Friday, November 30, 2007

Friday Frogging Frenzy

In the ongoing effort to clear out my UFOs and WIPs, I've decided that any project that

  1. I don't love knitting
  2. I don't think will fit or
  3. I'm just not sure about
will need to be frogged.

And today is F-Day. Frogging Frenzy Friday.

First on the lily pad is a blanket I started for Charlie.

It was with Lion Homespun from my stash, and less than one row in I realized I hated knitting with this yarn. I soldiered on, but didn't get very far. Then I put it down and haven't touched it in weeks. I thought about it, and Charlie really couldn't care less about a hand knit blanket. I'm sure I'll still make him one some day, but it will be out of yarn I love to knit. I want happy vibes in his blanket. So, rip . . . rip . . . rip.

The next project to make the leap from WIP back to stash really hurt me. It was my Pillars of Atlantis socks.

I love the pattern, love the yarn even more, and love the sock so much. But it was coming out way too small. After finally facing up to that fact, the only option was to rip. Both the pattern and the yarn will be paired up with better partners some day.

The last project to take a plunge into the frog pond was my Snowflake Shawl.

To be honest, I really cast this on because I wanted to knit the Casino Shawl but thought it was too hard for me. I later decided to give Casino a try, and put Snowflake aside. I hadn't knit much on it, maybe an hour or so, and it seems best just to let it go. Maybe I'll start it again some day. Maybe I won't.

Believe it or not, it feels good to have ripped out three projects. It's very freeing. Hopefully I can resist the urge to cast on six more now!!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Cameos?

I'm a firm believer in giving people what they want. I love to make people happy. So when Heide expressed a wish that Charlie had made a cameo appearance with the socks in my last post, I knew he and I would have to team up for my next post.

This morning, I carefully laid out the UFO that got moved up to WIP status last week so you could have a look. I artfully placed Charlie in the shot. Unfortunately, all of the pictures turned out something like this . . .

In fact, that is the best of the bunch. It's not that Charlie thinks he's too good for the blog. The problem is, simply, he loves me. He wants to be where ever I am, and kept following me around so he could rub up against my leg. (I shutter to think of the readers who might come to my blog after Googling that last phrase!!)

The only solution? Let him follow me around until he's ready for a nap, and then move the photo shoot to him.

That's more like it!! A cute shot of Charlie with my Perfect Pie Shawl!! I started this project in August of 2006. No, that's not a typo. 2006. When I put it down, I had one wedge done. I'm not quite sure why it got stuck in the UFO bin, because I've always liked it. I guess I just got distracted. In the past week I've completed two more wedges.

Three more to go, and then the edging, and this old UFO will be a FO! As for Charlie, he's done too. All the photographic excitement has tired him out and he's once again sleeping soundly by my feet. The life of a blog star is a tough one!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Ampersand

The socks I started the day after Rhinebeck have been finished for over a week. Why haven't I posted them? Well, I kept trying to think of a fun, witty post to go along with my new favorite socks. I tried and tried, but my fun and wit are no where to be found. So, may I present, in boring blogger fashion, my Ampersand Socks.


Ampersand Socks
Cast On: 21 October 2007
Complete: 16 November 2007
Yarn: Socks That Rock Medium weight in Garnet Dreams (bought at Rhinebeck)
Needles: US2 (3 mm) Knit Picks 24" Circulars

The pattern was great and knit up very fast. And this skein of yarn has broken my Blue Moon Curse. No breaks and no pooling! Third times a charm, and I'm sure my other two skeins will behave much better now that they see what pretty socks they could become. Hurray, I knew all those Socks that Rock fans couldn't be wrong.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Thankful

There are many things in my life that I am thankful for each year. I'm very lucky to have friends, family, a good home, and so much love and comfort in my life.

This year, I'm extra lucky because I have something new on my list of things I am thankful for.

I am so lucky little Charlie found us and made it known that he intended to come live in our home. I have to admit, I was reluctant at first. Having never had a pet (other than fish or gerbils), and being as OCD as I am about the house, I was quite freaked at the thought of a cat roaming around the place. Just as I was getting used to the idea, we found out he had a raging case of fleas. (As you can imagine, freaking did not begin to cover that one!!)

But look at that little face. He's the sweetest cat I've ever known - and I'm really NOT a cat person. The fleas were gone as quickly as any doubts I had about taking him in. He's so loving and happy - all he really wants is food (lots and lots of food), good naps, and to follow me around the house. If he's near me, he's happy.

Thank you, Charlie, for coming into our home and our hearts and showing us just what we were missing.

