Slow Knitting: The Starry Starry Night Socks That Kept Me Going

I always laugh when friends exclaim "you should sell those on Etsy!" over my projects because I'm pretty sure there is no sustainable business model for selling socks that take three months to knit.

No, slow knitting projects are like stately redwood trees, each ring (or row) imbued with depth and character and carrying echoes of the time in which you knit it—good or bad. The last three months have been tough—but these socks help me get through, and I thank them for it.

1. The Big Sock Bang

I first matched this intergalactic hand-painted yarn (Frolicking Feet in "Starry Starry Night" by Done Roving Yarns) to pattern ("Embossed Leaves" by Mona Schmidt from Favorite Socks) during the crafty high of last Me-Made-May. I was still on maternity leave, starting to feel like myself again and amusing myself by trying to photograph the kids and myself in as many me-mades as possible at a given time. Whee, look at us, we're all wearing things I made! Me!

2. Dark Sock Skies

And then I went back to work, and I was just too busy between nursing the baby all night, getting daughter to kindergarten early in the morning and pumping and work and EVERYTHING to take five minutes to gauge swatch what size needles I needed to use (thankfully the answer turned out to be 0, and not 000 like my last sock-yarn project).

3. From darkness, light

Fall came, and with it, misery. In November I started getting—and staying—sick. Constantly, endlessly sick, in a sickeningly familiar way. Our whole family would catch a mild cold, everyone else would get better in a few days, and I would end up bedridden with what felt like the flu—a high fever, aches, horrible pain in my face, unable to breathe through my nose, so hoarse I could barely speak. Over, and over, and over.

I never really recovered fully, but after 2-4 weeks I would slowly start to feel somewhat less awful ... I'd have one or two days of joy where I could slightly breathe through my nose... and then the cycle would begin all over again. Chronic sinusitis strikes again, just three years after the surgery that was supposed to fix it. SIGH.

So in the midst of this misery, I needed something happy I could do while:

• Lying in bed feeling crummy
• Riding the subway to work terrified a nearby straphanger would cough on me
• Pumping and grimacing (I'm glad they exist but breast pumps are the WORST)
• Waiting in waiting rooms — at one point I had 8 doctor or lab test appointments in two weeks.

So I knit my Starry Starry Night socks. I knit while loopy with fever. I knit while feeling sad I had to cancel playdates and get-togethers and miss work. I especially knit after I had to cancel Baby D's first birthday party — it was the first time we had invited lots of friends over to our new apartment, but I wasn't in a state to host. (I don't think he noticed, because: CAKE!)

I just looked down at those little needles and made one loop after another.

And now they are done, and blocked, and they fit, and I love them. And I am getting good medical care and getting better, and I love THAT.

Too bad I chose a high-contrast variegated yarn for such a detailed lace pattern. You really can't see the embossed leaves at all!

This is my happy toes not caring:

I think the little dude loves them too.

I will say after all that slow knitting, I did need a quick-hit palate cleanser. So I've got a chunky-weight neon green alpaca "Wavy Moss" hat on the needles that I MUST finish by TOMORROW — I've lost three hats in the past month and it is COLD OUTSIDE.

P.S. full Starry Night socks Ravelry details here. It's a lovely patttern, but the lace requires care and concentration and chart-reading, hence the slowness. I made them slightly snug so they wouldn't fall down and sag, and so far it is working a treat.

Finished: Blue Green Bowerbird Wrap + Graphic Knits Pattern Picks (25 weeks pregnant)

Stripes are a close second to polka dots in my pattern happiness book. So when I was invited to join the blog tour/knitalong for Graphic Knits: 20 Designs in Bold Beautiful Color—the new book from Interweave by my favorite knitting designer ever, Alexis Winslow—I immediately gravitated towards the Bowerbird Wrap, a soft, squishy loosely-knitted ribbed, cabled, striped and tassled wrap made from luscious silky merino yarn:

It was the perfect knit for this tired pregnant lady—the cables and stripes and super soft squishyness of the yarn kept me going, but it was simple enough to take on the subway or bus, or work on during my Hypnobabies birthing class or while watching my daughter as she splashed around in the bathtub or built time machines in the living room from chairs and sheets. The staggered cable pattern was fun, but easy to memorize.

