All packed and ready to go

I'm flying to visit family today and am declaring myself packed now. I would pack more yarn and books, but the bag wouldn't close when I tried it. I'll just have to content myself with enough laceweight to make a shawl, random scraps of worsted that could make a hat or two, a pair of socks in progress, and maybe another ball or two of sock yarn. (I'll probably shove one more ball in my carryon just before I leave.

Anyway, here I am, done packing (more or less), with about an hour to spare until the taxi is scheduled to arrive. If I'm not careful, I may start cleaning or something.

The cat knows something is up. He's pretty cranky and annoyed that I'm not letting him outside, but it is getting close enough to go time that I don't want to have to track him down in the neighbor's yard while the taxi is waiting. If past trips are any indication, he'll be completely stir crazy by the time we get back after Christmas. I tried bribing him with a half can of gooshy food, but even that didn't appease him.

Sam just headbutted my shin as I sit here typing. Forget picking up the packing chaos, I'm going to cuddle my kitty until it is time to go.

Would "just knit properly" be too glib?

I've knit most of my swatches for the Master Knitter Level 1 program, so I sat down in attempt to start answering the questions. Okay, can't answer the questions about my swatch gauge until I actually block them, so skip ahead a bit. How many rows make a garter ridge? Oh, that one is easy! How would you solve these tension problems? (Followed by five or size bullet points of different problems.) A couple of the issues I've encountered, but I'm not sure how you would ever run into some of the others. Maybe I should start reading some novice knitter forums just to see what sort of strange issues they are having, since I'm not entirely sure what you would have to be doing to result in some of the problems in that list. Anyway, that soured me on the questions for today, so I spent the rest of the afternoon playing around on the internet instead. :)

Held up on the first swatch

Maybe I'm just being too picky, but I keep changing my mind about what cast-on and increase techniques to use for my first Master Knitter swatch. Part of the issue is that I have to cite sources for everything I do, which I think will mean I need to dig through my knitting books and select references that describe the techniques in the way I actually do them. Unfortunately, I've picked up a few things from books I don't actually own (For example, I checked out Notes on Double Knitting the library in Bloomington, but haven't found a copy since moving away from Indiana.), so I may have to switch back to more common techniques. I probably could use the practice in techniques I don't usually use, anyway.

I went to Good Fibrations with some of the Saturday knitting group this past weekend. I hadn't been there before, since usually I just stick with Village Wools here in town. I thought it was I very nice shop. I especially liked how the yarn was organized by gauge, which can make it easy to select yarn for a specific project. We all delighted in testing a Louet Victoria wheel. It treadles so smoothly and can fit into a carry-on bag. If I were more of a spinner I would be sorely tempted, but I think my Ashford Traditional will suffice for now. I didn't make it out of the shop without buying something, though. I picked up a hank of navy blue laceweight merino from the sale shelf (You never know when you'll need another shawl, right?) and cleaned out all the balls of burgundy Hempathy. I'm thinking of knitting a summer top. Wool sweaters have a limited season out here, so I really should start playing with cooler fibers if I want to be able to wear my knits in other seasons.

I'm going to be a master knitter someday

This morning I signed up for Level 1 of the TKGA Master Knitter program. I've been thinking about it for a while, and decided that I should stop putting it off.

I know I'm a good knitter, but having a certificate for bragging rights would be nifty. More importantly, having to write patterns and reports for my homework should be good training for writing patterns and articles for knitting magazines and/or books (or just my blog, even). I've got a bad habit of making up patterns as I knit, but not bothering to write them down.

I wonder how long it will take to get my course materials?

Closed-form heel formula

In my notes on modifying the heel from my Widdershins pattern, I gave a recursive formula to determine the number of stitches needed for the heel flap. In the comments on that entry, Carol posted a closed form:

Embarrassingly, I had to ask my son, who's studying math at university what k was. He told me to think about it. It finally clicked.
I still couldn't figure out how to program the formula but did get it into closed form.
I think it reduces to
h(n) = n – 2 – 2 * int(n/9),
where int(n/9) stands for the integer part of n/9.
btw. I really like the heel.

Of course, I had to try this out. Being a bit to lazy to do a real proof, I just coded it up quickly and compared the two functions for values up to 150. If anyone is planning on knitting a sock over 300 stitches around, I could go higher.

