Hat

Before I get to the hat stuff, first I just have to say that I can't believe I forgot to mention in my last post the way my Feathery Lace Wrap ended. I was so close to the end, and I managed to screw it up! I was dumbfounded...I had knitted the entire thing just fine...it had been on a couple of plane trips, various car trips, worked on in front of the TV, while holding conversations...and yet, right at the end? I worked row 1 instead of row 2....ugh! So I backtracked that row...but somehow forgot all of the psso's and managed to screw it up even more, gaining stitches, dropping stitches...it was not pretty. At least the fuzzies kept those dropped stitches from going anywhere. At first I fixed it in a "good enough" sort of way and since I was so close to the end of the yarn it would have been a perfectly acceptable place to stop...but this is me we're dealing with and that bothered me too much so I then was forced (by myself) to go back even further to really fix it...and finally got it together. It's not particularly fun or easy to tink that fuzzy stuff!

Now back to the hat business. I finally have a WIP photo to share of that hat I'm making for my husband for Christmas. I hadn't wanted to take a photo for fear that he'd spot it on the camera, but I am thinking he's not going to notice what it is even if he does spot it. He's just not all that detail-oriented when it comes to my knitting. Anyway, this is making rather slow progress because of having to work on it in little bits when I get home from work before he does. I work on it upstairs sitting on the bed because I can hear him when he gets home and is on his way up the stairs, so I have time to stuff it in the bag!



I originally had worked out a "manly" design using fair isle but I wasn't liking it. First there was too much stranding, and also I was just using the dark gray and the two blues (those are the colors in his winter coat) but it just wasn't showing up well enough. So I ripped back to before the colorwork, and then started a simple stripe pattern, adding in some light gray between the blue and the dark gray, which really makes the blues pop nicely. So I am pleased with it now. I am of course getting the little "jog" where I change colors at the end of my round, but when I go to weave in ends I'll see what magic I can come up with to make that less apparent. Anyway, I like this so far so we'll see how it ends up!

Okay, so I know I said I would do seven hats for Christmas. We'll see about that. More on that soon, I think. I need to come up with a plan. It's not that I'm backing out...I just don't know that this is the Christmas for this particular gift theme. We'll see.

Feathery Lace Wrap

Well, surprise of surprises, I have an unexpected F.O. to share!

I took my Feathery Wrap along on our road trip for Thanksgiving, more as a secondary project and I never expected to finish it! But I just got into a groove with it and then realized that I was actually nearing the end. It was one of those projects that as much as I was enjoying knitting it (I was enjoying it so much that I almost didn't want to end!) I thought I was never going to finish it, and had resigned myself to knitting it in little bits here and there, and never really feeling like I was ever going to get to the end, but just enjoying the knitting process and not concerning myself with the end result as much.

But I was marching along on it and suddenly I realized I was making great strides and decided to just finish it. Now I can wear it for the holidays!

So without further ado, here is my Feathery Lace Wrap (also known as the Feathery Lace Stole, from Exquisite Little Knits).



I used Rowan Kidsilk Spray yarn, 2 whole balls. This is the yarn the pattern calls for, except that it calls for Kidsilk Haze, which is the solid color version of the yarn I used. I liked this though...it was a subtle enough color shift that added to the overall look. These aren't the greatest photos for showing the color, although you can see the changes, but it shows the pattern well. (These photos make the color look like it's dark red and hot pink...which I suppose if you look closely it sort of is...but it just looks more blended in real life, somehow. I love it.)



I really liked this pattern. It was a simple, two-row repeat that was very easily memorized, even for me, a novice lace knitter. And since the yarn is so light and fluffy, it was the perfect project for travel, since it took up zero space. I just put it all into a ziploc baggie, squeezed out all the air, and was all set. And until I started on the second ball of yarn, I even used the small size of baggie!

Some patterns I love but wouldn't make again...this is not one of them. I'd love to make this again, and am thinking that perhaps I'll find some black yarn, since even though knitting a wrap in black might be tough, at least with this pattern it would be familiar. If I was making a black wrap, I might make it a little longer and wider. Oh, and this yarn did bleed on my fingers while knitting it. Doesn't bother me though. I haven't washed this yet but I am sure it'll bleed some when i do.

