With Time to Spare

I genuinely thought I might be getting myself in over my head when I set myself some pretty lofty knitting goals for this month, but it's looking more and more like I'll actually finish them. For starters, the gift for Rainbow's teacher is done and blocked!

Pattern: Sitka Spruce by Tin Can Knits
Yarn: Malabrigo Rios (100% superwash merino) in Water Green, approximately 1.23 skeins
Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm) and US 7 (4.5 mm)
Started/Completed: May 4/May 28
Mods: did my left twists a bit differently than the directions

These were a fun, quick knit. My only complaint is that they seemed to come out a bit small, despite the fact that I did the beret version of the hat and the largest size of the mittens. I'll grant you that I did not swatch, because I know that I usually get the called-for gauge on size 7 needles with worsted weight yarn, so it's possible that there was a gauge issue, but going up in needle size definitely would have given me inadequate mitten fabric, so I relied on the characteristic of superwash wool to stretch when wet and gave the set a moderately aggressive blocking. I think if I were to knit the hat again, I would add an additional repeat of the pattern to add length. I think it'll be a jaunty hat as is, but it's not quite long enough to pull down over one's ears.

My only modification (if you can actually qualify it as that) is to change the execution of my left twists. The pattern calls for doing them by knitting into the back of the second stitch on the needle and then knitting the first stitch through the back loop; I knit through the first stitch normally, as I thought it would look odd to have some stitches twisted and some not, but I can see that twisting those stitches might result in a tidier twist. There is most definitely a difference in appearance between my right and left twists, so it's something I might try if I knit the set again. Actually, there's a good chance of that happening, as I think the yarn I have remaining is probably enough to knit a pair of mittens for Rainbow.

While I didn't have any issues with the pattern per se, I'm fairly certain I found a small typo in the pattern, and I'll be getting in touch with the Tin Can Knits folks about it. I also was not too fond of the way the thumb gusset was dealt with when it came time to put the thumb stitches on waste yarn; no stitches are cast on above the gusset for the hand, and instead the pattern instructs you to pick up three stitches in the small gap when you start the thumb and then decrease two of them right away. In the future, I might use an existing hand stitch for the base of the thumb gusset and then cast one on when I put the thumb stitches on waste yarn.

If you've been keeping track, the completion of this set marks the official end of the to-do list for the month, though I'm still hoping to finish up a pair of socks by the end of tomorrow. I don't think that's going to be a problem, as I've got most of the second sock already finished and will be working on it this evening. Apparently setting lofty goals can occasionally be a good thing!

So Much for Quick Knitting

When I started the week, I had visions of finishing up Rainbow's sweater and starting my own. In reality, that hasn't happened. I'm still plugging away on the first sleeve, but I think I'm getting close to starting the cuff (I've been having her try on the sweater as I go to make sure the sleeve is long enough but not too long). The good news is that I've been keeping track of how many rounds I've knit in each color, so I won't have to do any measuring for the second sleeve.

The faster knitting for the week turned out to be the Arne & Carlos socks, which I finished up on Monday night. There's nothing terribly special about them -- they're just my regular stockinette sock recipe worked over 70 stitches on US 0/2.0 mm needles, and I didn't even bother to try to match the color pattern (though they are fairly close).

Rather than starting another pair of socks right away, I decided to cast on for a hat for my lunchtime knitting. One of my goals for the year was to do more charity knitting (which will serve the dual purpose of soothing my soul and using up some stash), and as luck would have it, the KnitGirllls will be collecting hats at SSK this year. A hat I've long wanted to make is the 1898 Hat, a relatively simple earflap hat with a really clever construction. The discovery of a couple of skeins of Malabrigo Rios in my stash (in a color I probably wouldn't wear) led me to decide that now was the time.

Completed brim before grafting, laid flat (sort of)

The hat starts with the brim, which is knit in garter stitch with the exception of the three center stitches, which are knit on right side rows and slipped on wrong side rows. The result is a very clear fold line, and once the whole brim is knit, it's folded in half lengthwise to create a double thickness of fabric. The earflaps are shaped with increases and decreases on either side of the middle stitches -- like I said, simple, yet clever. It's even seamless, because you start with a provisional cast on and graft the two ends of the brim together. Then, once you've done that and folded it, you pick up stitches all around the edge for the crown.

