Bode Miller Moment

I’m the Bode Miller of the Knitting Olympics… no medal for me this year *sob*

Seems there might be an error in the border chart for the Print O’ The Waves Stole and I can’t figure out how to correct it. I’ve written the author of the pattern but she has yet to reply. The counts don’t add up, I don’t know now to make it work. So it sits with the center panel and the first borders done but no way to finish it unless I substituted another border which I’d really rather not do. So, I’ve withdrawn from the Knitting Olympics with a missed gate and a lot of frustration.

I’m a bit disappointed in several things about this project beyond the pattern error. The biggest disappointed is the yarn. It is the lace weight wool from Hand Painted Yarns and it is not the quality I was expecting. The yarn is definitely hand spun by someone who doesn’t know how to spin. It is thick in some areas and so thin in others that I was afraid to put any tension on it. You can break it with just a firm tug. It was “hairy” in a bad way and not the soft wool I wanted. I think once it is blocked out it will be fine but I’m not sure I want to use the other 3 skeins I have of this yarn (1 more black and 2 in a stonewash blue).

I’m also disappointed in how the back join looks. Since you have to seam the back to make the ‘waves’ flow the correct way on both sides, you end up with a visible join. Perhaps I’m a perfectionist but it just doesn’t look the way I wanted it to. I’m trying not to get too upset about it.

I’d post a picture but right now it just looks like a pile of black yarn since I have it on 32” circulars going around the entire circumference. I’ll post pictures once I can get the border figured out.

So, what is a gal to do? Cast on another project! I’ve received the yarn I purchased at Stitches West and have used the Socks that Rock in the Velvet Moon color way (not on the web site) to cast on another pair of Jaywalkers for my Sockapaloooza pal. She likes blues, greens and purples and this yarn has all 3. Maybe I can use the other skein of STR in Pop Rocks to make a pair for myself since the other pair of Jaywalkers went to a friend in Connecticut.

Off to watch Apolo Anton Ohno skate to see if he can get a medal.

Till Later ~~ Dene

Sockapalooza answers

My secret pal for Sockapaloooza writes:
I've chosen the yarn for your Sockapalooza socks (I'm waiting for it to turn up at the moment), and a pattern: but, when you say you have a round heel, how does this translate into the sort of sock heel that you like to wear, please? And how long is calf length (I'm 5' 5.5", so I suspect that my calf is a different length from yours... since your feet are way longer than mine!)?
Take care
Secret-Sock-Pal

Oh! I love that she is asking questions on exactly what I want – I’m sorry it took me so long to reply :(

I’m not real picky on socks – as long as they don’t fall down or bunch in my shoes I tend to like them. I’ve experimented with a lot of different sock heels and the ones I tend to use over and over are the traditional heel-flap and gusset. I usually do half my stitches for the flap for about 2.5 inches, then do traditional short row shaping, knitting 2 stitches past the center then decreasing if that makes sense. I usually pick up about 18 stitches on the side of the flap if I'm using fingerling weight yarn and size 1 needles. This results in a heel that isn’t too pointy and is round.

As far as the calf length, I do everything from 8 inches down. The ones I have one now are 6 inches. I would even wear tennis socks :)

Thanks for asking and I'm so excited you are knitting for me :)

I bought the yarn for my sock-pal this weekend at Stitches West. I need to leaf through my sock books at home and find a pattern now.

Till later ~~ Dene

A promise of home

Tomorrow is the day I get to fly home! YEAH! As much as I love California, 22 days is stretching things a bit. Plus, I’ve not seen my husband since January 11th and he is waiting patiently for me in Texas.

The icing on the cake for my visit, though, was Stitches West. I stayed over purposely so that I could attend on Saturday. My credit card is still smoking and I had to UPS my haul home since it would have surely put my luggage over-weight. I won’t detail what all I bought since it is now on its way to Houston but I will post pictures when I get the package at home. Just say I have enough for 2 more pairs of socks (Socks that Rock), 2 sweaters, and a lace vest (Black Water Abby laceweight). It was a wonderful show and I will be considering the Stitches East show this fall.

I’m behind on blogging, on the ABC-along (C will be for California for sure), my Olympic knitting (1.5 days behind) and a few other things but all will be good once I can get home, take a bubble bath in the whirlpool and general deflate from this trip. It will be wonderful to sleep in my own bed, snuggle with my kitties (yeah hair! The ones here are shorthair Tonks), and catch up with my husband and son.

