Finished Projects for 2007!

1. Waving Lace Socks in Cherry Tree Hill for Minh
2. Springgrass Socks in Fleece Artist Merino for Esha
3. Jaywalkers in LL Tuscany for ME
4. Toe up Socks in LL Fresh Stripe for Reena
5. Springgrass Socks in Koigu for ME
6. Jaywalkers in LL Crazy Stripe for Sonia
7. Charlotte's Web for my mom
8. Clapotis in Lady Godiva for ME
9. RPM Socks in STR for ME
10. Multi-directional Scarf in Artyarns Supermerino for Esha
11. Garland Lace Socks in LL Purple Iris for ME

Not a bad year! And I have two pairs of socks currently going so maybe I will add two more things to the list. (The Monkey Socks and the second pair of Waving Lace Socks).

Socks!

I am knitting Monkey socks (from Knitty, one of Cookie's patterns) using Fleece Artist and Waving Lace in Cherry Tree Hill (a second pair!). Both are on their second sock. It's amazing how much I knit in the winter time!

waving lace socks

waving lace socks
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

These are the waving lace socks from the IK book that I recently finished out of Cherry Tree Hill. I really like the pattern. Don't worry the legs of the socks are very stretchy. I can't wait to get started on a few more patterns from the IK favorite socks book (such as the embossed leaves socks!)

Socks that I am going to knit

From Knitty I'm going to knit the baudelaire socks (with CTH solid), diamante, hedera (again, I already knit this pattern with koigu), kew (with fleece artist), and pomatomus.

From the Favorite socks book, I will knit the Waving Lace pattern (again), embossed leaves socks (hopefully a couple of times), merino lace socks, Mock Wave Cable socks, diagonal cross-rib socks, and go with the flow socks.

Not to mention what I will knit from Sensational Knitted Socks!

self-striping sock yarn!

self-striping sock yarn!
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

or why I can't quit my day job...

I recently bought some sKNITches since it seems so hard to get. From left to right is Dayspa, Old Fashioned and two skeins of Handsome Devil for knee socks. The rightmost skein is Vesper Sock yarn in Crew. I think self striping sock yarn is great though I have yet to start knitting any of my self striping sock yarn up yet.

In any case, I'm not allowed to buy sock yarn for a very long time since I have way too many skeins of sock yarn. In my defense though, I'm almost exclusively knitting socks these days and I knit on the bus/subway/plane, etc.

Springgrass Socks

Orchard Socks
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

These are springgrass socks that I finished a few weeks ago out of Fleece Artist/Hand Maiden Merino Sock yarn. I'm not sure why the heel of one turned out way lighter than the other, but it still reminds me of fall foliage!

Socks in Progress

Socks in Progress
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

Here are the pictures of the socks that are in progress. From L to R we have Monkey Socks (from knitty) out of Fleece Artist Hand Maiden, Waving Lace Socks (from the IK Favorite Socks book) in Cherry Tree Hill, and Jaywalkers in LL Tuscany. I think the Waving Lace sock pattern is awesome and I will definitely do it again!

My first set of regia silk!

My first set of regia silk!
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

The pair of Regia Silk that I bought from Wolcott recently.

yarn shopping

I did a bit of yarn shopping... it had been a while so I think I deserved it! My Koigu stash was knitting dangerously low and the color that I had in my stash was pretty close to the fleece artist hand maiden that I just finished knitting. So I bought two pairs of Koigu, one purplish and the other brownish -- both looked very cool from the pictures. I also bought some regia silk since someone on the knitters forum said that regia silk was their favorite sock yarn. I also bought some solid cherry tree hill since little knits was having a sale and selling it for $14. Practically a steal if you ask me! Koigu is my favorite sock yarn of all time but I think Cherry Tree Hill is a close second! I also needed to replace my size 1 dpns and splurged on some rosewood needles, so far they are working great! I need to post pictures of my sister's finished crazy stripe socks and of the fleece artist hand maiden socks that I recently finished. I have 3 socks in progress right now -- I'm knitting a pair of Monkey Socks out of Fleece Artist Hand Maiden, a pair of Waving Lace Socks out of Cherry Tree hill and a pair of Jaywalkers out of LL Tuscany (that I have been knitting forever-ever!!).

