Ok, this sock yarn obsession has got to stop. Now look what I got...
LIME AND VIOLET! Wooohoooo!! I managed to score the Darvoset skein from Miss Violet's Better Living Through Chemicals set. Tres gorgeous. And soft. (At this moment, L&V have a new series up on their site. I froze my credit cards in blocks of ice so as not to be tempted.) I'm pretty sure this is going to be the Horcrux socks. If you want the sock weight pattern, you have to join this Yahoo Group, which I did, just to get the pattern. Much as I love plain jane stockinette socks for their simplicity, I'm ready to branch out into patterned socks. To wit...Here's the Katsara tube socks to date.
I'm going to have to come up with a new name because I'm not planning on making these actual tube socks. Unless I have to hard a time reworking the pattern, I intend to put in a heel flap and gusset. Think they'll fit better that way.
Progress on the Bamboo socks. 
These are so soft and light. Will be perfect for summer, if I can just find time to work on them!
This last week I've mostly been working on a machine knit sweater. I didn't take time to take pictures. The process goes so fast, it's hardly worth taking time for pictures. Now I'm doing the seaming up - which always seems to take as long (or longer) than it took to knit the sweater! Pictures next week.
My latest batches of soap.
I'm very pleased with these. On the left is a eucalyptus/orange blend, smells dreamy. On the right is a new batch of Castile. This time I put just a touch of green coloring. I thought the first batch was too pale, and this puts me more in mind of olive oil. The olive oil I'm using right now is very pale so it doesn't really lend any color of it's own to the soap. I'm patiently waiting for my lavender to bloom. Mom had requested some lavender soap with actual lavender buds. I think this sounds like a great idea and hope to give it a try.
As if I don't have enough projects going and in the wings...I did buy yarn for one more project. Be still my heart...
Fleece Artist/Handmaiden SeaSilk in Seashore. For those who haven't heard of this yarn, it's made from silk and seacell which comes from seaweed. It is unbelievably soft. This yarn would make the perfect pet, no need to even knit it up. I could simply carry the skein around and be happy. However, I do intend to knit it up. I was originally prompted to buy the yarn to make the Montego Bay scarf in the Summer 07 Interweave Knits (after the HUGE disappointment of the eBay yarn). But the more I think about it, I'm thinking shawl. Now, I'm not much of a lace fan, and this is laceweight yarn so I may just be screwed. But I'm willing to try. Eventually. For now, good pet.
It's Memorial day weekend and it sure feels like the start of summer. Our second 90 degree day in a row. The garden is loving it. I must say, I'm quite please with how the garden is turning out this year. I put in fewer plants this year and rotated where things are planted. We put down weed barrier cloth and topped everything with straw. I think it looks pretty, but more important, I'm hoping I don't have to do much weeding when it's stifling hot out. This is the main part of the garden.
In the front row there's a Tom Thumb cherry tomato in a pot (barely visible), Big Beef tomato, Better Boy tomato. Next, between the tomato trellises there is a rosemary and two basil plants, but they are too small to see yet. Next row, 2 Roma tomatoes. Next 2 Sweet Slicer cucumbers. I'm trying a homemade trellis made with steel enforced plastic posts and heavy twine. Those cages just didn't cut it last year. The rest of this bed has onions. 5 rows of Candy sweets (planted from onion sets) and 2 rows of Walla Walla from seed. The Walla Wallas aren't doing so well, but I'm trying to baby them along, keeping my fingers crossed.
This is the side bed where I usually plant my tomatoes. This year I've got a yellow squash (which I'm hoping doesn't spread too much (they can get pretty huge and that bed's only 3 foot wide, YIKES). Next are 4 Big Bertha bell peppers. I've got 3 eggplants after that, but they haven't grown a bit since I planted them a month ago. They haven't died, but they aren't flourishing either. Will have to see what becomes of them. Finally, two rows of radishes and 2 rows of spinach, both of which I was able to harvest some of today.
This week yarn porn...SOCKS THAT ROCK!!!!!!!!
