Endings and Beginnings

As the year comes to an end I have decided to end this blog and start a new one. My new blog will centre on all the activities in my life I feel compelled to blog about rather than just knitting.

A lot of things have happened recently and while I continue to knit and will blog about it; these new things will have a place on the new blog.

We recently bought our own house! We moved Dec. 1 to our first home and it is keeping me very busy. I also am very comitted to my collage art. I was recently chosen to be a member of the Design Team at Stamp and Scrap Canada and have also submitted some work for publication. This will be an exciting year for me!

If you care to join me and read about my collage art and decorating our WWI era house along with the knitting please join me on my new blog.

Artful Life With Eliza Jane

Finally a FO

I have finished socks!! Here we have the Feather & Fan socks (somewhat modified) from the book Socks, Socks, Socks. I used Regia Bamboo and they are wonderfully soft.



I just can't seem to survive without a pair of socks on the needles. So here we have the next pair which are super fun to knit.

Still Here

Wow, I haven't posted in a while! Things have been pretty hectic around here lately and I haven't been knitting as much as usual. I am still knitting, though. I have been pretty much working exclusively on the Poppy Shawl (see previous entry) and am on the 11th row of 17 rows of poppies. I'm still enjoying it as much as when I started though the rows are enormously long now and I'm at a point where I need to move up to a longer needle. However, I am using the longest needle I have so will have to go buy a new (longer) circ. This will entail a trip to the city so it may be a bit before I can get out and get one.

In the meantime, a few days ago I cast on for a new sock. This will be my November entry for the SAM2. I am doing a basic Feather & Fan sock with Regia Bamboo. There is something about this F&F pattern (from the book Socks, Socks, Socks) that just practically knits itself. I am almost at the toe of the first sock. The Bamboo yarn is delicious, a joy to knit with and a joy to touch. It's one of those yarns where you just have to keep picking up your knitting to caress the yarn!

Leafy Lace Socks

My October SAM2 socks are finished! These are from a kit from the sotmc from a few months back. Cascade Fixation and pattern by Rebecca Perry. The ribbing on the first sock is a bit too loose as I was getting used to knitting with the elastic but once I figured it out it was fine. These are nice huggable socks. I love socks that hug and will definately use this yarn again.

Blanket and a Shawl

The mitred blanket is finished! This one took quite a while to make simply because I was taking my time with it. Just knit a bit here and there but have been working on it like crazy this past week. The colours are not quite so bright as they appear in the picture.

Thanks to Aimee in the comments I've decided the mohair is a bulky yarn and still don't know what I'll be knitting with it. The search for a pattern continues.

The Fixation socks continue in progress. I am just about to start the gussets. I'm working both socks at once on dpns. I'm really enjoying this yarn. At first I was unsure how to work with the elasticity worrying about my tension but finally figured out to just knit like normal and all is well.

Now for a sneak peak at my current project. When I posted my last blog entry I was just about to cast on for this but didn't want to mention it in case it didn't work out. This is something I have wanted to knit since ... well ... forever. When I sorted out my stash the other week I decided to finally take the plunge and I am hooked on this baby! Here we have the start of the Poppy Shawl by Kaffe Fassett. I'm at the part now where I have to chart the pattern out myself to get the poppies lined up properly. I'm working with an assortment of sport weight/ light dk yarns in a multitude of textures and fibres. This is one of those things that will look better after blocking but man, I'm loving it!

Socktoberfest & Stash Overhaul

First order of business is socks! I am currently knitting these socks from a sotmc kit from a few months back. These will be my Socktoberfest socks and my October Sock a month socks. Nothing like doing double duty with your kals!



I have been knitting almost exclusively on the mitred blanket this last week. I realized I was almost finished so decided to get a move on with this. I have two more sides to complete then I'll have finished pics to show!

I spent this last week doing something stupid useful. I reorganized my stash. I sorted out by weight and purpose. I thought that doing this might actually reduce the number of boxes of stash but in the end I had one more box than I started with!

I made boxes for each weight of yarn and then separated the sock worthy yarn into separate boxes for both sock weight and sport weight. I also sorted out the 100% wool worsted and cotton (regardless of weight) into separate boxes. Whether this will be helpful or not is doubtful but I feel a little less overwhelmed than before I started.

