Knitgirl's Stash

Damnit.

I wasn't casting on for anything new. Really, I wasn't. Well, I wasn't going to cast on for anything new after the sock I cast on for yesterday. (But that was for the shop - someone had to be knitting with our newest sock yarn line... and of course, I had to take one for the team.) Then I check my Bloglines tonight. What did I see?

Damnit. I saw these on Jess's blog and then saw Eunny's update below that. Damnit. I really worship that woman. She even posted the pattern in the post.  (Go ahead, click on the last link. I dare you.) I *heart* Eunny. What did I do? I started rooting around in my sock yarn stash, looking for the perfect combination. Apparently, I have a massive amount of Koigu that works. Damnit.

Yup, those are my color choices. Both are Koigu KPM (the semi-solids) that I purchased in hopes of someday doing solid color socks. (I found some pretty blues in there as well...) I know myself well enough to know that I'm not gonna knit solid socks (of course that silvery-grey would look lovely as the Snicket socks from one of the last issues of Magknits).

Okay, you would think that I'd have enough sense to realize that I don't have all the time in the world to knit! I mean, have we looked at the active projects on the needles these days?

My So-Called Scarf just keeps getting longer and my attention span for it gets shorter and shorter. I know that this will look fab and will feel great when it's done, it's just taking forever and a freakin day to get there. *sigh* I think that a solid movie day (maybe with a pedicure thrown in) will help get this one finished...

Inishbeg (from the Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed book). Oh my gawd, she's beautiful. I love working on this sweater because it knits up so quickly, however, I can't knit for extended periods of time on this. Why? Well, it's not all the moss stitch (this is really starting to convince me that I love the look of the moss stitch), it's the fact that it feels like I'm knitting on logs! I'm used to working on US1s for socks lately... the US10.5s feel GINORMOUS!

Speaking of socks... these were the ones I cast on for last night. I am using Mama E's C*Eye*Ber Fiber sock yarn in the Ember colorway - the cool thing was that I got to help name it for the shop! (*whisper* I actually got to help name a few of the colorways for the shop. I feel like a rockstar. :D) The pattern? Well, it's an adaptation of a pattern I found in an old Interweave Knits. It's an easy 8 row cable-y pattern, which will make it great for the portability. I mean, would you have been able to resist such a beautiful colorway?

I thought not. Damnit.

Now for the silliness...

Late Night at the shop was full of the usual suspects and we were in rare form... There were a few of us who were completely exhausted from the Great Yarn Move of 2006 we had at the shop, there were a few of us whom life has just kicked in the ass a few times over, and just a few who just needed to knit. :)

Nurse Laura came in and showed off the almost finished Hokie clogs for The Daughter. As they need to be felted, they were HUGE, however, some of us seemed to have come up with a better use for them...

Jasmine decided to show us what the next new trend in hair accessories is:

Well, it's one way to not misplace a DPN... if you use those. Then again, I have been known to wear circular needles around my neck, a la a necklace. Hee.

Before anyone asks, no, I didn't get any pictures of me in Cyd last night. That would have required me to find and pull out the camera before 20 minutes to close. I'll get pictures, I promise! Tequila might be involved to make me comfortable in front of the camera, but I'll get pictures!

Damnit.

I'm a little late to the party...

...but I know y'all will forgive me. :) I finally finished one of the pairs of socks I was determined to finish for Socktoberfest! (Yes, that said "pair" - a finished pair of socks!) Granted it wasn't the guilt of not finishing during October that spurred me to finish the second sock... the knowledge that I was less than 2" from finishing, realizing I had no clean socks with me, and a night of election returns to watch, well, that's what prompted me. :D

Pattern: Nautilus by Anna Bell - available as part of a sockset I purchased from her ages ago
Cast On/Cast Off: I cast on around the beginning of July... I know I blogged about it on 12 July - when I finished Claude. I finished the first sock in a couple of weeks, if I remember correctly. I didn't cast on for the second one until Dani and I got back from Europe. I just couldn't get in the groove of the second sock on this one.
Yarn: Fleece Artist 2/6 Merino in a colorway we named Indian Summer
Needles: 24" US1 Addi Turbos on the first sock and 24" US1 Knitpicks needles on the second. Which did I prefer? The Addi's. While the larger sizes are great in the Knitpicks needles, the smaller sizes are just WAY too freakin sharp.
Mods: None that I can remember. This actually-doing-the-pattern-as-written thing is getting damn old. LOL!
Fun Factor: Definitely fun. The pattern is easy to commit to memory - even after putting it down for months at a time!

