Day One Progress

Here's the fist day's progress on the Featherweight Cardi. I'm at about 7.5 inches. I believe.




Got some Wollmeise grab bags in the mail this week. These first 2 are Lila and Think Pink with colorways from top to bottom: Fleiderbusch, Der letze versuch, Tutu 2 and a very dark Dornroschen.

A Kunterbunt and a Gemischt: REGENBOGEN (better known on the Ravelry boards as clown barf), a gorgeous Ruby Thursday, Versuch I and Petit Poison Nr.5 dark.

Last, but not least Yarntini in Flirtini colorway . . . just in time for Valentine's Day.

Off to knit.......

Can It Be Done?

I started a sweater this morning. No big deal, you say. Well, what if I told you I want to finish it by Wednesday? Yes, this Wednesday. In 5 days. And what if I told you it's fingering weight yarn on size 5 needle? Yes, it's Wollmeise in Olio Vergine colorway.

So this is how it all started. The HWWTM asked if I was ready to go to Miami Thursday? I said yes. He says well do you have enough Saints gear? I say no. He says you have to wear Saints attire everyday. I say ok, take stock of what I have and decide to knit a sweater. Makes sense to me.

So, here's the deal. I was going to post pictures everynight, but lighting will be a problem. So I will post progress pics every morning. I have a little over 4 inches knitted on it now. Back to work.

BTW, it's the Featherweight Cardigan.

Oh, and the Girasole has been put in timeout for the time being.

Wish me luck.

The Saints Are Comin'

Presenting my 6th FO of the year - another pair of socks. I know, surprise! Everyone knows I love to knit socks and can usually turn out 2-3 pairs a month. I start other projects, and my interest fizzles out, and I go back to my socks. These are made from The Unique Sheep Verve yarn in Glee colorway. This yarn is alot of fun. It comes in 4 little mini skeins of coordinating colors. I wish I'd taken a pic of the skeins to show you, but didn't. The pattern is Gradience Sock knitted on 2.25 mm needles. I did make a few changes as usual. Also, it said you could do identical or fraternal - of course I chose fraternal (started one sock with skein 1, then 2, 3, 4, and started second sock with skein 4, then 3, 2, 1). I think they came out kinda funky. I don't know if anyone else would appreciate them, so I'll probably keep these for myself.

I finished my first Bugga! sock. This stuff knits up like a dream. Haven't casted on the second yet, maybe tonight during Biggest Loser.

Received this skein of Wollmeise Mitternacht WD (mitternacht means midnight in German) in a trade from Australia. You've gotta love Ravelry. You hook up with people all over the world. I had seen this colorway online and really wanted it. I love dark blues. I didn't realize it had the light blue and teal in it. It's very beautiful.

Guess where we were this past weekend?!!!! New Orleans!!! Guess where we'll be in 2 weeks?!!! That's right - Miami!!! The Saints are going to the Superbeauxl. It was an unbelievable game and an unbelievable weekend. Everyone is still floating around on air.

This picture was shot walking out of the Superdome right after the game. Everyone was taking pictures of the sign. The city was just electric.

In Girasole news, I have finished the charts, having left out a couple of repeats for size sake as well as for fear of running out of yarn. All I have left is the knitted on edge, which I plan to start tonight and hope to finish this week. If all goes well, I want to block it this weekend. Ok, now I've made a plan and set a goal. The mom-to-be that this is going to is due Valentine's weekend, so I really would like to get it to her asap. Also, her sister is pregnant and due in June, so as soon as I finish this, I'll have to get started on another. I don't think I'll do another Girasole, but I have found some very pretty circular shawl patterns that I think I'd like to try.

Have a great week.

Most Favorite Socks Ever

I think these are my most favoritest socks ever. I love the yarn (Wollmeise), I love the pattern (Kawkawesque), well at least about 3/4 through the first sock I started to love the pattern, and I love the way they turned out. The colorway is Krauterbeet WD, knitted on size 2.25 mm needles. I will definitely be keeping these for myself. This is my 4th finished object this year - 2nd pair of socks.


This pattern goes so well with variegated yarn. I will definitely be knitting it again, not real soon though. And I will definitely use Wollmeise again.

I started a new sock soon after blocking the previous pair. I had never knitted a sock with Sanguine Gryphon's Bugga! so I was anxious to see what it would be like. And let me tell you, it is a dream to knit with. This pattern is Paraphenalia, and it is a 3x1 rib with a cable row about every 3-5 rows. Very easy, but looks very nice. This color is great; it's Forester Moth, a mixture of dark blue with a little teal thrown in. These are flying off the needles.

Remember my Numma Numma cashmere/silk yarn . . . well, I decided to do a February Lady Sweater with it. I've only done a few rows, and have not worked on it much. I pretty much wanted to get it on the needles, so it'll be ready to go when I finish the neverending Girasole.

No pics of the Girasole today. I really plan to finish it next week. I have one more chart and the knitted on edging to do. It's for a friend's grandbaby who is due Valentine's weekend, so I'd like to give it to them by the first of the month.

