The projects on the chopping block were (click for big!):

• Cleo, my oldest UFO. As in started more than three years ago. All the bits were done, and I had a bathing suit top I wanted to cut up to make a lining, but I didn’t know how to do it, so it just sat. And sat. And sat. And looking at it the other day I realised that the fabric was much, much too loose for a shirt, and it was heavy and would sag, and the world would just be a better place if it went away.
• Simply Lovely Lace Socks. I started these over a year ago, in yarn I Kool-Aid dyed. I got just past the heel on the first sock, when I realised they were a bit tight. That was also before I realised that I don’t want socks with holes already in them. I wear wool socks in winter for warmth. Holes are not warm.
• Sidewinder Sock. A fairly recent project, compared to the other two. I think it was May? ish? I knit one whole sock very very fast, grafted the eleventy-thousand stitches, and then it was too tight. The pain was a bit too new to frog it earlier, but I’m okay with it now. I’m undoing the graft, and will measure and record my gauge properly, then try again.

Now, I don’t have a swift, and all this yarn had been sitting knit up for ages, so it was going to be really curly. Wrapping around my arm is tedious, but I came up with a great solution:

My chair, the swift! I just needed to spin the chair with one hand and hold the offending item with the other. It even worked for Cleo, which was two strands of yarn held together. I just made sure to keep my fingers between the strands, started them out at different heights on the chair, and twirled away. Can your swift do that?

Yarnage counter: 16.89km

When finished, I wove in my end, like a good little knitter, and thought hey, I’ll try this on now! See the picture? You like?

My foot didn’t like it. The leg is fine, the length is okay (I think), but the bit that goes around my ankle/heel, where the leg bends? PAIN! It is much too tight, but only there. And well, it was a struggle to tug it on.

So I need to rip it. sigh. And go up a size I guess? I know I don’t have wide feet, as I’ve never had to buy wide shoes, but maybe I should knit the same size, but in a wide? Not certain, and I’m not going to measure my feet now. At work you know.

Looking at the un-grafted toe (why bother, it didn’t fit!), I’m starting to think I need some more length, too. Le sigh. Rip rip rip. And there was a little line of holes all down one side of the heel:

I seem to be stalled on all my knitting projects at the moment. This one doesn’t fit. I needed to rip and re-start the shawl on smaller needles (I have ripped, but no new knitting yet), the cardi is in a state of limbo (me not wanting to continue because I’m worried about size issues), the only good one is Vinnland. Although I haven’t had the courage to measure it against any other socks yet. I am in a knitting slump.

What I really want to do right now is get my desk and our whole officey area all up and running and prettified. It’s pretty messy in there right now. The bookcase is a disaster area of stuff that’s just been… stuffed on to it. But the wonderful boyfriend is building a shelf for the closety area, which will help a lot.

OH! Exciting Crafty News! I’m getting a Gocco! I found an ad for one on a local craigslist-type site, and I’m picking it up Friday. It’s only $50, I’ve found they tend to go for $100+. yay. I’m hoping to be able to get something going on etsy, I’ve got great ideas for stuff. I’d love to have a crafty business again. I’ve got a few cards up there right now (username is rycrafty), but the photos I took are pretty bad.

Sunday I had a boring work day, so I started another sock. Not the second Sidewinder! I was too impatient to try out the Vinnland pattern and my wonderful Fleece Artist Sea Wool. My gauge was a bit small compared to the pattern (32st/4″ rather than 29st/4″) so I cast on for a size bigger than I would normally need. It seems to be working.

People always talk about the magic of turning the heel and what an epiphany moment it is with socks, etc etc. I never found the heel that exciting. My magic moment came on Sunday, when I was doing box office for a 5 hour Chinese opera. The toe of a toe up sock… well, the one in the Vinnland pattern anyway, is just magical. I’m knitting flat, knitting flat, increasing, decreasing, OMG I HAVE A TOE POCKET! It was very cool. Yesterday I got about halfway through a repeat of the cable-y pattern at work, hoping for more today. Once I’m done this sock, I’ll do the other Sidewinder.

Saturday I went to the Summer Solistice Sale at Make One Yarns. I bought stuff. I’m a terrible person. But really, who can resist 40% off Rowan? Only certain Rowan, but I made sure I was there before the store even opened so I could get my hands on some Tapestry:

40% off, my friends! That means I got a sweater’s worth for about $50, which is just amazing for Rowan. I also bought a pattern book/leaflet, Rowan Pure Wool Collection. Everything is simple, yet lovely in it, I had been hesitating buying it earlier, but snapped it up for 50% off. I got a couple other things as well, for smaller projects, but will leave that as blog fodder for a later date.

The Tapestry is going to become Sorrel, I’ve been wanting to make it for a while, but didn’t want to shell out the yarn money.

Had a job interview on Thursday that I think went well, but no news yet. Had another one yesterday that was odd. I felt happy but I was in and out of there in 5 minutes. He said he just wanted to put a face to the name, but I’ve been (obsessively) running it over, and I keep wondering if I made that bad of an impression? I don’t think so. Granted, it was pouring rain and cold outside, and yet I had summery cropped khakis and ballet flats…. It looked sunny when I got dressed that morning! So I did feel a bit absurd in my clothes, but it wasn’t like he was in a suit and tie or anything. It’s theatre, it’s casual. You get the crazy-artist types and their wacky clothes.

I would love to get both these jobs I interviewed for, so think positive!

I had been knitting away on the right front of my $1.50 cardi, when I decided to hold it up against the back piece. The armholes were at totally different heights. I was suddenly thrown off my “this-will-be-the-best-knit-ever” horse. Then I realised that the back was all crinkly and shrunk from the stitch pattern, so I stretched it and measured. The front would also be a different size when blocked, so I tried to stretch that too. I didn’t have enough hands. So I decided to block the back piece to make measuring easier.

Even with the back all blocked, the front armhole still starts lower. But then again, the front needs to be stretched too, to open up the lace. I hope that between stretching it up and sideways, it’ll grow that little bit it needs. If not, oh well, I’ll just frog back.

I’m also getting slightly concerned about running out of yarn, but we will not speak of that.

Friday these length worries had gotten to me, so I found a ball of sock yarn, and brought that and some needles to work to swatch for the Sidewinder Socks. I got gauge, but couldn’t actually start at work, as I had no waste yarn, and I got gauge on needles I only have as DPNs. That was put away until I could get to my LYS.

So Friday night, my cardi was blocking and awaiting analysis, my LYS closed before I got off work, and my boyfriend was at work. What’s a girl to do? Cast on for a lace shawl, that’s what!

It’s the Large Rectangle in Leaf and Trellis pattern from Victorian Lace Today (on page 54). The pattern calls for a size 6 needle, but my yarn is a bit thinner, so I started on size 5s. I knit a bit that night, and a bit more at work on Saturday. I got 9 rows done.

Sunday, I went to my LYS to pick up a needle for those Sidewinders, and a needle for the shawl (my Denises were snagging the yarn at the joins). Addi (which is the circular line they have) doesn’t do 2.25mm needles. bah. I picked up a 2.0mm instead, as with socks, you should probably err on tighter gauge than looser. Then, while looking at the bit of shawl I had knit with Amy, I realised it was much, much too open for my tastes, so I bought a 3.25mm (US 3) for that one. Sadly, they had none of the lace Addis in that size. I bought a Natura, because I do like the bamboo.

So I got home, and cast on for the Sidewinders, and worked on that for most of the rest of the day.

I don’t want to leave the cardi behind in the dust, but the different sizes and stitch patterns and blocking sizes were making my head all exsplody.