KnittinK

You can look at some pictures of yarn taken with a super magnifying camera.

I’m juggling a few projects right now - a mini Dr. Who scarf, a pair of Cherry Tree Hill socks, the ubiquitous Noro Silk Garden striped scarf, and the Moderne Baby Blanket. Here are a couple pics:

This blanket is a bit of a slog. I really need to just set aside some time and resign myself to all the garter stitch. It is a little too big to be very portable though, so I can’t knit it when I go out to the movies. I need to make another one for my other son too. I’m guessing that the twins will be toddlers by the time I’m done with them

I’m exactly halfway done with this scarf. I was able to sneak in some time working on it last weekend, when I went out to the movies a couple times.

My husband got me Koigu for Valentine’s Day!

Well, I finished the basic noro/lamb’s pride scarf I was working on earlier:

And I cast on for another:

This is the chevron scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I’m doubling some baby alpaca lace weight (the dark forest green yarn) and some Knit Pics merino lace in a variegated green. It is going well so far, except I think I’m slightly allergic to the alpaca, so I can only knit a few rows at a time.

I was quite psyched to get some Noro Sock Yarn today. That’s color #184 (olive, magenta, and teal) on the top and #95 (lime green, magenta, peach, and orange) on the bottom. The yarn does feel a bit like twine, so it’ll be interesting to see how it softens up. I’m wanting to make something with a pattern to show off the colorways, maybe Pomatomus? Since I have only knit 3 partial socks before though, I think I’m going to use the Noro sock yarn as a bribe for finishing some simple socks knit from something else.

This is another scarf that is destined to be a gift. I’m trying to be a much better person about knitting from stash, so I’m using around a ball and a half of Noro Kureyon I had left over from my Lady Eleanor Scarf and some purple Lamb’s Pride Worsted. This is a simple K1 P1 rib scarf, alternating two rows of each yarn. Unfortunately I’m running low on the Kureyon, and the recipient wants a very long scarf. So I’ve decided that asymmetry will be a design feature. I’m going to knit the rest of it just in the Lamb’s Pride and finish it off with a couple stripes of Kureyon at the end.

A couple spiral hats I made as presents for a couple of my friends:

It is tough to see any detail in the navy one, but this blobby thing is a nice hat, I swear:

This was made with some Berroco Uxbridge Tweed I had in my stash.

Another stash hat, this time with some Noro Silk Garden:

This was a nice pattern, the spiral rib made it a little more interesting to knit and hats are quick and easy, which is always good for holiday knitting!

I am on ravelry, somewhat sporadically:

http://www.ravelry.com/people/gnat/

I’m enjoying the stash cataloging aspect. If I had time, I’d start uploading pictures of my yarn. Unfortunately there are a limited number of hours in a day!

Here are two baby sweaters my twins will never wear:

These are baby yoda sweaters that I made out of Mission Falls cotton. I started working on them before the twins were born, and after they arrived it took me too long to finish them, because the babies’ arms are now far too chubby for the sweaters. I think at some point I will frog the sweaters and use the yarn to make some hats. Alas! I think if I try to make baby sweaters again, I’ll try to make something in a 1-2 year size that is much more blocky, maybe a Baby Surprise Jacket?

In other news, I got some knitpicks harmony needles:

They are very pretty. Since I spent over 30$ on the sock needle set, I am determined to actually knit and finish a pair of socks. I’ve knit partial single socks before, and I’ve decided that this is the year I will finally break through my mental block about knitting socks.

Well this is a note to remind myself to start posting here again - I actually have been knitting a few things, and need to start taking some pictures and blogging. Having two babies to knit for is nice, but so far I’ve managed to knit two baby sweaters that no longer fit their chubby arms

I decided to make an investment in yarn with part of my state tax refund. Here’s a couple skeins of Sea Silk, one in Blackberry and one in Renaissance.

