On the front lobe of my left-side brain

I went to Zitron when I was at my parents’ these last few days – big surprise there, I know! The plan was to just nip in and get some sock yarn, and like always, the nipping extended to about an hour and a half, in which I fondled new yarns due to come out in the near to not-so-near future (and oh, I can hardly wait for the new lace yarn!), talked yarn and translation with Mr Zitron, and bought some fresh-from-the-dyeworks sock yarn. And some lace yarn. And ordered a custom extra-long 4mm circ for Girl Friday.

I love those people, but my visit once again creates an old problem: it’s called ‘oh god, I’m running out of space to store my yarn’.

The second drawer is actually just for reference, I didn’t add anything to the heavier-than-fingering-weight yarns. However, the four sock yarns (two balls, two skeins) on the left are the sock yarns I bought, plus white lace yarn (which I’ve vaguely planned for knitting a half a Balmoral), and this beauty:

It’s Filigran Lace No 1 in Indian Summer, and it’s very colorful. The colors are muted jewel-tones, yes, and it’s entirely gorgeous in the skein as well as in the ball. I’ll have to wait for a really strong shawl pattern for this, though, or else it’ll drown in the sheer mass of colors.

This is some Trekking HandArt Tweed that didn’t have a color on the label, so I’m assuming it’s a test skein or something not quite ready for widespread distribution. Either way, I love it, and I’m knitting socks with it right now. Waffle-stitch, nothing fancy, but slightly more fancy than the plain socks I usually churn out. It’s just so pretty! And the colors are kind of rustic, which goes very well with the whole tweed thing. I’m not sure what it reminds me of, but it is very homey.

The bad news about having cast on yet another sock will become instantly apparent when I show you this photo:

I’m assuming there’s about five to six pairs buried somewhere in my laundry to add to that, plus the recent pair that isn’t in there because I haven’t yet cut the ends. I really need to  sort out the socks that are starting to wear thin, or find another solution, or start giving socks away (except how could I, they’re my babies!), because my sock drawer is already literally bursting at the seams. No kidding, one of the corner has burst apart.

It’s entirely true I might have a slight obsession.

And people wonder why I like to knit lace. For those who are wondering: it’s because it takes more time and less space.

I’m a wild and an untamed thing

… and also don’t seem to have any control over myself when it comes to blogging several times a day. I could just put it into one big post, but no… so here goes, yet again. I justify this by it technically being tomorrow, even though I don’t usually count it till I’ve slept.

Money. It’s sort of a big deal. I’m a university student, I shouldn’t have that much money to spare, and I don’t really. Especially considering the ludicrous amounts of money I spent on yarn last month. I have a feeling soon it’s going to get to a point where I’ll forsake salad and other healthy foodstuffs for pasta with sauce, because it’s cheap, and I’ll be able to buy more yarn.

Or, as in this case, new needles (which I kind of need) and shiny stuff. (which nobody ever needs, but it’s so… pretty)

I’m talking about Ewas Sockenwolle, which, despite the name, doesn’t stock too much sock yarn. Instead, they have needles. Tons of needles. KNITPICKS. HARMONIES. My treasured, treasured all-time favorite needles. So I already have a set of 2.25mm 15cm DPNs (and it’s six in a set, too. Six!) in my cart, along with a 2.25mm circ (for the Aeolian Shawl that I’m planning on making from the Malabrigo lace I bought in Ithaca, NY) and… well, shiny stuff. Tiny silver owls and even teenier copper hands saying ‘Hand Made’ on them. And you can, like, attach them to socks, or other stuff you’ve made, to show that it’s handmade.

Which, I guess is mostly obvious, especially with socks, but still. It’s different. It points out that somebody’s hands made those 17ooo stitches. AND, of course, the selling argument… they’re so SHINY! Plus they’re really cheap, only 25 cents apiece, so I’m still under 20 bucks if I order only 10 hands and 4 owls and only those two needle sets.

Except they have tiny bears there, too, and row markers with little leaves on them, and tons and tons of Knitpicks, so many they SELL THEM.

Lord have mercy on my wallet.

So Im moving to New York…

I’m in Odessa, NY, visiting my host family from my exchange year back in 2005/06, and it’s great.

The flight, as expected, was cold and boring without knitting. After all, I was on the road for a total of 20 hours. What a waste of time! But at least I had my Swallowtail shawl on me to keep me warm during the transatlantic flight, so that’s something. Plus, when I finally, finally arrived in Elmira and was done being crushed in bear hugs by Adam and pulled out the scarf he was supposed to get Christmas 2007, he was super excited, which was a reward in itself. Albeit more than a year late.

My ‘little’ ‘brother’ has taken up knitting! Little is in quotation marks because he towers over me at 6’2″ or 3″, brother because he’s… well, not blood, but my brother in all other things. He’s grown up so much since I saw him the last time! Sophomore in high school, and a knitter to boot! Granted, he’s very much a beginner,  self-taught with videos off Google, but he isn’t bad for that. And an English knitter, which is super interesting to me because I’ve never seen that IRL.

But yeah. I’ve already taught him how to cable (without a cable needle, too!), and he’s just drinking up the knowledge – he’s also starting to convert to Continental cause he likes it better. We’re gonna go down and buy him some yarn and DPNs and I’m gonna show him how to knit socks. Yay!

