Finishing projects a go-go

I've been weaving in ends to, seemingly, no end. It has been been quite cold here and I had a passel of unfinished scarves and decided to finish them off so that I could give them to a friend who knows someone who works with the homeless.

Here in all of their finishedness are the five scarves. The two light blue ones were started and finished this week out of Lion Brand Homespun that I had left from an afghan I made for someone (2 skeins x 185 yard each! I don't think I will finish my mile, but I'm being quite productive trying). The electric blue one is every bit as bright as it appears. I think I bought the yarn on sale after Christmas last year. It is fun fur. The striped one is Paton's Soy Stripes. I loved the way this yarn felt in my hands working with it and I liked the stripes (see next picture) but this skein had two knots and one join. To me, in one skein, that seems like it should have ended up in a seconds pile somewhere. Not sure I would buy it again unless I heard from others that this is an anomaly in quality. The neutral scarf is an oldie I had a around that needed ends woven in. It is also Homespun. Just simple double crochets.



This is a picture of what I am working on now. It is a simple broken ribbing stitch (on a multiple of 4+3 K2 P2 to last three stitches which are K2 P1). I saw it it Crazy Aunt Purl's website and found some Lion Brand Suede in the stash and decided to go for it. It is certainly soft. Hopefully I will also finish this in time to distribute with the others.

Still hoping to do some blocking soon...

Scarves (what a suprise) and a purchase

In my quest to be a better knitter, I finally purchased some supplies that could take my skills up a notch. I HATE blocking and decided that perhaps with the proper tools, I wouldn't be so averse to this project.

If you tilt your head to the side (I will learn how to blog properly...I will learn how to blog properly...), you can see that I purchased a lovely wire blocking set as well as a blocking cover and sock blockers. You'll notice, of course, that they aren't out of their packaging but I have finished the japanese vines scarf and hope to block it tomorrow between football games. I don't know how to use the wires yet so I'll be doing a bit of research on that.

Look at me go. I figured out how to rotate this picture. I am WAY too lazy tonight to go back and fix the other one but this one is best seen right side up. This one is also made with two skeins of Baby Alpaca Grande by Plymouth. (110 yards per skein which moves me forward nicely in my quest to knit a mile) I crafted this for a very wonderful friend (since 9th grade which has been a longer time than I will admit to a blog)who is now embarking on a wonderful adventure to (fortunately for her, her friend the knitter) a very cold place. You'll note the pattern is the same as the one I made for DH for Christmas. Every stich was made with love, positive thoughts and best wished for a grand time. Bon Voyage, Deanne. You will be missed but I am so excited for you.

This is Russell. My DH maintains that there is a very strong link between knitting blogs and cats. Who am I to rail against the norm? Russell watched me take a couple of pictures and then said hey, I need to be in a picture and, more importantly, somewhere where you can see me. He is a darling pound kitty who is usually quite content to bother the other pets and leave knitting along.



This is another scarf I finished this week. It is, indeed, black and orange and to be honest, I am not sure how this came into my stash. I hope that I bought this when a friend got a job at a school whose colors are black and orange. I honestly don't like the way this came out. Too Halloweenish. The yarn was Maggi Knits, MK Colection, Mohair Loop (136 yarns). I did a cast on of 15 and made the whole thing in garter stitch. It was a hassle to work with though wonderfully soft. I think this one will end up being a gift for someone.

So in my quest to knit a mile I am currently at 150 for the Japanese Vine scarf (that only accounts for what I knit after the challenge started), 220 for the Baby Alpaca Grande and 136 for the boucle mohair for a total of 506 yards. I think I can make it. The two football games tomorrow should help.

Japanese Vines

I've been working hard on a scarf called Japanese Vines by Michelle Molis. I bought the pattern about two weeks ago and I've been strangely monogamous with this project since then.

I have about 30 inches done so far and that is with a fair amount of ripping back. I finally started installing a safety line every time I finished with fifteen rows. I am still doing that even though I am a bit more comfortable with the pattern now. I am not quite sure why it is going so quickly. I think that it is a combination of the fact that I have had some extra time with the holidays when I am not working and also that this is the only think I have been working on.



