Friday, November 07, 2003

 

Friday!

(Just like Amy if I can't think of a title--the day will have to do!)

I didn't work on the socks last night because I really wanted to get to the armholes of the vest. Well, I got there and then proceeded to mess up the SSP decreases so I had to rip out about 10 rows and start again. That'll teach me to shirk knitting I need to do. I did a few rows to get it right and then called it a night. There's no picture because the light is low today and the piece is really curling up so you wouldn't be able to see the armholes anyway.

I did sneak in a bit of knitting this morning and I'm up to the heel on the sock:

It took the whole length of the foot to get to a colour repeat, which is rather long as this is a man's size 10 1/2 sock. I do like the colour though, bright but still manly. Not that I care what colour a man wears, but I know many men do!

In blogging news, I decided to stick with this template. Many of you like this one better and say the colours make it easier to read, and quite frankly I don't feel like messing around with it right now. I'm really close to finishing my chapter and I need to concentrate on that. I do want to make a yarn diet button though since a bunch of you want to join along. My first attempt (at making any blog button) went horribly--it was unreadable when it shrank down--so I'll try this weekend (unless someone with more computer skills than me wished to volunteer).

9:08 AM

Thursday, November 06, 2003

 

Almost at the weekend

And thank goodness for that! I'm tired. The kids are waking up far, far too early (like 5:30am). Especially when I don't have enough sense to go to bed earlier (I didn't want to miss Law & Order). It's going to be a tough day at the computer.

But, all that staying-up time meant I finished the first cable motif on the Lovely Lavold vest.

I took the picture outside so the colour is pretty accurate. It was easier than I thought to do the cable and now I have a long expanse of easy knitting before the armhole shaping and the next swirly cable.

Tonight will likely involve sock knitting though since I'm seeing my friend tomorrow and want to get her approval on the sock. The pattern in this yarn are still a mystery, I almost done the foot and haven't seen a pattern repeat yet.

9:16 AM

Wednesday, November 05, 2003

 

Lovin' it

The Lovely Lavold vest is coming along nicely. It's a lot of fun to knit, and I can actually see how the cables need to be formed which means I'm not a total slave to the charts. It's a bit hard to photograph because the yarn has subtle colour changes, and it is pea-soup foggy today, but here it is:

I tried to focus on the back centre cable, the edges are just reverse stockinette stitch.

And the letter-carrier came bearing gifts yesterday:

This was purchased before my yarn diet. It's rowanspun dk in lavendar, and it was originally destined to be the Lovely Lavold vest. I decided the colour doesn't work with my wardrobe as a vest, but would make a great sweater so I ordered a few more from Sheila a great e-bay seller. Her yarn is nicely priced and it always arrive very quickly--less than five days from the west coast to central Canada. The yarn will likely become a Retro Preppy--though I'm still deciding between the cardi or the pullover. Amy just finished one in the same colour--which is where I got the idea.

Finally, I'm toying with the idea of a template change. I set up another blog to try it out. Have a look and let me know which one you prefer.I'm mostly worried I'll screw up the change over--I hate spending too much time on blogging--I would so rather be knitting.

10:30 AM

Tuesday, November 04, 2003

 

Starting Frenzy

Well, not a frenzy, but I did start 2 projects yesterday. One was my first pair of commissioned socks and I really like how the colours are emerging.

And, after I scaled mount laundry and got the kids to bed, I dove into the Lovely Lavold vest (my rename of Culdesac). I had a bit of trouble with the lifted increase instructions, but I think I have them figured out (the directions in the magazine were really unclear) and the results are rather nice:

Sorry for the not-great picture, it's so dark and rainy here I have to use the flash which washes out the photo.

I think the subtle colour changes in the yarn make this vest a little more casual/rustic than the original, but I love the colour and the pattern is a nice challenge. There's lots to think about for the cables, but also lots of reverse stockinette for a break.

I also resolved to take a yarn diet for a while. Must be paying my huge tuition bill or the fact that I'm surrounded by yarn. I have lots of projects to keep me busy all winter. So I hereby resolve to not purchase yarn until the new year (at least). I have some stuff in transit, but there will be no more. I'll have to cut back on my blog reading, because that's how all the enabling happens!

7:29 AM

Monday, November 03, 2003

 

Finishing Frenzy

Woohoo! I finished the scarf!!!! It was a pleasure to knit up those last skulls. I had the pattern pretty much memorized and they flew off the needles. I wasn't super pleased with it at first, but after a good steaming and addition of the fringe I love it! The birthday-boy better like it or I'm keeping it. He's a bit of a curmudgeon so I'm never sure how he'll react. As long as he appreciates the sentiment (that is the my time and effort) I'll be happy. Here it is. Doesn't it look great on me?:

So, what did I learn?
1. Scarves in the round with dk weight yarn take a long long time. But the Wool Gatto was soft and nice to work with.
2. I can do fair-isle and I actually like it. This project really helped me master two-handed knitting. I might even try a sweater sometime.
3. The length of the scarf started getting in my way and I had to stop fairly often and untwist it--it really became a big pain in the butt.
4. It's fun to design your own things--I'm getting more confident with my abilities (big thanks to Wendy for her fair-isle help and Stef for the skull picture that I used for my fair-isle bits).

And, I finished my Opal Mexico socks. They're keeping my feet warm right now:

So, what's next you ask? I'm swatching the araucania nature wool to start Culdesac and it's a lovely looking yarn. There are subtle colour changes throughout the skein (something to do with the dying process) that give a nice dimension to the fabric. I think I might get gauge the first shot too. I'll likely dive into this tonight. And I'll be starting my first pair of commissioned socks using Scheepjes Invicta Coloris in colour 1702 which patterns in stripes in fair-isle bands. I have no idea what this will look like, but it has the brightness my friend asked for. This is what I love about self-patterning socks--a bit of mystery.

9:30 AM