Destash! Something for everyone.

Lots of choices! Read all the way to the end--all sorts of yarns and tools etc.!

Laceweight:

No-label pale lavendar laceweight, 51g, feels very soft. Acrylic or great quality wool? You decide. $2 postpaid with anything else on this list.






No-label Prussian blue wool laceweight, 2 balls totaling 108g. $3 postpaid. PENDING







1 skein Merino Oro (Ornaghi Filati) in a rich brown (color 944, lot 69723). So soft, I want to stroke it and stroke it. Approx. 1250m/1375yd, 100g skein. Size 2-2.5mm needles, 36sts/54 rows per 10cm/4". $11 postpaid. SOLD





2 skeins KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud (100% baby alpaca and unbelievably soft) in Autumn (Color C810, brownish red heather, lot 9360). Redder than their photo and browner than mine. 50g and 440 yds each. $5 postpaid. SOLD





Fingering/sport:

No-label black eyelash yarn with nice 2" lashes. 42g but that includes the cardboard cone inside. Not quite supersoft, but would be a totally cool accent yarn, especially on a felted item! $2 postpaid with anything else on this list.





Elann.com's Peruvian Collection Baby Silk, 3 balls (one Moroccan Olive, color 1018, lot 94; one Aubergine, color 1805, lot 18; one Raspberry, color 2010, lot 98). I swear, I want to hang onto this stuff just to stroke it daily. 80% baby alpaca, 20% silk, 25g each (100m/109 yds). US 3/3.25mm needles 28 sts/36 rows per 4"/10cm. $5 postpaid. SOLD



No-label supersoft pale lemon yellow, 117 g, possibly acrylic. Most in soft skein; some will need to be rewound. A little darker than shown. $1 postpaid with purchase of anything else listed. PENDING






1 ball Southwest Trading Company "Beyond" in a purple/grape color (a little lighter than shown, and it has a nice bit of sheen to it). 100% cotton. 50g/228 yds, 5 sts/8rows to 1" on US 6. $2 with purchase of anything else on this page. SOLD





2 balls Anny Blatt Fine Kid (LIE DE VIN - color name?) 51% pure wool, 49% kid mohair. 50g 255m/280 yds. In a gorgeous deep purple color. On US4/3.5mm, 23 sts/33 rows per 10cm/4". $10 for both postpaid.





493g of soft, easy-care acrylic in a terrific grape color. I bought this in France and started a cardigan for myself... 2 sizes ago. 2-3 balls have been frogged and wound into center-pull balls, and 1-2 more never knit but just wound. Yarn is Pingouin brand, "Shako," color RN55239, lot CA01395; each 50g ball is 135m/150 yds. On 3.5mm, 22 stitches and 33 rows per 10cm/4". Really nice and soft, and a whole sweater's worth--about 10 balls! Just $10, postpaid. SOLD

Worsted/heavy worsted:

8 balls Samband Lopi in a medium-to-light heathery grey (Color 003, lot 239). 100g each, 110m. 4 sts/4" or 10 cm on size 5.5-6. 100% Icelandic wool. Great for a cardigan or pullover. This stuff'll keep you warm! $23 postpaid. Update! I found 2 more balls. One will have a few yards frogged. Price is unchanged. SOLD




3 balls Samband Lopi in a color that is somewhere between purple and brown (Color 065, lot 670). $10 postpaid. SOLD







Cascade 220 Peruvian Highland wool. 1 skein medium purple (color 8885, lot 6594), 1 skein chocolate brown (color 8686, lot 4315). On US7, 5 sts/inch. $4.50 each postpaid. SOLD (both)















Bulky/fast knit:

1 ball beautiful, shiny ribbon yarn from Crystal Palace Yarns--"PARTY" in Fall Herbs (color 403). 87 yds/50gr. 3-4 sts/inch on US 10.5-15. $7 postpaid. SOLD






1 huge ball Southwest Trading Company "Pagoda" in an explosion of white, blue, green, and other colors (color Peacock, Item #309). 100% polyester and so incredibly soft. 100g/100m. 13 sts, 14 rows = 4"/10cm on US 10.5. $2 with anything else on this list. PENDING





2 balls dark chocolate Firenze (Plymouth Yarns) made in Italy. Color 419, lot 67. 30% wool, 30% acrylic, 40% nylon, so soft and warm, too. 3 sts/in on US 11. 50g, 50m/55yds. I bought these to make a "magic scarf." I made one out of a milk-chocolate pair and I love it, but found that I haveother yarn this same color already. So these are available. $8 for both, postpaid.



1 ball "Trellis" by Lion Brands. This is a ladder yarn and the colors are incredible--this colorway is Copper Penny (308,lot 58175). 50g 115yds/105m, 100% nylon. If you want, I can dig up the rest of the previous ball and add it in. $3 postpaid. PENDING





Tools:
Lovely Brittany size 6/4.25mm straight needles with beautiful turned ends. Tips are not completely smooth. $3 postpaid. SOLD










2 Skacel Addi Turbo circular needles, US 1/2.5mm, 20"/50cm. One was used once; other has never left its packaging. $8 each or $15 for both, postpaid. 1 set is SOLD, one is PENDING







1 set Susan Bates Quicksilver circular needles, size 5/3.75mm 24"/61cm long. Never used (bought 2 by mistake!). $4 each, postpaid.






Two sets Plymouth bamboo circular needles, size US15, 32". Never used. Would you believe I bought 3 of these before I realized it? Oy. $5 each, postpaid. 1 set is SOLD, one is PENDING






Other:

Hand-Painted Self-Striping Yarn hat kit with the self-striping part in earthy shades of yellow, grey, and brown, and the accent yarn in 2 skeins (enough for two hats!) in a lovely variegated blue-jeans shade (lot 121505). Super-soft merino yarn (50 g, 176 yds ea). $25 for all, postpaid. Further explanation: The hideous bright orange stripes are just scrap yarn. The strip in between was machine-knit and then dye painted on. You unravel it and knit with the-now-self-striping yarn. When you intersperse it with the other yarns, it makes a beautifully patterned hat (well, two). Here are her kits with two swaths of machine-knitted yarn that you dye yourself and then unravel and knit together. Note that my kid makes 2 hats... and is already dyed! PENDING

Payment: Money order (email me at wearpurple at mac dot com for address) or PayPal to the same address. I'll mark your desired yarns "PENDING" until shipped. Enjoy!

I have clearly lost my mind

Just got my order in of more Skacel Contrasto for a birthday gift for a friend. And because I can't simply order ONE yarn, like ever, I added in some yarn for a sweater for the little dude. This yarn. In black and orange. As I said, I have completely lost my mind.

Yes, I keep knitting absolutely garish things for my son. Because that is what he asks for and I'm a softie for the little guy. The latest thing he asked for was a head-to-foot T!gger costume, knit or otherwise made by moi. I figure a pullover with kangaroo pocket in this yarn is the closest I'm willing to come, and that's a lot farther than most.

In other news, I finished the tam for my sister, and it is mostly OK. The top is a little, eh, peaky, so I'm going to rip back just a few rows and do k2togs all the way around and see if that makes it flatter. It is really very nice, I think. I still think the cast-on edge is a bit tight. The wool is so soft and warm. And now I have one full ball and part of another left over. Enough for another ribbed hat for me? For someone else? I adore this yarn. Why doesn't everyone stock it?

