Busy, Busy May

A Crank-In is a gathering of people with Circular Sock Machines (CSM), both new and antique, who meet up for a day or sometimes a couple of days, for fellowship, instruction, help and fun.  There is a local one, SOC2026, in a nearby town.  For one low price, you get a light morning snack, lunch, several demos, classes, a swag bag of sock making related tools and accessories, and  meeting old, and new friends.  The downside, or maybe upside, is several vendors with yarn, tools and other supplies.   I purchased 3 skeins of yarn, and then won a door prize of another 2 skeins, which happened to be in the same colour ways as two that I'd purchased.  I could have traded them in, but since I liked them, I kept them. So pretty.  I also bought a 400g cone of sock yarn in greens, while not my favourite colour, is one that I almost never purchase unless it's mixed with lots of other colours or very much on the teal side.   I also got a gift certificate for donating the most comfort dolls, some of which were made by friends because they thought it was a great idea to support!

Woad is flowering

The May long weekend SCA Arts and Science event went well.   It was fun, despite a couple of rainy hours in the middle of Saturday.   We had 70 classes, many of them for 2 or more hours, and 202 people came out to play!  My garb is all washed, dried and ready to put away.   I have some lovely new oatmeal linen for a new tunic and some rust for an apron dress.  I taught a class about using fleece processing tools, and still need to finish unpacking things.   I couldn't give away enough fleece though, and had to bring some home.   I'm washing up the second of the gifted fleeces today.

Allium beginning to bloom

The farm next door has been putting drainage tile in the fields this week.  It's a bit of a noisy endeavour so I was happy to go out for tea with my friend E today.  We tend to be able to chat for literally hours.  We go to a local Tim Horton's coffee shop, which kindly lets us sit in a corner with our tea and coffee for 3 hours while we catch up.  You know, because we haven't seen each other in a week or two, lol.

Yesterday I had to get the brakes done on my cute little car.  The front brakes cost next to nothing, but of course the back brakes were brand specific parts so cost almost $2000 to fix.  This came with an estimate for a new tie rod and bushing, at another $1200.  Sigh... they did fix the rattling heat shield while they were at it though, included in the price because they've tried to fix it every time it's up on the hoist but the cute little car has too much stuff in the way to just tighten it up easily.   It's just over 10 years old and has up until now, been a car needing very little work.  It's still fun to drive and most importantly I can see everything out of it.  The repair shop loaned me a Chevy Impala, a huge boat of a vehicle in comparison and ugh, it's definitely not made for short people, and definitely not on my radar should I need to replace my cute little car.

unknown shrub

The weather has gone from cool, to hot, and now back to cool with a slew of tornado and severe storm warnings in between.   This meant that the lilacs, on which I hadn't even seen any flower buds, were in full bloom by the time I got home on Monday and the dandelions, that I've been trying to find time to pick and freeze for an upcoming dye day were just past their prime blooming time.  There are still some out there, just more work to gather.

I don't know what this shrub is.  It's planted by the barn door and must be ancient since it was there when we moved in 17 years ago.   It blooms faithfully every year.  Whatever the weather, it grows reliably and when I ask my son to trim it, he usually hacks it right off near the bottom and in a couple of years it's large enough to trim back again.   Every year though, no matter what the size, it gives a plethora or these small but plentiful, vibrant pink blooms.

More sock stuff

 I'd tried a couple of times to do the toes and heels different colours but had a few issues along the way.   I watched a video which mentioned a hint on a way to do this, just in passing.  I tried it and poof, success!   Well mainly success.  The socks were supposed to be navy with pink heels and toes.  I'd grabbed both the pink and purple bits from my scrap bin and for some reason wound up the purple instead of the pink.  I didn't really pay attention to it until I was doing the toe of the first sock.  By then, it was navy socks with the purple because I wasn't redoing the sock just to change the colour to pink.   They worked out beautifully though, so I was happy enough with them.    I have more navy for another pair of socks, so no worries there.

