not much knitting going on, but i did start the lace on my ripples skirt!

i finally got to the lace portion on the indigo ripples skirt. i'm doing a kal with a group of gal pals from my booty camp workout group. one of the gals has finished and it looks beeeeeeeuuuuuuteeeeful!

i'll be muddybuddying it this sunday in san jose. they just announced that it is officially SOLD OUT.

Race Description
Each race features a 6-7 mile course and 5 obstacles. At the start of the race, one team member will run and one will ride the bike. At the 1st obstacle, the rider will drop the bike, complete the obstacle, and begin running. The runner will arrive, complete the obstacle, find their bike, and begin riding. Teams will continue leapfrogging each other through the entire course. At the end of the race, racers will crawl through the infamous Mud Pit crossing the finish line together!

At long last, a FINISHED OBJECT! Presenting...

FO: Yoda Sweater
Originally uploaded by purlgurl

Baby Yoda Sweater for Gretch's lil' boy to be...she's due in August, so I'm actually a head of the game. I think I'll knit a beanie to go with it. I thought i'd have yarn leftover, but will the seaming and making i-cords, I'm down to just a little jaw breaker sized ball.

It's a very cute pattern. If Gretch & her boy really likes it, I'll make them the next size up called not so baby yoda. I'll try to do as much as I can to avoid seaming, so I'll work the sleeves in the round again and see if I can knit the front panels along with the back at the same time.

Creating I-cord using a CSM aka circular sock machine

I love the fact that there's a Bay Area CSM group that is fairly close by (1 hour away). It's a great group of people that freely shares tips and techniques on using CSMs. Yesterday, one of the topics discussed was making I-cord using a CSM. The concept sounded so cool, I just had to go home and try it out myself. Perfect timing too, because I needed a few to finish up the Yoda Baby Sweater I made for a friend's baby boy to be. 

Here's how I created i-cord on my CSM (Legare 400):

1. Take out all cylinder needles except for those you need to make the I-cord. In my case, I kept 3 in place.
   
2. Thread yarn through yarn carrier.
3. Long tail cast-on the number of stitches needed for your I-cord (e.g. 3 for my baby sweater).
4. Transfer the stitches to the working needles on the cylinder.
5. Thread yarn through your yarn mast and make sure to use the heel spring to take up slack yarn.
6. Using your left hand to weight/pull down the tail of your long tail cast on, proceed to crank with your right. You may have to coax the first few rounds along as the stitches may need a little assistance in getting created. Once you get going, it should get a lot easier with each turn of the crank. 
7. Crank in the usual fashion, in one direction, clockwise. As the yarn goes past the last needle, since there are no additional needles on the cylinder and because the heel spring is being used, the slack yarn should be pulled up by the yarn mast. when you crank around back to the 1st needle, the yarn should be in the appropriate place to knit the next row.
8. Let me know if you have any questions or need clarification on the process.

Argh....I have TOO MUCH STUFF!!!

Oh jeeze. I'm just getting very depressed and disgusted with myself with how much STUFF I have. I'm going to make a middle of the year resolution to start destashing the over abundance that has taken over my house and my life! I'm not just including my yarn stash as that's the least of my concerns. I have purchased (more stuff-lol) an EZ Cube-esque light tent to photograph my stuff to list on eBay. I'm making a pledge to prepare and list a handful of things each week. It's just WRONG to have so much stuff. If it doesn't go on eBay, I want to either give stuff away to friends, donate them to local thriftshops or throw it away if it's of no use to ANYONE. I'm even planning on a garage sale next month.

OK, it's out there. Now...LET's DO this S#!T!!!

knitted wool swimsuit that won't felt?

i'm not sure how this will look on, but i wasn't able to resist clicking it into my cart. hopefully i got the right size. someone on ravelry mentioned that splish swimwear runs a bit large. i'm a TYR fan, but splish's designs are just so much more fun than the usual suits out there! 