So, what have I pulled out of the stash to knit next? you ask. Another blast from the past with this:



Scheepjeswol Mohair Ombre. A lovely variegated colour of medium and light tans and grey. 67% Mohair, 28% Wool, 5% Nylon. I have 9 full balls and an extra 20 grams. Making 470 grams or 376 metres. Recommended needles are size 6 or 7. But I am wondering, since all the info on the ball band is metric do they mean 6mm/7mm or the old UK sizes 6/7 which would be 4.5mm/5mm. The yarn strand itself is very thin, about a fingering weight, then it has a huge halo making it fluffy and thick. What do you think? I've never knit with mohair before.

So, once I know what needles to use with this the big question is what the heck should I knit with it all? Would it work for a shawl? Other than the feather & fan shawls I've done I have never knit a large lace shawl and I would love to take one on. Pattern suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

When Knitting Becomes an Obsession

If you haven't seen this already. You really should!

FO Day

Today is Finished Object Day here at The Stash Project.

First up are the Retro Rib socks by Evelyn A. Clark from Interweave Knits Winter 2004. The contrast colour is the leftover Trekking XXL from the Unsts and the main yarn is some thrifted wool Patons Azalea which seems to be quite ancient. A lovely yarn to knit with, it is pure new wool from Australia. Pretty much knit to pattern with the exception of the added contrast colour and I knit my standard star toe.



Next up we have the fingerless mitts on page 7 of the Fall 2005 Interweave Knits, using the Patons Siberia from stash. Again I really enjoyed this yarn and these are nice and soft. This was knit to pattern with the exception that it called for 6 mm needles and I only had 5.5 and 6.5 dpns so I went with the 5.5 mm. They only used 60 gr of yarn so I had plenty.



And finally we have a Lacy Summer Purse (PDF FILE) using the blue ball of Patons Cotton Sahara. This yarn gave me headache trying to figure out what to knit with it. I started knitting a dishcloth but I really like this yarn and it seemed too nice to knit a dishcloth with. I mean this stuff is old and I may never get my hands on some again so I wanted to make something "nice". Know what I mean? Finally settled on this pattern and this is such a cute little bag! It would make a perfect gift bag. It took pretty much the whole the ball of yarn with just enough left that I didn't hyperventilate about running out!



I now have one and a half balls of the peach Cotton Sahara left and I am going to knit this bag again with it only I am going to try substituting the mesh pattern from itsy-bitsy. Now I am going to go get a few more balls out of the box to see what I'll be knitting with next.

Itsy Bitsy

I feel like I'm on a roll here! Knitting is just flying off the needles. Here we have the itsy bitsy bag finished.



I just love this thing! Here it is holding the current knitting yarn and "what is that peeking out?" you ask. That is one of the fingerless mitts already finished! I can imagine knitting this bag over and over. I have to tell you, though, it was not fun to knit. The herringbone stitches used are extremely fiddly. I had to employ an extra finger while knitting and it slowed me down considerably, but it was definately worth it. And practice does make perfect. I see this in the future and may be changing my mind about making dishcloths with the Patons Cotton Sahara. This bag used 70 grams of the Wendy Capri. So I do have some left.

As mentioned, I have one fingerless mitt finished and am working on the second one. The retro rib socks are coming along, I've finished the foot of one and am plodding along on the second foot.

Decisions Have Been Made

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! I've decided on patterns for these three yarns.

First up the Wendy Capri. After one false start knitting with this I realized it was more of a worsted weight than dk and decided upon the itsy-bitsy mesh bag pattery from Knitty. I'm more than half-way finished and just about ready to start the second ball so feeling good knowing I'll have enough yarn. This yarn is working perfectly and I really like it. Here's the progress pic.





Next on the list was the Patons Siberia. sparkli suggested the My So Called Scarf pattern. I haven't knit that before and took a look at the pattern, which is gorgeous! But after good consideration, this yarn is just too fluffy and nubby for the pattern stitch to show up well. So I went hunting online for a pattern, then I remembered a pattern from an Interweave Knits issue and have decided upon these fingerless mitts. They call for 100 gr and I only have 80 gr, but I've made full sized mittens with 100 gr of chunky yarn so I should be ok and I'm going to make them a bit shorter than the pattern calls for anyway so I think we'll be good. This is on page 7 of the Fall 2005 issue.



