I said I would do it! / Falling in love part 5

So, I was so intrigued by the Falling in Love experience that I set out to do it two more times. I bough MORE Colinette Jitterbug yarn. The red colourway is called Fire (#71) and the cream/pink/green colourway is called called Marble (#88). The Marble one is going to match the Twinkle sweater that I am making, because if the pink flecks. But, I promise that I will start the sweater at home, and make the sock on my travels (consecutively), so hopefully, they will be done around the same time.

Here is the progress of my Falling in Love sock. I was so happy to be able to get through the gusset increases and the heel flap.


So, after I finished the heel and joined the round again, I realized that I forgot to cross a cable on the left side. It so happens that this cable should have been crossed before the heel flap was done. Shoot.... Why didn't I check it before??? Well.... I was kinda half asleep. So, it is back to frogging and doing it all over again. Aaarrrghhhh!!!!

I went to Nancy's house yesterday for a BBQ, and felt so out of place because I forgot my knitting at home. There were some members there from the Noble Knitters meeting having a blast, and my hands were itching because I wasn't knitting something. Do you get the feeling that I don't like being left out of the group? Maybe it is an only child thing. I don't want to be lonely anymore. That is the reason that I was half knitting/half sleeping. I was trying to overcompensate for missing out. I had a lot of fun. Nancy, we must do it again!!!! And, I will keep a project in my car just in case we ever have another impromptu knitting moment.

Falling in Love part 4

On to better news. The Falling In Love sock is progressing rather nicely. I am happy so far. I only had to frog about 2 rows, because I missed a yarn over and it threw my stitch count off. Note to self.... don't try to knit a sock on the bus, and talk on the phone at the same time. LOL!!! I am falling in love with this yarn too. I just may buy another skein. To make up an excuse for why I will buy it....... I will be sure to buy a color that matches a sweater that I intend on making. Hopefully Colinette Jitterbug comes in a nice rose color. We will see.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Good:

Here is a picture of my progress. These are the sleeves that I am knitting two at a time, and I feel like a knitting goddess because I have managed to do it without tangling the two skeins.

The Bad:

Being a Perfectionist sucks!!! I was happy knitting along, and got to the decrease for the sleeve cap and then realized that my stitch count was off after I did my binding off. What is my problem, you ask? I was supposed to do the increase 10 times for the 36" size, and the dummy that took over my head when I read the pattern initially read the "9 times" for the 32" size. I will chalk this all up to the fact that I hate writing in my magazines, so I didn't circle or highlight the number that corresponded to my size. And yes, I could have photocopied the pattern, but I seem to always lose those things. So, now I have the grueling pleasure of frogging approximately 20 rows of stitches.

The Ugly:

I read the chart wrong, and have done the cable twist every 8 rows, as opposed to every 10 rows. I have completed the back, front pieces, and the sleeves (almost). So am I supposed to take this out??? Not for a minute on God's great earth am I going to even fathom that notion. Every fault is a fashion, and the cables are consistent with each other. So I'm keeping it. Ha! Leave me a comment. Let me know what you think.

Falling in Love part 3

I am so happy to report that I am making progress on my Falling in Love sock. The hearts are just popping out of this pattern. I am truly loving this Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn. It is amazingly soft. Here are a few pics at different angles.

Falling in Love part 2

I casted on my Falling in Love socks using the Magic Cast-on for Toe-Up socks as seen in Knitty.


I began with 9 stitches on each needle, and increased by knitting in the front and the back of the second stitch, and second-to-last stitch on each of the two needles.


Here is the count of 31 stitches on each needle.



Now it is time to start the cable and lace pattern. Stay tuned......

Chante and Nancy, thank you for the inspiration to start this sock. Nancy, I really think you should fall back in love again. I think the color of this Jitterbug yarn will work with this pattern.

Falling in Love

I would like to personally thank Nancy and Chante for allowing me to Fall in Love again. I have seen their excitement over the Falling In Love sock from Magknits this past Tuesday at our sit and knit.

I went to work Wednesday, printed out the pattern, and it was staring at me all day. Thursday, I tried to find the yarn online, then I realized that I didn't want to wait a week for shipping, as the pattern was still stalking me, and would not leave me alone. Friday, the pattern was taunting me so much that I decided to go to Seaport Yarn, and get a skein of Jitterbug in Lagoon-138. It is the same gauge, and really soft, and machine washable. Woohoo!! Actually, Seaport has 10% off of all sock yarns this May, so I thought it was justifiable.


Now that we know each other very well, and are keeping it real, I am not embarassed to say I ran out of work and raced to the place in 3 inch heels. I was trying to get there before they close at 6, and I ran the equivalent of 2 stops on the 4 train... because I didn't want to deal with the MTA slowing me down. For us New Yorkers, I know I am making total sense here. For people outside of New York... well, you just have to come here and experience being on the express train and seeing the local train get to the destination first. It is super annoying... and then we all wonder why we are so uptight. Don't worry... I will take it slow when I am knitting my socks.

So, thank you Nancy and Chante for making me increase my stash one more time. Nancy, you are very diligent about not increasing your stash... but I do remember seeing somewhere that we will not be penalized for sock yarn. I am planning on using size 1 two circular needle method. So, I think now we have a Tri-Borough KAL from the BX... to Uptown..to Bklyn. Does anyone from Queens want to join in???? Chante, I may need help on the two circulars, since this is my first attempt at it, and it is my first lace pattern, and you have me terrified about the K4TOG.

Knitting on the R train

This is just a funny story.

I was on the R train today, traveling to 59th street and 5th Avenue. My mom and I were on our way to a really nice restaurant for dinner. So, being that I had a few minutes to spare, I picked up my knitting. I am trying to finish my Central Park Hoodie before they start to turn on the AC in my office on full blast for the summer. So, my mom says "Ugh... I know you're not about to start knitting now, are you?" I just looked at her and said "Do I embarass you?" Let me remind you that this is a woman that I dragged to a yarn store for company, and she ended up buying $100 worth of yarn, and now wants a hat, mobious scarf, and shawl to wear when her office AC is on blast at subzero temperatures. I just rolled my eyes and proceeded to knit. Now, I have heard of teenage daughters being embarassed of their moms knitting while they are at play rehearsals, or sports practice. But never have I heard of a mother being embarassed about a twenty-something year old daughter doing something constructive in her life such as knitting.

So, while I am knitting, I averted my eyes to other people on the train (because when you knit as much as I do, you don't even have to look at the fabric while you do it). Then I heard the angels singing from heaven. Guess what I saw??? A man sitting across from me, a few seats down.....knitting a small red garter-stitch square. He was concentrating so hard, and kept stopping and counting, and studying his piece. I knew he had to be a beginner, but he ws so diligent at it, that I really admired him. I said to my mom "Look, I have a knitting buddy on the train". At the next stop, a woman sat next to him, looked at him while he was transfixed in the knitting zone, then she looked at me. We locked eyes, and she smiled. So, I smiled back. It is really nice to know that someone was intrigued!!! LOL. Now I know that my mother does love me dearly, and I love her too. I will just chalk it up to her not understanding the Joy of Knitting. Don't worry, I will have her doing it pretty soon. I gave her a step-by-step dissertation on the purl stitch this morning while we were on the bus. She chose to sit next to me, so she had no choice but to listen. Haha!!!