A Little Something & A Big Relief

I had a little bit of Rowan Kidsilk Haze leftover from my Scribble Lace scarf and wasn't sure what I would ever do with it. My mother-in-law saw the Scribble Lace when she was here recently and was in love. While I wasn't willing to give it to her, I was willing to try to figure out something for her with the leftovers, since it was really just this yarn and the color that she was so taken by. Enter good old Feather & Fan! I think I used sz 9 or 10 needles. The finished scarf is 4.25"x41.25". Short for a scarf, but nice for a lace scarf, I think.




It is such a relief to have this Clapotis finished. I don't even remember when I started, to be honest. The SWTC Bamboo was very nice to work with and feels delicious! I know my sister will get a lot of use out of this and since it's not wool, she can use it year-round.

SPS & FO

Self portrait with newly finished Clapotis for my sister. Yarn is Southwest Trading Company Bamboo in Tequila, worked on US sz 4 needles.

Edited to add: I ended up using two full skeins of the SWTC Bamboo and just a bit of a third skein (so the total yardage for this was just over 500 yds). The final measurements (pre-washing, haven't washed it yet) are roughly 18"x52". This is only a smidge different than the original pattern (22"x55") and I can tell it will grow a bit after a wash and dry.

Edited after washing: Holy cow!! This yarn turned the water red the moment it hit the water! And I don't mean the water was sort of pink-tinged...it was RED. Yikes. Good to know, though. I'll be sure to include that on the note to my sister so she knows to not wash it with anything else.

Is it in the air?

There must be something in the air this week for little girls who are 5 years old. Scout documented Supergirl's adventures yesterday and, oddly enough, it happened here too!




Yup. She learned to knit. I'm having to arrange the yarn around her fingers for her, but as for the actual knit stitch, she totally knows what to do.

Eeeeeee!!!!

Actual Knitting Content

Contrary to what you may think by looking at my blog every day, I do in fact still knit. Life is just getting in the way.

My closest lys, The Neighborhood Knit Shop, just got an order of Panda Wool and I was quick to grab some. This sock will be on display in the shop, along with the pattern: Narrow Arrow by Natalie Wilson of iKnitiative.

Those who know me well may be surprised that I would pick out this oh-so-pastel colorway (called "Rosewater"), and in fact I rather surprised myself on this one. But the more I look at it, the more I love it. The Panda Wool is sooooooo soft - this is a bamboo/wool/nylon blend, for those who haven't heard of it - and one of the strands has a bit of a sheen to it, which makes the Rosewater look very formal when knitted up. They remind me of a wedding.

Next up...log cabin. I've been teaching a few classes at The Neighborhood Knit Shop and this version of log cabin is one of them. I like the ease of keeping the same color all the way around the square.


The yarn here is Berroco Pure Merino and it is so delightfully squishy I can hardly contain myself!

Finally, I've started another Diamond Fantasy Shawl - this time for a class. I made one in fingering weight for my mom, but this time I'm using Zephyr laceweight (in Basil).


I'm also still working on my sister's Clapotis - finally in the home stretch, just have other things taking priority right now.

Self-Portrait Sunday

Haven't done this in a while and thought I'd keep it real today.

Project Spectrum Monday...erm, Wednesday

From the local children's museum (the Discovery Center at Murfree Springs, for you Nashville-area folks).

SPS

Today, a silly face.

Project Spectrum Monday

What I saw today...if you missed last week's post about Project Spectrum, click on the button over in the sidebar.

Fawkes

Finally, the Fawkes socks are finished. Only took a year. Not for any issues with the pattern or yarn - just got sidetracked with other things after knitting the first sock.

Yarn: Two Waters Fiberworks, color: Bombay (I think)
Pattern: River Rapids by Sockbug
Needles: US sz 2

The pattern is written for two circular needles, which is how I knit the first sock. I intended to do the second sock in the same manner, but accidentally discovered that you indeed can do Magic Loop with shorter needles. The ones I had used for the first sock are labeled as 29" needles, but actually measure almost 31". I've done Magic Loop on 32" needles, but in some ways I liked having an even shorter cable. Something to keep in mind.

I like these socks very much, but do wish you could see the River Rapids pattern a bit better. Chalk it up to novice sock knitter error - these were either my first or second "real" socks! (well, the first sock, anyway)

A Bloggers (Silent) Poetry Reading

In honor of this, I give you the following:

Dreams
by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Project Spectrum

You may have noticed the Project Spectrum button in my sidebar. Today marks the beginning of round 2. I did not participate in the first round, but enjoyed seeing the pictures that others were posting and decided to sign up this time. Many people will be using the assigned colors in their crafting, but I will probably focus more on photos. If what I am crafting happens to fall into the right color category, all the better - but I don't plan to go out of my way to craft things in specific colors just for the sake of following the assignment. Besides, there really aren't any rules anyway.

That being said, the first color assignment is blue/white/gray. Go crazy. These were a few things I encountered in my day today.

Rowena Socks

Yay for another finished project! Birthday socks for my mom, who specifically requested navy ones.