And finally the Patons Cotton Sahara, which, yes, has been mellowing for quite some time! christy j logically suggested a pillow top since it would match my living room. After looking though some pillow patterns I just couldn't see this cotton, nubby yarn as any of them! More thinking and came up with the equation: Cotton Yarn = Dishcloth. I think this cotton/nylon blend might actually make a very nice dishcloth, give it a bit more scrubbing power than a 100% cotton. Now the colours are way off for my kitchen so I'll gift these for Christmas. I should get a couple of cloths (maybe three?) from this yarn. Now I'll be haunting this list of dishcloth patterns.

PS - I am still working on the Retro Rib socks. I'm working the feet now.

Next blog post should some FO's and when I've knit this batch of yarn up I'll post the next selection of yarn from the box. So get your thinking caps ready to help me again!

And Now for Something Completely Different

I am taking a new direction in this blog. I have a purpose!

I have a huge stash which I actually have not really added to in quite some time. A few odd balls here and there and some thrifted yarn but no big yarn purchases for a couple of months now.

So here is my purpose for this blog. I am going to knit up my stash! My stash is quite large and contains everything from 100% acrylics to 100% wool with everything inbetween. Nice yarn and not so nice yarn. Yarn I haven't knitted because it's too nice, yarn I haven't knitted because I don't know what to knit with it. I have an incredible amount of odd balls that just sit around and seem to multiply.

Now, I'm not saying I won't buy yarn anymore but I am going to knit from the stash on a regular basis.

What stash you ask? This stash:


Bottom of closet


Top of closet

Now, it may not look like a lot to some of you but trust me those boxes are big and absolutely stuffed full of yarn. Some of the boxes only close properly because of the boxes sitting on top of them!

Starting off this stash-busting project we have the first box, which was not included in the above pictures. This box is only half full.



First Goal of The Stash Project: Knit up this box of yarn.

But I need your help. This box is full of odd balls and I have a hard time thinking of small items to knit with odd balls. Please give me your input! Here are the first balls I've moved to my knitting basket. What should I knit with them?

1) Wendy Capri - 2 - 50 gr balls - no yardage - double knitting - 51% cotton/49% acrylic - colour is cream/off white


2) Patons Cotton Sahara - 50 gr blue, 75 gr peach - 115 yds per 50 gr - worsted weight - 89% cotton/11% nylon - as a note these colours match my living room.


3) Patons Siberia - 80 gr multi kind of burgundy and grey - no yardage - chunky weight - 77.5% acrylic/12% cotton/8.5% mohair/2% nylon


Any ideas?

Feather & Fan Comfort Shawl

I finally got around to taking a photo of the shawl I finished a bit ago.

Here is the feather and fan comfort shawl

Now, other than the continuing mitre blanket, I am currently working on the retro rib socks from Interweave Knits. Finally. I've wanted to knit these since I got that issue and every time I see them posted on someone's blog. I'm almost at the heels.

We Will Miss You

Wicker Basket

As I was working on the red/purple socks below the August sock of the month kit arrived. As soon as I opened it I knew I would be casting on the for these socks the second I was finished. And I did, they practically flew off the needles taking 3 days to complete. I love them!

Wicker Basket Sport Socks by Wooliedi. Yarn is Wick by Knit One Crochet Too which is soy. I've never used soy yarn before and it is wonderful!



P.S. - I finished the shawl last night! So more pics coming soon!

More Socks

Here is the promised FO!

These socks started out as the Lavender Lace Socks by Evelyn Clark in the book Vogue Knitting on the Go Socks Two but I made a lot of changes. Practically everything actually! But I did use the horseshoe lace pattern on the leg. The yarn used for the red is a vintage yarn: Mary Maxim 3ply 90% wool 10% nylon and was beautiful to knit with. Unsure as to what the purple yarns are but they are both the same brand and 100% wool.



