No REALLY, I'm finished.

I showed off my new socks, errrrr,  exactly ONE new sock, to my hub.  He asked, "Do you have another one to go with it?"  And I replied, "Of course, only it's not quite finished."  He snorted that snort that meant, "In your mind you have a second sock..."  At which point I rushed to the next room and returned with sock #2 complete EXCEPT for the bind off.  Now, he doesn't have any idea how much time a bind off takes, so he was convinced I, indeed, had a second sock VERY close to being finished.
And I got to show those off in yesterday's blog, didn't I!!
So why did I take pictures earlier today that look like this?

The top one is inside out.

Hmmm.  We all know what THAT means. (I stretched the truth, a bit...) Ends.  Weaving in...  I'm "almost" finished.
I sat down with the Sunday golf and basketball on TV and two hours later...  YES, I was horrified that each sock took an hour, I had FINISHED socks.
I put them on.

And I took pictures:

The top one is inside out. And, truly, the bottom sock is "end-free", too!

My new favorite socks. Statistics:  See Ravelry Page

Drip Candles by Kirsten Hall from Think Outside the Sox; Materials:  Leftover yarns from socks of wool, merino, cotton, soy, & nylon blends.

Tubular Bind-off, Part 3

It's SO exciting to bind-off.  Another pair of socks are finished and again, my friend, the tubular Bind Off is the chosen one.
I reiterate that I would not be so happy about this if it weren't for TechKnitter.  HERE are the instructions again.
And the four basic stitches:
Purl front (remove)

Knit front (stay)

Knit back (remove)

Purl back (stay)

These are my "Leftover Socks" knitted from 6 leftover sock yarns. I recklessly chose by colors and not by fiber.

The rest of the story...

Knitters at night met and Mimi had a great time even though we all cheered her on to rip out that sucker!  Her pullover, knitted with ribbing, bottom up, was too short.  She has the sleeves and side seams sewn, ready for the collar to be added.  She ended up ripping out/cutting off the ribbing and expects to extend the length by 3-4 inches. The pictures from yesterday's blog HERE.
Meanwhile, across the room, Kee was having a night, too.

This was the sock that WAS... ripped out.  And Kee wept on our shoulders as she explained her predicament at home with a lacy cotton cardigan that has been soaked, boiled, patted, and tumble-dried to no avail.  It refuses to shrink, and insists on growing.  Best of luck there!
Then I turn around and what's this?

Bee is--untangling, pulling, stretching, knotting?  I was afraid to ask...
And now I'll write a happy ending:
Dr. P is celebrating her last knit nite with us and she's still going strong!  We love you... Dr. P sits quietly listening to our woes and suddenly interjects some medical wisdom that comforts us or sheds some light on the subject at hand.  We'll miss you SO much.  Maybe we should Skype?

And lastly, the deadline has been met.  A wedding on the 27th, travel to it on the 20th, framers deadline:  TOMORROW!  Lee completes the stitching on his project.  No doubt in MY mind why all the kids want to get married one of these keepsakes:

Of course, WE are all doomed because we heard "stories".  I don't dare publish the 3 letters that would get this blog on the short list for scrutiny.
See some of you in 2 weeks!

Helpful? I think NOT!

Tonight was Knit Nite....
A wonderful, laughable, relaxing time.
Here's Mimi, sitting next to me to get some "help".  Just couldn't figure out that pattern, until she sat next to me.

And that's literally all it took!  I never got to see the pattern. She was suddenly enlightened!  And that was the last nice thing that happened to Mimi.  

She presented her sweater to me to admire before starting the collar... I asked her, "Have you tried this on?"  Not since knit nite 4 weeks ago... she says.

I chastised her for not heeding my blog, and learning from my mistakes.  Earlier this week, I had the same experience.  Didn't try it on and had to rip it out.  

Q: What's worse than ripping out a portion of a garment that you thought was finished?  

A:  Pointing someone else in that direction and watching THEM rip out their own garment.  It was torture (for me), I tell you!!

Here she is with strands that wouldn't unravel, which will have to be cut off to make the body longer.

...sigh...  Somehow, I take the guilt upon myself.  I'm so sorry, Mimi!

