Magic Socks: The Easy Way

I started the Magic Socks over one last time and decided to make things easier on myself. DPNs, one at a time.

And look how much I've gotten done! Sometimes trying to streamline things just makes them slower. When working this way I don't have to look, which means I can read or watch tv while knitting and the time passes faster.

Because when knitting plain, stockinette stitch socks, every little bit of quickly passing time makes a huge difference.

Magic Socks: The Beginning (Again)

I gave up on intarsia socks for the moment. I am weak and impatient. This is what remains of the socks from last post:

Nothing but a ripped up mess.

HOWEVER, the Magic Socks will continue, because they're going to be awesome and Logan will love them. Instead of doing intarsia, I had the bright idea of using my multi-craft nature to my advantage. Why not knit the socks, then crochet an applique water drop to sew on?

Why not, indeed.

But because I'm me, I had to make things difficult for myself.

I'm going to make them two at a time on one circular needle. Wish me luck.

Magic Socks: The Beginning

I consider myself the type of person who likes a challenge, which, overall, isn't a bad thing. It helps me learn and grow, I think I'm aware of my abilities and limitations more than most people, and others tend to appreciate someone who doesn't back away from something just because it's scary. 

However, there are times when this aspect of my personality becomes frustrating. Let me share my current example.

Logan, my husband (which still feels really weird to say but I love it), has a pair of socks that I knit him a while back. If you've been around for a while, you may remember them.

They turned out to be a bigger hit than I expected, since he wears them all the time. This makes me super happy because I love making Logan things, but it's hard to get him to wear knitted stuff.

After noticing that Logan enjoys wearing his socks to Magic the Gathering tournaments because they're special--which everyone knows improves your luck--I decided that I wanted to make him a pair of Magic socks. And I wanted to design them myself, not modify a pattern.

Easy enough, right? Socks aren't that hard to knit, and Logan doesn't like super fancy designs anyway, so they'd air on the basic side. What a great way to start designing! I had this idea for a super cool pair of socks featuring the symbol of his favorite element in Magic, water.

Image from wiki.mtgsalvation.com

After some research, I discovered that the best way to make that happen was to use intarsia knitting -- a technique that allows the knitter to create pictures. Below is an example.

Image from purlbee.com

Well, it turns out that intarsia knitting is a bit of a pain in the rear to handle and attempting to learn it on a sock is pure folly. Did that stop me? Nope! I got a small portion of the water droplet done this evening.

You may be thinking, "Autumn, that looks pretty good! Why do you say it's a pain in the rear and you're crazy for trying?" Because, dear Reader, the sock actually looks like this.

And that means I'm doing it right.

But you better believe that I'm going to finish it, because it's going to be awesome. I just have to keep an extra careful eye on the cats!

A Fresh Start

This is not going to be a very happy blog entry.

You see, today I'm going to frog a very decent chunk of sweater. This much sweater, to be precise:

I've thought long and hard about this decision and no matter how much it pains me to start this sweater over (for the third time), I think it's the right choice. I'm just not feeling right about the shaping and don't think it's going to work for my body as-is, so I'm going to rip back and do some modifications so I'm happier with it. It will be worth it to put the extra hours in for a sweater I'm happy with rather than get a mediocre product I'll never wear just because I was impatient.

Wish me luck.

...

P.S. To the person who keeps giving my blog entries +1's -- thank you. It's so nice to see that!

Unemployment and Purpose

I'm not handling unemployment very well.

I've always been the type that needs to stay busy, needs to have some sort of defined purpose for each day. Ever since I was young I haven't handled breaks well, but I always knew that school was coming. School has always been there to occupy my brain and keep me busy.

But now school isn't coming. This is a break with no definite end in sight. I'm keeping busy by applying for jobs, reading, and knitting, but it's not enough. I think I'm going to have to find somewhere to volunteer so my business and purpose has an impact on others.

