Blue

So, I've bought a little bit of blue yarn lately. It wasn't intentional, it just kind of, happened.



It started in April, with Sundara's Year In Color - April. I loved the charcoal over blue lagoon sock yarn. Loved. It. Still do, so even though it's a little costly to buy directly from Sundara with Canadian shipping, I bought 2 skeins of the sock yarn and promptly forgot about it, since shipping wasn't going to happen until June.



So the email came from Sundara that the April YIC had shipped, then, my Zen Yarn Garden Harmony Semi-solid club shipped and this arrived.



I opened the box, said WOW! This is pretty! Wait a minute, I think this is very similar to what I bought from Sundara. Doesn't matter, love it, squeeze it, horde it. Then, I decided that I wanted to make a Shawl That Jazz while on vacation this summer. After looking at many different yarn options, I decided on using Twisted from Blue Moon Fiber Arts in the In The Navy colourway. And it was close to my mom's birthday, she was loving the My Blue Heaven that was the January RSC yarn, so I bought her a skein of lightweight (her first STR!) and ahem*askeinofmediumweightformyself*ahem





So that's my little buying spree for now. Come September, the baby knitting begins because my brother and his wife are having their first baby in January! It's very exciting. I just have to decide what I want to do. For starters, I'm leaning towards this. But what colours?

Sock club socks and socks and socks

The last three pairs of socks that I have finished have come from yarn sent to me from yarn clubs. One each from the three that I belong to, Blue Moon Fibre Arts Rockin' Sock Club, Yarn Pirate Booty Club, Sundara Seasons Yarn Club. The Sundara club is no more, but not to worry, I have replaced it with another, a Canadian club. I actual get the yarn the DAY AFTER it is sent out. It is bizarre and awesome. But I digress.

First up, the March 2009 Rockin' Sock Club kit. I like the colourway alright, liked it better in the skein than knit up. The colour is Gertrude Skein, mediumweight socks that rock and the pattern is Rogue Roses, by the Yarn Harlot herself, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.



The socks are just OK. Not my favourite, but I don't really dislike them. Knitting the little rosebud was kind of cool.



I did leave out the yarn-over holes that were to run up the sides of the climbing rose pattern. I just wasn't a fan of it and I like the way it turned out.





Next, I finished a long term WIP. My traveling sock. I started this pair in December sitting in the gym at my boy's school waiting the 1.5 hrs between the primary Christmas concert and the Kindergarten concert.



The yarn is Sundara sock yarn in the Bronzed Sienna colourway. The Autumn shipment for January 2008 from the now defunct Seasons yarn club. I love this colourway and the yarn is really nice too. I just knit a basic sock using the Stephanie's basic sock recipe in Knitting Rules. Used 64 stitches, 6 inch leg, heel flap and gusset.



I finished them up partly on the 16 hr car ride to Myrtle Beach SC and completed them sitting on the balcony overlooking the ocean. Perfect.





Finally we have the September 2007 Yarn PirateBooty Club. Merino/Tencel, colourway Butternut. I never seem to get the right yarn/pattern fit first off with Yarn Pirate yarn, but this worked. I've had Cat Bordhi's most recent book for awhile now and thought that this would be the right time to try one of the architectures out. So I decided to go with the Master Coriolis.



I don't like the toe. There will be no more star toes in my future. I do like the socks, once they are on my feet. Getting them there is a bit of a struggle as they are too tight around the ankle. My numbers are on my Ravelry page.



I really liked the different structure of the sock and it has made me want to try more from the the book. And I am current knitting a pair of socks using the Riverbed architecture, which fit like a dream. The thing I don't like about toe up socks, once you turn the heel there is no fun stuff to look forward to, it's just the slog of the leg and then try and figure out how much yarn you need to knit the cuff. Something it is becoming quite apparent that I'm not very good at. I do like being able to use up all the yarn though.



There you go, thanks for making it all the way through. Three new pairs of socks at a time of year when you need to pay me large amounts of money to put socks on my feet. Coincidentally, these three socks were all of a similar colour, I did not plan it that way, really.

