Distractions Part 3: Lace

Along with the many other works dangling on my needles, I always have a bit of lace. However, in addition to the Malabrigo Caricia that I had in progress, I was really itching to knit a Girasole lap blanket with some deep red Malabrigo sock I have on hand... and of course there's still the Sea Silk that I had to have for the Trevi Shawl. What to do...

Well, I really wasn't comfortable starting another lace project with on already in the works. (Apparently I do have some boundaries.) So Caricia got bumped up to priority status and a sock went in my purse for travel knitting. Last week was VBS so I really didn't have much time to knit since my afternoons were consumed by errands and napping so I would be rested enough to inhabit a building with 250 children each morning. I had an administrative job this year, which I really much prefer, but those kids just absorb your energy as they walk by. I'm sure of it.

Anyway, this morning I finished Caricia! I took a few shots of before and during blocking because the process always reminds me of a butterfly opening it's wings for the first time.

Blah...



A good soak...


A bit of blocking...


(Have I mentioned how much I love these blocking wires?)



It's a nice warm day so it should dry quickly.

Now... back to those cardigans. Hmmm...

Distractions Part 2: The Summer Cardigan

Every summer I get the same itch... the desire to knit the perfect summer cardigan. Actually itch is a rather weak word to use here. Obsession would be much more fitting... as in an unhealthy, life-disrupting, brain-soaking, possibly expensive... obsession.

This summer is no exception, except that I have recently been informed by my dear hard-working husband that my yarn budget for the next couple months is $0. He is so generous and never says a word about my yarn buying so new yarn was definitely out of the question. Fortunately for me, I've been stashing very carefully for just such a time as this and have a few white yarns on hand including a bit of Cotton-Ease and some off-white Cotton Classic. As a matter of fact, I even have some white yarn that has been partially knit into cardigan hopes from summers past.



Not a bad start. The one on the left was one of the first perfect cardigans I found.



I found it in a Tahki pattern book and ordered the yarn online for a ridiculously cheap price. The yarn is Tahki Java, and upon arrival is was easy to see why it was so cheap. In a word, it sucks. It's like some nylon ribbony sort of string. Yes, I probably could've substituted... and as I recall I did try... but, well summer was probably over by that point.

Moving on...



I came across this pattern on the internet and it was so perfect that it involved tracking down an old Rowan magazine on e-bay and ordering a bunch of (not-so-cheap) Rowan Cotton 4-ply. The pattern is actually pretty addicting and the first side knit up in a few days. But that was about all the knitting of cotton on size 1 needles that my hands could manage so it was put aside... and well, I suppose my interest must have waned and that was that.

I do like this cardigan though and fortunately I made notes of all the minor modifications I made (probably a first - the notes I mean) and this solves the mystery of the missing size 1 needles.

Then last but not least is a Classic Elite Sundance cardigan...



Obviously, the biggest problem with this one is that it's not actually "white". But it is the closest to being done. As I recall, I had some concern about this fitting but I'm not sure I ever blogged about it (and my old blog pictures got all messed up because I'm a dork and apparently don't know how to use Flickr so I have to correct them all - argh)... but I do have a picture from last August.



I put it back on today and once it's blocked and has button bands, I actually think it should fit just right. And hey, if it's a little tight, who says I have to button it right? Right.

So out of the ashes of my UFOs come two potentially perfect cardigans. (I must admit I'm feeling remarkably resourceful about now.) And if they don't work out, there's always Kohls.

Distractions: The Sock Edition

It is a common fact of my life that the less I have to do, the less I will get done. Some people use free days for knitting or reading, but I use them for wasting. But this week, I am swamped with preparations for next week's VBS, the great de-clutter of 2009, and trying to learn Geometry to get a son through summer school... so it seemed like the perfect week to get a couple of blog entries up.

I have been knitting... but very inconsistently and on a variety of projects. I can't seem to settle on just one thing these days. I did finish a pair of socks.



Wanida from Sock Innovation by Cookie A knit with Claudia's Handpainted Fingering.
(pair #3 from this book for those keeping track)

And I started another pair (actually in between knitting the two socks above).



Kai-Mei - Pair #4 from the same book. I'm using Fiesta Baby Boom for these which is super squishy fun to knit with.

But then I was distracted...



These are Loksins and have been on my project list for months. I'm lovin' this pattern and you can never go wrong with Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in "Old Rose".

Hopefully I'll be back soon with some of the other distractions.

Totally Addicted...

"Wanida"

Corny Eunice

Whew... what a blast! These socks were too fun to put down.



Like I said, Maizy wasn't my favorite yarn too work with but I won't mind knitting this pattern again sometime. Maizy is a corn fiber and elastic blend that is quite splitty and actually doesn't feel very elastic. But really, what should I expect from corn? The texture of the yarn added to the bulkiness of the pattern as well. So my advice would be to use a fine smooth yarn like Lorna's Laces for this pattern if you want to try it. And I think you should!



"Eunice" from Sock Innovation by Cookie A
Crystal Palace Maizy in "Ivory" (white really)
Size 1 Knit Picks magic loop

Corn? Really?

Saturday morning was spent surrounded by sock yarns and patterns. I pulled out many seasonal colors from solids to stripes... wound at least 1/2 dozen hanks into colorful center-pull skeins... and spent much time pondering the perfect spring pattern.

Finally, dizzy with options and color, I settled on...






white.

Afterall, one can always use white socks... and I thought the wool alternative might be good for summer.

Boring? Maybe.

But two days later...



Not so boring!

The pattern is "Eunice". My second pattern from Cookie A's Sock Innovation. The pattern is wonderful and super addicting, but the yarn... eh. Unfortunately it's splitty and doesn't provide the pleasing tactile experience of knitting with wool. I almost ditched it several times but, like I said, one can never have too many pairs of white socks.

Indecision

My brains are scrambled. That's the only way I can describe my head as of late. So I'm going to send you to visit one of my favorite designers... Anne Hanson. She has such an eye for beauty in the everyday things as well as being an incredible designer. I especially love her lace and socks. (You can see all her patterns here.)

I recently started her Caricia after weeks of agonizing over the perfect yarn. I really wanted to use the Malabrigo sock in Indiecita that I had purchased...



but I only had one skein and I wanted to make a medium size version. In the end I decided to go ahead and make a one skein version because this yarn just really needed to be this shawl.



Please excuse the colors. I have found this yarn almost impossible to photograph.

Then when I saw Anne working on Trevi... I knew it would be next on my lace list. I was quick to order the kit from One Planet Yarn & Fiber when it was announced so I could use the same Pewter colorway of Handmaiden Sea Silk she had used. The yarn is just amazing. Again, I'm sure I haven't captured the colors but the subtle transitions of silvers, greens, and bronze are stunning.




So here I sit surrounded with beautiful yarns and gorgeous lace patterns... and I've spent my morning trying to pick out a sock pattern to start. Scrambled I tell ya.