Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Other projects

I'm so bad at documenting all my finished pieces. I think it's so great when people have a gallery and can say, "yeah that's what I knit in 2007". I always forget to take photos, am usually working on 345 things at once and usually rush to finish things to gift or whatever.

I've been making these scarves as presents. This is one I kept for myself. There was one lurking on my bedside in a photo a while ago that I recently gifted for a belated bday present (in a dusty pink) and I'm making one now in purples and blues for another owed gift. It's a pattern from the Yarn Harlot. And the yarn I am using is sock yarn from Natural Dyes Studio. I had an addiction to them in 2006 and bought *a lot* of it. I'm glad to be able to use it in gifts for people I care about ... it was going to be a heck of a lot of socks, otherwise.



And of course, the promised photo of the Lisa Souza haul. I'd been eying her site for ages. I should take a photo of my display of sockyarn so you can see why I should not be just buying whatever I like. Of course now that I have decided to gift socks this year, maybe it will be okay? Why is it that there is still satisfaction in knitting with a stunning yarn even if you have to give it away? I always think "Oh this is perfect for so and so ... I can get myself another skein if I love it" and then am totally over it and cool by the time I am done. I must be a process knitter. For me, it's the act of getting to play with the yarn that's fun. Hopefully people appreciate the worth of the gift.

Where was I? Yes, so I have been eying off several skeins on Lisa's site. When I bought the yarn for the Clapotis, I told her she'd hear from me when I hit my next thesis milestone. And then Violet's colourway came up and I kinda felt like maybe I could buy a skein. But then of course, to save on postage (and to show Lisa some support) I had to buy more than just that colourway. So I thought what the hell and I bought pretty much all the skeins I had my eye on. Lisa thought I'd done well with the thesis! But no ... temptation got the better of me.

So.... Mars Quake is down the bottom, I thought it would be more glittery and golden but how can you resist the name when you publish science fiction? I ask you. Lying on top is Mombassa (a colour that is very similar to Milk and Honey but you can't see the dark blue grey at the other end of the skein. My mother was born in Mombassa. I shall do something special with this skein) and next to that is the Violet Pink Ribbon colourway. I think I will make the socks for the bf's mother's 60th birthday in March. Behind and under is Milk and Honey (a colour that is very reminiscent of several other newly acquired skeins). Right at the back is the colourway Delft which my best friend has picked for a shawl for her birthday, also in March.

Clapotis

I suppose the Clapotis deserves a post all of her own! Here she is. I made it out of Lisa Souza's sock yarn, colour way Can't Elope. Orange is not really actually a colour I like or wear but the name was so hard to resist and it was such fun to knit up with the little bits of green popping up here and there. Honestly, the Clapotis is boring boring boring to knit once you get the hang of the pattern. But then .... once you have one ... you kinda think you might need more.



Here is a more artistic shot of the Clapotis, in its more scarf-like pose.I wore it out to Shakespeare in the Park as a scarf and it was very warm.



Similarly though, it can also pose as a shawl, and is quite warm on a brisk summer evening.


Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Kinky Yarn Porn

I always thought that Lime and Violet were exaggerating with the rubbing of the sock yarn on their naughty bits. I just got a huge shipment of Lisa Souza yarn and I am literally sitting here with my yarn - I'm like in the yarn pile. Her yarn is so totally delicious. It always looks better than the pictures on her site which are too hard to resist as it is.

I took a photo and will upload tomorrow, I promise.

Of course now, its a toss up between working on all those projects for other people, and whipping them off my needles to make ME some socks!

Thursday, January 11, 2007

I love knitting

For a while there, I was getting all caught up in the lace knitting. I cast on a second one. Yes, I know. And yet I still did it. You see I am one behind (for my sister's birthday, back in Nov) and I want to have the MIL's done in time for her 60th bday in March (New Year's resolution to be on time with gifts this year). And there I was, getting some joy out of executing the lace, albeit with grumpiness to the bf, the dog, and my emailing conversations, and wondering why anyone would knit boring things like plain socks or scarves. And then? And then I got an attack of insomnia and my brain went to mush. And all I could knit was scarves and socks!

Knitting is for all occasions.

Headbands!

Was just answering a comment by Knitting and Chocolate on another blog in another blogland far far away, and it just occurred to me!!! I need several, several I tell you, knitted headbands for my baths. I grabbed one the other day that I had made in desperation two New Years holidays ago when we were on board the boat for 10 windy days at the island. I really really hate my hair blowing in my face and in the end, I no longer cared what I looked like, I just wanted my hair out of my face. Same thing happened the other day when I took my first bath in this house. I just wanted something to keep my hair out of my eyes. And the headband worked a treat and I didn't care if it got wet or whatever.

I think I shall hunt out some sockyarn leftovers and make myself a few. And then I have found a use for that leftover box I had from a The Body Shop gift - you know the ones? Too nice to throw away so they hang around waiting for a use? I think I shall pop that on the bath with a nice bunch of headbands awaiting bathing time!

Pictures to follow!

Friday, January 05, 2007

Yarn!

I bought yarn today. I haven't yet put myself on a monthly budget for yarn so technically I haven't broken it. I was flitting round Lisa Souza's site. See I needed to buy some yarn for a friend's birthday. I'm thinking and preparing ahead. And surely you get points for that? And then of course, to justify the postage .... well all hell broke loose and I ordered 5 skeins of sock yarn!

oops.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Sock Club

Just paid for registration for the Socks that Rock Rockin' Sock Club for this year. I umm'ed and ahh'ed about it for a while. I have so far ony knit one pair of socks out of last year's seven skeins and didn't used the accompanying pattern. I'm not sure how many of the skeins from last year were in my personal taste. However, their yarn is really beautiful to knit with and um ... I have this completionism issue where I'll keep going in order to maintain the set. It's awful, I'll resubsribe to magazines I no longer read just to keep the full set.

This year though, I have been very strict on my magazine resubscriptions which should save some money. I have also cut down purchases from a couple of the other online yarn stores that I got addicted to last year. I'm yet to do the maths but I'm hoping I somehow will come out ahead. Maybe?

Sock Appreciation

I haven't been knitting socks for a while. A shame since I have more than a few in progress. But I've been busy finishing other more urgent projects and reading.

And then in the last couple of days, I've picked up a cashmere sock I had cast on (the second of the pair) and have been happily knitting on it without drama whilst finishing my short story marathon from hell.

And it's been quite pleasant, I forgot the joy of knitting a simple sock. I love the rediscovery!