Call Me Fishmeal

More progress...

2007-07-04T20:50:00.000-05:00

More progress on the first Moorish Lattice sock--hurray! Just finished the heel flap pickups and am onto the gusset. Picture of the sock on my blocker first, and in the second, a close-up of the texture. I'm really liking how the colors are turning out, so looks like "Paladin" colorway is a keeper when I dye some more.

Happy Independence Day to one and all, and Happy Canada Day a touch late to my neighbors just to the north. :-)

"Moorish Lattice" Sock (KAL)

2007-06-30T22:26:00.001-05:00

My first sock for the KAL, in progress:

Pattern: "Moorish Lattice" from Charlene Schurch's "Sensational Knitted Socks"
Yarn: "Paladin", my own hand-dyed colorway
Needles: Size 1 Lantern Moon dpns

Also have a SotM from my LYS in progress. Will photograph and post soon.

First Cape Cod Done!

2007-06-23T23:23:00.000-05:00

Been a crazy few weeks and not much knitting done, unfortunately, but my first adapted "Cape Cod" sock is now finished--yay!

It's a Good Day to Dye...

2007-06-23T20:08:00.001-05:00

Hurray, Summer of Socks KAL started! I'll post soon about my projects, but first, my first attempts at dyeing hand-painted sock yarn are below. Woohoo!

"Hudson Bay," named for the colors (white with indigo, red, yellow and green stripes) of a Hudson Bay trade blanket.

The next three are named in tribute to my inner fantasy RPG gaming geek; I can blame "Neverwinter Nights 2" and "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" for keeping me very busy in the last year. So I'm naming these for the classes of hero available in a D 'n' D game.

"Paladin", for everybody's favorite spell'n' sword wielding holy knights. They maybe need to lighten up a bit, but they smite evil like nobody's business, and rumor is that they're real fun at karaoke night at the bar once they've had a few shots of whiskey. ;-)

"Sorceror". These are the "study shmuddy, who needs control?" spellcasters. It's all about the instinct! You'll never need to worry about starting fires for s'mores again...just make sure you're wearing your Asbestos Chainmail +3.

"Ranger". Kin of the wild: scouts, trackers, wilderness survival experts--the original outdoorsmen and women. You'll often find them with an animal companion. Just don't ask them where Yogi went to.

Cape Cod almost done...

2007-06-05T22:08:00.000-05:00

Almost done! Just need to do the toe decreases and kitchener it off, which should hopefully be finished tomorrow. Sheepy sock blockers come from The Loopy Ewe.

Cthulu Will Knit Your Doom...and Some Really Warm Socks!

2007-05-27T22:42:00.000-05:00

Just because it's the weekend and I'm a little crazy...may I present My Little Cthulu, my favorite Evil Elder God and knitting buddy?

More Progress...

2007-05-27T21:49:00.000-05:00

Update on the "Cape Cod" socks...busy few days here with housework and all, so I haven't had as much knitting time. But I'm done with the leg and actually have half the heel flap done--it's just tucked inside the sock to make the dpns align to fit in the holder.

Here's the color...this time you can see the teal green and teal blue bands a lot better. Plus, it's merino/tencel--ooooh, something SHINY!!

Here's the texture...you can see both the shells and the cabled side band in this view.

I still need to mess more with my digital cam and see if there even is a good mode that gives the depth of texture without graying it out. My Olympus Stylus 600 is not a terribly expensive camera, so I have a feeling I'm SoL there, though it took some genuinely gorgeous landscape-style pictures out on the Bering Sea.

WIP Cape Cod Socks

2007-05-23T22:22:00.001-05:00

Photos of a sock work in progress. I've tried to alter the pattern "Cape Cod" from Alice Starmore's "Fishermen's Sweaters" to make it fit a sock.

I'm still working on trying to get a camera mode to give me both true color and true texture, but till then, I'll post photos for both.

Fairly true texture here, showing the seashell motif that's on the front and back.
True texture of the sides: a cabled band and parts of the shells.

True color in this one...you can see the subtle teal blue and teal green bands if you look. I'll try and get a picture in daylight as it's even more obvious. I actually started knitting at nightby lamplight and didn't see the contrast till the next day when I was out in the sun--it's beautiful.

Hurray, New Yarn!

2007-05-19T22:32:00.001-05:00

Yarny goodness in the mail today courtesy of Lime and Violet!

