Oh beautiful for spacious skies ...

For amber pink and purple waves of grain ...

Pattern: Waves of Grain by Rosemary Hill, fall 2008 Knitty
Yarn: my own handspun, 60% merino/40% bamboo
Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm) Knit Picks Options
Dimensions: approximately 82" by 13"
Started/Completed: May 5/May 24

This was a fairly easy knit, as lace goes, but it was made all the more exciting by the use of my own handspun for the yarn. It blocked out beautifully and has a lovely drapiness now. I used size 8/0 clear silver-lined seed beads from Artbeads that I think compliment the shininess of the bamboo very well.

So, a straightforward knit, a good use of my handspun, and a fun way to incorporate some bling. All in all, I'd say it's a winner!

That Explains It

You may remember me mentioning that I've been spinning up some merino/silk fiber and how long it was taking. By my account, it took me nearly a month to spin two bobbins of singles and ply them, which is really a lot of time considering that I've spun some three-ply yarns in much less time.

To refresh your memory, here's what the fiber looked like originally (4.1 oz. of 80% merino/20% silk from my favorite fiber pusher):

I'd been saving it until I felt I was worthy of it, because the silk content made this bump of fiber just a little more precious than my usual superwash merino. When the spring 2009 issue of Interweave Knits arrived at my door, I saw the Fountain Pen Shawl and knew that it was what this fiber was meant to be.

I knew the singles would take a long time, as I was spinning for a two-ply laceweight, but I didn't have any idea that the plying would take as long as it did -- nearly a full week. I joked with The Mister that I had some magical bobbins that never ran out (and, in fact, I did finish plying before they were completely empty because the singles on one kept breaking and I was ready to be done). After about 40 minutes of skeining onto my niddy noddy, I realized just why the whole process had taken so long.

I finished with approximately 875 yards of two-ply laceweight. That's plenty for my shawl, and, more importantly, it's a yarn that I feel truly does justice to Kristin's amazing color sense.

I can't wait to cast on -- just as soon as my sweater is finished!

Remember Me?

Hi there! No, I have not fallen on the face of the earth, though the lack of enthusiasm about blogging continues (I think it must have something to do with the fact that I'd much rather be knitting or spinning in the evenings than sit at my computer). However, I have made significant progress on my current projects, so I thought a brief update was warranted.

First of all, I'm on to the yoke part of my Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I'm in the very boring knit-back-and-forth portion of it, before a round of decreases and the fun part (i.e., the cabling) begins. And, as usual, I'm already starting to worry about running out of yarn. I have, I think, three more complete skeins left after this one.

I'm also very close to being finished with my Waves of Grain. I have about 24 more rows until I'm done with the specified number of repeats on the second half, though I might continue for longer than that both to make the ends match up as closely as possible when grafting and to use up more yarn.

Meanwhile, on the spinning front, I have still not finished my merino/silk laceweight, though I'm getting close. I've plied about half of it; my goal is to have it completely finished by the weekend, if only so I can start spinning this:

This is the May/June spinalong fiber from All Spun Up. I'd thought about sitting this round out, but I'm so glad I decided not to -- these are so my colors, and the fiber is superwash merino, which is, of course, my favorite fiber for sock yarn. I'll give you one guess what I plan to spin it into.

And, as I did not want this fiber to get lonely on its trip across the county, I ordered another bump of merino/silk from Kristin as well:

Tomorrow is the third Wednesday of the month, which means I'll be joining the Hurricane Knitters at the Waterworks Barnes & Noble starting at about 7 p.m. Hope to see you there if you're in the neighborhood!

Doo De Doo

I haven't blogged in a few days because I've been steadily knitting along on my current WIPs without much excitement, but I think I've made enough progress to warrant an update with pictures.

My Tangled Yoke Cardigan is coming along smoothly. I'm nearly finished with the first sleeve, so that should be done tonight and the second sleeve cast on.

My lunch break knitting, since finishing the Lace Ribbon Scarf, has been Waves of Grain, knit with my own handspun. I'm just a handful of rows away from completing the first half, so the plan for tonight is to finish that up and cast on for the second half.

