Wips

Admit it: y'all thought I'd flake out and not put up a post tonight, DIDN'T YOU?!? Hah! Oh, thee of little faith.

I think it's fair to say I'm on a bit of a hat kick lately, and really, with the weather turning cold and dreary, it's a good thing. After making everyone in the house a brand spanking new winter hat, I finally selected and cast on a hat that I can only hope will suit Phil's discriminating noggin' to the proverbial Tee.

Ysolda's Struan, using Dream in Color Classy in the lovely Deep Sea Flower colorway. I'm confident this hat will work for him, he's got one with a similar construction that looks quite dashing on him, so I'm hoping we've struck a match. And it's looking as though I'll have more than enough yarn left over to make Maxime a matching one (you know, since he still refuses to wear the as yet to be photographed in the wild Monkey hat...).

After my love affair with Woolly Wormhead's Marrow Joe, I signed up for both patterns of her Mystery KAL. So far we've only received the clues to knit the brim and the increases for the body of the hat.

Pattern A, which is a slouchier hat.

Pattern B, which will be a more fitted beret.

I dove into my stash of Japanese yarn for these projects. I'm using Diakeito Diaexceed silkmohair, a wool, silk, mohair and nylon blend, for Pattern A and Olympus make make, which is a lightly (make that VERY lightly) spun 90% wool, 10% mohair blend, for Pattern B. The second clue comes out on November 9th, so stay tuned for that.

I'm still working on my Noro socks, of course, but progress has been slow with so many projects on the needles at once... I'm about halfway through the foot on the first sock. I'm really liking the look of these socks, I hope I can get the striping sequence to line up for the second one! Hmmm, maybe I won't hold my breath on that one...


I've also got a few finished objects that are still waiting for a proper post. Let's see if we can talk about that tomorrow. Tomorrow's a DORMA day though, so you know... no promises.

Happy Knitting Everyone!

Right

Wow, I just SUCK at this blogging thing lately, don’t I? A whole whopping single post a week, SWEET! No wonder stats are down, heh.

I’ve been doing quite a bit of knitting, though. Not as much as I’d like (but really, do we EVER get to knit as much as we’d like?), but still… I’ve gone and caught startitis, and I’ve got quite a few small(ish) projects on the go at the moment. Tomorrow we’ll have a proper wip show and tell, right? With pictures. Cross my heart and hope to… well…. I’ll do my darndest to get a proper post out.

For now I just wanted to get SOMETHING out there, to let you know I’m still here and haven’t decided to give up blogging. So let’s do a Random Friday post:

1. First on my list of things I will never do again: Go on Etsy and type “cashmere”.
2. Second on that list of things: Brag about my knitting skillz, particularly colourwork. If you ever hear me say “sure, that could be charted up easily”, feel free to knock me out.
3. I’ve misplaced (I still can’t bring myself to say “lost”) my Harmony DPN set. Yeah… I KNOW.
4. I’m not dealing with the time change well. When I got out of the metro on Monday and it was THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT outside, I almost cried. Really.
5. Phil’s hand is officially on the mend. The second surgery appears to have been successful, and although he’s got a long haul of physiotherapy ahead of him, it’s all moving forward from him.
6. I’ve FINALLY ordered some KnitPicks Palette yarn. Stay tuned for some awesome mitten knitting.
7. Kate-the-Enabler has embarked on her very own running adventure. I was privileged to accompany her on her very first outing (IN THE RAIN!!!) last Saturday, and she did great. I’m so proud of her I could just about burst.
8. I’m in love with my stash. I realize this might not be earth-shattering news, but still, it bares repeating once in a while. I love my stash. It’s procured me so much joy, and I know it’s just going to get better and better.
9. I’m beginning to get nervous about Christmas. Especially since I’m giving knitted gifts away NOW. I should be SAVING the knitwear.
10. I think I need to embark on a coordination mission. When putting on the knitted accessories today, I noticed that nothing matches, and I look like some crazy (albeit cozy) bag lady. Hat, scarf, mittens. Nothing matches. Gotta get on that…

Happy Knitting Everyone!

