i love ikea

lookie what i acquired during a recent trip to Ikea...



how great is this thing? just perfect for getting some of the stash up and out of the way (and away from the cat), but still within sight. i love having my fun yarns within sight. the Noro is a given - it's got to be away from the cat and her hair AND still be seen, knit up or not. the middle basket has been reserved for sock yarns, so it's got Koigu and Sockotta nestled together with some good ol' basic Sock It To Me from Elann... they're all waiting for the Trekking i ordered from The Knitter to join them. next time i'm in Ikea i'm going to buy another one. i hung it next to the living room window see... in order to keep things somewhat symmetrical i need another on the other side of the window... right? ;)

and i'm knitting up some wee little socks for my cousin who's expecting her first baby in July. the green ones are done in Austermann's Step... i cannot say enough how soft this yarn is. i'll be making myself a pair after the baby socks are done... it's fabulous yarn. i don't remember the name of the other sock yarn.

socks!

i love my socks. really, i should. i lovingly hand knit them. for me. a little selfish indulgence never harms anyone. those to the left are done in Elann's Sock It To Me yarn, the pattern in Embossed Leaves from IK. i adjusted it a bit so i could create them toe-up, and i used a short-row heel. they are one of my favourite pairs of hand knit socks right now. and those to the right are my very first pair of Koigu socks. the pattern is the lovely Lacy Scallops curtesy of the mahvelous Sock Bug.


knitting has slowed down the last few days because of a new arrival in our house... OBLIVION for our xbox360. yes... i might be a gaming geek. i am totally absolutely sucked into Oblivion. if i didn't have to stop playing to do evil everyday things, or share the 360 with the other enthusiasts in the house, i'd never stop playing. of course, the forced breaks have kept my house somewhat tidy and have kept the knitting from stopping completely. ;)

caftan pullover

it's done. my mother finally has the birthday gift that was intended for her January 2005 birthday. better late than never i hope.

the cotton yarn started out as a cable and lace cardigan (see picture below), which, as i mentioned, turned out rather shoulderless. it has been reincarnated into the Caftan Pullover from IK Spring 2006.

my mum was here on the weekend, she tried it on before i weaved in all of the ends (i didn't dare do it in case i had created another disaster and had to rip it out again). it fits. she likes it. she took it home to weave in the ends herself (personally i think she might have been a bit wary that it would take me too long and she's already been waiting more than a year for her gift).

i'm so glad it's done and turned out okay. now on to other projects.

Simply Lovely Lace Sock

in between finishing the pullover for my mum i've been working on these socks for my daughter. the yarn is from Elann. it's coming along rather nicely. yes... i'm turning my daughter into a hand knit sock fan too ;)

starting over

i've had a lovely hiatus from life and am back in fairly decent working order to continue pestering the world wide web with more talk of knitting.

i'm still at it... and i think my skills have improved. long ago i was working on a lovely cardigan for my mother:



which i did eventually manage to finish... only to discover that it turned out shoulder-less. and i don't mean the cute 'off the shoulder' type shoulder-less. i mean slipping straight down to your knees type shoulder-less. i guess that's what i get for trying a lace and cable pattern when i had no idea what the hell i was doing.

so the cardigan was pulled apart and the cotton sat around forEVER before i found another lovely pullover my mother was sure to love. the Caftan Pullover in Interweave Knits Spring 2006 issue. and please note that there is no mistake that this creation has shoulders. and bigger news? it's almost done... i just have to motivate myself to get the finishing done and then my mother will finally have her extremely belated birthday gift.



i knit her some gloves for Christmas though... they've served to hold her over while waiting for her belated birthday gift. here are they when they were in progress (i finished them in a rush and never did take a picture of them completed):



the pattern is Vanalinn Gloves from A Gathering of Lace, the yarn is Koigu, the mom is happy ;)

in other knitting news i have become a sock fiend. i am addicted to knitting socks. i love having a sock on the go at all times. i'm eating my words because i never got why people knit socks when they're so inexpensive to buy at any chain store... now i'm a sock snob and only wear my hand knit socks. the store bought ones just don't cut it anymore. i'll be posting some pictures of my finished socks very very soon :)