Saturday night's alright for...

Found: an odd, quickly scribbled MS Paint doodle in my ancient flickr account.
The weird part? It's still more relevant than ever. Oh, the universe provides.

In other less cryptic news, there is a new sock / sock pattern in the works. I regret to admit that production of said sock seems to have stalled...but let's just see what this week has to offer, shall we? We might be pleasantly surprised, and you just might see a sock that you might like to knit.

State of the table

Exactly where I'm at on this Friday evening -- a veritable snapshot of my unsuspecting end table and the contents thereon.Clockwise, from top: Vanilla by Patricia Rain; Dream in Color Smooshy in Good Luck Jade (soon to be a new iPod cozy;) Two skeins discontinued Rowanspun 4-ply in Jade (soon to be the beginnings of Ene's Scarf;) some early spindle-spun handspun of Heather's (soon to be...a Scarfy, perhaps?); Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner (I can not get enough of her Riverside books;) and a lovely local red wine -- Mastronardi Cabernet Franc 2006 -- on one of Heather's handmade, gently quilted coasters (I told you I use them, lady!!)

Yes, it's another exciting Friday night at home.

In other news, my dining room is now sporting a very well-hung chandelier, the borage and I are on good terms and the vegetable garden is dug. Tomorrow, the herb garden. Pictures to follow.

New pattern -- ROBOSOCKS!

If some of you are thinking "Hey, where did these come from?" you're not alone. They kinda snuck up on me too. But they're done, and more importantly for your (most likely) currently non-robot-guarded toes, they're OUT. Find the ROBOSOCKS here, on Ravelry or here, in my Etsy shop. And now for the additional Robo-info:

So you still don’t have that robot army you’ve always wanted? Why not knit your own batallion of mechanical minions to serve and protect your toes?

Traditional, folky-style socks with very untraditional robots marching down from cuff to toe – the perfect combination of past and future!

The pattern is, as always, a clear, concise, 5-page .pdf file with large charts and images. I aim to please and to make your sock-knitting experience as painless as possible.

Size: Women’s Medium (or any foot/leg that is 8” in circumference.)

Gauge: 8 stitches = 1 inch (2.5 cm) in Stockinette st.

Yarn: 2 skeins each of Knit Picks Essential Kettle Dyed (229 yd / 50 g) in Grasshopper Kettle (Main Colour – MC) and 2 skeins of Knit Picks Essential(229 y / 50) in Ash (Contrast Colour – CC), or any other comparable fingering weight yarns in a comparable weightthat complement each other.

Needles: One set of five (5) double pointed needles in US 2 (2.75 mm) or size necessary to obtain gauge.

Notions: A stitch marker to mark beginning of round (optional,) and a sewing needle to weave in ends.

Skills Needed: Increasing and decreasing, knitting in the round, stranded knitting, twisted stitches, and chart reading.

I'm sure some of you will be pleased to learn that there are ROBOMITTENS in the works as well.

First glove

Well, look what I finished today (Raveled):

and the palm:I know -- I can hardly believe it myself! And you know what's even weirder? Knitting all those fingers (and thumb) was engaging and FUN. Why didn't anyone ever tell me how much fun gloves can be?

Now, no one's more surprised about this than I am. I doubt that any of you have caught me as I'm working the finger decreases of a mitten, but if you ever have the opportunity, take note of my mood as the task of the thumb looms nearer. I am not a fan of having to pick up for and work that pesky thumb. Usually this is because by the time I hit the finger decs I'm already planning my next project, and I'm more likely than not impatient as crap to finish the mitten at hand (ha.) So why is knitting the equivalent of five thumbs, one after another, so much different?

Answer: I have no idea. There was just somethng terribly compelling about watching each finger take a bite out of the held stitches; watching each finger cling onto its neighbour and then grow more stitches of its own for the next finger to cling onto. It was a lot of little achievements stacking up and turning into one big achievement -- the finished glove, with all the fingers finished and in place, all those stitches used up and accounted for -- and, oh, yeah, the total lack of grafting didn't hurt either. I'm even casting on for that second glove tonight.

But you know what? I still grumbled about knitting that thumb. Go figure.

Il faut cultiver notre jardin.

The settling-in process continues here at Pittsworth Manor -- I had no idea why I thought it would be over in a week. It's not like I haven't moved before, you know? I'm just so anxious for this new place to feel like a proper home! I know it'll happen, I just have to be patient. Trouble is, I've never been all that good at patience.

In any event, the knitting continues. I should be seaming up my Central Park Hoodie, but I'm doing this instead: These are Ulla's Gloves from Nancy Bush's Folk Knitting in Estonia, and I've already picked up three new techniques (the fringed cast on, the vikkel braid and the Estonian inlay technique) so far. I'm even looking forward to the finger knitting process, which either means that I'm a natural glove knitter or totally insane. You pick.

And in what might turn out to be another indication of the onset of madness I've joined twitter again. Keep up with my fibrey, housey and gardeny adventures right over here: spillyjaneknits. Yet another place for me to leave my mark online.

The new free pattern: Pittsworth

They're out!Pittsworth (Ravelry link) is a new, free sock pattern to comemmorate my move into Pittsworth Manor. Pick them up here on Ravelry, or here if you're not a Ravelry user.

Cables work their way down these socks from cuff to toe, and have lots of fun in the process. They might look technique heavy, but they’re not! There’s just enough pattern there to keep one interested, and the foot’s chart is easily memorized.The pattern is a 5 page .pdf with large, bright pictures and colour coded (!) charts.

