an apology; some new colorways

an apology

So I've been a little missing-in-action lately. Oh, no, it's been a lot of MIA. I hardly feel that it's worth boring you with the ends and outs of my excuses for neglecting this blog, this poor little blog that's brought me so much joy. So maybe I'll just quickly sum it all up for you: I'm getting married in less than a month.

Wedding planning certainly is challenging, but it's also fun. I'm trying to keep thinking of the fun, but sometimes it's difficult to, especially when everything is more expensive than you ever imagined and when your vendors have to cancel on you.

Fun: Manly and I picking out our wedding bands yesterday. Not fun: learning how much they cost. We keep telling ourselves that we'll pay for everything after the wedding. I'm sure that the fact that we're both nauseated all of the time has something to do with our getting married! Of course, we're happy and excited, and we know that it will all be worth it in the end; for now, however, we're a little spastic.

So, I guess I just want to say that I'm sorry for neglecting this blog and for not reading and commenting on all of your blogs. It's something that I'm really looking forward to doing again.

some new colorways

In the photo above, you can see the colorways that have been shipped off to the Loopy Ewe. Lots of these are new colorways for me. These skeins are my yeah oh yeah sock, a 100% superwash merino that's similar to my Meanie sock yarn base. Starting at 12 o'clock and moving clockwise, the colors are: prissie, sherbet, chocolate creme egg (think Cadbury Creme eggs), bluebird, cherry blossom, la mer, nymphwood, cherry bud, tea rose, pink lemonade, fishing with my father, and veggie.

If you want a skein of the bluebird or pink lemonade in my Meanie base, head on over to my etsy shop.

A pair of my own; a sock knitter's despair

A pair of my own

I've made these Heelless Sleeping Socks several times now as gifts, but I've never knit a pair of my own. Last Christmas, Mom J gave me something very high on my sock-knitting wish list: Claudia's Handpainted in the Red Wagon colorway. I hoarded this yarn, but then I thought how I wanted a pair of sleeping socks and how this yarn would be perfect for the pattern. So I finally made a pair of my own. I only had to use one skein of the yarn. So I could use the other skein for another pair or for something else.

A sock knitter's despair

The reason why I love sleeping with my Jaywalkers: too snug, they don't come off at night.

It's true: once you start wearing hand-knit socks, it's hard to go back to all that elastic and seaming that's found in manufactured socks. So I travel with my hand-knit socks. So far, I've never lost a pair.

When I went to New Mexico earlier this month, I brought these beauties along. For some reason, the hotel staff thought I was only staying for one night. So when the housekeeper came to freshen my room, she changed my sheets. My socks had come off during the night and were embedded somewhere in those sheets.

I left my address and phone number with the hotel, but I don't think I'll ever be seeing those socks again. I'm very sad. Those socks were knit toe-up and were in my top three favorite socks for how they fit. The good news is that Coley, who dyed up that yarn for me, sent me a huge skein of it, and there's enough for another pair.

I don't know if I'll travel with my hand-knit socks again. I don't think I could stomach another loss.

Oh, geez!

I can't believe I've been MIA from this blog for almost a month. When things were normal, I enjoyed posting about twice a week. Then things got a bit hectic, and I tried to squeeze in a post a week. But once a month? That's not good. That's not good at all.

And to think: I have all these FOs to show!

First, I want to share with you a custom order I did for Crafty Pancakes and Gaby. They wanted the blue of my something blue yarn, white, and a chocolate brown. I was happy to dye it up for them; I named the colorway bluebird. I like it so much that I plan to dye it up as a regular colorway. It's what you're seeing in the photo above.

Manly socks



These were made maybe back in January. They were made with Opal Hundertwassen using a 3x1 rib over 72 stitches with size 1 dpns. I used a Sherman heel and then decreased to 68 stitches.

Anklets for mom



These anklets were made for mother also some time in January. They were made with Trekking 126 with a 2x2 rib over 64 stitches on size 0 dpns. I mother loved my Trekking 126 socks, and I wanted to give these to her so she too could enjoy the prettiness that is Trekking 126. My mom, oh joy, prefers anklets.

