Still knitting and trying to find some time to take some proper pics.

I'm still out there knitting. I am working on Juliet, which should be finished this weekend and cast on a Montego Bay Scarf in Handmaiden Camel Spun last night as the weather here has taken a turn toward winter and snow is in the air. I also have a skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk that is intended to be a Montego Bay Scarf as well but fell in love with an acid green colorway and the extreme softness of the Handmaiden Camel Spun when I was at the Ravelry meet-up at Knit One last night and cast on for the scarf as soon as I got home. I haven't gotten much new work done on the garter rib socks and will return to them as soon as I finish Juliet. I have to frog my Lady Detective Hat and reknit it as I goofed up on my calculations and double stranded Noro Kureyon for it. I could fit at least 2 heads, possibly 3, in it at this point. I am going to frog it this weekend and cast on again as I need a new winter hat and I love the way it looks, just not the size. Fortunately, it is a quick knit and I should be able to finish it in a day or 2. I am going to use the leftover Noro to make a matching My So Called Scarf.

I had a great time at the Ravelry meet-up. It was nice to hang out with other knitters and chill out for an evening. The folks at Knit One were super nice and got pizza for the group. I hope that we can make this a regular event as none of my friends knit and it was great to be part of a knitting community.

I must take pictures this weekend. My Secret Pal, PurlyGirly, sent me an amazing package and I must get pics to post a proper thank you for the awesome surprise. I am also setting a new blogging goal for myself to post at least twice a week for the rest of the year. Hopefully, I will actually post more than that but I'd hate to set a goal that I can't accomplish.

Happy knitting everyone!
jsins

It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world.

Things have been crazy busy and a pain in the ass over the last week or so. It just sucks when the times when you most need something to calm you down, like knitting or a good stiff cocktail, are when you get the least opportunity to do so.

I haven't made much progress on the knitting front lately. I ended up stuck on the PA turnpike Tuesday night and would have had 5 hours of prime knitting time but, having believed that I would either be in meetings or driving the entire time, I neglected to bring any knitting. I actually thought about taking some with me but decided not to. Important lesson learned, always take your knitting with you when you are traveling as you never know when you will be parked on a major roadway for 5 or so hours. Plus, it is nice to have a distraction when sitting in your car alone in the dark on a turnpike. Otherwise, you sit and think about all of the terrible things that could potentially happen to you and have happened to countless other people that you have read about in Ann Rule books and see on Dateline. (Note to self: perhaps I should cut back on Ann Rule books and not stop to see what's going on in primetime news shows.)

I have embarked on a new knitting adventure. I am undertaking my first attempt at knitting 2 socks at the same time via Magic Loop. (I always knit my socks using Magic Loop but this is the first time that I have knit more than one at a time.)

Imagine how much further along they would be if only I had grabbed them to take with me on my road trip.... (Will never leave house without backup knitting project again.) These socks are a Christmas present and also my October socks for the Sock a Month KAL.

I am hoping that I will have a lot more knitterly progress to post over the coming days. I am going to the Bob Dylan/Elvis Costello concert next Thursday and would really like to be able to wear my finished UnRusted Root to it. Will I make it? Only time will tell.

She came, she saw, she steeked its ass!

I did my first steeks last night!!! How cool is that? I had no problem with making the cut but I did have a "What the hell did I just do?!" moment immediately after. I have much practice to do before I tackle a big project but I just got the pattern for Eunny Jang's Deep V Argyle Vest so that I can study it, practice and, pretty soon, be able to jump in and do it! I did hold off on ordering the yarn though as part of my goal to be financially responsible and to knit some of the projects that I already have yarn for before I get the yarn for a new project that I am not ready to start. I am planning on knitting it with Knitpicks Merino Style in Asparagus for the main color and vanilla as the contrast.

However, I am not totally denying myself the pleasure of purchasing knitterly wares. I found the coolest sock blockers at Scout's Swag and couldn't resist having them. They are en route and I will have them shortly. As a sneak preview, here they are:

Knitting and cocktails, a brilliant combination!

In other news, I have cast on for Rusted Root. Yippee!!!! I am going to work diligently on this top so that I can wear within the next couple of weeks. I have also started a group on Ravelry for people who are knitting Zephyr Style projects,

If you are on Ravelry and get a chance, stop by and check it out.

Playing Catch Up

I've been working on getting caught up with taking pictures and posting projects. As the last few knitting posts have been about what is waiting to get on the needles, I wanted to post an old FO and some WIPs to demonstrate that I have not only been thinking about knitting but actually doing some as well.

My First Socks

First the FO, the following pic is of the first socks I ever made. I made them last fall. I took at class at a LYS, Ewe Can Knit of downtown Pittsburgh, and learned the Magic Loop method. I heart Magic Loop. I use it for everything from socks to hats to sleeves. It is so nice to be able to use a single needle and not have to switch to dps as you decrease. I can't remember the brand and colorway of the yarn but I know it is a superwash merino.

Monkey Socks

In other sock news, the following is a WIP shot of the Monkey Socks that I am knitting in Plymouth Sockotta. These socks are my "pool project" as they are small, portable and do not interfere with my quest to get a tan. I'm not a big fan of fair isle patterned sock yarns but I loved the greens and blues in this year. I am actually quite pleased with the way the lace pattern of the Monkey socks plays with the fair isle pattern of the yarn. I'm a bit further along than this pic shows and have finished the leg of the first sock.

Tessellating Fish Afghan

Next up, we have the tessellating fish afghan. I love these shiny happy fish with their little smiles and bobble eyes. I'm knitting the afghan in Cascade 220 Superwash. I chose the hot pink, yellow and orange both for their sunny-ness and in an homage to old school granny square afghans. My plan is to make it large enough to cover my full-size bed. I think it will be quite some time before I get there. As the saying goes, that's a hell of a lot of fish to knit...

Green Gable

I am also nearly finished with Green Gable. I have not taken any WIP shots because everytime I have tried it on I have looked like shite. The sweater looks great but I have a tendency to try this one on when I have extreme bedhead or have been out swimming or any other number of reason that makes one look like shite and determine to not have any photographic proof of the situation. I will post some lovely shots of this sweater when it is finished.

Knitterly Improvement

I'm so excited!!!! I've signed up for a steeking class at the LYS Dyed in the Wool. I am intrigued by the idea of steeking and have seen a number of cute projects that involve steeking, including the Deep V Argyle Vest by Eunny Jang, but the idea of attempting steeking without someone showing me how to do it first is way more adventurous than I care to be. I love taking knitting classes. This will be the third class that I've taken, including the aforementioned sock class and an intermediate knitting course also at Ewe Can Knit. I find that I can struggle for hours trying to figure out how to do a particular maneuver (increases for example) that I can pick up easily if I see someone do it in person. Plus, you get to meet other knitters and have a designated time when, no matter what, you must knit because you are taking a class.