My next post, through a series of yarn purchases (oops) and club shipments will also be all of a similar colour, I guess I'm in a colour zone right now. Just waiting on one more mailing and the sun to come out again so I can take pictures.

Any guess on what that colour might be?

Geetha? Githa? Gytha.

Lovely lovely Gytha, even if I don't know how to pronounce it, such a beautiful sweater.



After the winter issue of the Twist Collective came out I was in love with this sweater. A little bit of colourwork, which I love. A little bit of stripes, which I love. A hood, which I love. So, when putting together a Xmas list for my husband I added a link for the pattern and a link to Green Mountain Spinnery with the colours and amounts I needed specified. We certainly don't need him guessing about that! Of all the knitterly goodness I had on my list, this was what he chose to buy for me (yay!), mostly because he really liked it too.



The colours of the Mountain Mohair are absolutely gorgeous and I kept opening the box and petting the yarn until I had (mostly hehehe) finished my Central Park Hoodie. But once I started, it was really hard to put it down, well until I was about halfway through the blue stockinette portion, but that's normal right? The yarn was a pleasure to knit, not at all splitty and very little VM. And the colours. Did I mention the colours?





The sweater is knit in the round from the bottom up, starting with the colourwork stripes, so fun. The body is split at the armholes and the right front, left front, and back are worked separately. The sleeves had an interesting construction in that they start at their full diameter then around the elbow you work in 1x1 rib for a couple of inches before resuming the stockinette and then shape the shoulder. The sleeves fit nicely into the armholes on the body too, which always makes the seaming a little bit easier.





I love this sweater. It fits well, it looks good, and it's only a little bit scratchy. It's really warm too so I haven't had much opportunity to wear it, but I'm not going to wish for fall just yet!




Gytha, by Jennifer Appleby
Twist Collective, Winter 2008
Green Mountain Spinnery, Mountain Mohair in Glacier Lake, Pistachio, Rhubarb, and Concord Grape

Like Potato Chips

The Noro Striped Scarf. Once I started I couldn't stop. Of course, then it took me weeks to photograph and talk about it, but here it is.



So so fun. I used 2 balls of Silk Garden in #252, and two of #245. It's thick and long and warm and cozy.



I slipped the first and last stitches (purlwise) on the second row of each stripe. I'm not sure if I would do it that way again. Not because I don't like the way it looks, it's a very nice edge. But because I found it a little awkward. I think I would just slip the first stitch of each row instead.



I have already purchased enough Silk Garden in two other colours to make another, since while I like this one a lot, I'm not sure if it's for me or someone else. Someone shorter, someone who possibly likes it more than I do.





And here's a little teaser for something else I finished.

A cozy sweater

I don't really have too much to say about my new Central Park Hoodie. Except, that it's exactly what I wanted it to be. A nice cozy house sweater that I'm not too worried about because it wasn't crazy expensive to make. The seaming didn't even bother me too much, maybe because it's been awhile since I've had to seam up a sweater. The thing that did bug me, was buttons. Nothing was right. Even the ones that are on there right now, not right, but they'll do. I do love how the cable show up with the Cascade 220.



I started this sweater as a break from the endless garter stitch madness of the baby blanket and it provided just the right distraction. I actually finished this sweater almost 2 months ago, but the button search was making me nuts, and then I got tired of waiting for sun AND someone around to take my picture. So I took artificial light pictures myself and maybe one day I'll get someone to take my picture.



Central Park Hoodie by Heather Lodinsky
Cascade 220 Heathers, 6.5 hanks colour #2441
Size 40
5.0mm Addi Turbos



Great sweater, love the long arms.

