UGH!!!

A few days ago I finished the final hexagon on my crazyass hexagon socks. I stood up, did a little dance, and then proceeded to start…the…toe?

Oh, no.

What the crap?

In my hurry to get the final row of hexagons done, I had not paid close enough attention to which end of the sock I had done that last row on. Four hexagons that were supposed to be working toward the toe. Four hexagons that were, instead, on the cuff.

It looked like a knee sock for an eight-year-old.

I wish that it had been as simple as surgically removing the hexagons and just stitching them onto the other end, but then again things can never really be that simple, can they? I had to rip out all four hexagons individually and restart that row from scratch.

After a couple of days’ break from the accursed thing, I am happy to report that I have gotten past the frustration (somewhat), have completed the final four hexagons ON  THE CORRECT END OF THE SOCK and am working on picking up the toe stitches.

I am so ready to move on….

Second Sock

You don’t have to go far in the knitiverse to hear about “second-sock syndrome,” that phenomenon of great disappointment when, just after you’ve proudly finished an amazing sock, you realize that you have to do it all over again so that you’ll have a pair. I’ve heard knitters gripe about this, or even give up on it altogether…I remember Camden, Maine’s Unique One yarn shop being full of ladies with mismatched hand-knit socks because they just decided to alleviate second-sock syndrome altogether.

Sock 1...ain't it pretty?

I tend to treat the second sock a little differently. Take the beloved Hexagon socks, for example. It took me a little over a month to finish the first sock. Granted, I took on a couple of other small projects in the middle (a pair of mittens and some worsted-weight house-socks) but that was largely because I just wanted a break. Well, I finished the first sock recently and I couldn’t be happier. It looks cool, feels great on the foot, and is destined to be the talk of my elementary school once I start wearing the pair to the music classes I teach.

Sock 2 just over a week in.

So how did I celebrate? That’s right, by immediately casting on sock #2. Not only did I begin the second sock, but I attacked it with a vengeance. My goal has been to knit at least 2 hexagons per day, but some days I got 3 or 4 done. I spent that month on the first one, but after one week on the second sock I had finished the heel and was plunging into the foot portion. You see, once I get the first sock done and see how amazingly cool it is, I want to wear it. But I don’t do mismatched socks. Besides, even mismatch aficionados would’ve found it hard to find something to wear with this one.

So I’m tearing through the second sock with hopes of finishing it this week, even after a very busy weekend that included very little time to knit.

Oh, Snap!

I love Knitpicks, and more specifically, I love my Knitpicks Zephyr acrylic interchangeable knitting needles. At least I love them most of the time.

Christmas of 2010 my mom gave me a Visa gift card, with which I bought a set of these needles. My dear friend Joanne had recommended them, saying she had a pair and LOVED them! I have to agree that they’re fabulous. Fast forward 6 months to the end of that school year and I received another set as a “thank-you-for-teaching-my-daughter-for-3-years” gift from, of course, Joanne. She knew I already had some, but told me it’s important to have spares.

Boy was she right…

Yes, that's the broken needle tip sticking out of that sock.

Two Wednesdays ago I went to my regular knitting group, pulled out the red worsted-weight house-socks I was knitting on the size 4 Zephyrs when “SNAP!” one of the needle tips broke. I didn’t even finish the first stitch. “It’s okay,” I told my friends, “I have a spare set at home.” Only slightly disheartened, I pulled out my crazy-ass hexagon socks and worked on them for a while. After I got home I switched out the tips and was good to go.

This past Wednesday, having finished the red house-socks, I pulled out a pair of mittens I was knitting, also on the size 4 Zephyrs when, you guessed it, “SNAP!” Another needle tip bit the dust a quarter of the way through a row. A bit more disheartened this time, I proceeded to pull out the crazy-ass hexagon socks again, knowing that I had another needle tip left at home. But it was only one more. The last one.

One of my knitting group friends suggested that I call Knitpicks, stating that their customer service is fabulous. She’d had really positive experiences with them before and felt certain that they’d help me out. I am glad I heeded her advice. The customer service person I spoke to was extremely helpful. After checking my account and confirming that yes, I had indeed ordered a set of these needles in the past, she told me they’d ship out another set of size 4 tips. Though she didn’t explicitly say it, I guessed from her tone of voice that this is a known problem. As much as I love these needles, I just don’t think the acrylic tips are quite strong enough in a size 4…they’re too thin.

Thank you, Knitpicks, for helping out this very loyal customer. I appreciate your attentiveness and courtesy. I do believe, however, that it’s time to get a set of size 4 nickel-plated tips.

Children Will Listen…And Watch…

**Special Note: Please play the video to use as background music while you read this post. It will make it so much better, I promise! At very least it will distract from the bad writing.

I am a teacher. An educator. A person whose life’s aim is to observe and assist children as they expand their knowledge base as well as their attitudes toward life, the universe, and everything.

I am also a man who knits in front of them.

Every day from 11:55 until 12:20 I am in the midst of a school cafeteria full of vibrant 3rd graders as I take part in the ancient educational ritual of Lunch Duty. Being new to the job this year the kids have spent a great deal of the year up to this point getting to know me. I’ll never forget the day when, during 3rd grade lunch, one student found out that I was a knitter. “Ha ha HAAA.” she said. “Men don’t knit. Knitting is for old ladies!”

I would love to say that she is the only student to say that, but she is the first of a few. Not a lot; a few. So how do you address such sadly misguided comments aimed at a man who knits? Why, I did the only thing I knew to do: I started knitting socks during 3rd grade lunch duty. Every day.

This same student, along with MANY others, now regularly checks on my progress on the socks I’m working on. You see, these kids no longer think it’s weird to see their music teacher knitting, because they see it every day. In fact, they think it’s kind of cool. They even make requests for knitted items, which I promptly turn down (“I knit for myself, family, and very close friends. As cool as you are, you don’t fit any of those categories.”).

I also have the good fortune of spending each Thursday with a kindergarten class in my school, a different one each week, as a helper. This morning when I arrived they were finishing breakfast, and those who were done were reading books on the rug. I simply sat on the rug and began to knit on a sock. Instantly 3 boys (boys!!!) were in my face asking questions and making comments (“can those needles cut you?” “how do you do that?” “Wow…you have really big feet!”). Before I knew it I had about 10 kindergartners around me. They wanted to watch, to touch the tips of the needles, to feel the yarn and the 2×2 ribbing on my sock.

The kindergartners were fascinated by my knitting. The third-graders began with some preconceived notions, but are now interested in my projects. I like to think that I’m doing my part to change perceptions of knitting in these delightful young people. Yeah, some of them have grandmothers who knit…believe me, they’ve told me! But now they’re going to go through life remembering this weird guy who taught music when they were young who used to knit all the time. I am comforted by that.

Later in the day, one delightful little girl told me “You’re really good at knitting…almost like a GRANDMA!” I couldn’t ask for a better compliment.

Feeling Random

I know it’s not the normal Sunday Night, but I just have a lot of disjointed random thoughts that I have to get out.

1. It’s Tuesday, but not for much longer.
2. Cheddar cheese is one of the greatest foods ever invented.
3. I’ve been considering making a quick-and-dirty pair of worsted weight socks to use as “house socks.” They’d be quick to knit, right?
4. For Christmas I got a set of super-sharp kitchen knives that have zebra-striped blades. I love these wondrous knives…they cut everything so beautifully…including fingers. Ouch.
5. I really need to learn how to cut things with sharp knives in a safe way.
6. I think if I could be any other creature on the planet I’d want to be a hobbit. 5 meals a day, jolly, fun-loving folks with hairy feet. Sounds good to me.
7. I’m in love with my Hexagon socks. This is why I am hesitant to start the aforementioned worsted weight “house socks”. I’d feel so dirty leaving these fabulous socks behind for something so plain.
8. A Kindergarten classroom is full of unconditional love. The smile of a kindergartner can fuel you for the entire day.
9. A Kindergarten classroom is also full of snot, slobber, and other germs. This is the trade-off.
10. I still love cheddar cheese. It really is the perfect food. That and chocolate.

A Cost-Benefit Analysis

I am often told by friends, colleagues, acquaintances who have seen my skill level as a knitter, “You should sell this stuff…it’s really good!” After thanking the Muggle (non-knitter), for such statements almost always come from non-knitters, I have a pretty standard explanation.

“If I sold what I knit, I’d either get paid pennies per hour, or have to charge way more than people will pay, even if using crappy yarn,” I’d answer. “Besides, if I did it as a job, I don’t think I’d enjoy it so much.” According to Daniel Pink’s book Drive, and I agree, the greatest way to stop motivation in its tracks is to attach a dollar value to the task. I know that seems counter-intuitive in our culture, but his research looks sound and I think he’s right.

So how can I justify the craft of knitting in my life? After all, as a button a friend gave me states, “Yes, I know I can BUY socks for TWO BUCKS at Wal-Mart.” How does it make sense to drop 20 bucks on a hank of sock yarn, no matter how hip the colors are?

Joy.

I love to knit, and as entertainment goes it’s pretty cheap. For that $20 I have a guarantee of around 30 hours of doing something that brings me joy, considerably more than that if I’m knitting anything by Cookie A. That’s a cost of about $.67 per hour. These days, what entertainment can you buy for that price? Not much.

