In which the magic happens

Socks are magical.

I made my first pair last fall and was immediately hooked. It seems I'm not alone, judging by the number of sock-making books I've seen reviewed lately.

Cat Bordhi's Coriolis design is especially genius. (And free, even better, though I know I'm going to buy the new book as soon as possible.) The yarn is held doubled, so the result is a thick, squishy pair of warm socks.


Yarn: 2 balls of KnitPicks Memories in Geranium. (no longer available?) I used all but about 2.5 yards of the 440--pretty proud of my efficiency!
Needles: one size 5 Addi Turbo 24", one size 5 KnitPicks Options 24" (The pattern calls for sixes, but my Austermann Step pair turned out just a touch large, so I went down a needle size)
Modifications: I changed the bindoff. The pattern calls for 5 rows of seed stitch, then a normal bindoff using 4 strands of yarn--I couldn't figure out how to do that, plus didn't want to have extra ends to weave in. Instead, I did: 4 rows of seed stitch then: k2 in pattern, return these 2 to left needle, k2tog tbl (results in one st on right needle); *k1 in pattern (2 sts on right needle), sl 2 sts to left needle, k2tog tbl. Repeat from * until all sts bound off.

In which a swallowtail takes flight

In current news, I got my Ravelry invite! Username Wordpurler--come say hi!

I'm slowly catching up my knitblogging to my actual knitting. I just love knitting so much...and we've had such a busy summer...and so much of my computer time has been taken up with MS3 e-mails...that even though I've had so much to say, not much of it has actually ended up here. That's the irony. I have a lot to say this summer...thoughts, ideas, commentary on other blogs, the purpose of blogging, courtesy on the internet, books I've read...when I started blogging, tentative as it was, I wondered if I'd have enough to say. I stressed about it being PUBLIC (as though the knitting community would be knocking down doors to find my little site, just one among the hordes, a fledgling flying with the flock). Now I wonder if I can ever stop having things to say.

Two weeks ago, we dressed up as HP characters and headed off to our local bookstore's Deathly Hallows release party. M was Professor Lupin--he really looked like him! Got double-takes all night--I was Molly Weasley, and Mr. D was Harry in his Invisibility Cloak. There were approximately 1857 kids dressed as Harry that night, but none in Invisibility Cloaks...nice.

My Molly costume looked pretty good, I thought; I bought an oversized wool cardigan at Goodwill and embroidered old knitting swatches with "M" and "W", then sewed them onto the sweater. I teased out my hair and wore bright earrings, shirt, socks, and shoes. At the last minute I decided to wear my Swallowtail shawl--I know Molly doesn't probably have much time for knitting for herself, what with all those Christmas sweaters, but if she did knit for herself, a bright red shawl seems just the ticket. I draped it over my shoulders and we set off.

It was, as they say, a dark and stormy night, and most of the festivities were outdoors on the Village Green. Fire eaters...music...costume contests...butterbeer--thank goodness for natural fibers, because my (wool) sweater and (wool) socks kept me warm and semi-dry until the craziness had ended.

There was more excitement in store for me than just finishing the saga I've been reading since 1999, though.

- to be continued -

In which I wing it

The Mystery Stole continues...now entitled Swan Lake.

I finished Clue 4, just two days "behind", and will be continuing with the Clue 5 pattern as written, even though it now includes a WING. (Or maybe because it contains a wing!)

Being on this group has been an education in internet manners and mores, that's for sure. I have only posted a few times, but have read nearly every one of the thousands of posts/e-mails. Most are supportive, humorous, and kind...some are clueless and ungrammatical...but some folks are just plain rude, intentionally or otherwise. (Just like in real life, I guess.)

Friday, after clue 5 and the theme were announced, someone posted that they were very disappointed and that the project had been a "waste of time and materials." The poster was immediately flamed in a rally-the-troops, knitterly kind of way. I wanted to post, but I didn't want to do it in a flaming, emotional way. Because--at first I was disappointed, too. I don't know anything about ballet--I have no emotional attachment to Swan Lake--and I had really hoped the theme would be Theseus and Ariadne. But these were MY issues, not Melanie's. There was also that bit of letdown in discovering the "answer" to a mystery. No more speculation, no more suspense; it is what it is, and it is Swan Lake.

I thought about it for a day, and then this is what I posted:

I have to admit that I, too, had a moment of thinking of setting it down...but then I thought of all I've learned so far, the fun I'm having seeing the lace grow on my needles, and of being a part of this neat community of knitters with all our varied and various backgrounds, and I decided to keep on. I've never worn a stole before, ever, and what's the difference if it has a wing or not? I can pretend to be Louis from The Trumpet of the Swan (another favorite childhood story, along with the fairy tale of the girl spinning flax for her swan brothers to break the spell). And I may become entranced with stoles and thank Melanie my whole knitting life for creating an accessible and challenging project that started me off!

I've also been doing a lot of thinking about the conversations about and around the "Disappointed" post.

I didn't want to flame the writer, because she was clearly speaking from the heart. But what bothered me, and it's taken until today for the thought to gel in a way I could express it clearly, was what seemed to be anger at Melanie, as though the design was meant to be a trick or a "gotcha!". Anyone who has been reading Melanie's posts can see she is a thoughtful, capable, creative designer who cares very much about the experience that "her knitters" are having. But even our favorite designers don't always create items we would want to knit or wear. Hanami, Scheherezade, and Leda's Dream are each lovely, and each very different, and "Swan Lake" is different still!

We need to keep providing Melanie with feedback on how the project is going for us and how we feel about this design. After all, we're a huge pool of test knitters! Constructive criticism is an artist's most valuable information.

