Lucius Malfoy

uhm, drool much? Set your calendars, people, July 14th, for HP&tOOtP.

FP, stash, and projects in the pipeline

My red watch cap, done at last. I bought the yarn on our trip to Evanston at the end of January, and it took me a month to cast on, and another month to finish. Well, it's for me, so I kept putting it on the back burner. It turned out very nice, and soft! Cashmerino rocks. Specs: red DY Cashmerino Aran, red (duh) 2X2 ribbing on sz 8 circs. Easy Peasa, as Miss Margo would say.

WOW can you believe I have this much baby yarn! Some of it is leftover from old projects, and some was given to me by a friend. I could probably do about 7-8 sweaters with what I've got here. I wanted to look at my stash because I've been commissioned by that same friend to make a blankie for her future niece/nephew, and we had to see if I had anything to hand that would work. Sort of, I did, because one of the yarns in the tub there was something she liked. But since I only had one skein of it, we had to go shopping (HAD to, I tells ya...) thus we ended up with this:

TLC Baby in Mint Sparkle colorway. The picture doesn't show it, but it's a beautiful minty green with tweedy flecks of blue, pink, and yellow. She also bought the pattern book and sz 6 circs, which I get to keep. I think I will start on this one as soon as I'm done with Hubby's afghan, which is about 70% done. Fun spring ahead!

Sock notes to self, again

On my current socks: try to remember to start with 36 sts, heel flap 18 X 18, turn heel @ st 11 (dec 2, k1, 5 sts left) and also to pick up 12 sts on the instep. Dec to 40 sts for foot!! 40!!!!

I'll try to post a pic of this mysterious sock when it's closer to being done.

Also, I did a little stash cleanup to see what I've got available to use for making baby blankets. Goodness, I've got a lot of baby yarn! It's filling a 54 qt storage tub. I'll have more details later.

Bored, bored, bored

I'm at work and the one frikkin' computer application I use for every last thing I do is not working. And the boss won't phone in the problem, so I'm stuck counting my eyelashes and trying to stay awake. So I'm playing the iPod shuffle (only, with my Samsung YP-T7J). Here's the next 10 songs in the queue:

U2 - "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" (how appropriate...)
Ani DiFranco - "Wishin' and Hopin'" (that the computer gets fixed)
Tag Team "Whoomp! (There It Is)" (yeah, I'd like to whoomp that computer)
Alanis Morissette - "Not the Doctor" (computer needs a doctor)
U2 - "Discotheque" (dunno how to do the accent grave!)
The Rembrandts - "I'll Be There for You (Theme from Friends (duh))" (computer not there for me... sad face)
U2 - "I Will Follow" (I walk away, walk away, walk away walkaway... well, I wish I could)
Collective Soul - "Shine" (computer = shine-ola)
Dwight Yoakam - "Don't Need it Done" (good thing, 'cuz the computer's broken, dwight)
Julie London - "I'm in the Mood for Love" (gahhh!!!!!! julie, not now...)

oh lordy, can I go home yet?

Hubby Afghan Progress and Lots of Pix

First, a little green for St. Patrick's Day: a washrag!

It's an awesome alien pattern I cribbed from the web. It's done in lime color from Sugar 'n Cream, which is totally appropriate to the subject. Hee hee. And it looks good on the reverse (or what they say is the reverse... could be the front, for how it looks):

Su-weet, it's a keeper.

Also up is my progress report on Hubby Afghan Project. First, a reminder of what it looked like in August of last year:

As of tonight, after I added Pounder skein #2:

It's over halfway done! I'm on diamond pattern 11, I think. Thanks to Pringle for providing perspective in both photos. Now that I'm really giving it attention, it's coming along almost maybe sorta quickly. All the progress you see is what I've done since the beginning of February. This puppy is going to be huge, by the bye. I can't properly spread it out to show, but it's way wide. I want to add at least 2 extra diamond patterns to the top, for 19 repeats (pattern calls for 17.) We'll see how the yarn holds out, and how long it's looking, and how ready I am to finish it off.

I have more incentive to finish, also: not only do I want to make a blankie for Margo before summer, I've also promised to crochet a baby blankie for a friend who is expecting a niece or nephew in the fall. So I need to clear the decks so I can work on that over the summer. Of course I'll still chip away at the charity work, and MAYBE I'll finish that darn red hat. Busy, busy, bizzy beezie, that's me.

whew

got a whole pair of socks from the 2.5 oz skein (one's a scosh bit smaller than the other, but never mind)


because this is what's left of the skein:

whew. Lion Brand, I love ya, but your yardage su-u-u-cks.

I hope to report on the Hubby Afghan or Bust project by the weekend. Progress has been made and I want to keep pushing on for a bit before I snap a pic.

Making my dreams come true (sorta)

After my sock dream, I felt the need to start on another pair for charity. That, and I was going to the movies today, and socks with no fancy stitches are the easiest thing to take along. Who needs to see to knit an endless tube? I did the leg during 300, turned the heel at home, and about half the foot during Miss Potter. A day spent in a couple of dark theaters with my favorite Scotsmen... what's nae to love?

