Christmas Knitting Bonanza!

The knitted gifts were a hit, and I scored a couple of nice knitting books - Knitting Nature from Noelle, and The Knitting Answer Book from Mom. Both books will get a lot of use I am sure.

My current New Years Knitting goals are:
1) to learn to knit continental and
2) to learn to knit socks using the magic loop method.

I've tried a little continental knitting, learning from online videos, and I get the knit stitch, but still haven't mastered the purl. I'd like to find someone who knits continental to give me a quick lesson so I can figure out what I'm doing wrong.

As for magic loop... today I ordered for myself a US size 1 32" circular needle from Knitpicks, along with Sensational Knitted Socks, so hopefully in the next week or two I'll be able to give this new (to me) technique a shot.

I am just about done with my plain trekking socks. Lordy it seems like I've been working on these forever. I had nearly completed a pair of feather and fan socks and wasn't happy with how they fit, so I ripped them out and started some plain, top-down socks. Much better.

Tomorrow we're off to Turlock for some more christmas celebrating!

Holiday Gift Knitting

I've been busy with holiday gift knitting....here are a few samples...

For Hatti (my mother-in-law), a Wool Peddler's shawl in Knitpicks Andean Treasure, Lilac:














For Mom...another Wool Peddler's Shawl, in Knitpicks Elegance, Wild Rose:















For Virginia...a Falling Water Lace scarf in knitpicks shimmer, turquoise.




More photos to follow.

This Amuses Me...

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
The Midland
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The South
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

It is, of course, correct.

Swallowtail!

I completed my Swallowtail Shawl! I used about 270 yards of Knitpicks Gloss in burgundy. Size 7 Knitpicks Options needles. It took me one week to complete (a record for me). Size: about 64" x 38" I am sooooooo pleased with it. It's a beautiful pattern, and really not difficult.







And, as promised, here's Lauren's Nautie:

Completed Falling Water Scarf

Here's my Falling Water Lace Scarf in Knitpicks Shimmer. I was sorta hating it while I was working on it, because I didn't think the yarn worked too well with the pattern. But, thanks to the miracle of blocking, I am now quite pleased with it. I used US size 4 (knitpicks options) needles, and it took maybe 250 yards. Love it!



I immediately cast on for the Swallowtail Shawl (from Interweave Knits, Fall 2006). I'm using Knitpicks Gloss in Burgundy, and size 7 needles. So far I think it is lovely. I think I am really going to like this pattern. Here's my start:







I also finished a super cute Nautie for Lauren. I'll post pictures of that later.

New Blog!

Thanks to the Lacevember blog, I finally decided to create my own. So here it is.

And to start it off, I'm going to answer the questions from the Lacevember blog contest:

The knitting questions, or the usual suspects
How long have you been knitting? a couple of years (though I knit occasionally as a kid)

How did you learn to knit? Originally from my granny, as a kid, but more recently, from the internet - I can't remember which sites though.

Favorite thing about knitting? I love always having a project to work on, always looking forward to a new FO. It's all very exciting for me.

How long have you been knitting lace? About 3 months. I'm still a newbie

Favorite thing about knitting lace. the blocking. I love that drama of really seeing the lace pattern for the first time.

The yarn questions, or flash your stash

Favorite lace yarn? I'm still new to this, so have only used a few different knitpicks yarns. I like the "Shimmer", but am looking forward to trying others.

variegated or solids for shawls? solids.

Favorite lace color? red. (I haven't done anything red yet though!)

Technique, or show us your skillz

Circs or straights? circs

Favorite lace knitting trick? count often!

Lifelines? If so with what? nope. live dangerously.

Fancy blocking wires, or just sewing pins stuck in your carpet? wires. welding rods from the hardware store - 67 cents each. Makes the job a zillion times easier.

Pattern, or can you follow directions

shawls or lacey items? shawls!

triangle, rectangle, or circular shawls? so far I've only done triangle, but I'm looking forward to doing a rectangle or two.

Charts or printed instructions? charts.

Favorite lace you've knit? Evelyn Clark's Leaf Lace Shawl.


Favorite lace you want to knit? Shallowtail Shawl, Kimono Shawl

Just Fun, yup that's right, just for fun

Favorite jelly belly flavor? popcorn

Tell me everything you know about Eric the Red..... huh?

Coke, classic or with lime? Diet Coke

Holiday carols, sing along, or wish they would be banned from all public airwaves? I gotta say, I'd ban 'em.

What is the definition of irony? the Colbert Report

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop? More than I can count, but it's definitely worth the effort.

Why is my cat always puking in front of my son's bedroom door? Cats have issues that we humans will never understand. It's trying to send you a message, but it needs to communicate more clearly.

What is your superhero power? I can tune out to survive the most long & boring meetings, while still appearring attentive and interested.

If the laundry is 9 foot by 11 foot (just dreaming, that's a big laundry room), and the walls are 8 feet tall, and you are going to tile the entire room in tiles that are 3 inches by 5 inches, what color should those tiles be? That's a big laundry room! And tiles are pretty permanent. I'd go neutral personally - cream, or something kinda slatey looking.

What's for dinner tonight? turkey meatloaf & roasted asparagus.

What is clogging my children's bathtub drain? a small plastic submarine