Snow Goblin Knits

First lots of spinning and a pair of socks

2007-09-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

Today I finally got around to photographing my first skeins of yarn spun on my new wheel. Last weekend I washed them and set the twist, and it was a great feeling to see them all hanging on the washing line next to each other. The may be far from perfect, but I feel happy to be at least progressing a little bit.

The skein to the front I my favoutrite so far, and my first attempt a spinning laceweight. The fibre was wonderfully soft and lovely to spin. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed spinning the Shetland too, and really am growing very fond of working with undyed fibre. I've recently brought some undyed black alpaca (looking forward to trying a new fibre) that I plan to spin up and make my hat for winter from.

As far as getting my WIPs off my needles, as mentioned in my last post, so far I have only managed to finish the Monkeys (great pattern, great yarn!) ... not very good form really. Finishing these instead put me in the mood for more socks and thus I've cast-on a pair of Charades. At the start of the summer I had a plan to try to knit enough socks for each day of the week in time for winter so I'm justifying my slip up in claiming pursuit of this goal.

In non-fibre-y news, this week has been a very exciting one. On Wednesday Scott and I put in an application to rent a flat we'd been to view. We're being too cautious to say it's "ours" yet, but hopefully everything will go through without any major disasters. I'm really looking forward to having a little space of our own, with our own kitchen and even a little balcony for me to grow some herbs on :)

Bad blogger, no, er, biscuit

2007-08-12T12:51:00.000-07:00

Hmm, four weeks since I first started my new job and I'm not sure where my time has wandered off too. It's gone faster than I could've imagined possible and I've got all left behind. Something like that, anyway, though I'm rather enjoying myself so I certainly shalln't complain. It's nice to be busy :)

Other than the work (and Potter: wonderful end of the series for me, though I feel very behind-the-times mentioning it now!), my last few weeks have been very much dominated by awaiting the arrival of my "new" spinning wheel. We finally went to fetch it last weekend, my dad driving up to Northumberland with me, Scott and my mum to collect (we were staying the weekend with my parents in a cottage they'd rented in North Yorkshire). To make a day of it, we took a trip to Hadrain's wall afterwards which was great old ruin geeky fun (if such a thing exists, and I'm sure it should if not).

I've been spinninga little each evening since we got the wheel back and feel I am slowly getting the hang of it. And getting quite addicted too, but I guess that's a given. The fibre in the picture is the Sheltand I've been using for the Luna Moth Shawl, which I am trying to spin up to the same weight as I was getting with the drop spindle so I can continue spinning for the project with my wheel. I've also spun and plied two bobins full of yarn:

On the left is my first attempt at using the hand carders that came with the wheel, blending some of the black Sheltand with some left over roving from Copperpot Woolies on Etsy. On the right, moorit Shetland -- this also came with the wheel and was lovely to spin.

I think from now on I shall try to be a better blogger an chart my spinning progress :) That, and getting my WIPs off the needles. I'm nearly there with the Monkeys, which I worked on this weekend while half-watching the football and now have just half a repeat and the toe of the second sock to go. I just wish it wasn't so bloody hot so I could actually wear them. Hurry up autumn.

Lots of fun stuff

2007-07-14T08:57:00.001-07:00

This week has been a good week, first and foremost because I've finally found a job. As of Monday I'll be starting 30 hours per week in the Admissions department at the local hospital (same place of employment as DH-to-be). I feel like a massive weight has ben lifted from me, I was getting despondent that I'd never find anything. Not to mention that I was refused benefits since I have a partner (as £11,000 per year is obviously more than enough to support two people) and couldn't claim contribution-based benefits since I had the nerve to get a good education and thus haven't been able to work for long periods over the past few years. Ahem.