The trip has been difficult but overall I hope I did some good for a while.

Till later ~~ Dene

Day 2

** Bulletin **

Dateline San Jose: The results of Day 2 of the lace knitting competition shows that competitor Dene of Pinehurst Texas has moved ahead of the pack by completing 5 repetitions of her Print O’ the Waves stole in lovely black wool.

While planning on doing just 3 repeats today, the competitor pushed her limit and did a total of 5 on Saturday.

When asked, Dene reported that the process is one to push your limits and her results were typical of all the knitters participating in the Knitting Olympics. “We are all weirdly crazy obsessed with the sport and will give it our best.”

Till Later ~~ Dene

Olympic Torch

Woot! The Olympics have started and my training is complete. I stood as the torch was lit and held my needles high. I was cheered by millions as all the network cameras were trained on the Lace Knitting Team. We all reveled in our one moment of fame and basked in the winter night in Torino.

At least I did in my dreams as I was asleep when NBC finally showed the torch last night.

I had to work on Friday and it sucked! 5:30am is REALLY 5:30am in California instead of 7:30am in Texas. So instead of being at work at 8am, I had to be at work at 6am. So Friday was a long, long day. Plus the fact that it wasn’t an easy day suddenly made the opening ceremonies an effort to keep my eyes open. I made it through Iceland and then threw in the towel. I’ll watch it streamed on the internet LOL.

But! I did put out an Olympic effort yesterday and met my goals on my Print O’ the Waves stole. About 4pm PT I cast on (lovely red waste yarn LOL) and did the first repeat to establish a pattern and rhythm. Two more repeats (12 rows each) followed for a total of 36 rows. Since I need 34 repeats to finish, I figured if I can get 3 done a day then I’ll be right on schedule with plenty of time to finish the pretty border at the end and block. See my efforts:



Aww the glory, aww the open-ness of my lace, aww I hate this yarn but will preserver! Olympic Gold is within reach.

Till Later ~~ Dene

Olympics Training

My training is over .. I’m ready for the opening ceremonies tomorrow for the Knitting Olympics! I’m still on the lace team but have changed my project so that I’ll have a chance of finishing. Since I’m not at home, some modification had to be made.

Instead of a Pi shawl, I’m doing the Print O’ The Wave Stole by Eunny Jang. I’m using a black lace weight wool yarn that I found on eBay. This is what my swatch looks like on size 3 needles .. I’m going up a size for the real garment.





I wasn’t able to ‘severely block’ my swatch since I have no straight pins here. But I did wet it and stretched it out a bit. I think I like the results.

So, now to wait for 2pm to cast on .. wait.. I’m picking up a kid from school at that time! Can I knit and drive? Nawww

Till later ~~ Dene

California Pixs

As promised!  Pictures! As always, click for a bigger pix.

First up are my Jaywalker pictures.  


As you can see, I ran out of yarn and had to resort to a solid toe.  The picture doesn’t justify the color of these socks.  They are black, purple and a coral-ly pink.  Very pretty!   Since I’m not at home, I can’t give you the band number of the Koigu that I used.

Look at the oranges!! I just love California!   




Second up are my More Fun Than Cables socks from Marguerite’s blog.  These are in solid red Opal yarn and I love this pattern.  Unfortunately, I can’t get them over my heels so I’m going to gift them to a friend with a tiny foot.  



I’m planning another pair with a 3 stitch rib between the cables so that it will fit ME

Third, I’ve only hit 1 yarn shop in California since I’ve been here.  I managed to find Rug & Yarn Hut in downtown Campbell last Saturday.  I came home with 3 skeins of yarn including a lovely TrekkingXXL and some yarn I’ve never seen before – Sisu wool/nylon made in Norway.  


It is sock weight and looks comparable to Regia.  I’ll use it for my second pair of More Fun than Cables socks.

I wasn't impressed with the shop unfortunately. There was yarn all over the floor and it seemed very disorganized and "worn", you know what I mean? Oh well, there is a shop in Los Gatos I'll hit sometime this week.

Till later ~~ Dene

2006

I'm still in California! Busy busy but hope to take some pictures to post today.

In the mean time, I think I recognize every one of these:

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2006 when...


1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that
they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if
anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the
screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the
first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and
you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your
coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this
message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on
this list.


till later ~~ Dene