Filling the Void

Since there was a giant void in my knitting after finishing the Vivian, I decided that it was time for something new. Or maybe a few things new. So last Sunday night (during the Closing Ceremony in fact), I cast on for a new little shawl, the Caricia.
By one of my favorite bloggers and designers over at knitspot (might also have something to do with the fact that she's and Anne with an E too - we gotta stick together). So so pretty, and quick too.
I'm using Dream in Color Smooshy (happiness) in "Blue Lagoon" which is just gorgeous. I'm loving every minute of it. I'm about halfway done, maybe I'll finish it this week, maybe not. Gotta get going on some things for St. Patrick's Day...

So, Tuesday morning this is what I saw:
That's how you can tell your knitting is dry. The Kitty Test. If kitty is willing to settle on knitting, it's dry and able to come off the blocking pins. Maddie is so helpful.
See? She graciously agreed to be in this photo to give you a sense of scale on the Pampas stole. Which, by the way, is now through 14 repeats! Only 5 more plus the edge to go! So I guess that means the end is in sight, not close, but in sight.

Tuesday night was the first Tuesday night since January that I haven't had a basketball game, which meant that it was the first time since January that I got to go hang out with my knitting pals. And I could finally gift the Citron:
Maggie, being the awesome friend that she is, and totally wonderful unofficial "leader" of the knitting group, I felt that she deserved a bit of pretty for herself (she notoriously knits entirely too much for other people). And since she graciously gifted my the yarn that I used for it, it seemed only right that she get it. And I think it looks fantastic on her.

I started a new sock last week too. Tintagel, by Janel Laidman - who happens to be the designer of the month for the Sock Knitters Anonymous group on Ravelry. Yarn has been set aside for this pattern for a while, and I even bought beads to bead it.
Opted not to do the beads because you had to cut the yarn and then string them. Would have beaded if it had been the crochet hook method. Hard to see the pattern, but it's pretty. And the best part is that it fits. It's been a while since I've attempted one of her patterns coughRivendellcough and it still needs a mate because I knit it more than twice to get it to fit.

Onto real life. Girls basketball won a close one last Thursday against VASJ (down 1 with less than 2 minutes, won by 3) which meant that it was on to evil Regina on Saturday for District Finals - they lost. I'm still trying to figure out how Regina ended up in our district this year - last year we lost to them in the Regional finals. Hmm - oh well, the school is no more after this year, here's hoping the coach ends up at a non-division 3 school.

The hockey team played the even more evil US Friday night for the regional finals. Drove down to Kent to see the game - my first hockey playoff game. I picked a good one to go to, a heartbreaking loss in double overtime. Painful. So it's all spring sports all the time now. Spring break is looming - so that means that it really must be nearly spring outside right? Please?!

PS - the Vivian fits! The sleeves are tight (with a long sleeved shirt underneath) but the right length (big sigh of relief). Just need to get a zipper.

All Stop

So in some kind of weirdness, I decided that I will not knit this week. I know. Crazy. Here's the thing, I didn't give anything up for Lent this year, being that on WW, it's hard to give things up that you like when you're already restricting yourself. Makes for huge binges and what not, and I didn't want that to happen. And I had already put myself on a pretty serious yarn and fiber buying boycott so giving that up wasn't really an option either. Not much in the way of vices were left to me, so I didn't give anything up.

So then, in reading a blog, I saw that someone had given up knitting for Lent. And that just kinda blew my mind. I really don't think that I could ever give it up for the whole 40 days, but Holy Week? I can do that. So, no knitting this week. I am permitted to spin, and to crochet. The only crochet project I have, or am going to have, is the blanket for Perry Niece, who will be arriving very shortly, so I need to get going on it anyway. Alright, there, I have put it out for all to read, no knitting this week. Let's see how crazy I get.

So in the knitting that has been done since the last post, I finished the Monteagle bag. It's great.

I'll probably make another one, may even try to see if I can make it bigger. I'll get a picture with it stretched and holding something eventually, I'm feeling quite lazy today. So with one bag done, I cast on for another one. Using the Everlasting Bagstopper pattern this time around, the yarn is the same (KP CotLin) but in the colorway "Harbor" which is still quite appropriate.