Meanwhile, I've been furiously spinning away on my merino/silk laceweight. I managed to finish off the first bobbin late last week and am probably halfway through the second. I'm anxious to finish this yarn, not only because I want to see how it turns out but because there's some spinalong fiber on its way to me from my favorite fiber pusher.

While I have been working diligently on these projects, I've been feeling a bit of ennui about my knitting in general lately. I'm not sure what it is or what's causing it, but it's been a bit of a cloud hanging over my head and has been keeping me from blogging as often as I like. I feel like there's not too much point in blogging when all I have to say is that I'm still working on a project and all I have to show for it is a progress shot that looks very similar to the last. So I may not be posting until I have something exciting or significant to show for a while, at least until I get my mojo back. In the meantime, if anyone has some good tips on how to chase the knitting blahs away, please feel free to share!

Pure Bliss

Don't you love it when things turn out just right? In this case, I think the yarn had something to do with it.

Pattern: Lace Ribbon Scarf by Veronik Avery, spring 2008 Knitty
Yarn: Intention Yarns superwash merino/bamboo blend (70% merino, 25% bamboo, 5% nylon), colorway/intention Bliss, just a little less than one skein
Needles: 24" US 3 (3.25 mm) Addi Turbo circs
Dimensions: approximately 85" long by 7" wide
Started/Completed: April 22/May 4
Mods: cast on 44 stitches

Delightfully drapey, quick to knit, and soft and silky to wear. This scarf is a winner, and with the cooler weather we've been having lately, it looks like I might even get to wear it a few times before the summer weather hits. Bliss is a good word to describe it!

Inch by Inch ...

... my projects are growing. For one, my Lace Ribbon Scarf is done, though not yet blocked.

And while my Tangled Yoke Cardigan may look very much the same as the last time you saw it, it has grown. I believe I have two more sets of increases and about two inches left before I put the body on hold and start the sleeves.

I think I need to start a little bit of lace now that my scarf is done. I have some handspun all wound and ready to go for Waves of Grain. Bring on the beads!

In Spite of the Weather

It's spring outside, though you wouldn't know it from my knitting. Since finishing the monkey, I've been knitting only for myself. My big project is one that's long been in my queue: the Tangled Yoke Cardigan.

I'm knitting this in the delicious Sublime Extrafine Merino DK, a delightfully squishy cabled yarn. It's a little heavier than the called-for Rowan Felted Tweed, but I love the extra squoosh of the knit fabric.

Meanwhile, my lunchtime knitting has been a Lace Ribbon Scarf out of my first Intentions yarn club shipment. This colorway is called Bliss, and it definitely describes the experience of knitting with this wool/bamboo blend.

This is probably just a few hours' knitting time away from being done, and then I'll have to find something else to fit in my purse knitting bag. Got any suggestions? (I think I'm off socks for the time being.)

The Second Time Around

Can we pretend that today is Sunday? Really, I meant to post this yesterday, but I didn't get around to it. Oops.

Anyway, here is my latest dose of handspun for you. It's another All Spun Up superwash merino, spun almost exactly like my last yarn. This was the fiber before, 4.2 ounces:

And here it is as a three-ply fingering weight yarn. I really love how the colors blended.

I got slightly more yardage this time around, approximately 375 yards. I'm getting really good at doing a three ply sock yarn!

Would you like an even closer look? Okay, here ya go:

I think I need a little break from the three plies. I started working on some merino/silk over the weekend, spinning it very fine and aiming for two-ply laceweight. It's nice to be working with some color again!

Foster, Bananas Foster

There's a very good reason for the blog silence these past few days -- I've been finishing Mr. Foster, and in the nick of time! He'll be shipped out tomorrow morning to make it in time for Aidan's birthday.

Pattern: Mr. Foster [Ravelry link] by the Knit Picks Design Team
Yarn: Knit Picks Essential (75% superwash merino/25% nylon) in Buckskin, Cocoa, Burgundy, and Ash, one skein each
Needles: US 1 (2.25 mm) dpns and 1.5 (2.5 mm) circs
Started/Completed: March 13/April 23
Mods: I used a three-stitch I-cord in place of a single crochet chain for the robe belt and made it a couple of inches longer than specified in order to have enough for the knots at the end

I have mixed feelings about this project. On the one hand, there's no denying that this is one extremely cute monkey.

