RIP Watercress

Watercress were my first mystery socks. My first lace socks. My first green socks. Eleven months ago, I struggled with them, ripped out the cuff and redid it.
I loved these socks and wore them pretty often.
Now there's a hole in the sole and the pretty lace pattern has felted over.
It's time to let go.
They were nice socks. But they wouldn't survive the zombie apocalypse.

Norwegian Rose saga

They're done! The Norwegian Rose socks that took forever are done!
Remind me never to attempt an 800-yard colorwork sock project in a month again.

They're glorious and a pain to get on, but once they're on, they're warm and cushy.
I'll have to redo the ribbing though. Size 0 after size 0 colorwork made it too sloppy for my liking.

The knitting itself was reasonably straight forward, all things considered.
Wendy Johnson is known for her great toe-up sock instructions, so following them was easy as sock knitting can be.
The charts were great and clear.
I'd heard the heel was a bit of an issue for some, so I changed mine to the heel I did for my Bob & Weave socks, and that worked out excellently.

To get all the yardage into the sock, I extended it by one repeat vertically and one horizontally, meaning I did some calf shaping. And good thing, too!

I love how they came out.
They're the perfect height to fit in snowboarding boots, and I intend to try them for this very purpose.
Let's see how the fabled Solemate stands up to some hardcore shredding, eh?

Speaking of Solemate.
The colorway, Bigger on the Inside, I got looked dark in the skein. I was a little sad about that, because it meant the contrast wasn't quite what I envisioned.
Then it got worse.
When I soaked the finished socks, the dark blue dye bled. A lot.
As in, even after a vinegar bath and dye fixing and many, many rinses, there was still dye coming off.
My pretty brown variegated? Blue tinted.
Sad face.

I know this can happen. I dye yarn. No one deliberately ruins your colorwork. If I had thought about this, I would have pre-washed the skein just to be sure. It's dark blue. Dark blues and reds bleed.
But this felt a bit excessive.
So I let Lorna's Laces know that I had a problem. I wasn't trolling, or trying to be rude. Just feedback.
They got back to me within a day. They were apologetic, they were nice, and they offered me a skein of yarn as a gesture of goodwill.
How nice of them! But I'm in Australia, and I know international shipping is a pain. I gave them my address anyway. Their response? "A happy customer is NEVER a problem". Don't you just love that?

Mistakes happen. Things don't always come out perfectly. it's what you do afterwards that really counts.
And Lorna's Laces' response? Perfect.
You know I already love their yarn. But now I also love the company behind the yarn.
Fantastic.

Swap-tacular

 Today, a squished-up but well-sealed box arrived. All the way from Colorado.

Oooooh! inside were some lovingly wrapped parcels.

 Six, to be exact, and cards to go with them.
It's my Loopy swap package!

 My wonderful swap partner chose travel & stories as her theme. For those who know me, you know this couldn't be a more perfect theme for me.
She started off with a handmade card featuring maps, explaining her choice of theme. I'm loving this already!

But let's get to package number one.

 Each parcel contains a little sheepy note, explaining why the pressie was included. Number one states that all journeys start with comfy feet. So I got Heel cream! The best foot-pampering cream in the world. This is so coming to the snow with me.

 Next up, some adorable stitch markers (a unicorn, a mushroom, a wizard and a rainbow) and tab markers in an awesome little case. These reminded my partner of stories and the sharing thereof. As a writer, I never have enough tab notes. And as a knitter, I never have enough adorable stitch markers.

 Next was a big, squishy parcel.
It's socks!
Not just any socks. Firefly-colored socks knit into the "Intrepid Traveller" pattern. Gorgeous and comfy. I'm wearing them as I type this.

 But wait, there's more! There is Colorado chocolate with a fridge magnet (I love travel magnets, don't you?) and Jolly Ranchers, which I'd heard of, but had never tried. Until now. They are so good!

 Of course, swap packages come with yarny goodness. The photo does not capture the fabulous glow of this gorgeous madelinetosh sock yarn.
How much do I love MadTosh? Oh yeah, it's lots. And lots. This is a wonderfully complex pink-and-purple. LOVE!

And finally, because Australia can be difficult to send tea to, my wonderful swapper sent me a tea mug to put my own tea into.
I've been coveting my colleague's awesome tea travel mug (exactly like this one!) every time she brought it to work.
This is beyond fabulous!

 So here is the fantabulous package in all its glory.
Am I spoilt or what?

Oh yeah. Lucky, lucky me.



Win!

Life is perfect.

Angostura - or: You can't win them all.

Sometimes, knitting goes your way. And sometimes, it doesn't.
I was knitting Angostura, a veautiful vest pattern by Ysolda Teague, for the Loopy Quarterly challenge. The challenge was to use a yarn containing cotton, and this was my chance to try Spud & Chloe sweater.
It's a lovely yarn, very soft, and nice to work with. it's wool and cotton, a good combo.
I adore the blue, too. I think of this as my maternal family blue. Both my mum and my grandma love this blue.

I love the twisted stitch detail on the vest. My gauge was off, but I thought I'd mathed it out. Thought.
What I hadn't accounted for was just how heavy the yarn knit up to be. Sure, on some level I knew that buying 5 100g skeins would knit up into something weighing half a kilo. But somehow it seems like a lot more when it's hanging from two shoulder straps.