Oh, and I finished the 3.5" part of the Viva top. Came across a challenge: the pattern has you knit the back & front separately. Now that I'm done with the two "separate" parts of the front, the yarn is at the middle. But in "real life," the yarn would be at the edge. So I think I have to cut it and rejoin it at the right side (not the left, right? Doesn't knitting go from right to left?). Weird, huh? I do still like it, even though the yarn does sometimes catch on the tip of the needles (which are plenty dull, being Clovers).

I've put aside Odessa for the time being. I kept making mistakes.

OK, so I didn't ADD any new projects...

I finished my sister's tam on the second day (thank God for fast projects!). Just before cutting the yarn to draw it through the last loops, I tried it on. It slipped easily past my forehead and ears and became, well, a hangman's hood, practically. Lovely.

I had wondered if the gauge was right. (The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns only uses gauges of 4 or 5 on up; my gauge was 4.5... ish.)

I ripped it all out (huzzah for ballwinders!) and started over on the 4-gauge pattern. So far so good, although my knitted cast-on edge is a bit tight for my preferences. I hate the thought of ripping it all back just to redo the cast-on. Think I'll soldier forward instead. The swirly top (one of 3 given top patterns) is just fantastic IMO.

I am loving the Mission Falls 1824 wool (color: Raven a.k.a. black). It is squishy, not too splitty, soft, and God bless them, superwash! Oh, and affordable.

In which our hero hangs her head a bit

In celebration of having finished Branching Out, I enthusiastically cast on the Viva top. Well, I was enthusiastic at the beginning. OK, just before beginning. Because this blasted thing has swaths of stockinette intermixed with reverse stockinette, edge stitches, side stitches, you name it. I have used every stitch marker in the house and was even getting out washers from my junk drawer before I realized that some new stitch markers I just recently picked up were actually two bonded together (one large inside one small; they split apart with a little pressure). I feel like I'm knitting Birch after all!

The knitting itself wasn't too bad; the needles are long enough (I think they're 29") and the yarn very rarely catches on the point (it's not exactly splitty, but its weird tapeyness has an edge that sometimes catches), but it isn't quite fascinating yet. 3.5" to go before some excitement.

Given that, and that I wanted a smaller, quick project, and that the beads and springy Cool Wool 2000 (color merlot) were calling to me... I cast on for Odessa. Screwed the pooch right out of the gate by miscounting my knitted cast-on; when I started pattern rows, after 1" of k3p2 ribbing, the last pattern didn't have enough stitches. I'd counted 110 twice and 105 once. Turns out 105 was the actual number of cast-on stitches. Riiip. Redid the ribbing, and did 5 rows of pattern before I realized I'd neglected to change needle sizes. Riip. I've now done maybe 1.5" of pattern. The only current challenge (it's a very easy pattern) is keeping the beads on the outside. There must be a trick to this. Some stay; others hide. I poke them through and try to twist the bead slightly. It is lovely. Although, not being a process knitter, I wanted to be done Sunday. (shrug)

Branching Out pruned

To my utter surprise, I finished another UFO tonight. Got into a rhythm with Branching Out; that, and the unexpectedly smaller size of the ball (combined with a fairly loose gauge on my part?) meant I only managed to do 19 repeats, as opposed to the 27 or 36 with the two suggested yarns in the pattern.

I'm blocking the hell out of it, mostly lengthwise, so that it can be at least a decent neckwarmer.

I did a few rows on the Tahki blue cotton sweater. It's not nearly as bad as I'd remembered, but is fairly technical. I'm having to use a clipboard and paper to map out each row so that I don't miss out on the various decreases and to start the V-neck (which I hope to God isn't too low). I'm knitting it on one big circular needle, now with three balls of yarn (1 for back, 2 for the 2 sides of the v-neck). It sure would be good to finish this one.

But after this, I'm giving myself permission to start the "Viva" sweater!

Mistake-Rib scarf in Contrasto

I finished the Skacel Contrasto scarf last night, while waiting for delicous burgers. My son put it on immediately and I haven't been able to get it back from him so I can weave in the ends. (I told him I'd be cutting the remaining ends off and he's terrified it'll unravel. I shall reassure him. Those ends are mine.)

It turned out just great. The pattern is really charming and easy to remember. A friend admired it while I was doing it. She may get something nice for her birthday....

I bought this yarn because of its price and high silk content and, when I got it, was unenthused. Couldn't decide on a pattern for it--there aren't a lot of raw-silk knitted tube yarns out there. I found some patterns for full sweaters, but no ideas for just 3 balls.

It is not the softest, but it does have lovely depth of color and a pretty neat scrunchy feel. It doesn't get stabbed by the needles easily (its version of splittiness). The mistake-rib stitch suited it well; I did it over 23 stitches (multiple of 4 plus 3).

This is a UFO that was ripped out (a very stuff reversible cable scarf) and now done. That feels great!

Another UFO update

Child's First Socks are still plugging along. I do like this pattern.






A closeup of the yarn and pattern. The colors are fairly true.







I finished, measured, and washed the swatch for the Lang Yarns 'Viva' top. It is the same as prewash: 18 sts/4 in. The pattern calls for 19 (but interestingly, the ball label says 18). I did lots of math and found that this will actually give some needed ease. The pattern is for XS through M. No L? Maybe they don't get any bigger in Switzerland. All that hiking!

I'm hoping to finish another UFO before starting the sweater itself. And as Dharma suggested, I think I may do the front & back on the same needles. That will give a tiny bit of ease, too. There will be a question of how to do the pattern in the round. And once again, I make things more complex rather than less.

The swatch is soft and springy. I am very pleased.

Ugly Fair Isle

My first attempt at Fair Isle doesn't look to bad, technically--but the color choice? Uh, lamentable. :)

From a free pattern I found on the web.

In my defense, the colors in Knit Picks' Palette yarns are sometimes... inscrutable. I mean, do these oranges go together in the first place? I may do the second mitt with the pale apricot as the "natural" color and shades of grey/black for the other 3 colors. Or it may be a singleton (perhaps a warning to others?).

Final photo: Anniversary socks

I did finally finish these. The reinforcing thread in the toes is a different color than that in the heels. That's because I neglected to bring the navy thread along at Christmas, and ended up getting beige needlepoint wool from the yarn shop and un-plying it for thread. Worked pretty well, in the end, I think.

Here they are and she really loves them already.

Another FO!

Update: now with photos!

I finished one of the remaining 6 UFOs (that I can think of) on my list. It's another Magic Scarf, to replace my black one that disappeared in December. (boo hoo!) I had bought some soft, fluffy brown eyelash yarn when Yarn! closed, and started the scarf in December, probably while I was at my mom's. Put it down when we got back and hadn't touched it since. I had about 1/2 ball to go.

I got to the end of the skein last night and had to tink back an entire row, as it needs to be bound off so very loosely. I used my Daisy 35s to bind it off, and took the end and knotted it securely (but with a loose loop) to 2 other threads. The other Magic Scarves I've made have a problem with the end coming loose and hanging down. I'm hoping this method will work. I hate making knots, but clearly, the other way was not working.

This yarn is a lot heavier than the NY Yarns Fluff yarn I'd been using for the other ones. It feels a bit like a beaver pelt! Which is fine. I can still put my hands in it, stretch it out, and make it into a cowl. Works for me!











