Socks N Dirge of Cerberus

Alright, I warn you, I am about to commit knitting sacrilege:

I don't really like knitting socks.

Gasp, shock! I know! I'm a knitter, and we're all supposed to like socks, right? I mean I have knit socks. Heck, I have knit four pairs in September alone (yeah, most of them were heavy socks, pick yer jaws up). And still socks are among my least-favorite projects.



Why you might ask? Easy. It isn;t turning the heel - I find that rather charming, actually. I don't like the interruption. I like zen knitting - back and forth, back and forth or round and round and round. Anything with changing needles, tangling yarn or potentially creating ladders irks me to some degree. I can hack it at the top of a hat because I have just spent the rest of my time joyously creating the body (or will be creating the body), but socks are continual: knit, stop, knit, stop, pull tight and get the yarn in the right position. Yargh.

Yeah, I know how to knit on two circulars, 4 DPNs, 5 DPNs... in the end I magic loop. One needle, less fuss. I sort of like working the foot of my current pair, which is from Charlene Schurch's Sensation Knitted socks - Small Capitals. The pattern balances nicely across the top on the foot, and the stockinette bottom seems to zoom by. But afterwards I'm doomed to make a pair of socks for my aunt who prefers 2x2 rib.

Yawn.

Heck, she doesn't just prefer... I can put book after book after book of amazing, lovely, creative, interesting sock patterns in front of her and she will go out of her way to find the basic beginner sock at the front of the book and tell me to 'make that sock'

Round and round and round and round, watch the ladders, watch for no yarnovers, finish one, knit a second, ARGH!

Usually when knitting irritates me, I turn towards my guilty pleasure: video games. I have a small selection (read: sizable stash) of favorites from the Atari 2600 up to the Playstation 2. Haven't gone newest gen yet - haven't found any games really worth playing on any system but the Wii, and my boyfriend has a Wii. Anyways (this all ties together, I promise) I favor two types of games: Mindless action adventure and serious RPG. Usually when stress kicks in I favor the former. Dynasy Warriors ("Watch me wade into a dozen dudes and righteously slay them with my magical powaz while being accompanied by period-accurate ancient Chinese hard rocks music...") and Devil May Cry - the first one - ("Jamie, why are you juggling blood-spraying zombies in the air with a hail of gunfire?" ""Cause it's fun, Mom...") are personal favs.

But I bought Dirge of Cerberus several months ago, Heck, maybe even a year or more ago - can't remember. Gainful adult employment does that to ya. Anyways, a while ago -and I hadn't played it yet. It looks so promising - RPG styled, action oriented, badass main character, prettyboy anime design. So what do you mean I have to go play almost first-person shooter? (third person shooter actually). I mean it's all about getting my ass kicked while I run around with a really big gun. See?


I bite at this game. I blow goats at it. RPG fans are not created to do shooter games. I aim everywhere but at the dudes I am supposed to be killing - and at times this reminds me of my sock knitting. I drop stitches forget patterns and occassionally forget to turn the freakin' heels and only notice this after I'm decreasing for the toe. I run around Dirge of Cerberus saying things like "You get back here, I'm gonna shoot you!" while wildly flailing and shooting the crap out of anything around me; and I knit socks while vowing "You get back here you damn dropped stitch! you will not evade me!"

This is cheaper than therapy. Trust me. :D

Blogging

So there are some days when the blog posts just roll off the keyboard, and some days (months) where they just stare at you and flick you off.

This has been one of those months.

So now I am seriously behind in this thing I call a blog.  *ahem*  time to rectify that.

Socks.

I hate socks.  I really do.  

You go round and round and round and round, until you get to the heel.

Yay!  I actually like the heel because you're actually *doing* something and then you go round and round and round again until you hit the toe and you're done.  Of course you could do an awesomely intricate pattern but then your Dad asks you for socks and if you knit him lace he'll disown you.