still recouping from THE crash last month, but i've been swimming fairly regularly that past two weeks. it's about the only exercise that doesn't really hurt right now. i'm just getting back to my morning bootcamp (6-7am m-f) and i've made a commitment to going every day for the current 5 week session. my goals? to get the bootcamp's cool t-shirt for perfect attendance and to get myself prepped for muddy buddy in san jose next month. muddy buddy consists of 6 miles of running and biking with a partner (aka buddy). you each do the 6 mile course, while one is running the other buddy is biking, you trade off at the end of each running and biking leg and do obstacles throughout the course. the last leg of the competition is to do a commando crawl through a big mud pit! with my bruised ribs, i wouldn't be able to do it right now. i've got less than a month to get better. yipes.

i also want to dress up in some costume, but have not figured out something that won't get caught in the bike chain nor hinder me and my buddy going through the various obstacles. here's a vid of a muddy buddy in san dimas last year. maybe it will give YOU some inspiration to sign up! ;) it hasn't sold out yet. 

This weekend, I'll be a triathlon lurker...

Up until I dumped my poor ol' body over the handlebars during a bike dirt riding excursion a month ago, I was prepping for the Wildflower triathlon in Lake San Antonio, Monterey County, CA. The event transpires this weekend and I'm now the official cheerleader/wall flower of the group. I've gone back to easy laps in the pool for the first time this week, which I'm very happy about, but I have yet to go back to running and cycling. I still have issues going up stairs, as my hip and muscles surrounding the hip area are still bruised, lumpy and stiff with limited mobility in my left leg. Coughing, sneezing & laughing hurts because my ribs are also still bruised. I plan on bringing my knitting: Indigo Ripples & Wendy's Toe-up Sock so not all is lost. This is a weekend full of things I want to attend, but alas...Atleast I will be in the company of good friends...

Maybe you can check some of the cool happenings out for me?

• Alameda Antique Fair
• Maker Faire
• CNCH

picot hem top socks on a legare 400

picot hem top socks on a legare 400
Originally uploaded by purlgurl

using Laura's (http://handwerkstextiles.com/) hand dyed superwash wool, i somehow cranked out a pair (using the 72 cyll) out in under 3 hours! woohoo a new record for moi. i also mangaged not to drop a stitch during the 45 rows using the ribber on the 2nd sock too. another first! i am still struggling to find out how to get snugger fitting socks. the gauge SEEMS right (going to have to put a measuring tape to 'em) but they're still a bit floppier then i'd like them to fit. this pair is going to a friend for a belated birthday. i'm packaging it in a sushi togo tray, each one rolled up like a sushi roll. (pic later)

Three-position Lucas switch--DIM, FLICKER and OFF

The Lucas Lights joke; the three-position Lucas [purlgurl's brain] switch--DIM, FLICKER and OFF applied to me in the understanding of short rowing socks, specifically when it came to making the 2nd half of the toe. I tend to run before I learn to walk, so I've NEVER finished a handknitted sock, but I've finished a few pairs on my circular knitting machine. I can't really even claim to have the 2nd sock syndrom as I have never really finished a FIRST one either! I've tried toe up and it's variations a half a dozen or so times and have a few cuff downs in various stages of completion, but none have made it off the needles.

So, I decided it was time...mind you I still have yet to finish the first pair as I am JUST finishing the first toe portion. I started with Wendy's Toe-Up Sock Pattern. I've followed her blog on and off for a few plus years now and found it listed on Ravelry after an "easy sock" pattern search. All went well until I hit the section, "Now you'll work the second half of the toe"...yeah right! I read, them over and over and I just didn't get the instructions (sorry Wendy). I guess I'm lame. I prefer knitting instructions and things in explained in general with clear "a picture is worth a thousand word" images and good use of the English written language. So, I did a few searches and in googling "short row toe" came up with Jill's Short-Roe Toe Sock instructions. It was JUST what I was looking for and there weren't even pics to boot:

Short rows for second half of toe:

• Knit Row: Knit across to wrapped stitch, slip the wrapped stitch to the right needle, reach left needle under the wrap and pull the wrapped stitch out and onto left needle. Slip the (now freed) wrap back to the left needle and knit the stitch and the wrap together through the back.
  
• Yarn forward, slip next stitch to right needle, yarn back, slip the stitch back to left needle. (This stitch now has 2 wraps. When you unwrap it later, those 2 wraps will fill in where a gap might have occurred.) Turn.


• Purl Row: Purl across to wrapped stitch, slip the wrapped stitch to the right needle, reach left needle under the wrap and pull the wrapped stitch out and onto left needle. Slip the (now freed) wrap back to the left needle and purl the stitch and the wrap together.


