I don't need to start another pair of socks... I think I have three on the needles right now and I'm planning another set of Socks that Rock (in Coriolis for the Naked Sheep Class I'm taking this weekend). I'm trying to finish up the Gypsum socks above. I'm to the bottom of the calves now and I really don't like the pooling that's going on with this colorway of yarn. The Instep and sole looks great though. I guess these will be boot socks.

To be fair... most of the socks I'm knitting for now on are for Christmas Gifts. I'll try to chart the simple lace pattern for the anklets. I originally was making them for me... because I love wearing white lace socks with my Mary Janes.

And I just got more new sock yarn! Yikes! Most of which will again be converted to X-mas gifts. I do have time to cast on for these before the end of the year. It is indeed the Year of the Sock. I have decided not to participate in the Knitting Olympics because I set my own steep hurdles to jump over. Though I might be able to count my Coriolis sock ala Cat Bordhi as my challenging item.

I've just changed the background color -- can you see?  Left needle: blue-grey; right: blue-violet.  This motif has a nice balance between interesting diagonals and steady verticals.  Makes for pleasing knitting and nice tension-balance in the fabric.

One of the things I like best about Ann Feitelson's Fair Isle patterns (many other designers do this as well, but not all) is that she changes the MC and CC colors on *different* rows/rounds.  Thus the shading is much more sublte, less visually jarring.  This close-up labelled progress shot may show you what I mean: 

Lots of overlap.  Ann Feitelson, I admire you!  (I have some thick-thin issues with this yarn, unfortunately.  Otherwise, wonderful stuff!)

I hope to write, in another post, about centering the motif.  (Yes, more arithmetic!)  But not today.

Another topic buzzing in my brain just now is the conversion of flat patterns for use in the round -- a knitting buddy of mine asked me about this yesterday.  I'm considering writing a series of posts on it, starting with basic concepts and simplest stitches, then continuing into shaping equivalents and texture-patterning.  There would be swatches and photos, of course . . . .  Ambitious perhaps?  What topics would *you* like to see me address along this line?  Leave suggestions in the Comments, if you please.

More recent explorations:  sockitecture a la Cat Bordhi. 

2 learning socks:  top-down "Little Sky" (above) and toe-up "Little Coriolis" (below). 

Anyway, finally - Tah dah!

I have my very first ever completed hand knit sock! There is no way I could be happier with the way it turned out. It fits - well... like it was made for me - but by someone who knew what they were doing. ;o) This is the Spiraling Coriolis from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters book. I followed Cat's instructions obsessively, measuring about 5 times, and ripping it all out to start over again when I found my midfoot apparently shrank by a half inch after I'd gone a third of the way up my foot. Since I really didn't know what I was doing, I reasoned that my best course of action was to trust her implicitly, even when what I was supposed to do made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. My reward for being so scrupulous in my obedience is that I'm thrilled with the end result. What more could I ask?!

There is only one problem I found with the pattern, and it's not difficult to figure out how to deal with it. At the beginning of working the heel, the instructions say to add one stitch if you are working with an odd number of stitches, but they don't take that into consideration later when they state that there should be 2 fewer stitches than you started with on the needles at the end. A sneaky decrease will easily fix that problem. If you work from the book, don't tear the whole thing out thinking you've made an error!

By the way, if you can see an odd blue thread going down the side of the ankle section, that's my row counting thread. I'll remove it when I have the second sock done.

Sock number two has been cast on, and I've worked all the toe increases, so I'm past the porcupine stage now and ready for a spot of straight knitting. Considering my level of excitement over sock one, if I had nothing else to do, I'd have a pair by tomorrow evening, I'm sure. Don't hold your breath. ;o)

Die Spiraling Coriolis aus Cat Bordhi's "New Pathways for Sock Knitters" sind fertig und passen. Sie könnten etwas enger sein, aber sie sind nicht wirklich zu groß. Ich habe zwischendrin noch einmal die Maschenprobe verglichen, aber ich habe weder falsch gezählt noch zu locker gestrickt. Die Zunahme nach der J-stitches (Die Insider wissen wovon ich rede) habe ich mir geschenkt und trotzdem komme ich bequem in die Socken rein. Noch mehr Maschen wären einfach de trop gewesen.

