1 Down, at least 10 to go!

I finished the Snowmen & Skates Vest, yesterday! I'm still not entirely happy with the snowmen rows as they pucker a little, but I love the way that the embroidery came out!! Since I finished my first Christmas present, I decided to cast on for the next one, this time a pair of socks. I'm knitting a men's' size large, probably for the daddy of the little guy that will receive the sweater vest. The pattern is this month's Sockamania pattern, Spiralling Socks, knit with the Dream In Color Smooshy that I bought last week.

Durrow is still getting some work, as well. I have about another 1/2 skein knit into it. I'm finding at least one break/knot in each skein, so far. I've knit from 3 different skeins, 1 for the gauge swatch and 2 for the back of the sweater. I'm not very happy about this, but am waiting to get through a few more skeins to see if it gets any better/worse before I email Knit Picks about it.

I also finished clue 5 for the Mystery Stole. I'm knitting it just as the designer intended. Working in short rows has been such fun. (I thought that I had taken a picture, but its not on my camera, so I'll have to try and get one to post, later.) It really through a great twist into the design, making it more exciting and new, again. I can hardly wait to finish and block it so that I can really see what it looks like! (Lace always looks so frumpy until its blocked...) My parents are going on a 3 week cruise in September. As such, I may give this stole to my mom to wear. They will be going from Seattle to LA, and down to Mexico, through the Panama Canal, visiting much of the Caribbean and finally up to New York, where they will fly back to Seattle. Dad was like a little kid when he started talking about it! I'm sure they are going to have so much fun, but I'm equally sure that Mom will really, really get homesick by the end. This will be their first time ever being away from home on vacation for more than 4 or 5 days (since having kids over 30 years ago!)

On Saturday, I met a friend, as usual, at Village Yarn. Usually, we sip tea while she crochets and I knit. However, she has decided that she want to learn to knit. After purchasing yarn, needles and a pattern, she started knitting the bottom of a bag that will be felted. I can't believe how quickly she's picking it up! She brought it with her to church on Sunday, and has half the bottom done, already!! She's knitting a somewhat large tote, Maggie's Felt Tote from Fiber Trends. There is only 1 error that can be seen easily, it is in the first row and will not be seen once the bag is felted.

Lots of Project Updates!

I have been working on the Mystery Stole, some more and have finished Clue #4! Now that I am ready for Clue 5, I went back to work on the Chevron Socks. They are now finished, too!!


Then, I was planning on meeting my friend at Let It Rain Yarn, so I needed to find a project that I could take with me. Snowmen and Skates won out on that one. I finished cutting all the steeks and finished the armhole ribbing. This morning, I picked up all the stitches required to do the neck binding. I had done this, too, last night, but was unsatisfied with the results. So, rrrriiiipppp! I'm, once again, enjoying this project. Its hard to believe how long I've let it sit! I hope to have it blocking before I go to bed tonight.


On another note, I ordered yarn for Durrow. I showed my dh the pattern online and he said that he liked it! I'm really hoping that the yarn (from Knit Picks) shows up tonight. The USPS website says that it was "accepted," yesterday. I didn't get it, so hopefully it will be there when I get home tonight. I'd love to be able to start swatching.

Lots of FOs!

This past weekend, we drove about 3 1/2 hours to spend some time camping with friends. We were out near Pateros, WA staying in the trailer. There was some work to be done, as the property owners (my friend C's parents) are getting ready to have their manufactured home brought in. I mostly walked about, going to find and retrieve things that were needed for everyone else to keep going...Things such as duct tape, beer and water, and so on...This gave me lots of knitting time. I finished so many projects this weekend!
On the way to Leavenworth to meet up with our friends, I finished the Lace Wing Scarf. (See the details here.) Since it was dark on our way from Leavenworth to Pateros, I worked on Green Gable for while. On Saturday I finished the second May Day Sock, and then went back to Green Gable, finishing on Sunday. After that, I turned to Snowmen and Skates, finishing up to the point where I needed to sew & then cut the steeks! After all this, I worked on the Luna Moth Shawl. I knit more than one skein of yarn into it, though I had to spend about 2 hours fixing some mistakes. When the pattern mirrors for the left side, I seem to have troubles remembering to change the pattern that I was knitting for the right side of the shawl. I do love it, though and expect to get much wear out of it. (I'm going to try to get more pictures up of my FOs later this week, maybe one a day? =) )

Finally, to answer a great question from Put a Sock In It:

"How do you decide which ones to work on? I only ever
have 3 or 4 on the needles, and I struggle!"

I, too, often struggle with this one...There are many different things that will get me to work on a specfic project: 1) if it is nearing a deadline (for gift knitting or KALs,) 2) if it is nearly done and I really want to have a FO, 3) small items are great for knitting on the road, 3) simple projects are great for either knitting on the road or knitting when I'm tired or there is little lighting (like in a movie theatre!) Sometimes, I just reach for whichever project is closest to where I am sitting. This reason, I guess is just out of laziness, but I do get some knitting done!

Knitting & Camping

The Curvalicious Cardigan is finished (see picture at left)! I managed to get it all done in time for our camping trip. It was the perfect weight for the somewhat overcast, warm weather we had over the weekend. I rarely took it off, and yet didn't really need another coat, either. (Since we were renting a 1 room cabin at the KOA and our friends had their trailer, we were indoors or sitting around the campfire whenever it was cool enough to need something heavier.)
On the one and a quarter hour drive to the campground, I worked on Snowmen and Skates. After unloading the car into the cabin, I continued to work on it...until I ran out of cream yarn! I'll need to go over to Village Yarn and Tea, to buy another skein. At this point, I switched over to Green Gable. Finishing the skein I was on, and barely starting the next/last one, I tired of the stockinette stitch in the round and moved on to the Luna Moth. This one, I kept working on until Saturday afternoon, when I purchased yarn to start the Leaf Lace Socks from Fiber Trends.

