Prime Time June again

I finished my scarf - 304 yards of Plymouth Zino
Needles #5/3.75 mm
This is my own design, which I have no plans to publish, but I may do something similar in the future.

It's all About Me again

In late February, I blogged about a shawl knit from the Panda Silk DK, thatI received as a 12/12/12 prize. I was turning it into a shawlette. There was not enough yarn to complete the pattern as written, so I left off one lace repeat and edged it with garter stitch. That worked very well.

Started Feb. 22 and finished Feb. 27
Knit on US#7 needles
Pattern: free from CPY Panda Silk DK Shawlette with Lace Pattern
Yardage: 240 yards
Closed with a china rose pin from my ancient history. That keeps it on my shoulders at work.

And again for me, a pair of mitts that I'm calling Odd Fellows. I had said that there was no repeat in the yarn colors. I was wrong! There is no usable repeat in this ball of Mini Mochi.

Yardage 190 yards used (one color leftover)
Started March 6 and finished March 8
Knit on US #2/2.75 mm needles
My own design, which needs some tweaking before publication.

Now I'm getting back to the socks I planned for my March project.

Catching up on started projects

Green Scarf
This was started in January, as mindless knitting. The yarn is Noro Matsuri, a cotton/wool blend that I got in our knitting guild holiday exchange. Two balls will make a nice scarf. The pattern is the Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf. The needles are glass size 8 that I got at a TKGA convention, actually, I won 1 needle as a door prize and bought the other one.

Secret Sparkles Socks
These are another Ravelry SKA challenge. They fit both the online magazine and the Cookie A pattern requirements. I'm using Dream in Color Starry in Midnight Derby Color. The pattern is from Knitty, Clandestine Socks. Needles are Kollage square needles in US #1/2.25 mm. I should have bought the 7" length to fit my hands better, rather than 5", but I like the needles. They are not slippery, but are rather like bamboo or the KnitPicks Harmony needles.

Turtle
My knitting guild has a toy competition every May. The toys are donated. I'm knitting a turtle from Knitted Toys by Fiona McTague. No pictures now.

March Madness

Finishing madness - Socks
These are the SKA March Mystery Socks. They are green because that is the Solid Socks color.
Yarn is Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cotton, 7/8 of a 100 gm ball, about 400 yds.
2.5mm needles.

Finishing madness - Project Yarnway (another Ravelry group)
The challenge was to knit with something not sold as yarn. I used black tape as used as hanger loops in clothing. The contrast is rayon seam binding.

March - a time for new beginnings

SKA on Ravelry has a mystery sock this month. This is what clue 1 looks like. I have started the second sock clue 1. The cotton yarn has great stitch definition, helped by all the twisted stitches.

Another Ravelry group I belong to is Project Yarnway. It started in February where the challenge was to use stash yarn. My Olympic socks worked for that challenge. This month the theme is Innovation. The project can only contain 20% yarn. The rest must be something sold for some other purpose. My materials are olive green rayon seam binding and black tape of the kind used for hanger loops in garment shoulders. I'm knitting a scarf. This stuff is hard to knit with as it has no give. I don't know how long I'll make the scarf. There is lots of material to work with. The tape has #00 yards, number is unreadable. The seam binding started with 100 yds.

The blue socks have been on my to-do list since 2003. I bought the yarn and pattern on a trip to Washington state to see my sister. I was able to fit them into this month's SKA lace challenge. The pattern is called Walking Away. The lace is down the back of the sock. The front is 1x1 ribbing. The foot is stockinette with a round toe.

More January Progress

My Motley Jester socks are looking good. It's hard to know how they'll look when you are using leftovers. I did run short of grey yarn on the toes, so I will probably wear then with shoes that cover the toes. The final picture will show all the colors on the legs.

Green scarf grow slowly. I'm knitting other things.

I've started a pair of gloves for my youngest daughter. This is the last of Christmas 2009. We were supposed to see her in January, but she says its too cold and snowy here. She'll come home this summer.