Gestrickt wurde mit Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Multi in Fb. 504 Lakeview auf 2,25 mm Knitpicks Rundstricknadeln.

Ich werde bestimmt noch mehr Socken aus dem Buch stricken!

Und da meine Reste nicht weniger werden, bekam Sohn2 auch noch ein Paar Socken:

Gestrickt mit 2,5er Nadeln in Größe 33 aus vier verschiedenen Resten. Anleitung: GumGum-Socke

Perhaps you remember my agony a few weeks back when I found that the first sock didn't fit over my instep, and I ended up frogging 240 lovely little cables. Well, they are all back in place, heel is turned, (after I finally figured out that there was an error in the pattern, one row having been omitted), and it fit, so I headed down the foot, stopping at one point to measure what I thought the pattern wanted me to know. I reached the place where my measurement indicated that the toe should start, switched from cables to stockinette, added a lifeline for good measure, and started my toe decreases. Halfway through shaping the toe, I just started getting an odd feeling that things weren't right, so I tried it on - my left foot instead of my right foot...

Two big problems came to my attention immediately. One would have something to do with two very memorable moments of interruption while knitting:

Considering how fanatical I was about watching for yarnovers between needles, I was in total shock to see these two "interesting" design elements, which had been on the back side of my right foot, and escaped notice when I tried it on several times earlier. But thinking back and looking at where they are, I know how it happened both times. I'm more than a little unhappy about ripping out nearly the entire foot, and I've had enough experience ripping these tight cables to know that getting everything back on the needles isn't going to be fun. I have also realized rather ruefully that by the time I get my first sock finished, I will have already knitted nearly two whole socks. I know... I could leave the holes. Problem is that they would drive me crazy, and I could never enjoy wearing the socks. Why do something this nicely detailed then leave two glaring holes?

Of course, I have to rip out some anyway...

It would seem that having a range instead of a specific number for toe length isn't necessarily a good idea for a first time sock knitter, knitting a pair of socks that feel as if they are cursed. They are plenty long to be grafted and there are still 8 rows to go. I could live with that, as it feels like they would form around my toes nicely even at this width. However, with the stockinette toe starting halfway up my big toenail, it looks more like I got tired of making cables or something - totally silly.

Obviously, these socks have it in for me. I love them - so long as I'm not knitting them at the moment. I do want to finish them. However, I've been working on one sock for 6 weeks now. This is feeling not only excessive, but very trying. Everyone talks about how wonderful socks are because they are so quick to knit. Everyone hasn't made this sock apparently. I'm officially putting these in time out, and I'm starting a toe up pair with different yarn (much lighter color, so easier to work) and a totally different pattern (Coriolis), and they are custom designed with my personal measurements, thanks to Cat Bordhi.

Of course, even that pattern doesn't work if I swatch at a totally different gauge than I actually knit... This would be my second start... sigh...

But isn't that invisible cast on toe great?!

I'm not an economist and I don't know how these things work, but perhaps if those of us who have a choice switched from rice to a locally produced grain the pressure would, in the aggregate, be relieved. Or, at the very least, we could be grateful for every grain of rice we eat and re-use last night's leftover rice instead of just tossing it out.

Don't forget to shut your lights for an hour tonight. Read in the paper this morning that even the King of Sweden will be turning off the lights in the palace.

Check out my sock--Cat Bordhi rocks!

