Almost done!

Did another inch on the socks last night, between baking a cake for Friday's Halo3 party. Only 1.5 pattern repeats left, and the toe, then I'm done my first pair of monkey socks. It looks really nice, I tried them on too, and they fit. I probably didn't even have to reduce the number of pattern repeats in the cuff from 6 to 5. I don't normally like tall socks, and this pair is no exception. But you need a longer cuff to really see the pattern.

I'm pretty proud of myself for this pair, I actually did a flap heel and gusset, and didn't have too much trouble with it, unlike my first attempt at a flap heel. This time all my stitches lined up beautifully, and I wasn't short or over the total number of stitches I needed to pick up for the gusset. I would consider doing other flap heels, especially if I can find one that is toe up. I really don't like working cuff down, I keep thinking I'm going to run out of yarn, even though I know I am not going to run out, but still...

Still drooling over the fairisle, and almost ready to start something in that area. Just have these 3 pairs of socks to finish, then the 2 sock of the month club ones that are in the mail, and perhaps one more pair. Hrm doesn't look like the sweater is going to start till the new year. I may need to prioritize my sock knitting some, not to mention the spinning I really would like to do.

Dreaming of Fair Isle...

Must not look, must not drool, must not covet.

I've been dreaming about starting a fairisle sweater, and there are some absolutely gorgeous ones out there. Something not that ambitious, I've been reading up on the designs of Alice Starmore and they are absolutely gorgeous. I believe I may go slightly easier the first time by picking a varigated yarn to use, so I have less yarn ends to weave in and track but gosh darnit, those patterns are gorgeous.

Perhaps a tam to start? (small round hat) to try out my fairisle skills?

Maybe after I finish the socks on my needles now, and give me time to chart out my patterns, and figure out if I really want to do a sweater.

Maybe just another peek at those sweaters before I head home. :) One little peek won't hurt right?

Quicky Update

So life has been moving at a HUGE fast pace and I have yet to upload those pictures I keep promising you guys.

WIP updates
Monkey Socks - Done the leg part, done the heel flap, working on the gusset - need to frog back 16 rows because I forgot the "knit" row between each decrease rows. I remember thinking the entire time that I was knitting the gusset that I was missing something but being the stubborn person that I am, I continued on in denial. This morning, I tracked down the pattern again and yes indeed, I forgot the "knit" row. On the plus side, these are knitting up really fast for me, I love how the yarn feels (Koigu pppppm :) ), but the yarn had a lot of issues, at least 3 knots, weird thick and thin spots and some very odd plying issues in some places (think 5 ply in a 2 ply yarn). All in all, I'm not sure I would knit again in Koigu, but I love some of their chaotic colours, we will see. Oh yeah, the socks are in this lovely feminin pink/purple/pink colour way, that I really have no idea if I will wear, perhaps an xmas gift for someone? :)

Luna Moth shawl in burgundy cashmere! This is gorgeous yarn, absolutely gorgeous, so gorgeous that after the first 24 rows, I have put the WIP away in a nice little baggy because I'm afraid to touch it :) well afraid Pico will decide to whisk it away and hide it under my bed (as she is doing to pretty much anything she can get her little paws on).

I found a very cute website with adorable little toys . I've already made a bunch of the hearts and will be making some "grass" after I find the ball of yarn that I have stashed away somewhere so it would be out of the way.

I picked up some wonderful 85% merino, 10% silk, 5% cashmere yarn in brown, beige and olive. I'm thinking a fluffy cable scarf. The stuff is sooo soft. But I don't have that much of it so I'm going to have to find the "perfect" pattern for it. But I will be using it up soon, finished winding into center pull balls last night. Sooo soft and squishy.

I'm thinking of starting an etsy storefront to sell off the homespun yarn that I've made so far. I have like 5 skeins of some pretty nice stuff (imo), and I really don't think i'll get around to knitting it up. Problem is that most of it is worsted weight or aran weight and I like knitting with sport and fingerling weight. I figure I'll have several more weeks of spinning before I can get down to fingerling weight which I would love to try knitting with.

Anyways, longer post than I had anticipated, but lots of progress, and new WIP on the way. BTW did I mention I joined not 1 but *2* sock of the month clubs? The first package was mailed this morning! So I need to get a move on the other 4 pairs of socks in the work right now if only to clear off my sock knitting needles!

