Wednesday, October 25, 2006

2 months and counting


unbelievable but true, christmas is only two months away.

i have had round 1 of my x-mas gift stash for awhile now. i bought it with my first paycheck from the LYS which was very exciting. love being able to fund my knitting addiction and support the LYS.

what you see in the picture is two felted evening bags, three pairs of socks and a stole. the felted bags will be two colors of cascade 220 held together, joined by a third "textured" yarn, something colinette i think. i am midway through the first bag and it looks great! and such a quick and easy knit!

the socks...there is no way i will finish three pairs of socks by x-mas but i can dream! i got the regia yarn on-line quite a while ago so have no idea what it will be like on the needle.

and the stole...i am taking another stab at the feathery lace stole from exquisite little knits. this time with misti alpaca dk 4 ply in this gorgeous aubergine color. heaven.

and this is just for friends! who knows what i am going to knit the fam!

Sunday, October 22, 2006

pictures, pictures, pictures




here are the pictures of the diagonal blue scarf/stole and the pink airy scarf. i was holding out for better pictures but my sweet friend wasn't available to model and i had to give the pink airy scarf away. oh well. for some reason these pics just didn't cooperate for the previous post. so here they are now!




Sunday, October 15, 2006

a busy week

i got a bee in my bonnet!
last weekend i was determined to finish the diagonal lace scarf i am making out of frog tree chunky alpaca. so i did.
i also had a brilliant thought about making my boss, who is celebrating every month of her 50th year, the airy scarf out of last minute gifts. i chose a pink ggh mohair in honor of the breast cancer awareness month. i had made the scarf out of this yarn before so knew it would be a fast knit and the yarn easy to work with. so i did.
both items are lovely. i can't wait to wear the chunky alpaca scarf/stole. it is not quite cold enough yet. but almost.
now i need to finish the sock(s). i have a few more pairs to make before christmas. better get a move on.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

the curse of the last ball


i am very close to finishing the chunky blue stole. i am on the last ball of yarn.

this is supposedly a scarf, but since i am knitting it up in frog tree chunky alpaca instead of the chenille the pattern calls for, i think it will be more of a stole. and it is soft and warm and really lovely and i can't wait to finish it so i can wear it. but for some reason, the closer i get to the end, the more mistakes i make and have to unknit.

every time i do a "yeah!" because the size of the last ball of yarn is noticeably shrinking, i find i missed the pattern 5 rows back and have to unknit to correct it. or i wind up with 42 stitches on my needle instead of the 40 i am supposed to have. and then i correct it to find i have 39 stitches instead of 40 and then i have to correct that! good grief! i am experiencing flashbacks of the slippery poncho which was ripped apart instead of finished due to the endless mistakes made while knitting with the last ball of yarn!

so i stop and take a breath. then i carefully put the scarf back in its bag, make a cup of tea, work on another project, remember my sweet friend would have never really worn the slippery poncho anyway and move on. at least for the moment. i was really hoping to wear the chunky blue scarf to work on monday.

so maybe i'll have two cups of tea and get back to it to see if i can work through this curse.