I am so not exaggerating when I say EVERYONE in the knitting blogosphere is raving about this yarn. And has been raving for a good long time. But since I run hot and cold with sock knitting, I've never wanted to shell out the money to get some. Then I saw a skein come up on the KnitSwap list for $12. How could I resist? This is STR mediumweight in Lagoon. It's so soft and pretty. I carried it around with me and left it sit on the coffee table where I could see it for several days. I'm saving it for Summer of Socks. I'm REALLY hoping this sock-jones doesn't where off before then.
I also got this set of sock yarn from a seller on ebay. 
She described the yarn as "so silky you'd swear its half mohair". I beg to differ. The yarn is pretty, although the colors are nothing like what they looked like in the auction picture. But to me the yarn feels coarse. I'm not at all sure what I'm going to do with it. I had thought of knitting Montego Bay from the Summer IK. But after swatching this yarn for it, I don't think that would work. Definitely not going to be socks since it's way to scratchy. I've got about 500 yds total. Any ideas?
The Mister Joe Blanket socks are finished. Although I couldn't get a decent picture for the life of me.
This very unflattering photo at least shows off the patterning and funky heel detail. The socks are incredibly comfortable. This isn't a widely talked about yarn, but I sure like it.
Currently on the needles: I've finished the first of the Regia Bamboo socks and am well underway on sock 2. I've cast on the Katsara yarn using the stitch pattern from the Tube sock pattern from Drops. Do check out their site. Hundreds of free patterns. The search function is kind of flaky, but lots of great patterns.
I recently decided to try to catch up on some of the new knitting podcasts. Well, new to me. Since I've been spending so much time working in the garden, I've had plenty of time to load up the MP3 player and listen. Boy, I had no idea what I was missing! Brenda Dayne is still the reigning queen of knitting podcasts, but there are a ton of great ones out there now. I'll try to get the sidebar updated soon. Meanwhile, if you've been living under a rock as I apparently have been, check these out:
Socks in the City
Sticks and String
Stash & Burn
and finally...
Lime and Violet OMG, I can not say enough good things about this podcast. They irreverent, totally yarn obsessed, sweet, funny, smart, everything! Go, download, listen, laugh your ass off! Warning, they are SERIOUS stash enablers. I can not listen while at the computer for fear of buying everything in yarn porn.
Mother's day was this past weekend. Here was my gift to mom...
A lovely scarf knit from some of the fab wool she brought me from New Zealand. So totally the wrong time of year for a mohair scarf, but she seemed to love it anyway. I made the pattern up, an inch or so of garter stitch, 1 row drop stitch, K 1 row, 1 row drop stitch, repeat until you run out of yarn. I should have made the scarf slightly skinnier so it would have been longer, but it's a completely usable scarf as is. I did a bit of beading in the fringe which looks really cute and adds a bit of weight to help the very light scarf hang a bit better.
The spa slippers are done. Unfortunately they don't fit me though. Hoping they'll fit my sister.
They took less than 1 ball of K1C2 2nd Time Around Cotton. The color is Scottish Moor. Very well matched buttons from Joann Fabrics. I love the style and want a pair of non-wool slippers so will be making my self a slightly bigger pair as soon as I get some yarn.
Speaking of yarn. I've got my own yarn porn today. Look at this!
This is Katsara yarns Merino Bamboo sock yarn in Shalimar. The picture doesn't even come close to doing it justice. First of all, it came packed in an adorable printed cellophane bag with a little lavender sachet so it smelled heavenly. It is soft as a cloud. The colors are fantastic. I could become seriously addicted to this yarn. Go look at the colorways...I want Avalon, Monterey, Grove, Juniper, I could go on and on. Even if I never knit this up, I am happy just having it. And what is it they say in blog land? Sock yarns don't count towards stash, right?
Since finishing the Yoke Sweater (which happened to coincide with warmer weather) I've not felt like knitting anything big. I've still got the Wool-Ease Four Seasons Cardi that would love to be worked on. The poor thing sits in a box, a back, one front and maybe a third of the second front piece. But I just can't bring myself to work on such heavy knitting. Instead, I'm back on socks.