I did swatch, for the record. And I tossed and stretched and stomped my swatch around. Things should have worked out.
But they didn't. The vest is too big.
Even though I went down a needle size and two sizes in pattern, it's still about 1-2 sizes too big on me. A very unflattering look overall.
And I'm not quite sure whether it's just the size of the vest, or the vest itself that's unflattering.
As a general rule, I don't wear vests very often. I'm short and stocky, and vests don't do great things to me.

I think I'll rip this one out and reknit it at a later stage. Next time, I'd knit it top-down and seamless to help with the fitting.
A shame. Those were great seams, too.

Knotty gloves of Alpaca Gentility

 Nerd Wars has certainly stretched me as a knitter, challenged me in unexpected ways and kept me knitting happily along.

I've been thinking for a while now that I'd like to make myself some nice gloves, warm soft ones that are different than any gloves I could buy at the store.
Gloves for our fickle, short winter. no, gloves for an overseas winter! A real one!
I bought some Yarn Pirate alpaca/wool yarn on sale at the Loopy Ewe a while ago, not quite sure what I was going to do with it. I just wanted to experience a new fiber.
Alpaca is supposedly warmer than wool, so perfect for snowy weather gloves!
I also felt like learning more about cabling, so the Knotty gloves by Julia Mueller seemed like the perfect match here.
Good idea.

I modified the pattern a bit to fit me, but the result speaks for itself.

I made the ribbing before the braid a bit longer.
Started the pal 2 rounds earlier than indicated in the pattern.
Cut the thumb gusset short by 2 rounds.
Started with the little finger, knitted one round before starting each subsequent finger.
Knitted body of glove on one long circular, 2 at a time. Knit the fingers with bamboo DPNs.

I can't wait to try them out in real weather.
It's getting hot here. Definitely not glove weather. At all.

I'm a Loopy Groupie - or: The Fandom of Shopping

Some shopping places get it right.
Yes, we all know it's a business. We buy what they sell. but with so many shops online and (if you're lucky) around town, how do you choose where to shop?
If we were all perfectly rational people, as economic model would have it (for you engineers out there, the horse is a sphere), the decision would be easy.

But we're not all rational. We don't just want the best price for the best product. We want the intangible warm n' fuzzies, that bit of a personal touch.

You hear it over and over again. "Shop local. Support your community. Don't shop online."
Does that mean that all online shops are big, anonymous, business-only, bottom-line enterprises? Are all truly local-to-you shops nice and friendly and caring?
Yeah, well, no.

There are shops that just make you happy to be there. And I won't lie, a large part of that is special goodies and a personal touch.

Take, oh, I don't know. A yarn shop for example? Yeah, no one saw that one coming...
Where I'm looking, The Loopy Ewe is easily the most talked about yarn shop out there. People love Sheri and the Elves, as her staff is known.
I must have heard about them on a podcast, or maybe on Ravelry. Their website is gorgeous and tempting, and their selection of sock-weight yarns (as well as other goodies like lace and sport weight gorgeousnesses, patterns, fiber, kits and more) is overwhelmingly great.

I was a complete yarn noon when I first ordered from them, but I was completely charmed when my first order arrived in the mail with a little present and a hand-written note on my order form. Awwwwww.
Warm n' fuzzies all around.

They also have frequent shopper points. For each $250 you spend, you get store credit. Who doesn't love that?

But their coup de grace is what's called The Loopy Groupies, a status one attains after 6 orders from the Loopy Ewe.
From their site:

So - about those Loopy Groupies - what IS that exactly? We include fun little gifts in your first five packages from us. Why five? Because that's how many fun little gifts we could come up with! :-) With your sixth package, you become an official member of the Loopy Groupie Club. (We fondly refer to you as "Loopies" for short). With that, you'll receive:

• a fun care package to welcome you in (a cool tote with a couple of goodies inside)

• Loopy Kisses with each order (you'll have to wait to see those in person)

• advance notice of all new yarns and products right when they go up on the website (although if any of you have a particular yarn line you're watching for, of course you can email me and request to get notice of that yarn early. We're always happy to do that. The only exceptions to that are for Wollmeise, Numma Numma and The Sanguine Gryphon lines, simply because they sell out too quickly for the notice to get to you in time.)

• an extra appreciation gift a couple of times a year, when we find something fun that we want to include in your order that month!

We hope to have YOU as a Loopy Groupie, soon!

And today, I joined their ranks.
As well as being the fastest delivery I've ever had from the US, my package came with free yarn.
That's right. Free.
A freebie skein of Madelinetosh Sock welcomes me to the rank of yarn overspenders.

Sure, maybe if I shopped around, I could find their yarns on special on other sites for less money. But the Loopy Ewe has won my heart, and they're going to be at the very least my first stop whenever I need to increase the stash.

Do you have warm n' fuzzies for a yarn shop, online or in person? Or is it always only a business decision?

No-Hayfever Watercress Mystery Socks

My first ever mystery sock.
What's a mystery sock?

It's a sock pattern broken up into clues. In this case, four clues over four weeks.

You get the pleasure of watching the pattern unfold without quite knowing where you are going.

It was certainly fun, and I love the finished socks. Except for the cuff. it's very ruffly and floppy, so I'm not sure it's my thing.

I absolutely adore the color though. Happy green spring socks!