In the shadow of an old Chinese curse…
“May you live in interesting times.”
With all the ups and downs our little family has gone through over the last 2 months, trying to keep one’s head on straight has been hard enough, let alone trying to blog about it.
I’ll give you a cliffnotes version of what’s been going on and then give you the project/stash enhancement details.
- Competing in Sock Madness 3 (I’ve made it through to the Semi-Finals!)
- Yarn Crawl with SilverPheonix in Toronto (we had so much fun! He blogs about it here.)
- Elderly Father-in-law hospitalized & undergoes brain surgery (he had a subdural bleed resulting from falling and hitting his head). He’s home (and doing well) now after scaring the pants off of us after a month & a half of surgery & rehab.
- WE’RE FINALLY MOVING!!!! Unbelievably, we scored the assistant building managers position of my In-Laws’ apartment building. We move in June 1st. The new apartment is IMMACULATE, has a balcony (which being on the 5th floor gives me the willies), and the building has laundry facilities! (Can you hear the angels singing?) Best of all 50% off of the rent and the opportunity of maybe running a building of our own in the future. Sweet.
- My laptop (or rather the harddrive thereof) DIED. Subsequent tries by my beloved to repair the ancient Dell Latitude resulted in 2 more fried harddrives. We have since decided that this is my laptop telling us to “Leave me the hell alone and let me die in peace!”. BadgerDan is allowing me to share his laptop until he can get us some new MacBooks. No more screwing around. We did a backup a while ago, so I didn’t lose too much data (I hope.)
- Our nephew Richard and his girlfriend Shannon are going to have a baby boy (first baby in the family in a *very* long time and soon-to-be big brother Eric doesn’t know what he’s in for). Yay, baby knitting!
- My cousin is getting married at the end of July and I’m thinking a blanket will be a good gift. If I crochet it, I might just be able to get it done in time.
A whole bunch more has been going on, but those are the biggies.
Okay, lets get to some fun fibry stuff!
First, some shout-outs:
My darling SilverPheonix gifted me with these:
Organic 2-ply Laceweight Alpaca from a local breeder! A 4 oz skein each “Li’l Miss”(brown) & “Verdy” (cream) which I assume to be the names of the individual animals.
and he *made* me these gorgeous stitch markers!
(There was a bunch of other goodies in the care package too – spoiled me rotten, you did, David! Thank You!)
Remember all those finished socks from the last post for the Sock Knitter’s Anonymous February Challenge? Well, I *actually* WON some yarn!
This is a wicked 100g skein (500m) of Yak Wool 4Ply in “Electrical Storm” donated by Ruth (Cinders over on Ravelry) of (Black Cat Fibres) all the way from Lancashire, England. I can’t stop petting it.
Katkoe of PaperandYarn sent me an adorable little set of flowery stitch markers to brighten my day. Which they did, but I just can’t get a good picture of them. They’re real cute though. Thanks again!
Some purchased Yarn Pr0n:
I was a really good girl (and I have David to back me up on this), yarnwise at least (lol) while on our Yarn Crawl and only fell down when I saw this absolutely GORGEOUS skein of Koigu KPPPM over at Lettuce Knit. I think it looks like African Violets, don’t you? I paid full price for it, but as it was a special occasion, we decided it doesn’t count 
.
In the interests of full disclosure, I’ve also purchased the following yarn:
- 4.5 balls of Bouquet “Marina” Superwash Wool (around $2.50 from the Salvation Army) I needed it to make my FIL a pair of gloves (detailed later).
- A mixed bag of yarn which included a few of balls of Kroy wool & some misc. acrylic ($4 from the Salvation Army)
- A ball of Cream Georga 100% Mercerized Wool from Walmart (I paid full price for this one, but needed it to make these socks as a future project, I already had 2 balls of the dark grey and don’t want to mix with a non-mercerized wool.)
- 2 BAGS (20 balls) of Twilleys of Stamford Freedom Spirit col. 417 “Promise” (which I scored at an unbelievable 70% off). I don’t have plans for it yet, but by the Gods, 2400m of DK Wool should be enough to make *something*!! Maybe even something “Rowan-esque”. Ain’t it purty?
See? I’ve been good.
If you follow me at all, you won’t be surprised that I’ve been working on a whole whack of projects since my last post. So consider yourself warned that this section is heavy on the photos and content.
I’m going to detail the misc. stuff (in chronological order) first, then the Sock Madness Rounds, followed by what’s currently on the needles and what ended up in the proverbial Frog Pond. Sound good? You sitting down? Let us begin.
Miscellaneous FOs
SilverPhoenix Hat – a surprise gift for David given to him on our trip to Toronto.
Pattern: Louisa by Kristi Pedersen (West Coast Creative)
Yarn: Twilleys of Stamford Freedom Spirit, “Air” (Shade 506); Filatura di Crosa Zara, light grey (Col 1494)
Quilted Windmill Cloth – the March 2009 Mid-month cloth for the Monthly Dishcloth KAL Yahoo! Group.
Pattern: The Windmill Dishcloth by Sew-Funky
Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton; Jewels, Delft Blue, Light Blue
FIL’s Manly Gloves – Danny’s Dad lost one of his leather winter gloves, so I offered to make him a new pair. When I asked what colour, 3 voices responded in unison “Grey. Plain.” *SIGH* Let’s just say that I would rather give myself a lobotomy with a plastic DPN over making these gloves again.