Oops!

Hi there! Wow, time flies when you've got 2 sick children and a handicapped husband, doesn't it? Honestly, where does the time go?


Yeah, first Emilie and then Maxime have been sick this week, and with Phil's hand, even though he does his best, it's been rather difficult for me. But I'm hanging in there! And I've got a finished object to share with you.

I finished Ishbel this week, blocked it yesterday and wore it proudly today. I made the smaller version, out of Handmaiden Sea Silk, and I think I might have enough left over for another one! I might make one too, I think it'd make a great gift. And hey! It's November. Let the knitting for Christmas craziness commence, heh.

Happy Knitting Everyone!

Hats on parade!!!

I've had Rage Against The Machine's "Bulls on Parade" in my head all weekend long, so you'll forgive me for this unoriginal title to today's blog post, heh.

I've got 3 finished hats that I still have yet to share with you, namely Gretel, Marrow Joe and the Sock Monkey Hat. But as I've yet to manage to capture the latter on it's intended recipients' head (he still despises it with all the passion a 2 year-old can muster), you'll just have to settle for the former 2.

First up, Gretel.
Knit with some uber-delicious angora merino handspun my cousin Jessica bought me for my birthday last year. Probably not THE greatest yarn choice for a cabled pattern, but you know what? I don't give a crap. I LOVE this hat, it's so soft and wonderful and feminine... I just wish I could get my hands on more of this yarn! I need a coordinating scarf and mittens :)

*Sigh* Love.

I also finished Woolly Wormhead's Marroe Joe hat, and it's yet to be determined conclusively exactly whose hat this will be...

Now, I originally cast this on with the certainty that I was knitting a hat for Phil. But when he put it on... I don't know... it just didn't seem to be him, you know?

But when *I* put it on... well, what can I say? (let's forget the fact that I've been drooling over this hat since I cast on the first stitches, m'kay?)

Sadly, the fact remains that I knit this hat for a Phil sized noggin', which I don't have... and while this may have made me sad, it also means I get to cast another one on for myself.

It's all good :)

Happy Knitting Everyone!

Beyond Startitis

As I mentioned last post, my knitting mojo is back. Maybe it's the return of Fall, maybe I'm propelled by my recent sweater-success high... who knows. But I'm deeply smitten with my knitting lately. We're talking deep, DEEP smit, people.

I don't want to call it startitis, because (to me anyway), that term implies that you're just going to put something down almost as soon as you've picked it up, and you're sort of restless and undecided about your knitting. I've got knititis. I want to knit all the time, on a wide range of projects, with each one holding as much fascination and interest as the one before.

So far, I've managed to control my urge to splurge, but really, it's only a matter of time, right? Stay tuned for some guilty yarn pron, heh. Here's what I'm working on right now:

Woolly Wormhead's Marrow Joe hat, technically for Phil, but he might have to tackle me to the ground and wrestle it out of my dead hands to get it. I'm knitting this with Alpaca with a Twist Baby Twist and Noro Silk Garden Lite, and OH my goodness. Seriously? Vertical Hat (new technique!) + Alpaca (soft buttery goodness!) + Hypnotic Noro colour-changing goodness (Ooh! Green! Ooh! Orange! Oooh! Charcoal!) = Heaven. I'm making, like, 17 of these hats.

Ysolda's Ishbel. This is the third time I've cast on for this project, and as the saying goes, this one's the charm. I'm knitting it out of Sea Silk. 'Nuff said. The thing's flying off the needles.

Harris Tweed socks. Knit with my gifted Noro Silk Garden sock yarn. I'm loving how they LOOK, not too sure about how they'll feel on the footies though. Someone NEEDS to get Mr Noro a new base yarn! Just sayin'...

That's pretty much it for now... But there's so much knitty goodness floating around in my head! I want to cast on for this, and knit with this, and let's not forget about this... AND, I still need mittens! There must be mittens, people! I need to get on that...

Happy Knitting Everyone!

