With these two sticks

My mother gave me a gorgeous Bohus sweater kit for Christmas way back in 2007. I've been afraid to touch it ever since so I decided to pick up a small hat kit to see if I was ever going to be ready to tackle the "real thing."

After about two months in the stash, the draw of knitting in the round on teeny tiny needles was too much to resist. I decided to pull it out and begin working on it.

Although this photo is a little out of date, here's what it looks like so far.


And here's a mandatory picture of the wrong side.


I've managed to make it through 55 of the 65 colour work rows for the body of the hat. I think that I should be able to finish the knitting later this week. Then all that will be left is about 80 different ends to weave in. The only downside is that I promised myself I wouldn't pick up another knitting project until I make it through some of my other Summer of Craft goals. Therein lies the real challenge.

Fly By

The last few weeks have given new meaning to the phrase "flying by on the seat of your pants".

I've picked up a lace bug and knit these:

Montego Bay in Handmaiden Sea Silk

Swallowtail Shawl from IK.

I've frogged and made progress on Autumn Rose:

I flexed my first-time quilter's muscle to make a baby blanket for a close friend.

Finished the Ice Cream Socks (Cat Bordhi's Cedar Master Pattern)

I've gone to Hawaii to see sand, lava, and sunsets.

Made it back from Las Vegas (sorry no photos of that one).

Finished my original contract at work and received an extension.

Packed my bags for Italy.

*phew*

Sunny Days

The winter sun is one of my favourite things. It brings the hope of spring as rivulets of melt water forage paths through the winter grime, crisscrossing the sidewalks at every turn. There is something about a sun-filled winter sky that invites us to look up from our cold-fighting winter hunch, press our shoulders down away from our ears, acknowledge our fellow city dweller, and take notice how beautiful our snow covered city really is.

Another gift from the winter sun is wonderful light for FO shots. I managed to finish up Kusha Kusha over the weekend.

This scarf only used up one cone of the Silk Stainless yarn and one and a smidge skeins of the cashmere. It didn't felt quite as much as I had thought it might but I have a deep and passionate love for the resulting fabric. The scarf is so light and airy, weighing only just over an ounce. Thanks to the superfine and supersoft cashmere it's surprisingly warm (warm enough that I'm standing outside in a t-shirt in February).

And next up some long long overdue Tilted Duster photos. Although not apparent in these photos, if I take the time to make a few adjustments this sweater will actually stay completely closed. Something that is a very welcome surprise.

Norah Gaughan's Tilted Duster
Yarn: Berocco Peruvia in Granada
Amount: 7.05 skeins (could have made it with 7)
Size: 36" bust on my 35" bust so one inch of positive ease
Started: August 2007
Finished: January 2008

This sweater was started in August, finished in October and received buttons in January. The Berocco Peruvia yarn I used, as called for in the pattern, is lovely but perhaps not ideal for a sweater such as this. After wearing it twice the sweater has already started to pill significantly on the inside of the rear section.

If I were to knit this pattern again, I would adjust the amseye shaping to eliminate the small amount of bulk you can see in the above photo. Otherwise the pattern is genius. Another home run for the illustrious Norah Gaughan.

One last parting shot in honour of the winter sun.

Happy Tuesday!

Once upon a Super Bowl

Last Sunday I was talked into attending a Super Bowl party. Knowing that I lack the "enthusiasm for televised sports" gene, I decided to start a new project that would give me my own little dose of the fun. Enter the Tulip Baby Cardigan.

It's perfect. Fast, easy, pretty, lots of colour, and nice yarn. I've had this kit in my stash since last spring. Now that I have more than a few close friends expecting it seems like a great time to knit it up.

Before falling off the metaphorical goal bandwagon, I managed to accomplish some long forgotten spinning.

The yarn is just over 140 yards of worsted 3-ply, made with 2 plies of Superwash merino top (these singles) and one ply of a merino tencel blend. There should be about a sweater's worth of yarn if I ever get finished. I'm not too sure about the colour since it is darker than I had originally anticipated. We'll see what happens after a bit of swatching before I make a firm decision either way.

Lucy is almost finished. I have about 16 more rows and a bit of neckband knitting to do. Then it's on to weaving in the dozens of ends, buying buttons, and grafting the underarm join shut.

I tried it on over the weekend and it seems a bit small. I think that a good blocking will give me a bit more room, especially since the yarn is superwash. Failing that, I suppose I'll have to cut back on the Mini Eggs.

Kusha Kusha also featured prominently this weekend and a fair amount of progress was made. I have just over a hundred more rows of stainless silk left to knit and it will be finished.