Pattern: Gloves for Service Men by the American Red Cross (vintage pattern from 1942)
Yarn: Bouquet Marina, col. 6750 (Steel Grey)
Pleated Beret – This was the April Vertical KAL Woolly Wormhead hat. It worked up fast and well, but just looks *wrong* on my head. I don’t know why. I’ll take it apart later and reuse the yarn for something else. I’ll try the pattern again with a different yarn some other time.
Pattern: Pleated Beret by Woolly Wormhead
Yarn: FibraNatura Oak, Tyme (40255); Sublime Extra Fine Merino DK, WaterLeaf (019)
Highland Hose – They’re finally DONE!!!!!!! And OMG I love them!!! I reversed the cables on the second one to make them symmetrical.
Pattern: Rose’s Hose by Rose Singerman (from “Sock Hop: Socks to Make Your Feet Dance” by Joseph Madl for Philosopher’s Wool)
Yarn: Hayfield Falkland, col. 16004 (250g)
Illusion Egg Hunt Cloth – the April KAL Cloth for the Yahoo! Monthly Dishcloth KAL. I used up scraps to stripe the “eggs”. Trust me that there are a lot of better looking versions than mine 
.
Pattern: Illusion Egg Hunt Dishcloth by Deborah C. Tilley
Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, Natural; Lemon Swirl; Denims; Natural Ombre
Malachite BSJ – A jacket for the new grand-nephew! I forwent the buttons and did some i-cord ties instead.
Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Yarn: Georga 100 percent Cotton, Green Multi; Dk. Green Cotton from frogged Old Navy Sweater
April Squares – The April CAL squares for the 2009 Sampler Afghan.
Pattern: April Square by Julie A. Bolduc
Yarn: Chunky Homespun from frogged Equadorian Sweaters
Mystic Star Shawl – is COMPLETE and FRICKING GORGEOUS! Couldn’t be happier (although I thought that last clue was going to kill me). I assure you, there are beads in there.
Pattern: Mystic Star by Anna Dalvi
Yarn: Broder Medicis 2-ply laceweight wool (from France) handdyed to a midnight blue by me.
Beads: #8 Miyuki Clear Beads
Little Acorn Bag – I crocheted up this little project bag on a whim. (Little did I know where it would lead…more on this later.)
Pattern: Little Acorn Project Bag by Brigitte Read
Yarn: Light Brown Mystery Tweed from Stash; Noro Kureyon, Col. 149
Beads: 3/4″ Wood
Absinthe Socks – a pair worthy of the Green Fairy, don’t ya think? A couple of modifications: I ran 2×2 ribbing up the back of the leg, made the cuff longer (total 18 rnds instead of 12) and reversed the middle cables on the second sock.
Pattern: Absinthe socks by Sara Morris (Knitty, Spring 2009)
Yarn: Scheepjes Invicta Extra, Electric Green (discontinued)
BadgerDan’s Bad-ass Driving Gloves – My beloved had his birthday at the end of March (his 49th – I love you honey! *duck*) and these are what he wanted me to make him. Had to do an inter-library loan to get the pattern, but it was definitely worth it. (I plan on getting my own copy when I do my “book binge” this year.) The only thing I modified was shortening the straps to 7″ and replacing the D-rings with a button closure.
Pattern: Driver by Robin Melanson (from Knitting New Mittens & Gloves)
Yarn: Gjestal Selbu Husflidgarn, Col. 312 (black heather)
April Showers Cloth – the April Mid-month Cloth for Monthly Dishcloth KAL Yahoo! Group. I “intarsia”ed the contrast border.
Pattern: April Showers by Deborah C. Tilley
Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, Green Twists; Forest Green
May Squares – The May CAL squares for the 2009 Sampler Afghan.
Pattern: Rainbow Crochet 6″ Square by Sarah Bradberry
Yarn: Homespun Wool from frogged 2nd hand Equadorian Sweaters
If you’re wondering, the 2009 Sampler Afghan currently looks like this at the moment:
I whipped off a bunch of baby socks in leftover yarn (details in the links):
Reese’s Pieces Stripe Baby Socks
Which bring us to my latest FO – the Little Knitted Acorn Project Bag
When I shared my crocheted acorn bag with my Sock Madness friends, a few of them requested a knitted version as they don’t crochet. Always willing to assist, I offered to write one. And this is the result:
I consulted with the original designer and she gave me the green light to offer it as a free pattern. As soon as I hear back from my test-knitters and get the pattern re-typed (my master was nuked with the rest of my laptop), the PDF will be available as a Free Ravelry Download and I’ll have a direct download from here as well. (Providing, of course, I can figure out HOW to make it work.)
So, if you’re interested, stay tuned!
Sock Madness
This year’s Sock Madness has been a lot of fun so far. We’ve just finished up Round 5, with only 2 rounds left to go. And I’m STILL IN THE RUNNING! I guess all the practice has paid off (lol).
In retrospect, I do admit that some of my yarn choices could have been better…
(As the designers are always better at explaining their own patterns, I’ve provided links to the Sock Madness blog posts in the pattern notes for each.)
