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!

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?

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.

Duster Update

Today's post was supposed to be an Autumn Rose update. Sadly, there were some yarn dominance issues (I had made the wrong colour dominant) which meant that the pretty went for a little dip in the frog pond. Fret not, we've since made up and there should be some meaningful progress to show you all by the weekend.

In the meantime, I thought I'd show you how nicely the duster has grown. She has sleeves and most of a skirt, and is generally not purple (the photo here is more accurate on the colour front). If all goes as planned I should have it blocking by Saturday!

This sweater is going to be cosy and warm. After all the chilly weather we've been having, I can't wait to wear it this fall!

Now it's back to the shetland for me, I have sleeves to knit.

Not made of stone

Still no FO photos of Rosedale United. They've been taken but I don't foresee a spare minute to upload them in the next few days. There's also no significant progress to report on the Duster since I have some finishing (cue ominous music) to do before I can work on it again.

So instead....I thought I'd distract you with the fact that I started Autumn Rose. Before you judge, look at this.

How could anyone resist such a beautiful pairing of colours. Alright, I have another confession. I also have the yarn for this.

It's been in the stash for the last 8 months or so. I tentatively considered swatching for Venezia one day. After casting on 3 stitches, I became paralysed with fear. Fear of the fine gauge. Fear of the pattern. And fear of fair-isle. Who was I kidding, I knew nothing about fair-isle. I've only made one measly pair of stranded mittens where the floats were, shall we say, a little snug. Snug enough that a sweater knit with that sort of float would have zero stretch and may even stand up unassisted.

Originally, the plan was that I would knit Eunny's Deep-V Argyle Vest first. The two colours, the larger needles, the lack of sleeves all made it seem like a good warm up project. After being hit by some serious yarn fumes, I ended up here.

I've rationalized ignoring Venezia starting with Autumn Rose by convincing myself that it will be easier than Venezia. It has a huge scoop neck that minimizes the need for fabric that has any sort of give, and it only has 1 steek to cut, instead of the 4 on Venezia. Hopefully you won't tell me otherwise.

Alright, I'm terrified all over again where's that Duster?

More almost sweaters

I managed to finish Rosedale last weekend but haven't yet managed to get some decent pictures. I'll post a full FO report on that later this weekend. In the meantime, I decided that I wasn't ready to be finished with the (almost) instant gratification that comes from worsted weight yarn. That realization combined with Liz's comment that Autumn Rose would be one of those commitment type projects led to this.

That blob of stockinette is Norah Gaughan's Tilted Duster from the newest Interweave Knits.

I started this puppy last Saturday night, got perfect row and stitch gauge on my first shot and lunged forward from there. Look at it now.

I've managed to make my way through the body and most of both sleeves. Only a collar and skirt to go!

I *heart* 6.00 mm needles.