Procrastinating

So, when I started the blog I promised to try my best to get lots of pictures up, however taking the pictures and getting them uploaded to the computer seems to be the bottle neck for me :) I even have the slot on my desktop that takes the card directly so I don't need to search for the cable to connect the camera to the computer. So rather than put off another post, this post is going to be all words. Next post I promise will have more pictures :)

Lots of progress on the WIP this month. I actually knocked off 2 lace scarves, finished my mermaid socks, my mushroom socks, a SWS felted backpack (I purposely made it huge, because I had heard horror stories about them shrinking a lot, however I didn't anticipate something that was 2 feet by 2 feet to shrink to something about 8 inches tall. And to shed all over the place and felt so much to obscure the herring bone pattern I had knit. Note to self: SWS Paton self striping sheds significantly less than SWS Paton solid colours), finished 2 kitty pi, spun up 2 pounds of wool (started with Merino because yes I am a glutton for punishment, but I did learn a lot from it), learned how to Navajo ply, and to 2 ply.

My handspun is getting much more even and I believe that I'm no longer overtwisting the yarn, after I ply it, it hangs very nicely without twisting upon itself. I've also managed to go from a very thick/thin bulky weight, down to a pretty consistant worsted weight. At least that's what I think it is now. I am aiming for a nice fingerling weight so that I can dye/spin/knit my own socks :) I think that is a ways away still.

On the new WIP side, I've started 3 more pairs of socks that are all progressing nicely :) 2 pairs in sport weight (one from pattern with lots of cute cables), and one of my own design (with lots of hidden cables, if that makes any sense to you :) ), and then one with a ball of totfusies that I love, but had no idea what to do with. That one there I'm trying a very interesting 2x2 mesh pattern. It really does look like basket weave, I'm a little worried that I won't be able to see the pattern because the colours are so busy, but if you look closer, it looks really cool. One of these days I'll upload more pictures of all of these. I've also started 2 lace scarves, picked up some yummy cashmere lace for some xmas gifts, and some Cookie A patterns that look daunting but very challenging.

I also managed to visit Little Knits in Seattle. WOW can we say amazing quantities of yarn. It was like being in a treasure chest, you just wanted to touch and stroke and play with the yarns that were strewn everywhere (well not strewn really, but shelves and shelves, and boxes of yarn).

Then there was the mishaps at Dave's Mercantile. Gorgeous, gorgeous yarn, and it's all mine! I fell off the wagon again at the Loopy Ewe, but that's okay :) the space I have designated to hold my stash is only starting to fill up. It really sucks when you go to your stash to pick out something to do, and you can't find anything you want to work on at that time. I am very happy that recently I've switched from sweaters to socks/lace because the sheer volume that socks/lace take up vs aran/cable/huge sweaters is significant.

I have been toying with doing the Kauri cardigan, but I'm not sure if I really want to steek. Cutting something you have knit just seems so wrong. I've downloaded the pattern and I might modify it so that I knit it in once piece, but turn at each end of the bottom. I wonder if that would let me keep the colours working properly. I'll have to think about it a bit more before I start something like that. As well, none of the colours that the yarn comes in really calls out to me as something I would wear. But I would love to try a "fair isle" like fingerling weight sweater at some point. Could be totally frustrating, or could be totally wonderful.

Hrm... perhaps I should blog more often so that I don't end up having soooo much to write.

Lace!

So since I have oodles and oodles of time, I decided that I should start up some more time consuming projects :)

This is the Storm Water Shawl from Handmaiden. I actually purchased some Handmaiden Sea Silk yarn in this gorgeous blue/green colourway, but decided that this Cherry Tree Hill Yarn was calling out to me when I was putting my latest acquisitions away (if it's neatly put away, it doesn't count right?). The repeats are pretty easy, but I think I may have shifted things over for a couple of repeats. I've been counting, and I wonder if it is that I'm not shifting things but that the pattern is shifted over one? Well, when it's blocked we will see how it looks.

Pico is the most well behaved cat around yarn. I know she really really *wants* to play with the yarn, and barring one small mishap (she knows what I'm talking about), she has been really good about staying away from all the temptations scattered around the house.

Also decided to try out some of the hand dyed stuff that I have been producing. Last week I did a bit of purple and green on some Treehouse Yarn that felt very very nice and squishy. I have never really been fond of mostly white socks, but I thought I would give it a try.

