The Universe Strikes Back

I said I wasn't gong to purchase another ball winder but Amazon had some for twenty bucks and it was hard to resist.  So I gave in and ordered.

It came just when I needed to wind the first of the new colour of CWM Mulespinner yarn and I was off to the races.

Or not.

This is an occasional ball winder issue and the great google does help you sort out how to fix it. The gears are not meshing properly inside.

So I asked Keith to check and in this case, the gears could not mesh.  The teeth of the gears did not match.  So back it goes to the source.

I guess I will stick with my first instinct and wind by hand. 

The only real problem with winding by hand is that the balls like to roll away and my yarn bowl broke a few months ago.

At least I have knitting to console me.

A Sockish Sort of Day

I looked at Linger yesterday but it didn't feel right.  I picked up the other bag that doesn't fit in the WIPs bin.  

I did a couple rows and have really enjoyed it.  I am slowly becoming used to holding the yarns in the same hand.  I tried just going with my fingers but ended up going back to using this.

I found it much easier to control my yarn tension though it is just a bit fussy setting things down and picking it up.  So easy to twist.  But it made the knitting quicker and very natural feeling.

I only had so much brain capacity so though I did work on it, it wasn't for long.  I ended up working on socks.

Cold weather has come.  Fall cold, not winter cold but it is enough that I am looking for warmth. This  morning it is drizzly with a bit of wind and it is only 10 C.  The warm sweaters are out. 

I started the day yesterday thinking about socks because my feet were cold.  I decided a while ago that I need more heavy socks. I am absolutely in love with the work sock pair I made earlier this year out of doubled Kroy, and I have been wearing my Big Fabel worsted weight pair regularly.  

I had another pair of Big Fabel socks on the go but I needed to restart them.  I don't know what I did on the toe but it felt uncomfortable when I tried them on and they were also too big!  The last was a surprise. Too many stitches.  I knew that I had decreased once already, but I was sure I was where I needed to be. The change in my foot size strikes again.  Honestly, it's like having new feet.

I restarted.

I am pretty happy with it and it is a nice tidy 40 stitches on 3.25 mm needles.

I started thinking about other socks in the WIPs bin while I was knitting.  Why am I not knitting socks?  I use them every day.  They are almost revered in my wardrobe.  I didn't find any answers yet, but I did figure this out.

I don't  like what is happening here.

I picked the multi colour yarn because I thought it would give me pretty little socks on the big sock.  I don't  like these.  I love the bottoms but not the little socks on the top of the foot.  I think I am going to restart this pair too.  I love the pattern ( Operation Sock Drawer by the Knitmore Girls, the A Drawer Full  pattern) but I think I am going to use some solid colours and change for each row of socks.   

Anyway, that is enough for today.  I could talk about each pair I have on the go.  I could talk forever about socks and sock yarns but it is time to be knitting.  We shall see what my hands get up to today.  

A Different Grey as Expected.

It arrived.  My extra yarn for my sweater.  I was glad to have it but now I have to decide what to do.  

The new yarn is lighter than the old.  I expected that.  I have one skein of the old and three new.  I have to decide how to work them in.  Do I worry about it at all?  Do I keep the rest of the older, darker yarn to work the upper part of the arms so the grey switches out at the same place as on the body?  I don't know.

There are two rows left to go in the section of grey I am working on and I am debating ripping back and reknitting this part with the new grey.  It may be a good idea if I try to make the grey change at a particular stripe row on sleeves and body.  

Maybe I am too lazy to do this.  I would lose a whole day.  That means more time till I get a new sweater.  Decisions, decisions.  That will be my day.  Till then I will knit on my Linger.  That sleeve is getting longer slowly.