Round 1 – Tropical Mer-tini Socks
Pattern: Tropical Mer-tini Socks by Ronni Smith
Yarn: Austermann Step, Col. 09
Needles: 2.25mm
Round 2 – Tokena Socks
Pattern: Tokena by Tricia Weatherston
Yarn: Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Heather, Cajun Spice; Paton’s Kroy 3-ply, Col. 390
Needles: 2mm DPNs (cuff, heel, toe); 2.25mm DPNs (fair isle)
Round 3 – Talia’s Wings (The Manly Version)
(A little note: BadgerDan requested a pair be made for him during the competition – these would be them.)
Pattern: Talia’s Wings by Heatherly Walker
Yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit Marmi, col. 7001
Needles: 2.5mm circs
Round 4 – Lucky Diamond Socks
(After I finished this round, I made the following modifications to my socks: Lengthened toe by 1″ and lengthened cuff to 1.5″.)
Pattern: Lucky Diamonds by Melissa Goodale
Yarn: Shelridge Farms Soft Touch Ultra 3ply, col. SU0107A-081(Blues); Paton’s Kroy 3ply, col. 374 (Dk. Navy)
Needles: 2.25mm circs
Round 5 – Fine Feathered Feet
Pattern: Dimpled Diamonds Socks by Deborah Swift
Yarn: Opal Rainforest 4ply, Owl
Needles: 2.25mm, 2mm
Next stop…the Semi-finals!
Which brings us to what I’m actively working on right now:
Works In Progress
The Zen Pullover is slowly taking shape:
I’ve opted to sew the sleeves and instead of working the back & front pieces seperately, picked up and am knitting the body in round top down. I hope it will fit – if not, I’ll just pull it back and add more stitches. It is a “Zen” pullover after all…
I joined yet another Mystery Shawl KAL – this one is called “Wings of Horus” by Kalinumba and involves solving riddles before you can open the PDF Clues. Due to Sock Madness demanding my attention, I’ve only completed the first 2 clues (the 5th one was just released):
If the yarn looks familiar – it should. It’s the same yarn I used for the now frogged Casablanca Shawl. Doesn’t it look like falcon feathers? The last clue will have us adding a whole bunch of beads – I’ll have to find some golden ones I think.
Sock Knitters Anonymous is running another mystery sock KAL – this one by the famous Yarnissima! The pattern is called Kiila and I’ve finished the first clue (again, delayed by Sock Madness).
The yarn is a discontinued yarn from KnitPicks called “Memories” in the “Redwood Forest” colourway. Here’s a close-up:
And since the only knitting book to somehow escape being packed away for the move is my copy of “Favorite Socks” and I’m so close to finishing the 52 Pair Plunge II (it ends May 31st and my current total stands at 43 pairs), I have a couple of pairs on the go from there:
SuperMeida Socks (Meida’s Socks by Nancy Bush) is using up one of my oddball, single skein, “what was I thinking” yarns – Cascade Sassy Stripes in a forgotten colourway that I can’t find the name of. It just reminds me of a superhero costume. The toe is some closely matching dk grey 4-ply Kroy.
Here’s what it looks like with a foot in it:
The stitch pattern reminds me of Wonder Woman for some reason…
And begun today…
Cable Rib Socks (by Erica Alexander) which I’m altering a wee bit by knitting them out of the Fleece Artist Blue Face Leicester Aran (Cosmic Dawn colourway) from my frogged Thrum Socks (I kept the mohair roving to spin – hey it’s Fleece Artist and I’m thrifty!) on 3.25mm needles. I’ve reduced the stitch count down to 42. So far, so good.
This brings us finally to:
The Frog Pond Report
Even after changing to yet *another* yarn, the Dogwoods in Spring Mystery Shawl didn’t want to cooperate – so into the pond it went. Eventually, I hope to find the right yarn.
Believe it or not, it’s taken me over 7 hours to complete this blog post. I really do need to start contemplating blogging on a daily basis…
That is, if my “times” don’t get any more “interesting”.
TTFN.
On Obsession, Inspiration and Adaptation
Holy smokes! Here it is, the middle of March & I haven’t posted since my birthday.
In my defense, our internet connection went down in February, followed by my laptop having a meltdown (BadgerDan was able to resurrect it, but we are seriously looking at new ones right now for both of us.)
When last we left our intrepid knitter, she had just discovered the Sock Knitters Anonymous group over on Ravelry and was working on the January Mystery Sock Pattern…
The Beaded Mystery Socks are now done:
Pattern: SKA January Mystery Pattern by Sheryl Giles
Yarn: Lang JaWoll Color, 82.0198 (2 skeins)
Needles: 2.25mm
Beads: #8 Miyuki Glass Beads, Gold-lined Brown (8-135S)
As are the Strange Bedfellows Socks:
Pattern: Coupling by Deb Barnhill
Yarn: Louet Gems Fingering, Fern Green; Misti Alpaca Handpainted Sock, Taos
Needles: 2.5mm circs
I used a “Judy’s Magic Cast-On” Toe instead of Short-row one as in the pattern & did the foot in plain stockingette.
