oops...

i've been a little pre-occupied with some other aspects of my life :)

the Corset Pullover is coming along nicely. i'll take some pictures of it when it's finished (just the sleeves to go now!). :D

and i bought White Lies Krista Tee pattern. i can't wait to start this one!! i'm making myself finish the Corset Pullover first.

Corset Pullover... the beginning.

amazingly, i have not worked on socks in a while. i decided to make the Corset Pullover. i'm working it on my very first pair of Addi's... omg... these needles are HEAVEN! and i'm using Cantata cotton. i'm adding some inches to the bottom so it will cover my post-kids belly.


the knit behind the pullover-in-progress is a lap blanket i created out of Moda Dea's Cache yarn. i still have to weave in the last two ends... procrastination strikes again!

woohooo... an FO...

that's not a sock!


i finished the Duet tank the other day. love it. even if the photos of me in it aren't terribly flattering, the top turned out great. i think it just needs one adjustment. after wearing it for a few hours the straps really stretched out, so i'll need to shorten them if i don't want any more cleavage showing.


i've been working on a cute little tank top for my daughter in Sirdar's Breeze. she decided frills would be perfect along the bottom edges, so i pulled out what i had finished and put on frills. they are pretty cute. but i have to admit, while it knits up fast, plain stockinette is pretty boring to work on.


so i cast on for the Lotus Blossom Tank in IK's summer 2006 issue. i'm just using some cotton from my stash. i think i may change the shoulders and straps a bit... one minute i like the way it is in the design, the next i think i might like straps that are thinner and all one width...


i guess i'll decide when i get to that part of the pattern.

happy knitting!

woohooo... Jaywalkers in Trekking (# 105)! Jaywalkers that FINALLY fit!

i'm glad the weather is still on the chilly side today because i'm going to enjoy wearing these babies!

the only thing that looks a bit off is the top corners of my heel turns... what's with the little hole there? i've done that heel on pretty much all of my socks, this is the first time i've had a noticable wonky stitch. meh.


so... i've been thinking... maybe i should rename this blog 'an uncleverly named SOCK knitting blog' since it seems all i knit are socks. really... i knit other garments, but socks are just so fast, easy and portable that they get higher priority.

i will show you the finished Duet tank as soon as i get it sewn together (so what i'm really saying is don't hold your breath, you'll probably see more socks here before that tank gets the finishing touches).

still around... still knitting

i don't get to update here as often as i had hoped i would. the kids and i have been busy trying to get in shape... long walks every day and swimming every second day. the thing is, they're kids... when we get home they're still full of energy and run out back to play. but me? not so energetic. i get home and flake on the sofa with some knitting for a while. is this a sign of age?

so while i'm flaked on the sofa knitting i'm usually thinking 'i could take some photos for the blog now...' but the i realize the camera is upstairs and the motivation to update is drained by the thought of stairs.

so here i am, before showering, before eating breakfast, before taking the kids out for a long walk, before doing any sort of homeschooling whatsoever... in other words, i have energy to do what i've been dying to do for weeks: find the camera, take pictures and update.

i finished an evil Sockotta Jaywalker that fits great in every way... except i knit it too long for my own foot. i'm not going to rip it out AGAIN (how can i... look at how the stripes lined up so perfectly through the heel!) so they're going to be gracing my mother's mahvelous feet instead of my own.

and i've been working on a lovely tank top for myself out of Sirdar's Duet. i'm *almost* done. Duet is a funky yarn that looks pretty neat knit up, but i'm not very happy while working with it. i have 'mom hands' and any tiny little bit of dry skin that's clinging to my forever-cleaning hands snags on Duet and pulls at it, leaving little bits of pulled up fuzz. so it's been a slow project because i've only been working on it when my hands have been treated to a good dose of hand lotion.

okay... now i'm off to do all the other stuff that leaves me a mere lump on the sofa usually wishing i had the energy to update ;)

socky disappointment

doesn't that Jaywalker look lovely there? it seems so perfect! the colours are great, the yarn is fun, the pattern was fast and easy. and that sock is the fruit of my third go with Jaywalker and Sockotta. i cast off on it this afternoon with a big sigh of 'finally!' and spent some time admiring my lovely new sock.

and then i tried it on. well... tried to try it on. i couldn't get it on. i pulled. i yanked. i held the sock in my hands and stretched it as much as i could. i pulled again, yanked some more... finally after much struggle i managed to wiggle my poor foot into that sock. you don't even want to know what i had to do to get it back off again...



