Ha ha! My socks are done! And they fit! I’m so excited about them. Can you tell?

It’s been a busy week/end, and I’ve been pretty quiet here in the Playground. Weekend before last I was in Texas for a cousin’s wedding. Lots of sun, lots of family, good times. And then, this past Saturday my friend had a birthday, and I spent most of my free time since getting back trying to madly finish her present. It’s the first knitted garment I finished, and while I wasn’t quite sure exactly how it would turn out, I’m pleased:

I’ve got a couple tasty things to write up for you, but those will have to wait for a time when it’s not midnight.

You first have to wash and soak your yarn while you get the kool-aid ready. I used 2 packets of black cherry Kool Aid for this 50g ball.

Then you put the yarn in with the Kool Aid, add water to cover, and microwave it for 2 minutes. Wait a few minutes, and repeat until the water is clear.

Really, the water turns clear (mostly). It’s a little bizarre. But it smells like kool aid while you’re microwaving. Or Jello. Either way, nostalgic.

Rinse, and dry!

Yay! It’s pretty.

• You leave a comment on this entry telling me something that makes you happy.
• On Friday, Feb. 13th, I’ll randomly choose three commenters and provide them with some sort of hand-made creation. It could be something knit, photographed, baked, entirely up to my discretion, though you’re welcome to make suggestions. You should receive your item by the end of 2009 at the latest. (Some things take time!)
• Since this is a Pay it Forward giveaway, the deal is that the winners (and anyone else who wants to) should then provide the same deal on their blog/website/life (I know not all my readers have blogs…)

Sound good to you? Then please enter, and help spread the love.

**Edited: The contest is now closed! Thanks for entering!**

You notice I also mentioned random acts of kindness. Just before I left for Sacramento (which you’ll hear more about later, I’m sure), I received a package in the mail from a very kind Raveler with my very first sock yarn and appropriately-sized needles. I’m eager to start my first pair of socks that aren’t acrylic, worsted weight, and too small. They’ll take some time to do on these small needles, but it’ll be fun, and more portable than my sweater, soon enough. Isn’t the yarn pretty? Thanks so much!

I had this long, red sweater jacket that I liked but it didn’t really fit my needs. It was a bit big, didn’t have pockets, only had one button, etc. I decided that it would be great to recycle this sweater into something I’d wear more often, and would fit me (and my needs) better. So, following the directions at My Virtual Sanity, I took the plunge.

After taking off the labels, I start taking apart the seams one by one.

The collar was connected to the button band. And then the sleeves came off.

Then the pieces were all separate, and I could unravel them! I used the keyboard tray on my desk to wind the yarn as it came off. This took awhile.

I got a lot of yarn out of it, ready for washing and drying to get rid of the kinks. Didn’t take pictures of that, but most of the skeins are hanging in my closet. I’ll wind them as I need them.

Last night I finally cast on for my sweater. I’m excited about it. The pattern is BPT, a nice hoodies, and I plan on adding some pockets too. I wonder how long this is going to take.

Photo used under a Creative Commons license, courtesy of druzziel, on Flickr.

Since I’ve taking up knitting again, and have gotten up the particular urge to start my first-ever sweater, it’s hard to ignore the many Aran sweater patterns that are out there, and the history and mythology behind them. (There appears to be a lot of information out there about these sweaters, and it’s hard to tell where history ends and myth begins, so forgive any errors and my vastly incomplete knowledge of the subject.) These recognizable sweaters originated from the Aran islands in Ireland. Originally given to the fishermen of the islands, these sweaters were relatively more water-resistant, since they were knit with wool that still contained lanolin from the sheep. The sweaters are complex, and richly textured – usually having distinct columns with varying patterns. The columns are symmetric around the center of the sweater, and each stitch pattern carries its own significance. Cables are reminiscent of the fisherman’s lines and are a desire for good luck; other patterns may represent hard work, success, a good catch, etc.

One of the pervading myths about these sweaters is that each of the Irish clans had their own distinctive pattern, and that the bodies of fishermen lost at sea could be recognized by their sweaters. This was prompted by a 1904 play by J.M. Synge where a drowned fisherman was recognized by his hand-knit socks – his wife remembered dropped stitches from when she had made them. There is no record of anything like this actually occurring, however, and most research seems to indicate that connections to particular clans are mostly marketing ploys to sell sweaters to unsuspecting tourists. Aran sweaters are often thought of as ancient, traditional patterns, when it seems that they were perhaps invented in the early 1900s to be knitted and sold by the women of the islands. The first commercial patterns for these sweaters appeared in the 1940s by Patons of England, and they appeared in Vogue in the US in the 1950s.

These sweaters are beautiful, and a wonderful souvenir of a trip to Ireland (or a beautiful, hand-knit garment from a friend), but it seems that most of the marketing behind them relies on legend rather than history.

Aran Isle Sweaters
Aran knitting tradition
Wikipedia’s entry on Aran sweaters
The History of Aran Knitting

He’s a colorful little octopus, with a mischievous little grin. I had a blast making him (although I did get a little sick of the legs after doing 8 of them…) He’s got pipe cleaners in his legs to make him pseudo-posable, and he was sent off on his travels after a brief stay here with me.

After finishing up with Charles, I had a fair bit of yarn leftover, and I wanted to try my hand at something a little more complicated. So, since I always have a need for new socks, I thought I’d try my hand at a pair of those. The first time I tried, I got to the heel, was convinced I was doing it wrong when I got to the part about short rows. (I’d never done them before, the pattern didn’t explicitly say that you didn’t knit all the stitches on the needle, just gave a count, and I had no clue what I was doing!) So, I ripped the whole thing out. Then, of course, I found a Sock 101 page (which now seems to be broken), and realized I was doing it correctly all along. Ah well – I tried again, and made these:

They’re fun, and colorful, washable, etc, but unfortunately, I made them just a tad small, and the fabric isn’t the most comfortable for walking around all day. I’ll probably still wear them around the house a little – they’re extra thick, designed to be slipper socks, so they’ll stick around. I think I’ll try socks again, but not with this yarn, and I’ll err on the side of too big next time.

When I worked on the socks, I ran out of yarn just before finishing, so I had to buy another large skein, which meant, of course, I had to knit something else with it, too. Deciding to continue with the increasing complexity trend, I decided to try my hand at some fingerless gloves with a mitten cap. (Glittens!) I was afraid of the pattern at first, but I didn’t really need to be. It’s not as hard as you might think. I’m really happy with these. My glittens don’t quite match, as I changed my mind about how far up I wanted the finger part to go after finishing the first one, but I still wear them all the time now. So, these definitely qualify for my “knit something useful” goal. Check! I’m still pondering about lining with mitten cap with a soft, fuzzy fabric for added warmth, but I haven’t yet.
It’s a mitten!


No, wait! It’s a glove!

Now that I’ve started knitting again, I’ve been doing a lot of it. I’ve got a number of projects and some dreams. This morning I put the finishing touches on a hat for my friend Peter, I’ve got a scarf in the works for Logan, and a super-secret project too. I’m getting the urge to start a sweater, but we’ll see. I’m in love with this pattern, but I think it’ll be awhile before I get there. I’m finding I’m getting better though – I wasn’t sure the hat would work out at all, but by the time it was all done, lo and behold, it did, even with me modifying all the stitch counts to match my gauge! Do you like it?