tasty jaywalkers

Jaywalkers by Grumperina

Lorna's Laces Shepherd sock wool in Chocolate & Cranberry

Size 1 Ebony Lantern Moons, Size 0 Crystal Palace Bamboo dpns

July 19, 2006 - July 30, 2006

I made the cuffs with size 0 needles, because I found them to be too loose with size 1's (though I cast on with size 1's to keep the edge loose). I also made the legs a bit shorter (because I'm short!) and made the cuffs and heels solid brown.



These socks are awesome. They fit really well and look cool. They are also not at all boring to make, so it didn't take long to make them. This is my second pair of socks I've ever made for myself, and I'm so happy to have them.

I also found this pretty spiral scarf, and want to make one someday. I wish I could read what she says on her blog. :-(

I guess it's back to the scarf and sweater. It was nice having a project that I didn't have to stare at a chart for, so I might find something else to start. I have a birthday present to make soon - I haven't figured out what yet, but I have a few ideas. Maybe more socks!

obsessed

I watched Man on Fire tonight - my boss' recommendation. I really liked it, it was one of those cool Denzel Washington action movies. I always see movies like that years after they are made. There's not much out now that I am interested in watching - I miss the old days when there was always a movie on that I wanted to see.

I spent some time with #2 tonight. Got to the top of the heel - 6 red stripes. Here's a nice dark night time picture:





I haven't received the new Lantern Moon needles I ordered a week and a half ago. So, I used some sandpaper to make my broken needle usable. I kind of like the stumpy end. I've been knitting with the stumpy short needle and the snapped in half needle that I glued back together. I have a box full of knitting needles and I'm using a super ghetto set to make these socks. They're the only size 1 double points I have. :-( I hope I get the replacement needles soon, so I can make my next pair of socks with 5 good needles.

jaywalking on sunday

Today was a gorgeous day. 90 degrees, humid, breezy and blue! Somehow I've gotten used to the weather here. I can't believe it. This is my view from the sofa:



I spent most of the day on my jaywalker. I re-started it two nights ago and got to the heel last night. This morning I got up, got my starbucks, and sat and knit. And knit, and kept knitting. Here are some pictures.


leg


around the heel


finishing the toe



It fits perfectly! Not too small, not too big, the right length, etc. I wish I could have done a brown toe, but I wasn't sure I'd have enough for the second sock. If I do have enough, I'll re-do this toe to be all brown. I like the stripey toe, though, I might have to keep it. I like this pattern - I can see why so many people have knit them. It looks like most people used self-striping yarn, I would like to try that some time. For these I like having control over the stripes, and I like the heel and cuff to be solid. I also like breaking up the monotony with changing colors.

A side note - I wore my pomatomus today. Yes, mostly in the house, but I did manage to make it out to the store for food. I like how warm they kept my feet, especially in the freezing grocery store, but they are too big. The wool also made my leg a bit itchy. I don't think washing will help make them smaller, but it might make them softer. I like how they feel in shoes, they are nice and cozy. Next time I make ribby socks I will check the sizing better because these stretch out a lot.

i swear i'm not a copycat

I just realized that my jaywalkers look a lot like one of Jared's hats. I guess they could be distant cousins. He used one of my favorite yarns for that hat - i bet it's lovely.

Some jaywalking pictures coming soon (later today). I love Sundays. :)

carnage

The result of trying on the jaywalkers:



Yeah. I'll let that picture speak for itself.

First, I want to make the ribbing with size 0 needles, because it is just too loose compared to the rest of the sock. Basically, it was useless ribbing.

I made the larger size (84 sts/9 in), because I thought I had wide feet and ankles. Well, I measured my foot tonight and it's just a bit more than 8 inches. So it would be pretty stupid to knit a 9 inch sock, unless I was going for the now-in-style baggy look. That just doesn't work very well with socks, unless I want them to fall off while I'm wearing them. I read that the jaywalkers were a bit snug & narrow, but I didn't find that to be the case. I'm happy about one thing - my gauge was spot on. :)

So, I'm going to start over. Cast on with size 1's (because the edge is always too tight to get over the foot for some reason), then do the ribbing in 0's and the rest of the sock in the smaller size - 76 sts.

