New Jessicas

We happen all the time.

I got together with my friends Sandra and Alyssa to have a super fun hair dye party! Here's the three of us together:


Sandra's ended up much darker than we expected it to and Alyssa's and mine look very similar in the photo, but are less similar in real life I think...lol ;) It was so much fun. Sandra is coming over on Wednesday and I will be adding some highlights to her hair...and we might put some carroty orange-red highlights into mine. I have the dye, but I sort of like it how it is...I have a few days to mill it over. It's only hair, right? Right. lol ((more photos are on my flickr page))

Alyssa really want to learn to knit and I think she is going to come over sometime this week so that I can try to teach her. Sandra mentioned too that it might be fun...which is funny because I tried to get her to learn through college when we were roommates and she showed no interest whatsoever. But YAY! More knitters!! I'm luring them in!!

My mom's socks are done!!!!


They look great after a nice wash and block on a towel!! I hope she loves them! I think they will be a nearly perfect fit, if not completely perfect. Proud. lol

Since my mom's socks are off my mind now, I worked a bit on my Purple Lace Blouse (a bit means 16 plus rows, which encompasses two decrease rows on both front pieces). I will probably work more on it this afternoon after I get in some spinning time. I want to at least get the singles out of the way before I head "home for the holidays." I think it will be much easier to ply on the trip than to spin up singles and I definitely want to take some spinning with me.

OK, I feel like watching anime all day now. So, I'm going to do that. ;p

On the right track

Well, well, well. Look what we have here. A sock and his half finished little buddy.


More photos here.

OK. Here I go. I have to make an explanation. As you can see, I have decided that the best route to finishing these suckers involves knitting one sock at a time. I just couldn't handle the tangles from the mega ball anymore. Enough is enough. I still prefer to knit two socks at one time, but it was just too much to use two ends of the same ball. Next time, I will divide the hank as evenly as possible into two separate balls before casting on. At least that way I can keep the two balls separate. It's kind of hard to keep two ends from the same ball from tangling. Lesson learned.

I made some changes to the pattern (most likely the same or similar changes that others have made according to the KAL). I'm pretty sure the pattern had mistakes in it anyway, as I had to correct one for the heel in order to make it even. The pattern said to knit 30 rows for the heel, slipping the first stitch on each row. Then, it said to pick up 30 stitches for the gusset, which did not make sense to me. What was the point, then, of slipping those stitches? Normally, you pick up one stitch in each slipped stitch, not two. So, I did what I've done on every other sock I've knit thus far and picked up 17 stitches (the extra stitches were to keep it tidy and avoid gaps).

The sock is only slightly big on me, which is a good sign that it will fit my mom, who is a size or two larger than me in the foot-al regions. :) I hope they fit her, though. I also hope that they do not pill too much. I've noticed that the finished sock has developed a little bit of a halo just from the knitting and I am wondering if that is going to become a problem with wear. I'm pretty sure that she has a sweater shaver. So, if it gets that bad, she can go to town with the thing.

Gauge. It seems loose for a sock. I'm worried about the strength and durability of these socks, especially considering the halo and possible pilling. I think socks should be knit at tight gauges, don't you? Otherwise, I just don't think they are strong enough for everyday wear. My Child's First Socks were knit in a sturdy non-sock yarn (Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool) at a really tight gauge and I am confident enough to wear them in shoes with backs. My Orange Breeze Socks, on the other hand, I only wear with my Birks. Maybe it is paranoia, but so be it. Max's socks got one hole and another about to happen after a little more than a week of wear. I'm still trying to get over the bitterness of that one. So, I don't know. I keep thinking that I won't be knitting many more socks in the future, but I just love the look of them...and I still have sock yarn that needs to be knit up. I could always do shawls instead, but there are so many sock patterns that I also love. I'm sure I'll knit more socks, but it really helps to think that this is the last pair I'll ever make. I don't know why. ^.^

I know that I said I would talk about NaNoWriMo, but I don't really know what to say other than it was a great experience. It was very difficult at times, but I pushed myself to the limit (or what I, as a huge cry baby, have labeled as the limit) and I pulled off just over 50,000 words one day before the deadline! I am surprised with myself and also quite proud. My story surely needs a lot of work. I have not even read through it yet...not once!...and I probably won't do a read-through until it is actually finished. I'm just now approaching the first of the major climaxes (don't ask) and it will probably get up to 80,000 words before it is actually done. At least that is what I am hoping. Then, I will reread, do the first edit and allow a few close and interested friends to read it over and give suggestions, questions, etc... That probably won't be happening for months because I'm so secretive about my writing. I'm getting over it, slowly and surely, but it is still hard to talk about it with people...especially when they ask what it is about and I just sit there for a while and try to come up with something interesting! lol Well, anyway, I loved NaNoWriMo. I learned that I am capable of doing a lot of writing in a very short period of time and I am capable of writing fiction under a deadline, which was something that had always worried me about becoming a successful writer with a contract from some publishing house. I can do it.

