Hi everybody! It’s been a bit of a slog this week project-wise, as my knitting mojo seems to have gone down the toilet. Thankfully, though, I have managed to complete a few things, so I don’t feel like a total failure.

Here’s last week’s KAL dishcloth:

Pattern: Tulip Lace by Love 2 Knit Dishcloths
Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, Lemon Swirl
Needles: 3.25mm

This is another one that you had to add border stitches to the pattern (I did 3 on either side and 3 garter ridges top and bottom). Nice pattern, but I fail to see the tulips in the pattern.

Block of the Month for July:

Pattern: Star Overlay by Chris Simon
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool, 013 Curry, 005 Raven, 007 Cocoa
Hook: 5mm

I broke my own rules this time and used a third colour for this one due to yardage issues. The colours really are much better in person and blend in when put with the other squares. See?:

I’m behind by a couple of filler squares, but them I can catch up on later.

Recognize this little gem?:

Yes, that is my Abotanicity Sweater. I had goofed on the lace and had been putting off tinking it back for a while. It’s now corrected and has one finished lace repeat done on the skirt.

Work has been going very slowly on my New England Socks:

I put it back down after only being able to knit 1″ into the second sock before it was driving me nuts.

So, I cast on for this instead:

Nanner Socks!!!! Another pattern by the wonderful and talented Wendy Johnson of WendyKnits fame (and reigning enlightened Overlord on Plurk).

Finished the first one last night:

What can I say? Plurk is driving me bananas

Well, even if there hasn’t been much in the way of knitting going on - certainly there has been stash enhancement:

A gift from the Lovely Fiona of some stunning Madeline Tosh handdyed superwash merino entitled “Fireside”. I darn near tackled her.

A new shipment of Misti Alpaca handpainted sock yarn (50% alpaca, 30% merino, 10% silk, 10% nylon) arrived at Unwind this week. OMG!!! This one jumped into my arms of its own volition and wouldn’t leave. It’s called “Blues in the Night”. I weep.

I found the burgundy Araucania Nature Wool (#113) on sale and grabbed the lot. Only 500g/600m of it, but I still have the vision of some sort of cabled sweater. Thankfully, after digging around in the stash a bit, I found 4 hanks of Cascade 220 in a dark wine colour (#2403) that’ll work. Now if only I could find a pattern…

Tomi wants everyone to know that he’s feeling much better and is back to his old loveable self. He just wishes that Maverick would stop using him as a pillow.

In other news, our new stove was delivered (by our landlord - it’s shiny ) but there’s still no sign of the fridge people who were supposed to show up on Saturday. The landlord and I were NOT amused, especially since they called to confirm TWICE! Bizarre.

TTFN.

I discovered Plurk the other day and now I’m hooked. Totally unrelated to my catching up on the Lime and Violet podcasts - not!

Other things I’ve been catching up on:

Here’s my Slow Bee 2 Shawl completed to Clue 2 (first side). Will be working on Clue 3 later today.

Clue 3 is done on my Casablanca shawl. Lordy, how I love this project! I did goof a little by forgetting to increase at the end of Clue 2, but as long as I repeat the same thing on the way down, there’s real no harm done to the pattern. (I increased at the end of Clue 3 - so now am back to the proper stitch count.)

I managed to get another clue done on my Goddess Knits Anniversary Shawl. I followed chart B for clue 2.

If you haven’t noticed, I am TRYING to keep up to date with my shawl KALs - falling a little behind, but making an effort.

The first side panel is now done on my Log Cabin Blanket. Just the second panel mirroring the first and then a border. If all goes well the final measurements will be about 42″ x 58″ or so.

Here’s last week’s KAL dishcloth (another one destined for my MIL):

Pattern: Center Squares by Chris Laning
Yarn: Patons Cotton Top, #6416; Peaches and Cream, Shaded Pastels
Needles: 3.5mm DPNs

Those pastels are just creepy to me. Not a bad pattern - a bit fiddly to start, but pretty easy once you get going.

I’ve finished the leg of the first of my “Magical Mystery Tour” socks with some minor alterations:

Veering a little from the pattern, I omitted one leg stripe and replacing it with a cuff of the same length for consistency. Picking up the same number of stitches for the original cuff, I proceeded to work a row of (p5, p2tog) to reduce the stitch count to 72, knitted the next row plain then did 2×2 ribbing until the cuff measured 2″. I think it works.

What didn’t work was the rest of my colour scheme for the sock which had me ripping out all my work today. It looked like a train wreck. Methinks I’ll do the second leg and then re-assess the situation.

Oh, and the name:

Any questions? (Some neat info on the album can be found here, if you’re interested.) BTW - I don’t even own this one. Totally weird that I latched onto it.

On the homefront - the fridge is on its last legs (it’s been slowly leaking freon, killing our produce and darned near us). We’re limping it until the weekend when we take delivery on a NEW refrigerator and range (yay! - no more psycho stove!) We love our new landlords - they rock. They’re going to completely gut and renovate the apartment when we finally move to BC (it’s still in the works, hopefully things’ll clear soon), so they said it’s the least they could do for us in the meantime.