Nope, I haven't given up knitting...

I recently started a pair of Monkey socks out of Fleece Artist Hand Maiden while watching TV. I also have to do the second sock of a pair of Jaywalkers out of LL Tuscany and I recently finished a pair of plain toe-up socks in LL Fresh Stripe in honor of my sister's birthday. Pictures to come soon!

9 to 5 socks from Minh

9 to 5 socks from Minh
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

My super duper awesome friend Minh knit me a pair of socks in honor of my return from California. I absolutely love them. I don't own Sundara yarn and I think its great. I love the tiny little stitches and the way they feel when I put them on! Thank you Minh!

Appletini and Chocolatini

Appletini and Chocolatini
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I got my first yarntini yarn! I'm super excited to knit with it since it's self-striping and I love both appletini's and chocolatini's!

Blue Raspberry Socks

These socks aren't anything special. Just Lorna's Laces Fresh Stripe knitted toe up on size 1 needles with 68/sts to an inch. I could have gone down to 64/sts per inch, but they fit okay. The second sock is on my needles right now. Not sure how fast I will finish it!! These socks do remind me of blue raspberry flavored candy! You can also see the pedicure I got for Elisha's wedding :)

The bestest sock in the whole wide world

koigu sock
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

Isn't this yarn purty? I love it! It's Koigu so it merits the love. The pattern is called "springgrass" that I saw on someone's blog. The socks were knitted toe up. One of them I did properly, the other one I knit the pattern on the sole of the foot also (nobody's perfect, right?).

RPM Socks

RPM Socks
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I finally finished my RPM socks. Here I am modelling my finished RPM socks made out of STR Highway 30 mediumweight. It's strange, one sock fits well and one sock is a bit tight and I was carefully to count the number of rounds exactly (It's easy to count rounds due to the spiral pattern).

One Fetching is Done!

IMG_0368
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I haven't been knitting much lately, but I finally weaved in the ends for my one fetching mitt. Now one more remains. This was made from Cashsoft Aran (the same color that I am making my sweater out of). I mostly followed the instructions (made it a few rows longer), but I think I could have made it even longer still.

My Knitting Library

My Knitting Library
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I'm flashing my knitting library! I have four issues of IK, Vogue Knitting, Lace Style, Favorite Socks, Knitting Vintage Socks, Modular Knits, Sensational Knitted Socks, Socks Socks Socks, and Scarf Style... so far I have only used patterns from Sensational Knitted Socks and Scarf Style and of course Vogue Knitting is a good reference book with lots of great step by step pictures... I know that I will use all these books eventually since I think I have patterns marked in all of them!

This has got to be the weirdest pattern ever!

What exactly is this used for? Decoration in one's sitting room?

Backyard Leaves Seam

grafting up close
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

This is the seam of my backyard leaves scarf that I was bitchin' and moanin' about... It does bug me... but I still love the scarf!

Vesper Knit and Tonic!

Vesper Knit and Tonic!
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

Look what my super dooper awesome friend gave me! I can't wait to knit with it...

The Lone RPM Sock

IMG_0354
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I recently finished an RPM sock out of STR Mediumweight Highway 30. Here it is! I really love the feel of the sock when I put it on. It's like a slipper. These will be my indoor slipper socks. Knitting with STR mediumweight goes SO much faster than knitting with Lorna's Laces. I should add that besides this one, I have three other socks in progress.

Visited country and states map

Here's where I've been...



create your own visited country map
or check our Venice travel guide



create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out ourCalifornia travel guide

And hopefully I'll go to many more places so that I can knit on the plane!

Is it wrong for me to say...