More details on this project can be found here.

I gots nuthin'

Hi. Just checking in to say hi, since I know I haven't posted in a while. I've got nuthin' for you today, other than a wordy edition of my current WIP status, and some potential plans for Christmas knitting.

First, the WIPs. I have updated my sidebar with my current projects. The observant among you might notice I've snuck yet another thing in there. I had mentioned a while back that I was tempted by this blanket I'd seen the pattern for. Well one night we were out for dinner at a tex mex place in a shopping center with a Michael's, and my sweet husband agreed to follow me in to look for this yarn while we waited for our table to be ready. I decided that if I was able to find at least some of the ten different colors needed that I'd consider getting them and making the blanket. Well, much to my surprise, I found all ten!! So, I got them. Anyway, I started it and, no photos because I am a loser, but I'm on the third block. It's constructed in four vertical panels of five blocks each. The solid colors are done in a pretty star pattern stitch and the stripes are stockinette. So far I really like it, perfect for TV knitting and it's nice and soft. This is the pattern:



Ahem. Yes. Like I needed to start another project. But at least I'm admitting to it, right?! I mean, I could just not mention it here, and you guys wouldn't be any the wiser. ;o) Anyway, the reason I wanted to start it sooner rather than later is because of Moose. See, I have a lovely afghan I'd made last winter which I adore, but, it has fringe. And Moose likes fringe. But I don't like that Moose likes fringe. So it's a hassle to try and tuck the fringe in when you use it. So I thought, why not go for a fringeless blanket to have around? So that's the plan.

Other WIPs are either sitting quietly and patiently waiting for me to return to them, or are being worked on in fits and starts. I have been doing a little work on the Feathery Lace Stole here and there.

However...there's more. I may have to set aside all of these projects in favor of some Christmas knitting. I don't normally do a ton of Christmas knitting, but I came up with an idea this year. I probably shouldn't admit to this one here or I'll feel committed to it, but this morning an idea came to me. Do you think I can make 7 rather simple hats by Christmas? I'm sure I can. Right? I am thinking of these for my in-laws...mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law, and then our two nieces and nephew. As you know I'm already making a hat for my husband (more on that soon...I revamped my colorwork design and I like it better now) so I could have one for everyone who'll be there. My husband has two other siblings but a) they live in California and don't really need winter hats, and b) they won't be here for Christmas because that's the sister-in-law who's having the baby soon for whom I made the sweater and booties. We'll just be sending their gifts this year. But a frequent theme with the family is, say, all the girls get the same thing, all the guys get the same thing, or every couple gets the same little gift, and it's fun that way. So I thought, everyone could get a hat. We'll see. Like I said, I probably shouldn't have mentioned it here yet!

That's it from here for now. If I don't post again before Thursday, I wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Solstice Slip Complete

Check it out! I actually finished something!! Bet you thought I'd never do that, huh? It was getting a little out of hand here for a while.

But here we are, completed Solstice Slip socks:







And, to prove I really did finish both socks, here's both of them (I ought to make another sock blocker):



Yay! I'm so excited to finally finish them. When I realized how close I was this morning to finishing them, I just kept on going until I got them done.

I was so excited to post about these that I haven't done my little spec page for these yet. In fact, I have other such pages to catch up on. Anyway, keep your eyes peeled for a new list of links in my sidebar. But, in case anyone doesn't know what these are, this is the June kit from Rockin' Sock Club 2007, the yarn is Socks That Rock Lightweight in Firebird, and the pattern is Solstice Slip. (Currently only available to club members, but I believe they eventually offer them to everyone.)

A fun knit, and my sluggishness doesn't mean I didn't like knitting them! :o)

Startitis, but no Finishitis

Lately I haven't had any FOs to report on because...I haven't finished anything. HA! Imagine that. I have certainly had a rash of Startitis, and while as we all know it is exciting and fun to start new things, it's also bringing me down a little because I am not finishing anything. Yes, I am aware this is of my own doing. And also because I am not finding oodles of time to knit, so when I do knit, I only get a row or two done on something which gets me practically nowhere, or at least it feels like it.