I think it’s effected poor Tomi’s tummy because hasn’t been feeling at all well today.

Everyone, send some lovin’ his way.

Later, dudes! I’ve got some plurking to do…

[First off - a happy Independence Day to our American brethren]

Yet again, I find myself with two weeks worth of projects to fill you in on. This is not wholly my fault as I was about to post last Friday when suddenly the wireless connection dropped off of my laptop and BadgerDan wasn’t able to get it back up until Tuesday, at which time I then had to source out a new USB cord for my camera as my retractable one broke. Ahh, technology - gotta love it.

So here I am, back in business with photos to spare.

Some socks:

The Simple S’mores Socks are finally done!!! My first pair qualifying for Summer of Socks 2008. They’re also my 17th pair of the year and the 4th pair for the 52 Pair Plunge II. They were also a reminder of why I generally don’t do “plain” socks - too easy for me to goof up on. The second sock ended up with fewer stitches than the first one - whoops! Oh well, at least they fit.

I finished the first New England Sock and love the result. I shortened the pattern by 1 leg repeat and changed the toe to a shortened standard one as the original instep pattern ran a bit long for my foot. So much for finishing them before July .

Believe it or not, this is going to become a leg of a sock. Odds ‘n Sods socks (by Tricia Weatherston) which is the final round pattern from Sock Madness 2 to be precise. The leg is done in a mitred knitting technique and the foot and rolled cuff are picked up and knit normally. I am SO glad I got knocked out before this pattern came up! Kind of fun though. A great excuse to use up some really LOUD rainbow yarn from my sock stash.

The shawl report:

I realized that I just couldn’t live with my Casablanca Shawl in the purple alpaca, so I reknit it in my original yarn - a brown/red 3-ply cotton/ramie blend frogged from a sweater - on smaller 3.5mm needles. So much happier - look how the beads play nice now.

Clue 2 is done and I can’t tell you how much fun this is to knit! The clues are not too big and are really easy to follow. I may just be able to keep up with this one!

The Slow Bee II Shawl is around halfway through Clue 2 and I’ll post a picture when it’s done. I’ve decided that since I’m knitting it on my 14″ Brittany Straight needles, that completing one whole side of the stole and then the other will be the way to go. [Note to BadgerDan - need KnitPicks Option needles, hint hint]

I’ve been trudging away on my Secret of Bad Nauheim Stole and have finally managed to complete Clue 5:

Just one 20 round Clue to go - they are over 800 stitches each though.

Mystic Meadows stalled out halfway through Clue 1, and I finally figured out why. It really wanted to be made out of the Aubergine alpaca originally chosen for it. So it was frogged and now patiently waits in the project queue for later this year. I want to get some other UFOs cleared up first.

Last week’s KAL cloth:

Turned out really nice this time - I’m calling it “Sea Flower”. Here are the specs:

Pattern: Round Dishcloth by Amy Carpenter
Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton (Country Stripes, Sage Green, Shades of Green); SR Kertzer Coolspun Cotton, White
Needles: 4mm

I used the 15 stitch option and used up some stash leftovers.

In the bag:

Calling this one my “Keyhole Carpet Bag”. The pattern is the Hero bag by Jane Ellison from Mirasol Collection, Book 2. I used up some old stash yarn for this one, Fiamattino Musa (which I’ve discovered is now marketed under the name “Sitar” from Nashua). I used approximately five 50g balls (held double throughout) in the “Earth” colourway.

The lining is some olive green arctic fleece (recycled from an old hat) and instead of sewing up the sides, I just single crocheted it together - so much simpler.

Whatcha think?

And just to show you how much my brain has turned to mush, this is all I’ve been wanting to work on for the last couple of days:

Yep, my Log Cabin Blanket. Garter stitch is all I’ve been able to manage as of late.

In other news - Celtic Memory finally received her Canadian Care Package in the mail! She blogs about it here. She also has some other serious yarn pr0n in this post - go forth and drool.

Today to celebrate my Nation’s 141st birthday (not to mention the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City, the 150th anniversary of the founding of British Columbia and the 250th anniversary of the establishment of representative government in Nova Scotia, the first democracy in what we now call “Canada”), I would like to share with you a poem that I’ve carried with me for years from a scroll that I found at a thift store entitled:

“I am proud to be a Canadian”

Because of the beauty of our land; the majesty of the mountains; the far horizons of the prairies; the sweep of the shorelines; the abundance of the farm lands; the sparkle of ten thousand lakes and rivers … even the forbidding barrens of the North.

Because of the rich diversity of our people. We are not a melting pot, but a unique union of minorities; each of us proud of his origins but prouder still to be a Canadian.

Because we are a multilingual country; two basic languages and - woven through the fabric, and enriching it - the sound of other tongues, all united in praise of “the true North, strong and free.”

Because our country was not born in nor does it live in violence. We harbour no hate, we covet no territory, we envy no other people.