Where was I? Oh yes, good week... Thursday was the start of the fortnight of Potter, and what a start it was! The new film was fantastic in my opinion, such a good job of fitting a bloody huge novel into under two-and-a-half hours. (OotP is probably my favourite of the books - or jointly with Azkaban - though all the reviews I've seen seem to insist on calling it the most "miserable and bloated" of them all. Tsk!) Naturally things had to be dropped or changed (films and books are two very different media after all), but by god was it a very elegant adaptation IMHO and I'm more than happy that David Yates has signed up for Half-Blood Prince. Can't wait to see it again... and again!

Yesterday Scott and I went to a booksigning with Jasper Fford in Sheffield; I haven't read any of his books myself, but Scott's a big fan. Standing in the queue, I saw a girl knitting and reading at the same time and was deeply in awe. I wish I could do that, it would be the perfect solution to my knit/read balance conundrum. I felt very humbled by comparison, working as I was on my simple granny squares:

This really is about the limit of my crochet skills. I truth, I'm to scared to learn anymore in case my knitting knowledge gets accidental dislodged in the process and that would be tragic. My current square count is nine and since I'm aiming for about 150 I guess there's still a fair way to go. I have found them to be great for working on when I just have a few spare minutes, though.

This week I've also cast-on my shawl for the Spun Stitches KAL. I've been a bad blogger recently; since I mentioned my intent to join this KAL a little while ago I have left all the work I've done on it unreported. Bad Laura, no, er, biscuit! I decided on natural black/dark brown Sheltland fibre in the end, which my dad brought me as a gift for my degree results. I've spun up a fair bit so far and yesterday started work on the Luna Moth Shawl. My handspun is approximately DK weight, and though I was a little worried it was too inconsistent it seems to be knitting up okay. This is both my first project with handspun and my first real attempt at lace so I'm not expecting miracles (a lot of cursing would be more accurate), but so far I'm having fun.

And just to save the big, exciting news til last, I HAVE A SPINNING WHEEL! Or rather, I've brought a sinning wheel, since I won't be able to collect it until the beginning of August, a wait that I'm sure would drive me mad it it wasn't for Deathly Hallows next week to distract me. My wheel is an Ashford Traditional placed on eBay, along with various other spinning goodies, by a lady would is having to give up spinning due to poor health, which made me sad to hear. I'm glad I'll be able to give the wheel a loving home. I'm paying for it with some money my grandma left me in her will and hope to do her proud. She was a very crafty, creative lady who I still miss very much.

Something cute

2007-06-22T03:12:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share something utterly cute that my dad found while out walking the other day, in fact nearly tripped over:

I think he was a little concerned at first that it might have been injured or poorly since it was just sitting there and its mother had run off. I've looked it up since, however, and apparently its normal behaviour for fallow deer to leave their newborn young alone in the undergrowth, returning every few hours to feed it. I wish I could have seen it too.

Ooh, successes!

2007-06-14T10:13:00.001-07:00

"Your tutors join me in offering congratulations on being awarded a First Class Degree. It represents the culmination of a great deal of hard work and effort, which has been justly rewarded. I hope that your future plans will be e quallysuccessful."

I feel so clever! It's the result I'd be hoping but I hadn't dared anticipate. Of course it's soured a bit by the fact that three years studying means not working thus not gaining any experience to find a job now (and they tell you if you don't go to university you won't get a god job!), but seriously I'm thrilled. I've worked damned hard these last few years and I'm so glad it's paid off. Hurrah!

That was success number one of the week :) Success number two was finally finishing my first skein of plied handspun (after getting frustrated on my first try because it wasn't well balanced). It may not be perfect (some bits are really lumpy), but I'm happy.

After the singles I'm spinning right now, I'm thinking joining the Spun Stitches KAL and buying some natural black fibre (perhaps alpaca) to knit into a shawl. I've never taken part in a knit-a-long before, but I really like the look of this one. I like the idea of knowing what I'm spinning has a destined project since right now I have no idea what to do with my handspun other than snuggle it.