• Yarn back, slip the next stitch to right needle, yarn forward, slip the stitch back to left needle to create another double wrap. Turn.


• Continue working the knit row and the purl row until you have worked all the wrapped stitches. You will be unwrapping two wraps from each remaining wrapped stitch.

THANK YOU JILL! I can now continue (using both patterns and maybe more) and more likely now to complete atleast ONE toe up sock in my lifetime. :) Muhwah!

i bought some knitting related art...well related to moi

a local gallery and shop has a show up right now and some pretty cool pieces. i ended up purchasing Sheepstack and get to pick it up after the show ends on the 20th. the artist has another one called Lambstack, similar to the one i got and it's still available. they're both framed in some really cool ornate vintage frames and i plan on hanging it in my office/craft/guest room. support local artists and run down and get the other one now! i should have bought them both, as they'd look nice together as a set, but alas...

one week later

so it was last sunday that i catapulted myself over the handlebars of my friend's honda 150. by tuesday, i thought i had possibly fractured a few riblettes, so i drove myself to the minor injury center at kaiser walnut creek. kaiser oakland is closer to me, but i'd have had to wait in the ER to be seen and i'd likely still be waiting there today. the doc who saw me said there wasn't much he could do for fractured ribs, but pain meds. he decided to x-ray my chest and left hand since i told him i was planning on doing the wildflower triathlon the first weekend in may.

after returning to the MIC after getting my x-rays, the doc informed me that i had no rib fractures, but likey my left hand was fractured. i ended up leaving the place with a removable cast. by friday i was feeling a thousand times better (still in alot of pain but improving day by day) and asked my primary care physician to review the x-rays as i was doubting the original docs diagnosis. she confirmed along with a radiologists that i did not have a hand fracture, so off went the cast and i've just been splinting the pinky and ring finger together to protect it from my clumsy actions.

i tried swimming a few laps on saturday, but bailed on that fairly early as heavy breathing really hurts the ribs and opted for the hot tub soak instead. i have swim practice on tuesday night. it is my goal to show up. i don't know how much of the workout i'll be able to do, but i'll give it a go.

wanna put this one in the queue too

It's written for kiddlettes, but I see that the author of the pattern kicked out the extra sts needed for a big kid like me too. It's the emma's unmentionables pattern in knitty. I figure I live in an area where pretty much anything goes, so here goes! Well, in the Ravelry queue it goes. Here's the big kids version...and one more shot of it here.

purlgurl gets schooled at Dirt Day 101

Well, I'm banged up from my ribcage on down to my hip bone and the bruise on my hip is pretty nasty looking now. A little road rash and mainly my damaged ego. Sigh...A group of us went to one of the OHV (off highway vehicle) areas in San Luis Resevoir State Recreation Area in Gustine, CA about 2 hrs. from Berkeley on Sunday. It was my first time out on a dirt bike. I had a blast tooling around on my friends' various dirt bikes. Later that afternoon I got a little too confident and followed a more experienced rider on a few whoopdies a bit too fast. Well there were 3 in sucession that I did not realize were pretty hairy...I made the first two but supermanned the third. As a result, I am now typing with my right hand as my left is in a cast and my ribcage is bandaged up. As I was teasing one of my other triathlon training buddies who fractured her riblettes (mine are JUST bruised) while snowboarding..."there has got to be easier ways out of doing triathlons than this"...she was riding with us on Sunday too. She faired much better than I. In fact EVERYONE faired better than I. ;)

I'm hosting another knitting squad get together at my house this weekend. I can't handknit, but maybe I'll be able to CSM it instead.

beginning to <3 ravelry...

I was looking for the Setsuko Torii book on and off for a little while now, but then stumbled across the HabuTextiles group in Ravelry and all the homework was done for me :).I just had to go to the website mentioned and plunked down $37.75 smakeroos and now I await my very own copy of Setsuko Torii Hand Knit Works !!! Yippy!

