Knit Two Together

She Spins Too...

Oh yes... The Baynes has been getting another workout and is such a happy wheel because of the attention.

This is the merino batt hand-dyed by Denny at Lettuce Knit which I bought on my trip to Toronto (Hi Toronto Knitters!)
Actually, it's two bats. One was a fairly evenly dyed deep turquoise blue, the other a fairly unevenly dyed batt of shades of turquoise and white. Denny explained that she'd used it to exhaust the dye bath. Fair enough. I decided to separate each batt into strips about a thumb wide and to alternate them in my spinning. The hope was that it would produce a variegated yarn that would have shaded areas rather than blatant stripes.

I'm still working on this spinning thing. I took one lesson on hand spindling the summer before last. That's it. I think this is somewhat underspun as a single, although I don't really know what I'm doing wrong there. The plying seems ok but that's probably because I don't know what I'm looking at. I would like to take a class that would show me how to adjust the wheel properly (I'm just guessing as I go) and would love to have a spinner give me pointers on technique. I'm sure that with some experienced eyes I could be making a nice consistent sock yarn in no time.

Meanwhile, this is a perfectly knittable yarn in a perfectly beautiful shaded turquoise that makes me think of sunlight on a perfect pool. The skein is about 235 yards of about dk weight and I think it would make a perfectly lovely lacey scarf.

What do you think?

Next time: Llama, Llama, Llama!

Flutter Sleeve Cardigan - Modelled

I replaced the camera batteries and recruited the husband as photographer.

Really happy with this project!

And now for something completely different...

Summer is for lace knitting. It's the only time of year that I have enough open hours that I can concentrate hard enough to actually knit lace. It's not the knitting that I find difficult; it's the charts. I don't track well and following grid lines and symbols is tiring and taxing for me. I stick to simple patterns that I have either a hope of memorizing or at least being able to predict. When I went to Toronto I picked up a ball of Noro Kureyon Sock in a colourway that made me think of parrots in the jungle. While I struggled with the Flutter Sleeve Cardi I continued to eye the Noro. It was just to pretty to be socks. A Ravelry search revealed some gorgeous Swallowtail Shawls done in Noro Sock. Really really pretty!

I opened the ball and made it into a skein on my niddy noddy. Mr. Noro, you make pretty colours. Then I soaked it, gave it some pretty solid thwacks to teach it some manners, and let it dry. It helped to kill the curl, removed some VM, and went a long way toward softening this somewhat coarse yarn.

Once it was wound onto the cake I could see that there are about 3 colour repeats in this skein. That's good to know because it will help me to gauge how much yarn I have left as I knit the shawl. See what I mean about the jungle parrot?

I'm following some very good advice and knitting this from the outside of the cake. Pulling from the centre tends to result in tangles and glops of yarn.

Here is attempt # 5 (I think) Somehow I get to 3 repeats and end up with one too many stitches on one side or the other. I don't know what I'm doing wrong however, I have mastered the cast-on technique. Attempt #8 is currently waiting it's punishment and is about to be frogged back to the lifeline I started inserting after each successful repeat. Perhaps #9 will be the charm and I'll be able to fork up the next repeat instead?

This yarn is quite slubby in places and very thin in others. Part of what some consider the charm of Noro I guess. I'm using 5mm KnitPicks and I'm happy with the overall look.

Next post: She Spins Too!

June Tried to Kill Me

What can I say? June tried to kill me.
The short version is that June is the most stressful month for teachers anyway. Ask any teacher - they'll tell you June is the worst. Every deadline in June, and there are plenty, is an absolute drop dead line. Miss one and you throw off somebody else's schedule, which upsets another schedule, and so on.... It doesn't take much to push everyone over the edge. I made all of my drop deadlines but it took nearly 5 weeks of 16-18 hour days. Added to the work pressures were some fairly significant personal upheavals (no, I'm not going to elaborate - it sucked, we worked through it, it's ok now). By the end of week 4 I had passed exhaustion and was looking pretty significantly strung out. People were worried; some were even brave enough to tell me I needed a weekend off. When the principal tells you not to work the weekend it's probably a good idea not to. Anyway.... I survived June and have spent the last 2 weeks sleeping, knitting, cleaning, and hanging out with my kids. I am myself again.

