Happy Birthday!!!

I mailed them off on Monday to my SIL:

I'm supposed to do another set by Christmas for my Aunt. I don't know if that's going to happen. Maybe with another pattern-I'm a bit tired of this one.

The yarn is stiff and it tangles easily and is a total bitch to roll into a ball. But it washes up quite nicely and knits up nicely.

She'd better like it!



I've cast on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan with Wool Cotton and I'm loving it! Absolutely loving it!! I can't get enough of that yarn. It's amazing!!!

I'm finally online!

Sooooo...after months of wanting to blog, I'm finally taking the plunge and going online to post! Yes, I am a self confessed ludite and the whole blogging thing scares me a little but I'm finally ready to share my stuff!

After having knit so many baby things recently (sorry I don't have pics of those), I finally started knitting something for myself again. Today was a great day for knitting (really what isn't?) but it was one of those cloudy, cool days where you sit on your couch with some tea and knit and cuddle with the cat. After some yarn tackling with my kitty, Crowe, I finally got to start on the Mr. Greenjeans pattern on knitty. KBULL, m.c.rib and I had a super trip to KBULL's LYS in San Mateo, Nine Rubies, where they were having an awesome sale. After much drooling and coveting over some other yarns that were a little out of the budget, I found some beautiful and more affordable Nature Wool color 50 which is a warm, lightly variegated burgundy. Beautiful! Thanks m.c. rib for finding the color! After a quick swatch check (which I almost skipped with my eagerness to start this project but was a good idea since my gauge was slightly off), knit knit knit I go! Here's my progress so far:

Unfortunately, in my super excitement, I failed to notice that I made a tiny hole which is causing me some distress about possibly frogging quite a bit of work. More likely, I'm just going to "fake it" and see how it looks after I've patched the hole:
I'm going to back to knitting now since my fingers are itching! I'll post back once I've got some sleeve action going.

My Green Teas have been blessed...

I'm all a-buzz and a-flutter. Only Ravelry could have made such a thing possible... the Yarn Harlot. No, REALLY, the YARN HARLOT said my green tea socks were COOL! I feel like my socks have somehow been blessed. And Lolly said she liked them too!

Woo hoo!

have needles, will travel

Snoop Frog reports live, on location in Windsor.

Mr. Bones is finally finished... It was gifted today to my brother-in-law, who was quick to point out that he looks "awful in hats". Thankfully he is willing to overlook his vanity in order to wear a one-of-a-kind knit cap with skulls all over it. Note that this is not actually Ant, but rather Mr. Pigeon himself. I handed it to him for inspection, and he immediately put it on and said, "Thanks!" I wasn't sure Ant would ever see it.

Generally I'm very pleased with the way it's turned out, though it seems a bit corrugated in spots. Probably a result of my tight pulls in places rather than fair isle in general. Also a bit bummed that the two rows I was forced to tink never quite whipped back into shape (you can see it in the mouth/nose area of the second repeat of skulls).

I was very happy with my mods... both accidental and deliberate. My one regret is that the pressing deadline forced me to do a teeny little lining -- about 1.5 inches instead of the prescribed 2.5 inches. It's just tall enough to tempt you to roll it up, but just short enough that it looks silly if you do. Alas... the imperfections are just going to have to be part of the charm.

Thrilled that Mr. Bones is done and dusted, I happily tucked into my next effort: The Spumoni Mary Janes. Inspired by Saartje's booties, I plan on making some MJs with white soles (vanilla), pink uppers (strawberry), and green buttons (pistachio). These will undoubtedly be even more edible than the originals, which I fear may be facing a frog. Increasingly unhappy with the straps, and discovered that I screwed up my increases, too. Ah, obsession.

There's something deeply satisfying about knitting in England. It might be the crisp weather, or the tea, or the constant threat of rain. Or maybe, as is often the case, I'm just noticing the satisfaction more bathed in the light of this new context.

