Waving Lace

I finally got the Waving Lace socks completed. It was hard to get a good picture; I think it was because of the marled yarn. The yarn was Regia 4 Ply in colour #1036. This was another quick and addictive pattern from the book Favourite Socks.

Last night I started on the edging of the Sea Silk scarf. I was so surprised that the two different coloured balls blended very well together. If you were looking for it, you could see where the new ball came in. But if you didn't know, it all looks pretty much the same. I think it's because the silk is so glossy and reflects so much light. Whew, what a relief! I hope it will be done in the next couple of days, and I can't wait to send it off! Exchanges are so much fun!

Speedway Socks Started

I started the Speedway Socks, which I'm test knitting for Sockapalooza. I'm using Socks That Rock in colour January One. I find a freshly wound cake of yarn that is so beautiful, the way you can see all the colours mixed together.



It's so pretty I almost didn't want to use it. Keyword being almost. I'm so glad the colours are behaving in nice, neat stripes:



I made a few minor changes to the pattern. I did one purl row after the cast on, then one knit row, to make a firm edge that didn't curl over. I mirrored the increases; and in the panel parts, instead of [p2, ktbl, p2], I did [p1, ktbl, p1, ktbl, p1]. The sock has 3 chevron parts, vs. the 4 on Jaywalker. This makes the sock fit a little better. I'm lovin' this sock so far!

Uh-Oh!

This is the kind of thing that happens to people who do things without planning ahead:



On the left is the Sea Silk I'm working with, in Periwinkle. On the right is the new skein I just bought, also in Periwinkle. Hmmmm...the colours aren't even close. I really, really don't want to start this scarf over again, especially since it's supposed to be mailed by June 7th. But then again, I'm the type of person that won't gift anything that's less than perfect. I'm gonna start alternating balls, and just pray that it will be okay. Wish me luck!

New Sock Yarn

I went to Serenity Knits to pick up another skein of Sea Silk, and could not resist their summer sock sale:

It was hard not to go overboard, and I tried really hard to only get colours that I really, really loved. Speaking of sock yarn, I finally found my Sockapalooza yarn:

Have you heard of Vesper Sock Yarn? This stuff is so hard to get! I emailed Julia, and asked (okay, more like begged) for a skein of Love Stinks. It was just my luck that she had dyed some that day, and because she's also a part of Sockapalooza, she would put one aside for me. Hooray!

Today was such a beautiful day. It was so warm that the kids played water guns with Daddy. I'm finding it so hard to get any homeschooling done; all I want to do is go out and enjoy the weather!

Wedding

My Kiri shawl was finished and blocked on Friday:

Just in time for my friend's wedding on Saturday. Anu was my best friend in high school. It was so wonderful to see her getting married...I've never seen her happier!

This was my first time attending an East Indian wedding, and it was very beautiful. Everything was so lavish and extravagant! The weather was perfect, and the venue was decorated in traditional decor. I just loved how every woman was wearing a different coloured sari.

Here's me and the married couple:

The thing that amazed me most about this wedding, was when it came time to open the dance floor. The older couples (I'm talking about grandparents) were the first ones to hit the dance floor to loud, pulsing bhangra, and they were not holding anything back! It was awesome!!

Spring Dress

Grace has been so patient waiting for her dress. It's a simple a-line dress knit in the round. I used Sirdar Spree on 6mm, which is very soft and cushy. She looks so comfy wearing it, that now I want one too!

Gifts Given

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day! We went to my aunt's house for dinner. It was a potluck, and the theme was "bring you mom's favourite dish". I made French Onion Soup, which was great because it's one of my faves too! Holiday dinners are so funny in my family. Most of my family came to Canada when they were very young, so they are quite "Canadianised". Our dinners are usually a mix of east and west. Last night, other than my soup, there was steak, grilled shrimp, bruschetta, wings...and rice, hoisin ribs, spring rolls and roast duck! Quite a mix!

I think my mom liked the Swallowtail shawl. It's so hard to tell with her. Doesn't matter; I gave her a gift made with love, and I enjoyed making it.

I gave the Sea Silk scarf to my Grandmother, who is visiting from Hong Kong. She really liked her scarf; she was so pleased to learn that I had knit it myself. My grandmother is one tough lady, who has been through a lot in her life. Her husband left her with nothing but six young kids. They were very poor, living in two rooms rented in an apartment. She did anything she could to support her kids, as well as take care of other relatives. One day she found a job knitting sweaters, which was great because she could work from home. The only thing was that she didn't know how to knit! Somehow she got the job and taught herself to knit. From there she went on to start her own knitting/embroidering business, and today she is a very wealthy woman. I definitely admire her strength. I look forward to spending more time with her this summer.

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing all you moms out there

a very Happy Mother's Day!

Kiri

I've been working on my Kiri shawl again. I hadn't touched it in months, but now I'm a little motivated because I have an outdoor afternoon wedding to attend on the 19th. It would be nice if I could wear this, because other than a fancy event, I don't ever see myself wearing shawls. I must say, though it is looking gorgeous, this project has been the most unpleasant one I've ever worked on. It feels so awkward managing the super-fine yarn on 4.5mm, and the yarn is so sticky that each stitch requires total concentration. Plus there's also the overwhelming pressure to not make a mistake (and the heart-stopping terror when you find a mistake!) because this yarn is so difficult to rip back. I'm sure this shawl will be like giving birth...the end result will be so beautiful that I will forget the pain I went though to get it.