>>> def h1(n):
...   def h(k):
...     if k < n/3:
...       return k
...     else:
...       return 4 + h(k-6)
...   return h(n)
...
>>> h1(33)
25
>>> def h2(n): return n-2-2*(n/9)
...
>>> h2(33)
25
>>> for i in range(150):
...   val1 = h1(i)
...   val2 = h2(i)
...   if val1 != val2:
...     print i, val1, val2
...
8 4 6
17 11 13
26 18 20
35 25 27
44 32 34
53 39 41
62 46 48
71 53 55
80 60 62
89 67 69
98 74 76
107 81 83
116 88 90
125 95 97
134 102 104
143 109 111

For some numbers, my formula suggests one more pair of turning rows than Carol's formula, but given that my original n/3 came from me thinking, "Oh,one-third of the stitches in the center sounds reasonable." I don't think it'll make too much difference unless you are really picky about how pointy you like your sock heels. Thank you, Carol! I was feeling a bit guilty about not providing a closed form, but the guilt didn't motivate me quite enough to get out my college textbooks and remember how to solve it myself. Now I don't have to!
Categories: knitting, socks, Widdershins, python

Notes on Widdershins heel

I promised to make some notes on adapting the reversed round heel shaping from Widdershins for a different number of stitches. (This still counts as the weekend, right?)

Here are my original heel shaping instructions, before they were edited for Knitty. Note that I didn't specify what sort of increases or short row method to use. In my original socks, I actually used paired increased, but thought that might be a bit too picky for something that will usually be hidden inside my shoe. For the short rows, I've been using the yarnover method lately. So, if m1 increases and w&t short rows aren't working for you, feel free to try another technique. The socks don't depend on those particular methods.

Heel Gussets:
On the following rounds, continue to work instep in pattern while increasing on stitch from beginning and end of sole stitches every other round until there are 47 sole stitches.

Turn Heel:
The sole stitches now consist of 14 sts for right gusset, 19 heel sts, 14 sts for left gusset. Work across right gusset. You will now be turning the heel on the 19 heel sts. The heel is shaped with a combination of short rows and increases. It is your choice how to handle the turning stitches.
Row 1: k to 2 sts before end of heel sts, inc1, k1, turn
Row 2: p to 2 sts before end of heel sts, inc1, p1, turn
Row 3: k to 4 sts before gap, inc1, k1, turn
Row 4: p to 4 sts before gap, inc1, p1, turn
Rep rows 3 and 4 until there are 27 heel sts

Work 1 round even to smooth out the short rows, ending in center of heel sts.

Heel Flap:
You will now work in rows across heel sts, joining the gusset sts.

Row 1: k to last heel st, ssk last heel st and 1 st from left gusset
Row 2: sl st, p to last heel st, p2tog last heel st and 1 st from right gusset
Row 3: *sl st, k1* across heel, ssk last heel st and 1 st from left gusset

Rep rows 2 and 3 until left gusset sts are gone. (There will be 1 unworked st left on the right gusset that will be picked up on the next round)

Work across instep sts. K2tog final gusset st and first heel st. Continue instep pattern across heel sts.

So, where did the numbers come from? I based my numbers on a top-down round heel and then reversed the shaping. The number of gusset increases is based on the size of the two gussets plus the heel below the turning. In a top-down heel, you knit a heel flap on half the stitches (usually for about as many rows as stitches), then turn the heel with short rows, working decreases along the way. There is often a line in the instructions like "knit to one stitch before the gap, ssk, k1, turn" and similar purl shaping. After the turning rows, stitches are picked up along the heel flap (usually about one stitch for every two rows) and the gusset stitches are decreased away on subsequent rounds until we are back to the original number of stitches. So, for my 54 stitch sock, I would work the heel over 27 stitches, the flap would be 28 rows long (I need an even number here and it's better to have a slightly deeper heel than one that is too shallow.), the turning rows would decrease from 27 down to 19 stitches, and I would pick up 14 stitches on either side of the heel flap.

For the reversed round heel we have to do a little advance thinking to figure out how many gusset increases we need, work the turning rows with increases as shown above until you have increased the heel stitches to their full width, then decrease away the gussets until you are back you the original number of stitches and work the cuff.