Here is a closer shot of the stitch work. I haven't done lacework in the past so I am looking forward to seeing this "post-block." Prior to my buying-knitting-stuff-moratorium I ordered blocking wires so I can't wait to get this done and put those to use. I am making this with Cherry Tree Hill Supersock solids. My one fear is that my gauge is too loose but I figured it wasn't totally critical since it is a scarf. I just hope after all my work that the vines actually show up.

Christmas Knitting

I only knit one thing for Christmas this year and I still ended up finishing it on Christmas Eve. What is it about knitting and Christmas deadlines?

I knit this out of Misti Alpaca (such great yarn) Chunky using a pattern I bought at Close Knit in Portland. They had a shop sample of the scarf knit with something else. I am always a a sucker for a pattern that has a sample knit up. I started knitting it as soon as I came back from the yarn shop and my husband mentioned that he really liked it so I said he could have it. The cable detail didn't show to the extent that I would have liked so I bought more Misti in a lighter color to make it again for myself. It hasn't been blocked in the photos.


I photographed it outside because it snowed here Christmas morning as we opened gifts. I NEVER remember that happening before. Admittedly, it doesn't snow much her anytime so it isn't that big of a suprise but it was pretty cool to see those flakes. Nothing accumulated on the ground but it was fun and pretty during the short time it lasted. When I see it in these photos and then I think about what I have seen on weather news it seems rather pathetic but still...it was OUR Christmas morning snow no matter how lame it looks now.

I am working on a cool scarf right now. It is making me crazy and I don't have it with me to photograph in progress but I am loving/hating it alternately.

Knitting resolutions: Knit a mile of stash between January 5 and February 19 (a ravelry challenge). Do something with fair isle (mittens, I think). No new yarn until at least April. Must knit from stash. Yeah, right.

Long time, no blog

I've had some knitting and travelling fun since I last blogged but haven't gotten around to this. We'll see if this is something I'll keep up or not.

So here's the latest.

This is a picture of a sock I was working on when I visited the Getty Museum in LA this summer. It is in Panda Cotton, a simple rib knit sock. They are finished now and very comfy to wear. I resisted knitting socks for eons. Then I started and became terribly addicted. I thought "Why would I knit something to be hidden in shoes?" Answer: Buy Mary Janes to show off socks.

This is a scarf I made for a very good friend's birthday in August. It is silk with the bead prestrung on the yarn. I did a simple feather and fan. I really loved working with the fiber and enjoyed the pattern.
This is yarn that I bought at Knot Another Hat in Hood River, Oregon, while we were visiting there with a friend from Florida. The shop is absolutely worth a visit if you are ever there and it has the best views I've ever seen in a yarn shop. It was a lovely day. I haven't done anything with the yarn yet but stashed it. It will be socks eventually.
These are some things I picked up at a yarn store in Salem, Oregon at a shop whose name now eludes me. It was a lovely little shop. I spent the day hiking with friends at Silver Falls State Park and then bought yarn. Not much can be betterI had wanted a color wheel for a while. I still can't figure out how to use it. The pink silk I knitted into a feather and fan. .
By far the best yarn store/yarn experience I had all year was visiting Quarter Stitch in New Orleans. I hadn't been to NO since college and obviously, it has changed significantly. The French Quarter is largely unscathed and this lovely yarn store was between my hotel and the Cafe du Monde where we walked for breakfast every day. Though we only had one free day, I managed to spend a fair amount of it in this shop. Another knitter was travelling with me and she loved this shop as much as I did. I didn't even photograph my purchases (they wrap everything up like presents) but suffice it to say that the yarns, the shopkeepers and the setting were superlative in every way. The following pictures give you just a little taste.


These are the aforementioned panda cotton socks completed and on my happy feet.
This is a "mancho" that I made for my husband. We laughed about it when we saw the pattern but then he said, "It DOES look pretty cozy" and, as he is always cold in winter, the mancho was born. He never wears it out of the house and does enjoy it. This is actually crocheted. Bulky wool and a lot of it.