Because our heritage confers such bounty. Our laws and our traditions have been built on faith in God and man, on an unflagging love of freedom, and on respect for the rights of others. Our physical resources have not yet been fully contemplated much less measured.

Because in Canada the operative word is Tomorrow, not yesterday. Our greatness rests not only in our history but in our future. Our destiny has yet to be fashioned.

Because my pride in Canada does not cause me to respect other nations or peoples less. I am a Canadian, yes; I am also a citizen of the Planet Earth and a brother of every other man.

(author unknown)

BadgerDan and I wish you all a very happy Canada Day!!!!

4 days later… I know I said “tomorrow” in the last post, but I just wasn’t able to get into a writing state of mind.

Anyhoo, here’s how my WWKIP day went in a nutshell (no pictures - see last post):

- Wished good luck to Heather and Wendy at Unwind (they were having a HUGE sale)
- Caught the bus into Toronto and started work on Simple S’mores Sock #2 (1.5 hour ride).
- Took TTC to Queen Street West and stopped in at Americo. (unfortunately they were out of what I was looking for, {handspun silk}, will try next time).
- Walked a couple of blocks to Romni where again I couldn’t find what I was looking for {Fiddlesticks “Cosy Scarves” Pattern} (they were out too, dang it).
- Made a beeline over to the festivities at Lettuce Knit where I came upon Stephanie playing with some dry ice.
- Sought out Rachel H (armed with her “Clipboard of Power”) to sign in for 1000 Knitters Project.
- Drooled around the store and bought some sock yarn and a copy of Cookie A’s “Twisted Flower” pattern.

Thats STR Lightweight in “Smoky Blue” (gorgeous) and 2 hanks of Art Yarns Ultramerino 4.

- Met, knit on the sock and hung out with a wonderful bunch of knitters including Stephanie, Rachel, Ken, Juno, Denny and a whole bunch more whose names unfortunately have escaped me. Said “hi” to Amy Singer, although didn’t talk to her much. Took a bunch of photos including the requisite sock w/Harlot shot.
- Was introduced to Franklin and sat for my picture. We had a nice chat while I knit on the 1000 Knitter scarf and he snapped away. I have to say, bar none, that Frank is one of the nicest and most darling men I have ever met. I had a couple of great shots of Franklin (including one where he wrapped himself in my Halloween Mystery Shawl in imitation of his grandmother arriving at Ellis Island - killing myself for erasing that one!).
- There were door prizes being handed out - this is what I won:

Cameleon Colourworks handdyed Bambino Sock Yarn (Wool/Bamboo) in Lavender/Gold. Not my colours, but it’s going to become a pair that the Lovely Fiona is going to flip over.
- I have never seen such a parade of cupcakes and muffins (most homemade)! Too bad I couldn’t eat any :(.
- Around 4pm, went back to Romni to rummage in the basement for a while and happily came out with these:

a ball of Regia Canadian Colour (4743 - name? anyone know it?) and a ball of Brown Sheep Wildfoote (SY-09 Mums).

- Walked back to Lettuce Knit where things were wrapping up (quite literally - everyone left posed for a photo with the scarf around us on the steps of the shop). Sun/heat was beginning to bother me a bit.
- Went back to Queen West, got a wrap from a cafe selling Gluten Free food (kewl!) and hopped on the streetcar heading to Islington (was meeting BadgerDan at some friends in Etobicoke where we were staying over). A surprisingly nice ride if you’re ever wanting to blow an hour or so sightseeing in Toronto. Takes you all along Lakeshore and by some REALLY expensive houses.
- Caught the Islington bus to the station where I promptly got on the Casino (Woodbine) bus by mistake instead of the Northbound. Was at Woodbine Center before I figured out what was going on - oops! Got off and grabbed the next bus heading in the opposite direction. Was totally not feeling great by then - too much time in the sun.
- Finally made it to our friend’s apartment around 8:30 or so where BadgerDan was dead asleep on the couch (long day for him too). He had made ribs and the smell just put me over the edge. Tossed my cookies, then headed for the spare room where I slept through until morning. (We’re pretty sure I had a touch of sunstroke - felt much better when I woke up.)
- BadgerDan drove me to Finch where I caught the bus back home so I could make it to work at noon.

Well that’s pretty much how that weekend went.

Here’s some of what I picked up at the Unwind sale:

There are plans for those 2 balls of Noro Kureyon Sock - Colour 150 is going to become a pair of Rivendell socks and 188 will become Nancy Bush’s Chalet Socks.

The other one is Araucania Ranco Multy in blue/brown.

I also brought home some adorable Sweaterkits sheep buttons (which might be made into magnets):

(My sheep are brown not white like in the photo.) How can you not grin at those?

A sweater’s worth of dark green Nature wool and the remaining 2 hanks of Misti Alpaca Handpainted Lace (”a thousand lakes”) that I needed for the Slow Bee shawl also came home along with a replacement set of 2.75 Pony Pearl DPNs (I gave away my previous set of Boye’s because they were driving me nuts).