And since Boyzeler really enjoyes me knitting socks for him, I started another pair. Containing his favorite color: orange...
Even though I must admit that seaming is much easier in plain stockinette or plain gartner...
But I am quite pleased with the result:

It started out with the blizzard last weekend - a term not loosely employed. Here we are, comfortably into March, and for the first time in the 25 years we've lived here, the National Weather Service issued a legitimate blizzard warning for our county. We didn't get as much snow as the next real town to the north of us, but it was enough - with the obligatory wind and biting cold. We've not had much of a real winter here, but now that it's in its death throes, it apparently has decided to make a bit of a fuss. One good thing is that it was so bitterly cold that the flakes were quite small and dry. They didn't hang in the branches and prune the trees for us, but they did make some lovely drifts.

(Remember, all pix enlarge with a click.)

Once the worst of things had settled, Hitty Darlene was eager to go exploring the marshmallow fluff world outdoors, and she had a lovely time of it.

Other excitement has been as diverse as a trip to the dentist, getting into a great workshop for which I'd been waitlisted (and needing to obtain supplies post haste), and being invited by a friend to go on a special cruise (complete with research and decision making, and registering before the Saturday cut off), which will fill one of my 100 Things to Do Before I Die dreams. I'm absolutely convinced that 2008 is not going to be a boring year, and to this point in time, I've only had maybe one or two days that could even begin to wear that description.

On the knitting front, progress continues everywhere and then some, as I flit amongst four very active projects, depending on the amount of time available and my ability to concentrate. I have started to work the lace on the next to last scallop on my capelet, then it's the rush up the side and across the top, then done. Goal was to have it ready to take to Monday night's meeting, but I'm questioning the likelihood at this point. It's addictive, as is Outlander, which is my current audiobook, reserved only to be read while knitting, but I have to do other things occassionally, too, like my commission project, which had to be started over, as I wasn't at all happy with it the first time.

My first sock is inching steadily down the sole to the toe, but I only put four rows a day on that, so it's slow going. At least it fits this time. This photo was taken about 3 inches ago. I love looking at the way the stitches shape the heel and gusset. It almost looks like magic.

And my pre-born projects finally got the best of me. I have several chomping eagerly at the bit, but had been able to resist the next shawl and the socks, due to having one of each on the needles. Next sock projects are probably Cat Bordhi's Coreolis and Red Bird's February Sock of the Month (in that order, as I've seen plenty of cables to last me for a while). It turns out that both are in yarn that is primarily blue - just like my first sock. Hmmm... How did I do that, I wonder? At least the Knot Garden by Red Bird Knits was accidental. That's the yarn that came with it, and I didn't know what I'd be getting until I opened the package - honest!

But this other project is a little different, combining inspiration from Vicki Square's Folk Bags and a pattern from Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting, to hopefully successfully fill a need for a special container to hold the things I need at hand when I'm hanging out on the sofa. Here is the start of it - or rather, the second start of it. I'm beginning to get the hang of working with one color in each hand, and it's almost as addictive as the lacework, but I'm making every effort to keep it a very low priority project until I'm done with my commission work. Since the work is done with strands of worsted weight (Knit Picks' Wool of the Andes), it goes along very quickly when I do have a few minutes to invest. Looking at the photo, the colors don't appear to blend as well as they do in person, so we'll have to see what happens as I work the rest of them into the project.

Enough for now... I'll save the new girl for sometime this weekend...

So I finally finished the socks that I intended to finish before the January installment of the Socks That Rock Club arrived.

Pattern: Combination of Monkey Socks by Cookie A., Los Monos Locos from Knitting Sutra and Cat Bordhi Riverbed Architecture, from New Pathways for Sock Knitters with her standard toe and reinforced heel.

Yarn: Socks That Rock Lightweight, Alina Colorway (Purchased at A Mano Yarn Center a few years ago)

Amount: 1 skein with some leftovers

Needles: Size 0, 32 inch circular, magic loop

Gauge: 8.5 sts/inch

Started: Mid-Jan 2008 Finished: March 12, 2008

Finished size: Snug on my size 7 1/2 foot and 8.5 instep

See it on Ravelry!