So here I am in a cafe in Windsor, drinking a so-so overpriced Americano and doing exactly what I'd be doing at home, my indignant husband scoffing at the £10 price of Wifi just out of frame:

I also took the opportunity to check out a local yarn store. I asked my photographically-inclined brother-in-law to take photos of the shop while I browsed. Sadly, the image of the storefront at right was all I got before he got distracted and started snapping closeups of cars and gravel. Boys.

Like everything in England, the shop was too small and too crowded. That said, they had a huge selection of Rowan and Debbie Bliss, as well as a few English brands I'd never seen before. I picked up about 400 yards of a lovely yarn called Baby Bamboo
that's made in Yorkshire. It's oh-so-soft, and might supplant the Rowan Kid Classic when I finally get around to my Dashings.

So here I am, with enough yarn for 5 projects and only enough brain for one. Tomorrow... Oxford, more tea, and the growing disappointment that this feels remarkably unlike anything in an Austen novel.

Green Tea, anyone?

Quite possibly the fastest socks in the west, I present:

Green Tea Socks
Pattern: Earl Grey by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Yarn: Knitpicks Risata in Grass
Needles: my new favorite Knitpicks fixed circular, nickel plated brass size 2.75mm, 32"
Mods: My gauge was bigger than the gauge in the pattern (to save my sanity), so I cast on 58 and increased to 60 instead of casting on 70 and increasing to 72. Otherwise, knit as written.



They're for the BIL for Christmas (shhhhh), so they're a bit big for me.


I love how the cables split at the heel and continue down the foot. Such a nice detail!

I started these last Sunday, September 16 and finished them just a few minutes ago, September 21. No joke. Boy socks. In 6 days. I started the second sock on Wednesday night, while Tobin and I watched Resident Evil, and I finished it today, Friday. I'm a reasonably fast knitter, but this lightening speed is unusual, even for me. It's like I was channeling Eunny Jang or something. I guess it was just a perfect combination of fantastic yarn, perfectly written pattern, and a crappy week at work that made these JUST what I needed to get to the weekend.

Next up? Some Highland Schottische Kilt Hose! (shh. I know I said BMP were next... and I still have the Rose on the needles... but the Kilt Hose are calling to me. And I'm using stash yarn, so it's not like they even count.) :)

Quick Update, No pics, but lots of links to keep you busy!

So, last year for Christmas, I made my best friend (the other one -- the one that isn't KidSSK) a pair of tabi socks. They were made out of Knitpicks Essential, on size 0 needles, and I vowed I would never, ever, EVER make socks for a boy EVER again. EVER. Not that they weren't cool and fun to knit, but holy crapmonkeys -- that's a lot of tiny stitches and a lot of tiny rows.

It turns out, that knitting boy socks on size 1.75 (2.75mm) needles with squishy, fantabulous yarn (yarn that I don't ever want to stop touching. Yarn I want to eat for lunch. Yarn I want to marry.) makes the process go a lot, lot faster!

I started the first sock Sunday afternoon and, after ripping and reknitting the ribbed cuff four or five times before getting the stitch count, ribbing and pattern right all at the same time, I'm just about to start decreasing the toe.

YAY.

Good thing BMP is lined up after Green Tea, in more Risata!

cheerio, but be back soon!

I'm very pleased to announce that minus a few more inches of lining, Mr. Bones is finished! YAAAAAAAY!

My sincere hope is that I won't need to line on the plane, but no telling how tomorrow will shape up.

Which leads me nicely to my next main point: I'm off to Blighty tomorrow. Off to eat scones and drink tea and woo Harry Potter! Okay, not really... that's just gross.

I prefer crumpets. X-D

I'll be sure to take more detailed pics of Mr. Bones once he's been gifted, as well as post a few notes about my mods. I'll also try to update with any and all knitting adventures that happen while I'm across the pond.

Be sure to check out my other blog for any non-knitting adventures that happen to happen upon me.

