beginning of the end

I think that talking about holiday knitting jinxes me (could it be that I waited so long to start? maybe... :)) But again I have these high hopes to finish projects for my loved ones for the holidays, starting with the things I set down a year ago!


Cable and Rib Scarf by Knitspot.com
Patons Classic Merino, "grey mix"

It's the scarf that never ends! It looks really nice though (Dave knit this pattern up last year, more cushy in Cashmerino!), about halfway thru? I read somewhere that a scarf should be as long as the recipient is tall... my uncle towers over me at over six feet so I hope this isn't true :)

I also wanted to knit the Hemlock Ring blanket for my grandma, and started an Elizabeth Zimmerman Mystery Blanket for my son as practice...


Mystery Blanket from Knitter's Almanac (April)
Malabrigo/Handpainted Yarn worsted, "pollen" colorway
US 10, 60" Knit Picks Harmony circular needle

..and realize how little I enjoy knitting on an ever-growing circular blanket. Even at 60", my needle is too short for the project and I still have over half a ball of malabrigo to go til its done. So, I'm thinking about using the yarn (Interlacements Merino Worsted) to make Totally Autumn instead... thoughts? The 2 hanks are slightly different, so I'll alternate every pattern repeat for a slightly striped look.

Next year will be the big blanket project and I'll start early-- Knitter's Great American Aran blanket! Excited, but need to find a good wool first.

Still though, this will be a sweet holiday blankie for my son-- handwashable as it is :) (The above picture is actually my entry for the "How much can you stuff in your Piddleloop bag?" contest running at Ravelry-- contest ends Nov 12th... check out my hott grommet action!)

And, just between you and me-- the sock mojo came roaring back Tuesday afternoon and I had this sock done before sleep that night!


Handspun sock, based on Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' method
Handspun BFL yarn, "blackthorn" colorway-- roving from pigeonroofstudios.etsy.com
Started 23 October 2007
US 3 dpns-- 4

Something dirty to be said for inspiration striking, but again-- I'm worried for the jinx too much :)

Til then...

all over the place

happy thanksgiving? sure... too much food, too little family. mom got teary saying her twice yearly blessing over dinner, i ate all of the cranberries and the inside of my mouth was in a state of perpetual pucker, and my son just slapped his spoon in the potatoes and had about half a roll for dinner. good times :)

spent the day spinning outside with the too-alone-for-their-ages neighbor kids watching (started out well... "my grandma must have done that. cos she didn't have tv before we were born" but slowly degenerated into bickering and death threats amongst each other... they're only 6 and 3! oy...)


final skein of h2g2 roving, top right (appox 200yd)

the hitchhiker's guide yarn ended up shorter than the previous and without any yellow (one of my singles was much longer than the other), but... no knots! i think i'm learning, which is the point :) these will make their way to laurie in maine as soon as i can wedge myself out the door.


baby alpaca & silk roving in fawn
from mataharispinnery.com

my soft loose love is now a big squishy pile of yarn. if only everything were this simple. i started spinning this very fine as it seems i'm now accustomed to doing, but i didn't like the result... a little too wiry and definitely not the soft poof of the roving. so i tried to spin it thick in order to 2-ply it into an even thicker result-- it worked, even though it varied from dk to heavy worsted. not sure what i'll do with it, but its soft :) since i started spinning the roving very thin, i had a large bit of that single left over i navajo plied into a similarly weighted yarn. i've changed my mind, i like 2-plying better :) i think i may pick up a lazy kate and more bobbins to attempt 3+ plying... fun fun.

after thanksgiving, i had a sudden surprise... i decided that i will go to see my family this coming weekend (!!!) which of course sent me into a panic-- i am only about 1/4 of the way thru my uncle's scarf...


cable and rib scarf from knitspot
finished celtic cap from girl from auntie (november 21)
both in patons classic merino wool, grey mix

and still had many other gifts to finish for family i'll see then... of course i went into immediate panic mode and decided i'd just knit 18 hours day and finish everything by this weekend. after sleeping on that, i decided to relax and work on something else instead...


sherwood sweater from fall knitty 2006
brown sheep cotton fleece, wild orange
size 2, us 5 (3.75mm), addi 24" circular

sherwood, that i had set down when i started my holiday knitting. laying in bed, agonizing over the yet-to-be-knit gifts and what my son and i would be wearing to the holiday blowout, i realized it would be really silly to go buy him a new sweater when sherwood was aching to be finished. it just needs arms and a collar after marathoning it thru this weekend.

i realized that i had been knitting it incorrectly-- i had been knitting each cable cross, instead of following the pattern (either knit or purl). this probably resulted in the "sloppy" looking cables i had complained about-- now that i have fixed my mistake, they look more defined and flat. its not so bad i felt i had to frog though... :)

i'm hoping to finish the sweater and a pair of unfelted fuzzy feet for my dad this week (i'll be able to custom felt them for him when i see him this weekend, better than trying to mold them to my feet and hoping they fit his.) anything else done this week will just be gravy.

other definitions of gravy...


hypotenuse from knitspot
started: november 13, 2006 (?)
blue sky alpaca, alpaca silk dk in #123 (ruby) ... color's not correct
us 7 (4.5mm), addi

so.nice. i put in a few rows on this every once in a while, when i'm feeling selfish and need some "me" time :) the yarn is amazing and soft, way light and i love the color (its not correct in my photos.) i quickly memorized the pattern so its just a delight for me to zen out with late at nite, alone, dreaming in red. this is about a full skein of the alpaca silk (i bought 3)... i'm debating on adding a 4th when i get there for a really long scarf. how long are scarves supposed to be, anyway?


my new double pointed needle protectors holder from three owls knitting
front: ryc cashcotton, us 1.5 (2.5mm) in sugar (pink)
back: interlacements tiny toes, us 1 (2.25mm) in chairman of the board

i totally fell in love with sherry's dpn protector holders when she put her tek up, but i never got around to making any of my own (even though i kept finding needles poking out of my sock bags!) so i squealed with delight to find she had opened up an etsy shop and was selling them, and had added some beautiful beads to them as well. she cut down a set for me so i have a 6" set that fits my knit picks options dpns (which i like btw, if they made "regular" us sizing they'd probably be my needle of choice) and a 7" set that fit all of the other dpns i own. i'm holding myself back from ordering another set, i think there was enough gluttony over the turkey day weekend :)

wish me luck with sherwood, my family, life the universe and everything...