Scarf nearly complete

I finished the knitting on this scarf today. Now all I have to do is Kitchener the end where I used a provisional cast on.

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Cadence Socks - Finished!

It has been a long time since I've spoken about my knitting, and that is because I haven't really done much or finished anything to speak of.  I was still working on the Cadence Socks I was working on back in July.  I hated the way that the author had you shift the stitches, and I realized after the heel turn that I hadn't gotten the last shift correct.  Still, there was no way I was going to rip out and do the heel turn again, so I just futzed it and did something semi-logical on the foot, but the pattern is basically turned 90º from ideal.  It irritated me because I don't like the look as much, plus I had to think really hard about the pattern, so I wasn't motivated to knit it.  This past week, I finally reached the point of grafting the toes, and wove the ends in on Thanksgiving to finish the pair.  And boy was I thankful to have them finished.

I still really like the look of the socks as designed, and I might be able to do it if I knit them individually as the designer anticipates, but I think I will have to chart them out entirely to be pleased with the result.

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Hellenic Beetons

I just finished my final project for the Ravellenic Games, using up the last bit of that lovely cashmere and completing the set with a pair of wrist warmers. The pattern I used is Mrs. Beeton, by Brenda Dayne. Brenda is also responsible for the Cast On podcast, a perennial favorite of mine. She also wrote the Pembrokeshire Pathways pattern I used for a pair of socks back in 2008, and she has written an upcoming pattern book, Welsh for Rainbow, which is already available in part in digital form.



Based on the amount of yarn I had remaining, I chose to knit only a single layer of ruffles, and not to worry about beads or picot edging. I am still quite pleased with the result. They should doo a goot job of keeping me warm while peeking out of my coat-sleeves this winter.

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Hellenic Eleanor

As I mentioned yesterday, I chose to knit a hat and cowl set for the Ravellenics.  Last night I finished weaving the ends on the cowl and blocked it, ready for the photograph I took this morning.



The pattern I used is Eleanor Cowl by Audrey Knight. I chose this cowl not only because the pattern is beautiful, but also because it features a similar motif to the hat I made.

I didn't swatch for it, so I ended up decreasing needle sizes faster than called for by the pattern, until I got a fabric I was satisfied with. On the bind-off, upping the needle size was insufficient to make a top edge that easily passes over the head, so I ripped it out and used the same needle size for a Jenny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-off. That worked like a dream, so all that was left for yesterday was weaving ends and blocking.

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Hellenic Marnier

One of the things I have been doing while not updating my blog is participating in the Ravellenic Games over on Ravelry. The idea behind this event is to challenge yourself in your chosen craft while the olympians challenge themselves in sport. Generally, any project must be started after the opening ceremonies begin and finished before the end of the closing ceremonies. Some people are ambitious enough to knit an entire sweater or blanket during the two short weeks. Others try complicated techniques that have intimidated them in the past. I have generally tried to knit about as much as I knit in a month, with only half the time. Some people challenge themselves to finish projects or use materials that have been languishing for years. There is no competition between crafters, just the spirit of pushing yourself to do your best.



For my personal challenge, I decided to use the luscious Jade Sapphire Mongolian Cashmere in Caribbean Mist that my friends Duien and DJspinmonkey gave me for my birthday a couple of years ago. I started the Games a little behind, because I had neither decided what to knit nor wound my yarn from a hank into a ball to knit from. I knew I wanted to knit something that would be close to my face so that I could take full advantage of the soft cashmere, but I was a bit unsure of how to use the yardage. I decided to knit a hat and cowl set, selecting two patterns that are written by different designers, but share similar motifs.  By the end of the opening ceremonies, I had knitted about two rows.



Yesterday, with the addition of a ribbon as the final touch, I completed my first project of the set, a cloche hat using the Chapeau Marnier pattern by Marnie MacLean. Marnie has emerged as one of my favorite designers after I discovered her on Twist Collective and used her pattern, Lily, for the first sweater I ever knitted.



This hat was surprisingly fast to knit, and though I was afraid as I finished it up that it wouldn't fit properly, or that the scalloped edges would flare strangely, once I washed and blocked the completed knitting, it turned out beautifully. Off I go to collect my medals.

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Cadence Socks - In Progress

Currently, I am working on a pair of Cadence Socks, using Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino.  These have a somewhat tricky faux-cable pattern that definitely requires following along with the instructions.

It's been a bit frustrating, especially since I like to knit my socks two at a time.  The first issue I have was entirely my own fault for not really reading the instructions, but I didn't notice how many times I was supposed to knit each chart.  I was about to turn the heel and only went back to double check the pattern because I thought the leg was rather short.  That's when I found out that I should have knitted certain charts multiple times, so I had to rip back over forty rows and practically start over.  That's doubly painful when you've knit two sock you must frog rather than one.  So much for finishing these socks in June as I had hoped.

