Pretty

The family arrived yesterday to attend my convocation (later this afternoon). When my mother showed up, she brought me a parcel that I've been eagerly anticipating. It's the prize Nicole sent me from her Birthday Blog Bash, and can I just say yum, yum, yum!

I am in love with those stitch markers! They are delicate and beautiful. The yarn is KnitPicks sock yarn in a colourway called Cape Cod. It's so smooshy and colours are lovely together, I can't help but bury my face in it every now and then. The other half agrees since he's already decided that the yarn is destined to become "socks he can wear to work". Thank you Nicole, I am touched by your generosity.

In other knitting news, these last few days have also seen the end of Chart 3 on the Icarus front. The calculator says that I'm 77.7% of the way through this beast. The rows are starting to drag a little so it will likely be a few more weeks until this beauty comes off the needles.

On the (neglected) spinning front, the wheel and I have made up after a long hiatus. This is the (almost-full) first of two bobbins of singles. I can't decide if I should ply this bobbin now or spin up the second bobbin of singles first. I'm really excited to see the end result, but am also afraid that I won't be able to keep things consistent if I stop now.

Lucy is also progressing. Part of me is starting to worry that I'll run out of yarn since my row gauge is slightly off. To compensate, I've irrationally starting knitting one of the sleeves to get a better sense of how much yarn those will eat up.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Diamonds

Boy are these little diamonds ever addictive! The pattern is pretty and very easy to memorize. I'm loving the worsted weight yarn and the lack of YOs. It's nice to have something completely different from Icarus for a little while.

Hopefully I'll make it through the rest of the body later this week so I can get a move on the sleeves. For now, however, I'm off to rekindle a relationship with my neglected wheel.

Blobfest

Surprise, surprise the blob is growing. One (and a bit) more chart done, and another one and (just under) a half repeats to go before I can move on to chart two.

As I'm sure you know, I love, love, love the colours in this yarn. The above colours are not entirely true. In actuality the colour shifts are a little more subtle since the lighter tones are richer than I can capture with the camera.

Every now and then as things start to pool here and there, I start to worry that once everything has been blocked the colours will fight against the lace pattern too much and obscure the elegant details of Miriam's beautiful design. Any thoughts?

Although it's been all Icarus all the time over here for the last week or so, I haven't yet turned into a project monogamist. Meet my Lucy in the Sky Cardigan. I started this beaut waaay back in early March. After some minor gauge issues, I decided that it was best to shove this on the backburner until the exam chaos had passed.

I really haven't touched this project at all since then, and am very much looking forward to something other than lace after I write on Thursday.

And lastly, here's a requisite photo of the pooch who is infatuated with his new toy. It has these octopus-type tails on it that he loves to shake by tossing his head around so that they slap him in the face. It amuses me to no end.

28.2%

After a long day of knitting I managed to make it through another repeat and a half of chart one. This puts the count at roughly 28.2% of the way through this bad boy according to the shawl progress calculator over at Rose-Kim knits.

The rows are definitely getting longer. The good news is that the pattern has become totally mindless, making it possible to take it everywhere and maximize my daily knitting time. It's shocking how obsessed I've become with getting through the first chart. The thought of having to look at a new part of the pattern is making me giddy with anticipation.

Hopefully today I can either put this down, or learn how to read corporate tax law while counting to 7. T-minus 2 days on the exam front...eep!

k2 tog, yo, k1...

I managed to make it through the second Chart 1 repeat this weekend despite there not being much time for knitting. There's been some light colour pooling every now and then but I really like the texture that it gives to the piece. I've never knit with pure silk before and am loving the feel of it as it runs through my fingers.

When I first decided to do Project Spectrum, I wasn't sure that I would be able to come up with anything "metallic" for this month's colour triad. The colour, sheen, and drape of this yarn manages to be an aging bronze without becoming the tinny gold metallic I was envisioning for this colour set.

I'm hoping to finish one pattern repeat per day. This might be a tad unrealistic since my final licensing exam is on Thursday. After that, it's just a hop, skip and month of summer school until I can finally make the jump from law student to student-at-law.

Icarus, meet world

Many weeks ago I became obsessed with some HandMaiden Lace Silk in the Bronze colourway while at the Downtown Knit Collective's Knitter's Frolic here in Toronto. As previously mentioned, I try minimize the small apartment clutter by not buying yarn just because it makes me a little weak in the knees.

