Nothing to See Here

Well I can't say a whole lot of anything got done this week. Between my 2 daily projects the lace has taken over most of my knitting time. The darn thing is in my head so bad I cannot stop knitting on it...even reknitting parts. It has gotten a wee bit frustrating over the last couple of days. It seems like the more "comfortable" I get with the pattern, the more the pattern is out to smack me down. The "weauxf gods of knitting" have taken me out more than once on this project.

The funny thing is that it seems to occur about the time I count how many rows I have left on the current chart. I haven't paid much attention to how many rows are in a given chart. When I do count the rows about halfway though, I get pretty excited to be almost done with another chart, then the weuxf gods decide "ooooo gotta smack her silly and make her tink back a row or 4" just as soon as I have 2 rows left.

It has taken over 2 hours to fix my error of a dropped stitch...a simple drop would have been quick. Nooooo, I had a bigger problem of fixing 'sl 1, k2tog, psso' which ended up down 2 rows from were it should have been. Once that unwound itsef I could not get back in pattern without ripping past the error & starting again.

I tell you what I am stopping all counting of rows...from now until completion I will only move the marker up one more row. The weaxf gods are not going to get me again....on to chart 8 of 15!

Progress on the Knitting Front

Progress is being made on a test knit for Laura at Dragonwingarts. I'm up to chart 5 of 15 so I'm almost 1/3 finished with the shawl. I'm still enjoying the knitting even through some boneheaded mistakes on my part. You would think that counting would be easy at my age wouldn't you? Evidently 8 is too large a number for me to knit & count at the same time. Might have to count out loud as I knit the stitches...that'll drive DH crazy won't it?

The Edge sweater is also coming along. I'm up to the armpits & starting the decreasing for those. The front really should be done by midweek and I'll post pics when there's more to show. I'm thinking the sweater will not be worn this season unless March gets really cold. No need to be much in a rush to finish I don't reckon.

I really like the shape of the sweater. The diagonal 'shaping' looks to be very flattering...I hope so anyway.

A Do Nothing Day

Today is one of the rare "do nothing" kind of days. With the light coat of ice & dreary day predicted I decided to get all my work done early so I could knit ALL DAY. I have actually done a small bit of tidying & laundry...there's always laundry.

I am knitting on a lace test pattern for Laura at Dragonwingarts. So far I am enjoying the heck out of the project. Lace knitting projects have been few for me so as part of the Knitting Fearlessly I decided I really need to do more "difficult" or intense projects. I don't find this one difficult, but I do need to pay close attention to my "psso" areas of the chart. I have missed a couple of these and of course I don't realize this until I'm on the purl row. Which is a bit annoying , but it is knitting...even if it is backwards!

I'm using a yarn, Malabrigo Lace in Indigo, that I have not used before. It's a wonderful blue colorway that has some lights & dark playing off one another. I think it's going to show off Laura's pattern well. I'll post pictures once I'm done with the knitting & Laura says it's okay to do. I must get back to the lace...it's gotten into my brain some kind of bad. I reckon that's a good sign, right?

Excitement & Expectation...maybe

When I realized that I was down to only 2 projects (Her Ski socks and 1/2 a Monkey sock) I decided I needed to cast on at least 2 more projects. I've gotten used to having multiple projects to work on during the evening hours. TV just is not interesting now that football is done unless my needles are in hand.

There are times I feel like having an intense, pay attention to type of work and then there are those evenings that the brain is shot (or body) and I want the so called "mindless project". A couple of nights ago I cast on the Edge Shapped Sweater from Out of Town by Debbie Bliss. I first saw this sweater knit up at one of my all time favorite yarn shops, Mosaic, in Blacksburg back in December. The owner, Gina, was kind enough to track down whose pattern it was and order the book for me. I bought the yarn, Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk Aran in a charcoal gray color, at Mosaic around Christmas and now that all the projects that had been hanging around are done it's time to get busy with the sweater.