What they don’t tell you is that SKA is *not* a 12-step program and will lead you down a slippery slope, as I soon discovered…
First, I thought, I have time to do another pair for the January Challenge…
Pattern: Rolling Thunder by Sivia Harding (from Knitty)
Yarn: Austermann Step, col. 01 (approx. 1/2 ball – 45g); Patons 3-ply Scotch Fingering, Butter Yellow & Dark Burgundy
Needles: 2.25mm KnitPicks Classic Circulars, 2mm DPNs (for 3-ply sections)
Beads: Amber A/B #6 Miyuki Beads (6-257)
I shortened the leg by 1.5″ and reduced to only 68 sts at the gusset to accommodate tighter gauge and needles of 3-ply.
Hey, it’s stash busting right? Sure.
Enter the February Challenge and a designer that I had lots of patterns by, but had never gotten around to knitting…
Pattern: Naniboujou by Chrissy Gardiner (from Knitty, Winter ‘08)
Yarn: Cascade 128 Solids in Dark Brown (1108), Rust (2414) & Cream (8010)
Needles: 4mm
Chunky yarn, why not? (I used the 4.75″ size of the pattern)
Nice and fast, neat pattern, Husband loves them.
Which soon led to some simple kneesocks…
Pattern: Ribby Retro Socks by Chrissy Gardiner (Knitscene, Fall ‘07)
Yarn: Sean Sheep Armytage, Greens; Bucilla Tapestry Wool, Col. 011
Needles: 2.75mm DPNs
Hey, why aren’t you using the “good” yarn? Okay, I thought, let’s do some really nice ones…
Pattern: Knotty or Knice Socks by Chrissy Gardiner (Interweave Knits, Fall ‘08)
Yarn: Stonebarn Fibers/Gypsy Girl Creations, Cattails (2 skeins)
Needles: 2.25mm
I worked a toe-up flap heel (a la Wendy Johnson) instead of the short-row one as written (added a stitch to the sole needle sole to accommodate this) and then added 15 rnds of K1B, P1 ribbing as I felt they needed a cuff.
This yarn was actually the first yarn I ever bought from The Loopy Ewe.
Why not a cabled pair?
Tilted Cable Socks
Pattern: Tilting Cables by Chrissy Gardiner (Interweave Knits, Winter ‘07)
Yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit Multiringel, Col. 5020
Needles: 2.5mm
I again knitted the foot in plain stockingette and lengthened the heel flap from 32 rows to 36 rows for my high instep.
Here’s a close up of the cables:
How about another stash buster pair?
Pattern: Kaibashira by Chrissy Gardiner (Knotions)
Yarn: ONline Supersocke 100 Highland Color, Col. 840 (45g); Paton’s Scotch 3-Ply Fingering Wool, Kelly Green (18.4g); Ornaghi Filati Merino Oro 2-ply Laceweight, Black
Needles: 2.25mm DPNs
I held the laceweight and 3-ply held together to recreate the effect of the Supersocke yarn and to bring up the gauge.
And darn it, I need a pair to go with my big ol’ grey tweed sweater…
Pattern: Squares & Stripes by Chrissy Gardiner (from Lion Brand “Just Socks”)
Yarn: Sandnes Garn Smart Superwash DK, Grey Tweed (2 balls); Mission Falls 1824 Wool, Raven (005)
Needles: 2.75mm DPNs
Enter the March Challenge and another mystery sock kal…
Pattern: SKA March Lace Mystery Sock by Kristi Schueler
Yarn: Cascade 220 Paints, Cherry Berry (9926)
Needles: 3mm DPNs (leg & heel); 3.25mm DPNs (foot)
I used the 42 stitch option & we have one more clue (the cuff) to go on these.
Did I mention that the new Spring 2009 issue of Knitty is out and fricking incredible???
I couldn’t stop myself…really!
Pattern: Absinthe socks by Sara Morris (Knitty, Spring 2009)
Yarn: Scheepjes Invicta Extra, Electric Green (discontinued)
Needles: 2.25mm
And how about some baby socks?
Pattern: 44 stitches, 2×2 rib leg, flap heel, reduced down to 40 sts for foot.
Yarn: DGB Confetti Superwash, Col. 193
Needles: 2.5mm DPNs
Pattern: I started out with a standard Judy’s Magic Cast-On Toe, 32 sts (3″ foot), short-row heel and worked 1.5″ of the leg in stockingette, then on a whim incorporated the central pattern from “Jack Sparrow’s Favorite Socks” by Pamela Northrup, worked 3 rounds, then did 1/2″ in 2×2 rib before binding off. Leg measures 5″ to the bottom of the heel.
Yarn: Opal Pullover & Sockenwolle (10g sample ball), unidentified colourway; Paton’s Scotch 3-ply fingering wool, Black
Needles: 2.5mm
These just crack me up to no end.
Good news? I have 29 pairs already done for the 52 Pair Plunge II ending April 31st. Bad news? I think my husband wants me fitted for a straight-jacket.
By the way, the first round of Sock Madness 3 is tomorrow (maniacal laughing…)
It wasn’t just socks I’ve been working on during this period of radio silence…
There has been sweater knitting:
Austermann Abotanicity is finally off the needles!!!!!!
Pattern: Abotancity by Cassie Rovitti (Knitty, Winter ‘07)
Yarn: Austermann Step, colour 06 (4 balls)
Needles: 2.75mm, 3.25mm & 3.75mm circulars
I made mine short sleeved by using 2.75mm needles and decreasing every other row to 83sts then knitting even until I hit 4” and will need to put some darts in at the back as it’s a little big on me.