From L to R:
* Bonnie and Clod (Sasquatch merino/nylon)
* Shimmer (Jackalope merino/tencel)
* Sir Daly the Knight (Sasquatch merino/nylon)
* The Ancient Mariner (Sasquatch merino/nylon)

Still have some goodness on the way to me, so Christmas in May can happen a few times yet! I'm done yarn buying for several months now.

I've signed up for the Summer of Socks 2007 KAL (see the pretty button on the sidebar?), so there's a chance to use up some of my stash, which is pretty excellent.

Updated Socks

2007-05-19T20:54:00.000-05:00

So I'm thinking of signing up for "Summer of Socks 2007". In that interest, and since I've begun posting on the Lime and Violet messageboard, I decided I really should move my lazy butt and update the blog.

Went to New Jersey last week to check out Rutgers, and I'm really excited about this fall. More on that later. I've also been hoarding sock yarn like nuts, I admit. :-)

Finished socks:

Pattern: "Simple Socks" from Jitterbug skein band
Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug in colorway "Blue Parrot"
Needle Size: US 2, 2.75mm
Time May 1 to May 12 (2 bouts of frogging...)

Pattern: "Moss Diamonds", from Charlene Schurch's "More Sensational Knitted Socks"
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, colorway "Green Apple", 2 skeins.
Needle Size: US 2, 2.75mm
Time: April 19 to April 26

Not too thrilled with these, just since the texture really doesn't show because of the multicolor. I do like the striping and pooling of this colorway though!

WIPS

1.) May Sock of the Month Socks from my LYS, a Mock Cable pattern done in Plymouth "Sockotta", need to look up the colorway. Size 2 needles. Started May 16th.

2.) "Mata Hari" socks in Yarn Pirate colorway "Primrose". Completely frogged and rewound yesterday, so this might be better classified as an "On the Shelf" project.

3.) Socks in an an adapted sweater pattern called "Cape Cod" made in merino/tencel from Etsy seller LoveSticks, colorway "I Can't Kelp Myself". Size 1 needles, cast on May 19th.

Pictures of WIPs soon!

Next Sock Project...

2007-04-04T22:25:00.000-05:00

OK, now that I'm back in Seattle and have gone crazy like a three-year old on a 2 liter of Mountain Dew with the making of a sock stash...

Eh, I tend to think the stash is still manageable if it fits in one smallish fabric cube from Target (about 10" to each side) and I know exactly what's in said stash. Then again, I'm the sort who has an Excel spreadsheet to manage my yarn.

In any case, I heart Charlene Schurch and "More Sensational Knitted Socks". The project is the "Moss Diamonds" pattern in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock colorway "Green Apple" (exclusive to Angelika's Yarn Store)

We'll see how my next venture into the world of patterning works out.

In other news, I'm no longer observing in Alaska. I've accepted a grad assistantship to Rutgers University to get an Oceanography master's, studying juvenile fish. Woohoo!

First pair of socks!

2007-03-27T00:48:00.000-05:00

My first ever pair of socks, completed on the Bering Sea in five days between Attu and Atka Islands in the Aleutian Chain. They fit my little ol' size 7 feet pretty well!

Pattern: Chain Rib, from Charlene Schurch's "Sensational Knitted Socks", 6-stitch chapter
Needles: Size 3 double points
Yarn: Sport weight "Wool Bamboo" from Classic Elite, colorway 1660. (2 1/2 skeins)

First Post!

2007-01-13T17:42:00.000-06:00

"Call me Fishmeal. Some time ago--never mind how long precisely--having graduated college and having little or no money in my bank account, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would go to Alaska and sail the Bering Sea. It is a way I have of courting suicide by ocean, and earning money too."

Now that Herman Melville is going to kick my butt around the Pequod five times, some basics about me: Joan, 23 years old, and since July 2005, working on the US fishing fleet on the Bering Sea as a federal observer. You may have seen a few of the boats of the fleet on the Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch". In short, yes, I work in those conditions on my three-month contracts, but I also work with fish, not crab, and do trawl net and longline fisheries as well as pots like those seen on TV.

As of last November, I'm also a student knitter, since it's a perfect thing to drag on the boats and keep myself occupied. Plus warm stuff is always good in Dutch Harbor...besides, knitting needles are always useful if fishermen get too fresh, I guess.

Right now I'm in Seattle ready to hop on a boat steaming north on Sunday, so I'll get a chance to see the British Columbia coastline, which I've never gotten to do before as we always get flown out to the Aleutian Islands and hop on a boat in Dutch Harbor. That should be a fun time, as well as giving me a few days without much to do before my time in the tenth circle of hell begins.

I'll post my projects and about my job and the place I work as I have internet access when I'm ashore in Dutch.