Is it Time to Knit Yet?

Elegant Gauntlets

I'll end the week with one more FO, my first pair of Elegant Gauntlets, though I don't think mine are quite that elegant.  The pattern is from the Ally Melville's The Purl Stitch, and I really like it.  The yarn is kind of crazy for this pattern, and originally they were meant to be for a friend, but I think I better just keep them for myself.  These were a really quick knit and I quite enjoyed knitting on size 2s rather than 1s   for a change! 

• Pattern - Elegant Gauntlets by Sally Melville
• Yarn - Artyarns Ultramerino 4, color 156
• Needles - US Size 2
• Took me - a week
• Comments - I really like these, I'm sure they will get a lot of use when it gets colder!

In other news, we have all just been slogging around here feeling icky.  The Baby and I are sick, and now The Boyfriend is getting it too.  Hopefully we'll get better soon so The Baby can get back to school - she loves and misses it!  In the meantime you can be sure I'm getting lots and lots of knitting in.  I'm now working on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan and I've been struggling with the cable chart.  I'm not happy about frogging at least 12 rows of it already, but I'm not going to let it get me.  I will prevail!  And hopefully I'll have a new sweater soon :)  **I wrote this before I finally did make it through the cable chart - woot!!** 

Bartholemew's Tantalizing Socks

The other project I finished while on vacation was these socks.  They were one of the only good things that came out of our stop in Lake Tahoe.  I like the actual lake and trees surrounding it, but the rest I could really do without.  To me it just seemed like a big hub of tourism overkill, not my thing I guess.  Anyway, after we left Tahoe and headed toward Reno, I pulled out the second sock and finished the toe.  I have to say the drive into and out of Lake Tahoe was very nice and beautiful!  A little to bendy though for knitting without frustration!  I tried to get a cute picture of the socks in front of Jimmy Beans Wool in Reno, but it didn't work out from the car!  Oh well.  I really like these socks too, of course I don't think there has been a pair of socks that I've knit that I don't like.  The pattern is really pretty and I think the yarn works well with it.  The yarn didn't work well with my size 1 needles though.  It was kind of a pain knitting the Mountain Colors 4/8s wool on such small needles, but I do like the thicker fabric it produced.  I think I would knit these again in a different yarn, just to see different colors in the stitch pattern.  Here's the stats:

• Pattern - Bartholemew's Tantalizing Socks by Cat Bordhi
• Yarn - Mountain Colors 4/8s Wool
• Needles - US Size 1
• Took me - about a month

Flower Power Monkeys

I was going to save these until I showed my vacation pics, because I did finish them while on vacation, but the prospect of actually weeding through all of those pictures is still very overwhelming.  So here we are.  I started the second sock on the first day of driving, and thanks to The Boyfriend who drove an awful lot, I got lots of good knitting time in.  These were finished while we were hanging around in our room overlooking the ocean in Shelter Cove, California, listening to the waves hit the rocks and beach.  It was an awesome experience.  I took them later that day to the nearby Black Sands Beach for pictures.  The socks were so fun and so easy to knit. I wasn't in love with the pattern when I first saw it, but just decided to cast on one day and I'm glad I did!  The yarn and the pattern seem like they were meant for each other, meant to be Flower Power Monkeys.

• Pattern - Monkey socks by Cookie A.
• Yarn - Socks that Rock lightweight, colorway Flower Power
• Needles - US Size 1
• Took me - About 2 weeks
• Comments - Fun fun fun!

Icarus

  I have finally finished Icarus!  As I told you before, I felt guilty about it having sat on the needles for so long - I started it back in April!  When I got back to knitting on it, it got done fairly quickly though.  I was pretty motivated too, and that helps a lot.  I got it blocked yesterday despite efforts by The Baby and The Puppy to get in my way and step all over the shawl.  It was hard to get good pictures last night as it was raining and dark outside, but I did my best and there are maybe two good ones.  Anyway, I am so glad to have this shawl done and I absolutely love it!!  It is so simple but so pretty!  I wasn't sure about the yarn throughout the whole thing being so variegated.  The yarn is full of short bursts of color and I was worried about pooling, but I feel like they actually blend together pretty well and there are only a few spots of pooling.  I'm very happy with how it turned out!  Now my only problem is to decide what lace to start on now...

