Finished Object Friday

Last night I blocked this shawl - which I've come to think of as my Purple Lace Agate shawl - a shawl that was knit entirely at work while downloading files from Los Angeles. The pattern? "Debaser" by Meghan Jackson. As written the shawl is smaller and does not come to a point at the bottom centre the way mine does. Because this is a hand-spun art yarn that I received in a swap, I adjusted the pattern to make best use of the yarn. By adding 24 sts to the body of the shawl I wound up with an odd number of points rather than an even number. I wish I could have added another 24 sts to retain the original shape, but there just wasn't enough yarn - trust me I tried! I could have knit a smaller shawl, but it's small as is and I wanted as much shawl as I could get from the yarn.

The yarn is absolutely gorgeous - it's from Whimsy Wool and it's a hand-spun mixture of mixed wool, mohair, karakul and alpaca. Sooo soft! With only 240 yards my options were limited to a small scarf or shawl, and with so much texture, I figured simpler was better. That's why I picked this Debaser shawl pattern. The body of the shawl is a simple broken rib which flares out into a textured edging. A lot of the detail in the edging is lost with this yarn, but it's lovely nonetheless. I couldn't be more pleased with how this turned out!

I've also finished my (w)rapped pullover. It's nice enough finished but it looks awful on me. (boo!) The neck looks wonky in the photo but it looks fine when worn. The armholes are un-edged and I find them unfinished looking. With the entire pullover in rib, the armholes pull in rather than hanging straight down, which I don't like either. One more gripe? The seam at the shoulder ends up half a stitch off from front ribbing to back which bugs me too. In retrospect I should have added a few more inches to the mid section of the pullover because on my 6ft frame, the banded rib section sits too high. I think I'll offer it to my sister - she's shorter, thinner, with entirely different colouring, so this will likely suit her a lot better. If she likes it, I'll post photos next week and probably feel a lot better about the time, effort and materials that went into this pullover. At least the yarn, soft touch DK from Shelridge Farms, is lovely. 

Today's lesson seems to be that you win some and you lose some. Or as the Yarn Harlot remarks, the path to a good sweater is paved with crap. As always on Friday, you can share the highs and lows through the links at Tami's Amis. Happy Friday everyone! 

Work in Progress Wednesday

Calibrachoa and Bacopa in this year's baskets

Lots going on around here these days, knitting and otherwise. In just over a week Gavin goes in for Total Hip Replacement so we're trying to get all the chores done before things come to a screeching halt. At the hospital they asked if he had anyone to help him at home. "My wife," he replied, "as long as I don't piss her off." LOL. According to the literature sent home in his pre-admission package he should not plan to drive, vacuum, garden, mow the lawn or do anything strenuous for weeks and months after. Uh oh ... I guess I'd better get reacquainted with the vacuum cleaner :(

On the bottom of the pile is my (w)rapped pullover - the knitting's done, now I have to do the seams and the neck band. If I have a chance I might get started on that this morning. Typically I spend more time dreading finishing than it actually takes to do it, so I'm determined not to procrastinate. Besides, wouldn't it be nice to finish it in time to show Friday?

In the top right corner is my Road to Oslo boot sock. It's been put aside for the last couple of days in favour of the sock in the foreground. That's Hermoine's Everyday Sock; I've seen it  and admired it on so many other blogs that I just had to make a pair myself! The yarn is Regia Classic 4-ply in a printed colourway called "Lollipop" - little spots of green, blue and yellow randomly pop up as you knit. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it yet. Initially I thought the spots might be too distracting for a subtle textured pattern like this, but now that I've got a few inches knit, I think it'll be okay.

There's lots going on all around the craft blogosphere. Check out the links at Tami's Amis to see for yourself!

Year of Projects: Road to Oslo 02

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

Now that I'm catching up on several other fronts, I can finally report some progress on my second to last project for my Year of Projects: The Road to Oslo boot socks. After much hemming and hawing I decided to double strand some light fingering weight socks yarns for this sock.

As you can see Nancy Bush didn't name her book "Knitting on the Road" without good reason. Other than a picot edge and a small colourwork chart for the cuff, this sock is a very simple vanilla ankle sock worked on big needles in thick yarn. Easy peasy. And perfect for bringing along on our long weekend road trip to our friend's Lake Erie cottage!

The pattern as written is worked in three colours - one main colour, a contrasting colour for the cuff and a second contrasting colour for the colourwork chart. Looking through my stash I didn't find three colours in sufficient quantities that worked together satisfactorily so I elected to work it in two colours instead. I knit the cuff in the usual way, and then wrapped the next stitch, turned the work around, flipped all the knitting inside out and reversed direction to work the foot. It felt weird, but it works - the cuff rolls over correctly with nary a purl stitch needed. Awesome!

