More Sock

The socks are coming along. I've finished one and I'm about halfway down the cuff of the other one:


Not much else to report. I've just been knitting on the socks the past week. I really do love the wild striping.

Summer of Socks

I've finally cast on for my Summer of Socks socks:

I'm actually to the heel turn now, but it's cloudy today so I used the picture I took yesterday. Isn't the yarn great? It's Austermann Step, believe it or not. I've always loved the Austermann Step because it feels so nice and I have two pairs which really do help my poor cracked feet in the winter. But I've always found the colors, well, on the boring side. The striping was sort of cool, but the colors boring. I came across this one while on a yarn crawl with a friend on Saturday and couldn't resist. I mean, not only purple and pink in the same sock yarn, but also aloe and jojoba. I's some really nice stuff. And I'm doing my usual Plain Old Stockinette pattern.

There might have been a couple more skeins that jumped into my shopping bag.



I doubt I'll have the most socks in SOS, but at least I've started!

Trinity and New Book

Here's a quick picture of progress on the Trinity Shawl:

It's a nice stitch and I think it's working really well for my "sherbet" yarn.

I also got Wrapped in Comfort yesterday. This book is by the wonderfully talented Alison Jeppson Hyde. I've loved Alison's stories ever since I found my way onto the yahoo knitlist group a couple of years ago. She loves to knit for other people and always has a wonderful story to accompany her knits. That's what makes this book so very special, that it includes the stories behind the patterns. I've been waiting for the book and it came yesterday when I had just gotten back from the eye doctor with dilated eyes. I still managed to somehow read all the stories with blurry vision and I've looked again at all the shawls now that I can see again. It is a lovely book with beautiful shawls and I look forward to savoring the stories.

Ravelry is taking a little bit of my time. Have I mentioned how very cool it is?

Ravelry

I'm in. For everyone still waiting, I encourage you to wait patiently for your invite. I've been waiting for weeks and it is so worth the wait! It definitely isn't a replacement for blogging (though it may suck some time away from it), but an enhancement. You can easily see who is doing the same projects as you (or the ones you want to do) and what yarns they are using. You can see what your friends have in their queue and you can see everyone's projects in one place. It really is a wonderfully done site and is absolutely incredible! If you're already on, feel free to stop by and say hi. My user name is Alianne.

As promised, the headless model returns with Sahara:

And Bonsai:

(Please excuse the blindingly white shirt. I do need a cream-colored tee to wear under it, but the white shirt isn't quite as white as it shows up in the picture.)

Thank you to everyone for your kind words about the loss of my uncle. It means a lot.

Finished Sahara

I know, I just don't try to be creative on the titles anymore, do I? The Sahara is done. It is a little tight in the bosom area, but I think it'll be okay. (Though I might consider adding another few rows of pattern around the collar if I change my mind later.) Anyway, here she is:

Specs:
Pattern: Sahara from Stitch Diva
Needles: Size 6 and 4
Yarn: Pima Silk from Misti Alpaca. I used exactly three skeins for the small size. When I say three skeins, I had about three yards leftover. (I had a fourth skein, but didn't have to use it.) It's a nice yarn, but doesn't stretch as much as cotton usually does in my experience which is why I think the bosom is a wee bit tight.
Modifications: None

I know, I still owe you modeled pictures of Bonsai, so I'll try and get those and some modeled picts of Sahara up sometime next week.

It's been a rough week. My uncle passed away early this morning, so please keep my family in your thoughts. Thank you.

Almost Finished

Well, I'm getting very close to finishing the Sahara. I'm on the last few rows of the bottom, then I'll have to pick up for the sleeve edging and the collar edging. I think I've decided to just use the same color for the edging as the tank. Shouldn't take too much more time and I've tried it on and it fits beautifully. We'll see how it works once it's finished. I really have liked how this garment is constructed. I really like that a good bit of it is done in the round and there will be next to no seaming involved. It's a well written pattern.

In random things, we've gotten our first blueberries off the bushes this weekend. I love fresh blueberries and I'm so happy we didn't lose ours to the frosts like so many. I think we really lucked out. Ours had not yet bloomed when the last frost hit; it bloomed a few days later and our two bushes are just overloaded. Also, The Closer starts back next week; I just love Kyra Sedgewick in the show.

Enjoy your week!

