it's beginning to look a lot like christmas!

well, sort of ... i decided last week that i need a christmas stocking. i have this book in my knitting library, and have always loved the stocking with the snowman and "flakes" (if you click on the link, just page through the book, and you'll see the sample stocking on page 4 in the top left corner).





i am knitting mine with rowan's 'harris' aran tweed ... it's soooooo yummy! it would make a beautiful cardigan. the pattern called for 185 yds. of the main color, and my ball of rowan yarn has 186 yds. guess what? i ran out of yarn when i got to the instep. (i always buy an extra ball) .... good thing! it's beautiful! the snowman is knitted with 'lite lopi'. it's quite hairy, and sticks to the stocking like colorforms or a felt board. i still have to knit about 40 bobbles, the hat, scarf, and embroider the details such as the carrot nose, stick arms, etc .... oh! and the i-cord too. i don't think the picture of the yarn reads well, but just imagine a 4st/inch tweed ..... dark navy with flecks of a brighter blue and white.

also on the knitting front is a finished object. yippy! i finally felted my kiwi bag (i've been procrastinating on this, since i can't really justify using a heavy woolen item when the weather is still screaming summer).



the bag was knitted with 3+ skeins of lamb's pride worsted wt. yarn. i barely used any of skein #4. i love the color, but i have some issues with this project. first, it biased. just a bit, but enough to notice. also, it's sooooo hairy! i'm very tempted to have a sit down and shave/trim it. in use, i doubt i will notice the bias. now i just need it to get cool enough to not look foolish using a woolen bag. maybe i should 'embellish' it? with some other felted do-dads, or beads, ... something.

next in the line up is an older project that has be haunting me. i had tried on my rebecca holey tank, and decided it need more length in the body, and for the armhole shaping to not cut in as much. so, a ripping i went. i added one repeat (4 sts. wide) to each armhole, and have so far finished knitting on one side, and still knitting on the other. i won't really know how much i like the changes until i get the second piece knitted, so i can pin together and try on. but, here's how things are looking.





notice the blue stitch holder? it's a new purchase, and i LOVE it! it's so smart --- it opens at either end, and the long part that holds the stitches is shaped like a knitting needle. they're made by clover, and come in pairs. this is the size 'small', (the stitch holders have different sizes depending on what size needles you're using). i'll have to get some more. i also had bought some of the little sweater needle holders (for dpns), but, i didn't like them, and i'm going to return them.



this is the sideways sock .... i have all the knitting finished on the main piece, and i'm procrastinating on graphing the 140 sts. ... because, it's more fun to start something new, like, ...



this! it's the jilly cardigan from the ribbon twist book. it took me a long time to knit the border pattern. it's full of double yo's and dropped stitches, and i had trouble pushing the stitches from the cable onto the needle. it's going to be a beauty!



and lastly, what's a post w/o something extra cute? this is my 'bug in a shrug', knitted by ms. pinky on our way to stitches east last year (or two ago?). either way, the bug is wearing a circular knitted swatch with kid silk haze. what a swanky bug!



p.s. i am not doing any christmas gift knitting this year. i have (sometimes) in the past, and it just stresses me out, thus, making knitting a negative experience. so, no gift knitting! NO SOUP FOR YOU!