While my first issue was my own fault, my second issue is not.  I don't really like the author's method of  changing the location of the large cable crosses.  Rather than use another chart, she has you shift the sock on your needles and change the starting point of the row.  Not only is that really annoying when it comes to knitting two socks at a time, but it rather irks me that the rows are off between the two socks, especially the lack of an interim row between shaping/too many rows between shaping.  Ick.  Still, I'll probably follow the pattern this go-round.  After all, I do generally follow the Navajo weaver's practice of including an intentional mistake to keep my perfectionism in check and allow me to actually finish pieces.

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Peacock Shawl

Back on June 10th, I completed the Peacock Shawl that I started back at the beginning of 2011.  I used the pattern Pretty As A Peacock Shawl by Jae Koscierzynski, with a modified edging, largely based on Peacock Feathers Shawl by Dorothy Siemens.



I used two strands of JaggerSpun Zephyr lace held together and knitted as one yarn to create a fingering weight gauge.  I then changed the color of each strand independently to create the blended color gradient effect.

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Vernal Equinox Shawl

It has been a while since I have posted about anything except for cocktails, and I apologize for that. The routine of the weekly cocktails really helps motivate me to post about them, so I think I may need to implement a routine for other types of posts as well.



Last you saw any of my knitting, it was my in-progress Vernal Equinox Shawl. I completed the shawl on April 30th.



And I took a ton of photos of it.



It got me excited about knitting lace again.



I used JaggerSpun Zephyr lace weight, which is an equal blend of wool and silk.



The pattern is Vernal Equinox Shawl Surprise, by Lankakomero.



As I recall, I really liked the pattern and found it easy to follow.

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Knitted Lace

Here's my current knitting project, the Vernal Equinox Shawl, out of grey Jaggerspun Zephyr, which I bought back in 2008. This shawl which was originally a mystery knit along, which means that it was released one piece at at time, and people knitted it without any idea what it would look like at the end. Of course, I do know what it will look like, because I decided to knit it after the mystery knit-along was done, and many people had already knitted beautiful versions. I'm nearly done with clue 4, out of 6.

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The Flapper Hat - Side Slip Cloche

Earlier this month, I knit the Side Slip Cloche, using Sanguine Gryphon Codex yarn in the Sayida al Hurra colorway, which my friend Skellington gave me over the holidays. I really enjoyed working with this yarn, and the resulting variegation in color was very pretty and interesting, with no pooling. Of course, Sanguine Gryphon no longer exists, so I'm glad to have had the chance to try some of their yarn from before they split into Verdant Gryphon and Cephalopod Yarns.

It was also a lot of fun to do a quick project with yarn that was new, and hadn't been sitting in my stash with a plan for years. It was a nice refresher and got me excited about going back to the stash again.



The hat was designed to be worn with the ruffle pointing forward, but on the cover of the book it is worn with the ruffle pointing back. Compare the two looks.

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Nessie Toy Finished

Just last night, I finished the Nessie toy that I am knitting for my cousin's baby, who is due at the end of the month. I knit him in purple EL. D. Mouzakis Butterfly Cotton yarn from my stash using the Loch Ness Monster pattern from Amigurumi Knits, by Hansi Singh, which is also available online as a single pattern download.

The cotton got to be a strain on my hands whenever I was knitting something at a sharp angle to everything else, so I had put off making the flippers. Once I got my petticoat and my cardigan done, though, I was in the mood for tackling and finishing things. As these sorts of things usually are, it turned out not to be so bad as I had anticipated.



I had trouble getting the color right on my iPhone camera (which I'm using today because I ran out of batteries for my regular camera and I don't want to put my post of any longer), but here's the best color adjustments I have. Hopefully you get the idea.



He's in the wash now. Hopefully, he comes out all right!

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Scandinavian Cardigan Finished

This week, I managed to finally work past my aversion to hand sewing and install the zipper in my scandinavian colorwork cardigan. I've worn it several times, intending to photograph it, but when I finally got to it today, my camera batteries were dead, and we have no additional batteries left. Therefor, please forgive the iPhone photos. I think that if I don't go ahead and post it, it will never get done.



I think that with hand knitting, it's really best to hand sew in zippers, because I'm afraid the garment could easily get deformed and stretched unevenly while sewing on the machine. I even attach a ribbon on each side of the opening as a stabilizer before adding the zipper. I sewed two lines of catch stitch on each length of ribbon to secure it.



On the zipper itself, I sewed a line of catch stitch and a line of backstitch right next to the zipper teeth.



Now, it's ready to be worn, but I may finish it later with another layer of ribbon over the inside of the zipper.



I designed this cardigan using the Classic Raglan Cardigan formula from Barbara Walker's Knitting from the Top and stranded colorwork patterns found in Traditional Scandinavian Knitting by Sheila McGregor.

