see the funky orange stars? those are the motifs i've made since my last post of this project. i am officially (almost) 1/2 through making and joining motifs for this shawl! i'll go ahead and do the three to fill in the gap down the center, and then i'll move on to making smaller sections to join together later. this will definitely be finished intime to wear this season. can't say that about all my projects!

i'm on the homestretch! i got in some good knitting this afternoon at the laundromat. though this is only sock #1, i will certainly (maybe) be diligent and cast on for the mate when i finish. the only thing that could get in the way of this is maryland. i will be walking around the sheep and llamas, knitting away on my socks with my yarn hanging from my yarn bracelet.

i almost dropped my knitting needles to start a quilt today ... i mean, what would you do if you saw this? go and see what's being stitched at be*mused.

she says ...

"One-patch handpiecing projects are the sock-knitting of quilting. Easy to sew and requiring a minimum of materials at hand, these projects are like gumdrops. Once you start, it's hard to stop. And they grow so quickly!"

me says ...
can you relate to my addiction?

does this work? am i posting via email?!

orange crush

this is my cheat sheet i am using to check off the motifs i've made and where to join them. i'm focusing more on creating as many separate motifs as possible, or joining into smaller clusters, to avoid working with the entire piece at once. i am almost half way through making motifs for this shawl.


before taking this picture, i just tossed the crochet (right side down) onto the ironing board to tidy it up with a hot steamy iron.

and, i got a new baby today ... and the colors fit in nicely with the trend i've been on the last couple of days.

ps. incase anyone is wondering, the pattern for this shawl/wrap is from a book by vogue knitting, part of their on the go series, titled _crocheted scarves_. this pattern in particular is called the spoke motif shawl and is designed by svetlana avrakh. it's worth its cover price, lots of good projects!

sunnyside up sprinkled with pepper

be sure to move mouse over photo

i couldn't decide which picture to use. the first seems so dull, and the other far more inaccurate, but more fun. anyhoo, i have about 6 inches of egg yoke yellow sock knitted. i did a bit of research of opal sock yarns on the net, and this particular pattern is called prisma. the more i look, the more i want opal.

as i suspected, i was too eager to start knitting. the research to knit a textured stitch pattern with the more solid looking yarn proved futile.

i'll get pictures posted later today of my crochet motifs!

it's raining socks!

i finished these yesterday and am so eager to cast on for another pair of socks. what makes a sock knitter so desperate? ... it's the sock yarns. sock yarns offer so much satisfaction ... they're pretty, inexpensive, and promise hours of knitting!

so, which ones are next?


this baby is opal. i traded some kidsilk spray for this 100 gr ball of yarn that the former owner had picked up on a trip out west. i love how bright it is and the little dots! it's like sunspots.


this is regia, and both these yarns are a wool blend. my previous finished pair is a wool/cotton/polymide blend. i love the subtle shading of this yarn, and it would lend itself well to a textured stitch pattern.

i just can't decide! i have a tendency to follow the path of the least resistance, the least amount of thinking, though, i do want change. i have been knitting lots of socks in plain old stockinette stitch, so sort of want to break that with some patterning.

my sources of choice for inspiration? these two books. but my number one favorite? nancy bush's _folk socks_.

silliness

i actually have a folder under my picture folder titled silliness. it doesn't really have that many pictures in it, but it recently had two more added to the bunch. may i present the first ...



what could, or would, be inside such a box?!



felted bunny slippers!!!!

devil kitty strikes again! ... here's the story. ms. olive landlord had tried her hand at the crocheted bunny slippers from debbie stoller's happy hooker book. it just didn't work out. something was wrong ... and i understand, as i'm the first to abandon a stressful project! run away! so, ms. olive landlord received the knitted felted bunny slippers as a birthday gift from the whimsical devil kitty. they're tooooo cute!

i must admit, i love the bunny slippers, but i think i love the cardboard box even more!? it's all in the presentation ....


ps ... mama cupcake informed me today that she got some black plastic circular handbag handles at miguel's today for her blue & black fat bottomed bag featured in the previous post. yeah mom! send me another picture to post!

secret agent handiwork

when i went home to visit mom a week ago, i was working on this fat bottomed bag for her. it's hard to finish a project and have it remain a secret, so it was finished in her company. the yarn is a wide ribbon called taj mahal that i picked up at the craft store. for a craft store yarn, it was kinda expensive. it reminds me of louisa harding's sari ribbon. it was crocheted with an I hook and is quite sturdy!

she got the bug to crochet herself a bag too, as i had told her about devil kitty's multicolored bag. this one is crocheted with four different shades of blues & black, all in cotton, by sinfonia.

agent aubergine came by for a sit & knit yesterday, and shared a sneak peek at her newest book acquistion, ... _knitting nature_ by norah gaughan. this book is a must have! it's on my amazon list, and will soon be ordered! you can see more pictures of what's inside at knitpicks. agent aubergine had already knitted the scarf in a purplish soysilk. it was soooo pretty!