I also did a few more pattern repeats on Branching Out, after having to rechart it. I have no idea where the pattern went, and the chart was always a smidge too small for me, anyway. I did it by hand, but maybe next time, I'll use that knitting font and just make it oversized. I moved my lifeline every 10 rows and (knock on wood) didn't make any mistakes. Maybe I'll finish it yet!


(Hmm, dark photo. Yarn is a dark-to-medium purple, not navy.)

Purple sweater is in the frog pond

I finished frogging the purple acrylic sweater today at noon. My sweetie stopped me from frogging it by hand on Sunday, and helped me realize that frogging it with the ballwinder made loads more sense. So I did that today, frogging straight to the ballwinder, and then taking the full ball off and rewinding it with less tension, since the tension from frogging made for very tight balls.

So nice to be done with that. I made a list on Sunday of my current UFOs and I think (think think think) I only have 6 now! Woo hoo!

They know me! They really know me!

My sweetie gave me Barbara Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns for my birthday. Today, I got a forwarded email via my sister that Amazon has now shipped Sweaters from Camp!

And, wonder of wonders, my "Please don't make me any homemade stuff for Christmas; I'd rather not receive anything" sister has asked me to knit a hat for her! To her own specs, of course, but...

wow.

UFO update

I frogged Pasha. That acrylic is going back to the frog pond. No regrets there.

I also frogged a laceweight mohair hat I started for one of my son's aftercare teachers--fool that I am, I actually thought I'd finish a laceweight hat on size 8s in a moment's time! Don't know what I'll make out of it now, as it has no label so I have no idea of the yardage. It does have a lovely sheen (it's black).

Finally, I frogged a scarf I'd started last fall. It's in Skacel Contrasto (in olive), which I bought from Herrschner's because it contains silk. This was before I realized that the kind of silk yarn I like is the kind with a nice sheen. I had started the scarf in L!on Brand's Reversible Cable Scarf, because I love the idea of cables that reverse. But the pattern made it incredibly stiff and awful. So I frogged it entirely, cast on fewer stitches, and am doing a Mistake Rib scarf. It really looks super. Not sure who I was doing it for--my son asked, and after he felt it, he asked for it. I have 3 balls, so that should make a nice length of scarf.

Maybe I'll also frog the purple sweater tonight. Whee!

UFO challenge update

My next step in the UFO challenge will be to frog one or two projects, the first being Pasha, the doomed penguin. I was going to make it half-size and ran into some pattern-resizing challenges, and quit. Forget it; I'm done. She's going to the frog pond.

I'm also going to completely frog the purple acrylic cardigan I started in France with a long-lost French pattern (Pingouin, I'm guessing). I may reuse the yarn, but the cardigan, at this point, will not fit me anyway. And bright purple acrylic? Gives me pause.

I was thinking, at this rate, will I have enough UFO projects for all 12 months of 2007? And then I couldn't stop laughing.

Cozy is done! And is cozy!

A coworker just commented that Cozy, which I'm wearing today, is very cozy looking. And it is!

I finished last night, having to tink back 5 of the pattern rows because I didn't have enough yarn to do all 8 plus 3 garter-stitch rows plus casting off. As it is, I have maybe 3 yds left of the Plassard Bourette yarn. Despite looking like string (I bought the color Twine to match the original pattern, because as Dharma likes to remind me, I am a rules follower), it wasn't bad to knit with--not even as tough as cotton.

I did have to wonder, as I put it on today--have I become a little old lady, wearing my lacy shawl because "it's a little cold in here for these old bones, dear"--or is it just fine these days for middle-aged women to wear a lovely, lacy, cozy shawl?

I have decided that yes, it is just fine. And I love it. This may be my "leave at work for when it's chilly" shawl that I've been wanting for a while. We have had a heck of a time keeping our offices warm here. I'm wearing my River Rapids socks today and my feet are barely warm.

But I'm so glad to have finished Cozy! Tickled, really.

Just keep knitting, just keep knitting, just keep knitting, knitting, knitting...

I'm finishing the fifth ball of Cozy (of eight) and still enjoying it. It's getting big--too big to be a transportable project, I think. I have once again misplaced my camera, or you would be looking at photos of it-so-far and Fetching.

I continue to make mistakes on row 5 of Cozy. I get lost in the stitch pattern and get to the end with too few or too many stitches left. It is frustrating and I don't know how to resolve it. I do think it's much faster to knit from a chart, at least for me, and am surprised no one has put a chart on his or her blog for it. I'd do it but I don't have the characters/font set (does anyone?).

Ah--of course, the second I type it, it occurs to me to try to search for it again, and this time "knitting font" turns up a hit first off: a freeware font. Yay! Now I can go to the effort of typing in this chart to share. Whoopee!

I am, though, casting about for a truly transportable project again. I do have the Child's First Socks on the needles, but they're not what you'd call mindless. The other candidate is Branching Out, which is so challenging for me that it's the opposite of mindless. I do want to start the Lang Yarns Viva "Sleeveless" Top (to which I'll add sleeves, grâce à Knitty). But even the beginning doesn't seem mindless. And after a page from my Stitch & Bitch calendar encouraging me to do so, I kind of want to knit both the front & back at once, to make them the same size! (Now that I write that down, it does seem a bit insane. Perhaps good notes would help?)

Speaking of notes, I am really enjoying using a knitting notebook these days. I picked up a pocket-sized, lined, spiral-bound blank book at the Powell's store in the Portland airport (yes, in the airport--how cool is that?) with an elastic to hold it closed, and the spiral not only holds my pen but also lets me flip the cover completely to the back for writing. Am loving it! It was on the sale rack, and being the sale snooper that I am, I carefully peeled back the stack of stickers to see what I'd saved off the original price. They all read $4.98, which was the price I paid. Not cool, Powells. Sale usually means "at a discounted price." Hmph. (I do still love it, though.)

OK, enough blather--off to the day's activities. Just keep knitting!

They are fast!

Fetching is done! They were done Tuesday night, in time to be used Wednesday (and today, and tomorrow). My sweetie made appropriate sounds about them tonight (they really are cute). Hm, perhaps she'd like a pair? :)

I continue to work on Cozy, nearing the end of the third ball. It already seems large but a long Cozy might be really nice... I'm still loving it, despite having had to tink back almost the entire row 7 because I made a mistake on the second stitch of the row. Yes, the second stitch. Argh!

I'm now thinking of organizing my stash better--putting patterns with the wool, etc., so I have a better idea of yarn that has no planned purpose. The idea of planned projects out 2 years really pleases me, even when I can imagine others finding the idea appalling (my sweetheart knows I'm no spontaneity queen). And I do love the idea of future finished projects, yeah!

I'm a winner!

In a huge fit of irony, a contest that I entered only on second thought, turned out to be a winner for me. Jenn wanted folks to guess how many balls of yarn were in her stash (see the photos). I looked at her boxes, thought of how yarn compresses, and guessed 613.

Got a message today that I won! I have no idea what I won, but who cares? It's nice to be a winner some days!

I stopped work on Cozy (2' done) to make Fetching since I am soooo freakin' cold at work these days. Almost done with the second one already! Great pattern! I'm using charcoal grey Mission Falls 1824 superwash merino wool. It is so cushy. I got it at Yarn! before she closed. I hope I find another source for this great yarn!

