Sock progress

Prepare to be amazed.


Bunny has finished The Man's Self-Selected Don't Blame Bunny Socks:



Finally. Also, Bunny finished the Earl Grey socks, but was so eager to get them out of the house and in the mail that she forgot to take a picture, which is just as well, because they are navy blue and don't photograph well.

My cookie box full of leftover sock yarn is full, so it's time for some mini socks. But first, I think I want to finish the July Primes.

Does Dirtbunny still Knit?

She does. She most definitely does. She's just been a little obsessed lately.


A few weeks ago, Dirtbunny had a birthday. Her birthday present was to go on a yarn crawl and buy yarn to make a spring sweater. She had picked out her yarn in advance (Rowan Calmer), she had a color in mind (blue) and she even had a gauge swatch done, yardage calculated, the whole shebang. And so on the appointed day, she went to the LYS--the one that offers the big birthday discount. Now it turns out that the big birthday discount applies only to in-store purchases, not to orders. And it turns out that the LYS did not have enough of the yarn in stock. We're not talking about not enough yarn for a Bunny-sized sweater, but not enough yarn for a normal-sized sweater either. In any of the colors. There would be no big birthday discount.


OK. So we'll order. Ask yourself: How well do you know your Dirtbunny? Think that over for a moment and then read on.


Can Bunny order the yarn she wants?

No

Even at full price?

No

Why not?

BECAUSE THE COLOR SHE WANTS IS DISCONTINUED.

Of course.


See? See? It isn't just me, is it? I'm cursed, right?


Sigh. Well and just Fuck it, thinks Dirtbunny. If I can't have what I want, then I'll just get a comparable yarn from what's in stock. And so she does. But not in blue, because blue yarn is apparently not being made this year. In pink. Yup. Pink is good, pink is fine, I wear pink all the damn time. And I bought a few other small things too. And I stacked it all up in the yarn chest because we will not be starting the spring sweater until the crimson sweater is done.


Fast forward two weeks. That goddamn pink yarn is burning a hole in Dirtbunny's head. It's nice. It's great. BUT it isn't what I really wanted. Bunny wants what Bunny wants. So we return to the LYS to order the yarn she wants, but not in blue, in yellow, so Bunny can replace the ragged yellow sweater she wears around the house.


And so she goes to the LYS. She needs 19 1/4 balls, which means she needs 20. They have 19 in stock.


See? I'm cursed, right?

Dirtbunny buys the 19 balls of yellow yarn. It has been a long long long time since Bunny ended up short and she gambles that it will all work out in the end. She is most certainly not obsessing over the extra one ball. It's not going to be a problem. She hardly ever even thinks about it. No big deal. So what? Lalalalalalalalala


And that is why Dirtbunny's yarn inventory has gone way way up.


But there is some good news. First, Bunny finished the brown beagle wubbie, which means that the last of the crappy brown acrylic from 15 years ago is finally gone.




Isn't it gorgeous? (not) But it's perfect for The Boys, and it closes the circle on a very important nagging pebble in Bunny's size 11AA shoes.


Also, we have socks:




The navy blue ones in the center are the Earl Grey socks. I am doing them on size zero DPNs because the pattern wants 72 stitches, and I normally do 60 or 64 so I need them to be smaller. The combination of dark dark yarn and teeny tiny stitches means it is impossible for me to see what I'm doing unless I knit with glasses off, right up in my face, and under a bright desk lamp. (Bifocals? Who said anything about bifocals? Shut the fuck up. How old do you think I am?) I offer no predictions on when, if ever, these are going to be done.

The peachypinky ones on the left are the July prime sock club socks. They're easy and kind of uninspiring, so I'm not spending a lot of time on them.


The greenyyellowbluepinky ones in the middle and on the far right are The Man's Self-Selected Don't Blame Bunny socks. Based on feedback from a recent poll, Dirtbunny let The Man into her sock yarn stash and permitted him to choose his own yarn for his next pair of socks. This is what he chose. I think they are very, very pretty. I'm a little surprised that The Man chose something so pretty, but hey, what do I care really?


And there is the Bianconeri scarf. The less said about the Bianconeri, the better. I knit on this while I'm watching them, but it's not helping them win.







I should probably give you a link to explain what the Bianconeri are, but they are playing a game live right now in Catania, and if I link them, I'll probably get a spoiler on the current score, and I'm saving the game for later. So

BIANCONERI = THE OLD LADY = JUVENTUS

Bunny's favorite futbol team. Although you could have googled it if you cared. Moving right along.