Catching up

I don’t consider myself to be a particularly fast or productive knitter. I think this might have something to do with the amount of time I actually get to knit as opposed to the amount of time I spend thinking about knitting. I mean, when you think of it in those terms, I barely knit at all. So when people tell me I’m fast, I just smile and nod and think they’re entitled to their opinion, heh.

That being said, I’ve got 4 finished objects waiting to be presented on this here blog, so maybe there’s something to this whole “Gosh you’re a fast knitter Tara” thing I’ve been hearing lately.

I admit: I’ve found my knitting mojo over the past few weeks. I’m pattern stalking like never before, and pretty much all I want to do is knit. Naturally, this has led to some modest stash enhancement, all with specific projects in mind (hey, that’s my story and I’m sticking with it).

Clockwise from top left: Malabrigo Chunky (Indigo); Punta Yarns Merinotwist Hand Paint; Noro Bonbori; Malabrigo Chunky (Amoroso).

Getting back to those finished objects, I finished my Sweetwater Jaywalker socks a few weeks ago.

I had originally intended for these socks to be for me, but through some freak mishap (read: I didn’t swatch for gauge) they turned out slightly too big for my feet. When musing upon this fact after completing the first sock, Phil innocently asked whether I thought they would fit him? And lo and behold, they did. Good, settled, they’d be funky man socks, I was down with that.

Before I go any further, let me just say this: Phil loves these socks. He loved the yarn in the skein, loved the colours, loved the pattern, loved the striping sequence… I’m talking deep, deep love for the sock, people.

And y’all know what happens chez Dear when we really, really love our handknits, don’t you? That’s right, we want to wear them naked.

Happy Knitting Everyone! And thanks to Phil for being such a good sport when I presented this idea to him :)

Bounty

First things first: I will not be going to Rhinebeck this year after all. It turns out that Phil's surgery was unsuccessful, the tendon and nerve in his ring finger are still severed, and he's got to have another surgery this afternoon. I am, of course, bummed about missing the trip, but am sad beyond words that he has to go through this painful operation again, and that we have to reset the timer on his recovery time. A month to the day after the original incident, and he's still no closer to being on the mend. That, I think you'll agree, is a big bowl of arse right there.

Despite the No-Rhinebeck thing, life chez Dear is feeling very bountiful in terms of knitting. For instance, I've finished the Garter Yoke Cardigan.

Probably the fastest cardigan I've ever knit, which isn't really saying much since I've knit precisely two adult-sized cardigans in my lifetime, heh. I don't know... I cast on September 17th, and bound off October 12th. That seems pretty fast to me, considering the limited amount of actual knitting time I get in an average day. Knit with Shelridge Farm Soft Touch W4 yarn in the Cranberry colourway, I knit this pattern pretty much as written, except I added some shaping to the sleeves.

I suppose it isn't really really finished though, as it's still blocking and I've yet to sew the buttons on. Stay tuned for a proper photo shoot in the near future.

Anyway, I think I might be addicted to this whole knitting cardigans thing. I've already got the next one lined up and ready to go. I'm going to knit the Honeybee Cardigan, using some luscious Malabrigo Sock. Oooh, I can't wait.

It'll have to though, sigh. I've got to knit a few Winter Woollies first, it seems like everyone needs hats, scarves, mittens... In true Knitter form however, I'm kicking off the season of selfless knitting by knitting something for myself, heh. I cast on for a Gretel hat using a beautiful handspun angora-merino blend my cousin gave me for my birthday last year.

And it has to be said: I might just have an orgasm every time I wear this thing. I mean, angora? Oh. My. God. So soft! Oh baby, where have you been all my life? I never knew it could be this way.

Saving the best for last, I received a lovely, thoughtful, package in the mail this week, from my wonderful friend Kerry. I guess she thought I was feeling a little down lately, and decided I needed a pick-me-up.

She sent me a ball of Noro Silk Garden sock yarn, and as you can see I've already cast on with it. I mean, look at those colours! Does she know me or what?

Now the yarn is fabulous, but what really knocked my socks off, no pun intended, is the card that came with it, which she made herself.

Thanks so much, Kerry. You really did brighten up my week, and I'm glad to have you as a friend.

Happy Knitting Everyone!