crap! i just realized my first blogiversary was a week ago ! i'll have to think up some fibertastic way to celebrate ... a way to celebrate that won't violate my yarn diet.

i still haven't finished my chameleon sock toe, but i did start something new. i don't know how old this sock yarn is, because i got it 2nd hand. it really hasn't been a part of my stash for long. the yarn is socka's cotton color, a blend of cotton (duh!), superwash wool, and my favorite word polyamide. the second ball of yarn still has a partially knitted sock leg attached to it. the first knitter of this yarn knitted the fabric much looser, and it's riddled with mistakes. this knitter is knitting with size zero inox dpns, so far with no mistakes (well, i tinked my mistakes), in a 2x2 rib with twisted stitches.

so, on the left is my knitting, and on the right ... someone else's.



this has been in progress since summer of 2000 ! eeeks ! it's always interesting to see old projects. when i unpacked the blanket this morning, i found the needles on it still. but, what's worse than that? i had stopped in the middle of a row !

this is the beautiful aran heirloom blanket from interweave knits summer 2000 issue. the yarn is classic elite's waterspun, long discontinued. the pattern calls for a whopping 64 skeins, which i got on a super saving sale ... but still, that's A LOT of yarn! the blanket is knitted in panels. there are three narrow panels, and two wide panels. then, you sew the thing together and work the borders. i have knitted 2 small panels, and am about 1/3 of the way through one of the wide panels. it only took me a few minutes to figure out where i was in the chart, and i knitted a few more rows this morning.

it is not my goal to finish this before labor day, in the name of summer of stash, but it is my goal to continuously work on it until it is finished ... hopefully before winter.

first of all, many thanks to all the nice compliments on my orange crush crocheted shawl! now that it is completed, it has led me in two different, yet related, directions ... another crochet project (the dress), and another motif project (the fishes)....





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it was mom's birthday last saturday, so i went home to entertain her with my usual wine drinking, knitting and crocheting. i made these socks not so long ago, and decided they would be better off on her feet than mine. so, i'm going to have to knit another pair for myself, from my other koigu i got in maryland.

i'm not having much luck with socks these days though ... i still haven't finished the toe of my 2nd chameleon sock, and i think my elfine lace socks might need to have been knitted with a larger needle! and i'm on the ankle!

but, on a positive note, i have progress to share on my crocheted dress ....



those pieces are for the bodice. the backs are on the left, and fronts on the right. the fronts have shaping, thus don't lie flat on the table. there are four pieces as well, but they're overlapped as they will be sewn together. here's where i'll stall a little, as the next steps involve some sewing together, gathering, and crocheting over elastic. i have already purchased my fabric to sew the under dress, or slip, for the finished dress.

and if anyone is wondering, this is silly stash ! it's soooo old ! i think i purchased it in the early 90's. so, it's safe to say the yarn diet is going well.

also, representing some very old stash ... the fishes ....



the orange was purchased new a few weeks ago, but all the other shades of cotton classic are from the late 90's. it was suppose to be a knitted dress ....

tah dah !

i love it! i don't have a clue as to what i will wear with it. i finished this last night, and at midnight had it stretched across the ironing board, blasting the ferengi with steam.

the shawl is from vogue's on the go series _crocheted scarves_ book. i made the shawl in the yarn called for in the pattern, and though the book said 9 balls of grace, i only used 8. but, i almost used up every little bit of those 8 balls.

what's next in crochetlandia ? ... perhaps a crocheted dress?!

i finished! i finished! pictures tomorrow of orange crush !

progress

i knitted about 4 1/2" of elfine lace sock tonight ... and tried it on ... and it fits !

i also made my first posting to the summer of stash KAL.

this is what my elfine lace socks looked like before they both were frogged. one sock was perfect, with the exception of being knitted with the wrong size needle, and the other was on the right size needle with the wrong toe! i have restarted, again, and am finally on track. i am using the crazy eight cast on, and added 6 extra rounds of plain knitting so the lace doesn't start ontop of my toes.

i seem to have had some troubles with toes lately. i still haven't finished my chameleon socks because i keep making the foot too long or too short. the toe has been frogged once already, and i think i will have to frog it again. why is such a seasoned sock knitter having so many problems? it's because of the short row heel. it's a new heel for me, and i haven't quite figured out my measurements from the back of the heel to where i should begin my toe.





i swatched my brooks farm's riatta the other day on some size 10 turbos. i knitted the swatch 2 repeats wide x 32 rows, and ended up with a swatch the size of a washcloth. i blocked it on the ironing board with lots of pins and my steam iron. this yarn was suppose to be a clapotis, but i think it's going to be an ostrich plume lace shawl instead.

my yarn diet is going well. but that's probably because i'm home visiting my mom and there's not a proper yarnshop within an hour's drive. whew !

a blast from the past !

i almost fell off the wagon today. it's soooo hard to be good ! but i was good. i resisted. i was strong ! what's this? it's a little 4"x4" crocheted swatch of the main stitch pattern for a crocheted dress designed by mari lynn patrick in the nashua pattern book occasion. the dress has a crossed over bodice, sleeveless, with an empire waist and a-line skirt. lovely ! the dress is crocheted with nashua's june. and i love june. i swatched june. june is perfect! and that's why and how i almost fell off the wagon. but, i kept my commitment to my pledge.

what will i be using? this is very OLD stash. it's welcomme's le soie et lin, purchased many many years ago from a closing yarnshop, for 50 cents a ball (it retailed, way back at the end of the 80's or 1990, for $3.75/ball. it's a 50/50 blend of silk and linen, dk wt, and 165 yds. i have about 13 balls of this stuff! ... more than enough for a dress.

everything else? no, i have not finished my crocheted orange wrappety wrap wrap wrap (say that really fast and it makes sense), nor have i finished my chameleon socks or elphine lace socks, or anything else for that matter! feeling feisty? maybe .... it must be the (yarn) diet.