The Blackberry is actually a larger than normal hank, so I might be able to get a shawl out of it!

Here are some sweater parts, made out of Mission Falls 1824 cotton. I really like the nubby texture of this yarn! I have some more sweater parts to make for another matching sweater, and then I’m going to sew both up at once.

Take a gander at this knit dress. I think the disembodied hands clutching the knitting needles make it extra spooky.

I got many good knitting presents this year - two EZ books, a spool knitting kit, Craft magazine, and Ann Budd’s book of sweater patterns!

I’m hoping to be a little more active with the knit-blogging this coming year. My current project (a dark blue sweater for my husband) would make for some unexciting photos, and my log cabin blanket is on temporary hold because when I was reordering yarn from knitpicks I forgot to get one color. So I need to save up a little before ordering again

Fuse #9 points out a knitted pattern for Captain Underpants.

Well, I’m still log cabining:

I ordered a few more balls of the knitpicks swish superwash, but I’m not sure how big the blanket will be with the supplies I currently have. I’m in a bit of a knitting lull, which usually happens when I get a new video game to play, because one can only get a little bit of knitting done when playing Final Fantasy. I think I should read some knitting books and see if that helps me get my knitting mojo back.

Webs has slightly imperfect Lexie Barnes Bags on sale. I’d be tempted, especially because I do love that skull Hermosa pattern (they’ve already sold out of that bag!), but I recently bought a bag for my knitting:

This is a “Large H Handbag” from Brooklyn Industries. It is very roomy, with three compartments that can be stuffed with yarn!

The log cabin grows slowly:

I postponed renewing my Rowan membership until I was gainfully employed again, because I didn’t think I could justify subscribing to an expensive knitting magazine when I hadn’t knit anything from it yet. I’ve had mixed thoughts about the “free gift” that comes with the subscription. I still have 4 balls of linen drape and a placemat pattern I don’t think I’ll ever use. I did start knitting the froth scarf, but my slight allergic reaction to mohair makes for slow progress on that project. This time, I got the dolly bag, a pattern for a cabled bag made out of handknit cotton. I like the idea of felted bags, but I don’t really see myself using a knit cotton bag, but I’m sure I’ll think of something else to do with the yarn.

While looking over the Winter 06/07 issue, my reaction was fairly typical - some of the designs are really pretty, and other designs look like the designers and stylists were on crack. But that’s what I find entertaining about the magazine.

You wouldn’t know it from how often I update this blog, but I have actually been knitting. I blocked the Lady Eleanor shawl. I’m very undecided about adding the fringe right now. I’ve mostly finished the front of a sweater for my husband, but a giant dark blue blob doesn’t make for an exciting photo. I did buy the Mason-Dixon Knitting book and I felt compelled to start another project:

Now that is some HOTT log cabin action there, isn’t it? The lighting in my living room is really bad, the colors are actually very pretty. I ordered 7 skeins of knitpicks swish superwash in browns, reds, and black because I was curious to see how far I would get with that amount of yarn. I’m stalled for now, because I thought it would be cool to use black as a border throughout the blanket instead of just as a border at the end. And I’ve used up the black skein so I need to order some more yarn. The swish superwash feels very nice, I would use it for other projects as well.

I’ve finished the Lady Eleanor scarf!

I feel particularly virtuous about this project because the kureyon that I used was some of the first yarn I ever bought. I made a wrap with it that I didn’t like very much, so I felt great about frogging it and making a super-long scarf. If I don’t loop it around my neck, the scarf reaches a couple inches above my ankles. I don’t know why I like long scarves so much. It probably has something to do with being short. I even have enough extra yarn to make a hat.
I just need to finish weaving in the ends, block and fringe the Lady Eleanor stole.

I’ve started making a sweater for my husband, in the hope that it might be finished for his birthday in November. He likes his clothes extra baggy, so I’m making him a sweater in Jo Sharp Silkroad Ultra in the color clinker.