Hope you all have plenty of love and happiness to be thankful for today too.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Sunrise In Boston

So yes, it's true, over a year after casting on, I finally finished Sunrise Circle on the morning we left for the cruise. It worked out well, because it was COLD in Boston and this is a thick, warm sweater. Unfortunately, Pea got more scenery than sweater in my modeled FO shot.

And then, of course, the batteries in the camera died. Yes, I know, they do sell batteries in Boston. I don't know why I didn't think to stop and buy some. Must have been those impending flu germs messing with my brain. But he did get a nice shot of the farmer's market in Copley Square, didn't he? I think that's the library behind me too - right Ariel?

I tried to crop the picture some, so you can sort of see the sweater. (You can also see all the pounds I gained from the cruise ship food. I'm back to salads and walks on the treadmill, I can tell you that!!) Oh, and notice me holding the leather coat behind my back? It was cold enough for the sweater and the coat.

Sunrise Circle Jacket by Kate Gilbert (pdf link)
Cast On: 4 March 2006
Completed: 4 November 2006
Yarn: Karabella Soft Tweed - Cranberry (about 8 balls)
Needles: Denise Circulars, US6

I'm pretty excited about how this sweater came out. It's the second "real sweater" I've ever knit (I don't count the shrug or Picovolli as "sweaters") and it fits pretty good. The sleeves are long, but I think the pattern was written that way. They are long in a good way - they kept me warm without getting in my way.

I enjoyed knitting the sweater except for one thing . . . . the Denise Needles. I bought these long before KnitPicks Options existed, and while I liked the idea, I hated the needles themselves. Thank goodness KnitPicks came along and rescued me! Now that this sweater is done, I plan to get my Denise set on Ebay.

The pattern was so much fun to knit. It's got a really unique construction, where you knit the sleeve and then use strategically placed increases and decreases to make the circles rise from the raglan. I'm a fan of Kate Gilbert's designs, and based on the way this pattern was written, I'll certainly be knitting more sweaters by her. In fact, I think I have a few already in my Ravelry queue.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Things I brought home from vacation . . .

stunning hand-embroidered place-mats from Bermuda . . . .


pretty sock yarn from Boston . . . .


a stuffy head, sore throat, fever, aches and chills from the cruise ship.

(Okay, this is actually a picture from our honeymoon, but we sailed on the same ship then too.)

Luckily, I didn't catch the flu until our last day on-board. Although it wasn't quite the souvenir I planned to bring home, I felt lucky that the germs held off until most of our vacation was complete. We also had a mishap on the first day - our ship boarded and sailed seven hours late because it was delayed by Hurricane Noel. However, it was all well worth it when I remember that at this time last week, I walked around in a tank top and didn't feel the least bit chilly. I sat in the sunshine in a Bermuda park and knit on a sock. And although Boston was very cold, my completed Sunrise Circle kept me toasty warm.

Today I'm back to feeling somewhat human and should be over the flu completely in the next couple of days. Spending more than two days on the couch allowed me to catch up on all the blog posts I missed while I was gone, but I didn't have a lot of energy to leave comments. (And I fear that most of the comments I did manage to leave were feverish, incoherent jumbles of words!!) For now, it's time for another nap - hopefully I'll awake with enough energy to finish off that pair of socks!

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Finished Market Tote

Okay, the Farmer's Market is officially closed for the season, but my Market Tote is ready for next year.

Market Tote
Cast On: 19 August 2007
Completed: 30 October 2007
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton - Poppy Red
Needles: US9 (5.5mm) straight and US7 (4.5mm) DPNs

I'm on vacation starting tomorrow - so I won't be posting or reading blogs for a week. I'll be working hard on that WIP list though!!

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Happy November

I swear, I must have been unconscious for part of October, because I don't know how it went by so fast. Another Monthly Knit List to go over already? Here are the projects concerned.



Let's see where we stand:

  1. Finish the Casino Shawl - NOPE, not even close, as you can see from the upper left corner of the picture.
  2. Dig out and finish Sunrise Circle - Close, but not quite. That's it on the bottom, with two small side seams to be sewn, buttons to be attached, and loops to be made. Maybe tomorrow??
  3. Finish that Market Tote I started in August. - DONE - you can see most of it in the upper right corner.
  4. And, because October is Socktober, socks, socks, socks!! - Sort of. On the bottom you can see two pairs in progress. I'm on the second Ampersand Sock and almost done with the first ribbed sock.

Since I've adopted my Finish It or Frog It motto, I'm not going to do a formal To Knit list this month. My goal this month is to reduce my outstanding WIPs by one third. A quick look in my sidebar shows I have 10 projects going, so if I have only 6 there in December I'll consider it a success!!

What are you knitting this month? Are you thinking about Christmas knitting yet?