Seven random facts about me

2007-06-05T07:48:00.000-07:00

Eek, I completely forgot I'd been tagged by Yarngeek for this! Anyone who reads this may consider themelves tagged if they wish to be so (I'm feeling too shy to go out tagging people, and I think a lot of people have done this already). Please leave a comment if you have your own seven random facts, I love to read them. But anyway, here are mine:

1. I love the smell of old paperback books. I know it's one of those clichéd favourite smells, but it really makes me happy. Even better if the book's spine is broken and the pages dog-eared. Then I know it's a really well-loved book.
2. I'm allergic to red wine, the only alcohol I really ever drink. It makes my skin blotchy and my eyes and nose itch like mad. Such a shame.
3. I have really big hair. It's not so bad now it's longer, but when I was in my teens I had it short and it suck out in a triangle shape. People at school used to say I looked like Side-Show Bob from the Simpson's which was not great fun!
4. Having nothing to fill my time with freaks me out. After finishing my second year of university I started having anxiety attacks over the summer mostly because of the shock of not having any assignments to do. I think this plays a massive part of why I love to knit – it keeps me busy.
5. I don't drive and you'll have to drag me kicking and screaming and hissing like a deranged cat to get me to do so. I resent the fact that driving seems a mandatory part of today's society. Public transport suits me just find right now, even if it's inconvenient at times.
6. My first memory was of not liking soup, which is really quite appropriate as I've grown up to be a really fussy eater.
7. I have (almost) the same terrible handwriting as my father. His excuse is that he learned to write before he worked out he's as blind as a bat. I have no idea what mine is, but I keep expecting the Human Genome Project to announce a bad handwriting gene one of these day.

An update at long last

2007-06-02T09:18:00.000-07:00

I don't think there are words to descibe the wonderfulness Ravelry, truly. I've only had access since this morning and already I'm in love. It's such a simple yet amazing idea, I can see myself spending hours on end just hunting through other member's projects and stash and adding new "must knit!" items to my queue. Hurrah for the creators!

So far I have added only two projects: a simple pair of stokinette socks I'm working on and my finished pair of Jaywalkers. The latter took me a bit longer to complete than I had hoped due to technology being (as ever) out to get me. We recently spent nearly two weeks internetless due to some problem at the provider's end, and since I didn't have the pattern printed out anywhere sock two was halted at the end of the leg for a little while. Very sad. However! I have them all finished as of last week and really pleased with how they came out. They were so fun to knit, too.

Another very happy point of the week (and stashed at Ravelry) was the arrival of my sock yarn from the Lime & Violet shop. I'm not sure what to knit with it yet, though for now I'm quite content to stare at it in awe. It's the Vampyre Sock and the colourway is Sandrine.

No luck on job hunting still, though not for the lack of trying. I have, however, just enrolled on a training course with The Society of Indexers which, although will take me a couple of years to complete, will at least give me something to do and hopefully stop me from becoming to despodent while I'm not working. Also, eventually, it would allow me to not only have a job that is related to my degree and to work freelance which is something that has always appealed to me. Good stuff.

Hurrah for pretty sock yarn

2007-05-07T13:47:00.000-07:00

Going to see Spiderman 3 on a bank holiday, what the hell were we thinking!? Sold out and queues out the door at the first place we tried, hoards of irritating kids who were most definitely not over twelve or acumplinied by an adult at the second. Thus a no-go. Even though I've seen the reviews, it's still a shame...

BUT got me home in good time for the first update of the sparkly new Lime & Violet Shop to buy possibly the world's most beautiful skein of sock yarn. As a treat to myself for finishing university, or that's what I'm telling myself anyway :)

Can I hibernate through summer, please?

2007-04-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

Something is seriously wrong with the weather. It's April, it shouldn't be this warm. There certainly shouldn't be people out sunbathing. This is most unfortunate knitwise, since most of the projects I've set my mind on are distinctly wintery. Bother.

