A New Toy

Here's my new toy! I asked my Dad to make a Niddy Noddy for me and he came through with flying colors! I have a much smaller one that he used as his model. This one is the perfect size! Now, next on my wishlist is a swift . . . !

Here's my progress on the Chevron Scarf. Not too far yet, but I'm enjoying it!

My latest socks! This is my own handspun from Spunky Eclectic fiber! I followed the directions for fractual spinning from the last Spin Off magazine. It came out great! Lots of distinct stripes!


Oh yes, here's a shot of the Chocolate Covered Cherries roving from Spunky Eclectic spun up into a chunky single. I was thinking of making the Booga Bag with this, but I may change my mind and make My So Called Scarf instead . . . decisions, decisions, decisions.

Thanks for everyone's kind thoughts! I'm feeling like my old self again! And I'll be starting a new job next Monday - very exciting! Oh yes, a little thing called horse racing started up here this week - Saratoga is packed! The Rowing Cat and I may take in a few races on Friday!

Mystery Shawl #3

I've been concentrating on the Mystery Shawl #3 pattern this week. This is the completion of Clue #1. I have Clue #2 but I have to take it to work today and reduce it down in size. I actually like the concept of working on this as the clues become available. Having small sections to work on makes the whole project seem so much more manageable. I know, it's all in my mind, but it seems to work! I think I'll actually finish this this summer. I know that if I had the entire pattern in front of me I would be a little overwhelmed. I'd finish it, but it would take a LONG TIME.

I originally staarted this project with lace weight yarn, but I just was not happy. I've come to the conclusion that lace weight yarn is not for me. I never feel "in control" of the yarn and it always seems to slip and slide all over the place. So I went back to the stash and pulled out one of the KnitPicks yarns I used on my husband's fairisle hat project (remember that? Whew!) I am much much happier knitting with this yarn. This will turn out to be a heavier shawl, but the bonus is that is should be plenty warm! Oh and the little white dots are actually clear beads. They look much better than the picture shows!


And tell me - JUST HOW ADDICTIVE IS RAVELRY????? What a great site - I sure hope it's a success. Every day I keep finding more things to do and read there. The Rowing Cat says that it's a Neopets for Knitters. I think she's right as I'm sure any parent of a pre-teen, teenager would agree! I'm under SaratogaKnitter on Ravelry - feel free to add me as a friend!

Chevron

Remember this little gem I purchased from the Loopy Ewe? Well, I was inspired today by Knitting Knirvana's post to get started . . . I pulled out some KnitPicks Memories sock yarn in the Cape Cod colorway and put them together.


They looked truly horrible together. Wouldn't you agree??


And then this marvelous thing happened - a Chevron Scarf was started. I can hardly believe the color combination and that it works so well - the colors are very bright in good light - we had some crazy storms here this afternoon . . . This makes me so happy!

Roving Socks

I've begun spinning my Spunky Eclectic Chocolate Covered Cherries Merino roving! The picture is a little fuzzy, but it's looking pretty good. The cherry color really pops! I'm attempting to spin this thick - it really is funny how hard this is after getting used to spinning thinner. I think I still like to spin thinner though. I feel a little out of control with this thicker yarn. This is destined to be a Booga Bag. Maybe for a Christmas present?? I did have a little moment of panic and had to go back and check the fiber info - thankfully it's Merino and NOT superwash! It should felt just fine.


I have one Jaywalker finished! Yay! The Tofutsies has been fun to work with. It really flows very easily through my fingers and feels very soft on the foot. I'm onto the leg of the second sock, so I'll probably finish these later this week. I have to admit that I'm still having sizing problems with this pattern. The socks are still just a little too big. But the pattern repeat is very easy to memorize. I think I'll move onto another pattern after this one. Maybe I'll come back to it sometime in the future. I hate to be defeated by a pattern - it just leaves that little niggle . . .


I wound up my Strawberry Fields from Spunky Eclectic tonight. And of course I had to cast on for my next pair of socks . . . The Go Whith the Flow socks. I'm doing the toe and heel in a cream that I have in my stash. I think I'm going to enjoy these. The color is already making me smile! I think I'll keep these for myself!

The Mystery Shawl 3 has been cast on and I'm about 2/3 of the way through the first clue chart. The next clue comes out on Friday. The concept is fun. I think it's good for me because it will give me incentive to keep on going rather than putting the project down for months.

The Rowing Cat is off at a friends camp for a few days and Mark is working at Chingachgook all week, so I've been taking advantage of the quiet to knit knit knit! I've also had three days off of work this week, so it really has been a treat!

For a quick treat, head on over to fellow Saratogian Ellen's blog and watch the video - I thought it was so cute!