The Big Tink

I'm knitting on a deadline. You know what that means... Big Time Screw-ups. I was eight rows past the boo-boo before I realized I'd made it.

Evil Language!

The pattern has a twelve stitch repeat, so I dropped the whole repeat that I'd slaughtered down eight rows and stuck the stitches on a dpn. I'm going to wait until it's light tomorrow to try to reknit so I can photograph and blog the joyous experience.

Cross fingers for me.

My First Heel

The things I like to knit best are things for the people I care about. The Engineer, my BelovedSpousalUnit, is one of the people I care most about (as it should be!)

The Engineer, however, is not one of the easier people in the universe to knit for. Here's the saga of the first thing I knit for him, a ski headband: http://thewitlesswanderer.blogspot.com/2008/04/interim-knitting-or-my-first-design.html and http://thewitlesswanderer.blogspot.com/2008/04/keeping-his-ears-warm.html.

He has yet to wear it because I gave him a ski helmet to protect his tender parts when he's on the slopes and the headband won't fit under it, nor does he need it for warmth with the helmet. (So I tell myself for consolation.)

He grumped a lot this fall about not having any good warm socks, so I decided that would be my next, hopefully not futile, project for him.

These are undoubtedly the world's most expensive socks. I bought three (just in case two weren't enough) skeins of Shibui superwash worsted merino and did test swatches on several different size needles. I presented the test swatches to the sock expert at Blazing Needles and was told to knit the socks on the size 2. Worsted, on size 2! These socks are going to be able to stand up on their own! Since I don't like dpn's, I had to buy an Adi circular needle in size 2. I really need the Adi slipperiness to be able to work the worsted on size 2 needles. Also bought a sock book so that I wouldn't have to return it to the library before the socks were done.

I started knitting on my Carolina trip back in November, but hibernated the socks after returning home to work on Christmas stuff. Then I had to knit thank you scarves for Mr. & Mrs. Good Neighbor. As soon as I was done with all that (last Thursday), I dove back into knitting on the socks.

And did not understand the directions on turning a heel. Went to Friday morning knit group at Blazing Needles where SockLady and a nice fellow knitter gave me some tips on heel turning.

Got that done, then came to the gusset instructions...

Huh?

Off to the library to get a more profusely illustrated sock book. Got the gusset done -- Yay! Hurray!

Now I'm working on the foot. I have no worry about the toe decrease, nor the Kitchener stitch to close the toe -- I can do that.

The one remaining problem is that the Engineer's birthday is Saturday. I hope he likes getting a sock and a half (maybe) for a present.

The Technicolor Dragon Skin Scarf

On my way to Michigan for Christmas, I started knitting a scarf for my favorite cousin. She's a big fan of "jewel-tone" colors, and I'd made two abortive attempts at knitting her a scarf of Bernat Boa in brilliant, mottled, orange and red. I won't make any editorial comments about the Boa yarn as this blog is rated PG.

So there I was, on the airplane, knitting as fast as I could with five skeins of Queensland Collection Big Wave in Rainbow Bright Multi colorway in my bag.

The Big Wave is a lovely yarn, which, sadly, is no longer being made. It's 90% merino and 10% cashmere (soft, soft, soft), thick and thin with a nubbly texture due to a thin binder cord.

I didn't manage to finish the scarf before I arrived at my cousin's house, but I did finish it before I left.
Most of my projects (the ones I like, anyway), get named. This one was a no brainer, I called it what it looks like, Technicolor Dragon Skin.

Hope my cousin enjoys her scarf as much as I enjoyed knitting it.

Knit, Knit, Knit, Knit, Knit...

I've been working my needles to the bone lately, trying to get the Christmas knitting done. Trying will probably be the operative word. I've already fessed up to GuiGirl that she's not going to get her Christmas handcraft until well after the season to be jolly. I'm allergic to one of the yarns I'm using in it and my fall cold was too recent. Every time I pick it up to knit, I start coughing.

But that's okay, it means I can finish up (or start on) other projects.

I finished the dish cloths for my favorite Mother-in-law-in-law. I think she'll like them.
I'm half way through elf hat number last. It must be finished by this Friday because that's when I go to the Christmas party for the company were Mom and Gramma of the two toddlers and one fetus work. That's a gimme, though, it should only take about another hour of knitting and maybe a half-hour, forty-five minutes to sew up and trim.



I still need to fringe scarves for Cousin-in-law and her daughter, that won't take long. And block a few scarves. And finish this hat by tomorrow evening since my friend's coming to dinner and it's probably the last time I'll see him this year.



Yeah, I scanned the hat and the pompoms below instead of photographing them. I'm in the basement, it's after dark and the scanner's sitting right next to the computer. So they look a little squished. Live with it.

I haven't even started on the planned felted bunny slippers, or the scarf for FavoriteCousin. Actually, I take that back, I did start a scarf for FavoriteCousin, but I frogged it and consigned the yarn to Perdition. Must start anew with new yarn and new design.

No missed deadlines for me, no sir.
But I've had fun too. I needed to make some pompoms for Kate's hat. She wanted a clone of the Remorse Hat, but she's not as conservative as the renewed friend the Remorse Hat and Scarf went to.



Kate just isn't a spherical pompom sort of person, she's more of a free spirit, more adventurous, so I made Official Free Spirit Pompoms for her hat. And just to add my own little touch of nerdishness, I used my solar Casio graphing calculator as a base to wrap them on.

How's that for classy?