Finished Objects & WIPs

I just realized that with work being so busy I hadn't gotten around to posting pics of some finished objects!

Work has been kinda crazed. I had a work conference in March/April so it means I was away for a week. So that always throws things off. On top of that, the time leading up to conference and the time after are busy. So this got lost in the shuffle. I am hoping that most of the post conference work is wrapped up so I can post more regularly again.

I did take pics of a baby sweater I made for my nephew and his wife (It isn't as weird as it sounds. He is mid 30s.) But I didn't seem to email them to myself. So I don't have them to post yet. Maybe Monday.

Though I swear I have been knitting! Here are some pics to prove it.

Woven Ridge Socks for DH

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Cast On:
March 6 2009

Completed:
March 22 2009

Pattern:
Woven Ridge Socks by Cat Bordhi
from New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One
http://www.amazon.com/New-Pathways-Sock-Knitters-Book/dp/0970886969

Made for:
My hubby Paul - 9 1/2" smallest point, 10" long

Needles:
US 1 / 2.25 mm Knitpicks Options & Harmony - 2 socks on 2 circs

Yarn:
Spirit Trail Fiberworks "Helen" ~ 100% Superwash Merino Yarn
~ 400 yards
Colorway - Harbor Fog
Purchased from The Loopy Ewe http://www.theloopyewe.com/


I decided I wanted to do a Cat Bordhi pattern for the March Sock Knitters Anonymous KAL. I hadn’t done one of her patterns since my Coriolis socks a year ago.

I confess that I forgot just how much math was involved. The spreadsheet I have definitely helps. But I nearly made a huge error when I miscounted the number of stitches & thought something was very wrong. Luckily, I realized my miscalculation before I did anything bad.

But on the flip side, because so much of the pattern is stockinette, it goes really fast.

I added some ribbing to the back side of the sock so it will have a better fit. I find that all stockinette legs have a tendency to slide down too easily.

The weird thing is that I goofed on the Woven Ridge pattern. I don’t know why. But after I finished the heels, I thought I remembered the pattern as it is really simple. But I goofed. I slipped the stitches without bringing the yarn forward. *sigh* It was about 2" into it before I realized the mistake. I asked my husband if he wanted me to rip back. He said it was okay. So I just switched back to the correct stitch. So there is the correct stitch on the foot, then the wrong one, then the correct one again. It almost looks like it could have been intentional.

My hubby is thrilled I made him socks. *grin* This is his second pair. They are definitely his colors. He really loves them.


Works in Progress

I have two real works in progress. I say real because I still have a purse that has been sitting around since before Xmas that needs a button & maybe some lining. It is for a friend I haven't seen since October. I hope to see her. And when I do I will finish it.

One is the long time alpaca sweater. It is from the yarn I bought at Rhinebeck in 2007. I finally cast it on in Sept. 2008 so I could justify buying more yarn at Rhinebeck. *laugh* The sleeves are done as well as about 6-8" of the body. Though I gained weight since I started it. So I am still debating what I will do with it. Given I am doing it in pieces, I can create panels at the sides to add in if I need it. I still pick it up now and again.

Also, I have a pair of Gothic Temptress socks on my needles. The Sock Knitters Anonymous KAL for April is underappreciated patterns or knee highs. This actually fits into both categories.

The pattern is free on Ravelry:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/gothic-temptress

It doesn't seem to be available elsewhere.

I have the feet and about 3-4" of the leg done so far. Again, lots of stockinette so they are going pretty quickly. I definitely like them. Simple but pretty.

Here is a pic of the one's made for the pattern:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8089512@N02/2960378155/in/photostream/

I am spinning too. I try to do a little each weekday morning before work. I find it calms me and sorta helps me focus for the day.

I was working on the luscious merino/cashmere/silk blend that winderwoodfarm.etsy.com made especially for me. It is yummy.
http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=13566446

But I needed a break. It spins super thin and thus takes a long time to spin. I have about 3-4 of 10 oz. spun into a single.

