Monthly Archives: April 2007

Yarn in nature

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Thebes and I went on a hike the other day. I brought along my knitting for some outdoor shots. First, my Aran sweater left panel:

Green aran sweater

I’m so wowed out by the cables. Sometimes I’ll stop my knitting just to pet the border. I’m so amazed how the cables poof up. Abbey suggested mapping out the cable pattern on graph paper with colored pencils. This really helps me understand how the cables work.

My second bamboo sock is also coming along. I keep working on it but for some reason it seems to be going super slow. It looks adorable in the tree!

bamboo socks

I hope to get the sock done soon because I’m anxious to start my next project-fingerless gloves.

LYS saves local woman’s sock

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Wouldn’t that make a great headline? hehe

Yesterday Thebes and I went to Taos Sunflower to get some new needles. They have some gorgeous yarn hanging outside.

Taos Sunflower Yarn Store

I got metal size 0 needles. Look no bending! Now I can finish my sock.

Bamboo socks

Despite walking among the gorgeous yarn tempting me to buy them I managed to stick to my Knit from your stash commitment. But there was a Rowan magazine that I had to have.

Rowan magazine

This is actually a back issue and is from Summer 2006. There are so many drool worthy patterns in this edition. I counted twelve patterns I liked so it was a good deal to buy.

I have been seduced back into the world of spininng. I tried it years ago but fell out of it. The book Spin to Knit was my last purchase:

Spin to knit book

After reading this I plan to get some hand cards.

I’ve started the front left of the Aran sweater. The cables are hard yet deeply satisfying to see them taking shape.

Unfortunately, I’m feeling under the weather today so I had to cancel my plans for the day. Bad leftovers=upset tummy. Booooo! Maybe I’ll just sit in bed and knit.

Knitalong progress, a broken needle

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My friend Abbey and I are doing the Aran sweater knitalong together. We finished our back pieces.

Aran knitalong

My green yarn is called Lettuce and her purple is called Sangria. I’m really tempted to buy some of the Sangria yarn for some unspecific project but am holding off for now.

Knitalongs are great. When we hung out Abbey taught me how to do the cables in the pattern. The front left side is the next step. For now, a close up of the gorgeous yarn:

Aran knitalong

The little specks of white are snow. Yup, more April snow.

I started the second sock. Things were going great on the toe until…

Broken knitting needle

Does this mean I’m a tight knitter? Trying to stay positive, I finished the toe shaping. But it didn’t match the other sock! My stitches were super tight and I had to frog it. Bah!

Snow, sock, and a sweater start

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Remember my joy over spring? Um, yeah…

April snow

Good thing I didn’t pack up all my sweaters eh?

I finished up my first bamboo sock. Woot it fits!

Bamboo socks

Am I diligently starting the second sock? Nope, I’m starting the green Aran sweater.

Green aran sweater

I’m doing a knitalong with my friend Abbey. She’s using the same yarn but in purple. I can’t wait to see it. She usually goes for green and I go for purple so it’s funny we’re picking each other’s colors.

Back to ribbing

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Bamboo yarn socks

After struggling with the feather and fan pattern I ripped it all out and went back to enjoyable ribbing. I can really see how fancy lace would look great on a sock but man I just couldn’t keep it up. Maybe on bigger needles and with bulkier yarn.

Just one more inch to go and I’ll be done with the first sock. I went through my stash the other day and have three more projects planned. It must be spring because I feel full of creative energy. During the winter I often feel uninspired and want to sleep a lot. All this energy feels like a much needed breath of fresh air.

Prana up close

Prana says hello. He is a tough cat to photograph because he moves around so much. Either he’s scampering away because I’m stalking him or he’s rubbing his scent on the camera. Though you can’t see his face I rather like this photo. It captures the mood totally. Spring is blooming!

(Mind you it snowed the other day and it’s been crazy windy. But I am focusing on spring, spring, SPRING!)

New Yarn!

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Green yarn

I just got my new yarn from Knit Picks. A friend and I are doing a knit along for the Aran sweater from Interweave Knits.

Arwen Cardigan

This yarn feels amazing to knit with. I knit up a swatch and got guage. The cable work looks confusing but my friend knows how to do them.

Green yarn swatch

Thebes bought the yarn for me so I could still abide by the Knit from your stash rules. That’s love baby!

Craft Bag

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Craft bag

I originally got this bag through a Craftster swap. It started off plain white. I sewed on an outside pocket to cover up some advertising. Some friends dyed it for me.

Crafting bag

Recently I decided to line it. I’ve been using it to carry around my knitting and figured pockets would hold everything better. This is what I used for lining:

Craft bag

I found this jacket at a thrift store. The design is cool so I took it apart for fabric.

Craft bag

Another shot of the lining and pockets.

Craft bag

There’s plenty of room to hold my knitting supplies. I made pockets to hold my knitting needles upright.

Craft bag

All packed up! I’m really happy with the way this turned out. Sewing projects like these are some of my favorites.

Turning the heel

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I’m knitting along on my bamboo socks. Life’s been busy so it took me three days to do the heel. I tried working it while on the phone and had to frog it. Lesson learned. The colors pattern is so random and bright.

Bamboo socks

For the top ribbing is an option but I like to challenge myself. The feather and fan pattern seems like it would show off the colors well. I’ve had to take it out three times but on the upside I have the pattern memorized now. Will the feather and fan be elastic enough? I’m not sure but hope so. If all else fails I’ll frog it and just go with ribbing. And now for some cuteness:

Prana's little fang

Prana and I were playing outside the other day. In this pic you can see his little fang. Adorable as he is those fangs can be vicious. He recently left two headless mice for me on the front porch. Eek! He’s still a cutie.