WIP It!

Starting a project is so very therapeutic. Finishing, not so much.
This my second Kepler sweater in progress. The first, made from luscious Frog Tree Merino, shrank a bit and was gifted onward. Kepler the second is being knit with oh so soft Madeline Tosh Merino in the Tannehill colorway.

I have a love-hate relationship with her yarns. There. I said it publicly. And it felt good.
Any who. Her color dyeing is awesome. My beef is that there is precious little consistency in the dye lots and they are small. Small as in, too bad, so sad big girls. No sweaters worth of MadTosh for you! That sucks dinosaur eggs.

So this was the best that I could do for a MadTosh sweater. 3/4 sleeves and ill matching parts. Sigh. It only took me a year and a half to get over the anger to two seams away from completion. Just wait until I learn to dye my own yarn. Just wait!

Festival Sweaters

The last fiber event in my area is this coming weekend.
It's the 2nd Annual Fiber Festival of New England, located in West Springfield, MA. 
While I'm not 100% certain that I'll make it this year, the urge to finish a new sweater in time weighs heavy on my mind.

Rather than start something new from my Ravelry queue, Kepler out of my WIP bin seemed like the smartest way to go. I only have the sleeves left to go. Sleeeeves. Ugh! Trying to work smarter this time around by doing two at a time on my fast N pointy glass circs.  Cable bands. check. Picked up stitches. check. Time enough to finish? Ummm...Wish me luck!

 

Oh, Snap!

A heel flap!

Ladies and gentlemen, this is my first pair of socks in the making!
I would not have gone this far without the encouragement of fellow knitter and sock enthusiast, SharonV.  Thanks!
This is a relatively easy pattern from the wonderful book, 2-at-a-Time Socks, by Melissa Morgan-Oakes. They are called Ragg Hiker and I am using Ella Rae Classic Superwash. Nothing could be more soothing for my first time out than this simple pattern in worsted weight yarn.

I am so excited to also get this done using this method. Both socks are made using only one long circular needle...at the same time!!!! Love the built-in UFO prevention. For this to all come together, I had to learn the magic loop technique which I picked up at a Market Session class during the Stitches South Knitting Expo a couple of weeks ago.

Alright, more sock updates later on this week and I'll share a bit about my trip to Stitches in Atlanta.

A Perfect Fit

Happy New Year all!
Hope that it is well with you in body, mind and spirit in 2011.

Are you ready to knit?!
Can't wait to spin up the fluff?!
Let's get this party started!

I'm starting the craft year off with inspiration from knitting mentor and friend, SharonV. These Monkey Socks were a gift from her needles. A perfect fit. Thanks SharonV!!