Sunday, April 28, 2013

An FO and a YO

I got a bit more adventurous with my second pair of socks, but not so adventurous that I couldn't get through them pretty fast. See, I had a goal with a nice, crunchy carrot dangling in front of me.

second-socks2

Pattern:Simple Skyp Socks by Adrienne Ku
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Tonal (Blue Violet)

Turned out it was a perfectly timed carrot, as well: My first pair of socks was too small (and went to Izzy) and this second pair was too big (but not so big, thankfully, that they don't make good bed socks). In the quest for a "just right" pair, what better help could there be than the Yarn Harlot, herself?

Yesterday, I attended my first Yarnover, kicking off the morning with a Grok the Sock class taught by Ms. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. It's why I wanted at least two pairs of socks under my belt... Nothing motivates like potential humiliation.

My self-imposed deadlines and stress were definitely worth it. What a great class, and what a great teacher! Here's my in-progress baby sock in the foreground, with classmates' photo opp. in the background.

grok-sock1

And here's the finished baby sock, which I Kitchenered last night. And what's that in the picture? Yep, it's the start of pair #3, fully informed and on its way to that "just right" fit.

grok-sock

I had more time than planned over lunch since my friend Susan got a nasty bug and couldn't attend at the last minute (no swapping of notes).  So for better or worse, I then took full advantage of the market. (A thank-you shoutout to my sister and brother-in-law for the birthday bucks that bought both sets of fabulous vintage buttons.)

yarnover

I finished up the day with a Celtic Cables class by Melissa Leapman, where I managed to execute the following two swatches to my disbelief and pure joy. As you might guess from the book, I'm jazzed to bring on the cables in another project or two.

celtic-cables

Except for the missing Susan part, a fantastic day. Already planning for next year.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Enough Already!

Last Friday, I awoke to this view outside my hotel window in San Antonio. Sure, I had to work all weekend, but it seemed a fair trade since it was spitting sleet and snow in Minnesota when we headed out to the National Science Teachers Association.

san-antonio

Much of that mess had melted by the time my plane touched back down on Sunday afternoon. And it continued to melt over the next few days. Since I like to think of this blog as family friendly, I'll skip sharing my initial outburst at awaking to this view today.

minneapolis

Two thing helped cheer me up...slightly. 1) I'd already arranged to work from home today. 2) Izzy gleefully grabbed three FOs to layer up for her walk to the bus.

That said, I'd like to make it loud and clear that as much as I appreciated Minnesota bringing the knitting weather this fall and winter, I'm ready for spring. Now. Enough already and (hopefully) enough said.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

FO: Fiddlehead Mittens

The good news? I can check off Fair Isle and mittens from my 2013 Knitting goals. (And when you add in those first socks, I've hit everything on my list by early April.)

fiddleheads1

Pattern: Fiddlehead Mittens by Adrian Bizilia
Yarn: Mirasol Yarn Tupa (Tiger's Eye) and Plymouth Yarn Kudo (49: Green, Teal, Brown), lined with After the Sheep Panda (Butterscotch)

fiddleheads2

The bad news: They're too small — I clearly overcompensated when I frogged the too-big third of the first mitt. So guess who got lucky?

fiddleheads3

Yes, Izzy really was that excited to claim them as her own. There's that. And there's the fact that they coordinate with the too-small hat she also claimed.

So after a brief mourning period, I did what any good knitter would do: I ordered more yarn. And since I enjoyed this further foray into colorwork, I'm excited to cast on another pair.