On second thought...

So the entrelac sock thing didn't work out so great. Size 1 needles, fingering weight yarn, my aging eyes...I couldn't see the pick-up stitches without going cross eyed.

What Next...

I'm thinking socks. I'm thinking entrelac. I'm thinking this pattern.

edit: finally found my sock needles, and lo and behold, there's already a sock project on them! I hardly remember starting these. I'll finish these off first and then get to the annetrelac socks...if I can remember.

Er....Hi

Just testing the waters here again. It's been, coughcough, a little while since I've blogged. Lots of knitting, weaving, spinning, living has been going on, so I'm not going to catch up. Just continue down the road.

Currently on the needles is a clapotis that I've started using Noro Matsuri. This is a cotton/wool blend, cable plied from what I can tell, and gorgeous in colour, as Noro does so well. It's coming along slowly, but the heatwave hasn't been very conducive to knitting.

Oh jeez, I just had to check out my Ravelry projects to see what else I've got on the go. Not a good sign.....heatwave brain is still in operation.

There's a pair of basic socks I started, but my sock mojo is still m.i.a. so that will probably languish in a project bag for much longer.

Oh yeah, my crocheted flower tiles purse! I started that with such great guns, and now, sadly that is languishing in a waterford vase of all things. I really thought I'd have that done to take to Hawaii... maybe for our next planned trip to the big island.

Honeycomb vest... I really have let that slide too. Just as I get closer to the finish line, I set it aside. I'm not really sure why, but....huh. I need to pick that up again and finish for the fall.

Amelia sweater I set aside to knit up the February Lady Sweater. That came out fabulous and I can't wait for cooler temps to wear that. I'll get Amelia going again, I promise myself.

And last w.i.p. is a log cabin blanket that I started quite awhile ago. I was running out of yarn and set it aside, but did a swap with my sister and have a few more skeins to finish it off. It'll go into the gift/donation box and wait for just the right person.


What has been my main obsession these days is my spinning wheel. I can't get enough of it. I'm slowly learning not to overspin, not to break the fibres...etc etc. I'm in constant search of more fibre and have joined a couple of fibre clubs...so I should be swimming in it soon.

I need to weave! I'm thinking one of my first handspun yarns would make a nice weave. I need to get the thought processess going on that project...but heatwave brain has gone into survival mode and it's all I can do these days to just clean and feed myself and get my work done on time.

That's it...for now.

Hawaii Memories

hawaii-june to july 2009

Queen Anne Lace

So, another crocheted scarf. This pattern is similar but slightly different from the last one I made. It's also a bit skinnier.

I used the yarn that my sister spun up for me last year. It's a soft merino silk blend in deep wine colours, subtle variations of colour.

The only complaint I had making this is that the yarn was so silky smooth, I had a hard time holding it. When I crochet, I do it lefthanded and hold the yarn in my right hand. My right hand felt so flumbly and unable to grasp the working yarn that I could only do a few pattern repeats at a time before my hand would cramp up.

But I absolutely love this little scarf. It's a perfect weight for the coming spring early summer season. Oy, if only I was the perfect weight too!

:::

Pattern is Queen Anne Lace

Yarn is a handspun blend of merino and silk from the Artful Ewe

Crochet Hook size "G" - 4.0mm

The Corleone Scarf

What started as an idea to crochet a granny square out of noro, inspired by this incredible creation, quickly morphed into a scarf from a pattern for a bookmark. Confusing? And why the Corleone Scarf? Because I crocheted this baby, past midnight, while hubby and I watched Godfather III ~ a movie neither of us had watched since it came out, probably. I can't remember.

I finished the last picot edge as the final death scene (and boy was there a plethora of death scenes) ensued on the steps of the opera house in Palermo. Very over the top but in a fun campy way, as if death scenes on the steps of an opera house in Palermo could be anything but.

I love crocheting, but it's something I do about once a year. Now I remember why. I love the actual process so much that I can't stop myself. When I made the baby blanket out of sock yarn last year, I dreamt crocheting. I'd wake up and it was the first thing I wanted to do. And now with this scarf, I couldn't stop myself, couldn't put it down.

I love this in the noro kureyon. The colour changes are so brilliant with noro. The only complaint I have about this scarf, and it's probably me, not the pattern, is the first fan looks unfinished, especially compared to the final fan which goes all the way around. I probably read the pattern wrong.

Anyway, I gave the scarf to my daughter who seemed intrigued by its progress. She looks so cute in it...way cuter than moi.

• 2 skeins of Noro Kureyon in colourway 170
• Size "H" crochet hook
• This pattern

And speaking of cute... that Al, wasn't he a dreamboat back in the day?

hubba hubba

Ripple~Wave Socks

These are the latest socks to come off the needles, and like all previous socks, are my current favourite. If they weren't knit in such a small dainty size for my friend, I would have totally kept them for myself...ah, just kidding Grammar! I'm glad you love them. You have great taste in yarn because that colourway is one of my very favourites ever. Blues and greens....I imagine warm tropical beaches and drinks with umbrellas and all day to just laze in the sunshine.
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Well, until that happens, here's the pattern I used. It seems to work extremely well with striped yarn, really emphasizing the gentle waves that I'm imagining myself floating on...warm sand beaches, drinks with umbrellas...oh, fine. Back to reality.

Ripple~Wave Socks

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Cast on 60 stitches using size 2 u.s. or 2.75mm circular needles

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8 rows of garter stitch for the cuff.

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Leg pattern is knit over 6 rows. So every 6th row you do the pattern stitch, all other rows are knit in stockinette stitch. (rows: 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42….etc etc).

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Pattern row with 15 stitch repeat:

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K1, ssk, ssk, k1, m1, k1, m1, k1, m1, k1, m1, k1, k2tog, k2tog, k1.

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There are a couple of ways to go here with the m1 stitch. For these socks, the recipient didn’t want any lacy holes in them, so to **m1** I picked up the bar between stitches and knit into the back of that stitch.

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If you wanted a little bit of lacy hole, then you could do the same for the m1, meaning pick up the bar between stitches and knit that stitch regularly.

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If you want it more feather and fan-like…then you could do a yarn over instead of the m1.

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Proceed into whatever heel you like. My current favourite is the double-stitch short row heel from tessknits.com, but any would do. And then continue down the foot using the pattern for the top 30 stitches and straight stockinette for the bottom 30 stitches of the foot.

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Btw, why is editing in blogger so darn difficult? arrrgghhhh!

edit...I should mention that the yarn is Neptune from the Yarn Pirate, from her Booty Club, but I can't remember which month it was. It's BFL, superwash, and it's fabulous.

Happy Valentine's Day

Love ~ Peace ~ Contentment ~ Good Health ~ Happiness

~ and lots of cinnamon hearts ~