Now the question is where do I go? There are a lot of places that could use my help.

100th Post and Too Much Stuff

This is my 100th post!? Wow, I wouldn't have thought it that time already.

I wish I had something a bit more exciting to share on this landmark blog, but honestly, things are slowing down here at Scraps of Yarn. The dizzying excitement from graduation and the wedding are fading and everything is settling back into routine. I'm glad -- I kind of missed the routine.

Since I don't have school to worry about and I'm currently on the hunt for a job, I have more free time than I'm used to. I've been using that time to sort through all the lovely presents Logan and I have received from the wedding and to organize the apartment. The poor thing hasn't gotten much attention for the past few months between school and wedding planning, but it's getting plenty now. I'm sorting and cleaning everything, one chunk at a time.

Doing so has been tedious, but also soothing. There's not much that feels better than stepping back from a freshly cleaned bit of the apartment and savoring the feeling of satisfaction that comes from a job well done. And going through all of our things has made me so thankful for what we have. Logan and I have more than we need and no real worries about the future. Not everyone is so lucky, which is a subject that has been on my mind more often than not.

That's why I'm going through all of our things with a critical eye and I'm looking to rid the apartment of some of that extra stuff we don't really need. I'm going to box it all up and send it to people who need it or would use it more than we do.

Glam and Rock and Roll

During my recent trip to Universal Studios, I was fortunate enough to not only go, but also to stay in the park itself at the Hard Rock Hotel. If we're being honest, I never would have thought of the Hard Rock Hotel/Cafe franchise as being something worth seeing if anyone described it to me. I always just assumed that it was an overpriced gimmick.

Well, now that I've experienced both, I must say that it's super cool. The hotel was kind of like a theme park in and of itself, as was the restaurant. Naturally, I took pictures to share!

We arrived in Florida hungry and decided to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe because it was close and it seemed appropriate, considering where we were staying. My veggie burger was surprisingly enormous as well as surprisingly delicious.

The music was too loud for Logan and I to talk, so I ended up watching this pink Cadillac spin around and around most of the time. The thing hypnotized me.

After we ate, Logan and I decided to explore and see what we could see. Because Fate was smiling on me, I found the women in rock section. 

Something that surprised me quite a bit was all the glamour present in "hard" rock, even with the males. All of the outfits were so over the top and theatrical, so gaudy they became beautiful. I guess my mind's picture of rock involved more ripped jeans and an I-don't-need-you-to-love-me attitude. I think I like the glam better.

And I saw this, which I HAD to take a picture of for my mom. Here you go, Mom.

Honeymoon Pics

Logan and I just got back from our honeymoon at Universal Studios and I'd like to take a little time to share some of the best bits with you.

First was a plane ride to Orlando.

Then some time at the Harry Potter park followed by some Moose Juice and Goose Juice from the land of the great Dr. Seuss.

The next day we spent some time in a pineapple under the sea.

We saw some cows and robots.

Logan got to visit his favorite time machine.

And that night we caught a great view of the parks from CityWalk, framed by a stage being set up for a New Year's Eve show.

After a long night of sleep in the coolest hotel room ever (that I forgot to take pictures of), we rode in the front row of the Hulk.

And celebrated our survival with some ice cream!

But some of my favorite parts of the trip were small things Logan and I noticed that didn't really have much to do with the thrills of the park. Like this duck who was enjoying a day in our hotel's pool.

 And some super cool beakers at the Monster Cafe.

But best of all was all the time I got to spend with Logan without any pressures to be grown-ups and take care of things around the house. We just got to goof off and be nerds in love, and it was AMAZING!

Welcome, 2014!

Happy New Year!

Sorry for the recent silence here on SoY. I've had a lot going on lately that I'm looking forward to sharing. Right now I'm on my honeymoon, but I'll be back and posting more than ever tomorrow!

For now, please enjoy this picture of a duck chilling out in our hotel's pool.