wip: domino socks, and oh, cubital tunnel syndrome!

So I've been bad. Remember that nagging wrist/elbow pain I've been complaining about lately? Turns out it's Cubital Tunnel Syndrome. My ulnar (read:funny bone) nerve has been compressed for so long that it's inflamed. I often can't feel my pinky and ring finger anymore, and sometimes it's meant dropping mugs full of tea from the numbness. GAH.

I can owe this to my fulltime jobs--my day job of digital painting, exacerbated by my 8+ hours a day spent knitting for the shop.

Ok, here's how I've been bad. I've been sneaking a few rows in anyway. I know I shouldn't, but I guess the painkillers have made me a little bit brave(You warned me, Michelle, but it's so tempting!). And thanks to that, (my elbow is cursing me) this little sock has grown, just a little bit more. It really can't be that bad anyway, right? Given the right posture, less pressure on my inner elbows and a looser grip it's can't be as bad as it was before. I'm going from 8+ hours to 30 minutes max(punctuated by breaks), that's got to count for something.

On the other hand, I've also been pretty good! Besides following through shop and concept design commitments (with my good friends Ibuprofen and frequent breaks), I've had to practice filling my day with things other than my businesses.

Part 1 of my July reading list, Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, was finally finished. I'm not gonna lie, that book fucked me up. Even from the get-go, when I realized I was going to care about Kath, Tommy and Ruth, I knew I was in for it. If you're down for being devastated, this is definitely the book for you.

What I'm getting through now is Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone. What is known so far is that there are some very complete and relatable female characters(at least for their time) to look forward to, as well as a juicy mystery plot. Beyond that I have no idea what I'm in for, which is exciting.

And tv shows! Hannibal S2 is compelling but often hard to watch, and Stargate SG-1 is UGGGH FANTASTIC. Some more marathons of friend-recommended shows are on the horizon as well. I just have to lock up my WIPs so I'm not tempted to 'make use of my hands' while watching.

Overall, I'm trying to feel pretty optimistic about this RSI. It definitely dispelled my dejection to have learned what I've got before it was any worse. Nerves take annoyingly long to heal, but I'm grateful to know that a behavioral recovery is within my currently weak, numb-pinkied grasp.

Linking up with Ginny's Yarn-Along.

wip: jason's domino socks

So the current work in progress now is this happy little ribbed cuff for Jason's domino socks. I know it's a good sign when I stop every now and again just scrunching and admiring the yarn ball. I should have bought another to make myself a sock! GAH JUST LOOK AT IT!

The way each of those greys just flow into each other, how brilliantly that ball is wound to show it all off..I think I'm smitten with Crazy Zauberball. (Like my improvised knit marker? I should consider buying some proper open markers, but for now this will suffice.)

My wrists are on fire again, so I've been forced to take knitting (and drawing, typing, and anything else for that matter) much more slowly just to try to heal. Every row I manage to slowly complete has been savored like a fine dessert. I think I'm gonna go ahead and take this project as a lesson to slow down and enjoy the little details of hand-making socks.

strong letter to follow

Dear

Regia Hand-Dye Effect, You’ve been bad, very bad. In fact, you’ve been absolutely naughty.

I’ve frogged and frogged countless times, more than I usually do anyway. Your black thread is an absolute ace at finding (creating, I’d argue) every rough part of the texture of my wooden needles, wedging right in, and calling itself at home. I even tried switching between metal and wooden needles to try to deal with your attitude. What did those poor DPNS ever do to you?

And what the heck is up with your fibers? That black thread deal is 10000% not fun to knit with and completely inflexible. Your silky soft “halo” (you’re not fooling me with that halo crap) twists up and sticks to itself whenever convenient. Complete layers of you peel right off the skein and turn into birds nests. We can forget about trying to wind you into a little cake, my yarn-winder is brand new and doesn’t deserve your mess.

Worst thing is, you were beautiful at the LYS and still are! Your colors are gorgeous. I even catch my jaw sometimes when the light hits those carried over stitches on the pattern and your hues shine. But I should have known better than to trust you so easily. I should have chased a wifi hot-spot to find reviews on Ravelry before tilling in. The knitters all warned me about you, but I found out far too late.

