Perfect Timing

Or maybe not...seeing as it's finished, just in time to be set aside for hot weather knitting.

I recently put the finishing touches on my last sweater for the season. It involved button try-outs...and these are the winners.

Here they are all sewn on. Curious to see what I knit? Head over here and see.

Two Years

in the making....f new finished object is off the needles :) I can't believe it took quite so long. What is it you ask? come over here and find out!

Undulating

Pre-blocking, lace always makes interesting topographies. As usual, I was amazed at how much this grew during the blocking/dressing process. For finished photos, pop over here.

Freshly Ruffled

with beads! Freshly bound off the needles is a brand new red lace shawl (because I apparently am still stuck quite firmly in my red knitting phase) - This was a relatively fast knit, and the edging is really quite lovely. Straight off the needles, the shawl is very ruffly, and looks more shawl-ette sized....it's got a date with the sink and some pins though, so we'll see how it all turns out once everything is all said and done :D

Much Better

There is now a much better photo of that cabled cardigan over on the finished objects blog :) The buttons aren't quite affixed yet - but my designated criteria for completed was to have all knitting completed - I have a hard time pre-selecting buttons and prefer to drag any finished object into the yarn store to compare how different buttons look on the finished item. I plan on sewing the buttons by the weekend...hopefully the weather will stay cool so it can be worn before being packed away for the hot season!

Medalist?

So...the closing ceremony happened last Sunday....

...but I've been seriously behind and haven't had the time to write up the full details of my Olympic Knitting....
I am happy to say that I did finish - and before the closing ceremonies too! Though I didn't get quite as much done as I wanted (meaning I was hoping to finish off some other WIPs if there was time once the cardigan was done) :) Full details and photos (though it looks like I'm going to have to retake a whole bunch of them due to poor lighting) over here.

Progress Check

Cast on during opening ceremony on Friday, February 12.

I'm sad to report there were several false starts - the first of which was casting on and completing the ribbing on the Wrong Sized Needles. *sigh*. So back it went, ripped right back out and started over with correct needles...even remembered to switch to appropriate needle size once ribbing was complete - the saving grace? Big yarn and a minimal amount of knitting at hem.

Next false start: Pattern error in row 1! That's right folks, pattern error and no published errata. I thought for sure I was going bonkers, but I counted the number of stitches accounted for in the pattern, and sure enough, not all stitches cast on were accounted for - was able to figure it all out based on subsequent rows....

3 days later and here we are:

The back is finished :) I sure hope the gauge swatch does not lie, because I need this to stretch and widen before I do all the assembly.

The Right Front has now been cast on...with a repeat of the comedy of errors that started the back *sigh*

17 days.

In case you weren't paying attention, the 2010 Olympics started last week....as did the Knitting Olympics :) Last winter olympics, I finished off a sweater, then tore it back and finished it again... I'm hoping for somewhat less drama this time around :) (if you're curious about the whole thing, check out February 2006 in the archives)

The plan of attack for this Olympics? A cabled cardigan for my husband from this book:

Men's Knits: 20 New Classics. Unfortunately, I haven't a photo of the sweater in question -but if all goes well, you'll see it soon enough as it comes off the needles :) I did some preparation for the event by winding the yarn and swatching. Including washing and drying the swatch in question - I've been surprised with several sweaters where they grew incredibly during the washing that I really should know better by now...

All the yarn was wound onto the same ball.....I sure hope it's enough! Stay tuned for updates :)

Plagued by Frogs

Lucky for me, this is not my olympic knitting project...though maybe they ought to be seeing as they've been stranded on the needles for so long. I've been working on these since March 2008 according to Ravelry. I recently picked them back up and was knitting along making fantastic progress...or so I thought. I was looking at them more closely, and had been wondering why the gusset was taking so long...and to my horror, I realized I picked up 2x the number of stitches I should have on the heel flap. No wonder the gusset took so long! Of course, I didn't realize my mistake until just after the gusset was completed and I was onto the arch shaping (wondering why it didn't correspond at all to my arch...now I know!) - so they've been frogged clear back to the heel flap - I've managed to finish the gusset again, though these are now going to sit on the end of the couch awaiting the completion of this year's Olympic Knitting project...stay tuned :)

Priorities

Look! My first FO in 2010 - a custom case for my my christmas present. I'm calling it practice for my Squirrel Mitts. Nevermind that I've still got some other knitting that I'm supposed to be working diligently on.

For more photos, pop on over here.

Christmas Knitting....

After having spun up those two yarns recently, I had to wind em up into yarncakes...1) so I could see how they looked in cake form and 2) so that I could start knitting with them immediately! Yes, they've been transformed...but I can't say anything more until after the holidays ;)

Textured

After I finished up with Audrey, I jumped in with a quick knitting sock project - these fairly flew off the needles - I think they took 2 weeks total, with knitting only on evenings and weekends. Not bad for a pair of socks destined for my husband's feet! More details? Of course! Have a look over here.