After grafting and picking up stitches all the way around

The skein I am using for this hat is, I think, a partial skein, but I'm hoping it's enough to finish up this hat. I might end up making two of them to use up both skeins, and Rainbow's also expressed interest in getting one, though hers might wait until the fall when it's more likely she'll actually be needing a hat (it's supposed to go up to the mid-70s here tomorrow!). I have a feeling this is a hat that's going to get made many times, and the construction makes it really good for leftovers because you can do the brim in one color and the crown in another.

All the Knits, All the Time

It seems that my knitting mojo, which had been waning a bit, has come back in full force, and I'm fully taking advantage of it.

Over the weekend, I finished the hat for my father-in-law to go along with the mittens.

Trust me, it looks better when worn.

Pattern: Two by Two by Anne Gagnon
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Targhee Worsted (100% Targhee wool) in Deep Unrelenting Gray, approximately 212 yards
Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm) circs, magic loop
Started/Completed: October 18/October 22
Mods: none

This was a quick knit and really very straightforward. There was a point in the middle where all that 2x2 ribbing started to get a bit boring, but I was spurred on by the excitement of the crown decreases to come to get through it. I really thought I was going to run out of yarn, and I had my swatches and small bit of leftover yarn from my Evenlight right there and ready to be used when the time came, but I actually finished with about a yard to spare. Although I would have felt very virtuous for having kept and used those swatches, it was still quite thrilling to win at yarn chicken.

Almost as soon as the hat was done, I went and had a dig in my stash for a skein of Malabrigo Worsted that I was pretty certain I still had. It's been in the stash for probably a decade (I'd bought two skeins in that purchase, and I eventually used one of them for a hat last year). It was where I'd thought it would be, and I promptly cast on another pair of Waiting for Winter Mittens with it. I haven't decided yet if these will go to my mother-in-law or my sister-in-law, but I'm making them in a ladies' size, so one of them will get them.

These have been my lunchtime knitting this week, and I've gotten through them very quickly as a result, but I did have a bit of a mishap with them on Tuesday. I was able to get the yarn and needles in my project bag, but I completely forgot that I'd need stitch markers, a tapestry needle, and some scrap yarn to do the thumb gusset, and as luck would have it, I got to the point where I needed to put those thumb stitches on waste yarn right at the beginning of my lunch break. At one point I think I had a piece of string in my desk, but I suppose I threw it away in a cleaning purge some time ago. So I did what any resourceful knitter will do when faced with a problem like this and time to knit: I used what I had on hand. In this case, that meant paperclips in place of stitch markers (which worked fine) and a cut rubber band in place of the scrap yarn. The rubber band was not a great choice, I know, but it was my only option (save cutting a bit of yarn off the other end of the skein, which wouldn't have worked so well either given the stickiness of the yarn). It worked well in terms of not losing or dropping the live stitches until I could get home to actual scrap yarn, but it was a major pain in the butt to get out of those stitches -- I ended up cutting it into a few smaller pieces. A couple of years ago I'd made myself a tiny notions pouch with essentials (darning needles, stitch markers, measuring tape, little scissors), and clearly I'm going to have to find it and keep it in my desk in case of any future emergencies like this.

Amid all the gift knitting, I've still been working on Rainbow's school sweater (her second Gramps Cardigan), and I'm quickly approaching the end. I'm in the middle of the yoke and am decreasing 10 stitches on every right-side row, so the rows are quickly getting shorter and faster. The button bands and shawl collar are worked simultaneously, so they will be a fast last step.

This project has not been without its hiccups, however. I realized right after finishing the joining row of the yoke (when you join the body and the sleeves together) that I'm pretty sure I knit the entirety of the second sleeve using the smaller needle I was supposed to use only for the ribbing at the cuff. Perhaps at another time I would have tinked back that joining row and ripped the sleeve back to the cuff, but I just didn't care. The sleeves looked more or less the same size, and it's only a matter of one size of needle (a 0.25 mm difference in diameter). The yarn I'm using is also half acrylic, so if the one sleeve is a tad snug, I figure I can hit it with some steam and hope it relaxes. Frankly, this sweater is going to get shoved in Rainbow's backpack, dropped on the floor, and dragged through leaves and dirt on the playground, and given that it's been actually cold this week, I'd rather get it done with a few imperfections so she can wear it than worry about it being right. She certainly won't know the difference.