Your reign of terror is over. I’m sentencing you to the shelf until I can muster the patience to deal with your shenanigans.

P.S. Don’t let me catch you felting with the other skeins. I’ll know.

Dearest Rhubarb Show-offs,

I’m so sorry for having such a short fuse with you, I really am! I should have had more faith in your design. You’re brilliantly made. What small amount of trepidation I felt for your absolutely beautiful and  unfamiliar heel construction was amplified and misguided by the frustration I felt while working with that awful yarn (by the way, we’re not speaking right now, thought you should know).

I’m not mad at you anymore..but I think I’ll need some space. I think I should see other knits for a while. Like a plain stockinette sock or two. Just something carefree and easy, y’know? But don’t worry. They’ve got nothing on what we have for each other. I promise. ♥

loop

Just days before having to board my flight back home, I was determined to visit London and find Loop, the gorgeous LYS I’ve heard just too much about on Ravelry. We bought our London Underground day passes (which I highly recommend if, like us, you’re prone to getting a little lost), and checked every map on the way to make sure we were on the right track to Camden Passage.

And there it was! We picked the right day to randomly bus to London, as it was International Knit in Public Day, giving me 10% off my yarn purchase (which meant I really had to make my souvenir purchase)! You’ll find whenever I make the time to upload the rest of the London trip photos, that other neat events coincided on this day too, there was a lot to see and do!

I just don’t know what it is with the rain and finding yarn shops— Jason and I were wet from the brief shower while walking the small streets of the passage, so walking into this nice warm shop felt wonderful. I’m proud of Jason for being such a great sport about it, and had no blame to place on him for dozing off a little in this warm peaceful little yarn shelter. :]

I had the chance to fondle even more yarns I only read about on Ravelry. Skein felt like a dream. And BT’s Shelter has got to be the fluffiest, most airy worsted wool I’ve ever handled.

It was tough to keep my suitcase capacity front-of-mind, but I made my stash-addition choice. Two balls of Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball in Domino and River Bed. Domino will become some nice socks for Jason, and the other ones for me. :] I'm a little against keeping much of a stash, especially after having gotten new yarn from Ippikin just a few weeks ago, but as long as these become socks by the end of the summer it'll be okay I think! A little stash should be fine anyway.

Before leaving for California I casted on Anne Campbell's Show-off Stranded Socks with that Regia Hand-Dye effect yarn I bought from Ippikin. Unfortunately they didn't grow much as they would have, since I decided against risking confiscation at the airport, but they're steadily growing now that I'm home! I've had the pattern sitting in my queue for a while, waiting for the right skein. The pattern is tedious for me, but easy to understand and to remember (just simple yarn-overs and pulling them over stitches). I also have mixed feelings about how fun the new heel design's going to be, but the gorgeous look of the socks have been keeping me going. :] I'm looking forward to having these on my feet.

If you remember my Botticelli socks--I finished them in just two days! Problem is, I think I worked too many gusset rows, leaving the heel much too wide and saggy, and the foot much too long for me. The plan today was to frog, rewind and just make some regular heel flap nilla socks, but the yarn winder's busted AND I think I might have left one of the finished socks in England. They will have to wait. For now, I'll enjoy my growing souvenir WIPs and the hot cali weather. With time I'll be a tourist in my own town and visit some more LYS's (and make more stash acquisitions to share with you all--I'm thinking sweaters in the near future.)

Some unrelated but wonderful news--I had an unexpected but very thoughtful package from my older sister waiting for me here in Cali! A Knitter's Pride size 9 circular needle, and a skein of this very soft baby Llama yarn by Mirasol Peru. I hear the Knitter's Pride yarn is very similar in quality to Knitpicks Harmony needles, because of the same manufacturer (?), so I'm looking forward to using them. The yarn itself is just gorgeous. It looks like the perfect yardage for a nice pair of little wristwarmers, but I think they'll be better suited to a nice slouchy beanie like Opus Spicatum. I'll keep an eye out for another skein of this lovely yarn. 1000% excited to knit with this once my sock projects (and Bapsicrafts pieces) are bound off.