I had the pleasure of visiting Habu's shop in NYC almost a year ago to date. A gamelan group I used to play in toured the East Coast. I took the opportunity to visit the various yarn shops in the area and even got to catch the Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting exhibit at the Museum of Arts & Design across from MoMA. It was all so very, very, cool. Not to mention the weather...it was freezing there at that time!!! Brrr...

mateo's hat is done

 

Here's the little preemie hat I kind of knitted up quickly (for me). I used Bamboozle (Fall Herbs #9808) on size 3, 40" circs using the magic loop method. The only thing I did not like about Bamboozle was that I was constantly splitting the yarn and having to re-do stitches. It feels nice once all knitted though and I do like the fabric it produces and it is stretchy. The little <3 s around the hat get lost in the varigation of the colors, but the LOVE is there. ;)

actually handknitting something...

I had a group of friends over my place for a knit fest this past weekend and got to demo my Legare. It was supposed to be a time where we got to work on UFOs or WIPs, but that wasn't the case for myself. I did teach a friend to knit and she's working on her first scarf with Manos yarn from my stash. Nice friend eh? ;)

I haven't been handknitting lately because I'm too busy trying to work out the dealio on the sock machine. Some friends of mine just had a baby boy this past weekend. He's a preemie and came in just over 3 lbs. I thought it would be nice to handknit him a little hat. I found CarissaKnits' site on Ravelry and have cast on for the "<3" version.

Yarn: Crystal Palace Bamboozle
Color: Fall Herbs #9809

inexpensive sock blockers/stretchers you can make yourself

This is a great idea. I'll have to remember not to return the hangers to my local dry cleaner next time as I've only got plastic hangers in my closet.

i <3 this ring!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10546574

Too many other financial obligations right now (property taxes, income taxes, etc.) and the fact that I just plunked down bank for my Legare 400 Circular Sock Machine.

Sign of "A Great Yarn [Company] for Socks"...

Well, I'm very impressed. I emailed SWTC about my displeasure in coning up a ball of their new yarn Tofutsies. I wanted to try it on my new to me Circular Sock Machine and discovered that the ball was riddled with separate pieces of yarn. I counted upwards of 10 joins before I stopped counting!!! In anycase, I got on their website and found their "Contact Us" link and wrote a short complaint letter. I received an immediate response and a request to win their "love" back with a replacement ball. That email was on Friday and in my mailbox Monday morning was the ball of yarn! Thumbs up to SWTC, you guys ROCK!

Sockcess #2

Ok, so there were a few socks that were pulled out and re-knit before I got to these, but they're my 2nd sockcessful pair.

Yarn: Austermann Step Duett Color 52
Using 54 cyllinder: 20 row hem top, 45 row 5-1 mock rib, 10 row knit with all 54 needles, heel, 45 rows knit, toe. Kitchnered by transferring all stitches to a #2 long circular needle and did the Knitter's Companion version of the kitchner stitch. This helped me out alot to make sure I was getting the right stitches and not inadvertently the row below or a non-"live" stitch.

Some issues I had with these...still dropping stitches here and there...do not seem to have the height of the yarn carrier set to it's sweet spot yet. I have to guide the initial beginning row in afterwards it seems to work alright. The 1st sock came out in a tighter gauge than the 2nd even though I did not change the tension settings. I guess I have to pay more attention to when I place the various weights and where.

They're being washed and dried as I type. Crossing my toes that they don't shrink too much. I need to stop gambling with these expensive sock yarns and get some practice yarn. I've got a huge cone of undyed merino I should really be using. I guess I could dye them later if they're worthy enough. :)

Sockcess socks after 1st washing & drying

The tag said not to dry, but I did anyways. They're made of Superwash Trekking XXL Zitron and they didn't shrink too much. A tad definitely. I guess that's why it's called superwash and not superwashndry.

Sockcess!!!

 
 


Check it out...first pair of socks made on my Legare 400!!! Woot woot! These were made using Trekking's XXL Zitron (Color 145). Using the 54 cyllinder it's a mock rib 5-1 pattern with a hem top. I cranked out 75% of a 2nd pair with this 459 yards of yarn. I think I'll rip out the 2nd pair and save it to mix with another leftover ball.

note to self...try using this as a set up bonnet on the CSM

Legare in da house!