I want to add to my sock stash! Sure I have Lorna's Laces, Koigu, Socks that Rock, Cherry Tree Hill, Fleece Artist, and Claudia Hand Painted. But I don't have Sunshine, Yarn Pirate, sKNITches, Yarntini, and Vesper (my deargoodfriend Minh is helping with this last point :) ). These are essentials in my view! It's okay because I have a feeling that I will only knit socks this summer while I'm California for my internship simply because I won't need to take my entire needle collection and the yarn is portable.

I recently bought some plastic boxes to organize my sock yarn so I will flash my stash soon! I'm so afraid that some little critter will eat through the plastic bags that its in now. Oh god, how awful would that be! Thank god for boxes!

Sonia's Jaywalkers

Sonia's Jaywalkers
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

My sister models some Jaywalkers I made for her. These socks took me four months to make. I lost interest somewhere in the middle since knitting on size 0 needles seems to take forever! I won't do that again. I think I will stick to size 1 needles for socks. I think it will be great if my sister wears these underneath her suits.

I got Lace Style and Favorite Socks today!

I got my copies of Favorite Socks and Lace Style today in the mail. I'm probably the last person to get these, but I held out for free shipping and the cheapness of Amazon, woohoo! They look great, I am excited! In Lace Style, I like the Lily of the Valley stole, the Floral Lace Anklets, the Little Silk Shrug (shrugs are so cute, but I don't know how to wear them), the essential tank top, Tailored Scallops (which is on the cover of Lace Style), Retro Redux Shrug, Katharine Hepburn Cardigan, and Leg Cozies (again, how to wear these?). The Tailored Scallops sweater/coat thing is knitted on huge needles with bulky yarn, I wonder if it will actually be wearable. In Favorite Socks, I think I like everything pretty much! I don't know how to fair isle so the Fair Isle patterns are out for now. I like the Elegant Ribbed Stockings, the Embossed Leaves Socks, the Merino Lace Socks, the Flame Wave Socks, Mock wave Cable Socks (what's great about these is that they don't actually use a Cable needle), Media's Socks, Anniversary socks, Go With the Flow Socks, and last but not least the Waving Lace Socks! I guess I like them all really... Maybe I am taking a break from sock knitting at the moment so that I can knit my Knitting Pure and Simple sweater and a few other tops (possibly summer time tops!).

Fetching

yarn 003
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I am starting to make the Fetching mitts (form the summer 06 Knitty). I have a few extra skeins of Cashsoft Aran since I originally bought a bunch for a sweater, but then had to change the pattern since I didn't think I would be able to make the gauge without drastically reducing the needle size resulting in a too stiff fabric for a sweater. Maybe the color isn't the greatest, especially for my skin tone, but it was on sale ($2 off per skein), so I couldn't pass up oin that. Plus this is going to be my first sweater, so what if I mess it up! (It's the Wrap Cardigan from Knitting Pure and Simple).

Charlotte's Web Shawl

yarn 004
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

This shawl is for my mom. It was made from three skeins of Koigu. It's my second Charlotte's Web and I think I like it in the solid color better. I really like the pattern of this though it's very simple. It's easy to memorize and I love working with Koigu. This might just be one of my all time favorite patterns. The shawl will look better once it is blocked.

Marooned

i like maroon!
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I got my yarn from little knits today! Here it is... isn't it beautiful? The Misti Alpaca Lace is for my Lotus Blossom Shawl, it's going to be beautiful and the yarn only cost 11 dollars total! The Cascade 220 is for my Urban Necessity Mittens/Gloves, again very reasonably priced (around 11 dollars as well I believe). I'm telling you this in case my sister is reading and is going to yell at me for spending too much money on yarn. The Fleece Artist is going to be my last sock yarn purchase for a very long time as I have enough sock yarn to knit 22 pairs of socks. I'm not allowed to think about buying more sock yarn until I get this number down to 15. The blue yarn is new yarn from Schaefer called Trenna. It is a lace weight merino/silk blend and it is absolutely gorgeous! I am going to make a peacock shawl (from Fiddlesticks Knitting) out of this. I've had my eye on the Peacock Shawl ever since I started knitting lace. First I am starting the Lotus Blossom shawl, can't wait to start!

