What I've been doing while I haven't been blogging

Time is seriously flying this winter and I've been enjoying the feeling of being very busy but not stressed about it. It's been a fun kind of busy, mostly involving family events - baking birthday cakes (three in two weeks!), going to family dinners, attending several concerts (all involving different family members on stage - we're a rather musical bunch), and taking in a little of the great outdoors, with a smattering of volunteer work thrown in. Life is good. Nick and I took a little jaunt around Pippy Park (a campground right in the city) last weekend on snowshoes. It was a beautiful day. I've been wanting to get him on cross-country skis, but it rained a lot this week so the snow is not so great. Maybe next weekend. My knitting on Gatsby Girl was interrupted again for another birthday present. Nick actually picked up a copy of a KnitPicks catalogue that I had left lying around, and requested this scarf. He so rarely asks me to knit anything for him that of course I had to oblige. After a couple of minutes of squinting at the pattern, I had it figured out. Now why didn't I think of that - reversible cables!
I cast on 66 stitches, knit a couple of rows of 6X6 rib, and then proceeded to cable on the first (right side), and 6th ("wrong" side) rows in a 10-row repeat. Continued for about 7 feet, and cast off. It took three balls of Patons Classic Merino (the shade is called "new jeans", a little bluer than it looks in the photo above) for a pretty hefty scarf. If I were to do another of these for myself, I would make it a little narrower and a little shorter, but Nick thinks his is perfect - a nice warm scarf for chilly days.


So now I'm back to Gatsby Girl. I finished the first back/front piece, and am now plodding through the first sleeve. It's endless 1X1 ribbing on 3 mm needles. To be honest, it's starting to try my patience a little, but I have another cabled, lacy, beautiful front/back piece to look forward to. The second sleeve is going to be a killer on this one - I can see myself getting easily sidetracked.

Long time coming

Well, would you look what I found when I was packing. I finished this lace scarf over a month ago, but I never did take any FO photos. You'll have to excuse the less than idyllic setting of my balcony over the parking lot - my place is in a shambles right now and I don't have time to take a scarf to the park for a walk. I'm lucky that I can still find the camera to be honest!

Bramble Leaf Lace scarf from Victorian Lace Today, in SRK Collection Ovation, Purple Haze colourway. 4mm circular needles (I think).

This pattern is one of the many scarves with wide end borders in VLT - I think it's actually called something like "scarf with trellis border and bramble leaf insertion". As a very early lace project for me, I wanted to keep this simple so I left the border off and basically just knit the "insertion". I think that the first time that I try a knitted on lace border, I want it to be in something a little less frustrating than mohair!

Thoughts on this project... The yarn is really lovely and soft and I highly recommend it. It's a silk/mohair blend, very much like Kidsilk Haze but just a little thicker. Since I bought it from a bargain bin, it was much more affordable than its Rowan cousin. I used a little over two skeins and the scarf is just over 6' long. As I think I mentioned in a previous post, the pattern comes out a little different from the sample pictured in the book - this seems to be a recurring theme with VLT. The centre garter stitch panel is narrower in the photo.


These photos also highlight my need to obtain some good blocking wires. The pins that I've been using have made the edge all wonky. Perhaps when I finish my Mystery Stole, I'll get around to mail ordering a set. Suggestions for suppliers would be very welcomed.

I had a bit of a yarn adventure yesterday, but unfortunately none of us thought to bring a camera. Leanne and Nancy took me out to Wool 'n Things in Orleans for the first time. Wow. It's a very well stocked little shop. They carry the full line of Rowan, Debbie Bliss, Berocco, Noro, Fleece Artist, all the really good stuff that is hard to come by in my usual haunts. Highly educational, since I got to fondle a lot of yarns that I have often heard about but never seen in person. I have made some notes for future projects, and my wallet may have suffered some damage involving Jitterbug and a lot of silk. Photos tomorrow if I can find the yarn amidst the pile of boxes! Honestly, it was really fun to shop with other keen and excited knitters, and I think we managed to enable each other into buying stuff we really loved. I'm going to miss my Ottawa knitting friends and access to so many great yarn shops. But then perhaps my bank balance will be better for it!

This post is brought to you by pink SRK yarn

I just recently realized that I'm only knitting with Kertzer (SRK) yarns at the moment. Strange coincidence since I've never tried them before. First, the bramble leaf lace scarf you've seen before:

It's pretty fuzzy, but mohair is hard to photograph in low light. It's just a big ball of fuzz right now. Incredibly soft fuzz, but still. This is SRK Collection Ovation in the Purple Haze colourway (discontinued). I'm well into the second ball now, but luckily I managed to find a supplier, in Ontario no less, who still had some in stock. The fine folks over at Knitters Attic have set me up with another ball, which should get me a respectable length of scarf. I intend to knit some kind of edging at least on the ends, but I haven't yet decided what one. Hopefully Knitting on the Edge will come in handy here.