The worst thing?  Everybody wants socks for Christmas.

Dad's Socks.

Ooooh, aaahhh. Basic socks with a somewhat interesting rib. Well, it was interesting the first dozen times I knitted it. Still, they knit up fast and they're warm and he loves them. Yay.  I didn't get any newer pictures of them because his feet kinda stink and it fogged up the camera lens

(either that or I was too full of Christmas Turkey read: too lazy to take some.)

These are the Socks I Hate.  That's their name.

Oh yes, I called them "Desert Sands" socks on Ravelry because the yarn was called "desert grass"  I'm changing the name.  I hate these socks.  I knit them (am knitting them - shame!) for my Aunt for Christmas.  As it is December 29th and that picture is a mere three hours old, you can see that they have not been finished for Christmas.

Why?  

Because I hateses them.  And they hate me back.

Ok.  The pattern?  I like the pattern.  It's the River Rapids sock pattern from sockbug.  The pattern is clear, easy to follow and nicely written.

So why do I hate these socks?

The yarn.

The yarn is Brown Sheep's Wildfoote.

I usually like Brown Sheep, but I have to say I hate this yarn.

It's slippery. It's not elastic at all. It splits worse than a bleach blonde with a hairdryer obsession. And the worst thing?

The damn socks turn out lovely

If this yarn was craptacular all around I could easily dismiss it, but nooo... it mocks me! It comes in all these lovely colors to entice me, and worse, the finished product is really nice! Soft, smooth, strong, and it feels good on the foot, it's as if this yarn is sitting back and laughing at knitters, flipping us the bird and saying "You'll hate knitting with me, but everybody will want a pair of socks made out of me, and you'll just have to suffer!"

I really hate this yarn.

even more I hate the fact that you either have to be an expert knitter or completely anal retentive while using it or you lose stitches like mad.  I swear either I have ten thumbs or it's the yarn, but every time I set my project down the stitches slip off the needles.  Even if it's just sitting there while I have to pee, I come back and have to pick up stitches.  This is where the splitting part comes in - you can't pick it back up, either!

Maybe I should learn to use point protectors every time I stand up for a Diet Coke, but I'm not that kind of knitter.  I have never had this problem before - and I don't even use DPNs.  I magic loop my socks!

And why am I convinced the socks hate me back?  because even after I packed meticulously every knitted present, the finished sock feel out of my bag and stayed in Vermont while I Christmassed in Wisconsin.

It's evil.  I swear it is.

My Grand Plan.

I have decided the best way to get back at the Wildfoote I hate so much...

I will have about 3/4 of a skein left after both socks are done.

I think I am going to crochet that leftover yarn into a Beanis

Since it is greenish yarn, it will be titled my "Gangreeous Benis"

Hah!

Socks, and The Scarf That Shall Not Be Finished

The socks: Pretty simple, for my Dad for Christmas. I learned a new stitch pattern, yee! It's called "supple rib" from the Super Stitches Knitting book. Very easy, quite fun, it looks nice too. It makes a thick, warm fabric that I am hoping hugs the foot and doesn’t sag at the ankles like the boy always complains about. Methinks I shall finish this sock tonight or tomorrow, and then cast on another one.





The scarf: This scarf is my nemesis. Like Voldemort is to Harry Potter, this scarf is to me.



What is it? It’s a Virginia Tech scarf. For a friend who lives in Blacksburg, this scarf is to commemorate the VT tragedy. He wanted to show off his hometown spirit. It needs to be finished by Christmas.

This scarf does not grow. No matter how many rows I add, it is still the same darn length when I hang if off my neck… and the intended recipient is over a foot taller than myself.



Oh, yes, I can see the length be added when I am knitting. I can watch it grow block by block of Fair Isle. I have committed myself to knitting at least five rows before I knit on any other project.



I hate this scarf.



Even when it is done, it shall forever remain “The Scarf That Shall Not Be Finished”