Works in progress

Since this is a knitting blog, after all, I thought today's post should be a showcase of the projects that are currently under way at casa de Dear. (Just as a quick aside, I named my blog Dear Knits because Dear is my husband's pet name for me, and we've been together so long that the sound of my own name now sounds foreign to me.)

OK, first up: Mystery Stole! Knit up in JaggerSpun Zephyr with 3.25 mm Addi Turbo lace needles. As of last night, I've almost completed clue 4 (I was a little late jumping on the bandwagon - clue 6 was posted last Friday). While I've dabbled with lace in the past, this is my first "serious" lace project, and my first stole. I'm really enjoying it, especially knitting with beads, which just makes me giggle whenever I look at it. I don't know if I'll ever wear this stole (my lifestyle isn't really stole-friendly at the moment), so maybe I'll just put this in my Christmas stash.




Next: The April sock kit of Rockin' Sock Club 2007. Again, I'm a little late, since this is the first sock, but I think I have a good excuse this time: I was busy having a baby (my son was born May 14th).

What can I say about this project? Although I generally love STR, I can't say I'm smitten with their Silkie yarn. Don't get me wrong! It's beautiful to look at, but I find it a bit tough to work with, the silk makes it a bit splitty. Also, I got all the way to the heel flap before I realized that I was doing my YOs wrong, and I had to rip it out and start from scratch. So, yeah, I'll be glad when this one is done. I was originally going to make the knee-high version as a gift for my cousin Jessica, but since this hasn't been my favorite project, and I seem to have made the foot too long anyway, I'm just going to do the regular length and keep them for myself. Bwa ha ha ha ha!!!

Since we're talking about socks, here's my project for long car-trips: a pair of socks for my lovely daughter Emilie, knit up with some Seacoast Handpainted in their Autumn colorway I had leftover from a pair of Jaywalkers I knit up a while back. Just a plain, no-brainer sock. And yes! That would be a GoKnit pouch on the left.



But wait! There's more! Here's my Argosy scarf, from the Winter 2006 issue of Knitty. Knit up with Noro Kureyon I'd had in my stash for a couple of years. I like the way it's knitting up, but it's currently on hiatus, since I refuse to knit a scarf when it's eleventy-billion degrees outside. Sorry, I just can't do it.




And last but not least, the Josephine Top from the summer 2007 issue of Interweave Knits. I'm knitting this up with Twisted Sisters Mirage yarn in their Mango colorway. What can I say about this project? When I saw it, I knew I absolutely had to knit it up. IMMEDIATELY! I hunted online for a suitable yarn, paid a fortune for it (buying from an American supplier is not always a good thing for Canadians), and started work on it the day it finally arrived. And I haven't touched it since. Chalk it up to a sudden outbreak of startitis.

So there you have it! I'll keep y'all posted on my progress, and will link to photos of my finished projects on my Flickr account. TTFN!