The other day I started yet another project. I know, I know, I should be smacked. But, the idea came to me when I was driving home one day, and since it involved yarn I already had, I figured what's the harm? Plus (because I need another excuse...) it is the only non-patterned knitting I have going right now. This is mindless stockinette...well, mindless to a point. Teeny tiny yarn does need a bit of attention. But still.

Here are some not-very-informative WIP shots. The yarn is KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud in Peppermint.



It's hard to see what this is going to be in these photos, but I am imagining a big, soft, light and airy circular scarf thing that can be worn once around my neck and hanging down, or wrapped twice for added fluff and warmth. We'll see if this comes out at all close to what I am imagining.

Here I've tried to spread out what knitting I've done so you can see the lacy stockinette it is. I like it. Oh, and I did a really loose cast-on on larger needles so that it's not restricting in any way when it's done. So it looks a little loose now but I think that's for the best.



It'll take me a while to do this one...so don't expect frequent post updates on it!! hehe.

So back to the lack of Finishitis...I really have been trying to concentrate mostly on my Solstice Slip socks, since they're the closest to being done of all my WIPs...and while I'm not tired of knitting them, I am tired of mentioning how I still haven't finished them, and I'm sure you're probably tired of hearing about these by now! ;o)

However...

In keeping with my latest trend, I now need to start yet another project. Notice there I said "need"? There's a valid reason for this one, I swear. See, it's a Christmas present for DH and I need to sneak knitting time in on this one whenever he's not around to catch me working on it. I am making him a hat and mittens that will go with his ski coat. I had made him some black mittens a while back which he wears all the time (I love that he loves them!) but I think he needs another pair. And his coat is blue so I figured, there's my plan.

This is the yarn I dug up from my stash (just some Lion Brand Wool-Ease) that goes well with his coat. I'm going to do mostly gray, with some patterning in the two blues. (And for the record, I think there's very little chance he will ever read this blog, so I'm safe mentioning it here!)



Off to swatch and cast on for the hat!

Turkey Lurkey

Isn't he great? We got the kit with the turkey parts at an apple festival a few weeks ago, and then picked up a pumpkin last week. He makes me laugh!

Temporary fall leaves sock

I know I promised a photo of my soon-to-be frogged Fall Embossed Leaves sock. So I'm here to make good on that.

Here's a photo of it, as far as I got. As you can see, I was almost done!! erg. But that foot section was way too big, seeing as it had a lot more stitches in it than it was supposed to have. But you can see how fallish the colors are...I love it.






Here it is after I reclaimed the red yarn from the toe to start the other sock. This is my homemade sockblocker...a wire hanger! It works great.



So I've decided that this error of mine is turning out to be a blessing in disguise because I am now able to make the socks better. I haven't frogged this one yet but I did start the new sock, with a few improvements.

First, I cast on with bigger needles, and v e r y l o o s e l y. I hope this does the trick, since the first sock really had a too-tight cast on.

Second, I decided to make the red cuff part a little shorter, by three rows. Not much, I realize, but I think it makes it look a little better. My cuff was longer than the pattern called for, even though I did the required number of rows. (Please don't berate me, but no, I don't tend to pay much attention to row gauge. And yes, I know this is going to bite me in the @$$ one of these days.)

The third change I am making is I am going to do one fewer repeats of the pattern. I think the sock was turning out to be too long before.

So, I definitely got my leaf sock knitting mojo back! ;o)

Too cute

Okay, I know everyone's probably posting this one, but I can't resist. It just hits too close to home! :)

No RSC spoilers here

For anyone stopping by who hasn't gotten their October Rockin' Sock Club yarn yet, have no fear! I won't breathe a word...except that I got it in the mail yesterday and I like it! Both the yarn and the pattern look neat. I'm way behind on those RSC projects at the moment...having not even finished my June kit Solstice Slip socks yet! Ah well. I decided that I just wasn't happy with trying to rush and finish each of them before the next kit arrived. I'll definitely do them all, and in order and as intended with yarn and pattern (I'm a little neurotic like that)...and will cast on for the August socks as soon as the June ones are done. Just not going to worry myself with it is all.

