch or so.  I think I'm going to go with 1/2 surgical knot, followed by w...