Ketchup

Updates from yesterday...

Socks, completed version:


Forgotten bag, completed version:

The bag works out to be the perfect size to hold a ball of yarn while wandering -- I'm so pleased with it!
Pattern: Mine Own
Yarn: My Handspun
I plan to have the pattern ready to offer soon -- as with the socks, I want to try it out one more time, just because...

Forgotten project, in forgotten bag:
Knitty's Hey Mickey! child's skirt (not that you can tell much about it from the pictures)...


And, not leastly, Knitty's Prickly Girl child's tank, now all but completed:

Is it me, or are armholes longer than the overall garment length perhaps a tad excessive? Has anyone else read this pattern and interpreted it differently than I? I ended up with 15" straps on the front and 15" straps on the back that were supposed to be grafted together to complete the armhole. I'll be tying them together to accommodate a somewhat shorter length. I'm also waiting for a girly try-on before I "frill" the neckline and bottom edge a bit, just in case I need to firm up any gapping or somesuch. Almost fini... And even with my armhole concerns, I adore how it's worked out so far...

More later, I'm off to write a prize email I managed to neglect last night.

Second Wind

What happened? Work happened (expanded job, learning curve, less downtime). Fish happened (sick seahorses, water changes, constant water testing = no evening me time). Hunny happened (his seahorses). Knit happened (I've been swatching, planning, ekeing out what little knitting time I can). Blog sorta got gypped along the way -- I'm sorry.

So I'm badgering Hunny for a notebook (I never knit in bed, but I sure could blog before bed) -- everybody say it winsomely together: "Hunny, a notebook for PJ, please?!". And I've been trying to figure out how to put a little more me time into the mix before the kids come back from camp and make all of this even more complicated. Me time is healthy, they tell me, right?

In the meantime (ha! Me time in the meantime...), here's what I have been doing, at least:

Green Socks:
Somehow I managed not to have the pictures I know I took of these on the sock blockers. They're done, but all I have to show for it is pictures from the past:

Take my word, though, they are among the "what little I've finished" set, and I'll manage pictures soon, promise. I even have another actual WIP version going, since I figured to offer the pattern to the BlogGods and wanted to make sure it actually worked first.

The "This Bag Was Made For Walking" [and knitting] Bag, made from the same handspun green as the socks. I managed to forget both the bag and the next project in line at home this morning, so they're both pictureless as well.

Knitty's Hey Mickey! skirt for Flicka-Dot. In progress, again, picture forthcoming.

Knitty's Prickly Girl tank, also for Flicka-Dot (first day of school, maybe?), blocked and ready to be joined to itself.


And a mystery shawl (no, not the mystery stole, a mystery shawl), to be discussed in more detail another day.

I've given up on Knews for now -- I just didn't find enough time, info, links (mostly time), and I'd rather not stress about whether or not I have something to offer today (online performance anxiety?), vicious cycle and all that. I do want to thank #1 Roving Reporter (get it? get it? Roving reporter?! Tee!) Golden Purl who singlehandedly came up with most of the links that did show. Bet she didn't even consider it a contest along the way, but there you have it. (Jean, I'll email you tonight and we'll see if I just perhaps can aid in your stash enhancement.) And, by the way, if you haven't already, hop on over to Golden Purl's blog -- she's having a contest of her own!

Ta for now, as I'd actually, finally, like to get this posted. Geez Loueeze, I missed you!...

On Your Marks...

Get set...


Waitaminnit... This feels dejavu-ish, somehow...

Today begins another pair -- Socktopia Clementine socks for one last sock-sprint, Knit Off Competition (@wave, @cheer to all the other Team Koigu members). I seem to recall promising myself no more sock races for a ...looong... time, yet somehow.....

Ready...

Set...


Go...


Happy Summer (of Socks) Solstice, everyone!

Bear With Me

Not a heavy picture day (read that none, in fact) -- everything I'd want to photo is home and I'm stuck here (everything I'm wanting to swatch is there too... I so miss the days when I'd just run to the LYS for a quick fix...)...

I'm still trying to figure out what pattern to use for the SOS knitalong's beautiful beginnings project. I've determined that the yarn will be the green handspun from the SpinASockAlong project, but I've yet to come up with the perfect pattern for this particular yarn. More specifics tomorrow -- I'm planning on winding and measuring the yarn tonight, and I'm playing with pattern possibilities that may actually be photo-able by then.

My other busily current ~along has started collecting cards for folks to plan Vacation Bingo -- we're to pick out locations of other blogging vacationers and list them on a Bingo card, and our charming "tour guides" will call out places we're "passing" for us to mark off on our Bingo cards. Confused yet? It's really not as complicated as I've made it sound, and I can't wait to get started... I'm guessing this summer's vacations are going to be a blast!

Other non-along... I'm still fretting over the wedding shawl I mentioned and then sort of lost in the flow a while ago. My sister-in-law is getting married in a year (I can say this now as I've already chatted with her a bit about it) and I want to do some sort of lace shawl for her. She's planning on two ceremonies, one in Shanghai (where she and her fiancee live) and another in New York (she comes from Massachusetts, and that's close enough for most of the stateside friends and family), so I'll need to come up with something that will do double duty. I have some quite fine laceweight cashmere/silk blend in white that I'm hoping to use -- my swatch came out quite soft and I loved it right up to the point where I miscounted and dropped a bunch of stitches and managed to flummox the whole thing all at once (note to self: this is definitely a heavy-duty lifeline project!). The thing, though, is that I started thinking about this so long ago and just finally go the go-ahead, and now I'm not as excited as I was at the beginning. It's such a big project, and I still have to plan it out (we're thinking a combination of cultures, blended into the one shawl, possibly a Faroe style shawl with some Scandinavian and some Chinese styling...), and I'm not sure how to motivate myself to actually get going. I do still love the idea, and I'm hoping it'll pick up for me once I actually get it started......................... Also, if I do Faroe style shaping and the final fits through a wedding ring, does it still count as a ring shawl, does anybody know, or would it have to be a square or round shawl to qualify (silly detail, but it actually has some bearing...)?

Green Sheep, Green Sheep,

Have you any wool?
Yes indeed, and my bobbin's full!



Singles to be Navajo-plied for the SpinASockAlong -- I'm thinking, perhaps to tie a few non-fiber "ends" together and call this a mult-along project. I'm working on a pair of socks (see below) of my own devising. I'm anticipating reworking the first set and tweaking the pattern a bit -- and I wanted something special for the first pair of "Summer of Socks", so, mine own yarn, mine own pattern, and two ~alongs for the price of one!



Knewsworthy for today:

Probably ya'll already know about it, but Knitty's summer issue is now available;

January One is hosting a "guess how many" contest;

And The Panopticon has announced an endeavor to begin "collecting" knitters to be photographed for his 1000 Knitters project, beginning on Saturday, July 14th in Chicago. Somehow, I'd expect Franklin will probably have more knitters than he can handle, but this is to be an ongoing project and, well, there you have it...

Knewslink: Hot Off The Press

and all that!


Melanie at Pink Lemon Twist has opened up signups for her current mystery lace project: Mystery Stole 3, complete with the tantalizing question mark of beads in her button. I've knit the first mystery, sadly got sidetracked on the second (I did knit the socks), and I can attest that Melanie's patterns are well written and quite lovely. And yes, I've already joined up, and no, I'm not in anyway affiliated...

According to her blog desc, the first "clue" set of instructions will go out on Friday, June 29th, and subsequent clues will be available on Fridays thereafter. Supply requirements are posted in a file on the Yahoo Mystery Stole 3 page. At the very least, take a look!