Stalled by Sickness

I wish I had something positive to say...something that didn't relate that yet another illness has befallen our little family.

But, it has.

And, I have yet to knit a stitch since my last post. My Stilwell has stalled on the first arm, I got the needles I required the other day, but haven't felt the desire to put them to use.

I cast-on for an amazing shawl with some lovely yarn that feels just like putting one's hand in a cloud. Proof? I have none. But, the shawl is called Usoa, and it's a lovely, and so far (I think) well-written pattern. The yarn? It's Classic Elite's MountainTop Vail, a 70% baby alpaca 30% bamboo blend that has both lovely drape and an etereal fuzz-factor I think will be perfect for this shawl...once I get beyond the cast-on, anyway. And, at only around eleven bucks a skein, it won't break the bank, either!

So, once my head clears again, I will post some pics and share some stitchy stories...but for now, excuse me while I go blow my nose and cough up another lung...

Picking Up Where I Left Off

Wowzers. Has it really been four months since my last post? Jeepers, time really flies when you're as sick as we've been 'round these parts all winter long. I'll spare you the gross details, and apologize to the one person who might still read this here blog o' mine.

Anyway, I do have some new stuff that I've knit recently. Took me a while to recover from the loss of that mink/cashmere, and to stop hating on my dog for eating it. The Knit Mojo went away, and took its sweet time returning.

But, here are my Cloisonée mittens, courtesy of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's brilliant pattern:

I liked them so much when I finished, I thought they really deserved a matching hat:

Pattern for mittens linked here. Hat used the cuff pattern, but CO 88 sts.

I also knit another pair of mittens and a hat which I can't show you, because I forgot to take pictures before I gifted them. Oh well, perhaps it will be a slow re-entry to the blogging thing.

I have also started my Stilwell sweater. A year and a half stewing in my stash, and I finally started it a week ago. No pictures yet, as I have botched a few things (in typical Me Fashion), and I'm not sure whether or not it will live or be frogged. But, I'm giving it time, and some more chances to straighten itself out before that happens.

Of course, having barely knit a stitch over the past four months, it really shouldn't come as a surprise to me (or anyone else) that I could mis-read a pattern several times, knit it the way I thought it said it should be knit, and not realize until after I'm several rows beyond where I made the mistake, that I actually did something wrong. No way was I pulling out all that colourwork.

So, pictures if it all turns out in the end. As Janet said, "They look like little Space Invaders! No one will notice..."

Right.

Keeping My Promises

First up:

Wolverine's new right mitten. The mitten's Ringo, of Ringo + Elwood fame. But, that's not really Wolverine, it's just Jack in his Hallowe'en costume, which he didn't get to wear out last night due to some weird illness he's contracted. But, he's okay with that...he got a new toy truck in lieu of a bag of treats. And, he got to wear the costume all day today...we even did a "photoshoot" (without the mitten) and captured lotsa action-shots...little ham!

The top:

Now, there's a reason I'm only showing the one mitten, instead of a finished pair. You see, turns out Rowan (the dog, not the yarn), is a bit of a yarn snob, and chose the mink/cashmere blend these were being knit in to roll around naked on the floor with. There was much loving and biting going on when he was interrupted (read: caught red-pawed), and I'm not entirely sure there's enough in the unloved portions of these two balls to get another mitten out of. So, I'll have to wait until I can a borrow a scale to weigh the mitten and the remaining yarn to see if there's enough. It makes me pissy just to think about it. Lil' shit.

Moving right along, my new hat I'm in love with (that he chose not to eat, as it was right beside the yarn he molested):

I call it my Sloppy Jane, but Emma Varnum calls it her Garter Stich Sloppy Beanie. It's warm, and cozy, pillowy-soft, super-easy to make, and wears like a dream...I think it's my new favourite hat! It's so plain jane, but there's a little bit of magic in the pairing of the garter-stitch with a wool that emits a soft halo when knit, and Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky is just such a yarn. Plus, it takes just a smidge past one skein to make this hat, so it's pretty cost-effective as well. All around, a nearly perfect knit, so I'm very happy!

In other news, in case you haven't heard, and it's time you crawled out from beneath that rock if you haven't, Jared Flood has just released a new yarn!! It's a light, woolen-spun 2-ply, called LOFT, and I can hardly wait to get some of those natural colours to knit with.