I've also made a resolution to only knit only things I want to knit, and only if I am having fun doing so. If I'm not having fun, into the frog pond it goes! Let me just say too, I still love the fall socks I am working on even if I have to frog the whole thing. It's a little disheartening to have to start all over, but that's okay. I do love to knit after all! And once I take a break from it, I'll be excited to start it all over again. I decided I might get back into it by starting sock #2 before frogging the first one...see if I can't master a looser cast-on.

OH, and I did recently get a nifty tool that will make following the pattern chart a lot easier...the Chart Keeper from KnitPicks. Very cool! It comes with four magnetic strips that hold your paper in and which you use to keep track of your rows. It has a strap that holds it closed with magnets and can be folded back around while it's open to hold it that way (like in the photo on that link). Anyway, I like it.

Last night I needed to knit something super simple, so I worked on my basic socks in gray Trekking. It was kind of refreshing to knit something without a pattern for a change. I might need to knit a hat or mittens or something else quick and simple too, just for the instant gratification!

But...I now have my eye on this:



It's a blanket from Patons that I got a link to in their latest e-newsletter. (I can't find it on their website, so email me if you want me to send you the link.) It uses ten different Patons SWS yarn colors, 5 solids and 5 self-striping. I am so tempted!! It looks so cozy...you knit it in four strips of 5 blocks each...each color gets repeated twice, and the solids have a simple pattern and the stripes are just stockinette. I put the list of yarns needed in my purse and figure anytime I'm near a store that sells it I'll pop in to see what they have. You can never have too many blankets, right? Especially with oil prices the way they are these days!! This winter we'll be keeping the heat down and the blankets handy. :o)

Time Out

Argh! My Fall Embossed Leaves sock is in Time Out. Why? Because I messed up. Waaaaaay back at the gusset, I didn't decrease enough for the foot...but then I proceeded to knit the entire foot, and didn't discover my mistake until I started decreasing for the toe. *sigh* So, the sock is in time out right now until I decide what I am going to do.

See, I'd definitely just rip it back to the gusset and restart from there if that was truly the only problem...but...in all honesty, my cast-on was a little tight as well. A part of me knew this and didn't want to admit it, but when I tried the sock on I knew I couldn't deny it. So now I figure I'll rip it back and start all over...and I am annoyed with myself and consequently my sock so I needed to walk away from it! Which also bothers me and makes me sad because it's my fun fall project in honor of all the pretty colors out there, and I'd like to have them done...but now I've lost my steam.

I should just go back to knitting something else for a little while (like my Solstice Slip socks which I still haven't finished!), but I also don't like to leave things unresolved. Oh well. I'll try and remember to take a photo of it before I frog it!

A small update

Just popping in to say Hi. I don't have any knitting photos for you right now, nor do I have any finished knitting to report on. So instead I'll post this photo from Vermont last weekend. More on that later.



I have been doing some knitting, but mainly I've been doing a little reorganizing, especially regarding my notebook of completed knitting. I like to keep detailed notes on my knitting projects when I'm done with them, and the system I'd devised for myself was nice but very labor-intensive, and it was bringing me down and making me dread it, and just wasn't working for me anymore. It involved printing a template I'd created onto card stock and then printing photos of the projects and attaching them...and it was just too much. I am trying to simplify my life! So I am in the process of transferring my completed knitting project notes to a nice new notebook. Plain and simple, nothing fancy. Don't worry...I won't go on and on about it any more here! ;o) But now I can't relax until this project is done, so I am doing more of that instead of knitting.

Anyway, here and there I've still been working on knitting my Fall Embossed Leaves socks and the first one is coming out really neat, I'm past the heel and onto the foot now. I will post a photo of it as soon as I'm done. I should be able to finish it this weekend as I am heading up to Rhode Island to visit my best friend. I am flying up but taking the train back so I'll have lots of lovely knitting time! So hopefully next week I'll have a photo of it to share with you.

Oh, in other news, I ordered some more yarn. (hehe). But only a little, I swear. ;o) I was drooling over the Anemoi Mittens pattern and I got some KnitPicks Essential yarn to make them. I am using that yarn for my Embossed Leaves socks and it's so soft I figured it would make great mittens too. I went on Ravelry and looked around at other people's mittens to see what color combinations would work best. I noticed that the ones with two high contrast colors looked best, although that's such a pretty pattern that I am sure any colors would look great. But the colors that jumped out at me the most were pink and white (of course!). So that's what I decided on for my mittens and I got a ball of the pink (Petunia) Essential and then a skein of their "Bare" yarn (in the equivalent to Essential). And then since the white will (hopefully) be enough for two pairs, I also got a ball of the green (Grass) color to make some mittens for my friend.