I have another FO on the blockers right now and will post again soon!

Checking In

I haven't blogged in a bit so I'm checking in! I don't have any pics today as all my knitting is wips at the moment. I haven't been blogging but I am knitting. On the needles as of right now are:

1) the brown mitred blanket. Was working on it pretty regularly as tv knitting while doing the Unst socks but taking a bit of break right now.

2) started and am almost finished another feather and fan comfort shawl. I made two of these last year and wore them constantly last winter so feel another one is definatley needed.

3) working on the gussets of another pair of socks. Started working from a pattern but have modified it so much they really aren't the same as the original pattern anymore.

Next blog post should show a FO of either item #2 or #3.

We Have Unst

Finished my socks for the "Knitting on the Road" kal. These are Unst by Nancy Bush with some modification.

I knit the leg on #2 then switched to #1s for the heel and foot. I do not like holey feet so I did not carry the pattern down the foot, instead I continued in a rib pattern p1,k5,p1,k7. Yarn Trekking XXL. This yarn has a very long pattern repeat, it didn't start to repeat until I was 2" into the second sock ! and not an exact repeat either.



Currently on the needles: continuing to work on the miter (mitre) squares blanket and starting to look for a new sock to knit.

Currently On and Off the Needles

Off the Needles

Two more hats using up the colours from the previous ones. This is based on the 76 stitch hat from an older issue of interweave knits.



On the Needles

And as promised the sneak peak of the next mitred blanket I'm working on. I really love how this is turning out! The colours are a bit washed out in the photo but you get the idea.



Today the winner was announced for the next sock we will be knitting in the "Knitting on the Road" kal. I think I'm starting to miss the sock knitting as I cast on for it right away!



I think any knitter worth their salt knows what yarn that is!

And that is all she wrote folks!

She Who Likes To Knit Hats

Couple of more hats off the needles this week!

First a mosaic pattern that took me a week to knit. I don't know, mosaic is tooted as the easy alternative to stranded knitting but I am so slow with mosaic patterns and much prefer stranded. I like the look of mosaics though.



Then knit much faster (2.5 days!) is this stranded hat. At first I wasn't too sure about the pattern band (it seemed too busy) but the more I look at it the more I like it. I really like the colours here. I'm using up odd balls for these hats and it is forcing me to find colour combos that wouldn't normally come to me. Pink, brown, yellow, gold and blue!



And I have started working on the next mitred (mitered) blanket with the butterscotch yarn and am loving it! Will get a sneak peek photo for you some time soon.

Another Blanket

Yeah!! I finished the blanket. This was total random using my scraps and black as the main colour. Haven't measured it but it is quite big. Hanging on my fence it looks a little crooked but it really lays perfectly flat. So, I'm already planning the next one using an old 60/40 wool/acrylic nubby yarn from my stash, a delicious butterscotch colour. This will be a little more planned as I'll only use scraps that go with the MC (both co-ordinating and contrast colours). I've already got something in mind for the next black scrap one, too. It won't be squares next time, if my plan works out. We'll see. But in the meantime I've started another hat and feel another hat binge coming on.

Thrifty Knitting Finds

Well, this weekend I got some nifty finds from garage sales. But first knitting news. After the hat bonanza last week I figured I better get this black mitre blanket finished before I do anymore so I've been working away on it. I'm on the final rotation of squares and have 2 of the four sides finished. Next post should see a FO pic!



In the front some hat pattern booklets. The hardcover book is "The Big Book of Knitting" 1948 and in the back is a really cool automatic i-cord knitter! You thread the little "machine", close Granny's head and crank her feet for lots of i-cord!

I May Have a Problem ...

Well ... um .... I think I have a little problem. What do you think?



I can't stop knitting these things!! I just love going round and round and round. And the great thing about hats compared to socks is ... you only have to knit one!

Friday's Finds, Knitting and More

Well, this week I didn't do much thrifting at all. I did pop into an antique/junk store and managed to pick this up. 1937 woman's magazine has lots of cool images and ads plus some knitting patterns; and two old postcards



All was not lost though as I managed to get a couple of real good deals on ebay this week. A lot of vintage birthday cards and a lot of old photographs.





