and now, the knitting

the knitting over the weekend was not as intense as i had expected. due to time constraints, i had not been spinning much before i left for rhinebeck, so naturally i brought a lot of knitting along thinking i would complete a couple of WIPs.

and i totally forgot that this was a fiber trip and that i would be spinning (having packed my wheel—did somebody mention that the right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing??). in fact, i did not even pack fiber to go with the wheel, so i had to mooch some off of beckie for the first evening’s spin-in. i think i mentioned in an earlier post that i am a highly-challenged packer.

(and for those of you who might be wondering, i did remember underwear—i did not have to mooch that off beckie . . .)

but still, i was determined to make some progress on the knitting i brought—i have to keep up! there is so much in my backlog to be knit and patterned up . . .
on the way out to the catskills i worked on my sorely-neglected brownTreXX sox—you know, those ones that have been sitting on my desk for an eternity, growing by blips and millimeters, rather than inches? (i do work on them, really i do . . . just not, you know, . . . a lot).

and so i have for you here the results of my car knitting

are you proud of me? cuz i feel pretty good! i should be able to get them done for socktoberfest—i have only a few more inches to do and at least one whole day of classes at the shop. i can probably even put aside the new manLace project for one evening to get them done.

i took along the briar rose waterfall sox, too, but they didn’t even make it out of my bag. the fiber called and i succumbed, gladly and with abandon (as they say).

but, speaking of briar rose and sox, i did have the unique opportunity to compare a day of wearing my autumn spiral sox (made with her yarn)

against a day of wearing my plum striped trekking sox. both pairs were brand new and worn for the first time over this weekend.

i did not plan this, but the difference was SO noticeable that i had to report it here. and granted i am something of a tenderfoot, but i thought it was interesting; i never believed there was that much difference between sock yarns, because there isn’t that much difference between hanspun sock yarns in terms of comfort (they all feel nice).

briar rose sox felt cushy and comfortable all day and did not slip down into my shoes even a bit. and they looked just as nice at the end of the day as at the beginning. the trekking sox were not as comfortable—i could “feel the stitches” underfoot, they kept slipping around and making wrinkles, and they sagged. plus, the fiber itself did not feel nearly as lovely. i knit both pairs to a gauge that i felt was comparably tight, given that the trekking is a thinner yarn. now trekking is one of my favorites to knit, so i was a little surprised at how much less comfortable they were to wear. too bad, because i thought they made a handsome lightweight sock.

ok, so the other thing i brought along to work on was the second manLace project—the obstacles shawl. i am knitting it up in fearless fibers DK weight cashmere, sodona coloway.

the stitch looks much better in this more relaxed yarn—it is still cushy, but not nearly as tightly pinched, and the holes are showing up quite well

hahaha! i had plans to finish the whole shawl while i was away. right.
oh well, it will be my main knitting project for the next little bit. i’m pretty sure i’m going to need more yarn—and i think deb is on it, but i may run into a situation where i have to put it aside for a while til the yarn is ready.

which is fine because i have YET to start my red sweater for the KAL! i know—bad blogger. sigh. i just ran out of time before i left to swatch and get started. and as it it turned out, this trip was more conducive to getting socks and scarves made.
hee-heee—and last night, i sat down around 12:00 to get started and fell asleep even before the first TV program was over. that is so sad, right?
not the falling asleep, but the way i am completely out of touch with how much energy i have. i mean, i had no idea i could not sit down and design a sweater before i passed out . . .

so anyway, that is my priority for tonight—get that baby on the needles.

i have some very nice final pictures of hypoteneuse, but i haven’t been able to pin david down for a modeling shot yet (he promises that over the weekend we can do that). however, let me just leave you with a taste . . .

is that luxuriant or what??