Arriving last Monday:

My order from Red Bird Knits of some sale Lana Grossa Meilenweit: Two in One 8501 (Teal) and Marmi 7001 (Brown) which the husbeast has already claimed.

Arriving this Monday (aka yesterday):

Squee!!!! Rivendell socks can now be made. Just a note - Janel is also the designer behind the Chameleon Colorworks SotM Club which gave birth to the book.

I’ve been dealing with some serious startitis over the last few days:

Pattern: Woven Basket Stitch Dishcloth by Chris Silker
Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, Hot Blue/Somerset
Needles: 5.5mm
Hook: 5mm

I was using up leftovers for this cloth. Did the centre 4″ square as per pattern and then improvised a crocheted border around in contrast. Not my favorite - my MIL will like it though. This was the KAL cloth I missed doing a couple of weeks ago.

These are New England by Nancy Bush from Knitting on the Road in Araucania Ranco Multy (Peacock) done Magic Loop on 2mm 32″ Addis for the May/June 2008 KOTR KAL. I would like to finish them before July…

Friday was the release of Clue 1 for both the Casablanca Mystery Shawl KAL:

(I changed out the beads to some cognac A/B #6s and am much happier than with the teal. Using 4.5mm needles and am pretty pleased with the results.)

AND the Slow Bee II Mystery Shawl KAL:

I still have to undo the provisional cast on to do the second half of Clue 1, but already I’m in love with this shawl. It’s actually knit on 3.5mm 10″ Brittany Straight needles and transferred to circs for the photo. Fiddly, but fantastic!

My Goddess Knits Anniversary Mystery Shawl finally got underway:

Clue 1 is done (I went with Chart B for this clue) and Clue 2 should be done before the week is out (probably going to choose Chart B for this one too).

This morning, I did some design work which has, lets just say it, been driving me completely bananas the last week or so. Mixing cables can do that to you - arghhhh!

So, coming across a bag pattern among the scattered graph paper, I immediately grabbed yarn and needles and cast on some stress relief knitting:

I’m beginning to think that this case of Startitis might become terminal.

I am such a bonehead. I accidently erased ALL of my WWKIP Day photos. You ever have one of those moments? The sudden realization “Oh No!” alarm bells going off in your head a split second after you do something? Yep, that was me yesterday. Bonehead. Sigh.

Oh well, I do have a bunch of other stuff to share and I’ll get back to how WWKIP day went a little bit later.

I’ve worked through and completed a few things during my hiatus:

The Woven Cable Eyelet Socks are done.

I call these “Neptune’s Worksocks”. They belong to BadgerDan and are made out of some Lopi-style self-striping wool that I found on clearance (Sean Sheep Armytage, Blue/Green/Light Blue, 2 balls).

The pattern is a slightly altered version of Nancy Bush’s “Child’s First Sock in Shell Pattern” from Knitting Vintage Socks done on 3.25mm DPNs, adjusted for gauge to 48 sts, cuff from 2×1 to 2×2 rib, with a stockingette foot and standard toe. This was the KVS KAL choice for May/June and I already had made a pair for myself a couple of years ago.

They unfortunately don’t look like the photos anymore as they felted in his workboots after one day. (And he wonders why I don’t knit him socks out of the GOOD yarn.) He still really likes them though.

This brings my current 52 Pair Plunge II tally up to 3 and 16 pairs for 2008. Not bad.

And Simple S’mores Sock #2 is well on its way to bringing the tally up to 4 and 17.

I swatched for the Slow Bee Mystery II Shawl (which started today):

I used 3mm needles, 2-ply Lambswool from a frogged 2nd hand cardigan in heathered olive green and gold-lined brown #8 glass Miyuki beads (same as my Halloween Shawl). Worried about yardage, I went stash diving and found some more of the mushroom Misti Alpaca which will show beads well. Will use that for the shawl on 3.5mm needles.

The Casablanca KAL also begins today and after much deliberation and yarn issues, a final decision was made to use the Aubergine Alpaca that I received from Celtic Memory with teal #8 A/B (aurora borealis for those going “hunh?”) glass Miyuki beads, with additional dangling beads to be added later as trim. I had originally planned to use it for my Mystic Meadow Shawl (completely stalled at the moment at Clue 1), but as you know, I changed my mind.

This is what I’ve been working on instead of the shawls (and completed yesterday):

I knit myself a pretty cotton frock. :1)

It’s the Frock Camisole from the Spring 2008 Interweave Knits by Katie Himmelberg out of one big ball of Georga Cotton (340g) in a colour called “Swizzle”. Yes, it’s dishcloth cotton - but I don’t care! I got a cool tank top knit in 3 days for about $7 with leftover yarn to boot. Just to jazz things up a bit, I added an elongated twist cable up the front instead of the purl column - much nicer.

Gotta love an easy pattern.

Speaking of dishcloths, I whipped off a couple this morning:

Pattern: Lacy Waterfall by Jamie Monaghan
Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, Key Lime Pie
Needles: 4mm

I shortened the pattern by 12 sts and was thoroughly surprised it came out perfectly square. Used up a leftover half-ball and only had a metre or 2 left after BO. Couldn’t have planned it better. This was the 2008 June Mid-Month KAL of the Monthly Dishcloth KAL and again, no link for the pattern - sorry.

