travel knitting

Today's the day we leave for our trip to Canada, and I still haven't finished the lacey angel top for my new little niece. But I'mm close to being done. I'm working on the sleeves now, both at the same time, the first time I've done that, and it's going well. I've got to pack it all up to take with me, and hopefully I'll be able to finish while traveling. :)

And of course I've fallen way behind on the Mystery Stole, which is fine, because I was never planning on bringing it with me. I don't know why I bothered early on to keep up, I guess I hadn't realized that for 2 weeks I wouldn't be working on it at all anyways. Oh well, it will get done eventually.

ripping back

Remember this angel top project? Yeah, I had virtually forgotten about it, too. All the mistakes I had left in upset me so much, I had put it away when I was just rows away from completing the back. I actually had thought that I would just frog the whole thing eventually, when I got up the nerve.

But then earlier this week I realized that next week I'm flying up to Canada to visit my sister in law and her newborn daughter, and that I haven't knit anything for said newborn yet! I racked my brain and my stash for a bit thinking of what I could finish in a week, and I came across this discarded angel top. I briefly entertained the idea of frogging it at that moment and starting something else with the yarn from scratch (the yarn being a sentimental choice for baby Lilah, seeing as she's half Kiwi, and the yarn is baby wool from New Zealand), but then it dawned on me that I could actually just finish the item I had started. Duh. But the errors on the arm hole decreasing still upset me. So I ripped it back. About 15 cm. And I continued from there. And I'm SO happy about it now. I've finished the back, and I'm chugging away on the front. Should be done in time. There's nothing like stepping away from a piece for several months and coming back to it to give you new motivation. Yay!



The other neat thing that this experience has taught me is how much I learn with each successive knitting project. Coming to this much simpler lace knitting piece from the Mystery Stole (of which I am halfway through Clue 2), I can tell I've already come a long way in my lace knitting skills. It all just makes more sense to me, which impresses me. What can I say, I'm easy to impress.

can't do math

Apparently I can't do math. Adding and subtracting the number 1 is too much for my brain to handle. Last post I mentioned trying to finish Clue 1 of the Mystery Stole in time so I could remain 2 clues behind. But since Clue 3 was the one being released, I needed to finish so I could stay 1 clue behind.

Not that my math error means much now, because it's almost a week later, and I still haven't finished Clue 1. I've got 6 rows left. So my goal is to finish by Friday, when Clue 4 is released, so then I will be in fact 2 clues behind. Hee.

I have gotten some other knitting accomplished as well. My hot pink sweater is coming along. I've finished the front left panel, and I've started on the front right panel. I really like it. It's a fun knit. And Big Sister Bou will love it.

2 clues behind

I'm spinning wheels here trying to finish clue 1 of Mystery Stole 3 tonight so that when a new clue is released tomorrow I'll still only be 2 clues behind. I'm loving knitting this so far. I love lace. Working with beads for the first time ever is fun, too. Not good TV knitting though. Watching DVRed Age of Love the other night (I know, totally cheesy gimmicky reality dating show, but I kinda have an excuse because I was actually a huge Philippoussis fan back in the 90s when he was big on the world championship circuit) I didn't fast forward through the commercials, so that I could concentrate on knitting every now and then.

I totally see a face. Do you see a face? I think it looks like a screaming Medusa, with snaky hair, but Aidan thinks it looks like an antelope with antlers.

my first KAL

We've been working on Baby, trying to get her to sleep in a bit. We've figured out that the earlier we get her to bed, the later she'll sleep. Counter-intuitive I know. But it's true. The problem is getting her to bed earlier than 7:00pm. It's hard to fit in cooking dinner, eating dinner and bathing all before 6:30. So it's been off and on waking before 6:00am for me. Which is nice in a way (just this one way), because I get some early morning knitting in.

The knitting I started early this morning was my first ever knit-a-long. And did I pick a KAL. It's like the KAL to end all KALs. It's the
Mystery Stole 3 KAL. I followed Yarn Harlot over there, it was the first I had heard of it. I joined. I just didn't want to be left out. I picked yarn from my stash (Taiyangshan laceweight 100% lambswool, sold as Jade Sapphire's Lacey Lamb in the US) in a gorgeous plum color. I bought beads (shiny black size 6/0). And for some reason I already had the super tiny crochet hook needed to get the beads on the stitches. I was good to go.

I wasn't sure what size needles to use, so I actually knit swatches. Two of them! Below you see size 3 needles used on top, and size 5 on the bottom (and yes, the bottom has one extra repeat of the pattern).



After knitting these, I kinda felt like I wanted to use size 4 needles. Only problem is, I don't have size 4 needles. When I've needed them in the past, I always figured - how big a difference can .25 of a millimeter make? And then used my 3s. And I guess I kinda figured the same thing this time, as I ended up using my 3s. Maybe someday I'll get some size 4 needles. Here's the first 17 rows (out of focus, sorry).

very early, very pink

None of the 3 PBS channels we get, the Disney Channel or Nickelodeon air toddler appropriate shows before 6:00 am. How do I know this? For the past several weeks, Baby has been waking up around 5:30. Not bad considering she goes down easily at 7:00 pm and sleeps soundly through the night. But when she wakes up she's grumpy, and she slowly revs up to a maniacal scream if she doesn't get what she wants. And all she seems to want is TV. Rather than have her wake everyone else in the house up, we usually give in and let her watch. So before 6:00, it's Baby Shakespeare. Gotta love Bard the Dragon. (Of course, according to the AAP no TV is appropriate for Baby since she's under 2. Oops.)

So here I am, in the wee hours of the morning, with some time on my hands. I guess I'll show you what I started last night. It's the Leaf Motif Jacket from Patons endless days pattern book for kids. It's an old book that my MIL had and I photocopied off of her. Shhh. Don't tell anyone.

I was going to knit a gauge swatch, really I was, but then I figured out how many stitched to make the swatch (35) and then I looked and saw the number of stitches to cast on for the first section of the project (35) and I decided to just start on up. If the gauge is wrong, I'll start over. So far, after a couple of inches, it seems good.

my baby's got class (socks)

I finished the Class Socks from Sensational Knitted Socks, my first ever knit socks. They turned out really well, and they were fun and easy. Check it out...

Wicked Cute Baby Feet

Wicked Cute Baby Feet Wearing Hand Knit Socks

Yes, Baby is also wicked tired in those shots. Here she's looking a little more lively while modeling the socks.

One more shot without the wicked cute baby distracting you from the cuteness of the socks...


Knit on 2 size 6 circulars (ghetto style) in Henry's Attic Gaia 100% Organic Merino Wool. Because I was using what was left of the skein after finishing my Cloud Bolero, I only made the cuff 2 inches instead of the 3 the pattern calls for.

Oh, and though she happily wore them, the socks are actually a bit small on Baby (who's almost 19 months old). Plus, they're way too slippery for her as she runs around on our hard wood floors. Plus it's summer here, so she doesn't need to wear wool socks. So I'm sending them on to a younger baby who will fit in them perfectly this winter, and most likely won't be walking yet.