My Beautiful Yarn!

yarn 002
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

My Sea Silk and Claudia Hand Painted Arrived in the mail today from Knitty Noddy. The Sea Silk is a bit bright but I think it will be perfect for a lacy shawl. The different metallic tones remind me of three toned gold earrings. I am officially not allowed to buy any more sock yarn until I finish 5 pairs of socks! Otherwise, I will have enough sock yarn for a small country.

I suspect I will get the yarn from Little Knits tomorrow so stay tuned! I can't wait to start the Lotus Blossom Shawl, it will look so beautiful in the maroon misti alpaca lace.

I have a problem!

I bought a skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk for the Swallowtail Shawl from IK Fall 06, a skein of Hand Maiden Cashmere for the moebius cowl, 2 skeins of Misti alpaca lace for the Lotus Blossom Shawl (I can't believe how cheap this was! this will be my cheapest project ever!), and 2 skeins of cascade 220 for pop-top gloves from magknits, called urban necessity. I guess buying yarn is the only thing that makes me happy after sitting all day in front of the computer working on my networking project.

Peiqiu models the scarf I made for her

Peiqiu
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

Here my roommate Peiqiu is modelling the scarf that I made for her out of trendsetter dune in a pinky/purple colorway. I made the scarf a year ago, but I didn't have a blog then, so I'm posting it now.

Garland Lace Socks finished!

IMG_0349
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

Here I am modelling my new garland lace socks made from Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the Purple Iris colorway. One sock looks more purple and the other more green but I like 'em anyway. I think I made the heel flap a bit too big on one. Please ignore my dry, awful looking legs.

YARN!

Picture 013
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I got some yarn in the mail today! 5 skeins of Koigu for my entrelac socks, 2 skeins of tofutsies and 4 skeins of Koigu for my mom's Charlotte. I'm actually really pleased with the solid Koigu for my entrelac socks, they will look like easter egg socks. The green is actually more minty than it looks in the picture.

Flowers from the secret latin lover

Flowers from the secret lover
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

My Valentine's Day gift! That came after Valentine's Day because of wintry mess on the 14th... Thanks secret latin lover! Maybe I should learn how to do flower arrangements too. Wouldn't that be fun!

How brave am I?

Today I unravelled by Artic Diamonds Stole because I had made too many mistakes in it and decided that I wanted to go one needle size down. I had made a gauge swatch, but I think i didn't realize that it was too "loose" until I started knitting the whole thing. I also unravelled my Pomatomus socks because they look like they are going to be too tight and I suspect that I might run out of yarn since I was using Koigu and the yardage of Koigu ius not as long as some other yarns such as Lorna's Laces. I wonder if what I should knit with this yarn now. I'll probably knit some sort of toe up socks but what should the pattern be? I wonder...

I also ordered light purple/light green solid Koigu for my entrelac socks and 4 skeins of some maroonish KPPPM for a Charlotte's web shawl for my mom. Her birthday is April 11th and then mother's day will be in early may. It'll be fun doing it again, because I haven't made a unicolored Charlotte before and I can't get enough of Koigu. Blah, I'm going to go BROKE! But at least I'll be happy and broke!

Second Sock Syndrome

Second Sock Syndrome
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I guess I have second sock syndrome often! These three socks are missing their better half. The first one is the basketweave pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks in STR Watermelon Tourmaline (I was stupid and accidentally knit the pattern on the sole of the sock -- they were my first toe-up socks and first short row heel), LL Crazy Stripe Jaywalkers, LL Purple Iris Garland Lace Socks. The STR socks are for my roommate Peiqiu, the Crazy Stripe socks are for my sister (though I think they are going to be a bit long for her, I wanted them to fit perfectly -- oh well!), and the Garland Lace Socks are for me (I'm not totally loving the pattern, but I like the socks a lot still). I'm not allowed to start new socks until I finish these socks!!