New Scarf

My scarf exchange recipient got back to me, and she was really nice about the whole length issue, but I've decided to make a new scarf. The thing is, on my last email to her, I brilliantly signed my name at the end instead of remaining anonymous, so this is all I'm going to post until she receives her scarf:



Its more Sea Silk! Yeah! At first I was a little bummed that there wasn't more colour choices in the the shops around my place, but after knitting a few inches in, I see that this was a great choice. In fact, I think I like it better than my first scarf!

I'm having second thoughts about the Lorna's Laces yarn for Sockapalooza. I don't think it will stripe the way I want. I emailed Yarntini about McDreamy and am waiting for a reply. There is also this:

Sweet Sheep Self Striping in Changing Tides



which is out of stock, but they will have more in a few weeks,

and
Lorna's Laces in Fresh Stripe:



Also check out Angela's fabulous dye job, in the exact colours I'm looking for! Dyeing my own is also an option. I'm glad I have until July to figure all this out.

Socks

These are the socks currently on my needles:



Waving Lace socks from Favourite Socks. Great pattern.

Speaking of great patterns, I got the perfect pattern for Sockapalooza. They're called "Speedway Socks", and you can find them here. The link is along the right side. At first I was thinking of knitting Jaywalkers, but getting the fit right would be pretty hard. The Speedway Socks look like they will fit better.

I think I've found my yarn as well, but I'm stuck between two choices. Maybe we can have a little vote, and you can tell me which one you prefer. My recipient has asked for self-striping red, blue or purple. My first choice would be Yarntini in McDreamy, but of course that is impossible to get. So my choices are between two Lorna's Laces. Sometimes they stripe, sometimes not.


Yarn #1: Colour - Uptown




Yarn #2: Colour - Ravenswood



Which one would you pick?

Finished Scarf

Here is the completed Sea Silk scarf:

As you can see, it really isn't even long enough to wrap around the neck. But it sure is beautiful, and butttery soft! I bet if I made it one repeat narrower, it would have come out a good length.

The edges were a little uneven from the wires. Next time I won't stretch as much. My recipient still hasn't emailed me back, but I already have some ideas floating around my head in case she would like another one. Maybe a feather and fan shawl with 2 colours of Sea Silk? Maybe a triangular shawl with super-soft Eden Madil bamboo?

New Wires and Magazines

My blocking wires came in yesterday, so last night my sea silk scarf looked like this:



I must say, it was quite a scary experience blocking it. There were such contradicting opinions online on how to block silk, but in the end I went with Eunny Jang, and wet blocked. Also, it was tough getting those wires in! I was scared I would snag the yarn. After pinning, I could see the stitches that the wires went under were pulling out. I'm not sure how I could have corrected that because I weaved in the wire every half inch or less. Maybe I stretched the scarf too much.

I'm not sure if this scarf is going to my exchange recipient any more. I may have to knit something new. The scarf measures only 42" long. Very short! I couldn't find any more Sea Silk in this colour anywhere. I emailed my recipient, and we'll see what she says about the length. Oh well, more knitting is never a bad thing!

While I was out getting the wires, I picked up these:



The last time I bought Knitsimple, I was just learning to knit. The designs in it are still quite unattractive, but the reason I bought it was for the cute amigurumi:

and my favourite:

So adorable! I haven't crocheted amigurumi in a while, and I'm sure I could figure out these dolls eventually on my own, but it's just so much easier to have a pattern in front of you. If you haven't seen much amigurumi, please check out this site. Be sure to see her gallery. Elisabeth Doherty is the reason I learned to crochet in the first place. She has a book coming out this fall, called Amigurumi!: Super Happy Crochet Cute. Can't wait to get that!

Pooling Fixed

Thank you everyone for your pooling tips. I'm knitting from two balls, and so far it's behaving itself. Even though the colour isn't completely even, I can live with it.



I think in the future, the best way for me to fix this problem is to just not buy variegated yarn.

Sock Discovery

Sockapalooza 4 is underway!

I've emailed my recipient, and can't wait to go shopping for the perfect yarn! She likes self-striping superwash, and red, blue or purple, so it narrows down the selection quite a bit. I'm thinking maybe Trekking? Step? I can't really think of anything else. I may have to shop online.

My "sock pal" has emailed me from London, England! She said that she will be going through my blog to figure out the perfect yarn for me, so I decided to look back at what I've made to see if it's an acurate portrayal of my taste, and I made an interesting discovery.

These are the socks I've knit:

The solid coloured socks on the top row I love. I rarely wear them because I like them so much I don't want them to get worn out. Weird, huh?

The vegregated socks on the bottom row...well...I rarely wear them as well, because the colours aren't exactly subtle. I think they're pretty, but just not on my feet.

Here is my sock yarn stash:

Solids:

Vegregated:

The vegregated yarns are arranged such that the one I like most is at the right, and the least favourite at the left.

Notice anything? The coloured socks I've knit are very similar to the skeins on the left.

Why is that? I think it's because I find the Yarn Pirate and Koigu so beautiful, I don't want to screw it up! I would rather keep them in my closet, and every once in a while take them out to admire their colours.

So here is what I discovered about myself: I love sock yarn, I love to knit socks, but I don't knit socks out of yarn that I love. Yeah, you can say it. Very weird.