Current WIP and a Magazine Review

It's amazing, if you want to have a blog that people read, you need to put out content. So, my goal is to try and put up a post per week, but as has already been seen by my previous track record, I'm really not good at keeping goals.

For now, lets get into a pretty.

This is a (as the Knitmore Girls say) a knitting attack. I got this yarn in November as a birthday present. It is Regia Fluromania, but I don't have the numbers right now as the ball band is at home.

I started these socks as soon as I got it, which is the sock at the top. These were going to be Bavarian socks from the Vogue Sock Knitting book (which I also don't have with me...). I'm glad I decided to try it on before I got too far into it, because due to the cable and twisted stitches I should have bumped up my needles a size or two. It's just a bit too small to fit over my heel.

So I pulled the needles out of it, and started another sock from the other side of the ball. The new sock is the one on the bottom, and it is the Mile High Club socks, which currently fit wonderfully and the cable pattern is beautiful and interesting enough to keep my attention.

I've just turned the heel (and did an Eye of Partridge Heel for the first time) and am no working on the gusset. I'm going to try my hand at Kitchenering again, when I get to it, I've been doing toe up socks for years due to my previous hatred of Kitchener stitch, but realized that my sewn bind of that I've been doing is basically a half Kitchener. So I'm sucking it up and trying my hand at it again.

In my last post I had a shot of the current version of Interweave Knits, and I've decided to give it a review. IK is one of my favourite knitting magazines, and is the only one I have a subscription to. I tend to wear them down with repeated readings and quite often go through them 4-5 times in the first week before I see everything.

In this case it's a good thing, because my first time through I really wasn't impressed.

Now then, step one to me getting an IK is to flip to the back page. My favourite part of any edition is the Ravelings story at the back. This time was no exception! I loved reading Mary Jane Mucklestone's story, and am surprised that I'd not yet heard of Helene Magnusson (sorry for lack of accents, my computer is being stupid). For me, these little tales are worth the price of admission for any IK.

The product reviews, mill tour, and yarn comparison are all lovely, but let's face it, it's the patterns that are the good stuff.

Section Hike

When I first flipped through this group of patterns I was really 'meh', mainly, I think, because I'm not big on head bands and kerchiefs and such.

Going through it again, I found myself drawn to the Highlands Headband and Figure 8 Head Scarf. Though the Figure 8 I most likely wouldn't wear as intended.

The Olympia Headband isn't for me, it's cute though, and I might make one for someone else. The Berkshires Band is definitely my favourite of the head things. I'd probably make it in wool and wear it in winter.

The Appalachian Thermal is cute, but not one I'm likely to knit, mainly due to the seed stitch.

The Bartram Vest is going in my queue, it's cute, has simple looks, and all in one construction is really something that catches my eye. The zipper is the only drawback for me personally, but that's because I'm horrible at installing zippers.

The Mount Robson Pullover is a definite 'to make' for my husband. It's the perfect type of sweater for him, I just have to find the right wool (as in, one that doesn't have mohair and make him break out into a rash).

Wild Bouquet

This section had a lot more that caught my eye, in fact the only ones I know for a fact that I won't knit are the Clove Hitch Tee (I don't like the off the shoulders style), and the Dianthus Cardigan, due to the different lengths between fronts and backs, though I do like the look of the stitch pattern and may edit the pattern to level out the hem if I find the right yarn.

The hat and two shawls are lovely. I really do enjoy knitting shawls, though my friends and loved ones tell me I look old lady-ish when wearing them.

The Wildflower Bolero is an instant fav, and possibly a good way to use up single balls of yarn by alternating stripes rather than using a self striping yarn.

Local Colour

The first time I flipped through this section, the three patterns didn't really do anything for me, but on second and third viewing, they have grown on me. While none of the sweaters would be appropriate for work, I can tell you they would get a lot of wear at home. They all look incredibly comfortable, and while I would likely choose different colours, are all sweaters I would be grabbing for instead of my hoodies.

Home & Hearth

I may have already pulled out the yarn and needles for the Cottage Baby Blanket (though I've not cast on yet as I want to finish my socks first). I'm not pregnant, but I am starting to knit baby things to put in a hope chest (because hopefully in the next few years). This blanket is definitely one I'm making for the chest. I'm not sure I have enough of the white yarn to do the whole blanket, but I think the edging is one I can easily do in another colour and still have it look nice.

The I-cord pot holders are interesting, but not really something I would make.

Overall, while my first impression wasn't the greatest, I've now come to find a number of projects that I would love to make and wear. I still have yet to get a copy of IK that I haven't enjoyed thoroughly.

The Stitching goes on

Good morning,

Not much to write about today, I've finished the body on my bulky sweater, have the toe done on my socks, need to get started on the herringbone pattern for them, and got the hat done on my penguin.

And have pictures of none of it. The husband took my iPod last night and didn't put it back in my purse.