I made a list this evening of all the things I want to knit over the next few months. First of all obviously I want to finish my Jaywalkers and knit a pair of Waffle Socks for Nan. After that, seeing as I've already brought the super lovely yarn, I'm going to knit Ysolda's Lace-up Opera Gloves. I'm keen to knit a couple other gloves/mitts as well: Eunny's Endpaper Mitts and Tua Cha on MagKnits. I'd love also to have a go at getting the Mary Jane's Pithy Hat done in time for Spiderman 3, but seeing as that's really not far away now (yay!) and I don't have yarn and needles perhaps I might be pushing my luck. Feels nice to have lots of projects lined up anyway.

I'm in Oxford only until tomorrow then back up north again. On Wednesday I have a formal interview for a medical lab assistant post in Doncaster. Last week I had an informal chat and some tests, and I feel lucky to be called back again even if I don't get the job. It'll be an experience if nothing else. Only two and a half weeks left now til I relocate northwards properly. I'll definitely be sad to leave Oxford, but being able to be with my beloved permanently is more important to me than anything else.

Lots of goodies!

2007-04-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

I feel very spoilt. A few days ago, a box of goodies arrived for me from my Lime & Violet swap pal. What can I say? I was absolutely thrilled to bits!

The picture above links to a biger version with clicakble bits. I feel very lucky to have such a great swap partner (thank you very much Margret if you are reading this!), esspecially since this was my first knitting swap. The Cherry Tree Hill yarn is fantastic -- the colourway is so very "me". I couldn't resist casting on a pair of Jaywalker socks right away and I'm really pleased with how the colours are showing up. On the train down to Oxford from Scott's today I turned the heel and started on the gusset of sock one. Makes me very happy :)

Since I'm on the subject of socks, Mum loved her Waffle Socks. I'm really relived, and extra pleased because my nan asked me if I can make some for her too, and I'm planning on doing something similar for my dad for Father's Day. Looks like lots of scok knitting ahead for me -- hurrah!

Lovely fibre and freaky feet

2007-04-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

Oh my! Got to my parents' in Sussex yesterday to find a box waiting for me... my roving from Copperpot Woolies had arrived. I didn't even know I'd had it sent to them, so that was a big fluffy surprise! The roving is beautiful. I spent a lot of time fondling it last night while Scott and my dad were watching the football. I can't wait to get spinning, though part of me thinks I should resist a while until my spinning improves. I don't want to waste it by spinning a lumpy mess.

At the moment I a trying to find something suitable to ply my second skein of single with, but feel utterly clueless. In the meantime I'm spinning some natural fibre, much coarser than the stuff I started with thus a very new experience.

The second Waffle Sock is all but finished. I just need to do the toe and weave in ends. I had to ration the yarn for the first sock, thus the toe is a little "abrupt", but they fit me okay which is a good sign since my mum and me both have the same freaky big feet.

I' really enjoyed knitting this pattern. I didn't have too much trouble with it, which encourages me to perhaps have a go at something a bit more challenging. I'd like to revisit Hedera I think, since it utterly confused me when I attempted it before. If only I hadn't left all my DPNs behind!

Spinning and socks

2007-04-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

Seeing as today was very bright and Spring-like, I decided to make use of the good light outside and take a photo of my first little skein of handspun yarn. It's very far from perfect, all full of coils and dangerously thin in places, but mostly I'm happy just to be getting the hang of the technique. I love my dear little spindle very much.

I've decided, at least for now, to keep each skein I finish in its own zip-lock bag with note on what I learned from its spinning: what I felt went well, what didn't, what I liked about the fibre, etc. Hopefully this will help me improve bit by bit. Hopefully! I've already spun the second ounce of handpainted fibre that came with the kit (lovely pale and hot pinks, with the odd touch of mauve)... washed and hung it up to set the twist today.

