Happy Christmas to all

Things have calmed down around here (yesterday was, well, what do you think Christmas in a family of 7 kids is like?!)

I finished the first of my Slippery Socks yesterday and promptly cast on for the second in the grand tradition of avoiding second sock syndrome, because it is worth xp on knit wars, and because I need more knitted socks now! I really like the pattern and it worked up nicely. I was worried about whether the darkness of the yarn would be a problem but it turned out lovely. There was some pooling of the darkest colour on the leg, and it striped vertically on the leg and horizontally after the heel - I think I like the horizontal better. The slipped st heel looks really neat with this colourway. And I did it with a heel flap, which I normally avoid, but I rather like the way this one turned out.

My Hand-dyed yarn swap package arrived from Australia - yeah my sock yarn! and fun stuff.

I got two knitting books for Christmas:

*Stunning Shawls and Wraps by Scarlett Taylor - all shawls with beads, there are a couple that I really like, and a few other that I'd like to modify into sweaters/tops. Several different techniques for adding beads are included and patterns range from simple garter sts triangular shall to shrugs and caplets, colour work, and cables.

This is one of my favourites, and as my mother rather likes it... (I think I'll have to tell dad that she wants it for her birthday... - what is it they say, find a pattern you love and get someone else to pay for it...)

I liked the creative use of self-striping yarn in this one.

And these two I'd like to take and turn into tops.

This one would make a nice pull over.

And this one I'd like to turn into a sleeveless top, but adding arm holes (between the collar and the body) and extending the body.

*At Knit's End by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee - always hilarious, my family has been enjoying it (though they haven't exactally gotten the mohair jokes...)

My Grandmother gave me the sock needle set of Harmony dpns. And two antique metal circs - they belonged to my great-great grandmother Annie (Grandma's father's mother). They are pretty heavy duty - as in if I ever needed to garotte someone... I'll be interested to see how they work.

My Christmas knitting was distributed, and much enjoyed. Mom is now wearing both the socks and the shawl and L. carried around the Dr. Who scarf all day yesterday, while T. wore his hat -inside- all day.

Just keep knitting...

Question:

Do I want Emerald, Plum, or Ruby zephyr or similar colours of the Elann peruvian baby lace merino for knitting the Mediterannean Shawl? (Now if I can manage to get some Wollmeise lace weight all bets are off... and if it rains blue cheese ...)

I've finished another dish cloth (of which I will spare you yet another picture), and the Baby Bobbi Bear and I've nearly finished one Phineas sock - I'm keeping it on the needles until I knit the other one (the first one is to the ribbing) so that I make sure I have enough yarn for both of them.

The bear will be a Christmas present and was knit with about 4 skeins of fingering weight Katia alpaca (double stranded) on 5.5mm. It is super soft. The pattern was fairly easy to follow though the head does end up a little oddly shaped, mostly in the back -my mom suggested it needed a hat...

In other news, the Crazy Knitting Lady brought me a present from Rhinebeck - the most beautiful lilac bamboo roving!! I am soo excited. Spinning has always fascinated me, but since I've really started to look at it, it has been the thought of spinning bamboo, silk, and flax that have excited me most. Ergo, much squee! I am saving it for the moment until I get a bit better, and trying to decide whether I might not try spinning it with some silk...

Also, I have my new swap partner for the next round of the Hand-dyed yarn swap. This time all the way from Australia - which is very exciting to me. I think given the icky wet cool weather we've started to have, I'll have to do the dying this week to give it time to dry properly, now I just have to figure out what my dad did with all my dying stuff when he cleaned the garage...

Fiber, facecloths, and footwear

oh my!

Soo - today I was supposed to go fiber crawling with a friend, but she had to bail - so I went alone.

I visited:

Lettuce Knit - where I picked up: 3 patterns (Thelonius Socks, Gothic Spire Socks, and Baby Bobbi Bear); a Go Knit Yourself magnet; and a pair of 5.5mm circs

Arton Beads- which really is AMAZING - where I got um.. beads... and some charms, I'm hoping maybe I can find some appropriate cheap paint brushes and make some spindles a la Em.

Romni - where I wandered at length and left with fiber - though I did leave the merino silk where I found it...

I have some serious online shopping to do, so I can get into the main portion of my Christmas stuff.

ION- My hand-dyed yarn swap package arrived today:

On Saturday and Today, I finished another couple of face-cloths. I've also charted a design I want to do for one, if it works I'd like to post it somewhere... anyone know of a good way of doing that?

This was my, knitting during parade one.

Here is the 3rd Martini one, finished this morning (cast-on last night).

(Also, I got shoes over the weekend - aren't they fab?!)

sort of like swatching..

Today I worked on my bag for the swap, it is all done but for a fixture I need to pick up on Tuesday (when the stores reopen).

Since I was drafting the pattern myself, I had to go search the house for a geometry set (you'd think with all the math being done around here that wouldn't be hard). Right angles confirmed I made a mock up out of an old shirt that didn't work out quite right. It was definitely worth doing the mock up (which I almost never do), it enabled me to work out what kind of seams to use where - though I did have to make a few more modifications on the final project. Then I took out the fabric for the project, (why did I buy 1.5m of it when I hardly needed a foot....). I learned some interesting things while working with the actual bag material:

1- I like natural fibers best even in sewing
2- fray check will actually re-solidify on this stuff and peel off
3- circles suck (well I figured that out with the mock up, but they really suck with slippery, synthetics)

But the bag looks lovely - though I'm not sure if I should/am allowed to post pictures if it is for a swap... I'll put some up eventually. And now I have enough material to make another 6 at least.

Anyway, back to the nightie I go, I'm nearly to the waist shaping.

HSKS Questionnaire

And it begins! My first swap and swap-y (-ish?) stuff.

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into? Ravenclaw

2. List your favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length. Or would you prefer circulars? um, I hadn't thought about it. I've been using clover bamboo ones and the knitpicks ones of late. I guess I like the bamboo better, but I'm not terribly fussy. I usually use either 2.25mm or 2.75mm (sometimes 3mm) at 6inches long.

3. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length? I've been thinking about trying some of the other woods. I like to knit with something between 2.25mm and 2.75mm for socks, and probably 6 inches long.

4. If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference? I don't have really strong preference, but if pressed I like the movie colours better.

5. Do you have any allergies? Nope (though I may claim tarantulas, liver or squash if cornered)