Sock update...

It has been some time since I was able to spend any amount of energy toward the completion of my most recent pair of socks.  The end is now in site!  I have one more pattern repeat on sock 2 and then the ribbing on both.  The hazards that plauged me at the start of the socks have thankfully not followed.  For the most part at least.  I had not knitted on the socks in weeks because there was the rush to finish up a couple hand made Christmas presents and I'm sure a few more projects I can't think of at the moment.

Yesterday's efforts were more along the lines of figuring out "what the heck did I do?"  The pattern called for five stitches at the beginning of the round before the chart was worked.  I had four.  Four?  What happened to the fifth?  Where did it go?  I didn't drop it in an obvious place, no that would have been too easy.

I looked over the work and scrutinized the pattern placement over the last ten rows.  Somewhere, ten rounds ago the stitch went missing.  Pull back ten rows or figure a way to pick up the stitch?  I sat on a bench inside the entrance to a restaurant where we'd be meeting a friend for dinner.  The lighting was dim but I had to work to try, it was the only project I had with me!

The fix became less about knitting time and more about problem solving.  I thought this pattern was so simple.  Sure it involved a few yarn overs, wrapping stitches a couple times, and even carrying stitches up a few rows but it was THAT hard.  Where could I have made a mistake, and how had I not noticed it for ten rounds?

I saw what might have been a dropped stitch tucked firmly behind a cluster of pattern stitches.  I picked it up with the empty needle and gently nursed enough yarn out of the stitches on either side to form a new stitch.  I worked up ten rows.  Something didn't look right.  I dropped the row I'd just made and tried again.  Still no good.

I was working with five stitches that were the trouble area.  Could I drop these five stitches down and figure out how to rework the pattern from there AND create a new stitch?  Why not.  In that dim light I slipped a stitch off the right hand needle and let it rest in space.  Then I pulled.  Four more stitches followed the first one.  A mass of twisty threads dangled off the back side of the work and challenged me to tame them back into smooth rows.

I leaned forward squinting at the mess.  Was that a stitch?  What about that one?  The four needles that held the rest of the work took their turns being nudged out of half their stitches as I twisted the free needle around and through the bird's nest.  Occasionally when I was working with the tips of the adjacent needles to try to form stitches the one holding the few intentionally dropped stitches would shoot out and plink across the tile floor.  The hostess kept looking at me funny.

Did I mention that I was in a low light restaurant waiting for a friend?  Ten minutes after the time that we were supposed to meet we decided to get a table and order an appetizer... and a beer!  I salvaged what I thought was one stitch but the light at the table was worse so I nursed my beer and tapped my idle fingers on the tabletop.

Maybe I should just rip back the ten rows and be done with it... to be continued...

Crochet Village

A couple of months ago I finished the crocheted barn and silo for the Indianapolis Crochet Guild.  I started it a couple of months plus one week ago.  A great deal of furious crocheting gave me a silo in a couple days the barn took less than 24 hours.

The project was a donation from the Indianapolis Crochet Guild to the Indiana State Museum.  The buildings we donated would be assembled as a "village" around the pendulum clock located in the spiral staircase of the museum.

I had committed to donating the silo but it looked sad and lonely without a barn.  I think I was intoxicated by the completed project which caused me to completely loose my head and imagine that I could finish the barn the next day (the day after that was when it was due).

A pound of red yarn worked with a random pattern of slip stitches, single crochets, half double crochets, and double crochets all through the back loops produced the illusion of irregular siding for the barn walls.

The roof was a half pound of doubles worked at a fever pitch.

When the end was in sight I wrapped what was essentially a "scarf" around my chosen box and found that it was about 8 inches too short.  More yarn, more rows added to both the sides and the roof, and an hour later I was 80% there.  I then picked up stitches along the top of the "ends" of the barn sides then worked back and forth decreasing to a point to fill in the gaps.

A little hot glue and a bit of sewing the pieces to the box with darning needle and yarn produced the completed product.

Except there were no doors... no windows!  How would the horses get in?  How would the owls get out?  During the meeting on Saturday morning I put together doors and attached them with crocheted chains and tacking stitches so that they would be raised off the side of the building.  Windows were a length of chain stitches tacked down in a square.  Complete.

Almost.  I gave a nod to all those lovely quilt designs you find on barns but this one had that crochet twist.  With a little yarn leftover I put together a granny square and tacked it to the eave.

Done.  Really.  Done.

On display in the museum.

My worst fear... I joked about giving the museum "fluffing" instructions. I should have been serious, that's a giant thumb print in the roof of the silo!

You can sort of see the granny square on the eave.

There was some concern as to the pendulum knocking the buildings over. Though it swung close, it never got near enough to do damage.  

Third floor looking down.

More photos can be seen at my flickr page.