green.ketzle.net: knitting

first, some blasts from the recent past. this is a work project, the short crimson scarf knit from one skein of something or other that was gifted to me by a coworker. it works if i use a pin to keep it closed at the neck and it actually looks quite nice that way, so i am going to keep it.

and another! this was also a work project, using the my so called scarf pattern on fewer stitches. it is not as short as the crimson scarf and shall also be added to the scarf collection. a very nice collection, i might add.

the baby kimono is all knit up and also seamed! but it lacked something so now i am adding things: a decorative border, maybe some embroidery, maybe creative closure devices...

and finally, in my quest to finish all the old ufos hidden here and there, i offer the cabled scarf. i did another repeat and it is now about a third of the way done. at this rate it will be ready just in time for the colder weather late this year. perfect timing!

24 april 2007 babies

five rounds here, three rounds there. eventually, the socks will be done. if i haven't finished them beforehand, i'll take them along on a trip i'm taking for work in early may; that will finish them off for sure.

i hope one day to have both a new camera and a sunny day so you can see better how beautiful the colors are in this wrap. mrs. s is rather short, and this will stretch out with blocking, so i stopped at what should turn out to be a good length. i think i am going to give it a wash before weaving in the ends, just to see how much grab the yarn has and how intricately the ends must be woven in order to stay so for the long term. the pattern, while not deliberately double-sided, looks good from both sides so i want the ends to be very well hidden as well as very secure. sweaters are so much easier what with tham having a very private side and all manner of seams in which to hide all manner of loose ends.

finally, a quick little kimono for a baby girl born this week to one of my coworkers. i started two nights ago and i expect i can finish with the knitting tomorrow. very fast giftie! i am using stash cotton-ease, of which i have quite a bit, in quite a few colors. good things as four [4!] babies are expected in as many months at the office -- two boys, two unknowns.

16 april 2007 2 .v. 10

after avoiding the task for a few days, i finally turned the heel on the second sock. and i did it without ever finding my written instructions. yay, me! i don't know why i insist on thinking the short-row heel is a difficult maneuver; the only problem i ever have is with the holes in the corners once i'm back to working all the stitches, and this latest sock had the best corners ever, so even that worry has somewhat lessened.

i had planned to move both the socks to two circulars to knit the legs, but i put them back on double points after only two rounds. i've knit with 2 circs before but they were longer and i was using two balls of yarn. the shorter needles i had on hand, and the fact i was working from both ends of a single ball just made it more trouble than it was worth. so now i am working five rows on one, five on the other and will until they are all done.

on mrs. s's shawl, i am almost done with the sixth repeat of colors. i switched over to straight needles for this as well, as working the stitches over the join was beginning to annoy me. oh, the price of being a tight knitter. it has made things go even more quickly and the length is really growing. the pattern stated a completed length of 54" but that seems too short to me, especially since i am already there. so, i'll keep working until the yarn is gone and see where that puts me.

every time i change colors, i squish all the stitches together on the needle, just because i love seeing the colors that way.

07 april 2007 movement

last night while watching kung fu hustle, i knit the second sock up to the point i'll start the heel. i can't find the notes i took for the first one, so i'm not completely sure how many stitches i worked it over, or to what depth, but i'm sure i'll figure it out. suddenly, my feet are dying to be in these socks, even though the weather is heating up. there's no accounting for the needs of the feet.

and this morning, i actually bit the bullet and started sewing the backing to the baby blanket. i was watching the us open cycling race in virginia and it proved very conducive to those tiny little stitches. i am more than halfway through and if i get a few moments to myself tomorrow, it may well be in the mail next week. and the babe is still small enough to be swaddled in it!

this? this is the new annual easter egg dying aftermath maneuver.

i'm thinking there is a most excellent set of tie-dyed wrist warmers in this yarn. maybe two sets.

03 april 2007 heart-ache

that is a hole in my favorite handknit socks. the only pair actually, as all the others have been gifted. oddy enough, the hole is on the top of the foot, not the sole. i have no idea what happened.

i don't even have the leftovers from the skein as i sent them to my cousin in germany who knits itty-bitty little sock earrings for charity. i do think i have some plain blue or gray sock remnants somewhere, but i'll have to go stash-diving to find it...

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