I'm still not fond of the mostly white, but I'm willing to finish the socks to see how it goes. On the plus side, I really like this Treehouse Yarn. It's squishy, knits up fast, and is only splitty when I have messed up and need to frog or redo some bits.

Some random Pico pictures.

Pico squishing herself into the first Kitty Pi I made for her, even though she barely fits, she loves sleeping in it. She was really concerned one day when I moved the Kitty Pi out of her reach. Nothing makes her happier than to be sleeping in her little Kitty Pi right at my elbow while I'm madly typing away at the computer. Once in a while, she will reach out with one paw, touching me on my arm, and suggests changes to what I've typed. (No, I refuse to admit that I'm turning into an eccentric cat lady)

Some Heirloom tomatoes from the farmers market. Aren't they gorgeous? Pico certainly was interested in them.


On the plus side, I've finished the Berry Bush socks!. They turned out slightly larger than I wanted them to be (ie my Bro's size 10 feet can wear them comfortably), but they are nice and squishy and I like how the colours wrap and pool on the body of the sock. I'll have to take some pictures at some point.

Busy Bee

So many things to try and do these days, I wish each day had 50 hours so I could get everything I want to do done.

So as I hinted at before I've decided to try some entrelac, but to make it more challenging (because I'm a glutton for punishment), I've decided to try to do reversible entrelac for the scarf. A scarf is something that needs to have 2 sides that are both attractive. So far it's going well, but I am quite worried that I haven't purchased enough yarn to finish the scarf.

Gorgeous Rowan tapestry yarn

Initial cast on - baby triangles!

First row complete!


I'm going to see if I can keep chugging on with this project, hopefully I can finish a couple of rows each week, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. It's a gorgeous yarn, very nice to knit with, the pattern isn't difficult, but I HAVE to finish off some of the WIP that are at 80 or 90% complete before I can focus my attention back on this scarf.

Berry Bush socks - getting closer. They look absolutely huge in the picture and in real life. I love the colours, but the yarn is a tad scratchy, I think these will be winter socks, perhaps I'll try fulling them slightly to see how that goes, but I seem to recall that the yarn is actually superwash. This pair of socks has been flying along. Everytime I pick them up, I see lots of progress in little over an hour. I'm getting to the point where I'm going to do ribbing and that might slow me down a bit, hopefully I'll finish them this coming week.

Something new for me to tinker with for a bit. I saw a pattern that I absolutely LOVE. I don't wear skirts often, but I think I may have to make an exception for this one. The pattern is from the stitchdiva and is her Hairpin Lace Skirt Pattern. The colours she has in there are wonderful. The way it flows, even the shoes are wonderful. I am not sure I'll do it in the ribbon yarn she suggests however that colour just sings to me. My biggest worry about this skirt is that it will get caught on things. I guess I'm just going to have to be more ladylike when I wear this skirt.

I was thinking black at the top, darker olive green gradually turning into a nice lighter olive green. Not sure how that will look but I'm willing to experiment a couple of times.

I started to learn/practice doing some hairpin lace today and I must say that it's going well. The little loom thing is not the nice (read between the lines, expensive) model but it does the work well. It was a little bit confusing at the beginning because I'm not a crocheter, but I'm picking it up pretty fast. I'm up to my second panel, I think I'm going to make a little shawl, scarf thing just so I can practice the skill, so that when I do the skirt I know what I'm doing.

Finally, the last item I have started this weekend. My first Lizard Ridge square, well actually it's my test swatch. I've decided that I'm going to do my lizard ridge afgan in mercerized cotton. I love how this cotton looks, and I have never figured out what to make with it. So this will be it. It comes in many many wonderful colours, and Pico doesn't seem to want to eat it as much as she wants to eat things made of wool. here is a little picture of Pico modeling the square while eating a treat out of her first Kitty Pi.

Local Wildlife!

So to entertain Pico while I am at work, I have been trying to lure some more wildlife into my patio area. I started with some dried cobs of corn that the bag in the store assured me squirrels loved to nibble on. I put out about 6 cobs on the patio and waited to see what would happen. The squirrels came and were really cute, sitting there nibbling at the corn. The cobs of corn were too big for them to run off with the entire cobs, so the squirrels came and went.



