Lostober

Thanks for the emails & comments. October slid by and I never got around to updating here. Here are some highlights of the month.

I made this Sand Dollar Pullover from Knitting Nature by the genius, Norah Gaughan. I used Zealana Chunky, a merino/delaka blend. Delaka is the evil New Zealand "possum" which is eating the country.


We did a Libra Birthday Swap on Ravelry and I got a great package from Sharon. The best part of the gift was a donation to Heifer.


I also participated in a mitten swap on Ravelry. My upstream pal, Delana, totally wowed me with her beautiful gloves made from Rowan 4 Ply.


I finished the I Love Gansey socks from the Six Sox KAL. The skulls didn't really look like skulls but the twisted cables turned out well. They were my first attempt at cabling without a needle. I haven't worn them yet. The 80 & 90 degree F weather stuck around for most of the month. Now that they are properly photographed, they have been added to the sock drawer.


Finally finished the green blob that had been lingering since May. It is the Knitting Pure & Simple Split Neck T. Knitted with some well marinated Elann Peruvian Highland Wool in Cactus.


Had to show you my sister's fabulous find. Annie got Alice Starmore's Tudor Roses at the Gloucester Public Library book sale. She is selling it, if anyone is interested.


And for a bit of a laugh. This is from a recent Sunday New York Times fashion spread. Doesn't she look like a Goth Borrower?

No wonder I was complaining

Last Wednesday was the hottest day since July 1977! I was living here then in an apartment with no air conditioning. The building was old and the systems had never been updated. The electrical service could not even support a window unit. In order to sleep, I would put a box fan on either side of my bed and drape a wet washcloth over my face. I was in graduate school then so I probably spent my days at the studio where it was somewhat cooler.


Finished the first sock from Mary's yarn. One more to go and I can begin the I Love Gansey socks.


Also finished the first sleeve of my Tangled Yoke cardigan. I have really been enjoying the Plain & Fancy Sheep & Wool yarn. To keep the variegation subtle, I switched to using two different skeins once the ribbing was complete.


I've been spending lots of time uploading pictures to Flickr for my Ravelry page. This little EZ February Baby Sweater is from several years ago. It is my favorite baby pattern - what a classic.


Peach says pay attention to ME!

Distracted

Well, I could not get gauge with the beautiful blue yarn for the Sand Dollar sweater so that project is resting while I figure out what I want to make with the yarn and find the right yarn for the sweater.


So I cast on with some Plain & Fancy Sheep & Wool Co. yarn (no website, but available from The Yarn Lounge) for Eunny Jang's Tangled Yoke Cardigan in the Fall 2007 issue of Interweave Knits.


I've been wanting to make a sweater with some cables and this sophisticated take on tradition seems like a perfect project. Of course, now all I want to do is knit away on the first sleeve but I still am working on my Mystery Stole 3. The theme has been revealed - Swan Lake. With Friday's clue we began on the wing that will be the other end of the stole. I hope that when the designer publishes the pattern for sale she has a version that is wings at both ends.


I have a sock distraction too. The new Six Sox along is designed by Janine Le Cras from the island of Guernsey. It is called I Love Gansey. I'm going to use this beautiful blue Fleece Artist Sea Wool. The color, the yarn are all perfect for an island theme. However, I have been strong and have not cast on. I am still working on my yarn swap socks.


There is a Jane Austen forum on Ravelry - Austentacious. I found out about this bag there. It is available from The Republic of Pemberley. I have stacks of canvas bags and hardly need another one but I'm awfully tempted. After all, it is only $20.


And how could I resist this alternate view of the Whippeterrorists?

Time Bandits

I got sidetracked by Ravelry. I got my invitation, started exploring, started uploading projects, began looking at other members and the forums. What with everything else, I neglected to post here.


Then, on Tuesday my book came and I was not about to do anything but knit and listen to Jim Dale on my iPod. I finished yesterday evening.

Mystery Stole 3 is chugging along. During some of the more exciting parts of HP & the Deathly Hallows I would make mistakes and have to frog. I only have 20 rows left of Clue 4.


While waiting for the crashed computer at work to not do anything, I made major progress on my Diagonal Rib Socks by Ann Budd. (Free at Knitting Daily.)


I was using up some Toasty Toes yarn and ran out. I am calling these the Gold Toe sock(s).


What with all the endless lace, I wanted some comfort knitting so began these ribbed socks with some 70% wool, 30% silk Zwerger Garn Opal yarn I got from Mary at Sangeeta's yarn swap.


And then, today, I got the wool for my Sand Dollar pullover from Knitting Nature. It is Louet Riverstone, 4 sts to the inch.


Last but not least, here is Dogwood watching the Whippeterrorists playing with their pal, Goldie.