Love the way that this is turning out even if the slippery stainless silk rows are a bit of a pain to knit.

A week and some ago Nicole tagged me for the book MEME. Funny thing was that I had grabbed the book I was reading to see what my answer would before I realized that she had tagged me. Thanks Nicole!

The rules are as follows:

Go to the current book you are reading, on page 161, and copy down the 5th sentence:

“I can almost hear it.”

From Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb, otherwise known as my book club book for February.

Thank you for your comments on my last post. They made for a perfect re-entry.

Absentee Blogger Reporting for Duty

I can't believe that it's been nearly two months since my last post. Hopefully a few of you still stop by here from time to time. December and January have been a total blur. Between working 15 hour days, the holidays, and the constant game of catch-up that seems to be my life at the moment I've had limited time and energy to do much of anything.

Perhaps the most shocking part of being unreasonably busy is that it has sucked almost every creative thought from my brain, leaving me with absolutely no desire to knit.

I have managed to accomplish a few things since the last update. Instead of trying to break everything up into a series of posts I decided it would be easier to just dump everything off the camera into one post so that I can start fresh.

November was a month of rampant startitis.

There was the Flower Basket Shawl (since frogged with plans to make some sort of lace scarf).

The Ice Cream version of a pair of Cat Bordhi's socks knit in some Vesper sock yarn that's been waiting to be called into action.

And, the Endpaper Mitts that were finished over the holidays.

These were knit using some Sweet Georgia sock yarn I had in the stash. I am still amazed by the fact that these only used about half of a 50g skein in each colour. Do you think I could get away with making a pair of Anemoi Mitts with the leftovers?

December was all about partially complete emergency gift knitting.

A Garter Stitch Scarf, made with some Berroco Ultra Alpaca for the significant other's sister.

The Mason-Dixon Washcloth from some really nice cotton for my mom who is always searching for the softest washcloth known to man.

And a pair of Broadripple Socks for my Great Aunt who taught me to knit, still not finished. I'm using some Cascade Fixation that was hand dyed by Laura Chau of Cosmicpluto Knits! love the colours but I'm still not used to knitting with the Fixation. Luckily the recipient understands the pressures of deadline knitting.

January has been a month of resolutions.

With just under a sleeve and a yoke to go, I'm nearly finished the Lucy cardigan I started sometime last year (updated pics to come). I like it but I am ready to be finished now that the end is in sight.

I finally got around to sewing the buttons I bought in October on my Tilted Duster (still no FO photos).

A close-up of the button prettiness. I think it's swell.

Happily, I managed to swatch for the Central Park Hoodie I started thinking about a ways back.

My very first Nancy Bush socks finally jumped on the needles. I love easy-peasy stripey socks. These are such a great knit that I was halfway through the heel flap of the first sock before I acknowledged that they were never going to fit me. They are headed to the frog pond for a do-over in the not-so-distant future.

And I decided to frog the Autumn Rose sleeve I plan to reknit it using a different technique to change colours since all the ends that need weaving are already getting me down.

So what's new with you?

Double Pointed

The only knitting happening here is being accomplished with DPNs. I am obsessed with small projects that are knit in the round. Every pair of DPNs I own under 3.25 mm have something on the go. I'm guessing that this is the result of the more of less nomadic lifestyle that's been following me and the recent change from fall to winter temperatures.

I never actually summed up my total count for UFOctober. Suffice to say that I didn't reach my goals and that, a month later, I am still working towards finishing up a couple of them.

One of those unfinished stragglers as it were are the lovely Spiralling Coriolis socks. The first one is finished and I'm working on the gusset increases for the second. Judging from my general lack of love for the SSK, I would suspect that these will follow me home for the holidays...

These socks fit well once you finally get them on but mine are quite the struggle to pull on and off. The coriolis band really affects the stretch of the fabric and it requires a lot of maneuvering to pull it on over my heel. If you decide to give these lovelies a try I would suggest trying them on regularly to minimize disappointment.

In keeping with the unbridled startitis that has taken my stash and swift by storm (more on that later). I've already got my next socks from Cat's book picked out. I've even gopher-ed the perfect skein of self-striping yarn from the stash and wound into a tasty tasty yarn cake. The only thing keeping me from casting on is my lack of available sock needles. Although I refuse to facilitate the insanity by buying yet another set of needles, I have considered frogging other socks in progress just to steal the needles. It's crazy, I know.

To compensate, I've cast on for not two but four new projects...none of which are my obligatory gift knitting. To minimize the shock (mine not yours), I'm only introducing two of the new kids today.