Since I used the Riverbed architecture to expand for the instep, there was some slight pooling. I like it, especially the pools of turquoise. I didn't end up being a huge fan of the standard toe. I think maybe I should have made it a bit wider by casting on more stitches to start.

As soon as I finished, I cast on for the STR Club Serendipity Socks. I haven't gotten very far, as you can see below, but I'm already really enjoying them. After my failed attempt at Cat Bordhi's Bartholomew's Tantalizing Socks, I was convinced that I was going to be a die hard toe-up sock knitter.  But I joined this club as a way to entice myself to try new techniques. Now that I have the hard earned experience and know that I can knit a pair of socks without running out of yarn, I can tell I'm going to enjoy knitting these...

I'm sort of hope that there is some pooling, but will be pleased with whatever they want to be.

BTW, you'd be so proud of me... I had about 2 hours to kill yesterday between work and orchestra rehearsal in Brentwood. I remembered about the huge sale at A Mano and was insanely tempted, as it was the first day of the sale and all. But I was strong. I went to Compatto (they were in the middle of working on updating their new online store.) and sat at the table and didn't buy anything at all. Grace did try to tease me with the new soya cotton and hemp yarns, but I resisted. How can I blame her... it's her job. Small victories for the yarn diet though! Speaking of diet. I am determined to get back to my regular YMCA routine. I'm aiming to go ride the elliptical machine today for a bit while catching up with the three ring circus that is our mainstream media news.

xo, Jill P.

When class finished in the afternoon she asked to see the baby sock I designed and I was shocked when she said it was one of the better designs she'd seen. Since I didn't plan the design and it was just created as I knit, I realized that sometimes I over-think things and that just going with the flow sometimes produces the best results. By the way, I hate this photo of me, but since this is the only photo I have or will probably ever have with Cat, I will treasure it. And yes, that is the Tangled Yoke Cardigan.

When class ended that afternoon I met my wonderful husband in the market for more shopping. I only picked up a few items, and although it's barely worth mentioning the stitch markers I purchased at Ellen's Half Pint Farm, it is most definitely worth mentioning the Full Thread Ahead booth. Normally I prefer to not shop at these types of vendors since they are a LYS from the local area. I personally would rather give my money to my LYS, but Full Thread Ahead had two items my LYS doesn't. An over the ear light for knitting in low-light conditions and the new Cookie A sock patterns. I ended up only purchasing the Trystero pattern, but I'm sure the others will be added to my sock patterns fairly soon.

The Ravelry booth had a few fun things to purchase, but I decided on the Raverly pin and the Bob pin. I really wanted the Ravelry canvas bag, but honestly I have too many bags as it is, although on Saturday I forgot this fact. Other than meeting Jess & Casey, the Passport was the best thing at the Ravelry booth. Several exhibitors had their logo imprinted on a page that looked exactly like pages in a passport, and the idea was to go around to each of those exhibitors and get a stamp or sticker from them for your page. When you filled your passport, you then returned it to Ravelry for inspection and you were then entered into a drawing of prizes donated by the participating exhibitors. This Passport got me into lots of "trouble" on Saturday, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see why.

The marketplace closed at 6pm, so hubby and I went to dinner with Laura, Barbara, Cindi, and Rhonda. Since both Laura and I had a vehicle, we got to leave the horribly overpriced food at the hotel, and went to Red Robin since it was affordable for everyone in the group. The food, drinks, and service were wonderful although little did I know that later I was going to later regret eating the Bonzai Burger, fries, and large beer.

Back at the hotel, nobody wanted to "call it an evening" so we sat in the hotel lobby to knit and got lucky enough to have both Michelle and Rebecca join us as well. Hubby sat with us for 2 rounds of drinks. He ordered us Bailey's Coffee and that was another item I regretted later on. He left us to our own devices around 10pm and went to the room to watch a movie. We all stayed up until 1am and then decided nobody was going to be useful the next day unless we turned in for the evening.