Pattern: I used the Elongated Corded Rib stitch pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks with an eye of partridge heel
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Nearly Solid in Navy
Needles: US sz 1.5

The Reveal

Finally, I can do the big reveal on this project - a feather & fan baby blanket for my friend Roberta, who desperately needs to re-start her blog...hint hint. It went pretty fast, as blankets go and the feather & fan pattern is easy to memorize. I love it because you get a lot of bang for your buck with it - looks far more complicated than it is.

Pattern: I used an Ann Norling pattern, but it is simply feather & fan with a garter stitch border
Yarn: Bamboozle by Crystal Palace, in Limeade
Needles: US sz 9 Addi Turbos

Two in One

Yesterday was a busy knitting day. I had just started into the foot of the second Cable Twist Sock and was determined to finish it by the end of the week. In a rather frenzied state, I ended up finishing the sock late last night. I do hope it fits the intended recipient.



In the midst of working on this sock yesterday, I decided I needed some simple knitting and picked up the Multi-Directional Scarf. I knew I didn't have much further to go, but imagine my surprise when I finished just a short time later!



So there you have it. Two finished objects in one day.

Something New

Yesterday was one of those days where you just can't bear to work on any of your current works-in-progress. I don't know why. In fact, I even frogged an old project that has been languishing in the bottom of my basket. So what else was there to do but cast on for something new?!

This is Karen Baumer's Noro Silk Garden Scarf pattern, worked in (duh) Noro Silk Garden, color number 230 on US size 9 needles.


I am amazed at how quickly this pattern goes. In fact, I have already added another section to it since I took the picture this morning.

Stay tuned.

KMKS and stuff

Tuesday was the mailing day for KMKS - here is what I sent to my pal!

She is getting the Lucy Neatby Fiesta Mittens pattern, two skeins of Lorna's Laces and a skein of Claudia Handpainted, a project bag, a book of spiral-bound index cards in a plastic cover and two types of dark chocolate. I hope she likes it!

As it turned out, the person who had me as a KMKS pal needed to mail my package a few days early, so mine actually arrived on the official mailing day. I am very pleased with the things I got!


Thank you so much Trish! (who, sadly, is blogless) She sent me the Whitewater Wristwarmers pattern from MagKnits, which I had not seen before and really like, along with two skeins of Wildfoote sock yarn in a very nice chocolatey brown to use for the pattern. I also got an adorable felted bag, a set of dpns, a cable needle, an assortment of hand care products and a copy of Craft magazine!

I've also been busy with the knitting this week. I finished the top-secret project I have been working on, but had yarn leftover so I returned it to the yarn store. As luck would have it, they had just received a new shipment of Nashua yarns and I managed to get some Wooly Stripes to make these:


It was easier to just take two pictures than attempt to get out the tripod and use the timer to get a pic of the wristwarmers on both hands at the same time.

In the process of taking those two pics, I took this picture quite by accident and in fact, didn't even realize it until I looked through the images stored on the camera. But here is a rather nice picture of Nashville's gloomy skies today:


And finally, here is a new sock! I'm calling this one Class Sock because I was recently asked if I would like to teach a Magic Loop class at the lys! We will be doing the sock toe-up with a short-row heel, using worsted weight yarn. I did 3x1 rib, but people in the class will be able to do whatever they would like. The yarn is Lorna's Laces in Sand Ridge.


Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Self-Portrait Sunday

It's game day for the Illini, so it is only fitting that today's SPS photo is of one of my gamers. I discovered that it is a challenge to take a picture of a logo when you are actually wearing the shirt.

I did do a little crafting yesterday, this time with the sewing machine. I needed to make my bag for the KMKS swap so I can be ready to mail on Tuesday. Actually, I've had everything ready except the bag for quite a while, but I'm quite good at procrastinating. The fabrics I used were ones I already had on hand and I know the color will be appreciated by my pal. The pattern is Yarn Envy's Leetle Bag - however, if you click the PDF link to save the pattern, you must go in and add ".pdf" to the tag or all you will get is gobbledygook.

New Year, New Projects

Despite spending some time at the Frog Pond yesterday (for you non-knitters this means that I decided to rip out some projects...as in, completely unravel them - hence, "rip it"...sounds like "ribbit"...which leads us to Frog Pond), I have been busy knitting. First up is a hat I knit while we were in Charlotte before Christmas:


Pattern: Alison's Beginners Hat
Yarn: Magallanes by Araucania

Probably not colors that most people would like, but I think it's very sunny and happy and I like it. I suppose that's all that really matters.

Over Christmas, I knit the first of a pair of socks for my mom...presenting Rowena:



Pattern: Elongated Corded Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock Nearly Solid in Navy

I really like this yarn - the nearly solids. I've read blog posts about it, singing its praises - I will definitely use it again.

I've also started (re-started, actually - first attempt with different pattern was not up to par) a gift sock:


Pattern: Cable Twist Socks
Yarn: KnitPicks Essential in Pine

I really like this pattern - easy to remember and looks nice. As of this morning, I'm almost finished with the heel flap.

And finally, just a teaser for another project I'm working on:

Random Pic of the Day

The holly bush that sits at the bottom of our deck steps. Lovely to look at, but the leaves will rip you up.