Sock Patterns that are on my to do list...

I wanted to combine a list of sock patterns that really caught my eye (I guess they are all from Knitty!): Baudelaire, Cablenet, Diamante, Falling Leaves, Kew, Pomatomus (I will finish these I swear!), RPM (I've already done this but I will do them again, this time for ME!), Monkey (aren't these AWESOME!), and Rolling Thunder (I've never knit with beads before, but I really want to learn how).

I already did Hedera once, but I made a few mistakes the first time I knit the pattern and might want to make a pair that is mistake free!

I will also do some of the patterns from Favorite Socks, when it arrives! And of course, don't forget the two sock patterns in the Spring IK (the Entrelac socks and Grumperina's). Good thing I have so much sock yarn! hehe.

Happy Valentine's Day to ME!

STR - lightweight, originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I got my STR in the mail just in time for Valentine's Day! From left to right they are stormy weather, carbon, henpecked and chapman springs. I didn't think that the Stormy Weather would have black in it, just that it would be various shades of grey. But that's okay, I think it will still end up looking pretty cool with a nice pattern and they will make for great socks to go with black pants. I do love the light grey at the bottom though. The Carbon is set to be zillionth pair of Jaywalkers (by zillionth, I mean fourth). The henpecked and chapman springs look fabulous no? :) The Henpecked is my favorite! You know, yarn is so photogenic!

So much for the yarn diet!

I broke down and bought 4 skeins of Socks that Rock in the Carbon, Chapman Springs and Henpecked colorways (I think I am the most excited about this one!). I also got a solid one in Stormy Weather, so I can do an elaborate stitch pattern. I actually think this one is very cool, it has many shades of grey and one shade of grey looks kind of silverish... hmm, I guess my friend Minh knows best since she just bought one of them! I guess its okay since I have my eyes on many sock patterns from the books/magazines that I own and from Knitty!

Colors for the Entrelac Socks

I am going to knit the Entrelac socks (in the new Spring IK), so I've been surfing the web, looking for colors that I like for them. I decided that I'm going to get the 5 skeins of Koigu Solids from the Knitting Zone because I like them a lot. I just wish they had a bit bigger selection of the solids...

Anyway, here are the candidates (feel free to tell me what you think):

navy blue (1002) + hot pink (1173)
bright teal (2130) + very light beige (2381)
light green (2331) + very light beige (2381)
light purple (1013) + very light beige (2381)
light purple (1013) + light green (2331)

It's also possible to substitute light pinky beige (1144) for very light beige (2381), above. Oh god, so many choices and it's so hard to know how it's going to look! And of course, if you have better suggestions, please let me know!

I am a sucker!

I just ordered Lace Style and Favorite Socks from Amazon. I know that I won't get it until April, but I have enough things to knit right now and plus I am a cheap grad student and Amazon has the cheapest prices that I've seen and free shipping, hurray! I wasn't originally going to order Favorite Socks, but it has some knee high socks which I think are great, especially in this cold cold weather and it has a lot of the nice sock patterns from earlier additions of IK (such as Embossed Leaves, which I don't have since I just started my subscription).

I got my Spring IK!

I got my Spring IK in the mail yesterday and I am super excited about the Entrelac socks, but they look kind of hard... I will also probably knit the pattern made my Grumperina. The stole pattern looks okay but then I found out one needs to do knit the two halves separately and graft them together and I HATE doing that, so I'm not going to do that!

My Clappy is DONE!

Here I am wearing my newly finished Clapotis. I absolutely love it! It's super soft and drapey... I don't think I will block it since it will stretch out from wearing. Was fun to knit though I doubt I will do it again...

Faves

I wanted to update my list of favorite yarns since I believe I tried some new things since I last made such a post: My favorites are Lady Godiva, Fiesta La Luz, Koigu, Socks that Rock, Lorna's Laces Shephard Sock, Artyarns Supermerino, Karabella Aurora 8 and Rowan Cashsoft DK. I don't think I've forgotten anything, at least I hope not. I also like Manos del Uruguay and Gems Perl, but not enough to promote them to my favorite list.

