In Lieu of a Real Post...

Here are a bunch of pictures of some of the things I gave as gifts last xmas, and what-not.


Here are the Dr. Suess wristies I made for Erika (and those are my fat arms modeling them, not her lovely shapely ones). The yarn is Twisted Lie from Jacey Boggs of Insubordiknit fame. To me, the colors look very Suessian, and that's how they got their name.


Here's the cabled scarf I knit for step-dad Jerry. The yarn is 50% wool, 50% soy. He loved it and wanted to show it off to everyone. That made me pretty happy. He's pretty nice.


The scarf I knit for Chiara, out of a yarn called Elephant Bugbite hand-spun by Jessica of In Hope. This yarn was soooo soft, and I couldn't think of anyone it would be more perfect for than Chiara.


Here are the finished Pocket Creatures I made for my niece in Alaska. They are stuffed with little packets of rice and lavender, so they would smell good when heated up. I hope they worked out.


Here is Darren modeling the Boring Bloke hat I made for him from the Center Square pattern on Knitty. I think I used smaller needles and put in more pattern repeats than called for. The smaller needles were my fault, but most of the extra repeats are due to the fact that Darren's head is huge.

Here's Jenny modeling both the scarves I gave her: Braided and Worms and Fishes. Worms and Fishes was made from a combination of cheap but soft novelty yarn and Jealousy from Insubordiknit. I loved that scarf best of all, I think. And apparently Jenny's aunt loved the Braided scarf so much that Jenny's asked me to knit an all-black one for her aunt's birthday. She said she'd pay me, and I usually don't like to knit "custom orders" like that, but since it is my sweet Jenny, I'll make an exception. This once.

And here's a scarf I made for myself last fall using Wooded Tryst from Insubordiknit and a very truncated version of Branching Out. I luuuuuurrrvve this yarn. It was a singles but it was perfect and smooth and not at all splitty. I loved it so much that when I finished the scarf I almost ripped it out so that I could knit with it all over again. But I restrained myself. Barely.

And right now I've got 4 projects on my needles: lace scarf for Bev (still), Felty Thing for The Boy, small bit of lace, and gray cabled wristies for me. Mm-hmm.

A Small Step Back

So, after charting out a simple intarsia diamond pattern for The Boy's Felted Object and getting that well under way, I looked deep into the knitting and had a change of heart. The yarn, I decided was simply too nice to be felted into oblivion. Also, I didn't have enough to finish the project, and the thought of going out and buying more of this nice pretty yarn with the intention of felting all the neat thick-n-thin texture out of it seemed like a crime. So I pulled it out, wound it back up, and put it aside for some other Boy-oriented project. Now I've got to go and buy some normal felting yarn and knit that thing up quick. It was originally going to be a xmas present, and it's well overdue.

And other than that I've been having a fantastic time being an intern. I'm learning a lot about the daily life of a library program. It's great. I almost feel like a grown-up.

Hot Cha!

Socken

They are finished, thank god. My first ratty-tatty pair of socks, knit on #2 Clover dpns and Addi Turbo circs, with the heel flap and turn done on #1's for sturdiness. I used the Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cotton sock yarn, which is 45% cotton, 42% wool and 13% polyamid. And I even had some left over.

To be quite honest, I fucked up a lot with these socks, not that you can really tell so much from the picture. But that was the point, right? These were the Learning to Knit Socks socks. And since they're only for me, I guess I don't care too much that they're so very far from perfect. Still, I think I need to make at least another pair before I feel confident enough to gift some to anyone. So, the St. Paddy socks will be the next pair for me, and then after that maybe I'll be ready to make socks for Grandma.

Ahhhhhhhh. Breathe that sweet sock-freedom.

And since the Awful Socks are now laundered and folded up in my sock drawer, I can turn my attention back to the other WIPs. There's the lace scarf I'm making for Bev, out of this crazy fingering weight alpaca/silk blend. This is the first lace I've knit using actual lace yarn. And it's been a while since I've worked on this lace, despite my promise to myself that I was going to touch the lace every day. Oh well. There's also a hat for Jenn, a felted object for The Boy, a swatch I started for a shawl, and a head-band made from the pattern on the super-cute Brooklyn Michelle's blog.

WTF?

Why are Clover #2 needles 2.75 mm, while Addi Turbo #2 needles are 3mm? Shouldn't a 2 be a 2 no matter what brand they are? Goddammit, it's fucking up my guage!!

Sock Hole

I cannot allow socks to beat me. I must knit more socks, if for no other reason than that I keep buying sock yarn,which will eventually pile up and haunt my dreams if I don't start knitting with it.

So.

I've been forcing myself into a sock compulsion. I went and bought a pair of the Addi Turbo circs, as per the advice of the LYS lady. And I guess the Addies really are faster, if you don't count all the little dropped stitches I have to stop and fix. I swear, these needles are slicker than David Bowie in a rainstorm. But I think I'm finally getting used to them, which is good because they're a little on the es'pensive side for this knitter. And yet, I want another pair...

Yesterday I fell into a sock hole. I woke up at about 8am and did little else but knit on sock #2 all day. I had planned to do other things, useful and important things, but before I knew it the day was gone and I was over halfway through the heel flap. Which is good, because I have come to hate hate hate the 2x2 leg ribbing. It's my own fault, I know, but I wanted something simple for my first pair of socks.

But my second pair of socks? Oh hoho, I've already got it worked out: lacy knee-highs. And if that weren't crazy enough, I've given myself a deadline too. March 17. Yep. These will be the St. Patrick's Day socks, and I plan to wear them out drinking. I think by then I'll need a drink, don't you? But wait until you see how pretty these socks will be! I've chosen the Waterfall Socks pattern from Knitspot. Go look at it; it's lovely and I think it'll be relatively easy to add in purl stitches between the lace to make them big enough to go around my oh-so-shapely calves. And the yarn? What would be more suitable for the St. Patty's socks than Fearless Fibers Kildare colorway? Oh tremble, all you non-believers.