The natural coping mechanism that has evolved out of this self-imposed limit has been to create loose justifications for my purchases. Since I had to make something with this yarn (especially since this colourway has been on the radar for the last year or so) I tried to come up with a lace weight pattern that might work well with a variegated yarn.

Enter Icarus, a pattern that I always loved but never thought I'd actually make, not being the shawl type and all (if there is such a thing). In case I still wasn't convinces, there just happened to be a copy of the Summer '06 Interweave mag to my immediate left in which to check the yarn requirements. Suffice to say I caved. But really, can you blame me? Just look at this yarn...

I tried to ignore its silky goodness for about two weeks while I worked to get a few projects off the needles. Eventually I broke and wound it into a ball, just to take the edge off a little.

After a day or so I decided to knit a few rows to see how it would work up. Just an innocent little swatch. Luckily before the whole thing could devolve into a full blown obsession, I took up residence in a nearby library while studying for my bar admissions exams (creating some much needed distance from the whole thing.)

I can hardly put it down since making through the first pattern repeat yesterday. Expect that this lovely will progress quickly.

A few stitches short...

Success! The cable has been found and the camera is cooperating once again. So here she is, the first of the Central Air socks from one of last year's Rockin' Sock Club kits (eep, and to think I still have two and a half pairs to go, clearly it'll be a while until I get to the new ones).

The fine ladies at Blue Moon sent me the yarn after my July club kit was lost then delayed. They also sent out an extra pattern in their September kit and I decided that the two would work nicely together. Many months later this is the result.

This sock turned into a bit of a knitting black hole just before the end of the leg and at some point during the foot. I knit, and knit, and knit and never gained any length. In the end it seems that I got a little carried away and it ended up being a smidge too big. Not enough that it's worth ripping out, but enough that I'll try and be more cautious with the next one.

I managed to start the second sock but let me tell you, it was tough, requiring much more will power than your average sock. I waited a very precarious three days before picking up the needles again. Perhaps I've contracted a mild case of SSS.

As much as I adore these socks, it's more than likely that they'll move to the back burner while I let Icarus rule my life for the time being. See what I mean about the startitis?

All things pink

Last Friday I decided to take some much needed time off from studying to attend the Yarn Harlot's Canadian book launch. In the sheer excitement of it all I completely forgot to take any pictures. Luckily, others were in better control of their faculties. The event was amazing! It was so nice to finally hear one of Stephanie's talks after having watched her blog about them these last few years.

While there, I did manage to finish the first of the Central Air socks (despite the clear ineptitude at simultaneously juggling a camera, knitting, and being awestruck by the knitter invasion). The photographic evidence of which is being held hostage by the camera until I can find it's friend, the USB cable. In the meantime, I've decided to distract you with the above. Better known as the fruits of my foray into the April/May Project Spectrum colour triad.

In making this collage, it became clear how pink-heavy things have been over here these past two months. I seem to collect yarn in colour waves. For a few months I'll find myself buying all pink yarns, then I'll move to all green or all blue yarns for a while. Most of the yarns that I've been mentioning lately came from a bit of a pink "slip and fall" I had last summer. It seems that the attraction to different colours at different times often mirrors my moods. It's an interesting way to be able to reflect and immortalize (through yarn) my differing emotional state.

Now that the first of my licencing examinations has passed, there's been a wicked case of startitis that has been spreading through the stash. There are about five active projects on the needles, all of which were started in the last month or so. Socks, tank tops, sweaters, and a burning desire to cast on for about 20 more. I'll introduce you to those once negotiations with the camera get underway.

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!

Cold Foot

Without further ado, here's how much sock knitting a girl can get done in one day while studying, flying, and unpacking.

Enough to make her proud but still leave her with some cold toes.

I'm hoping that I'll be able to get this sock finished before the end of the week so I can get started on its mate. The ultimate goal being to reduce the unwieldy collection of unused sock yarn in the stash (the opposite of what has actually been happening since my last update).

I'm thinking that I might commit to finishing two pairs of socks per month. This works out to one sock per week. It's feasible but a little ambitious considering I keep getting distracted by things like this (a.k.a. my first real attempt at designing anything from scratch).

Ignoring the polar bear pyjama pants, this charming tube is aspiring to become a airy tank top of some description to be used for summer layering (obviously to be worn with actual pants). I've already frogged the armholes about three times and have revised the original fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants design strategy as a result.