Now HERE is where I spend most of my knitting time:

[Please to notice one Yarn Bandit keeping an eye on me because I'm in the kitchen after all and you never know when I might give him a treat. Also, Kirby's dogbutt.]

Anyway. hmmmm.

Crimson sweater. Lovelovelovelove. &hearts&hearts&hearts Two sleeves and the back are done, half of one of the fronts is done, and I'm not bored yet. I have, however, poked a hole in the side of my thumb pushing on the tips of my addi Turbos , but I just tape it up and keep going. Cabley goodness. Yum.

Dirtbunny's Superpower: Revealed AT LAST!

Have you ever wondered what your superpower would be if you were a superhero? I have. I wonder about stuff like that a lot. I have finally discovered at least one of mine (although I hope to discover others at some point):


Dirtbunny can knit clothing that makes the wearer invisible:

...as long as you stay on that carpet, anyway. Photos are courtesy of the Old Folks, who are about to embark on one of their epic travels to another hemisphere. If my Rangers fan friend posts while they are gone, then we'll know he is real, or that they have internet service on South American cruise ships.

In other sock news: the extra July yarn came at last, so the July sock club socks are done at last:

There they are, posed next to Bunny's other BFF (aside from Kirby), namely, Mr. Chapstick, without whom Bunny cannot function. I know I'm not alone in this, because I saw Terrell Owens with his Mr. Chapstick on the sidelines during one of this season's football games.

We have one sleeve of the crimson sweater done, and three out of five balls of yarn knitted into the brown beagle wubbie, and a mini sock done, and I may someday finish the first 20 rows of 1x1 ribbing on the Earl Grey socks. 1 x 1 ribbing on size zero needles in navy blue. I can't see what I'm doing unless I sit under a bright light, take my glasses off, and hold them up to my face, which is not a comfortable way to knit. Three more rows of that, and them I'm on to the pattern, which should go less tediously.

A Strange Day

So last night I got under the covers at about 5 pm because I was cold, and I ended up sleeping until 8:30 this morning. Needless to say, everything since then has been a bit off. I am heartily glad that the holidays are over. All of the stuff is back in boxes and bins where it belongs, and the winter break for el futbol is finally over. This week, they re-ran some Serie A games, so I got to see all my boyfriends again, and later today they'll start giving us some new games. My mission in life, and my only goal for today, is to stay awake until bedtime so I can reset my sleep clock. So far, it isn't easy.

Now that the winter cardigan is done, I can in good conscience start the crimson cardigan. I hate doing sleeves, so this time I started with a sleeve and here is what there is so far:



Love love love. As I work with this yarn I can help but mutter little endearments to it. Good little yarn. Pretty yarn. So soft. So smooth. Not shedding at all. Love this yarn. Love love love. In July, when I'm still working on it, we'll see if I love it as much.


In my addled-oversleeped state, I was able to go round and round on a plain sock, and I finished Not The Man's socks, so they will be going to the Old Man soon.

And last weekend, I finished the Manos scarf. I worked this in two-row stripes: one solid row, one variegated row in a complementary color, 1x1 ribbing throughout. Interesting colors, but not quite right for me, so this will go off to someone else.

In other knitting news, the first sock of the July sock club socks is finished. It took more than half the skein, so I'll need another skein to finish the pair. This is not ideal. I like the pattern, however, and I'll probably use it again. In a few weeks, I'll get another sock club sock to work on, so that'll put me at July, July prime, September, November, and January. Way way behind, and not a single one depletes the stash. Plus my cookie box full of sock yarn remnants is full, so I need to do some mini socks in order to create storage space. For now, it's el futbol and the mindless stockinette in the round of the last brown beagle wubbie.

Voila: Winter Cardigan

Many, many, many rows of plain stockinette with little shaping, then about 12,000 stitches of ruffled lace edging, and this is the best photo I can get:







I am happy with this. It fits. It is reasonably flattering, considering that I am the one who is going to be wearing it. It's fancy enough for work. It's made from a warm and cuddly blend of alpaca, merino, and silk. It doesn't have as much dog hair knitted into it as you might think, although I don't know how I pulled that off and I doubt I'll be able to replicate it in the future. It goes with everything I ordinarily wear to work. It's a little girly, but not too much. It's mostly plain, but shows off some of the knitter's skill as well. The edging was a bitch--500 two-stranded stitches crowded onto a circular needle, and I poked a pretty big hole in my thumb before I decided to tape it. (Sports injury? Tape it up and get back out there! Knitting injury? Tape it up and get back out there!) The hole in my thumb has healed and so I declare the sweater a success, and I give myself an A.