Back in the room, hubby was in bed soundly sleeping (so cute) and as I leaned over the weird sink to wash my face, I felt a rumbly in my tumbly and it wasn't good. But that's not the worst of it. While the rumbly continued in my tumbly, and the horrible feeling of "worshipping the porcelain god" was going on, I had an intense fibromyalgia flare. It was so painful, that even wearing my jammies hurt like hell. It went on for hours until I took a second dose of Flexeril and finally fell asleep. What a day!

It's a feather and fan motif knit over 38 stitches, on size 6 needles. It's already stretching, so it's dimensions are approximately 7" by 90"....growing by the minute, but I love it nonetheless. It was sort of Christmas and Valentine's Day all rolled up into one.

Speaking of Valentine's Day....darling husband likes his socks so much he bought me Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters. Throw in some cupcakes from the best bakery on the planet, and you might say the day was a good one ;)

"What have we here?" asked Boh upon my return from our weekly knit-gathering. The answer is Sunshine Yarns sock yarn in Olive, a gorgeous, unexpected gift from Ramona, heretofore known as the yarn fairy. (Well, maybe I'll still call her Ramona.) She also brought me Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters to borrow and peruse for ideas/further enabling in the sock knitting department.

Actually, I think I'll go do that now: The sun is streaming through my window, I have a steaming cup of coffee in my hand, and I'm wrapped in my favorite blanket. These few hours before I leave for work are my favorite time of the day.

As you can see, I’m knitting on two circular needles.  Aside from looking very cool and professional, this technique allows me to try on the sock as I knit it and saves me from losing stitches when I dump the whole thing into a bag.  Since I am a loose knitter, my stitches don’t exactly hold the needle in a death grip, and I tend to see them sliding off double-points rather frequently.  That’s not to say that using double points isn’t a fierce, totally sweet talent, but I’m in love with Cat Bordhi (author and knitwear designer) for giving me an alternative.   I know that someone is saying, “Well, why not just buy your socks?”  and I’ll forgive you because that statement tells me you’ve never had the bliss of hand-knit socks on your little tootsies.

I’m right at the point in the sock cuff where I could be tempted to bind off and leave it as a beautiful ribbed wristband, but No! I will not give in to the knitting devil.  I am faithful to my sock dream. 

Knitting always gets me thinking (sometimes a good thing…).  Today, I was about two inches into the cuff when I started musing about ways to save money.  Since this is a blog for sharing important information, I thought I’d let you in on my ideas. 

Anyway, as you can see, I have plenty to do today, and I’d better get on with it. 

Peace.

This is my official first finished, knit on tiny needles, actual pair of socks. Anyone know where I pick up my Certificate of Achievement, hmm?

Colinette Jitterbug in Popsicle colorway, 1 skein

Size 2.25mm, on 2 circs

Started October 2008, finished Jan 18, 2008

Modifications... Omitted the two side cables and only knit the one in the back. Also shortened the cuff on both socks, differently. Nine corrugations on one and eight corrugations on the other, because I ran out of yarn. They're so funky that it's not too noticable, though I do think I might have a bit of a curse when it comes to running out of sock yarn. Must knit more socks to confirm.

Speaking of knitting more socks... I joined the Socks that Rock club this year and they just processed my payment. Word on the street is that they will be shipping kits in the third week of January, but word also says that the West Coast will be getting theirs last. No matter. I was thinking of casting on a quick pair of "No-purl Monkeys" in the interim with some old STR yarn from stash. My other idea was to see if I could try that trick of knitting two socks inside each other using a super simple/plain pattern. Thoughts?

Actually, I really should be finishing up some ancient WIP's. Speaking of WIP's... Since I have no portable projects on the needles, I will be bringing the dreaded rainbow feather and fan stole/scarf thing with me to Compatto's Sip n' Stitch tonight. Maybe we can reignite our love for one another with a little help from a nice, solid wine buzz.

