UFO August July 30, 2006

I rushed to join UFO August after I heard about it from Christine, but it wasn’t until I sat down to make the list that I realized just how deep in do-do I am.

UFOs as of July 30

1. Stash Buster Log Cabin Lapghan – 80% done. One last round and then the border, but the big chore will be weaving in the ends – something I’m ashamed to say I haven’t even started yet.
2. Absorba, the Great Bathmat (from Mason-Dixon Knitting) – 70% done. I have to pace myself so that the weight of it (4 strands of worsted on size 15 needles) doesn’t do my wrists in, but it’s still moving along quickly.
3. Twisted Socks – 55% done. I’m so sick of this pattern by now. On the other hand, the first sock looks great. Must finish 2nd!
4. Neopolitan Socks – 40% done. I hate to do it but to the frog pond must this go.
5. Irish Hiking Wristwarmers – 95% done. These were prematurely pronounced done! back in March, but second one has still not been seamed.
6. SS Quick Shrug – 30% done. Another frog-ee. Will become a baby blanket because I can’t think of anything else this yarn could possibly be used for.
7. Patons Voodoo Legwarmers – 40% done. Silly furry things for stomping around the house in. One done but not seamed.
8. Wool-Ease Legwarmers – 40% done. My first attempt at writing a pattern. Will probably be frogged and started again.
9. Turtleneck Shrug (from Scarf Style) – 5% done. More endless ribbing. I’m not happy with the Inox circular this is on now. Waiting to find a better needle for magic loop.

There’s also a few crafty but not knitty projects I’d like to see over and done with such as a simple crochet scarf, a felted bag than needs lining, and an ex-Goodwill sweater that needs some TLC, but the knitting stuff will take first priority.

Doctor Who Scarf Planning July 29, 2006

I just received Knit Pick’s official e-mail annoucement of their new yarn lines (also new knitting bags and a magnetic chart keeper, both matching the Options needle case), and it dawned on me what Telemark would be perfect for: Doctor Who scarves! Bayberry, Tangelo and Aubergine look perfect for a season 18 scarf. The other Who scarf I want to make is season 12 which is usually tricky because of that odd olive green. I think that Lichen just might work for the green. Then Curry, Poppy, and Aubergine, but I’d need a color card to pick out the rest. I plan on placing an order for some Options needles before long, but I’ve kept putting it off because I know I’ll be tempted to slip some yarn in too , and now I’m waiting for them to put up the new color cards too.

Granny Squares from Granny July 28, 2006

The second (and last, I think) installment of Grandma’s crochet/sewing stash has arrived. This time it’s semi-completed pieces of quilts and afghans such as this:

A very colorful string of granny squares that she had only just began assembling. I say “string” because she ran a few strands of thread down the middle of each to keep them tidy until needed. Clever! The trim color is a lovely chocolate brown. I know this will be fun to work on, but once again there’s a powerful cigarette smoke odor to overcome first. I’ve bagged it up with fabric softener sheets. Fingers crossed!

The box also included this:

If I had to guess I’d say this is the last few yards of every skein Grandma ever worked with. I’ll be unravelling this in front of the TV for weeks!

Next up: a quilt!

Stockinette Curls July 22, 2006

…but apparently some people are OK with that. These long, thin scarves were spotted at Walmart.

Weekend Dishcloths July 22, 2006

This bamboo stitch cloth had already faced battle in the sink of war before I remembered to take a picture.

And here’s the Mid-July KAL installment, the Lacy Mock Cable Cloth:

Quite pretty, yes?

The One Where She Attempts to List ALL the New Fall Knit Picks Yarns July 22, 2006

Every time I log on it seems like another handful of new yarns pops up on the Knit Picks website. I can’t find a concise list of them all, so I’ll give it a shot here:

New yarns:

• Wool of the Andes Bulky
• Wool of the Andes Bulky Hand Dyed
• Suri Dream Hand Dyed
• Telemark (sport weight Peruvian Wool)
• Essential Tweed (tweed sock yarn)
• Gloss (merino/silk fingering weight)
• Swish Superwash (worsted superwash wool)
• Shamrock (heavy worsted, sorta tweedy)
• Quarry (bulky boucle – alpaca/wool/nylon)

New dye-your-own yarns (the old lace, fingering and worsted DYOs have been renamed Bare too):

• Bare Superwash Fingering Weight
• Bare Superwash Worsted Weight
• Bare Superwash Fingering Weight Tweed
• Bare Merino DK
• Bare Peruvian Wool Bulky

Old yarns with new colors:

• Wool of the Andes Worsted (heathers)
• Suri Dream (darker colors and neutrals)
• Essential (brighter colors)

Two New Sock KALs July 20, 2006

I think I spend more time joining sock KALs than actually knittingsocks.

An indefinite knit along for Cascade Fixation socks – I think I’m in heaven! (I checked: Elann Esprit is OK too.) At the moment my list of Christmas gift Esprit socks is at 5 (up 2 from this time last week). I better get hopping as soon as Summer of Stash ends!

Sock-A-Month 2 – Ok, so I totally wimped out toward the end of the first S-A-M, but if first you don’t succeed…

Summer Sock Status July 20, 2006

It’s now a month into summer, and so I really should apologize to my Summer of Socks blog monitor for the so far complete and utter lack of any sock-y talk. The truth is that I have two socks on the needles (the maximum I’ll allow myself), but I’ve rather lost my enthusiasm for either.

First, there’s the Neapolitan sock (circa May) that’s pretty and feels soft and cool on the skin, but the yarn (Bernat Cool Crochet) is so not intended for socks. It’s splitty and snaggy. I am totally convinced that there are few things on Earth more infuriating than picking up wraps with a splitty yarn. But I struggled on and the above sock is now past the heel and into the leg ribbing. At the same time, though, I can’t see myself ever having having enough patience for the second sock. I’d have frogged this weeks ago if I could think of any other use for this yarn.

Next, the 6-month-old Twisted Socks. [Photo circa early Feb.] This time I love the yarn (Knit Picks Dancing in Two Step), but the twisted rib got so tedious that I put them away, discouraged by slow progress.

But there’s a happy ending to at least one of these stories. With a little bit of work last week we have one complete sock:

Whoohoo! One down, one to go. I won’t set any speed records, but at least it’s progress.

Yar! Even Pirates Have to Wash the Dishes! July 6, 2006

So, how excited am I about Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest?

This much. Made using Hello Yarn’s chart.

If I hadn’t left it so late I would have made The AntiCraft’s Snowball’s Chance in Hell armwarmers too (you know how freezing movie theaters are!), though with Summer of Stash they’d probably have to be magenta and light blue or some other strange color combination. I might still after all. I think I saw The Curse of the Black Purl Pearl four times in the theater, so I’ll likely have plenty more chances to wear them.

And here’s the first July cloth from the Monthly Dishcloths KAL. Oh, what a kerfuffle it was when Day 5’s rows arrived!

This was made with Bernat CottonTots since my regular dishcloth cottons are being hoarded for ballband dishcloths. You have to be somewhat careful when knitting with CottonTots (particularly if you’re a tight knitter like me), but it’s such a soft yarn. I don’t mind the extra fuss at all.