I finished half of a mohair sweater before deciding it wasn’t working:
(I took it off the needles, but haven’t yet pulled it apart, just in case I want to give it another go.)
And started what I’m calling my Zen Pullover:
It’s the “Rectangela” pattern from Berocco that I’m doing in Briggs & Little Heritage, Sheep’s Grey.
I mean how pretty is this?
There have also been dishcloths:
February Monthly KAL Cloth
Pattern: Kiss Me Cloth by Lisa Milan
Yarn: Scrap Dishcloth Cotton in Pink, Bright White & Variagated Pink
Needles: 4.25mm
(It is *very* pink to my “non-pink-person” eyes, but isn’t really all that aesthetically or technically offensive.)
February Mid-Month KAL Cloth
Pattern: Circle Cloth by Hakucho
Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, Sage Green & Green Twist (+ a scrap of lighter green when I ran out of the sage)
Needles: 4.25mm
And the March Monthly KAL Cloth
Pattern: Pot O’ Gold Dishcloth by Emily Jagos
Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, Banana Yellow
Needles: 4.25mm straights
For some reason, I decided that I immediately needed a new spring scarf to go with my green Levi’s jacket and after a stash dive, came up with this:
Pattern: Wear-as-a-Collar Scarf by Sally Melville (from Scarf Style)
Yarn: 3 Novelty yarns from stash (your guess is as good as mine)
Needles: 6.5mm straights
I am thoroughly surprised at how much I actually like it, for a novelty yarn scarf.
There has been crochet:
March Squares for the 2009 Sampler Afghan
Pattern: March Square by Julie A. Bolduc
Yarn: Chunky Homespun from frogged Equadorian Sweaters
Hook: 8mm
Thoroughly by accident, I stumbled upon a crocheted lace shawl mystery CAL and one “ooh shiny” moment later had this done:
Dogwoods in Spring Mystery Shawl
Pattern: Laceweight Mystery Shawl 2009 by Tracey McCorkle
Yarn: SouthMaid Mercerized Crochet Thread, Size 20 (White)
Hook: 3.5mm
which I took apart and re-did yesterday in some ancient 2-ply wool from the stash because the mercerized cotton was playing hell with my hands.
I plan on handpainting this shawl when it’s done.
And talking about shawls…
Last post I mentioned Mystic Star and how I wouldn’t start it until after the other ones were done.
Yeah. Then I saw a gorgeous clue 1 done in midnight blue accented with clear beads on Ravelry.
In the span of 3 hours this happened:
These
went in here
to look like this
and a bit of a blow-dry later, became this:
It now looks like this:
I just have clue 4 to finish and it’s done. Stunning.
(I also signed up for Mystic Roses, but honestly won’t be starting that one for a while – it’s the same size as Mystic Waters & I don’t have the yarn for it at the moment.)
It just goes to show you what happens to a knitter when you limit his/her internet useage!
In other news, my extremely wonderful & talented friend Silver Pheonix from over on Plurk & I will be meeting up in Toronto for a bit of a takeover yarn crawl on Friday. You have been warned. (Muahahahahaha)
Sock Madness and David within a 24hrs of each other. Be afraid, be very afraid. (I can’t wait 
)
It’s my birthday and I’ll blog if I want to…
Just got home from a fantastic dinner with BadgerDan at our favorite local restaurant (& a stopover at the Chapters bookstore).
My birthday gift?
It’s a Samsung S2 Digital Audio Player, aka “The Pebble”. Now if we can just fool the software into thinking that I’m running Windows instead of Linux, I’m all set.
As for what I’ve been up to these last couple of weeks – hooboy.
Where do I start?
How about some FOs?
My February Lady Sweater is done:
and it fits like a dream:
It’s knit out of “the good stuff” – 2 balls of Noro Kureyon (col. 150) and 5 balls of Queensland Collection Kathmandu Aran Tweed (col. 120). The buttons are mother of pearl, natural side out. I think this is the nicest sweater I’ve made to date.
Hot off the needles today is my Hemlock Ring Blanket:
The result of much late night lace knitting, ripping out and redoing on larger needles – OMG soooooo worth it though.
Some small stuff:
The first pair of the promised “oodles of baby socks” to an online friend of mine who found out over the Christmas holidays that the IV was successful and is finally pregnant with her first child. YAY!!!! (Elaine – expect socks – lots of ‘em!)
There are definitely more where those came from!
And on the 8th day…
…she blogged.
My personal mission this year will be to knit/crochet only from stash and get it down to the point where I can upload it to Ravelry.
I make the following exceptions for Stash Enhancement:
1. Thriftstore yarn.
2. Discounted oddballs @ 40% off or more.
3. The occasional ball of happy dishcloth cotton.
4. One or two splurges (aka sock yarn) on Worldwide Knit in Public Day.
5. Any yarn won in a contest/draw.
I think this is a feasible, realistic plan that I can follow.
In keeping with this plan, I hit the ground running (or crocheting) this year:
The January Squares for the 2009 Sampler Afghan are the first FO out of the gate:
Followed closely by a completed Lopi Vintage Vertical Stripe Afghan! Yep. Done.