Tour of Sweaters: #2

Note: Sweater #1 was found! See its photo at the bottom of its post.

Whenever I see an ad for Lopi yarn, I remember Sweater #2. Sweater #2 was really, in retrospect, complex. It was an Icelandic-style pullover. It called for Lopi yarn. I found Lopi yarn somewhere, and knew I couldn't afford to buy all that was required for it. So I ended up buying a bulky weight--say it with me--acrylic yarn. (Of course!)

It actually turned out pretty nice. I can't remember if I made it for myself or for my mom (see a trend here? How many of my knits are for my mom? I'm thinking half of all of them). The body was brown and the yoke designwork was a neat heather grey and an off-white. The only problem with it (beside it being out of acrylic!) was that the neck, predictably, was pretty tight. I may have ripped it out at one point and reknitted it. Oh, and I think it did pill like a mofo.

Not bad for a second sweater, though.

Photos!

First, a photo of the cuffs of the Anniversary socks. You'll see that the yarn did a lovely striping thing, and then when I switched from size 2s to size 1s, it pooled in a big way. This is good, in the end, because one sock did end up a smidge bigger than the other, and K has one foot bigger than the other. So the pooling helps to tell them apart.










Finished sock photo soon to come!

Now, my currently active project (did you like how I neatly avoided saying "my current project," as if I have just one?), Cozy. I have about 1' done and am 1.5 of 8 balls into it. And LOVING it! Some folks think yards and yards of knitted lace are awful, but I am really enjoying getting into a rhythm and am also enjoying the WS purl rows for some time off.









I think, despite what Rabbitch says, that this actually does not look like boiled ass. It will look lovelier when I'm done and it's blocked, but I already find it quite pretty--and downright cozy. Really. Yum.

FO, mostly

Oh btw, I did finish the Anniversary Socks, by the 5-month anniversary. But (there's always a but!) they are a smidge too short. I'll be pulling out the toes today and re-knitting them. Am hoping to be done (done done DONE!) today.

Runs in the family

My son woke up today and snuggled into bed with me. He said, "I had a dream and it wasn't scary at the end. It was about knitting. There were a lot of needles--and no dropped stitches, Mom! Tom and Jerry were in it and there was a little loop at the bottom, but Jerry said he had enough slippers."

My son, dreaming about knitting. Aaaaah.

Joyful, joyful, we adore thee

I have the happy task of deciding what I'm going to take on vacation in terms of knitting projects, wool, needles, and patterns. Yippee! I am already having fun. There are too many candidates, though.

UFOs (that I intend to finish)

The anniversary socks (top-down; halfway down the foot! size 1s are so slow though)
oh, crud--I'll need to either bring the book or xerox the finishing instructions. Yoiks!
The "Sublime" v-neck sweater I hope I don't hate the bell sleeves. Of course, they are bottom-up, so if I rip them, I rip them entirely. At least this very fuzzy yarn does, indeed, rip.
Son's scarf hoping to finish this by Christmas. Not sure if he realizes it's a gift. Maybe that's a good thing. (my own pattern; this will be the fifth one, I think!)

Knitting Dreams

Kiri Instead of Birch. I keep hearing its praises--why not? In Cracksilk Haze, Smoke.
Icarus Probably from the blue Misti baby alpaca I got from Little Knits a long while ago. I have the pattern from the Interweave Knits issue. (Color of the yarn is spot on.)
Shetland Triangle Out of what yarn? No idea.
Odessa For the gf; she chose the beads and prestrung them for me.
Anemoi mittens Finally, a stranded (Fair Isle) pattern that really makes my heart go pit-a-pat!
Tiffany Well, ditto the above. :) (but I'd choose different colors)
Ethereal Fichu Bought the pattern; still looking for the perfect yarn. Fell in love when I saw it on JoVE's blog.
Backyard Leaves I've always wanted to make this and was thrilled to find it included in Interweave Knits' Holiday Gifts issue. I think I already have yarn from which to make this.
Cozy Isn't that the perfect name for a Christmastime knitting project? Already have the yarn for this one, too, from Elann. Two different dye lots, but the oatmeal color probably won't matter.
Sleeveless top (to which I will add sleeves) from Lang Yarns Viva. In the green. (big needles--that's a draw right there.)

See my dilemma? Votes and opinions welcome.

Later: Oops, forgot one: another 3-way scarf like the one for my son, but for me, out of chocolate fuzzy stuff from my late, lamented yarn shop. OK, I think I'm done now.

And then sanity set in.

You may recall that I was working on a k3p1 ribbed scarf for G's teacher. I had also started a knit hat with a very fine mohair blend yarn (read: taking forever) for one of his aftercare teachers who always seems to be cold.

Since the last day of school has passed, there is no chance of getting a scarf to G's teacher for Christmas (if she celebrates it; I asked him to ask her but he forgot, or thinks he forgot). So...

how 'bout a little less stress? Current scarf goes to the aftercare teacher (just needs binding off and fringe), and I'll whip something up while on vacation for his regular teacher.

Phew.

Much progress

I am almost 4" done on the foot of the Anniversary socks. They really look good but damn, I swear those needles are getting smaller every time I knit with them!

While on jury duty (see my other blog), I buzzed along on the charcoal Knit One Purl Too Sublime Easy Fitted V-Neck. Man, does knitting go fast when your needles are 9s instead of 1s! I'm a little worried about the scratchiness of the mohair, but the color is great and it's even froggable, to my astonishment. I whipped out the front, back, one sleeve, and started another on the BART commute and while we waited (and waited and waited).

I also started and finished another Magic/3-Way Scarf for my son's young friend in a pink (#8; it is less blue than the photo) so bright it almost hurts the eyes. She'll love it. It is a Christmas present; nice to be able to mark that one off. While I was working on it on BART, a women asked if I'd made the one on my neck, too (my black one). I said yes and pointed out the 3 ways to wear it (long scarf, short cowl, hood) and she pointed out two more! You can pull the cowl up to cover your ears like a headband, and if you let the top scrunch enough, you can make it into a hat. Very cool!

After that, I started one of those scarves for my son in a Fluff Print (#26) he'd chosen a while ago. I'm betting on him having forgotten, as it will be one of his Christmas presents. When I'm done with that, I'm going to make myself another one with some soft brown yarn I bought when my beloved local yarn store closed. I don't know how well it will work, as the NY Yarns Fluff yarn has worked beautifully, and this stuff is a little heavier and the yardage is less (although I always end up with about 1/3 ball left of the Fluff).

I only have two more Christmas projects to finish (since I have chosen very few to begin with, for once!): a scarf for G's teacher and a hat for one of his Y-Kids teachers. The hat pattern came up in my 2006 Knitting Pattern A Day calendar. It's a simple mohair hat and I just found a ball of black mohair in my stash. Don't know where it came from. The teacher's scarf may come out of a ball of L!on Brand cashmere-blend yarn I got with my 40% off coupon at Beverly's and some gorgeous jewel-toned chenille I'm sure I got from Dharma. Neither is enough for a full scarf, but I'm going to attempt one of those "Cast on a million stitches and knit 2 rows with each yarn" scarves and see how the yarns hold out--and look together.