Pattern: Papillon Cloth by SmarieK Knits
Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, Somerset
Needles: 4mm

Dudes, how pretty is this cloth! I adore it and it was so easy to whip off. Great pattern.

I’m behind on last week’s cloth, but am not too worried about it.

Hmmm. This post is getting a little long. (Haven’t posted in over a week - go figure!) I think I’ll call it a day and update you tomorrow on last week’s WWKIP trip to Toronto along with a whole smackload of yarn pr0n (ahhh - the wallet weeps, but the heart is content).

TTFN.

Boy, is it hot - there, I said it. Global warming has definitely made it’s appearance in Ontario this past week. Thank heavens for our little air conditioner or our tiny apartment would be an oven!

I’ve been pretty busy lately, so let me catch you up:

A couple of lace swatches…

The first one is for the Goddess Knits Anniversary Shawl KAL which starts this Saturday (WWKIP Day - remember!) out of Misti Alpaca Baby Alpaca 2-ply Lace (Mushroom) which I’ll be using in conjuction with their gorgeous Handpainted Lace in “Seattle“. This one is a circular Pi-shaped shawl. When I run out of Seattle, I’ll change over to Mushroom on the next round.

The second swatch is for the Mystic Meadows Shawl KAL, which began a week ago and I have managed to get to Row 56 of Clue 1. This one is taking a bit longer to knit for some reason. I was originally going to use the Aubergine Alpaca from Celtic Memory for this shawl, but decided at the last minute to change over to some 2-ply Shetland wool that I frogged from a second-hand Marks & Spencer sweater due to the perfect heathered meadow colours. That, and it blocks like iron. I’ll save the alpaca for a future project.

Clue 2 was released today. Hopefully I can catch myself up. With all my recent sock knitting, I’m a little out of practice!

Secret of Bad Nauheim has stalled a bit. I have only 15 rounds left on the border - but at over 800 stitches per round and growing, it takes a while.

Speaking of socks, I’ve finished my first qualifying pair for the 52 Pair Plunge II (and my 14th pair of the year).

My “Pele’s Party Socks” have been re-dubbed “Beaded Gypsy Dancing Socks” - aren’t they fun?

Pattern: Godmother’s Socks By Deborah Swift of MountainMom Designs (Round 6 Pattern for Sock Madness 2)
Yarn: Koigu KPM Handdyed Semi-Solids, Colour 1110 (50g skein - 160m); Fleece Artist Basic Merino Sock, Origin Colourway (32g)
Needles: 2.25mm KnitPicks Circs, 2.75mm DPNs for cuff
Beads: #6 glass beads in various coordinating colours - used 1mm crochet hook to apply.

I’m also halfway through the Optional Round Pattern - “Woven Cable Eyelet Socks” by Technoknitter:

Yes, they are loud and I like them that way! Using up some old DGB Confetti Superwash (Col. 193) that has been screaming at me for awhile, but couldn’t find the right pattern for.

I altered the pattern slightly using a stockingette toe, sole, a flap heel (using the heel instructions from the Diamante Sock pattern by Deb Barnhill on Knitty modified to accommodate the smaller stitch count) and smaller needles than called for (2.25mm for foot/heel, 2.5mm for leg and gusset).

In knitting these two-at-a-time together, I ran into some major needle issues as I do not as yet have any 40″ circulars. Suffice it to say, they have now been separated onto their own individual circular and I have some 40″ lengths on order. What a nightmare.

Weekly KAL dishcloths:

Pattern: Waffle Texture Ensemble by Maile Mauch
Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, Banana Yellow
Needles: 3.25mm

Sorry about the photo quality, but the texture wasn’t coming through. Both the front and back are really nice. I had a very long tail left from the cast-on, so I crocheted a little hanging loop.

Pattern: Baby Fern Pattern Dishcloth by Vaunda Rae Giberson
Needles: 3.25mm
Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Stripes, Tie Dye Stripes

I used smaller needles, added two additional rows to the top and bottom border and eliminated 3 stitches in the main pattern to balance it out. All in all, very happy with the result.

Another square for the Sampler Afghan:

Pattern: Lacy Granny by Dayna Audirsch
Hook: 5mm
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool, 016 - Thyme, 005 - Raven

This is the CAL square for June. One more filler square and my 2008 Sampler Afghan will be at the halfway point and so will 2008. Incredible. Where does the time go?

