Knitting Pharm

Drive-by update

The combination of dead camera batteries, hub away on meetings and the resultant kid craziness have forced me into blog hiding.  [How is it that I can blog only weekly, yet have a new excuse for it every time?]

Last Saturday I visited what was left of the post-holiday sale at Tangled Skeins.  Let me tell you what was left... A LOT.

 

Patons Classic at half off.  This has since become clogs for Kelly and her daughter.  Here is a pre-camera-death progress photo:

 

Back to Tangled Skeins.  More discounts.

 

 

All at 40-50 % off.

The Queen of the bargains was my Fiddlesticks Zephyr at 40% off, enough for a Peacock Feathers shawl.

And the Queen Mum was a sweater's worth of Noro Cash Iroha at half price.  I can assure you it's a sweater's worth, as I'm currently wearing said sweater!

The only full-price yarn I purchased was for a specific project.  Lamb's Pride in two shades of pink for a diaper bag.  Cute, cute cute.

 

 

And the Swirly Bag stitch pattern, for those who asked for it last time.

Much more to follow in real time, but for now I'm going to go enjoy having my hubby back.  Happy yarning, all!

Nine days without blogging make Jack...

something clever.  More clever than something I can come up with on the fly.

I've been working.  Knitting and working and knitting at work, but still working.  Apologies for the delay, but I bring the gift of a zillion finished stitches.

First off Bayerische, which I can't seem to stop photographing from every angle.  These are like knitted art to me.  I will work them again, but the tiny, twisty cables are as hard on the hands as they are on the brain, so I will need a break before I tackle another pair.  Click for bigger.

   

  

Wee Koigu t-shirt got its finishing touches, and I got the KPPPM monkey off my back.

Soy Raglan got done too, including some fun details.  I made puff sleeves by adding a box pleat and applied i-cord to each sleeve.  I love the effect, and I also love the lacy body.

Amy suckered me into another pair of socks, and I got to try another of Cat Bordhi's sockitectures.  These are the Cedar Dancing Socks from New Pathways, worked to kid size by using finer yarn and smaller needle.  She loves them, and my Cherry Tree Hill Supersock from last spring's Portland trip has now been depleted.

Ms. Yes came last weekend with kids in tow and a Branching Out on the needles.  She also brought me a nifty knit pouch she made, no doubt inspired by the horrifying sight of me dragging skeins around on my kitchen floor.

Sunny yellow goodness...

and by the weekend, I had a Branching Out of my own, in Alchemy Bamboo.

[cute on her, but she can't have it!]

A skein of Plymouth Sockotta magically became a pair of Cables and Corrugations, also from Cat's New Pathways book.  I may just end up knitting the entire book by the end of 2008!

[lousy photo of great socks]

Cables and Os is 4 skeins (of 16-18) in and measures about 10 inches now.  The pattern is addictive and fun and effective and kind of perfect.  I'll post a photo once I get to shapings, but take my word for it, you need both the pattern and the yarn!

I'm also working one more (still unphotographed) pair of socks from New Pathways, the Sunrise socks, in double-stranded Tofutsies.  If you find the Tofutsies a bit on the thin side, you may like the added squish from double stranding it.

With tomorrow comes a yarn trek to Tangled Skeins (with Happy and Yes, to pester Extremities), a play date with Yes and family and hopefully enough caffeine to sink a battleship.  Have a great weekend!

First things first

Please take a minute and pay a visit to the divine Miz Happy, who is having a birthday today.  Steph, I hope Henry and Mr. H. are good to you today.  And I sincerely hope there's cake.  Lots of cake.  Happy birthday!

I've been sticking to my rules, only raiding the stash room to continue my ongoing projects.  First is the Bayerische socks, which are delicious and fabulous and a ton of fun to work.  I just wish that I'd bought enough yarn to make these ones as knee socks.  Oh well, next time!

[mmm, twisty...]

I've also allowed myself to raid the room to grab additional balls of CotLin for the Cables and Os sweater I started last week.  I've just joined on the third ball of this birthday yarn, and I'm really loving it.  I have to watch it carefully due to twisted stitches and very slight splitty tendencies, but it's very much worth the effort.