On Saturday morning, our group met to make breakfast. After the cleanup, the kids and guys rented some bikes from the KOA office. They rode around for a while and even let us (my friend C and I) have a turn. They were fun, but made us all use muscles we're not used to! Around noon, we made lunches and took the 20 minute drive to Lake Padden. The kids were happy to run and play on the playground while we took in the beautiful scenery. After eating, we packed the stuff back up to the car, and then walked around the lake. Its about 2.5 miles. The day was so gorgeous and the sun came out just enough to burn the tops of my shoulders around the back of my neck just a little.

After our walk, C & I took the kids and dogs and the guys went for a game of golf. While they were golfing, we went in search of a yarn store. We found NW Handspun in downtown Bellingham. They had a 20% all yarn sale going on for Mother's Day weekend. Who could withstand that temptation! So, I purchased a ball of Louet Gems in a medium purple and the Fiber Trends Leaf Lace Socks pattern. I started immediately, as I was not driving. We also visited Michaels in search of items to make stitch markers. We found some great charms on sale.

At this point we met the guys at the golf course to pick up the keys to the trailer. They offered to take the kids, so we had about 2 hours to sit outside and knit away. By the time I went to bed last night, I had the first sock about 75% done! It looks great, but the yarn is a little heavier than I realized, so they'll be very warm socks, that I'm sure I'll love to wear.

More Snowmen & Skates

I worked on Snowmen & Skates some more, last night. I have started knitting the steeks. Its looking great, but I am glad that I'm making the smallest size. Its a ton of work and I tend to grow tired of a project before its done. This project is no exception, but I'm committed to this one. (It is easier to be committed on smaller project! LOL)
The Lacy Mock Cable socks are also getting there...I am working the gusset decreases on the second sock. Sockapalooza and Sockamania have both begun, so I want to get the socks done & start working with Anni's great, new pattern.
Tomorrow, I'm taking the day off from work to meet a friend for lunch and a trip to the Village Yarn and Tea. I'll probably spend the morning knitting or cleaning house. There is so much that could be done.

Weekend Knitting

Dh had the camera last night, and I never thought to ask for it, so I don't have any pictures. However, I did get quite a bit of knitting done this weekend! I finished the first Lacy Mock Cable Sock & am well into the heel flap of the second one. I'm really trying to get these finished as I'm starting Sockapalooza and Sockamania, soon. I'm really looking forward to these, but don't want to have more than 1 pair of socks on the needles at a time!

I also worked on Snowmen & Skates. I have it done almost to the bottom of the armhole. I'll be casting on extra stitches for the steeks soon! I've never knit steeks before, so this will be a new adventure. I'm really looking forward to this, as well.

Snowmen Finished!

Last night, while watching the movie "Freedom Writers," I worked on Snowmen & Skates. I finished the snowmen! They're looking pretty even, but I still think that they will require a good blocking. I do like knitting in fair isle and will start another project in color work. I'm thinking of trying mosaic color work for my next project. I like Arietta, that just came out from Knitty and this is a technique that I have not, yet, tried.

By the way, the movie was great and based on a true story. It was well acted by all and I think Hilary Swank did a great job as the influential and dedicated teacher. However, this isn't a film that I would buy as it does have gang violence & language (these give it a PG-13 rating, but it was necessary to convey how those kids lived.)

Here is the commuter project that I've been working on for the last week and a half. Usually, socks don't take this long, but I do have the heel gusset almost done on the first sock. The pattern is great & I've loved working on this one. I don't think there will be any issues starting the second sock!

When at home, Snowmen and Skates has been my primary project. Here, you can see the ribbing & about a third of the snowmen. I am having some slight troubles keeping the stitches even when needing to strand the blue behind the white and gray. I've been pulling at it, and it already looks much better than right after it came off the needles, so I'm guessing that a good blocking will work wonders.

Good News

My shoulder is finally feeling somewhat better! Yay! I managed to get through most of the ribbing on Snowmen & Skates. Its looking good. I'll have to get a picture, tonight. I also managed to start the heel flap for the Mock Cable socks. It, too, is looking great.

New Projects...

Despite my shoulder pain, I tried knitting this weekend. I don't really have anything to show for it, though...On Saturday morning, I met a long time friend at Village Yarn and Tea. We both brought WIP with us, but then purchased yarn for a new project. We agree that planning and beginning a project is so much fun! (Of course we like having things finished, but not enough to do those last pieces of finishing work to make a WIP a FO! LOL)

I bought yarn for the winter vest, Snowmen and Skates, that will be a Christmas present for my nephew. When I had almost finished the snowmen part of the chart, I realized that they were puckering. Not being happy with the way it looked, I frogged the whole thing. Just before starting to rip it out, I measured, and found that I had cast on too few stitches. It would have been too small! Last night, I tried casting on again. I made it through the ribbing, and started to work on the fair isle. At the end of the first row, I had too few stitches to finish the pattern repeat. It took forever to figure out what happened. I had miscounted the number of stitches per repeat! (I am using different yarn and needles than those that the pattern calls for, so there are changes that I have to make. These changes were all based on a 17 stitches repeat, when in actuality the repeat is 32 stitches!!) Now that I have the stitch repeat counted correctly, I knit a swatch, which is something I should have done before, and am now ready to cast on for real. It is so much fun to knit, that I'm hoping to re-cast on tonight.

Also started, are my Lacy Mock Cable socks. The pattern is turning out great! They are a very easy pattern to memorize and I am almost to the heel flap of the first sock. There have been no problems with these, and I like the fact that socks can be such quick knits!!