What had been taking me *forever* to complete ended up taking 4 days (I had to give my hands a day or two of rest in between sessions) to complete. And holy smokes – what a stashbuster!
The Lopi stash which once looked like this:
is (after setting aside what I need for my Hemlock Ring Blanket) now down to just this:
Not a bad start I think.
Speaking of the Hemlock Ring…
I’ve managed to make it to the first Feather & Fan repeat:
My Seaweed Socks are done too!
First Pair of the year. (And super comfy too, I might add.)
I have signed on for the 2009 Monthly Dishcloth KAL Challenge over on Yahoo! rather than doing the Weekly one this year. This means only 2 cloths a month and those are done 10 rows at a time with my morning coffee. Infinitely more manageable and those not to my taste can be given away as gifts.
January Cloth #1 – Ice Skate Dishcloth
Completely by chance, I stumbled upon Clue one of the Sock Knitters Anonymous Ravelry Group’s January Sockdown! Challenge. They have the occasional Mystery Sock KAL and this month’s KAL is a beaded lace sock designed by Sheryl Giles (aka Emm1e) who also did the Zombie Socks for last year’s Sock Madness 2.
What can I say? Mystery? Beads? Lace? SOCKS? Potential Prizes? Umm…yeahhhhh…
I’m soooo loving these socks! Already halfway through with Clue 2 (which was released today). Gorgeous.
The socks beckon…must go knit now…
And see if Maverick will let Mommy put the blanket away…
Out with the old and in with the new…
First off – our Holidays were wonderful. It was great to have some time with my family for a change – we don’t get to see each other that often. Everyone loved their gifts, and as promised here is what I made for BadgerDan:
A Pair of Varsity Socks (which he immediately put on as soon as they were unwrapped) and
an authentic WWII Watchcap (which he asked for).
BadgerDan made(!) me a truly fantastic handstitched leather satchel – it’s huge (14″ x 14″ x 6″) and has more clips than you can shake a stick at. In a word – SQUEE!!!!
My travel project for the Holidays was my Highland Hose, and I actually managed to finish the first one:
These, my friends, are what I call “kneesocks”!!!
In anticipation for the new year, I’ve been going through my projects and wildly finishing off WIPs, ripping out those that needed it and gathering yarn for some new ones.
I present to you – my completed 2008 Mission Falls Sampler Afghan!
and (finally) my completed Mystic Earth Stole!
Relegated to the Frog Pond was my Casablanca Shawl – I had run into some mistakes (all mine) and didn’t get back to it. I can always knit it again later.
I also took apart my Lopi Vintage Vertical Stripe Afghan (9.75 feet is WAY too big for a blanket) – reballed the yarn and made a new plan of attack. Using the blanket as a massive gauge swatch – I calculated that 165 sts/84 rows would give me a blanket measuring approx 5.5 ft x 3.5 ft. Much easier to deal with. And since it seems that I don’t really do “random” all that well – I sorted the yarn into colour groups and plugged them into a Random Stripe Generator using 1 row & 42 rows as the parameters. I tweaked it a bit in my spreadsheet program, reversed the stripe sequence for the 2nd half of the blanket and voila! One pattern chart to follow. I’m restarting this one at Midnight tonight.
This allowed me to free up yarn for a Hemlock Ring Blanket that I couldn’t resist starting on:
I’m using all browns/beiges/creams radiating out from darkest to lightest.
Unfortunately, I can’t go any further on it until I get a certain ways into the VVS!
The 2009 Sampler Afghan yarn is ready to go:
This is the result of frogging two chunky homespun & handknit sweaters from Equador that I found at the thrift store. It has way too much vegetable matter in it for a garment – but perfect for a camp blanket for BadgerDan! By using an 8mm hook and this year’s CAL’s 6″ square option I should be in pretty good shape. I can always border it with any leftover Lopi from the VVS.
Hmmm, what else??? Oh yeah! I started an Aran Scarf for the Red Scarf Project:
Today I organized my remaining WIPs and did a little mending that I’d been putting off.
So to sum up the year I have just gone through and counted all my Finished Projects from 2008 – here’s the final tally:
**big breath**
Blankets (3)
Sweaters/Tops/Vests (5)
Lace Shawls (6)
Bags (11)
Hats (9)
Socks (29 pairs)
Mitts (2 pairs)
Slippers (5 pairs)
Dishcloths (42)
Stuffed Toy (1)
Bottle/Tea Cozies (2)
Charity Blanket Squares (3)
Total Completed Projects: 118
Holy smokes is that a lot of yarn!
I’ve learned a lot this year and am very thankful for all the new people who have come into my life. **hugs**
Let us meet this new year with strength, hope and the will to see & make positive changes in our lives and the World.
Happy New Year Everyone!
Off the hook…
It’s Christmas Eve and what have I been doing? Crocheting my little heart out.
Remember all those 12″ CAL afghan squares I’ve been working on this year? Well, I fell behind a little.
As I figure it, a 2008 Sampler Afghan should be actually finished in 2008 and think that sewing them together on New Years’ Eve is a not too bad way of ending out the year.