The Mr. Joe Blanket socks are finally nearing completion. I can't even remember when I started them. To be fair, they were my "take along knitting" and we haven't gone anywhere during tax season. They've graduated up to TV knitting now and making faster progress. I was completely surprised I could remember what I did with the heel since I didn't take notes (shame on me). But the socks are matching very well and should be finished before too long.
Remember the Regia Bamboo that was supposed to be Widdershins but failed horribly? It's looking great now as a plain old basic sock. I so love this yarn. It's super soft, cool to the touch and should make great summer socks. It's 40% wool, 45% bamboo and 5% polyamid. I'm on a major quest right now to collect as much bamboo sock yarn as I can get my hands on. Last year I knit dishcloths all summer, this year may just be the bamboo sock summer!
Not that dishcloths aren't part of the picture. This one is pretty cool. It's Lion Organic Cotton and the dishcloth pattern from the last Creative Knitting magazine. I'm afraid I don't know the exact issue. The pattern is such an easy repeat, a little 2 stitch cable, I memorized it and filed the magazine away somewhere. I realized when I was taking the picture, this is about done. It's one of those things I have laying in my knitting basket that I pick up and knit a repeat on when I want to knit something different. Think I'll try and finish it up this weekend.
This is the first of 2 tank tops I plan to knit this summer. This one is actually a vest pattern (Summer V-neck Cable Shell from Sarah James). I modified it quite a bit though. I hated the weird random purl pattern she used, so I'm going with plain stockinette. I also reworked the cable design on the front. The original has both sides of the cable slanting the same way which looked wonky to me. So I reworked the cables so the slant opposite each other. When it reaches the V-neck, it nicely mimics the V. Unfortunately, it will be ages before I can show this to you knit up. As you can see, I'm only just beginning the back. But, again, I'm loving it. I've been quite lucky lately to have hit on so many projects that turn out to be every bit as wonderful as I think they'll be. 
This is being knit in Aunt Lydia's Denim Quick Crochet thread. Yeah, you read that right, crochet thread. But it's not really. It's a worsted weight, 75% cotton, 25% acrylic yarn. I used it once before to knit a string bag, but never think of it because I never look in the crochet section. I desperately wanted to knit this vest with denim yarn, but to use Rowan Denim would have been over $50! No way was I going to spend $50 for a tank top! Then one of my searches for denim yarn lead me to Aunt Lydia's and I remembered how much I liked using it before. And it's dirt cheap, under $10 for that same tank. Now, it's not going to shrink up like Rowan, so I don't think you could use this as a one for one swap on a Rowan pattern. But if you just want a denim look, this is a great alternative.
And finally, here's what's in the wings. These are the yoga slippers from the spring Knit1 magazine. I'm going to use 2nd Time Cotton, another of my faves. It should make for soft, sturdy slippers. This color is Scottish Moor. I've also got a ball of Istambul on order in the hopes of making two pairs. We'll see how long my ambition holds up!
Just a bit over two months after I started it, the yoke sweater is finished.
I'm pretty proud and impressed with myself for completing a whole sweater during tax season. But this was really fun knitting. I love the yarn, Galway Highland Heather. I used 5 balls of the brown and maybe half a ball each of the oatmeal and navy. The yoke patterns came from the book Traditional Scandinavian Knitting. This book has a wealth of pattern ideas. And now that I've got the hang of two color knitting, I'm sure I'll be doing a lot more in the future.
The sweater has 3 rapid decrease rounds in the yoke. EZ says the ruffling can be tamed with the use of a steam iron. And she's right, it can. I steamed it right after I knit it to be sure it would lay flat. But after washing, I see the ruffling has returned. Guess it will require steaming after each washing. Although, it doesn't look bad the way it is. Somewhat feminine, kind of blouse like. The sweater is a bit on the long side. Next time I will make the body shorter. I don't think I'd bother with the phoney seams next time. They don't seem to make any difference and are barely noticeable unless you know what you are looking for. The only other problem I had came when I grafted the underarm seam. The grafting went fine, but when I had knitted a ways up the yoke, I noticed holes at each of the ends of the seam. I was able to darn them closed, but next time think I should wait to graft the underarms until the yoke is further along so I can try to avoid the holes.
