Come Blog Along Pattern 02 Post 01

Knitting on the Road: Canada • Canal du Midi • Conwy • Dalarna • Denmark • Friday Harbor • Hiiumaa • Huron Mountain • New England • The Road to Oslo • Santa Fe • Spey Valley • Christmas in Tallinn • Traveler's Stockings • Uinta Cabin • Unst • Whitby

Week four of my Year of Projects, and my first project is done. These Canada socks look a bit odd in the photo - they're a bit too long for these sock blockers - but trust me the stockinette sections are all smooth and unpuckered. Lovely socks and a very nice pattern. I learned a new cast-on: the Latvian Twist. It's quite cute; it'd make a charming edge for mittens. And I'm still charmed by the small details like the ridges of purls that bracket the colourwork top and bottom, and the clock pattern that travels down the leg and along the foot.

I've made a start on my second project, Canal du Midi socks. I pondered yarn choice for a while but finally decided on this Arequipa from Estelle Yarns. The yarn is a gorgeous cherry red shot through with subtle stripes of navy blue, which put me in mind of the French flag and felt nautical to me. There's 20% alpaca fiber in this yarn which caused some concern that it'd knit up fuzzy and impede the pattern, but so far so good. With just a couple of inches knit the pattern doesn't really pop yet, but I think it'll be come clearer as I go and definitely clearer stretched across the leg of the wearer. I hope so anyway, because the pattern is too pretty to overlook!

the new moon in Leo

With the arrival of the New Moon in Leo this afternoon, it's time for a TUSAL update. As a reminder, "TUSAL" is an acronym for "Totally Useless Stitch ALong"; check out Daffycat's blog for more info. Now this particular new moon looks tailor-made for crafters. Here's the astrology blurb:

Magnetic vibes are dancing about during this vibrant New Moon phase. They have the potential to spark more joy and bursts of creativity. The time of a New Moon in the Lunar phase is that of fresh new awareness and intentions. It feels like fresh dug up soil full of nutrients, perfect for planting new seeds symbolic or literal. Set time aside to set a new intention for the time of the New Moon in Leo. During this time, the themes and attention are drawn to unconditional love, self-expression, individual style, creativity, joy, heart’s wisdom, romance, hobbies, playfulness, innocence, inner child within or physical children.

Do you think the parts about "playfulness" and "inner child" explain my strange diversion into amigurumi crochet last week? Definitely that little octopus, with his eight legs to sew on, created a pile of orts. Because the yarn was held double, the number of orts was doubled. The little jar looks almost full but there's still room if I squish them down. For a minute or two the TUSAL jar held the cat's interest ... until it was clear there weren't any cat treats to be had.

one more lace collar

To this point I've finished two stoma covers for Kristen's mom. I'd planned to make a beaded one but my beading skills just aren't up to the challenge. For the moment I've put the beading aside in favour of knitting; that I should be able to manage more capably! Yesterday I grabbed some cranberry red cotton from the cupboard and cast on this Diamond Point Lace collar.

It's been a pleasant surprise. The pattern picture was too dark and lacking in detail to see the stitches clearly, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. It's quite a clever little pattern. The neckline is created with three stitches of garter; short rows keep it narrower than the rest of the collar. The main section of the collar is stockinette, but every eight rows switches from knit side out to purl side out to create a billowing ruffle. And then the lace.

Seems to me cotton is also a good choice for this, although I'll concede that the silk hankie fiber recommended for the pattern is probably gorgeous. The little points of the diamonds are going to benefit from some attention from a steam iron. Have you tried knitting with silk hankies? Are you going to? This little collar seems like a nice small project to start with. And if I recall correctly, my LYS is stocking just the right kind of silk hankies.

Finished Object Friday

Last night I started a Roly Poly Cat and this morning I finished her. Very cute pattern! Chances are I'll make more but first I'd like to source some cat eyes (instead of these teddy bear eyes) and maybe some toy safety noses (in place of my lame embroidery skills). This is a great pattern for using up leftovers of acrylic worsted weight yarns. Instead of weaving in all the ends, I pull most to the inside as part of the stuffing and use the final end for sewing to assemble. Is that cheating? It certainly cuts down on time spent finishing!

Seems to me that I could pack up one of these little cats along with a gift card to the toy store or the bookstore to make Christmas presents for my preteen nieces and nephews. I know it's gift cards they want, but I like to have a little something that I can wrap so that it feels more like a surprise!

As well, I've finished my Realistic Octopus. His pieces had all been finished for a couple of days, but I'd been putting off final assembly. I struggled to make sense of the final page of assembly instructions; I just couldn't visualize how this would work. Finally this morning I decided to just follow the instructions step-by-step to see what happened. SURPRISE. That worked beautifully.

Lots of sewing and finishing, but now, seeing the finished little creature, all is forgiven! And it seems to me the tweens and teens in the family might like one like him with a gift card. After all creepy, slimy sea creatures must necessarily be cooler than kitties, right? And look, there's a squid too!

Chances are other crafters have been spending their time on far less silly things than me. Have a look here at Tami's Amis to see what everyone else has been up to!

WIP Wednesday

This is a busy Wednesday. I've already grafted a toe closed and spent some time weaving in ends to finish my Canada socks, but more on that Sunday. I've sewn the last couple legs on my Octopus with just final assembly to go. I've packed up four little purple hats for the London Health Sciences Centre to mail today. And I've packed up several hats for StreetKnit which will mail today as well. Still to pack up and ship? My package for the Warm Hands Network. And look, one more pair of finished socks I can tuck into that package. Busy, busy, busy!

How nice to get a bunch of projects finished up, tidied up and shipped off; it clears the deck for some new projects. I've already picked out yarn for more amigurumi and the next pair of socks. Yay! Starting new things!

Find Tami's list here for updates and inspiration from so many others.

what?

That's unexpected, isn't it? I've gone off the rails and am making an octopus.. well, at least one octopus, maybe more. I saw this little guy on someone else's Year of Projects list and I had to make him. Immediately.

The pattern calls for chunky yarn, but I'm substituting Cascade 220 held double; that seems to be working out okay. The crocheting is done: head, mantle and eight legs all complete. What's left now is the sewing and look at all those ends. That's a bit off-putting, but it's time to suck it up and get it done.

"Why are you making an octopus?" Gavin asked. I don't know. I just don't know.

presents and prizes

Normally I head outside for natural light for my blog photos, but this morning's heavy rains and thunderstorms are keeping me inside at my kitchen counter. Thunder and lightning started at 5:30am, and now at 8:00am, we're finally seeing the end of the storms on the radar. Nobody's complaining though; we need the rain badly.

Late last week a yarn-filled package of goodness arrived by mail from Kirsten; a prize to celebrate her blogversary! I'm not sure how I'll put these two skeins of Knitting Notions Laceweight yarn to use but I have some ideas about crocheting table runners. The colours in the photo didn't turn out too badly - the pumpkin spice colour is my fave, but I also kind of like the two of them together. Thanks Kristen!

Yesterday my sister surprised me with a present for no reason, Nicky Epstein's "Knitting in Tuscany". My sister doesn't knit - she's a lefty and was surrounded by right-handed knitters growing up - but she likes to look at knitting patterns. The book is gorgeous; if I win the lottery there'll definitely be a trip to Tuscany to see it all first hand. I'm looking at the Bella Bride's Dress wondering if I could crochet it as a long top with cranberry red cotton from my stash. It should be possible if I look at the short dresses some Ravelers have made. Not that I need another project in my queue.