Other than spinning, I've also been working on my mum's Waffle Socks. Finishing of the toe of sock one forced my to learn the three needle bind-off since I managed to leave my yarn needles in Oxford before coming up to Scott's for Easter break. I'd like to say that was my subconscious telling me to learn a new technique, but no I'm just forgetful. Second sock is just coming up for the heel, so with any luck I'll be able to get them finished before we travel down to Sussex on Thursday. That is, if a trip into Doncaster market finds me some yarn needles tomorrow, otherwise I'm stuck for weaving in the ends.

The clarity red wine brings

2007-03-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

Just got in from a rare evening out pup quizzing. Not quite wanting to go to bed yet, I decided to look back at the first sock pattern I tried to do, in an attempt to figure out where I went wrong.

I feel awfully stupid now. I finally figured out the reason I couldn't get the hang of the heel of this sock lies not so much in me not understanding the pattern, but in being daft enough to not realise sl1 was calling for me to "slip one" not "slip eleven". Poor pattern, I was cruel, got angry and frogged a sock all out of my own silliness. Oh dear.

In other news, today I got home to find a message asking me to attend an interview for a lab assistant job I applied for a few weeks back. Well, not so much an interview as a pre-interview chat, to see if I would be suitable for the position and thus worth interviewing. Either way, I'm still pleased! I've applied for over ten different positions so far, and this is this first of the lot so it is heartening that I should get such a response. Given that I am moving in with Scott and his family at the end of the month I am keen to find work and thus put myself to some use other than walking the adorable dog. The idea of not having anything to do scares me a little, if I'm honest. But I guess I'm just odd like that.

I'm spinning yarn!

2007-03-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

Well, sort of. I've been slowly getting the hang of not getting in a complete mess and am thoroughly looking forward to practicing some more. I really am having great fun.

The fibre is an ounce of lovely handpainted that came (along with another ounce and two ounces undyed) with the spindle kit. I'll admit at first I wasn't sure of the colours, but they've really grown on me and I like the way they've spun together. I've only got that little bit left now, which I plan to spin tonight, then onwards to washing etc. Gosh, this is exciting!

Over the weekend I started knitting a pair of Blueberry Waffle Socks for my mum to give to her when I go home for Easter. I surprised myself by knitting nearly a whole sock yet simultaneously annoyed myself by misjudging the amount of yarn I'd need for a pair. Bother.

Lookie, a finished object!

2007-03-21T12:18:00.000-07:00

It may not the knitted kind, but since this beast has eaten up the last three month of my life I thought it worthy of a mention. Behold, my dissertation:

11,430 words on "An Assessment of the Validity of the Orange Prize for Fiction" printed this morning on what must have been an entire tree, bound and submitted. Okay, so the maximum word count shouldn't have exceeded 10,000 plus 10%... yet given the fact that they were mean enough to make us included the abstract in this I feel justified in lying. After all, what are they going to do, count?

Feels fantastic to have it out the way. I might actually have time to do something other than eat, sleep and type now. To celebrate, I've just been very naughty given the miserable state of my bank balance and ordered myself some sock yarn and... spinning fibre!

My drop spindle arrived safe and well on Saturday. So far I'm having great fun, though given the above I've not been able to play for long periods yet. My first yarn is very overspun and wobbly thus far, but I think I'm vaguely getting the hang of it. Between spinning, drinking tea and curling up with a book, I think I've pretty much got tomorrow sorted :)

No spinning for me!

2007-03-10T11:11:00.000-08:00

Oh bugger! Looks like my drop spindle kit arrived while I was away. Or tried to. Now I have to wait until next Saturday to get in redelivered. Even more frustrating, the "sorry, you were out card" is dated and timed only about half an hour after Scott and I left for the train station. Part of me wants to say it's just as well, since I'd only have ended up distracted by my new toy while I was meant to be working on my disseratation, but mostly I'm just peeved. Laura wants her spindle, damn it!

[Edit: it's here, it's here! Wonderful fibre-y joy.]