Some of you were quite interested in the altered puzzles I was participating in and with the move and all I never got a chance to post pictures but I have received three completed puzzles now. Each piece was altered by a different artist, I haven't completed the frames yet but have to share how wonderful these are. Click on the images to see larger.







And finally, Yes, I do knit! I'm still working on a mitred blanket. This will be my third one this year, as you may remember I decided to see how many I could make this year. I'm getting ready to finish it, I have to buy another ball of black then I'm going to do the final finishing round. I'm getting a bit tired of it and besides I have 7 balls of a butterscotch coloured yarn that I'm anxious to use as the main colour for the next one.

Also started a new project and will leave you with a little teaser of the WIP.

Friday is for Thrifty Finds

I do a lot of thrifting: going to thrift stores, garage sales, estate sales, flea markets, antique stores, junk stores, you get the idea.

Sometimes I score big, others nothing, and a lot of in-between. I'm going to start sharing my finds on Fridays.

These all came fron one visit to a Goodwill, one evening this week.

Click on the pictures to read the notes.

What do you do in the middle of a hot summer?

Why ... knit mittens! of course. Don't ask me why but I started knitting some munstersockens for myself using odd bits of leftover sock yarn and before I knew it they decided to fingerless mitts instead. I love them.

Pattern: just made it up as I went along
Yarn: leftover sock yarn

Lights, Camera, Action!

I got my camera fixed!!!

YEAH!!!

It has been so hard to have the desire to blog when I don't have a camera. Not that I've done much knitting but having a pic to post sure makes you more likely to blog. So here I finally have the mitred blanket I finished when my dh was away just before we moved.


Click here to enlarge.

I have been knitting but not finishing. The munstersockens I was knitting have turned into fingerless mitts and are almost finished but I have been working on another black, scrap miter blanket most of the time. You will notice I spell mitre both the correct way "mitre" and the American way "miter" so Google will find me either way! I'm not really into my kal's at the moment. It is just so hot out here (though it hasn't been too bad just lately) that I can't get the desire to knit much. I do want to knit some cotton footies though and as soon as I can get those mitts done I'll start. It's too hot to wear socks most of the time but I hate not wearing them that I think cotton footies should solve the problem.

Continuing with my summer reading program. Finished "Seventh Son" by Orson Scott Card and ""Grim Tuesday" by Garth Nix. Currently reading "Drowned Wednesday" and have the Thursday book up next.

Book Meme

From here
1. Copy & paste.
2. Bold the ones you’ve read.
3. Add four recent reads to the end. - I'm adding 4 books you should read.
4. Tag! - you're it!

The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown - (saw the movie though!)
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams
The Great Gatsby - F.Scott Fitzgerald
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter 6) - J.K. Rowling
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
1984 - George Orwell
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3) - J.K. Rowling
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4) - J.K. Rowling
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter 5) - J.K. Rowling
Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Book 1) - J.K. Rowling
Neuromancer - William Gibson
Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) - J.K. Rowling
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
Ender’s Game (The Ender Saga) - Orson Scott Card
Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson
A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Good Omens - Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
Atonement - Ian McEwan
The Shadow Of The Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Dune - Frank Herbert
The Unberable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland
The Nature of Blood - Caryl Phillips
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules -Ed. David Sedaris
I Know This Much is True - Wally Lamb
Empire Falls - Richard Russo
American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley - Adam Cohen & Elizabeth Taylor
Devil in the White City - Erik Larson
Seeing - Jose Saramango
White Teeth - Zadie Smith
Sophie's World - Jostein Gaardner
Ursula Under - ingrid Hill
Mountains Beyond Mountains - Tracy Kidder
In the Time of the Butterflies - Julia Alvarez
God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
The World According to Garp - John Irving
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
The Sword of Shannara - Terry Brooks
Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell

Boy, I haven't read many of these. In fact I haven't even heard of quite a few of them!

{Pant} Too {Pant} Hot {Pant} to Knit!

It. Is. Too. Hot. To. Knit!

Just popping in to say I'm still here. No knitting news to marvel you with today:-) Temperature right now with humidity factor is 44C (111F for my American readers). {How do you make those degrees symbols?} Tried working on my socks this a.m. and the wool practically melted to my fingers.