Round 2

The first of the RSC 2009 kits has been completed. I can't even tell you how much I love the colour. My Blue Heaven. As I was knitting, I was thinking "Oooo, I think this colour is my favourite" then it would change and "Oh, maybe this one", then "No, I think it's this one". Turquoise, cobalt, teal, all of them so so pretty. The pattern is Queen of Beads, by Sivia Harding



I had some minor challenges starting these socks. You see, they begin with stringing approximately 140 beads onto the yarn. I read that dental floss threaders were the way to go, but couldn't find any. But I had a dentist appointment 2 weeks after the package arrived and asked the hygenist for some. But then of course, I had to explain why I needed them. Needless to say, she was amused. So I attempted to string the beads with the threader on the end of the yarn. No go, the beads wouldn't fit over the doubled up bit of yarn at the end and I kept breaking the end of the eye of the threader. Then, I tied a length of dental floss to the end of the yarn and put that through the eye of the threader. Better, but still difficult to get the bead from the floss to the yarn. Then I tried a length of sewing thread instead of dental floss. Bingo! There was the occasional bead that would not go on, but I'd just put that one aside and use another. I had the beads strung in no time after that.



The knitting went quickly. It's a fun pattern that is really, really pretty. With or without beads. I put beads only on the leg, but I should have done the first repeat of the instep as well, to line up with the heel flap beads. Oh well, no one will really know, will they? And I did the extra repeat in the leg, can't have a short sock!



I finished these socks a couple of weeks ago, I'm very behind in my blogging, there are a couple of other things to show you too. My next RSC kit arrived today, it too is awesome. Very girly which isn't so much me, but I love it. I've worn my Queen of Beads once, so far, and the fit is great. I lengthened the heel flap a little from what I have been doing because my socks are feeling tight around the instep and some of the are harder to get on, this worked.

Fabulous sock, pretty pretty colour. On to the next finished project!

Thanks Mr. F

Well, my small boy is getting yet ANOTHER new teacher, his 4th in two years of school and his third one this year. Not ideal for the kindergartener.

Last year, the teacher he had all year was replaced by the one that was on maternity leave, with 5 weeks left in the year. Because she was pregnant again. She was back in his class in the fall and left in November to have her baby. That's when Mr. F came to teach. Now, in March he has found a full-time permanent position at another school teaching grade 3, so the kids are getting yet another teacher. I can't be mad at Mr. F though, he is doing the right thing, it just sucks for the kids. He has done great things in that classroom, and the kids love him. J is pretty bummed, but Mr. F also happens to be J's best friends Dad.

If Mr.F had stayed until June, he would have received some hand-knit socks, but since I only had a couple weeks notice of his departure, he got a hat instead. I decided on the Turn-a-square hat by Jared Flood. So off I went to The Needle Emporium for some Cascade and some Silk Garden.





I started knitting and had a really hard time putting it down, so I didn't. It was knitting up really quickly and I was loving the striping of the Noro. My first Noro. Not my last Silk Garden for sure (seeing as I already have some ready for a Noro Striped Scarf).





I'm really happy with this hat, I hope he likes it. He didn't open his gifts at school and now it's March Break. Hopefully his lovely wife (who is one of my friends) will let me know.



I'm still working on Gytha. I'm still in love with Gytha. I should finish the second sleeve today and then it's time for the hood and then it's done. It's awesome. I'm in a quandry about what will be next. I'm going to make Jer a seamless hybrid, so I should measure and swatch and do the math for that.

CPH should be blogged soon. I might have found some buttons. Maybe.

Ratty slippers

My ratty old slippers needed replacing. The big boy outgrew his slippers and now the small boy is wearing them. So that meant I needed to make some more slippers.

I pulled out the bin of leftover Patons Classic Merino (known around here as slipper yarn) and had the boy pick out what colours he wanted. He picked out a varigated blue/brown that was used in his fathers slippers and the navy I used at Christmas for his cousins. I knew there would be enough of the varigated, but there was no chance there would be enough of the solid navy. Fortunately, with the double sole construction of the beloved felted clog you can pretty much use whatever colours you want on the inner sole without affecting the final look of the slippers. So, for the first one, I used one strand of varigated and one of the solid for the inner sole, 2 varigated for the body of the slipper and 2 solid for the cuff and the outer sole. Hrmmm. Not much of the navy left. So, the second slipper got a strand of the varigated and a strand of a different blue (more denim in colour) for the inner sole, 2 varigated for the body of the slipper and 2 solid for the cuff. Hrmmm. I don't think there is enough to do the outer sole. So, I do the first three rows of the outer sole with 2 strands of the denim, and the next 3 rows with 2 strands of the navy, and attach with the navy. No way no how would there have been enough to do the whole thing, I barely had enough this way. So, did you follow all that? They turned out great, and aside from a bunch of questions about why there is a patch of lighter blue on the bottom of one slipper, he's pretty happy and all three of my monkeys are now happily 'skating' around the house in there felted slippers.





