Christmas Knitting Round-up

Whee Christmas is over!! I got most of my knitting done, the only things left on the needles is one half sock for my Grandpa, and about three quarters of a scarf for my FIL.

All told, I think that makes this Christmas a successful one.

On the finished side, we have:

Specs:

Pattern: Generic sock pattern, see Yarn Harlot’s Knitting Rules, random stripes added

Yarn: Paton’s Kroy in Black and orange varigated (colour 54567)

Needles: DPN 2.25 mm

Started: December 10, 2007

Finished: December 18, 2007

Thoughts: This was the last minute socks that were requested of me from my Step-mom (she of the amazing knitting bag which apparently came from Regal online). In an email I was hinted at that a black pair of socks with stripes that weren’t too bright in a size 5 would be perfect.

So I broke out my sock stash and whipped these up. She really loved them and wore them for the next 3 days that I saw her. She lives in British Columbia so while she might not have the extreme cold of Ontario, she does have the extreme dampness.

These were top priority for me because she is the main family member who encourages my knitting habit (even more so than my Gramma). I knew she would absolutely love them and would wear and take care of them. She is definitely going to get more of these in the future.

Next up:

Specs:

Pattern: Arrrrgh-yles from Moth Heaven

Yarn: Paton’s Kroy in White and Black, Lily Chin Chelsea in Green, and Dalegarn Baby Ull in Orange

Needles: DPNs 2.25 mm

Started: August 25, 2007

Finished: December 6, 2007

Thoughts: These were made for a friend of C’s in Singapore. They play the online game Puzzle Pirates and when I found these socks I showed it to C who showed it to his friend who asked for a pair. She’s going to be heading out to BC next fall to go to school so again, see damp wet winter which wool socks are perfect for.

I really enjoyed this pattern, it was another attempt at intarsia and fairisle, this was better than some of my previous attempts. I had fewer holes to sew up, and I was really happy with my back seam on the socks, you can see it in the sock on the right in the picture. I’m really bad at finishing so I was proud that I buckled down and did it right. I also conquered Kitchener Stitch in these socks and then re-conquered it in the stripey socks… I might not have such a war with it from now on.

Can you tell this was a year of socks? :

Specs:

Pattern: Generic kid sock with short row heel and normal toe

Yarn: Lang Yarns Jawoll Cotton Jacquard

Needles: 2.25 DPNs

Started: December 5, 2007

Finished: December 10, 2007

Thoughts:This is one of two pairs of identical socks for the granddaughters of family friends. This was a bit of a struggle because I was just given the age of the girls and the approximate size of their feet. So I went and grabbed a chart of foot sizes and the corresponding stitch amounts, and away I went.

Luckily both pairs of socks fit, and I was quite proud that I managed to match up both pairs.

Hopefully the girls won’t fight over who’s socks are who’s.

Last but not least, a baby blanket that wasn’t actually a Christmas Present:

Specs:

Pattern: Snowdrop Shawl by Yarn Harlot

Yarn: Some mystery yarn that I inherited.

Needles: 5.5 mm Straights

Started: November 28, 2007

Finished: December 22, 2007

Thoughts: This was a really fun lace project. It was my first time adding an actual edging to a shawl. I was really pleased by how it ended up.

Due to the different yarn and the fact that I had absolutely no info on what this yarn is, I did fewer repeats for the bulk of the shawl because I was worried I wouldn’t have enough for the edging. In the end I had over half a ball left so I can make baby hats or whatever from it.

This poor baby girl is the first girl in the family for 13 years, she’s got way too much pink already, I need to make her something yellow or such.

So that’s my Christmas knitting. Now to get back to the unfinished boring socks for my Granpa. I got a really cool present as well that I will talk about next time.. It ties in with the end of my BC trip.

Till next time.

September 11

So, I am going to take a small digression from my vacation (at the beginning of this post) to talk about the significance of today for me. 9/11 happened when I was 18 years old, I was in my first year at college, and I was failing miserably. When I heard that the World Trade Centre had been hit by a plane I didn’t really believe it, it was too much for me to comprehend. I was actually in class when one of our teachers told us, however by the time we knew, the WTC had already collapsed.

Thinking back on that day I am ashamed of myself. I was too immature to really grasp what had happened, and it was too far away from home for me to really feel the impact it truly had on the world. My main memory from that day was that the senator in California (I think) who was being investigated for the disappearance of a young woman would be really happy now that the heat was off him.

Not my shiniest moment.

However, over the next year I changed and grew, and in the April following I watched a documentary on some of the firefighters that went up the towers. It was then that everything hit me as to what really happened that day and how much was lost. I bawled like a baby for a good 3 hours.

Turning on the tv today was hard for me, I look back on that day with so much emotion now, pain for those who suffered, both those who died/were injured, and those who survived, and Shame for the way I reacted to it.

The way I try and remember that day is with hope. While so many horrible things happened, it also brought so many people together.

Due to this, I try to think about what I’m grateful for having, that if something that catastrophic happened to me, what could I look back and be happy about.

Right now it’s this:

Good friends

A loving fiancé

A happy family

An appreciation for beauty

 

The ability to knit

And most importantly, the opportunity to give back to others.

Which is why today at 6:35, I am donating blood and why even though I’m terrified of needles, I’m going to try and donate blood more often. Being O- means that my blood is not only one of the most rare, but is also a universal donor.

On days like today, it’s always good to list what you appreciate, because you never know when it will be taken away from you.

Till next time

WIP’s and FO’s

Today I’m going to discuss some of my WIP’s and a couple of FO’s that I’ve been working on lately. You all know about the Mystery Stole 3, and you’ll get updates on that on Fridays as I complete each clue.

This is for other things I’m working on because I’m very much not a monogamous knitter in any sense of the word.

To start off let’s look at my FO’s. These are my charity FO’s that I’m working on to try and rid my stash of extra yarn that I don’t need.

To start off with, here is my pinwheel blanket

This blanket is made with 3 colours of Red Heart Acrylic. I started this about a year and a half ago, and it would have been finished quite quickly, but I kept getting distracted from it. It was nice mindless knitting for a while. I finished this with a plain stocking stitch edging.

It still needs to be blocked, but that won’t take long.

This next project you might need to put your sunglasses on for. Any retinal burning you may experience has been forwarned.

This is the picture without flash. This hat is the Center Square hat from knitty. It was my first successful attempt at colourwork with the yarn held in both hands. There is little to no puckering and all the colour switches worked very well. I altered this pattern by using a worsted weight yarn with only one strand, and extending the bottom ribbing. It’s longer than just a beanie, but it’s small enough for a toddler or small child.

My WIP’s at the moment are mostly socks.

This is the Grasshopper sock from the Socks that Rock sock club. Don’t expect this to be done any time soon, I’m making the knee high version. I’m really enjoying working with the silkie though it’s a beautiful yarn and the colours are gorgeous.

This is a completed Jaywalker, calmly waiting for its mate that is currently on the needles and just past the heel. I’m hoping to get this one done within the next week. They yarn is Paton’s Kroy Stripes and I love the colourway. Even better is that without meaning to, the colours on the second sock are very close to matching.

This is my Pomatomus sock. It’s an old picture as I have now worked my way around past the heel by now. This is worked in some extra Trekking XXL that I had laying around. I made some plain stocking stitch socks out of this yarn previously and I’m slightly worried I won’t have enough yarn.  Due to that I’ve only done two repeats on the leg instead of three, but it’s a long enough leg for me right now.

This is just scratching the surface of the projects I have on the needles, but some of those will get their own post in the future.

Till then!