Sunday, January 23, 2011

jinx

I'm not sure what happened to me but for some reason I've been having problems getting excited about my knitting. Maybe I felt like I was making too many mistakes and getting worried about starting new things in case my knitting had been jinxed or something.
One project that I had had sitting for far too long was this pair of baby socks:

baby socks!

I had the second one ready to kitchner and I realized they were not the same size and somewhere along the line I had made an error or something. So in an effort to exorcise the knitting jinx, I finally ripped back and finished the second one properly. Now I just need to get them mailed to where they need to go.

Jinx fixed, I started a pair of socks for me. The pattern is from Sock innovation and the yarn is a hand dyed (not by me) called appropriately enough: screaming green. I'm pretty sure they are going to be too big, but they do go over my foot.

screaming green

I think it might be residual jinx feeling. But I am prepared to rip this one out, if indeed when it is done it is too big--and restart it on smaller needles. I am.

In the meantime, I'm psyching myself up to start a new central park hoodie. I looked back at Ravelry and found that ARGH the one I made that is very very snug when I close it is a 40 (supposedly) so this one will probably be a 44. That SHOULD be 8 inches of ease normally, but I'm just hoping to get 4. Hmm maybe I should make the 48.

Oh, I was also asked how the girls liked their doll hats. They were received with glee, but then demands were made for coats. knitted coats. SIGH.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Winding and swatching

Ten days into 2011 and I'm just getting around to writing. Bad me. Of course you'd think I'd have some huge finished project to show too. Sadly, despite having travelled 12 hours in the car over the holidays, I have nothing really to show. I ended up taking a pair of baby socks, and I do have those sort of finished but when I was showing them off I noticed one was a bit smaller than the other, so since I haven't finished off the toe, I'm going to unravel it a bit and make it match. So I don't want to photograph them until I have that fixed.

You think I might even have a resolution, but sadly no on that either. I thought about making a list of things I'd like to knit in 2011, but that seemed a little too much like work, where I make goals and objectives all the time.

So far though 2011 has been about getting ready to knit.

I received from my mother in law, who sticks to the lists people give her, enough Lark in the color Leek to make a sweater. I think that another central Park Hoodie is in my future. So right now I'm swatching. I actually felted my first swatch because I didn't realize that even my washer on delicate would be too rough. So the second swatch got hand washed, we'll see--unwashed I get gauge pretty easily.

I also bought a new pair of shoes to replace my beloved loafers that I usually wear to work with my hand knit socks. These shoes are more a mary jane style and show off way more sock than my loafers did, which has me wanting more socks. Only not plain socks. I want socks with interest! Socks with a detail on the foot! I'm thinking Wanida from the book Sock innovations And I have just the yarn. Sadly though it is still in a skein and so needs to be wound and swatched.

So that's 2011 so far for me, winding and swatching.