More specifically, this hat by Kate Davies, I think the two together would be a match made in heaven!

Definitely check out the LOFT LookBook, as the photography alone is stunning, plus one gets an insider's look at what inspires the colours they've come up with for this line. Great stuff.

And, Kate's blog, needled, is also worth delving deeply into...great photography, wonderful designs, superlative writing...need I say more?

Well...why are you still here? You've got your homework...now, go! Skedaddle!

Update!

I have a couple finished objects to show you, but it'll have to wait 'til later, until the lighting has improved a bit. In truth, I have one finished object and one half-finished object...bu the half is just one complete piece of the whole.

Oh, nevermind. Just check back a little later for a pictorial update.

Glitching to Tell You

Why, oh why, I ask myself, am I so inexorably drawn to this?

For me, I don't know what the attraction to this multi-player online game is, but I've allowed huge blocks of time from the previous three days get sucked away into this virtual world. Literally, like—WHOOSH!—and there goes my afternoon! WHOOSH!—and I've kissed an entire evening goodbye!

Don't believe me? Glitch it out for yourself.

It's really a fascinating game...and I'm about the furthest thing from being a "gamer" there is. In fact, beyond the odd Mah Jong diversion, I rarely have ever played video or role-playing games. With the exception of my Tetris/Haagen-Daas obsession long-ago in the winter of '89.

But, I digress.

For me, this game has it all: Individuality, imagination, challenges that get incrementally more difficult as one progresses through levels, involved and complex achievements, hidden objects, all this and more; with the added bonus of being able to interact with other characters (actual humans, not bots!) within these worlds...I find myself at once both elated and exhausted! Because, I've caught myself on more than one occasion saying (to no one in particular),"Okay...just one more level...then I'll go to bed." And, sixteen intricate levels later, it's 2 o'clock in the morning—and I have to get up at 6.

DOH!

The only thing it doesn't have so far, is any AKC. Which is kind of a bummer. So, instead of petting and nibbling pigs, milking butterflies, mining, cooking, teleporting from one crazy world to another, and committing Random Acts of Kindness, tonight? Tonight, I might just knit the rest of my Goth(Ep)ic Sock.

After all, it is Socktoberfest, in case you thought I forgot.

So Excited!

It's been over a year since I've gone anywhere knitting-related, or taken any classes. But, that's all about to change, because:

...and I'm going to be there, too! Woot!

Found out about it via the Yarn Harlot Fans Group over on Ravelry, and got myself all registered for the Whole Shebang this morning! Want more info? Cotton-by-Post is the host shop, and Suzanne is very kind and helpful...and they're only taking about 22 spots for the Saturday/Sunday classes, so get yerself on over there to register, before they're all gone...

I'm thrilled to be able to go and do this, mostly because ever since I discovered what the Elite Brigade of Armpit Knitters (what may be otherwise known as Irish Cottage Knitting) were capable of, I have wanted to learn how. Here's a video I found on YouTube with Stephanie doing some of what she does best:

And maybe, after that Saturday's class, I might be able to knit a fraction faster. Maybe a little more, even. I figure, if I shoot for the stars, I might get lucky and land on the moon. And, even if I don't make any improvements on my own personal time, I'll be learning yet another new skill...and you know what they say, right?

"The more you know, the more you'll grow!"

Actual Knitting Content

Apart from a few *cough-scarves-cough* other projects on my needles right now *cough-a blanket-cough*, the following is what is currently holding my attention:

A pair of mittens (finally!) for Jack:

The pattern: Ringo + Elwood by Barbara Gregory, Ringo version, purchased last winter. The yarn: Great Northern Yarn 70% mink 30% cashmere, DK weight, 1 skein in Natural and 1 skein in Chocolate, purchased last winter as well. The surprise: The yarn is actually working up waaaaaay softer than it felt in the skein.

I must admit that when it arrived and I opened it up, I was a bit disappointed with how it felt. I had a preconceived notion in my head of how soft mink and cashmere should feel, and the idea in my head and what I was holding in my hand didn't mesh. At all. I should have waited until I began to work with it to form any opinion, as this is quite possibly the softest, most lush feeling yarn I have ever had the sinful pleasure of working with. And, at a mere $23 for a 230 yard skein, it really is cost-effective luxury. I'll bet my best skein of wool he'll be the only kid in JK wearing mink and cashmere mittens.