But anyway, I had a lovely time at Scott's last week, so I really shouldn't moan. It seems very strange being back all alone in my little student room now. I'm still (slowly) working on the first of the socks for my lovely, but have decided to rip out the heel flap since I wasn't paying it much attention and it's gone all wobbly. I guess that's what you get for knitting while watching Celebrity Fame Academy.

L&V swap goodness

2007-03-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

Better late than never, I thought I'd post my Lime & Violet Pr0n Exchange survey answers. Goodness, but I'm excited about this. Laura's first swap! Anyway:

1. What kind of fibers do you prefer?
Natural fibres, mostly wool... baa!

2. What kind of weight do you prefer (sock, worsted, bulky)?
Sock yarn is awesome! I knit a lot of worsted and DK too, though.

3. Do you spin?
Not yet, though I just ordered a drop spindle so hope to get started very soon. This is possibly one of the most exciting things that has happened to me recently. Well, that and getting engaged.

4. Do you crochet?
A little, though I’m even worse at crochet than I am at knitting. My first crochet scarf was very wobbly.

5. Are there any books, patterns, magazines would you like to own that you don't?
Not that I can think of… I get most of my patterns online at the moment.

6. Are you participating in any themed a-longs like the Project Spectrum?
I’ve signed up for Socktopia but have been so bogged down with essays since the new year I haven’t been able to participate much which makes me very sad.

7. Do you have a wishlist on Amazon.com or Half.com?
Amazon, here.

8. Any Etsy stores that you would love to get something from?
Oooh, Etsy! My favourite sellers include mainewoodsyarn, copperpot and smokymountainfibers.

9. What other crafty things are you involved in (quilting, drawing, painting)?
Letter writing, card making, stamping.

10. What is your favorite sort of scent?
Herbal scents, nothing too sweet.

11. Do you have a sweet tooth and what kind of sweets do you like best?
Chocolate! (though not Nestle) Orange and mint flavours are my favourite.

12. What kind of music do you like?
Alternative, folk-punk, the more ambient side of gothic, classical, choral singing (I’m a bit of a choir freak).

13. What do you like to knit? And for whom?
Just starting out as a sock knitter and loving it so far. I also like knitting mitts, scarves and other small projects, mostly for myself and friends and family.

14. What sort of things do you like to collect?
Stationery, rubber stamps, the odd zine, feminist books, tatty paperback classics.

15. Do you want needles? And what kind do you prefer?
My needle collection is very eclectic, mostly pairs I’ve picked up secondhand. I like knitting needles giving them a welcome home.

I need more tea!

2007-02-24T08:13:00.000-08:00

Dissertation procrastination has well and truly set in, which means I spend far too much time aimlessly surfing the internet (or else curled up in a ball) but alas not enough time knitting. As such my two current projects are coming along very very slowly.

The first is a moss stitch hot water bottle cover that I intended to be mindless but unfortunately seems to be rather mind-numbing instead. I love the way the moss stitch looks, it's just so bloody slow, and I fear winter will be well and truly over by the time I've finished it. Oh well.

Project number two is a pair of socks vaguely based on Thuja for my fiance Scott. These are much more fun. I spent Thursday afternoon curled up under a blanket working on the moss ribbing for the first while listening to the podcasts I've been stock-piling. Very cosy. I've decided to used allowing myself to spend a couple of hours similarly as a reward for each five hundred words or so I manage to type on The Validity of the Orange Prize for Fiction. That, and lots of tea. Anything to get motivated.

Wintry goodness

2007-01-25T13:10:00.000-08:00

Finished the Calorimetry the same day I started it and haven't stopped wearing it since. A day of knitting seemed to do my neck the world of good, thank goodness. And I thought it was just tea that was a cure for all.