Then I knew a friend from out of town was visiting, so I made a pair of socks for her.  However I wanted to make a pair for her kid too, so I changed out the 72 cylinder to the 54 needle cylinder.   This is what I started with and I remember thinking that the 72 was a whole new game when I switched them out the first time.   This time though I had huge issues.   It's like the cylinder is just a smidge bigger than the 72.  It cranks differently and pushing the needles up is stiff and doesn't feel the same.    I did a test tube to check tension and it was fine, but lifting needles and going backwards was definitely different .  It took me 3 tries to get 2 kids socks, but I got the socks done.

Then I tried to make a pair of socks for my daughter who has tiny, skinny feet.   Stitches kept dropping and then the whole machine seized up.   Because I'd changed out the yarn carrier for a pretty, new slotted yarn carrier, it meant that I had several possible issues.   The most likely was that I had a bent needle or two causing the jam though, so I pulled all the needles, and replaced them one at a time cranking several times around for each needle.  I found one which pinged, so I pulled it because it shouldn't ping!   I readjusted  the yarn carrier and tried again. 

 The nice thing about this new slotted yarn carrier is that when there is an issue like this, I can just lift the yarn out, instead of cutting it and having to join the pieces together.   But all my fussing and readjusting didn't stop this from happening, several times.   Now I'm just beyond frustrated since this 54 slot cylinder is still working slightly differently from the 72 slot cylinder and while I've ordered a new, made to order 60 slot cylinder, it won't be here until after Christmas.   I'm hoping to have these socks made for her for a present.  I still have a few days to play with them though, after a big cup of tea!

 

 

The fun stuff and not so fun

 

At our last Weavers Guild meeting we had a guest speaker.  Cat Haggert came to speak to us about processing flax.  After a brief introduction on how to grow flax, she showed us how to use her processing tools.  These were modern tools that were made by a fairly local gentleman who makes and repairs spinning wheels.   Cat also showed us how to process flax using easily available tools - an ice scraper and a dollar store pocket comb.  Of course these are only useful for small amounts but they did the trick.   These are some of our guilds results.   The top 2 small stricks of flax were processed by me and the bottom two were Iva's and Ashley's, who gave them to me to spin up.   It was a fun program.  Cat is incredibly knowledgeable and an excellent speaker.   

These are a few of the socks I've made this month.   I finally found the right tension for this yarn.   I've one more pair to make and I have all the Xmas socks done for my kids and their spouses. I was having issues with sizing in that they were coming out too small or odd.  One pair was even different sizes between socks, which were done in one shot.

  One day I read an online post from one of the prolific sock makers/teachers.  He said the weights should be changed up for different weights of yarn.  His thoughts were 1 weight for super fine or laceweight yarn, 2 for normal sock yarn and 3 for bulky sock yarn.  A single weight is 580g.   Adding the second is 1159g, and with the third weight it weights 1589g. The next piece of information he gave was that the spaces between stitches while you're knitting on the sock machine should be about the size of the yarn.  

I removed a weight while knitting up my regular sized sock yarn and all of a sudden, everything was good.  My sizing was spot on and as a bonus, there were also fewer dropped stitches.  The dropped stitches though could also be me reminding myself to pay more attention to needle latches and toe V hook weight placement too.

I asked for some info before trying out my ribber.  I was directed to search for videos.  I've been watching SockTV - yes it really is a thing, which was one of the suggestions.  However while this summer has been the summer of ribbing, it's all about different ribbing patterns.  As a hand knitter of socks, I already know I can do any ribbing patter that my stitch count will allow -and subsequently, how many stitch combos the ribber will accommodate.   What I didn't have information for was how to set up the ribber to get started.  Luckily there is a gal out in Vancouver who has put together a whole bunch of very beginner videos on sock machines. She had one on how to get the ribber set up her machine.   Happily I have the same machine that she used for her demo, so I don't have to work it out on a different machine.

Blackberry update -  2 kg of berries are in the freezer, waiting for me to make jam!   There are more on the brambles, but the weather has cooled dramatically and now they're starting to get smaller and seedier.  I may call it done for harvesting them.  

Tomato update -  The tomatoes in the garden are finally ripening.   I've managed to can 5 jars of the plum tomatoes.  They are really nice fruit, but ack, having them ripen this late and slowly is frustrating. I've no idea how many more will ripen in time to be used.