I'm hoping to just do fun knitting while away at Christmas--maybe a lacy scarf from an insert in a recent Interweave Knits, maybe some Fair Isle (OMG are these gorgeous?!?) with the yarn I got at Yarn! and the Palette sampler I got from the Destash blog from YaiAnn. I have spotted a Fair Isle sweater I want to knit (interesting note: there are very few I find attractive) and I need to know if I hate it, first.

And someday? I'll restart Birch. Because I must prevail, dammit.

Update on UFOs

childHood: side seams done, I need to do 1" on the hood and do a 3-needle bindoff. It'll need buttons (for show, with snaps behind), but I doubt the child will wait for that!

Super Secret Project #1: is done! Needs blocking and weaving in of 3 tiny ends.

Anniversary socks: well, I started turning the heel (with reinforcement thread, bought in Windsor weekend-before-last) at the Borg/Smith talk at First Congregational of Berkeley. Listening to religious discussion while starting a heel I'd not done before... well, too much for this bear of very little brain. I read the wrong number of stitches from the Knitter's Handy book and started a too-narrow heel flap. I also did the wrong thing for the purl row: the knit row is slip 1, knit 1; the purl row is slip 1, purl to end. I did slip 1, purl 1 for the whole row. (It was hard!) Undid my erroneous purl row, restarted the heel flap, and did all 34 rows (still wondering why I had to exclude 7 lonely stitches). Oops, I was supposed to do the heel flap over 34 stitches on this size/gauge sock. Riiip.

So now I've finished the heel flap and the first part of turning the heel. The next part is knit over the instep with the heel stitches, so I've discontinued the reinforcement thread (as thread through the instep seems quite uncomfortable). I moved all the stitches around so the middle of the heel is the start of the round and started the heel flap (with reinforcement thread) on the other stock. The heel flaps look really great in this yarn!

Not much else going on in my knitting world...!

Finally, a photo!

Now, with photos!

Here are the anniversary socks to date:




Envision Here are some beautiful k2p2 ribbing on size 2s and then size 1 needles. Envision They are socks at 6.5" that only need 2 more inches before foot shaping. Unfortunate that they were not finished by the 3 mo anniversary date (last Sunday). They are lovely, though.

I DO finish things!

...except for the camera search. I swear, I came across the camera bag when I was frantically searching for something else, but of course, can't recall that now.

But I started AND FINISHED a hat on Saturday! It's for Rabbitch's hat drive for homeless folks in Vancouver, BC. It's, um, huge. I made it from yarn given to me by a friend-of-a-friend, who knit some hats for Xmas presents and didn't want to knit any more. I had thought it was Lamb's Pride Bulky, but it turns out it's LP Polarweight. Calls for size THIRTEEN needles.

I had 15 and 10.5. I chose the 15s and a dark grey and cast on 60 (me, swatch???). Loosely following the directions in the Knitter's Handy Book (I love this book!), I knit ribbing, then stockinette, then switched to a lovely blue for 3 rounds, then finished the hat.

It is HUGE. I'm not sure whether to send it in as is (some homeless person with a huge head will be so happy!) or full or felt it a bit to reduce it to human proportions.

Oh, well. I knit some more on gf socks and cast on for another hat in a lighter grey on the 10.5 needles. I'm already up to the st st on it and will put in a stripe of green in this one, then send them off to Rabbitch.

K says she knows an SF Tenderloin minister who would be happy to receive handknits for the folks she ministers to. I may be able to get a list of what she wants and hold my own hat drive for local folks! With prizes! God knows I have more sock yarn than, well, God.

P.S. I also sewed the sleeves onto G's childHood correctly and completely seamed one side. It really does look great. About 1 more inch on the hood, seam it and the other side, add buttons, and we're done!

Socktoberfest Q&A

For no known reason except that there are very few expectations, I joined Socktoberfest today:

• When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?

Hm, maybe a yearor two ago. I taught myself from an article in Interweave Knits about "Priscilla's Dream Socks" by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts. Unfortunately, she uses a k3tog in her sock heels and I just hated the thought of that little lump in the side of the heel and abandoned it. Then I got the Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns and made a yellow sock for my son. It was too long but he loved it (and is still waiting for the second, damn that Second Sock Syndrome!).

• What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?

My first complete pair was River Rapids in Claudia's handpainted. They are too big but I still love them. They are pilling a little. The yarn is so, so soft. I like to wear them with my clogs.

• What would you have done differently?

Really checked my gauge and gone down a needle size.

• What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

I'm knitting 2 different pairs of socks now with KnitPicks' Memories sock yarn. It really is nice--soft and the variegation is gentle enough not to pool. The colourways are Redwood Forest and Cape Cod and I liked them when I bought them, and like them more and more as I knit with them. Great yarn. (I hope they don't get felted ever!)

• Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?

2 socks on 2 circs. Rules! SSS haunts me. DPNs are too pokey and hard to transport. Magic Loop, although I haven't tried it, just seems like it would strain the yarn at the loop.

• Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)

I've only done flap and short-row and I really prefer the flap. I think they both look neat, though.

• How many pairs have you made?

2--the River Rapids and Mom's socks that would not die. I hope to finish the Cape Cod socks soon and pick up and finish the Child's First Socks soon thereafter.

Moving right along

I have about 3" done on the gf's socks and they really are gorgeous (photo as soon as I find my blasted camera, I promise!). Even though I decided on k2p2 ribbing, it really is going quite quickly.

It went really quickly last Saturday during my son's incredibly exciting soccer game. Well, that and the half cup of regular coffee really had my needles flying!

Danger, Will Robinson

My thoughts have turned to the afghan again, and I'm on the DiscountYarnSale site. I have a bag of the green (of which I need at least 10 skeins) and one of the ruby red (of which I only need 2, but the color is hard to find, and it's all on massive sale)... and they have bags of Cleckheaton's Country 8ply, which is a supersoft washable 100% wool yarn. Maybe a nice purple for me?

Somebody stop me!

Another 2-socks-on-2-circs hint

The ones I'm doing for my gf are currently on size 2s, which I only have in regular Susan Bates (not QuickSilver). I thought hard enough to buy this pair in differing colors--and that is making a huge difference. As long as I'm paying attention, I can remember to knit only with pink together or only green. If I find myself knitting pink with green, I'll know I've made a mistake.

Does that make sense? Each circular has needles on each end of the same color, and they differ.

It rocks. Seriously. :)

Coming along

I ripped out the stitching of the sleeves on childHood on Tuesday night, while my sweet gf was holding my arthritic, painful ankle and trying to do something to ease the pain (my strong anti-inflammatory and sucking down an entire beer finally helped, well, conk me out at least). So that's ready to move forward. I think the part I messed up in stitching is called the armscye--the straight-across part at the armpit. I had stitched the sleeves up to, but not onto, the armscye. Fortunately, ripping out was pretty easy. I did un-cast-off a stitch on one sleeve, but was able to restore it even in my drunken stupor.

And last night, I got 1" done on gf's socks! I'm doing the K2P2 ribbing and it really looks great in this yarn. My son and I watched Sinbad (the new animated one) while eating comfort food--ice cream and then grilled-cheese sandwich for him, potluck noodle salad and then quesadilla with salsa for me. Then I sent him off to get ready for bed and watched half of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. K called partway through and realized I was knitting madly while holding the phone squished to my shoulder. I love productive knitting!

