Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Randomness

There will be no pictures for a while because our camera broke (the lens motor stopped working). We hope to purchase a new one in the next week or two.

On the last full day of her visit, my mother bought my love - and yes, she actually told me that she wanted to buy my love - by buying me four skeins of Manos del Uruguay for a sweater for my daughter. I got three skeins of a raspberry color and one of lavender for the contrast. I almost got turquoise for the contrast but decided it would look too "trendy". I will be making the snowflake sweater from Knitting for Baby.

While we were there, I picked up my first Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, alas, the very day before Emily made an announcement that she would be giving some away to someone who had never tried it. They only had one skein of lavender left so I chose berry instead. I want to knit something from Knitting Vintage Socks (a birthday present), but I can't choose between the Child's First Sock and the Fancy Silk Sock. Guess I'll just have to buy some more sock yarn....

My daughter just woke up and we have to get to our PEPS meeting so I have to cut this short.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Balls

Here are the two balls I knit (before finishing). One is for my daughter and the other is for a gift. I have decided that making these balls will be a good project for experimenting with color, since they are quick and easy and because I want to make about a dozen of them to have on hand as baby gifts. They are knit in Cascade 220, which I have decided that I really like. It's affordable, smooth, and comes in just about every color you could wish for.

'Nother scarf

Here is another scarf that I finally finished the other night. It's for my husband, and I have - quite literally - been working on it for over two years. Why did I decide to make a 10" wide scarf in moss stitch? All I can say is that I was young and inexperienced.

Christmas scarf

So here is the finally finished Christmas scarf I knit for my mother. You can't really see the cables because of the yarn being black, but in between each of those tilting sections are two 2x2 cables. The same pattern is used for the "Tipsy Knitter" socks in Socks, Socks, Socks.

Friday, March 10, 2006

Hmmm... this stuff is pretty good!

One week ago was my daughter's first birthday. She ended up peeling off the icing, eating that, and leaving most of the cake (I heartily agree with her choice!). I don't know where the time went - it seems like it was just a couple of months ago that we were bringing her home from the hospital.

She was, of course, spoiled rotten with gifts. (And they are still appearing, seeing as that her Nana is visiting.) I am going to save several of them and dole them out as necessary on rainy days.

Knitting News

Yay! I finished my mother's Christmas scarf (finally). At least I finished it in time for her to take back to PA; it would have been embarrassing to not have it done by the end of her visit here.

I love the tilting ladders pattern I used for the scarf, but it required thinking and frequent checking of the pattern. While knitting this scarf I learned that I don't like to check patterns frequently; I like to just knit along. It's pretty easy to do with things like "decrease two stitches every other round" or "work to wanted length". It's not easy to do when every row there are yarnovers or cables that are never in the same place as they were a few rows ago. But perhaps I simply need more practice. I would love to have a sweater in this pattern so I might have to make myself do it. On the other hand, it might end up as one of those projects that sits, undone, because I can't just pick it up and work a row here and there.

I think that I may have achieved "Knitter" status (as opposed to being a mere "knitter"). The other day my daughter fell asleep in the car and while I waited for her to wake up, I pulled out my knitting. I came to a cable row, and, of course, I didn't have an extra needle with me. Stop knitting? No way. Switch stitches on the needle? Tried and couldn't do it. Ended up with many dropped stitches. I searched the car desperately for something to use as a stitch holder. I was sure that the earpiece of my sunglasses would work - and it did okay - but it was slippery and I ended up with dropped stitches again (of course I didn't have a crochet hook with me either). On the next cable row, I used an extra barrette we had in the car. Bingo! It even snaps shut so there is no chance of dropping a stitch.

Also related to knitting is the fact that recently I have found myself very drawn to color. I mean, I have always liked colors, but I pretty consistently choose blues, purples, pinks, and reds. Lately I have been finding interest in unusual (for me) combinations such as turquoise and hot pink, and purple and green. I've also been unusually attracted to oranges and very bright shades of various colors; I have never been fond of orange and I tend to prefer neutrals. It's really kind of nice in a way because I am seeing so much beauty that I didn't see before. It makes me want to experiment. That and own a yarn shop just so I can look at yarn all day long.

Yesterday and today I knitted up a little ball from Knitting for Baby as a birthday gift for a friend. I just have to seam, felt, and stuff it now. It's a nice, quick little project that is good for something handmade that you don't have to spend hours and hours on; I think it took me just over an hour to knit.