Showing posts with label hedera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hedera. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Oh, the joy of an FO!

365_100 I don't think it took me this long to finish the first pair of socks I ever knit. These are worth the wait though. I put them on the second I finished, and I haven't taken them off yet. The yarn is very soft and warm, and I love looking down at my feet and seeing that sweet little lace pattern.

As I said before, these socks are fraternal (though in this picture, the difference isn't so obvious). I'm not sure what I was thinking about when I set up the heel stitches of the first sock, but I had fewer stitches for the bottom of the sock, and an off-center lace pattern. You know what, though? I really like the first sock. There's a twisted column of stitches between each lace panel, and in the wonky sock, one of those columns goes up the center of my foot. This means less distortion in the lace panels. If I ever make these again, I'll have to remember my mistake.

IMG_2934.JPG Work continues on the Slimline Jacket. I keep having to pause in my knitting to rub the finished fabric against my cheek. The boucle makes the most interesting texture, and the fiber is so soft! I can not wait to wear this sweater. I'm almost up to the armhole shaping on the back, and felt a little rush when I realized that I'm more than halfway through with the largest piece of the sweater!

So now I'm picking through the basket, basically deciding between socks and mittens. I'm waiting anxiously for the Spring issue of Interweave Knits! I am most excited for Stefanie Japel's sweater, the yellow wrap sweater on the cover, and Grumperina's socks (she has a closeup photo on her blog).

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Today's color is blue!

IMG_2893.JPG I love the color blue, it's my favorite, but I don't knit with it much. Right now, I have two blue projects going! The first, of course, is Hedera. Only a few inches to go, and I'll be wearing some new socks! This will need to be the first pair in a long line this year. After a chat with Amy the other day regarding sock yarn, I went and counted my sock yarn stash. I have more than I thought. I have enough for twenty-six pairs of socks, which is a little intimidating, frankly. It was just so easy to pick up a skein here, a couple of balls there, and throw them in their little basket. Luckily, I have my eye on a few patterns from Knitty, as well as a couple of pattern books with only sock patterns. Good thing I'm crazy about socks right now!

IMG_2869.JPG Speaking of Amy, she saved my Astrakhan this weekend. I was so excited when I checked the mail on Saturday and found Out of Town by Debbie Bliss. Amy had pointed out the Slimline Jacket, and offered to lend me the book. I was so excited that I, for one second, considered canceling my trip to Grandma's to cast on. Naturally, Grandma won, but you'd better believe I casted on the second I got home! I didn't make much progress, and even though I took a photo, it's only about an inch, so I don't think it's worthy of showing yet. I made great progress today, pretty well finishing one ball of yarn. I love the fabric, and I can't wait to wear this sweater!

It feels so good to be jumping into a big project again!

Monday, January 15, 2007

Motivation!

Ladies and gentlemen, I am on fire! I feel very motivated by my decision to knit through the basket. So motivated that I went ahead and pulled out an ancient project (this puppy is at least three years old).


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This is one of the first pairs of socks I ever made, and the first pair ever to spring a hole. Not that this sock sprang a hole recently. This sock has been sitting in this state for about a year now, with the hole inadequately patched with some bastardization of darning. After reading Claudia's Blog from the tenth, the answer to this holey question came to me. In photo two, you can see the result of my epiphany. I frogged past the hole. Of course, I lost some yarn (surprisingly little), but I think a bit of a tiger toe will be funky. Unfortunately, I got rid of all the rest of this yarn since I detested it. It's very hairy and sticky, and it was a nightmare to knit. Frogging was also difficult, as these socks were worn often and hard (did I mention that these are my boyfriend's?), and the ball of the foot area was quite felted (the heel is completely felted). All of that aside, I am so excited to fix this sock! My boyfriend will be excited, and it won't be hanging over my conscience anymore.

IMG_2789.JPG The green sock is not the only resurrected project. I've also dug out the yarn for Hedera #2. I'm past the heel, and should be done soon! One snag... my Hedera will be fraternal twins. I somehow screwed up the heel placement on the first sock, which I didn't even realize until I was working this one. Anyway, since I don't wear socks with sandals, no one will see the feet portions, and I can live with the occasional glimpse of imperfection.