When in doubt, start a new project

K had expressed interest in the KnitPicks Redwood Forest socks I'm making in the Child's First Sock pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. They are lovely but a little dainty for her, I think. And too slow!

She gave me a lovely pearl and amethyst necklace for our 2-month anniversary (last Friday). I told her I would knit her socks (despite Yarn Harlot's admonishment, as it was similar to the Boyfriend Sweater and, in her opinion, just not worth it). I brought up 4 possibilities from my sock yarn stash (mmm, I just love typing that!) and she gave me the choice. I chose the other set of skeins from KnitPicks, the Cape Code colorway.

I cast on last weekend, using the basic directions from Ann Budd's Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns (a requested Christmas gift, yeah!). My only complaint is that they are top-down. I really like toe-up, but am unable to translate the pattern into toe-up (OK, that is another complaint). I think they will go quickly. I did choose to do K2P2 ribbing and will continue it onto the instep. Otherwise, very basic sock. With lovely Cape Coddish colors (as if I would know--but beautiful dark and lighter and greener sea blues and beige sand colors).

The pessimist in me says, well, we damn well have to stay together till I finish these freaking socks.

Will I ever finish anything???

I feel like I have 6 projects and will never finish any of them. sigh

The most likely candidate is G's childHood, which has the sleeves sewn in and just needs the underarm/side seams done. When that is done, I can really try it on him and estimate how the hood is coming along. Maybe 1-2" left of that, I think. Then I can put buttons & snaps on and BE DONE.

But nothing else is as close to being done. The blue cotton Tahki is slow going and I have my doubts about the way I did the decreases on the bustline (directions are vague for every row after the first--"do the same decrease" but the first decrease row gives stitch counts and there are fewer stitches after that!). And it's getting heavy. I should calc to see how many more rows I have till the shoulders. I already decided not to start the v-neck as low as they recommend, as I'm hoping to wear this in other places than the Ren Faire.

I'm completely befuddled on Branching Out. I had too few stitches on a row, so started to tink back, only to realize that I don't konw which row I put the lifeline through (10 or 1?). Ugh. It is lovely so far, though...

Birch continues to taunt me. I may put her away in the basement and start the Swallowtail shawl instead. I already have the laceweight alpaca it calls for. Ha!

How do you knit? How do you want to?

Kirsten asked the question of whether folks prefer to knit in groups, or alone.

Interesting question. I tend to knit alone (and be asked all the time, I swear by the same people as last time, "What are you knitting?" Two tubes. What could it be but socks?), but love to knit in a group, unless my pattern is complex, in which case I'll doubtless screw up.

I also love to knit with one other person, often Dharma or, lately, my new sweetie (who crochets, of course). There's something beautifully intimate about doing this together, like reading books on either end of the couch, a blanket over the two of you, feet intermingled. Mmm.

How about you? Do you tend to knit alone? What do you do to knit in a group, if you can?

Did I just do that?

I just told my gf that I 'd actually crochet to help her use up some donated yarn that her crafting group was going to make into lap robes. Me? Crochet? I must need coffee.

(Seriously, when I had to knit crochet--see that?--a border onto a square, it went quickly and I rather enjoyed it. Much to my surprise! I don't usually like the look of crochet, but doing it is fun. And only having to keep track of one loop--what a treat!)

She said it was somewhat upscale donated yarn. I can't wait. The Red Heart I keep seeing in her bag, well, it makes me cringe a tad.

I priced superwash wool for her to use on lap robes, and if I got the yardage correct (1200 yards seems extreme), it would cost a minimum of $30 per lap robe. sigh. She argues that Red Heart is so much more economical. I argue that it is better to give one higher quality lap robe than several rough ones... and the debate continues. :)

Tour of Sweaters: #1

The first sweater I ever made was for my mom. I knit it in time for Christmas. Which of course means I finished it within 2 days of Christmas.

It was a heathery off-white yarn, thick on #10 needles. The pattern was all rectangles: one each for the front & back, two for the sleeves, and one for the cowl neck. I think it was stockinette with garter-stitch cuffs and waistband. The yarn was likely a cotton and acrylic blend. I was not the yarn nazi I am today.

My memory of this sweater is of Mom storming into my room with me throwing the needles w/rectangle attached into the closet and slamming the door, and Mom demanding to know why my room still was not clean. She was quite contrite when she found out that was what was keeping me from tidying (as if I ever need an excuse).

I suspect it was somewhat shapeless, but Mom did wear it for many years. She's a sport. And I was quite proud of myself that I made it.

I'll have to see if I can find a photo of it somewhere.

Voila, Sweater #1. Slubby, cottony, cream-colored basic sweater. Circa 1976.

Update: Mom still had the sweater! It's not cottony at all. It's slubby, all right, but 100% acrylic. I told her to throw it away. Its big holes make it not actually warm, yecch!

Good progress on Branching Out

Lots of counting has made all the difference for Branching Out with the Misti Alpaca sportweight. I've finished 3 repeats of the pattern, and it looks really nice! I'm using my kacha kacha to count rows. It's been a while. I love that thing.

Tried childHood on the child, and yep, the hood needs to be larger. I'll put a few more inches on it and try him again. I don't want it to be another jacketlike thing whose hood he outgrows first.

Maybe I can finish it for him to wear to school on Tuesday!

Birch 1, Me 0

Birch has won this round. I got to the end of row 4 and instead of 6 stitches left, I had 1. I give up. I'll frog that and re-cast-on with stitch markers every 10 stitches, since the pattern is over 10 stitches. (and am eyeing Kiri as an alternative...)

I've also decided to frog my other KSH project, Branching Out. I just kept making mistakes and getting paranoid, so I'll use that beige color in something else, maybe stranded along with another yarn. I've restarted Branching Out in my Misti Alpaca sportweight in a beautiful aubergine. (No printed gauge on the label! Little Knits says it's 6 sts/in, so it should be fine for this pattern.)

Am slogging away on the blue Tahki cotton sweater, checking rows off on my clipboard. I think I need to frog down to one decrease, though, as I did it in reverse (the k3tog first rather than last; what was I thinking?). I'll get to the V-neck shaping soon!

Am also slogging away at the Redwood Forest socks. I'm on row 18 of the 20 rows of k2p1 ribbing. I hope the 10-row pattern can be clearly charted so this can continue to be a very portable project (unlike the blue sweater).

And finally--am nearing the end with childHood! Finished the 10" of the hood last night. Just need to try it on the Child With The Significant Cranium to make sure it will fit him before I do the 3-needle bindoff. I've heard the hood is absurdly large so we might be just fine. Then I'll have to sew the sleeves on and seam them and the sides, sew on the buttons and snaps, and be DONE.

Shoots and Ladders afghan

I'm now leaning toward making this afghan out of Plymouth Encore. I'm feeling a need to jot down the particulars:

Shoots and Ladders out of Plymouth Encore

Color
	Description	Number	Yards	Skeins
1	Gold	1014	200	2
2	Green	9401	1820	10-11
3	Rust	212	230	2
4	Black	217	200	2
5	Camel	1202	200	2
6	Grey	194	420	3

Fitted cardigan pattern

How cute is this cardi? And how hot would I look in it?

A: Very cute, and very hot.

