More Procrastinating ....

Ok, so I ripped out the Grasshopper Socks and am back to two (well, four actually) balls of STR Silkie yarn. There'd been a lot of commentary about how the yarn doesn't like to be frogged and then reknitted and that it tends to get all "fuzzy". It's true. There's a bit of a nap on the yarn that has been frogged back and I'm hoping it doesn't translate too strongly to the socks themselves. I took pictures of the socks before the "Great Pulling" began - posting likely tomorrow when I have more time.

In the mean time, so that I'm less heartbroken about it, I've casted on a Monkey Sock, courtesy of Knitty. I'd been eyeballing this sock for a long time (just like the rest of the sock knitting community) and it's time for something relatively simple in a truly wonderful yarn.

One of my local yarn stores stocks Koigu yarn - the most amazing superwash merino made by a mother and daughter of Eastern European descent up in Canada. It's a blue/purple handpainted colorway and I think it'll work wonderfully for this pattern. It's soft, springy and generally a joy to knit with. It's going on the Size 1 Addi's, as usual, and I need to move along quickly so that I can either get back to the Grasshoppers or be clear for the next Six Sox pair. Pattern arrives for that one on June 1.

Today is a quality knitting day - it's the annual AGM/Spring Clinic for my chapter NISOA, the college soccer referee association. They day was also supposed to include a fitness exam, but the head cold/sinus infection I've been denying all week has absolutely floored me. No running since Tuesday and even stairs are "hard". I got my hall pass and so expect to just knit away quietly in the back of the auditorium.

Time to be off ... man, I've got pictures to post/upload/share ... more time more time more time!!!!

Tower of wool

The other big unfinished object in my stash is another Knitty sweater - this time it's the Eiffel. I love the lacy look of the bottom but will likely skip the ribbon going around the bust and the sleeves. Just too "cutsey" for me.



This time, the yarn is a Rowan DK Tweed. The picture doesn't do the color justice - it's much more of a "lime" than a "citron". The yarn is a bit harsher than the Jaeger, but I expect it to soften up over time. The original pattern calls for hemp yarn but I had a very hard time finding any. What little I did find would have made for one VERY expensive sweater.

I'm at the point were I go from the lace stitch to all 3x1 rib. It should go pretty darned quick now - particularly when I manage to get a few rounds of the rib going so that the yarn slides smoothly around the needle. If I did this pattern again (and I'll need to for the sleeves), I would likely break my own rule and use double-points rather than two circulars. The lace stitch just doesn't slide easily and that makes for much slower going than I would like.

Totally tubular sweater

Wanted to start listing out some of the other knitting projects I've got going (besides socks, that is). Many of my projects come from Knitty - since they're very well described, the patterns are easy to follow and it's easy to find something I like!

This sweater is called Tubey and is knit similar to a shrug with a tube for the body attached to the bottom. The original pattern calls for a multitude of scrap yarn to get stripes all over the sweater, but I've got a wonderful stash of Jaeger Shetland Aran yarn that's just perfect for this pattern. Look at how luscious this yarn is!



When I first started working with this yarn, I was worried that it would be scratchy and not very comfortable. In reality, however, this yarn is amazingly soft and very easy to work with. I did a sweater in the orange version that was remarkably easy to cable and shows off the pattern beautifully.

As you can see from the picture above, I'm not very far along. I did get to the point where the two ends are joined to start knitting the actual sleeve and I expect that I can get the "shrug" part of the sweater done this week. Progress as it happens!