I have so many new colorways planned. I'm not going to wholesale my yarns anymore. I am fulfilling two orders with stores that placed orders a long time ago. I'll let you all know when my yarn is available in these stores. For now, please continue to visit my etsy shop, where I post new yarns every so often. I find it's easier for me to keep up when I stock a little at a time. I hope you will continue to support my indie-dyeing efforts. I know that those of us who don't wholesale aren't as sexy as the dyers who do, but I like knowing who my customers are. I'm also getting very bad about delivering wholesale orders in a timely fashion. So, to stay on top of things and sane, it's going to be etsy only.

as sporadic as they've always been

I think I'm learning how to take everything in stride. These are things that I'm focusing on right now: dyeing more yarn, dissertation revisions, a new dissertation chapter, wedding planning, money, health, happiness, a commissioned essay on a topic that isn't a particularly happy topic.

My impulses are, as ever, as sporadic as they've always been, but if you know me, then you know that I do keep these impulses in check. As a sock knitter, I never have too many pairs going. I try to finish a pair before starting the next, or I try to only have two going at once--one pair for this mood and the other pair for another.

What I want to knit now: another pair of Jaywalkers. I didn't enjoy knitting the first pair very much, but I've come to find that they are among my favorite socks, especially for sleeping. They don't come off in the middle of the night, they are always snug, and they keep in much warmth. So I want more and more Jaywalkers.

I have many finished objects to show. (I know, I've been gone so long.) But I feel that I should maybe show them over time.

The socks in the photograph were finished in January. They were given to my older sister. Both my sisters loved how soft they were. These were made over 60 stitches on size one dpns using my Kettle Dyed Softie Sock. (Two are left on my etsy site.)

I'll be moving soon as well. That's on the list of things. My long silence from this blog and my long break from dyeing gave rise to a job. A real job. I don't know if I'll continue to dye yarn when I start working. I seriously doubt I'll be able to do big orders, but I might continue to do a few skeins here and there. We'll see.

And the winner is

the A.D.D. Knitter. Thank you all so much for putting in all of your wonderful guesses. My ring sized at a four, and the A.D.D. Knitter guessed the closest, at 4.75. She'll get a skein of something blue as soon as I can dye more up.

A little something extra on my yarn-holding hand; the last socks of 2007; a little guessing game

A little something extra on my yarn-holding hand

Dear friends, I'm so terribly sorry that I've been so missing-in-action as of late. (I feel as if I've begun many a post with that apology!) As some of you may know, I had a very busy holiday. In addition to going to a major conference to do some interviews, I got a little something extra on my yarn-holding hand.



Uh huh. The Lone Knitter is engaged. Manly surprised me with a little something in my stocking. Growing up in Texas, we didn't have a fireplace, and we didn't have stockings. I told Manly my sob story of how I always wanted a stocking and would even leave my dirty socks with holes in them under the tree, thinking there would be gifts in them on Christmas morning. So, my first stocking gift was definitely worth the years of never having a stocking.

I know why the engagement ring goes on the ring finger--it's the one finger, if you knit Continental, that doesn't come into contact with, and thus can't snag, the yarn. You see, the ring goes there specifically to make things nice for knitters. Of course, I can't verify this, but it must be true because, as we all know, the world is always thinking about knitters.

The last socks of 2007

These heelless sleeping socks (pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks) are so wonderful to make. I would make them over and over again.



I like making them with my size 2 circulars using the magic loop method. I prefer bamboo dpns, but for this pattern, I prefer the magic loop. These were made with my Nymphwood colorway. I thought they turned out nicely, and I very much wanted to keep them for myself. They were a Kris Kringle gift for one of Manly's sisters.

A little guessing game

To help celebrate my engagement, I'm dyeing up a special colorway: something blue. It will be specially priced, and proceeds from the sell of the yarn will go towards my wedding gown. (Let's see. I think I need to sell about 50 of these!)

Do you want one for free? If so, all you have to do is guess the band size of my engagement ring and leave that guess in a comment to this post. All the correct guesses will be entered in a raffle for a skein of something blue.

You have until midnight EST on Friday, January 25 to get your guess in. I can't wait to see what your guess will be!

UPDATE: something blue is now listed in my etsy shop.

This FO is REALLY Old

I thought that instead of sending along a trite thank you note to someone who has been very kind and giving to me, that I would also send along a knitted gift. I get really paranoid and embarrassed when I do give knitted gifts. I worry that the recipient will think that my gift looks like a beginning knitter made it. (I don't wish to say that beginning knitters make things that look bad--when I was beginning, I made things that looked bad; some beginning knitters do make marvelous things.)

