So I've been doing it wrong?

I have been having issues doing Judy's Magic Cast On since the first time I tried.  I thought it was because I was looking at Cat Bhordi's YouTube video and she used the two circular method, which means she knits into the top needle with the working yarn coming from the bottom.  Since I was on my computer tonight, I decided to look for a tutorial for JMCO for Magic Loop, only to find out everyone seems to knit into the top needle with the yarn coming from the bottom.  I have always been knitting into the bottom needle, with my working yarn coming from the top.  All the tutorials I'm seeing online are the opposite of me, which means I don't know how to do the cast on without the seem massively showing.  I am ready to hit my head against my desk.

I generally started learning how to knit in the round via DPNs which seem to be just like how I knit with magic loop.  I guess when knitting socks from the top down, it doesn't matter but when working for the toe-up, it seems odd.  I don't know if I'm ready to make modifications to the way I knit in the round just yet since in my opinion it looks like people are knitting inside out.  Maybe one day, I'll figure out a toe up cast on that fully works for me.

Books and yarns and dyes

I had said previously how I was going to purchase the Tree of Life pattern once I had the money...$6.50 for the pattern, according to Ravelry. I pressed the button to pay for it, only to find out it is not for sale (someone needs to update that pattern page). The good news is, it took me to the designer's website where she had the BOOK with the pattern (yes the book that I have hunted high and low for) for sale. I didn't even hesitate and purchased the book. It is now on its way to my house and I am grinning like a loon. Now I'll have a lot more options for colour work socks :D

I had also said that I was going to dye the skeins for this project but I kind of changed my mind. I had made an earlier order from Springtree Road for a skein of Muscadine sock yarn in Late Dusk (a deep blue, almost navy) and Kohl (an almost black colour that I have been eyeing since the first purchase I made from Springtree last year). The idea of a dark blue background and a red-orange-yellow for the foreground is very appealing. Th only problem is that Springtree doesn't have gradient yarns. I contacted the owner who was willing to send me an undyed skein so I could attempt to dye it myself. I hope I do it justice.

Another sock to add to the list for 2013

I have loved The Tree of Life sock pattern since the first time I saw a picture of them. I went on a mad hunt to find the book the pattern was from since Ravelry didn't have the pattern available for purchase. The book wasn't available at Amazon.com when I was looking. Amazon.ca didn't even hear of the book. Same with Chapters-Indigo. KnitPicks.com had it and I had it in my cart. There was a 40% off book sale and when I was ready to purchase it, the book was nowhere to be found on the site. This was a lot of work for one sock pattern.

Don't ask me what made me start looking for the pattern tonight, but I looked on Ravelry again and lo and behold, the sock pattern is available for individual purchase :)

So the new plan, buy the pattern when there's money in my account. Buy a nice undyed skein or 2 of yarn. Dye the yarn myself, hopefully in a gradient. Enjoy knitting this pair of socks over the course of 2013 (pending the world survives past this week). I am excited.

No longer like the other

These two skeins were both two skeins of Patons Kroy in white that I had purchased from one of the ladies at my knitting circle. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, other than maybe some colour work. But now that I've learned how to colour with Kool-aid, I was quite happy to have these skeins. I like the way they have turned out and I wish I had enough to make a pair of socks out of them but I guess they'll have to go to making some other kind accessories, I'm thinking some kind of hat or such.

Way to Dye: Part 2

I didn't like the way my dye project turned out originally so I have to re-dye it. The ended up being a lot of white spots and color bleeding. I kept the colors the same and I tried again. I really like these these finished results it's a lot more vibrant almost wine colour. I hope the colour stays after the yarn has dried.

A) the first dye while the yarn was still damp.

B) after the yarn has dried. What you can't see is the white spots where the yarn was tied. I even tied the yarn loosely

C) this is the re-dye. No white spots but there are lighter and darker areas which are fine with me.

Way to dye

I found one more ball of Patons Kroy in white and as things seem for me, it can't just stay white. I debated between red or purple while looking through the past Successes in the What A Kool Way To Dye group on Ravelry.

I was aiming for a rich, jewel like purple, with a hint of red. I ended up with a jewel like burgundy. It wasn't until I had already hung up the skein to dry and made it back to my room that I noticed that I didn't use Icey Blue Lemonade like I thought, but a packet of Tropical Punch.

I like how it turned out regardless. And for reference if I ever want to try this again: Tropical Punch and Grape mixed together. Add Cherry in separately afterwards. 50g of sock yarn.

I love it when things like this happen

After placing my order at Paradise Fibers, I went to the KnitPicks website, deciding to see what kind of undyed yarn I could get and still debating if I was even going to make a purchase )I am one of those online shoppers that is always putting things in the cart but doesn't buy too often). I emptied out the contents of the cart but left in the acrylic yarn. I threw in a sock blank, a couple of undyed skeins of stroll and made it to about $47. Still not quite the $50 mark to get the cheaper shipping. I looked through the $2-$10 section to bump the total and I added a Euclean wool wash. I looked at my total and made it to exactly $50! It's nothing all that big but it's cool when you get a perfect total.

When I checked to see my full total with shipping and duty and such, I realized that KnitPicks now uses PayPal in addition to credit cards. As a person who tries to avoid credit cards as much as possible, this is wonderful news.