Things that I would like to work with are various Cashmeres (I have some Jade 2-ply in my stash), Lion and Lamb (I will probably not knit another Clapotis since it can get rather tedious), Helen's Lace, and various Artyarns products (I like modular knitting patterns and I have my eye on this pattern from Knitty).

Things that I want to knit next are the Lace Leaf Shawl, a Mobius scarf, the Artic Diamonds Stole (the one that I started but will have to rip out), Wine and Rose Mitts and various other fingerless mitts and hand coverings, and many socks of course!

Origami Pictures!

I know this is my knitting blog, but I wanted to share my origami pictures. I think that origami and knitting are similar in a lot of ways, I enjoy the process of it, I like the pretty finished object. I like trying new things, I like doing it while watching tv, etc. I think I just like making things with my hands in general. The top picture shows a sunken isocahedron, the next is, of course, flowers, followed by a cube skeleton, various geometric objects and finally a dodecahedron.

The Blanket is Loved!

I just got a thank you note from the friend who I gave the blanket to and she enclosed some pictures of the baby Lily with the blanket. It made me happy to see Lily with the blanket! Too bad I don't have a scanner to share the pictures.

My Clapotis

Here is a picture of my Clapotis that is being knit with three skeins of Lady Godiva simultaneously. Let me tell you that I do not like interchanging skeins, so annoying! and so messy! (especially with three). If you click on the image, you can see the dropped stitches very clearly. I love dropping stitches! I am wondering if I should knit this pattern again with Lion and Lamb to obtain the full enjoyment of this pattern since I won't have to interchange skeins with Lion and Lamb. I guess that would depend on how often I'd wear the Clappy. While I'm knitting it it seems to small to be a shawl, but dropping the stitches makes it grow a little. So I guess I'm supposed to wear it as a scarf.

New socks!

I started a new pair of socks in Socks that Rock Watermelon Tourmaline. The pattern is the Basket Weave Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. It is my first pair of toe-up socks. I did it by using a provisional cast by using a crochet chain. Perhaps it looks to busy since the yarn is bright... I haven't made a pair of STR socks for myself so these are for ME!

Scarf + Fringe

I added the fringe while watching Desperate Housewives... In retrospect I might have made the fringe longer, but I don't have enough yarn left to do that. I'm wondering if the fringe looks too sparse, but again I'm not sure I have enough yarn left to do anything about it. But still, I think it looks pretty cool. My roommate said it was her favorite pattern she's seen me knit!

Multidirectional Scarf Almost Done (or done, minus the fringe)

I love the way this scarf turned out and I really like working with Artyarns Supermerino. Multidirectional knitting is fun... I don't know if this is considered a modular knitting pattern, but I see more multidirectional/modular knitting in my future. The only thing left to do is add the fringe.

My Skeins of Lady Godiva

I thought I should show you what I was complaining about... here the three skeins are... I am currently knitting with all three... The differences in color were more apparent after winding all three skeins and putting them side by side. The lightest skein is not really that light, it just looks lighter than it is because it seems to have gotten the bulk of the flash. But still, pretty different, you can see my predicament!

Solution to my Problem with the Clapotis

I think what I can do to make the color of the Clapotis more uniform is to unravel what I've done, start over and knit 2 rows in one color and 2 rows in another color... I'll have to take out one row of repeats to make sure that I can knit the entire Clapotis in 2 skeins of Lady Godiva. I'll also have one extra skein of Lady Godiva that I could do something with! (could be exciting!). The question is do I want to unravel what I've done so far... half of a Clapotis. Eeek! So many decisions! What to do!