Some Yarn Pr0n for ya:

Scored on a recent trip to Needles and Knits in Aurora. In order from L-R, we have:

Regia Kaffe Fassett Sock Yarn - Landscape Twilight (just a single ball, I have a perfect mixer solid in my stash)
Liza Sock Yarn - this is a one-of-a-kind handpaint by Elizabeth who works at the store. Stunning colours and really good yardage (462yds/422.5m)

Found in the discount room:

Selbu Husflidsgarn - Heathered Dark Grey, 100g/210m, Sport/DK (destined for BadgerDan socks)
Naturegarn no. 1, 50g/55m, Lopi-Style Chunky, Col. 754 (another stripe or two for the Lopi Blanket)

Autumnal knitting preparation:

I finally decided on a substitute yarn to use for the cover Kimono Jacket from Freedom Spirit and Wool Book 456 (my primary reason for purchasing the book). Not that I have anything against Freedom Spirit - I love it - I just wanted something a little different. Going with Auracania Nature Wool Worsted - this is a light worsted wool that will knit down to a DK or up to a Worsted so I think it should work just fine. I plan on doing the main body of the sweater in the lime green and the borders/trim in the dark brown. It’s going to look great.

Yes - I do knit the occasional sweater. For a while now I’ve been telling myself and others that I’m not really a sweater knitter. The other day, I stopped and actually counted how many sweaters I’ve made in my knitting career. Eight sweaters in under 5 years with 2 more currently on the needles. Um, let’s just say, my tune has changed a bit.

Perspective is everything.

Wow, where did May go? This month just flew by…

Thank you Anita and Rhonda (and all others) for your comments (and compliments - blush)! It’s really great to know that I’m not just talking to myself here :1).

Rhonda, I totally agree that my Mystery Lace photo looks like a “nether region cover”. In fact, on the group’s message board, one lady was scanning the finished Clue 1 pictures and her daughter walked by and asked her why she was looking at g-strings on the internet! Too funny. As to knitted lace g-strings, I do have a pattern for one from one of last year’s Interweave Knits issues. BadgerDan thanks you for your suggestion and consideration, but thinks that although very pretty, it isn’t really worth my effort to knit as it would probably get damaged beyond repair and spend most of it’s time on the floor (wink).

As for sleep - let’s just say that I’m a bit of a night owl and leave it at that. :1)

I promised you some finished objects this post, so with no further ado…

Mystic Light is DONE! (Bet you didn’t expect that, did you?)

Pattern: Mystic Light by Anna Dalvi
Yarn: Austermann Step, Colour 01
Needles: 3.75mm Addi Turbos/4mm Addi Turbos (Clue 3 onward)
Beads: #6 Miyuki Glass Beads, 6-142S (Silver-lined Berry colour) 2 vials [applied with 1mm crochet hook]

My first BSJ too!!!

Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann (1968 Original Pattern as reprinted in The Opinionated Knitter)
Needles: 3.5mm Brittany Straights
Yarn: Sirdar Baby Bamboo (Taupe, Olive, Cream)
Buttons: Glazed Terra-Cotta from Sweaterkits

I have to re-knit the collar as the i-cord is way too tight (my bad). I’m just going to pick up and do a few rows of garter stitch instead to match the button band.

Note: The original recipient of the jacket will have outgrown it by the time it would get to him. So this one is going into the “hope chest” and he’ll be receiving a nice crocheted hemp sunhat instead. What do I know about growing babies? Apparently not sizing.

Sunny Scalloped Dishcloth

Pattern: Scallop Pattern Dishcloth #009 by Love 2 Knit Dishcloths
Needles: 3.25mm
Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, Creamsicle/Hot Orange

This is the Weekly Cloth from last week. Had a little fun framing out the centre pattern with the solid using intarsia. Just a little note - the pattern doesn’t include the border stitches, so remember to add them.

Naturally Purled Eyelets Dishcloth

Pattern: 2008 May Mid-Month Dishcloth (Monthly Dishcloth KAL) by Sue Schaefer for Harvest Moon Designs
Needles: 3.25mm
Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, Natural Ombre

I made this cloth quite a bit smaller (by 12 sts in fact) than the original and using smaller needles. My finished cloth is about 6″ square. No pattern link for this one unfortunately.

Finished the first Simple S’mores Sock yesterday. I used a caramel-coloured stash 3-ply for the heel and 3″ 2×2 cuff (doubled for heel, single for cuff). Stopped at 6″ for the leg as I thought that was plenty (plus I was really bored with the stockingette). Fits very well, but the heel IS a little squared off.

This green alpaca blob is what a 6′ long stole looks like with 852 border stitches picked up around it on a 32″ circular needle. Secret of Bad Nauheim Stole is well on its way to completion with only 38 border rows to go. I may just make my self-imposed June deadline!

I received my Irish yarn swap package from CelticMemory the other day - Squee!!!

From the top:

50/50 Silk/Cashmere, Natural Heathered Tweed (280m) [I totally have to make a summer top with this]
90/10 Merino/Nylon “Mousse” laceweight , in Teal and Olive (200m each) [I would call this a baby boucle]

And OMG!

A skein of her OWN HANDDYED MERINO TENCEL!!!! She calls this colourway “Deep Sea” and it is sooooo pretty! This is actually my first merino/tencel sock yarn. Way too nice for socks though - destined for a lace scarf, maybe some beads…

Thank you so very much Jo. Now we need the Irish postal system to hurry it up so everyone can see what I’ve sent YOU!

