A Little Bit of Everything

This is a close up of the roving I'm currently working on. Don't you love the way it looks all pre-drafted and ready to go?? It's spinning up beatifully. I'm planning on a pair of socks with this. I'll probably just go for a generic stockinette stitch pattern to show off the color mix - I can't wait! I finished the spinning last night and am working on plying this afternoon. It's so much fun to see how the colors randomly come together. I can also see the next phase would be to lay out the colors and plan how they will ply together. This is a little advanced for me right now, but it's always good to have something to strive for!



A finished sock - actually the second finished sock, so maybe I should say a finished pair. I really enjoyed this pattern - Roza's Socks by Grumperina from the Spring Interweave Knits magazine. The brioche stitch pattern is easy to memorize so the knitting just flys along.



Of course, I'm not going to admit to binding off the second sock too tightly - no no no . . . ;-)




I liked the pattern so much I cast on for another pair using some leftover Trekking yarn. I used a short row heel on this on though. I always seem to have troube with short row heels, and I'm determined to conquer them. I actually used the tutorial in the latest KnitPicks catalog to do these. It had very helpful photographs. I always get confused as to which way to pick up the wraps. Does this stymie anyone else or is it just me . . . It seemed to work pretty well this time. I'll try it again on my next pair just for practice.



Yarn purchases! This picture does not capture the color at all. It is really a beautiful heathered brown with flecks of red. It's Cascade 220 and I purchased it from WEBS during their May sale. Practically free as my mother-in-law would say! This is going to be the Notre Dame de Grace pullover by Veronik Avery in the Summer issue of Interweave Knits magazine. I spent this morning swatching and swatching and swatching for this. The pattern calls for a size 7 needle but I have to go up to a size 10. I think the yarn called for in the pattern is a bit bulkier than the Cascade 220. It should work out fine though. I do wish the magazine would tell you the type of yarn or maybe just use those little ball of yarn symbols that designate the weight of the yarn. It's very hard to tell just from the description of the yarn.



Then I picked up a WPI tool from KnitPicks for my spinning. Had to make that free shipping!



All because I purchased several balls of Andean Silk. This is destined to be my second Clapotis!



And I finished the Calorimetry from Knitty with my Spunky Eclectic hand spun. I had enough to work up a scarf too. The Rowing Cat is very pleased with the colors!


And here is a picture of our crazy cat. Once she gets comfortable, she does not want to move no matter what you do! She is literally slumped between the Rowing Cat's knees!