July 31st has come and gone and there's still an unfinished sock on needles. I did manage to knit a gusset, turn a heel, work a heel flap, and knit 1.5" of ribbing; however, before all that, I also had to rip out most of a gusset, a heel turn, and a heel flap. Bah. Hopefully, I'll be less error prone on the second sock and finish it over the next few days.
Of course, all the ripping and the poor, lonely sock on the needles didn't stop me from casting on for another pair. It's only been a two days and I've already reached the cuff on a
striped sock. Gotta love sport weight yarn.
Where did July go? Anyone know?
There's less then a week until August and this month's socks are nowhere near finished. So, I'm putting the rush on. I've got 5 days to knit 2 gussets, turn 2 heels, knit 2 heel flaps, and work a bit of 2x2 rib. Let's not even mention binding off or weaving in ends. Blarg.
Will I make it? Only time will tell.
Rayski Scarf by Jane Ellison
I managed to get a lot of stuff done and out of the way when my knitting mojo disappeared. My swollen ankle didn't slow me down too much. Eventually, the ankle started feeling better and the mojo worked its way back to normal levels.
Mostly, it was the Rayski scarf and all of its bobbles that returned the mojo. I never thought that bobbles would have that effect on me. Anyway, not only is the pattern simple and easily memorized, the yarn is almost addicting. It's the famous and infamous Noro Iro. The colors are lovely and the yarn has a rustic quality that I quite like. Unfortunately, I had to deal with Noro's infamous qualities as well. Every skein has had a knot but at least the color sequence is intact. The one upside is that it allows me a bit more control over the colors even if I do have more ends to weave in. Ends aside, I'm looking forward to knitting the rest of the scarf and wearing it many months from now.
Several months ago, I came across this post on the Kelp!Knits blog about knitting a pair of socks for each month of 2008. The idea really appealled to me since, A, hand knit socks are awesome and, B, it usually takes me about a month to knit a pair of socks anyway. Also,C, I only have about 34 pairs worth of sock yarn.
So, on January 8th, I took the plunge and cast-on with some Patons Kroy FX. What first attracted me to this yarn was the graduated color changes and I haven’t been disappointed. In order to best display the long color repeats of the yarn, I came up with an uncomplicated but not boring pattern. So far the pair is coming along nicely and should be finished by the end of the month. I might even have the pattern up at the same time.
P.S. Diagonal is almost ready too.
These gloves are almost finished and, by proxy, so is my Christmas knitting. Once the fingers are knit and the ends woven in, I’ve just got a few more ornaments to make and I am done. Just in time for Christmas too.
My other main project: moving into a house. Thankfully, the unpacking has been steady and it’s starting to feel like home. Also, just in time for Christmas.
Single Skein September was a lot of fun and very productive. I managed to get a good chunk of my gift knitting done: however, October doesn't mean that I can slack off. Overdrive is a great adjective for this month since I'm trying to finish up a modified version of this giant scarf. Originally, it was supposed to be a Christmas present in 2008. I really missed the mark on that one but I think I can knit the last 4' in the next few weeks. Maybe.
Besides from being really late and really large, there's something else about this scarf. With one exception, I have been knitting this scarf every time I've watched
Hellraiser
. Since Halloween is approaching, I intend to continue this trend and I'll probably watch a few of the sequels too. It'll be a good start to my own personal horror marathon I'll be having this month. Any suggestions for scary movies I can knit along with?
Also in my collection of horror is
The Hellbound Heart
by Clive Barker, the book Hellraiser is based on. I'll have to read that too this month...once I finish that scarf.
Today, September 1st, is the beginning of the Single Skein September KAL run by Nicole and Jenny of the
Stash & Burn podcast. The basic premise is to knit as much as you can from various single skeins of yarn (or several skeins depending on the project) through the month of September. I usually don't join KAL's but this one sounded fun and was a good fit with my gift knitting plans. I might even win something since there's a prize for most knit and another prize given to a randomly picked participant. Not going to hold my breath on that though. If you feel like joining in, the KAL is being hosted in the Stash & Burn group,
here, on Ravelry.
My first project for this endeavor is a scarf for the Red Scarf Project which gives Valentine's Day care packages to people that have aged out of the foster care system. I've wanted to contribute something to this charity for a few years now but never managed to before. So, this year I made sure I had some red yarn, along with a matching grey, and some empty needles. Since illusion knitting has lodged itself in my brain, I'm useing the basic foundation of that technique for this scarf. Two rows of stockinette followed by two rows of garter is creating a wonderful fabric that has a dash of ambiguity.
If you also want to contribute to the Red Scarf Project, info on requirements, deadlines, and where to send is
here, and at the
Ravelry group.
Oh, and have you heard about
IBOL? There's still a little time to send something off.
I like to make things. Knitting is my current medium of choice and I want to share it through photos, stories, and patterns.