Leaf Lace Shawl crosses the finish line!

I finished grandma's shawl, that went faster than expected. Photos later, it has to be blocked first.

As I was working on it I kept thinking "I really should thread a lifeline here at some point" but never got around to it. Then on the cast off row (very last row) I yanked the shawl awkwardly and several stitches popped off the needle and downdowndown they dropped. Bwahahaha! I was determined to work the sts back up -- with the yarn overs in the right places too! -- and after about 45 minutes all the sts were settled in place. *whew*

My late night knitting sessions have been greatly enhanced by visits to the DVD section at the local library. I've had so much fun watching Hercule Poirot mysteries starring David Suchet and the other day I found the first Sharpe movie. I'll definitely be returning for more Sharpe, they should have the complete set. :) Sean Bean plays an officer in the British army during the Napoleonic wars and who cares about the silly electric guitar (huh?) that pops up in the soundtrack, Sean Bean makes up for that lapse. Oh I also checked out the Tales of the City mini-series last week and that was a lot of fun, why hasn't anyone ever told me to see that? I love the library.

Leaf Lace Shawl: the beginning

A few nights ago (10/19) I started the Leaf Lace Shawl from Fiber Trends and it's turning out better than I imagined. Love the leaves! It will most likely end up being a Christmas present for my grandma. I'd like to make another with laceweight yarn for my mom. For this version I'm using burgundy DK weight yarn purchased at a thrift store for a few bucks, so the pattern cost more than the yarn.

The pattern is written for any weight yarn and the charts are a cinch to read. The instructions are also written out long hand but I have no idea why anyone would follow the pattern that way when the charts make things so easy. A magnetic board helps me keep track of the row I'm working.

Regia stripey socks

Close-up!


Stats: Regia yarn, 10 sts/in on size 0 needles, 84 sts cast on
I have no idea why I like stripey socks so much. Maybe it's a Pippi Longstocking thing?


Stats: Trekking yarn, 10 sts/in on size 0 needles, 88 sts cast on

I need to figure out a way to build a fake lower calf for my fake foot model -- it looks misshapen because there's just cotton stuffing in there. :)

the perfect knitting bag

I started another pair of socks last week -- I needed a new portable project and I didn't want it to be anything special that would have to be reluctantly put down when the shawl yarn arrived. Speaking of portable projects, I finally found the perfect on-the-go knitting bag.

Socks are the best portable projects because they're small and I can knit a sock without referring to a pattern. The current sock in progress is usually tossed into a plastic grocery bag on the way out the door. I'm not the most fashionable knitter, clearly. This works OK but the needles often poke through the plastic bag and there isn't a pocket for a hook or other gadgets. Well I finally found THE ONE.
Features:
a) green apple color (massive bonus points)
b) the perfect size for small on-the-go projects (mainly socks)
c) very lightweight (i hate bags that are heavy when empty)
d) extra storage space for my tiny red purse, ipod, comb, glasses, and assorted knitting tools -- and this compartment has a plastic bin in it so the contents won't be crushed
e) the bag zips apart into two separate pieces so it isn't necessary to carry the entire bag if I don't need the extra storage space
f) it only cost $1.99 at the Salvation Army thrift store



The Altoids tin shown is a gum tin, which is much smaller than the Altoids mint tin (for scale reference)

Look, it's a stripey sock! In a bag!

It zips apart!

How fantabulous. I believe it's supposed to be an insulated lunch bag.
Ah yes, here it is on the company's website: #27002 -- 2 in 1
There is no velcro on this bag and it doesn't fold down, their web monkey copied the description from the item below it and forgot to change the text. The Ingear brand is sold in department stores such as Target and Fred Meyer so it should be fairly inexpensive.

mexico & sockotta photos

I finally had a chance to take decent photos of the last two pairs of socks. Well only one of each pair made it into the photos so you'll have to imagine a matching pair.



The promo photo promised there would be lime green but there is no lime green. As you can see in the previous entry the foot did not have a leg attached to it so I put stuffing in the sock leg to make it look somewhat normal.



Here are the Sockotta socks, the cotton in the yarn made my hands ache so I doubt I will use it again any time soon.

something's afoot

I found my camera and a foot!



Oddly enough it's the same size as my foot so it can model all my handknit socks. I wonder how this Teva foot ended up at the thrift shop.