 Here, finish this. You'll feel better.

Unfortunately the yarn is a beautiful dark burgundy (so spilled wine won't be noticed). It's a color that doesn't photograph well, so you won't be able to fully appreciate the gravity of the situation.
Meanwhile, she wasn't the only one...
More tomorrow.

FO and Casting On

FO:  Basic sock with 3x1 ribbing
These are the Mommy socks.

They were kitchener'd with knitting needle method a la Techknitter. (See yesterday's blog.)
There's a tiny bit of new color showing up if you look closely.  And I expect no one will notice while on feet.

Meanwhile, I'm inspired to cast on toddler socks to match "mommy's" socks.
Mommy's socks used 54 grams of my 100 grams, so I have lots left over!

Toddler socks:  Size 2

LOVE those colors...

Tubular Bind-off, Part 2

Disclaimer:  NOT a tutorial, just a ramble.
What could be more rewarding than binding off?  I don't know; perhaps a hot fudge sundae... in a lounge chair, on the back porch, with munchkins fanning me... oops.  Sorry, I'm back!

Binding off means completion, and, more important, now I can start/finish/"work" on something else. It's a real treat, and when it finishes off beautifully, I'm talkin' satisfaction!

Yesterday, even though my garment wasn't complete, I had the satisfaction of binding off the bottom edge with "tubular bind-off".  Brenda asked if I could give a tutorial, and I gasped!  I read and worship tutorials, but I don't have the gadgets to post a pretty, informative drawing.  Therefore, I recommend 'do as I do':  Get this book The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques by Nancie M. Wiseman.  It was recommended to me at my LYS years ago, and I've used it... A LOT!

And years ago I made this notation on this page:

I've never seen a bind off named "Grafting or Kitchener Stitch" but it's really the same as "Tubular".  For my Spring Green top, I used ribbing (1x1), and on the last row I worked with two needles in my right hand to separate the knit stitches (on the front needle) from the purl stitches (on the back needle).  The nitty-gritty is:  Front needle, knit, purl, Back needle, purl, knit.  Of course, to get started you do a little differently, but you'll have to read that yourself.
When Brenda left that comment, I wondered how I did it myself!  So, I went to my guru, Techknitter, which is listed to the right under blogs I read, and sure enough I found more information than I wanted/needed AND an alternate method using knitting needles instead of tapestry needle.
Coincidentally, I had just finished a sock this morning which was ready to kitchener, so I tried it.  I 'heart' it!!  Here's an excerpt:

These four steps are repeated again and again to create a Kitchener stitched seam. If you want to chant the steps to yourself as you work, here is the mantra:

• Step 1: Purl front, push the stitch off
• Step 2: Knit front, leave the stitch on
• Step 3: Knit rear, push the stitch off
• Step 4: Purl rear, leave the stitch on

(When my kids hear me chanting like this, they know to stay away until the muttering ceases.)

Step 4

Tubular Bind-off, My Friend

Have you been wondering about Yarn and finding that I've been writing about everything else?

I've been knitting.  My beautiful Spring green top-down top.  And I'll never learn...
I'll never learn to:
1.  Try on a garment if I can, MANY times. More times than I think is necessary.
2.  Always knit more than I think is right.
3.  Assume I'm bigger than I think.
4.  Not be so eager to bind off.

What I learned:
1. Tubular Bind off looks great!
2.  Tubular Bind off isn't difficult to rip out.
2.  Tubular Bind off is easier to rip out than another stretchy sewn bind off of which I don't have a name but consists of "through 2 stitches and back through one". (Pattie will know what I mean because she taught it to me.)
3.  I'll use tubular Bind off more often (whenever I need a stretchy edge, like the top of socks).

Will you learn from my mistakes?  I hope so--that's why I'm here!!

Orange marker is where I started my 3-1/2" of ribbing. All of the yarn in balls was knitted and used for bind off.

I'm OK.  It isn't summer yet... in fact, our summer-like weather has turned to winter!  Cruel... Adding another 4 inches to the length will give me a lesson in patience, and I get to do another tubular bind-off.  (And then the second sleeve.)