New yarn!

Got some lovely new stuff from WEBS. Unfortunately, I got dinged with customs charges, and the shipping was more than I expected, so the sale price was pretty much eaten up. But still, pretty, pretty:

This is Araucania Nature Wool, which I love. It's the same yarn I'm using for Oblique (sleeves finished!) in a gorgeous berry-red. I'll knit some sort of sweater out of it.




Next is Cascade 220 Heathers, also in red. I'm planning to knit Jared Flood's Girasole with this.



Finally, Valley Yarns Northfield, for another top for Maria (she's very easy to knit for; we seem to like the same stuff): Anney from Twist Collective.



All this yarn meant resorting my stash, which always leaves me sort of frustrated. So much pretty yarn and not enough time to knit it. (Of course, most people think I knit plenty as it is.)

More FOs and new WIPs

I have been making some progress lately. I finally finished my Shetland Tea Shawl, and it turned out beautifully, IMHO:





I knit this baby Ski Sweater, designed by Glenna C for her steeking class.



It was quick (or would have been if I had made fewer mistakes), and now I'm itching to do some more two-stranded knitting (I have plans to plunge in after I take a class at the Knitter's Frolic on choosing colours).

I also knit up Mousie, my second project out of Whimsical Little Knits, for Miko's book challenge. 7 more to go.




So some new project on the needles. In four days I knit up the first sleeve of Silvi, for Maria. I had lots of gauge problems, but this time my gauge was too tight, rather than too loose. So I'm knitting the S size, hopping it will end up nice and fitted, which is what Maria wants. I love how fast this knits up. Also, the pattern wisely suggests knitting all the boring bits first (sleeves and front panels) before getting lost in cables, flowers, and lots of charts. Good way to keep motivated.

And last night I cast on a pair of socks, using the yarn I used for the Leyburn socks and then frogged a couple of months ago. Those were toe-up, these are Cookie A's cuff-down Sunshine, from Sock Innovation.

I'm still working on the Oblique sweater, with both sleeves over 60% done. And I'm finally back on the Forest Path Stole. I'm on tier 16. Lots of people stop after 19 tiers, but I think I may do the full 23. We'll see.

FO, for a change

Tom's Cambridge sweater is finished! I'm 95% happy with it. The back bottom edge keeps curling up, despite the crocheted edge and steaming the heck out of it. It's better, but not perfect. Still, it's finished.

Still on that border

I'm still not done with the Shetland shawl. This border is taking forever. It's hard, takes a lot of concentration, and tires my hands hand out. One pattern repeat only uses up 5 stitches, and I started with over 570. I'm down to around 150, so I my new goal it to be done by Easter.

In the meantime, I've started crocheting granny squares. I needed something easy and portable keep with me, and I didn't want to start another pair of simple socks. So I"m using up all sorts of bits and pieces, and I'll decide what to do with them when they're all done.

Tom's sweater is almost finished. I bought the zipper today, and I need to check if I have the right colour thread. Then it's hand sew in the zipper, steam block the seams, and I'm done!

Forest Path is on hold until Shetland is done.

Sleeves for Oblique are growing slowly but steadily.

Down for the count

As predicted, I didn't finish my Olympic knitting, and now I'm stalled on it. I've completely wiped out my back yesterday, and I can't sit up long enough, or concentrate long enough, to do any complicated knitting. I think I also have a urinary tract infection, which is making things generally uncomfortable. I really need to work tomorrow, at least in the morning, but I also want to see my doctor.

I have been knitting, easy things I can do lying down. I finished the sleeves for Tom's sweater. Next is blocking, which I'm not going to do until my back is better. I've started serious work on the sleeves for my sweater, again doing them two at once. It's definitely the way to go with sleeves!

I haven't touched my Forest Path Stole in weeks. I still want to finish the Shetland Tea Shawl before I go back to it (especially because I can then switch my Addi Lace Turbo's to the FPS). I hope I don't forget everything I was doing.

No gold for me

Even though I didn't officially sign up for the Knitting Olympics, I was hoping to medal, at least in my own mind. But it's not going to happen. I met my first goal, which was to finish the body of the shawl by Sunday, but the border is going much slower. My work schedule is very busy this week (good for the bank account, bad for knitting time), and there's too many other events going on in addition. I just don't have the time to knit.

The border seemed very challenging at first, but I've got the hang of it now, so it's going pretty smoothly, but not quickly. Here's a pic:



Blurry, I know.

I'm still working on Tom's sweater, when I can't take the lace-knitting any longer. I'm knitting the two sleeves at once and, as usual, it seems to take forever. At least they'll both be done at once.

Slow going

Olympic knitting is going slowly for me. Not sure I'm going to meet the challenge, but I haven't given up. It's been a busy week, and I haven't been home enough to get a lot done. Tuesday was knit night at the Purl, but this project is too complicated (and I'm way too mistake-prone) to do in a social setting. Wednesday was our double-bill of Doc Soup (a wonderful film on the Civil Rights Movement, Songs for a Revolution) and Shape Notes singing. Thursday was Knitty-sponsored Yarn Tasting. Lots of knitting, but not of the Olympic variety. Today will, I hope be better.

