What Hath Spring Sprung?

It has been way too long since I've posted.  I've been knitting a lot, though.  And thinking of lots of things I want to say, here or somewhere, and just not finding the time.  I'll try to catch up a little!

It has been a very busy spring.  We have officially joined the ranks of over-scheduled families.  (Is there a badge?)  It happened SO quickly; I didn't see it coming.  Eli wanted to play Little League, but he was not going to give up cello (nor did we want him to) nor Hebrew/Sunday school (he would give that up, and I would let him, but his father feels strongly that the pain of religious education must be handed down from generation to generation.)  And recitals and science fairs and Auden wanted to play soccer ...  And my parents were here visiting from California this week, and last weekend was a reunion with my college roommates, and this week the children are in a play and next week I have a concert with rehearsals all week ... next year something may have to go!  

Knitting (combined with mindless television) has been a great stress-reducer.  Except all my knitting has been going wrong!

I started this sweater for Auden, Gretel by Penny Straker, but even though I swatched very carefully, my gauge got much tighter when I knit in the round and the sweater was clearly going to be too small.  Now I am bored of so much stockinette and think I will knit her a cardigan from Rowan Pipsqueaks instead, even though I love the Gretel and have heard wonderful things about Penny Straker patterns.

And then there were the socks for Will, which I went great guns on until it became clear I was going to run out of yarn; I don't know why I thought one skein of Cherry Tree Hill DK was going to be enough, but I did.  So I thought I'd make the toes gray, with leftover Lorna's Laces, and then I ran out of THAT and now the toes are purple and gray. *sigh*  They are not the things of beauty I once envisioned, though I know the toes won't show, and I haven't been able to get motivated to finish them off.

THEN I decided to make the cabled purse from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts for my friend Julie's 40th birthday, using the leftover Koigu from the scarf I made my friend Alison for her 40th birthday.  I didn't check gauge, and halfway through the purse was coming out VERY tiny! About 3" wide instead of the 5.25 called for in the pattern.  I couldn't bear to rip it out – it's not a hard pattern but it's a little bit fussy – so I went ahead and finished it and managed to spray-block it (around a plastic container lid) to about 5".  Hopefully it will stay that way!  It is a fun way to use Koigu; much quicker than socks and a better spring/summer gift than a scarf, I think.  This could be my go-to girlfriend gift.

Still plugging along on my cabled cardigan; no disasters there, thank goodness!

I will try to be back sooner.  Thank you for putting up with me!  And thank you all for your wonderful comments, which I love reading despite my lack of replying.  

Slow Start

That title could refer to this post, which has been sitting in limbo for some time, but I really mean my Jo Sharp Bridget sweater. I got this far:

(Notice this is not the yarn I bought for this sweater in my last post -- the DAY after I bought that, someone was destashing the EXACT yarn called for in the pattern on Knitter's Review ... and I couldn't resist. It's Silkroad Aran in Beach, which is less white in person than in pictures, but very beautiful. I have gotten as far as swatching. (The pattern calls for using US 8s but I got gauge on 7s, which is the first time I have ever had to go down a needle size, but perhaps I have suddenly become relaxed knitter. And person. HA!)

Anyway I haven't gotten my act together to actually START the sweater yet, and I've been distracted by constantly thinking I'm almost done with my Cozy shawl, and yet not being. And by trying to figure out which scarf pattern to knit for my brother-in-law for Hannukah ... right now it is a tie between A Scarf Askew and the Red Herring Scarf, but I would prefer something reversible. And by obsessing over all the things that are not perfect about my daughter's kindergarten experience, and and and ...


I would also like to start a sock, so that I have something to carry around with me. I went up to look at this Koigu to see if I wanted to sell it, and instead decided I like the colors, they are cheerful and amusing. But I have no idea what it will look like knitted up, and I don't know what pattern to use. These are the criteria:

1) It must not pool! and 2) I don't want something "fancy" like the Monkey Socks. I want something more like a "plain sock" but I think not entirely plain. Maybe just ribbing. Do you have any suggestions? I haven't knitted Koigu socks before, actually, so I don't know how it will behave.

The other thing that is distracting me, in a good way so far, is the Cubs! Apparently there is a Lorna's Laces colorway "Cubby Bear" but I can't find a picture of it to post in honor of the Cubs winning their division and heading to the playoffs. Go Cubs! I think we're due.

Knittin' in the Car

You'll just have to imagine that there are cherry trees and Great Lakes and U.S.-Canadian borders (not to mention Niagara Falls and the giant SkyWheel!) out the window. I am not organized enough to knit AND take pictures en route.

My Monkey Socks kept me happily occupied most of the way from Rochester to Frankfort, Michigan, including one very slow border crossing. I didn't knit so much there, or on the way back, but they're coming along nicely. I ripped back the first one and am doing them both on 2s ... and I'm doing the full 6 repeats. I figure with the picot edge they will be shorter than the originals anyway. Hopefully I won't run out of yarn, or they'll have different color toes.

Speaking of yarn, I almost but didn't *quite* make it to the yarn store in Glen Arbor, home of the inimitable Cherry Republic. I know where it is for next time, though! I had already made a prophylactic stop at Knit A Round, a very nice yarn shop in Ann Arbor. It was just a few blocks away from our Red Roof Inn, so how could I not go? And then they had Koigu on sale, so how could I not buy some? :)

They also had Claudia's Handpainted sock yarn, which I got to to fondle for the first time in person (mmmm!) and lots of Bearfoot Mountain Colors (Mountain Colors Bearfoot?), also very lovely. But I was in a hurry, so the Koigu had to do.

A few Michigan cherry-picking pictures to prove I wasn't just knitting in the driveway:

Koigu Scarf

There she is, in all her glory. I don't know. I don't know how scarves are supposed to wear, so it is hard for me to say how this one does. In retrospect, I think I would not have lengthened it, as part of what I liked about the pattern was its wider-ness. (You can't actually see the shape in these pictures, can you!)

I blocked it, which was a thoroughly frustrating experience, and I'm not at all sure any of it took.

I did love the yarn, and the colors ... I think I would try this again!

Mystery Scarf in Progress

OK, not entirely a mystery. Koigu, obviously, and the Scarf-as-a-Collar pattern from Scarf Style. But the Koigu is so different from the yarn called for (I put my faith in Kathy, entirely!) and the picture in Scarf Style SO unhelpful, that I really have no idea what it's going to look like when I'm finished. Right now it has more than a passing resemblance to a dickey, which I find disturbing. But I will perservere! Onward to the finish. I am loving the colors. And the knitting-of-the-Koigu, my first time.

The children are outside in the rain (drizzle) playing with water balloons. It makes me sad that the concept holds no appeal for me whatsoever. I'm pretty sure that means I'm old.