Spiderific

DISCLAIMER: I feel obligated to say that if you have spider issues, you may want to close your eyes and scroll down to the end of this post to see actual knitting content.

OK, now that we've addressed that, I'll get on with it.

This morning Natalie wanted to color, so I hooked her up with paper and crayons and she produced this, which she informed me was a drawing of Happy, Friendly Spiders:



There is, of course, a reason for her drawing spiders. We have this at the bottom of our deck:



We have to pass it whenever we go up or down the steps of the deck.

On it, lives this rather stout spider:



I'll admit, it does creep me out. A lot. But I really don't have the heart to tear down the li'l fella's handiwork.

Now for some knitting content! I played around with a new stitch pattern last night...I'm potentially frogging the old cabled scarf I started (last winter) for my dad and going this direction instead. (thankyouverymuch Barbara Walker and your Treasuries)

Swallowtail

A lovely knit, except for those blasted p5tog's. Hooray for pointy needles!

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn Clark, from the Fall 2006 Interweave Knits
Yarn: Schaefer Anne fingering weight
Needles: KnitPicks Options, US sz 6

Surprise Socks & Cute Faces

I decided last Sunday that I needed to knit a pair of surprise socks for someone I don't really know. It's a woman from church. I was knitting at the retreat I attended last weekend and she came over and whispered, "I wear a size 8 shoe, just so you know!" LOL! As fortune would have it, she was the one who received my Arrowhead Lace Scarf in the giveaway! Like I said, I don't really know this woman, but I do know that she has cancer. I also know she attends the Saturday night service (as do we). So I decided that it would be fun to knit her a pair of socks as a surprise. I hope she likes them!

Since I wanted to get these done ASAP, I decided to go for more of a house sock. I chose Louet Gems Topaz (technically a light worsted), which I hadn't tried before. Of course I didn't have a pattern in mind, so I decided to be brave and create my own. I knew I wanted 48 stitches total, so I looked around to find a stitch pattern that would work with that. I ended up finding one from the 2nd Barbara Walker Treasury - the stitch pattern is called Seaweed, but I think it has been slightly adapted to work. I don't have the 2nd Treasury (just the 1st), so I'm not exactly sure. In any case, I did it toe-up and decided to use a short-row heel.

So I am pleased to present my Kelp Socks! If anyone is interested in having a copy of the pattern, I would be happy to type it up - just leave a comment.

Pattern: Kelp Socks, my own Magic Loop, toe-up pattern based on the B. Walker Seaweed stitch
Yarn: Louet Gems Topaz in Sage (light worsted)
Needles: KnitPicks Options, US sz 4
*note: I think this stitch pattern could easily be adapted to work with fingering weight*







Since I had the camera out this morning, my children insisted I take their pictures too.

Ethan, 2 1/2


Natalie, 4 1/2

New Things

In the wake of finishing some things that had deadlines, I thought it would be nice to do a quick little project.

Enter, the Garterlac Dishcloth. It's very fun to make! Go try one.


Non-knitty, but I love my new Kleenex box!

Funky Scarf

I finished my scarf for the Funky Scarf Swap today. I tried a few different thing because I really wanted to incorporate two yarns, but in the end, I decided to let the artyarn shine and just use the second yarn as embellishment. I think it was the right choice.



Artyarn: "Too Many Cosmopolitans" by Yarn Wench
Fringe: Taos number 009
Beads: handcrafted glass beads by Elite Better Beads

The scarf is garter stitch over 10 stitches on size US 10.5 needles.

I hope my pal likes it!

Can't Help Myself

So I finished the Diamond Fantasy Shawl, right? And I said to Rosemary, "I think I will force myself to finish my Scribble Lace scarf before I start any new lace project." Sounded good, eh? Very logical, as well as practical.

So what did I do instead? (pardon the dark picture...totally does NOT do the yarn any justice, but it's nearly impossible to get a decent flash-free picture inside my house)



Uh, yeah. I did. Swallowtail from the current IK magazine, done in Schaefer Anne on sz 6 needles. I'm halfway through the first border chart and let's just say that purling 5 together is not a lot of fun.

In my defense, I did work on the Scribble Lace. I've put several more repeats on it and I would say I'm probably 3/4 of the way there. But there are limits on how long you can work Kidsilk Haze on enormous (and slick) Addi Turbos without going a little crazy.

Then again, I suspect I've already passed the "crazy" mark...

Really Finished

The Arrowhead Lace scarf and the Diamond Fantasy Shawl (scarf) are now both blocked and officially finished! See previous post for specifics if you missed them.

Arrowhead Lace Scarf - the colors really photographed well this time:




Diamond Fantasy Shawl (scarf size) - the colors here are pretty close, maybe just a hair lighter than it appears in person:






**Edited to add: In case you are interested in the Briar Rose yarn, Sweet Freedom is not available at the moment - but I've been assured that Grandma's Blessing is very, very similar!

It's so nice to have some finished objects!

