Kickin' Out the Jams*

Happy spring! Not much blogging has happened this month, but there's been a good amount of knitting. And, just to mix it up a bit, some crochet, too.

March goals:

+ Keep knitting related purchases under $100. Well, it isn't the end of the month quite yet, but due to some strategic selling on Ravelry I've managed to spend $30.03 out of pocket in March. I'm not planning on buying anything else this month, and I have a lot of wiggle room even if I do, so I'm considering this a victory.
+ Finish crocheting baby blanket for Tom's grandnephew. Done. Details below.
+ Finish body of Cobblestone and one sleeve. Done. Knitting sleeves in the round is really fast, isn't it? I finished the first and cast on the second in two days. For me that's, like, unheard of fast.

I also cast on and finished the first cuff of my Lenore socks. There was a brief panic phase, where I thought I'd done one of the decreases incorrectly, but after conferring with my confreres discovered everything was copacetic. All the angst pooped me out, though, so the sock has been in time out since then. Still, it's pretty, yes?

* * *

Fine Lines Baby Blanket

Pattern: Fine Lines from Candy Blankies by Candi Jensen
Yarn: Rowan All Seasons Cotton in Lime Leaf (5 balls) and Citron, Remote, and Giddy (2 balls each)
Hook: I
Mods: None
Rating: Perfect baby shower gift
Ravelry link here.

As many of you know, last year was a year of orgiastic stash enhancement for me. This was largely due to several great 50% off sales, and the yarn for this blanket was acquired through two of them. Two years ago I made the first version of this blanket for my knit buddy Beth when she was expecting her second child. I hadn't expected to make another, but Rowan All Seasons Cotton at 50% off? In pretty, Easter egg shell colors? Hey, babies are always being born, right? Lemme get my credit card.

Not much to say about the pattern - it's mindless half double crochet with a single crochet border - but the Rowan colors just make me happy, y'know? And it's fast, which is great when the baby arrives several weeks early...which is what Tom's grandnephew did.

Well, we're pretty caught up, so that's it for this time. Catch ya on the flipside!

*Anyone else an MC5 fan?

Yeah Yeah Yeah

Hi! Here I am. February sucked. Let's sweep away the last vestiges of it, shall we, and jump into good stuff? Oh, yes, lets!

Goal Tending Pt. 2

February goals:
+ Keep knitting related purchases under $100. This includes yarn, patterns, needles, everything. Total spent = $41.94.
+ Finish Gothic Leaf Stole. Done! Recap this week.
+ Cast on Cobblestone and knit 10" of the body. Done! Approximately 16" up the body. I need to take it off the needles and measure, as I'm getting close to setting up for the sleeves at 17". I'm still lovin' the yarn. And the sizing is plenty big. It might be too big, but I have a contingency plan if it is: Feed Tom more cookies.
+ Cast on and finish first Lenore sock. Nope. I cast on twice, and ripped both times.

March goals:
+ Keep knitting related purchases under $100.
+ Finish crocheting baby blanket for Tom's grandnephew.
+ Finish body of Cobblestone and one sleeve.

Why, yes, March is a slacker goal month. Whatever. I'm feeling rebellious, and staving off lace shawl cravings until my Year of Lace (Ravelry group here) package arrives.

Mission Possible 2008

Finished goals are in italic. Goals finished in February are in orange.

1. Gift spinning wheel, spinning books, and fiber to Patty.
2. Felt one pair and Plasti Dip soles of 3 pairs of felted slippers.
3. Finish Gothic Leaf Stole. (4 skeins of Euroflax Sportweight in Eggplant)
4. Finish Cobblestone. (?? balls of Queensland Kathmandu Aran Tweed)
5. Finish Shedir. (1 ball of Rowan Calmer in Coffee Bean)
6. Crochet baby blanket out of Rowan All Seasons Cotton. (11 balls in Citron, Giddy, Lime Leaf and Remote)
7. Crochet stealth project.
8. Knit Unoriginal Hat out of STR Leticia in Ravenscroft.
9. Knit Unoriginal Hat out of STR Leticia in Hard Rock.
10. Knit Lenore socks out of STR Lightweight in Lenore.
11. Knit a pair of fingerless gloves (either ggh Cashmere or Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran).
12. Knit another pair of socks.

I Knit a Hat

Pattern: Noro Hat by Saartje de Bruijn
Yarn: Noro Taiyo in colorway 1 - 1 skein
Needles: US 7 16" Addi Turbos
Mods: None
Rating: *****

On President's Day our knitting group held an impromptu meetup. During it we moseyed over to the LYS, espied a basket of Noro Taiyo, and most of us came home with a skein. Casting about for a project for mine, I lit on Saartje's hat. It's great TV knitting you can finish in an evening or two.

And while I don't have the photos to prove it, it looks good on everyone. Trust me, it does.

The Taiyo is loosely spun and soft; perfect for a hat. I did suffer the ubiquitous Noro experience: almost to the end of the skein, the yarn shredded apart a foot away from a knot with an ungainly color join. (This join robbed me of my second repeat of pink. Gah.) It's kinda pricey, so I don't know if I'd buy it for a larger project. But for a one skein project? Very versatile.