green.girl knitting: commentary
31 october 2008 two new
i was out of town for a week.
it was a combination work/play maneuver and i took the family with and we had a very very good time in disneyworld before i had to conference for a few days and even then we managed a lot of fun in the evenings. i remain convinced that one has not truly lived the american dream until you've seen the fireworks exploding over cinderella's castle, up close and in person. it was lovely. but it did not leave very much time for knitting.
i did have an airplane project, a quick square hat. i found this extra ball of noro on the floor, and the moths had had a bit of a feast, and so i rewound it, spit-splicing as i went along. and then a made a hat. though sophie cannot decide if she likes the shape or not, i absolutely adore the way the corners stick up like little cat ears. so cute.
and there were enough boring moments in the conference that i could finish the latest shawl. the pattern is so simple i could knit and listen at the same time with little effort. even when the pattern changed for the border, i did not have any trouble. now i just need to find my pins so i can block the thing and voila! christmas present for the sister is all done. now, to find something for the brother-in-law...
14 october 2008 shawls
i seem to be on a bit of a shawl kick of late.
after the two swallowtails, i thought i might be done, but apparently not -- one on the needles and one just about to be. the latter is for a coworker; i had been going to donate the knitting of a shawl for a companywide auction, raising money for the american heart association, but the spectre of knitting for someone i don't like kept floating up and scaring me, so i instead donated some cash and decided to knit for a person that i do like and who could use a little handmade luxury. i'll be casting on anon, soon as i decide if she is to be a swallowtail or a something else.
the former is on its way to becoming a kiri. i had most of a skein of dream in color baby left after finishing my mom's shawl and i decided to try a different pattern. i can't believe i had been so intimidated by this shawl -- the pattern immediately made sense and stuck in my head and i have been flying along whenever i sit down and work on it. i think i will do one more 10 row repeat and then see if it looks to be of a reasonable size before i head for the border. it will most likely be a christmas present for my sister, but that's not set in stone as yet.
mini shawl number 3! sophie couldn't bear that one of the girls might have cold shoulders so i dug up some old wool i had dyed with koolaid several yers ago. i used two strands held together -- one red, white and light blue, and the other dark red, red and white. very simple pattern, increasing at the edges and middle with a few rows of garter stitch thrown in here and there to stop the curling and give it some texture. sophie loved it, my mother loved it and i believe the doll is rather pleased herself.
i really do like all these colors together. i have enough left for something: a hat, maybe fingerless mitts, a felted potholder...
finally, the second asparagus cabled sock. since it is a single stitch cable, i dispensed with the cable needle, dispensed with the cabling without a needle maneuvering and instead figured out a way to actually knit the second stitch properly before the first stitch, cabling without anything other than acrobatics. it is going more quickly this way, but it is still not going quickly. at least they will be done before christmas.
i have a business trip coming up so i need to decide what mindless knitting will go with me. maybe some plain stockinette socks, maybe another kiri, maybe fingerless mitts to go with my shrug; its almost cold enough to start wearing it.
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