Luckily, I have a stash of cute cat pictures to draw from, so have a picture of Peari being queen of the castle.

The Rules of the Wall of Shame

As with this blog, I've come to the realization that in order for me to actually go through the wall of shame and complete it, I must give myself guidelines. Therefore, the rules.

1. I am not allowed to buy yarn for any new project until everything on the wall of shame is completed or frogged. The exception to this is yarn for socks for my Grandpa. I can buy yarn if it is to finish a wall of shame project, because otherwise it would be redundant.

2. I am only allowed to work on one WoS project during the week. I must choose the project, put it in my bag, and that is it! I am not allowed to hopscotch around the projects because then I'll fall back into my usual trap and nothing will get done. Once a WoS project is off the needles (doesn't need to be blocked), I can then go to the pile and grab another one.

3. In addition to the WoS project, I am allowed to have 2 other projects on the go, the first is a simple project that doesn't require a pattern, because sometimes my laptop's dead, or I just can't focus on a difficult pattern. Having a pair of vanilla, or close to vanilla, socks on the needles will allow me to continue to knit no matte the circumstances. I'm also allowed to work on a single cross stitch pattern. I'm not going to have a million UFO's for cross stitch (yet). So I have to keep it to small, fun designs.

4. On the weekends I'm allowed to pick up this monstrosity and add to its bulk.

Peari decided to help me show off it's size.

This is a sock yarn blanket based off of Shelly Kang's blankie. It's going to be big enough to fit on my queen sized bed. It's currently at the proper width, but needs a lot more squares to reach it's proper height. This will take me a while, but is rather too bulky to take with me everywhere. So I'm going to work on it on Fridays at knit club, and then possibly on the weekends at home, if I'm at home. I'll do Monday blankie updates I think.

This past weekend I only added about 3 small squares, but I was teaching someone to knit, and I was only home for a couple of hours in the morning on Saturday and Sunday each, so cut me a little slack.

The current WoS project is this difficult to see pile of ribbing.

This started life as a baby blanket for a boy. I originally thought that the yarn was gold with lovely maroons and burgundies, but when I brought it out into real light I realized it was rather more pink and violet than what I thought, so not so good for a young lad. However, I had been smart enough to make it fairly wide, and folding it in half allowed it to become a sweater for me! I'm almost done with the body, then it's just a matter of knitting up the sleeves, and once again I'm a bit worries about the amount of yarn I have.

Are you noticing a theme?

My cross stitch project is the penguin card from The World of Cross Stitch magazine.

I started with the white and sand colours. I learned a while ago (the hard way) that when doing small projects like this, it's often a good idea to start with the lightest colours, or your whites get all muddled by the other colours. Right now it's fairly boring, but with luck I can get some more colour into it so the next time I show you it will be pretty.

So that's that, hopefully I can continue the FO brigade of the WoS and soon have some pretty stash acquisitions to show you.

A finished Holden

The name of this shawl has made me smile since I started it, because I have a nephew named Holden, and he's what I've been thinking about while I've knit this.

So yesterday I got home and had exactly 30 minutes before having to head out to the symphony (side note, my husband knows the assistant conductor, but didn't realize that until he was introduced, pretty wicked cool!). So with that I decided to block out my Holden Shawlette (which I would almost call a shawl because it's big) and my Grandpa's socks.

The socks gave me a bit of a heart attack because when I pulled them out of the water it felt like they'd grown 10 times, but they seem to be fine this morning.

These are just regular toe up socks with a heel flap, the pattern can be found on wendyknits.net under her free patterns. I was expecting the water to have a lot more blue than it had, but at least I know they're mostly rinsed out. I can honestly say I probably won't use Sockittome again. It's lovely and soft, but it's a single ply loose spun yarn, and it split all over the place while I was knitting. The worst part was during the bind off of the second sock when I all of a sudden had the yarn completely separate. Luckily I was able to spit splice it back together, but still, it was a big moment of panic. 

This is very unfortunate because I love the colours in this yarn. I really don't think these would wear well on feet that walked around a lot, which is why they're perfect for Grandpa.

Anyway, on to the real reason you're here. Holden.

Here he is having a nice rest on the futon after he'd had his bath.

(I had to stand on a chest/coffee table we have in order to take this picture.)

And here he is on his first trip out of the house.

This was made out of Noro Kureyon Sock, which is another yarn that I love to hate. I love the colours, so long as there aren't any knots in it.

This would have been done quicker if I hadn't made so many rookie mistakes on the feather and fan area. I really enjoyed making this, and the long area of stocking stitch was perfect to show off the rainbow colours of the yarn, and the lace area was just enough to give a bit of interest without being muddled by the variegation.

It's nice and warm, and after a dip in the wool wash, it's softened up nicely and I think it will be a wonderful scarf/shawl for winter.

The Sock Groweth

Lame title I know, but it made me laugh when I thought of it.

I have 10 more rows to knit on my Grandpa's blue socks, and then the 10 rows of ribbing and the sewn cast off and they're done!