Not a lot of news

Once I get my home computer back to where it was, I'll post some photos of updates. Until then, I'll just have to describe things.

Birch: still scaring me, I guess. Still on row 2. (or maybe 3.)

childHood: still about 1/2 way up the hood. The end is in sight! I may decrease a few stitches in the middle so that it doesn't have a silly point when I 3-needle-bind-off the top.

blue Tahki cotton sweater: looks good. I'm about up to the v-neck shaping, which occurs front and back. I have to keep track of my rows on a sheet of binder paper, checking off rows as I do them. I still like the look of it.

And, of course, I have to start a new project, oy! A friend really likes penguins, and I have some Red Heart handy, so I started Pasha. It's going to be kind of big! Not sure I'm up to miniaturizing it, though, so I'll probably just go for the 8" size. Fun to be working on something small, though. I hope she likes it! (it's s surprise)

Finally, someone who went before me

I have barely mentioned the cone of thousands of yards of cashmere laceweight yarnthread I bought off eBay.

Well, someone knit an absolutely lovely stole with the green shade of it!

Ooh, I want. See how quickly she knit it, too? wow

Rules for two socks on two circulars

As I've knit this second pair of two socks on two circulars, I've come up with some rules to keep me sane.

Rule #1. Don't panic. If you think you're making a mistake (like knitting 3 of the 4 sides onto one circular), you probably aren't. Take a breath, look at it carefully, or look away for a minute. It's probably just fine.

Rule #2. As I said before, you change needles or yarn, but not both. So when you get to the point where both circulars are straight (instead of one curled into a C), you're just changing needles but continuing with the same yarn. If one needle is curled into a C, you're changing yarn but continuing with the same set of needles.

Rule #3. Give a tug. When you change needles, tug on the needle with the stitches you're about to knit. If you don't feel a pull on the needle in your other hand, you have probably picked up the wrong needle. Follow the cable around and pick up the right one.

Rule #4. If you have to count rows (e.g. 20 rounds of K2P1 ribbing), you'll probably want to use an unattached stitch counter (e.g. kacha kacha) or put one in the middle of one sock. If you put one between the two socks, you'll probably drop it off the needles. (voice of experience)

Rule #5. Bask in the knowledge that when you're done, you're done. Begone, second sock syndrome!

This is a good thing.

Just realized that all of my active projects are in states where they're fun to work on. Which is really very cool. The socks are coming along nicely and I'm not messing up the 2-socks-on-two-needles thing quite yet. Birch is looking really lovely even though I'm only on row 3. The blue cotton sweater is still lovely to look at and I think I've figured out all of the decreases I'm supposed to be doing (all charted out on paper finally so I can keep track). I haven't worked on childHood in a while, but am halfway up the hood and it's at a fast and easy place.

How lucky is that?

Want to note this down

You never see the moebius cast-on written down. I'd like to make something like this some day.

http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/na_other/article/0,2025,DIY_14142_4894528,00.html

Birch is...

a b!tch. After ripping out the long-tail cast on, I redid it with the knitted cast-on (a.k.a. lace cast-on). Which is really pretty cool; no wondering if you're going to waste several feet or be short, as is the case with the long-tail cast-on. And it goes pretty quickly, even though it's 299 stitches.

So I knit all of row 1 and part of row 2... and then wondered, Why the heck are these needles so small? Looked at the pattern again. It says

5 mm (no 6) (US 8) needles

which was why I was using size 6 needles. See my error? WTF is up with that "no 6" size? I'm guessing it's a UK size. ARGH!

So, I ripped out till my seam ripper, which I was using the back of to rip out the snags of KSH, somehow cut the yarn. sigh.

Then I started yet again with the knitted cast-on, on my Clover size 8 circulars. New problem: they are too blunt. They don't stab the yarn well. And they're a little short (maybe 24"?). So now I'm thinking I want to buy another set of circulars to knit Birch with. She is becoming a spendy project, beyond the 4 balls I already bought of KSH. I think I'll still want bamboo, as they hold the stitches well. What other choices do I have? Crystal Palace, whose circulars are so splitty that my LYS doesn't stock them? Addi Natura? I dunno.

But I'm getting very good at the knitted cast-on.

Back on the horse

Sat down with Birch, my quad-ruled little notebook, and Marianne Kinzel's lace knitting book last night. Charted all 8 rows of Birch and--ta da!--finished the first row. I'm sure I made mistakes (ended up with one extra stitch), but am hopeful that I'll spot them as I purl back.

I'd seriously forgotten how lovely it is to knit with Cracksilk Haze. It is fabulous and I still/again love this color (smoke).

I also found someone else who did the wrong cast-on, like I did!

reading further... Oh crud, she frogged and redid the cast-on! Well, live and learn.

Getting something done.

I don't know why, but I am experiencing a heck of a lot of aversion to some of my knitting projects lately. I continue to feel nervous about Birch and haven't done a lick of work on her. I put down the Hempathy stole for my friend. I am doing some work on childHood (halfway up the hood), but not a lot.

I did, though, finish swatching for the socks, and have cast on, and am knitting. This included a trip to the LYS for new needles, though. The Boye circulars I was using are just awful. One of the two ends is really very sharp, in each one, and they are just unpleasant to work with. I may try to sell them on eBay.

I replaced them with Susan Bates Quicksilver circulars. They do have a long needle, making the cord on the short side, but the stitches slide really nicely on them. (I did end up with size 1s. I wish the size 3s had worked out. Too bad.)

I got the socks cast on and appropriately on the needles. Found a trick there: since I cast on tightly (and these socks are toe-down), I cast on on my size 3 circulars and that made it very easy to transfer the stitches to the size 1 circulars appropriately. Much easier than casting on on the actual needles you're going to use. And I continued to use my mantra of 2 socks on 2 circulars: "You either switch needles or yarn. Never both."

We'll see how stripey the yarn works out to be--or how tight the cast-on is in the end, on my significant calves. I'm glad to have a pair of socks in the works, though.

Oh, and I tried the blue Tahki cotton top on--and it fits! Well!

Maybe someday, I'll pick up Birch again.

But for now, the LYS trip yielded two Fair Isle books and 4 balls of FI yarn...

Finally did it.

I ordered the Herrschner's afghan catalog that I've been thinking of ordering ever since Grumperina noticed one of the afghans as being not awful. I really like that one, and the green/white winter one as well.

And while I was there, got some sale yarn and some cardmaking stuff I need.

Oy, my poor credit card!

Scary knitting.

Updates on all projects:
Ribbed blue Tahki cotton sweater. This is the one whose V@gue Knitting pattern I'm modifying immensely. Instead of knitting parts, I'm knitting it in the round. Instead of a long, ugly, holey peplum, I'm starting it at the waist. Instead of long, ugly, holey sleeves, I'm putting in short sleeves, whose length, I suspect, will be limited by the amount of yarn left over when I'm done with the body.

OK, so chopping off the peplum was a no-brainer. I took the # of stitches that you should end up with as you start the body ribbing and started with that. I added a smidge to the length (oh God, did I? I think I did). I stole all my stitch markers from it for Birch, then added a couple back so I could have two differentiated sections of Front and Back. I cast off 8 stitches for arm holes and started the different decreases for front darts and a narrower back.

