see mi knit

Second one should be a breeze?

Behold! The humbling power of knitting!

After a month, 3 heel do-overs, numerous cable mis-crossings I'm finally groping my way towards trying to remember the kitchener stitch.

But it IS lovely.

Dangit! AND I've put it on the wrong foot!

Spring socks

I need buttons!!

Hmmm, and some better white balance skills.  I've tried it on without yet blocking and it fits like a glove... very snug.  Totally wearable but yowza, blocking better not bring about any nasty surprises.

I finally got around to starting some socks!  Some of you may have noted that I was having a panic moment before leaving for my ski trip, trying to find a sock project to bring with me.  I eventually settled on Titania's Revenge (leftover from my membership in the Socks That Rock club) on some Lorna's Laces.  Well, I took it with me, knit about 3 inches, hated the lace patter and ripped out.

Then I started with a 3x1 rib intending to still do the cable pattern. I got all the way to the foot shaping and again, hated it.  The pattern was kinda cool but it was too big.  Ripped out again.

So I came home, pondered, dove into the stash, wound and rewound about three other skeins and eventually settled onto this:

Tess' Supersock & Baby using the pattern as suggested previously.  I am a very happy bunny.  Delightfully quick and the yarn is doing some beautiful subtle color changes and the color just makes me smile. Spring is here!!

Speaking of socks:

Phineas for Cheryl are completed!

And with plenty of time to spare. They finished drying yesterday and her birthday is today. Deadlines?  I scoff at deadlines!

Scoff scoff, scoff scoff scoff!

Pattern:  Phineas by Rosemary Waits
Yarn: JKnits in colorway Boston
Needles: Addi Turbo circulars US1

Modifications:
Knit top down with a flap heel. I wouldn't really recommend doing this because I was very lucky that the last whole "diamond" at the foot was completed just where the toe decreases should start.  Otherwise, I may have ended up with half a diamond.  If you knit toe up as the pattern is written, then you can just keep knitting the cuff until a diamond is done.  But I wanted to knit them on circulars and I couldn't be bothered figuring out how to cast on for a toe on that.

Yes, Kris, I'm back on the circulars for socks and I love it. No, I don't want buy my US0 back. :)

Gentleman's sock in Lozenge Pattern!

Pattern:  From Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Jitterbug in Plum
Needles: Susan Bates US 1

Great pattern, great yarn. I will definitely be knitting more socks from this book.  The yarn was scrumptious to knit with and is lovely knitted up, but wow the yardage is a nailbiter!  I usually never ever worry about running out of yarn, but with this pair I was seriously wishing my electric scale could plug into UK outlets.

My not so cropped sweater is coming along smoothly.  Speaking of nailbiting, after some rough estimation it looks like my 10 skeins will be just about right. Just about.  *Crossing my fingers*

Gosh I have really fallen apart with this knitting blog thing.  Anyway, here are some socks I started when I moved to England and I finished them oh, about two weeks ago.

Sorry that's so blurry. Here are some close ups of the pattern:

Pattern: Elfine's socks by Amelia Raitte
Yarn: If you think I can remember the yarn after 5 months since starting this thing, you have a very high opinion of me and I thank you.
Needles: Susan Bates metal dpns, size US1

Thoughts:
Nice lace pattern. I created a chart myself in Excel because the pattern is written out and I prefer a chart, but by the time I got to the leg I didn't need it anymore.  And during the course of sock completion, there was a lot of time between picking up the project and I found I didn't need to refer to the chart at all to figure out the lace pattern on my own.  It has a good snug fit and the garter stitch cuff is surprisingly effective for its simplicity, it doesn't roll as I feared it would despite it's small size and the "wavy" edging created by the lace pattern.  I messed up on my heel because after the turn I got carried away with knitting the sole side and forgot to pick up the pattern on the leg, but that's my bad of course.

I'm currently working on this zip up cardigan in white (same yarn as featured on that page).  I think I am deficient in using stretchy yarn.  I love working on the zippy Addis but tension is quite elusive.  My stitch gauge is spot on but not the row gauge so when I finished the back and so although the width will fit snug it's about 3 inches longer than it should be!  Oh well, I plod on hoping my front pieces stretch as much. I don't mind it being longer as I'm not too keen on showing that strip of bare tummy like the model in the picture.

Ok, don't like fall over from shock but I have FOs to show off.

I'll give you all a minute to rub your eyes and make sure you read that right.

...