I've set aside the Astrakhan (again) in anticipation of a new pattern. More on that when I have it in my hot little hands. Lastly, most of the yarn pictured in my basket last time seemed easily recognizable, but the green sock yarn had a couple of people asking questions. The yarn is Austermann Step. I'm very curious about how this is going to knit up, and am currently lookign at different patterns. I'm definitely leaning toward another pair of Jaywalkers!

Saturday, November 11, 2006

I can't think of a title today.

IMG_1976.JPGI realized the other day that I'd forgotten to show off my single completed Hedera. Last weekend, I finally decided to pick it up and make the toe already. It feels very comfortable on, and looks pretty (I'm glad I decided to do a few extra repeats on the leg, though), but I'm still in no rush to make the second sock. I like Knitpicks Gloss very much, and I can't wait until they introduce more colors. I'd love to have some in a brighter blue, a true red, a leaf green and maybe even some pastels. Heck, even plain white and black would do. This yarn would make wonderful, practical booties and baby hats, but I like to use more fun colors for babies.

IMG_1979.JPG Works continues on the toe-up socks. I finished the heel this morning, and felt a thrill when I realized I had a foot! The realization that I now have to make an entire leg in 2x2 rib let me down somewhat, but it's really not so bad. At least it's fairly mindless. The only problem with the sock project was the color of the yarn. We were having gray skies around here all last week, and coming home to gray project was sapping my strength.

IMG_1981.JPGSo, I found the best antidote my stash had to offer, Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Flames. I'm not going to reveal what this project is yet, just because it looks like it will be interesting to reveal at the end. Let me say, though. This project is not exactly mindless. I had to create a spreadsheet to keep track of it, and almost cried when my computer had a tantrum and shut itself off, erasing my (foolishly unsaved) work. I guess I know what I'll be doing tonight!

In non-knitting news, I whole heatedly recommend this recipe. It's a pork tenderloin with pomegranate sauce, and it is unbelievably delicious. I have to note my surprise that every recipe from Gourmet magazine each month is available for free on the Epicurious site. Why the hell have I been buying the magazine?

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Malaise

IMG_1711My knitting lately has been bor-ing. To me, anyway. Dude, I have second sock syndrome... and I've yet to finish the first sock. It's not the pattern, the pattern is fun! It's not the yarn, the yarn is delicious and soft. I think it's just the fact that I've been looking at this sock for way. too. long. I'm about one repeat away from doing the toe on this one, and I'm struggling to even get myself interested in that. I will endeavor to do so, though, and then immediately cast on for a new pair of socks. I think after a break, I'll be ready for Hedera again.

IMG_1709In other news, a friend asked me to recreate a hat given to her last winter for her baby. Naturally, he needs a bigger hat this winter. The hardest part was finding appropriate yarn (she wanted something that matched as closely as possible to the last hat). I suspected that the old hat was made with craft store yarn (I detected acrylic content... cheap acrylic), so after hitting a couple of local shops, I hit up Michael's and found Patons SWS, which is a wool/soy blend. It's an interesting yarn to knit, it reminds me of mohair fleece that I've seen. It has a nice shine, and is reasonably soft. I like the drape, too! She wanted a kind of slouchy hat, and I think that yarn will deliver. Also, please note the needles. I have a small weakness for Inox needles, and will always buy a set on sale, even though I have pretty much every size I need. I broke these open because my other US8 double points were being used on the Christmas Stocking (more on that later, over half finished!), and was horrified to discover that they're plastic. I've never used plastic needles before, and was sure I'd hate them (I'm a metalhead). Surprise! I like them! I don't love them, by any means, but I won't give them away.

I picked up my yarn today for a bitchin' bag, along with a skein of this really terrific orange/yellow sock yarn. It'll be the perfect antidote to cold, dreary days.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Slowly but Surely

IMG_1617.JPG I've been making decent progress on Hedera and the scarf. I'm starting to remember why I'm not really a scarf person. They seem to take ages, and don't change much. But this one sure is pretty. One of the shades of Kureyon I'm using is very bright, and the other is more subdued. So far, they seem to mirror the first two colors I used somewhat in intensity. It's getting very cold here, Saturday I wished I had this scarf finished already! Speaking of cold and needing accessories, have you seen these yet? These are the armwarmers I was going to design myself, and they will be mine! I'm especially excited by the prospect of trying out Debbie Bliss' Pure Silk.
IMG_1614.JPG I'm onto the foot on Hedera. I was feeling pretty pleased myself, when I realized that I have another to knit after this one. Aside from my very first pair of socks, this might be longest sock project I've worked on. I know it's because of the break, but it still feels long. Luckily, I still love the yarn, and I still love the pattern! I am also completely enamored of Wendy's short row heel from her toe-up sock pattern. It's incredibly well-written, and gave me such clearly defined wraps, I almost felt magical. Next up: try a pair of toe up socks! I have some sock yarn I want to use to make socks for my boyfriend, but I don't know how long the leg will be able to be.