That said, there's a big difference between providing constructive criticism and being just plain critical. Every comment we make or question we bring up as we work our way through this project is helpful to Melanie in creating her final pattern, and the vast majority of comments and questions have been helpful, interesting, and stated with kindness.

In reading the "Disappointed" post, I wasn't upset that there was a knitter who decided to set the project aside--I was upset that it was stated in a way that *seemed* like a personal attack on Melanie; it bothered me because it *seemed* discourteous, not because I thought the author should lock-step-knit her way to a stole she's not crazy about.

Aside from the tips and tricks for creating wonderful/airy/warm/winged lace, the funny/heartwarming/exciting/amazing stories (Matilda danced with both Nureyev AND Baryshnikov? I'm trembling), my most valuable takeaway from this is the 30% Nicer rule of thumb on internet communications.

In which it's a small world, after all

Got my e-mail from Amy Singer today: two new patterns for summer up on Knitty.com.

I checked out the everlasting bagstopper--great idea, and I, too, always forget my reusable bags. OK, I think, this one might go on the list as long as hemp yarn isn't too expensive.

Then, even though I am SO not in the market for another top, I checked out Emerald Seas. Cute! I'd like to knit it, I think, and it's cool that the person is from the Pacific Northwest, like me, and I'm looking at the photos and I think: huh. That water? That looks like my bay. Those islands in the background? Those look like my background islands, the San Juans. That path winding through the waterside park? Looks like my path winding through a waterside park, in fact, wasn't I just chasing a four-year-old on a bike on that path??

I read the bio, and only says "Washington State." (Because, pet peeve, when we Washingtonians are out of town and self-identifying, we always have to say we're from Washington STATE otherwise people think we're from Washington D. C., and I think it sounds dorky.) So I do some quick clicking and it turns out that the designer is an instructor at my local community college.

Small world. (Good thing I'm not a stalker; I now know her e-mail, office location, and what classes she's teaching next quarter. Kinda cool, kinda creepy.)

In which I unravel

I read on a MS3-er's blog (don't remember whose, sorry!) that ravelry now has a feature where you can look up your position in the queue.

If they're inviting about 1200 people/week, I should be in by the end of the month, possibly mid-August:

• You signed up on June 8, 2007
• You are #7745 on the list.
• 1681 people are ahead of you in line.
• 10827 people are behind you in line.
• 32% of the list has been invited so far

I have mixed feelings about this. I think ravelry is extremely well organized and a fantabulous tool for the serious knitter/fiber artist. However, I need another knitting-related time-suck like I need a hole in the head, especially since I'll soon be returning from my Year of Knitting Bliss (aka maternity leave) to the year of Oh Hell I Have 120 Essays to Grade By Tomorrow Not To Mention A Forty-Eight-Page Yearbook Deadline.

If I don't start a knitting group at school, I may never knit again.

In which I admit my addiction(s)

I said I wouldn't do it. I said I'd pace myself. The knitting world needs this pattern to be shared in a step-by-step fashion, so knitters everywhere can rejoice in its freshness, revel in its genius, relax into its rhythm.

But I couldn't help myself.

No, I'm not talking about Melanie's gorgeous lace (look, see, wow!: clue 3 done before clue four comes out tomorrow!), though of course I could be.

I'm talking about this pattern:


The start of my second pair of Coriolis socks. (Cat, when is this book coming out anyway?????)

I finished the MS3 Clue 3 chart on Tuesday night and immediately went into withdrawals. So, Wednesday, I dug this KnitPicks Memories (Geranium colorway, reds and pinks and greens, I don't think it's available any more) out of my stashette, and cast on again, this time using size 5s because the Austermann Step pair on size 6s came out a leetle bit big--just a skosh, as my mom would say. (Long o, as in most.)

The genius of this pattern is such that I, and I'm not a super fast knitter, have finished AN ENTIRE FOOT OF A SOCK in only a few knitting hours. It's some plain stockinette, some ingenious shaping, and just plain really cool. I feel like Cara on her monkey/jaywalker streaks.

So I promise to do my best to be a better blogger and record the process on Geranium Coriolis #2. But if I get the shakes and the cravings and I've already finished clue 4, and if Micah's hogging Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (ay yi yi, so many addictions in play this week!) I reserve the right to cast on with impunity.

I bet I'll be knitting this again. And you should too.

In which I play catch-up

I haven't posted a photo since May 29th. Of course, I've hardly blogged since then--it's not as fun without photos, right?--but I HAVE been knitting. A Lot. So it's back to the joy of writing on a nearly-daily basis. I have essays in my mind and on my mind (having just returned from AP training) and the itch to write is in my fingers. More on that another day; today is all about What's On (And Off) The Needles.

As I caught up on my documentation of Works Progressing, I noticed that, by accident, I am following the June/July colors for Project Spectrum: red, black, and metallics.

First, the Red: my lovely swallowtail shawl, which for now is gracing the back of the couch:


I finished this one up a couple of weeks ago--told myself it had to be completed before I started the Mystery Stole. I couldn't be prouder. The color, the nupps, the bindoff, the blocking--all went just so so so well. Though it matches the couch well, I do plan on wearing it; I have my eyes on this tee to go under. First day of school, anyone? (Am I the only teacher who carefully plans her first day of school outfit?)

On to the black/metallic:

Here is my Mystery Stole through the middle of the second clue, about 135 rows in. (I'm up to row 179 now, in clue 3, but haven't taken photos of it yet.) The color is a charcoal grey, but looks washed out here; the beads are a metallic mix with a variety of sheens; some look like silvery hematite, others coppery, others golden, others almost black. I'll try to get a better closeup and post my theme guesses soon.


And, finally, the redANDblack project: Cat Bordhi's Coriolis sock:
This project also deserves a post of its own; to understand the genius that is this design, just take a gander at this--it's the toe.

Intrigued? More soon!