The basics:

Pattern: The Bowerbird Wrap by Alexis Winslow from Graphic Knits (Interweave).

Yarn: 3 colors of Malabrigo Silky Merino, a lovely soft hand-painted DK weight silk/wool-blend yarn. I used slightly over 1 skein of "412 Teal feather" for Color A, 1 1/2 skeins of "406 Narciso" (a chartreuse) for Color B, and slightly over a skein of "196 Mares" (a gorgeous painted deep blue purple) for Color C... about 585 yards in total.

Needles: The pattern recommends size 11 to start (to create a loose squishy double-sided ribbed fabric with the DK weight yarn), but I'm a loose knitter, and got gauge with size 9 needles.

Raveled: Here.

I would definitely recommend this project for a knitter of any level, even an advanced beginner. The only even slightly tricky bits are the cables at the edges, the color changes (I used a back join), and the twisted fringe finish. There's no fitting, no short rows, no stranded colorwork. And the ribbing makes it reversible—essential for a scarf or wrap.

It makes for a versatile garment. Wrap it...

Drape it...

Or wear it as a snuggly scarf.

Seriously, this thing is really snuggly. I'm glad I sprung for the actual silk-blend yarn called for in the pattern instead of using plain wool or alpaca.

Anyway. You know I mean it when I say that Brooklyn-based Alexis Winslow is my favorite knitting designer, as I've now made three of her garments, including my beloved chartreuse lace Georgina Cardigan (which actually works great for maternity, since it doesn't touch the belly) and my purple Delancey striped cardigan. Her designs are bold, figure-flattering, colorful, creative AND super fun to knit.

So please do show her some love and check out her first book Graphic Knits. When I am not hugely pregnant, I am most excited to make (suprise), the polka dot Sweetness Pullover (see knitalong here):

My other favorites are the wrap-style Orly Cardigan (love those staggered stripes!):

The Rook Pullover...

And the Danae Mittens:

So yes—please check out the patterns from Graphic Knits (you can see details for all of them on Ravelry), they are truly awesome. (And if you, unlike me, have an area of your middle resembling a waist, I highly recommend knitting along with the Sweetness Pullover!)

Disclaimer P.S.: I did receive a free review copy of Graphic Knits, but was not in any other way compensated or paid to knit the Bowerbird or write this post—I bought the yarn myself and wrote this post because I'm a huge fan of Alexis' work and hope her first book is a big hit so she can keep designing awesome knitting patterns!

P.P.S. So I will now admit that when I took all these photos in the early wee hours I hadn't finished applying the twisted cord fringe to BOTH ends of my wrap (I'll have to do tomorrow), but I think I managed to cleverly conceal that in my photos. Except now you know. Oops!

Finished: Handpainted Hugs and Kisses Baby Socks (Better Than Booties Baby Socks)

19 weeks in, and I've finally finished my first project for little "Text Message" Wood (as my four-year-old daughter Z wants to call the baby) or "Torch Wood" (as my nerdy husband and I have been referring to him/her). The first sock took maybe a day or two, and then I got a case of the dreaded Second Sock Syndrome and it took me a month to finish the second.

It's partly because I got some really good "help" from Ms. Z winding the yarn, so somehow the inside of the second ball was completely tangled and needing days and days of untwisting and unpicking... (oh how I love my ball winder and swift, but they DO need to be operated in one direction at a time).

This is my third time making the free "Better Than Booties Baby Socks" pattern (this project and all details Raveled here) but somehow these came out gigantic, more of a two-year-old size.

