green.ketzle.net: knitting

i finished the knitting of mrs. b's shawl this week so that makes three that need a bit of a soak and then a vigourous blocking and pinning.

the mattress upon which i usually pin shawls is currently propped in sophie's room. i'm debating whether it would be easier to block on it this way, or if i should find space somehow to lie the thing flat. i am also debating whether i should put all of the sock yarn into a space bag and suck the life out of it, or whether i should just leave the stuff free and fluffy.

i inventoried the bulk of the sock yarn on friday. i have a lot. more than i need. but less than i want.

16 may 2010 one done

as predicted, the little neck scarf is done.

i had a different pattern for this scarf at one time, and i am fairly sure i liked that one better, but this one is just fine and shall be set aside to be gifted some time in june. i do have rather a lot of the yarn left -- probably not enough to make anything out of, so i shall stash it with the other bits and bobs in the hopes of someday using them constructively.

i have finished 10 of the 15 8-row repeats required for the main body. obvously it goes a little more slowly now that the garter stitch section is getting longer and longer, but i still expect to be done with this part by next weekend. unless i get all lazy, as i am wont to do.

i am still loving both the pattern and the yarn and am trying to talk myself out of buying one or more skeins for future projects; 48 colors, so many choices!

the end of the school year approacheth. this means i must put the teachers' gifts to rest. i need to find the pins and find the space and finally block the two shawls that have been complete since the close of the winter olympics. and i need to knit more.

first off, a little neck scarf for the third teacher -- the one who has them three hours a week. i have about 20 skeins of koigu and they all fit together nicely, with the exception of this pastel. so? a pretty little scarf. it is pretty mindless knitting, so i am carrying it around with me to orthodontist appointments and the like. should be done in a week or so.

this one will take a little longer. it is for mrs b, the music teacher and leader of the sunset singers. i am well into the main pattern and am striving for at least one 8 row repeat a night, which will give me plenty of time.

i am in love with both this yarn, dream in color smooshy, and this pattern, rosemary hill's brandywine shawl. machine washable? check! lays flat and looks great even without blocking? check! this may be my new go-to giftie...

02 may 2010 footsies

just in time for summer and warmer weather, jim has his first pair of handknit socks!

luckily for me, it is still rather cool out and after working on the patio garden all day yesterday, he thought the socks felt just fine. no pattern here, just went toe up with a short row heel; i think i am over the toe-up heel flap -- i'm finding after a while they don't seem to fit as well as the short-row or after-thought heels. although i have an ungodly number of skeins of sock yarn, i think i might also be done with socks for a little while. maybe in the autumn...

and to keep up the theme of unseasonable knitting, i am back at the jungle monkey. i have just over three skeins left so i am fairly sure it will be long enough. it is also going to be heavy enough to keep me warm in siberia.

i wound up a few skeins of laceweight and fingering weight yarn with an eye towards a few more shawls. sophie's third teacher should get a little something -- maybe a neck scarf? and her music teacher who is also the director of the school singing group, of which sophie is part, definitely deserves something for wrangling those 80+ 4th and 5th graders into a cohesive singing group. she has so much more patience than i...

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