Next morning, the cobs were GONE! So I put some more out the next day, and that evening Pico was stationed at the screen door staring intently out into the darkness. Flashlight in hand, I went to investigate and found 3 racoons making off with the corn cobs!

Since that didn't work all that well, and a racoon would make minced meat out of little Pico, I thought a bird feeder mounted high enough that the racoons can't get at it would be the next best thing!

I installed a really nice little bird feeder on my patio door. I had some difficulties trying to figure out where to put the birdfeeder, since if I put it too far to the left, I wouldn't be able to open the screen door (the bird feeder attaches with those little suction cups. As well the squirrels would be able to climb the side and get at the bird feed. So nicely centered seemed to be the plan.



Little did I know that the squirrels are very very talented. I spent one afternoon watching the squirrel launch him/herself from both sides (climbing up the frame of the window and up the screen door) at the birdfeeder, hanging upside down and stealing a bit of birdfeed then falling to the ground. And getting up to do it all over again. Pico was enjoying (?) the show, very much interested in the ongoings. She launched herself multiple times at the squirrels, and bounced off the glass many times. I feel for her little nose, it must be very sore, but it was very very entertaining to watch.


Next morning, I find the birdfeeder on the ground. The squirrels have managed to figure out how to release the suction cups, and have consistantly knocked the birdfeeder down every day I put it up.

Last night, I was woken up by a crash, worried that Pico had had something fall on her, I rushed downstairs only to see something outside the patio window, and the birdfeeder on the ground beside it. Grabing a flashlight to see if I could scare what I thought were racoons away (I have had racoons eat the corn I left out for the squirrels), I was confronted with a humongous rat like thing!



Scary thing! Turns out it's an opossum, my very first time seeing one, and I got to see it from less than 6 inches away through a pane of glass. Very cool. Not so cool that it ate all the bird seed I left out.

So now I'm not sure what to do, I can't put a birdfeeder on the window (squirrels have figured out how to get at it), a bird feeder sort of on a ped is not good (squirrels AND racoons AND opossums), hanging from the tree (squirrels)...

I did manage to get some little birds to come to the patio to pick at the bits of seed that the rest of the wildlife missed. Maybe I should just give up on the feeders and sprinkle bird feed all over the patio for a more freeform feeding of ALL the wildlife in my backyard.

Catching up on WIPs, pictures and finished works

Well I finally got my ass in gear and documented most of the projects I have in the works and hopefully I'll be good about making sure I keep this picture diary up to date with the latest projects.

Dying Yarn with Koolaid


First attempt with a heavier yarn. I think I'll make a heavier pair of socks for my mom. She asked for a heavy pair. Normally I wouldn't consider making socks from something this heavy. I'm really not sure how much yarn is in these 2 skeins, but they are 100% wool.



This was my second attempt at dying yarn. Turned out pretty much like I wanted it to turn out. very promising if I say so myself. The colours are a little too bright, I couldn't get my camera to take accurate pictures with the flash, and it was too dark to take pictures without a flash. This is enough sock weight yarn for 2 pairs of socks, and one set of skeins has already found it's forever home with Erica.


This was my third attempt at dying yarn. I am not fond of the colours, and really don't know what to do with the yarn. It makes me think of bruises, I wonder if I should overdye some green and yellow on to it and call it "black and blue". Enough yarn for 2 pairs of socks. I thought perhaps it would look nicer wound into center pull balls, but I still don't like these colours.



Fourth attempt was inspired by a pair of socks that I saw online. Normally I don't really like yellow, but those socks were sooo pretty, all bright yellow, green and a touch of blue. Good for 1 pair of socks, need to find a nice pattern to use for this. Not sure who I know would accept and wear a pair of socks in these colours though. I do like how they turned out, they aren't quite as green in real life.

Completed projects.









Scarves 1 and 2 - Random Ribbon yarns. These went so fast, each one was done in under 4 hours. I can see why people like doing these scarves. Next time, I think I would do them slightly thinner and slightly longer.

Berger du Nord - Charmant - Fetching fingerless gloves for Mom. Pictures don't do them justice, they are soooo soft and squishy. The cabling doesn't show up well in the pictures either :(


Art yarns - grey socks - Not sure who these are for, but doubled up the heel and toe for us people with rough heels and hard toenails :)I love the yarn, but next time I think I'll use one size larger needles, these are pretty stiff. Perhaps it's time to invest in some sock blockers...