Okay, I love this yarn! It is by far my favorite sock yarn to knit with. It's got the sproinginess of Koigu with the weight of Lorna's Laces. I love the short color repeats - they make working with the socks fun b/c every so often a color would shoot through that I wasn't expecting... My one BIG complaint? Well, click on the picture to enlarge it. I'll wait. Can you see it? They look like they were knit from two different skeins - they weren't. I divided the ball of Fleece Artist (which has about 360 yards - info not on the label) into two balls and knit from those... I didn't realize how different they were! I kinda like 'em though. I've never been one for having identically knit socks. The majority of the second sock was knit on the train up to NYC last weekend... I was still about 4-5" from finishing though. (And I was not about to knit while I was up there... I'm just sayin'.)

Speaking of FOs... can anyone tell me what this might be?

It looks familiar? Can't place it yet? Well, how about this?

Yup, Cyd is finally finished! The vest I wanted to knit for the Europe trip is finally done - almost two months after I left. *rolling eyes*

I tried her on immediately after I sewed up the sides and wove in my ends. (Yes, sometimes I'm a good girl...) She fit perfectly - which made me worry about how she'll fit after a bath and block. I'm still a bit worried... Regardless, I'll be wearing her at Late Night on Wednesday - where I might be able to convince a friend of mine to take a flattering pic of me in Cyd! (Who knows, I might even dress like a girl... LOL!) I'll post project info and such when I post the pic of me in it.

So long, October

Really, I don't think that I've ever been happier to see a month end. It seems that October has been a crap month for everyone - not only did I have blogging ennui (which is nothing new, I know), but I had a bad case of knitting ennui. I know I'm not the only one out there who experienced this...

I had joined Socktoberfest in hopes that it would get me off my ass and finish something. Lord knows that the Anna and Nautilus socks have been on the needles for long enough... but no. I did, however, enhance the sock yarn stash during October, does that count? :D

Lest you think the knitting ennui took over completely, I do have some FOs to share. Yes, I know that I told y'all (when, last week? the week before?) that I'd post a picture of a completed Jemima, then life got weird. So, here you go:

Pattern: Jemima by Anna Bell
Cast On: Somewhere around the beginning of July 2006
Cast Off: Monday, 23 October 2006 (although the ends were woven in and pictures taken the next day)
Yarn: I actually used the called for yarn - RYC Cashsoft DK in Bloom (main color) and Lime (contrast)
Needles: US6 & 8 24" Addi Turbos
Mods: I shortened the sleeves by 1" and I actually knit a functioning button placket... that I then sewed shut to make it lie flat. Yes, I'm that stupid. LOL. In doing that, I needed to add a fourth button, which led to the sewing down of the button placket.
Fun Factor: Definitely fun, however, it was a bit boring since it's miles of stockinette. It goes quickly, though and while finishing it, I got really focused! :) I can see myself making another one of these in my future...

I love this sweater. Period. It's gorgeous, comfy, and flattering (just not in that picture). I debuted it at Late Night that week and got quite a few compliments. (I love y'all!) I wore it up to NYC this weekend and it was perfect - the weather was chilly and Jemima was a perfect layer - not too hot, not too cold. Plus, I *heart* Cashsoft. About as much as Cashmerino Aran. I can wear it next to my skin and not be bothered by it. I didn't want to take it off to change and I'm constantly looking for excuses to wear it.

Pattern: Mist from Rowan's A Yorkshire Fable (or is it Tale? I never remember)
Cast On: Saturday, 28 October
Cast Off: Friday, 3 November
Yarn: A collection of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4-ply and Rowan Scottish Tweed 4-ply
Needles: Knitpicks' 24" US2s and Addi Turbo's 24" US3s
Mods: Really, there were no mods other than changing the colors.
Fun Factor: This was SO much fun! It was my first true fair isle and I found that I could not put it down.

I loved working on this hat. The one thing I'd change? I'd take out one or two of the fair isle repeats and make it smaller. It's just too big for my head. I am surprised that the yarn is so soft once knitted up. I have not tried to wash and block the hat and it could rest against my forehead with no issues. I wouldn't try to seam with it again, but I would most definitely use the yarn again for another one. I even got to improve my Continental knitting skills with the colorwork.

Pattern: Fetching from Knitty Spring 2006
Time to Complete: About 2 days in mid-October
Yarn: 1.5 skeins Jade Sapphire Cashmere
Needles: Clover Bamboo US6 DPNs (I know, I actually used DPNs!)
Mods: I made them a bit longer and used a slightly thicker worsted than called for.
Fun Factor: Very! (Even if I used DPNs)

These are for my mom - they were for Christmas, but she saw them early and insisted on having them now. Damn. :)

What's up next? Well, I may have cast on for a sweater... however, I might be reconsidering the colors. So, I may just take some of that cormo I bought at MDS&W last May and cast on for Maeve's Ireland Cardi... Maybe. Probably. Okay, definitely. Of course, I have none of that wound right now, so that's a project for tonight. Hee!