Threes - the oil light on the truck came on...  The lawn tractor will only run for 10 minutes at a time and periodically, the new battery dies...  The sole of my only pair of running shoes has detached from the shoe...  I hope that's it for now.   While I'm sure we can replace the shoes, a new truck and lawn tractor aren't in this year's budget :(

 

More socks, and odd things happening

We don't have a bush lot, so we buy our wood in logs from a local tree service, in dump truck loads.  What type of wood we get and when we get it, depends a lot on where he is cutting and for whom.   We've been getting a lot of maple this year in smaller sizes, which slices and dices so quickly.    Last week he dropped off a load, but one long, skinny log got caught under the dump truck tailgate.  It unlatched half of it, and while trying to hook it back on, it dropped on the other side, and crashed to the ground.  Unfortunately, he couldn't pick it up until the next afternoon, so it sat in the middle of our driveway looking quite sad.   I got photos but I didn't run outside to do so, as I didn't want to get in the way, or make the driver feel badly.

Sock that wouldn't fit anyone!

I've been making socks, or trying to.   If you don't want to practice and practice some more, this is not the
fibre art you want to try.   The learning curve is huge, but if you practice, watch videos, read and have someone to either help you out or answer your questions, it's not insurmountable.   I'm having successes now.  I went to a "crank in" on the weekend.  That's a gathering of people who haul 50 plus lbs of cast iron and aluminum bits and pieces, plus some yarn, and crank socks together, while socializing.   It makes for a fun day, but very little productivity, because counting and chatting doesn't work for me.  Not having a physical counter on my Legare, I have to count in my head, and as soon as I drift off to a conversation, I lose my count.    At the end of the day, I made one sock which wouldn't fit anyone in my family.  I also forgot to write down the various numbers of rows for each step, so I wouldn't be able to make a second one.   The whole event was very good for me in that I learned a couple of things, but moreso, I realized that even experienced crankers are making the same mistakes that I am making.  Plus I had a lovely compliment from the gal who sat next to me, who hadn't realized that I was a "newbie".

I went with a friend who is the mentor who is answering my many, many questions.  I'd asked her about cast on bonnets with metal rings.  She gave me some rings, plus teeny tiny stitch markers  to try.  I made a cast on bonnet with the rings yesterday.   It's different, and when it works, it was really easy to use.  A bit faster than a traditional one, in that I didn't need to fish out the little bit of yarn and manually hook it on a needle.  However, it was pretty easy to get a ring hooked on a needle without yarn, which causes a jam.  I'll try it a few more times before I make a judgement.   I've realized though that having a few extra cast on bonnets is a good thing.

I tried out the new cast on bonnet last night, making a tube at various tensions to test gauge of this yarn.   Today I did the math and made this mock rib sock.   It should actually fit someone!   Once I make it's mate (yes, I did write down the pattern this time), I'll have to learn how to graft the toes together.   It's a bit different from doing it on hand knit socks.    That being said, I've also been told that I start to knit my socks from the wrong side, probably because of that hand knitting.   I don't think it really matters in the end, as long as I can translate any written patterns I might use.

chipmunk for cuteness factor

CSM practice

This is the first pair of matching socks I've managed to knit.   It was with a fairly thick sock yarn, with only 150 yards per 50 g.  It was only $3 per 50g, and there was no choice in colour, and as you can see, the patterns don't actually match.  I first thought it was a tension issue, but I redid the one sock and it was the same.   This sock yarn though, is insanely soft. I've never wanted to just fondle a skein of yarn as much as I'd have liked to do this stuff.   They are too small for me but they'll fit my daughter, except that I think they may be too wide.   They are just sitting there waiting for me to decide whether to rip them out and redo them or finish them up for her.  Except of course that I changed to a different cylinder with more needles, so one way or the other, they'll have to wait.

I've started knitting several socks a day over the past week.   I've learned to remind myself to rehang the weight before cranking after starting to hang the hem.  I can't believe how many times I did this, only to have stitches drop and tangled yarn, leading to taking it off the machine, ripping it out and starting again.

