Confused and Not Confused

Okay, I've been neglectful for too long, and now, once again, I've got about a million things I want to say. One of the most important - an addendum to the last post - and an exciting change will both have to wait until next time. But in the meantime, there are some small bits of news to report:

1. A very sad thing happened to some nice mohair

Sigh. I saw it coming for a while. It seems that my gauge on the Kidsilk Haze tank and cowl loosened up after I got the hang of the pattern, and the thing was coming out way too big. I started thinking this pretty early on, but kept telling myself it would be okay. The real problem was that neither the smallest nor the next size up was anywhere near right for me - it goes from 38 to 42.5, and I really wanted a 39 or 39.5. I know, I should have gone for the smaller size to begin with, especially since it's a lace stitch pattern and can be blocked fairly violently if necessary. But I, like many other knitters, have a pathological fear of ending up with something too small. Well, when I realized that it was starting to look crazy-big, I put it on two needles and confirmed that…in fact, it was crazy-big. But the good news is (1) at this gauge, I should get right around 39.5 inches by knitting to the smaller size instructions and (2) the smaller size only requires two balls of yarn, so I won't have to try and fail to rip this out (I still have half of this first ball, so I should be okay even if it goes over the recommended yarn requirements). I was hoping for a moment that what I have already could actually be turned into the cowl.



But not unless you like a cowl that goes down to your navel.

Hubbster suggests that I bind off what I have, cut it and cover the ends with sewn-on ribbon or something to keep them from unraveling, and make it a scarf. The idea has potential, I think. Hubbster, as you can tell, is well on his way to becoming totally indoctrinated.

Look how I hadn't even screwed up the pattern or anything:



2. FO: more damn socks

Finished the third pair of moccasin socks, in stripes made from the leftovers from the first two pairs. They're adorable, but there've been so many socks lately, is it even worth a picture? I thought not.

3. Fair Isle on temporary hold

I started getting seriously annoyed with the sleeves on the fair isle; I was doing it on two circs, but while one circ was the addi turbo I'd used for the body, the other was a very old steel circ I'd gotten on ebay with a flexible steel cord that…well, it's circular but calling it "flexible" is really pushing it. It drove me nuts. However, the sleeve is still too wide for DPNs (and I hate them anyway), and it so happens that the one size between 2.0 mm and 5mm that I don't have in a long magic-loop size addi turbo happens to be 3.25mm, the one I need for this sweater. I have 3.0mm, and 3.5mm. So I've been toying with the idea of just using the 3.0mm and deciding it won't make a difference (since I can use it for both sleeves). I thought for one brief shining moment that this would be a good excuse to order at least one of the new KnitPicks needles, but they don't have the 3.25mm in the longest cord length. Grrr. And it's too small for the Options set, too. So…what should I do? I really can't justify going out and buying an addi turbo right now (the others I got cheap in Moscow).

4. Confusing words unconfused:

English Genius You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 80% Expert!

Link: The Commonly Confused Words Test

Yeah, baby. Okay, as a college writing instructor, I'd have been really humiliated if I'd done any less well. But - it's driving me crazy - which one did I get wrong?? And, is there any way I can work these results into my CV....?

5. I have a secret

Um, so I have a secret. And it'll have to stay a secret for a while. But I'll tell you about it eventually. Promise. (And no, I'm not pregnant, or designing anything.)