It costs:

*$11.00 to go to a 2-hour movie by myself with no snacks.

*$16.00 to attend a 2 1/2-hour community theater performance.

*Between $15 and $25 (plus parking or train fare) to go to a concert at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston.

*$4.50 for a Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks and though I could hang out there for a while, I’d have to hang out at the coffee shop for 6.71 hours to get that kind of hourly price and my coffee would be very cold after that.

*Dinner at a nice restaurant with a special someone: about $50-70.

*Retail therapy (aka shopping) could vary in cost, but I think I’m safe in saying it’d be more than $.67 per hour.

That’s just a short list. Granted, there are other things you can do for comparable price, such as watch TV, read a book from the library, or play the guitar. My point is that as entertainment goes, knitting is a real bargain. And as an added bonus, unlike any of the above items, it produces something that is generally pretty fabulous and will continue to bring many hours of enjoyment as it is worn.

So when was the last time your $2 socks from Wal-Mart gave you as much joy as my $20 skein of sock yarn?

Why 2012 Will Kick Ass

At this particular point every year, it is customary to look back at the year, at the failures, the successes, the highs, the lows, and the just plain idiotic things that we witnessed and were a part of. I’ve done plenty of that, so now I’m ready for my list of reasons 2012 will kick some serious ass…and yes, I do know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it will.

• I’m starting the year with the largest stash of sock yarn I’ve ever begun a year with. That’s gotta be a good omen, right?
• And continuing with that theme, this year has also begun with the start of the CRAZIEST pair of socks I’ve ever knit, the Hexagons from Think Outside the Socks. The pattern is, as the name implies, constructed almost solely of hexagons. To make it even sweeter, I’m using the brightly-colored yarn I got from my friend Rebecca, which she has dubbed “clown barf.” Fabulous!
• Being back in my comfort zone of teaching elementary school music is fabulous, and I walk into my job each day with a big, goofy smile on my face.
• And yet, while I’m enjoying elementary school in my professional life, my family will be done with elementary school this year. In a few short months my little one will be in middle school and the big one will be in high school.
• After a 2011 of my family establishing routines and “finding ourselves” in the wake of major transitions, 2012 will be (I hope) a year of maintaining what we’ve established.
• The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Spider Man, The Avengers, and The Hobbit (part 1)  will all hit theaters. This means an enormous amount of GEEKING OUT!!!
• Lots of idiots vying for the Oval Office (and as much air time as possible) makes for some good entertainment. And…the biggest reason 2012 will kick ass…
• Every day I am thankful for the wonderful, ever-growing gaggle of AMAZING friends, family, readers, and colleagues that make life grand! The best thing about life is the people, and I am happy to share bits of my life with the greatest folks on the planet! You guys, like this new year, kick ass!

Christmas Gift Knitting Roundup

Last year I took a break from Christmas gift knitting. It was a difficult time for my family, and I didn’t need the added stress of that Christmas deadline to add to the problem. Besides, I had no idea what to make anyone last year.

Sometimes you need a sabbatical to get the ideas flowing again, and it definitely worked this time. I had a lot of fun knitting for family (and a close friend) this year, and I am happy that all of the gifts were appreciated. Here’s the roundup:

Project 1–Christmas Stockings: When I was a wee lad my Aunt Gerry made stockings for all of the nieces and nephews. Mine was a really cool intarsia thing with a Santa jack-in-the-box on it and my name at the top. I didn’t get to see Aunt Gerry very often, but every December I thought of her when I put that stocking up. It was special because of that connection, and I wanted the same thing for my 6-year-old nephew, Logan.

The idea incubated over time and I decided this would be a good Fair Isle learning project. Using the Cascade Christmas Stocking pattern, I went to work, not only on Logan’s stocking, but stockings for his whole family. After 3 failed starts and navigating some buckling issues, I finished them fairly quickly and am very happy with the result. I sewed in a fleece lining to keep gifts from snagging on the strands behind the Fair Isle patterning, and my daughter braided loops out of the three colors used in the stockings.

I love this mix-n-match kind of pattern (though the reindeer are from somewhere else), and the fact that they all have similar but different stockings. When the package arrived and was open, Logan cried, not because he was so moved by the fabulous knitting, but because it wasn’t toys. Once he got over that, though, he said “I can’t believe that Uncle Aaron made those…they’re FABULOUS!”