  I finally finished my Flutter Sleeve Cardigan.

Size 44
Mod: no shoulder tabs, just decorative buttons there
Three button closure instead of two.

FibreNatura "Mermaid"
42% Cotton, 35% Superwash Merino Wool, 12% Silk, 11% Seacell
Exactly 8 balls. I did not do the shoulder tabs because I didn't want to break into a ball just for that.

KnitPicks circulars (as if I use anything else anymore) 4.5mm for seed stitch bottom and stocking stitch
4.0 mm for seed stitch bands and cuffs
3.5 mm for ribbed waist

I found matching buttons at Fabricland.

Things I love... the colour - beautiful teal green with depth because the different fibers take the dye slightly differently.
... the drape - this yarn at this gauge (20 st/28 rows = 4") has enough body to hold it's shape while still hanging very nicely over the hip
... the cut/style. - a very flattering sweater for a variety of body types. On me it emphasizes my waist and curves nicely while camouflaging the mummy tummy. I knit this sweater with 2.5" of ease. You could go looser but I wouldn't suggest a curvy girl go any tighter. Letting the lower part gap open would emphasize the tummy. On the other hand, if you're a tiny girl this sweater would give you curves and you could go for zero or even -1" of ease.
... the yarn - good hand, wet-blocked beautifully, steam blocked nicely for seaming, NOT itchy

Things I don't love... the yarn - tends to be splitty and 5 of the 8 balls I used had knots in them. I can't stand it when I've cast on for a piece and partway through the first row I come to a knot. Makes me MENTAL!
... the finishing - I swear to you it took longer to finish this sweater than it did to knit the 3 body pieces. the front bands are picked up, knit separately, then seamed on which does provide a neat look and structural support. The plain band went on just fine but the opposite gave me grief. I had to pick out the seam, rip down to the first buttonhole placement, then count rows and seam as I went in order to properly place the buttons where I wanted them. It was worth it though.

I have 4 balls left (from 2 dye lots) I think that's enough for a shrug and although the lots are noticeably different I think that I could alternate rows with them and get away with it. We'll see. For now they're marinating.

Overall I think this sweater is a keeper. I would have posted a modeled shot for you except that my son stole the batteries from my camera for his &*%$@#% game controller.

Did I mention that I'm now home full time with three kids? I'm working on it.

Next: a look at my new projects

One More

One more insane week at Mach 5 with my whole damn head on fire then I can start to slow down to the much more manageable Mach 3 with my hair on fire... (Top Gun fans?)

World Wide Knit in Public Day is next Saturday June 14. I'd love to be able to meet as many of you as possible. I know that Make 1 is hosting a little gathering in the park behind the shop and there are plans on the Ravelry board for knitters to be at Eau Claire. Drop me a comment and let me know your plans. Maybe we can get together?

Remember me?

Holy yarn balls! It's been so long since I blogged that Typepad has gone and redisigned everything. WTF? I'm so confused looking at the screen that I can hardly type. It's also been so long since I blogged that ClusterMaps has archived the old map with hits on it from Mon-fricken-golia and Africa. It's been so long since I blogged that I've almost knit a sweater.

Let's see if I can figure out how to show you...

Ahhhh.... that wasn't so hard and there seem to be some new features for putting images where you want them. That used to drive me crazy so we'll see if this is better. Pardon me?

The sweater?

OH! Sorry.

Flutter Sleeve Cardigan from IK Spring 08
size 44 (I hope)
Fibranatura Mermaid colour 40605 "Storm"
42% cotton, 35% superwash merino 12% silk 11% seacell

This is the back (duh) and I have the left front finished and have just finished the short rows on the right front. Hang on... I'll take pictures....

OK.... I drop my camera once in a while (stop laughing) and the catch was broken so I wrapped a hair elastic around it. Paul (the hubby) decided to "fix" it so he took out the batteries and superglued it together. Took me a few minutes to separate the glue so I could open the battery cover. Now...where are the batteries?