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Alpaca handspun & knitting

I finished spinning the alpaca sampler by winding it into a center pull ball and plying it onto itself from either end of the ball.



Today, I attached leather bottoms to the felted slippers I made for Scott last year.



I also crocheted a new red bracelet for my jade beads to replace the knitted one that didn't work out so well due to wearing through the single strand at each bead. This time I tried crochet, even though I don't really know how to do many stitches. I used DMC pearl cotton, which I think will be stronger, and I was able to thread the beads onto a crochet chain, which should be stronger than the single thread. Then I used the other two stitches I know -- single crochet and slip stitch -- to thicken the strands between the beads, and I surrounded each bead on the outside with three other crochet strands.



Last week, when I couldn't get my car to start, at first I was waiting to get to the store to buy fiberfill to stuff a knitted toy I am working on for my coussin's baby, due this spring. On Friday, I realized that I have about a pound of organic cotton fiber from a UGA test farm. I stuffed the body, and now have to knit the rest.

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Knitting Projects

I haven't posted about my knitting for a while, largely because I hadn't finished anything in a long time. After running out of yarn on two large projects, I started work on a pair of knee socks with random stripes generated by die rolls.



Finally, I finished the socks at the beginning of November.



I knit the socks from the toe up and used a four-sided die to select the color and a twelve-sided die to select the number of rows.



Next, I needed some fast projects. I was tired of not finishing things, and I was way behind on my goal of at least twelve finished objects for the year, so I started knitting dishcloths. It was fortunate timing, because this was a difficult few weeks, and a bit of mind-less knitting was in order.



When I had used up the last of my cotton left-overs, I started another pair of socks. I finished this pair on Tuesday, then on Wednesday morning I went for the first time to the yarn store in Wyandotte, Riverside Yarn Gallery, where I purchased more yarn to complete my scandinavian stranded colorwork cardigan. If I can complete it before the end of December, which I think I will, it will make the twelfth completed project for the year.

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Week in Review

So, what have I been doing in all of this time that I haven't posted?



I knitted my Scandinavian cardigan up to this point, when I seem to have run out of the main yarn. I may have more of it hidden in my stash somewhere, because I thought I had enough, since I had seven seemingly large balls, but either I misplaced some, or I needed more yardage than I thought. I can easily just finish the ends of the sleeves and the bottom of the body in black, but I don't really want to work with the remaining black yarn because it was very damaged. I don't know if this was a yarn quality issue or a result of the fact that this yarn was the oldest in my stash, but for the moment, I have put it to the side, and started a project with my next-oldest yarn.



These will be randomly striped knee-high socks in plain stockinette, or possibly with a ribbed leg. I am using dice to determine the striping pattern and stripe size. I am carrying the other colors up the sides, and I am knitting two socks at a time, pulling from either end of each ball, so things are getting a little tangled, as you can see. It isn't a real problem yet. I do need to check my technique for carrying up the sides. I'm not sure if it's right. It seems messier than it should be.

Other things I've done lately:



Baked bread



Finally getting to eat local heirloom tomatoes from the neighborhood fruit stand.



The first ripening tomato in our garden is still on the vine. It's my favorite variety, Japanese Black Trifele.



On Saturday, a friend and I went to the beach on Belle Isle. This is her photo from a previous visit. The day we went was overcast, and we just waded deep in the river rather than actually swimming. I was really impressed by how clear the water is. It's not muddy like the Chattahoochee. I could see the minnows nibbling at my toes! The water was a lovely temperature as well.

After that, we went to B. Nektar Meadery for their annual anniversary event. We tasted mead, mixed drinks made with mead, ate hot dogs from Detroit Underdog, ate home-made ice cream from Treat Dreams, and listened to bands. The mead at B Nektar was my favorite at a tasting event last year, so I was excited to check out the event. It was just an extra bonus that Treat Dreams even had salted caramel ice cream on hand, like Morelli's.

Sunday, we had a great time at a friend's birthday/housewarming, and we got to chill in their pool. I brought them fresh baked bread and salt, for a blessing, and I have received lots of compliments since they've tried it.

Monday, I helped Scott's cousin with wedding preparation. I also taught reels of four at dance class.

Tuesday, I dealt with some of the craziness that is our veggie garden.





The squash has really overgrown its bounds.



Not only is it out of its bed, it's into others.



The pumpkin-like squash is taking over the fence.



I'm not cutting them back, though, because they are fruiting in those areas.



The Detroit Dark Red Beets are a success, and seem to already have beetroots the size of my fist.



The Japanese Black Trifele is the first tomato to ripen.



The Amish Paste tomatoes are bearing fruit as well.



Basil is prolific.



Sunflowers are growing as stakes for burgeoning pole beans.

Additionally, I am harvesting bush beans and small eggplants, cucumbers and melons are flowering, and the borage is having a field day.

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