Because I can – Part 12

Mid-course Correction.

It was so wonderful to meet some of you at the Madrona Fiber Arts Festival on Saturday. It was an inspirational weekend for many. Just to see what people are making and the amazing products that the vendors had to tempt us with was a delight.

Mary Scott Huff stops by to say hi between classes

However, just at the time the finish date for the project was established, I ran into a setback … the Friday sock. The Friday sock is made out of Zauberball Crazy, and to make it good and crazy, the design chosen for this sock was a spiraling cable design. Now, on a single pair of socks a spiraling cable is enough to make one go batty, but put on a cable with 12 other socks … I’ll admit it was insanity.

You see, when you work any kind of stitch pattern that spirals, it requires a shifting of stitches. With this project, that meant moving stitches onto a stitch holder the row before the cable pass, then doing the cable stitch and re-assigning the stitches to the correct side of the cable. This was causing a major road block for me, and I was not looking forward to that madness. (Trust me. Even I have some limits.) So, … I decided in this instance it was okay to make the project a little less insane and went back to a more traditional cable pattern.

But here’s the kicker. There was already one set of cables in the spiral fashion on the sock by the time the decision was made to change course, and since the cable was done over 8 stitches, it did tighten up the width and reduce the stretch a great deal on that row. One person who stopped by at the Festival asked me if it was going to fit on my foot, and I confidently said, “Of course it will!” and proceeded to show her. Um …. Darn! I had to put this pair of socks “on probation” and transfer them to another set of needles. After ripping back 18 rows, and fixing the problem, they were returned to the project needle.

You know, probably all Olympic athletes come to obstacles they must overcome to meet their goals. In terms of this being my Knitting Olympics project, I have certainly had my obstacles. (By the way, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee said that my project was within the rules of the game. Actually she said, “There is no Knitting Olympics IOC”.)

So that was my setback. I’ve made my corrections, and now I’m headed towards the finish line.
Stay tuned!

Prince Entrelac KOA (Knitting Olympics Athlete)

Because I can – Part 11

One of the most common questions I get asked when I have the project out in public is: “When will they be finished?”

My typical response has been: “When they are done.” This has been my attempt to remain non-committal as to an actual finish date. The time has come, however, to find a way to wrap up this massive project, and so begins the task of pushing towards the finish line.

Only 100 more rows to go! (give or take 50)

In the spirit of the Winter Olympics (which in Sarah Palin’s terms is “right out my kitchen window”), I have challenged myself to finish these socks by the time the flame is extinguished. According to the “rules” of the Olympic Knitting challenge by the Yarn Harlot, this probably would not qualify, but this is going to be my only knitting project for the next couple of weeks, and I am committed to working on it every day.

This does feel very much like a marathon and that I’m going to be pushing myself to extraordinary efforts in order to finish the project. I am not PROMISING that I will be finished by Feb 28, but I will commit to putting forth my best effort to do so.

If you are in the Tacoma area, I will be at the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat this Saturday (Feb 13) working on the socks. Feel free to stop by and say hi.

Prince Entrelac NWRSA

Meet “Addi Turbo”

What’s more adorable than a fluffy, snarfley, snoring puppy? Nothing!

Last year, we introduced a new member to our family. She’s a 2 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. While choosing this furry ball of love was easy, picking a name was not. We tossed around ideas, and then I thought to myself…what would someone like me *love* to name their pet? And just like that, I had an epiphany. Thus, ‘Addi Turbo’ was born. Well, not really born…more like ‘christened’.

Now, Addi is not fast, nor is she nickel plated, snag-free, hand-made, or especially quiet for that matter. But, she does come with a guarantee…a guarantee that she will put a smile on our faces no matter what.

Addi is a very busy girl. She attends daycare a few days a week, gets to go to work with mommy on occasion, likes to play in the snow, and even helps clean out the cat’s box when we’re not looking (yes, yucky). And yes, in case you’re wondering…she already has one hand-knit sweater in her wardrobe (we are planning more wooly wears for her in the near future).

By now you’re probably asking, “Rob, where are you going with this blog entry?”. Well, I have no idea really. I’m guessing it’s a veiled attempt to once again gush over my baby girl. I mean, can you blame a proud papa?

So in closing friends, I will leave you with this rumination…be wary of kissing your dog if you have a litter box. Oh, and always knit with Addi needles!

Cheerio,

Rob

Luggage Finders

In the knitting universe Spring is just around the corner and with Spring comes that wonderful week known to all as Spring Break. I travel a lot in the spring and the one thing that always goes with me is my black check in luggage. The same luggage that looks like ninety percent of the other traveler’s bags. If only I had some way to tell my bag from the other big black bags.

We have a solution to not only your bag identifying needs but also to the scrap sock yarn you may have in your stash! Introducing the Luggage Finders!

These four cute tags can be made unique with a plethora of different sock yarn colors, and no one can dispute if a piece of luggage is yours if you are wearing a matching pair of socks to your tag.

This pattern is available for free download on our skacel website.

Enjoy!