Oh wait! I have another yarn story. A couple of weekends ago, we went up to visit my in-laws. That's when we had the baby shower for my sister-in-law for which I was making the sweater and booties. (Which, by the way, got a great response from the mom-to-be and also everyone at the shower. hee! It was fun to have my work appreciated. They actually applauded!...which made me a tiny bit uncomfortable, actually, but was still nice.)

Anyway...so, the day after the shower we all went for a drive to Vermont (they live near Albany) which is a traditional family outing every fall. The day usually includes a picnic in the park, leaf catching (when you try and catch falling leaves, and you get a dime from my father-in-law if you catch one), a hike in a park, stops at a couple of favorite shops, including the ever-popular stop at the Chocolate Barn where we all get chocolates and then sit on the hill and eat them. This year was a tad rainy and damp so there were minor adjustments to be made, although we did find a covered picnic area where we still managed to have our picnic, and went for a walk around a lake (pictured below). Leaf-catching was a bit sparse as it was early in the season, and the trees weren't letting go of them yet. But the day was still a lot of fun and the fog that rolled in made it very pretty.



(But I digress, yet again. I promised a yarn tale...)

SO...before we left the house my sweet sister-in-law looked up yarn stores in Vermont and found one that was on our way! And they stopped there! For me! Isn't that cool? I kept insisting that we didn't need to, but they were very sweet about it. So I made my choice quickly. I got a skein of the famous Malabrigo in a gorgeous turquoisey blue. I am on a turquoise kick lately. It's as soft as I had heard it was and I am now trying to figure out what to make. I want it to be special, and I'm thinking scarf since it's so delightfully soft. It's worsted weight, and about 216 yards. A decent amount for a scarf, I think. If nothing else comes to me, I'll just make a long narrow ribbed scarf with big needles, and I think that'll yield something nice that I can snuggle up to.

The yarn store we went to was called Black Sheep Yarns in Dorset, VT. It doesn't seem to have a website. The ladies there were very sweet, and it appeared to be in a new building that was on someone's property. There was a house there and some little dogs that ran up to the fence, so our nieces and nephews were entertained by the dogs while I looked at yarn. So that was a really fun end to a really fun day!

Guess that's it from here for now. Happy Knitting!

Baby shower gifts

As I've been yammering on about lately, I have a baby shower to attend/host for my sister-in-law. And as a Knitter, to me the words "baby shower" just say "GO, go now and knit something cute!" So that's what I did. At least I think it's cute, and I'm pretty sure my sister-in-law will too. She likes to make things herself, so she has an appreciation for things handmade, and that makes it all the more fun to make things for her.

These are the invitations I made. The little beach ball is a clip art which I printed onto the cards with my computer printer (my other sister-in-law with whom I am hosting this wants to do a baby-boy-beach theme for the party since the mom-to-be lives in San Diego). The invitation bit in the middle is a rubber stamp I have, which I stamped using embossing powder. (Here is an explanation of how it works, which while it does not have photos, explains the process pretty well.) Then I punched a zillion little holes and threaded the ribbon around. (Oh, and the little hole punches? We're STILL finding those all over the house.)



Now on to the knitting. First up is the sweater, Devan from Knitty. Yarn is Sockotta in color #605.



I love the little square buttons I found for it, too.



Then I just had to make some booties to go with the sweater. The pattern for those is Saartje's Bootees. These were very quick to knit and the end result is satisfyingly adorable!



Here's the set:



In addition to these items, I also sewed some little embroidered decals onto some "onesies." I think they came out cute too:



I think the bees are just too cute...I've had the pile of these sitting on my dresser (unreachable by the cats) and every time I walk by I see the little bees smiling at me. I love the lion too.

So, we're off soon for a family visit and the shower. Back to the blog in a few days!

Text update

I'm just stopping in to say a quick Hi, and give a text-only update of what I've been knitting. (I'm sorry...I need to take photos of things which I will do later but for now hopefully this will suffice.)