Also this week, I finally started Lola:


The yarn is James Brett Marble, also by SRK, in Berries. I like the sort of gradual striping effect, but the colour somehow looks a lot brighter knit up than it does in the ball. But that's okay, I could probably use some brighter colours in my wardrobe. The back knit up fairly quickly, but then I set it aside to think a bit. I'm knitting the smallest size, which is going to be pretty clingy on me. I'm trying to get over my irrational need to make everything bigger "just in case", and ending up with baggy sweaters. The ribbed fabric is really stretchy, so I think it will look okay, and end up as the kind of sweater fit I typically go for in a store-bought garment.

Warning: mindless rambling ahead.
The problem is, I'm not going to have enough yarn for the long sleeves that I had planned - I thought that 4 X 100g of DK would be plenty, but I've used almost 1.5 balls on the back. Since this is a stash project (and acrylic at that), I don't really want to buy any more. I could manage cap sleeves, but then would I wear a short sleeve acrylic pullover? I don't know.... I've considered converting it to a cardigan, as I do wear short-sleeve cardis in the summer but since it's going to be stretchy and on the tighter side, then I wondered if buttons might pull it out of shape and look rather funny unless I used a lot of buttons... There's always a zipper I suppose but then I think I would want a different neck stlye.... I don't know. I'm kind of at a loss right now. So it's back to the lace knitting for a bit while I ponder the possibilities. Your suggestions would be most welcome.

It's been a bit of an emotional roller coaster of a week. I spent yesterday showing family friends around town, which was very fun - but they're in town for heart surgery for a six year old next week (who by the way, loved her new teddy bear). We're hoping for the very best for their family. And now we've had some really scarey news about the health of a family member back home, and Nick and I are worried sick. At least lace knitting is good for taking your mind off of things. I can't say the same for school work though! As my friend ms. m has pointed out, the thesis is my biggest WIP right now, and the sooner I can get it done, the sooner I can get on with my life. It's just hard to stay focused sometimes with so much on your mind.

Thank you for the kind comments about my finished vest. It fits very nicely, and I have already worn it a couple of times. It was fun to knit and I should get a lot of use out of it.

Distractions

I've made some good progress on DH's sweater, but unfortunately not enough to have it finished for his birthday, which was Thursday. I'm up to the armhole decreases on the front now, but still have the sleeves to go. I worked from home on Thursday so that I could make dinner and bake a birthday cake, and we had a little low-key celebration when he got home from work at 10:00 PM. Working a 12-hour shift on your birthday is just no fun!

In a bit of a break from the miles of cables, I showed you the Argosy that I started (and finished) last weekend. Here it is after a good blocking.

Argosy, size 4.5 mm bamboo needles, in handspun BFL from Fleece Artist. 5-square central pattern has 16 repeats.

I decided to knit until I ran out of yarn and leave it short. It will probably get a lot of wear with my leather jacket when the weather warms up in the spring. I like the way the colour striping turned out in the handspun , and it is very soft, even if it smells a little sheepy.

I can't seem to keep from starting new projects lately. I've been trying to use up my stash, and it seems that everytime I think up a new idea for something to make out of stash, I have to jump right in and start it. Can you tell from my sidebar what the latest distraction is? I'll show you some pictures tomorrow.

Now where did this come from?!

Perhaps the brown sweater was starting to get to me a little, perhaps it was because I left it out in a visible spot and passed by it many times a day, but I couldn't resist the colours of the handspun any longer. Fleece artist really knows what they're doing with dyes! Anyway, last night I ignored the cries of my many long-abandoned WIPs, balled up the skeins, and cast on yet another project.

Meet Argosy. I cast on last night during the news, and after a couple of hours this morning, suddenly I have a scarf. I had no idea this would be so quick.

The colours are a little more subdued than they look in the photo, but they blend really nicely. These are my favourite colours. I kind of ignored gauge altogether - hey, it's a scarf!. I swatched a little bit and decided to use 4.5 mm needles. (The pattern uses two different yarns and gauges, but the larger option is only knit on 4 mm.) It's a fun pattern to work up, and I think it will really improve with blocking. It's a little narrow, but this is supposed to be a warmer-weather, decorative scarf. I think I might like to adapt it to a wider version sometime, maybe in finer gauge silk. My dilemma right now is that I've almost run out of yarn. I'm trying to decide whether to finish it off as a perfectly respectable little tuck-in scarf, or to go looking for a third sliver of the fibre to spin more and make it longer. I think I like the idea of knitting it longer, but I'm probably more likely to wear it more as a short scarf with my spring jacket. Decisions, decisions.

The birthday sweater has not been forgotten, although my chances of getting it finished for February 8 are not looking good! This is the completed back and the start of the front. After the short scarf break, I'll be getting right back to it.


Unfortunately my teaching responsibilities have been cutting into my weekend knitting lately, as I get dumped with a large pile of grading every Friday. But, you know, it still beats cleaning the apartment! I hope everyone is enjoying some knitty relaxation this weekend.