These are kind of a sequel to the Naive socks (Ravelry link). I promise that you will like the write-up (and the heel) much, much better! It’s also a sort of prequel to Bavarois (Ravelry link), should you want to play with more fancy cabling.

And now that this is finished and posted...I'm off to work on another new sock.

I can has Stu Gee-Oh?

Once upon a time I craved a proper studio of my own, where I could make and store the things I use to make other things. Later I decided that it would be fairly selfish of me to claim an entire room just to store my supplies.

When I became a knitter a studio began to seem like a good idea once more (what with the stash and all,) but it wasn't a possibility in the apartment. Now, with the acquisition of Pittsworth Manor, that has changed.

I am now in serious danger of acquiring a studio.
And you, dear readers, are in serious danger of acquiring that new, free sock pattern -- Pittsworth -- tomorrow morning. I hope you like cables!

Business, both old and new

First, the Old Business:

I'm so thrilled that so many of you took advantage of the free Guardian (Ravelry link) mitten patterns offered in yesterday's post! I can't wait to see the mittens and fingerless gloves that you come up with -- be sure to let me know (either here or on Ravelry) when you have pictures.

If you'd requested one of the patterns in time you should have it by now. Go check your email! Which reminds me, nestra, Jeanne and maitai, I didn't receive your email addresses. Either leave them in a comment, or send them to spillyjaneknits {at} gmail {dot} com and I'll get your copies out to you right away.

Which also reminds me...

I have one copy of Guardian left to send out! First commenter who requests it gets it (please remember to give me your email address!)

And now for the New Business:

The New House festivities continue! Some of you might be aware that the new place has been lovingly named Pittsworth Manor (some of you might even recall the origins of the moniker.) In any event, to commemorate the event even further, I'm in the process of working on a sock pattern called (logically,) Pittsworth. Here's what I've got so far:

Yes, there is a lot going on on the legs of these ones, but if you know how to cable and twist stitches you'll be just fine. The foot will be a bit more sedate, I promise. This is what happens when I sit down and "doodle" with yarn. The last time I went into a pattern with no set plan and just let the sock "happen" we ended up with the Naive Socks (Ravelry link.)

That's not the only thing that they'll have in common with the Naive Socks...these are also going to be offered as a free pattern (and I swear you'll like this heel better!) Watch for these soon -- I have three other sock patterns on the way that want out of my brain and off my needles!

I've moved! Free mitten pattern up for grabs!

As some of you know, I have recently moved house (into an actual house!) and so the unpacking and settling-in process has totally overtaken everything else. I'm trying to make time for knitting, but it's hard to justify sitting down when there's so much work to be done.

It's totally worth it though, since I am madly in love with my new place! It's an 85 year old 2.5 level with wonderful vintage features like a clawfoot bathtub and gorgeous register covers.

Irontail and Snugglebunny enjoying their new digs.
The dishwasher, while not a vintage feature, is nonetheless also ranking high on the "good things about the house" list.

So! To celebrate my big move into this treasure from the 1920s, I'd like to offer you a little something. You might recall Guardian (Ravelry link) the mitten I designed that was inspired by the Guardian Building in Detroit? I'm making the somewhat tenuous connection between the building and my house since they were both built during the same decade, and you get to reap the rewards!The Guardian mitten pattern comes in two different colourways, Building (orange and yellow with white and green) and Deco (black and cream with pastel accents.) Instructions are provided for making both mittens and fingerless gloves.

The first 25 people to comment here requesting the pattern will be sent a free copy! Please remember to leave your email address in the comment, or, if you don't feel comfortable doing that, send it to spillyjaneknits {at} gmail {dot} com. I solemnly swear that I will mostly likely promptly forget your email address entirely and that I will not abuse it in any way. All I want it for is to send 25 of you nice (and quick) people a free Art Deco mitten pattern.

Now I'd better go unpack something...

ETA: Oh wow, thanks so much everyone for the rapid repsonse! I'm sending out the patterns in smallish groups in between unpacking things (someone deliver me from all the boxes!)

There are still a few patterns up for grabs...and Nestra, if you're reading this, I need your email address so I can send you your copy of the pattern! ~j

Thanks again, and Socks

I'd like to thank those of you who have picked up the Owlsocks (Ravelry link) pattern. I mean, I knew you all liked owls, but I had no idea how much! It really is flattering, to say the least. And hey, if any of you would like to see the Owlsocks as Owlmittens...well, let's just say there's a good chance that I would be up to the task. You know how I get about mittens!

Back to the socks! I don't want to say that the Owlsocks have burnt me out -- by no means, actually, since I have three new sock patterns in the works -- but these days I find I'm having a hard time committing to one project. Even worse than this? I have no idea what project(s) I feel like committing to.

What I should be working on is my Central Park Hoodie. So what's distracting me from sweater-finishing and new-pattern test-knitting? It's a plain old toe-up sock!

Now, I'm not a fan of pictures of toe-up socks early on (read: pre-heel turning,) since they always end up looking like over-sized wooly condoms. Here's the sock so far, hopefully not looking too wooly condom-like yet:See? It's not winning any most-attractive-WIP awards anytime soon, but the yarn is gorgeous! It's Crown Mountain Farms Sock Hop and I don't want to waste one inch of the stuff, so toe-up I go. The colourway is Magic Carpet Ride, and it was generously traded to me by Bertha (thanks again, lady!)

So here's hoping that after a plain pair of Sock Hop socks I'll be back on track with this whole commitment thing, and I'll finally be able to polish off that sweater before the 30 degree weather hits. As for the new sock patterns, you'll be notified as soon as there are any new developments. If you're really anxious, you can always join the new spillyjane fans group on Ravelry!