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Although this photo is a little out of date, here's what it looks like so far.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

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?

Dumb luck and snow

The humid chill gripping Toronto has finally managed to produce its first few snowflakes today. In an interesting parallel, I have also managed to produce a few snowflakes of my own.

Taadaa! A finished pair of Chrissy Gardiner's Snowflake Socks, from the Fall 2007 issue of Interweave Knits. I'm pretty amazed that these actually fit since I didn't do anything *right*. There were no swatches, no modifications, and no regard for anything that might impact fit.

These have been on the needles since late August but they really didn't require much actual knitting time and the result is warm and cozy enough to get even me into the holiday spirit six weeks early (it may have something to do with those stripy bottoms).

These puppies used just over 1 skein of the sportweight Louet Gems yarn that I had lying around in the main colour and just under one skein of the contrast colour.

Strangely enough, this is the first time that I've used stash yarn for something other than its originally intended purpose and I am very pleased with my cleverness. Better yet is the fact that I seem to have found the perfect project to use up that last little bit of the red yarn.

Don't you love when things just work out like that.

Wherefore art thou mojo?

For the last two weeks my knitting has felt unsettled. I pick up a project, knit a few rows, put it down, start a new project, buy some yarn, pick up a second project and repeat.

It is frustrating. The Tilted Duster is five, yes FIVE, rows from being finished. Sew up two seams, slap on some buttons and voila a FO. Still, I can't bring myself to do it. Every morning as I choose my commute knitting for the day I look at it, sigh and pick up something else.

I feel overwhelmed at the number of UFOs in the metaphorical knitting basket. Some days I'm not knitting at all.

In the past week I've done a dozen rows on MS3, started a sock from Cat Bordhi's new book, picked at my first Autumn Rose sleeve, completed two rows on a scarf that I abandoned shortly after casting on last winter, knit a few rows on the second Snowflake Sock and spun an ounce or two of fleece. Looking at it now the list seems long but there is no noticeable progress on any of my projects.

To try and shake the blahs, I've decided that it is time to prioritize and set some goals for October as a way to prove to myself that I'm making some headway on the ol' WIP list. As an added incentive I've decided to join the UFOctober KAL.

So which "monkeys" will I be getting off my back?

1) Mystery Stole 3 - Swan Lake
- After realizing that my gauge was going to yield more of an oversized scarf than an actual stole, I decided to knit the long version. This has set me back roughly one hundred rows. I hope to survive Clue 4 and get this project off the needles.

2) Snowflake Socks
- I've started the second one out of habit but it needs to get done. This month is the one.

3) Tilted Duster
- So little left, I should be able to get this done in the next twenty-some days.

4) Autumn Rose
- This is a long-term project. If I knit nothing else all month, I might be able to finish it. Given the length of this list it is probably more realistic to commit to finishing both sleeves by the end of the month.

5) Spiraling Coriolis Socks
- The first one is past the heel turn, the second is conceptual at this point. I should be able to finish these off in honour of Socktober.

And there you have it, a shove out of a rut. Wish me luck.

(Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends. Hopefully 9 hours on a train will provide me with some updated photos for you next week.)

Knitter Down

Sorry for the lack of update. Twelve-hour workdays and a 2-day fever don't bode well for knitting and blogging. My knitting is almost exactly where it was a week ago. The Tilted Duster still has about 5 more collar rows, and some seaming to go. My first Autumn Rose sleeve is also still in the works. Despite all that, I thought I'd give you a bit of an update with promises of more to come in the next week.

After boldly jumping head first into Autumn Rose, I got scared. Terrified in fact. My self-doubt took hold and I cast the project aside for a week or two to develop some level of confidence.

I decided to tackle one last stranded warm-up before taking the metaphorical fair-isle plunge. Enter Chrissy Gardiner's Snowflake Socks, also from the new Interweave (I love this issue).


I love how this project is turning out so far. Everything is looking pretty John Dandy. The floats are nice and loose, the yarn was a stash orphan, and the ultimate gratification, they stretch enough to fit over my heel.

So on that optimistic note, I decided to pick up Autumn Rose again. So far I've made it through the first part of the first sleeve. Still a long way to go but it is beautiful and I can't wait to finish the first motif repeat.

My technique is a far cry from being perfect or even being technically correct, but I can live with it for now and I'm already seeing improvements.

Considering the time it has taken to get this far, I expect that this project is one of those long-term type things. The body is going to require some serious project monogamy.

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