Monday, February 22, 2010

Bling!

Check out these medals, y'all!  How ya like me now?

 
  
  
paPOW!

I'm a WINNER!

Yes, that's right, I finished my scarf well before the Olympic torch was extinguished!  Hooray!  I just finished it 15 minutes ago, 2/21/10 at 11:41pm.  Ends are woven in, and now it just needs a rinse and some time on the blocking mats to open up the lace, and I'll wear it like a medal.
No finished photos yet because it's dark out and the scarf isn't blocked, but here's a shot from last night, on my improbable model, Frankie.  This cat can get out of a cat collar in no time flat, but she let me wrap a wool scarf around her neck for half an hour while I knit and photographed it?  Cats are so weird.
 
So, project specs:
Pattern: Lace Ribbon Scarf, by Veronik Avery
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Socks That Rock Lightweight
Colorway: Fall "On Tap"
Yardage: 360 (I knit this skein down to the nubs - maybe a few yards left, but I'd be surprised if it's more than a couple.

And year to date?
FOs: 6
Yards knit: 1760 (exactly 1 mile!)

Up next: a manly neckwarmer for Danny and finishing that Gooseberry Cardi!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Ravelympics!

Oh Boy!  I finally decided on a project for the Ravelympics! For the non-knitters, this is the Ravelry knitting olympics, in which individuals and teams choose a challenging knit project, cast on during the (real) Olympics opening ceremonies, and knit like heck trying to get it done before the torch goes out at the (real) Olympics closing ceremonies.  I'll be knitting for Team Blue Moon (fans of Blue Moon Fiber Arts, bien sur), and I've decided to knit a Lace Ribbon Scarf out of Socks That Rock lightweight in the gorgeous, autumnal colorway Fall "On Tap".  I bought this yarn at Stitches East last year, and am super excited about using it for the Ravelympics.  I attempted this scarf a few years ago and never ended up finishing it because the yarn I was using was super annoying and splitty.  But I know STR is heavenly, so it should be a fun knit.

I might be a little crazy for thinking I can finish a scarf in time, because the first weekend I'll be in NYC for a little Valentine's weekend getaway, then there's work, then the last weekend I'm going on a "retreat" which is actually a weekend-long training, but goshdarnit, I'm going to try my best, because that's what knitters do!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Finished Object #5

Socks!
(Yes, these photos *are* getting progressively worse. Thanks for noticing...)

Cast on for these cuties as an emergency-knit, when I'd left my other travel-project (the Destroyed Cowl) at work and faced spending time in a waiting room knitless.  The horror!  Decided to knit a heavy-fingering weight yarn on 1's to make some seriously thick and warm socks.  (Can you tell its February in Boston?)

And now I just need to weave in the ends and put them on my feet before tomorrow's snowstorm hits!

Pattern: Didn't use a pattern per se, just cast on 60, alternated rows of k1, p1 ribbing and just plain knitting, worked a heel flap/gusset combo, decreased and kitchenered the toes, and called 'em socks!
Yarn: Socks That Rock Mediumweight, colorway Crazy Lace Agate
Yardage: round 360

Because of the sheer enjoyment I've gotten out of my last few projects knit out of Socks That Rock, I've embarked on a severe culling of the sock yarn stash.  Pretty much anything besides STR, Madeline Tosh, and some assorted others is going up for sale on Ravelry.  Nothing else feels worth knitting in comparison!  It never splits, the twist is gorgeous, it wears like a dream, and the colorways never fail to inspire me.  So, the more I sell, the more I can buy of the good stuff.  Already upgraded a handful of skeins, and couldn't be happier.

Also, because I'm waiting for a new set of DPNs to arrive from KnitPicks, the Goseberry Cardigan is on hold. (Just didn't enjoy knitting the first sleeve on two circular needles.  I'm a DPN gal through and through.)  Going to start a shawl tonight, knit that until Friday when the mass cast-on for the Ravelympics occurs and I start a project-to-be-determined in STR for Team Blue Moon, then get back to my beloved Cardi!

So! Year to date:
FOs: 5
Yards knit: 1400

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Finished Object #4

 
There's a poorly-lit photo of the Destroyed Cowl I mentioned awhile back.  Took me about three weeks of naptimes at school to finish it - utterly simple stockinette stitch until the very end, when I dropped three stitches at each side, then kitchener-stitched the ends together.  I couldn't be happier with the result.  

The yarn - Sundara Aran Silky Merino, is luscious - incredibly soft, smells divine, and the color is so interesting.  It's mostly a dark, dark purple, with areas that look almost bleached to a pretty, springy pink.  A nice contrast to the almost-punky look of the dropped stitch ladders.  I think this will see a lot of wear - it's so comfy and looks pretty darn cute, too!

So here's the details:
Pattern: Destroyed Cowl by Martha Merzig (Ravelry Link)
Yarn: Sundara Aran Silky Merino.  I am so bummed I seem to have lost the tag, so I don't know the colorway name.  Poo.
Yardage: 200 (I knit until I had just enough to seam the ends together, so I used pretty much the entire skein.

Other projects on the needles: I've finished the body and one sleeve of the Gooseberry Cardi,  and a few inches on a sock I'm sort of making up as I go along....

2010 totals:
FOs: 4
Yards knit: 1050