So this "Airy Scarf" from Last Minute Knitted Gifts was sent to a very nice woman who has been so kind to me for no reason at all. I won't say who she is because she's a bit of a celebrity in my writing world. I'll just say that she's a famous poet; and if you ever see a famous poet wearing this scarf, then know it's not coincidence--I made it for her.

I used some Whispers yarn in the Smoke Blue colorway that I bought with the intention of making a stole of sorts a long time ago. No stole; no desire to make one. You see, during that winter, I learned to make socks and haven't had a desire to make much of anything else since then.

I finished knitting a sweater long ago, but I haven't had the desire to sew it up. None at all.

What I'm knitting now: socks for Manly, socks for two socks without mates, more Korknisse for the tree.

Wash Day!

Well, you can certainly tell what the weather has been like judging from this pile of handknit socks. I think there are 12 pairs of socks here, only two of which are Manly's. I think I should knit another pair for him, perhaps as a Christmas gift. He really deserves a pair of socks. For those of you in my sock club, I'll have you know that Manly wrapped all the books up in newspaper. By the end, he was wrapping them up so neatly that he could be employed to wrap gifts professionally. He really helped me to get this last shipment out, and I don't think I could have done it without him.

I have a phone interview later today for a job. Yes, a job. I mean, a JOB JOB. I big job. A real job. The job that I've been going to school forever for. I'm the the academic job market this year. This has implications, but I won't scare anyone yet. I'll deliver news when it's time to deliver news.

The weather outside is very, very frightful, and it seems as if the whole city is wrapped in some strange bubble--everything is off; everything is late. But there was no line at the post office today. It's very strange.

Yesterday, I got a package, so says the on-line tracker, but there was no package to be found. I'm terribly distressed over this--the package was full of something for the sock club. Whoever stole it must be very confused or disappointed.

Update: the package appeared today. Like I said--there's a strange bubble over the city it seems.

My do-not-do list

Every night before bed, I make a to-do list. It helps me to feel less anxious about all the things I have to do. I've tricked myself into thinking that if I take the task undone and materialize it (i.e. write it out), then the task is just as good as done. I don't have insomnia. I sleep well.

I think, however, that I need to start making a do-not-do list. I should list things that I should not do or stop doing.

If you haven't noticed, I've been absent in blog-land; my absence is caused by all of those things that I have to do.

So, starting today, I'm adding something to that do-not-do list: DO NOT reskein yarn.

I know that a lot of sock knitters like their yarn reskeined; it's looks prettier to some folks. But lately, I've been admiring sock yarn that isn't reskeined. I think it shows off the colors more. I know that's my opinion but...

I actually had a moment this weekend where I thought I should give up dyeing yarn. I was really overwhelmed by the mountain of yarn that needed to be reskeined. If I spend all day reskeining--morning until supper time--I will have only reskeined about 20 skeins. (I do it by hand because my electric skein winder is CRAZY! It can skein from cones, but reskeining makes the electric skein winder mad!) These are days that I could be spending cleaning, writing, reading, working on the dissertation, updating my etsy shop, dyeing more yarn, going to museums, going to movies, taking walks. There's so much life I'm missing out on, so please understand that my desire to stop reskeining is wrapped up in my desire to live.

I actually felt as if I could breathe again when I decided to no longer reskein yarn.

What you're seeing in the picture above is some of my kettle-dyed sock yarn. I have six skeins that will go up on etsy when I update. Isn't it pretty? Oh, and kettle-dyed sock yarn looks like a hairball mixed with vomit when it hasn't been reskeined. So maybe I should reskein it...oh no, oh no, I said I would not do that.

I'm late; I'm late; I'm late

Dear friends,

I'm feeling a bit like the white rabbit today--constantly going somewhere, constantly busy. The one difference is that I'm constantly confused. Everything is a bit overwhelming right now, and I have a 7:00 a.m. flight to catch tomorrow. I wish it were a vacation destination, but no, it's a conference and work. I have so much to do before then. I was hoping to update this blog and my etsy shop before leaving, but it looks as those to-do items will have to wait until I get back.

Yrs,
LK