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Enstriped

There is a finished object in the house. 

I know, it's been awhile since I've finished a pair of socks, hasn't it? (about a year)

 These are knit out of Knitpicks Felici Sport (Boutique colorway) on US 2.5 needles, 64 inches around. I was completely ridiculous about matching the stripes, and thus the second sock is actually bits and pieces of both skeins so they would match relatively well. It was kind of a pain. BUT I like stripes to match, it's how I roll. The second skein didn't start anywhere near the stripe sequence of the first, I wish they'd be a little more careful about that, it would make my life easier. 

These are the never-ending bluebell rib socks. They are so never-ending I can't remember what yarn they are made of. The colorway is "Peeps" though, and I do heart these socks. I only have 5 more pattern repeats before the toe, and when you are trucking along on the pattern, it moves pretty swiftly. 

Finally, another pair of stripeys:

Knit Picks Felici in what colorway I do not recall (Picnic or Summer or something – the colors are prettier in real daylight) but it is currently available. This one is ribbed and I am trying out a new-to-me technique: afterthought heel! I am interested to see how they turn out and fit because I don't really care for the fit of short-row heels. 

I am working on numerous other socks too, but I will photograph them another time. I am a half-repeat away from the heel turn on the second Bas-Relief sock and I actually turned the heel on one of Abby's rainbow socks, and a pink striped Jaywalker. I don't know when those pairs will be done, though. I'm trying to bust a move on the rainbows, and since I seem to be feelin' the stripes at the moment, I'm hoping to get going on those for real. There is a lot more stripey goodness in my arsenal too, so I'm trying to strike while the iron is hot. 

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Eiki Shawl

Since I last posted, one of my friends had a baby, and I got sick! Suck! I also managed to sucker a couple of people into driving me places go to Ikea and SuperWalmart, which were both fun excursions. 

Today I stayed home from work as I lost my voice almost totally from all the coughing I got up to over the weekend. By now it's mostly back, but I can only imagine what a day of answering phones would have done to it. I'm looking forward to getting back into the groove of things tomorrow. 

I napped part of the morning away, then managed to stay awake in the afternoon and since I had some free time I decided to photograph my latest FO, which is the Eiki Shawl by Janel Laidman. I finished it last Friday and blocked it on Saturday.

Turned out MEGA nice. 

It's one of the largest shawl(ette)s I've knit, and has rocketed straight to the top in terms of favorite. The yarn, Sanguine Gryphon Bugga! in Landlubber Grasshopper was purchased directly from the company at Stitches West. I don't think I've ever purchased yarn and finished a project so soon with it before! The pattern calls for 440 yards of yarn; I not only chose a yarn with 412 yards, but I used a bigger needle than called for as well. Let's just say it was a bit of a nail biter towards the end as the yarn ball kept getting smaller and smaller – and I have no other yarn this particular shade of red in the stash, so I wasn't sure what I would do if I ran out early. Luckily, while I worried about it extensively it turned out I didn't have to, though there is very little yarn left. 

OKAY so I just weighed the shawl and the leftover yarn and the yarn weighed 4.25 oz, so if my calculations are correct, that actually means that I had 437 yards, in which case, I was fine. Hmpf.

Here's some detail shots:

The colors are actually pretty accurate on my monitor – you can see the flecks of purple and gold in with the deep red.

This was truly one of my favorite knitting experiences – all that garter stitch plus leafy lace? It's basically my favorite things! Plus my new favorite yarn so it was doubly nice. 

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Here We Are

Winter is having a hard time letting go – a big storm has whipped through the Bay Area, leaving a BUNCH of palm tree branches on my roof thanks to the heavy winds. We even had a tornado warning Friday morning. So it's been pretty rainy and not sunshiney. Happy Spring, yeah? 

I finished the Bellingrath shawl and blocked it last night. When it's actually sunny, I will try to get better pictures, but here is an idea of what it looks like on the blocking wires: 

Pretty nice! I'm curious as to how it will "fit" since the sides of the shawl don't come to a point, they have that edge – so it's not a triangle, it's more of a, well, Superman logo shape. 

Anyway, so that's done for the most part. 

Next up is the Eiki Shawl, pattern by Janel Laidman. 

From now until the end of April, all pattern proceeds go to fund Japan disaster relief. How could I NOT buy the pattern?! It really amazes me the way the online crafting community comes together to help people in need. 

I'm knitting the shawl out of Bugga! I got at Stitches last month in the Lubber Grasshopper colorway, which is a dark red with flecks of purple, super pretty and SO soft, I don't even. 

The rain's at it again, just bracing myself for the tell-tale thump of a palm tree branch hitting my roof. Again.