Buh??

I've been pondering over this post for over an hour now, and the words just aren't coming to me. No quasi-witty banter tonight. I'll let the stitches speak for themselves.

Progress on the Kimono shawl, thanks to Hubs for snapping the shot while my hands were occupied with tszujing the lace


Progress on the second Hub sock has been made completely away from the house. I never realized how much knitting time I could steal on the road. :) Shot was taken during tonight's episode of Wife Swap, Monday night TV in the summer stinks!

Look for a more content filled post later this week. After a rough, non-sleeping night, my mind's numbed tonight

Quick PSA

Public Service Announcement to Indy area knitters. Mass Avenue Knit Shop has a 30-50% off sale running June 26 - July 2. Convenient timing for my birthday, too :D

New Stuff

This post will be filled with new stuff - new projects, new yarn, and new books with lots of pictures. :)

Friday, after mailing a pile of bills, I treated myself with a trip to Stitches N Scones in Westfield. I spent a good hour or so browsing after getting a new longer set of DPNs for the second Hub sock and a new circular needle. Following some brief internal debate, I nabbed two more skeins of Koigu for a second Clapotis. No plans whether the second will be for me or gifted. :) I stepped up to the counter to pay and realized my debit card was resting peacefully on a mousepad at home. Nooo!!! Much relief was felt when I was able to rattle off my card number from memory and pay for my knitting goodies.

New Koigu for Clappy Numero 2


Koigu up close and personal

Hubs and I went out Friday night. Date nights in our house are pretty odd when there are no movies we want to see in the theaters. We had dinner and went to Barnes and Noble where I picked up The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques and Knit Lit 3. :)


New Books

Friday, I also started my newest big project, a modified Kimono Shawl from Folk Shawls. Rather than being a rectangular shawl, this one will be more squarish hopefully. I did the math, so it may wind up being a trapezoid. My goal is to have the Kimono Shawl done in time for Cosmo Knotts' arrival for his baptism. I struggled through a 167 stitch cable cast on. Ugh, lace weight yarn, too tight of a cast on technique, and stubby ended needles were all against me. After toying with modifying the Candle Flame Shawl pattern, I decided to try a bit simpler lace pattern after effectively frying my brain and eyes over a few lunch breaks figuring the changes to be made. I'm only 5 rows into the 20 row garter stitch border currently.


Kimono Shawl looks more like a Kimono shoe string currently


Kimono Shawl bit closer

I started the second Hub Sock Saturday. I will never work with this yarn again after this sock is finished. Yippee!!


Second Hub sock enjoying the sun breaking through the storm clouds tonight

Frakk

Thanks for widening the scope of my cursing vocabulary, Battlestar Galactica! This is the only word for how I'm feeling.

Finished Hub Sock by Arwen's Sword for Scale

The first Hub Sock is completed. Huge grumbles were heard from me last night when he tried it on last night. It's baggy around the top of the foot.

Crap.

I'll try some decreases in the foot of the second sock. It's good length-wise and around the calf, just sucks around the foot. *grumble*

From the Dark Depths of the Unfinished Object Drawer

It’s alive – the Hub sock!

Ginormous Hub Sock Compared to his Feet

Sunday, Hubs and I sat down to watch a few movies we had rented. Being accustomed to knitting during movies, I exasperatedly told Hubs that I had “nothing to knit” as we were settling in for the movies. I quickly received one of those looks as Kris reminded me of the pair of socks I’m making for him that have been languishing for months shoved in the back of a drawer. That has to be a bad sign when even he notices that I’m avoiding a project. Thinking that having some knitting is better than none, I settled in with the Hub sock. I quickly realized why I shoved it in a drawer. Ugh, splitty yarn and too short needles on my most dreaded part of the sock, the gusset. After fishing up many dropped stitches as they popped off the ends of the unused DPNs, I resorted to smooshing all of the needle ends into point protectors and taking them off as needed. A new set of 7 inch long DPNs will be bought before I start the second sock; the point protectors are quite a pain though not as bad as picking up dropped stitches. After much prodding, Hubs did try on the sock in progress last night. I was beginning to worry that the sock was too big, but it fit like a glove :)

Just the Claps!

Saturday night harbored in a new finished object, Clapotis!

Obligatory self portrait in the bathroom mirror

Project Stats
Yarn: Koigu KPPM
Dimensions: 54 inches by 8 1/2 inches (unstretched)
Needles: Crystal Palace US#4 bamboo circulars
Duration: Cast on May 29th, completed June 10th

Need I say it? I loved this pattern and project. It was very easy to get the rhythm of the repeats and soar through rows anticipating the dropped stitches. Oh, the dropped stitches were so much fun! One end was a bit unruly and curly, and the other was stretched into a point. Both were easily remedied with a little light steaming. Which brings me to the yarn, how I loved working with Koigu. It’s wonderfully soft, has beautiful color changes, and not splitty at all. Family, friends, if you like this wrap and want one, let me know, I’m more than willing to knit more! :)


My Stunning Model, Bandit

Can't Blog...Knitting!

Each night this week I've gotten sucked into the Clapotis pattern. I'm hooked and can't put the needles down!

Working on the decrease section

It's just over 3/4 of the way finished. Though, for this project, I'm getting a lot of entertainment from the process of knitting and not focused on the end product. I definitely can forsee that I'll knit this pattern again :)

Clapotis Fever

I spent a good chunk of this weekend working on my Clapotis. Let me tell ya, I can see why this is one of the most popular knitting patterns in blogland. With the dropped stitches, this pattern highlights handpainted yarns beautifully. The stitch pattern is very rhythmic and easy to memorize. Dropping the stitches adds a lot of fun to the mix, too. I find myself racing through the first 7 rows of a pattern repeat to get to the dropped stitch row. Enough talking, now for some pictures!

Over halfway through my Koigu Clapotis!


Close-up of the dropped stitches

Fiber Day!

Saturday, I packed up my backpack and headed to my first fiber festival, Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival. As per my usual, I got completely lost trying to find the Johnson County 4-H fairgrounds and wandered around Franklin aimlessly. Eventually, I made a big circle getting back to the exit I first had taken off the interstate. Eventually, I found it and set out.

The weather was gorgeous, clear sunny sky and not too terribly hot. Their were around 60 vendors selling all sorts of fiber related goods from notions to unprocessed fleeces to cute angora bunnies. I learned I could never own sheep as my eyes watered and nose stuffed up when I was within 20 feet of a sheep. :)

I did get some new yarn and such. I didn't want to buy anything that I could find easily in the stores around town. Here's my haul:

Austermann sock yarn - infused with aloe vera and jojoba. Smells and feels lovely :D


Fleece Artist sock yarn, beautiful blues and greens.


Fleece Artist up close and personal


1375 yards of Skacel lace weight merino


Hopefully, this gauge is big enough so I don't lose it. Also, some nice birch cable needles.