Don't think of this as a goodbye. Think of it as a cheerio!

knitting, knitting everywhere

Stealthy and subtle though she may be, I can feel Fall creeping up on me -- the slight chill in the air that lingers for the first few hours of morning, the irresistible urge to brew pots of tea and bury myself in books and blankets the moment I get home from work, the pumpkins taking their stations in front of local grocery stores, and, of course, the knitting. I'm desperate to wear all of my nearly-forgotten sweaters, and I'm noticing more and more knitted items hitting the streets.

Exhibit A - The Diner Pirate

My hubby and I were grabbing a late breakfast at our favorite local diner yesterday. As we were shown to our table, I saw a few familiar faces: Clearly there have been a few mods, but I'd recognize that face anywhere. Suffice it to say that I could scarcely contain myself. The folks at this table probably thought I was some kind of freak, as I was openly staring and intermittently grinning and clapping. It was just so cool to see a variation of my current project out in the wild, especially given that so few Californians are donning their knitwares just yet.

As for my own Mr. Bones, I'm just one row shy of starting my decreases. Given that I have the luxury of an exact replica head model (as I mentioned in an earlier post, this gift is for my hubby's identical twin), I managed to avoid making the hat disastrously too tall. I mucked around with the pattern a bit, and am starting my decreases 4 rows early. Normally this would mean losing the charming little bones arranged horizontally across the top, so I'm improvising. I'm going to lose the cutsie diamond pattern at the top and do a simple crossed set of bones instead, which ends up looking oddly like a Cross Fourchee. I think it's actually going to turn out quite cool, but I've been wrong three times before. :0)

I told McR on Friday that I needed to make Mr. Bones my constant companion if I'm to beat my looming deadline. Well, I certainly made good on that.

Exhibit B - Affordable Solutions for Better Knitting

The Pigeon (husband) and I did one of my least favorite things yesterday as well. We went to IKEA. IKEA is barely tolerable any day of the week, but going on a Saturday is absolutely soul-destroying. The normally odd crowd was even odder than usual, complete with a couple prowling around the picture frames section dressed in medieval jester costumes.

The Pigeon was after a desk, so I knew I was in for a good twenty minutes or so of waiting. Nothing to do, I thought, but knit. So I knit. At IKEA. In the Nominell office chair, which is incidentally quite comfortable:

Strangely enough, it was the most natural thing I've ever experienced in an IKEA store. And be warned: they now charge you 5 cents per plastic bag. Or you can spring for their 59 cent plastic tote thing (tarp with handles, really). Note that there is no non-paying bag option anymore. Wish I'd known before I was at the register and woefully without other options.

Loksins, c'est fini!

The Loksins are finished!


Stats:

Pattern: Loksins by Cassandra Thorseson
Yarn: Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks Superwash Merino/Tencel in "Reds"
Needles: Knitpicks nickel-plated brass fixed circular US 2 (2.75mm), 32"
Started: September 7, 2007 Finished: September 16, 2007
Mods: Used a slightly larger needle than called for (simply because my size 1 was already on another project), did a slip-stitch heel instead of a plain heel, decreased to 24 stitches and grafted the toe, added 3/4" 1X1 ribbing at the cuff.

Notes: These are for my mom, for Christmas. One down... many to go! I LOVED this pattern and would totally knit it again. I added some ribbing to the top because I prefer ribbing on socks to a garter stitch cuff, which looks unfinished to me. I also did a snug, slipped-stitch heel because I like how it wears better than a plain heel. These went really fast, and the pattern was easily memorized. There's just enough of a challenge to the lace bits to keep you from getting bored, but it's only an 8 row repeat, so it's not too taxing on the brain. The first one took almost a week to finish, but the second sock flew off of my needles. I started it last Thursday night around 7 and finished it this morning. Turns out that second sock syndrome wasn't a problem after all.

I'm totally on a sock kick now -- Time to cast on Earl Grey for the BIL!

Finished!

Finally finished my Dashing and Coachella!! Yeah, I know, it took forever. I still need to block them but they're done! Now it just has to get a bit cooler so I can wear them. The bamboo tape I used for the Coachella is actually pretty warm. While I love the feel of it, I with I used a lighter yarn. Ah well. I'll post pictures eventually.