Three for One

Thanks to a flurry of knitting activity the past few days, I have not one, not two, but THREE finished objects to share with you! Let's go through the rundown:

Pattern: Two-color simple brioche (no real pattern used) -- 250 stitches
Yarn: My handspun, 63% Polwarth/25% nylon sparkle/12% Tussah silk from FatCatKnits, colorways Roulade and Rubato
Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm) ChiaoGoo Red Lace circulars, 40 in.
Started/Completed: October 3/December 6

There isn't much to say about this one, as it's fairly straightforward. I knit until I ran out of one color and then bound off with the other. It ended up being a fairly good width, and after blocking it's plenty long enough to double it when worn. I think the colors are very well suited to my mother, who will be getting this as a gift.

Pattern: Biscuit by Bonnie Sennott
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock (100% superwash merino) in Impressionist Sky, less than one skein
Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm) Addi Rockets, 32 in.
Started/Completed: November 30/December 7
Mods: none

This was a relatively quick knit; the slowest part for me was the ribbing (I'm not sure why it is that I keep picking projects that have 1x1 ribbing!), but that wasn't too much of a slog. I really love the lace, and even the bobbles are a nice touch. I used well less than a full skein of the yarn (I still have to weigh the leftovers to see how much I have), and it blocked beautifully. I may want to knit one of these for myself eventually, and I think I'd use a slightly thicker yarn the next time around. Mal Sock is soft and silky and drapes beautifully, but it is on the thin side. I think it's very well suited to shawls and cowls and other soft things you want to wrap around your neck, but it doesn't have a lot of substance to it. That's not entirely a bad thing, but sometimes you want a yarn that will hold its shape a bit more. In any case, this cowl is for my mother-in-law, and if she doesn't like it, I'm completely prepared to keep it for myself.

Last, but not least:

Pattern: Earthen by Alicia Plummer, size XL
Yarn: Cascade 220 (100% Peruvian highland wool) in a mystery shade of gray, less than one skein
Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm) and US 6 (4.0 mm) ChiaoGoo Red Lace circs
Started/Completed: December 5/December 9
Mods: none

This pattern had been in my library for quite a while, as it seemed like a perfect man hat. I finally decided to knit it after coming across the yarn buried deep in my stash. The yarn label is long since lost, so I can't tell you for sure what color it is, but trust me that it's a nice charcoal gray and not the brown it looks like here (this is one of the difficulties of trying to blog in the winter -- there's so little natural light that nothing looks quite right in pictures!). The pattern itself is easy and straightforward but has a very clever way of working the crown decreases so that the stitch pattern isn't disrupted. The fabric the stitch pattern creates is very squishy and dense, so this should be a perfect hat for those subzero winter days we frequently have. This hat is for my brother-in-law (which means it may end up being stolen by my sister-in-law), and considering that I can put it on and still stretch it quite a bit, I'm hopeful it should fit.

I actually have a fourth gift just about done, but it's not knitting. Have I ever mentioned that I used to be really into counted cross stitch? In any case, my brother has a thing for gnomes, and he bought a house this past year that is in need of some decoration, so I made him this:

All that's left to do is to pop this into a frame -- and with that, my holiday crafting will officially be done!

Monotony -- er, Monogamy

My knitting life has been very weird the past week or so. Now, you know I'm not the type of knitter who has a ton of things on the needles at once, but I usually have two or three -- generally a big project at home and a small project to take to work, with an occasional third project thrown in. But this past week, I've only had one thing on the needles and have been working on it exclusively. I know that's not inherently a bad thing -- after all, it means I'm making a lot of progress! But I do wonder why I haven't felt the typical urge to cast on All The Things as I typically do when fall is approaching. Perhaps the urge is just a bit delayed because I've been busy and tired and hot.

As a result of this project monogamy, the shawl is more than halfway done, and I'm delighted with how it's been knitting up. The pattern isn't complicated, but the fact that I'm happily knitting it for the second time without getting bored says a lot.

It's been a while since I last knit with Malabrigo Sock, and I'd forgotten just how lovely it is to work with. I honestly don't think it's the best for socks, but it has a sheen and a drape that make it perfect for shawls. It almost feels like it has some silk in it.