Then I got the hem hung and the leg of the sock knitting and halfway through the heel, some stitches would drop, usually on the left side.   It turns out that sometimes the brake doesn't quite tighten the yarn up all the way, leaving a loop which is too large to make a stitch.   If I'm slow and watching carefully, it's avoidable.   

Then I realized that I was using cheap sock yarn and it had little recovery or stretch, which made for difficulties in itself.  I don't know if it was because I was reusing the same skein over and over, or if it's all the yarn from that company.  It was $5 /100g, so it's super cheap, but maybe not the best to practice with.   I bought a bunch to make practice socks for my kids, but I'm not so sure if it isn't yarn that I might need to wait a bit to use, until I have more experience.

socks are different heights - but otherwise good!

Today, after a false start, I made a whole sock.  I'd done the math to hopefully get it to fit.   When I got to the toe, I was a  little leary, because yesterday I also made a sock which made it to the end, and them my waste yarn didn't catch and I'd ended up casting off the whole sock.  No waste yarn means that stitches drop and you can't graft the toe together.   But the waste yarn was fine.  Then I put some crochet yarn in for a separator and knit the second sock.  Somewhere in there, hubby started talking to me and my brain, which was counting rows went AWOL.  The results is 2 socks which are almost the same.   Sock 2 is just a tad too long for my foot but it's also 1.5 inches longer than the first sock!

This yarn was mid priced, and I'd tried to hand knit a sock from it, but it wasn't my favourite because it's a bit splitty.  However, it knit up on the machine quite nicely.

There aren't quite enough hours in the day for all the things I'd like to accomplish sadly.   

This weekend we're doing a cooking class about hearth cooking.  I set the menu as Vegetable soup with forcemeat balls, waffles, carrot pie and lemonade.   Forcemeat is sausage, and little balls were made and either cooked separately or just popped into the soup to cook, to enrich it.   Waffles because I got a cast Iron waffle maker and haven't had a chance to use it yet, and carrot pie to show how to bake in a dutch oven.  Carrot pie is like a pumpkin pie, but using carrots instead.  It's surprisingly good.

 

Circular Sock Machine Luuvvvvvv....

 I'm totally in love with one of these.   I went to a "crank in" on Saturday and saw vintage and modern circular sock machines in action.  I got to try a couple as well.  People showed me how they made heels, i-cord, started socks, how to fix skipped stitches more.   There was a machine from 1896 still making socks!    I was so busy talking with people that I forgot to take any photos at all.  

Now the issue is finding one of these that is within my budget.  I've been toying with the idea of getting a circular sock knitting machine for years, but never found anyone who actually had one, that could show me how they worked.   I was thrilled when a friend suggested  that I come to the event, which was local.   This confirmed in my mind that a machine like this is for me!   

This is a page from the catalogue from the Canadian company Creelman which made sock knitters from 1872 - until 1926. 

I wandered around the yard this morning and the zucchini plant which was started too early was flowering.   I don't know if it ever got warm enough for the bees to be out and about today.  I was thrilled though that there was both a female flower and a male flower at the same time.  

There are 3 cool nights this week, one with a risk of frost, so I'll have to cover the plants in hopes of keeping them safe. I should have waited to plant my seedlings, but they were starting to outgrow their little pots again, and I didn't want to have to re-pot them again.   I'd planted one tomato which I'd already put in a new container and was obviously not happy.  I found a bunch of plastic cloches that I'd used with success before and planted everything in the planters.   The only two which haven't fared well are the cucumber seedling which got pecked by a grackle, and the Serrano chile pepper which wasn't doing well in it's little pot either.   But there is a new leaf on it, so my fingers are crossed that it will survive.   My son-in-law gave me the seedlings, and they are varieties which are harder to find around here.

My son kept adding solar lights to the garden for days.  There are solar sunflowers, solar tulips, solar dandelions, solar wheat stalks, some strings of lights like in the gazebo, and a whole bunch of firefly lights like these, all around the garden.  The firefly lights are nearly invisible during the day but the rest sort of stand out.  But at night, the whole back garden is lit up in one crazy way.  A little tacky, maybe, but also so pretty and fun.