Monday, November 20, 2006

What have I done lately?

Mittens for Ro, in progress:

This is not an accurate representation of this color. The yarn is more purply, less blue. It has more red in it than is shown here.

I decided to do 2 mittens on one circular needle, to avoid a repeat of the unmatched mitten problem I had with Tina's thrummed mittens. Turns out I hate that, so I moved one of the mittens to another cable and decided to do 2 at once on 2 separate needles. A couple rows on one, then a couple rows on the other. They're going much faster that way.

Yarn: Cascade Quattro in 4 (surprise, surprise) shades of purple, with black thrums. This roving came from a sheep with curlier hair than the blue roving I used for Tina's mittens.
Needles: Knit Picks Options circulars US 6/4mm
Pattern: Free Thrummed Mittens pattern, from Yarn Forward

Next up, this reversible (Reversible! Isn't that cool?) cabled scarf, for a man to be named later:


One more ball (of 4) left to go. This is only the 3rd no wait, the 4th, dammit, the 5th scarf I have ever knit, because I find them, in general, boring to knit. (You see how I was repressing how many I've knit? And all in the past 11 months.) I make exceptions for interesting stitch patterns, or interesting yarn that only takes one skein to produce a scarf. And once, because a friend requested a scarf in a black (black!) novelty (blech) yarn with multi-colored confetti thingies attached to it. The good news on that one was that it only took one evening on large needles, which is probably why is was so easy to repress.

At any rate, the scarf above is fun to knit because there are cables on both sides, and because the yarn is so soft. (The scarf has become less entrancing the further into it I get; scarves are boring)

Yarn: Lion Cashmere Blend, in charcoal (72% Merino Wool, 15% Nylon, 13% Cashmere). I bought this online maybe a month ago when the list price was $7.99 and there was a 15% online discount. A week later, the price was up to $8.99 with an 11% discount.
Pattern: Free from the Lion website. Reversible Cable Scarf
Needles: 5.5mm Aero needles (US 8, I think)

This scarf, for a friend:


Still needs fringe, but I haven't decided what kind, yet. And it's kind of scratchy, which is disappointing. It felt soft to the hand, but when I held it to my face...itchy, itchy, scratch, scratch. It sure is pretty, though

My next camera's chief requirement will be to accurately capture the color of knitted items in natural light.

Yarn: Mountain Colors Mountain Goat. Color: Alpine (I think) and more than one skein of it, which I didn't expect, based on the yardage listed in the pattern, and which caused a bit of a panic when I went to my LYS, Needlwork Unlimited, for another skein just two weeks after I bought the first one, and we couldn't find any and I thought I'd have to frog the whole thing and start over with a pattern that didn't eat so much yarn. I got a voice mail from them a few hours later. "Don't frog that scarf! We found another skein in the back room!"
Needles: I have no idea. 5mm? 5.5mm? Aeros, I know that. I love my Aeros.
Pattern: Multi-directional diagonal scarf

Next up, these socks:

I had knit one of these last summer, so only had to knit one to make a pair. I kind of like this system of sock knitting. I can't wear them in the summer, therefore I'm in no hurry to complete a pair, so I tend to knit one of a pair, sock after sock. Now that it's cold and I want socks, I feel like I get a whole pair for only half the work. I'm not sure what it says about me that a) I delude myself and b) I'm fully aware of the delusion.
Yarn: Opal Silk, in colorway 1123 (purchased online from England. I couldn't find it here in the U.S.) (70% superwash wool, 30% silk). And, hey, it's dye lot #1.
Needles: Inox 2.75mm dpns (5 of them, my preference)
I love the color, and how these feel on my feet, but by the end of the day they're kind of saggy. I didn't think the amount of silk would make that happen.

And now these socks, for my mom:


Yarn: Koigu KPPPM, in colorway P149 P140
Needles: Inox 2.75mm dpns
Pattern: Pretty Petals, by Jeanie Townsend, available free in the Townsend KAL yahoo group files
My mom has trouble keeping her socks up (normal ankles, skinny calves) so I either have to knit her ribbed socks (boorrring) or some sort of variation thereof. This fits the bill. She loves yellow, and especially loves daffodils. I have a feeling she's going to like these a lot.

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