what a bummer, really. and even though it's the cutest sock i've ever made, it's a mahvelous thing that yarn can be unravelled just about anywhere or i might still be wearing the too-tight Jaywalker.

finished objects!

not all recent, but still all finished.

i finished my daughter's super pink and furry jacket last fall, but finally added buttons just the other day:


(created in Sirdar's Denim Ultra and some fun fur or another, my own 'pattern')

and my son got his pullover about a year ago, but since i used a fun acrylic to make it, it seems to be growing with him (pardon the kid, he's goofy and really doesn't care if his shirts are on backwards or if they match his favourite pants):


(created in Bernat's Softee Chunky and the pattern came from one of the ball bands)

and finally, a very recent FO... the simply lovely lace socks from Interweave Knits that i made for my daughter, in her favourite colour:


(Elann's Sock It To Me yarn)

some news just isn't good...

even if it means you can get yarn at deep discounts.

last night at our little stitch and bitch our local yarn store owner told us she's going to have to close the store. what an absolute bummer. we love her. we love her store.

she had so much on sale. i bought three balls of Austermann Step for $12.50 each. hello! now i have a ball in each of the four colourways she carried.



and i also got a few balls of Sirdar's Duet for a lovely summer tank top. i also got the pattern and needles from our dear Toby.



it's been decided we'll all continue to meet for our thursday night stitch and bitch, but we just won't be able to do it in the lovely setting of the yarn store anymore.

i am so bummed. it's really a shame things didn't work out for Toby. she's SUCH a sweet heart, she deserved to have her business do well... and not just well, EXTREMELY well.

in other knitting news, i'm managing to squeeze out another pair of Trekking 100 socks for my son. he loves the first pair so much he wears them constantly. another pair will mean i'll be able to wash the first pair while he wears the second (or vice versa) without any 'are they done yet?'s :)

these socks are happy!

and so is the boy whose feet they get to cover.

they're Trekking yarn, colour 100. my son wore them yesterday despite it being a lovely warm day. what is it about seeing your kids in things you've knit them that makes you all warm and fuzzy inside?

i still have LOADS of yarn left over. but i'm not sure what to do with it... baby socks? try my luck at making my son a second pair and hope there is enough? decisions, decisions ;)

the socks aren't happy...

it's slowly becoming that time of year again... when things warm up and socks get stuffed into drawers and forgotten about until fall. my socks seemed to be dealing okay with the inevitable... until i came home with these lovelies.



... and the overwhelming opinion on them is that they are definitely to be worn without socks.

none of my handknit creations will be peaking from beneath that adorable mary jane strap this spring. i think i'm feeling a little down about it too. no socks.

my sock yarns suddenly seem even that much more appealing to me knowing that the socks they create won't be fully appreciated for months and months... and months.

i love my new shoes. they are comfortable, funky, adorable even... i will love wearing them. but i think i may be looking forward to some good chilly fall days before summer has even made me break a sweat just so i can enjoy hand knit sock love again.

sometimes i love getting mail

dontchya just love it when there are goodies like this waiting for you in your mailbox? *huge grin*

and i'm kind of surprised, my son is claiming the Trekking 100 for himself. he must have a pair of hand knit socks out of that yarn. i think i'm going to have to order some more from theknitter.com. mahvelous!

spring sickies

ugh. the last few days have not been fun in our house. the kids came down with some stomach bug. so far i've managed to stay clear of it... let's hope it stays that way! the kidlets seem to be doing much better today, except i think my son now has a lovely case of pink-eye. ew.

i've been working on what might become a small throw blanket while the kids were ill. it's being created with Moda Dea's Cache yarn that was gifted to me. this stuff is fun :)

i was working on a lovely Jaywalker sock in Sockotta, but as the sickies hit, i stopped paying that much attention to it and it ended up a bit too long for my foot, so i ripped it out last night and do intend to start over eventually. the Jaywalker pattern is fun, now i know why it's been such a big hit all over the internet. it's a great pattern that's easy to memorize and easy to keep up with while other things are going on around you. and it knits up super fast (which is why i didn't have a big problem just frogging the sock to start over).

i'm dying to get out of the house for some fresh air today. i think i'll see if the kids would like to do some rollerblading along the front sidewalk for a while. i'd love to get some errands done, but bringing pink-eye boy out into public like that might not be appreciated by others ;)

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 :)