I'm currently working on several small projects: still the Mister Joe socks (they are my travel knitting and we've done almost no traveling the last 3 months), a v-neck cotton shell, a washcloth in Lion Organic Cotton and a scarf in some yummy mohair. My parents recently returned from a trip to New Zealand and they brought me a bag of awesome yarn. There's two huge skeins of hand dyed wool, enough bamboo yarn for a tank or short sleeve sweater, and two balls of mohair. Certainly enough yarn to keep me busy for quite a while.
The blog has been less of a priority for me lately. I'm not much finding myself motivated to sit down and write. I expect the gaps between posts may continue to grow. I'll still post my FOs as I have them, but may not post much otherwise. Thanks to all who take the time to stop by.
WooHoo! I finally finished the body on the yoke sweater and attached the sleeves today. But first I decided to go ahead and put in the phoney seam.
It's a little bit scary laddering down an entire stitch straight to the bottom...
But kind of fun too. And hooking the stitch back up was super easy. Kind of makes you feel like a knitting super hero when you try something new and scary and it works perfectly. The look is decidedly subtle.
Non-knitters might not even see that there is a difference in that center stitch. But EZ is right, it does create a super fold line so the sweater lays nice and flat. I decided to go ahead and weave the underarm seams right away since the stitch holders were really annoying and getting in the way. I tried to get pictures, but it's just too dreary to get decent closeups today. But I must say, watching Elizabeth demonstrate weaving on the Knitting Workshop was like a light dawning on me for kitchener stitch. In the past I've always kitchenered with the Knitter's Companion open beside me, following step by step with each stitch. It's very time consuming and requires loads of concentration for me to feel I'm doing it right. Well, Elizabeth takes her knitting off the needles and literally weaves the stitches, in one stitch, out the next, move to top row, in one stitch, out the next, bottom row into 2nd stitch out 3rd, top row, into 2nd stitch out 3rd, bottom row into 3rd stitch out 4th, and so on. It's so simple. I can't believe I've been struggling with this forever and it's easy as pie. Now, I only took two stitches off the needle at a time, I'm not that brave, but I completed both underarm seams in about the time it would normally take me to do one toe on a sock. Amazing. My life is changed. Now it's time for me to seriously figure out what pattern goes on the yoke. I have to knit a few more plain rounds and then it's showtime. Hopefully I'll have something to report on this front next post.
Meanwhile, the library auction was a hoot. My soap basket was a hit. Went for $45! Hope the lucky bidder likes them as much as I do. My sister was totally embarrassing me, raving about my soaps to everyone. Born salesperson that one is. We got into the bidding for the spinning wheel. It was us against another lady. Ultimately it went more than our budget, but it was fun none the less. It was a beauty though. I'm excited to go to work tomorrow and let Elaine know her boyfriend's handwork was a hit.
My obsession with GBS continues. The Courage & Patience & Grit dvd/cd combo arrived this week and was promptly loaded to my MP3 player where it has played nearly continuously. I was hoping to get Chuck on board with the whole celtic/folk/pop music thing, but he says it sounds like hillbilly music to him. So thank goodness for headphones.
I was rather surprised to realize it's been over a month since I posted. The nature of my job in a tax accounting office means the first 4 months of the year are extremely busy and go by in a blur. Most days I work, come home, knit, make dinner, knit, sleep. Repeat. Not much blog material there. But I do have a few things to mention.
Next weekend is the library auction. The boyfriend of one of my co-workers donated a spinning wheel he made. I don't know how to spin, yet, but am sorely tempted to go after the wheel. I haven't been up to the library to check it out yet, but the pictures look gorgeous. Here is my contribution for this year:
Being so completely wrapped up in knitting the EZ yoke sweater, I didn't have the spirit to knit something big to donate. So I opted for a gift basket of my handmade soap and a handknit wash cloth. The washcloth was knit with Lion Organic Cotton in Cypress (I finally found it at Knitting Warehouse). I totally love this yarn. It's super soft for a cotton and the colors are very natural and earthy. It's a little pricey at $5.50 a skein and one skein only made a washcloth with not a whole lot leftover. Not enough to do anything with for sure.
