Lizard Ridge!

It's FINISHED! I am really happy with the way this turned out. I had my doubts as mine is a lot more colorful than the afghan shown in the pattern (the author maybe used the same colorway for all the blocks?), but it looks pretty, I think.


I made 35 blocks instead of 24 (too short and skinny with just 24), and I used pieces of the leftover balls of Kuryeon to crochet the edge.


Anyhoo, here are the photos (somehow I managed to take all these photos sans cats, which is freaky since they are all over this afghan all the time):


This photo was taken sometime on or just after Thanksgiving Day. It's partially sewn together. The little bits of white paper you see on some of the squares are labels so I knew the order in which to stitch the square together.

Here it is all sewn together, w/o the crochet edge. I had to have a crochet lesson from Roxanne (who is blogless) before I could proceed.

Viola!

But then, during final blocking, I found a hole. Of course I had to stick my finger in it, and it of course got bigger. The yarn broke! This has never happened to me before. Woe. So I darned it, darn it, and it's all better now.

Gentleman's Fancy Socks and Hogwart's Sock Swap

I knit these for Adrian (a.k.a. David), who was my swap partner in the Hogwart's Sock Swap II.

The pattern is from Nancy Bush's Vintage Socks, knit with Schaefer Anne in red 'cause Adrian is a Gryffindor on sizes 0 and 1. The pattern calls for 0s, but I was concerned about the heels being too tights, so I jumped up a needle size for the heels and part of the insteps. Adrian says they fit!

That's Rita Skeeter (courtesy of Judy) marking the end of the row.

I got this fabulous bunch of stuff from Adrian:

Kismet with the basket of goodies. Adrian also has a cat, so mine had to check things out extra-thoroughly.

These warm and wooly socks are knit with Lisa Souza sock yarn. I love them!!

Adrian included two sets of dpns and two boxes of Harry Potter stickers!

And a Harry Potter 2008 calendar.

And these beautiful stitch markers, also in Ravenclaw's house colors.

It's Chelsea's turn to check things out (she apprrrroves). The socks fit perfectly! I wear them all the time. :o)

Pearls of Wisdom

Earlier this week, I cast on Pearls of Wisdom, a Brenda Patipa pattern, which I purchased from Lisa Souza in a kit. The yarn is baby alpaca and silk, and the color is Celadon.

I finished the first Central Air sock from STR a while ago, and I finally managed to take a photo of it. I'm also working on the Hogwart's Sock Swap sock, but I can't post photos yet of course.

And last week, I finished the Silkworker silk that was on the butterfly wheel, and I set the first batch of the Fire Song kid mohair that was on the Traditional Ashford.

Spring Cardigan

So I've been working on this cardigan off and on (more off than on) for several years. When I got back into knitting in a serious way last year, this was this first thing I picked up, and I finished the left front in one night. However, it had been so long since I knit a cardigan that I forgot to knit both fronts at the same time. Argh.

Anyhoo, I'm blocking the pieces as I get them finished since blocking five pieces at once isn't bunches of fun, and they all take up quite a bit of room.

After looking at this photo on my computer screen, I realized I needed to fix the crooked way I had the back pinned!

I might give this to my sister, depending on how it turns out. These really aren't my colors. The sleeves are almost finished, and I'm about a third of the way done with the right front. It's mostly in stockinette, so I get really bored with it, which is why it's taken so long to get anywhere with this project!

Fall Weather?

Cooler weather makes me want to get back to my spinning, so last week when it was cooler than it is this week, I sat back down in front of two of my wheels. On the Ashford, I'm working on kid mohair from Fire Song, and on the butterfly wheel, I'm working on silk from the Silkworker.

I gave the VLT fichu to Loretta for her birthday, and it happens to go very well with a necklace she bought from me last year.

Summer Knitting

First, I have a finished project! It's A Wide Triangle from Victorian Lace Today (one down and 100 to go). I ran out of yarn a couple weeks ago, just inches from the end, so I had to call Habu and have them send more. They said they only had a little bit left, so I said to send whatever was left, and now I think I have enough to make another little scarf. Ah well.

It's knit with Habu Tsumugi A-1 2/17 on size 5 needles in color number 46. The beads along the edge were sold at Bead Obsessions (until we ran out). Dear Chelsea honestly believes it's impossible for me to block without her "help."

I'm still working on Grasshopper and Central Air, but sock priority right now is with my Hogwart's Sock Swap 2 sock for Adrian. No photos in case he peeks in here. Also still on the needles are MS3 and a sweater. And Lizard Ridge plods along, hopefully fast enough for Christmas!

I'm in the process of switching all my photo links to a new Flickr account, so hopefully I won't have any broken links!