On the other hand, he was kind of a pain in the you-know-what. The monkey wasn't too much of a pain until I got to the face and all those short rows. The robe really wasn't too bad. The pajamas, though, were a royal annoyance. I've realized that I feel the same way about moss stitch that I do about seed stitch -- I just don't care for it. In the case of the pjs, it made the project slow to the pace of cold molasses. I found this part of the pattern to be particularly -- and perhaps unnecessarily -- fiddly, to the point that I very nearly threw in the towel. I'm glad I didn't, though, because Mr. Foster really wouldn't feel complete without his clothes.

There is one feature of the pjs, though, that I absolutely adore: the rear flap, complete with a hole for his tail.

The one main failing of this kit, in my opinion, is that the yardage required for completing the pjs, at least, is vastly underestimated. I was fortunate in that I had some scraps of an earlier batch of the same yarn (from these socks) that were a close enough match in color that I could finish, but I can't imagine what I would have done if I hadn't. I certainly couldn't have waited to order another skein and still gotten the project done in time.

I had just enough to finish the robe, though it was a close one. Here's all the yarn I have left, just a few yards. (The robe obviously needs a good blocking, so kindly ignore the bottom edge's flipping up.)

Bottom line? While aggravating at times -- and it's certainly never fun knitting under a deadline -- I'm glad I made it through. I think Aidan will like him, and if he doesn't, he can always send Mr. Foster back to me!

That's all, folks!

The Slogfest

WARNING: The following blog post is likely to be dull and, due to a complete lack of sun, contain unimpressive photos.

So, the neverending knitting on Mr. Foster's clothing continues, and while the end is in sight, it seems like the slog just gets worse and worse. As of this moment, I am in the final section of the pajamas (which, of course, is the most fiddly) and am only a second sleeve, a belt, and some sewing up away from finishing the robe.

That little bit of burgundy yarn you see to the right of the PJs is all that's left of the original skein in the kit, and it's clearly not going to be enough. I was able to find some scraps of the same colorway buried in the stash, but of course they're very old and not likely to match perfectly. (I doubt Aidan will notice, though.) I'm also getting dangerously close to running out of gray yarn for the robe. I'm hoping at least to make it through the second sleeve; I can always use another similar yarn for the belt, if need be.

This whole project is really an exercise in perseverance. Last night I was completely ready to throw in the towel, but The Mister expressed serious doubts that I'd truly be able to abandon such vital parts of the project, and he's right. Mr. Foster is cute on his own, but he's really devastatingly adorable with his PJs and robe. And I do have an end date in sight -- he absolutely must be mailed by this Saturday at the latest to make it to Aidan for his birthday. So, slog I must. With any luck, the next blog post you see here will feature a fully dressed monkey.

Meanwhile, I did do some spinning this weekend, finishing up the second and third bobbins of my latest fiber.

Tonight, I started plying. I aim for about 30 minutes of spinning time on weekday evenings (I tend to spin more over the weekend), so I hope to have a finished yarn by this weekend.

Keep It Simple

Sometimes there is nothing more satisfying than a simple stockinette sock -- as was the case when my most recent Rockin' Sock Club package arrived. It came with a beautiful pattern designed by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, but unfortunately I just did not care for how it was combining with the yarn. So, I frogged back to the picot cuff, left the pattern for another day (and another yarn), and proceeded with a plain sock.


Pattern: basic stockinette, worked over 56 stitches, with a picot cuff, slip-stitch heel, and wide toe
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock mediumweight, colorway Gertrude Skein, one skein
Needles: two 16" US 2 (2.75 mm) Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: April 7/April 15

Easy peasy, mindless knitting done mostly during my lunch break at work. The finished socks are thick and comfy -- good house socks.

Now, I find myself with only one project on the needles, and I think you know what that is. Looks like I'm about to run out of the red yarn for the pajamas, too. Mr. Foster might have to make the trip to the Midwest in the nude!

