Curses

I got all fired up for the Red Scarf Project and got halfway through my scarf before I read the directions. Dang. Now I have to find some yarn that fits the rules or that I can dye red. I had been using unspun merino, but it turned out to be too bulky for the regulations.

I found out my dad would like mittens to go with the sweater I made him last year, so I'm trying to find a good mitten pattern that goes with the Louet worsted - I have two skeins left, so I think I won't run out. It might be a good project to bring on the plane to Hawaii because it won't take up too much space and I need to get it done :)

I'm pretty excited to go to HA, but I'm a bit nervous to go on the plane. Hopefully I won't run afoul of any ill-tempered security people.

I can't believe that December begins this week, and I'm just not ready for Christmas and the new year. Not that that means anything, because time won't be stopping just for me. But I just feel like I'm trying to climb up an avalanche - I need a couple more weeks.

I finished spinning up the yarn for my swap victim, and I think I have the pattern worked out. It may change once I start knitting, but I'm pretty happy with what I worked up. Once I actually start it in the real yarn, I'll put a pic or two up.

I migrated over to Windows 7; I like it. I much prefer it to Vista, but now I have to reinstall all my programs and I'm sure I'm forgetting one of them!

Swatching and Sweaterizing

D'you remember that sweater I was working on for the longest time, a version of Rowan's Juno? Well, I finally chucked the idea. I had finished the body and tried it on and realized I just didn't like a ribbed cardigan. I decided to throw caution to the winds and create my own top down raglan cardigan. I'm an inch past the waist and very happy with it. My hope is to be inspired by Juno and make cabled cuffs and maybe a cabled collar.

I'm also working on a project for a Lord of the Rings swap. It's made up of some of my handspun and some Rowan Tapestry...main issue is that I have to finish spinning the yarn up :) I'm half done, and I'm hoping to get some swatching in tonight. The handspun is a delightful blend from Foxfire Fibers of cormo, alpaca and silk. Swoon.

Besides all of my usual excuses, I haven't posted in the last two weeks because of the death of one of my friends last Tuesday. I worked with him for eleven years and saw him five days a week. He had a long life, and went fast, but I'm still kind of numb. He fought in the resistance in Poland in WWII, after escaping from the Lakhva ghetto. He made it into the Soviet army, and moved to the US after the war. I had my problems with him, but he was a good man.

In time for Halloween

I finished my second discovery socks in time for Halloween!



I'm calling them the fruit and veggie socks because of the yarn colors. I used the cabling patter on the Lothlorien socks for one cuff (representing veggies) and a traveling vine with a couple berries and a leaf for the other cuff (representing fruit). I wore the socks to bed because I was so excited to finish them :) I also feel like they make good Halloween socks because of the witch-y colors.

The whole waste yarn instead of cutting worked out well, especially on the second sock, whose stitches I did not twist. No holes at the corners!



In other news, I finally took pics of some of the other socks I've finished lately:

Granity: the Caradhras yarn socks from the Lotr sock club:



Super comfy - I really enjoy the weight of them, and they still fit in my Doc Marten's, so I can wear them to work.

Nine Walkers: the Fellowship socks from the Lotr sock club:



I started these for me but ended up giving them to DP. (The fact that my husband will wear lace socks is pretty sweet, so I figured I'd encourage it.) I did these toe up with a flap heel, and I like the way the colors striped on the flap:



Groovy Autumn Socks: the Koigu socks that, again, I was making for me but gave to DP. In my defense, it was his birthday:



and the nice tall leg:



These are silky soft and very warm. DP loves them - he wore them around the house for a whole week before he'd let me wash them. We tossed them in with the other laundry on cold and hung them to dry. The yarn is already pilling, and the color is washing out. The pic is after the first washing (I wasn't able to snap any earlier). Lovely yarn, but maybe I should only make things for the marital dyad with it. That way no one will complain about wash-ability.

In other news, we're going to Hawaii! DP's sister is getting married, and we're invited for the wedding, which just happens to be on an island in the Pacific. The fiancé is paying for a large chunk of our cost, so we couldn't pass it up. I'm pretty excited, since the last time I was at a real beach was 1995! I'm also scared of the flight - not the flying, but of the security. I don't do well with mean people.

Discovery sock - mark 2

I decided that I didn't like all the ends that I had to weave in with my discovery sock. It fit well, but I just don't like cut ends waiting to unravel, and with a contrasting heel and toe, I had 10 ends to weave in. I'm making another pair of discovery socks, and discovering what I can do to create less work for myself.

On the discovery sock, you run two lifelines one row apart and cut between them, unraveling all but the two stitches on either side of the row. For my sock, I knit to where I'd run my first lifeline, then knit a row of waste yarn so I wouldn't have to cut and unravel. However, rather than knit the waste yarn all the way to the end, I knit it two stitches in from both sides, so I have the two unraveled stitches on each side of the leg opening without worrying about cutting anything! It worked well, except I twisted one stitch and didn't notice it until about 30 rows later. Not worth going back for, but on the second sock I'll be more careful.

As they say, I love it when a plan comes together.

Amazing!

This jacket is amazing! Colorwork is not really my thing, but I recognize good craftsmanship when I see it. The button bands are so intricate...

I redid the headband, this time with 8 strands and size 15 needles - my achin' wrists!



I cast on 6 with JMCO, knit 3, then knit the other 3 stitches interspersed, so I had a tubular-looking cast on edge. I increased up to 14, knit for a while, then decreased back down. The edge stitches are kept in garter and the body is stockinette. My main problem is that I don't have a button big enough to go with it! Check out the huge-ness of the stitches:

Do-over

I finished the headband for my sister in law, but I think I'm going to do it over. I increased too slowly, so it doesn't cover the ears. Argh.

Related, I used two skeins of Regia Silk/Wool in white and made an irritating discovery - they were both 4 grams short! That's 8 grams of yarn missing! I am quite peeved, and I think I'll avoid Regia in the future. It's too bad, because I cut my sock teeth on Regia yarns, but 4 grams per skein is too much.

What a day

At least the discovery socks are done :)



and a closeup of the no-hole join:



My next scheme is to make a knit headband for my sister in law. She sent me a pic, so now I just need her head measurements and the type and color of yarn. It looks pretty easy (famous last words), and I think I've seen it somewhere before, but I can't find the pattern. It should work up fast.

I may also make a pair of pants for my sister's daughter. She loves her pink stretch pants, but it's getting too cold to wear them. I have some stretch wool that's not scratchy, so we might use that. They need to be thin, but warm, and that's the best thing I can think of.

I got the latest shipment from Foxfire, a soft blend of cormo, alpaca and silk. I haven't spun up any of the fiber yet, but I'm thinking of joining next year's club. Is that crazy?

I guess I'd better start swatching for that headband. I just hope she doesn't want it made out of cotton...