I can do a lot of things...I can finish these socks by Friday!

Another thing that has been going on in the past few days is a little bit of spinning:



I'm planning on devoting more time to it tomorrow, but isn't it pretty? I don't know what to make with it or what it will look like once I ply it, but it makes me feel good all the same. ^.^

Oh yeah, and the new knitty is up! I want to knit this! I like this too, but let's be honest, I won't be making it anytime soon.

OK, a whole lotta knitting love to all. I'm going to enjoy a nice hot cup of ecinacea tea (good for your immune system and tasty, tasty, tasty...it's naturally sweet too!) and my hot shoulder/neck pillow while watching silly internet shows with my charming Russian husband. Life is good...in spite of it all.

How I tried to learn continental knitting

I really want to be a continental knitter, simply for the sake of my shoulders. Throwing hurts. However, I can't seem to keep the tension on the yarn when I knit continental and it ends up looking sloppy and loose. I think I'm going to grab some of my knit picks stuff that I'm not using for anything and knit up an enormous "swatch." I think it will be the only way. I don't want to try it on anything I'm currently working on because it would be a disaster (um...I mean, it actually WAS a disaster...because...ehem...I tried it on my mom's socks).

So, that's the plan for that. I should really work on my NaKniSweMo sweater as it has been a few days since I've even thought about looking at it. BORING! Tomorrow evening, I'm supposed to be knitting with some friends and I think I will bring it to that...because I can work on it while jabbering and paying closer attention to other things.

Oh, I am waiting for the next installment of the Hill Country Yarns Sock Club. I was under the impression that it would arrive the first week in November, but it definitely didn't come. It's now two weeks in and no happy yarn mail for Jessica. Hello? I'm WAITING...and tomorrow's my birthday. Come on people!

Socks for Mommy

Today, my NaNoWriMo word count goal is 5,020. So, what am I doing? I'm writing a knitting blog post, of course!

I started a new pair of socks this afternoon. I think I'm going to be giving them to my mommy for Christmas. They are the Sweet Pea Socks and the yarn and the pattern were the September shipment from the Hill Country Yarns Sock Club. I have knit the cuffs and so far, so good.



About the novel, I am now at a turning point and I am not sure I know how to take it. I know the story, just not the details. My goal is not to write 50,000 words, but to write 66,000 words by the end of November 30th. I might be crazy, but I'm loving this. It's great to get this story that has been in my head for months finally out on electronic paper. I knew nothing about my main character going into this, only what would happen to her. I didn't know she would be an artist, for instance, but if you know anything about me that one shouldn't surprise you. (wink). It's often this way when I write. I'm not one for outlining what happens chapter by chapter. I don't care to do research before the writing...on the characters, settings, etc...I'd just prefer to let it go where it wants as long as I have some control over the major plot points. Most of the time, I'm trying to tell something to the reader...more than a story.

Blah blah blah. I just wrote all that garbage to get me into the writing mood, but it's all true in the end.

Oh, Lord...

The girl who has yet to finish a complete pair of socks in the whole of her knitting career has just joined a freakin' sock yarn club. It's through Hill Country Yarns. I've heard good things about their yarns, but have never used them...or felt the thrill of their strands through my fingers.

Ok, before you get all preachy-preach-face on me...here's the thing. It's not a full year; I am not making a serious long term commitment to sock knitting. It's six months long, but I get a shipment every other month...so that's a lot of time in between and I won't be overwhelmed with a monthly shipment of a yarn and a sock pattern. And the last reason is completely social in nature. I want to be a part of something somewhat exclusive...I want to have a pattern that only a few people will have. The patterns that are sent with the yarn are chosen from a sock pattern contest...and I like the idea of giving a great designer props and recognition for their creations. Who knows? This could become the tiny spark needed for one of the winners to get going on a designing career, if you will. Kind of cool to think of it that way, right?

So, I am doing a service. ^.^ Now, I'm going to do everything I can to find as many forums and groups on the club to stalk and lurk around! Yay! Maybe I should make a goal to finish those socks before the first shipment in September. That's plenty of time, right? Maybe I'll try really hard to work on a sock tonight...maybe.

Rusted Root looks like this:


I'm finally to the end of those sleeves. Sheesh, this is taking a long time.

But really, why am I so impatient? Is it summer?

P.S.--I'm going to twist Max's arm and convince him that we should do this, as soon as I'm off work tomorrow!! We won't have much time there, though...so maybe Sunday would be a better day.