Slow and Steady

I'm still slogging away at Mr. Foster's clothing. Over the weekend, I finished all four "tubes" that make up the sleeves and legs of his pajamas, and last night I got to the point where I joined the legs together and started working up the body. As you can see, he's a little anxious for me to finish his PJs so he can get to bed.


I am determined to finish the pajamas by this weekend, which will give me a week to knit his robe and package him up nicely for his trip to live with Aidan. I think the robe -- knit mostly in stockinette -- is going to go a lot faster.

I'm in sort of a weird place right now because I have only two projects on the needles: Mr. Foster and a pair of stockinette socks (which should be done shortly, as I'm on the gusset of the second sock and it's being worked on size 2 needles). I'm looking forward to getting this monkey business out of the way so I can start another big project, this one for me. Do you think it would be ridiculous to start a sweater in April? Hmm, maybe some lace is in order.

In any case, Mr. Foster and I will be meeting up with the Hurricane Knitters at the Waterworks Barnes & Noble tomorrow night, starting at about 7 p.m. Please come and join us if you're in the area!

Just Right

I know I've come a long way in my spinning when I'm able to spin almost exactly the yarn that I want. In this case, I started with this pretty superwash merino top from my favorite fiber pusher.

I knew I wanted a three-ply fingering weight from this, and I chose to go with a traditional three ply (even though I've been on a bit of a Navajo plying kick lately) in order to get a mixing of the colors. With all the white in this fiber, I wanted to make sure that the colors were blended throughout the skein. Here's the result:

Though I didn't measure my wraps per inch, this is squarely in the fingering range, probably even on the light fingering side. The colors blended beautifully, mixing througout while trending toward more purple in some places and more brown in others.

The only slight disappointment was the yardage, which ended up being approximately 360 yards. I was hoping for closer to 400, but this is still plenty for a pair of socks or whatever I might decide to do with this yarn. For now, I'm content simply to admire it in the skein.

Should I decide I need to knit with some new yarn, I have a couple of options that recently entered the stash. I made a stop at Knit One yesterday to use a birthday gift card that'd been burning a hole in my pocket. First, two skeins of Jojoland Melody -- enough for a pair of socks, though I think this might look quite lovely as something lacy.

Then, the big purchase: 10 skeins of Noro Kureyon (color 213) to make a Lady Eleanor Stole.

I'm so tempted to cast on with these yarns, but I'm really under the gun to finish Mr. Foster in time for Aidan's birthday (I've now got less than two weeks). Two arms of the pajamas are finished, but as the whole piece is in moss stitch, it's very slow going. Anyone got any good motivation tips?

We Have a Monkey

As my father would say, "He has the cutest little head!"

Now it's all about the clothing. Stay tuned!

Walk on the Ocean

There's a reason Kristin is my favorite fiber pusher; her color sense is really unmatched. These finished socks make me think of a tropical ocean -- the deep blues of the water and the rusty browns of driftwood.

Pattern: basic stockinette worked over 60 stitches, with a 3x2 ribbed cuff and Eye of Partridge heel flap
Yarn: my handspun BFL from the March All Spun Up Spinalong
Needles: two 12" US 1 (2.5 mm) Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: March 28/April 6

I finished the gusset and most of the foot of the second sock yesterday afternoon while The Mister and I went to see Adventureland. The movie was pretty good, and apparently it made for some good knitting time, because when I pulled the sock out again this morning, I only had an inch and a half left before the toe.

Little did I know when I cast these on that I'd actually have a chance to wear them soon -- would you believe it's snowing right now?

My Monkey Man

Mr. Foster is finally starting to resemble the monkey he is!


I should be able to finish up his head tonight, and then all he needs is a tail and two ears to be whole. Then it's on to his clothing. He is definitely getting some pajamas, but I still haven't decided whether or not I'll be making him a robe. I think it might be a little too Hugh Hefner for a two-year-old. What do you think?

More for the Hands

These knit up so quickly, I didn't even have time to do a progress picture!