This one, unlike the Monteagle, has a bottom to it. Very easy pattern, as my friend Meagan likes to say, "it's dummy knitting" and that's good to have every now and then.

The Rivendell sock hasn't progressed much since the last you saw it, an inch or two onto the foot, with an inch or two to go before the toe, so I won't bore you with a photo. Friday night, I cast on the second of the Interlocking Leaves socks. And put in a repeat on Saturday while watching the Michigan State/UConn game with Dad. I know, I willing subjected myself to a basketball game. What is up with me? I did not watch the second game. And can I just say, thank goodness it's finally baseball season! Go Indians! Back to the subject of socks, the impetus for finally getting going on this sock? The new Cookie A. book. OMG! So beautiful, I think that eventually, I will end up knitting every single pattern in the book. And the amount of information on designing your own socks - wow. I may even do that. But first, I have to finish the socks I've got going. Look at me, being all good and finishing things.

What's next? I won't show you the Mystic Waters shawl today - I put another 20 rows onto it last week, but once again, hard to tell. So maybe after I do another 20 rows. However, I did enlist the help of the couch to show you how behemoth the behemoth shawl (aka the Hidcote Shawl) actually is, now that I've retrieved it from blocking. Holy hugeness. I love it, I just don't know where I'm going to wear it. Maybe I'll gift it. I don't really know anyone who wears shawls though. Hmmm, tricky. I may just float around in it around the house, pretending to be some very wealthy and eccentric woman who can do what she wants. We'll see.

Last up on the knitting front, 2 weeks ago, I worked up another Thorpe hat. Used some bulky weight yarn so it went super fast, and then I didn't post a finished picture. So here you go.

I've been wearing it at work with all the cold weather we've been having. Have decided that I need to make a cowl with the remaining skein to match. I had never considered a cowl until Saturday, when at the LAX game, with the wind going and me already having a few layers on, and I thought "I wish I had a scarf" but then realized that the scarf would be too bulky and in the way, so the thought of a cowl came then. Maybe next week. Or maybe by then it will have warmed up and a cowl won't be necessary anymore. I'm just glad that there is no sign of the forecasted snow as yet. But it's still miserable for the scheduled baseball and lacrosse games I've got today.

Okay, that's it for the knitting. I really didn't think I had that much. Wow. Saturday night, I finally finished spinning the Redwood Forest BFL.

Tried to even out the bobbins as much as possible, we'll see how it goes when I get to plying it. I had thought I would do that tonight, but I'm off to puppy sit for Seamus so maybe Wednesday night.

Yesterday, after spending the day with Kaylee and company, I sat down and started spinning the first shipment from the Elements Fiber Club. March's installment was Air, and it looked like this:

I opted to spin it fine (even though I was really hoping to spin up something a bit heavier just to change it up from the BFL) and will do a 2-ply and hopefully get enough yardage for a little airy shawl, which I think will be appropriate.It's really hard to get the color, what with it being dreary out and the color being so light. It's actually coming out really pretty, and I never would have picked the colorway for myself, which is I guess, the beauty of being in a club and not getting the choice.So in continued bad behavior news, I came down to this scene Saturday morning.I don't know what's up with Miss Maddie (maybe she's upset because Mom is away) but I don't even know where she got this stuff. That's one sock and the alpaca leftovers from the November Ruffle. What's odd, is the other sock and the Cascade laftovers were found in the dining room Friday night on her little rug. I don't know where she found them, they were all together, and, I thought, tucked away. It's baffling. What else is she hoarding? And some leftover spun singles from my room were found in the family room earlier last week. She's behaving very oddly of late.

In real life, please keep my brother Tommy in your prayers, as well as his platoon/battalion, he's deploying to Afghanistan today.