Thanks to Tammy for her donation to the Memory Walk! I really appreciate it, Tammy. Thanks!

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Bad Bunnies Are Still Cute Bunnies

A crime against knitting has been committed. The details are pretty gruesome. Those with weak constitutions should avert their eyes from the following images.


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I have my suspicions of course, as to the identity of the guilty party, but no one's coming forward. Well, one party did seem to be beginning the stages of confession, but it turned out she was just after a treat. IMG_1466

I'm looking at this as an opportunity, rather than a setback. I now have the perfect excuse to knit Avast instead!

There is other, non-criminal knitting news. I'm safe to knit again! So I have actual works in progress photos to share! I'm halfway through the heel on Hedera #1, and almost ready to change colors on my Kureyon scarf. I'm a little concerned about my Kureyon scarf. The colors I chose to begin are pretty staid and conservative. They stay within the same three colors or so, just changing shading. For my second half, I chose Kureyon that has a lot more color changes, but still a lot of red. I guess the only way to see what'll happen is to knit it! Hopefully it'll work out. It's been getting steadily colder here, and I am in need of some winter accessories!
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Monday, September 11, 2006

Doctor's orders? I prefer "suggestions."

I went to my doctor last week about some pain I was having in my hand. Diagnosis? Tendonitis from overuse. She asked me what sort of things I did, and I held out until the very last possible second when she asked if I had any hobbies before revealing that I am a knitter. She suggested I lay off the kitting for two or three weeks.
Uh, yeah. Sure.
My first stop after the doctor's office was to my local knitting mecca, where I drowned my sorrow in the yellow yarn I showed you last week, as well as some Noro for a scarf, some more US1 dpns, a shawl pattern for my Granny, and some Handeze Gloves.

Because you didn't really think I'd give up that easily, do you?

While I was at Halcyon, I saw some really great stuff that was a little more than I was looking to spend that day. That does not mean I am exempt from tempting you! How about a giant cone of DK weight wool/silk? Or an equally giant cone of wool/silk lace weight? Cashmere is always nice... but so is silk. Okay, okay! Enough enabling.

The gloves really do help, but I've been trying to keep my knitting in half hour intervals. Where I used to spend about three hours a night (type: knight) knitting, I now get in about one hour. A couple of nights, I haven't knit at all! It's sheer torture, but we just got a PS2, so that's been easing the pain a little. Since I haven't bene knitting much, I don't have much to show you. I started a Kureyon scarf, but there was a problem when I tried to upload the photo to Flickr. All I have to show you is my progress on Hedera:


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Sad, isn't it? But I do love the pattern, and love the yarn, so it's just as well that they're slow going.


One last thing... when I was looking for the Hedera pattern, I couldn't help but notice that the new knitty is up!

Sunday, September 03, 2006

Lemons

Well, it turns out that the glove I turned into a sock really wasn't working out for a sock. The leg was fine, but when I made the heel (my best one yet!), there weren't enough stitches to make a proper one. I considered trying to size the foot for a child, but selfishness won out. I want that yarn on my feet! Here it is on its way to the frog pond:


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I'm thinking I'm going to use the yarn for Hedera by Cookie A. The more I see that sock, the more I like it.


My pain does not end there, though! I casted on for a Christmas stocking last weekend. It's a pattern I've made before, so I didn't think much of working on it while I visited with a friend and taught her how to make cables. Turns out that you really need to pay attention to those letter charts. I made two O's instead of an O and a B. Oops.


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I don't think I'll need to rip this all the way back, just to the beginning of the chart. I tried to drop the stitches and pick them back up correctly in fair isle pattern. Yeah... it didn't quite work out. But I gave it a shot!