TV, Knitting, and Moving Backwards

The second Pomatomus sock is coming along nicely:



Unfortunately, the picture suffered from me trying to take knitterly photos after having had a can of Monster with breakfast. (I also had one last night, but what's the season 4 House premiere without a little caffeine?)

There is also this on the needles now:



Cherie Amour, from the latest Knitty. Not a bad pattern; very pretty, simple lace pattern with a ribbed waist.

My problem? It has a chart. For some reason, this was not a problem with the complexity of the Pomatomus, but the easy lace on this has kicked my butt somewhere around ten times. First time, I got to the neckline before realizing that I had done every single decrease backwards. That's right, I ssk'd where I should have k2tog'd every time. That was a bit of a setback, especially since I had grand visions of finishing the thing in three or four days. But, after a lot of frustrating cast-ons, accidental twisting of the round, and various other pain-in-the-butt problems, I decided to knit one round at the beginning instead of starting with the lacework as the pattern instructed.

And what do you know? Something so easy, so ridiculously simple that I should have thought of it the first time...worked. It's been zipping along ever since. I have to say, though, that I am glad to be back to my good KnitPicks needles, which I neglected to take with me when I went home this past weekend. The ones I was settling for just weren't cutting it.

Speaking of KnitPicks needles, someone in knitting group was in possession of a set of the Harmony ones. I have to tell you, they are beautiful. I want a set even though I already have an Options set. The look, the feel...oh boy. It creates knitterly envy, let me tell you.

And I'm blogging when I should be working, so off I go to do something productive! Well, financially productive, anyway.

Is someone going to pay me to do this?

Zarking fardwarks, I love Ravelry. Love it. To death. (Here I am, in case you're a Raveler and want to look at the silliness that is my profile.)

I have seriously been on the site almost nonstop for two days. It's open in the background when I'm working on my computer, it's up at night when I'm chatting with people, and, of course, it's open when I'm knitting.

I love being able to poke around and see who's knitting what I want to knit. I love being able to post my stash and look at other people's. I love being able to friend total strangers who share an interest in some of the same patterns I do.

And I thought Facebook was addictive. Ravelry is like the Facebook of fiber arts. It's what deviantArt would be if it was only for knitters and crocheters. It's like...it's like the little social hotspot that your community has always needed and that has only just now opened and everyone is flocking to it.

Love. Love, love, love.

The Beatles said it's all you need. I'm inclined to agree, but I do have an addendum: yarn.

All you need is love and yarn. Yeah.

Mood: obsessed
Music: The Velvet Underground - There She Goes Again

Pomatomus #1

The first Pomatomus sock, finished at around 1:15am:



Do not, I repeat do not attempt to knit these socks if you are in any way easily addicted to things. I mean it. I started this sock on Sunday and (barring a mis-guided sizing issue that required ripping out and re-starting), have been moving along ever since. This is a patterned sock record for me.

If you do knit them, splurge and get some hand-painted yarn. It's lovely to work with and to look at.

And the pattern? Is not hard at all. The worst problem I've had with it is losing a YO here and there, which is easily fixed. It only looks intimidating. In reality, it's hard to stop going with the 22-row lace repeat once you've started.

In conclusion, these are lovely and novel socks, and they have eaten what little life I've had over the past few days that Facebook didn't get to first.

Oh yes, and don't join Facebook unless you never want to sign out of it again.

Mood: accomplished
Music: Michael Nesmith - Tumbling Tumbleweeds

The Finishin' O' The Socks!

Yes, they're done! Here are the finished Clessidra socks/stockings:





They are soft, comfortable, and very, very awesome. And I'm not saying that because I knit them. The pattern is brilliant. It's everything you could want in a sweater, but on a sock scale. I thought it would be difficult to keep track of, but there's quite a good rhythm to it once you get going. The leg takes a while with that back cable to do, but the foot zips right along.

Despite two mis-crossed cables that I decided not to worry about, I'm proud of them.

(The yarn is KnitPicks Gloss in Woodland Sage, if I haven't mentioned it before.)

I'm moving right along to...you guess it, more socks! Now that Clessidra's done, it's Pomatomus time!



The start of a Pomatomus in its natural habitat, pattern and all. The only thing I changed was to cast on one less pattern repeat, due to the original size being too large for my already big feet. The yarn is the Koigu I bought at Kaleidoscope Yarns.

I started the socks last night and am already loving the pattern. It looks intimidating, and I've seen a blog or two where they were referenced as being difficult, but so far I've found them to be fairly intuitive. The yarn overs have a habit of disappearing, but that's easily fixed.

The best part? The chart is easy to read and makes sense as the pattern emerges in the knitting. Like Clessidra, it has a rhythm. These are going to be fun socks.

And now, back to your regularly-scheduled weekend.