FO heaven and Mitten Love

I finally have pictures of my finished Orchid Mitts and Snow on Cedars Mitts. Plus, I finished my Bellatrix Socks and have pictures of those too. I'm doing good with the pictures this week.

First the FOs:



Orchid Lace Mitts
Start: October 2007
Finish: November 5, 2007
Needles: US 1 bamboo DPNs
Yarn: Fearless Fibers Merino Lace weight in Rubicund colorway (1 skein)

I love these mitts and wear them constantly. Fearless Fibers Merino Lace Weight is some of my favorite lace weight yarn. It's super soft, and the colors are gorgeous. You may remember that I also used it for my Japanese Feather Scarf (which I also wear constantly).




Snow on Cedars Mitts
Start: November 3, 2007
Finish: November 20, 2007
Needles: US 1 bamboo DPNs
Yarn: Wooly Wonka's Merino/Tencel Sock Yarn in Sagebrush and Cedars colorway (purchased as kit)

That picture doesn't really flatter those mitts. Here's a close-up of the yarn and stitch pattern:



I really enjoyed knitting these, I just couldn't put them down. Unfortunately, my gauge was off just a tiny bit, which made them just a little baggy in the hand. It's not much, and you can't tell from my picture because it goes away with blocking, but it seems to come back with wear. Of course, it's something that only I would notice, but it causes me to reach for my Orchid Mitts more. So, I'm thinking of giving them to my mother-in-law because they fit her perfectly....and she loved them.





Bellatrix Socks
Start: November 23, 2007
Finish: December 6, 2007
Needles: US 1 for ribbing and US 0 for everything else
Yarn: Pigeonroof Studios Superwash Merino Sock Yarn in Poison colorway

I love these socks. This was my 3rd pair of socks, and I'm getting better at making them fit right. In fact, I think these fit perfectly. They don't end up stretching out too much when I wear them. You've probably noticed, but I like tight socks and mitts. The dropped stitch pattern was a lot of fun to knit and the yarn was perfect for it. I really enjoyed seeing which part of the yarn would be in the next "nub". Actually, I've become pretty addicted to Pigeonroof Studios sock yarn because of these socks.

Now for the new projects:

After I finished my Bellatrix socks, I actually made some progress on my Honeybee. Not a ton, but progress is progress, right? I'm almost through the bee hive section on the first half of the stole; I've only got 2 pattern repeats to go. Then I get to move on to the swarm. I'm really looking forward to the swarm section, I've heard it's a lot of fun.

After working on the Honeybee for a few days, I decided I had to cast on some mitts. I love mitts, especially fingerless ones. So, I decided to make a mitten version of the Pomatomus Sock using Pigeonroof Studios Superwash Merino Sock Yarn in the Seaweed colorway, but I decided to be difficult and make my own version instead of using the ones available. I really hope it works. Instead of going down a needle size and using thinner yarn, I decided to cut back the number of pattern repeats and cast on 48 sts. I hope it looks right. I'm really anxious about the thumb. I have books and patterns laying all over the place so I can cross reference thumbs. I really want to do a gusseted thumb on the palm of the glove, which means I will have to do left and right gloves. Right now I'm still on the wrist, and I'm just hoping to cross the thumb bridge when I get there.

I also started swatching for the Endpaper Mitts last night. I'm using Knit Picks Palette in Golden Heather and Salsa Heather. I originally wanted those colors because I wanted to knit them in warm fall colors. When I received the yarn, I was super excited to realize that I had accidentally ordered Gryffindor colors. So, I get to make nerdy Harry Potter Endpaper Mitts! This is my first stranded colorwork and I'm a little slow and clumsy with the second yarn in my left hand, but I'm getting the hang of it. I was really surprised to find that although I'm usually a loose knitter, I seem to be a tight knitter with colorwork. Usually, I have to go down a needle size, sometimes 2, but this time I had to go up a needle size. Seriously, I was shocked.

Anyway, I think that's about it. I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Knitting and Movies

I've been knitting like crazy lately. The Snow on Cedars Mitts are finished, and I'm now working on the Bellatrix Socks (the site the Bellatrix pattern is on is currently disabled, so the only link I can give is the Ravelry link). I've already finished the first sock, and am about a quarter of the way through the second, but I haven't taken any pictures yet. Actually, I'm really behind on pictures, I still need to take pictures of my completed Orchid Mitts and Snow on Cedars Mitts. In my defense, I tried to take pictures earlier this week, but I took a couple and my camera battery died. So...I'm hoping I can get my husband to help me take pictures today. I've been delaying the mitts pictures because I would really like to have pictures of me wearing them instead of them just laying out, and I will need my husband to help me with that. I just feel bad asking him to stop what he's doing to help me take pictures for Ravelry and my blog. We both work full time, and by the end of the day, we don't actually get very much time to do the things we enjoy doing. I feel bad pulling him away from his hobbies to help me take pictures of mine. Plus...think of all the knitting I could do in the amount of time it takes to get really good pictures! ;)

I'm already planning my next project. I'm having trouble deciding between the Pomatomus Socks and the Endpaper Mitts. I've never really done any colorwork so I'm leaning towards the mitts, but I have the perfect yarn for a pair of Pomatomus socks. Hmm...decisions decisions. I guess I will see how I feel when I get done with Bellatrix. I could always start them both *evil smile*.