So instead of knitting this week, I've been reading. My reading the last couple of months (maybe the whole year) has been pathetic. Bouncing from one thing to another and not really getting into any page turning reading. So ... I made a pact with myself to pick a few favourite authors I haven't read much of and do some serious library borrowing this summer. I picked three authors to keep me going incase the library doesn't have the next book in a series when I'm there. (I hate waiting for holds, they always come when I've just started Ch. 1 of a new book and the pressure to read both books in 3 weeks puts me off reading either.)

So here are my choices for summer reading and my current reads.

Author #1 - Garth Nix

I've only read the Seventh Tower series and thought it was brilliant. Would love this to be made into a movie! I've also read #1 of the Keys to the Kingdom series (Mister Monday) and am really excited to continue with this still-in-progress series. I think he still has to release Saturday and Sunday.

Current Reading: I just finished "Shades Children". This was awesome! I read half of it the first evening, a page turner and very thought provoking.

Author #2 - T.A. Barron

I read the "Lost Years of Merlin" series last year and was hooked. I'm a big fan of Arthurian fantasy and a focus on Merlin is even better! Wonderful series, highly recommended. He's just started a new series that lines up the "Lost Years" and I have to go back and read his first set of books.

Author #3 - Orson Scott Card

A prolific writer of many genres from old testament to science fiction. I've only read the Ender series and the first Shadow book. These are among the best books ever, imho. Oh, I've also read "The Lost Boys" which is more of a horror/ghost story and I thought it was brilliant. I'm pretty quick at figuring out where a plot is going but I was pleasantly surprised with the twist in this one. So, I have many books to choose from here. I'm only going to read his fiction and will give one of the old testament books a try also. I enjoy Biblical fiction, especially OT.

Current Reading - Three quarters of the way through "Seventh Son" (the first in the Alvin Maker series) and loving every page of it. I used to read a lot of historical fiction and this is a compelling alternate history story combining hisfic with fantasy. PS - the best alternate history book I've read is "Ruled Britiannia" by Harry Turtledove

Maybe more than you wanted to know about my reading habits! Am trying to knit a bit in the evenings when it cools down. I'm working on the munstersocken for myself but I may have a twist of my own to show you when they are finished!

One Ladybug

Finished the first ladybug chevron sock!



Haven't started the second one yet as I cast on for another sock last night. You knew I couldn't wait till the kotr-kal new sock was announced, didn't you? Well, it's just another munstersocken using scraps but this time for me. I've only made these for kids so far, but I have so many sock yarn leftovers now I have to start using them up.

Finally a FO

Well, I had intended to post before this but on Sunday I came down with a horrible cold. By Tuesday I couldn't lift my arms to knit (then the family knew I was really sick), by Wednesday I was a zombie leaving my bed only to go to the bathroom. Started getting better on Thursday since I picked up the needles again and I finally have a Finished Object. It feels like months since I've finished a pair of socks but let's see ... my last socks were finished on April 14 so, yeah, it's been a while.

Here we have the Denmarks. My camera is out of commission so I had to take a scan.



Pattern: Denmark from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Filatura De Crosa 501
Notes: This yarn is a DK weight and I followed the pattern pretty closely. Lovely yarn, btw, I'm not really into tweeds but this green just called out to me. I used US3 for the body of the sock but switched to US2 for the heel and toe and I used my normal star toe instead of as written.

Due to the camera situation I will not be posting a picture of the blue mitre blanket yet but don't worry I'll show you as soon as I can.

Currently on the needles: The ladybug chevron socks and a black scrap mitre blanket. The new kotr kal sock will be chosen soon so I may not start another sock until then but you never know ... (!!)

I'm Back!

Just a quick post to say I'm back and well. Internet was hooked up this weekend but I don't have email yet. The move went well ... the drive out here was long, it took us 5 days. Unpacking is going slowly but surely. Thank you so much for all the comments on my last post! Will post again later in the week.

Away For A While

Totally non-knitting post!

I've been away for a while and will be gone for a bit longer. Long story follows!