I have not touched the socks since Sunday, but I suspect that they will become lunchtime knitting next week. I think once the shawl is off the needles, I'm going to do something with this pile of Yarn Hollow yarn.

The green and purple are going to become a double-knit cowl, and I think the pink and blue want to become another stranded hat. Hmm, maybe that urge to cast on isn't so far off after all!

Playing with Color

For a while there this past weekend, I was knitting nothing but handspun, and it was a fun thing. I managed to finish up the prototype shawl, which was knit in a handspun gradient spun from a Loop batt several years ago. I really like how the stripes worked out, though if I'm being honest, I'm not completely thrilled with the very top section, where the color got a little murky. The yarn in that section was a bit thicker than the rest, but I can only blame myself for that. The fiber was a blend of merino, bamboo, and silk with some sparkle, and the finished shawl is really delightfully fuzzy and soft.

Now that I've worked out more or less what to do with the pattern, I've started knitting the actual sample that I'll photograph for the pattern itself. This is being knit in Malabrigo Sock in Indiecita, a really lovely hand-painted blue/green/purple colorway. I love how the colors are mixing up just enough to give depth to the stockinette but not so much that there's any ugly pooling (and I certainly hope that will continue). I am working on this at lunch and in the evenings in the hope that I can finish it before we go away next weekend to visit family.

Incidentally, I think I should mention that I'm currently running a contest in my Ravelry group to come up with a name for this new design, so please do check it out.

I realized I needed a small project to tuck in my purse, so I cast on for a new pair of socks on Saturday night. I'm using some handspun Falkland that I spun up earlier in the summer. You may remember that I split and spun the fiber in order to have almost striping yarn. So far it's working out very well.

I'm really enjoying this effect in the yarn, and I think it might be a good way to spin up a lot of the multicolored fiber that's in my stash and suitable for socks (though I suppose it could be used for other items as well). If I have pseudo-self-striping handspun in my stash, perhaps I won't be so tempted to buy self-striping sock yarn!

I Think It May Have Worked

Remember how I said I was going to bring on spring with my knitting? Well I think I may have been successful. Yesterday was my birthday, and usually on my birthday it's cold and miserable and often snowing. Yesterday, we hit a high of 52. 52! And it was sunny! Unfortunately I had to be at work all day and couldn't be out enjoying the sunshine, but at least I was able to enjoy the sun coming through my office window.

But you're here for the knitting, aren't you? Okay, then, here's a new hat (which I'm hoping I won't need to wear until next fall at the earliest).

Pattern: Molly by Erin Ruth
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted (100% merino) in Azul Bolita, a bit less than one skein
Needles: US 3 (3.25 mm) and US 6 (4.0 mm)
Started/Completed: March 1/March 7
Mods: none

This project was all about deep stash. The pattern had been printed and in my pile of patterns to knit for literally years. The yarn was even older. If you can believe it, I think this skein (and another just like it) was the very first Malabrigo I ever bought. My stash page for it on Ravelry says it was entered in September 2007 -- that's some seriously deep stash! I think I might try to squeeze out a pair of mittens from the remaining skein to match.

The pattern was a lot of fun and was fairly easy, though there was some thought required to keep track of rounds (there's a three-round pattern repeat as well as an eight-round cable repeat, so there were lots of tally marks on my pattern). I thought I was going to be playing a game of yarn chicken near the end there, but I finished with plenty leftover.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, I finally cast on for my sweater. I haven't made a ton of progress -- cables slow me down a bit -- but look at how gorgeous these cables are already!

The pattern is the State Fair Cardigan by Heather Zoppetti from the winter 2014 issue of Interweave Knits. I did end up doing another swatch last week with a larger needle, but that one was also off on gauge -- I needed 18 stitches over 4 inches; I got 19 stitches with a US 7 and 16 stitches with a US 8. The swatch on the 8's was way too loose for my taste, so I decided to go with the US 7. The gauge is still off, but given the fact that my yarn is 50% alpaca, which has a tendency to droop and stretch, I think I'll be okay. I should be able to stretch it a bit with blocking at the very least. So far it's a very enjoyable knit, and I'll admit that I'm probably losing some knitting time on it because I keep stopping to admire the pretty cables.