Oh for cryin' in the rain!!! I have TWO battery chargers and EIGHT rechargable AA batteries for ONE camera. Both chargers are here but not a battery in sight. Damned kids and their toys. Fortunately I have a secret battery stash for my own nefarious reasons. Hang on...

Success! I knew it was a good idea to keep regular batteries around for the camera just in case. What's that? You didn't think they were for the camera? What did you think they were for then?

I took some pictures, and a surprise spinning picture for you too. Just have to upload them...

All right. Who is the butt hamster that raided my ziploc baggie full of my important cable connectors and helped themselves to the camera cord? (Paul? Darling? Where the fuck did you leave my camera cord?)

I searched. Found two of the missing rechargables (yay!) but no cord. So scrounged through my work bag and dug out a spare USB from there, reached down to plug it in and wondered what the hell that white cord was doing in the port. Hey - found the camera cord! We're in business again.... just a minute to resize and such.

Get some tea...

Maybe a cookie...

Knit a couple of rows...

OKAY!!!!


Flutter Sleeve Fronts...on my dominant WIP

The very clever front shaping is the thing I most love about this pattern. The whole body is knit at a very pleasant worsted gauge on 4.5mm Knitpicks but the waist is done in 1X1 rib on 3.25mm. I had to dig through the stash of straight needles to find the right size. It results in a nicely nipped in waistline with a lower half that should float nicely over hips. 
The ribbing comes up to a point in the front, a very nice shaping detail that I hope will also be flattering. It's cleverly done with short rows to bring the ribbing to a point then more short rows to back fill the missing stockinette before you continue.


The top half shaping is a little bit of a challenge since you are increasing for the arm while you decrease for the neck. Then you change the rate of neck decreases for a while and at the same time change the rate of sleeve increases. It takes a bit of focus and I had to rip the first one three times before I was happy with it.










The second pic is a little washed out by the flash and the top one is a little dark. This one is a little better...hang on... I need to look at the pattern a second...do you see what I see?

That's right. The left front (on the right) clearly shows that there are increases made while knitting the short rows in stockinette while the right front (on the left) does not. That will have to be ripped back and re-knit. Dammit. I knew it went too smoothly to be right. Here's a tip though, there is one row knit straight between the ribbed short rows and the stockinette short rows. The trick here is to rip back to that particular row because picking up short row wraps is a complete pain in the arse. Fortunately, I've done it before. (how's that for annoying optimism?)

Meanwhile I sat down for a little bit a while ago (time sort of gets meaningless to me in May and June) and did some spinning. I picked up this pretty blue roving hand-dyed by Denny at Lettuce Knit on my trip to Toronto last month. It spins very smoothly and I enjoyed it.  I actually bought two bumps, both the same blue but one much darker and more solid (the one you see) and the other much lighter with quite a bit of barely tinted white in it. Denny told me the lighter batt was the result of her trying to exhaust the dye. I am roughly dividing them into finger widths and spinning them alternately. When I ply them I'm hoping to get some random striping with light and dark and some shading where the lighter blue overlaps the darker and gradually changes. No idea how much there will be when I'm done but I'm thinking it would make a pretty scarf or hat for Dragonsdottir. Might be enough for felted baby booties too. Will see.

And last, I have finally got a picture of the Meillenweit Toronto Socks... you remember, the ones mit extra strapazierfahig. I love them.
I'll let you contemplate the stripey goodness on the left there while I explain that work exploded in my face. I was given an administrative appointment and am now a Curriculum Leader (yay me!) however it came at a point in the year where the regular teaching job is busy trying to complete curriculum and making sure I've covered everything for the final, and the special ed teaching job is busy trying to complete assessments and program plans and the team spirit job is busy helping bring in the audience for the school play. It's really no wonder I made that mistake on Flutter since I was knitting at 11pm after a 13 hour day. If you don't see me until July, don't worry.