I'm a big geek, so I actually came up with an equation to figure out the approximate number of heel stitches. For a round heel with a flap n stitches wide, the number of stitches below the heel turning is h(n) where h(k) = k for k<n/3 and 4+h(k-6) otherwise. (I also wrote a small Python script to compute that, rather than coming up with a closed form solution. I'm a lazy geek.) Of course, the easiest thing to do is use the numbers from a preexisting top-down round-heeled sock.

I hope this helped. I'm glad so many of you like my pattern and are interested in adapting it.
Categories: knitting, socks, knitty, Widdershins

Widdershins update

I've had multiple people contact me about adapting the heel shaping of Widdershins for a different number of stitches, so I'll write up some general instructions this weekend.
Categories: knitting, socks, Widdershins, pattern, knitty

Yarn Harlot in Albuquerque

I was in between portable projects this morning, so I tossed a ball of leftover sock yarn and some circular needles into my purse before heading to work. I made steady progress on my code, so I didn't knit a lot, but I did start a strip of mitered squares. I've seen some other bloggers making modular blankets from leftover sock yarn, so I thought I'd give it a try. I only had about one and a half done in odd moments by the end of the day.

Around 5:30, after finishing one change and thinking about the next, I decided to take a break and see what was new on the Yarn Harlot's blog. Where is she now? Mesa, Arizona? Next stop, New Mexico?! That was this week?! I quickly check her schedule and realize she was in town today! In fact, her talk would be starting in less than an hour. I wouldn't be able to make it, would I?

Somehow, I did, though I arrived soaking wet from the rain. (The monsoon season is upon us.) I spoke with my husband on the phone, so he was forewarned that I wouldn't be home for quite a while. Fortunately, he understands me and so wished me well.

If I had remembered in advance, I would have brought one of her books that I already own from home to be signed, but fortunately, they were selling Knitting Rules! there, so I bought myself a copy. I also made a donation to Knitters without Borders and got a little pin that I'm sure to misplace if I'm not careful.

Stephanie's talk was great! It was a heady feeling to be in a room filled with other yarn fanatics. It was a good thing I had knitting in my purse, so I didn't look out of place. I got another couple of squares done in the course of the evening.

When I got home I tried to explain some of the best parts to my husband, but I just couldn't do it justice. Part of my problem is that I generally have difficulty repeating other peoples jokes successfully and part of it is that I was trying to tell knitting jokes to my husband, who, wonderful man he may be, does not actually knit. He's a good yarn enabler, though, and does his best to appreciate the knitting lifestyle.

After the talk, I had my book signed ("Obsession is normal."), chatted with a bunch of other knitters, and even had my picture taken with the traveling sock! The local SnB group looked interesting. I might have to show up and meet them sometime. I haven't really explored social knitting yet.

I came home buzzing with a knitter's high. I've already read three chapters of my new book and expect I'll finish it before the end of the day tomorrow. My husband disappeared a while ago, and is probably fast asleep. The excitement is wearing off, and now that I've written about my evening, I should go join him. The sound of crickets chirping outside is quite relaxing. The cool breeze through the window carries moisture from this evening's rain. It's a good night for sleeping.

Did you know that Blogger's spellcheck does not recognize the word "knitter"?

Categories: knitting

I'm in Knitty!

My sock pattern is in the summer issue of Knitty! I've reported a couple of corrections they need to make (a few details did not make it through the formatting process unharmed), but at least it's there. Oddly enough, mine is not the only pattern for toe up socks with a heel flap in this issue.

See more progress on: publish my knitting designs

Categories: knitting, knitty, socks, pattern

Followup on baby hats

If you are interested in the baby hat project mentioned in the previous post, this blogger is posting some patterns you can use.
Categories: knitting

Yarn Harlot on breastfeeding

The Yarn Harlot wrote:

"It's a nasty trick, this getting women to spend all of their time slagging each other for breastfeeding or not breastfeeding instead of wondering why, when they tried to breastfeed their baby there was no reliable information, no reliable help and not enough time off of work to get the hang well enough to continue, or why women find out after they have decided to feed formula that it is significantly linked with diabetes.

I am frustrated with the culture that does not provide women with proper information about risk, tells us that formula and breastmilk are the same, and forces women through misinformation and poor social constructs, to make decisions that they wouldn't have to make if they had proper help and support. This is a culture where women are bombarded with information and incentive to use formula, because nobody makes any money when you breastfeed."

