Pretty sure it’s become a scheme at this point
The other day I had an idea. It led to swatching (always a good step). Then came an email to Stephanie (of SpaceCadet fame) with a bit of a plan. We're still working on a few of the details but a plot is now definitely afoot. Yarn showed up (the gray is Cressida in Dark Skies, the pink-y orange is Capella in Tantrum and the purple-ish blue one is Capella in Molten Cool). And a swatch happened. And now we might be in the graph paper and doodling stage. It's a fun stage. You should expect to see more of [...]
Hazy
Every now and then I find a yarn that knows a special magic trick. It somehow manages to be more than one color at once. I don't mean more than one color over the length of the yarn (that's easy enough). I mean more than one color at any given spot in the yarn. Sort of like this. (This is surprisingly hard to show, so you can click to see a bigger version of the picture if you want to peer at it a bit more closely.) See how it all seems to have a base color (whether that's purple [...]
Changeful
You know how, when you're knitting, there's always a little voice saying 'you know, you could also try it this way...?' But you never get to really indulge that voice because if you did, you'd never actually finish anything? Well, Changeful are my attempt at indulging that inner voice! It all started with a lovely, zig-zaggy stitch pattern that looked quite marvelous all on its own. But as charming as that is, sometimes you don't actually want to knit the same thing for a whole sock. And there just happened to be a couple of points where you could clip [...]
Extras
There was just enough yarn left after I finished the first cowl that I couldn't quite justify letting it go to waste. So I figured I'd play a nail-biting game of yarn chicken and see if I could squeak a shorter cowl out of what I had left. Totally worked! Much more of a 'light chill' version (as compared to the first one's 'arctic blast' rating), but still totally the sort of thing that lives happily in a coat pocket for when you find yourself wanting a little something warm. Oh and if you've been waiting, Changeful will be available [...]
Second Verse
I did have to break into the second skein to finish up the first cowl. But I didn't really need much of it at all, which left me feeling like I should make a second, smaller piece as well. I wasn't feeling the cuff vibe (the yarn is a bit thick for that). And lovely thought that stitch is, it's not really inclined to be a hat. So I thought I'd see if I couldn't do a second cowl, just at the other end of the size range. It's a slight variation on the same stitch (amazing what happens if [...]
Ingenuity
The cowl is done. Let me be more specific. The first cowl is done. A second version of it is currently on my needles and fighting me, but we'll talk about that later. But the first cowl is done, which means it needed to be blocked. This is harder than you might think. The most obvious approach would be to pin it out flat. But that will give it a crease on each side where it's folded (not a big deal for a sweater, but annoying in a cowl). I considered stretching it over the dress form's shoulders and pinning [...]
New Directions in Sock Knitting (plus giveaway)
If you've been here for a while, you know I have opinions about socks. Socks are supposed to start at the top, go for a while, make a turn, go for a while more, then make a toe. It's the natural order of things. And while I understand that some folks may make their socks other ways (which is cool, you make your socks however you want, my sock opinions only deal with my socks, not yours), I never quite got why. So I was more than a little surprised when the lovely Ann Budd asked me to contribute a [...]
Nearly
This needs about 8 more rows to be officially done. Which is, of course, very fitting, as it looks all set to warm up for the next few days. Given that I'd very much like the cruddy snow to finish melting off the driveway and sidewalks, I feel I have a civic duty to go ahead and finish this up. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Not Exciting
I'm not sure what it says about me that I continue to be amused by this. It's a tube. A very slightly tapered tube. But amused I am. And from what I can tell, one or two of you share my proclivity. Another day or two and I'll be done. Though I am playing yarn chicken (I have a second skein, but things will feel more tidy if this fits into one), which at least lends a bit of dramatic tension to the proceedings.
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