We have to move because our landlord was selling our house and just a little while after that news my dh lost his job. We've been wanting to move away from the city and really wanted to go out of the province. So my dh went to the St. Catharines area of Ontario to look for work. The first night he was out there I called the motel to talk to him and found out that the motel had virtually (but not totally) burned down in a fire and the customers had been evacuated and sent elsewhere. I then spent the worst night of my life while my dh was missing (to me) for 18 hours! He finally called and was alright. Anyway he was gone 4 days and came home not with a job but with prospects and he did find a place for us to rent at $200 cheaper than what we currently pay.

So this was last weekend and we are moving this weekend! It has been a whirlwind week full of many stressful situations. Have you ever tried to move across the country in just one week! Whew!!!!

Then when we gave notice our landlord told us she was going to rent the place now anyway for $300 more than what we pay. This moring the ad went in the paper and we had people here looking at the place then three families were here all at the same time. They all went onto the front lawn and a bidding war started and we found out that she got an extra $100 more a month than she was asking for the place. Rent here has become outrageous! I just can't believe people have to offer to pay more than the asking price just to get a place.

So folks, I am moving to Niagara Falls, Ontario in the moring! We will take about 4 days to get there and I'll be gone from blogging until I get my internet connection back up. I'm looking forward to arriving as I am originally from Ontario and it will be nice to see familiar places once again, I've been gone about 15 years.

Needless to say I haven't knit much through this. I haven't knit a stitch on the socks but I did finish the blue mitre blanket during my dh's absense.

I'll be back in about a week, two at the most.

Cleaning Out

I have some more items on ebay. This time some books by Debbie Bliss, Sasha Kagan, Jean Moss and more. Check 'em out.

Sneak Peak

Here is a sneak peak of the two socks I am currently knitting. I usually try to have two different sock patterns on the go at one time as I get bored very easily.

This first is the chevron pattern from Sensational Socks and I think I may be in love. This has got to be the most fun I have ever had with a pattern. I'm using Opal Ladybug for this.



Next up is the Denmark socks for the kotr kal. I'm knitting these 2 at the same time on dpns. I have the leg of the first finished and halfway done the leg on the second. Yarn is Filatura De Crosa 501.

Vogue Knitting Magazines

I just put a bunch of old Vogue knitting magazines from the 80s and 90s on ebay today. All .99 cent starting bids. If interested check 'em out here.

Warmed Up Leftovers Socks

Just a quick post this holiday weekend. Finished the munstersocken for the 5yo, these were made with odds and sods of leftover sock yarn, basic 56 st. pattern and a 2x2 rib. The 5yo choose the red for the heel and toe. Picture is a scan this time as he is too busy playing in the backyard to pose for a foot photo.



Enjoy your Easter!

Pink Ladder Socks

Socks are rolling off the needles these day! Sure feels good to get back to fun socks! Here are the latest:



Pattern: Pink Ladder Socks by Nancy Walsh from the January sotmc kit
Yarn: Cascade Bollicine Dolly on 2.75 mm needles
Notes: Fun, easy pattern, love the yarn ... soft and nice to knit.

Also on the heel in the photo is a miniature sock. I've wanted to do one of these for ages. Measures 2 inches!

On the needles:

2 mitre blankets: one with blue MC and one with black MC. Not rushing with these, just picking them up when I feel like mindless knitting

A pair of munstersocken with sock yarn scraps for the 5 year old

Denmark socks for the knitting on the road kal.

Norwegian Socks

ARE FINISHED!!!

I must say I feel relief that these are done. The second sock was knit very quickly which surprised me after the fiasco with the first.


Click here to enlarge.

I hate my camera, so no progress pics of the mitre blankets today, sorry.

Now, I'm working on the second pink ladder socks, but I'm also re-knitting toes on a couple of older socks. I was wearing these last week when my foot felt cold and I thought I had stepped in something wet, when I looked at the bottom of my foot I found a humungous hole on the bottom of the toe. I hate the toes on these anyway and am re-knitting star toes. One done, one to go. And a couple of weeks ago I took these away from the 5yo, since I could see his big toes starting to poke through. I will cut off the toes and then add a little length to the foot before reknitting the toes.