The original plan was to do a simple boat neck that would allow the silk to drape a little and add interest to the neck. Looking at this picture though, I'm tempted to plan in a V-neck instead. Any thoughts?

And on an unrelated note, I thought that I'd share some beautiful flowers that my mom sent to congratulate me for finding my first career-type job.

They definitely help brighten the otherwise dreary weather we've been having as of late and remind me that summer's just around the corner.

Ripples n' ribs

The last week and a bit has once again been a little iffy 'round the edges. Now that school's finished I've attempted to throw myself head-first into studying for the bar admissions exams I have to write in the next couple of weeks. This has meant daily 6-8 hour study sessions and little meaningful knitting time.

The few stolen moments I have managed to find led to this:

Project Specs: Kat Coyle’s Wave Skirt (Spring 2005 IK)
Yarn: Cotton Fleece in various colours (I’ll check if you’re interested)
Amount: 2 MC, and 4 CC skeins
Left over: Almost no MC but heaps of CC
Modifications: None

I've also managed to convince myself that I should join Liz's Sock in a Day Challenge (which you may still be able to sign up for if you email her and ask nicely). My chosen day is today. Here's how far I was when waiting for my luggage at the airport earlier this morning.

Although progress has been made, I think that it's safe to say that I will not finish this sock today. Luckily, the rules mention that I have up to 18 hours to finish the pretty. Here's a close-up of the lacy rib pattern stitch that I'm going to blame for slowing me down.

Wish me luck, or speed!

Sweater, what sweater?

Things have been very busy these past few days. I finished my last exam Wednesday morning, and have been trying to reconnect with neglected friends and get some knitting done before I had to start studying for the upcoming bar admissions exams.

With the help of my new favourite knitting gadget I managed to finish these while at the DKC's Knitter's Frolic (which was a blast if you ever get the chance to go).

Project Specs: Plain Ol' Socks (my own pattern)
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Lightweight Socks that Rock in Jewel of the Nile
Amount: 1 hank
Left over: 25 yards
Needles: 2.25 mm DPNs
Completed: May 1 2007
Modifications: Twisted rib cuff and eye of partridge heel

And one more pic because it amuses me greatly that the dog, who ignored me all day, wouldn't leave me alone once the camera came out (and somehow ended up in every pic that I took as a result).

Here's what else has been on the needles.

Any guesses? Details next time.

Reckoning

I don't like to think of myself as a yarn hoarder. A yarn aficionado, yes. One that is appreciative of all things woolly, yes. A hoarder, never!

That is why, during a fit of reorganization I found this to be especially troubling.

That is enough sock yarn to knit 34! pairs of socks. Sadly (or happily depending on how you see these things) this doesn't include the 4 skeins currently winging their way to me. This combined set of factors was enough to convince me it was time to consider picking up these again.

This sock is in its sixth incarnation. It started off as a plain toe-up. It then found life as a top-down jaywalker, which was later ripped to make way for a larger jaywalker. After some serious pooling, it became a sock of my own design. Problems with the design led to a sock with a clock/cable motif down the side and now it's been ripped back to once again become a plain old sock. The picture above is one taken during life #5, the clock phase, and thus is a little outdated.

I'm still not loving the plain sock but I've decided there's no fighting the yarn on this one. It if wants to be a plain sock, then and a plain sock it'll be.

Also, I've finished knitting and blocking all the pieces for the sand dollar pullover. More on that next time.

A sweater is born

No time to chat, but a few photos of the latest bit of knitted comfort (please excuse the self-portrait charm of these puppies). I present: the oft-resented, now loved new sweater.

Project Specs: Under the Hoodie (Stitch n' Bitch )
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted Merino in Geranio, Lettuce, and Cuarzo
Amount: 6 hanks of Geranio, 1 of Lettuce, and 1 of Cuarzo
Left over: enough to make about three hats worth (one in each colour)
Needles: US 7 straight and US 9 circ
Size: Small (36") to fit a 36" bust
Started: November 2005
Completed: April 2007
Modifications: I added some length to the body and sleeves. The rest follows the pattern pretty closely.

After a few wears, this sweater has proven to be a cosy (read: warm and distractingly soft) spring chill chaser. I was a little unsure about the colours at first, but now that it's finished I find them cheery and not at all overwhelming as I initially feared (I expect that the amount of excess fuchsia dye that bled from the MC is to blame for that concern). I'll admit that while tackling this project, I also had reservations about Malabrigo's tendency to pill. They remain unfounded since the sweater is holding up much better than expected (perhaps it's the tight gauge).

