Friday 22 October 2010

Nearly there!

I've been working hard on the crocheted pillow recently, since it's my oldest WIP, and my work has paid off! I've finished making and assembling all 162 little squares, and now all that remains is to crochet front and back together and put in the pillow form. Definitely tomorrow, if not tonight.

I also made the decision to frog my Artichoke socks. They were designed to have little bracts dangling off the cuffs, and after knitting the first one and thinking about it for several months I decided they were just too impractical. So, off to the frog pond they went. I'll tackle them again in the new year, but for now I'm happy with another set of empty needles.

So, once the pillow's done that should leave me with 7 WIPs. Of course, it doesn't, because in a fit of madness I warped up the loom the other day for another wide scarf. This one is from 2 skeins of Posh Laura, a merino/cashmere blend in a delicious pink-and-plum colourway that the spouse bought me. I haven't started the actual weaving yet, although I've loaded the shuttle. I'll need to finish three projects per month to finish everything by the end of the year, so I figure the pink scarf can be my Christmas vacation project.

The little triangle shawl that's been in my handbag is going well. I'm on the 6th repeat of 10. Once that's done there's a garter stitch border that can be done until the yarn's all gone. I've also been making good progress on the triangular laceweight shawl. It's beaded, so each right-side row takes an age, but I'm really enjoying it. Plus the rows are getting shorter as I go along. :)

I've even been working on the afghan! I'm about a third of the way through the current stripe, so might even get that ball of yarn done this month.

Saturday 2 October 2010

Apparently people still read this...

... even though I've fallen off the end of the world and neglected to update in, well, forever. So, a quick summary. First up, my laptop died. I'm getting a new one, but I'm taking my time shopping around to find one that does everything I want it to*, so until I get the new machine photos will be limited.

I've discovered that when I'm knitting only for myself, I knit less quickly. Seems that the thought of gift-giving spurs me on, although I do find it stressful. I should try to figure out a balance between gifts and things for me - my completion numbers are looking low this year! Despite that, I have been casting on fewer projects and subsequently frogging them. At present I have 9 WIPs.

I finished a second woven scarf back at the end of August. Motored through almost 200g of sock yarn in a fortnight, which was rather satisfying. It's been adopted by the spouse, although most of our neutral-coloured scarf collection is used by both of us. I also just finished a pair of garters. They were originally intended for me, but we are going to an event in December that has a gift exchange, so I'll pack them away for Yule and call it quits. At least I won't have to go shopping!

I'm hoping to get all of the current WIPs finished or frogged by the end of the year. I've said that before, I know, but I'm pretty enthused about all of them. They are, in no particular order:
  • A garter stitch scarf, made of a coppery fingering-weight lurex yarn for wearing to nightclubs;
  • A pillow made of crocheted sock yarn granny squares;
  • A mostly-stockinette shoulder shawl in Posh Yarn to wear with my fall jacket;
  • A Pi shawl, barely started and also of Posh Yarn;
  • A triangular lace shawl, bottom-up, again in Posh Yarn**;
  • A pair of stranded mittens of Noro Kureyon Sock in delicious shades of purple and orange;
  • A pair of Tsocks;
  • A crocheted ripple afghan in navy and white;
  • A laceweight cardigan of the first laceweight I ever bought.

The shoulder shawl is living in my handbag, now that the garters are finished, and I'm working on the afghan and triangle shawl at home. Everything else has been duly queued and will be brought out once the current three are done.

I have some lovely red fiber on the wheel at the moment, but I'm not in an especially spinnery mood at present. Too much else going on in my life.

*Hello, Diablo III!

**Sensing a theme here?