A Moment of Panic

Finally got back to these socks , which are now finished. Even though they're not done right, they're done. (They are knit with Cascade 220, and the little bit of leftovers is on my leg.) Ripped out the first one to the heel, knit a couple of more rows, ribbing, and smaller top ribbing. Much better. The second one went well until I hit the heel, and again I got stuck. Ripped it out several times, but found I was just making the same mistakes over and over and over and over. Finally gave up and moved on. Who's going to look at my heels, anyway?



When I finished my socks, I had a moment of panic--oh no, do I have anything to do next? Ah, yes, the CIC caregiver shawl. It also has been neglected lately, so appreciated coming out of the bag. Being knit from the top down, I can measure the finished bottom edge to see how wide it is. So far it's about 40 inches and since I'm aiming for my "wingspan" (fingertip to fingertip), I have about30 inches to go. That's a lot! Hmmm, maybe I'll just go until the yarn runs out, which I'm sure will be first.


Just for grins: This is DD#2's new knitting spool (with a penguin looking on.) The variegated yarn makes a cool striping effect!

Score!

It's the little things that thrill me....

On a trip to Target last night, I found this cute bag--perfect for my travel knitting. Just a regular gift bag, but plastic rather than paper so it's more durable. And a cool bag needed a cool environment to be photographed in, hence DD#1's room. (She'll never notice all the stuff I threw on the floor to take this pic. Shh....don't tell.)





And "check" this out! It's a check file that has 13 pocket with top and bottom expansion--just the perfect size for my dpns and circs.

The burning question of the day: This seems like a small stash of needles to me.....should I go buy more? (Yes, I know, I have 3 WIPs with needles, 4 sets that are in my "use-all-the-time" bag, and a whole roll-up case with my straights. But still.....more is better, right?)

Caterpillar Knitting

I've been doing several knitting things since I last posted. DS likes the black/grey hat (although, wouldn't you know it, it's been warm weather since.) Working on a new seamless soaker pattern. The first draft is done, and now on to the testing phase. It's tough to write something coherent. Most of the time I have scribbled notes on the back of a notepad. (We won't talk about a certain gauging swatch that I carefully did, and washed, and measured, only to throw away the measurements before using it.)

CIC scarf is fun for relaxing time. Still worried about running out of yarn, but am waiting to reach that point before dyeing more. Firemen's sock was so mad at me when I put it in timeout that it went into hiding, and took my 10.5 dowel rod dpns with it. (No, not for the same project, the sock just had some extra hatred built up.) Finally found the sock while looking for the dpns, but now it's going to have to wait.

Bought 2 skeins of yarn in 2 days! Found Lion Brand Magic Stripes in our AC Moore store with 330 yards, so only need one skein for my size 10 feet. The second skein was bought for a chemo cap. Was looking for something soft and easy to care for, and found Paton's Bohemian in a color called "Indigo Indulgence". It's super bulky, and not what I normally knit with, but worked up really nice. However, I couldn't get out of my mind that I was knitting with a caterpillar!

I just did a basic hat pattern by casting on 50 sts on size 10.5 dpns (after I gave a stern talking to them about running off with the renegade sock.) Did 4-5 rows of K1 P1 ribbing, stockinette st for 6", then several rows of decreasing. My 9 yo DD is modelling it. It measures about 22" in circumference which might be a bit large. Sent it off with DH today to the recipient, so maybe I'll get feedback on how it fits. Only took one skein, with a few yards left over. (Skein is 68 yards, 80 g).

Caregiver's shawl

Here's the first version of my CIC caregiver's scarf. I'm using an 8 oz. skein of Fisherman's wool, dyed purple in my crockpot with Wilton's icing color in violet. I wanted it variegated anyway, and knew that purple separated easily into reddish purples and blues, so it was quite easy to put the whole skein in and let the dye variegate all by itself.

I knit the body sideways on my knitting machine, the width being determined by where a plastic piece is broken. Too short, so did a couple rows of crochet around the edge. Still too short. In the meantime, this pattern was posted. Ahhh..... Let's just see how that looks in my yarn..... Yep, ripping it out. Hey, it was too small, anyway.



The feather and fan comfort shawl was started on good ole metal straight needles, knowing full well that I had no circs that size, nor anywhere close. I've been using bamboo for quite a while now, but these metals felt quite nice, so today I bought a pair of Boye circs to finish the shawl.

Hat before winter is done.

DS#1's reversible hat is done! This was made with Lionbrand Wool-ease worsted weight with one skein grey and one skein black. I used Allison's NYC Street Cap pattern found here , using sz. 6 needles and 104 sts. This first time I used the crochet cast-on method with waste yarn, and it worked great! After I got it out of timeout last time, I decided it was big enough in circumference, so continued knitting during another basketball game, then finished up tonight.

Here's the hat all stretched out:


And here's the hat on me. Hope he likes it!

Happy Birthday misjan!!!

Happy **th Birthday misjan!!! I won't mention your age here, but you know how old you are!

Misjan was a dear neighbor who had the nerve to move out of state--just before I really got back into knitting and discovered what a kindred spirit she was. She even knew what wool soakers were, and had made them for her four boys, in varying patterns and designs. (Alas, no leftover patterns, though--and believe me, I asked!) She's been keeping up with my knitting progress and always has kind words to say. Thanks, misjan, for being a long-distance knitting buddy!

In other news, here's a picture of my drop spindle, with my first attempt at spinning. I used a dark brown Border Leicester/Merino Pin drafted roving. It obviously is not good, but it still brings a smile to my face. I'm spinning! Not good, but I'm spinning!


I made the drop spindle using Knitty Gritty's directions:
a dowel rod
2 old CD's
a rubber gromet
and a cup hook
all for under $3.00. The scareist part was finding the rubber gromet. I took DD#1 to Lowe's with me (believe me, if I was getting lost, I was going to have company!) DH gave me a good clue--check electrical. The first isle, the first place I looked, there it was! Unbelievable! I usually wander aimlessly thru the store, up and down the aisles until I give up and make DH get the item for me. I don't know how well it works since I have nothing to compare it to, but it works good enough for me!