One of her readers is trying to collect handknit baby hats for an event promoting breastfeeding among low-income women. If I didn't have so many projects on the needles already, I would consider making a pumpkin hat for them.
Categories: breastfeeding, nutrition, knitting

Good wishes coming my way

Another knitter wished me luck in the comments on my previous entry. Thank you!
Categories: knitting

Sending my work out into the void

I submitted the pattern for the socks to Knitty today. (I know, I was cutting it a bit close.) We had a little photo shoot in the front yard yesterday. It probably looked a bit odd to the neighbors, me sitting in a chair with my skirt lifted a bit to show my socks, while my husband took pictures of my feet from various angles.

I hope I get accepted, but if I don't, at least I have a pattern written up that I can post myself.

Categories: knitting, socks

Knitting in progress

I'm almost to the heel on the second sock in my pair. Tonight I'll need to write up the pattern all nice and neat, take some finished object pictures, and send it all off to Knitty. If I'm accepted, yay! and if I'm not, at least I'll have a neatly written pattern that I can post on the web myself. I need to come up with a good name for this pattern. Knitty seems to like cryptic pattern names. Would it be too geeky if I used an acronym?

Categories: knitting, socks

My husband, the yarn enabler

This morning, my husband returned to the house about ten minutes after leaving for work. There was a yard sale a couple of blocks down the street, so he had stopped to see if there was anything worth buying. He found a box of yarn for me. Admittedly, it is just acrylic, nothing fancy, but the colors go nicely together and the skeins are large enough that I think it'll provide a good basis for a stashbusting project or two. I have been winding up the contents of my acrylic yarn box on my yarn winder, unraveling old test pieces and picking apart the tangled mess. At the very least, I should be able to consolidate it into a smaller box. I don't know what I'll make from it, but the neatly stackable balls are rather satisfying for now. I'm building a little yarn fort by my couch!

Yarn winding! Whee!

Before we left for our holiday travels, my husband told me he had ordered me a ball winder for Christmas, but it hadn't arrived at the time. We got back into town last night, so he picked it up at the shop this afternoon. I've been playing with it all evening, unraveling some old exploratory pieces I've been planning to reuse and turning them into neat, stackable cylinders of yarn. This is such a great gift! My man knows what I like. *grin*

Family Socks update

I talked to my sister this weekend and confirmed that she got the socks and blanket. She was especially thrilled to hear that everything was machine washable, which is particularly important when you have a infant.

My mom emailed me some more recent photos of my niece. Very cute! She's only six weeks old and already hamming it up for the camera. My new desktop wallpaper features a particularly devious grin. How can a baby look devious? I don't know, but that's how it struck me.

Hmm, I could knit that...

It's a baby Viking hat! Cute!

Socks on the line

Gee, can you tell I like to knit? I just had to snap a picture of the socks drying. From left to right, my pair of hiking socks (knit from the Country Socks pattern in Nancy Bush's Folk Socks book), my husband's red hiking socks adapted from the same pattern, two pairs of my husbands socks knit from self-striping yarn, three pairs of my socks knit from self-striping yarn, my husband's green hiking socks (What can I say? He likes that pattern.), my blue denim socks, and my favorite pair of green self-striping socks. This isn't even all the hand knit socks we have!

Family Socks

As promised, pictures of last weeks package. Even before my niece was born, I had a idea for a family set of socks. I didn't want them to be exactly the same, so I varied where I started the striping pattern to give them different colored heels. To make it even easier to tell the adult socks apart, I put initials on the heels for my sister and her husband. After scaling down the socks for the baby, I decided that they were probably still too large for an infant and whipped out a coordinating pair of booties. My little niece will be able to match her parents for quite a while. The yarn was all Jawoll sock yarn, I think. There might have been a bit of Blauband in there, too. (My local yarn store keeps them on the same shelf.) The pattern was my own. I found charts for the letters in my Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework.

I also made a little hat with earflaps with some of the yarn I had left from the shower this summer. The earflaps tend to curl a bit, so I'm not sure how well it will actually fit. The pattern was adapted from an adult version I found in an old issue of Knitter's magazine.

Everything is displayed on a big garter-stitch square baby blanket/shawl/whatever knit from a bit skein of a synthetic boucle yarn that I impulse-bought at Joann's Fabric. I can't remember what it was called, just that it was a Joann's brand. Sensations? Rainbow Boucle? Whatever it was, anything more complicated than garter stitch would have been pretty much wasted on it.