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Just it time for Halloween:
In celebration of finishing all the knitting on my nephews' christmas stockings, I bought the first toy to put in them. Of course, the kids are way too young to enjoy them (except perhaps as a tasty treat), but I thought their parents would get a kick out of christmas themed rubix cubes!!
And, my dad also made me a giant stocking blocker out of some leftover paneling in the basement. Thanks dad.
Now to get these blocked up and do all the duplicate stitching!
More sweaters I knit, out in the wild:
I love when I make people things, and they actually wear them.
I worked on my third nephew christmas stocking last night:
I also made some progress on a replacement sock for those ones I discarded last night:
Tomorrow, more pics of sweaters in use!
The circle of life for socks...
These socks were completed in November, 2006. Blogpost here.
I've worn then a LOT over the last 5 years, as they consistantly remained one of my favorite pairs of socks. Yesterday, I threw them in the trash, instead of trying to mend them.
Out with the old, in with the new, as I then used this yarn to cast on a new pair for this winter:
I'm sure these will be some of my NEW favorite socks when I finish them.
I had a really busy weekend, and didnt get to knit, but I have a knitting UPDATE for you.
Gavin's sheep sweater finally fits!!
And it makes him happy:
Or maybe he's just naturally a happy kid. Who can really be sure?
My Cedar Leaf Shawlette is finished. I plan on wearing it as a scarf like this:
Look how big it is all stretched out (that's a double bed):
Instead of casting on that Lopi Sweater, I have decided I am on a good roll, and I picked up a shawl I started knitting in May 2010. This is the Brandywine Pattern from Designs by Romi. The yarn is Ball and Skein Weatherfield a really soft and springy fingering weight.
I think I set it aside because it was for me, and I wanted to make a gift for someone else at the time. Or something. At any rate, I started it back up last night, and LOVE knitting it. I managed to do 6 repeats of the main chart. (Isn't the beginning of a triangle shawl magically fast?) Although I doubt I will be memorizing the lace pattern, it was easy enough to manage while talking to friends in a social setting. And I'm really looking forward to wearing it later!
Knitting for me is really fun, but I will be working on the last Christmas stocking while I'm working on the shawl. Stay tuned for some more progress pictures on that next week.
I got to spend lots of time with one of my nephews last week...
And I actually remembered to take out my camera!
I'm still plodding along on the leafy edging for the Cedar Leaf Shawlette I'm making for myself. I think I'm about one leaf short of halfway done now.
I also wound off a warp for some texturized weaving on my floor loom.
Both the warp and the weft will be out of this same yarn,
and the pattern will be a Six Thread Herringbone variation from A Handweavers Pattern Book.
Next step, get that warp onto the loom. Good thing its only 40 ends. This is a 4 harness 4 row repeat of weaving, Not very difficult, but I have mostly been weaving plain tabbys threaded thru just two harnesses, so it should be a fun change.
The Cedar Leaf Shawlette, which I started knitting on Monday.
It is really fun to knit, because each row went quicker than the last, and before I knew it, I was on the edging.
This little shawlette is for me, and I think it will look really nice as a scarf with my tan fall coat.
After I finish up this project, I think I will go back to my Chrismas Stocking for the nephews. Thats the last thing I really have to finish up on a deadline - by the end of November at the latest so they can decorate their parent's homes for the holiday season.
Sharing out all my WIP's with the blog (and leaving them in the middle of my living room) was a really motivating exercise for me. I can't wait to finish up just one more project, and move on to the next. I totally suggest it. (Especially the leaving them in plain sight in the living room part.)
Come back soon, when hopefully, I will have completed this lovely scarf, and you can see a pic of it blocking or being modeled.
Here are those modeled danish tie shawl shots I promised. Thanks to my lovely sister for modeling for me in the sunshine today:
I was a little afraid (preblocking) that this would be too small. But it came out just right.
(For me, its a little large on Nean.)
I used the Traditional Danish Tie Shawl STR11 pattern (Ravelry Link) from Spin-Off Spring 2008.
I just used up a bunch of different yarns, kind of randomly striping them, and stopped when I ran out of all the colors I want to use. It looks a little more flattering on Nean, but not matter what, it is going to be a cozy addition to my office this winter, as it is like a big squishy garter stitch blanket i can tie around me. I give it an A+ for utility, and a B- for looks.