Progress, purchases & a favorite bag

After a fair amount of tinking (for some reason I kept dropping YOs), I have finished Clue 3. I am enjoying this KAL so much that I ordered Hanami and Spring Tootsies from Melanie.


Even though my Sidewinder wasn't in Time Out long enough for me to truly forgive it, I bit the bullet and finished it. This time, there was no unpleasant surprise.

Sangeeta, sadly blogless these days, had a Yarn Swap and Sale party at her house this past Saturday. I took three grocery bags full of yarn and only came home with one. That one was mostly yarn no one wanted plus enough for two pairs of socks that I got from Mary. With the money I made, I bought two books that have been on my wish list.


Knitting for Peace combines history, contact information and patterns in a well written and designed format. There is a great sweater pattern that uses odds and ends of yarn in an interesting and clever way.


So far there are two sweaters and a scarf from Knitting Nature on my Want To Knit list.


This bag from Obey The Pure Breed makes me laugh every time I use it. Check out the extensive list of breed, mutt, baby, cat and peace items available from this hilarious site. My only gripe, nothing with Deerhounds.

Close but no cigar

After miles of grafting, I tried my first Sidewinder on because I was a bit worried the leg would be too tight. Yay! The leg fit. Oh no! I felt something dreadful happening.


Ack! I had missed some stitches and they unraveled.


I almost frogged the whole thing in disgust but stopped myself. Put the edge stitches on some waste yarn, picked up the others. And promptly put the fiendish thing in Time Out. I really like the vertical patterning of the colors so will eventually finish them. Lesson learned - don't try to graft a gazillion stitches and teach a class at the same time.


To calm myself, I cast on some Diagonal Rib Socks, a free pattern by Ann Budd from Knitting Daily. I am using Toasty Toes yarn left over from one of the pairs that Peach liked.

Really enjoyed I Heart Huckabees. Goofy and intelligent, enhanced for me by my past studies of Buddhist teachings and French philosophy and criticism. A loving and wacko comedy with Lily Tomlin, Dustin Hoffmann, Jason Schwartzman, Mark Wahlberg, Jude Law, Naomi Watts and the ever exquisite Isabelle Huppert.

Also saw and was touched by Imagine, a documentary about the life of my favorite Beatle, John Lennon.

SoS Progress + 2 movies

Finished my Horcrux socks on Sunday. They only had part of a toe left to complete when the Mystery Stole 3 clue came out. They were a quick, easy knit. Now they are waiting in the sock drawer for cooler weather.


I am not really crazy about the way variegated yarn knits up but still find it hard to resist in the skein. This Posh Yarn from The Loopy Ewe was sitting in my stash, waiting to become a pair of comfy, 30% cashmere socks. Nona recently designed socks that are knit flat & then Kitchenered. This results in vertical, instead of horizontal, stripes. I am half way through my first sock. The pattern for the Sidewinder socks is free on her blog.

Two movies so far this week -
I thought The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou was stupid and boring. Even though it tried, it wasn't funny enough, quirky enough, cute enough, charming enough or touching enough. Too bad when it had a cast that included Bill Murray, Anjelica Huston, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett and Jeff Goldblum.

On the other hand, Hugo Pool, directed by Robert Downey Sr. in 1996 was genuinely quirky, charming and touching. Alyssa Milano, Malcolm MacDowell, Robert Downey Jr., Sean Penn and more - plus Patrick Dempsey (McDreamy) as the love interest, confined to a wheelchair with A.L.S. (Lou Gehrig's Disease).

Knitting without electricity

I was going to take a picture of my Mystery Stole 3 after Chart A and post it last night. Instead, we had an intense thunderstorm and the power went out. Usually the outage is fairly brief and the only thing to do is wait a few minutes before the lights flicker and come back on. Last night I lit a candle and wondered how on earth any fancy knitting got done after dark in days gone by. It was only about 8:00 pm, way too early for bed, and my knitting neurons were twitching. I dug out my very bright camping lantern, put it on the table, and had just enough light to continue with Chart B of Clue 1. I kept going until after 10:00 when I finally felt sleepy enough to go to bed. The power finally came back on at 2:30 am. How do I know? My alarm system horn was going off and wouldn't let me sleep! I hope it didn't wake the neighbors. After some knitting this morning, I am about 1/3 through Chart B. It is an enjoyable project so far. The Malabrigo Lace Weight is a dream to handle and stands up well to tinking.


As soon as Clue 1 for MS3 was available, all knitting on the Horcrux socks halted. Because they are so very dark, they are almost impossible to photograph well. You may just be able to see the little light flecks which are actually subtle sparkles. Laura, from Sunday Yarn Church, saw the socks and said they reminded her of the dining room ceiling at Hogwarts. And she didn't even know I was knitting Horcrux socks! Speaking of HP, I splurged and ordered the audio version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows from Amazon, even paying for delivery. The plan: wear my Horcrux socks while I knit the latest MS3 clue and listen to Jim Dale read.