Hoping to Jinx It

It's been a very long, cold, miserable winter here. We had another storm today, and it was a slog to get anywhere (thankfully, Rainbow's preschool remained open so we could get to work). The long-term forecast is looking somewhat promising, but for now we're stuck with snow and ice. Blech.

Usually the way to get the weather to change immediately is to cast on for a project that will be completely useless, so I'm doing my part. I've been working on a Molly hat for Malabrigo March in some very deep stash Malabrigo Worsted for most of the week -- and when I say deep stash, I mean that I've had this yarn for as long as I've been married. The colorway is Azul Bolito, and it may very well be the most perfect blue (even though it looks kind of purple here).

It was a bit of kismet that this was one of the chosen KAL patterns for Malabrigo March, because I've had the pattern printed out and in a folder in my work bag for probably several years now. On top of that, my Koolhaas, which I've been wearing daily, is starting to not be useful anymore. I washed it several weeks ago because it was looking grubby, and it lost a lot of color in the wash. It also doesn't stay on my head as well as it used to, and it's very pilly. So clearly I need a new hat.

A hat is such a small thing that it didn't seem like enough to move the weather, so last night I swatched for a sweater. Several years ago I won a sweater quantity of yarn from my LYS as part of its bingo game, and it's been sitting in my stash ever since. I've been fighting an urge to cast on a new sweater for quite some time, so last night I decided it was finally time to give in. This isn't just any old yarn, though -- it's Cascade Alpaca Lana D'Oro, a 50% wool/50% alpaca. Yup, it's going to be a super warm sweater. The pattern is the State Fair Cardigan from Interweave Knits winter 2014.

My first swatch was on a US 7/4.5 mm needle, but I'm just a tad off on gauge (I'm getting 19 stitches over 4 inches rather than the required 18), so I'll be swatching again with a US 8 tonight. The one good thing I will say about this weather is that the heat is on full blast in the house, so I can put a wet swatch on the radiator before I go to sleep and it will be dry in the morning! With any luck, I will get gauge on the second attempt and will be ready to cast on tomorrow.

Pattern Release: Arsalis Cowl and Hat

It's supposed to be in the mid-80s here today, so I'm sure the last thing you want to think about is putting wool around your neck and on your head, but I have two new designs making their debut today (and hey, the holidays are coming and now would be a great time to get a head start on gifts!).

The first is the Arsalis Cowl, which is part of the Malabrigo Quickies program. Patterns in this program are meant to be small items that knit up quickly using only a skein or two of Malabrigo yarn. The stranded colorwork pattern in this cowl is based on a doodle I used to do in the margins of my class notes when I was in high school. It was enough of a repeating theme for me that I had to see how it would translate to yarn -- and I'm happy to say that it translated very well!

The cowl uses two colors of super soft and squishy Malabrigo Rios. In the sample, I used Azul Profundo for the main color and Sunset for the contrast. This knits up very quickly (it took me maybe two or three evenings total), and the stranding makes it extra cozy. This is one of those cowls that you can fold over and tuck into your coat or pull up over your face on those blustery winter days.

When I finished the cowl, I had enough yarn leftover that I knew I had to make a matching hat. I switched the colors up for the Arsalis Hat, which is a pretty basic beanie with the added band of colorwork.

Both of these patterns are fairly easy, using only knit and purl stitches (and, in the case of the hat, simple decreases). If your stranded colorwork experience is limited, these would be a great way to practice, as I find that stranding is a lot easier to get the hang of when you're working with a fairly thick yarn. The patterns are available separately as well as grouped together as an eBook (and you'll get a little bit of a discount if you buy them that way, too). I really had fun knitting these up, and I hope you'll enjoy them as well.

Cowl: 

Hat: 

eBook: 

Well That Was a Surprise

When I'm knitting a shawl on a circular needle, I come to expect that point when the shawl is wider than the needle is long and I can't get an accurate idea of how big it is. That was certainly the case for my Malabrigo Stockpile shawl, though I really didn't expect it to be as big as it ended up being (probably helped in no small part by the fact that the yarn is superwash -- and we all know how superwash wool loves to grow).

