Blocking Ziggy

So, I missed the Ravelympics deadline thanks to blocking. But the good news is, Ziggy is blocking! And it's only August! Of the same year I started knitting the sweater! Missed deadlines aside, I'm proud of myself for actually pushing to finish this cute sweater. I don't have a blocking board, but I found a "sewing center" type of mat thing at JoAnn yesterday and it's working pretty well.

Trellis Underway

After many (4) false starts, I think Trellis is finally underway. I love this pattern, I would pay big bucks for this sweater in a store and I refuse to admit defeat. Some things I have learned:
1) this pattern is not a good one to do while watching Project Runway
2) this is not something I should pick up after two mojitos
3) counting. counting is good.

In other words, for the beginning knitter, this is not a mindless pattern. Folks on Ravelry say you eventually get the hang of the pattern, memorize it blah blah blah. But for now, this is an ipod-only knit.

Trellis -- from Knitty.com
yarn: Rowan All Seasons Cotton in periwinkle
needle: size 7 addis

Took long enough

I started this well over a year ago--and there were some bottlenecks. The seaming of course. Then picking up the stitches for the button band and collar--I messed it up several times and had to start over. Then it took a while to find the buttons. Then another six months to sew them on.... you get the picture, I am not a champ at finishing. But it's done, and , as it turns out, it fits the boy perfectly!

From the Yarn Girl's Guide to Kid Knits--"Paula's Perfect Project"
Blue sky alpacas worsted in denim and red
Size 9 needles

Precious

It's inevitable.  If you can't have it, you want it more.  Sundara's yarn is hard enough to get--but a few months ago, she stopped selling worsted and sport-weight yarn.  I'm not much of a sock knitter, so even though I get excited about her colors in sock yarn, I rarely buy them.  What I really love are those big fat skeins in gorgeous colors.  I have two lone skeins left of worsted weight yarn in this beautiful red, and I know it's going to be a scarf.  For me.  As mentioned below, I think it will become "Shifting Sands" but I'm still on the lookout for something that might show it off even better.  Suggestions welcome! 

Planning for Fall

Not everyone knits in the summer (right?).  Well, I don't.  I don't wear tank tops and I dunno, "summer knits" just seems like a oxymoron.  So, when August rolls around and I start getting excited about fall, I pull out the yarn, needles... start a blog... perform CPR on my Ravelry account, etc.

I have to do some massive reorg of my Ravelry queue so it actually resembles a list of projects I'm going to tackle this fall as opposed to a random collection of link from across the internet.  But just of the top of my head, there are some things I definitely want to get done this fall:

• Grumperina's "shifting sands"--using a great Sundara yarn
• "Trellis" from Knitty
• Basic scarves and hats for the kiddies
• Central Park Hoodie
• Bunting for my sister's new baby (due in Nov)

Let's just go ahead and start this, shall we?

If I wait until the blog looks all pretty before I launch, I'll never get it started. So here's the deal: this blog is going to be about my knitting. And the sister blog SprocketEats will be about my other passion: food. But more on that later.

For now, I'm back from vacation--and gearing up for fall and winter knitting. First up: my Ravelry Olympics project. I picked "Get Ziggy" by FabMama Anny Purls. Now, I just love this woman. She has style, she has substance and she has that great sense for the simple and beautiful.