Book Review Friday

I realized I completely missed my second year blogiversary. It was June 2. I had intended to host my first contest and everything, but it sort of snuck up on me and I completely spaced. But I think I'm going to try and come up with something soon though. (Soon being a relative term, of course. It might be a couple more months.)

Anyway, I've recently acquired some new knitting books I'd like to share. I'll start with Charmed Knits by Alison Hansel. I like this book. It has tons of neat projects based on the Harry Potter books and movies including house scarves, sweaters, socks and mittens, Dobby socks, a stuffed Errol, a wizard robe and a couple of neat bags. A little something for all the HP knitting fans.

The next book is Fitted Knits. I bought this book after I had bought the Knitted Bodice pattern by Stefanie Japel. This book has some invaluable information on making patterns fit your own body. Basically, you should know your own measurements and know how to add or subtract decreases in the pattern to fit. Many of the patterns are knitted from the top down so you can actually try them on as you knit to see if you're going to get the right fit. While there are a couple of patterns in bulky yarn (which I've never had the desire to use), most seem to be in worsted weight yarn which I've actually been using quite a bit of lately. I really like the textured tunic which is on the cover and I'm thinking that the pink pima silk might end up being the Drop-Stitch lace tank. There are all sorts of sweaters, cardigans, vests and even an adorable dress and a really smart suit (neither of which I'll ever have an occasion to wear).

The last book is Knitting Lingerie Style from Joan McGowan-Michael. This is a cool book. I've loved JMM's designs for a while and have made the Shapely Tank and Bella, so I was excited when this book came out. I got it straight from White Lies, so it is autographed. This book does have a bit of actual lingerie in it - there is the one-piece wonder on the cover and a cute bra/panty set, but many of the designs are lingerie-inspired - lots of pretty tanks, camisoles and sweaters. Many of the designs I'd never wear without a camisole underneath, but they are very pretty, fitted and feminine designs and I'll probably be making some stuff from the book.

Anyway, that's my two cents on some of the new knitting books out there. What are your favorite new knitting books and which ones are you most looking forward to? There are lots of new cool ones coming out in the fall!

WIP Wednesday

I know I've been MIA a bit lately. I haven't been blogging quite as regularly and I've haven't been commenting as much as usual on everyone's blogs. I've still been a bit under the weather. I'm feeling a bit better today though so I hope I'm on the tail end of all of this. Anyway, I also haven't been knitting quite as much as I usually do. Between not feeling so well and a certain video game that I've gotten sucked into, it makes for not so much knitting. I have read a couple of good books lately though and I'll tell you about those after I show what is in progress. (And I apologize for the crappy photography. There's really no excuse other than laziness.)

First up is Sahara:

I've made it to where the armholes are joined and the piece is worked back and forth for another couple of inches, then the neck is joined and it's worked in the round. The pattern is really easy to follow and it really is pretty quick. I just haven't been working on it a whole lot.

Next is the diamond stole. I had to use the flash to get the pattern to show up, but in doing so, I washed out some of the color. It really is a nice, royal purple.

I have made a little progress with this because it really is a fairly simple pattern and easy to memorize. It's easy to work on when not thinking too much.

And last, but certainly not least is the trinity shawl that I've just cast on for. I'm only about three rows in. It will get smaller each row, then a knitted-on border (which I'm sure you'll hear me complain about because those things take forever!)


Anyway, maybe I'll save the books for Friday instead since I'm not making much progress on anything else, I'll at least have something to share. Maybe I'll even post a couple of reviews on some new knitting books I have. I seem to have acquired several in the last couple of weeks.

More Sahara and a Shawl

I've started the front of Sahara.

I'm seriously loving this knit. The pima silk is really nice and soft, nothing like the worsted weight cotton I've worked with before. And I really look forward to not having to seam sides together. I also love my interchangeable needles because instead of having to run a scrap thread to hold stitches, I can just put the caps on the cords and all I'll have to do is put the needle back on the cord to knit them again.

I wound that lovely sherbet-colored yarn from Margene yesterday and tried out a new stitch. It's the Trinity stitch from Victorian Lace Today and I think it's a pretty nice fit for the yarn.

The colors are nice and subtle peaches and purples (and the photo doesn't do justice as usual) with just a little pink and I think I'll be casting on for the shawl today. It's a triangular one.