I got this beautiful batt called That Old Black Magic from butterflygirldesigns.etsy.com. So I decided it needed to go on the wheel. It is superwash merino/bamboo blend. So it has a lovely sheen. It is only 3.7 oz. So it shouldn't take as long to spin. But I have found I need to pause when I am spinning. There are nubs that didn't seem to get blended. I probably should have just done more of an art yarn with it. But it is sooo lovely. Black & purple. My kind of colors. I do like spinning it though. It just takes a bit longer than I had anticipated.

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=14510202

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She seems to sell these batts now and again. She also has occasionally had similar colors in sock yarn which I need too.

I am still in love with my Babe wheel. It definitely is a great little work horse. I picked up 4 more bobbins for it so I can switch around things if I want to put something else on my wheel.

I have to confess however that I do want to try out some wheels when I go to Maryland Sheep & Wool. I wanted to try wheels at Rhinebeck. But I didn't actually try any. So heaven knows I might not at MD either. But we shall see. *evil grin*

So I am ending this now so that I will actually post it today! *grin*

Hopefully, it won't be so long before the next post.

Scarf for Paul

I wanted a super simple project to knit at a Memorial Day weekend BBQ. Paul and I were going to see some of his college friends. And last year I found by having knitting in my hands I snacked a whole lot less than I had in the past.

I really wanted something that would feature the yarn I bought at Unique Designs by Kathy. But I knew it wasn't enough to make a scarf for my husband. And he liked the yarn.

I decided to make a scarf for him by adding another yarn.

I figured the handspun would really be best featured by something simple. I decided to just go with garter stitch. Super simple for knitting for chatting and easy to drop in the middle of a row if needed.

I cast on 80 stitches on the size 4 needles. However, after a few rows it was turning out 12" wide. My husband's ideal scarf width it 8-9". So I ripped it out and cast on 60. That gave me around 9" which is good.

When I added the Bernat Cashmere Blend, I knit one, then knit 2 together. This way I decreased to 40 stitch to get it around the same width. It isn't perfectly even but I think I can block it and the two areas should look pretty even.

I am doing a basketweave stitch pattern for the body of the scarf. I handed Paul my first scarf which is a sampler scarf and told him to pick the pattern he liked. I find the basketweave is very simple. I am doing k4, p4 for 5 rows & then p4, k4 for 5. That way it seems to come out roughly square.

I think it should look good and I think he might wear it. Though again, I wanted to make a heavier scarf for him. As the other one I made for him is cotton. But he only wears it when it gets really cold. And for him, that is 20 below! *sigh* But the Bernat Cashmere is actually mostly acrylic. It is only 5% cashmere. So it won't really be any warmer. But honestly, that might be better for him as he might wear it more. *laugh*

Daaaaammmmmmnnnnnn!

Daaaaaammmmmnnnnnnn! *in my best impersonation of Jim Broadbent as Prince Albert* (Name that reference without IMDB. *grin*)

I have been having a lot of fun with Chore Wars as my 'party' is the one set up by Lime & Violet. So I can enter knitting stuff and level my character. Yes. It is ubergeeky. And I love it. *laugh*

So I went to enter my evening knitting on Friday. I want to show Paul as a fellow geek. I am entering some stuff. He looks. All is fine. Then I enter another hour of knitting. Then Paul looks again. What does he see? My lunch time knitting which says "Sock for the hubbin for Xmas".

Daaaaammmmmnnn...

So he knows I am knitting him socks. *pout* I am not even sure I will finish these for Xmas. I really thought I would be further along as I bought the yarn in June... But I only have an inch done of the cuff. Long saga but there has been a bunch of things that slowed me down (including a lot of frogging).

Mostly I have only been knitting them once a week at my WW meeting so there is only about 15-30 minutes of knitting a week. I kinda figured I would have to start taking them on the train during the week to get them done if there were going to be finished for Xmas. *sigh*

But now he knows. *pout* Told him he may not get them this xmas. Of course, he is saying I should just give them to him for his birthday so I can bring it home! *laugh*

I still am not sure he will actually like it. The colors are right, blues & greys. Ideal colors for him. But he says he doesn't wear striped socks. I got the Opal Rainforest Frog from simplysockyarn.com. Also, he is always warm so wool is probably not a great solution either. *pout*

Ah well. He knows. So I guess I gotta get my tush in gear on these.

*grumblegrowl*