Thursday, July 21, 2011

Summer Sun

Lovely. Apparently the weather is supposed to turn hot next week - can hardly wait.
We've returned to the gray days..and the AC at work is working overtime to keep us cool like a popsicle inside. someone even came around today to seal up all our windows so they can analyze airflow. nice. purposefully cool. wish it were sunny enough to warrant all of the cold.

I'm back to knitting my opulence cardi. Knit a good portion of the second sleeve tonight and need to orient and knit the cable on the 2nd sleeve, then bind-off. so close. hopefully, this weekend, I'll be done...and just in time for the hot weather.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Calling it good -

I'm tired and not sleeping well these days - I'm calling it good

12in2011progressbars-6of12

6 of 12 done, so far.

Come on summer - time to bring the sun back out again.

Monday, July 04, 2011

Black hole for needles and socks

I seem to have a black hole nearby that munches on knitting needles and socks.
I've been keeping a large pillowcase full of single socks, and reunited about 20 pairs of socks two months ago..still have about 10 singles looking thoughtfully for their pairs. these are store-bought socks, mind you, so it's not like they hopped back onto needles and hid someplace, although I do seem to have quite a few missing-in-action needles as well.

According to my rav needle inventory (which I updated in May 2011), I supposedly have quite a few metal circulars in circulation - some I've identified as being assigned to ufos or works in progress. The others, I've simply recorded as"out-unknown", as the only remnants I have is the hang bag it came in.

After taking the weekend to just do things for me..I dug happily into a new project using the regal silk and knit 5", this including a hem and a pleat which was finicky and fussy. Finally, it's sitting flat and it looks beyoo-ti-ful.
Then, today, i tried it on.

WHOA there - too big..even after having swatched and predicted that I was doing ok, somehow, my gauge is off, and it's too big at my hips, and I'm not sure I can fudge it. Somehow when I looked at while I was knitting, it seemed like it would be ok. now, i'm not so sure. So, i'm going to swatch again with a US5.

According to my needle inventory, I am supposed to have 3 or 4 of these needles. guess what ? they're all out, either "out-unknown" or "out on a project". Two that are out and known are: 1. On the Dover Castle Shawl - status: currently stalled because i'm a beginner lace knitter and the pattern is too complex for my tiny brain, so it requires attention, and i'm generally only getting knitting time at knit night, which is not good for good attention.

and 2. is the sweet jazz scarf project which was supposed to be an easy knit, but ended up being super boring between the short rows and the rough-feeling yarn. not inspiring. first time i'm knitting with wm and my attention span is waning.sad.

Since the dover castle shawl could do to go down a needle, and I have plenty of 4s - at least, so my needle inventory says (heh, heh). I'll try that again on a US4, and take back the US5 to swatch the regal silk top again.

Yay a domino effect- Maybe it'll convince some needles to come out of hiding.

Saturday, July 02, 2011

July

Canada Post is back on track; hopefully, some good things are coming my way. Not the least of which a prezzy for Andi (who had her birthday last weekend), caught in the mail. I did receive mail on Thursday for the first time - a free FOCUS magazine, and 2 junk mail ads promptly recycled. Still on the look out for my HST ballot which I hope is on its way.

Also, I set aside all the projects needing attention, to focus on knitting something soft - this regal silk I've been saving for some time. The swatch I made blends a deep chocolate brown and a oh so hot fuchsia. Hopefully, the finished top won't be too stripey. I'm loving knitting with this.

Regal Silk 161

Donated some very old unloved yarn to Beehive last weekend for their destash for cash fundraiser for Canada Comforts, and put the $12.40 towards a new skein of Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock in Pomegranate. Hopefully, with the other one I'll find something to knit in future.

Also, continuing destashing on rav and locally and crossing my fingers to take a vacation in July in Portland. oh, i miss you so. The roses of june, and going to the Japanese Garden. .

black friday

I've updated the sale page with some key sales for Black Friday. I'm not doing a lot of yarn buying these days, so these are the on...