• Pattern - Icarus by Miriam Felton
• Yarn - DiCentra Designs laceweight alpaca, color Smaucy's Breath
• Needles - US Size 3
• Took me - About 5 months
• Comments - Nothing more than I really, really love this shawl.  Thanks to Mim for another great pattern, as always!

I swear I'm knitting

Sorry for the lack of content on the blog - I swear I am still knitting though!  In fact I've been knitting solely on Icarus to get it finally finished.  I was working on my Tangled Yoke, but made a pretty big mistake on the cable chart and so I decided once again my karma was messed up.  The way to fix it seemed to be to finish the WIP that has been lingering the longest on my desk, that being Icarus.  So I'm halfway done with the very last chart and the rows are oh so long!  I don't work on anything else out of guilt, so I only sit down to knit when I have a good chunk of time to do it in.  Hopefully I'll get through the rest of the shawl over the weekend. 

I would show you some vacation pictures in the meantime, but I still haven't gone through any of them!  May as well leave you with a picture of my scruffy girl Nina - she desperately needs a haircut don't you think?!

Out with the old

And in with the new.  We finally broke down and got a new washer and dryer!  I didn't really want to, but the washer was completely sucking and I hated it anyway.  So thank you Costco.com for having this cute little updated set for us!  I kind of feel like we've just come out of the stone age.  No, I guess that would be if we finally got an automatic dishwasher.  I feel bad about buying new appliances, but at least the old ones will get donated to someone who needs them, and the new ones will be more energy and water efficient.  I'm already running a load and I have to go keep checking it to make sure it's on - the thing is Quiet!!

Yarn first, trip later

I only managed to visit two yarn stores during our trip, but I was able to pick up some good stuff.  There is some OnLine cotton blend, the Kaffe Fasset Regia, two colors of Lorna's Laces, and some Schaeffer Anne which I have never tried before.  I even found a ball of Felted Tweed in the same dyelot that I needed - thank you Jimmy Beans Wool!  I guess I was having a thing for pinks this week!   The other store I visited was in Boise called Knit Wits.  It was a big store but there was a lot more thread than yarn.  I would have gone to more stores, but I left all of my addresses in a Word document here at home (forgot to print it, duh!), and we had trouble getting any Wifi for some reason.  Oh well, maybe I'll have better luck next time.

2287 miles

Well we made it back!  Looking at that mileage I'm thinking we were insane to go on a road trip for that long, but we had tons of fun and I don't regret most of it.  Now I get to unpack the car and then relax with my new favorite beer.  Well deserved I might add!

Beating the heat

Here's the forecast for where we'll be spening a lot of our time in the next week.  It will be a really nice break from our 90+ degress here!  I know I won't get a whole lot of knitting time in, but the projects I'll be taking are my Bartholemew's socks, Flower Power Monkeys, and Forest Canopy.  The Boyfriend has agreed to let me get a skein of sock yarn at every yarn store we visit, if I feel so inclined.  I don't think I'll be buying anything unless it really speaks to me though, I am done with willy-nilly yarn buying!

Now that the house is not a disaster area mostly clean, its off to pack for myself and The Baby.  I may even have to pack a sweater!

Too little time

We are going on vacation this Saturday for a week, and I'm doing all the planning.  Plus all the cleaning of the house, and trying to get some yard work in, and getting myself mentally ready for The Baby to start preschool tomorrow.  It is a little crazy here in my brain right now!  I'm knitting, but not as much as I'd like to be, and most of it is on Icarus, so I don't have a whole lot to show for said knitting right now.  So the blog will probably be neglected for a couple of weeks.

We are going to northern California, with a couple of stops in Idaho and Oregon.  Most of the time will be spent on the northern California coast, with plenty of time to visit the Redwoods and just enjoy ourselves.  I can't wait!!  We are driving this time rather than flying, so it will be pretty interesting to see how The Baby makes it on a long day's drive.  Sadly we have to leave The Puppy at a kennel while we're gone, I just don't think we could keep track of both of the little ones in a strange place for a week.  Maybe next year she'll be able to come with us wherever and if we go.  So if anyone out there knows of some yarn stores  in Boise, Eureka, or on the way home through Sacramento and Reno, let me know!  The Boyfriend said I could buy some vacation yarn and not break our deal we've got going - if you don't know, I said I wouldn't buy yarn for a year, and if I succeed he will buy me much yarn.  I've heard that jimmy beans wool has a store in Reno, and there are a few stores around Boise and Eureka but most of them don't have a website that I can find.  I'll appreciate any input!