January Finish

Finished socks! Yarn is Prism Saki and Froehliche Wolle Blauband. Men's size 14 wide. Saki had 430 yds and then I used about 100 yds of Blauband.

Socks in progress
Motley Jesters made from leftovers and beads. So far there are 5 yarns in the sock. I may need more for the foot.

Scarf started
As a Guild Holiday gift, I received two balls of Noro Matsuri, a Cotton Wool blend. It will become a Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf. Yes, those are glass knitting needles.

52 Week Challenge - October

20" wide, 110" long, 250g of my yarn with looong colour runs, one with blues, one with greys, more than 1000yards, it took me ages to zigzag along for my wanted zebra look.

This scarf is going to hold me warm on my winter biking hours.

Simple dropping on the floor on your return is highly recommended. Someone will turn up, call him a DH, and will shuffle it around. I think he does a pleasing job, once you get to overhear his remarks on your sense of tidiness.

Well I guess, he didn´t know about my new degree in extreme short rowing. Hence a little inattentiveness for recovery seems to be tolerable.

52 Week Challenge- my knitting last month

This is a project for September that I wanted to finish by summer and now it is finished, but summer is gone. A long and loose fitting sweater out of cotton in a rich shade of red, not pink as the picture shows.

There is no decrease in stitch count, only taking the pattern itself to shape the garment. As in ganseys I put my initials on it. Now I can´t get lost :-).

Here is a new scarf for the upcoming stormy weather. It is a big one, 50cm x 2m, not yet actually, only half way through it, made of two cakes of yarn with long colour runs.

The new project for October is a long jacket. First, as always, I did a sleeve and now am knitting the collar and band. Yarn is of camel and alpaca and merino.

Then there are socks. I needed a new pair for me and used my Bergtrikot design.

52 week challange - scarf

I finished another project in March, the Jojoland Swirl scarf.

Started February 1, 2009. Finished March 19, 2009. It's made of many hexagons, each picked from those before. Yarn is Jojoland Melody, 2 balls, 440 yards. Needles size is US#6/4.0 mm.

52 week KAL

Project #1 socks - Pattern Marian by Gigi Silva - yarn Patons Kroy. Started Feb. 1.

Project #2 Jojoland Swirl scarf.

52 Week Challenge - Brenda

Jan. 23/09 - Just completed my Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn - Feather & Fan Scarf, total 456 yards (420 Metres) I posted the in progress photo on my earlier post. I still have one full skein of this yarn, don't know what I will make with that yet. The colour repeats are long, and although this is Noro Sock Yarn, I'm not sure I would like to do socks with it. It is a single ply wool yarn, goes from thread thin in one spot to almost worsted bulkiness within inches. Makes for a nubby look as you can see on the close up picture. I don't think this would feel very comfortable in a sock. Perhaps the other ball will become a hat or wrist warmers.

So now it is on to my next project, socks I think. Hope to get another project completed for January.

Brenda(Owlsrook)
www.owlsrook.blogspot.com

Cashmere Clapotis

I finished knitting that Clapotis scarf a week ago, but it's been languishing in my knitting bag, waiting to be blocked into shape. Last night, I finally got around to blocking it, and this morning, it was dry and ready for its photo debut.Cashmere is such a diva.
Pattern: Clapotis from Knitty
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, 3 skeins (300 yards)
Needles: Denise US size 6
Modifications: the pattern called for a few too many repeats for my taste, so I only did about six of them. I'm really glad I did, because even with cutting the pattern short, I still had an 8-inch wide scarf! Once the stitches were dropped, the width really grew!
Length: about 5 1/2 feet once blocked

A Happy Lemming

Although I like to think of myself as being original and free-spirited, I must confess that every so often I get sucked into a trend. However, even then, I can fool myself into thinking that I'm following the trend waaaaaay later then everyone else, so I'm not really following a trend because all the trend-followers are busy following something else now.

Does that make any sense to you?

Me neither.