A little more stash enhancement has been going on:

Araucania Ranco Multi Sock Yarn - “Peacock” and “Kaleidoscope”

As you can plainly see, I have been spending so much time at the shop lately that the yarn fumes have been getting to me again. (You do NOT want to see how much I have put aside in the back…my poor paycheque!)

The local Value Village had a half-price sale on Monday, so naturally I had to check it out. No Lopi for my blanket, but I did find this:

The Knitting Machine from Mattel Canada (circa 1970s) for the whopping price of $2.50.

How could I resist that?

It’s a plastic circular knitting machine complete with instruction manual. Unfortunately too small for doing socks (only 32 pins), the patterns are mostly for little puffs that you sew together to make things. Typically tacky. I don’t DO puffs. I’m going to experiment a little and maybe see what comes of it - thinking wine bags might work.

On a different note, ya’ll might remember that Worldwide Knit in Public Day is coming up on June 14th. Also, quite coincidently it falls on our beloved Yarn Harlot’s birthday this year - her 40th (by her own admission). Let’s make it one for her to remember and really help out those in need around the world by making a donation to Knitters without Borders. Every little bit helps, especially with current world events being what they are.

For the locals, she and Rachel H. have cooked up a big event at Lettuce Knit and are flying Franklin Habit up from Chicago to take shots for his 1000 Knitters Project. (PS - check out his forthcoming first book.)

Guys, if you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m a little camera shy. I just have those reflective eyes that look possessed in every dang picture and it bugs me to no end, not to mention my hair has a mind of it’s own.

However, for my beloved Franklin I will make the exception. Yep - I am going to be one of the 1000 Knitters!!!!! So if you want to see my mug, it’ll be there for all posterity. :1)

I’m totally chuffed (and BadgerDan is so proud, he’s telling everyone I’m going to take part in an international art project).

For now, though, I have to get back to the border on the blob.

Happy Victoria Day everyone! (or May “2-4″ to all my fellow Canucks) Raise a glass to Spring!

BadgerDan and I have been having a wonderful holiday (even if we both had to work a yesterday). We went out for a very nice dinner last night followed by tea/coffee at the local Chapters/Starbucks. Normally a pretty expensive trip as we are both foodies and bibliophiles ;1). It was great and I was a good girl and only picked up a couple of books:

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author describes how a team of scientists, working from subtle clues scattered throughout the ancient literature, as well as from the latest findings in geology, uncovered scientific evidence to explain the Oracle of Delphi’’s powers.

Looks like a fabulous summer read. And another one for the knitting library:

Preparation for next year’s Sock Madness competition. By the end of the “Summer of Socks”, I should have this little technique down to a science!

(Talking of science, BadgerDan didn’t leave unscathed either, a brand new biography of Albert Einstein now lays beside his computer.)

Woke up to him in the kitchen making breakfast for the both of us. Weird, it’s almost feels like real life around here! I’ll pinch myself a little later.

I’ve been pretty busy trying to catch up on things and progress certainly has been made.

On the crochet front:

Pattern: Flower Burst Square by Chris Simon
Hook: 5mm
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool, 023 Amethyst/005 Raven

This is the May Square for my Sampler Afghan as part of the 2008 12″ Crochet Block-a-Month CAL.

Pattern: The Manly Square by Donna Audirsch
Hook: 5mm
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool, 004 Charcoal/005 Raven

I thought that using “Charcoal” for the “Manly” square was pretty appropriate as we head into BBQ season :1). Also pretty typical - the pattern ate quite a bit (of yarn), hence the double border of black. This is my 5th filler square for the afghan.

Last week’s dishcloth:

Pattern: Vortex (5) by Rebecca Hudson
Needles: 4mm DPNs, 5.5mm for cast-on, 6mm for bind off
Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, Landscape/Natural

Neat pattern. BadgerDan, being the technogeek that he is, said “hey, it’s a fractal!” Think I’ll use up some scraps in bright colours paired with a black background next time. I’m also thinking “felted bag” with this one. It’s not like there’s a lack of felting wool around here :1).

Lace-wise, we have:

Secret of Bad Nauheim

Two full pattern repeats done - only 1 more to go to the edging.

Mystic Light

Clue 1 completely re-knitted with the new beads and looking great.

Mystery Lace

After much anticipation (and controversy which I won’t get into here), Clue 1 for the Mystery Lace Stole was re-issued and I took the opportunity to switch to the 2-colour (green/white) option as I had the yarn in my stash and smaller (2.75mm) needles. This is the same “Cilantro Melange” Misti Alpaca Lace that I used on my Bayou Sunset Socks .

Slow Bee Mystery I

The first clue was released for SBM1 and since I was on a roll, decided to dive right in. This one is a fully beaded Faerose-style shawl (read “huge”) like my Halloween Mystery Shawl. The instructions said to use an “icy” yarn, so I’m using Misti Alpaca Handpainted Lace in “A Thousand Lakes” and silver (sterling?) beads, which is about as cool as I get. The photo is 22 rows into Clue 1.