Two Mostly Finished Objects

The knitting is done, but they still need to be properly blocked.

First up, we have a lacey mohair scarf that will be donated as a prize for a giveaway at the upcoming women's retreat at church. I gave it a steam block, but I think I want to do a proper blocking to open it up a little more since the yarn is so fuzzy. The pattern is my own - I just used the Arrowhead stitch pattern from the first Barbara Walker Treasury of Knitting Patterns. If anyone is interested in the actual pattern for the scarf, just let me know in the comments and I can type out what I did.

Pattern: my own
Yarn: "Portrait" by Artful Yarns, color 123 "Washington Crossing the Delaware"
Needles: sz 11 Clover straights





Next, we have a finished Diamond Fantasy Shawl (the scarf size)! No blocking done on this yet, obviously...will do that today. Easy knit, love that the border is worked along with the body and the I-cord bind-off, while tedious, is a lovely edging!

Pattern: Diamond Fantasy Shawl by Sivia Harding
Yarn: Briar Rose Fibers Sweet Freedom Superwash (fingering weight)
Needles: US sz 6 Addi Turbos



Watch for blocked pictures soon...

Pleased as Punch

Yesterday, I finally finished what I consider to be my biggest knitty achievement to date: a lace shawl. I started sometime this summer with one yarn and ended up stopping and starting over with a different yarn. There were times when I wondered if I would ever finish, but my fascination with the process and desire to see the whole thing all blocked out were stronger. I spent all day and evening on Monday doing the edging...very tedious short row stuff. I finished the shoulder edging yesterday and without thinking, started a standard bind-off. Dumb, I know. The pattern doesn't call for a specific bind-off, so I looked at a reference book and decided to try the Yarn-Over Bind Off, which worked perfectly.

OK, enough with the synopsis and on to the good stuff.

Pattern: Tiger Eye Shawl by Hazel Carter
Yarn: Zephyr laceweight in "curry"
Needles: US size 6 Addi Turbo
Finished Measurements: mine came out to be about 30.5" tall by 66" wide after a thorough blocking

Here is is blocking on my bed:


And here is the finished product (on my newly stained deck...Labor Day Weekend project that my parents and I did):




I would definitely recommend this pattern. Most, if not all, of the stitches are taken from the Barbara Walker Treasuries and since it's sort of a sampler, you get a little bit of everything. Sure, some sections get tedious, but I think you find that with most patterns in general. I ended up leaving my pattern in the plastic sleeve and using a dry erase marker to keep track of where I was in the charts - much easier than trying to use a post-it note that is losing its stickiness!

So there you have it. My first lace shawl. I'm already itching to start another one!

A Blast from the Past

I was cleaning my desk and crafty room today and happened upon this blast from the past...a counted cross-stitch I did back in 1997. I don't have the pattern information, but it's done on linen and measures about 5.5" square.

Front:


Back:


I've been very tempted lately to give cross-stitch another try. I've got too many things on my plate right now, crafty and otherwise - but maybe sometime after the new year!

My KSKS package!

My KSKS package arrived today!! My pal was Debbie and she did a great job! I got two skeins of Sweet Georgia Yarn in the Willow colorway (which is actually a bit more lime than this picture shows...so soft! I also got a set of KnitPicks size 1 dpns, a few stitch markers, a tape measure and some lovely chocolate (not shown because sadly, ants had found their way into the packaging! just the packaging of the chocolate, though...no sign of them anywhere in the rest of the box, which I thought was a bit odd). I also got a very cool project bag that Debbie made - it's even lined! The pattern she gave me is the Zigzag Cloverleaf Socks pattern by Desi Knitter...I can't wait to try these!





Thanks Debbie!!

New Finds

Today, the kids and I had to go do car stuff...emissions testing and get new tags. All of that happened to be very close to Old Time Pottery and I've been meaning to go there for a while. The main thing I was looking for was some sort of wreath or something decorative to hang on the front door. I have a lovely Christmas wreath and much as I'd like to, I just can't leave that up year-round. I did consider making my own wreath (I made my Christmas one), but wanted to look for something ready-made first.

I was quite pleased to find this! Just greenery, not seasonal and definitely to my liking:



I was also very excited to find this...a new WIP knitting basket!




Yay for new finds!

Another Solitary Sock

I swear I really am going to go back and knit the second socks to all these poor lonely socks...

Here we have the latest single sock, Hagrid. The pattern is Mock Croc Socks from KnitPicks. The yarn is Socks That Rock in the colorway Petrified Wood. Knit on size 2 needles.





Someday I will find a way to take a flattering picture of my foot.

I really, REALLY like the way this sock is constructed. It is a plain stockinette heel flap, but the flap seems much wider than others I've done and seems to fit my heel very well. The toe is a bit more round than others I've done, too. I'm eager to get started on the second sock! It's so wonderfully brown and...well...Hagrid-ish.

Go Illini!!

