Only knitting here, nothing else
So it's been awhile since I last posted. I've been busy at work, as usual, but also with knitting.
(Work, for the record, is fine. No one really asks anymore, except Brent, but it is ok. If anything dramatic happens, you'll hear about it, albeit in cloaked terms.)
As a reward for completing the world's loveliest (yet still-unblocked) lace scarf, I've cast on two projects, both shrugs.
The first is for the world's cutest girl-toddler (hi Emma!):
It's a Debbie Bliss pattern, and was a fairly easy, mindless knit. (Not that the pattern couldn't have been written more clearly, because it could have, but you get that some days.) It called for Debbie Bliss' own brand of yarn - the Cashmerino Aran, to be exact. Which is lovely, I am sure - ut probably not child-friendly.
So to save Katie some hand-washing, I opted for Lion Brand's Cotton Ease - 50% cotton & 50% acrylic, and washer- and dryer-friendly. The colour is Berry, #112, and it is lovely.
The photo doesn't really do the shrug justice. Hopefully I'll get emailed a happy-snap where it's modelled (hint, HINT!).
The shrug I'm knitting for myself is the Two-tone ribbed srug from Fitted Knits. It's on the 5mm needles agan, and with a DK-weigh wool, so it's been quite quick and satisfying, compared to my usual 4-ply and 3mm needle stuff.
However, there are 2 problems:
1. The yarn (Cascade 220 in #9420) bleeds on my hands & nails so I have green-y blue-y nails after knitting it. My nails are already in dire need of a manicure, and even more so after kniting this. I plan to try to machine through the rest of it so I can have a manicure this weekend and not risk getting dye all over my nice nails.
2. I'm not sure if I like the contrast colour I chose.
Again, the wonders of photography make the yarn look much better than it actually is in real life. Perhaps I have unwittingly specialised in purchasing yarn in colours that only look decent in photos? If so, I'd better stop wearing anything I knit, except for all those photo shoots that us glamorous modern women star in every day...
My next knitting project is in limbo. I bought some lovely Fleece Artist sock yarn in "Blue Lagoon", which is a most attractive skein. However, once it was wound up into a ball, things looked different. It looks...garish. Overly bright. A bit ugly, even. (It looks much more vivid in real life than in the photo.)
To be fair, I'm not really a variegated yarn kind of gal. But I figured I should try it before I completely wrote it off, ad how better to try something than with a top-grade product?
I'm waiting for some needles to start socks on this... but I'm not sure anymore. Any words of wisdom? Any recommendations for a sock pattern that will look good with the variegation and all the colour stuff going on?
I'm also on the hunt for great baby patterns. David and I each have a colleague with a pregnant wife, and we know another expectant couple too (it's not my news to share, so you'll just have to wait). I see many happy evenings with booties and blankets in my future... Albeit all in neutral colours, since no one knows what flavour they're having.
(Just to be clear here, I am not amongst the pregnant ones. And we are all quite happy about that, thankyouverymuch!)
Meanwhile, I'm slowly coming out of my greens-and-blues period. It seems like almost all the yarn I've bought this year has been green or blue, so I'm forcing myself to move into my greys-and-purples phase. I'm not sure if it will last, but these suckers will probably help me.
Zephyr wool-silk, 630 yards a ball. If a soft silk & wool combo in a lovely lilac laceweight doesn't do it, nothing will...
(That said, feel free to send me beautiful yarn to tempt me and prove me wrong. I have absolutely no problems with that sort of behaviour!)
(Work, for the record, is fine. No one really asks anymore, except Brent, but it is ok. If anything dramatic happens, you'll hear about it, albeit in cloaked terms.)
As a reward for completing the world's loveliest (yet still-unblocked) lace scarf, I've cast on two projects, both shrugs.
The first is for the world's cutest girl-toddler (hi Emma!):It's a Debbie Bliss pattern, and was a fairly easy, mindless knit. (Not that the pattern couldn't have been written more clearly, because it could have, but you get that some days.) It called for Debbie Bliss' own brand of yarn - the Cashmerino Aran, to be exact. Which is lovely, I am sure - ut probably not child-friendly.
So to save Katie some hand-washing, I opted for Lion Brand's Cotton Ease - 50% cotton & 50% acrylic, and washer- and dryer-friendly. The colour is Berry, #112, and it is lovely.
The photo doesn't really do the shrug justice. Hopefully I'll get emailed a happy-snap where it's modelled (hint, HINT!).
The shrug I'm knitting for myself is the Two-tone ribbed srug from Fitted Knits. It's on the 5mm needles agan, and with a DK-weigh wool, so it's been quite quick and satisfying, compared to my usual 4-ply and 3mm needle stuff.However, there are 2 problems:
1. The yarn (Cascade 220 in #9420) bleeds on my hands & nails so I have green-y blue-y nails after knitting it. My nails are already in dire need of a manicure, and even more so after kniting this. I plan to try to machine through the rest of it so I can have a manicure this weekend and not risk getting dye all over my nice nails.
2. I'm not sure if I like the contrast colour I chose.Again, the wonders of photography make the yarn look much better than it actually is in real life. Perhaps I have unwittingly specialised in purchasing yarn in colours that only look decent in photos? If so, I'd better stop wearing anything I knit, except for all those photo shoots that us glamorous modern women star in every day...
My next knitting project is in limbo. I bought some lovely Fleece Artist sock yarn in "Blue Lagoon", which is a most attractive skein. However, once it was wound up into a ball, things looked different. It looks...garish. Overly bright. A bit ugly, even. (It looks much more vivid in real life than in the photo.)To be fair, I'm not really a variegated yarn kind of gal. But I figured I should try it before I completely wrote it off, ad how better to try something than with a top-grade product?
I'm waiting for some needles to start socks on this... but I'm not sure anymore. Any words of wisdom? Any recommendations for a sock pattern that will look good with the variegation and all the colour stuff going on?
I'm also on the hunt for great baby patterns. David and I each have a colleague with a pregnant wife, and we know another expectant couple too (it's not my news to share, so you'll just have to wait). I see many happy evenings with booties and blankets in my future... Albeit all in neutral colours, since no one knows what flavour they're having.
(Just to be clear here, I am not amongst the pregnant ones. And we are all quite happy about that, thankyouverymuch!)
Meanwhile, I'm slowly coming out of my greens-and-blues period. It seems like almost all the yarn I've bought this year has been green or blue, so I'm forcing myself to move into my greys-and-purples phase. I'm not sure if it will last, but these suckers will probably help me.Zephyr wool-silk, 630 yards a ball. If a soft silk & wool combo in a lovely lilac laceweight doesn't do it, nothing will...
(That said, feel free to send me beautiful yarn to tempt me and prove me wrong. I have absolutely no problems with that sort of behaviour!)
I think the color combination is pretty for the fitted knits shrug, then again those are both pretty much my favourite colours! Emma's shrug is so pretty, I can't believe you finished it so soon :) For the socks... I knitted these feather-and-fan socks in variegated (maybe you saw them in group?)they were pretty and easy, or maybe the famous Jaywalkers could be a possibility?