So, I've been frantically knitting away at my baby shower gifts for my sister-in-law for this weekend. (This being my main excuse for not blogging...I have been knitting you see...deadline knitting. Oh, and I had to make the invitations too, which took longer than I'd expected them to. But I digress.) Anywho...as I've mentioned before I am making the Devan cardigan from Knitty, and then I am also making matching booties from Saartje's Bootees pattern. So cute! The sweater is all knitted up, washed and blocking, so now I'm ready to add the buttons. I finished the knitting portion of the booties, which only took me two evenings, and am ready to tackle the finishing. I think they're going to be just a little cute. :o)

The cardigan came out looking rather cute too, with the self-striping yarn acting a little haphazardly, but looking deliberate at the same time, I think. Sort of rustic stripes. Anyway, the perfectionist in me finds it acceptable, so I'm sure my sister-in-law will too! The buttons I found are cute little square ones in different colors. It was tougher than I thought to find buttons...a huge wall of buttons in the store in every color imaginable, and it still took me 45 minutes to find the right ones (or so my husband whined reported).

Back soon with photos, I promise!

Bike bag

I wanted to post about a project that I actually finished a while ago, but hadn't taken one final and in my opinion necessary photo of, which I wanted to do before I shared it.

I mentioned a while ago that I was working on this project, a small bag to hang on the handlebars of my bike. I've been using it and I love it. It's the perfect size for the necessary items like cell phone and wallet.

I came up for the idea myself. I knew I could make something that met my needs much easier than trying to find a bag in a store that would work. That's what's fun about being a "crafty" person!

I measured to get an idea of size, and then came up with a cable pattern to use. (In fact, I liked so much how this came out that I would love to make an actual purse like it someday!) I did a giant cable flanked by two smaller cables. The yarn was Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky in gray. (More specs on the project here.)

First I made this rectangle:



Then I stitched the sides using mattress stitch. I then turned it inside out and sewed little gussets in the corners to give it some depth:



Here's what the corner and seam look like on the outside:



I wanted it lined, so I stitched this, and added a pocket:



The pocket is intended to store the little bike computers we have (a nifty little thing that has an odometer, spedometer, etc.) while not in use. I added velcro to the pocket to secure them in:



And then stitched it into the bag, added a zipper and one of my little labels:



So here's what the bag looked like before I added the handle:



Then I added a simple i-cord strap, with a clasp:



The clasp is so that I can hang the bag from my handlebars:



And last but not least, here are two photos of my bike with the bag hanging on it (the very reason I hadn't posted about this before!)





We went for an awesome 20 mile bike ride this weekend and had a picnic at a park. It was a lot of fun, and a gorgeous day. I LOVE my bike, by the way. I just got it this summer, and it was the best thing I could have done. We have gone on so many more bike rides this summer because we both love our bikes now. (My old one from college was uncomfy and just wasn't cutting it for me anymore.) That big cushy seat this bike has makes all the difference!

WIP socks and a sweater

This is just a quick post to show some WIP photos, and to test posting photos with the new online photo site I'm using now. I decided to use Flickr, and I need to test how the posting of photos here will work. From what I can tell in my blogger preview, it's working as expected. I'm just not really sure how it's going to behave. So if anyone has any troubles, please let me know! :)

So on to the knitting. Here are my Embossed Leaves socks from Interweave's Favorite Socks book. So far I am loving the pattern, and the yarn. As I mentioned before, the yarn is Knit Picks' Essential. As you can see I did the cuff in the Burgundy color, and am on the leg in Pumpkin. I'll do the heel in Cocoa (brown) when I get there.



I've done one repeat plus a little, and you can see the leaves emerging:



Fun pattern!

I had to set that sock aside though to work on this, my deadline knitting. I am making a baby cardigan (Devan, from Knitty) for my nephew-to-be for my sister-in-law's shower in a few weeks. So far I've done the back, and have a couple of inches of the left front so far. It's pretty quick knitting. I've decided to let the striping do what it wants, and not worry about it not being perfect. I think it's coming out rather cute, even with the somewhat randomness of the striping.



So far so good! That's it from here for now.