If I am lucky maybe I can get this done in a couple of weeks. So far the knitting is fairly simple 4 row repeat so I cannot say that the mind is being taxed to the limit. I must say though that the excitement of casting on a new project makes me very happy. I'm keeping the expectations in check, but so far the yarn is behaving well and feels yummy in my hands.

Whitby's are Done!

Wooohooo...another finished object complete and ready to wear. I finally completed my Whitby Socks in Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush on Saturday.

For some reason the brain stopped working between the leg & heel gussets and I dropped a stitch somewhere along the way. The sad thing was I did not realize this until I had about 3 inches left before the toe decreases. Why oh why does this always seem to happen as soon as I say out loud no less to my DH that "I'll finish these tonight". Tempted the knitting gods with that comment because as I was saying this and putting the sock on to see how much longer it needed I noticed the loose stitch on the gussett. As I was trying to see if I could just tack thing 'tighter' rather than rip back it became quite obvious that I was indeed screwed beyond hope...there was a dangling stitch just sitting there and no way to get it back.

I decided to sleep on the "problem" overnight and tackle during the daylight hours. The solution was to frog back to the LEG for goodness sake and start again paying attention to every stitch. It took a few hours to get back to where I was the night before, but once back on track the sock had no other events happen to it. I love the yarn and the feel of these socks. At first I was worried the cables would be felt when a shoe was on the foot, but this is not the case at all.

Details:
Pattern: Whitby in Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush

Yarn:Pagewood Farm Hand Dyed Sock Yarn, fiber content: 70% merino, 20% bamboo, 10% nylon, color: reds

Needles: Latern Moon sox stix, size 2

Finished Size: Woman's size 9

Modifications: I cast on 8 extra sts to insure a nice fit around leg & foot since my foot is about an inch larger the suggested finished size of 7 1/2 inches. I adjusted the gussetts as well to maintain 17 stitches on needles 1 and 3 to get the size needed down the foot.

Decreased down to 4 sts per needle, continued knitting the last 4 stitches to the end of needle 4. Then I used the kitchener stitch to close the toe rather than the suggested method.

Here, There & Everywhere Cables

Wow was this scarf fun to knit up. The pattern is so simple, but looks way more complicated with the way the cables run on both sides. I love that the most...no matter how you put the scarf around your neck the cables are right there showing off with no "right side" or "wrong side".


The yarn is fantastic...super soft and feels so nice & warm as you knit it up. I wish we'd get some more cold weather around here so I can truly enjoy the scarf this season. I know it will be a much worn scarf during the next football season. I'm thinking a set of mittens to go with the scarf could make great use of the last skein in the stash...maybe I can score some Hokie Orange malabrigo to go with the red mahognay. My DH likes to claim it's purple which it is not...definitely maroon which is why I chose this colorway.


The details of this project:
Pattern: Here & There Cabled Scarf by Nora Gaughan as found in Scarf Style

Yarn: Malabrigo, colorway red mahogany, 2 3/4 skeins

Needles: 24 inch Knit Picks Options, size 7

Finished size: Length 75 inches with a width of 5 1/2 inches

Modifications to original: CO 54 stitches for a narrower scarf. The original stitch pattern was kept the same & continued until I felt the length was long enough. I did block the scarf using my current favorite wash, Soak, as suggestioned to open up the interplay of the cables. I'm happy with the results.

Retro Rib Socks

Finally done, I cannot believe it has taken over 6 months to finish the darn things. I started way back in the summer doing these socks. I don't really remember what I started to do rather than finish up a set of socks when the 2nd one was complete to the heel for goodness sake. I do remember that the ribbing on these drove me nuts...easily memorized, but went on and on.

I so love the yarn for this project... the Jitterbug yarn feels so nice on the feet. Project details are:

Pattern: Retro Rib Socks in Favorite Socks by Evelyn Clark

Yarn: Jitterbug by Colinette in the Castagna coloway

Needles: Clover Bamboo, size 1

Size: Woman's medium, size 9

Now on to the Whitby's.....