I'll be working some lazy knitter tricks for this one, so stay tuned.

Blue Moon's January club socks are done, and I love them.  Once again, they've broadened my horizons with a colourway I wouldn't have chosen on my own, which I appreciate.  Pattern is Serendipity by Adrienne Fong, colourway is Dragon Dance, to honour Chinese New Year.

Gung hay fat choy!

Also sitting in my project buckets was a 3/4 skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk.  I purchased this for an undetermined project last summer, then used a bit to do some slippers.  In the spirit of February's rules, I banged off a sweet scarf from what was left.  The pattern is Strangling Vines from Nicole Hindes, and I can't wait to work another one.

West Coast Sarah will have a new sweater, just as soon as I get it mailed out to her.  These raglans are a major addiction for me right now!

And what to do with a half skein of Socks that Rock?

 

[a new hat, natch!]

Amy and I continued to work on the felted bag, and got it done over the weekend.  She's a bit proud of it.

Looking heartbreakingly mature, no?  Perhaps fitting for a little girl who REGISTERED FOR SCHOOL THIS WEEK!

And the nutty thick-n-thin yarn from the beside-the-computer basket became Urchin hats for the girls.  Love this pattern, and love that Ravelry suggested it for the yarn.  (Send money to Ravelry, please.)

And since, in my world, another day brings another pregnancy announcement (I call my circle of friends the Breedy McHumpalots; please don't tell them), stash is most useful for little sweaters.  Here are two more:

[Koigu KPPPM and Cherry Tree Hill Supersock]

[Bernat Naturals Soy]

Lots of pictures and few words today, so I'll leave it at that.  I'll be fighting the urge to enter the stash room, but haven't changed my mind yet.

Happy VD, one day early!

Where the yarn lives, or the forbidden land

I have stash.  Much stash.  Tucked away in a few places, popping out of a few corners, randomly appearing as if from nowhere.

Down a long hall...

Last door on the left...

The mudroom.  And the yarn room.

Yarn lives here.  Yarn up top:

And yarn below.

This is the storage area, where I attempt to delude myself with statements like,  "I don't have that much!"  Stuff lives here when it's not even reached the swatching stage.  This is the overstock of my world.

I'm cutting myself off from access to the stash room.

My new goal is to use up the yarns that I have in the other hiding places of my house.  In my family room is my favourite knitting chair, my brown leather recliner.

But there's a secret next to the chair.  My WIP buckets!

and they're loaded.  Always.

Next to the computer is another basket, for yarns that have been frogged, swatched,  or just brought out for photography.

There's yarn in them there baskets, and it's going to be used first!

After today (and yes, I raided it yesterday), the stash room is officially off limits.  The one exception is to grab the final ball for my socks in progress.  Other than that, it's family room yarn only.

Until I change my mind.

First Head to Toe of 2008

January was a great month to get back into the knitting groove.  Since I was on post-surgery physical restrictions, I felt little guilt about curling up in my favourite recliner with far too much coffee and my sticks and string.

Here are the tallies.  They look shocking, even to me.  (For more info, archives can be accessed on the right.)

For the feet:

• Retro Rib in Panda Wool
• Salish Sea in STR medium
• Ian's Trekking socks
• Jason's stripey socks
• David's clogs

Sock tallies:

• 4 pairs so far in 2008
• 67 pairs since the start of the Plunge

For me:

• Thermal!
• Swirly felted bag

For the wee loves of my life:

• Amy's whale tail sweater
• Charlie's letterman sweater
• Tyler's letterman sweater
• Baby B's secret sweater
• Lauren's pink soy sweater

Frogged for now:

• Koigu socks

On the needles at the turn of the month (several to be blogged later):

• Big bag in Bernat Naturals felting wool
• Strangling Vines in Handmaiden Sea Silk
• STR stashbusting hat
• West coast Sarah's Supersock sweater
• Bayerische in Knitpicks Risata
• Blue Moon's January club sock

Off for now to  rest for tonight's festivities:  floor seats at the Michael Buble concert!  Have a great weekend, all.