knitting update

This scarf is Ribbed Scarf with a Twist pattern by Ann Budd, designed for the Red Scarf Project. I'm using Colinette Cadenza that I ordered online as it looked like it would match my coat. I wish that I could photograph it to show the colors - jewel-like, saturated, and totally yummy! It's a super-soft merino and definitely worthy of being labeled yarn porn.
This sock is Meilenweit 6-ply Special self-patterning yarn that I ordered from Astrid's Dutch Obsessions. Astrid's prices are always great and she ships promptly.
This is the sock that I'm making for my sister with the medium-weight Socks That Rock Granite yarn that was the fall sock club shipment. I've put it aside for now until we can get together for her to try it on. It looks big to me. I've checked the math repeatedly and it SHOULD fit but I'd rather be sure before going on.
Mmmm.... merino/silk roving from Lisa Souza, Shave Ice colorway . It needs quite a bit of pre-drafting but spins beautifully into fine singles and it's so soft!

I've discovered Lime & Violet's podcasts and I'm hooked. I can hardly wait for each week's broadcast. If you love fiber and have a slightly twisted and irreverent sense-of-humor, this one's for you.

Whew! Enough links for you?

Woo Hoo!

Great news! Robin phoned this evening that Earl's surgery went very well and he is on the road to recovery. I'm so relieved.

plugged in

The weather has been frigid in Saskatchewan for most of the last week. The windchill temperatures were often in the minus 40's. That's degrees Celsius but, if I remember correctly, it's almost the same on the Fahrenheit scale. For those of you who live in warmer climates, we have engine block heaters on our vehicles that can be plugged in so that cars will start in the cold. Sometimes even the block heaters can't help an older car when it's really cold but most of the time it works.

It's not unusual to see the occasional vehicle driving along trailing a bright orange electrical cord when the driver has forgotten to unplug it before driving away. Most of us have made this mistake at least once but still snicker when we see someone else doing it. However, my friend (to save her the embarrassment, I'll call her R - she has recently become a Knitter) took this one step further. She parks on the street in front of her home so the electrical cord has to trail from the house across the front yard to the street. To tidy things up, her husband wrapped the cord around the home security sign stuck into the lawn. Well, the sign now has to be replaced. It seems that R drove off not only with the bright orange electrical cord but also with the sign caught in its web bouncing along behind her. I wish I'd been there with the camera.

On a more sober note, I hope that all goes well for my uncle's double-bypass surgery tomorrow. We'll be sending lots of good thoughts your way, Earl and Robin!

Fetching

I bought some lovely alpaca/silk yarn to make a sweater for myself but, after swatching and washing, decided it was too itchy to be warn next to the skin. It feels wonderfully soft to my hands but it made my neck itchy. I kept a couple of skeins and returned the rest. I used what I kept to make these cabled handwarmers for Carmen. It's the Fetching pattern on Knitty. Very pretty and quick to make, I like this pattern a lot. I chose not to do the picot bindoff and, instead, used a crochet castoff then did a row of single crochets around it so that it wouldn't flare. It still has plenty of give for putting it on but snugs up to the hand when on.

I tempted fate by declaring the STR Chapman Springs plain vanilla socks my own. I thought that I had a tight enough gauge that my wimpy feet would be able to wear the stocking stitch soles. My feet decided otherwise, big babies, and were unable to suck up the discomfort from the purl bumps. So the socks became a gift for my good friend Rhonda. Rhonda was a knitter but she has become a Knitter (with a capital K) since I lent her my Yarn Harlot books last summer. Good old Yarn Harlot!

Ouch!

Christmas has come and gone. Our house was a whirlwind of company so I'm happy to kick back into rest mode for a few days.

I've been having pain in my right wrist and knitting hurts. This is why. It's a drop-dead gorgeous scarf made with Baby Alpaca carried with a strand from the silk hankie. I bought both from Golden Willow my LYS. The pattern is Yarn Harlot's from her October 12 scarf. My hand also hurt when I knitted Geoff's hat. I've come to the conclusion that using larger needles, maybe bigger than 5 mm, makes my hands hurt. I've been getting lots of advice from people on the Townsend Socks and Knitlist yahoo groups to try wrist supports, different knitting styles, plastic needles, and many other wonderful ideas. I plan to rest my wrist for a couple of days and then try some of them. It seems that I should probably stick to knitting with smaller needles but I really want to finish this scarf. It matches my winter coat perfectly and is lofty and buttery soft.

Speaking of socks, here is the latest FO. Plain vanilla socks for me - Socks That Rock Chapman Springs. I used Sock Wizard to determine fit and it works well! It's a good thing that knitting socks doesn't hurt my hands.