I Learned a New Trick

And I feel extremely clever. Yesterday, I got around to spinning more of my Terminus BFL. So much more that I filled up my cute little spindle.
So I wound it off onto my waiting "bobbin" (it's actually the tube that Theraband comes on - I'm finding that my AT supplies are sturdier than TP rolls) and proceeded to watch a video on how to Navajo ply. Navajo plying is a method of making a single ply into a three ply finished yarn. Up until this point, I've only done 2-ply yarn. It was a bit rocky at first - those first few yards won't be knittable, but I go the hang of it. And I LOVE the result.I'll have to work on a getting good pics of the yarn itself when I get some more done. But seriously, I'm so proud of myself. And I love the result so much that I may never go back to 2-ply. The next step is the ply-on-the-fly technique, but baby steps...I had a director for this photo shoot. She's very helpful.I've made some knitting progress in the last week. Finished the fourth chart on the Hidcote Shawl last night. Started the second ball of yarn as well. Will have to switch to a longer needle in the near future.
I also finished the first chart on the Mystery sock. I'm showing it off because I'm not too sure that it will end up being gifted. I might possibly like them too much... Yeah, I'm a selfish knitter like that.
I love the way the leaves are floating along. And the orange is growing on me. Maybe because it's starting to feel like fall, and actually is officially fall today. Thoughts of pumpkins and apples and candy corns starting to dance in my head.

And last up, knitting friend Meagan gave me my birthday present Saturday night when she came over to make Christmas cards. (Yep, Christmas cards, she's much better about being on top of things than I am)
Miss Maddie was very upset that she was not allowed access to the outdoor shoot.

Friday

It's Friday once again. Unlike most of the world, I do not look forward to Fridays. For me they do not mean the end of a long work week, no, to me they are the calm before the storm. Most Fridays are very quiet at the school, with relatively few events and typically light practices, which means an easy, early-ish day for me. But then comes Saturday. The most chaotic and stressful day of the week. And long, did I mention that Saturdays are long? But, that's what happens when you're football field is not permitted to have lights on it due to some nonsense about being in a bird sanctuary. (I'm sure that I've just offended all bird lovers, but really, do we have to have another sanctuary for Canada geese? They're a menace to society and they need to go back to Canada with they hissing and biting and pooping selves.)

Alright, that should end the rant for the week. Sorry, I'm not feeling well at all today and I'm sure that that is having an effect on my blogging and general attitude. On to nice stuff.

Had the second BSJ class yesterday. Continued on, only made while mistake while gabbing, which is decent. It in no way resembles what the finished product will look like, and yes it is supposed to look like it does.

Some more yummy yarn came in the mail this week, I have a problem and I know it, but I couldn't help myself, and with all of the finishing that was going on, the excitement of new projects got to me and I put a whole bunch of stuff into my cart and bought it. Oh well, it'll get used. From left to right: Lorna's Laces Black Purl (can't tell how much I've been drooling over this yarn), Cherry Tree Hill Monet (gorgeous, and anyone who knows me knows I love Monet), Louet Gems Black and Canary (for some Steelers inspired anklets), Claudia Hand Painted Steelers (I mean, do see the color name? How could I possibly not buy this yarn?), and some Merino Lace that I got from KotS yesterday for my Secret of the Stole, the color is only a number, it's a lovely emeraldy green. And there on the bottom of the photo is the cutest keychain, it's a mini sock blocker. Not that I block my socks, but this was so cute, and it comes with a pattern for a mini sock that fits it. (PS - Madeleine feels it necessary to find out what's going on whenever I decide to photograph yarniness, makes her feel important and included I guess)

And, yesterday I started a new project. The long awaited Lucy bag. This also does not look like much and will in no way resemble this when it's finished, it gets felted to the point that you no longer recognize the lovely knit stitches. It's in Cascade 220, don't know what yarn color number.And I almost forgot, Baby Sarah's blanket was completed on Tuesday night - just in time to be packed to go to NJ with Ellie. Here's the finished product: It's from the Encore 8 Hour Baby Blanket pamphlet. Definitely took me more than 8 hours, but it was really quick and I liked it a lot. All future baby blankets may come from this little booklet.

This is the lovely crocheted picot edge. And dang if while doing this I didn't remember how fast crocheting can be.