Heart Broken....
Last night, we watched one of the new programs that started recently. (Have I mentioned how annoying it is the way they've spread out all these new shows, and bounce them around the schedule?) Anyway, it was a little hard to watch at first, due to the style, but once you got into it, it was great. There were a lot of commercial breaks, and they were long ones! One of the benefits of taping them, though, is you can fast forward through. Means you can watch a two hour "pilot" in one and a half hours, too. Anyway, that was what we did. The show is called "The River". I really like it! It actually creeped me out - something that is hard to do, because I know that it is all scripted and special effects, but it still managed to make me jump a couple times, and sent shivers down my spine.
So, while we watched, I was able to work on the "mystery socks" aka "Blathnat". I finished the repeat of the leg chart (there was a lot of just knitting and purling, so I didn't have to pay as much attention) then got to row 2 again of the chart - it is a 28 row repeat, you do it once, then do rows 1 - 8 again. Since a lot of lace looks better when blocked or slightly stretched, I decided to put it on my leg to see how it looks.
If you've been following my blog, you know that I found the cast on edge to be a little snug - still went on, but I had no room for any sort of even the slightest shrinkage. Yes, I've learned that even superwash wool sock yarn, machine washable and machine dryable, can still shrink up a little over years of use. Anyway, last night - there is no way in H - E - Double Toothpicks that these socks will be able to be worn by me as knitted.
I used the same cast on as I normally would (both in number and style) and the same needle size I normally would, even though the pattern suggested a smaller one, but I guess with the pointed shaping of the top, it pulled it in just too much. So, despite the great progress I've made (knitting them two at a time on a circ), I'm afraid these socks won't be finished by the end of this month. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they are not even restarted by then!!! Yes, that's right - I'm going to have to rip them right out, and start over. :( I *will* start over, though, because I do like them. Mind you, next time, I'm going to go up a needle size, and do them on double points. I found that there are a few places where the starting point of rounds is adjusted to different places, and that is awkward to say the least when doing two at a time on a circ. I guess, though, one at a time on circs would work... hm, need to think on that... see what needles I have free....
I will take and post a picture before I rip, though. Just to show how nice they do look! The subtle stripes will change when I change needle size, of course, but mostly they should stay pretty much the same - I'm only going to go larger for the top part.
So, tonight, I work on the Hermione. During the news, I'll do the grafting of the toe of the sock I finished the other day, then I'll get ready to cast on for the second sock, then I can do semi-mindless knitting while we watch Survivor. After that, I may continue on sock 2, or I might switch to the Sea Cruise socks, and see if I can knock off another chart repeat on them before bed. :)
I do machine wash nearly all my socks - even the hand wash wool ones. I think I mentioned about this before - I wash in "warm", rinse cold. The warm in my machine is more like, take the edge off the cold. Not sure if that is normal, or something about our water supply... anyway, I don't toss them all in the dryer. My green Cascade 220 socks are now sitting in front of one of our heat vents to dry. So far, they look as good as they did when they went into the wash (well, cleaner, lol) and feel just as cushy. :)
Funny thing about wool socks.... Don't know if anyone else (I know there are people reading this - my blog stat thing is now registering comments, but not views - how someone can comment on a blog without viewing it escapes logic, but I digress) is familiar with the commercials for Swiffer Sweepers - but one that they used to show a lot referred to the wearing of white socks - and how they showed the dirt missed by regular cleaning. Well, I do have a Swiffer, and use it, but I also have animals, and unless I want to follow them around every second, I'm going to have less than perfect floors. Storebought white socks (why did I ever torture myself buying white socks?) do not stay white in this house, even if they get bleached. Same with light coloured socks - always show the dirt. Well, I really wanted to make a second pair of socks using a particular lace pattern, and even though I figured it was foolish, I ended up making them in white. Mostly because I didn't want them in black, grey, blue, or red - and even thought the brand of yarn I used comes in many colours, my (old) local yarn store refuses to carry much stock anymore. So, I opted for the white. Anyway - sure, they get dirty by the end of the day, but when they get washed - they are just as white on the bottom as on the top. Wool washes up better than storebought socks.
Very interesting!!
So, while we watched, I was able to work on the "mystery socks" aka "Blathnat". I finished the repeat of the leg chart (there was a lot of just knitting and purling, so I didn't have to pay as much attention) then got to row 2 again of the chart - it is a 28 row repeat, you do it once, then do rows 1 - 8 again. Since a lot of lace looks better when blocked or slightly stretched, I decided to put it on my leg to see how it looks.
If you've been following my blog, you know that I found the cast on edge to be a little snug - still went on, but I had no room for any sort of even the slightest shrinkage. Yes, I've learned that even superwash wool sock yarn, machine washable and machine dryable, can still shrink up a little over years of use. Anyway, last night - there is no way in H - E - Double Toothpicks that these socks will be able to be worn by me as knitted.
I used the same cast on as I normally would (both in number and style) and the same needle size I normally would, even though the pattern suggested a smaller one, but I guess with the pointed shaping of the top, it pulled it in just too much. So, despite the great progress I've made (knitting them two at a time on a circ), I'm afraid these socks won't be finished by the end of this month. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they are not even restarted by then!!! Yes, that's right - I'm going to have to rip them right out, and start over. :( I *will* start over, though, because I do like them. Mind you, next time, I'm going to go up a needle size, and do them on double points. I found that there are a few places where the starting point of rounds is adjusted to different places, and that is awkward to say the least when doing two at a time on a circ. I guess, though, one at a time on circs would work... hm, need to think on that... see what needles I have free....
I will take and post a picture before I rip, though. Just to show how nice they do look! The subtle stripes will change when I change needle size, of course, but mostly they should stay pretty much the same - I'm only going to go larger for the top part.
So, tonight, I work on the Hermione. During the news, I'll do the grafting of the toe of the sock I finished the other day, then I'll get ready to cast on for the second sock, then I can do semi-mindless knitting while we watch Survivor. After that, I may continue on sock 2, or I might switch to the Sea Cruise socks, and see if I can knock off another chart repeat on them before bed. :)
I do machine wash nearly all my socks - even the hand wash wool ones. I think I mentioned about this before - I wash in "warm", rinse cold. The warm in my machine is more like, take the edge off the cold. Not sure if that is normal, or something about our water supply... anyway, I don't toss them all in the dryer. My green Cascade 220 socks are now sitting in front of one of our heat vents to dry. So far, they look as good as they did when they went into the wash (well, cleaner, lol) and feel just as cushy. :)
Funny thing about wool socks.... Don't know if anyone else (I know there are people reading this - my blog stat thing is now registering comments, but not views - how someone can comment on a blog without viewing it escapes logic, but I digress) is familiar with the commercials for Swiffer Sweepers - but one that they used to show a lot referred to the wearing of white socks - and how they showed the dirt missed by regular cleaning. Well, I do have a Swiffer, and use it, but I also have animals, and unless I want to follow them around every second, I'm going to have less than perfect floors. Storebought white socks (why did I ever torture myself buying white socks?) do not stay white in this house, even if they get bleached. Same with light coloured socks - always show the dirt. Well, I really wanted to make a second pair of socks using a particular lace pattern, and even though I figured it was foolish, I ended up making them in white. Mostly because I didn't want them in black, grey, blue, or red - and even thought the brand of yarn I used comes in many colours, my (old) local yarn store refuses to carry much stock anymore. So, I opted for the white. Anyway - sure, they get dirty by the end of the day, but when they get washed - they are just as white on the bottom as on the top. Wool washes up better than storebought socks.
Very interesting!!
posted by Catlady @ 11:27 a.m.
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