slow and steady

Knitting update: slow and steady progress. As we watched old Chuck episodes last night I added another complete pattern repeat to my Renee baby blanket. Not completely without incident though, as I noticed halfway through a row that my slipped stitches were traveling in the wrong direction - tink, tink, tink. Now there's a skill that's getting lots of practice!

As well, I've completed the third pattern repeat on my first Primavera Sock. I think you can see the hints of blue and red in the purple wool. And how dark the wool is - hard to see the stitches and the pattern. The pattern is quite subtle - but I think once I build up the repeats it'll be clearer.

I've struggled with the "p3tog"s, but yesterday on Ravelry there was a post in the Techniques forum on exactly this topic - 80 readers within just a few hours. Suggestions included passing stitches back and forth to loosen them, switching to a smaller left needle or replacing them altogether with sl1 p2tog psso. Changing the stitch would change the appearance, so I won't do that. And I'm feeling a bit too lazy to switch to a smaller left needle. But loosening the stitches does seem to be the answer. And, really, it's nice to know that knitters everywhere are struggling with this as well. Somehow that makes me feel less impatient with myself about my struggles. Isn't that the lesson - slow and steady wins the race?

Blackberrylicious

In August I bought some beautiful blackberry coloured 1 ply wool at Cottage Craft in New Brunswick - the colour is just so beautiful that I had to have some. In November I cast on my first "Blackberrylicious" sock using the pattern Primavera Socks by Natalja S. But days later I ripped it out and put it aside. Until now.

The colour of the wool is very dark - very hard to see the stitches. And it's very fine as well - tiny dark stitches on tiny needles, yikes! Did I mention that it's 100% wool, so there's not much stretch or give with this yarn? This combination made it very hard to work the pattern and see what I was doing. After a few days I threw it aside in frustration.

But with the sloppy, slushy, snowy weather we're having now, I'm taking the train back and forth to work instead of driving. Which means I need a small and portable project for on the go - like socks! With good light and magnifying specs I've managed the first pattern repeat. So, fingers crossed, maybe I can manage the blackberrylicious socks after all.

sock blockers

The second Thuja sock is done. Funny, it's a really simple pattern but somehow or another that almost makes it difficult. I suppose because the simplicity of the pattern doesn't require much attention, I knit on auto-pilot and get careless. For these socks I used a machine washable wool - really nice to work with. And soft enough for next to the skin.

Of course, there are a couple of things I'm not entirely happy with. Although I tried to cast on loosely at the top of the socks, the ribbed cuffs are more snug than I'd like. Some sock knitters cast on using a larger needle size, or even two needles held together. Might have to try something like that. There's still some looseness at the heel where I picked up stitches from the side of the heel flap to knit the gusset. So I'm going to wash and block these socks to see if I can get it all evened out.

And to that end I have created my own sock blockers. Mom and I looked around but haven't had much luck finding sock blockers in our usual LYS. Saw some on etsy.com but none from Canadian sellers - once you add the exchange rate, shipping and possibly taxes and duty, the prices climb out of reach. They say necessity is the mother of invention, don't they? So here's a look at the my first prototype. Pretty good I think, but I'm going to make the legs a bit longer and reshape the hanger area at the top a bit. If you any other suggestions, please post a comment!

on a Sunday?!

Canada Post delivered a parcel to my house on Sunday morning. Wait. Take a moment to think that through - Canada Post delivered on a Sunday. Never saw that coming.

Once I recovered from the shock of that, I snipped the plastic bindings and tore off the kraft wrap to uncover 12 glorious skeins of Briggs & Little Heritage 2 ply in Sheep's Grey. Which I had actually been expecting, having been tipped off by a phone call from my brother. The wool is a birthday gift which arrived belatedly, thanks to Canada Post. But so much better late than never!

The wool feels great and smells great. I'm sure to spend the next several days just enjoying the wool itself piled on my kitchen counter. But I've also spent some time looking around at patterns. And I think I've settled on this one - nice, huh?

row 98

Clearly, until I finish this blanket this is destined to be the world's most boring blog. Knitting this blanket is all I seem to do. And I'm sorry, because it gets harder every day to come up with a picture of the blanket that's any different from the day before, so it must be very dull for anyone reading along. I've just completed the second row of the seventh pattern repeat - row 98 if anyone's counting - which puts me nearly half way.

Don't get me wrong. I'm still loving the blanket, loving the pattern and loving the yarn. It's all going swimmingly. And I'm not completely obsessed - the laundry is done, the house is clean and all the Christmas decorations have been taken down and packed away. Still, I'm glad it's a baby blanket and not any bigger, because I'm starting the feel the temptation of other yarns and other patterns. Maybe I'll put it aside and cast on the body of my Taiga sweater during Hockey Night in Canada. Just for a change of pace.

shhhhh ... my aching head

Yesterday was fun, but I don't think I was the only one with an aching head today. So I spent a quiet day, tidying and knitting between tylenols and naps. The Renee blanket is about 1/3rd done now and I'll probably knit for an hour or so more until bedtime. Maybe tomorrow I'll finish the second Thuja sock.

the first day

Several more rounds of my Renee Baby Blanket knit last night as we watched TV last night. And it's still going really well. The drape of the cotton fabric is really nice. But by 10pm we were off to bed - no midnight celebrations for us. Instead we celebrate with an Open House on New Year's Day.

Because today is the first day of a New Year - a year filled with endless possibilities. Let's leave the bad things behind in 2008 and move forward to all good things in 2009. First things first, though. I've got to clean my house and get snacks ready for the guests that will be arriving in the next few hours! Happy New Year everyone!