I'm also going to bring the Hurry Up Spring Armwarmers from Stitch N' Bitch Nation to show you. I finished and blocked them last night. I was afraid they would come out too small, even for my tiny-wristed oboe student, who they were made for, but actually they blocked out quite nicely. The thumb is a little strangle-ee though. But, should be fine on Erica. Here are the quick specks...

Cascade 220, black

Size 6 circ, harmony needles w/32 inch cord, using magic loop

Took about a week, but should have taken three-four days, finished Jan 17, 2008

Modifications... Couldn't figure out how to reverse the cable pattern so did the same on both. You'd never notice it anyway because the yarn is so dark. Also added a few extra rows to the top of ribbing and did a ribbed bind off.

Don't you love my blocking apparatus? Two olive oil bottles from Trader Joes. We had just thrown one into the recycling the night before, so when I got the idea, I had to go outside to dig it out so I'd have the pair. Picture me at 8am, in bathrobe, with bedhead, digging through recycling bin at the end of my driveway on National Blvd. Lovely.

xo, JP

I'm actually a little farther along than this picture shows. Yes, those are my feet. I've had such a good time trying these on as I make them. I should be done within a week (by this weekend would be great) and then off to VT they go. The pattern (Simple Sock in Three Sizes) is from Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles by Cat Bordhi. It's a wonderfully written book with a great sense of humor. Maybe after I finish these, I can make a pair for myself!!

Sweet Baboo has been gently reminding me that he'd like a pair of mittens before winter is over and DD is constantly reminding me that I promised to make a bag for her. Working is definitely cutting into my knitting time!!

And, to make this pie even sweeter, I also finished Emerald.

Now, just because I feel like displaying my dirty little secrets (snicker), here is a list of all my UFO's.

 Currently:

Secret Project(shhh), Storm Water Scarf, Plain Vanilla Socks, Bunny Swirl Socks, Monkey Entrelac Blanket, Straight Laced Socks, Anniversary Socks, Monkey Pants, Entrelac Scarf, Felted Clogs and, a Cabled Baby Sweater. (Note: all links are ravelry links).

Whew, that's a lot of UFO's...  

It's to keep track, using Ravelry. And, it also this prevents the urge to start something new - at least for the most part. I will admit, I am prone to fits of madness in which I cast on for big projects and actually need to by new needles because there are none free. Thankfully, now that I have two projects completed, I am that much closer to having a list of UFO's under 5. For me, this is the optimum number.  

 And, I have finished the Little Coriolis socks and they are spectacular. Once again, say it with me, "Cat Bordhi, you are a genius". I seriously love this pattern. It has opened my eyes to the possibility that socks can be worked so many different ways. I love that gussets will no longer follow one or two formulas, but will be worked according to the preference of the designer and the goal that they are hoping to achieve. I sat down with a friend the other day who opened my eyes to the fact that new pathways will be achieved in knitting as time goes on and people can knit for fun, rather than for necessity. Too cool.

I can watch Cat Bordhi teach knitting techniques.

I forgot to include my ball of gray Cotswold-angora roving in this picture (and the dishwater gray Hideous Panties) but I thought it would be nice to put together a little still life of the various grays, cool and warm, matte and shiny, that I've been working on lately:

In the back, my Lara sweater; clockwise from there, my feather and fan cowl in silver Artfibers Ming, pinned with a beautiful Perl Grey ringstick from Purlescence; my Dryad Mitts in Squirrel Heather Knit Picks Swish; and a skein of local, millspun alpaca from the farmer's market--worsted weight, 50g/110 yards.

So the Ming Cowl is done, and I'm suffering from Ming withdrawal. Sigh... look at this stuff.

Apparently, I can make this heap of silvery gorgeousness look like a crumpled heap of grayish fabric when I wear it, but I think it's beautiful anyway.