Island Knitting

St. John was beautiful and wonderful! We had a great time, and we were able to really destress. It's amazing what happens to time on the islands. Vacation photos can be found here.

I completed clue 1 for MS3. That's Coral Bay in the background. The photo was taken from the deck of the place we rented.

Since I didn't have (or want) access to the Internet, I missed the posting of clue 2 and was consequently behind pretty much from the get-go. Then of course there was the post-vacation craziness when we returned, so I didn't start on clue 2 until this week, and I finished it yesterday.

I also worked on Lizard Ridge and socks for my mom. The socks are Central Air pattern and Rooster Rock colorway, both from Blue Moon Fibers.

Hogwarts Sock Swap Two Questionnaire

Hogwarts Sock Swap Questionnaire

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into? A: Ravenclaw

2. Shoe size? A: 9.5 wide

3. Foot Length? A: 10”

4. Foot Circumference? A: 9”

5. List your three favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length.

A: In no particular order:
a. Clover
b. Knit Picks
c. Inox
Size and length: I like to have various lengths in my needle palette, in sizes 0000 through 8 (obviously not just for socks).

6. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length? A: Sure, anything not plastic. The only ones I’ve hated so far are the Pony Pearl DPNs.

7. If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference? A: Book colors (blue and bronze), but not a strong preference.

8. Allergies? Do you have any? Will your knitting be exposed to smoke or animals? A: No allergies, and I have cats.

9. Are you an international participant (outside US)? Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal? A: I am in the U.S., and I’m willing to have an international pal.

Would you like to join the Hogwarts Sock Swap? Registration started July 14, 2007. Click here for more information and to join; hurry, 'cause I think it's closing soon (it's almost full)!

June Update

First of all, this is, apparently, why I knit:

i.e., to provide bedding for Chelsea.

She's appearing below as the Llama Slut, a follow-up to her debut as the Yarn Harlot.

So I finished my top-down raglan, which was a KAL with Sweet Life Knitters. I finished knitting on June 12, then I blocked, and the wove in the ends just the other night. I made it large enough to fit my husband, so it's a bit large on me, but I don't think he will wear it (he doesn't like the stitch pattern on the sleeves). Ideally, he would like something knit entirely in stockinette stitch, and I would die of boredome making soemthing like that, so he may never receive a sweater knit by me.
It's very warm, knit in organic Columbian wool. It will be great outerwear in the fall and winter.

I've swatched for the Mystery Stole 3. It's Habu 2-ply cashmere (from my stash!), and I swatched on size 4 needles; I'm happy with this combo. The color is a very dark eggplant, and I still need to pick out the beads. I am pretty sure I'm going to try to do this KAL. I love Melanie's patterns.

Knitting along

I love Lizard Ridge! I'm doing some blocking as I go 'cause doing it all at once would not be a whole lotta fun. And it's nice to see it laid out a bit.

And here's my progress on Knee High to a Grasshopper:

Work continues on the top-down rag. I'm taking it with me this weekend to Philly. We're taking the train, so that's lots of good knitting time.

And finally, some beauties from the garden:

Finished Project Alert!

Yay!! Allegro socks from Red Bird Knits sock of the month club are (finally) finished! They're blocking as I write. I love the toe on these toe-up socks. This was my first toe-up pair. The yarn in Colinette Cadenza in color Lapis.

Top-Down Rag Progress

We have a complete left sleeve (and a cat):

High Meadow Farm Lodge

Photos of where we vacationed in February can be found here.

High Meadow Farm Lodge is a great place to hide from the world and get lots of beading, knitting, reading, etc., done!

I have FPs!

Believe it or not, I have finished projects!

First, I made a pair of fingerless gloves for a friend's birthday at the beginning of February, but they left the house without a single photo of them taken. :o( I used the Fetching pattern from Knitty. Nice, quick pattern.

Then I finised a pair of fingerless gloves for myself using this pattern with kid mohair I spun, purchased from Fire Song Fibers at Maryland Sheep and Wool. I've checked the list of vendors on festival's Web site, and Fire Song isn't listed there. Hmmm....

Then I finished Chris's Aran sweater. It was knit in ecru bulky wool from Brown Sheep (Lamb's Pride). I had a dye lot problem, so I died the parts in a synthetic dye, dark blue, to try to rid me of my problem. I didn't have pots big enough to do all four pieces in one pot, so I ended up with a dye lot problem of different sort. I went ahead and finished the piece, and as soon as my new used 100-quart stock pot arrives, I'll be dying the finished sweater again to try to even out the color variations.













Then I finished Swallowtail! Yay!!! My first lace shawl. I am very happy with the finished product! The pattern is lovely, although the nupps weren't too much fun, I got through them. I was very glad I read about the problems other knitters had with them and the useful tips they had (i.e., hold a second needle while making the YOs).