Now, with Extra Strapazierfahig

I met this terrific lady online a while ago. Not unusual, I've "met" quite a few wonderful people that way. Beryl Tsang is the driving force behind Titbits. When I saw her pattern published on Knitty, it struck a chord with me. I lost my mom to breast cancer in 1986. Beryl's story of her experience with the silicon prosthetic was my mother's as well. I decided I would knit a tittie in memory of my mother. Then I decided I wanted to knit a lot of titties - crazy titties - for charity. Eventually I sent about 20 or so to Beryl and we started corresponding. She added me to the membership list for the "Society for the Propogation of Fiber Pornography" and I was regularly invited to knit-alongs. The only catch was that they all took place at her house, in Toronto. I live in Calgary. So began a running joke that I was going to list a child on ebay to raise ticket money...this month's market was too soft maybe next month...would you believe not a single offer for him again? Unbeknownst to me someone had the idea of kicking the spare change into an envelope. Eventually a fair chunk was collected and Beryl sent it to me.

I was stunned. Flabbergasted. Speechless. Overwhelmed. This group of people, whom I had never met, had given me this incredible gift. It wasn't just the money either. It was the concrete evidence that they really did want me to travel east and join them. I cried. Honestly. And then I cleared out the airmiles to pay the fare and used the cash to pay the fees. There is no way for me ever to repay the generosity of spirit that prompted those wonderful folks to not only invite me, but to make it possible for me to accept the invitation. Instead, I have paid forward the kindness and done something for someone else which made a difference for that person. Karma is a wonderful thing.

I arrived Friday, April 18 late and tired having left Calgary in the middle of a spring blizzard. I got lost in Pearson - zigged when I should have zagged and went in the out doors I think - but eventually I met up with Guerrilla Knitter (Beryl) and BlogMistress Kat (Katherine). Kat welcomed me into her apartment in the Beaches neighbourhood. Monday was bright, sunny, and Hot! While the snow blew back home, I was wishing I had brought shorts with me. Glorious. The Yarn Harlot has her travelling sock; Franklin Habit is making a book of 1000 Knitters all of whom are stitching on the same scarf; I decided I love both and gave everyone I met my sock in progress, asked them to knit a round or so, and snapped their pictures while they did. It was so much fun!

We started our yarn crawl at The Purple Purl.
The first person I met was Melinda. She was working on something pretty but put it down to work a round on my sock. Then I was treated to the sight of her WIP - a hand crocheted wedding dress which she is making for her wedding this summer. It's stunning.

Next up was Miko. Miko is the co-owner of the Purple Purl.

Finally Jennifer, Purple Purl's other co-owner took a turn. She was so excited because she hadn't knit a stitch yet that day and needed a little fix. I had to hand it to Jennifer - it took her all of 2 seconds to figure out that the part of the sock plan I wasn't saying was that I was getting my sock knit for me in the process! Smart Girl that Jennifer.

What did I get there? Let me see....
Fibranatura "Mermaid"
42% Cotton 35% Superwash Merino Wool 12% Silk 11% Seacell
50g/125 yards/114m; 10 balls
worsted
colour 40605 "Storm" teal blue green
This is intended to make a short sleeve warm weather cardi.

Sorry it's hard to see... yes... Qiviut.... squee!
The Musk Ox is Mine at last.
Magical Qiviut from Cottage Craft Angora
22g - 162 yards; 2 ply fingering
Stupidly expensive.
Also there, a lovely soft, nearly black bump of alpaca roving for spinning. It's from "We Are Spun" in Beaverton, Ontario.

Onward Knitters! Next Stop... Americo

The lovely Annegora works there but she didn't knit on the sock. I took her picture anyway because she's beautiful. That's Anne in the black top and Kat in her stunning cabled cardi. Nicole, Americo's owner and designer did though. I didn't buy any of the gorgeousness that Americo has to offer. Trust me when I tell you their yarns are absolutely stunning. Stunning I tell you, with the possible exception of the yarn with the furry testicle balls on it...but that might just be me.

Nicole gave me samples of three of her lovely yarns to bring back to Amy and Sandra at Make 1 Yarn Studio. I am a yarn mule!
Left 50% Superfine Alpaca/50% Organic Cotton, fingering weight; Centre 100% Organic Cotton, worsted weight; Right 100% Pima Cotton, dk weight. It's all lovely. And I'm going to hand it over. Soon.

