Tag Archives: rivendell

Sock Museum

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Kathy in San Jose graciously sent me photos of my Rivendell socks that she took at Sock Summit.  If you click on the photo it will take you to the larger photo at Flickr so you can see the sock information (if you can’t please let me know and I will see what I have to do to make that happen).  I will clarify here that the yarn information was listed incorrectly.  It should be Dream in Color Starry in the Grey Tabby colorway.

I’m really hoping they’ll find some way to get all the socks from the Sock Museum photographed and the information logged so that those of us who were unable to get to Sock Summit can get a good view of it, too.

Another Thursday

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Did anyone who went to Sock Summit 2009 go to the Sock Museum?  Did you see my Rivendell socks?  Did they look like they were having a good time?  I thought it was pretty cool to find my Rivendells amongst the photos The Oregonian took of the event (the slideshow is halfway through the article).

I’m liking the Monkey socks I’m knitting for my sister.  The pattern was super easy to memorize, and the colors are working really well with the simple lace.  It’s also knitting up very quickly.  The Laminaria shawl is slightly on-hold, meaning I just haven’t felt up to knitting it while watching TV the last few nights.

My 30 days of exercise project is almost over — tomorrow is day 30!  The Monterey Wool Auction is on Sunday and I’m looking forward to see what fleeces are there this year.  I think I will probably be continuing the exercise going forward.  I have finally gotten to a point that while I still feel hot and sweaty afterwards, I also feel refreshed.  And let me tell you, the biggest bonus is my clothes are fitting looser.

Drumroll, please

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The Rivendell socks were finished Friday night.  I washed and blocked them overnight and put them in the mail to the Sock Museum Saturday afternoon.  The USPS says they were delivered yesterday morning.

Basic stats
Yarn: Dream in Color Starry in Grey Tabby, used about 250 yds
Needles: 2 Hiyahiya circs, size US 2.5, 20″ long
Gauge: 7.5 sts/in in stockinette stitch, 9.5 sts/in in Ktbl, P2 ribbing

These were a pretty fast knit, and I probably would have been done with them way sooner if I had worked on them consistantly.  The clustered stitches at the top were a new technique for me, but really interesting to do.  I find the horizontal effect they make a nice addition to the pattern.  However, it should be noted that they do make the cuff of the sock a little less stretchy than the rest of the ribbing.  Some people might find this slight restriction annoying; it doesn’t bother me very much, although if I were to knit these again, I may try to find a way to combat it.

Unfortunately, neither of my photos picks up the silver thread in the yarn very well.  When you can see it, it adds a nice little sparkle, which I thought would be a nice effect for socks named after Rivendell.  The subtle shading of the colorway didn’t detract from the pattern at all.  I did love how the yarn became nice and soft after washing it.

I hope my socks have tons of fun at the Sock Summit in my stead.  And I hope that everyone who’s going get a chance to see my socks.

Just a day late

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This week is at the very least on probation; it has come extremely close to being fired more than once as it’s gone along.  There has been much broken glass — I lost 2 flower vases and then a bowl in the kitchen.  Dinner Monday night ended up on the floor, along with some of that broken glass.  These are probably some of the things that lead me to stay home from work on Tuesday.

I’ve spent the last few days doing my exercise in the morning, then heading to work.  By the time I get seated in front of my computer I’ve felt ready to start crying like a baby for no obvious reason.  I have since been reassured that this is apparently normal and that I am not alone in this phenomenon; I understand that it will soon pass.  But between that and my next-door neighbor thinking they have to take a shower at the same time I do, my mornings have not gotten off to the best start most days.

I’m in a race to get the Rivendell socks done by tonight so that I can wash and block them and get them in the mail tomorrow.  It wouldn’t be as much of a race except I was not paying attention yesterday as I went to start the heel flap, finished the heel flap, and turned the heel.  It was then that I discovered that I had knit the heel on the front of the sock.  So, I had to rip out 2 hours of work and redo it, thus putting me back 4 hours.  We’ll see how this all goes.

ETA: Closing comments on this post due to spam.

Just a quick post

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I’ve been a little scatter brained this week as I have tried implementing a couple of new changes into my routine.

The first is trying to cut back on caffeine.  I’m currently on my third day without a caffeinated beverage to start the day, which of course means that I’m on my third day of a sort of headache that’s happening on the perifery of my thoughts.  I’m sure the heat hasn’t been helping in that department at all.

The second change is exercise.  I am attempting to exercise every day for the next 30 days.  For every day I workout in some fashion I gain money towards a fund for purchasing fleeces at the Monterey Wool Auction, which is set to take place August 16.  Days I don’t workout subtract money from the fund at a greater rate than I am earning.  And if I miss 4 days in a row, I’m not allowed to go.

This is all in the pursuit of forming a habit of exercise.  I’m the type of person who hates getting hot and sweaty, yet feels better once I’ve done it.  I’m hoping it will help me tame my asthma, my weight, and my stress levels.  Most importantly the days are counting down for our trip to Japan, and my sister recommended being able to walk 5 miles a day by the time we get there.  I hate flying, so who knows when the next time I might be able to get to Japan will be, so I want to see and do as much as I can without having a lack of breath and energy get in the way.

On the knitting front, I should be able to start the toe on the first Rivendell during tonight’s TV watching time — mmmm, Leverage.  🙂  So, I’m still on track for finishing, washing, and mailing the socks off by next week’s deadline for the Sock Museum.

Rivendell socks

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The Rivendell socks progress steadily.  The pattern looks nice in the semi-solid color.  Unfortunately, in this photo, you can’t really see the sparkliness from the silver thread.  The pattern has been easy to follow so far; the charts reall help with that.  I was thrown slightly for a loop when working the cluster stitches, but it’s an interesting technique.

While the gauge (@ 7.5 sts/in) is a little looser than I would normally knit socks, it does seem to help the knitting go quickly when each round it only 63 stitches long.

The ribbing seems really stretchy, so I don’t think I’ll have to worry too much about fit issues.  Although, I don’t believe there are any plans for anyone to wear the socks.  The Sock Museum website does not actually say what will happen to the socks after Sock Summit 2009.

It’s still Tuesday

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6 pm on a Tuesday is still Tuesday, so time for a post while I’m remembering to do it.

I hit Full Thread Ahead on Saturday to see what was left of their store closing sale.  I got a skein of Farmhouse Yarns Bo Peep’s Sock Yarn in Lilac and a skein of Trekking Pro Natura in a pale blue, which I was considering using for the Rivendells.

Then I head to Purlescence Yarns because they were having a 25% off sale on Dream in Color, which they never put on sale so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.  I walked to the back of the store where the Smooshy is and saw one skein… count ’em… 1… of Dream in Color Starry in Grey Tabby.  I nice silvery grey semi-solid with sparkly silver bits.  I pulled it down and walked up to Kathy and asked what she thought.  She thought it was perfect and told me that she had actually just found that skein and hung it up not too long before; the skein had been hiding, laying in wait just for me.  I’m hoping that the silver thread will give it a nice little bit of shiny.  I’m knitting the Starry on two size 2.5 circs and have already finished chart 1 for the first sock.

The only thing so far that’s a little odd is that pattern calls for a gauge of 7.5 sts/in, which just seems a bit loose for me (although the pattern also says that’s gauge on size 1 needles, which for me would be really loose knitting).  I’m used to knitting my socks at at least 8 sts/in but several pairs have been 9 sts/in.  But the looser gauge does mean they’re a fast knit.