I don't have Startitis

This is a post of an odd number different topics or is it a number of odd topics?

Startitis is what many Internet knitters call it when you start a lot, but don't finish a lot of projects. I think the condition (for it's not a disease) is more properly called Stopitis. After all, if all those projects you started got finished, there would be no need to talk about starting too many projects. It's not the starting that's the issue. It's the stopping--not to be confused with stripping, stropping, or shopping. Hi, I'm Kathy Kathy Kathy and I have Stopitis and I have Stopitis and I have Stopitis.

Latest new project: Packer socks. I broke down and bought the expensive Artyarns sock yarn at Ruhama's. It's not their most expensive sock yarn, but I think it may be the most I ever paid for socks with the exception of some Koigu I bought in Sun Prairie on my way to the last Last Saturday Knitting in Madison. (I only bought 2 of those!) Here's a picture of the Packer socks in progress. I may knit them only during football games. I got the stitch pattern from Ravelry. I can't for the life of me remember the name of the pattern, so I can't give you a link. I was very impressed by the way the yarn pooled in the pattern stitch, which is really just a 3 x 2 rib with a slipped stitch and a twisted stitch in the knits. It's early yet for my socks, but they just may do it. See the white bars? That's hopeful. The original yarn in the pattern was a 3 color variegate of red, black and white. It looked all checkery and poolish. There weren't a lot of examples, but not all of them demonstrated the same effects. I'll get back to you when I find the pattern again.

And yes, I have started keeping my dpn's in a shoe. Don't ask me why, because I don't know. It just seems to work for now.

The latest finished baby object is a set that includes a jumper (American jumper=sleeveless dress to be worn with a blouse under it) and two slippers. Let's look at those first. Unfortunately, they came out different sizes in the same needles and yarn. The second one was quite a bit smaller even though I consciously (thought I) tried to knit more loosely. After less than the usual amount of pondering, I decided to knit another one. I figured if I knit a third one it would match one of the others. I was hoping to match the larger of the two, but I didn't bother trying to loosen my gauge anymore and I didn't dare change needle size. That would have been tempting those sweetly malicious knitting sprites. That reminds me of a little story from work today. A child pointed out to me that a piece of electronics had the word "Sprite" on it. "But that is a kind of soda," he said. Well I told him it was a word with other meanings as well. For instance it is a small creature like a fairy or pixie or brownie who dances in the woods. "Hmm . . .," said he. By the time I started in on how a sprite might also refer to a water creature I could tell he just wanted to escape. I promise I did not say"might also refer to." I managed to overexplain without any fancy vocabulary. It's probably a good thing I managed to stop before I started to tell about a color of Cotton Fleece yarn by Brown Sheep called Sprite. OK, so it's spelled differently. I can't help it if the Brown Sheep Yarn Company has an Old Englyshe affectatione.
I think you can see that slipper number 3 turned out smallish. But this was not the end of the journey. There was felting still to do. These are before pictures. Here is the before of the jumper.

I was expecting shrinkage of about 2 inches in length on the jumper because, people, if I may call you people, and even if I mayn't, I had done a swatch, measured it, washed it and remeasured it. No brag, just fack. OK, brag and fact. I don't know why the most pleasantly proportioned and beautifully balanced items insist on appearing wonky in my photographs. Let me assure you that the hem was even.

Here is the after.

I got it right on the dress though not the slippers. I washed all three and the big one ended up matching one of the little ones in size. Go figure. I sewed white buttons on the booties as one would see on a man's dress shirt. Those are straps, not thumbs.

Technically, I don't think this was a felted project since the yarn is 95 percent cotton, but it did shrink nicely. It went through the washer and the dryer. It needed a small amount of defuzzing, but I know from my swatch and from the lint screen that it defuzzed quite a bit in that first wash. I'd say the texture now is between a sweater and a towel. I'd wear it. This yarn was one of my earlier stash purchases and was my first from the fabulous Little Knits. I've got a lot left. I think I might have to consider it for some sort of luxury drying item, like a handknit bath mat. It would be an excellent blanket, but I don't have that much.

Jumper set details

Pattern: Rainbow Dress by Georgie Hallam I managed to make the top smaller on my own before I saw that there was a smaller version. Really a fun, quick, eminently customizable pattern to knit.

Yarn: Cascade Rainbow. 2 skeins and maybe a titch of a 3rd.