First up is Norah Gaughan's, creator of the Sand Dollar Pullover, Spiral Scarf in Noro Silk Garden. This is the first and largest of 12 hexagons that will eventually turn into a finished scarf.


And then there was the knee-jerk reaction to my freezing cold office: Eunny Jang's Endpaper Mitts, knit with Sweet Georgia's amazing Superwash Sock yarn. I love these colours, even if they are similar to the ones Eunny originally chose. The first mitt is finished aside from the tubular bind-off that I have to re-try when I have a few moments in front of my computer.

The last new thing I want to mention today is the newly implemented Trim the Stash initiative here in the knitter household for the coming months. I've decided that I need to cut back on the amount of yarn that follows me home from the LYS. I love every single skein that I own and I'm tired of feeling overwhelmed with beautiful yarn that wants to become beautiful things.

I'm not interested in resolving not to buy anymore yarn for a certain period of time. Yarn and fiber inspire me and digging through the bins at my LYS is part of what I love about the process of bringing a project to life. Since I refuse to give up buying any new yarn I'm hoping to acquire less yarn than I knit up. I've gone through and cataloged all of the yarn in my stash (you can check out most of it on Ravelry if you're interested) and I'm instituting a chequebook system for stash management. Over the next year, I hope to cut the stash down by about 12%. If I knit about four balls of yarn less than I buy every month I shouldn't have any problem reaching that total.

In the interest of accountability, I have posted a current tally of my stash in the sidebar. I'm starting with 411 balls of yarn coming in at a whopping 92,953 yards and 28,977 grams of yarn (a.k.a 63 pounds). I'll update the totals whenever I use or acquire new yarny friends and you can feel free to heckle me when the numbers start getting out of hand.

Spinning content is forthcoming...as soon as I can find my camera, my wheel and some natural light in the same place at the same time.

Random Order

I have exactly six days before my licensing exams begin. Suffice to say that there are many learning objectives that have yet to be met. As my stress level slowly mounts and my available knitting/spinning time continues to dwindle, I find myself seeking some form of fibery life balance (try explaining that to a non-knitter).

Enter a relatively new niddy noddy and our heroine quickly finds herself measuring, re-skeining and tagging much of the leftover yarn in her stash.

I'm not sure what was more therapeutic: the tactile experience of manipulating the yarn, squishing and sniffing each new hank after it came off the niddy noddy; or the flexing of a metaphoric organizational control muscle with each "changed" bit of yarn as it was systematically classified and labelled.

Although I'm very diligent in all of the "mandatory" areas of my life, I'm not a colour coded sock drawer or labelled spice rack kind of gal. To be perfectly honest, about half the socks in my sock drawer are not even folded into pairs. I love frantically digging around every morning while trying to find two that match. It's refreshing to have some of the more insignificant aspects of my life be a little less regimented. It's almost like my own private social rebellion.

This quirk is what makes my organizational response to stress especially disorienting. I have no idea why a quick cupboard reorganization makes me feel like anything is possible.

On the knitting front, I managed to finish this while spending 8-hours in an under ventilated room listening to people with three years of legal education ask "What is probation?"

Project Specs: Fancy Fisherman's Cap (my own pattern)
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Swirl Chunky in Vera
Amount: 1 hank
Left over: About half
Needles: US 11 Circs

I saw a picture of a similar cap in a fashion magazine way back in October and finally decided to try a little intuitive knitting with some yarn I had marinating in the stash. While cruising around the Internet today I found a free pattern that is very similar to what I did here (it's called "The Republic" on the right-hand side if you scroll down). My version uses fewer stitches around, fewer garter stitch rows and less length before starting the crown decreases (although I didn't actually take any notes - bad habit, I know).

I also managed to find this absolutely perfect button at my LYS. Here's a close-up to capture my enthusiasm.

As per your wonderful feedback on the silk tank, I have decided to go ahead with the v-neck once I get a chance to work through the necessary math. The first sock-in-a-day sock is nearing completion as it patiently waits for a toe (scheduled for tomorrow when I bring it to part 3 of 8 of "When bad air circulation happens to good people" a.k.a. the licensing exam prep course I'm taking).

I can't wait to survive these exams and get back to knitting. I have so many great ideas running around my head that I can't wait to share!

First

My very first fair-isle. It's a little bumpy, and doesn't have much give but it's mine and I love it! Here's a photo of the first mitt in progress.

I've been drooling over Eunny's Venezia pullover from the Winter issue of Interweave Knits since she gave us the first sneak peak on her blog.