I officially finished the knitting on Monday night, binding off just before my bedtime, but I didn't weave in all my ends and block it until last night. Unfortunately, this photo doesn't do it justice (it's been dark and rainy here all day, so it's not just the fact that it's now evening to blame for the lack of good natural lighting). It ended up being a section less than I'd envisioned because my yarn would have run out -- as it is, I had only 20 grams left of my two skeins -- but it's so big as it is that I can't imagine I would have needed those additional 20-odd rows.

So now you can see how the idea worked itself out in yarn. My thought was alternating sections of stockinette and garter, and as the shawl grew, the stockinette sections would gradually get smaller while the garter sections got bigger. Originally I'd planned for 10 sections, but my yarn only held out for nine (my favorite/lucky number, so I'm okay with that!). Although the construction and stitches themselves are fairly simple, sometimes I really love simple when I want to showcase a beautiful hand-dyed yarn. I already have an idea for a companion shawl, so clearly I'm not done with stockinette and garter shawls just yet!

Rough Reentry

And we're back. It was a great weekend away and wonderful to see all the family, but boy it is hard to get back to the normal schedule. We got home at around 4:30 yesterday afternoon, so I spent all evening cleaning, doing laundry, and trying to get everything put away. I'm still not completely caught up, but I managed to get out of bed on time this morning, so that's saying something.

As busy as the weekend was, I did manage to get in some decent knitting time. My shawl is nearly finished -- I'm on the last garter stitch section. I'd planned to do one more section, but it's clear to me that I'm not going to have anywhere near the amount of yarn I'd need leftover once I finish the current section. It seems to be plenty big, so I'm calling it good.

It's so blob-like, it won't come into focus!

I also took along a skein of sock yarn (which I hand wound the night before we left because I was too lazy to get out the swift and ball winder), but I can't show you what I'm using it for -- sorry! It's really pretty yarn, though -- Verdant Gryphon Eidos in Hathor. I bought it at MDSW this year; I thought that it was appropriate for me to take festival yarn with me on a weekend when I wasn't at Rhinebeck.

This week will, I hope, be pretty typical, with the usual things keeping me busy but not crazed. I'm hoping to finish winding up the singles that I spun for Spinzilla so I can start plying them later in the week or this weekend, and at some point I have to get back to that baby blanket (and figure out what sweater I'm going to knit to go with it). This month is just flying by, and those deadlines that seemed so far away are getting a lot closer.

Discombobulated

It's been a very weird week, and it's messing me up. On Monday, Rainbow's preschool/daycare was closed for a teacher in-service day, so I was home with her. That in and of itself wasn't an issue, but it meant that all day yesterday I kept thinking it was Monday and had to keep reminding myself that it was already Tuesday. As if that wasn't enough, we are headed out of town on Friday to visit some family for the weekend, which means I have a three-day work week followed by (essentially) no weekend in which to get my usual errands and chores done. It will be great to see the family, but traveling is such a hassle.

It's been hard to get much crafting done this week, so everything is moving along at a snail's pace. I'm still working on my Malabrigo Stockpile shawl and have three sections left to do, provided my yarn holds out (I have officially reached that critical stage that I reach in all projects when my yarn looks like it won't be enough).

I'm still debating whether or not to bring this with me for the weekend; I think it may be a bit unwieldy, and there's always the question of whether or not airport security will let me through with it. I think perhaps a sock (on DPNs, even) might be a better bet, but that also means getting out the ball winder and swift to wind some sock yarn. I do have some DK and worsted wound for some small accessories, but those would require circular needles. In the end, I may stick one project in my carry-on bag and one in the checked bag if space allows.

Other projects are languishing at the moment. I haven't touched my Window to My Soul in a couple of weeks at least; it doesn't make a good travel project due to the charts, the cable needle, and the two attached skeins of yarn. And of course there's still the big pile of Spinzilla singles that need to be wound up before I can ply them. I've been doing about skein one a day when I can, but I think the rest may need to wait until next week.

I'm going to try to get a post to go up while I'm gone, but with all the packing and laundry and other preparing to do, that may not happen, so bear with me while things are weird. I'll do my best to get back on a normal schedule next week.

Still Knitting

Spinzilla officially kicked off at midnight yesterday, but I've decided not to make myself nuts about it. No doubt there are people who stayed up into the wee hours of the morning to start spinning and will continue to do so for the duration of the week. I'm under no illusions that I will be anywhere close to winning the contest; my goal is just to spin when I can and get as much done as I'm able. At most, I'm getting an hour and half to two hours of spinning time each night.