And once again....

I pushed the yarn usage to its limits :) that would be less than one meter of yarn left over from knitting my latest sweater. She's been done since November 14th, but I've been sorely neglecting my blog...anyone else wondering where all the spare time is going? If you know, please tell me. I need some.

Full details and lots more photos can be found here, on the finished objects blog. The yarn was purchased years ago, well before I was a spinner - at a farmers market in Oregon. I remember asking the sellers with some level of urgency if it was enough for a sweater, and sure enough, it was :) It's been moldering around in my stash waiting for the perfect inspiration to declare what it wanted to be, and took its own sweet time doing so, but I couldn't be happier with the result!

A fan on a mission

This past summer, I added Ree Drummond's blog to my google reader list. I think I stumbled into her blog when someone pointed me at a recipe - then I got hooked on her writing - the little glimpses into her life, her photography, and even the peeks into homeschooling. I was pretty darned excited to find out that she's gone and released a cookbook!

The Pioneer Woman Cooks is a lot like Ree's blog - beautiful to look at and a pleasure to read. While it is chock full of recipes (many also on her website), it's also chock full of photographs - of her family, of the ranch and ranch life, and of course, of the food. I'm really enjoying pouring over this book. Of course, when I found out that Ree would be at a local bookstore for a signing, I had to go.

The event itself was a little crazy, and was totally overrun - I went prepared with my knitting (and was caught in the act in one of the captures on PW's blog.) I hear Ree was busy signing into the wee hours - making sure that every copy was signed before she left. It was a pleasure to meet her and personally thank her for such a great read, hopefully she doesn' t think I'm a total nut for having her hold my socks in my photo with her. She was far too gracious to let on if she did think I was crazy. :)

More sweaters...

In most places in the country it's autumn...and has been for a while. In hopes of enticing Autumn back down here properly, I'm casting on for another sweater.

Hello, Audrey, from the fall 2009 Twist Collective. The pattern was recommended by Illanna while I was busy pondering just what to do with some yarn that's been in my stash for ages...it's a handspun yarn from Su-dan farm in Oregon - purchased, if I'm remembering right, on a visit up to the Pacific Northwest for work when I managed to squeeze in a trip to a local farmer's market. This was before I learned how to spin, so it's been sitting in my stash trying to decide what it wants to be for a while.


Pattern in hand, I wound all my skeins into one gigantic cake, and swatched away. The sweater will definitely look more rustic than the one in the pattern photo thanks to the handspun nature of the yarn - but i think it's going to turn out wonderfully :)

cutting it close...as usual

It seems several of my projects of late have been of the last minute variety - sadly, I didn't manage to finish a single pair of socks during Socktober...mostly because I was distracted knitting something else. The above curl of yarn is all that was left after I bound off. The project in question was finished and blocked the night before I packed it up and took it to a fantastic wedding...this seems to be developing into a theme...Have a look here to see how the frantic knitting turned out :)

Oh and yes, those would be a string of bacon and egg lights - they are in my BIL's kitchen, and I have no idea where he got them, but I really like em a lot :)

I need to stop

with the casting on of projects with lots of stitches on small sized needles...Or rather I need to stop doing so when I have a deadline in mind that is less than a month away.

I've recently cast on for the Featherweight Cardigan from Knitbot (Hannah Fettig) - she's the same designer that came up with the Whisper Cardigan, which wears more like a long bodied shrug - the yarn I've selected for the featherweight cardi is finer than that called for in the pattern, and as a result, I've found myself knitting on US3s. Somehow I don't think this was such a good idea...but i have three weeks to try to get it done! Of course, I'm still pondering pattern modification - I'm thinking of adding cable detailing to the ribbing and the front/collar section. We'll see how that goes - of course, I'll keep you posted!

and now...

...something wee.

Knitting for babies is great for instant gratification :) especially if you go and use big-ish yarn :) have a look at what recently came off the needles in a bout of stealth gift knitting!

Down to the wire!

The Secret of Chrysopolis Shawl, which I apparently cast on for 2 years ago this month, has been finished, and the knitting needles officially harvested!

it's currently staked out and blocking, getting ready to pack it up and take it with me for a wedding. Finished, it's an impressive 27.5" wide, and probably about 6-feet long. Of course, once it's unstaked, there will be more photos :)

Houston...

...we have a problem.

See that wee bit of yarn? Not nearly enough for oh...150+ rows more of knitting, is it? Thank goodness I am dyer...but probably better, the second skein was still available! I'm making swift progress on harvesting the needles out of this project by way of actually finishing it. I'm now knitting down to the wire - I want it done for an event this weekend. If I am going to make it, I need to have this baby staked out and blocking by Saturday Night...think it'll happen?