These are Lion Brand wool "perfect for felting", Majestic Mountain colorway (kinda pretty, I think.) I did them on 3 dpns to make for a tight fabric. The sock is a little smaller than I wanted (kids shoe size 1 or 2, maybe), but about halfway through it sure looked like I might not have enough yarn to make 2 socks. So I didn't make the foot as long as I was going to. When I used Patons, their 3.5 oz ball made 2 socks with tons left over; Lion Brand skimps and gives you 2.5 oz, plus there's more stitches/in. on these socks. Curse you, Lion Brand.

Oh well, worse comes to worse, I can start sock #2 and if I run out of yarn, go buy some more of this color. If they don't match perfectly it's OK. However, this IS a recipe for me never starting the 2nd sock, in order to avoid having to decide what to do.

Dang it, I should do like the Knit Bit said, and weigh the sock and the yarn left. Then I'd know. I've been meaning to buy a digital scale, dang it! and I am feeling the lack of it now. I'm going to leave the toe ungrafted until I decide if I'm going to 1.) buy a scale, 2.) buy more yarn, or 3.) rip out the whole thing and do it over. My current inclination: just start sock #2 and apply point 2 if needed. I won't cut the yarn 'til tomorrow.

Specs, as a note to myself, assuming I don't frog:

40 sts. on 3 dpns
1x1 rib cuff 1.5"
divide for heel @ 5"
20 sts slip 1st st @ row 1
turn heel, 12 sts
do the funky thing I f'd up
8 sts left on heel
divide 4 needles 16,10,10,16
dec until 10 back on each needle
toe shape @ 6"
dec to 20 sts total

I dream of socks

Had a funky dream last night, no doubt fueled by my inability to clear my head of snot before I go to bed. I kept dreaming that I was buying sock yarn (the good stuff, in hanks) and piling up the projects, never starting any. I'd wake up, then fall back asleep and see a new skein. What does it all mean?
1. I'm buying too much yarn.
2. I'm thinking of splurging on expensive sock yarn, and I shouldn't, really. I only have so many people I can give socks to.
3. I'm piling up too many projects. Thinking about it, I've got about 10 lined up to do, and apparently they're weighing on my snot-filled mind.
4. I love to start, hate to finish? But in the dream, I don't actually start the socks.
5. Colors are pretty, even in dreams.
I need a yarn whisperer, to walk me through this one.

Meantime, I'm going to hanker down on the Hubby Afghan, since I think it's about halfway done. Also, I've decided no new projects on the needles until I finish the red cashmerino hat.

Oh, I resolved my "exsistential dilemma" about that. The problem was, it looked like it was too narrow. It's 2x2 rib (ribbing is a yarn hog), which is very stretchy, but unstretched it's 6-7" across (ie. 12-14" around) which seems like it's too tight, even though I want it to fit a little snug. Well, I've stuck it on my head, and it seems to fit comfortably. I'll be turning up the cuff, so I need it to be between 9-10" long after shaping, because the cuff will be near on 3". I've resolved to just keep on a knittin' the way it's been going. After 1 50g ball, the hat measured 5", so there should be enough for a 10" hat since the top will be shaped, thus using less yarn.

I do hate to dither. Moving forward is best. So I added ball #2 and off we go. I plan to knit that one during lunches and maybe at the movies on Saturday. We're going to see 300... mmm, hunky men w/no shirts.... works for me.

Ca-Razy Pinko scarf

Did I write about this in the last post? I'm too lazy to look it up. I knit this for a friend in Paton's Twister yarn, which is a strand of chenille wrapped with an eyelash yarn. She loves pink and this was the pinkest! I need to weave the ends before I hand it over; it's been done for 4 days and I just can't get up the gumption to do it. I want to get it to her before it gets too much warmer. The chenille makes it pretty warm-- warmer than those Fancy Fur cute-but-useless scarfie thingies.

Some more FPs

I'm done with the charity socks. They turned out pretty well. I wasn't going to post the pictures, but hey, it ain't like it's hard. Here's a sock in action... can you tell I hadn't woven in the ends yet, by Pringle's keen interest in the dangly bit?

Here they are in a more traditional pose, finished and ready to send to San Fran:

They actually fit me, albeit a squidge tight, so I'd estimate them @ boy's size 3ish since I wear a boys 4. Very, very happy with how they turned out & I plan more socks for charity in the future. Oh yeah, the specs: Patons Classic Merino in Denim Marl, done on size 5 dpns in order to make a tighter fabric, without a real pattern just using basic sock techniques. I rambled on about it several posts back. Thanx Yarn Harlot, I love ya!

For my non-charity stuff, I'm kind of at a crossroads. I'm working steady on Hubby's afghan (finally), and making steady progress, but it seems like a knitting black hole. Lotsa work, little to show for it. Curse me for making it much wider than the pattern called for, and for "jazzing it up" with seed stitch in the diamonds. Makes it unnecessarily complicated. But I've got to finish, Margo wants a blankie too and I just can't even think about it 'till Hubby's is done.

I'm also having an existential problem with my cashmerino aran hat, for myself. I'll wait to wax philosophical on that until I've got photos to illustrate my difficulties. I've got to make some decisions regarding that hat & I just don't feel like it yet. I have purchased more yarn for as-yet undetermined projects (more than what I've mentioned below, heh) so I have decisions to make about that as well.

I have to sort out my thinking and post more later. Maybe I'll whip out some dishcloths, to reset my mind, all Zen-like, heh.