The Ella Shawl

The Ella has been blocked and is now dry. The shawl turned out beautiful in the Handmaiden Sea Silk...only one regret and that is in the overall size. I modified the pattern by dropping down a few needle sizes due to using the much finer sea silk rather than the called for Lady Godiva. I so wanted to use the Sea Silk, but the large needle size of 10 was much too large for the yarn. I chose to switch to a size 5's which did show the stitch pattern very nicely.

As I was in the process of knitting the pattern I did consider adding some rows to the overall pattern to make up for the needle size, but decided it would be large enough for the way I would use it. Now I'm thinking a tad bit wider/longer may have been a more wise decision.

Now on to the details:

Yarn: Handmaiden Sea Silk - 2 skeins

Pattern: Ella by Wendy Wonnacott

Needles: 47" Addi Lace Turbo, size 5

Finished size: 35 inches from the outer tip to the center bottom edge, panel widths are 13 inches

I have been draping this around me during the evening and it feels very nice against my skin. I was surprised at the warmth of such a light shawl...it will be a much used item in the cool evenings out and about.

Ella is Finally Done

I finally sat myself down and finished up Ella. The sad thing was the short amount of time it took to complete. It only involved 2 evenings of knitting time to finish the darn thing. I wish I'd known how close to being finished I had been... it would have been nice to have this completed in October of 2007 rather than Feburary of 2008. Oh well...what is done is DONE!

Today the shawl got a bath in Citrus Soak. It's now in the process of being blocked. I'll post pictures & details once it has totally dried.

On the Needles

I was asked "just how many projects are you working on." The funny thing was I didn't know exactly the TOTAL number...I work on about 5 routinely, but have a few more just sitting in their bags. I decided it was time to count them out so here you go:

Monkey Socks in Fleece Artist
1 sock complete, other sock frogged due to "gauge issues" I need to recast this one and get busy because I love the feel of these socks...too bad the colors are fall. Missed that season didn't I?


Branching Out Scarf using the recommended yarn, Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in a nice green tone. I'm not 'in love' with this and I'm only about 10 inches along...may need to frog this one.


Retro Rib Socks found in Favorite Socks by Evelyn A. Clark using Jitterbug.
One sock completed, the other sock is down to the foot section with about 3-4 inches to completion. These need to be completed! I've left them far to long sitting in the bag. I'm taking these on the ski trip so I can get them done.


Ella in Handmaiden Sea Silk in the ocean colorway.
I love this wrap...it's been hibernating since October so it also needs a resurrection.

The other projects are: Here and There Scarf, Her Ski Socks (my own pattern), and the Whitby Socks. I've been working on these daily so I know that these will be complete soon. So a total of 7 on the needle projects...no too bad since 3 are being worked on and should be competed in less than a week. Nice to see the list written down..now time to knit!

A New Yarn Adventure

My friend, B and I went out to Holly Springs Yarn Shop today for the first time. A very nice shop with friendly people. We enjoyed our trip out to the "country" which isn't all that far out in my eyes. I love to drive doesn't matter how "far out" it may be I'm game to go.

Of course I bought yarn....I always do...a sickness is all I have to say about it. Sock yarn can never count as 'stash' in my opinion. I bought some of Kathy's Scarlet Fleece it's Tubular X2 in persimmon. Already been wound and ready to start a pair of socks...a very Hokie feeling colorway!

The other two skeins were from Wisdom Yarns in Chicago and Boston. I loved the socks done up with the different patterns...know nothing about this yarn, but could not resist the patterning. The two different skeins will pattern out differently- one stripes (Boston) the other with stripes and splashes (Chicago). I'm looking forward to seeing how these work up.

Her Ski Socks

I started on Her Ski socks...don't think I'll have the pair complete before the ski trip, but I may get lucky. I'm trying out Grumperina's "pretty way" of picking up the gussett stitches. I do like the look although not easily seen with the yarn I'm using for the socks. A nice & easy technique for picking up the stitches. The gussett area seems flater...important in a ski sock to have no rubbing inside your boot.