My knitting resolutions are to knit a mile of yarn between January 5th and February 5th (this is part of a web challenge), to decrease my stash and to finish Timothy's cardigan that I cast on a year and a half ago. It is completely done except for the joining and finishing. I also want to complete at least one lace project.

Maybe I'll blog too. Maybe not. If I do, I promise I'll work on layout and links.

Dallas, the yarn harlot and zero FOs

Blogging may not turn out to be for me...I have missed almost a month already.

I visited a WONDERFUL yarn shop when I was in Dallas. The Shabby Sheep couldn't be any cuter or better stocked and Ronda and Sue are absolutely as friendly as they could be. I needed to call for directions and they were very inviting (and gave good directions...an important detail!) and were even nicer once I go to the store. Incidentally, he store had some great fibers too. If you are even in Dallas, this store is a must see.

You can see the lovely sock yarns I found. I had never seen the Life Style sock yarns before and I can't wait to see these knitted up (in both colorways!). As soon as I have a spare moment, I will be working on these. I also thought the Luna Park bright colors were great. The scarf pin was a special treat for myself. I've wanted one for a long time and really liked this one a lot. And the blue Monte Carlo: it shall be a scarf. I just realized I bought yarn from France, Italy and Germany in Dallas. It was a more cosmopolitan trip than I realized.

On a more local level, I purchased several skeins of alpaca/silk from a local spinner at a local farmer's market. With no project in mind for this wonderful softness, I am afraid it may linger in the stash for a while. My cat finds it irresistible and promptly carried it away as I was photographing it. He is, apparently, an enemy to alpaca everywhere.

Finally, in the same "so much for knitting from the stash" vein, I purchased some nice cotton and bamboo yarn at Close Knit in Portland. These will be my next cast on socks. I thought they would be fun for summer travels.






On Friday, I went to hear Stephanie Pearl-McPhee speak at Powell's bookstore in Portland. A friend came from Seattle to hear her and we had a lovely evening. She was hilarious, her sweater really was green and there was such an amazing sense of community sitting with knitters and crocheters and laughing together in a way that only people who truly understand can do. She has an amazing message about the way we downplay our art too. She links to many bloggers on her posting about the site who can do the evening more justice than I can. I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures of the event.

As for current works in project, I am working on a large crocheted (I know, "Knitterchatter," but I do both when the need arises) afghan for a friend who will be moving into a new home at the end of the month. Luckily it has been cool and rainy here so it isn't bad working on this. I am watching funny movies as I work on it to build in as much happy mojo as possible. It is an easy pattern so it doesn't require a lot of focus. After that it will be a pink scarf for a past colleague recently diagnosed with breast cancer and then on to the socks.

I have a bit of vacation coming up and besides sleep, knitting is my number one objective. Can't wait.

Scarf on! and a magnficent gift

I'm headed out of town tomorrow for a conference and I hope to visit a yarn store during my off hours but it is about 45 minutes from the conference hotel so it may blow my yarn budget to go.

I've just finished the first of a pair of socks and a scarf. When in doubt, when stressed, when bored or when I need a mindless project I always revert to scarves. Scarf on! has the interest for me that Fish on! has for a sportsman or woman. Something about scarves pleases me. I gave nine away to office staffers this year as I convert much of my stash throughout the year into scarves. This particular one looks like fun fur but is a much softer Plymouth 100% nylon version whose name I forget. It is incredibly soft; much more so that its fun fur brethren. The sock, whose mate is going to be made at least in part on this trip to Dallas, is made of Patons Kroy with the pattern that came with the yarn. Nothing too exciting here at the moment.



The magnificent gift of the title is photographed below. My wonderful friend Michelle made me these beautiful fingerless gloves. They are of an otherworldly soft silk in the most beautiful cornflower blue which is not done justice by the photo. My only claim on these is that I reintroduced Michelle to knitting on a trip to Santa Fe a few years ago. These are amazing and I am humbled by her skill and very very grateful because I know how much work goes into something as wonderful as this.



Off I go. To learn and hopefully catch a few knits and purls along the way.