In which she contributes.

Pattern: Sampler Afghan from Cables Untangled (Ravelry)
Yarn: Garnstudio Paris 
Needles: US9
Modifications: None
Started: May 15, 2008
Completed: May 15, 2008

Tabby, from the Marin Fiber Arts knit night group, is pregnant, so the gals got together to create a baby blanket for her. Everyone picked a color of the cotton Paris and knit an 8" square with a garter stitch border, and Renee seamed the squares together and added a border.

After seeing everyone else's squares, I realized I may have been a little overambitious with the cabling.....

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In which she catches up.

So, apparently, I completely fail when it comes to keeping this blog up-to-date. I'm going to make a couple FO posts over the next couple days to try and catch up to my current projects, and hopefully that will get me to post more regularly... We'll see!
 

Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket (Ravelry)
Yarn: Cascade Eco+
Needles: US10
Modifications: Modified bind-off (k3 into YO instead of k5) to create less-frilly edge
Started: Feb 4, 2008
Completed: March 16, 2008

The throw blocked to just over 4 feet. I was hoping it would be larger, but I already had issues getting the feather and fan to lay flat due to the number of repeats and the limits of how far it could stretch.

I really love the finished throw, and I'm tempted to make another one, but with very bulky yarn and huge needles. I think that would also help with blocking, as fewer repeats seem to submit to flatness much more easily.

The cast-off process was frustrating, to be sure, but the agony has since faded (much like that of childbirth), so I'm excited at the prospect of knitting another... Or perhaps find another doily to "blow up" into a throw!

...

In which she must be patient.

After ripping out the bind-off and last two rows on Thursday, I was able to successfully finish binding off the Hemlock Ring Throw later that night. I've waited to block it, as really, where do you block a 4' circle when there are kids in the house? Answer: the bed. Unfortunately, I have this horrible habit of sleeping in the bed....

However, as I'll be out of town overnight, I'm taking this opportunity to spread towels over the bedspreads and pin this sucka out. It's still kinda puffy, but survey says: that's normal. I'll take a warm iron to it before I unpin the throw when I  get home Sunday night.

I'll make an official FO post early next week. So far, absolute adoration for this guy!

...

In which she is grumpy.

Well, doesn't that just take the cake! I've been working ever-so-diligently on the Hemlock Ring Throw (Ravelry link). Everything is going beautifully, despite the fact that it takes over 30 minutes to knit a round, thanks to the 500+ stitches on the needle.

Fabulous!

HOWEVER.

The bind-off. Oh, bind-off, starter of a dozen threads on Ravelry. I thought I was thinking ahead, leaving a nice little cake with plenty of yardage for the lacy, yarn-consuming edge.

But then, halfway through the bind-off.. that happy little cake ran out. I knew it was going to happen two repeats ago, but in a fit of denial did I soldier on. Yeah, that worked. =____= So tonight I get to rip out the binding-off I've already done, then frog down two rows into the shawl and start again. YAY! Not.

Awesome! :)

...

In which she fidgets.

I am a knitting slut. No, really. I don't have a monogamous needle in my stash. Even though I'm actively working on Jeanie, the Hemlock Ring Blanket, and a simple ribbed scarf (not to mention all the ignored projects that are monopolizing needles...), I decided I need something I can wear to Stitches West. There's no way Jeanie will be done by then, and the Hemlock Ring is a bit heavy and awkward for a shawl...

Hence, Norah Gaughan's Medallion Shawl (shown in lavender).



It'll be a quick knit (knock on wood), portable so I can take it to school and on the road, and a stashbuster to boot; I picked up the yarn last summer in Fort Bragg. The pattern calls for a 16" circular needle, but I'll definitely need to work it on DPNs - I can't deal with that short of a circular once you start decreasing. I'm also going to need a template to block the hexagons.. As you can see, it's a bit wonky when I do it by the seat of my pants!

As a sidenote, the yarn I'm using is Zitron Campus. It's a discontinued fingering-weight yarn, and it subs just fine for the DK-weight Ultra Alpaca Light called for in the pattern. I wasn't sure it was going to block out, but once soaked it didn't need any coaxing to reach 8" point-to-point.

...

In which she drops a link.

I think I've found an update client that will make posting easier.. we'll see how well it works. ;)

For those of you on the bandwagon, I'm on Ravelry as FaireGoddess. My notebook there is much more up-to-date in regards to my knitting exploits, so I suggest you check it out. :)

In which the blog lives up to its name.

So. Socks. They suck. Or maybe I suck, and I just happen to be fighting a sock at the moment.

The yarn I'm fighting is Wildfoote yarn in the Mums colorway. I really love the color, and it's held up well so far to all the ripping. ;)



The first attempt was using size 1 dpns and Wendy's Toe-Up method. The whole provisional cast-on and short row thing Did Not Work for me, so I ripped it out, retried the same toe, then ripped again. The yarn and needles sat in their project bag for a couple months. Then..

Then, Interweave Knits Summer came out, and lo, there was a toe-up method that made sense to me. I cast on with size 2 dpns (because my gauge was too tiny on the 1's ugh, even though the fabric was nicer on the 1's), and it was going well.



The fit was promising.



And headway was made.



And then I spotted a dropped stitch a couple rows down. I spent a good fifteen minutes trying to fix it at BobaKnit, but it wasn't working. Having a crochet hook handy would have been helpful. :) But then I counted my stitches... and hooooo boy was I off. At that point I snapped a picture and ripped because, really, I didn't feel like fighting with it anymore.

So now, I'm back to just a skein of yarn. Alas. :( At least I'm making progress on the Binary scarf!