Progress, progress and one new project

Firstly, the new project on the needles. More socks. More Socks That Rock. This time in lightweight instead of the medium weight I used for Cindy's socks. I love this colorway!!! It's mostly purple, with some lighter pink-ish highlights. I've just started the cuff since I will be downtown tomorrow and will need some new commuter knitting. I can't tell how the colors will knit up, but hopefully I'll get to the stocking stitch part on the train.



Remember this yarn? It's Silk Spun from Handmaiden in the Dragonfly colorway. I started making the shawl and got addicted to it rather quickly. Simply put, this is amazing yarn to knit with. The pattern is stupid-simple garter stitch with increases on each row. The drape is gorgeous, and I had to force myself to put it down to keep going on the sleeves for the Voss.

The picture below doesn't really show the shape of the shawl, but it will end up being a very wide and height-challenged triangle.



Speaking of the Voss, the first sleeve is finally done. There was much celebration. I'm suffering from second sleeve syndrome - a close relative of the second sock syndrome. (as can be fairly obvious by the progress on the dragonfly shawl and none on the second sleeve)


After a couple of tries to get the increases looking right, I think I finally got it. I had to modify the pattern just slightly to put only blue in the increases of the first snowflake section, and then from there, the pattern does work itself out fairly well. If ever I make this again (!!!) the main thing to note for the sleeve and the body is to pay close attention to the pattern where it suggests to start the pattern repeats. This way, the snowflakes mirror themselves where they meet.

Another sock done

I finished what I'm calling my Harlot socks. These are the socks that I cast on a few days before Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (the Yarn Harlot) came to Montreal for her hilarious speech about knitting and a book signing. She signed all three of my books. I was star-struck. She held my sock with her sock. There was much rejoicing and much knitting.


I saw the following project description chart on Jennifer's blog, as well as a couple of other peoples, so I will be blatantly stealing it and using it for my FOs from now on.

Project Specs:

Pattern: Generic top down sock pattern. Used 60 st around.

Yarn: On Line - winter

Needles: 3.0 mm
Gauge: 28 st to 10 cm

Size: Too small. I wanted to make them for myself, but made the foot too short by about an inch. I could have gone back to knit more, but I'd already cut the yarn and would have to sew in a lot of ends, not to mention that I'd have to find the right place in the pattern to start the yarn.

Cast on to Bind off: November 2006 to April 2007 (with a big break in between)

Would I make this again: Yes - silly question. I have the same yarn in pinks, which I will make for me. Since these were held by the Harlot, I'm not going to give them away outside of this household, so Dave gets them. His feet are just a smidge smaller than mine so they should fit him. He did mention a few times that he liked the color of these socks as I was making them. They do fit my feet when I put them on, but I can see the stitches all stretched out, so I'm sure they would wear much more quickly.

Socks done

I finished Cindy's socks late last week and will be going downtown to the office tomorrow to give them to her. In the meantime, here's a pic of the socks. These were my first toe-up socks using Wendy's generic toe up pattern.


I liked knitting these, but I think I'm a top down sock girl. I just like the look of the gussets on the socks. I'll probably make some toe up socks for E, since they knit up so quickly I'll be able to finish them before she outgrows them!

Project Specs:

Pattern: Wendy's toe up sock pattern. Used 56 st around.

Yarn: Socks that Rock medium - in the navy

Needles: 2.5 mm
Gauge: 32 st to 10 cm

Size: Sized to fit Cindy's feet

Cast on to Bind off: January 2007 to April 2007 (mainly done in the commuter train)

Would I make this again: Yes - but would go top-down instead of toe-up. I have three more skeins of STR but in lightweight. This is heavenly yarn to knit with and I will surely get making more socks with this. I just wound up my "Jasper" yarn which is deep purples with some lighter pinky bits.

Voss update - the first sleeve is done, second sleeve is started (ribbing done)
Shoulder wrap update - it's started and amazingly gorgeous to knit. I [heart] Handmaiden.

