Tuesday, August 31, 2010

the newest orphan!

... but, hopefully not for long (long means: not more than a year ?!)!


yay! first sock !!!

this sock was a test knit, and i shamefully took the entire test knit time allotted.

ps. crocs over here !!!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

finished fishes

it's raining this morning. i'm so glad it's raining because now i don't have to water the plants. of course, this could also mean trouble for the morning commute.
(yawn)

i finished the stranded fishes socks. i took these home over the weekend to work on, and let mom try them on, and decided they fit her better than me. the foot length is just a bit short for me, and probably a bit long for her. and i'm just too lazy to change that.

and then, looking at one of the socks last night, i realized that i knitted the legs differently. WHOOPS. one leg has 5 repeats of fishes, and the other 6 (as the pattern is written for 6). and, i'm not ripping and fixing. this is just one mistake of many in these socks.

nevertheless, i still think they're really cute!




the pattern is spillyjane's swedish fish socks. i used knitpick's bare (merino/nylon) fingering and their 'felici' in colorway marine life. i barely used any of both skeins/hanks of yarn. i can get another pair of socks out of the remaining bare, and i have a second skein of the felici (plus its leftovers). lots of yarn!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

done at last ....

i started this shawl back in june. i wanted it "big", so i kept knitting. i kept knitting to the point that i ran out of yarn (only 5 rows short of my bind off). some knitters would rip out a row and bind off, or use a different yarn. instead, i just ordered another ball and luckily got the same dyelot.

i finished knitting my sweater the other day, and started seaming it, so for "mindless knitting" i picked my shawl up again and finished it as well. she blocked overnight, and i unpinned this morning and wore her to work.






this is the rose ribbons shawl from evelyn clark's book _knitting lace triangles_. i used knitpicks palette yarn. it's HUGE! well ... bigger than most of my triangular shawls ... it has a 72" wingspan and a 36" drop. it covers me well.

the color looks almost dayglow under 'office' lights, but is much easier on the eyes in natural light. regardless, it's a wonderful shade for summer. yes. wool in the summer.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

the socks

and, i also realized i haven't posted my SOCKS. sigh ....

i finished my papaver socks (ravelry link) about 4 days ago. this is the second pair of this pattern i've knitted within the last month. the first pair was a gift, and then i decided i need a pair for myself. and now, i have them, and of course it's way to hot to wear socks. they will wait until the end of september or october.

my papaver

this yarn is crystal palace panda silk. it was sent to me awhile back. i had knitted a pair of socks with their maizy yarn, but had apparently had purchased a bad batch of that particular dyelot.

i contacted crystal palace, and they asked me to send them my socks. i did. they analyzed the yarn, and reported back that the dyelot was indeed "bad". in their fabulous customer service, they sent my socks back, along with enough yarn for 2 pairs of socks, and some sock needles. this pair is the last in the yarn they sent to me. and, they're fabulous! (yarn and crystal palace customer service) !!!

since then, i've been knitting on a pair of socks for my mom. she bought some yarn from knitting up a storm, when we were at north myrtle beach last week.

she picked out poems wisdom sock. the color progression is great, and the color is fabulous, but the knitting is a chore. the yarn is a single, and a bit "hairy", and i keep splitting stitches with my needles. perhaps i should change needles, but it's a bit too late for that. i'm almost finished with the pair. here's the first sock:

wisdom

i am on the mate, about to start the heelflap. so, they'll be done soon enough. the thing is, when do i give them to her? do i save them for cooler weather, or ... christmas ?! she already knows about them, and i'll "show" them to her next weekend. sigh. it seems kinda silly to give them in a season inwhich it's too hot to wear socks.

whoops!

i think i've used this title post before. but big WHOOPS because i just didn't realize i hadn't posted in a bit, until someone kindly reminded me today.

i had a bit of a "yarn crawl" today, in a BMW (deb drove). a couple of friends and i made our way down south to southern pines, nc, to visit bella filati. they recently relocated into a new building in downtown southern pines. and the new store is even lovelier than the original. and i should had taken my camera, because they had some really cute lamp shade covers that were crocheted, or even needle felted.

i did not purchase yarn. i think i felt a bit overwhelmed, and not quite ready for buying a sweater's worth of yarn. but, i did come away with a book by teva durham (_signature style_ , loop-d-loop , volume 5). inside was this really cool pullover!

honeycomb diamond pullover

it's the "honeycomb diamond pullover" in a yarn by loop-d-loop, called "moss". i haven't seen this yarn in person, but the label says it's 50g and 163 yards. so, it must be very light and have some fluff. there are a couple more designs in the book which i like, so that makes the purchase worth it. of course now, i'm on the hunt for the yarn. i don't always knit projects in the recommended yarn, but i think in this case, perhaps i might.

on the way back from southern pines, i said, "hey, let's stop at the new shop in apex!". and my friend replies, "oh, you little strumpet!" (by the way, a strumpet is a middle english word for the modern day "ho", aka prostitute) (it's a term of affection ;)

so we stopped at the fairly new downtown knits in apex, nc. i really liked it, and actually bought yarn!

nature spun fingering

this is nature spun fingering by brown sheep company, in colorway "butterscotch". it's not really butter-scotchy at all though ... it's a very rowanesque heathered and natural, in a shade more like a greenish bronze.

my friends cringed at my purchase (hey, what are friends for?!) ... because they like "snooty" yarns. i like 'em too, but i also like nature spun, and lopi lite, and other minimally processed yarns.

this yarn gets a whopping 310 yards for under $4 a ball! so, i now have over 900 yards, enough for a nice shawl, for a very low price. and it's made by brown sheep ... not "local" to my area, but certainly local in a global sense.