It's written as a boot sock, but I think I'll knit them for myself to wear around the house in winter instead of slippers. They're certainly thick enough that I wouldn't want them in shoes. And figuring that most of one sock was knit in just a few days, they should be done in no time!

a very colourful square

The other day a member of the Warm Hands group on Ravelry put out the call for 10 inch squares for a group blanket. In fact a couple of blankets are planned - one or more of superwash wool and one or more with acrylic yarn. I'm betting that donations of superwash squares won't keep pace with their acrylic counterparts, so I've rolled up my sleeves to do my share.

Rooting around in my stash I found leftover Cascade 200 superwash in three colours - red, orange and purple. The red was leftover from these Cruiser Mitts I knit for my sister a year and a half ago. The orange, leftover from another pair of mitts for my nephew. And the purple was leftover from a baby blanket completed last year. Altogether enough for a square or two.

For my first square I wanted something striking. After looking through the Ravelry database I settled on this Stained Glass Afghan Square. As written it makes a 12 inch square but I figured that I could bring it down to 10 inches. After all Cascade 220 superwash is quite a thin worsted, surely I could make the square smaller with a smaller hook? In fact I was so successful that I needed an extra round of DC to make it LARGE enough!

It's very pretty! And surprisingly easy to do. I'd like to make another but I don't think I've got enough yarn left for a second one. Maybe I can squeak out a plainer 10 inch granny square from what I've got left, but even that's doubtful. I'm going to try, though. It's been a very good stash-busting exercise!

Finished Object Friday

Yippee! They're done! My Tardis socks are done! Months ahead of time for my brother's birthday even! It's not the best photo - it'd help if they actually fit though. Right now the heels are down at the bottom of my instep and the base of the leg pattern is stretched around my ankles; all in all, I'm really not doing the pattern full justice.

Note to self: take a better photo once they reach the final wearer.

It's a really cute pattern, isn't it? The vertical framing of the square below the windows is accomplished by stitches that are slipped to stretch across several rounds. And the horizontal framing is simply achieved with purl rounds. Quite effective, I think.

The pattern designer suggests that you could duplicate stitch the words "POLICE BOX" if they aren't clear enough after working the colourwork chart but I don't think I need to. I used baby yarn for the white because it was the only pure white I had. My initial trepidation that the mismatched yarn weights would make the colourwork section uneven seems to have been unfounded. Maybe a thicker white yarn actually helps to make the whites pop? It's a victory for knitting from the stash anyway.

It's Finished Object Friday over at Tami's Amis; click the links to check out all the amazing things being done!

work in progress Wednesday

It's about time I finish one or both of these projects on needles. They're both starting to feel interminable. I've just been too busy over the last few days to get much done.

At the back is my (w)rapped pullover. The back is knit and the front has just a couple of inches left until the armhole shaping begins. I expect I can get the knitting of this pullover done by the end of the week, but for the sewing up I'll need good light  so that'll probably wait for the weekend.

In front are my Tardis socks. Sock one is done and has been for more than a week but I've stalled on sock two - I turned the heel last weekend and started the gusset decreases and then put it aside in favour of the pullover. My plan is to work on these monogamously today and hopefully finish them.

I'm not sure what I'm going to cast on next, but I am certain of one thing - it won't be blue. Seems like it's been all blue all the time for the last few weeks. Time for something completely different. Happy Wednesday everyone! Don't forget to check out the links at Tami's Amis for the usual (and unusual) inspiration.

bugs!

Oh help! Are those aphids on my Spindle Tree? I think they might be. What should I do? Gavin suggested soapy water, so I've dumped a few buckets over the shrub but now I think I need to power spray the bottom of the leaves and the stems. What do you think? Will any of this work?

Maybe I should just print out the picture and go to a garden centre for help? In Toronto we have a bylaw banning pesticide use on public or private properties, so I'm not sure what's possible.

Did you imagine when you clicked on this blog that you'd have to contend with an icky bug picture? Probably not. I did try to warn you in the post title, but maybe you thought I meant software bugs? Perhaps I'd better just change the subject to something entirely more pleasant.

I've made steady progress on my (w)rapped pullover. I finished the back on Saturday and now, on the front, I'm about halfway into the banded rib section at the midriff. Presumably I could finish this by the end of the week, maybe in time for a FO Friday if I really make an effort. There are no armbands - thank goodness I went back and fixed those armhole decreases, eh? - just a bit of a neck edging. That should finish up quickly. I squeaked out the back from two skeins, so it appears that I'm going to have an extra skein. Maybe that'll come in handy for an upcoming swap.

And today at work I hope to finish my second Tardis sock. But more on that tomorrow.