Wooooohooooo! Picked up one heck of a heavy box from my PO this morning. It was shipped from Quebec and wow did they do a great job of packing it. The prob is that it will take me hours to uncover the CSM inside. Each piece is individually packaged in cardboard and taped over to death with packaging tape. I took a coupla snaps with my phone. They're a bit blurry, sorry. You can view the images sent to me by the restorer here. Also in my PO Box was a notification to pick up one of these. It's a vintage (70s) Mattel Knitting Machine. I thought it would be kinda fun to have the extremes (in cost and performance) in the circular knitting machine realm. Not to mention it was a complete impulse buy. ;)

Item (Legare 400) successfully delivered

2008/03/14 09:09 94XXX,USA Item successfully delivered
2008/03/14 07:40 94XXX,USA Item out for delivery
2008/03/14 07:39 94XXX,USA Item has been received at the delivery office in the destination country
2008/03/04 12:16 QUÉBEC, QC Item accepted at the Post office

Unfortunately, it was delivered to my work address and I won't be able to pick it up until Monday. :( Probably a good thing though as my weekend is booked with necessary chores. If I had that Legare in hand, all that would have gone out the door! Never would have thought I'd wish it was a Monday! ;)

I feel like Humbert without my Legare (LeGail)...

but i can't really knit (but i could crank!) now anyways as i had a little bicycle accident last weekend and my right hand is in a splint thingy for two weeks. typing on the right with two fingers...sigh

Attitude is everything.

I got this from a friend...

Attitude is everything.

• Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
• Live simply
• Love generously
• Care deeply
• Speak kindly…….

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain.

Geekin' out on all things CSM not CMS

My work involves maintaining CMSs (Content Management and Course Management Systems). But for the moment, I'm obsessing with all things CSM. I've got some homework to do before my Legare 400 arrives from Quebec!

• Home Study Courses


• YouTube vids on making ribbed socks on CSMs

Various informational sites:

• http://www.sockmachines.com/index.html


• http://www.oldtymestockings.com/
  
• http://www.angoravalley.com/

Sheesh, I haven't even laid a finger on one of these machines and have already joined the CSMSA and comtemplating going to their yearly convention in Indiana!

OMG! What the F have I done?!

I was so proud of the fact that I didn't spend much money at stitches this year. Revelling that I got out of there under a $100 bucks! But then I made the mistake of stopping to observe a demo of a Circular Sock Machine. It was all over after that. Up until that point, I had only seen them in use online and not in person. I fell in LOVE with the mechanics and solid construction of an item of a bye gone era. I emailed the woman who demo'd it for more info. and well...two days later, I've plopped the $$$ down for my own. It's a Legare 400 and is being shipped from Canada. It's fully restored and is supposedly a gem of a specimen. All I can say is that all gifts given to friends and family from this point on will be SOCKS-SOCKS-SOCKS-SOCKS-SOCKS. Sheesh!!!

wanna ride to stitches west?

i was going to ride the bike on over, but i'm a fair weather rider. i'm signed up for a class on sunday, but would like to hit the market tomorrow (friday). ping me if you're interested in going. i'm in the north berkeley bart area and can pick you up locally.

dansko yarn clogs!

i saw these online and managed to find these awesome dansko professional clogs that have various yarns needle felted all over them! aren't they cool? what dansko lovin' yarn addict wouldn't want a pair of these Dansko 'Professional Confetti' Clogs? they're pretty much sold out everywhere except on occassion the usual spot you go to obtain unobtainable objects. :) i'll model them once they arrive in the post.

edit: seems that you'll be able to get these again...september 2008. a place called shopfred.com is taking pre-orders.

yep, i'm antsy alright...

Chompin' at the bit alright... but boy I'm movin' up fast!

You signed up on February 11, 2008
You are #106773 on the list.
382 people are ahead of you in line.
4657 people are behind you in line.
95% of the list has been invited so far

So I broke my promise to continue knitting off my UFOs pile. I picked up a copy of The Magic Loop: Working Around On One Needle from a new LYS located dangerously close to my house! :) some german sock yarn that I forget the name of and set myself up to start knitting a pair of socks. The idea was for me to cast on both socks and knit them with just one circular needle. Since the pattern I was using came straight from the booklet and called for worsted weight and I had sock weight I'd have to make a swatch to figure out gauge and do a little math. Well, I was impatient as usual as well as lazy to figure out how to deal with casting on both socks on using this one needles method so I ended up pulling some Cascade 220 (#4192) from my stash and just knit one sock on one needle. I'm right at the heel now. Too bad it's not superwash. Oh well...good for practicing anyways. I have yet to complete a pair of socks. Let's hope I finish these.

