Socks!

I've finished my first Imber sock and I have a good start on the second one.  I only have two more repeats of the houndstooth pattern before the heel flap!  I think I might need to start another pair of stranded colorwork socks as soon as I finish these.  I'm feeling better about my stranding, but I don't feel like I'm as consistent as I'd like to be.  I'll have to look through my patterns and stash...

While I'm doing that, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Finished!

I (finally) finished my Elsom wrap.  I got the second skein of the last color last week and was able to finish it over the weekend.  It's huge.  Seriously.  Also, I love it.  If anyone else is interested in knitting one, I highly suggest you follow the directions.  I didn't, which is why I ran out of yarn.

This was knit in Cascade Heritage Sock in the colors Vintage Indigo (I want a little cardigan out of this color), Caribbean Sea, Jade, and Herb.  I used one skein each of all the colors except Herb and I had to use about 100 yards of a second skein for that one.  Which means, I used about 300 yards more than the pattern called for.  As I mentioned before, I didn't see anyone having this problem in the Ravelry projects, so I'm assuming it's not a pattern issue, but a Pink Lemon issue.

I guess this is why our parents tell us to follow directions!

Forward Momentum!

I've been doing a little sewing around here.  I made a Sailor top in some Art Gallery Voile.  I think this will be perfect for the hot summer days that are coming.  The Sailor pattern has been adapted and tweaked a bit and is now called the Cordyline Top, but this is the original Sailor top.  I made this once before out of double gauze (which is also super cool and comfortable on hot days), but it's been a while.  I'm hoping to get a couple of other things cut out of some black linen later today, so I'm ready to sew when I have a chance.  

I've also been working on my Imber Socks.  I've made it past the stranded colorwork (still painfully slow) to the striped foot on this first sock, but I really like it.  I hope to finish this first sock by the end of this week.

I got the second skein of Herb yesterday, so now I can finish my Elsom wrap.  Hopfully, I'll be back next week with a finished object!  Have a great weekend!

Arrrrrgh!!!

When I began knitting this wrap, I checked the pattern.  It called for 1400 yards of yarn.  I had 1600 yards.  I was good to go!  

Apparently, I didn't follow the pattern very well because I ran out of yarn.  Do you see the little bit at the top of the photo?  That's it.  Finished.  I didn't notice that anyone else ran out of yarn, so I'm assuming I didn't follow the pattern as closely as I should have.

It's not the end of the world though.  I've got another skein coming later this week, and Cascade is pretty consistent, even across dye lots.  I'm vaguely curious what I did differently, but I'm not sure I'm going to take the time to figure it out.  Once I get more of the Herb colorway I'll be able to finish the wrap and it's still a wrap shaped thing, so I'm calling it a win.  Sort of.

Quality Control

I've started the fourth and final color of my Elsom wrap, Herb.  I'm very happy with all of the colors I've used in this project and will definitely be using the Cascade Heritage Sock again when I'm looking for solid fingering weight yarn options.

Sometimes, as I'm knitting a project I start to wonder about it.  Is this sweater going to be cozy?  Will these socks keep my feet toasty?  Is this wrap going to be the perfect extra layer of warmth?  That's where the Chez Pink Lemon Testing Professional comes in.  This highly skilled team member is always ready to step in and test knitting projects at any stage of the process.  As you can see, the Elsom wrap got a surprise inspection earlier this week, but fortunately, it passed its tests with flying colors.  You can tell that by the way the Testing Professional has passed out under his work.  This wrap is going to do its job well!

Have a great weekend and be sure to test your knitting frequently!

Restraint and Lizards

Last week I wound yarn and cast on for four new projects.  Fortunately, I came to my senses, undid everything, and put the yarn away.  For now.  

I have serious cast-on-itis, but when I have too many things on the needles, nothing really gets anywhere and it feels overwhelming.  So I decided to at least finish my Elsom wrap and my stranded houndstooth socks before I start anything new.

I have been getting some work done on the back of my Sous Sous pullover though.  I've worked seven repeats so far and it's looking more like it might be a piece of a sweater.  The stitch pattern is simple enough that I can watch TV and knit, but it looks more complicated than that.  So I think you're going to be seeing this pullover and the wrap and socks I mentioned above for a bit before there are any new projects.

In other news Mr. Noodle has known the word "birdie" for a while, but yesterday he learned "lizard."  There was a lot of kitty chirping and tail lashing at that!

Second Quarter Knit Along!

April 1 meant a new quarter, which in the ESK Yarnathon means a new CAL (Craft A Long - knitting and crochet inclusive).  This quarter's theme is Indie Hand Dyed Yarns, so we have to use yarns that are hand dyed by small companies but we can make anything we want!  (Insert Snoopy style happy dance here.)

I've decided to start with a pullover - the Sous Sous pullover.  I'm knitting it in Yarn Love Amy March DK in the Orchid color way and I'm off to a pretty good start on the back so far.  This is knit in pieces (I can't remember the last time I knit something in pieces) and yes, it's really wide.  I'm knitting the smallest size and it's going to be a very oversized pullover.  I love the cables and seed stitch (moss stitch?) combination and it really is knitting up nicely without using too many brain cells, now that I've done enough that I can see the pattern.  Since this is hand dyed yarn, I am alternating skeins, but I'm alternating at the side edge, so the carried yarn will be caught in the side seams.  I'll do the same for the front.

Colors!

I've started the third color* in my Elsom wrap now.  This is perfect TV knitting at this point.  I would also like to mention that this design was planned for a single color.  I decided to use four.  The way the colors are working does look a little strange as the shawl is laid out on the floor, but I think it will work well when it's being worn.  At least that's my theory.  If I hate it when it's finished, I can always frog it; I've frogged things before.  For some reason though, while I know that the color changes are kind of weird, I do like it so far.  Also, I'd like to note that it was really difficult to keep my feet out of this photo.  There were contortions!

 I guess we'll see when it's all done!  Just one of the mysteries of knitting!  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Just in case anyone is curious, I'm using Cascade Heritage Sock in Vintage Indigo, Caribbean Sea, Jade (that's the color I just started), and Herb (which hasn't been knitted yet).