New knits.

I have so much to post about...but have been pretty lazy lately! I am not sure if it is the rainy weather but I was sticken with a hefty *migraine last night which put a damper on my knitting progress. I somehow got the kids off to school this morning and then went back to bed. It will definitely be a late night of knitting tonight! I need to finish up Enchant if I plan to frolic in it this Saturday;)



I have been seaming the border as I go...it doesn't feel like such a daunting task this way.

I also cast on for another pair of socks for my DH.



I love this pattern. I attempted to make a pair for myself as posted previously but the yarn was not working for the pattern. I like tighter gauges for socks so I am now using some Regia Silk in grey and Lang Jawoll in a blue grey colourway. I picked up the Jawoll friday night from Shall We Knit. I love this yarn! It even comes with a matching spool of reinforcement thread! You've gotta love that! There was a purple colourway as well...I think I will be knitting myself a pair next. Heather is casting on the plaid socks with me. We are having our own little hearty man plaid sock knit a long...don't be afraid to join in;)

Karen of SWK let me in on her next knit...and yes I have been dreaming about it ever since. She is knitting the Pimlico Shrug by Tracey Ullman and Mel Clark using Koigu Kersti...oh can you just imagine?! I am so into shrugs lately and knew I had seen that pattern before..yeah I fav'd it four months ago! Now, I just need to open my own yarn store or win the lotto inorder to knit it out of Kersti! Yes I know you can sub in a cheaper yarn...but I am sure I will be set on Kersti when I see hers.
You temptress you! No, really, she is a great shop keeper who knows her customers.
Bravo Karen...well played:)

I also finished up another store sample for Karen last week...details are coming...

*please excuse any typos or slurring of words...I had two doses of migraine pills in the last 18 hours.

Yarrow Ribbed Socks.

Things always work out in the end!



Pattern: Yarrow Ribbed Socks from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks.
Yarn: Regia 4 ply...one of my favourite sock yarns...and it has a guarantee
Adjustments: I knit these toe up over 72 sts. Some great techniques...Judy's magic cast on as well as Cat Bordhi's ssk gusset decreases...my most favourite new knitting technique ever! The heel I used came from these socks...not my favourite toe up heel, but it turned out ok. I extended the rib pattern down the back of the heel, which looked better. I cast off with EZ's sewn bind off...for a nice loose cuff.

The only bad thing about these socks is that...he loves them. They haven't even been blocked yet and he already has them on!

So...looks like I am casting on another pair of socks.

Did I leave the iron on?

You know it has happened to you...well at least it happens to me all the time now.
I can't remember if I have done something or not.
Did I leave the iron on or unplug it?
I need to visualize myself doing things. Sometimes I am not sure even then because you do things so often it is hard to remember if you did it today or not.
So as I walked out the door of the guild meeting last night...just after talking to a fellow knitter about Cat Bordhi's SSK method...I couldn't remember if I fed the hungry stitch for the last time and then knit it.
No. No I didn't.
I don't know why I forgot...but I know I did. I knew something was wrong.
I confirm such mistake this morning...and decided to drop that stitch.



A few minutes later I picked up that last stitch and pull it back up.
Don't forget that last step! I surely won't on the next pair.

Yes, I colour too.

Ok, so how do I have the time to knit so much? Many have asked, and all I say is I knit all the time...any spare moment.
Here is a typical day.
I wake up at 8 am. Well, no. I get woken up around 7 am...there is bouncing on my bed and occasional questions and snuggling...until I drag myself out of bed at 8. (because I was up so late knitting!)
Breakfast is made...usually cereal...but sometimes I will make them eggs. I make myself coffee and oatmeal or eggs. There is lots of rushing around...it doesn't matter how early we get up...we are always rushing. Out the door by 8:45 and drop off whomever has school that day. Get home to finish my coffee and pick up my knitting.
The morning is always started with atleast an hour of knitting. Then I look around and access the situtation.
Matteo is home today so he wanted me to draw some characters on paper for him...but I convinced him to get out the big colouring book. So we colour...



Yes, I have to put the knitting down to colour. (I won't tell you who he coloured and who I coloured!)
We colour for atleast an hour. He allows me breaks to drink my coffee and stops to act out the scene we are colouring.



I now decide I should shower...I clean up the upstairs and clean up myself...out the door we go to pick up Lucca for lunch.
Make lunch...eat and out the door to drop Lucca back at school.
Now when we got home...daddy was here! He was done early today. We go outside and look at the buds in the garden and then I change the laundry. I neatened the main floor (things are under constructions hence the sheet draped over the chair) and did a little dust busting.
Next up is a few rounds of junior monopoly...yes there was some crying and running out of the room (I am not saying by whom). I knit while we played...never holding up the game.
Change the laundry again...lots of towels to fold.
Now I am sitting to blog for a few moments.
I will knit and watch a little tv for the next hour until I need to pick up Lucca...I should walk so that will take up some time.
Then there is homework and snacks...a little knitting...make dinner...a little knitting inbetween...and clean up.
I did promise Lucca a round of "big people" monopoly tonight...and I will do a little knitting with that.
They will be off to bed around 8 and that is when the magic begins. There is serious ravlery surfing and blog reading and LOTS of knitting. I usually quit around 11 or 12.
So when all is said and done...I am sure I could fit in 6-8 hours of knitting a day.
We won't talk about those lazy days...knit and chat days...days no one is home with me...there is way more knitting on those days!

Sunlit

Today it is snowy...COLD...windy...argh. I am suddenly very tired of winter weather, especially because it is spring!

Let me bring you back a few days when it was sunny...gorgeous...







I finished up my sweater!

Pattern: Sunlit by Kim Hargreaves. Found in Nectar.

Bracelet: Heather's clear beaded version...love it!

Yarn: New from Estelle - South Pacific colour 909 (a gorgeous very light mauve)

Started: March 15th, 2009

Finished: April 1st, 2009.

Adjustments: I knit the medium size so that there is no ease. My version is more fitted than the pattern shows. I also ended up taking out the cast off and doing one more decrease in the neckline with a few more rows. I loved the neckline but I had to fiddle with the bra straps so this solved that issue.







I love the wide sleeve. It fits my larger sized arms perfectly and the length is flattering. The only issue I have discovered is it is really hard to get this sleeve into a jacket. So I will wait for the sun to come out again so I don't have to wear a jacket with it;)

I can't say enought about Kim Hargreaves knits. They are all so gorgeous, well written and totally wearable. The Nectar book is just gorgeous. The only issue is deciding which one to knit next;)