So, with December 31st looming large on the horizon, I’ve been working feverishly to get these little darlings done. Here are the ones that fell into the black hole of the blog vacation:
The September CAL Square:
Pattern: Shells and Waves Afghan Square by Sandi Marshall
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool, Oyster (003); Raven (005)
Hook: 5mm
The October CAL Square:
Pattern: Pumpkin Patch Square by TKroCrafts
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool, Squash (533); Raven (005)
Hook: 5mm
(Not my favorite of the bunch – more on this in a bit.)
The November CAL Squares (there were 2 to choose from – I did both):
Pattern: Supernova by Chris Simon
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool, Ink (022); Raven (005)
Hook: 5mm
(I LOVE this one.)
Pattern: Wheel Lattice by Dayna Audirsch
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool, Pistachio (028), Raven (005)
Hook: 5mm
I counted this one as my 6th filler square.
The Filler Squares:
Pattern: Bobby’s Square by Mary Carroll
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool, Heath (017), Raven (005)
Hook: 5mm
My gauge was larger than the designer’s so I shortened and adjusted the pattern by a round.
Pattern: Bold Squares by Dayna Audirsch
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool, Teal (030); Raven (005)
Hook: 5mm
Pattern: Ad Astra by Chris Simon
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool, Damson (024); Raven (005)
Hook: 5mm
(LOVE this one too – pattern *and* colour)
Pattern: Two Tone Square by Dayna Audirsch
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool, Spruce (018); Raven (005)
Hook: 5mm
Initially, I was thinking 24 squares, but after laying out the 21 that I had completed, I changed my mind:
4′ x 5′ is plenty big enough and I still have to do a border on it – so I’m calling this baby DONE!
You’ll notice that the October square is separated from the rest of the blanket. It isn’t making the cut – frogging for the yarn.
The leftover colours will be made into socks. Washable wool = socks in this household.
So it looks like all there is left to do on this project is blocking, sewing and a border. Not bad – not bad at all.
Although, I do have this strange craving for pancakes all of a sudden…
As usual, we’ll be on the road for most of Christmas Day as we do brunch with Danny’s Family and then boot over to my folks 1.5hrs away for dinner and an overnight stay.
Wishing you all a Magical (if slightly damp) Christmas…
A little bit of this and a little bit of that…
Oh, and I forgot to tell you about a hat!
A Halfdome for my sister’s boyfriend. He’s new to the family and since we want to keep him, I broke out the “good stuff” for his hat. That’s 100% Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk, my friends. If Elizabeth Zimmerman is correct (and she usually is), I should have him wearing Lopi in no time 
I was digging around in the leftover stash yesterday (always cheers me up when I’m feeling grumpy) and decided to line up some sock projects to use up some of the accumulated oddballs. I’ve fallen way behind in the 52 Pair Plunge II, where the current count should be at around 30ish and I’m only at around the 15 pair mark.
Matched up 4 pairs worth in fingering weight:
and 2 pairs in worsted weight:
Those are, of course, for *after* I finish knitting the socks that are currently on my needles:
Seaweed Socks (ArtYarns UltraMerino 4) and Highland Hose (Hayfield Falkland) – yes, I’m knitting kilt hose. For me. It gets cold in this apartment.
And speaking of cold…my Plurk buddy and podcaster Knitting Purls is putting together a blanket for Warm Up America.
I don’t have much of an acrylic stash left, but still managed to find enough to contribute a 7″ x 9″ “square” to the cause:
To keep it interesting I used an easy washcloth pattern (Tiny Cables by Nanette Blanchard) with a cast-on of 36 stitches. (I added a border of 2 ridges of garter stitch on the top & bottom and 3 stitches of garter stitch up the sides).
I think it ended up looking remarkably like a snack cake. Mmmmmm.
Note: For those of us in Canada – we have a similar organization Blankets For Canada. (Thank you Elaine for the link).
All the holiday knitting is done for this year – I finished up BadgerDan’s last gift the other night (whew!). He’s been working furiously in his office on a secret gift project for me – my curiosity is definitely up at this point.
I leave you with a view of our wee tree:
and of Tomi’s protestation of Mommy not sharing her blanket:
TTFN.
Yule (b)Log
It is the Winter Solstice and my Family and I bid you a Happy Yule!
In keeping with my regular holiday gift giving tradition – I have forgone most commercial gifts with handmade ones. As there are only a few days left before our annual family get-togethers and relatively low risk of discovery by the recipients, I will share them here with you.
(For brevity’s sake – I’ve linked to my pattern notes in Ravelry, but most info I’ve listed in the Flickr descriptions too if you can’t access them.)
Slippers Galore:
Muppet Slippers for my Mother in Law – aren’t they hilarious?
Chunky Cabled Slippers for my Dad.
Armchair Army Slippers for my brother…
and a pair these slipper socks for my sister too.
Socks:
My Father-in-Law loves my socks, so he is receiving this comfy pair – stash busting at it’s best.
My mom requested kneesocks. After I got over the initial shock, I went out and picked up a couple of balls of Paton’s Stretch Socks from the local Michael’s. You see, mom is *allergic* to wool and can only tolerate it at levels under 50%, rendering my rather large stash of sock wool useless (more for me, but I digress). This is the only gift that I actually had to buy yarn for this year.
Mom is also getting these Fancypants Fingerless Mitts as it gets pretty cold in her office:
Hats:
Rockin’ hot hat for my brother that I call “Hell’s Kitchen“.