Pattern: Bella's Mittens by Marielle Henault
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino, colorway Dark Grey Mix, less than one skein
Needles: US 8 (5.0 mm) Knit Picks Options with a 40" cable, worked magic loop
Started/Completed: March 25/March 28
Mods: substituted a lighter weight yarn than called for in the pattern

This pattern specified a bulky weight yarn but, wanting to start them right away and make them a stash-busting project, I decided to go with a worsted weight wool instead. Despite the horseshoe cables, the 1x1 ribbing up the arm makes these quite stretchy -- and, believe it or not, those narrow-looking tops actually do fit my hands (yes, I have crazy bony hands). I'd take a picture with a mitten on to prove it to you, but alas, I am not good at taking pictures of my own hands, and frankly these mittens are too pretty to mess up with an attempt at a modeled shot.

While they do fit nicely, I can see how a heavier yarn would make these a lot cushier and, therefore, warmer. I'm pretty darn sure that there's at least one more pair of these in my future, but it may not be until later this year when the weather starts to get colder (although we had some snow here last night, so you never know!).

The verdict? A winner! Easy to knit, easy pattern to follow, and they knit up super fast! I do recommend a good row counter if you're going to knit them, though.

And yes, they're Twilight inspired. I am hopelessly obsessed.

Blue on Blue

These were a quick, fun knit. (And please don't mind the crappy lighting and chipped manicure in these photos. I was in a hurry to do a shoot and get this posted.)

Pattern: Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang
Yarn: Louet Gems Sport Weight, colorways Bluebird (approx. 110 yds) and Caribbean Blue (approx. 70 yards)
Needles: US 1 (2.25 mm) and 2 (2.75 mm) dpns
Started/Completed: March 17/March 25
Mods: used a regular long-tail cast on and bound off in rib rather than doing that tubular stuff

Knit in sportweight yarn, these are delightfully thick and squishy. The yarn had been sitting in my stash for quite some time, and the exciting part is that there is enough leftover from both skeins to make another pair of these!

As colorwork projects go, I'd rate these pretty easy. The pattern is always the same; the only tricky part is adding stitches for the thumb gusset, and Eunny's charts and directions are very clear. These were my lunchtime knitting for about a week and a half, so it certainly says something that I was able to tote the chart around and concentrate on them to finish them so fast. This is a fun pattern!

I must've caught some handwear bug, because no sooner did I finish these then I cast on for a pair of mittens (which are now more than halfway done). Is it because I've lost my sweater mojo? Hmm. I guess that doesn't matter as long as I have my monkey mojo.

Mission Not Quite Accomplished

So, it was quite a weekend. I was up early on Saturday morning to buy my DVD at Target. I watched it for the first time as soon as I was done with my grocery shopping and breakfast. I was productive while watching, too, as I finished plying up my March All Spun Up Spinalong fiber.

It turned out just as I wanted it to. This is BFL, and my 4-ish ounces yielded approximately 340 yards of Navajo-plied fingering weight. I went for a chain ply instead of a traditional three ply because I wanted to maintain these gorgeous colors.

I think this was my favorite spinalong colorway yet, which is good, because I think it might be the last one for a while. I have quite a fiber stash built up, so I think it's about time I got around to spinning it (and saved some money for when I'm done with what I've got in the meantime).

During my second viewing of the movie on Sunday, this time with The Mister also watching (he liked it!), I decided to ply up the leftovers I'd been building up on one of my bobbins. Again, I N-plied these singles, and this time I wound up with approximately 108 yards of mostly fingering weight. I'd been planning on adding to the bobbin until it was completely full, but I only have four regular-size bobbins and I'd like to start spinning traditional three plies again, so that necessitated emptying the fourth bobbin.

This is quite a mix of fiber. There's a fair amount of ASU in here -- superfine merino leftover from this yarn and some merino/bamboo -- as well as some leftover singles of Sleepy Doormouse and Cape Cod. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this yarn. Any ideas?

Meanwhile, I did do a little bit of knitting over the weekend. Look, Mr. Foster's legs are connected!

I have a feeling he'll be taking shape much faster after tonight. You see, despite my goal of finishing all the Twilight books over the weekend, I didn't quite do it (I suspect watching the movie twice had something to do with it). I finished Eclipse late Saturday night/early Sunday morning and promptly started Breaking Dawn before turning in for the night. I have about 200 pages left, so, soon, this obsession will be over. I hope.