Monday, July 20, 2009

Stash Busting and My Sock Dilemma!



I bought this yarn from my lys about a year ago, thinking I would try making socks. I also bought the book, The Magic Loop, by Bev Galeskas, although I must add that the idea for magic looping came from Sarah Hauschka. She calls the idea for looping her "magical unvention." And magical it is. If you don't like using dpn's (as I don't), then this is a 'must do' for you, really. I've magic looped lots of things, and I like the process way better than using dpns.

However, my idea of knitting socks? Not a good one, after all. It's not that I couldn't knit them, and in fact, I have knit them. They're cute, and the possibilities are endless, and they're instant gratification in the knitting world. It's just that I hate wearing socks and luckily for me, I don't have to. Not ever! Living in Arizona makes wearing socks totally unnecessary. When I lived in MN I would buy socks when winter approached, because really, it's damn cold there in the winter and socks are just, well, necessary. Except for me evidently, because the socks I bought would just lay dormant in the drawer. I'd roll them up and keep them nice and orderly (all in a row, don't ya know), and look at them all satisfied that my drawer looked good and organized. I just wouldn't put them on my feet. My feet hate socks. So, this sock yarn just became a part of my ever-growing stash, until yesterday.

I saw this pattern at http://www.cosmicpluto.com (sorry, I tried linking this, but it doesn't want to link today) and immediately thought of my two skeins of Schoeller/Stahl Fortissima SockA (yes, sockA; no, it's not a typo). So, it's otn and I'm already on row 40. When done, I'll have one of these:



Nice, right? It's called "Milkweed Shawl." I have no idea why. Maybe someone will tell me why. I would guess it's because it resembles milkweeds, but never having seen one, I can't be sure. At any rate, I like it, and it will be mine!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Another WIP off the needles

This one I'm glad to be done with. I found the pattern to be boring, and I really got tired of it's non-portablness! 7 skeins of yarn, needles, instructions, scissors, a blunt-eyed sewing needle? Waaaay to much stuff to tote around.

I do like the finished product, though, and really love working with Knitpicks Palette Yarn. It's very yummy, and I have enough left to do a multi-colored shawl, or some fingerless mitts, or a hat or three. Time will tell.

DONE, and done again

First this:


And this, again, because my daughter wanted one. And, well, who can say no to a request from the best dd in the world?



These were my first attempt at lace, and I love it. The pattern repeats are like music, very rhythmic, very soothing, and create sort of a zen-type feeling of well-being. Not that I know much about zen-type feelings, really, but this is what I imagine they would be like. I'll definitely be knitting more lace.