Seeing as how I still haven't finished a sweater project (details on why to come), have never done stranded colour-work, and start to hyperventilate when a pattern calls for little needles (except socks) it was clear that a warm-up project was in order. These mitts were perfect since they are small (both in size and in yarn investment), require fair-isle, and use Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift (the same yarn called for in Venezia).

Here is the front just short of the halfway mark.

And the finished product, nicely posed with a napping dog (click for larger):

Project Specs: Norwegian Mittens
Yarn: Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift in Nighthawk and Granite

Amount: 1 skein in each colour

Left over: a wee bit of each colour
Needles: US 3 DPNs
Size: To fit a woman's hand
Started: February 2007
Completed: March 2007

The yarn seemed a little scratchy after being knit up but blocking has turned it into a soft and uniform fabric. I didn't make any modifications to the pattern but next time I knit these I will be sure to make the thumb a few rows longer for a better fit.

I've also been working on some spinning that is moving slowly. Details tomorrow

Ooops...

Six weeks since my last post! It is shocking how quickly time flies. Good news is that although there hasn't been much time for blogging, there has been loads of time for knitting. That means that I should (fingers crossed) be able to start posting on a regular basis again.

First up, I thought I should show you some of the stuff I've been working on for Project Spectrum before April comes along and the colours change on me.

I was inspired by this to make this.

The above photo is taken pre-blocking and this next one was taken post-blocking. It still amazes me how much of a difference a simple dip in the sink makes with most yarns.

Project Specs: Lady Detective Hat (Knit 2 Together) - many mods

Yarn: Malabrigo (100% merino) in the Indigo colourway (double-stranded)

Amount: 1 hank

Needles: US 11 (8.00 mm) Denise needles

Size: To fit a woman's head

Left over: none

Started: January 2007

Completed: February 2007

I made many of the same modifications mentioned here. In addition to those I also eliminated the purl ridge at the end of the crown and shortened the depth of the hat.

Now back to my Sand Dollar Pullover. Details on that next time.

Belated FF (sort of)

One...two...skip a few...I meant to post this last week but I went home and my parents only have dial-up. Good news is that in two weeks there has been much in the way of finishing. Most notable is the shawl for my grandmother. Perfect timing since her birthday is today and this month's Project Spectrum colours are blue, grey, and white. The shawl ended up being comfortably large, making it the perfect chill chaser. Most exciting is the fact that I ended up using all but two yards of the yarn I'd spun.

Here's a photo of (most of) the completed shawl. If you look closely you can see my toes, included for scale. I'm really pleased with the way the striping worked out. I wasn't sure what to expect from the finished yarn since this was my first real spinning project.

Project Specs:
Evelyn A. Clark's Leaf Lace Shawl.
Needles: US 9 Denise
Yarn: 623 yards of my handspun
Started: October 2006
Finished: February 1, 2007

Here's a better photo of the pattern detail after the shawl had been unpinned and worn. I love the tweediness of the yarn. The colours are truer here.

One final look.

Onwards.

Finishing Fridays

Long time no post. The last few weeks haven't given me much knitting time. I started this blog to motivate me to shrink the stash. I started off with 67 projects, 14 of which were on the needles. The stats at this point are not looking promising. I have 75 projects in total, 13 in progress. Clearly the original plan was flawed. To deal with this and to compensate for my general avoidance of completing finishing work, I am instituting Finishing Fridays. This means that every Friday I have to do some sort of finishing: whether it's sewing buttons, weaving in ends, sewing seams or whatever else needs to get done.

This Friday's accomplishments:

The plying for grandma's shawl is finished. Here's a blurry closeup.

And the finished product (with a standard pair of scissors included for scale):

Many hours of spinning has left me with about 625 yards of two-ply, light worsted yarn. I've started to swatch for the shawl and so far it's knitting up beautifully. The thrill of knitting my handspun has yet to wear off.

I also knitted Calorimetry using the wool/silk I spun up last month. What a great project! A quick day of knitting and I ended up with this:

I love the way the colours in the yarn interacted with this pattern, moving from light on the edges to dark in the middle. Lots of people have posted about the finished product being too big. I opted not to modify the pattern and am very pleased with how it turned out. There is enough fabric to cover most of my head without being unnecessarily large. It is the perfect thing to help me through the cold snap we've been having the last week or so. Here is a closeup of one of the buttons I sewed on today to finish this project up.

Last but not least, I made the felted tote from One Skein. Another quick knit, made from Lamb's Pride Bulky in a colour called Wild Violet (a little darker than in this picture). I finally got around to weaving in the ends and doing the seaming. Next it's into the washer for a quick felt, hopefully I'll get that done when I go home next weekend.

Now it's off to stand in line at the Lululemon warehouse sale.