Pattern: standard ribbed K3P2 pattern from cast on of 60 stitches

Yarn: Jo Sharp DK Wool in owl for the cuffs and brocade for the leg/foot.

Needles: size 4 Clover Bamboo

The heel is ribbed as well due to problems I have had in past ski socks...the ankle area sags. I did a slip stitch k1 to the end on the right side, then purled the wrong side.

Shaped Edge Sweater

I started to swatch for the Shaped Edge Sweater from Out of Town by Debbie Bliss. I'd really like to get started and hopefully finish before the Spring weather comes...yeah I know that's not going to happen, but I'd like to. I should have started last month when I got the pattern book from Mosaic

Looking forward to working on this though. I'm using Sublime rather than the called for DB Cashmerino Aran...kind of glad the shop didn't have enough stock of the color I wanted to use in the DB after reading comments on Raverly and other sites regarding it's pilling problem. The Sublime feels very similar to the DB Cashmerino Aran which is the one thing I loved about the sweater- the softness. In the "granite" colorway...better get busy!

Corkscrew Scarf

Corkscrew Scarf
Originally uploaded by cindiknits2

Pattern: Teva Durham's Loop-d-loop Corkscrew Scarf

Needles: Clover Bamboo size 8

Yarn: Artful Yarns Broadway, 1 skein (101 yds per 50 gram skein), color- chorus line.

Jo Sharp's Alpaca Kid Lustre, #852, 1 skein (121 yds per 50 gram skein)

Also used 1 skein of Unknown yarn that was similar in color, but had extra loops of yarn throughout the skein.

My friend originally bought the skein of broadway and the unknown skein at the LYS to do this scarf, but never started. She 'gifted' the skeins to me to get the stash levels down in her home. I decided that if I could get a hold of the book I'd do the scarf for her. The local library had a copy on the shelves...the knitting only took a day or so. I enjoyed knitting the scarf and only wish I'd had more yarn to make it longer.

More Malabrigo

Beautiful day today...exchanged some Malabrigo in the blue colorway for more Red Mahogany for my Here and There Cabled Scarf . The red is just working so well I knew I would not do anything with the blue so why not return it for someone else to enjoy. I'm enjoying working on the scarf even though it seems to be progressing slowly. I'd like to get this finished in time for a ski trip in another 10 days. I'll see how much time I have for knitting during the DAY...oh nooo.

I also could not resist the Malabrigo Lace in a deep blue (indigo) rather than the light blue ice currently in the stash. Maybe I should see about another exchange...for now that's about it. If I'm going to get my "work" done I'd better get to it.

A New Look for the New Year

It's a New Year and I thought I'd play with the look of the blog and add a few new features. Maybe it will help me to update the blog more than in the past. We shall see how it goes.

I do love the flickr badge...so easy to do who knew? My plan for knitting in 2008 is more socks...my current addiction. I also need to finish Ella...almost was done in the fall until I had the worst thing happen. I picked up the knitting in the WRONG place and out fell the needle. As you know if YO's are involved a mess will insue...it took several hours of frogging back and picking up what stitches I could, then tinking until everything was back onto the needles correctly. I have not knit on it since, but the time has come to finish up.



I did finish my oldest project, YEAH!! My husband's blanket that had been started last March and finally finished last weekend. My only regret is that I now know how to spit splice...why did I not know to felt two strands together? So when I see the areas I added another skein I kind of cringe...the spit splice dissapears so nicely. Another lesson learned.



I'll be test knitting another lace project for Dragonwing Arts...will start next week using some Malabrigo Lace in the stash. I also have the yarn needed to do Debbie Bliss's Shaped Edge Sweater...using Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk Aran in granite. I hope to swatch and get started on this one soon. It always seem as if I have more 'projects' than I have the time to knit them all, BUT I can try to can't I?