Let me tell you, this is hard. This is not for wimps. I have read and written and read and written and I still made the mistake of starting the V-neck shaping even with the armholes, rather than 3.5" above it (easy to correct, but heart attack material).

So, lately? I've been ignoring this one.

Birch
OK, just about the same as last time. OK, exactly the same.

Socks
I am knitting a circular swatch. The size 3 needles produced way too big a stitch size, the size 2's, too big, so I'm now swatching with size 1s. I just realized that one of the size 1's has an incredibly sharp point on one side. I'm going to try to exchange it. And, big surprise, I hate the Boye needles. Hate, hate, hate them. I'm using the Susan Bates Quicksilver needles on the Tahki sweater and may go to the LYS and buy some size 1's there. Um, I wonder if she has them in size 1.

Anyway, the yarn is producing an interesting striping effect--one stripe in shades of reddish brown and one in deep forest greens. It's not jarring but really quite lovely. And the yarn is fab. I think I'll like these socks. If I ever get to START them, that is!

childHood
Did some more work on the hood of this sweater last night. I'd put it down when we had our really hot weather. It's coming along great! I have maybe 5" of the 10.5" done already. Nice to have an easy knit.

Knitting as therapy

I took my circular swatch for the Child's First Socks in KnitPick's Redwood Forest with me to the hospital. My son was having minor surgery and I needed something to do besides bite my fingernails (which doesn't happen to be among my bad habits).

It worked relatively well. I also struck up a conversation with the gardener, who was trimming and watering the plants around me. Turns out she lives in the same town as I and was wanting to start knitting--"a hat would be ideal." I explained what I was doing (no, this isn't a sock, but yes, these are two circular needles) and we talked about the various ways to knit circularly. (Sure, one can knit a hat flat and then seam it, but that brings up the worst of my anti-finishing ire, for whatever reason.)

I told her about my favorite LYS's and gave opinions on the two others in the area. Then went back to my swatch, as I waited and waited for the call that meant my kid was done.

The knitting didn't entirely distract me from the situation at hand, but it sure helped.

(But, rats, the size 3 Addi Turbos are just too big for gauge. I'm back to my Susan Bates size 1's and they are so tiny and sharp and not smooth enough. Yuck.)

Trellis is done

I knit one last row while boiling in the 103°F/39°C heat, and then took the time to count my stitches while my son rode on yet another little-kid ride at a southerly amusement park.

124 stitches. I was supposed to stop at 115 or something. Oh, well. I looked at the ball and it seemed to have enough to bind off but not a lot more. So I decided it was time.

Back at home and in more reasonable temps, I picked up my size 35 needle (as I always seem to bind off too tightly, I went up a needle size, which for me was from 19 to 35) and bound the sucker off. Ended up with 10 yards of remaining ladder yarn, which I guiltlessly threw away. Why save it when you know you won't use it?

During this whole project, I wondered and worried whether I'd like the end product. I knew I loved the colors but knitting on size 19 needles made me feel... well, cheap.

Ha! I love this thing. I'm wearing a brown dress and it looks WONDERFUL with it. It feels great and drapes terrifically. It ended up being a very shallow triangle. The directions said the point of the triangle would be 13" deep. It's longer (reaches my butt, which is what I wanted) and also wider (71" became... reaching my feet practically on both sides). The colors look great, the stitch looks complex (love garter stitch in ladder yarn!), it stays on... wonderful. I am so pleased.

And it doesn't hurt to be able to mark something finished.

I knew there was one I was forgetting.

I started a sample of a pattern for a stole for a minister-friend. It's out of Elsebeth Lavold "Hempathy" in a green that I had hoped would be sage but is more minty. I do like the pattern, although it is quite different from the one in the book! The holes are not in the book photo. I had to find a yarn that was not warm, as my friend has, as she puts it, personal summer. Hemp, cotton, and linen were what I came up with.

Elann or KnitPicks just sent me a catalog with a 100% hemp yarn in a nice sage called "grass" that I may try next if my friend doesn't like this green. (Then I'll be selling it on eBay because it doesn't look like a great green for me, either.

Just an update

ETA: Now with photos!

No more FOs to report. Some updates:

Rainbow childHood
I'm partway up the hood on G's childHood. I had started it at the cabin and only had dpn's with me, so I've now converted to a circular needle; way easier. Got a few rows done but it's, well, a little dull.




Blue ribbed cotton sweater
Speaking of dull, I'm still plugging away on the blue Tahki cotton sweater. I thought it would be mind-numbing, but the k2p2 ribbing keeps me interested enough, thank God. I'll start the shaping at about 8.5". I have misplaced the magazine. Wish me luck, eh?



Trellis shawl
Nearly finished with the first ball of Li*n Brand Trellis on my shawl. Dharma figured out that the third ball is really only used for the fringe so I'll probably eBay it. It'll be nice to be done with this one; it's mind-numbing enough and not nearly fast enough, even on size 19 needles!



Birch
While at the cabin, I cast on for Birch. Something about this one fills me with trepidation. That I won't get it finished within 6 mos and won't be able to return the extra $15 ball of Cracksilk Haze? That it calls for a lace cast-on and I, not knowing what that was, went ahead with a regular cast-on? That I'll get lost and have to rip back Cracksilk Haze, which is reputed to be a b!tch to rip back? I've done part of one row. sigh


Child's first socks
Something about having no socks on the needles was driving me crazy, so last night, I balled and started swatching for Child's First Socks from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. I chose the RedwoodForest sock yarn from KnitPicks. It might work on size 3 needles, so I'm starting out with my Addi Turbos that I used for my Knitting Olympics socks. ETA: I'll be doing two at once on two circulars. No more one-sock-at-a-time for me!

Gosh, could that be it? Hard to believe. It feels like I started another project besides these. I'm certainly feeling like I have startitis.

Oh! I did forget to mention what Mummy brought back from Convergence in Grand Rapids, MI: my very own swift! She is too good to me.

Final chapter on the Shrapnel Socks

I left the socks on my mom's bed in the cabin we occupied last weekend, for her birthday weekend (one of the decades...!). She didn't say anything when she arrived, so I brought them up. She said she thought the tops were unfinished. I had bound off using much larger needles because I was worried that the tops would be tight, so they ended up looking picot-ish.

After I assured her that they were done, she tried them on. She was really pleased. She proceeded to wear them the rest of the weekend, at least in the morning and night, until it got too hot in the daytime to wear wool socks. And she ranted to anyone who would listen about how incredibly well they fit her feet, better than any other socks she'd ever worn!

C'est fini.

The Shrapnel Socks are finished, a mere 2 days before we leave to visit my mom at a cabin in the woods. I won't be wrapping them, as they aren't her birthday present; they are for (last) Christmas!

Now we can all breathe a sigh of relief. And then I'll start another pair of socks!

What is so intriguing

about taking this







and making it into this








that I must stay up till 2:30AM on a Sunday morning? And yet, it is. (80% silk 20% cotton ugly as hell sweater to become sweet short-sleeved top.)

I'm ribbing

I am up to the beginning of the 1.5" ribbing of the Shrapnel Sock. Of course, true to form, instead of the K2P1 ribbing specified in the pattern and already done for the first sock, I did a few rows of the lesser-known and strangely not stretchy at all K1P2 ribbing, merely because I am a complete idiot.

Think I'll be happy when these socks are done? Do ya?