Works in progress

Cascade Fixation - Mushroom - Toe up socks - These are my first attempt at toe up, and I tink I messed up the increases, however since the yarn is very stretchy it is very forgiving once the socks are on my feet. They look a little odd when they are just sitting there. Thoughts on cascade fixation. I love knitting with this yarn, it goes very very fast for most of the sock, except when you get to the ribbing... OMG these balls of yarn are endless, I have been knitting forever and expected to run out way before the point where I am now. Not to mention no matter how much I knit, those 2 little balls don't seem to be getting smaller at all! I love how these feel on my feet. These babies are staying here with me.



Kitty Pi #4 - Using a cool thick/thin yarn, and I'm not sure how big this thing will end up being. I sort of wish I had a couple sizes larger needles to do this one on, I think I've knit it way too tight, but since it's going to be felted, I don't think that matters that much, but it would have been easier to knit on larger needles. I'm considering adding a lip to the edge so that Pico can curl up under it but I'm not sure how I would block it. We will see.



I have several new projects in the works, perhaps I'll get some pictures up tomorrow.

Random Pico picures.

She's not that happy in this picture, she's pretty much used to wearing her little harness, but the camera flash bothers her.

More Socks

I've been too lazy to take pictures of all the stuff I've been working on recently. :) But I found some pictures to post. And I will be taking more pictures soon!

A while back I purchased some yummy yarn from the Bare Sheep Yarn Company.



Started my socks tonight, using the magic toe cast on. It's going well, have about 3 inches of the pair of socks done now.

I also purchased a bunch of other yarns that I will be making a Lizard Ridge afgan with. I think I'm going to limit it to the one type of yarn, but the jury is still out on that.



The purple black colour is gorgeous, rich yummy, but maybe I should get me some purple yarn to make it more interesting. The pattern suggests a worsted weight yarn, but this purple black only comes in fingerling. So I think I may just order more yarn and make it a thin blanket. Come on, worsted weight isn't that much thicker than fingerling right? And it is a blanket, so I don't need to follow the instructions completely right?



I also invested in a set of Weldon's Practical Needlework. These are a compilation of an old newsletter that talks about various vintage styles, patterns and techniques. I was able to get the entire set, except for Volumn 3, which is going for about 300 USD on amazon :(. I don't think I'll be buying that one in the near future. Perhaps I wil be able to find it in a used bookstore for a more reasonable price.

I also found an amazing deal at Tuesday Mornings. They had Berger du Nord, Charmant (worsted, 50% merino, 50% silk) on sale. It looks like Berger du Nord has gone out of business, and they were selling off all their yarns. I absolutely LOVE their yarn. It is sooo soft and yummy and the colours are all gorgeous.



Is what a ball looks like, look at how soft and yummy it looks, and here are the other colours that it comes in!



I'm currently working on a double sided cable scarf in the burgundy colour, and have finished a pair of fingerless gloves in the orangy-pink colours. I'll post pictures as soon as I have trimmed the threads on the gloves, and get a couple more cable turns done on the scarf so you can see how it is going.

I've also figured out the reason knitting scarves is soooo popular. I finished a pink drop stitch scarf in ONE evening! I was amazed. I don't think it's something that I would wear, but it is very pretty. I'm going to make one for each of the ladies visiting from China. that should use up the stash of yarn that I thought was way way too pretty to languish at the yarn store.

Enough for one post :) I'll have to post more later.

My Very First Post!

So where does one start when starting up posting? Should I cover history, or plans or just babble on in general. I think I'll babble on in general.

I have recently been reintroduced to knitting by one of my new buddies here in the NW. I used to knit sweaters and sweaters, but no one in my family wears sweaters (at least 2 in the works atm), so it wasn't all that productive a craft for me, but Sock! now that is something that 1) takes significantly less time than sweaters (the cable ones that I loved to do), and was semi useful :) I say semi because everyone needs socks!

However little did I realize that knitting (like any crafting thing I pick up) has rapidly become one very very serious obsession for me. All those beautiful colours, all those incredible patterns (even cable ones!).

Documenting my experiences knitting should be an interesting excercise, I only hope that my babbles will be interesting to more than just myself :)




Meet Pico, my partner in crime. She supervises (from a distance, well most of the time). She has a lot of patience for her wayward owner, and has been slowly training me to obey her every command.