A pair of socks finally done. May I present the Sock Knitters Anonymous September Mystery sock. Very fun pattern; it was the first time I did a toe-up with a heel flap rather than a short row heel. The sock had to be knit in orange yarn, so this gave me a reason to use some orange wool/mohair sock yarn that had been languishing in my stash (orange isn’t anywhere near my favorite color). First time making socks out of a wool/mohair blend, and they are quite warm, fuzzy, and squishy.
Okay, I know I said socks… which is why I cast-on a felted kitty bed Monday night. I had the front and back of a sweater that was the second try at getting some Peace Fleece I bought back when I first started knitting a couple years ago into a sweater, but it just wasn’t happening… the front and back have been laying around for several months, and I had no compulsion to knit arms. So, I ripped the back out and started a felted kitty bed for my sister’s new kitten. I think the socks will come next.
This morning I made my way to the post office to send off a RAOK package, a Secret Pal package, and finally my best friend’s birthday and Christmas gifts (his birthday was at the beginnning of Nov., so I’m a little late). This is my first actual RAOK to go out; it was kind of fun to put together. I found a cute stuffed, floppy sheep on sale (sales are great), some candy, and some yarn from my stash that was languishing… all off to a new home. I hope it helps to cheer up the recipent.
I keep thinking about what kind of shawl I want to make out of my Brooks Farm acquisition… I’d love to do something top down, but I’ve only got 1000 yds; I’d hate to run out before I got to the bottom. I could do a basic triangle from the bottom up but I don’t know what sort of design I’d want to use. All of the patterns I’ve found that I like either use lace weight instead of worsted, or call for more yarn than I have. I will have to think on this more…
I’d be amazed if you do… I started it in Oct. Here’s a sort of updated picture…
All but one side and arm stitched up. Well, it’s been finished since I took this picture a couple days ago, but I haven’t been able to get a picture of the finished product yet. Since Le Bete Noir has been finished, I casted on this…
The Wool Peddler’s Shawl
Oy! The humanity! The Stitches West market was insane when I went on Saturday. People everywhere, most of them not paying attention to what was going on around them and stopping right in the middle of a busy walkway. The worst part was the people with the stupid pull-along suitcases. The place was so packed there was no hope of seeing the floor… or the stupid suitcases being pulled along behind someone… perfect for tripping over. Geez. Amazingly enough I did the circuit in about 2 hours. How did I manage that? I avoid all the stores that are within driving distance of my apt (it’s not like I was going to get a discount buying from them at Stitches), and I avoid places like Webs and the Yarn Barn (both of which have websites). I went around and made notes of the things I liked… I only decided what I was buying for sure after I’d seen everything. (I went to a few conventions before I developed this strategy only to find something near the end I really wanted and have no money for it.) If something seems to be going quickly I might get it when I first see it, but usually my motto at these things tends to be “If it’s not there when I go back, I wasn’t meant to buy it.” The only place with a long line that I contemplated buying something from was Carolina Homespun cause their winter hours suck, I don’t drive up to SF all that often, and I’m not fond of the navigation of their website…. and they had glow-in-the-dark yarn. But, I had a budget.
So, I present “The Haul”:
Doesn’t look like much does it? But that represents all $100 of the budget I set for myself. The nifty item I picked up for my secret pal (not shown, obviously) went on the plastic card so that I could utilize all $100 for myself. *grin* So, what is it you’re looking at? On the left is 2 ounces of cashmere fiber…. mmmmmmm. On the right is 2 skeins of Brooks Farm Duet (55% mohair/45% wool) that is currently destined to be a shawl pour moi. (I think it is highly evil of Brooks Farm to have opened a website… because now I want more… so soft. Unfortunately, a quick perusal of their new website does not have that particular color of 100% mohair I was drooling over but was $5 short of being able to get. *sigh*)
Requisite bathroom mirror picture
I think I might need to block it out… try to smooth out the top. I’m afraid I finished it off while watching the election returns, and I was a little tense… still am, for that matter. When it’s not on my head it looks a bit pointy.
A better side view
The decreasing rows on Lavender Twist are going much…. much… slower than the cabling rows. I blame this on them being wacky. Unlike the cabling rows, which have a symmetry to them, each row of the decreasing rows requires constant vigilance as I work my way across. In fact, I had to set down the knitting for a moment last night to hand out candy* and when I came back, I had no idea where I was and could not figure it out without going back to the beginning of the round and counting stitches. On the cabling rows, this would have been unnecessary because of aforementioned symmetry.
I plan on buckling down and, hopefully, finishing the hat tonight. This should be made easier by the fact that I have a paper due on Saturday that I am avoiding.
Lavender Twist is progressing nicely. Although, now I need to tink back a row, so I can begin the decreases. I measured my head…. if I do the pattern as written, it will have a depth of 9 inches… that would cover my eyes. But, if I leave out one pattern repeat it should fit well. I keep forgetting what a small head I have.
I finally have an in-progress picture… Yea!
Class yesterday went well… paper turned in, 7 rows completed on Lavender Twist, disaster planning discussed*, and wet book received. Yes, wet book. My prof has given us an extra credit project… a wet book… that we must dry out and write up a report about the experience. I’m going to try the freezer drying method. The book I got is not a hardcover, so standing it up and fanning the pages won’t work very well… and I don’t want mold to develop. Mold growth = game over… we can still get extra credit, but we’re supposed to throw the book out so we don’t risk our health. I have to admit the Preservation Management class had been quite interesting… protecting books and protecting wool have a lot in common… there are pests to worry about… disasters to plan for… that sort of thing.
Hope everyone has a good Halloween!
I do believe the Mountain Colors yarn will be really nice, if not perfect, for the Shedir pattern from Knitty’s 2004 Fall Surprise. However, I was wrong about it being 100% wool; it’s Mountain Goat, which is 55% mohair and 45% wool. The color is called Sweet Lavender.
I got it started on Wednesday and am on row 24 so far, just haven’t had a chance to take an in-progress picture yet. The only thing that is confusing me so far is the twists and cables. I keep wondering if there’s an easier way to do them. According to the pattern, for a left twist you slip the next st onto a cable needle and hold it to the front, purl next st, then knit st from cable needle. I once made socks that used a twisting pattern, but to make the twists you knit into second st, then knit into first st. or knit second st tbl, then knit first st. Now, if I could substitute one or both of these for the way the twists or cables are done, this would knit up a little quicker. Right now I’m doing each cable/twist per the instructions, but without a cable needle, and it seems a bit cumbersome. The twists I did on my socks went smoothly compared to the ones on this hat. Unfortunately, my brain gets tied up in knots when I try to think too deeply in three dimensions.
By now, you’re probably confused as to why I’m thinking so hard about this… well, I have a paper due tomorrow, and this is how I avoid working on it. *grin* I had to perform a building survey (with preservation management in mind) and now have to type up a 5 page report on the risks I found. I’m having problems with where to start… and how to get 5 pages out of this. So, I started a new project instead. *sigh* Geez, is that sad, or what?
The new project has been added to the sidebar, and it will be updated when I get an in-progress picture taken. I’ve also reorganized my Fotopic photo page. I started with just a knitting section, but decided to split it up into finished objects and works in progress. Ah, organization… yet another of my distractions from school work. I’m such a procrastinator.
Now for something a bit different… I usually don’t go in for quizzes, but this one is knitting related and kind of cute.
You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting
and do it all the time. While finishing a piece
is the plan, you still love the process, and
can’t imagine a day going by without giving
some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation
involves leaving ample space for the stash and
supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn
ends and you begin.
http://marniemaclean.com
What Kind of Knitter Are You?
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