Speaking of the yoke sweater...I'm nearly to the underarms. Another few inches and I can join the sleeves and start the yoke. 
As you can see, the sleeves are now both the same size, the right size I might add. I didn't knit the hem in on the body. I figure the likelihood I'd get it straight was pretty slim so opted to sew it up when I'm finished. I have yet to make a decision on the yoke pattern. I messed around one night, picking patterns and coloring them in on graph paper, but nothing jumped out at me as THE pattern.
I do have one FO to show. Finally finished the Kats paws mitts from January. (I told you I'm enamored of the yoke sweater, I'm being pretty monogamous). But here they are.
Of course, it's now too warm to wear them. But they'll be nice for next year. I think I like the Fetching mitts better, mostly because the yarn is softer. But I like this pattern because it goes further up the wrist into your sleeve.
I've been awfully obsessive lately. I've been listening to Great Big Sea over and over and over and over. Thank goodness for headphones or Chuck would likely have me committed. I'm also totally obsessed with Blood Ties, the new vampire/detective show on Lifetime channel. The show is based on Tanya Huff's Blood Book series (which I ordered the day after I watched the first show). See...
You can check out her blog here and see what she thinks of the show. Apparently only the pilot was taken right from the books. I'm about half way through the first book and can say the show did stick pretty close to it. Except for Henry's appearance. In the book he's short and redheaded. In the show, he's average height and brunette. The books are pretty good so far. A little heavy on the use of cliches. Otherwise, quite enjoyable vampire fiction.
This week winter decided to hit with a vengeance. Starting Tuesday afternoon and into the night we had snow. At some point over night, this changed over to sleet. Wednesday, Mother Nature doused us with a couple of hours of rain, followed by more snow and an arctic blast of sub-freezing temperatures. This unholy cocktail resulted in major traffic headaches (a 50 mile traffic jam on I-78) and a 8 inches of snow and ice to clear from our sidewalks and drives. Most people are still (3 days later) trying to clear their properties. Thankfully, the sun is shining today and they are calling for temps above freezing so things should start improving.Since my last post, I've been knitting away on the sleeves for the seamless yoke sweater. I finished the 1st sleeve last weekend, put it in my knitting basket and got underway with the second sleeve. About halfway through when, according to my notes, I should have been at the end of my increases, I found my self about 10 stitches short. I counted and recounted and couldn't figure out what went wrong. So I pulled the first sleeve out of my basket, laid them side by side and...
son-of-a-%^&#>! Sleeve number one is about 2 inches wider at the cuff. I thought it looked awfully wide, but having never knit one of these EPS sweaters, figured that's how they were supposed to be. Turns out, I just can't count. Today I will finish sleeve number two, which now is actually sleeve number one and start reknitting sleeve number one which could technically be considered sleeve number 3. Note to self...count your cast on stitches twice, maybe even 3 times for good measure.
We had to remove the jar from our squirrel feeder after two birds got stuck in it in the last month (and since we cut down our tree last spring, we don't seem to get any squirrels anymore anyway). Apparently, birds can figure out how to hop in and eat, but not turn around and hop out. We left the base up, though and have been filling it with seeds for the birds.
Here's a lovely cardinal enjoying his breakfast this morning. And if I turn just 90º to the left...
We find Stuart, perched on his Cozy Cushion on the dryer, eyeing said cardinal and contemplating what kind of breakfast he might like to have.
What the hell is wrong with me? I completely forgot to mention THE most important news of the week...
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows will be released on July 21, 2007!!!!!!!!!!!!I have, of course, ordered my copy from Amazon and asked off from work the Monday following. The people at work think I'm completely off my nut, but I am so psyched! The movie one week and the book a week later.
