short row heel frustration

Argh. Four times I've knitted this heel and I'm STILL getting holes once I start picking up the wraps. How on earth can I avoid it? Any suggestions are welcome (and desperately needed).

My sock pal only likes the short row heels so this is my only option. But I'm worried about being able to make two socks with these heels (with no holes).

Coveting...

Oooohhh my.

Despite the fact that I am trying to streamline my stash in anticipation of my (hopefully) upcoming move once I graduate... I came across this yarn at The Loopy Ewe. I adore the colors. I'm not sure I need a worsted weight merino yarn for socks but Thuja or the Cabled Footies from the One Skein book come to mind...

I haven't used the Boomerang before but I have used Fiesta Watermark and loved it (one of the best yarns I've knit with to date)

I don't need it. But I absolutely want it.

Attempting my first short row heel tonight...

I'm a little nervous but I'll be trying my first short row heel tonight. I've got about six different tutorials to walk me through. So first thing I'll do is put a lifeline in (yes, I finally learned after many stressful froggings) and then we'll see how it goes. The pattern (Priscilla's Dream Socks by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts, seems pretty clear.

Anyway, I love the socks so far, and I'm pleased with the progress. I'd put a picture up but it looks like the one on the previous blog entry, with a couple more inches in length.

I'm thinking of moving my blog to WordPress once I'm out of school in a month. Blogger just doesn't seem to be agreeing with me.

Socks, socks, socks!

First, I finished a baby sock and cast on the mate. It's so cute!

Yarn: leftover scraps of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Child's Play

Pattern: Baby Socks

Needles: size 1 Knitpicks classic circulars







Then, I finally found the pattern I want to use for my Sockapalooza socks, which fits my criteria (sport weight, cuff down, short row heels). It's Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' "Priscilla's Dream Socks" from my new Favorite Socks book.

I've made pretty good progress so far:
(the color on this yarn is absolutely beautiful- deep jewel tones in violet, green and blue)

One sock down!

Amazing what progress I can do when I'm avoiding my homework.

















Here's also a picture of the front since it shows off the pattern better:






I just took some pictures of yarn I was about to destash but I think I was a couple of days too late! I've heard some alternative sites have opened up for destashers, but can't find them anywhere.

So I put them up on ravelry.com just in case. If anyone can point me to a destash site, please let me know!

Twas brillig and the slithy toves...

I rarely show my appreciation for those blogs I visit regularly. They are funny, informative, interesting, inspiring, and cause me to buy way too much yarn :) Sometimes they make me feel a little less alone with my fiber obsession. But above all else, they are coherent! Thank you.

I've done a little blog surfing during a study break and the last two new ones I visited, I can't understand what they are writing about. There's either (a lot of) words missing or some sort of lingo I just don't get, but I may as well have been reading Jabberwocky. I think it is a stream of consciousness style of writing but it was so difficult to follow.

That was supposed to be a mental break from my paper, but I think it made my head ache trying to translate it into English. Maybe that's a good excuse to go knit while I zip through last night's DVRed Colbert Report. And then, back to my paper.

My knitting buddy finished her Ampersand socks way ahead of me and they look awesome! I'm so impressed (and motivated!!) Way to go!!

Starting to panic

I had no idea my capstone project would be so... big. Sure, I'm glad I didn't have to write a thesis but wow, this is a lot of work. My midterm is due next Monday (9 days) and I'm not sure how it will all get done before then, especially since I have entered the 'insane period' at work. This is the very last thing I will do for my degree. And I should be done with it in late July so the end is in sight.

I'm trying my hardest not to let senior-itis (or summer-itis) sink in but I'm at the point where I am resenting my project which is keeping me from ... well, at the moment it is keeping me from seeing Brad Pitt and George Clooney in Oceans 13! (I am DEEPLY resenting this at the moment).

I'm just not caring, which saddens me. It is an awesome project I could not wait to start. As soon as I finish up with school, some of my free time will be looking for career opportunities so I think I'm just going to have to get used to the idea of small projects for a little while longer.

I am happily knitting during my study breaks. I just have to be strong and not start looking at those as 'knitting breaks' instead of "a brief break from my studies".

Shipping out my reveal package...

I can't believe how quickly this Secret Pal exchange has gone by! Tonight I did the final packaging on the last bundle for my spoilee, and hope to ship it out tomorrow along with a few other packages that have been waiting patiently by the door for me to trek down to the Post Office.

Now all I have to ship out is a swap-bot swap and a sock kit and some non-knitting TLC packages to go out early next week.


I've been steadily working on my Ampersand socks and reading up on Short Row heels for Sockapalooza. I love this yarn more and more as I go along... definitely need to get more STR medium.

I'm considering putting aside some time on the weekend to get back to dyeing. I've been itching to do some sock yarn and some superwash worsted that I've had tucked away. I'm just trying to decide if I can spare the time, since this last class for school is much more work than I expected. But I could really use the de-stress.

Thank goodness it is all done at the end of July, and then I can knit and dye (and work out) to my heart's content. Strange to think that working out is something I feel the need to do more, but I'm so tired of budgeting my time for the last 18 months.

Productive...

This week has been a whirlwind of productivity. I'm glad it's finally the weekend and I can stop and take a breath.

I have:

• updated my resume, which was a huge headache but I am happy with the final outcome
  
• packaged up my Dulaan hats (7 total, and a pair of socks) to mail on Monday
• put together several other packages which need to go out
  
• attended several school functions and spoke on a panel to prospective students
• frogged back the heel on my ampersand socks (which I was dreading) and started re-knitting
• signed up for two more swaps- one is a sock kit one, the other is a stash one
  
• put together my final package for my secret pal, even though it won't go out for a couple of weeks
• started listing out my stash on Ravelry (what a wakeup call as to how much is waiting for me)
  

And hopefully, this weekend... Start my Sockapalooza 4 socks with the Cherry Tree Hill (Dusk) yarn! I'm trying a new method: two socks on two circulars. While I am nervous about the short row heels, I won't have to worry about Second Sock Syndrome.

Please help a grad student!

Thank you! It's done now!

I am trying to research tourism trends in the US for my last big project in grad school.