From Americo we went on to Romni Wools. WOW! This place is overwhelming. They have everything here. Beryl wouldn't let me go downstairs. Apparently that's where the spinning stuff is. Next time...
Meanwhile, I got a little lost... Happy happy knitter...

I got co-owner and Spinner extra-ordinaire Jonathan to hold the sock, but he wouldn't knit on it for fear of changing the tension...Honestly, the sock wouldn't have minded.

There was a little stash enhancement at Romni too...
I finally found a copy of Nashua Hanknits The North American Designer Collection No.4 which has the pattern shown here, Surplice Lace Top by Gayle Bunn. I saw this picture in an ad ages ago and fell in love with it. Naturally, I had to get something to knit it with.
Romni Wools Bamboo; 100% Bamboo, dk weight, mid tone copper/brown colour 306; 50g/102m; 10 balls

A walk was in order and we set off for Kensington Market and a visit to Lettuce Knit. That's where I met the amazing Denny. Not only is she a terrific person and a skilled dyer, she was happy to knit on my sock too.  I have to say though that I was distinctly hot and sticky in the Toronto heat and humidity by this point and I couldn't help but admire the way that Denny looked so cool and collected while wearing two shirts and a sweater.

We were joined at Lettuce Knit by Cia, who went continental on the sock. Could you imagine a better background??

I also met Alejandra, who is lovely and graceful in person, and who was thrilled to take a turn as well. I didn't take her picture but I met the cutest little girl here. She came in with her mom, obviously well versed in the ways of yarn stores, and proceeded to finger the goods, ask about a million questions, and admire the fridge magnets. "Knit a Little" she read, with obvious scorn. "My mom doesn't knit a little," she announced to the whole store, "She knits a LOT!"

I bought just a little bit here. Only stuff I cannot get anywhere else! Two bumps of merino, hand-dyed by Denny herself. (Which I started spinning tonight and it's gorgeous!) and one skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Socks that Rock" Lightweight, in Waterlilies 100% superwash merino, 128g/360yds/329m. Lettuce Knit is the only place in Canada that you can get STR...couldn't not get some now could I?

From Lettuce Knit back to Beryl's house was an easy streetcar ride. Those streetcars made me a bit nervous. They travel all over downtown Toronto in the centre lane. People wait on the sidewalk. When the streetcar arrives it stops right there in the middle of the road and opens the doors. People then step off the curb, usually without looking, and cross a traffic lane to enter the streetcar. Cars are not allowed to pass on the inside of a stopped steetcar, for obvious reasons, but I was still impressed by the lack of carnage.

More lovely knitters awaited me, this time bearing wine and cheese and disturbingly green sausages I was told were made of Leprechauns.

Meet Kim. She sews. She appreciates a good yarn though. Was nice to meet you Kim!

This precious wee thing is Elaine. That's her knitting she's holding. It is "A something that's going to be made out of two balls of this yarn here that nobody wanted." Elaine is also a pirate. A diminutive pirate to be sure, but Pirate nonetheless. She has a Pirate Song, "Yo ho ho and a ball of yarn!" and decided that the something might just be a pirate flag, with a skull and crossed needles. We had a rousing duel, where her straights beat my dpn's handily. Arrrr Cap'n Elaine!

Here she is again with her lovely mom Mary. Turns out I met Mary online as well. She was living in the UK at the time and read about my little TitBit project. Mary sent me a very nice pair, which eventually made their way to Beryl. Mary herself did the same thing moving to Toronto from the UK. It was a great pleasure to meet both of you as well.

By this time my sock was ready for a heel. You know how fond I am of the PGR short row heel. Works every time - no holes and neat! Except there might have been a problem with trying to turn a heel in the gathering dark, whilst talking, dueling, sipping wine, and singing Pirate songs. I ended up knitting the heel turn twice in the evening, then ripping it out again the next morning and finally getting it right. Meanwhile though, StrickChik (Heidi) and official yarn admirer Christine looked on as I tried to explain the reverse yarnover maneuver and StrickChik translated the german label on my sock yarn. It is Lana Grossa Meileinweit (milenvite) colortweed; 80% Schurwolle (sure voll eh)20% Polyamid in a blue green striped colorway # 1004. The label says it is waschmachinenfest (vash machinen fest) which we thing means machine washable, garantiert filzfrei (garan ti ert filts fry) which probably means "guaranteed pill-free" and, best of all, extra strapazierfahig (schtrap a zeer fay heek). We think strapazierfahig might refer to long wearing, and since there's extra of it, well... that's got to be gud right?