I mentioned in my last post that I'd divided up what was left of my Romney fleece into 2 oz. bundles. Last night I manged to spin up the first one, and I must say that it was excellent practice for my long draw. I only had the yarn break twice on me, and while they're not nearly as even as my worsted-spun singles, these singles were getting more consistent toward the end. It is rather satisfying to see that bobbin full of poofy singles.

I am not spinning every spare minute of every day, though. I'm still knitting during my lunch break (and I do have a swatch to finish and block that needs to be sent off this weekend). Last week I started a new shawl with that beautiful green Malabrigo Sock for the October Stockpile event in the Ravelry Malabrigo group. I'd had this idea in my head for a while, so I wanted to see how it worked out in yarn. I started working during my lunch breaks toward the end of last week and then worked on it for a couple of hours on Friday night while I got caught up with my DVR, but it saw a lot of attention on Sunday, when we drove out to the middle of nowhere (or so it seemed) to visit with my father-in-law's family. We had about five hours total in the car, so you can imagine how much knitting that meant.

I'm about halfway through my planned sections for this shawl, though the rows are getting longer and taking longer. This has to get done this month to qualify for the knitalong, so it's going to be seeing a lot of attention in the weeks to come.

Multnomah

On to unblogged FO #2 -- this time, it's my last entry in the Summer of Socks and Lace 2010 contest (no, I didn't win).

Pattern: Multnomah (pdf link) by Kate Flagg
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock (100% superwash merino), colorway Alcaucil, one skein
Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm) Addi Turbos
Started/Completed: July 17/August 31

I'm pretty sure this yarn was the first skein of Malabrigo I ever bought, so it was pretty well marinated in the stash by the time I pulled it out. I thought this steely gray would go well with a pattern that's named for an area of the Pacific Northwest, and I always like the look of a semisolid yarn with garter stitch.

There was one bit of weirdness in this skein. As I was knitting, I noticed about a yard's length where one of the plies of yarn looked different and there was clearly a join. The color was ever so slightly different, and that different ply was a lot fluffier than the rest of the yarn. After washing, though, it appears that whatever dye was in that ply washed out, making it really stick out. Can you see it here?

How about now?

My guess is that this bit of yarn got spliced in while the yarn was being plied, but I suspect that the weird addition is not the same fiber content as the rest of the yarn, because it seems to have taken the dye differently. Luckily it ended up in the feather and fan section of the shawl, so I don't think it's as apparent as it could have been.

Now, as to the finished shawl, well, I'm kind of unexcited about it. I've seen many beautiful versions of this pattern on Ravelry, and I loved this yarn, so I'm not sure why the combination of the two is underwhelming to me. My lack of excitement, though, is probably why I did such a shoddy job of blocking it, especially around the "point" at the bottom:

You all know that I'm an aggressive blocker when it comes to lace, but when I blocked this, all I wanted to do was get it done. I just didn't have the energy to pin and repin until it was just right. The good thing is that it's a cinch to redo if I want to, and even if the blocking leaves something to be desired, this is going to make a lovely soft scarf for the winter. I've really come to the conclusion that Malabrigo Sock is better suited to scarves and shawls than it is to socks, so I certainly don't regret using this for a bit of lace.

There's still one more FO to come -- and I promise it's a winner!

Back on the Bandwagon

In typical fashion, I missed the boat on one of those patterns. You know the patterns I'm talking about -- everywhere you look, it seems people are knitting them. In this case, I'm talking about Ishbel. I bought the booklet containing the pattern a couple of months ago, but I couldn't decide on what yarn to use. Finally, I remembered that I had a really pretty skein in my stash that hadn't been touched since I'd purchased it sometime last year (I think).

The reason this hadn't been used? Well, I tried to wind it into a center-pull ball shortly after I purchased it and found that it was horribly tangled. So I promptly put it in the back of the stash and forgot about it until last weekend. When I rediscovered it, I sucked it up and wound it into a ball by hand so I could finally cast on for my shawl. A week later, it was finished:

Pattern: Ishbel by Ysolda Teague from Whimsical Little Knits

Yarn: Malabrigo Sock (100% superwash merino), colorway Persia, less than one skein
Needles: 32" US 6 (4 mm) Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: April 17/April 25
Mods: none

There isn't much to say about this shawl that probably hasn't already been said. It's a fun, quick little knit, with just enough lace to be entertaining. The fact that I finished it in a week with a baby in the house says a lot.