No Knitting Olypmics

Since I had surgery the day of the Opening Ceremonies, I decided not to join any knitting Olympics groups (Ravelry, or Yarn Harlot). I feel a little sad about it, because it would have been a good way to get more connected to the on-line knitting community. But it just didn't seem practical.

I'm feeling much better today than I expected (though yesterday was pretty rough), so I think I will set an Olympic goal: to finish the Shetland Tea Shawl. A truly Olympic goal would be to finish Forest Path, but I'm not that insane. The Tea Shawl is challenge enough. Fortunately (or not, depending on one's point of view), I'm still working reduced hours, so I'll have plenty of time to watch. Also, we get four cable stations that are covering the events, all showing different things. So while it might be hard sometimes to decide what to watch, there's sure to always be something I'm interested it Least favourite: snowboarding, mogul skiing, short track speed skating, and ice dancing–hmm, see a traditionalist tendency here? Favourites: curling, long track speed skating, figure skating (though I miss the actual "figures" they used to have to skate; and I like the costuming less and less) and just about everything else:)

Not a fun kntting week

This has been a rough week, knitting-wise. I frogged the Leyburn socks. The pattern doesn't fit, top-down or toe-up. I like the fabric, but it just doesn't fit. So I'm going to use the yarn to knit of of Cookie A's socks, probably Sunshine.

I've been really struggling with the Shetland Tea Shawl. The last chart before the border is more complicated than anything I've ever done. It's a lace every row chart, and it's really complicated. I fretted over how to do one row for days. I posted questions about it on a Ravelry group, but it wasn't a very active thread, and I actually figured it out (as I lay in bed at 6am) just before someone posted the answer. Even still, there's been a lot of tinking on this shawl.

And I keep making stupid mistakes on various sweaters, causing me to rip back whole evenings of knitting. No fun.

On Friday I go into the hospital to have fibroids removed from my uterus. Not sure I'll do much knitting this weekend, though maybe by Monday, Family Day, I'll be up for it.

Good news and bad news

Lots of knitting to blog about, but not all of it good. I was almost finished with the first front panel of my Oblique sweater when I began to be suspicious about the stitch count. But actually, the problem was I had distributed the stitch incorrectly over the three patterns in the panel. How on earth I did that I don't know, since the pattern directions are perfectly clear. The sweater pattern is complicated, but clear. I cast on the second panel to confirm my suspicions before I ripped the first one back to the ribbing, but eventually it had to be done. I've already made mistakes in the second panel, but nothing that can't be compensated for. I'm still enjoying the knitting, and since it's a lacy pattern, it moves along rather quickly.

More on the frogging front: I finally decided I will never finished my Princess Cardigan. The pattern is an interesting knit, but the very complicated combination of cables and lace had become too much. Plus, I had a terrible time getting gauge, and was knitting it on needles way small than the pattern called for. I know I'm a fairly loose knitter, but this was ridiculous. Finally, I admitted to myself I know longer liked the colour of the yarn I was using. So the other day I frogged all I had done (the back and one front panel), washed the yarn, and soon will be dropping it off at the Purl to be given to charity.

Speaking of the Purl, Miko has given us all a challenge to pick a knitting book or magazine, and knit every pattern in it. I really would like to pick The Knitter's Book of Wool, but it would completely overwhelm my other knitting, and I have two sweaters to finish. So I wimped out and picked Whimsical Little Knits by Ysolda. I was already planning on knit Ishbel and the booties, so this will be easy. The daughters have picked out the hats they want, and the cats will enjoy Mousie.

So I'm forging ahead on my shetland shawl so I don't have three lace projects going at the same time. Forest Path, unfortunately, has slowed down to a creeping pace of one square a week. I have about 45 squares to go! Plus the edging. Ready for next spring, maybe?

Delurker day and whatever

Apparently today is Delurker Day, and since I am a lurking addict, I posted a comment at one blog, and then decided to come here to blog something.

I've been knitting a fair amount, but I haven't felt like blogging, probably because Maria is still wiped out by mono and it's depressing. Fortunately her teachers have been very accommodating and helping her to keep up.

Although I've been trying restrict my WIPs to 3 or 4, I did cast on another lace project: the Shetland Tea Shawl from A Gathering of Lace. I'm using the suggested needle size, and I consider myself a loose knitter, but it sure doesn't look like it's going to be anywhere near as large as the pattern says. But the truth will be in the blocking. Here's a not very good picture of what I've done so far:



I'm also working the Leyburn socks.



These are my first toe-up socks, and so far, I am not impressed. I think I made the foot too long, but I couldn't be sure until I had knit up the heel. With cuff-down socks, if the foot ends up too long, all you have to do is rip out the toe. I really don't want to rip out the heel, especially as it was a short-row heel, and I hate short rows. Oh, well, the pattern is pretty, though annoying to knit, and I will do the second one. No "one sock syndrome" for me!