I've seen a bit of debate on the Knitty forums as to whether or not the pattern is correct as published; but while I agree the picture to go with the pattern certainly doesn't seem to match what you get if you follow the instructions to the letter, I must say even if it is wrong I'm sticking what I've got. It's lovely and warm -- keeps the wind of my ears nicely so I can enjoy the wonderful wintry weather all the more.

The joy of comfort knitting

2007-01-22T05:56:00.000-08:00

Woke up in the middle of the night last night with an agonising cramp-like pain in the back of my neck. Still not being able to turn my head or sit up without great care this morning, went off to A&E with my fiance when he left for work (I'm very lucky to be engaged to a lovely someone who happens to work in a hospital), returning home a couple of hours later with some pain killers and advice to just wait it out. Pulled muscle probably from sleeping funny. Wonderful.

Thus today I have been curled up under a blanket, sitting very still and knitting my way through Calorimetry using a ball of Noro Kureyon I picked up in York last week when I went to visit my sister. Beautiful stuff! I adore the way the colours are coming out, all dark greens and dusky purples -- just looking at them makes me feel better, even more so than the pain killers and a jam doughnut.

Alas, if only I could say the same for my socks. Having figured out the basics with Thuja, I thought I'd have a go at these lovelies. Several froggings later however, I'm feeling very much the novice knitter I am and very frustrated at the bloody stitches that keep wandering off somewhere when I'm not looking. Annoying of them.

I think I'm going to have another jam doughnut.

A real live sock

2007-01-11T09:59:00.001-08:00

Goodness me, but sock knitting is fun. I finished one of the Thuja yesterday and am highly thrilled that it is actually sock shaped. True it my be a bit wobbly were I divided the stitches onto the wrong needles for the foot and has holes at the ankles where I missed picking up a couple of stitches, but it a real live sock and it even fits!

I'm going to cast-on and start the next one this evening, so I can have myself a comfy pair of bed-socks or "post-yoga" socks (for when I take up yoga again... this seems to be a recuring theme for me). Then all I have to do I wait until my student loan comes through to stock up on sock yarn and knit to my hearts content. Or dream I had more time to knit to my hearts content, while finishing my pesky dissertation. My dad is going away hiking in March, so I'd love to knit him a pair of socks for that. I wonder if I could knit some with little intersia mushrooms on in honour of his toe fungus? After all, it's almost a family pet (I love my family).

My year of knit

2007-01-08T09:58:00.000-08:00

Very very nearly finished the purple gift scarf I've been working on for the past week. Just a little bit of a skein left to knit and it should be done (two skeins used in total, meaning I have a fair few left to ponder what to do with at a later date), save for weaving in the ends which I always find oddly therapeutic. While knitting, I've been spending the last few days making a mental "to knit" list for 2007, but am determined my next project will be finishing the Thuja socks. I seems silly to give up on them now, seeing as I finally got my head (mostly) around turning the heel.

I have decided 2007 should be my "year of knit". I'm fed up with knitting the simple stuff; my aim is to try as many different projects as possible over the next twelve month and to improve my knitting skills. Other than the projects I've mentioned in my last few posts, I'd love to knit my first jumper or cardigan. My big ambitious aim in to knit a yoked fair isle garment, since I have always had a great love of such wonders. Who knows if I'll actually manage it, but one can but dream.

Fair isle is fabulous

2007-01-04T09:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas and New Year have been lovely and filled will knitting goodness. True I still haven't got round to finishing those bloody socks, but this is mostly because I have been distracted by the joys of fair isle. Never a more wonderful craft have I come across! My first fair isle project was a iPod case based on the chart from Corazon from the Winter 2006 issue Knitty, knitted in black and grey with a cute little wooden toggle to fasten.

Next I have set my mind on the Manresa legwarmers -- just as soon as I find a suitable yarn to use. I would love to be able to use the recommended yarn for its alpaca warmness, but I have been unable to find it sold anywhere that will ship it to the UK. Oh well. Perhaps I should just stick to sensible acrylic: I am far too frugal for yarn-snobbery, and since I intend to wear them (when/if I take up) running, perhaps something nice and machine-washable wouldn't be a bad idea.