Holiday Recap

First post of the New Year...a recap of FO's for the 2007:

5 small (2.5") knitted Christmas ornaments

4 large (4") knitted Christmas ornaments

7 pairs of socks

2 felted handbags

2 lace shawls

2 scarfs

4 hats

1 pair mittens

1 pair felted clogs

3 calorimetry headbands

1 Mermaid Jacket

I guess that's not too bad since I think of myself as a process rather than product knitter. I'm most pleased with the Mermaid...by far the most intense knitting done to date. Not that it was hard just that I had difficulty wrapping my brain around the pattern instructions. Once I started writting out the pattern by row things moved very well...I could check off the row and keep track of all the "at the same time" instructions HF gives in her pattern. I was much happier and relaxed with the knitting and the final product fits beautifully. It's back on the 2008 list for my Mom...need to find the right colors of yarn.

Still finishing up another Koolhaas Hat for youngest...he thinks the original is too big. This one has only 96 sts CO and knit on US size 6 and 7's...also shortened the height by one repeat, doing only 4 pattern repeats. I hope to finish by Saturday in time for his return home.

Need to pick out projects for upcoming ski trip...thinking socks would be the easiest. H's blanket is just too large to trek to the Mountains!

The List

OK- now that it is a week until Christmas it is time to revisit the list from last month: with the updates marked:

LIST
2 (or 3) pairs of socks (Waving Lace 75% done with pair, just turned the heel on sock #2)
multidirectional scarf- DONE
2 hats- double layered- DONE
felted slippers- DONE
3 to 6 ornaments- DONE
1 or 2 sets of Fetching
felted handbag- DONE
lace shawl- DONE
Hokie Koolhaas Hat- DONE
2 Calorimetry's- DONE
1 pr Monkey Socks- DONE

Well, it's not looking too bad- still working on a pair of socks so only one pair will be completed rather than the 2 (or 3- what was I thinking). The 1 or 2 sets of Fetching will NOT get done...oh well Birthdays are in February so those can be put off until then, can't they? I'm feeling pretty good although my husband's ski socks are just 50% done...ski trip is the 2nd week of January so he'll still have them in time for the second sock. I would have been able to complete the pair, BUT I had to frog the first sock when it was WAY to large in the ankle area.

I have added 3 more ornaments to have done by Christmas AM....that is it. Back to the sock..gotta finish that by Friday.

42 Days...Oh Nooo

OK, we have less than 45 days (42?!!) until Christmas and I need to access my list of WIP's vs FO's. I may need to adjust my mindset just a smidge. I have 2+ pairs of socks to finish- hard to finish when they aren't even on the needles now isn't it? Anyway, I need to get crakin' on those! A pair of felted slippers to get done, another hat or 2 and some cool ornaments knitted out of left over sock yarn (Vogue Knitting).

A multidirectional scarf is 50% done and will be completed in another night or 222.... I need a new handbag to match my Hanne Mermaid, but it will need to wait until all the others are DONE. Must get a move on all of this now.

LIST

2 (or 3) pairs of socks

multidirectional scarf

2 hats- double layered

felted slippers

3 to 6 ornaments

1 or 2 sets of Fetching

felted handbag- DONE

lace shawl- DONE

Hokie Koolhaas Hat- DONE

2 Calorimetry's- DONE

1 pr Monkey Socks- DONE

Calorimetry

Oops- forgot all about the Calorimetry I completed in 4 HOURS! Talk about instant gratification! I started it Halloween night before the Trick or Treaters so I'd have something to do that did not require concentration, counting and all the repeated interuptions would not create problems. This was the perfect project and fit all the criteria one the intial CO was complete.

It's a tad bit large for me.... I think if I had more hair (long and full vs short short) it would be just fine. Doesn't matter really since I'm planning on it be a gift anyway, but I wanted to see the 'full effect' and it just doesn't work well with the short cut. Maybe I'll do another on smaller needles and fewer stitches.

The details were:

Pattern: Calorimetry by Kathryn Schoendorf

Yarn: Filatura di Crossa 127 Print , color #41

Needles: size 8 Knit Picks Options

Finished size: 17" long, 7 1/2" wide at it's widest point