Finally, At Last, Not a Moment Too Soon

I am done Print o' the Wave. Hopefully it will arrive in time for Christmas, but I don't really care if it doesn't. I'm just happy to be finished.

See the entire FO post here.

Print o' the Wave

Pattern: free download by Eunny Jang
Yarn: 1.5 skeins Island Hues (by Sweatermaker) 100% merino handpainted laceweight, 800 metres per 100 grams. Two different dyelots but they work together.

Yarn Source: Fun Knits, Quadra Island. Thanks again, Shelley.

Yarn Cost: $35 for both skeins, of which I used less than 1.5. So about $25.

Needle: 3.5mm Clover Takumi bamboo circular, and 3.5mm Addi Turbo Lace

Cast On: August 12, 2007

Bound off: December 14, 2007

Finished Dimensions: 97" long, 27" wide after an aggressive blocking.

Seriously Relieved.

Full project details can be found here. And I'm totally done my Christmas knitting! I have one more FO to post (once it's finished blocking) and I can relax and enjoy the season.

By the way chickies, once the stole is dry it'll be wrapped and mailed immediately....I won't be able to bring it to knit night next week! Maybe I'll do a victory lap to everyone's house just so you can see it, on my way to the post office.

Love, in the form of a Sweater

Oh, how I love thee, Cycling Aran. I love your cables up the front, your comfy ribbed back, your stand-up collar and stylish fit. I love the easy pattern, and the delicious yarn used (Tosca Jaspe). My Dad will love you as well. All you need is a zip, and we are good to go.

This was a great pattern to knit up, although it assumes a knowledge of construction (it is quite terse but it all works if you have knit a sweater or two). The sleeves will be too long for my Dad but they fold back easily, and I don't think I will change them now.

Phew, another one off the list (at least the knitting is done on this one)!!

PS Better pictures to come when I can get someone to take one. As my dad and I are the same size it fits me so nicely. I wants it. (This is getting to be a problem.)

The Road to Hell.

Kate posted a long time ago about putting up our Christmas lists - that is, the things we have to knit for Christmas. I meant to get around to it but didn't until today.

My problem this year is, NOTHING IS WORKING OUT. Here is what I had planned:

1- Aran sweater for FIL
2- Print o' the Wave lace stole for MIL
3- mittens for my sister (later SOCKS for my sister)
4- spiral scarves for all my nieces
5- wristers for my SIL
6- socks for my brother

and what has happened to all these fine intentions?

1- still working out, thank God.
2- ran out of yarn. Haven't heard yet whether Shelley has been able to find me more. And, in my last conversation with my mother-in-law, she said "I once had one of those shawl wrap things...I wore it a few times but it kept sliding off my sloping shoulders and it drove me crazy." Doesn't bode well.
3- my sister didn't like mittens. So I cast on Chuck's Cabled Socks, accidentally reversed the needle sizes, and ended up with a sock that has enormous ribbing and a cruelly tight ankle. Gave up.
4- Gwen saw the scarves while visiting, and, trying to let me down easy, didn't give me much hope that her daughter will wear it. Apparently if she has seen a similar thing on someone cool, we're golden. If not....well, I guess a wrinkled nose is all I can expect. The donation bin will get these.
5- wristers.....yeah, right. NEXT.
6- wool socks for my brother? who wears like a size 12 shoe and lives in North Carolina? Again I say Yeah Right.

I'm a bit cast down about it actually, but I have made my peace with the situation and am content to just knit the Aran. If THAT doesn't work out, then I will be truly distraught, and qualify as an utter failure.

It's that old story about whether people appreciate it. I've come to realize it doesn't bother the intended recipients not to receive the knitting I had planned for them - at least, not nearly as much as it bothers me not to give it. My people, as far as I can see, would rather have a DVD or a couple of books. It costs me, what...$20 for that?

So, we'll finish off the Aran sweater, and that'll be it. If I get the stole done, maybe it can be a Mothers' Day gift for my mother-in-law, along with a nice pin to keep it on her shoulders. Or, maybe I'll rent a table at a craft fair one of these days, and sell it for $200. And use that money to buy yarn to make something for.........myself.

The Ocean Ripple Wrap

I don't know if I can bear to part with this wrap. I'm calling it The Ocean Ripple Wrap. I based it on a stitch pattern found in The Complete Encyclopedia of Stitchery, by Mildred Graves Ryan. The stitch is called Lace Wings, and is apparently found in Dutch stitch patterns. I then added a garter stitch border. I love the way the colour flows along the lace, giving the feel of water along pebbles at the edge of the shore. I picture this wrap over a coat, or even as an accent for a nice turtleneck and a pair of jeans. It will be very hard for me to part with it, as I love it.

Progress Report

No pictures today, but a progress report.

1. Mum's wrap is five rows from being cast off. I have to go get some wire to block it properly, I think, so the edges are nice and even. I so love the Sweatermaker yarn I used, which I got at Fun Knits. A laceweight merino, in a line called Island Hues. Beautiful variegated blue, like soft blue jeans. Will have pictures once it is blocked and dry.
2. Have begun Dad's Cycling Aran. I am using a very light 55% wool/45% acrylic blend from Lang yarns, called Tosca Jaspe. It is so light and lovely. Am just on the left front, so will post pictures when I have more progress.
3. Mum's sock #1 is past the heel and on to the foot. I am doing a blueberry waffle pattern on the leg with a plain foot. She pointed out to me again the other day how much she loves my socks, and that they are all she wears. I love making her socks.
4. Three dishclothes are finished; a rib lace one, a garterlac one and a checked one.

That is it for now.

Every Jedi Needs A Scarf

On a visit to Fun Knits, I let the boy pick out a ball of yarn for a new scarf. His choice was a ball of Bernat Sox, in a rather bright colour way (perhaps called Fiesta, but not sure). A simple knit1 purl 1 stitch pattern, with slipped stitch edges at the start of every row.





Just long enough to wrap around the neck and back.




















I love slipped stitch edges!


















Pronounced a success by our resident Jedi.