Keeping up with all these CALs/KALs is a bit of work, but it IS fun and entertaining to see what comes next!

TTFN.

Okay guys, here’s the scoop: we’re moving to BC!!!!! BadgerDan has scored himself a position with a company just outside of Vancouver and needless to say were totally excited!

I’ve been packing like a fiend in anticipation, even though we don’t have a date yet - it’ll be within the next couple of months. Hence, the lack of blogging, for which I apologize.

On the project front:

The Cosmic Ripples socks are done and are incredibly cute with the beads. The second sock came out much better than the first one, even if it took a little longer to do.

I finished the first sock of the Sock Madness Round 6 pattern:

“Pele’s Party Socks”
Pattern: Godmother’s Socks By Deborah Swift of MountainMom Designs
Yarn: Koigu KPM Handdyed Semi-Solids, Colour 1110 (50g skein - 160m); Fleece Artist Basic Merino Sock, Origin Colourway (32g)
Needles: 2.25mm KnitPicks Circs, 2.75mm DPNs for cuff

I beaded the cuff on this pair as well, using #6 glass beads in various coordinating colours and a 1mm crochet hook. I’m just beading everything these days…

The true colours just aren’t coming through in the picture - much richer lava reds on the foot and royal purple in the cuff. I was going for an erupting volcano look. Took a little more of the cuff yarn than expected and I’ll have to cheat a little on the leg of sock #2. Not a big deal - it’s a foldover cuff and won’t show too much.

I’m holding off on knitting socks until next month with the start up of the 52 Pair Plunge II (June 1st) and the Summer of Socks 2008 (June 30th).

I’ve signed up for both and a couple of new sock KAL groups (Six Sox KAL, Townsend Socks KAL) in preparation, not that I’ll be running out of patterns any time soon.

In the meantime, I’m trying to finish off a couple of neglected lace projects before the new wave of Mystery Shawl KAL clues come my way. After a bit of thought, I decided it would be sheer lunacy on my part to start my Secret of Bad Nauheim stole over again since I was so far into it. It has 1.25 pattern repeats done now, with another 1.75 to go before picking up for the edging. Hoping to have it finished before next week so that I can tackle the rest of the Mystic Light shawl.

Here’s last week’s dishcloth:

Pattern: Diagonal Ripple Dishcloth by Leanne Cooper
Needles: 4mm
Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Prints, Summer Print

Yet again, another one I should have made in a solid colour. When will I learn?

I may skip most of the 1st pattern releases of the month for the Monthly Dishcloth KAL because I’m just not too much into the pictoral dishcloth thing. The 2nd patterns are a textural pattern which are more to my personal taste. There are always exceptions though :1)

And look what I finally brought home:

YEEE!!! My first wheel!!!! We’re pretty sure it’s a circa 1970s Kromski - ain’t it cute?

And remember I mentioned an additional item that I picked up on my trip to Gemini Fibres? Well here it is:

A handmade orifice hook by Thomas C. Forrester (in Imbuya wood)! It was the only thing I was missing for the wheel (which even came with 4 extra bobbins!) and matches it almost exactly. This I could afford to splurge on. :1)

Oh, and the worsted weight undyed silk? My friend Ruth pounced on it for her weaving and traded me a brand new Schacht Hi-Lo drop spindle which can be used either as a top whorl or bottom whorl. I love versatility and since I’m a bit of a beginner this will be ideal. (Psst!!! She also has Ladybug Wheels - pass it on!!)

A little bit of stash enhancement has been going on:

I was a very bad girl over on The Loopy Ewe’s website - I blame Sheri and all of her virtual sock yarn fumes.

They are -
Top: Schafer Anne - Morrison (OMG!!! I can’t stop petting this one)
L-R: Duet Skinny Sock Yarn - Afton Manor; Zen String Lotus Toes (Sport) - Mount Monadnock; Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock - Edgewater; Louet Gems - Fern Green

Yep - sock yarn fumes, definitely.

I have a new friend Celtic Memory over in County Cork, Ireland who’s traded me this gorgeous aubergine fingering weight alpaca for some Addi Turbos and Blue Sky Patterns that are tough to get over there.

She had a whole CONE of it - can you imagine? This is what I’m going to use for my forthcoming Mystic Meadows shawl - it’s going to be fabulous!

I’ve also sent her out a Canadian care package which I’ll share with you once I know she’s received it - I want it to be a little bit of a surprise.

[She just got back from her vacation to Crete with some great photos (go take a gander at the local shepherd). Just don't cross her dog Muffy the Yarnslayer - adorable, but what she does to cashmere will make you weep.]

Last, but not least, look what I picked up today at the local antique market:

These are antique “Needlecraft” magazines/newsletters (they’re each the size of a newspaper) from 1917-1919. A lot of really nice patterns for crocheted and knitted lace. A steal at $5 a piece on sale. They have come to a very appreciative home.

Okay, I think I’ve got ya’ll up to date now. With any luck, I’ll have a few more completed items to show you pretty soon.

TTFN.