Pattern: the Luxe Neck Warmer from Knit 2 Together

Yarn used: Artfibers Ming, Color 08

Needles used: Size 10/6mm Denises

Started: 10/14/07

Finished: 10/25/07

Notes: This is the second time I've knit this pattern. It's a nice pattern, if more decorative than truly warm.

So that's one thing. Here's another. The farmer's market alpaca from the top picture quickly turned into another warm gray winter accessory:

Pattern: Cat Bordhi's Cashmere Moebius Cowl

Yarn used: Alpaca from the Bloomington Farmer's Market for the main part of the cowl; my own handspun angora for the edging. The white angora fluff I used ("roving" seems like such a harsh word) was from Breezy Manor, and was the leftovers from the second mini-skein I spun up and Navajo-plied for Last Minute Knitted Gifts angora booties for my friend Jen's newborn baby.

Needles used: Size 10/6mm 40" Addi Turbos

Started: 11/5/07

Finished: 11/5/07

Mods: I ran out of alpaca yarn, so I switched to the angora for the edging, made it through only rows 1-3 of the lace edging, then started to run out of angora as well and began to bind off. I ran out of yarn during the bindoff, and had to use the no-yarn crochet hook bindoff for the rest of it. Thankfully, the unusual shape of the cowl means that a tight bindoff will not impede getting the finished object over your head.

Notes: I loved using this alpaca. It felt so fluffy and light while I was using it that I felt like I was knitting with cake frosting, or whipped cream. It's warm and utterly soft and fluffy around my neck, and the rather hard, overspun, rope-like twist I put into the angora is good for durability, and keeping the angora from shedding and flying away too much. I took pictures with my preferred way of wearing it--tight against my neck with the half-twist overlapping in front like a shawl collar, and the excess fabric folded down to tuck into my coat. I think Cat Bordhi's version has a smaller circumference, which seems more attractive as an accessory but less warm for the chest. I might try the pattern again, subtracting one pattern repeat.

The pattern uses Cat Bordhi's signature Moebius cast-on, basically a clever way of getting your needle through both the top and the bottom loops of a provisional cast-on, with the half-twist that makes the Moebius strip one-sided. The Girl from Auntie has a great series of posts about approaches to knitting Moebius strips, and Thomasina has compiled a big list of links to other Moebius patterns on her geeky knitting page.

"A mathematician confided

That a Möbius band is one-sided,

And you'll get quite a laugh,

If you cut one in half,

For it stays in one piece when divided"

Have you ever knit a Moebius strip using Cat Bordhi's method? I definitely recommend it as something to try at least once--it's fascinating. The cast-on is for the "equator" of the Moebius strip, and the knitting grows up and down from there as you knit in the round. All the lace lines in this pattern slant the same direction as you're knitting them, but once you're done, you can see that they are facing you from the right side on one half of the strip, and on the wrong side from the other half, so you have a half stockinette, half reverse stockinette cowl with chevrons of lace radiating out from its equator. You can probably see this best in the top picture I posted.

Luckily it was warm at Elba and I could wear my top. And I really did wear it a lot;-)  I started to knit it end of last summer, put it away during the winter, forgot it and finished it just before the mittens above. 

The book is fabulous!

The architecture (sockitecture) is amazing and very much a gift to the knitting community. I've started the first sock project, Little Sky Sock. I've finally taught myself the circular needle technique that everyone raves about. I really do like it. I'm a visual leaner, this technique and the others for the Skye sock are on YouTube video's Cat has done. They've been great help. You check out her LLinc and LRinc increases and decreases video. Quick note, the video that demonstrates the increase and the decrease only states decreases in its title

All set and ready to go.

Sky on the go worked on size US 8 and Ella Rae worsted weight. I can see my mistakes a bit better with the larger version.

Not much on the spinning end. I had hoped to get to some today. My ball winder is missing a few bits. I'm so not in the mood to spend money at the moment. I had to buy some supplies yesterday for a consulting project. When the income is going out, but not coming in... Need I say more.

On the bright side? The sun is shining today! Yea!