Hooray for finished socks!! Perfect timing, too, since my sister's birthday is 9 days away. Guess I'd better get these packed up and ready to mail soon!

In other knitty news, I picked up an old sock out of the knitting basket and am going to finish it before going back to my Ginny and Fawkes socks. I love orange and orangey shades, but I needed to look at something different for a while!

Funky Scarf Swap Questionnaire

Are you allergic to any fibers? No

Do you prefer any fibers over others? I'd rather not have acrylic, but other than that, no

Thinking back to Scout’s post about what funky means to you, post an image of something that you think is funky! Umm...will have to come back to that one...

Would you prefer funky yarn or a funky pattern? either one, really, but I do love yarn!

What are your favorite colors? I love most colors, so pretty much anything goes - no pastels, please!

What is your favorite piece of art? sorry, I'd put the image here, but am having trouble - here's the link: http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/eurptg/highlight_item.php?acc=1964.336

What colors would you never have up close to your pretty face? usually not pale pastels

Would you prefer an actual scarf or a cowl? a scarf

When you wear a scarf do you prefer a wider/shorter scarf or a thin/long scarf? I'd prefer a longer scarf, but it doesn't matter much if it's wide or thin.

What is the climate like where you live? hot summers/fairly mild winters, little to no snow

Would you prefer a functional scarf (to keep you warm) or one just to funk-up your wardrobe? either one!

What else would you like your partner to know about you? I'll probably like whatever you come up with, so don't agonize over your choices, LOL!

More Sockish Than Before

I spent some time this weekend working on my second Illini Jaywalker. I'm not sure why it was so hard to get back into knitting a sock this time. I think it has something to do with the needles I'm using - Bryspun dpns, size 2. Very, very blunt tips and a tad bit flexible. I've gotten used to the flexible part - I think my issue is with the lack of pointy tips. Anyway, I got quite a bit done on Illini2 and am almost finished with the gusset decreases! Thankfully, all the stripes are matching up perfectly with Illini1.

Here's a picture of me showing Rosemary my sock progress (click images for a closer look):



And here's a gratuitous shot of me, since I've been a Self-Portrait Sunday slacker for so long:

Slow and Steady

In order to combat Second Sock Syndrome, I am forcing myself to work on the second Illini Jaywalker. I did work on lace yesterday, but it's raining this morning so I couldn't take pics of it outside, as usual. So here you can see the slight progress I made with Illini2 last night. (pardon the bad flash) It's not much, but at least we're into the actual pattern now.



Thankfully, I did remember where in the self-striping pattern I started the first sock, so the two should match up very closely.

I'm kinda itching for a pair of knee socks sometime soon. I'm sure I'll rethink that once I'm actually knitting them, but it sounds good!

Slow Progress

What a week. We had to have our dog, Maggie, put to sleep on Friday - quite unexpectedly. We knew she had some problems, but she got very sick very quickly last week and the vet agreed that if we didn't do it, we could only try to keep her comfortable. Of course, we didn't want her to suffer or be in pain and when it was obvious that she could no longer keep food or water down, we knew it was time. Obviously, it was all very emotional and as a result, I really had no energy for knitting for a few days. Thankfully, my emotions are leveling out and I've been getting things done again.

So for the past few weeks I've been waiting for my Zephyr laceweight to arrive. In the meantime, I learned that a friend was going through a very difficult time and I was overcome with the urge to knit her something she could wrap up in. So I took out my baby alpaca and cast on for the Icarus shawl. I don't know if this will end up going to that particular friend...I hope so, but right now I'm not feeling any urgency to finish it quickly. (Click the pics for larger versions)


I also started the second Illini Jaywalker. As you can see, I haven't gotten very far. I have a bad case of Second Sock Syndrome.


Because...my Zephyr DID finally arrive!! And I can't stop looking at it! Or knitting it! My Tiger Eye shawl is now just 35 rows from being ready to start the borders!!

Fana-Lama-DingDong

It's finished!! Fana would have been completed much, much sooner, but I ran out of the cream yarn and had to order more (not available locally). I did take pictures of the last hurrah, though, so let's walk through steeking together, shall we?

Measuring and marking where the steek seams should be...note the purl rows on the top of the sleeve: this is the facing you use to cover up those unsightly armhole seams on the inside of the sweater.


Sewing the steek seam


Making the first cut


More cutting


Both steeks cut


Sewing down the facing


Close-up of the actual shoulder



The final product!!! (I'll get a picture of Ethan wearing it one of these days...right now it's just too hot for him to cooperate)


The only modification I made to the pattern was the collar. It calls for a fairly wide, double-thickness collar and we just don't need that here in TN, so I just made a regular crew neck. Perhaps not true to the Norwegian spirit, but a little more practical for the actual wearing of the sweater, I think.

All in all, this was very fun to knit and the steeking was really not that big of a deal once I was actually doing it. So if you're looking for a first Fair Isle sweater project, check out Dale of Norway's Fana!