I'm glad I tried them on!

what will grow crooked you can't make straight

The madness begins.



I figured with the warm 70's sort of macrame type colors, I should do a preppy even stripe. I generally like random stripes, thick and thin and all over the place, but I thought that with this color combination it should be even. I like them. They fit right along with my fake jcrew style (that deserves some explanation, but not tonight).

I must say that I love the way the wool is knitting up. It's soft and springy. I used this wool before for my mom's socks, but they were lace, so it was hard to tell how the wool was. I only used one skein for those socks, so this is the second skein, mixed with chocolate. Because anything mixed with chocolate must be good.

ps. jos! You should make these socks, they're easy peasy, I swear! And much more fun than plain stockinette or ribby socks.

supreme laziness

Tonight I made some swatches for the jaywalkers. They are probably the tiniest swatches ever made.

Because I am lazy.





Top, size 1, bottom, size 0. I'm going to go with size 1, even though the 0's make a nice fabric, the 1's are close to the right gauge.

I got new sheets! You can kind of see them in the background in the pictures. Here is a not very good picture (it's 11pm, there's no light in here). They got really wrinkly from washing.



They're from Crate & Barrel, made by marimekko. They are pretty and make me happy. I think I'll sleep well tonight. Maybe during the day I can get a better brighter picture, and one with my new purple silk pillows, too. :)

I've been watching some tasty treats from youtube.com. There are TONS of radiohead videos on there. I used to look around and find this kind of stuff more, but the last few years I have just been pretty lost when it comes to music. It's sad, but it's okay.



I also watched the Live at the Astoria video tonight. That is a really old video. They're pretty funny on it, with Thom's blonde hair and their crazy clothes and stuff. It's cool. My brother Mikey gave me that DVD for my birthday. :) Watching it reminded me of being a kid; I miss those days.

are you only being nice because you want something?

First off, I just have to say again that I love the Thom Yorke album. I love his voice and I love the music, it's very cool. I've been listening to it over and over and over in the car and the house and in my head, and singing it in the pool and the shower. :-)


There they are, all finished.
Pomatomus from Knitty in Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino. I think the color is P305.
Started #1: May 18. Finished #1: May 22.
Started #2: July 10. Finished #2: July 17. Hm. That's a long time between socks.
The only change I made was doing 2 pattern repeats on the leg instead of 3. This is a good thing, because I hardly had any yarn left over, so I would have run out if I hadn't changed it.

The first sock (left) was done on double points. The second sock (right) was done with magic loop on a big circular needle (two of my dpns broke). I didn't particularly like knitting this way, and I think you can tell because the second sock really doesn't look very good. It's easy to see that it's a lot looser. Because of that, it's bigger than the first one:





It is okay, though, and they are both a bit baggy in the ankles. I'm going to wash them and see if it helps. I like the socks better on the arms, like these. I will wear them anyway, I'm sure. Strangely, they are the first pair of socks I've ever knit for myself.

They are part of my amazing lace set, so at least I can say that I finished something I was supposed to this summer.

This post has a lot of links in it, sorry.

One more thing, about the wool. I like it, but I don't really think I would want a lot of socks made out of it. I think that's because I want all my socks to be made from cashmere, though. :) I think it's just not very soft wool, or something. The Lorna's Laces seems a lot softer to me. I guess you're not supposed to have too soft wool, though, because they will wear more. I don't really know.

ALSO - I went to the Yarn Store in Tampa today, looking for a new set of Lantern Moon Rosewood double points. I wanted Rosewood because the ones that broke on me were ebony, and the other rosewood needles I have seem sturdier. They didn't have any at the store, but she called Lantern Moon for me to see if they would replace the needles, and they said they would! When I called Lantern Moon I told the lady that it was my fault that one broke, and the second one broke on its own, and could I pay for one of them. She said she'd just send me two new ones, all free! Such great service - it makes me like those needles even more.



