What have I been up to?

Entirely too much, and nothing all at the same time. As per usual, there has been some knitting, with very little in the way of life to supplement it. I'm in a race against time to compete in Sock Showdown, a little contest in the Completely Pointless and Arbitrary Swap Group on Ravelry, knit a shawl for someone else in said group, knit a pair of Anglo-Saxon--looking socks for Melisande by Pennsic, and finish a Mary Poppins themed swap package by the end of July. And all I really want to do is knit for me. Selfish, aren't I?

Pictures you say? Here are a few:

A Sagrantino Shawl slowly being knit up in Jojoland Melody Superwash. I love the construction and watching the colors change.

The completed Sock Showdown socks for my partner, whose name I will not divulge yet. Made in overdyed Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet.

And finally, some socks I started in January and only recently finished. Shur'tugal in Dream in Color Smooshy in Black Parade. Love the yarn and the pattern, but I knit them a little too short for me. Will probably go to my sister for Christmas.

And that's all for now, folks!

P.S. I will be moving to Cincinnati in August. I am quietly freaking out. That is all.

A Lazy Bum, That's What I Am

So obviously I haven't been around for a while. Largely because I got married March 28.

Here you see me showing off the garter I made. I'm really also too lazy to post all kinds of pictures here, too, so this is the only shot you get, unless of course you're my friend on facebook.

Knitting-wise, I've accomplished a bit:


Meredith's Blackrose socks. Raveled here.


Liz's Wicked Witch socks. Raveled here.

And finally, Nicole's Leyburns. Raveled here.

Oh, and Molly's Hanging Vines are still in progress. I just couldn't get it all done in time. I am, however, taking a break from them with a pair of Heath's Socks for me, which are over half done now. Then I'll get back to Molly's. Other than getting hitched and spring quarter (my last one!) getting started, I don't have much else to report.

P.S. Enough pictures for ya?

Full Speed Ahead

What I've finished:


A pair of socks for Ben, known as Masonic Lodge, in Knit Picks Essential in Pine. Gigantor socks they are, and they fit him just right. My big accomplishment was knitting the foot of one, heel turn and all, in one day. Size 11EEEE? No problem.

What I've started:


A pair of Blackrose socks for Meredith, one of my bridesmaids in the wedding that is to take place March 28 (!). I've decided to knit a pair of socks for all four of my maids. This may have been downright silly, but I'm doing it anyway. So to recap, that is four pairs of socks plus a giant Princess Bride-themed project, all due by March 28. Oh dear.

Just in time for the first day of school...

...This Year! Finished them about 3:30 in the afternoon today, and I will probably wear them tomorrow to class. They're a bit darker in real life. Glad to have my own Zombies, but I probably won't knit that pattern again for a long while.

A friend and I went to Market Street Yarns yesterday. It was her first decent-sized yarn shop and she went a bit overboard. I picked up yarn for a swap partner, a gift for a friend, and of course, myself. I got some gorgeous Trekking Hand Art.

I've decided to knit socks for my bridesmaids, and I also have a goal of knitting 12 pairs of socks for myself, not counting the Zombies I just finished. This may be a bit ambitious, but I want to replace my storebought socks with handmade ones, so I've got to start somewhere!

Yay for Christmas!

I had a pretty magnificent Christmas, even if it did mean running all over creation. See this?


This is the gorgeous sock yarn that Ben picked out for me for Christmas, in addition to Lantern Moon Ebony Sox Stixx. It's the Alpaca Yarn Co.'s Paca Peds Heels and Toes in Harvest. Now, add to that the fact that my winder tried to eat the yarn, and he spent 3 hours helping me untangle it! How could I not love this man? As a reward, I'm knitting him Masonic Lodge socks in Knit Picks Essential in Pine. He picked the color. Someone was hoping the words "masonic lodge" led to some secret site, weren't they?


As my reward for not killing anyone over Christmas, I'm knitting myself these Zombies in Ironstone Yarns Sock, a line that has been discontinued and I luckily managed to adopt at the local yarn store. That may tell you what kind of patronage they get...Anyway, I love the colors!

On a Christmas related note, that hat I designed for my brother? He didn't take it off all day Christmas Day. What do you know about a 14 year old boy who appreciates things like that? Who is this guy and where did he put my apathetic brother? More importantly, can I keep him?

Christmas knitting finished!

Read the title. It says all I have to say.

A new project, a new pattern - Barbed Wire

So I just knit this hat for my brother for Christmas from a stitch pattern in Barbara Walker's Charted Knitting Design. The cable is called Toggle Knot, but I think it looks like the knots on strands of barbed wire, hence the name. Someone on Ravelry asked for a pattern, so here it is!


This hat is made up of four 3 stitch ribs and four repeats of the Toggle Knot pattern. It is very stretchy, and should fit most adult heads.

Materials:

• app. 170 yards worsted weight yarn (it might be significantly less than this, but I used a 7 oz. skein of Vanna's choice that contains 340 yards, and I didn't use half)
• size 7 or 8 16" circular needle AND/OR five dpns of the same size (dpns will be necessary for decreases
• a cable needle if desired
• a tapestry needle for finishing

Basic abbreviations required:

• di: Double increase, represented by the flower-stem image in rows 2 and 6 of the cable chart - created by knitting into the back loop, then front loop, passing the stitches onto the right needle, then using the left needle to pick up the vertical strand created by the 2 stitches and knitting it
• dd: Double decrease, represented by the ^ symbol in rows 23 and 27 of the cable chart and referred to in decrease instructions - created by slipping 2 stitches as if to knit, knit 1 stitch, pass 2 slipped stitches over the knit stitch and off the needle
  
• p2tog: Purl 2 together
• p3tog: Purl 3 together
• k2tog: Knit 2 together

Instructions:

Cast on 96 stitches (divide evenly if working on dpns - 24 to a needle) and join to work in the round.

K3, P3 to end for 10 rows.

Next 2 rows: K3, P9 to end

Next 28 rows: K3, work corresponding row of cable chart to end.

Toggle Knot chart:

The dots refer to purls, the x's refer to stitches that are not there for that line of the pattern. (My apologies for the poor chart and explanation, I will try to get up my own chart when I can, for now we'll have to use a picture of the page from Charted Knitting Design.


After completing the chart, revert to K3, P9 to end for 5 rows.

Decrease Rows (These are intuitive decreases, but here are row by row instructions for those who would like them):

Decrease Row 1: K3, P1, P2tog, P3, P2tog, P1 to end
Knit one row in pattern.

Decrease Row 2: K3, P1, P2tog, P1, P2tog, P1 to end
Knit one row in pattern.

Decrease Row 3: K3, P1, P3tog, P1 to end
Knit one row in pattern.

Decrease Row 4: K3, P3tog to end
Knit one row in pattern.

Decrease Row 5: DD, P1 to end
Knit one row in pattern

Decrease Row 6: K2tog to end

Cut yarn, leaving at least a 6" tail. Using a tapestry needle, thread yarn through live stitches twice, then secure. Weave in your cast-on tail, and ta-da, you have a hat!

Any comments on how to improve this pattern would be greatly appreciated, especially since I'm still new at this pattern stuff! You can leave them here or send them to me on Ravelry: I'm swordsandneedles.