Time to throw myself back into the isolation cave (a.k.a. my apartment), where I will lead a sheltered and knit-free existence until I survive my first set of exams.

Have I mentioned...

I despise finishing. It takes the courage of 1,000 strong-willed knitters to force me to tackle any kind of finishing. I've always found this to be an odd personality trait given my general elation with both the finished product and the shorter to-do list.

Exhibit A: The malabrigo sweater

Nothing has better demonstrated my completion aversion than the malabrigo sweater.

The yarn for this project followed me home in November of 2005 as a birthday gift from my mother. I cast on immediately and didn't put it down until I had the whole sweater knit about 6 weeks later. After this initial affair, the whole thing was shoved into a dark corner of the stash for another 8 months (putting us comfortably in the month of August, for those that are keeping track). After a half-hearted attempt at setting the sleeves, it was again forgotten. Spurred on by the cool weather in late October, I struggled through half of the finishing then gave up until just now.

Spurred on by this month's project spectrum colours, I finally locked myself into a distraction-free zone and forced my way through the seaming last night (over a year after completing the knitting). Now there are ends to weave in and I feel my interest waning once again.

Exhibit B: The books

The additional evidence suggests that my aversion to finishing isn't knitting specific. It also taints my legal studies.

I am fortunate enough to be in the final semester of a twenty-year education. One would think that after a particularly gruelling three-year stint in law school, I would be raring to finish my studying and move on with my life. The pristine, above-pictured books suggest otherwise.

For better or for worse, one more week and I'll be through the worst of both.

Send strength.

Mail Call

I've been meaning to post this yarn for the last week and a half or so. It is the latest Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin' Sock Club shipment (there are still twenty spots left if you want to join). The colour is called Monsoon and comes with a really interesting reversible sock pattern.

Here's a better picture of the hank's colours that should give you an idea of how they'll blend together.

This is definitely not a colour that I would have chosen, but it's really starting to grow on me. I love the leafy green and muddy brown tones. It makes me want to grab a pair of rubber boots and go puddle jumping like I did as a child.

I'm hoping that I'll get moving on these socks in the next couple of weeks. It is unlikely since I already have a couple of pairs on the needles and am feeling compelled to finish at least one of those first.

Reflection

A quick photo essay of my February and March Project Spectrum projects.

Stay tuned for all that is planned for April and May's colours: green, yellow, and pink.

Spin City

Remember these rovings?

I've finally figured out what I'm going to do with the one of the left-hand side. It is a Lorna's Laces roving in the Seaside colourway. After seeing this waaaay back, I decided that this roving would be perfect stranded together with another merino/silk roving that still needs to be spun.

Here's what I've managed to accomplish so far on this project. Needless to say this is a long-term/post-exams sort of project.

Once this bobbin is full, I plan to Navajo ply it to shorten the colour changes and then get started on a second bobbin of singles.

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

A Hint of Spring

The weather here was gorgeous today. Everywhere you looked, jackets were undone, hats and mittens were discarded, and winter boots were replaced with summer shoes. In some ways it makes me sad to see winter go and with it the sheepy goodness of warm woolly layers and the beauty of fresh snow. On the other hand the warmer weather means balmy afternoons on patios, summer cottons and silks, and the start of Toronto's best outdoor festivals.

The change in the weather has also inspired me to pick up a project that was cast aside when the cold took over the city back in November. This is the beginning of the Sand Dollar Pullover from Norah Gaughan's amazingly inspiring book, Knitting Nature.

This is my first project from the book, but I have the yarn for at least three others when I finally get around to working on them.

I'm using Posh Yarn's Victoria which is a cotton/silk/cashmere blend in a colour called Lagoon (and is pretty accurate in the photo below). It is a bit splitty but is a dream to work with and blocks beautifully.

So far, I've made it through all of the pieces for the front and back, and am now working to finish the sleeves so I can block all the pieces and start seaming it up. I'm hoping to finish the sleeves in the next couple of weeks so I can get some wear out of this during the summer (if I can bring myself to get the seaming done).

Here's a close-up of the sand dollar part of the sweater. I've had to re-knit it three times so far and I'm still not positive that I'm happy with the way that it has turned out. I do love the way the leaf points meet to form a pentagon in the center. The construction of this garment is really stunning.

In other news, the postman finally brought a long awaited parcel that I can't wait to share with you...next time.