Mine. I bought some slipper wool for new slippers awhile ago, when it was on sale at Michaels. I guess at the time I was planning on a green sole/cuff and purple body, but when it was actually time to knit them...not so much. So I switched it, knowing full well that one ball of Classic Wool is not enough for soles and cuffs. So back into the bin I went and found the leftovers from Jen's slippers (the night we felted them, that's the night she became a knitter, even though she didn't actually knit yet). And I used that for the second strand for the inner soles. Every thing went very smoothly. Until. Until the last row of the outer sole of the second slipper. Ran out of purple. Crap. So now my slippers don't match. They have a little line of a varigated (although with coordinating colours) where the second sole is joined to the slipper. I'm over it. I'm just happy to not be leaving little bits of my slippers all over the house as they disintegrate into nothingness.





So there you go. More than you ever wanted to know about my felted clog journey.

I'm STILL looking for buttons for my CPH. I'm completely in love with Gytha.



I'm also in love with the January RSC colourway, My Blue Heaven. I may need more.

Turning 40

No, not me. Although it's now changed from "in a few years" to "in a couple of years". My SIL, my husbands brother's wife, she of the felted clog shredding feet, turned 40 a few weeks ago. I had decided a long time ago that for the occasion, I wanted to knit her a really nice scarf. A perfect red scarf. So the hunt for the perfect red in the perfect fibre was on, at the Kitchener-Waterloo Knitters Fair I found my yarn. At the Spun Fibre Arts booth there was the perfect red laceweight, baby alpaca from Diamond Yarns. My Mom and SIL both agreed it was just the right red for Joanne, so I bought it.



I knew that I was either going to knit Anne Hanson's Fiddlehead scarf or her Alhambra, both scarves from her Little Nothings collection that she adds to at an unbelievable rate. I decided on Fiddlehead and thought that I could knit it up pretty quickly. I was mostly right. I started knitting with the suggested 3.25mm needles and after 2 repeats decided that I didn't like the look of the fabric (too loosey-goosey) so I ripped it out and started again on 3.00mm, much better.



The pattern called for 39 repeats of the 8 (if my recall is correct) row pattern. So when I was approaching that milestone after a very respectable amount of time I was very excited. I laid it out on the floor and pinned it out. It was short. Very short. Dissappointingly short. I guess the smaller needles and what I can only believe is a finer laceweight than Anne used was making me have to knit more. A lot more. I had a very decent size ball of my yarn left, so I though, I'll just knit until it's done. Well, as fun as this was to knit. That may have killed me.



The pattern was easy, memorizable and very pretty. But, after about 50 repeats the scarf was starting to look like it would be long enough and I was starting to feel like I was done knitting fiddleheads. I pinned it out again and decided that 60 repeats would do just fine. Even though I had more yarn left than I wanted.



I love this scarf. It's light and airy and the stitch pattern is just perfect. It's a good thing it's red (not my colour) or I would be tempted to keep it for myself.



I've been writing this post for about 2 weeks now, my browser kept freezing up after a couple of sentences and I was getting really frustrated. But finally, it's done. In the mean time I have also finished my CPH and two more pairs of felted clogs. So hopefully I will get another post out in a few days. And, I have started Gytha. I'm in love.

So there you have it.

Fiddlehead scarf by Anne Hanson
Diamond Luxury yarns Baby alpaca laceweight
Knitpicks 3.0mm circular needle
Pattern calls for 39 repeats, I did 60.