Monday, January 29, 2007

Good things come in....the mail


Lookie what came in the mail a few days ago. Mmmmm, Karabella Aurora 8 from kpixie! Slated for a lacy cardi from Adrienne Vittadini, Spring 2005. I'll be starting this right away!

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Of socks and Magazines...


Here they are, in all their sockiness. Plain vanilla cuff-down pattern, but the yarn makes them cute. AND (drum-roll please......), I can officially allow myself to start my Adrienne Vittadini lace cardi.
In other news, I picked up the new Rebecca magazine this week. Actually, my mom picked it up for me, bless her. But I must say, if I had seen it first, I probably wouldn't have purchased it. (OK, that is a big fat lie, because I am sick in the head and feel I have to purchase almost every new cool knitting publication, even if I am disappointed with the contents....). Which, by the way, I am. Disappointed, that is. There was maybe one design in the whole issue that turned my crank, a pullover with a cool stitch made out of GGH's new yarn called Tara. Otherwise, I looked through and thought "ugh, nothing." Rats.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

When in doubt......


When in doubt about what to knit next, I make socks. OK, I went through a period of total sock-burnout. I made a toe-up sock out of light denim blue on size 1 needles, and then never had the chutzpah to make the second. Total second-sock-itis. But here I am, between projects, with a sock stash that is, well, embarassing, so I am making socks. I prefer the hourglass heel and toe, toe-up version as far as appearance and wearability. HOWEVER.....I find that I have to use my brain too much for this method, so with this pair I am doing the old top-down, heel flap version. The yard is some hand-dye yarn I picked up at my LYS, Renaissance Yarns. I am really liking this colorway, which has brown, dark brown, rust and some magenta thrown in. When this is done, I am on to, hold your breath now, an Adrienne Vittadini lace sweater. More to come on this.....

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

First FO of 2007!


Yay, Pinkie is finished! I actually really like how it turned out...perfect to wear as a workhorse in this SNOWY, ICY weather we are having in the PNW! The only changes I made were to make it one inch longer than the pattern said, and I had to decrease the number of stitches picked up around the neck by, wow, ten stitches. The first time I picked up the number the pattern asked for and it looked like a ridiculous stand-up boatneck thing. So I ripped it and tried again, and I think the results are good. Hooray, on to something new! But what? Hmmm, so many options....

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Pinkie


Do you name your sweaters? I don't, as a rule. I often wish I could be that madly creative person that comes up with witty, clever names for their work. Generally, I refer to them as "that one pink sweater from Interweave Knits...you know the one?" Anyway, here is the progress on that particular sweater from Interweave Knits , Spring 2006.

Out with the old.....

Well, the first official project of 2007 has been officially scrapped. I was making a sweater with unusual construction....you knit it in one huge piece, then the fronts are crossed and invisibly seamed to the shoulders. This unsual construction is what kept me going...and going...and going....on what seemed liked miles of endless stockinette. (I tolerated it by doing lots of car knitting while on a Wintery family vaca...) Long story short, once I completed the sleeves, I found that they were WAY....TOO...SMALL. When I say small, I mean cut off the circulation to your wrists and forearms too small. I double-checked my guage (YES, I did do a swatch to start off with...) Looks like my already tight knitting tightened up some more. By a lot, as evidenced by said sleeves. So, here's the dilemma: do I frog and start again?? Can i just tell you, the thought of re-knitting all that stockinette makes me feel rather queasy. Currently, the project is stuffed in the bottom of a bag, out of sight.. What would you do?