We watched Perfume: The Story of a Murderer last night.
It's an awesome movie, I highly recommend you see it. It's a bit unusual, but very good. I found out after we watched it that it was based on a book. So, now I'm hoping I will get the book for Christmas. Books are always better than the movies. Speaking of movies, I can't wait until Sweeney Todd comes out this month. I saw the play several years ago at The Pocket Theater in Dallas and loved it. Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, and Helena Bonham Carter will do wonderful things for this story.


Enough rambling from me. I hope everyone has a good weekend.

Return

See...I'm still alive.

Lately, I've just been knitting and reading like crazy. I'm reading the Harry Potter books for the first time. Yesterday I was out sick, and I ended up reading for 90% of the day. I finished off the last 200 pages of the 5th book, and started on the 6th. I did take a small break to work on my Spring Shawl Surprise swatch, but I will get to that in a minute.

It's been so long since I posted, I guess I should fill you in on my knitting. My Honeybee Stole is coming along slowly but surely. It amazes me how quickly some knitters can knit really complicated lace shawls, and the truly amazing thing about it is that they usually also have other projects they are working on at the same time. I've finished my Orchid Lace Mitts, and am halfway through my Snow on Cedars Mitts. I don't have any pictures yet of my completed Orchid Mitts, but they are gorgeous. I love them, in fact I've already worn them a few times on chilly mornings and once at our local hockey team's game. I'm having second mitt syndrome with my Snow on Cedars, but I'm determined to finish. It's nothing to do with the pattern or yarn, its me. I think it's because I went on a bit of a yarn shopping rampage, and now I want to start working with my new yarn. I just have to ignore the Siren's call of my new yarn. Ok, so maybe I did end up using some of the new yarn to work on my Spring Shawl Surprise Swatch, but that doesn't count, because the pattern clues don't start until January. To be completely honest, I was dying to knit something yesterday, but I was feeling so bad that I was concerned I would mess up anything I worked on. It seemed like the perfect time to work on a swatch....after all it's just a swatch. Plus, it gave me the perfect excuse to use my brand new Malabrigo Lace yarn (the Siren I couldn't ignore). I've never knit with Malabrigo yarn before, and now that I have, I have no idea how I existed without it. It's so soft, and the colors are gorgeous. I bought 4 skeins each of two different colors (Vaa and Taureg) because I couldn't decide which one I wanted to use for my Spring Shawl.

Vaa:


Taureg:


I'm worried that Vaa will end up being too dark, so that's the one I'm swatching with right now.
Next I will probably do a swatch with Taureg so I can compare and decide which one I like more.

Sorry about the long absence.

Japanese Feather Scarf

My Japanese Feather Scarf is officially done

knitting...with pictures

Ooo....look....I finally posted a few pictures!

I finished my Japanese Feather scarf...well...I still need to block it. Hopefully I can do that today. I really loved that pattern. I was a little sad when I finished it. I knit it with Fearless Fiber's Laceweight Merino, which is awesome. It's my favorite yarn. I used the Hendrix colorway. Here's a picture unblocked.



Last Sunday I started working on my Orchid Lace Mitts with Fearless Fiber's Laceweight Merino in Rubicund. They are coming along great. I can't believe how fast they are knitting up, I'm nearly done with the first mitt. I'm really enjoying this pattern, I can already tell that I'm going to be sad when I'm done with them.



I've put my Honeybee stole to the side for a little bit. I'm not enjoying my Addi Lace Turbos very much. It's my first time working with them, and I just don't like it. There really isn't anything wrong with them, I'm just not enjoying them. I really prefer wood over metal, and I think that's the whole problem. I ordered a set of #5 circulars from Jenkins Woodworking, and I plan to move my Honeybee onto them as soon as I get them. I'm sure once I have needles I enjoy, I will work on it a lot more.



Speaking of bees....

Elizabeth

Last night we saw Elizabeth: The Golden Age. It was great, I highly suggest you see it.

Quickie

Sorry I've been quiet for awhile. I promise a longer post soon.

Guess what....I received my Ravelry invite!!