It's my sampler!

I was inspired by Franklin Habit's account of Miss Lambert's Lace Sampler to make one of my own, in the firm of a scarf. I did diverge quite a bit from the original, tossing in a few inches each of stitches from various sources, not always accurately.













- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Off to a good start

I've begun 2011 by finishing a knitting project in the very first  week of the year: a zigzag striped scarf. It's based on a pattern by Debbie Bliss from the book Scarf Style. I varied it a bit, making random 12-row stripes and, of course, not using wool. After blocking it came out to be roughly 60 by 6 inches. The yarns are Classic Elite's Firefly and Allegoro.

Yes, I'm still knitting

It's been a distracting summer but I have managed a little knitting. Nothing finished! Nothing photographed! The most active works in progress are:

• a version of this bag using Berroco Remix in charcoal, rust, and a warm gray
• a pair of simple toe-up socks in WhimzyPinzy's sock yarn

More socks, more yarn

Having finished my previous sock project, I have started another. I'm telling myself that this productivity, combined with my recent progress on my sweater, means that my purchases at my local yarn shop's Sunday sale were merely replacement yarn. This is inaccurate, given that I bought enough yarn for three sweaters.

Further sock progress

Saturday before last I started my day with a physical therapy appointment. That gave me time to start a new pair of socks while my feet were in the whirlpool. Using WhimzyPinzy's Cotton Sock Yarn,   Judy's Magic Caston and  Wendy Barnard's excellent basic sock instructions from her book Socks from the Toe Up, I had achieved the desired toe cuppage by the time I left the office. A few hours later, after a lovely afternoon with some fellow knitters, I had reached the heel. Now sock #1 is all but finished, in spite of a few anxious heel-turning moments. (The yarn is lovely but prefers not to be  re-knit!) At this rate I should have a pair of new socks by the end of the month, just in time for the next month's subscription yarn from WP. We will not mention the number of skeins I already have.

Another sweater

Last month I started a top down raglan cardigan based on Wendy Bernard's pattern Something Red. The photo shows the raglan shaping and the self-striping tweediness of the yarn (Filatura de Crosa "Tempo", a cotton-acrylic blend I found at the Yarn Spot). I am modifying the pattern slightly to accommodate the lighter weight yarn and my own preferences: I used k1f&b increases rather than the original yos, and I delayed beginning the ribbing until I was well below the bust. I also plan to use at least 2 buttons--possibly as many as 4. Overall I'm aiming for a drapier and slightly looser fitting cardigan than the original. I'm eager to finish but other things beckon as well (as noted in part in Backyard Notes).

Sock progress

Travel followed by a cold: those are my excuses for no knitting news here, and not nearly enough knitting either. Oh, and the fact that it's Spring out there!
However, I can now report that I have turned the heel and started the ankle of my second sock of a pair using Wendy Johnson's Diagonal Lace pattern and Whimzy Pinzy's hand dyed wool free sock yarn in shades of (mostly) green.
More knitting later.

Ravelympics

I joined some knitting pals in Ravelry's Ravelympic challenge of completing one or more projects during the Olympics, with the following success:

Competing simultaneously in the Hat Halfpipe and also the Stash Compulsory Dance, I have turned yarn purchased at least 18 months ago into a hat:

And in the WIPs (Works in Progress) Dancing I have finally completed a languishing pair of socks:

 

Snowmageddon Happy Hat

The snow inspired me to get out some yarn that had been waiting for a project and use it to make this hat. The yarn is hand spun patchwork cotton from Folktale Fibers. The photo doesn't do justice to the happy colors! The hat is based on Cathy Carron's top down pattern Pat from her book Hip Knit Hats but obviously I didn't bother with a contrasting color for the brim.

I finished something!

 

Here is my rendition of the popular Springtime Bandit scarf/shawl pattern, made with Bonnie's Bamboo from One Planet Yarn and Fiber.

I've learned a lot making this and now view charts with something close to enthusiasm.

Lace knitting

 
After a recent knitting class where I learned to read charts in lace patterns, I'm making good progress on Kate Gagnon Osborn's Springtime Bandit I'm using slightly lighter weight yarn so it will probably turn out to be a scarf rather than a shawl.

Souvenir of Maine

When in Maine earlier in November I got some fluffy cotton yarn--Colinette Fandango, purchased at Heavenly Socks in Belfast:



Here is the resulting improvised scarf:

More sock yarn

I've fallen behind on posting the lovely recent additions to my Whimzypinzy sock yarn collection. Here they are:
Peacock-inspired:

The photo doesn't do justice to the subtle colors in this one, inspired by my photos of ferns, asters, butterfly, leaves:



Shades of green (had a name but I don't remember it)


I'm well stashed in preparation for my knitting group's planned "stash down" knitalong--no danger of a yarn shortage here!

Baby stuff

In spite of traveling,m and in spite of my many knitting mistakes, I finished my little garter yoke baby cardi (using Jennifer Hoel's pattern but with ties instead of buttons)




just in time for a get together with some of my knitting pals celebrating one fine knitter's baby to be.
It was a fun afternoon, with many baby knits to admire, and plenty of tasty treats, including some charming knitting-themed springerle cookies about the size of a silver dollar:

My yarn idea

It was my turn to suggest a color scheme for Whimzypinzy's Cotton Club, and in the end she used all 4 of the photos I considered.
I can't wait to see the result!

Oh, yes, about the yarn...

Here's the latest cotton sock yarn from Whimzypinzy:



This should work up into something fun!
Last month brought a peacock-based skein with brilliant blues and greens but I haven't taken a picture yet.

More knitting, more yarn

September left me with a bunch of unfinished knitting, but I needed a fun, portable project, so I started some toe-up socks using the Watermelon Sangria yarn I got earlier in the summer (see 7/3/entry):



I am making each foot before starting either heel.

Stashtastic

It started small, as these things do--just a little idea for a corner of one shelf in a book case. One little lunchtime trip to Bed Bath and Beyond just to look at any storage boxes that might fit that shelf. Somehow it turned into this:



As it turns out, the top two shelves hold 16 boxes nicely. And each box holds roughly a project's worth of yarn (except for the sock yarn, of course.) Not that it's all of my yarrn, but it's almost all of the yarn I bought myself, as opposed to the yarn I got in the great wool-free-forever swap.

I figure I've already covered the cost of the boxes just by talking myself out of buying a bunch more yarn.

What's next? Well, I do have a little stack of books to reorganize...

I needed more yarn

This month's surprise from Whimsy Pinzy's hand dyed cotton yarn club is called Mystic Topaz and it's gorgeous:



I really do need to learn how to finish socks!

Distracted

I've been working along on my Pioneer, but needed some dpns for the sleeves, so off I went to Knit & Stitch, where some Filatura di Crosa Carioca in pleasingly bright and tweedy variegations of purply blue and lime-to-turquoise caught my eye. Now I'm mulling a striped tee.