the Akamai Knitter

Last night it dawned on me that I might not have enough yarn to complete the second sock of the Summer Skies. When I asked Kai for her advice, at the weekly Aloha Knitters meeting, she tried to prepare me for the eventuality that I might end up with a toe of a different colour as a design element. Eek.

I knit feverishly into the night because we all know that the faster you knit, the less likely you are to run out of yarn. (You didn’t know that? It’s a scientific fact!) Unfortunately, I had to stop at around 1AM for sleep, but the race was back on in the morning.

I knit as fast as I could and I knit as furiously as I could, with expletives flying from my mouth with wild abandon. Pressie hid out in her tent for the duration. Quincy escaped to his own quiet corner of the world as well. And with the support of my friend Shelly, I was able to finish the sock with a few yards to spare.

Haha! Victory is so sweet.

I had a completed sock without the surprise “design element”!

Pattern: Baby Cable Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks

Yarn: Opal yarn (one of a kind colourway)

Needles: 2.25mm

Started: 6/22/07

Finished: 6/29/07

When I said I only had a few yards to spare, I meant it. I’m pretty sure I have less then an ounce remaining. Here’s a shot of the tiny ball and a quarter to give you some perspective. (Please excuse the crappy photo.)

I really escaped disaster by the skin of my teeth. I think the reason this ball of yarn had less then the other balls of Opal yarn was because I had started a sock with it years ago. I don’t think I ripped out the entire unfinished sock. I think I ended up throwing out a good 2 inches worth of unfinished sock. Let that be a lesson to me. Waste not, want not!

Now you see it.

Now you don’t.

That’s right. Despite the fact that I finally grasped the art of the rotating stitch pattern, I still needed to rip the whole thing out.

Basically, I just didn’t like the fabric that was coming off the needles. I was having a hard time getting the Gothic Spire socks over my heel, so I opted for a better fitting sock by going up a needle size.

I went from a size 2.25mm to a size 2.5mm, which may not seem like much of a difference, but the resulting fabric does feel different to me. There’s more stretch. More stretch is good.

Here’s the sock with one complete repeat. (I know the pictures are terrible. This is a really hard colour to photograph.)

If this incarnation of the Gothic Spire socks do not meet my expectations, I will take another trip to the frog pond and have another cast on party with much of the swearing of which my cats have learned to hide from.

I vow to get this right even if it takes doing it again and again and again and again. I’m not obsessed though. I’m not even stubborn. I’m just determined.
In the midst of all this ripping and the ensuing swearing, Pressie retreated to her favorite hideout quiet spot.

I had a very relaxing and pleasant weekend. I watched three movies, two of which were good (Pan’s Labyrinth and Ghost Rider) and one of which was rather strange and boring (Harsh Times). When I wasn’t watching movies I was sucked into a marathon of Deadliest Catch, no thanks to Shelly I might add.

All of this added up to a goodly amount of knitting time. All of which I spent knitting my latest pair of socks.

I’m using another pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks, this time it’s the Baby Cable Rib. And once again I dived into my precious stash of one-of-a-kind Opal yarn. I’m really going to miss this stuff once it’s all gone.

Much to my amazement, I was actually able to finish the first sock last night. At least I left it with only the grafting left to do and I went to bed at my normal hour.

I’m calling these Summer Skies. The blues remind me of the pretty skies of Hawaii, the yellow of the shining sun, and the greys are reminiscent of the clouds that linger atop the Ko’oalu Range.

What better way to launch the advent of the Summer of Socks then with a pair of Summer Skies?

After a night of insomnia, I was able to finish the Opal Garden Socks.

Pattern: Beaded Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks

Yarn: Opal Sock Yarn in a one-of-a-kind colourway

Needles: size 1US/2.25mm 2 circs

Started: June 13, 2007

Finished: June 22, 2007

Instead of following the toe-up pattern, I ended up doing this cuff down. This was not a cleverly devised plan of mine decided by preference. No, this was because I did not RTFP.

I struggled with the heel as I’ve always relied on someone else’s math for the turn. Yet I somehow managed to get it done. I want to thank Wendy M. for the support she gave as I swore like a sailor puzzled my way through it all. I was a bit nervous about the whole math question, not being a knitting math diva and all, but I survived and I feel quite proud of myself for it.

Basically I deconstructed a heel from an existing pattern and inserted my own numbers. I wish I had better powers of description at my disposal, but they escape me at this time due to sleep deprivation. If anyone out there has a formula for turning the heel of a sock, please speak up!

I’m really glad to have these socks done, as I can now move on and join the soldiers in the army of the Summer of Socks knit along. I don’t have any particular plans for the knit along. It’ll probably just be business as usual around here, but I do hope to make a dent in my sock yarn stash. All the better to make room for more yarn in the fall.

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a fiberlicious weekend!

I made a commitment and I wasn’t going to go back on my word. So when my nifty new needles came (thanks Meredith!) I dutifully took out the Green Blob and started knitting lace again.

For the blog’s and Debi‘s sake, I attempted to take progress shots of the stole. I wasn’t very successful but here’s what I’ve got. I had to use the dreaded flash to get some proper lighting. *ugh*

I’m now on Tier 10 and the new needles do seem to be making the knitting a more enjoyable experience. I had been using Balene needles, but there was just too much drag and the points were a little strange to work with.

I also took the Forest Path Stole out to the garden for some fresh air and in the hope that I could possibly get a better picture. It didn’t quite work out that way, but I think it did enjoy the sunshine.

I’m trying really hard to become better friends with this stole, but so far I’ve been not been met with much success. Progress seems slow in the making even after working for hours on it.

There have also been disastrous incidents with the slippery metal needles that are better left forgotten. Despite that, I still prefer the metal to the plastic, because the tips really do make the nupps and the other decreases so much easier to manipulate. I’ve just learned to be very careful when handling all of the live stitches.

I sometimes dream of finishing this stole in time for MS3, but I’m really not going to hold myself to it. I still have socks to finish and other commitments to see to. So no pressure, eh?