Weekends are for knitting

Ishbel is blocking.

She is a LOT bigger than I expected.

Blocking is also not my strong point. I periodically consider getting blocking wires, but the truth is that I'm just kind of sloppy about edges. I ran string through the top edge of Ishbel, but it didn't really help me out much.

I also finished a pair of socks for the husband. These are a pair from Favorite Socks.

He's pretty happy with them. I was so close to being done with them when I forgot about them and moved on to something else, I don't remember what...
When I was sorting through my yarn and picking out the losers, I also cleaned up my projects and re-discovered some of the socks I had left to complete. I worked on another super simple pair for him for a while, but it's not my favorite yarn. I also rediscovered my Primavera socks, and managed to turn the heel and make it partway down the foot this evening. I'll probably work on wrapping those socks up this week. I'm really hoping to concentrate on finishing some things off for the next month, although I'm contemplating the next sock to be started.

Weekends

I did a whole lot of sitting and knitting this weekend. It was the first weekend in a long while that all three of us were home at the same time, and we made it a weekend of relaxation - no work, as few chores as we could manage. Lots of reading, playing Wii, knitting, bike rides, walks, and movies. I also played a whole lot of Scrabble on Facebook.

I saw Madagascar 2, which none of us would recommend. Friday night we watched Waitress, which was cute, but not my favorite of all the movies I've ever seen. The husband and I caught up on TV - Dollhouse has gotten pretty good, which is unfortunate as I suspect it will be canceled
in the next 5 minutes. House was okay, and we still have Chuck to watch.

I finished a sock for the husband, but it's not really blogworthy. I'm continuing to work on a couple pairs for him. I'm about halfway done with the second sock for one pair, and haven't cast on for the other yet. I'm alternating between those socks and the second Primavera sock for myself. I've only knit the cuff so far.

More excitingly, I started (and finished) a quick little knit by Glampyre. This is the Reclamation scarf, a quick knit to use up a skein of yarn. I do actually wear scarves as accessories, not just for cold-weather wear. They're also especially useful in my office, where the AC is perpetually set too high, and there's a cold breeze that blows on my neck.

The yarn is Filatura di Crosa College, which isn't the greatest stuff ever. I like the color, but the texture is a bit off. It's stiff and furry at the same time, but knit on large needles, it isn't so bad. I probably will wash it once I have some finished socks, and it should soften up a bit and bloom. It's a discontinued yarn, and not one that I really feel like I missed out on much.

I am very proud of this completed knit:


I fell in love with the pattern, Selbu Modern, and decided to try it out. This is the first time I worked with 2 colors, and it was a pretty good choice for a first project. My tension is all wonky, and I had a hard time with the top of the hat for a couple reasons. First, I should have switched to dpns sooner than I did. Second, choosing aluminum needles was a poor choice, and stickier needles would have made my life simpler. Third, stabbing myself in the palm of the hand with said aluminum needles meant that I took an extra week to complete this project. I'll just say ow and move on, but I don't recommend doing what I did at all. Overall, I love this, even if my photography is lacking.



My camera is in an iffy state - the battery cover has broken, and it's hard to keep the batteries in place with a complete circuit in order to take photos. My birthday is in a week, and one of the things I asked for was an inexpensive point and click camera to fill in the void. We'll see - it's an interesting time here. Off for more laundry, some more mindless knitting, and to enjoy what little is left of the weekend.

Saturday, too early o'clock.

I woke up around 4:45 this morning, after a not so great night's sleep. I've got a cold, and a miserable coughing fit woke me up. I stomped around for a while before deciding to give up, fix a cup of English Breakfast (normally, it's coffee, but I only want tea when my throat hurts), run the dishwasher, and read internet comics and knit.

Currently, I'm putting most of my efforts into knitting some socks for my husband. I've knit a lot of socks for myself, but it's his turn now. I had started a pair, gotten fairly far along in fact, before ripping them out completely as the yarn and pattern competed too much. It was just a simple rib, but the socks have too much of a striping pattern in high contrast colors. I'm really not sure about this pair. On one hand, the color of the yarn is fantastic, but I'm not really sold on the base yarn. It's a relatively loose twist yarn, and is splitty, and fuzzing out. In general, I'm not a huge fan of superwash yarn. This one in particular feels weird to me - slick and almost synthetic.

Since I'm not sure how well these socks are going to hold up, I'm also knitting a second pair, which I'm enjoying more. It's funny to me how some socks seem fast, even at a small gauge.

Photos later, once the sun comes up, at which point I may switch to some lace projects. Unless I go back to bed, which is also quite likely.

Finished

I decided these had to be Milford socks when I realized how well the socks blended in with the rug in my front room. If you know the show, you got the reference, otherwise, I strongly recommend watching Arrested Development.

More detail on Ravelry. Pattern is Mockery Sock by Katie Grady. Yarn is Araucania Ranco Multy. A new yarn for me - it's nice, but not remarkable. Knit on size 1 needles, but I wish I had used 0s, or dropped some pattern repeats. I'm really happiest with 64 stitches on a size 1 needle, going up to 72 is really too big for my foot. So there's a decent chance these will make their way to my sister, who has feet about a size and a half larger than mine. I am very likely to use this pattern again. I like the texture a great deal, and it's quick, attractive, and easily memorized.

Now, back to a very simple sock while I read way too many threads in the Rav forums. Just fascinating.

I got the bug!

I don't have a "real" finished shot of this, but I guarantee it looks a lot like it does while blocking. This scarf was pretty while I knit it, but ok - I get it now - blocking really does make the lace. I'm currently blasting through a pair of socks, but I'm plotting my next lace project (ignore the fact that I already have a lace scarf on the needles, it's not what I'm craving to start.) I've wanted to knit Ene's Scarf forever and a day. I've linked it, but I'm pretty sure everyone knows this one already. I finally think I might attack that project, and the Trellis Scarf which I started and frogged (no thanks to probably choosing the wrong needles and failing to use a lifeline - silk and the 7 into 5 stitch is slippery) are next up on the radar.

And yes, I cast on for a new pair of socks. On a whim, I started knitting the Mockery Socks on Saturday night. I spent the better part of yesterday with needles in my hands, and have zipped through the gusset and am working my way down the foot already.

Today is a day off of work for me. I should be doing other things, but I'm taking advantage of the time off to rest, knit, and regroup. Thanks to some really impressive insomnia and the discovery of Ballykissangel, I've found myself doing a lot of knitting lately. Yesterday was the 5 month anniversary of my dad's death. His birthday, and my former mentor's birthday, were both in the first week of February. Although they're had milestones, I am starting to feel like my old self again. Still, I'm grateful to Netflix and their "watch immediately" feature. Especially when so many BBC programs I missed are available at the click of a button.