I think my favorite part is that I FINALLY used up a small bit of some of the sock blanks I hand-painted with some talented knitting friends back in 2008:

Yes, that's all I have finished for the baby so far. What can I say? The second-trimester surge of energy I experienced last time around doesn't seem to be materializing, and I think it's due to all the chasing around after this one...

Next up: I'm finishing a cardigan for myself (almost done with the Hetty by Andi Satterlund) and for baby, and a scarf for myself and a hat for baby. How are your fall knitting plans shaping up?

FO: Flutter-Sleeve Cardigan + Happy 30th Birthday to Me!

Sewing is still my favorite craft activity by far, but knitting wins hands down in the "activities appropriate for extremely tired pregnant ladies who need to keep their swollen ankles up on pillows all the time" department.

This one's from the UFO pile--I started knitting it in June 2008, but had to put it down in September 2008 when it was 90% complete due to repetitive stress issues in my wrists. A few months ago I dug it out and started working on finishing it bit by bit, an hour or two a week. I patiently knit up the button bands, seamed the shoulders, wove in the ends... and last night, I attached the buttons.

Of course, it's not actually a maternity sweater, so it should fit quite a bit better when I don't have a 37-weeks-pregnant belly!

• Pattern: Pam Allen's Flutter Sleeve Cardigan from the Spring 2008 issue of Interweave Knits. The flutter sleeves are knit as one with the body pieces. It's mostly stockinette, with a seed stitch border and ribbing at the waist to create shaping.
• Sizing: I like negative ease, so I made the smallest size--36" finished bust. I had a 38" bust at the time (it's 42" at the moment--thanks pregnancy hormones!) I didn't do any horizontal FBA action, but I did add vertical length over the front bust area with short rows--at least 1.5" if I recall.
• Yarn/Needles/Notions: I used 4.5 balls of Classic Elite Classic Silk Yarn (cotton/silk/nylon blend) in a teal color (color# 6949) with circular needles size 2.5, 4 and 5. The buttons are from M&J. Although this yarn is wonderfully soft, I think I'm through with cotton and/or silk blends--they just don't have enough give for my liking. I'll stick to wool and alpaca in future.
• Modifications: Besides adding short rows, I omitted the cuff/tab detail at the sleeve ends, and just did some more seed stitch.
• Here's a link to all the details on Ravelry (I've made it public so you can see it even if you're not a member).

I'm worried that I placed the buttons too low and overdid the short row FBA. I'll wait until the pregnant belly is mostly gone to be sure, but I have a suspicion that there needs to be a third button to fix the gaposis I've got going on over the bust--not that I have a clue as to how to add a buttonhole on a finished knit object!

Button detail:

Closer-in front view:

Back view:

Does it need a third button? Hmmm...

Side view:

Flat views:

Oh, in case you're wondering what's with the new backdrop--that's Cartoonist Baby's room/my parents's room (my mom is going to stay with us to take care of Cartoonist Baby when I go back to work) in progress.

Masheka painted it a beautiful shade of (low-VOC) "Sweet Butter" yellow, and we're working on adding art to the walls and setting up furniture, etc. Cartoonist Baby is going to sleep in a cosleeper next to our bed for at least 4 or 5 months, so we still have some time to get it all together. Here's a picture of one corner so far:

The rocking chair is the same chair my mom rocked me in when I was a baby--she just refinished and recovered it. The crib is IKEA's Gulliver crib in a wood finish (don't worry--we know there should be no stuffed animals or quilts in a crib when the baby is sleeping in it, they're just on display for now.) My amazing mom sewed the quilt and the Mei Tai style baby carriers hanging on the door.

Finally... I turned 30 today. I thought it would feel like a bigger deal than it did, but I'm way more focused on another upcoming birth day!

P.S. Cartoonist Baby is getting another cardigan too, as I mentioned before, Elizabeth Zimmerman's February Baby Sweater on Two Needles from Knitter's Almanac, made with some yarn I kettle-dyed a few years back. But I'm going slow to be careful with my wrists: