I scrapped the RPM sock for the time being, as it yet again DID NOT FIT MY FOOT. This sock curse is as maddening as my feet are.

I have a solution. To the left is a new sock in progress. It is a simple 3×1 rib sock that I am making out of simple and sophisticated KnitPicks Essential Shoreline Twist.

With this sock I will carefully work with my ridiculously shaped feet, and figure out my measurements and how they pertain to stitch counts. I will retain these records for further socks.

Oh, and no more short row heels. They’re the devil for my feet. Flap heels forever.

In other news, I’ve been pressing forward on the Doctor Who scarf, and decided to take  measure and some photos. I was rather… blown away by my progress. Looking at my chart, I am over halfway done. The scarf is 5 feet unstretched, 8.7 feet stretched to blocking length. It’s trippy to think I’m halfway done, even though it’s taken me over two years to get to that point. Can I finish it in time for Halloween this year, and fulfill my Fourth Doctor costume? We’ll see.

Pics of the over-halfway progress:

I love looking at it. It’s all coming together!

I had a job interview yesterday and kicked it’s butt, so I celebrated with new yarn. Here, you may ogle it. It’s Biscotte & Cie – Felix in the Belle Gueule colorway. Self-striping superwash merino deliciousness.

Also!

Regarding the shark hat:

So many of you have stepped up offering test knitting support, kind words and encouragement, and you’ve all been more than patient waiting for the pattern. It will be ready for release very soon! My small but dedicated team of test knitters have been fabulous in helping me perfect this pattern so that it can be as error-free as I possibly can make it before release. At this point, it’s my own paranoia making me triple and quadruple check it. You’ve all been fabulous and I appreciate all the resounding support. :) Knitters are Good People.

Delicious Felici goodness.

Two skeins each of two Felici self-striping yarns, Time Traveler and Abracadabra. Felici is DELICIOUSLY soft and smells like fresh wool. The most exciting one, of course, is the Time Traveler colourway:

Wibbly Wobbly.

The Pirate and I have decided on the Jaywalker pattern for the socks. We both adore Jaywalkers, and they are appropriately wibbly-wobbly while still maintaining the integrity of the stripes.

Also, I only had to chop a small amount of yarn to make the skeins start in the same spot.

The small clump is the sacrificed yarn. Woo!

So excited to start these!

An Inspirational Pattern

Blog about a pattern or project which you aspire to. Whether it happens to be because the skills needed are ones which you have not yet acquired, or just because it seems like a huge undertaking of time and dedication, most people feel they still have something to aspire to in their craft. If you don’t feel like you have any left of the mountain of learning yet to climb, say so!

Mine might be obvious to regular readers of my blog: My current project I’m aspiring to complete is my Doctor Who Scarf. First, a bit of background on the scarf’s origins…

Doctor Who is the longest-running sci-fi series ever. It airs on the BBC, and began in 1963, continuing to the present day (with a hiatus from 1987-2005, and a TV movie in 1996). The show follows The Doctor, who is the last of a humanoid alien race called the Timelords. He travels in his spaceship, the TARDIS, which has forever been stuck in a cloak of a Police Public Call Box from the 1950s.

The TARDIS, the Doctor's ship.

The Doctor, like all Timelords, has the ability to regenerate himself into a new form when he dies, a total of thirteen times. This allowed the BBC to keep the show running for as long as it has; when an actor needs to resign, another can take his place through “regeneration”. The doctor has regenerated ten times to this date; the series is currently on the eleventh.

A chronological line-up of all eleven Doctors.

This entry pertains to the fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker. His Doctor reigned from 1974 to 1981 and had the longest career of any doctor in the series. He is also generally the favorite Doctor amongst the majority of Doctor Who diehards. This snippet from doctorwhoscarf.com explains how the scarf came to be:

When Tom Baker was cast as the Doctor, costume designer James Acheson picked up a load of wool and asked a knitter called Begonia Pope to knit a scarf for Tom. She inadvertently used all the wool Acheson had given her, resulting in a scarf that was some twenty feet long. This unusual scarf was well received by the cast and crew and after being shortened slightly, it was worn by Baker beginning on “Robot.”

A great picture of the scarf, and the Doctor himself. Oh, and Daleks. (click to enlarge)

Chris Brimelow, the creator of doctorwhoscarf.com and the designer of the various scarf patterns, has placed them all on his site in great detail. I chose to make the duplicate scarf featured in Season 15 onwards, as it’s thicker than the original. It needs to be 16-17 feet long… I am currently 2.5 feet in. It is knit entirely in garter stitch, and the mind tend to fry after awhile. I combat this by multitasking, watching television or reading e-books while I knitknitknit away at the long, odd-width stripes.

The scarf so far... (click to enlarge)

We're at about 2.5 feet unstretched. (click to enlarge)

This scarf is the biggest undertaking I’ve handled since my first foray into knitting. To complete one is a goal I’ve had since I started knitting, and is one of the reasons I began to knit in the first place. To complete it is to remove an item from my Bucket List, and to complete something great in my knitting career. When it is completed, I hope to dress up as Tom Baker’s Doctor for Halloween. :D

There are other patterns I certainly want to tackle one day that I don’t yet feel comfortable tackling… (these all link to Ravelry, so you need to have an account to view!)

A Bohus sweater, a beautiful lace shawl of some sort (examples: Laminaria, Ishbel), things involving heavy colourwork or involved cabling… Lots of daunting projects ahead, and I will get there!

See what others are writing about for day 2!

Basically a fun excuse to do a blog post a day, answering the daily questions put on by Eskimimi. Great idea! I’m looking forward to it. I start tomorrow, so keep an eye out!

Fun thing I never mentioned: Ravelry member Alatheia used my Jayne Hat pattern to knit a hat for Wil Wheaton. She gave it to him at PAX East, and took photos of him wearing it with a Doctor Who scarf. I died of geek a little. Good job, Alatheia!

(obviously, credit for the above photo belongs to Alatheia. I wish I was there for it! I’m a total Wil fangirl.)

I’m also happy that I was able to push my progress bar on the Doctor Who Scarf to 10%. I may actually be closer to 15%, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I think it’s going to be the subject of one of my psots this week, which will mean new photos. Stay tuned!

I’ve been very busy with managing my home businesses. It’s extremely rewarding, but certainly doesn’t leave me with much personal time. The personal time I do get HAS been spent knitting, and the stress relief is incredible.

First off, some standard washcloths.

Knitting these for some friends who have recently had children, and a few new ones for me. I have way too much wash cotton sitting around, it’s time to use some!

Next, we’re up to 2 feet, unstretched, on the Doctor Who Season 15 scarf.

I’ve been knitting this between other projects. When I get tired of garter stitch, I move on to something else for awhile. It will eventually get done this way, no idea when! I like how it’s coming along.

Finally, I knit an anglerfish for the boyfriend.

He bought me the book Amigurumi Knits by Hansi Singh, and in exchange he asked for an anglerfish from the book. Happily obliged, and knit in his favorite colour, green.

More pics below, showing the bioluminescence along the back and other angles. The lure is bendable.

Next on my pattern list is a new pair of socks, a new summer hat, and possibly a hermit crab. Stay tuned!