Finally, after guiding me all over the Big Smoke all day, Guerrilla Knitter Beryl took a turn on the sock.

And non-knitter Christine held the sock, looking somewhat confused as to what she was supposed to do with it.

The guys plainly didn't understand. But there was lots of wine, so they were good.

Sharing and fondling of the new stash followed. Note for Rod...Beryl bought nothing and she did not enable spinning stash acquisition, not even when I was drooling over the spindles at the Purple Purl. Kat indulged only in a single skein of Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn, which she started knitting with right away. I however....

Ahem... moving right along....

Sunday was bright and gorgeous. There was a pretty stiff breeze blowing in off Lake Ontario but the beach there is sandy and the water was a very pretty blue green. Kat, the sock, and I took our morning beverages and muffins down to the boardwalk. I don't think it gets much more lovely than sitting in the sun on a park bench, by the beach, knitting with pretty yarn and sipping a latte. Knowing that the husband and children were enduring -12 C and continuing snow gave me wicked delight. I actually had Kat snap a picture of me sitting on the pier, knitting, so I could text it to my snowbound man. Bad wife!

When we got back to Kat's place I ripped the heel and started it over. Third time the charm!

Our last yarn shop was In the Loop. Interesting shop... yarn, coffee, food, and free WiFi. There were a couple of people sitting at tables sipping their java and computing away on their laptops. They seemed oblivious to the yarn. Odd that. When I first saw the Noro sock yarn, I was less than impressed. Oh sure, it has those gorgeous colours, it is Kureyon after all, but it has that nasty hard hand. Single ply and somewhat coarse in the skein it really didn't appeal. Crocheted into a shawl it felt absolutely crunchy. Undeterred, Kat bought a ball and started knitting right away. Wonder of wonders the stuff transformed into an entirely acceptable fabric on her 2.5mm needles. I had to have some. Last purchase of the trip. Noro Kureyon Sock yarn; 70% wool, 30% nylon; 100g/420m; col no. S92 which showed blue, green, teal and black on the outside and promised purple, red, yellow and orange on the inside.

Beryl's lovely daughter An Li spent the day with us. She knits too but instead was crocheting flowers for felting while we chatted and knit. It was lovely to meet you An Li.

Kat finally put down her Noro sock and took a turn with mine. Thank you Kat, for all of your kindness, and generosity in opening your home to me. I enjoyed meeting you very very much.

The socks? I finished them on the plane home.

Thank you again to everyone in Toronto who dropped anything into that envelope of kindness, who greeted me with such warmth, who showed me their lovely yarns, and all who knit a round for me. I had an absolutely wonderful time.

PS: If you have a blog, please let me know in the comments what it is. I'd love to be able to read and stay in touch that way. Or, if you like, you can friend me on Ravelry. I am KnitTwoTogether there.

Surfacing

The last couple of weeks have been quite intense in my world and I have neglected things terribly.

I promised purple, and I did knit purple. I even took a picture of the purple. But I haven't downloaded it yet, and I forgot to take the after shot...

Purple?  yes. Seriously purple felted slipper socks for my favourite knitting victim. Using Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky and 6.5mm dpns I cast on 44 stitches, knit a shortish cuff - about 4 or 5 inches or so, I didn't measure - then my favourite PGR heel on 22 stitches (FAST!) and down the instep until it looked like it would fit Ronald McDonald ending with a standard wedge toe and kitchner stitch. Then I machine felted them about as small as they would go. One of the things I love about knitting for Africa are his entirely normal sized feet. I think the slippers are probably a bit on the long side for him but he would never complain and tells me he loves them madly - particularly because they are very very purple.

I also knit a sock out of some blue-green Lana Grossa Meilenweit Colortweed that's been marinating in the stash for a while. It wasn't exactly what I wanted to knit with but I needed something already in a ball that I could grab for mindless stockinette socks to knit at University one day. I'm so glad I did. What a surprise in that ball! There are 3 shades of blue and 3 of green; each colour going about 4 rounds on my basic 64 stitch fingering sock pattern (see the last post for details, such as they are). It's really quite pretty and I'm endlessly entertained by the regular striping. I find myself enjoying the colour running through my fingers and thrilled by what's coming up at the same time. One modification to the plain sock I made was to switch up 0.5mm when I got to the cuff ribbing. I wanted to have just a little more slack in the cuff to make the sock a bit more relaxed around my calves. If you, like me, enjoy the blessing of very "shapely" calves (you know, the kind that make buying sexy knee boots something of a wistful dream) then I suggest this as a quick and easy way to produce that dudge of extra space you need for comfort. I'll post pictures next time...promise.

Meanwhile...

I have finished that course I was taking at the University. Thank. Wool.!! My purpose in taking that course was to upgrade my qualifications to administer and interpret more advanced standardized educational assessments. There were 2 tools in particular that I hoped to become competent in using. I also wanted to test drive a master's level course because I have been considering returning to school for a master's degree. The Faculty of Education had it's own agenda which largely included recruiting people into it's master's programs. It didn't take long for me to realize that I was absolutely not in the life position to consider starting a master's degree, particularly at my local University. I kept waiting and working and hoping that we would get to the stuff I was really there for. When it did come, they chose to squeeze an absolute ton of information into a single day. The result was that I've come away with a general overview of the tests I wanted to master, experience in using only one of them, and very little in the way of training for interpretation of results. I could have achieved that level of competence with $400 and a 2 day workshop rather than $1600 and a 7 month long 600 level course. Piss me off. Bunch of butt hamsters anyway. It's done now though and some life lessons learned.

Last week also marked a bit of an achievement of sorts. When I left my last school, which I loved, it was partly because I needed a change of direction in my career. With the help of a wonderful mentor I sat down and made a plan for what I hoped to have happen over the second half. Without a master's degee, my options are somewhat limited in terms of upward mobility. Last spring saw me overjoyed at several offers and thrilled to be in the position of actually being able to choose my next teaching job and location. I chose the junior high offer over both senior high offers in part because I felt that it gave me the best chance for advancement in the direction I wanted to go. On Wednesday last week, that goal became reality when the Principal offered me a Curriculum Leader position. This is an admininistrative leadership position and is definitely a promotion for me. Starting May 16 I will become Curriculum Leader - Student Services. I will have responsibility for supervising three special education programs plus the program planning for all students with special needs in the regular stream. I will also become part of the Leadership Team for the school and will have a much more significant role in the transition to a middle school than I would have otherwise had.  I am thrilled to see my years of experience finally paying off in this kind of recognition.  Throughout this school year I've had many opportunities to realize I made the right decisions last spring. This one is the latest. So, deep breath Gina, and time to crank it up a notch or two.

There's something else too, but I need to stop procrastinating and actually finish my report cards today. Besides, it's so wonderful it deserves it's own post. Next time...with pictures... :)

Toe-Up Sock Techniques

Life just goes along these days. It's busy. It's mundane. I don't really feel like there's a whole lot to blog about right now. It's a knitting blog though, and I've been knitting, so here you go.

My new favourite knit it in your sleep sock pattern:
1. Get some yarn.

2. Using the Turkish Cas-on start with this many:
    Lighter fingering or cotton based sock yarn - 16 wraps / 32 stitches total on 2mm needles
    Fingering weight - 12 wraps / 24 stitches total on 2.5 mm needles
    DK weight - 8 wraps / 16 stitches total on 3mm needles
    Heavy DK or Light Worsted - 8 wraps / 16 stitches total on 3.5mm needles

3. Make wedge toe by increasing 4 stitches every other round until you have:
    Light Fingering/Cotton - 72 stitches total
    Fingering weight - 64 stitches total
    DK weight - 56 stitches
    Heavy DK or Light Worsted - 52 stitches.
    I use knit front and back on the corner stitches.
    After about 2 rounds I pull the cast on tail through to the right side to serve as a start of round marker.