Going to New Orleans for the weekend to help pull the Saints in!!!

Watching a lot of tennis on tv . . . it's Australian Open time. Go Andy!!

Knitting, Football and the Beach

TD and I are at the beach, and it is storming! Rain is blowing in sideways and the wind is blowing at 25-30 mph. We don't care, because we brought knitting with us. Well, TD actually brought books with her cause she's taking a class, but she also brought knitting.

The red flag is blowing . . .

. . . and the waves are rolling in. The only ones who don't like it are the doggies because they can't go out.

The HWWTM and my 3 sons are in New Orleans for the Saints game this afternoon. Did you hear? Deuce is back!!! Everyone is so excited! And nervous!

Some of the yarn I brought with me is my Numma Numma Special Edition that came in last week. It's cashmere and silk - yummy. I'm going to be swatching it later today. I'd like to make something drapey with it, like maybe a February Lady Sweater or a Featherweight Cardigan. I already have some Wollmeise set aside for the cardi, so I'm leaning toward the Feb. sweater. I brought some different size needles with me to see if I can get a good gauge. We'll see.

And, of course, my newest obsession . . . Sanguine Gryphon Bugga! It seems I'm drawn to anything with cashmere in it. I can't resist it. This first one is called Ocellat Jewel Beetle. Did I mention that she names her yarn colors after bugs?!?

This one is called Autumn Tiger Beetle. It's really hard to capture the true colors in these. They're just beautiful.

And, lastly, Forester Moth, which is a gorgeous mixture of blues.

Well, I'm off to do some swatching and watching football. Go Saints!!!

New Yarns for 2010

I have another hat made from Koigu, held double through on size 6 needle. I casted on 86 stitches and did a 2 x 2 rib. I was making this for my 2 year old nephew, but ran out of yarn - 1 skein - and it didn't come out long enough. So this little hat is going to the baby who is already receiving the Girasole and Sweet Pea hat.




This little hat is made from I Love This Yarn in dark olive with mid green for contrast. I used a size 7 needle and casted on 76, I think. This one went to my 2 year old nephew for his birthday.






Kawkawesque update: one down, second one started. This pattern is a b*tch, but I got used to it, and the second one is going much more smoothly. It's Wollmeise in Krauterbeet WD colorway.

Some new yarns that came in the mail last week are Numma Numma Panna which is a new base. It is a soft, fluffy merino wool. The colors are Pink Berry and Inked.

This is a beautiful color called Metallic Fly from Sanguine Gryphon Bugga! It's a very beautiful, colorful color. Will make a great scarf that will go with lots of things.

And my December 2009 Woolgirl kit came in. Filled with lots of goodies - a skein of Yarn Love in Sugared Grapefruit color, a sock pattern, Agrodolce by yarnissima, and a hat and mitt pattern. There's also a great little pink buddy case, hot cocoa mix, 4 cute little chocolate flavored soaps, some postcards and a stitch marker. This is a great kit with tons of goodies.

I did, however, decide not to renew my subscription for Woolgirl kits next year. I just belonged to too many clubs last year and did not knit half of them. So I decided to at least take a break this year.

So, to keep a tally of FO's for this year, that makes 2 more hats, for a total of 3 hats and one pair of socks.

Have a great week.

First FO's for 2010

Happy New Year!!!

Isn't it fitting that these socks are my first FO's for 2010? It felt like they took forever. Actually, the second one went much faster than the first, but that is always the case with me when I'm knitting a complicated pattern.

To reiterate: the yarn is Socks that Rock, Blackbird colorway; Raven Swirl pattern by Cookie A; needle size used 2.25 mm. I made the large size and used all of my skein plus some of TD's for the toes. These are going to our good friend, Percy. Hope they fit.





The second FO of 2010 is a Sweet Pea Hat by Susan B. Anderson, using Plymouth Encore DK in blue, and a random green yarn for the trim. Oh, and I used a size 4 needle and made the newborn size, casting on 56 stitches. These are for our good friends' daughter - the one I made the Girasole for. It was a fun, easy pattern. I just have a little trouble focusing when there are a bunch of little pieces - the pod and peas, etc.





My first project started in 2010 are a pair of Kawkawesque's by Yarnissima, using Wollmeise Krauterbeet (we're different) colorway on 2.25 mm needles. As all Yarnissima patterns go, this one is a tad complicated, but once you get the hang of it and get into a rhythm and understand what she is trying to do, it flows pretty well. Let's just say, the second one will definitely go faster than the first.

Another project started a couple of days ago is a little 2x2 rib hat for my little 2 year old nephew. His birthday party is Saturday. I'll probably finish this later today.

I'm gonna try to keep track of my FO's for 2010. I'm not sure if I can find a little gadget for the sideboard of the blog to keep a running tally, so for now, I'm just going to do it at the end of an entry with a FO.

That makes:

1 pair of socks

1 hat

Have a great day.