What's the Story?

Data makes my little engineering heart go pitter patter, and my favorite thing is checking the stats on my blog.

#1 referring site: Ravelry
#1 page count: Estonian Heel Socks
#2 page count: (Tie) Thesis Death March and Knitting is not Art

I have almost 1000 views, (even numbers excite engineers too)! This is nothing in comparison to Deviant Art, which has 220,000 views, but I started my site back in 2005, which is like the dawn of time in internet years. I don't refer my blog to DA but maybe that is a good idea, to find people who are interested in the art things that I do.

One of the nice things about these stats is figuring out what it is that people like.

Knitting patterns and blog posts I explicitly link to in the course of discussions on ravelry.

What is it that I like?

Comments, having a place to put pictures online, writing a virtual newspaper column and being excited about the normal things in my life.

So, what is it that you like and want to see more of on my blog? (We both win! I get comments, and you get a better blog experience.)

I am getting the feeling that I want to update more frequently, because there is seldom ever nothing worth mentioning. It is a matter of taking a picture or 2 every day.

So, the reason why I am pondering, is because I found another blog to read, and I just like to read a blog from the very beginning. When the blog started back in 2002 and updates 5 days a week, this means a serious investment in time. There are a couple of fun things, like a monthly contest, question and answer, daily updates on projects, and acquisitions, and the occasional book review that interest me. No cat pictures, I have no cat, and the dear sweet lovable one is allergic to anything without scales. I can't keep plants alive, forget animals.

So in the interest of showing new things ; )

I finished my second Diantha. I'm making them as bridesmaid gifts, so I have 3 more to go. Here are a few pre-blocking pictures, to get a taste for how this version came together.

I did a few things differently. I made the medium(left), instead of the almost large(right), and I had a few less beads at the beginning. Since I did an i-cord bindoff, I didn't even need to pin the cast off edge. I just pinned the snot out of the border area. As you can see from the blocking photo, I also reblocked the original, because I fixed a couple of things. I had a problem where I knit in loops, which looked dreadful on the finished product. So I ripped out to the point in the shortrows where I made the mistake, and I am fairly happy.


My favorite part is the pearly beads I used. They pop far more than the iris ones. It is a very wearable shawl, and it is nice enough it will work for many situations.

Now I still have to finish my first lace weight project. haha. I have done several repeats since January (see the yellow lifeline)

I get 1/2 a repeat done in an hour of class. So, I will be keeping this as my carry around project, even though it is huge. 13 repeats would have been fine. Why did I think 15 would be better?

Are the artsy shots more interesting? I have been trying to be good about weighing and keeping track of yarn usage. I am more than halfway with the ball of yarn, and about 2/3 of the way through the pattern. It is tough gaining momentum on a project that is a little more than halfway done. Getting to halfway is so exciting, I got to use different charts! Then to turn around and go back to the one I memorized was lame. Now that only a 1/3 remains I can pick up some speed and get this finished. It will be soooo freaking huge. It is big before blocking.

I also started a pair of socks for the sock knitters KAL. The pattern is ornamental, and I am fully exercising knitters choice as I make it. I tried making a short row toe, in the first yarn, but it was awkward, so I did Judy's Magic Cast on, and did a normal toe, for me. Once I got to the cables, the yarn I was using was too variegated, so I switched to Wollmeise Twin, and size 0 needles, and I am halfway through the foot.

Before modeling the sock, I was sitting on my foot. Please ignore the lizard skin, I just indent easily. Imagine how lacy those socks are :D

So in the future . . .

 I see over dyeing this yarn, which I got in the LYS Christmas swap as a definite possibility. Maybe a gradient. Greens and blues and yellows are a possibility. It will be a royal pain in the ass to reskein, but that is what it will take to make it a color I love, instead of meh.

And I need to get cracking on the next Diantha. I won't start it until I finish the socks or the shawl. The beads make it hard to carry it around, so it is bike knitting or at home knitting.

In fractal news:

This was what I made for the fractal challenge.

This was more what was supposed to happen.

And this was just what I did to demonstrate to my friend what a super slick and easy way to make fractals looks like. He was impressed with how quickly my hands started moving to make this guy.

That's all for now : ) Don't forget to comment.

Molly : )