4. Knit around and around for a while.
    Try it on for size. Stop when you can comfortably pull the sock up to your ankle bone or so.

5. Work Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' short row heel on half the stitches.
    Hint: slip the instep stitches onto 2 dpns to give them a little slack and reduce the pulling at the corners.
    Another Hint: on the first round after you've finished the heel, knit 3 together in the first and last instep stitches to close any possible gaps. Do this by picking up and twisting a stitch from the row below right in the corner and slipping the last yarn over onto the left needle. Knit the first stitch together with the picked up stitch and the yarnover. Do the same at the other end of the instep stitches.

6. Knit around and around and around and.......until
    a) you feel like stopping
    b) you are nearly out of yarn
    c) the length of the leg is roughly 1" shorter than the length of the foot from heel to toe.

7. Switch to 1X1 rib for about an inch.

8. Use EZ's Sewn Cast-off. Work it loosely so there's a lot of stretch in the top of the sock.

There you go. I wouldn't exactly call it a pattern. It's more like the techniques that are working for me right now.

I made these like that:

   

Cider Moon "Blizzard"
100% Washable Merino
64 Stitches on KP 2.5 mm DPNs
Colourway: "Asbury Park" which is off white, turquoise and light brown but which reads as mint green from a distance. Also please note the spiral striping. This yarn came in a single hank. I split it exactly in half using an electronic scale. I knit them exactly the same way, on exactly the same needles, one after the other. So WTF is up with the spiral stripe?

Love that Heel! For me anyway, its a whole lot faster to knit than a flap. I don't think it will wear as hard as a flap would, but I'm not really all that concerned. There's probably more sock yarn in the stash than I could knit in a year of nothing but socks.

Also knit these as demo/gauge samples for a local indie dyer. For those of you in Calgary, Linda Marlow-Thomson will shortly be opening a stall at the Calgary Farmer's Market. Linda is a retired teacher and new fiber friend of mine. Her hand-dyed yarns are gorgeous to look at and to work with. Linda also makes specialty yarns and will be stocking patterns and kits as well.

This yarn is on the heavy side of dk yarns.  It is 100% mercerized wool which takes the dye beautifully, feels soft and cozy, and won't felt.

The sock on top is 52 stitches on 3.5mm KP DPNs. Gauge is 6.5 stitches and 7.5 rows per inch. It used almost exactly 50g of Linda's hand-painted yarn.  Leg length is 4.5 inches: Foot is 7 inches.

The sock on the bottom is 56 stitches on 3.0mm KP DPNs. Gauge is 7 stitches and 8.5 rows per inch. Once again, it uses almost exactly 50g of yarn from the same skein. Leg length is 3.5 inches: Foot is 7 inches. The only noticeable difference in size between the two socks is in the leg length. The foot circumference  and fit is identical.

That tassle of yarn attached to the bottom sock is every scrap that was left from the original 100g skein. You can indeed get a pair of shorty socks out of a single skein. I know that Linda's also going to put up some kits with 100g multi-colour and 50g co-ordinating semi-solid to use with toes, heels and cuffs. It's also interesting to notice the difference in patterning between the two socks. The bottom sock has a subtle spiral pooling which I actually quite like. The top sock has a much more even distribution of colour. May not ever happen again, but I think it's interesting to note particularly after the obvious difference in the Asbury Park socks.

Next up? Purple. REALLY purple.

Golden Compass

We're doing a novel study at school with my grade 9 students of Phillip Pullman's Golden Compass. Don't panic. We're steering very clear of the religious debate. I teach in the public school system. The book is an approved resource. If I can hook 14 year olds into reading something that JK Rowling didn't write, I'm going to do it!

In Pullman's world, every person is born with a 'Daemon" which is a physical manifestation of their "soul". Throughout childhood the Daemon can change forms to reflect the child's developing personality. During adolescence the Daemon settles into it's final form. This site has a "Find you Daemon" quiz. Right now my Daemon remains changeable. In 12 days it will settle into it's final form. I would love it if you would click through and give some feedback about this Daemon choice for me. You don't have to identify yourself or your feedback. If you decide to look at your own Daemon, by all means let me know and I'll be happy to give you some feedback too.