Warshrag...(and some new socks)

I completed my first Mason-Dixon Knitting "warshrag":



As I mentioned before, fun to knit! And quick...this took me about two evenings to knit. I already started dreaming up all of the fun I could have, getting seasonal colors and all. But I need to see if I'm actually going to use it first! ;)



See how well it goes with the kitchen? :)

~~~

In other knitting news, I fell victim to the wiles of yarn...some new yarn arrived on my doorstep and I cast on immediately...whoops! I told myself I would finish my Solstice Slip socks first, and then I could start my August Rockin' Sock club kit (which I've seen knit up all over the web and am so excited to start) but then some pretty fall colored yarn just happened to arrive, and well, I couldn't resist its charms. I cast on a new pair of socks.

No photos yet (it's just a ribbed cuff at the moment anyway), but I'm making the Embossed Leaves Socks from Interweave's Favorite Socks book. I think these are going to be awesome!! I got three different colors from Knit Picks of their Essential solid sock yarn, Burgundy, Pumpkin and Cocoa:



I got enough of each for a pair of socks, so I figure I can end up with three pairs in the end, but I intend to do contrasting colored heels, toes, and cuffs. So for my first pair, I cast on with the Burgundy for the cuff, and then I'm going to do the leg in Pumpkin, and then the heel in Cocoa, continue the Pumpkin for the foot, and the toe in Burgundy. I am so excited about these socks!! I chose the Embossed Leaves pattern because, well, leaves? fall colors? it just all made sense. :) I also was impressed by how soft this yarn is, and so far I love this pattern too. I doubt I'll get these done for wearing this fall, or maybe I will, I don't know. But I have some other necessary knitting to do, as soon as the yarn arrives. I ordered some yarn to make a baby sweater for my sister-in-law's shower in 3+ weeks. So once that arrives I'm not allowed to work on anything else until it's done.

A cool bug, a warshrag, and colors

So, last night my husband and I are standing by the dryer folding laundry, and he says to me very matter-of-factly, "Is that a praying mantis on the screen behind you?" I look around, go over to investigate, and sure enough! This was on our screen (click for SUPER BIG BUG):



(Yes, it was on the outside of the screen...DH went outside to take a photo.) I thought that was pretty cool. The praying mantis was huge, about 3 inches long I'd say. Fun, huh?

And now back to our regularly scheduled, bug-free knitting blog.

Yesterday I dragged the abovementioned dear sweet husband of mine to three (yes, 3) craft stores on what I thought was going to be an easy search for some Lion Brand Magic Stripes yarn, with which I want to make a baby sweater for my sister-in-law. More on that below, but first this: since I couldn't find the Magic Stripes yarn (though let's be honest here, folks, chances are I'd have gotten this anyway) my consolation prize to myself was some cotton yarn to make my first Mason-Dixon Knitting Ball Band "Warshrag" from their book. So I got some colors that will go with our kitchen and started this:



This is a highly satisfying pattern to knit! I never thought I would be the dishrag type (more of a sponge person, myself) but I figured, what the hey, at the very least it'll be fun to make and it'll match the kitchen. Plus, there are those times when one person's using the sponge and it would be nice to have something to wipe down the counter with. (yes, yes, I know I could just go get another sponge...that's not the point here...) Anywho...as I say, fun pattern, and I thought for sure that slip stitch was going to pull up the bottom but it really doesn't.



So, back to the baby sweater thing.

My sister-in-law is expecting a baby boy in December, and there's a shower next month. I know what I want to make, this cute little sweater from Knitty, called Devan. Thing is, I just found out the exact date for the shower which is a mere month away. So now I have got to get cracking. I know I can knit the little thing in no time, but I don't have the yarn yet. Which brings us back to yesterday's wild goose chase for yarn.

I knew exactly what I wanted and needed, which was the Lion Brand stuff, and was feeling pretty confident with myself. Well, that's what I get. Couldn't find a scrap of the stuff anywhere. Not A.C. Moore, not Michael's, not JoAnn's. sigh. So I am going to have to order some stuff online, which is fine with me (now I plan to get some Sockotta) but time is of the essence here. In all honesty, I wanted to get Sockotta anyway, but I figured the Lion Brand stuff would be more accessible, and I could have it in my hand and start on it right away. HA. Not so much. So back to the Sockotta.

Anyway, I am looking at the colors of Sockotta, which are great but the only problem is that whole thing of, that's how it looks on the computer but what about real life? I got some advice from a friend who suggested getting a color that's good for a boy but could be used for a girl somewhere down the line too. Great idea, but that limits my choices in a way. There are plenty of cute boyish colors, likewise girly ones too. But in between? That's tougher, and also somewhat a matter of opinion.

So right now I'm looking at these colors: #605 (blues, green and brown striping) or #5618 (big stripes of blue, green and purple?), as boyish colors. Now, I liked the look of this turquoise-y blues and greens one, but that got vetoed by two friends as being too girly: #14. (That particular color does look a lot different in the swatch on this site though.) Then there's this colorful one #15 that looks fun, but only if I can somehow confirm that that's actually red and not pink. Any suggestions? Anyone happen to be familiar with any of these colors?

