WIP Wednesday

Hey, Teach! (Knitty Summer 2008), in Cascade 220:

I've got about an inch-and-a-half left on the armholes, and then the neck shaping. So far, so good. I am making it a little longer than the pattern calls for, as I have a long waist, and like slightly longer sweaters. I'm going to lengthen the sleeves, as well--at least to 3/4 length. Maybe full-length; I'll decide when I get to that point.


I'm supposed to be grading, but I got a package in the mail from Woolgirl (and did a happy dance, because I love getting packages from Jennifer!) and couldn't wait to play with it a little:

3 skeins of Miss Babs Yummy Sock yarn, in Denim, Pewter, and Heartache:




I was thinking about making a stranded hat using the Pewter & Denim, but I think that might be too dark--the Pewter looked lighter on my monitor when I picked it out, and it's hard to tell what the contrast will be until you can actually look at them side-by-side. But the Heartache looks really good with either of them--maybe I'll make a hat (maybe this one? any suggestions?) using the Heartache and one of the other colors.

I need to buckle down and actually grade, so this evening I will feel free to work on the back of my sweater. It's cold here today; definitely sweater-knitting weather!

Accessorizing

1 pair of Fetchings (they're actually black, but I was trying to photograph my own hand and decided not to worry about the color. Or the laundry in the background, evidently.)

Knit in Classic Elite Classic One Fifty (merino wool); one pair took a little less than a skein. Size 6 needles, magic loop; I might go down a size if I knit them again, especially since they're for my mom and she's got smaller hands than I do. I added an extra cable twist at the top, since the first pair I made seemed very short.

But overall I'm happy them, and I think my mom will like them--her office is pretty cold, and she's on the computer a fair amount; these should be perfect!



One husband-hat: We Call Them Pirates from Hello Yarn. I can't make the photo turn so the skulls are right side up. I didn't try that hard, though--I'm sneak-blogging during my office hours. They had a paper due today, so I don't think anyone will come, but I don't want to spend too much time here, just in case.


Knit in Cascade 220, a red heather and white. Size 5 needles, magic loop. I really love this pattern--I've repeated this pattern more than any other (this is my 4th iteration). I may need to branch out into other stranded-knitting patterns, for variety, but this is a great hat.

S is for . . .

Sunday Sky at Rhinebeck


and scrumptious skeins of yarn:
"Glamour Bunny," a mix of angora and silk. And maybe some merino wool, too, but I didn't write it down and there's no label on the skein. But it's 180 yards of worsted, so if I can ever stop petting it, it will make a lovely cowl. Purchased from the Oasis Fiber Farm Mill booth, straight from Otisfield, Maine.

Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Lace in Rust (500 yards of merino wool) from Canada. The color looks pretty accurate on my monitor (for the yarn, anyway--the bedspread under it is much bluer in real life!).


and a random door prize from the bus trip! Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Ruby River--it's much richer and more saturated in person.

Butterfly bush

Or, rather, a bush full of butterflies. (I think it's an aster, not a butterfly bush.)


Next-door to a friend's beach house in Maine--we went up for one last hurrah of summer. I absolutely love the orange butterflies on the purple flowers!

R is for . . .

RHINEBECK.

I signed up for a bus ride on Oct 19 to Rhinebeck--Mind's Eye Yarns is organizing it--and I'm so excited. I've never been. I don't know anyone who's going. But I'm on pins and needles of anticipation!

I'm studying the vendor lists, and looking at the maps, and trying to get an idea of where to go and what to look for. I'm thinking lace yarn, and maybe some sock yarn, depending on what catches my fancy.

And I keep singing (quietly, in my head so no one thinks I'm truly nuts) "I'm going to Rhinebeck. I'm going to Rhinebeck."

Whoo-hoo!



R is also for repeats, as in:

Repeat knit (this is my forth!): We Call Them Pirates hat. The first one (using size 3 needles) was too small for G, but just right (at the time, although I suspect it's too small now) for nephew-the-elder. The second one (using size 6 needles) was slightly too big for G, but wearable until it stretched. And then it was way too small, 'cause I over-shrunk it trying to fix the problem. The third (using size 5 needles) was just right, but made for a friend. This one (also using size 5 needles), I hope, will also be just right.

The pattern is really easy to follow--this was my first (and second and third) project using colorwork; and I think it's a good project for that. I started this version, using two colors of Cascade 220, on Thursday; last night I finished the first row of scull-and-crossbones.

Q is for . . .

Quiet.


It's been two weeks since G left for Poland, and so far it's gone pretty quickly. But this is the first weekend I'm home alone. The first weekend I was down in NJ, the second weekend my parents came up to visit.

This weekend, though-all alone.

I'm sitting on the couch, watching tv--lots of new episodes this week that I missed--and knitting. I've also got some chocolate-eating and perhaps even a little wine-drinking on tap for later this afternoon.