Next up, my Goth(Ep)ic Socks, a.k.a. The Heel Flap Cometh:

Wait 'til you see the stripey-goodness:

The pattern: Sock Science by Joan Janes (hi, Joan!). The yarn: Rainy Days & Wooly Dogs Self-Striping Ricin, a 60% Merino 30% Bamboo 10% Nylon blend, 440 yards in fingering weight, with the addition of Classic Elite Alpaca Sox in dark grey for the cuffs, heels and toes. Because I'm the kind of girl who doesn't particularly like what happens to self-striping yarn on heel flaps and turns. It was Franklin Habit who, in a post titled "Fast Sock, Slow Sock" said, rather pointedly, "I never enjoy what happens to self-striping when you hit the heel and the colors start to hiccup."...and, I couldn't agree more. Joan's pattern is perfect for showcasing gorgeous hand-painted yarn, and this yarn is perfect for the pattern...a match made in Sock Heaven.

Finally, remember this:

grrrrr, compliments of my farkle-snarfin' dog? Well, with a little help from Joan (hi again!) and Janet, it now looks like this:

Though it no longer bears any resemblance to its twin, at least it was salvageable. And, you know, for the first time in my life, it's a good thing I talk with my hands...they'll never be still long enough for anyone to notice the glaring difference between the two thumbs.

Mine...All Mine!

This:

is the result of some rather diligent clicking of the "refresh" button in my web browser about eight minutes ago. It's Rainy Days and Wooly Dogs Pumpkin King Gothsocks self-striping colourway, in a blend of superwash merino, nylon and cashmere.

Having received my third and final skein from Stephanie's Gothsocks Club last week, I was already suffering from some minor withdrawl symptoms; so when she sent out the e-mails about tonight's shop update, I knew I had to try and get a colourway that I was abso-positively in love with. And, as always, the shop was cleaned out mere seconds after opening at 9pm. Seconds, people. Which should give you a clear idea of how thrilled I was to get this skein in my virtual cart and checkout before someone else beat me to it.

Because, bitches, this baby's MINE! Mwa-ha-ha-ha!!

Which, is kinda serendipitous, as this arrived on my doorstep just this afternoon:

And, it's pretty much a given that there's going to be something in here that's going to go beautifully with that scrumptious skein of wool pictured above...am I right?!

More content tomorrow...ie: the thumb that was, then wasn't, now is again; the sock on my needles, and the mittens to be...lighting tonight isn't suitable for any photo content, so pics and stories tomorrow.

And for tonight? Dreams of royal gourds and stripey-goodness winging towards me as I write...*sigh*...to sleep, perchance to dream...

Currently In Progress

1. A cup of tea...Vanilla Bean black leaf tea from Mighty Leaf Tea. Only the best tea in the world.
2. My sock self-striping sock using my skein from Rainy Days and Wooly Dogs GothSock Club. Yummy.
3. Decisions. Whether to start my Stilwell sweater I've had designs on for nearly two years now, or Cobblestone. I have the wool for both, and the need for a big project (though not as big as Wool Leaves, mind)...now, I just need to choose.

As for a little eye candy? Well, alrighty then! Here are the Socks in Progress (along with my tea):

Pretty, huh? Here's a closer look:

Oh, and I did (finally) finish my Stripe Study shawl. And, I have photographic evidence to prove such, as I have decided that this would make a much better Give than Keep. So, JoLyn, next time I see you, it's yours. For three reasons, 1) Because I know you love that particular shade of green (in fact, mostly all shades of green), and 2) Because you're about the only person I know who could postively RAWK that colour combination and 3) Because I have a feeling you'll actually wear it.

Finally, though because, and let's be honest here, I know I never will.

Anyway, before I bid it adieu, here it is, in all its stripey glory:

Portrait of the Culprit as a Young Dog

Rassle-frassle-farfignoogin'-blarka-durnkin' dog....

And this morning, he tried to eat a hat. I think he likes wool as much as I do.