As of about 9:30 yesterday morning, I'm another year older. I managed to be off from work and despite a bad start to the day, it's turned out to be a pretty good one. I got some nice cards, some tasty chocolate and money and gift certificates to spend on yarn. I spent the morning at Brickerville with my parents. I found this cool milk bottle at the antique shop to add to my bottle collection.
Scored not quite enough yarn for my Seamless Yoke sweater. 4 balls of Galway Highland Heather #712 and one ball #722.
Edna would have ordered more for me, but with being into tax season now, I don't know when I might get down her way again. The Knitter carries Galway, so I can get the remaining skeins delivered. Although my original intent was to make the sweater much like EZ demonstrates in the book and video, now that I have yarn in hand, my plans are evolving. The Galway knits at 4.5 st/inch so using the Supermerino, which knits at 5 st/inch, won't really work as I had hoped for the yoke. Instead, I've decided to knit the sweater with hems, rather than rib or garter stitch bands. In this way, I can use the Supermerino for hem facings. I'm simply enthralled with the idea of having something so flashy hidden inside the sweater. What do you think?
The body will be the brown color. This leaves the yoke. Problem...problem solved.
Traditional Scandinavian Knitting arrived from Amazon today. There are literally hundreds of pattern ideas in here. I'm already eyeing a few, but since the yoke is a LONG way away, I've got plenty of time to mull it over. I'll also have to decide if I want to use any other colors. I've got the ball of cream. And I do like the way these Scandinavian patterns look in just two colors. But I'm considering getting a ball of navy or maybe red just for a little highlight.
Today it's bitter cold out, currently 22. Quinn and I have been snuggled under a blanket all morning watching Doctor Who season 2. I just saw PBS has a Black Adder marathon on this afternoon, and DIY has a Knitty Gritty marathon this evening. Of course, we'll probably be watching the Super Bowl, but should be able to catch a few bits in between.
PS...title reference from the most excellent John Hughes movie Sixteen Candles. Farmer Ted sings the Beatles "You say it's your birthday" to Sam while seated in half a car in the school's auto shop. Yes, no better way to pick yourself up on a birthday than watching the ultimate birthday movie.
LIME AND VIOLET! Wooohoooo!! I managed to score the Darvoset skein from Miss Violet's Better Living Through Chemicals set. Tres gorgeous. And soft. (At this moment, L&V have a new series up on their site. I froze my credit cards in blocks of ice so as not to be tempted.) I'm pretty sure this is going to be the Horcrux socks. If you want the sock weight pattern, you have to join this Yahoo Group, which I did, just to get the pattern. Much as I love plain jane stockinette socks for their simplicity, I'm ready to branch out into patterned socks. To wit...Here's the Katsara tube socks to date.
I'm going to have to come up with a new name because I'm not planning on making these actual tube socks. Unless I have to hard a time reworking the pattern, I intend to put in a heel flap and gusset. Think they'll fit better that way.
These are so soft and light. Will be perfect for summer, if I can just find time to work on them!
I'm very pleased with these. On the left is a eucalyptus/orange blend, smells dreamy. On the right is a new batch of Castile. This time I put just a touch of green coloring. I thought the first batch was too pale, and this puts me more in mind of olive oil. The olive oil I'm using right now is very pale so it doesn't really lend any color of it's own to the soap. I'm patiently waiting for my lavender to bloom. Mom had requested some lavender soap with actual lavender buds. I think this sounds like a great idea and hope to give it a try.
Fleece Artist/Handmaiden SeaSilk in Seashore. For those who haven't heard of this yarn, it's made from silk and seacell which comes from seaweed. It is unbelievably soft. This yarn would make the perfect pet, no need to even knit it up. I could simply carry the skein around and be happy. However, I do intend to knit it up. I was originally prompted to buy the yarn to make the Montego Bay scarf in the Summer 07 Interweave Knits (after the HUGE disappointment of the eBay yarn). But the more I think about it, I'm thinking shawl. Now, I'm not much of a lace fan, and this is laceweight yarn so I may just be screwed. But I'm willing to try. Eventually. For now, good pet.
