sophy's knits, notes, etc.

i prefer to have two concurrent projects on the needles. one is a simple project that i can fit into my bag and knit during my commutes. the second is either much more complicated, requiring my undivided attention, or is simply too large to travel in my usual bag.

this morning, i took inventory of my works in progress and found that i have four projects competing for my time; two is quite manageable, four is not. do you want to know what they are? -- read on:

fingerless gloves in elsebeth lavold silk wool.

i started these fingerless gloves by mari muinonen [ravelry] in late December 2009, but had to put them aside after finishing the one medallion, because they required too much attention to commute with, and i already had other projects to knit at home.

diamond lattice scarf in araucania nature's wool.

yup. i'm knitting up a new version of my old diamond lattice scarf project, so of course, this is my current traveling project. i'm working to finish this soon so i can update the pattern.

cornflower cowl in debbie bliss cashmerino dk.

i started this directly after finishing two other cowls last year. it was my traveling project until i casted on for the diamond lattice scarf, but because i ended up standing most of my commutes, i didn't make much progress!

a top-down raglan in malabrigo worsted.

i started this stashbusting project after Christmas Day and focused my knit-time (when i wasn't too sick to knit) solely on finishing it. it even traveled with me until i couldn't stuff it into my bag any longer. at last, i only have the sleeves to knit!

i am quite happy with the fit and overall simplicity of the sweater, but i have to admit something... i really don't like the color. at all. it's hard to tell in this photo, but it is a mahogany red (with slight variations ranging from white, to pink, to dark mahogany) that i really thought i would adore. i don't. perhaps i'll think differently when it's done?

well, i'm itching to finish the sweater asap (tonight, perhaps?) so i should get to it -- happy knitting!

last year i bought 4 skeins of cash iroha at a yard sale. such an awesome find. cash iroha is such a lovely yarn -- for once a noro that is not variegated. it's soft and crunchy and shiney. really, i'm very in love with it.

la. i made this for dad but i think i'll keep it for myself.

project :: thermal ribbed cowl by me. [ravelry]
yarn :: Noro Cash Iroha, Color #16 (a grey-brown), 2 skeins.
needles :: US 4 (3.5 mm).
start-to-finish :: Nov 3-Dec ?, 2009.

that's right. selfishness reared its ugly head with this project, and you know what? i feel absolutely no remorse! i originally made this for my dad, but when it was done, i realized he would not wear it very often if at all because it just would not keep him warm during Philadelphia's winter season. whereas, i could wear it every single day in San Francisco. (how's that for rationalization?)

do you want to make your own? it's very easy: CO 128 sts. join for knitting in the round. k1, p1 rib for 7 rnds. thermal (garter) rib pattern: rnd 1: k all sts. rnd 2: k1, p1 rib to end. repeat thermal rib for 7 inches, end after rnd 1. next: k1, p1 rib for 7 rows (add a button hole (yo, k2tog) on the 4th row). BO all sts in thermal rib.

finished, my cowl is about 9 inches long. if i had more yarn, i would have made it at least 2 inches longer just so that it could be slouchier.

such a nice color!

project :: Cash Iroha spiral cowl [ravelry]
pattern :: Spiral Cowl by Keri McKiernan.
yarn :: Noro Cash Iroha, Color #22 (pomegranate red), 2 skeins.
needles :: US 4 (3.5 mm).
start-to-finish :: Oct 30-Nov 1, 2009.

modifications :: before i started, i weighed the yarn because i suspected that one of the skeins was not full; so, i knew that i didn't have enough to follow the instructions completely. i think i shortened the picot beginning by 1 rnd and at the ending by 2 rnds. it still looks great, but i wish i didn't have to do that. also, i crocheted a button loop (you can see other pictures on my ravelry page).

this was a quick project and i think hilary and i ended up knitting it around the same time (during a knitting night at samovar); you can see her lovely version here. honestly, i almost kept this cowl as well, but decided to give it to a friend who i knew would totally rock the shiney silky pomegranate red. good to know i'm not completely selfish -- whew!

happy knitting!!

these were a stashbusting effort that worked out rather well. i originally wanted to knit the hanami lace socks from Knitted Socks East and West. but obviously, those were not written for worsted weight yarn, so i decided to keep it simple as pie:

a pile of socklettes.

project :: garden of silk socklets by me. [ravelry]
yarn :: Noro Silk Garden, Color #84 and #47, 1 skein each.
needles :: US 7 (4.5 mm).
start-to-finish :: Oct 23-30, 2009.

gosh. did i really knit these all the way back in October? talk about belated project posts... these are nothing fancy. a few rows of k1p1 rib. i used short rows for the heels and toes. the broad lace leaf insert was extracted and improvised from the hanami socks pattern. (i cannot resist a leaf pattern, you know.)

really, while knitting them i thought they would be such fun mismatched socks to wear around the house to keep my frosty feet warm! i discovered that, when it comes to pairs of socks, i'm perhaps more fastidious than i thought; i wanted them to match. and because of that, i never wore them. ultimately, i gave them to a friend for the holidays. she loves them -- stashbusting success!

happy knitting!

when i first saw a picture of these mitts, i thought the bobbles represented the kodama, you know, those somewhat creepy little rattle-head spirits that wander in and out of the trees in Princess Mononoke? because of that, i just had to make a pair.

yeah. i took this picture while sitting in a meeting at work.

pattern :: Friends of the Forest Mittens by Katrin Silvius. [ravelry]
yarn :: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, Color #45, 1 Skein.
needles :: US 1 (2.25 mm).
start-to-finish :: Dec 3-11, 2009.

modifications :: i did not do the turned picot hem, since i worked most of this on my flights to and from Philadelphia (too finicky to work in semi-darkness). after seeing these mitts, i have to say, the picot hem really makes it prettier. but i adore my k1p1 ribbed mitts!

also, for some reason or other, the pattern didn’t line up after row 15 (i tend to make mistakes when i'm following written instructions and not charts), so using the project’s photo as a guide, i winged it. mostly, i just wanted it to look a bit more like leaves all around. but you can see from the photo below that i made some other nitpicky changes that i won't go into. of course, it wasn't until i had finished one side completely and looked at some other finished versions on ravelry that i realized i had made a pretty big mistake with the pattern.

while adam snores, i jot down some notes as i make my mods.

did you know there is supposed to be a person in the "forest"? i assumed it was a tree and while winging the pattern, intended to make it look more like a pine tree with extra bobbles for tree ornaments (for the holidays, you know). but ultimately, i didn't bother. because i thought the bobble was purely ornamental, i didn't think anything of it when i positioned it under the "tree"-top.

so now, my "friend of the forest" looks rather like a person bowing down -- to show his respects to the tree spirits, perhaps? rather, i like to think it looks like an Evangelion angel unit frolicking in Mononoke's forest. but, that's just me.

you might remember this yarn from a sweater vest i made for my husband last year. i absolutely love Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool and will probably knit many more projects with this in the future.

happy knitting!