Anyway, I have some lovely, delicious, scrumptious cashmere yarn that's been begging to be knit up into something worthy of such a beautifully simple yarn, and I've finally fallen for it's subtle temptation. (Remember, when pronouncing the word "cashmere", you must draw out the "caaaaaash" part in tones dripping with superiority and smugness. Try it. Just say, "Daaaahling, I just adore that caaaaashmere scarf", and you'll instantly feel richer and more hip.)After browsing for awhile on Ravelry, I decided to follow the lemmings and knit the Clapotis scarf from Knitty.

Let me state, that if being a knitting lemming means doing such great patterns, then that's me, the aloha-lemming. This pattern is fantastic, simple, and easy to memorize.Plus, there's this amazing thing called "dropping a stitch". Now, when you're learning to knit, there is the overwhelming fear and dread of dropping a stitch. This fear continues long after you pass through the beginner stage and enter the "mid-life" of the knitting age. It's a bit like agraphobia - Lord of the Ring sized spiders generally don't lurk under your living room furniture, but we're scared of the possibility that they might be there. This explanation should help non-knitters understand the panic that grips every knitter when they've discovered a dropped stitch.So, when the Clapotis pattern says, "drop the stitch", it brings forth primal urges of panic, disbelief, and (dare I say it?) the fun urge to do something dangerous and naughty. Dropping a stitch for me is akin to another person running around the neighborhood in the dead of winter with only a bikini on. Very exciting and naughty feeling - all from dropping a stitch.

(Yes, I know, I need to get out more.)

~ Yarn Over

Plugging along

My second pair of Maine Morning Mitts are done. These will definitely be gifted since the colorway seems so very 80's pink (& black). And with the weather being so warm this weekend, I washed all my completed gift knits & have them drying in the shade


Noro Silk Garden colorway #205 - 45 g = approx 110 yd
size 8 bamboo dpns
no mods

I've been restless in trying to decide on my next gift knitting, so I decided to simply cast on for Monkey2's mini-monkey since I am long overdue in making hers. Monkey1's mini-monkey was knit during Blue Moon Fiber Arts Camp Kaw Kaw (sock camp) back in April this year.


Funky Monkey Sock kit
size 5 KP Harmony circs
Typhoon Tina is the main body colorway & the accent will be Harlotty

I should be knitting some cowls or more mitts for my co-workers, but nothing, not even Ravelry, has been inspiring me, so I took inspiration from my knitting buddy, tapmouse2, and started Annie Modesitt's Ruffled Roses Scarf pattern.


I'm not sure if I'll finish this in time for the end of the KAL, so I may end up casting on other gift knits instead. I just need to decide on what yarn to combine with what pattern.

Scarf, stated new project

I have started a new project, hopefully will finish it before the end of November. This is going to be a scarf using the "Strangling Vine Lace" scarf pattern designed by Nicole Hindes. However, instead of making this a long straight scarf, I plan to make it a keyhole scarf style. I had a ball of Bernat Sox yarn in my stash, so that is what I am using, and a pair of 4mm straight needles.

Brenda in Alberta
(owlsrook on ravelry)

Another FO

I finished the Special Olympics scarf. I have more then enough yarn left to knit one more scarf. Approximate yardage used: 260 yards. The pattern is Meandering Stripes from Knitting New Scarves. Time to get back to finishing up my other projects.

The first week is gone and there's progress to report

Spending a few days in bed with a cold and the kittycats and some knitting is good.
I'm 30% done with the Henry scarf. I love this. The silk/baby alpaca yarn is gorgeous and soft and lovely, and the stitch pattern is just beautiful and interesting.


The Ribbed Pullover from VK Winter 06/07 is coming along as well. I'm 16 cm into the body knitting it in the round.
And I've realized that I have absolutely no clue when it come's to men's sizes. No clue. But it will probably fit. I think. And hope.

And suddenly all my plans for lovingly hand-knit Christmas presents seem utterly doable!