Pinch me, PLEASE

At one point over lunch today I asked Incredible Joie to pinch me very, VERY hard.  Why, she asked. Good question.  I was feeling a little blue due to the time of month and had indulged in some online retail therapy.  Remember my eBay bleached bamboo needles?  I mentioned lusting after the carbonized ones.  Incredible Joie had bought her carbonized bamboo crochet hooks from a certain reliable seller earlier this year and I couldn't stop being amazed at their smoothness and lightness.  The seller claimed they were harder than bleached bamboo needles and weren't subject to mildew because of the carbonization treatment.  And doesn't bleaching weaken fibers or something?  At any rate, I was intending to go to great lengths to get them eventually.  Earlier today I just did.  Boy, did that drive the blues away!

I'm smiling now, but for a few seconds after I hit that checkout button earlier, several thoughts passed through my head.

1)  There's a global financial crisis!  The currency exchange rate is at PhP47.25 = USD1.00! (Alarm bells!  Sirens!)

2)  You don't have the carbonized bamboo dpns yet.  (Warning!  Danger!  The rabbit hole!)

3)  How about Knitpicks Harmony circulars?  (These are beautiful beech wood needles with the same flexible nylon cords I've come to love.  Dream on.)

4)  Now you'll have cheaper circular needles from 16" to 40"!  (Ecstasy!  Delirium!)

5)  Oh dear, they're only 12 oz in weight.  I have to get 20 oz more to qualify for Johnny Air Cargo's 2-lb minimum!  (More on this next month.  This was the point of no return.)

6)  NOW is the time to get yarn before Christmas!  (Knittipina in Wonderland steps off the cliff dazed at the sunset... and lands on a woolly beach seeing stars.)

To make a long story short, there was a sale in Knitpicks.com.  I ended up getting 500g of discount sock yarn and Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Without Tears.  Figured that would make the Johnny Air delivery service worth it.  *sheepish grin*

And this was all because last weekend I made one sock using the new size 1 and 2 bleached bamboo needles.  The size 1 bends a bit, but because of that I don't hold it too hard.  Because I don't hold it too hard, my hands don't cramp.  Yay!  Such smooth, light and relaxing knitting! Now when the sock was done I realized the color wasn't suitable for an adult.  Too busy a colorway for my personal taste.  Maybe for a child's sock.  I won't frog it though, there is always someone in the world who likes something like that.

I decided to make another test sock, in a plain color but with texture and pattern.  I frogged the first attempt, Christine Walter's Zigzag Socks from Vogue Knitting's Ultimate Sock Book, because I realized after completing 16 rows that my ssk's were going in the wrong direction (how funny is that!).  Maybe later when I'm not so frustrated.  Or should I say, later when I'm not so excited over my retail therapy that I can't think straight.  I'll probably try one of the short-multiples stitch patterns recommended in the same book too. 

Right now I started another cable rib sock for fun, in mercerized cotton this time.  I just want to see how cables work in cotton.  I'd love a good fit.  To non-knitters this all sounds like a lot of work after a long day, but that's relaxation for me.  I like the rhythm of the needles in my hands.  Knitting stitches in a repeating pattern are sort of like using prayer beads.  There's the clicking sound for some needles that lulls me, there's that smooth glide when the two tips rub against each other.  There's that counting going on that sounds like a mantra.  This is what drives me to add needles to my collection and yarns to my stash!  The endless possibilities of lovely things I could make! *starry-eyed* 

Somebody pinch me, PLEASE.

Famous last words:  It'll be at least six months before I do anything this crazy again.  In the next breath:  Yeah, right.

Tell 'Em, Grumperina

In the past 30 minutes I've been tortured by the yummy images of multicolored self-striping sock yarn.  The brands parading in front of me seemed incredibly beautiful and unattainable:  Noro Kureyon and Lorna's Laces, among others.  Unattainable because at their price the socks should last a lifetime.  Of course no single pair of socks lasts a lifetime.

I began my sock knitting career with crochet cotton.  It feels great for this climate, save for the fact that I have to sew elastic into the rib.  I'm willing to live with that, since we get pretty colors in the local brands anyway.  Last Monday I began with baby merino, and the feel against my skin is incredible.  While I have to keep a firm grip on cotton to make sure the gauge is consistent, I hardly have that resistance with merino.  The natural elasticity of the wool made cabling fun.  And what looks strangely narrow before blocking is actually a good snug but stretchy fit.  In cooler locations, of course.  I can't imagine wearing it here on a regular basis despite its seductive softness.  Well, I haven't tried, but you know what I mean.

I'm not allergic to wool, and I feel really sorry for people who are, because it makes a really warm fabric when you need it, and it's all natural.  There are natural alternatives of course, such as cotton and bamboo and soy. But for socks? Just when I'm so in love with sock knitting and can't sleep for fiber lust! Guess who expresses most of what afflicted me:  Grumperina.  She surveys the LYS landscape for yarns fitting the requirement of her inflammable feet -- NO WOOL PLEASE -- and does a fantastic job reviewing and testing them.  Read on.  I love reading blogs that give both information and an idea of the spirit behind them. 

This doesn't mean we'll never get good sock yarn in the Philippines.  I just have to ask Ma'am Lilli to get me some.  Good thing, as Grumperina pointed out, there are other alternatives to wool.

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