~~~

I leave you now with a funny picture of Moose, who was napping with his tongue sticking out a bit. (Of course he woke up when I got the camera.) He was looking quite silly and undignified!

Pink Stripey Mittens

When we were on vacation at the shore recently, I purchased a ball of “souvenir yarn.” As I’ve mentioned before, I like to get yarn as a souvenir since I know it’s something I’ll both use and enjoy. Then I can think fondly of the place where I got it while I knit it up and when using the finished piece.

While I do have a fairly significant stash, it's mostly random leftovers. I am not very good at “stash-building” by just purchasing random yarn, since I never know how much I’d need for any given project. However, this is not true for socks and mittens! I love finding yarn for mittens since for the pattern I like to use, I don’t need very much at all, about 120 yards will do. The pattern I use is called Pop-Up Paws, but I just make them into plain mittens, since I like to find fun yarns. I’ve made one pair of the actual pop-up mittens, but even though they do have their moments of usefulness, quite honestly they’re not my favorites to wear, I prefer normal mittens. I think it’s a comfort thing, those finger parts are pretty thick between my fingers. They did come out pretty well though, they were my very first project on DPNs.

Anyway, back to the latest additions to my mitten collection (project page here):



The yarn is Crystal Palace Yarns Taos, 100% wool, and it is so nice and soft. I can tell these will be some of my favorites to wear this winter. Plus I just love the colors.



I love how the striping happened...I didn’t worry about trying to make them match, that’s not something that bothers me.

And since I am a huge fan of mittens, here are some of the other yarns I’ve gotten that’s earmarked for mittens.

Nashua Wooly Stripe (in Citrus):



I thought these were kind of fun and funky colors. I got that during a lovely day my husband and I spent wandering around a pretty town, and he patiently waited while I checked out a yarn store.

I also have this Manos del Uruguay in black (yes, this is indeed a boring photo of some black yarn), because after all I need to have some plain handknit mittens to go with my fun scarves I’ve knit, right?



This is one of my favorites, and I am excited to see how these mittens turn out. I got this yarn, Rio de la Plata (in a color I’m calling Raspberries and Cream...I can’t remember the real name), when we went to Cape May, NJ for a nice weekend getaway together. (My husband bought the yarn for me and then took it away and wrapped it as a Christmas gift. It was December, so I only had to wait a couple of weeks before I could pet it again.

Isn't it just yummy looking?



I also have some Noro Sakura (which I have forgotten to take a photo of) that’s really pretty. It has a black core with some really colorful stuff wrapped around it. I can’t wait to see how those mittens turn out! That wasn’t technically “souvenir yarn” but I still love it.

Now for a small request. No idea when I'd get to this, but thought I'd ask now anyway, while I'm thinking about it. I wanted to ask anyone who’s reading here to please offer their opinion and/or ideas, if they care to. I received the below yarn as a Christmas present from my sister-in-law, but I don’t know what to make with it. It's beautiful handspun yarn, but there’s only 70 yards of the stuff (she's not a knitter, which might account for the small yardage. Though she did also give me an enormous hunk of boucle stuff that'll make an awesome scarf). It’s wool, in a sort of gray and white. Oh and I’d say it's probably a worsted/bulky worsted weight. I would like to make something special with it since it was a lovely gift, but I’m just not so sure what 70 yds of it will make me. Any suggestions? Ideas? Thanks in advance! :)