Category: 365

  • fits and starts

    Whew, that flu really knocked me out – I didn’t even want to knit for a couple days, so you *know* I was really ill! But after that the crafting kicked right back in – and hard.

    I finally blocked the slip-stitch ridged cardigan I posted about before – now it’s just waiting for some buttons. I’m going to be working on the pattern for this one for the next little while, but the yoke shaping might be a bit tricky to write up!

    cardigan sans buttons

    Although I haven’t had much time with my spinning wheel at all lately, I’m finally getting back into the groove. I’ve got this goal to spin down my stash as much as possible before MDSW (will I see you there?).

    254.365 - spinning away

    So far I wound off some gorgeous teal yarn that’s been sitting on a bobbin for a long while – this was mixed batts that I got last Rhinebeck.

    mmm, teal

    Then I spun and plied up all the grey roving behind the teal there – it was a big fluffy cloud of fibre, also from last Rhinebeck.

    460 yards

    I spun it really fast and furiously to a couple episodes in a row of Six Feet Under (which is awesome, but kinda depressing tv-watching) and came up with 460 yards of 2ply, worstedish weight. It goes really nicely with the teal, so they might end up together in something!

    All this desire to work through some stash has also resulted in me picking up a hook!

    my new obsession

    This is my very first granny square – inspired by Joelle’s Giant Granny Square, I’m working up a giant granny square of my own. This is nearly one ball of Noro Taiyo, a little bigger than a foot square, and I’ve got five balls. This goes so quickly! I love the colour changes. Might back it with some fabric afterwards, but we’ll see.

    Happy Easter, Passover…or just Sunday!

  • FO: more and taller socks

    I started these ones in India but didn’t get very far – I think I was on the top of the increases when I got home. These started out with the intention of being knee socks, but once I hit the ribbing I just kept going! I thought they would end up thigh-high, but they’re more like just over the knee with the ribbing a bit scrunched.

    242.365 - over the knees

    In the front they’re just plain:

    over the knee socks

    But in the back there’s a wee cable (mirrored between the two socks) right up from the bottom up the heel to the start of the ribbing.

    ...fun in the back!

    Tough to photograph since the yarn is so dark! I used 2 skeins of Dream in Color Smooshy in Midnight Derby – a fantastic colour. My knee socks pattern (for the stripey ones) is nearly complete, so I’m going to add in notes on how to turn them into over-the-knee socks into that pattern.

    Somehow I’ve been plugging away at several big projects so now I have one almost complete (just needs blocking and buttons) sweatercoat and one almost complete cardigan as well! Oh, I did take a photo of the cardigan last week, so here it is.

    I seem to be liking the circular yoke lately

    I still need to figure a collar and buttonband treatment, but I’m getting there!

  • FO: Lucy in the Sky

    So, way back in January I was working on a new version of my Lucy cardigan before I set out on my trip. Despite the minor snag in the underarm gusset, I did get it done, blocked, and buttons sewn on right before I left!

    Lucy in the Sky

    Of course I didn’t get around to taking any photos of it in Japan and China, despite wearing it all the time and taking photos all the time! I think it was mostly because anywhere I was wearing it, I was also wearing a heck of a lot of other layers on top to keep warm.

    I think I must’ve used just 4 skeins of Dream in Color Classy to knit it up, because I bought five and have one still kicking around! The colourway is Black Parade, which is a superdark blue-black. Love. The yarn is great for this pattern – sturdy but soft, smooth, and the texture shows up really nicely.

    I made the body and sleeves longer than my other brown one (which I also still wear a lot) and made a larger bust size (35″ for 36″ me). I also knit the collar onto the buttonband rather than sewing it on afterwards. One of the two sweaters I brought on the trip, it got a LOT of wear and still looks great! It’s even been washed and dried in the Indian sun, which is pretty special.

    Lucy in the Sky

    Ysolda took a few photos while we were at the Botanics, predicting that I’d be blogging about it in two weeks. I think that was *exactly* two weeks ago! I had fun knitting my own pattern again, and I think I’ll be wearing it a lot.

    Lucy in the Sky

    (Kind of a crazy photo – I’m working my way around Photoshop for the first time ever, and I think the levels in this photo were just a little weird to start with!)

    Next time:

    227.365 - photoshoot

    P.S. I almost forgot! Thalia asked in the comments what shoes I took on my trip – an excellent question, I think! I took exactly one (1) pair of shoes – my Doc Marten mary janes that Ysolda and I both bought when I went to Europe in September. Since I wore them all around then, I knew they could stand up to a lot of walking, and I was right! They’re really supportive, and versatile enough for cold or hot weather – in cold weather I wore thick, thigh-high socks with leggings underneath; in hot weather I just wore some little cotton ankle socks. They’re perfect shoes. I should probably buy another pair!