How did May get here so quickly?

I got alot of knitting done during my recent week off, but not much blogging. This weekend was spent at the hospital, so I've only got time for a quick knitting update before I head to bed (was up until 3 AM - need sleep). Monkey socks are now completely done - I ended up having to reknit the toe on the second one AFTER I had finished grafting it shut; turns out I knit one too few pattern repeats. Sigh. I think I ended up knitting those socks about twice over altogether. It's not noticeable, but I accidentally started to knit the second sock from the outside of the yarn cake rather than the inside - so technically one of them is upside down. I of course knit my beloved short row heels instead of the flap heel called for in the pattern. I'm thinking of using more flap heels after I take the flap heel seminars on the upcoming cruise. Speaking of cruise knitting - I am desperately trying to finish the Consolation Vest before the cruise: It doesn't help that I'm having to modify the pattern due to a) being freakishly tall long torsoed, and b) not having the same row gauge the pattern calls for. That red bead is sitting at the point I was supposed to divide for the armholes. This means much trying on to determine when to add the next increase/decrease, etc. Early in the week I whipped this up - it's a headband based on a hat designed by Melissa. It's knit out of Fibranatura Oak. The white blobs of purls will become sheep once I do some duplicate stitching. Although it's possible that might get done on the plane to Seattle - I leave Thursday afternoon, and haven't even wound my yarn, let alone started to pack!

Now, with actual knitting content!

I thought that it was safest to not try to bring my clap with it's metal needles on board the flight to DC, so on the way down, I knit a few Hats for Alex out of a skein of Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora yarn (which is wonderfully soft and fuzzy without being too furry - I'd love to knit myself a sweater out of this. It would probably end up becoming the weekend at home uniform, meaning that it would eventually be very furry thanks to Greedo and Somerset) I am amazed that there are babies out there small enough to fit the wee little hat. I deal exclusively with adults in the hospital, and it blows my mind when one of our nurses who also works in the NICU describes how tiny some of the babies are. I've eaten steaks bigger than some of those kids. And while I was in DC, I was able to give the hats directly to Pam/Trillian42 : We went to Stitches DC, and had some great Cuban food (Thanks again, Pam!!). I managed to find some souvenir yarn: Hotaru is the Japanese word for firefly. The little white cotton bibblies reminded me of cherry blossoms (although in retrospect, they look more like pussy willows), so it struck me as being the perfect yarn selection. I'll use it to create a Sakura Salix Scarf one day. Either way, the scarf will be a reminder of Spring - when I was growing up, the tradition at our church was to give out Pussy Willows rather than Palm leaves on Palm Sunday. I'm not sure if that is a Ukrainian thing, or a Prairie thing. By the way -a question for Ravelry members - what colour would you pick to describe this - White? Neutral? Pink? Brown? Why is there no option to choose 2 or 3 colours to describe a yarn? I have to get my final package together for my knittyboard Secret Pal within the next week (in addition to about a million other things). My pal enjoys yoga, so I am knitting her a pair of yoga socks (which Somerset snuggled up and napped next to) The yarn I am using is an orphan skein that I picked up in the basement at Romni during the last TTC Knitalong. I managed to lose the label, but I do recall that it is superwash and 100% wool, and it feels like a light worsted weight to me. The grey parts are actually a pale green, as you can better see with the flash: I vaguely recall that the yardage was less than that of Silk Garden, but judging by the weight of the first sock, I should have enough to complete the second one. Or else I will have to cry. And then frog both of them back and re-knit it with 2 or 3 less rows on the top section. (I was NOT impressed when I originally weighed the skein - it was 45 grams! 10% underweight!! It's a good thing I got a 20% discount on it!) It's a nice quick knit (I started it yesterday at the airport), and would be a good last minute gift. A good way to use up those orphan skeins of yarn, too!

Gift Bag!

I've had a crazy week at work again (nothing like a long weekend to bring out the insanity), but finally had a chance to cast on for the knitted gift bag from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. It's looking larger than I had expected. I'm using the Pop Corn yarn: The first 4 rows of this were knit with a 4.5mm needle, then I switched to a 4 mm needle. The needle size called for on the ball band is a 6-6.5 mm! They seem to be marketing it as a worsted weight yarn, even though it seems to knit up more like a DK weight. I got an awesome Secret Pal package in the mail yesterday, but I've not had the chance to photograph the lovely contents yet - hopefully tomorrow.

Knitting Update

I knit this hat on the plane ride to LA - it managed to keep me slightly distracted from the incredibly annoying woman sitting beside me - will give the whole story in a future post. It's to match the 5 Ring Circus Jacket. I could probably still crank out some booties from the remaining yarn; might knit them on Friday (baby shower is Saturday) Here's Chamoischella - my Coachella that is being knit out of Cotton Fleece in the Chamois colourway. Right now I am actually doing the back strip, and I am still not certain if the 2 skeins will be enough. While out shopping in Palm Springs I came across a knit cardigan, and really liked the stitch pattern: It looks to me like the pattern would be Purl 1 row; then Sl 1, K1 to end; Purl 1 row; then K1, Sl1 to end. If I do start running out of yarn, I will re-knit the bottom portion of the tank in this stitch pattern. It will be a bit more open of a knit, but for the bottom part that should't be too much of a problem.

Back on the Saturday Sky track

7 AM this morning. Some groovy cloud action as I was flamingo hunting this afternoon : The clouds looked like they were etched on a flat surface. Another WIP sighting - antifreeze. I was knitting it when we flew to Vancouver to see The Painted Veil, and I ended up doing an extra few rounds; I completed it, but the extra rounds and some other alterations I made to the pattern didn't work out. So I ripped it back; should be able to finish it in an evening - I think I'll do it next Saturday (the day I return home from Toronto) And, here's what you have all been waiting for - the mystery sock update:I managed to untangle the unholy intermingling of skeins. Ribbing is done. The pattern is different on each sock, which is why one of the socks has a piece of waste yarn tied to it. You may also notice that the skeins don't have such a strong resemblance to kidneys (See, your feedback really is important to me!). I'm hoping to get a decent amount of knitting done on these socks during my 4+ hour flight tomorrow.

Screaming along at a snail's pace...

If I come across a blackboard I will write "knitting 2 socks at once only seems to go really slowly"on it 100 times. Yes, there is a miniscule increase in the size of the socks; at least it's at the point where the ribbing is recognizable. The tangle in the yarn is because I decided to knit in the car as we drove to Peachland to have dinner. The sun had already set, so it was pretty dark, and although I was able to knit by feel, I wasn't able to keep the 2 skeins properly oriented, so they decided to make macrame. Here's another WIP that I started in...um...November, or was it late October? Another Maryella for another Secret Pal. Plus a gratiutous sleeping cat shot. I actually completed and cast off the bracelet last night, but I still need to sew the snaps on. I had hoped to have my last 2 Secret Pal packages ready to be mailed tomorrow, but it's not looking good.