The Edging Effect

I've been busy creating a knitting callus on my right pointer finger and trying not to look at exactly how much of the edging I have left to knit versus the amount of yarn I have in my ball. I'm cutting it close. So close, in fact, that I've been knitting faster and faster trying to make my yarn not run out before I'm done. This is shawl number 2 for my 10 of the year and I'm uber-excited about how it's turning out. The pattern is Print O' the Wave by Eunny Jang and I'm knitting it in Misti Alpaca Lace. I tried casting on for this in my final trimester of pregnancy and my mind was not prepared for chart reading of any sort. The pattern is tedious but exceedingly beautiful and rewarding. Both halves of the center portion are knit separately, grafted together, and then stitches are picked up around the whole thing and an inner border is knit. Break the yarn, cast on for a sideways knit edging, and continue around until you meet up with your provisional cast on and then graft the live stitches together. The way the pattern repeats in the center portion does not allow for marker placement so you have to be really careful to mark where you leave off. But the edging!!! It's getting close to becoming the seventh circle of Hell. In total you knit 84 repeats of the edging chart and that is a whole lot of knitting back and forth on 20-ish stitches. I'm keeping my head down and my fingers flying until I'm done. If I stop now it just won't get done. Eek.

Oak Ribbed Socks

I've got some photos for things actually in progress at the moment but will save them for later. I bought this yarn when I was in Wichita at Twist. My sister in law chose this yarn for socks and although I didn't really like working with it at first, it grew on me. It makes really lovely finished socks.


Pattern: Oak Ribbed Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush
Yarn: S.R. Kertzer On Your Toes Bamboo
Needle: 1 1/2 Addi 40 inch circular
Notes: I knit these two at a time on magic loop which is the only way to go (for me) for fairly boring ribbed socks. I did a reinforced heel and flat toe. I think this yarn is best for heavily ribbed socks since it has no memory on it's own. The ball band says to use a size 3 needle but bamboo grows similar to cotton so I adjusted the size down. I also added a very small amount of negative ease to try and counteract any stretch that may happen with wear.

Frost Diamonds

Once again I'm feeling a little bit daft for joining a group with a mission. I joined the 10 shawls in 2010 group on Ravelry. Minimum yardage requirements are quite low so I think it is doable for me. Here's my first for 2010.

Pattern: Frost Diamonds by Stefanie Japel
Yarn: Sundara Yarn Aran Silky Merino in Ruby Port (~450 yards)
Needles: #9 Harmony circulars
Mods: I knit this on smaller needles than the pattern calls for since my yarn is slightly lighter weight. It made the shawl slightly smaller.

Ten

I had a hankering for an easy peasy super-fast project. I found it, made it, finished it in about a day. Actual knitting time was a little over an hour.

Pattern: Fourteen (neckwarmer)
Yarn: Malabrigo Gruesa in Plata
Needles: #15 bamboo circulars
Mods: This yarn calls for a #13 needle but mine have gone missing so I used a #15. Since I used larger needles I cast on 10 stitches instead of 14, eliminated the buttonholes, and just knit in pattern until I was almost out of yarn and then bound off.

Where the *bleep* is Ukiah?

I went to see Youth in Revolt last night which was my very very favoritest book in high school. Yeah, favoritest. Not only is it set in Northern California but part of it is set in my home town and former stomping ground of Ukiah. Michael Cera plays Nick Twisp/Francois Dillinger and I can't picture anyone else doing such a good job. Perfect for the role. It made me laugh, the music was good, and the cast, though odd, was a good choice. I actually suggest reading the book first to get a proper appreciation of the storyline. Teen boys are disgusting creatures and also very very funny.

Amanda has promised to take the Youth in Revolt tour with me once it comes into being. (Sort of like the Twilight tour of Forks.) Hee.