Hats

Death by Chapeau - Hat Attack 2008 is fun. The knitting part is done so far as I know since my assassin (in Oklahoma) mailed my death the same time I mailed my missile to my target (in New Jersey). Still, one is not dead until the instrument of death arrives. My experience with the postal service has been that my hat will reach New Jersey quicker than my assassin's hat will arrive from Oklahoma. It just seems to work that way. The pattern was 'geek-inspired' and the arrangement of cables represented binary code settings for 0-15. It made for an interesting arrangement since each cable column was unique and the beginning cable - 15- was 4 cables and the ending cable -0- was 0 cables. Any more than that will just send you into mindmush if you've never heard of binary, so I shall stop there.

I am on a hat a day diet right now. I have finally taken the time to experiment with the Classic Cap from Knitting from the Top by Barbara G. Walker. I may never cast on at the bottom again! I like the increasing at the top and knitting until it is long enough better than knitting to a certain length and then wondering if the decreases will make the hat functionally long enough. I, along with some other dedicated crocheters and knitters are working to cover the heads of Houston's homeless. Our temps have been low on some recent nights.



My List:
On the hook/needles:

• a pair of socks for the fashionista - I hate it as much as I hated the swatch but she insists,
• Kennita Tully's Garter Stitch Stripes sweater [Interweave Knits Winter 2003], also for the fashionista,
• a double strand, on size 15, afghan for an ICU unit that will go home with a patient [Leisure Arts Little Books #75003],
• TinyTube socks for preemies from WhimsyKnits, because I'm on a hat kick and have had to tink them back a couple of times. They are SO tiny.
  
• The Scary Legacy Project,
• One more hat for a homeless person.

Off the hook/needles:

• Hatzilla the killer binary cable hat
  
• a 4"x4" block for the Ravelry founders' father/father-in-law,
• Two more hats for SEARCH.

I've had another fellow knit-blogger sign up for Pay It Forward. I have lovely gifts planned for both of my "angels.

The pc is once again obedient and subservient. Just don't tell it I said so ;^)

The Ravelry Universe

I've had my Ravelry.com membership since October 30. I am still overwhelmed by the community. Not only is there a huge number of knit and crochet enthusiasts already in the "beta" group, but there are pages, I mean pages, of designers there, too. Since it is still in the beta phase, volunteer editors are desperately needed to validate and approve the countless contributions of yarn and patterns. I signed up and quickly found myself swamped. I've since become frustrated. I still want to edit so there will be so many more options available to members when the floodgates finally open, but there doesn't seem to be a need for editing things I own - my library and my stash are restricted by a prohibitive budget. I floundered around with Reynolds patterns for a couple of days until I realized that without owning the pattern, finding information was difficult. I continue to look for some way I can be helpful in this capacity. There are many, many pages of yarns and patterns that need approval.

Meanwhile, I continue to play with the camera and Photoshop so I can add my projects and yarn to the ever growing group. Somehow I have to get past things like this, first:


No, the sock is fine (after a couple of tragic froggings) and already has a mate:




I just cannot seem to get good photos of them.

These are Manly socks and are based on the 4-stitch recipe in More Sensational Knitted Socks. I say based on because I am not following one of the stitches in the book. This is just a good old-fashioned wide rib. P1,K3, to be exact, in Brown Sheep Company's Wildfoote Brown Sugar.

One word of advice about the book. It is the second of a pair - clever for sock books, huh. The first, Sensational Knitted Socks, has a lot of errata. From what I gathered in a group discussion on Ravelry, pages of corrections are available from the publisher's website. The second book, appropriately titled More SKS, has only 3 corrections.

Some people seem to have some trouble following the format of the books because there are so many options available. Instead of having 1 pattern at a time, you have a table offering 3 different needle preferences, toe-up or cuff-down, several sizes and you pick your gauge. (I always choose a size based on some negative ease, in other words, I want my socks to stretch to fit the foot not sit on the foot like a sweater. It's just less likely to fall down or rub.) Then you have a lot of options from the back of the book: a stitch library based on how many stitches per repeat you prefer, optional heel and toe treatments, special treatment for narrow feet, and more.

For some, it is too many things in too many places. For me, now that it is spiral-bound, it is great. I can make near-unique socks because I can use any yarn, any needle, any stitch, and any approach I please. I could make hundreds of different socks from this one source. I like those options. IMHO - I won't need another sock book for a while!