Do you know what this means?

That's right! Gauge swatches! You are getting good at this. My next cardigan is this one, and I will be making it from a wonderful, beautiful 8-ply merino in a lovely shade of red that is flattering to Bunny's pale and rosy complexion. I have been lusting obsessively for this sweater since it came out in Knitty this fall. I might have dropped a few hints in my Christmas post.

The Man takes a lot of slagging here at the Dirtbunny network, and he does a lot of silly little things to deserve it. However, on the big stuff, he is a good guy. Dude took a hint. He went on the interweb. He printed the sweater pattern. He printed out my blog post with the yarn suggestions. He took it all to the LYS. He showed it to the clerk and said "I want to get Dirtbunny yarn to make this sweater in this size. Red, Pink, or Icy Blue. Natural Fibers. Shows off cables well. I don't know what this means but she said softer than Cascade 220." The clerk made some suggestions and The Man narrowed it down to several shades of red in Karabella Aurora 8. And he chose "crimson," which has precisely the cool undertones that flatter Bunny so well. I could not have chosen better myself. I am so pleased with it.

I have had my usual gauge swatch drama. Papa Bear is waaaay too big. Baby Bear is waaaay too small. Mama Bear is a little too big but probably close enough and, since there is no needle size in between Mama and Baby, Ima goin with Mama Bear.

I'm a little worried that I am not going to look exactly like the English Raphaelite-ish model in the picture when I put it on, but that's my cross to bear.

Secret Project Hermes

Many of you have probably already guessed, but Secret Project Hermes was actually a Man Christmas sweater. It turned out a leetle big, but no dye lot crisis this time, and no major mistakes that I didn't catch in time. Plus, although it sat out in the open next to my desk for the two months or so it took me to finish it, The Man never noticed and was completely surprised. When I can get away with that just by acting casual, it makes me wonder how--HOW?--I could possibly have lost the Battle of the Door. It isn't fair.

So there he is, all clad. He is also pleased with the long johns I got him (although I'm not sure he understands that they are underwear and not pants. Did you know if they have a Y-fly, you are meant to wear something over them, mmmkay?)

The other secret project, and the last completed project of 2008 was a pair of Man mittens, worked in Ye Olde Yarne leftover from the grey sweater. No picture. I remember him pulling them out of his stocking, so I know they're somewhere, but I haven't seen them since Christmas morning and he continues to wear the old grey mittens with the giant hole in them. I knitted the new grey mittens right under his very nose and he never bothered to ask who they were for. Another surprise.

The Man and his Cluelessness:

• Con: he doesn't notice when I cut my hair or shave my legs.
• Pro: he doesn't notice when I don't shave my legs either.

2008 completed projects

Twinkle Toes Socks
Fair Isle Socks
Ridiculous Green Hat
Blue Man Mittens
Grey Pinstripe socks (3 pairs)
Purple Cardigan
Beagle Blanket
Grey Man Socks
Ridiculous Blue Hat
Lenore Socks
Ribbed Socks
Bella Coola Socks
"Red" Man Socks
Ribbed Mirror-image Socks
January Socks
Raven minis
Bella Coola minis
Muppet Stole
Birdseye Hat
Tofu minis
January minis
Orange baby hat
Daffodil minis
Grey Stripey Socks
Pink Seed-stitch hat
Red Lace scarf
Poppy's sheep blanket
Blue Ribbed socks
Poppy's sweater
Purple Lace scarf
Bean's lilac dress
JelliBeenz mittens
March socks
Blue Mohair hat
tiger socks
Camouflage minis
Froggy
Elephant blanket
Mulberry Knee socks
Bud Collins sweater
tofu minis
The Bean's seed stitch sweater
Fuzzy Purple Hat
Hunter Orange socks
Nephew Henry socks
Fred
Fred Prime
Peter's Fiver socks
Wahoo Doggy sweater
The Man's Red Sweater
The Man's self-striping socks
May Sock Club socks
Fair Isle Hat
Special Sweetheart Super Recovery Wubbie
Ab-Fab throw
Hawaii minis
The Man's Blue Guernsey
Taos scarf, mitts, and mittens
Cyprus Mohair garter stitch scarf
Lite-Lopi ribbed hat and two pairs of mittens
Koigu mittens
JelliBeenz mittens
Debbie Bliss mittens
Mulberry minis
More grey Man mittens