Cranberry & chocolate are getting to know each other. It's love at first sight - they will be married soon.

peel all of your layers off i want to eat your artichoke heart

Thom Yorke's album came out Tuesday. I like it. I like it because it's Thom Yorke and I love Radiohead, but I actually do like it, despite all of that. Of course it could be a Radiohead album if it wanted to be, especially compared to the last few albums they've done. It has that creepy electronic sound that started with Kid A that's so cool. The sounds that sound best in big loud headphones. I am so happy to have a new CD that I actually really like. I just can't wait for the next Radiohead album. I hope they do another one.

I've been listening to this interview tonight (thank you greenplastic for telling me about it), it's pretty fun. This is cool, too.

The album is the #1 top seller on Amazon right now and has a 4 1/2 star rating. :-)

I have to add this. Since Thom Yorke is going to be on the Henry Rollins (!) show on Saturday (the 15th) on IFC and I don't get IFC, I found it on the internet so I can watch it later. I wanted to share with anyone else who wanted to watch it. It's at ifc.com, then you have to click on "video" at the top and then the Henry Rollins show, etc. COOL!

socks and boys

Tonight I got to the heel. Well a little past the heel. It should be done before the weekend. Yay!



The weird magic loop makes this part harder in my opinion. I still prefer the old fashioned way. I guess magic loop would make it a little easier to travel with though, there's no losing needles, and it's a lot easier to keep the stitches from slipping off the ends. It would be very helpful on a plane, definitely.

I watched Proof of Life tonight. I noticed that Russell Crowe looks a little like Benjamin McKenzie from the OC. I find them both quite handsome. :) I also watched Syriana this weekend and got my Matt Damon fix. I thought that both of those movies were pretty good, but I would have liked something a little more cheerful maybe.

My favorite actor is still Luke Wilson though. He is beautiful. :-D

pomatomus 2

I started the second pomatomus yesterday. Finally. I finished the first one ages ago.

This is the first repeat done. It looks just like the first sock.



See the tubular cast on? It's pretty. I broke another lantern moon needle when I was doing the cast on. I was so sad because it was the second one I broke. So I had to switch to the magic loop method. I don't really like magic loop very much, especially for this pattern, since the pattern fits nicely on 3 dpns. It also seems like the sock is knitting up a bit looser, even though the dpns and this new circular are 2.25 mm. I think it will be alright though.





I want to make a pair of jaywalkers next. I have chocolate and cranberry colored lornas sock yarn for it. I was going to make plain stripey socks with them, but I like the jaywalkers and I'd like to make at least one pair. I know that it's sort of a "trendy" sock to make, and that over 300 people have made them, but in reality, no one I know has a pair, so I don't care. Same with pomatomus. :-)

home sweet home

First off, I LOVE this shawl. I love the color, I love the design. I want one. That will have to be my next lace project, and I will have to steal that color because I love it. She did an excellent job of it.

My brother's 21st birthday party was a lot of fun. Everyone had a great time and no one was too drunk, so I was happy.






There he is, with his new Excalibur pool stick one of his friends gave him.



There are some more pictures of us. Mike and I in the top two, Mike and his friends bottom left, and the bottom right is his new girlfriend Jenny. She's a sweetheart.

It was a great trip, except for the way back. We sat on the plane near the runway, but not at the gate, for 3 hours. They played failure to launch, which I probably wouldn't have seen otherwise. There was no thunderstorm at Dulles and nothing at Tampa, but there was something in between. There was an awesome lightening storm near us once we were in the air. I couldn't get any good pictures of it though.



Even my Starbucks was bored at the airport. This, of course, was before we boarded the plane, where all they had for us to eat for three hours were some really crunchy granola bars. Nevermind.

I did do some knitting during all that waiting. The sweater is slowly growing.



I already miss my friends and my house and my parents and mikey. August will come fast and I'll be up there again before I know it. Sure.

ps sorry for the mostly non-knitting content tonight. I just had to share the pictures of my mikey. :-)

happy july!

This will be short - it's 1 am and I have to get up at 8 tomorrow - and I haven't packed for VA yet! Oh well. I went to see the Devil Wears Prada tonight. I loved it! :) That is my life, but much less extreme. Much. It's very much like the book and I really appreciated it, since I've been reading fashion magazines since I was a kid.

I wish I could wear clothes like that though. Someday.. maybe I'll just have to make them myself.

Happy July! This piece of crap year is half way over! YAY!