just another raveller

Here are my January socks. I just finished them and am posting in the 11th (or is it the 12th hour?). The yarn is Regia, Kaffe Fasset something or other. The labels are around here somewhere. I really, really like the idea of having 12 pairs of hand knit socks at the end of the year. Knitting one pair of plain socks per month can't be too difficult. .

Here is my first pair of stranded mittens: NHM#7 from Terry Shea's book, Selbuvotter . I've done sweater yokes before, but mittens are trickier and I'll tell you why. Maintaining the same tension over both mittens is more difficult than I thought it would be. No, I lie - I didn't even think about it beforehand. It wasn't until I finished the second mitten and put them side by side, that I noticed that the right one was significantly larger than the left. You can see it in the second picture. In addition to the tension issue, I started carrying the yarn differently and I moved from a 2 mm to a 2.5 mm earlier on for the second mitten. That's why the checkboard at the beginning of the cuff is bigger on the right mitten. In the first picture the mittens are artfully arranged to hide the problem. Frankly, my dear... I was out in Fairport today and discovered a neat little shop called Craft Bits and Pieces, located in the mall above the Fairport Public Library. It...

Let's see. I've been struggling with a nasty bug all week and it's left me a little empty headed. I have, however, managed to knit a Norwegian mitten. Voila. If it weren't for this little mitten, I'd have no sense of accomplishment at all. None whatsoever. The second one should go faster. The yarn is Classic Elite Fresco (60% wool, 30% alpaca, 10% angora). I used US 1 - 2.25 mm and US 0 - 2.0 mm needles. I used the smaller needles on the cuff and on the thumb. What else did I do? Lost internet for several days, nipping in the bud a dangerous addiction to Mahjong . Thanks go to Frontier, our phone company. Mended my daughter's fingerless mittens that she loves. Must have done laundry. Yes. Made more chicken soup with feet in it. Knitted myself plain gloves. Now I'd like to knit an exciting Norwegian pair, but next on the menu is Maya Poffenberger's Japanese Wave Mittens (Ravelry link). Here's the photo from the project page. I think that a couple o...

I'm in Montreal, writing on someone else's laptop so no pictures. I'm knitting the last toe on the last plain sock of the year and I have plenty of knitting dreams for the New Year. 1) Finish some projects like the Storm Water shawl and Citron.Those are the most likely to be done soon. 2) Less likely, but no less desirable to finish - the Pine Tree Palatine and the second of t wo lace curtains out of the pale green Icelandic yarn. 3) Mittens. I'd like to practice some new mitten techniques. Before I left the house I was flipping through Favorite Mittens: Fox and Geese and Fences by Robin Hansen and thought I might experiment with different fibres on the Double Rolled mittens on page 36. I'd like to start early and have a pile of mittens to give as presents and donate to the Rochester Mitten Drive next winter. 4) I really like the Yarn Harlot's reflections on knitting a pair of socks each month . By the end of the year, she had 6 pairs to give as presents and ...

It's almost a month since I wrote here last, that long dark month between November and December. I've been humming and hah-ing, writing and re-writing and finally conclude that if knitters near the Arctic Circle Lene and Harpa can present a good face during the short days, then so can I. Love is an old pair of black gloves; at least it has been for me this past week. I knit them a year or 2 ago for my husband and he only recently complained in his mild way that the fit on the baby finger wasn't right. Don't worry, I won't torture you with photos except for this one which shows the fingers after I cut them off. There's an article about gloves in the most recent issue of Cast On . It has now finally sunk into my brain that after you have knit the cuff and thumb and built up the hand, it's best to knit the baby finger first before building up the hand with a few more rounds and completing the other fingers. I don't like the way they tell you to close th...

There was a hard frost here last night. When we went out this morning, the round yellow fruits of the Gingko trees across the street were drop drop dropping onto the pavement. The day was just beginning to warm up. A little later, we passed by a maple tree in Mendon Ponds park just as it decided to shed it's remaining leaves. One, two three, they all fell off with a popping noise. This Coppertina Ninebark is still holding on to its foliage for the time being. And the greenery from the daisies is also quite stubborn. In a word, there's still colour out there to admire. Back from Charleston, I hardly saw the place. I was in meetings almost the whole time, but it was overcast anyway. I know it's a beautiful city from past visits. Very funny comments about the afghan. It's a Salvation Army rescue. I was just so excited about finishing Coquille. Here are some better pictures...

I'm going to Charleston. I may have to take Coquille with me damp! Next up? Maybe Citron out of the Machair that Helen gave me. It was pictured on the Yarn Yard site in 2008, about 2 thirds down this page . It now appears to be a rare, discontinued yarn. Thank you, Helen!