New project soon to be on the needles

The observant reader will figure out that this gorgeous silk will become a shoulder wrap sometime soon (see sidebar for future projects). I'm just finishing Cindy's socks (pictures to come in the next day or two when I finish weaving in the ends) and need a new mindless knitting project for when I'm tired of working on the Voss.



For the last year or two, I have been coveting one or Norma's scarf/shawls. Norma's is gorgeous reds, yellow and periwinkle blues which suited me perfectly. I knew from the first time I tried to steal borrow hers that I needed to make one for myself.

The colors in the picture are pretty true to life. I can't wait to start. Just waiting to figure out how to do the increases.

Sleeve is coming along

So, after the ugly first try at the sleeve of the Dale sweater, I ripped it back to the ribbing and started again.

I got information about the jogless jog from Norma, as well as some key decisions - mainly to not put any white in the first dark blue increase section, and how I do the increases, the sleeve looks much better - well, at least to me.

It will look even better after blocking I'm sure. There is only one more snowflake section to go, then the inside facing of the sleeve and this sleeve is done. After that, sleeve the second which I'm hoping will go much more quickly since I've already made all of the mistakes with this first sleeve.

I did finish the body of the sweater already, but hadn't posted any pictures yet.

Here is the finished front, with the checkerboard section ready to be cut open to make a cardigan.


Here is the back. I'm sure it will all look better after blocking.

D's socks

I finished these socks last year, but just took a picture of D wearing them out on the weekend.

These were made with self-patterning superwash sock yarn. I think it was called "River" from on-line.

K's blanket - more pics

Here's another picture of K's blankie in his bed.

J's blankie

Since I'd made a blankie for little K, I had to make a doll sized one for his big sister. I'm so glad that I did, because I'm told that she sleeps with it every night, and plays with it a lot. I guess I'll have to make her a kid-sized one soon.

Here she is with her doll and blankie.












More playing with doll and blankie.
















More doll and blankie being played with.

Sleeping after a long day of playing. Notice doll and blankie in the corner.

I should have named this post - "how to make a knitter happy" It's so nice to see the stuff that you've knit being used and enjoyed.

The socks - they are a growing

Still plugging away on Cindy's socks. These are my first toe-up socks and so far I'm loving it. Knowing that I can knit and knit until I run out of yarn makes me happy. I just showed them to Cindy and she seemed to like them. About another 3 or 4 cm to go before I start a little ribbing and I'm done.

I'm glad that I have the foot (just before the short row heel) done on the second sock, otherwise I'd sure suffer from second sock syndrome!

Look who'se wearing my Clapotis

I recently went to a Lucy Neatby workshop (see Jennifer's site for details on what we actually did). The class totally blew my mind with the stuff we learned. Lucy is the most awesome teacher.

Here's Lucy showing her view of how the stitches behave in double knitting to Beth and Autie-Lou.

I have to say that the icing on the cake was on the Sunday afternoon for the buttonhole class when Kate Gilbert showed up. I was taking the same class as Kate Gilbert!!


She came over to chat with Jennifer and I after the class. She's totally down to earth, normal, easygoing person, even though she's a knitwear designer superstar. I'm still a little star-struck. The highlight was that she agreed to wear my Clapotis. Woot!

What would you do?

So, I'm working on J's sweater, finished the body and am working on the sleeve. Since the sleeve is done in the same pattern as the body, with the all-over snowflakes, I find that the increase part of the sleeve where there's only a partial and increasing snowflake looks really un-Knitter-ly. It's giving me a brain cramp to think of a way to fix this. Any suggestions? When I look ahead in the pattern, I can just see it getting worse and worse...

K's blanket

I made this little blanket for little K, our friend's baby. It was a really simple 4 rows of stocking stitch and 4 rows garter stitch. I used a machine washable fluffy yarn whose label I've lost and I don't remember what it was called. I made a matching pink doll's blanket for his big sister for her birthday - pictures to come.