Maguro nigiri or salmon roll?

Maguro nigiri or salmon roll?
Originally uploaded by purlgurl

I had lunch at my neighborhood sushi joint and noticed this on the counter. I asked the owner if I could pull it down in front of me to snap some pics. Isn't it adorable? The woman who knit them and gave it to the sushi chef has just started knitting.

Where's the soy sauce? Wonder where she got the pattern from? Just did a quick search and found one on MagKnits. Dang, I should have taken pics with my order placed beside it.

UFO down to earth

Lion Brand Beanie
Originally uploaded by purlgurl

They call it "grunge" lace, I call it cute. What do you think?

i was pretty close to finishing this last year, but for some reason, i stopped more than 1/2 way through it. the pattern called for repeating the 4 row "grunge" lace 3 times, but i ended up doing it 5 times as i felt the beanie was a little too short. i also only did the ending 2 by 2 rows 5 times instead of the pattern's 6 and also swapped out from size 7 needles to 5s as the hat was just a tad too loose. seems to fit just fine now. Made with Jewels from La Lana Wools, Mountain Colors and Blue Sky Alpaca Suri. It goes with the Jewels scarf I made last year after getting the La Lana Wools' yarn at Stitches West 2007.

yeah, late to jump on the bandwagon, but what else is new...

seeing how i have not been knitting or blogging for a few years now, i just found out about ravelry from other knitting peep's blogs.
as of 7:40am pst today,

• You signed up on February 11, 2008
• You are #106773 on the list.
• 4384 people are ahead of you in line.
• 2111 people are behind you in line.

sheesh, i'm #106773 to jump on this particular bandwagon. it's a bit of a pitty that so many people are posting all of their stuff on this now. it's locking out so many of us that do not have accounts. :(

Yippy! Off the needles and onto my head!

IMG_1363
Originally uploaded by purlgurl

well, actually the mannequin's head. thanks to vanillabean knits for the pattern & inspiration! earlier this evening i went through my stash and discovered over a dozen UFO's. some i will rip out, some i hope to finish. in my hand now is UFO lace beanie from lion brand. it calls for cotton-ease, but i'm using leftovers from a scarf i did from stuff purchased at stitches west last year:
Mountain Color's Bearfoot (60% superwash wool, 25% mohair, 15% nylon) in burgandy carried along with Blue Sky Alpaca's Brushed Suri in "fudgesicle". you can view the scarf i made last year with it here. it's about 50% done, so hopefully, if i can figure out where i am on the pattern, i can whip this one off the UFO list.

approaching the finish line...yay!

so i am on row 41 of my cable beanie (almost 6" in length). i'm going to start the decreases now. woot woot! approaching the finish of the 1st completed project in a year! sorry for the poor quality pic. i'm being lazy and snapped this out of focus pic with my phone.

great knitting videos abound on youtube!

omg, i've just found a great video on continental knitting. i already do continental, but this teacher has some great techniques that i plan on using to make my knitting faster and more efficient. check it out! oh, and check out this wonderful little animation short called the last knit (When knitting becomes an obsession.) too!

My yearly attempt at getting back into knitting...

I have so many WIPs, but I decided to re-start my knitting by making this. I am using Cascade Indulgence (when it was still avail in 100gm hanks) in a charcoal from my dusty stash. I did however, buy some #7 Clover bamboo circs from my LYS (even though I have 3 sets of Denises, several Addi's and tons of other miscellaneous needles about--all with various WIPs attached them). I started right in without swatching...doi now! Well, I pulled it all out and I'm swatching right now. You'd think I'd know by now, but I am so impatient. I always like to plunge on in without really preparing. I do this with most everything else too.

I also signed up for one class at Stitches West in February. I'm a little late in the game, so most classes have long been sold out. Sounds fun though...knitted softies. Last year I signed up for Automaton Knitting with Debbie New. Wow, what a cool class and boy does she make amazing stuff. I brought my copy of Unexpected Knitting for her to sign too.