FO THE FIRST

Falling Leaves from Knitty.  To be honest, it's been a while since I finished them and finally got around to taking a pic so I don't really remember how I felt about the actual project.  But I do lurve the end result.  And that's not just the mojito talkin'!

FO THE SECOND

This is the first pair of socks I've made using Blue Moon's Sock Club yarn.  I'm not ashamed to admit that this is NOT the pattern that came with the sock.  I think one of the cool things about the club is not only to see the variations of people's socks but also results of the same sock in a different pattern.  The pattern was created by Kris, so go bug her if you want it.  And yes, that is the mojito talkin'.

The dragon, it roars!

The back:

As you can see, I ran out of green for the hoodie so I had to improvise. My roommate assured me that it was still "wayyy cute". 

Pattern:  Baby Dragon Hoodie
Yarn: Berocco Lullaby (2 skeins green, 3 skeins blue)
Needles: 7 for trim, 9 for body

The pattern was really easy, even with hardly any directions (all charted).   The yarn was horrible to work with!  Marnie warns that it snags but snag is an understatement.  This yarn even catches on carpet!  It is also splitty and sort of ribbony so it's hard to get an even stitch. In addition, I made the spots using duplicate stitch and it was really hard to cover the blue stitches with the green stitches, creating a mottled effect on the spots.  I will call this a feature of the sweater.  In conclusion, I will never work with Lullaby again.  HOWEVER, it creates a very soft fabric, which is nice for babies.

Lessons learned from the Olympics:

• I can do it if I put my back into it
• Time limits are not for me. I think it makes me create a sub-quality product in exchange for meeting a deadline.
• I candooit

I'm so glad I didn't choose an adult size sweater.

And look, finally Bliss gets its moment!

Pattern: Twisted Rib
Yarn: Esprit Puzzle in Denim
Needles: US1s (Crystal Palace, Brittanys, and Susan Bates Silvalumes) dpns

The yarn was all right. Cheap.  I'm glad I chose this pattern because it helped make it more "squashy" feeling.  I used a bunch of different dpn's for experimental factor and it didn't make much of a difference to the final product.

Onward, to more fun socks!

First the good news:
First FO of the year!  It's the Spring is Coming socks:

Trekking was great to work with.  I used my Crystal Palace 1's for the first time and at first I was not that impressed.  But two socks later, I really like them!  Very smooth and slippy.

Now the bad news:
Hourglass is making me sad

I thought I was done, tried it on and that neckline...!! I'm not auditioning for Flashdance anytime soon so I gotta figure something out. The rest of it (the modified sleeves, the waist, the length) is great!  It must be something about the yarn because I followed the pattern exactly.  I'll have to brainstorm with Kris and Marisa at our next knit night on Monday to rescue this project.

Jaywalkers are finished!!

Another view:

I adore them.  They fit like... well like they were made for me, duh.  I found the yarn delightful to work with, especially on the Addi Turbos (I used US 0s).  That booth better stock up for Stitches West!

So, I keep seeing people using Trekking XXL for socks and everyone's creations look pretty cool and I kept thinking to myself, "Man, where can I get my hands on some just to see why everyone says they are so fab?"

Today I went into my stash to retrieve the yarn I had in mind for my next pair of socks and lo and behold:

I bought this months ago at Common Threads on a whim (color 2639 Greens).  Sometimes I amaze myself with my smartness.  But obviously I was not smart enough to bring it with me last night so that I could have wound it at Kris' place.

First off, the socks are finished!

I have to say, I am definately hooked on two socks on two circulars.  It's the only way to go.

And lo and behold, Hudson is blocking:

What is up with this newfound productivity?  I may have been inspired by the new recruits.  Last night I held my second "Knitting for Knewbies" night and I think I've suckered in about 3 other people.  I've got them excited about a scarf, a baby kimono, and a baby beanie.  I'll definately take mugshots at our next event.

While Hudson is blocking, I am stranded without a project.  However, let me share with you an insane notion in my head:

I want to make Clapotis.

Yes, it's like a year after the craze, but I've always wanted to make it.  But let me blow you away even further with this announcement:

I want to make it using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn.

The color is motherload and I got it from Kris from a contest I won (too lazy to find that post)

There are some major implications to this decision:
1) Totally wrong gauge, so it will most likely not be large enough for a shawl.  Who cares, I don't see myself wearing a shawl anytime soon.
2) I may need to get another skein to make it long enough to be a cool scarf.
3) No idea what needle to use. I just may throw myself into the void and try it out on some 5s.
4) Yup, I am ca-ca-ca-raaaazy.