I haven't decided if I'm actually put this order through. It depends on my account tomorrow.

Good timing

I had made a post about a month ago about buying yarn for my shapely boyfriend sweater from Webs. I was going to make the purchase from there I really was but I got an email from Paradise Fibers having a 15% off sale on the Cascade Yarn I wanted. I was hemming and hawing as to when I was going to make my purchase But decided to make my purchase this morning as I couldn't wait any longer.

Good thing I did too considering I went to the ravelry group and found that the sale was ending today! I get to keep my Paradise points and I get my yarn for 15% off.

I'm still debating as to when I'm going to start this sweater. I still have a ways to go on Anisette Cardigan but as soon as I finish that I will start this one.

Well this is a benefit of doing toe-up socks

As I've been working on my toe-up socks, the Stitch Surfer, I am starting to see the benefits of doing toe-up socks.

I've been trying it on as I go and I didn't even measure before I started the heel flap. It just looked like it was long enough. I made it past the heel flap and as I started on the leg, I realized that the sock is looser at my ankle than I'd like so I'm going to go from a large to a medium. The large size was fine for my foot though on a 1US needle, since my foot is wide.

I've never tried those type of sizing customization on cuff down socks. I like learning new things :)

I feel like I'm in a "Secret Society"

Today was the last class of my creative writing class. (You can read the finisher story here). During the break, I was talking to the teacher and found out she is a fellow knitter. Of course I ran back to my backpack and pulled out my Stitch Surfer socks to show her. Apparently she's has never attempted socks and was in awe of them. We started to talk about the cost of yarn and people over paying for a Coach acrylic scarf (seriously it was $100 for the thing on clearance and they wanted me to pay that much money for acrylic?)

She liked the idea of the cost of knitting vs paying for other forms of entertainment. We came to the conclusion that knitting is worth it. That whole conversation made showing up for the last class worth it.

Another one bites the dust...dun dun dun...

I have made it through the week with still no desktop access. I'm still surviving with just my net book and iPhone...however will I survive? LOL! I also haven't been able to finish the other hand o my Juniper Mitts since it was left in Hamilton and I wasn't there this week...sigh...

So this week, I worked on the Bex socks. I don't think I have that much further to go for the first sock. I still hope to be finished these socks by the end of the year.

I got my order from ACME Fibres last week and while I was attacking the box to get to my new stuff, I noticed my ball of Felici Yarn from Knitpicks in the colourway of Afternoon and then I remembered my skeins of Stroll fingering of the Midnight Heather. This was after I was looking online for yarn to buy to make the Stitch Surfer socks. I immediately cast them on, after I finally got the ACME box open (which contained 3 Hiya Hiya circular needles and an undyed skein of sock yarn). Keep in mind have only done cuff down socks and attempted toe up one time. I've got issue with doing this cast on and I think it's due to watching Cat Bhordi's YouTube video. While it is quite informative, I forgot to take into account that she was knitting with two circulars while I was doing magic loop, so where she had her stitches ready to knit after casting on and having it look like was a cuff down sock looks like after the Kitchener stitch, the toe of mine is inside out and I got an odd toe. Meh! I like the progress I've made so far so I will leave it as is.

I didn't really work much on any other knitting this week however when I was supposed to be updating the blog yesterday, I ended up dying yarn.  The final product turned out quite nice considering this was my first time.

I've been dye-ing to do this!

Oh the dilemmas! I have decided I don't want to wait a moment longer to dye my yarn. I went looking for a Kool-Aid based colour combinations because of course I couldn't look for anything simple. The first site I went to had packets of colours I don't have yet. So I went looking again and found this site about mixing solid packets and then a new problem arose as I saw each all of the different colours. And I wanted to dye them all!. I think I've settled for either ice blue or lemon-lime but of course I can attempt to be daring and try to mix colours together with absolutely no previous experience.

Right now I've for my yarn soaking for 30 mins before I add the colour. My cuz said I looked like I was wearing spaghetti when I had the skein around my neck as I transported the bucket and Kool-aid up to the kitchen.

So the yarn is now done soaking and I asked my grandfather's opinion I. Colour and he really liked the Icey Blue.

So the yarn has been zapped in the microwave 3 times so far for 2 minutes a piece, with about 5 minutes of resting in between. At last check, the outer parts if the yarn were a very nice shade of blue but there was quite a bit more white than I wanted in the middle so stir stir stir and zapped it back in the microwave. Lets see it's progress now.

The colour from the water is almost all gone and there is still quite a bit of white. I wish I had stirred it after the first 2 mins. Ah well! Such is life I cannot wait to see how these will turn out for a pair of socks

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I squeezed out as much water as possible from my newly dyed skein after it was rinsed.  No colour came off during the rinsing so I assume that is good.  I took it down to the basement and hung it out to dry on the clothes lines hanging over the sink...of course checking on it every 5 minutes wondering to myself "Is it done yet?"

I love the finished skein and I really want to go through this whole process again.  I've even managed to talk my mother to look out for the more "exotic" (aka anything other than orange, grape, cherry) varieties of Kool-aid.  Wouldn't this make a pretty gift?