Oh What a Tangled Web....

Trying to unwind? .... Don't spend a morning unwinding a tangled skein is all I can say! One of four skeins our group was gifted at Fun Knits -- now I see why they were gifted! Shan says hers took four hours, but we all know Shan is another kind of gifted, right? The fact that she persevered with it and did it in one day makes me feel faint.



Here it is the first day I took it out...

Then I put it away for about five weeks. Today was the day, after being reminded by Shannon's lovely, centre-pull all wound up ball of yarn at knit night, to pull it out and start again. I'm not finished at all, but here are a couple of action shots.

Note how fast my hands are going! My skein is twisted, with two long strands seemingly unrelated to the rest of the twist. I've given up trying to find any rhythm, I'm just winding as it goes. Will it be finished today? Don't hold your breath.

The Monkeys are off My Needles

I finally finished the second Monkey sock! I am very pleased with these socks, and with the yarn. I was surprised at how much I had left - I could have made the socks a little longer.

Hard to get a good photo at night with a point and shoot digital camera, but the colour here is fairly accurate. No close-ups I'm afraid.

Details

Pattern: Monkey, from Winter Knitty, by Cookie A.

This was a great pattern. Challenging enough that I had to watch it develop, but straight-forward enough to memorize the 11 row patterning.

Modifications: I changed the heel from a straight knit heel to a slip stitch heel, just because that's the kind I prefer.

Yarn: Super Soxx, bought at Village Yarn Shoppe in Cumberland. This is 75% superwash, 25% polyamide. I really like the feel of it on, and it was nice to knit with, only occasionally splitty. At $14.50 (or thereabouts) for a 100g ball (420 metres), it was good value.

As you can see, I made them fraternal twins. I didn't feel like matching the striping, although it would have been simple to do.

THANK YOU KATE.

Kate, I LOVE this quiz!! It was hilarious!

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Shetland Wool. You are a traditional sort who can sometimes be a little on the harsh side. Though you look delicate you are tough as nails and prone to intricacies. Despite your acerbic ways you are widely respected and even revered.
Take this quiz!








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There's no Escaping It

Sigh. I'm not a yarn snob by any stretch, but this still makes me sigh. I should have known.

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Acrylic.While you are very versatile, your plasticky countenance can be offputting. You are very good with children but can become a pill if left alone with them too long. You are very flexible but don't give in to manipulation.
Take this quiz!






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No Such Thing as "Too Early"

Christmas knitting has begun. I am planning to work 5 of these spiral scarves this year, with matching wristers, for the nieces.

I know it's a bit cheapy and not very nice yarn or anything, but the thing is they're children, and not too discerning as to fibre. I hope they'll like them, anyway, even if they're not fancy or expensive. The ruffled scarf and matching ruffled wristers (not made yet) will be cute together, sticking out of the girls' winter coats.

And here's the first progress shot of my MIL's print o' the wave stole:

I have to work a total of 34 of these repeats (I've done 6 in two days) then pick up for the edging. Should be interesting - first lace project. I had signed up for MS3 but didn't find a satisfactory yarn so abandoned the project after the swatch stage. This is better - I like how it looks finished and I wouldn't have wanted to take the chance on an unknown outcome for a Christmas present. This pattern is nice and easy to memorize too. I can't tell you how much I love the yarn - "Island Hues" by Judy McLean of Sweatermaker (a hand-spinner/dyer from Courtenay, I believe). Fun Knits and at Uptown Yarns both stock her yarn and fibre, though she doesn't have a website of her own.

So, we're off! Only four months left of knitting time!

Oh Fudge

So last week the red cardigan went into time out, because I've made the sleeve too long and I won't have enough yarn left if I continue. i knew this really as I started the cap shaping, but waiting until I was 2 inches in before admitting it. So now I have to rip back a good 4 inches. Of lace and shaping. Oh fudge.

Working on my second monkey sock, heel done beautifully, ready to start the patterning along the top of the foot. I've made the heel in the wrong spot for the pattern to match properly to the first one. Must rip out said beautiful heel. Oh fudge.

I'm going to work on some stockinette now.

The Last of the Baby Knits

I think I have come to the end of the baby knits, at least for now. This little boy sweater is for my friend in Ontario, who had a little boy this spring. I'm hoping this sweater will see a lot of action in the cold winter there.





Pattern Specs:

1. Based on Sally Melville's Baby Rainbow Jacket, from Knitting Experience Book 3: Color.
   
2. I say based, because I used a different slip stitch than she did, although I followed her measurements to get the sizing. I also made the sleeves solid colour with just a stripe, rather than continuing all the colour work.
   
3. Yarn was Sari cotton, bought on sale at Fun Knits during our field trip. Although the yarn is a little splitty, I love the colours it comes in and it was easy to knit with overall.
   
4. Time to knit, about three weeks. I had to go back for one more ball of cotton, to finish the button band.
   
5. The buttons are from my very large button stash.

I enjoyed this knit, and I think it is very stylish for a little baby boy (six-nine month size).

Now back to adult knitting!

Done and Finished and Laid to Rest.

I just outed myself to my Sockapalooza 4 recipient. I went to her blog to leave a comment letting her know the socks were done, but forgot that I was already logged on as myself so of course the comment wasn't anonymous.

Sigh...I tell you what - this whole event is cursed. At first I thought it was just the yarn, or the pattern (or the second batch of yarn, or the second pattern) but now I realize it's Sockapalooza in general. (Either that or it's me, in particular.)

Anyway, a picture. Full details are over at HalfSoled Boots.