ok, i'm convinced!

I have finally surrendered. I give up. I have seen the light. Oh, the folly of my ways!

Now, I have embraced the eternal admonition to block one's knitting. I have not consistently resisted swatching. That, I do. And when I forget to swatch, the sting of having to frog what I have done - because it never just works out ok when I don't. But blocking??? I am ashamed to say that with all the socks, sweaters, hats, scarves, gloves and wristers I have knitted, I have never blocked a blessed thing. Somehow, they have been wearable and have survived washing and wearing time after time.

The final nail in the coffin came last night. Kelley Petkin of Knit Picks Podcast (to whom I listen every week) convinced me. I like Kelley and I listen to her so regularly that she is just a whisker away from being an honorary Material Girl DKnJ.

Last week, Kelli went on and on about blockink and even wetting ones' swatch. Her justification -- read "logic," was so sound, I can no longer overlook such an important step in the process of successful knitting.

But where shall I block my knitting? I'm moving into a wee small place. Knitter's (sic) to the rescue! (I think the ' should be after the s but it isn't on the cover of the magazine.) I came across an ad for something called Knitter's Block, which is a modular blocking surface. Parts fit together like a puzzle. The versatility is great. The blocking modules can be connected in a row to block a scarf or a couple socks or wristers. They can also be connected in an equal length and width for a sweater. I'm ordering it as soon as possible. (It's out of stock right now.)

saturday: wwkip!!

Saturday is Worldwide Knit in Public Day. Yarn shops and knitting groups all over the world will be knitting in public to enjoy each others' company and to be seen. Knitting and crochet are yarn crafts that are not only a genre of fiber art but are also seriously social practices during this current resurgence of these media. I think it's good -- not that anyone really cares what I think. I know that part of my enjoyment of machine sewing and quilting is the sharing part with my Material Girls DKnJ and I'm sure yarn crafts are likewise. I haven't had the time to join a knitting group but there are tons of virtual knitting groups doing "knit alongs" (KALs) or who don't knit the same thing, but communicate online with great regularity.

My LYS will be having a WWKIP get together in the park across the street from the Ho-Ho-Kus NJ Post Office. I won't be attending because I need to pack etc. However, I will likely be going to Barnes & Noble with Bern for a couple hours Saturday night. If I do, I'll take knitting and knit in the cafe -- so I will have participated in the WWKIP. :-)

toe up progress is regress

I've been trying, unsuccessfully, until last night, to get a little knitting done at night, for its therapeutic calming effect and to be creating something. For the last week or 2, every time I sat down with my knitting, my eyes closed and I just couldn't do it. Last night I actually allocated time to knit. Well, in this case, it was to come to the realization that I needed to re-start my socks.

I know you're thinking I was just so overwrought with the day's happenings plus moving that I just lost my cool. That's not why I ripped them out. I have been making notes for myself as I have knit this first-time-ever toe up pattern (which I like a lot.) As I have been knitting and trying the socks on, a consistent concern has been that they are more loosely fitting than will fit properly into shoes -- even Birkenstock clogs, which are loose shoes. At first I thougth I'd just wear them around the house because they aren't the highest quality yarn nor the most expensive. I had to rip back a little way the last time I knit them. I have been thinking that although they are a great learning pair, don't I want to actually wear them as socks? Of course I do. Then, I recalled that the easiest way to tighten up a knitted garment/project is to decrease the size of the needles. So, I thought I'd rip back to just where the garter toe was done and change needle size there, so the foot and led fit better. As I thought about it, I concluded that the change in gauge wasn't going to be sufficiently smooth so I went all the way and unraveled them entirely.

My problem for those socks, was that I was impatient in my swatching, so I only swatched a small piece instead of 4". I already know that a swatch on straight needles is not usually the same on circs, so I did swatch on circs. I just didn't knit long enough to give myself an accurate measure of my gauge.

So, I'm happily, mindlessly, wisely knitting a tubular swatch that will give me truer gauge and therefore, socks that will fit with shoes. I'm still using the now discontinued, Lion Brand, Magic Stripes yarn in a blue, white, black and brown pattern striping colorway.

I think I understand the pattern well, too, which is going to make this 2nd try more rewarding and not too challenging. That's fine. I have all the challenges I need right now, thank you.