A ribbed and cabled toque for Dad. (And for heaven’s sake – it’s pronounced “2″k! whatever the silly people over at Webster’s think.)
I’ve also recreated my favorite totebag for my sister, which I sincerely hope that she likes:
If she doesn’t like this retro embroidered bag I think I might just steal it back from her.
Dad is also getting this Aran Isle Wallet:
Made from the slightly modified cabled uppers of the pair of Aran Isle slippers that I ripped out in frustration after completing just one of them. I swear I’ve made sweaters with less shaping than these bloody things.
Some ornaments for the Grandnieces:
Which I liked so much, that I made us a set too!
You may note the distict absence of gifts for BadgerDan.
Reasons: (A) He is more computer savvy than I am and (B) I’m still frantically trying to finish off his last gift while he’s asleep.
I’ll post them in a few days – I promise.
As for the big snowstorm that hit us on Friday – here’s how it looked outside our building:
I love Canada.
May you all be warm, safe and covered in handknits this holiday season.
(Happy Hanukkah to all our friends of the Jewish faith too!)
Nobody’s Perfect
I’ve made it back after a very much longer than anticipated hiatus.
Suffice it to say, life became extremely busy and complicated during this period of absence.
All excuses aside, my Flickr stuff is now sufficiently organized that my sidebar can be as well. Boy, was that a job – let me tell you.
I took today off from holiday knitting to finally get myself digitally fixed-up enough to get a post out to you guys – yes, I’m still alive.
Everything has been updated – so if you don’t see it in my current projects, it’s either been finished or frogged – so check there. You can also visit my Ravelry Projects Page for more info.
(Not on Ravelry? What are you waiting for? It’s free and possibly one of the best resources a knitter/crocheter/spinner could have!)
I’m going to keep things short today – have to ease myself back into this “journalling” thing. I think I overwhelmed myself with trying to do too much all at once and am going to try a simpler approach from here on out. Whether it works or not, we’ll see.
And hey – leave me a comment and tell me what you’d like to see from me starting in the new year. I’m always open to suggestions.
Best Wishes
Alynxia
Life’s little ups and downs.
Sigh. Let’s just call this a pseudo-weekly blog, shall we?
The lace plan seems to be working, albeit at a very slow pace.
I finally finished Clue 3 on Mystic Waters.
And am halfway through Clue 4 on Casablanca:
This was the large “2-week” clue, so I feel no remorse in having to take a wee break in the middle.
The Fabel Zen socks are well on their way (these are for BadgerDan, BTW):
Ended up going with a flap heel and 2×2 ribbing for the entire leg. So far so good.
I started another pair of socks that I’m knitting along with Silver Pheonix:
These are Wyvern Socks by Marnie MacLean that I’m knitting out of Lang Yarns Jawoll Colour (#82-0198). I’m going with the largest size on 2.25mm needles due to gauge.
(David’s rethinking his yarn choice at the moment – so I’ve stopped at 1 repeat after the toe.)
The Tiger Clapotis has gotten a little attention:
Not much, but it is progress.
In lieu of dishcloths this week, I give you the Crochet Block of the Month for August:
Pattern: Lacy Sun by Dayna Audirsch
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool, 014 Dijon, 005 Raven
Hook: 5mm
Wanted to do this square in the solid colour, but ran out of yarn. I goofed and changed colours in the wrong spot – but wasn’t going to pull it back again.
I’ve been annoyed with how the Airy Cabled V-Neck Pullover was turning out – so yesterday, I frogged it and immediately turned it into a crocheted bag:
I used the Recycled Beach Bag pattern by Candi Jensen (from Crochet Bags!) with the yarn held doubled throughout. Only thing I did was double the size of the base.
It’s perfect and currently houses the Sensational Cabled Cardigan in progress with room to spare! (Methinks I need a few more of these bags…)
There’s still a bunch of the yarn left over that I might just use up on my Log Cabin Blanket.
Look what arrived at my door last week!
My perfume order from Blooddrop SQUEE! Astrid’s scents are amazing! (She also does stunningly gorgeous custom-made corsets that BadgerDan may just have to buy for me – I adore this one.)
I’ve passed a few of the scents that didn’t work on me along to some very happy friends. These are the ones that I kept and absolutely LOVE!:
Antebellum
Apparition
Frida (I’m wearing this one today )
Lady Poppycock’s Peculiar Tincture of Questionable Origins
Mrs. Mary Picklelee’s Uproarious Bottled Bouquet For the Bitter and Bored Widow
Merci #9 (this one makes me smell like sugar cookies )
You can find a list of all her scents here. Enter at your own risk.
On a personal note – we lost a very good friend on Sunday.
BadgerDan and George had been friends and colleagues for over 20yrs, including a memorable 2 month contract in Astana, Kazakstan where they endured sub-zero temperatures (it was November/December in fricking SIBERIA!), mystery food (”meat” – no further specifications), and some rather interesting accommodations (they were housed in a former brothel, which the prior tenants had just been ousted). Needless to say – many, many stories abound from this trip.
He was 65 and suffered from a miriad of heart issues to which he finally succumbed.
Goodbye George – we’ll miss you.
Please note: As soon as I upgrade my Flickr account, I’ll be fixing up the side bar. In the meantime, you can visit my Ravelry project page for up to date info. Thanks!
TTFN.