On a not-so-happy note, I broke one of my Harmonies last night :/ I don’t even know how it happened, but OF COURSE I didn’t bring the backup needle, so I knit with a bamboo needle I had with and later switched to four needles – you can knit a mitt on four, so… still, I’m gonna have to go and buy another set. Not that I mind, precisely, but… okay, I’m kinda glad I have an excuse to buy needles XD who am I trying to kid, seriously :P

So yes, Martin and I are having a fabulous time talking about knitting and knitting, Adam loves his scarf, I’m hoping to go yarn shopping in the next couple of days… life is awesome. Except for the snow.

Erstes Leipziger Wollefest

I went to Leipzig over the weekend, and managed to drag my girlfriend (also a knitter, but not nearly as obsessed as I am) to the first Wool Festival there.

It was in the yard behind the Kreativ- und Strickcafe, a spot of luscious green where I wouldn’t have expected it at all. All in all it was pretty small, yet very interesting and I spent the rest of my money there.

On what?

First, I finally, finally found 15cm Knit Picks Harmonies in 2.25mm, and sweet-talked them off the vendor who’d just gotten them for herself. To make up for her tragic loss, I purchased a 100g skein of handpainted sock yarn off her in orange and turquoise. I noticed how soft it was, but I didn’t really pay any attention to it until I read the label later – instead of your ususal wool, it’s 75% Merino!!! And for €6.50, too. Those are going to be luxury socks. For me. Me, and me alone. Probably the Firestarter socks. I’ll have to knit up a swatch to see how thick the stripes are.

And then I bought some turquoise roving, though I still don’t have a spindle. As soon as work pays me, I’m gonna order one off Wollschaf, but until that, I suppose I’ll just keep stashing up on roving? :P

I wasted so much precious time winding that sock yarn into a ball, I’m kind of mad about that. I was originally planning on starting a pair of socks with it on the train, and my gf certainly seemed to enjoy my legs being spread for an extended period of time (I loop the skein over my knees for winding balls out of skeins, and I had also lost my jeans prior to winding because of the stifling heat). But then I realized I wanted a really good pattern to go with it, so instead I started leftover socks (Whimsies) on the KnitPicks.

The KnitPicks. Harmony is just the right word to describe them. They’re warm and smooth, but they’re not as bendy as the bamboo needles, and that was what annoyed me about those. Kind of unfortunate now that I just bought a 15cm bamboo DPN set the other day, but I’m sure I’ll use them again. The tips are also nice and pointy, yet not too pointy, and I have a feeling they’re going to stay proper and sharp longer than the bamboos.

Also, with the 2.25mm, I’m pretty much down to a perfect 30sts/10cm. My gauge is off by 3 stitches on 2.5es (27/10) and the fabric is much tighter and smoother than with the 2.5es. It’s ridiculous how much a quarter of a millimeter can matter. So with the Harmonies, no more shuffling around with patterns!

I mean… I still want ebony sock DPNs eventually, just to try them out. (Wollschaf has some, but only 20cm and 10. I’ll just have to keep looking for a place that has 15cm 2.25 ebony DPNs I guess…)

Toothpicks. Waxed. Toothpicks.

‘Oh Captain, my Captain!’ say the boys in Dead Poets’ Society to their teacher. I said ‘Oh! Toothpicks. Waxed toothpicks!’ when I started working with my 15 cm DPNs today. It’s odd, certainly, and it takes some getting used to  to not have huge chunks of wood  protruding at 8 points in your knitting.

But honestly? I’m in love. While they still feel somewhat waxy (it’s waxed bamboo after all), they’re a lot easier and more stress-free to handle than the regular ones. I don’t have a problem with 20 cm DPNs, mind. But these are simply superior to knit with! Especially since I’m decreasing right now – I did rip out the toe already, and finishing that now before continuing the second sock (probably with the short ones then) – so with only 10 stitches on each needle they still don’t get tangled and unwieldy as 20 cms do.

The only problem I fear is the knitting just slipping down and off them, since they’re so short. But then, they do have a good grip to them, so I’m hoping for the best and am starting to snoop around the house for a transportation case.

Sommer, Palmen, Sonnenschein

I’m more than halfway done with the leg of the second Primavera. After those, I won’t be done with the pattern though – I gave my mom a voucher for a pair of socks in a pattern and with yarn she wants, and she requested a pair of Primavera in red. Which is alright, I might make the legs a little shorter (11 or 12 reps) or something, and make the ribbing slightly longer.

At the same time, I’m scrolling through my Ravelry Queue looking for something new to do. I discovered I have 26 adult sock patterns plus three baby sock patterns. *facepalm* And also I added the Hemlock Throw, which is amazing, but also uses 300g of yarn. Thick, though, on 6mm needles. I’d have to get a super long 6mm circ for that though. It looks like fun. Maybe when it’s not as warm – in the fall. As therapy for Uni starting, and as a housewarming gift to myself maybe? (at least the yarn)

Once I’m done with my oral exam, I’m planning on weighing, photographing and cataloging my stash on Ravelry. Long overdue, really. I like to be organized. I mean, the are sort of organized, in plastic bags according to yarn type (wool, cotton, sock, luxury), but, you know. It’d be nice to have a better overview.

Iiiiiiiii want ebony sock DPNs. Or KnitPicks Harmony. Sigh.