In the meantime, I have on my needles a gift scarf of a feather and fan design knitted in a pale purple chenille yarn. I've had several skeins of this yarn in my stash a while; it originally came from the charity shop where I volunteer from time to time, and I am very glad to finally be able to put it to a good use. It has knitted up just wonderfully! The pattern repeat is simple enough to be almost mindless, so I can knit while watching telly or while travelling, but at the same time not so mindless as to be mind-numbing.

Poor frogged sock

2006-11-28T09:55:00.000-08:00

Well, so much for keeping at it. The Green Oddity has been frogged. The heel flap on the basic pattern I was using was just irritating me too much and I couldn't work out where I was going wrong or even if I was. Poor sock.

I'm still determined to get my first pair of socks knitted by Christmas,mind. My current thinking is I'll have a go at Thuja and just pray I get it right this time. But oh well, at least frogging is therapeutic.

[P.S. Poor sock is still not finished, mainly because I left it behind when I went away before Christmas. Then got distracted by other projects. Typical, really.]

Black yarn needed

2006-11-27T09:54:00.000-08:00

I have now completely run out of the black DK yarn I need for my crocheted scarf! Found a small, ancient ball at the bottom of my stash that kept me going for a while, but that's now all gone and the only stuff I could find locally was £3.50 a ball. Sod that for a game of soldiers when I can get some for £1.30 back home. I might have to ask my mum very nicely if she can buy me a ball and bring it up when she and Dad visit this weekend.

And I now also have a few balls of black worsted on my "to buy" list. Firstly for my new wrist-warmers -- I decided on these over Fetching in the end. They look much more cosy. Secondly, I stumbled upon a delightful pattern for an "As-Worn-By-Kirsten-Dunst Hat". I bow down to the glorious "make-me"-ness of it. Saw something similar while out shopping the other day, but dithered over buying it since a) I have no money to speak of, and b) I was sure there'd a pattern for making it out there somewhere. And so there was.

In non-black yarn news, I've at last moved into new lands and started on the heel of the Green Oddity. Have no idea how it's really going. I think they'll end up very scruffy bed-sock like, but I'm going to keep at it.

Of scarves and socks and such

2006-11-20T09:52:00.000-08:00

Finally managed to get back from my parents' house the black double-crochet scarf (my first crochet project) I've been working on for winter. I'm constructing it sideways and am quite pleased with how it is going so far, though am very impatient to get it finished so I can wear it. The weather's starting to turn gorgeous and crisp. Running out of the DK yarn I've been using for it though, so looks a trip to buy more might be in order this week (yay!).

I'm also determined to get some more work done on the Green Oddity over the next few days, since I've just finished a monster of an essay and have have something of a deadline lull for couple of weeks. Got quite a back-log of DVDs to enjoy while doing so. Lovely :)

Finally, my wrist-warmers I knitted for myself last year are starting to look a bit tatty, so I'm thinking I might have to make a new pair. Perhaps Fetching by Cheryl Niamath on Knitty. I'm not sure yet though, since I'm terribly attached to the old pair, bless them.

Herebe my new knitting blog

2006-11-13T09:49:00.000-08:00

And I have absolutely no idea what to write. Other than I am currently working on my first sock, a green oddity based on this pattern and using the Socks 101 as some vague kind of guidance. So far I feel it is going well but I am yet to attempt the heel. Oh well.

BUT! I have also been very nerdy and spent far longer than I should have done constructing my knitter's code:

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Version: 1.1

KER++ Exp SPM+ Steel+@ Syn+ Wool Nov-- Stash+ Scale(+)>++ Fin FI+>+++ Tex+ Lace Flat++ DPN+ KIP>+++ Blog !FO WIP+ GaugeDK++WB ALTCr++X(=)>Sp

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