 

Project 2–The Mom Socks: First off, I must say that I’ve been a bad son. In the four years I’ve been knitting, all I’ve ever made for the lovely woman who gave me life and so often wanted to slap that life right out of me during my childhood, is a cell phone sock. This year it was time to make something more for her. The problem is that she lives in Charleston, SC where winter is a few scattered days, so a warm, woolly hat or scarf was out of the question, and there’s no way I had time to make an adult-sized sweater that could only be worn for a brief time anyway.

It had to be socks.

I spent a great deal of time looking for the perfect sock pattern for her. Good, solid, practical socks that look good, especially with the variegated yarn I’d already gotten (the colors are perfect for her!). I ended up going back to a favorite designer, Erica Lueder, and Hermione’s Everyday Socks.

These socks have a nice, subtle texture to them, not quite so blatant as seed stitch or moss stitch. They just kind of flow nicely, and work well with this yarn. Speaking of the yarn, that’s Knit Picks Stroll Multi sock yarn in the Atmosphere colorway. I made a conscious decision to use a machine-washable yarn because I didn’t want to burden my mother with hand wash only socks. And based on my own experiences, Knit Picks Stroll is about as indestructible as sock yarn can get, yet still nice and soft.

Project 3–Slouchy Tam: For my final Christmas project I wanted to make a hat for a dear friend of mine who has expressed a love for my knitting. Furthermore, she has also geeked out, on more than one occasion, over the color of yarn I used in the Cassidy Sweater. Since I had about a ball left over after the sweater and the stockings (yes, I used it in those too), it was time to find a hat.

I knew from early on that it had to be a tam. Some people look great in tams, others look stupid in them. Whenever I looked at my friend with the knitter’s eye–you know, the look you get when you’re imagining what lovely yarny goodness will look like on somebody–I saw a tam every time.

The pattern is the Slouchy Tam from Jimmy Beans Wool. It was written for use with the colorful Plymouth Kudo yarn, but it works really well with a single color as well. And as it turns out, she really is a tam kind of girl…it looks great on her. She told me after I gave it to her that she was hoping I’d make her a hat for Christmas. Glad I could make her wish come true.

 

So that’s it. Now that the Christmas knitting is done, it’s time to do something I haven’t done in quite a few months…knit something for me. More on that in a later post.

Christmas Knitting 2011 (The Event!)

Well, the first leg of Christmas Knitting 2011 (The Event!) has gone into the mail, to be delivered by Thursday according to the lovely automated ATM-for-postal-service at the local PO, and I’m frantically knitting on leg 2 (actually a toe) of Christmas Knitting 2011 (The Event!). The good news is that I’m pretty sure that all recipients of hand-knit goodies this year will be very appreciative of their gifts. This time around I don’t think I’ll get the token “oh, that’s nice…I’ve always wanted ANOTHER SCARF!”

In next week’s post I’ll have several pictures of my hard work. Christmas Knitting 2011 (The Event!) is going really well, and though it is quite frantic, it’s been really the only frantic part of the holidays for me. I haven’t overbooked myself too much, and have had a wondrous time! I’ve kind of been working on the whole concept of Christmas as  more than just a day…it’s a celebration that can encompass the entire month of December (or if you work retail, November and October too). I love the joy of setting up the tree right after Thanksgiving,  baking Christmas cookies with my kids, skating on the Frog Pond on Boston Common, playing Christmas music all month, and just enjoying as much as I can.

Last year I took a break from Christmas knitting, but this year, though it has been a little frantic in the end, I’m so glad I picked it up again. Why not add that to the many things that bring me joy during this month?

Routine

In the past year, with major changes that have come about in my life, I have come to realize the incredible importance of routines in life. As a teacher, I’ve always known that routines are useful in the classroom, but as a single parent, I’m finding routines more important than ever at home. My daughters have routines for doing homework (which one follows very well, and one is working on following decently). I have a nightly routine for getting chores done (pack lunches for the girls and myself before bed if I want any hope of having time to eat breakfast in the morning). One of my daughters likes to go to bed unassisted, after a goodnight kiss that resembles a secret handshake of the face, while the other one likes her time with me reading “Harry Potter” before going to sleep.

In the past my life has been relatively unstructured, and I think we’ve all suffered for that. Now, I don’t think that every minute of the day should be planned out, but there needs to be a structure in place with some room for “flexible time”. For example,  most nights I find time to knit after the kids are in bed, but not always. Either way, that’s my “flex time” and I treasure it.

If I have any readership left after my sporadic blogging over the past few unsettled months, I hope to include you in my routines. It is my hope to put up a new blog post every Sunday night. I think I need this structure in order to continue with my writing. I do love to blog, but without a set routine, other things always seem to push it aside. Occasionally there may be a little tidbit in the middle of the week too, but for the most part I’ll try to stick to my Sunday routine. Let’s see how this works out….