Summer (of Socks)

Since today is the first day of Summer, the Summer of Socks knitalong began today. I went four long days without socks on the needles so I would be starting fresh for the KAL. This is the beginning of the Horcrux socks, designed by Susan Pierce Lawrence for the April 2007 Six Sox knitalong. I am using black Regia Silk Shine from my stash. It is 52% merino, 23% polyamid, 20% silk. The knitalong is just about perfect for me since all I have to do is knit socks between now and September 21, post pictures on Flickr and let my blog watcher know if I have posted about any socks. There are some contests, including one for the most socks knit but I am not going to even try. I knit socks for relaxation, not for sport.

Lace Mania

Teri-Kay's Birthday Socks are finished!

Can you tell they are lace? She is wearing just the sort of shoes I had pictured for these socks.


Victorian Lace Socks designed by Lorri Ann Romesberg for the Six Sox Knitalong at Yahoo. I used the Fleece Artist Sea Wool sock yarn (70% merino, 30% sea cell) on US#1 dpns. Begun June 9, completed June 17. The chart was easy and interesting to follow. The yarn felt silky and smooth. I enjoyed this project.


The Yarn Lounge received some of the new Malabrigo 100% baby merino laceweight yarn on Friday. I saw it, felt it and lusted after it yesterday but had no excuse to purchase any. Last night I signed up to participate in Mystery Stole 3. When I downloaded the introductory instuctions I discovered that 1200 yards of white or black laceweight yarn was recommended for the project. Just the excuse I needed!


This is my unblocked gauge swatch using US#3 needles. The single ply yarn is very soft but still quite sturdy. I am looking forward to beginning my stole on June 29.

More Socks?

Yes, more socks! Finished the Fools Rush Socks yesterday. I really enjoyed Cassie's pattern & the only modification I made was to Kitchener Stitch the toe instead of gathering it. I used Handpaint Wildfoote yarn on size 2 dpns. It is the Rhapsody colorway. They are now in my sock drawer, resting and waiting for cooler weather to return.


Of course I started another pair of socks immediately. They are the June pattern for the Six Sox KAL at Yahoo. The pattern is called Victorian Lace. It is very well suited to the Seawool sock yarn by Fleece Artist. Teri-Kay picked out the yarn because these are her 50th birthday socks.

I thought all the yarn was safe

But, no!


I got out my green blob and must have dropped a ball of yarn. I put the project away again because it has gotten too hot to have a wool sweater in my lap (even with air conditioning).


I worked at The Yarn Lounge this past weekend while Stewart and Melanie were in Ohio at the big trade show. They brought me these as a present. I've been wanting a Lexie Barnes tape measure ever since Stewart brought hers home from last year's TNNA. And I love the very useful little pouch.


The Fools Rush Socks are nearly finished. They are my main knitting these days. I am anxious for them to be completed because I have found a great pattern for Teri-Kay's birthday socks. Victorian Lace Socks from the Six Sock KAL.

The Big Five Oh

Happy Birthday, Teri-Kay! Enjoy your weekend with Charles at Yogaville.


Thanks for picking this Fleece Artist Seawool for me to knit your birthday socks. As soon as I finish my Fools Rush Socks I will start yours.

See more birthday pictures of Teri-Kay and her cake at Knit Night.

Frog Pond, FOs & Fools

This pattern in the Winter 2004 Knitters inspired my first attempt at lace. It was to be my next door neighbor's 2005 Christimas present.


UFO completion is related to stash shopping but when I pulled out my half finished scarf, I knew it was destined for the frog pond.


Mistakes that might have been okay two years ago just aren't acceptable now.


These are only some of the more obvious flaws.
She got a store bought present that year.


Marge used to come to Yarn Church. She recently finished a scarf she had begun there and sent me this picture.


While waiting for the a/c to kick in yesterday (I gave up waiting until June 1), I finished these socks.
Details:
Basic sock pattern from A Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. K5, P3 ribbing. Forgot to do the sl1,k1 heel flap.
Sock one - leg on 2s, foot on 1s. Second sock - forgot to switch to 1s.
2 skeins Regia Silk Color yarn. 55% merino, 25% polyamide, 20% silk. Machine washable.
Didn't really like the color combo until Teri-Kay saw it and declared it Retro. She was right.


As soon as I finished the socks, I cast on for the somewhat lacy Fools Rush Sock, a free pattern by Cassandra Thoreson. I'm using more stash, this time some handpainted Wildfoote from Brown Sheep.