Saturday, October 25, 2008

in which I engage in more selfish knitting

I'm back into knitting for me again, so I'm "back on the wagon."

See, here are some socks that I'm working on:

Bed Socks1a

Yes, wild crazy colors, and so fun for the feet.

and I've started on a big project for me - a log cabin afghan. I'm estimating that I'll do 20 squares so that it ends up being about 42" by 52". A nice mindless knit that will use up worsted scraps! Fortunately, Isadora approves:

Log Cabin2

And I had this totally interesting thing happen:



What? You say that you can't see anything? Let's take a closer look:



They look different sizes, but they are not. The sock on the left was caught at the bottom of the laundry bin, and then was washed by hand with other socks with shampoo (the cheap Trader Joe's stuff. The sock on the right was put into the washing machine and dryer -- it's Regia, it can handle it.

The left sock is relaxed and happy, the fibers are soft and pliable. It feels nice. The sock on the right is tighter (the result of the dryer, my guess) and a little scratchier. Not hopeless or unwearable, but there is a difference. Quite a difference!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

pretty shiny stuff

A few weeks ago, a couple of friends and I went to SF to the opening of a cute little store in the Sunset area. It was totally jammed, so we went to Artfibers (I don't think either of them had been there before). Peaceful, and very lovely stuff.

I kept ooohing and aaahing over things, to the point that I was probably going to walk out. While I love the yarns, the colors aren't to my liking, and I don't have the dying skills at this point to try something out.

But I did get some Patois - a lovely alpaca, silk and nylon tape that is sewn down the middle. A whole cone of it, and I'm hoping that it's enough for a scarf and a hat (it should be).

Then I found a free Annie Modesitt pattern called Netty, a cowl pattern, but one that is knit side-by-side, so it easily translates into a scarf. And see what I've got with about 20 minutes work?

Netty1b


This is fun!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

can't stop

Ok, after that big speech about being a less selfish knitter, what am I working on? A sock for Socks for Soldiers. In my defense, I am headed on a quick trip, so a sock makes sense. But yeah, I've got a long way to go...