Usually that would me I could present them to him and he would put them on immediately (he's like that). Unfortunately, I noticed something interesting as I was knitting the latest dark blue patch, my fingers have become blue!

So I will have to wash these socks prior to giving them to Grandpa to make sure that his feet don't turn blue.

After I'm done this (which should be in about an hour), I will be starting to sew some embroidery floss into the spring thaw shawl so that I can pull it back and then put the edge on it.

I'm slowly working my way through some UFO's, we'll see what happens with other projects I find.

Do you ever get that Sinking Feeling?

Yesterday I was searching through my house, I had a skirt that I wanted to wear and I was determined to find it. I never did.

But I did find all my embroidery floss! No Aida fabric yet, but at least I have the floss.

In my search I came across a large bag filled with unfinished knitting projects. Ones that I had been working on prior to a baby shower I held in May, some of which, I don't even remember what they were.

That's when I got my sinking feeling, because that's when I started tallying up the UFO's I know I have and adding the ones I forgot about.

I think my next little while is going to be going through all my UFO's and either finishing them up, or frogging them.

I have my Holden Shawlette which is getting closer to being done, but still boring knitting to show you, I have the Spring Thaw Shawl that I'm letting sit for a bit because it needs some first aid, and I've decided to grab these socks that I had on the needles for my Grandpa.

This is Sockittome from Estelle Yarns in colour 52606. I really love this yarn, it is so soft and the colour transitions are beautiful and long. I don't know how well it will wear, but my Grandpa doesn't do a lot of walking.

Grandpa is diabetic and he has heart problems so his circulation isn't the greatest. He loves my knit wool socks though! I usually have a pair on the needles for him. These would have been done months ago if they hadn't ended up in a bag stuffed in a room so that my house looked somewhat presentable for family.

I'm going to keep these in my bag as simple knitting, stuff that doesn't need a pattern. They're easy toe up socks based off of Wendyknits standard pattern with a heel flap worked in reverse. I love this pattern because I don't have to worry about stitching up the toe, and I can just knit until I'm done my yarn on the cuffs.

This weekend I'm hoping to go through my house and round up all my yarn, projects, and the like and bring them down to my living room. Then I'm going to sort them out and get everything put neatly into my new crafting wardrobe. I'll probably have a section for UFO's which I'll be drawing from for the next while.

I'm hoping to have a bunch of finished knitted stuff to show you in the near future, so stay tuned.

Old Stuff - 5 favourite things I've knit

The problem with me and blogging, or starting a new hobby of any sort really, is burnout. I had to stop my self at least 5 times last night from logging on and posting something here. I had ideas like crazy, but I know that if I don't hold back, I'll run out very quickly.

However, in addition to holding back from posting a ridiculous amount, I also forgot to put my pictures online, so we're going back in time so I can talk about my list of favourite things I've knit.

So here is my top five.

Number 5:

The wee Hello Kitty sweater. I made this back in 2003 when I was getting back into knitting. I love Hello Kitty and there was a lovely KAL going on for this sweater. However it was designed for a 3 year old, and the only 3 year old I knew was out in Northern Ireland, and that's where it ended up. This was my first attempt at Intarsia and I'm really proud of how this sweater turned out.

Number 4:

The Doctor Who Scarf. This was knit at the request of a friend. All 11.5 feet of mind numbing garter stitch. However it did turn out beautifully and now that it's been almost a decade I'm actually considering making one for myself. It helps that I've been pulled into the Doctor Who fandom as well.

Number 3:

Swan Lake shawl. This was a first for me, first Mystery KAL, first Beaded knit, first lace weight shawl (everything else had been made in fingering), first major blocking, first knitting internet drama. Anyone who made this during the Mystery KAL will probably remember the drama surrounding it when we were about halfway through. Anyway, this massive shawl turned out beautifully and went to go live with my friend in Italy who's online handle was Swan. I'm very proud of this knit, and it's another one on my list to make for me.

Number 2:

These were just fun. They're Arrrrr-gyles, and were made as a Christmas present for a friend in Singapore. We all were part of an online game called Puzzle Pirates, and when we decided to trade Christmas gifts, these were just perfect for her. It also helps that she has the world's littlest feet.

Number 1:

This sweater requires a bit of explanation. The first picture is my brother at 4, wearing a sweater that my Grandmother had made him. Many years later, he unearthed this picture and posted it on his Facebook stating that he would "totally wear this sweater if I could find it again". Knowing that the sweater wouldn't fit him, but that I could recreate it, off I went. The colours aren't exact, and there was a good amount of figuring necessary to make an adult sized sweater for him. But it worked out and he enjoyed wearing it a couple of times.

So that's my favourite things I've knit. I just realized that most of them are well traveled and overseas, and that none of them ended up with me. Maybe in a few years I will actually decide to keep some of my favourite knits, but for now, I'll just enjoy the fun of seeing others enjoy them.