I'm looking forward to wearing this in the mornings for my walk into work; it's still been fairly chilly here most mornings, and I've been wearing my Swallowtail Shawl to death the past several weeks. It'll be nice to have an alternate.

I also seem to have caught the lace bug again and have become enamored of small, shawlette-sized pieces, so I've cast on for another one -- Traveling Woman in some of my handspun Falkland. It feels good to be knitting productively again!

The Complete Set

The Knit/Wit family is officially ready for its holiday foot portrait (just as soon as the last member joins us, that is).

I finished Rainbow's last pair of socks yesterday and was reminded again how much fun it is to knit baby socks, especially because I can finish a sock in a couple of hours.

These are the usual pattern, but sized down to be newborn socks (i.e., I used size 0/2 mm needles, did 12 rows rather than 20 on the heel flap, and thus did fewer gusset decrease rows). These are plain ribbing, to match the Mister's, and are likely to fit her when she's first born, unless she's born with extraordinarily long feet, in which case she'll go right to the cable twist socks. At any rate, we will all be toasty this December in our yummy Malabrigo socks. I even have a little bit of yarn leftover, so Rainbow may be getting a pair of matching thumbless mittens.

The baby knitting is continuing, so expect to see some more projects finished in the next week or so.

Whoosh!

If you're wondering, that's the sound the past week made as it went by. Yes, it's been crazy, which is why the blog has been silent. I'll spare you the boring details, but rest assured that I have been knitting in between the chaos.

Like, for example, the pair of socks I finished last night at Hurricane Knitting:

These are exactly the same as the socks I finished for the Mister a couple weeks ago, except that I decided to spice up the ribbing with some cable twists. (And, obviously, these fit my feet and not his.) One sock twists to the right and the other twists to the left.

I have a fairly generous portion of yarn left over from the two pairs (somewhere in the vicinity of 40 grams), so I'm going to make two pairs for Rainbow -- one pair with cable twists like mine and one with plain ribbing, to match the Mister's.

I think that most future sock knitting will be exclusively for Rainbow, as a matter of fact. The reason? In preparation for getting the nursery put together, the Mister finally cleared out some drawers in our bedroom dressers for me, and I discovered that my sock drawer in the other room is close to filling two drawers now:

Looks like I'll be doing something else with all the sock yarn in my stash!

Variations on a Theme

It's Wednesday, and unfortunately I didn't make it to knit night tonight, but we are back in our house, so things are good. We won't be able to move the furniture back in until probably the weekend, but at least I can sleep in my own bed.

But you're not here to hear about my house or my furniture, you're here for the knitting, right? Okay, well I have some knitting for you in the form of some finished Man Socks (tm).

This is the first pair of the trio that will be our "family socks" this winter. I decided to start with the Mister's, because his are, of course, the biggest and the most boring. I thought I'd at least jazz up his usual preferred pattern by doing a 2x2 rib all the way down the leg and on the instep.

Because this yarn was a little on the thin side, however, my standard recipe for man socks needed a little tweaking. I started with my usual needles (US 1.5/2.5 mm) for the leg, but the stitches looked a little loose for my taste, so I went down to US 0 (2.0 mm) needle for the foot. I also decreased the total number of stitches from 68 for the leg to 64 for the foot.

I made the heel flap rather long, resulting in what felt like the world's longest gusset.

The full details:
Pattern: 2x2 rib worked over 68 sts for the leg and 64 sts for the foot
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock (100% superwash merino), colorway Boticelli* Red, less than one skein
Needles: two 12" US 1.5 (2.5 mm) and two 16" US 0 (2.0 mm) Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: September 21/October 6

This morning I cast on for my socks, which will be exactly the same except smaller (obviously) and with cable twists instead of ribs. Judging from how much yarn was left over after completing this pair, there should be plenty for at least one pair for Rainbow. Perhaps I'll make her a pair to match both variations!

*Yes, that's the way it's spelled on the label!