pics of the picot socks :-)

Alrighty, here are the long overdue photos! Had trouble downloading our memory card so it took several tries (& DH's help) to get them all off. We have one 2G card for our camera and my computer was being fussy about putting that many pics & videos in one folder. Ah, but now it is clear and we are full steam ahead for some pictures!

To recap: I knit picot cuffs for the first time on a pair of socks that were finished recently. Here they are... so far so good and very comfy cuff.

In other knitting, I've been on a bit of a lace bent. Haven't started new socks yet though I will soon to have some travel knitting! We are going on a special trip next weekend.

So, in lace knitting I've started two things, in addition to the spring scarf that was posted about a while ago. Ahem. First up is the curved shawl from Victorian Knits Today. I was fortunate to receive this book for Christmas and am finally through gushing over it and ready to get to work! The yarn is the same as in the book, Lacey Lamb. Wow, super-thin. I'm working it on sz 3 needles. This shawl had a fumbly start. I started at least 3 times, maybe 4. The pattern is not all that hard but it just takes a lot of concentration (aka absolute quiet time) before it clicks. It has what I call 'action rows' every row, I think that makes it true knitted lace. The technique that finally got me going successfully was to write out each row on a notecard instead of attempting to read the tiny chart. [Not an original idea, I saw the notecard idea on another blog a while ago.]

You can see I have just begun.

Second up is another Shetland triangle shawl from Wrap Style. My parents were here for Easter and we did a bit of yarn store hunting. Mom bought me a skein of "Soxie" by The Great Adirondack Yarn Company, Inc., in Bahama Mama. It is 360 yds of superwash merino. I started a pair of socks but was not wild about it, so the yarn transitioned from being sock-driven to shawl-bound. This one I started last night on sz 9 needles. Doing a pattern again is cool, it is going pretty quickly.

The color is not quite true on my monitor. The dark blue is actually purple. The yarn to me is purple, green, and some neonish yellow... and new colors where the dyes interacted.

And last, here is a cool cat thingy from Ikea that my folks got for our cat. The material is similar to umbrella fabric, a texture he really really really likes. Likes as in, aha I must fight you!

It was, I think, $7, not bad for a little hideaway!

Happy ____-ing*!

*insert your own happy thing

Mohair all the way

With a little help blocking... (okay, DH helped too) the shawl is done.
I don't have blocking wires. DH straightened some coat hangers for me. It took 2 hangers for the top and one for each side.

And here it is, dry. The center really is straight.
So, final details... Shetland Triangle by Evelyn Clark (in Wrap Style). Knitpicks needles, size suggested in pattern. And the yarn, oh, I like this yarn! Found the ball band - it is Kaalund Yarns Expressions, color Jacaranda. 100% kid mohair, 460m/skein. I did an extra repeat and still have yarn left. It's a neat yarn - smoothly spun, soft mohair that blossoms a bit in the wash - stitches are more distinct, say, than the yarn in my next project.
Lace on the knitpicks needles - oh - it's good. I've started a spring scarf for myself with a skein of Rowan Kid Silk Haze (color: 581) that I got on sale a year or two ago. Most patterns I see with KSH call for at least 2 if not 3 or 4 skeins. I wasn't sure what to do with this ball when I initially purchased it. Here is a link to the free pattern: Knotted Openwork Scarf. It's a 4 row repeat, easily memorized. I'm curious as to how it might look with a different yarn - we'll see, eh?

Other projects... need to send off that baby blanket from earlier this winter. I've got several socks on the needles - slow progress b/c of the lace knitting and also b/c they are somewhat delegated as just-in-case knitting in my purse and briefcase.

Well, happy knitting to you! I hope your projects are going well!

Finished hat

Alrighty, so the hat for DH finally dried so that I could get some action shots. Knit in Zara (color 1469 dark gray, ~2.5 balls, 100% merino) on sz 5 needles. 104 stitches, gauge 22 st/4". I did a provisional cast on, knit a hat (about 9 inches before crown decreases), recovered the stitches from the provo cast on, and knit another hat. Ta da!

Here is a picture of it drying - it is long!

Doubled...

And in action!

After all that knitting in the round, I'm in the mood for something that actually requires me to look ;-) so I started a little shawl. From Wrap Styles, it's the Shetland Triangle. I'm using some laceweight light purple 100% mohair yarn I got this summer while job shopping. I've done the neck and one of ten repeats of the body.

The thing is, though, I've really enjoyed having some simple knitting, so I'll probably work on some socks or a scarf or something, I mean, come on, it is just not me to do one project at a time! :-)

Knit well, my friends!