My Clappy

I've been working on my clapotis in Lady Godiva and I was suspicious that one of the skeins might be from a different dye lot since it looked lighter than the other two. But Handmaiden doesn't put dye lots on their tags so I thought maybe I was imagining things... So after I incorporated the second skein in my Clapotis, I noticed that it looked different! (I thought I would use the two that looked the same first since I thought I might be able to get away with just two skeins.) It definitely looks like it's from a different dye lot. I think that since the Clapotis calls for dropped stitches it won't look so bad, but still, I'm a perfectionist and even though people probably won't notice when I wear it, I will know. I wonder if this is natural to happen or if the place I bought the yarn is to blame for this... Now I am really wondering how the third skein will look!!! These issues are taking away from the fun of the Clapotis pattern... dropped stitches are fun. Perhaps I should have knit it in Lion and Lamb. It's weird though, the Lady Godiva doesn't seem like it wants to drop... i guess it's not slippery enough to drop itself...

Knitting with Lady Godiva is heavenly!

I love Lady Godiva, it is so incredibly soft... yes, I have a million things to do and I still make time to knit... I think Lady Godiva might possibly be my favorite yarn in the whole wide world! Too bad it's so darn expensive.

My Lady Godiva Arrived!

I recently ordered some Lady Godiva since Little Knits was having a sale on it... I think that I will finally knit a Clapotis with it, because I am dying to knit something where you are actually supposed to drop stitches! I decided that I didn't really like the stitch pattern for the Ella up close so I'm not going to knit it after all. The thing that worries me is I don't think Lady Godiva has a dye lot... so would it look bad if I used 3 skeins to make a Clapotis?

Multidirectional scarf using Artyarns Supermerino

I decided to try the multidirectional scarf with the yarn that I had from the last post and I like how it looks. I think for some reason the colors were blending together in the skein, but once I knitted with it, the colors weren't blending together. There is a little pooling going on, but that doesn't really bother me too much. I really like the Artyarns Supermerino. It is my first time working with it... I also like the multidirectional scarf pattern. It is very easy and it looks very attractive. Both my housemates told me that they really like the pattern. This is a gift for my friend Esha so hopefully she will like it as much as I do! Esha went to the University of Michigan so it's an added bonus that these colors are michigan colors.

some yarn... good or bad?

I got some Artyarns Supermerino in the mail and thought it would be a bit brighter than it actually is... I can't capture the true color of the yarn. The picture makes the yarn look brighter than it is because of the flash. I'm afraid the yarn is too dull. Up close it looks good, because you can see a bit of purple and navy and the yellow, but from a far the colors kind of blend together. I was thinking of knitting the multidirectional scarf pattern with this yarn... What do you guys think? Should it be a go or not? I was planning on giving this to a friend so that's why I'm being a bit more cautious.

My Charlotte is off the needle, but not blocked.

Here is my Charlotte. It looks a little weird, but not quite this weird in person. I'm hoping that it will look a bit better when it's blocked.

Bah!

I messed up my Artic Diamonds Stole! At the top of the diamond I am supposed to change the order of the k2tog and the k2tog tbl and I didn't do that. I can't decide whether I should unravel it (It is so hard to put the stitches back on the needle with lace...) or continue going. I think I may end up unraveling the whole thing and knitting it on size 3 needles instead of size 4 needles since the stitches aren't as close together as I would like them...

Started my Artic Lace Stole today!

I only did the "beginning edging", so maybe tomorrow I can actually start the charted pattern! I think the charted pattern will look very cool, I knit one of the "diamonds" for the gauge swatch. Perhaps I will take it with me to New Orleans. (It is in Cherry Red GEMS Perl).

At my New Year's party I said my New Year's resolution was to knit a sweater this year. So I will have to look for good sweater patterns. I also want to knit the two shawls that were in IK Summer '06 and IK Fall '06, so I better buy me some Alpaca! I just splurged on 3 skeins of Lady Godiva that I will either use to knit a Clapotis or an Ella (also from Knitty).

I went to ThreadBear Fiber Arts with my mom during this holiday break and my mom bought a sweater kit for me that will be made of Garnstudio Alpaca in a deep purple color. I didn't buy anything which was amazing! I am excited though that my mom is knitting me a sweater!