Friday, May 04, 2007

Just Knitting Away....

Now that I finally have this thing all updated and ahem, backdated, hopefully I can start doing regular posts. It would figure that when I finally get around to starting a knitting blog, my life kinda goes a little haywire. I think that I've finally settled back into a routine (maybe not one that I'd like, but it is a routine and it is rather stress-free).

I was going to show a picture of a new yarn purchase that is the most beautiful and perfect color for me, but I forgot the cord to my camera. Instead, I'll just talk a little bit about ongoing knitting projects.

There are three that I'm really working on right now...

Cropped Cardigan with Leaf Ties I'm doing this in Knit Picks Andean Silk - Cream, as I mentioned (and showed) in earlier posts. I'm enjoying it, although I am to the point on the body where all the increases are done, so it's rather boring knitting. Still, after so many socks, it's nice to see the fabric grow quickly (about 6 rows an inch). I have a total of 9 balls of Andean Silk in one dyelot, and 3 in another - I'm hoping it won't make a difference with the cream, and that will allow me to extend the cardigan to a longer length and longer sleeves.

Pinwheel Blanket This is being done in Knit Picks Shine Sport - the body is in Grass and I'm going to put a garter-stitch ruffle on the edge in Cream. It is taking F O R E V E R. I had originally ordered 6 balls of Grass and 2 of Cream, but it became clear that wasn't going to make a big enough blanket, so I ordered 3 more in Grass and 2 more in Cream, and that's it, I swear (not sure how much Cream I'll need, I just want to make sure it's enough). The blanket is for my friend Jaime's baby - she's the first of my friends to have a baby, so I wanted to do something special. She was due around, well, now, but the baby came 3 weeks early! Yikes! She had a healthy baby boy, though, named Cathan. I do have a hat that I made for him, and hopefully I can get that out this weekend and get the blanket done by the end of the month. Cotton kills my hands, though.

Waterfall Rib Socks The stitch pattern for these socks is from Sensational Knitted Socks, and I'm using Sunshine Yarns Superwash Wool (not the new Twist yarn) in Violets. I cast on 72 stitches, did 1x1 rib for 20 rows, 12 pattern repeats, Eye of Partridge heel (my first one!), knit to fit my size 9 feet, and ended with a wedge toe. The first sock is done and I'm on the cuff of the second. I haven't been motivated to work on this for some reason, but I would like to finish the socks before I start my April Rockin' Sock Club kit, and I'd like THOSE done before I receive the June kit, so I guess I'd better pick up the pace!

I also have the hat I knit for Cathan, which just needs to be blocked, and Convertible for my sister, which I finished last weekend, that also needs to be blocked (and it needs buttons).

Other projects that are sort of... thrown aside for now:

Tubey When I started this, I thought the first time I knit it I would use really cheap yarn, because I'd never knit a sweater before. So, I bought a ton of Lion Brand Wool-Ease, and, well, I've learned I hate knitting with Wool-Ease and I will probably never wear a sweater knit in it. So, I may abandon this one, and start Tubey at a later date with nicer yarn (Knit Picks, at least!).

Worsted Weight Socks These were my first socks. I used some black Wool-Ease that I had and that's how I learned how to make socks. The only problem was that I ran out of the black Wool-Ease somewhere on the foot of the second sock, and I don't really want to buy more. So these will probably never get finished, unless I decide to take out the toe on the first sock, finish the foot on the second sock, and then knit the toes in contrasting Wool-Ease (come to think of it, I might do that just to get them off my WIP list).

iPod Cozy This is basically done - I had just left 2 stitches live so that I could make an i-cord chain and attach a little pocket to store the headphones in. It wouldn't take too long to finish, but it's usable as it is (the live stitches are on a safety pin) and my iPod is broken, so why bother? I used Cascade Fixation in a striping sage green color.

Washclothes Lots of washclothes, actually. One set in cream-colored Sugar and Cream, and another in Classic Elite Cotton Chenille. Each set is supposed to be 3 washclothes. I think I have MAYBE 2 total washclothes done, and I haven't touched these since last summer. I'm really not all that found of working with cotton, so if I'm going to, I'd rather it be for something nicer than a washcloth.

Irish Hiking Scarf Oy. This one should be done. The problem is, I ran out of the wool I was using (and the scarf is way too short), and I couldn't find more. So, I bought some Cascade Eco Wool, which has plenty of yardage and is softer than the other stuff I had. I will restart this soon, but it's for my dad and he'll never wear a scarf anyway, so I haven't been in that much of a hurry.

To Dye For (From Stitch n' Bitch) I really liked the idea of doing this one, and I still do - I have one sleeve done, and it's a quick knit (using Knit Picks Suri Dream in Lilac). Hopefully I'll be motivated to pick this one up so that the sweater is done by fall.

Stockinette Scarf This one is pretty simple - done in a beautiful skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Kidmo (Periwinkle) that I picked up at The Fold while I was home visiting my family. It's for me, it's supposed to be for fun (it's going to have swarovski crystals at both ends) and I'm in no hurry. I work on a few rows here and there (though I lost a stitch somewhere and will probably have to take part of it out).

So that's it... 3 real WIPs and 7 (err, 8, really, if you count the washcloth projects separately) abandoned WIPs. I'd love to work to narrow this down so that I never have more than FIVE WIPs at a time. That's reasonable, right?

Now if only the work day was over so that I could knit...

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home