Knitting, Sci-fi and other stuff...

    I got sidetracked last weekend and never got around to posting.  I finished  Get a Shift On! , finished weaving in the ends, washed it and blocked it.  I've even worn it twice already.  I was worried right at first it would be narrow but it came out a really good scarf size in the end. Its been really rainy here so I had to take the "glamor" shots under fluorescent light, but oh well.  This was a fun pattern and I still have left overs.  I'll probably be making another one at some point with a little different color scheme.     I worked on this exclusively once I started it.  So once I finished it I went back to  Killer Queen Cowl  and I've made some good progress on it.  I've done a little more than what's pictured.  I'm into the decreases now. I n other news, I met up with some former co-workers last weekend for dinner and wound up with a commission.  My very knitworthy friend Jim asked me if I would k...

    I haven't made any more progress on my Killer Queen Cowl.  I put that to the side so I could make progress on  Get a Shift On!   I've made quite a bit of progress.  I'm on the last contrasting color now, then its into the fade portion.  I can't find my scale so I wasn't able to measure my scraps before starting.  I don't know if I'll have enough of each color for the fade portion... so this may get interesting very soon.  The stripes didn't take very much so I'll have left over left overs from this.  It's been really fun so far, so I see another in my future. Get a Shift On! It took me a little bit to figure out my color order but this is what I've done so far.  The MC is Eggplant.  CC1 is Dewberry, CC2 is Abril, CC3 is Anniversario, CC4 is Solis, CC5 is Indiecita, CC6 Aguas and CC7 is Plomo.  Its all Malabrigo Sock.  I've been knitting this at a pretty tight gauge compared to the pattern.  I don't care for s...

I tried to get a better picture of my DRK Everyday Cowl, but yesterday was a blustery, cold but very sunny day.  Despite the look on my face I do really enjoy the cowl. I made some more progress on my Killer Queen.  I stayed up a little too late working on it last night.  I feel like it's going a little faster than my first one, even though I keep making minor errors.  I have to pay very close attention to each row instruction or else I get off by a stitch.  I find the wording in some places to be counter intuitive, at least for me. My swap package arrived yesterday.  I received an absolutely wonderful package.  It also included Original Peaches and Creme yarn, back from when it was produced by the Elmore Pisgah mill in the US.   I plan to start using the project bag immediately.  The next Mal March project I'm going to start is a stash buster.  I'll be using some Sock leftovers from Find Your Fade and a full skein of Eggplant to ma...

    Not too much excitement here other than knitting for Malabrigo March.  The weather has been pretty dismal.  It's back in the 30s and snowing this week.  We're supposed to get a couple inches over night tonight... so I haven't been taking pictures of my progress very well.  I just took a few in overcast dismal light, but they're better than terrible lamp light when its completely dark outside, so here's what I've got so far:  I finished the Mandy Cowl a bit ago.  This still isn't blocked because of the whole yarn bleeding suspicion.  I want to pick up some color catchers first.  Realistically, it doesn't even need blocking, so I may just stream it and make the bleeding thing a future me problem.  I've tried it on too.  Its soft and squishy and the right length to sit inside my jacket and keep my neck warm. I'm happy with the way it turned out.  I did one extra lace repeat to use up as much yarn as possible. After this w...

     I've been sick for the past two weeks.  I still have a lingering cough, which is probably bronchitis, but I'm slowly feeling better.  Malabrigo March is in full swing.  I've completed two projects already and have another on the needles currently. I started with  Hum Beanie  on Noventa in the Indonesia colorway. I really enjoyed working with the Noventa; this was my first experience with it.  It has a little bit of twist, so it's not splitty.  I love this colorway, so bright even with the cool tones. Next up was  Mandy Cowl , which is a free pattern.  I used Silky Merino in the Caribeno colorway for this one.  It was my first time using this base as well.  It's a single and the silk makes it extra drapey.  I did 7 repeats of the lace pattern and I omitted the garter ridge down the center of the cowl.  I have finished the knitting on this but haven't taken an updated picture yet. I got this skein back in...

     I finished the  Handpaint Highlights Socks I was working on for Liara.  They're for her birthday which is on the 27th. I still want to wash and block them.  I've been looking at different types of heels.  When I do the shortie socks for myself, I may try a short row heel.  I've only ever done heel flaps and gussets, so I want to branch out a little bit.     Today I went through all my Malabrigo yarn and separated it from my normal stash.  It was nice to see it all together in one place.  I even found a whole skein of Rios I forgot I had, so I may have one more whole project to start for Malabrigo March.   The top picture is all my full untouched skeins.  The bottom picture is left overs and wound yarn.  I also cleaned out a few project bags along with needles.  I wound up a few skeins to get them ready for cast on March 1st.  The Silky Merino had gotten all messed up, so it took me an hour o...

     I started a pair of socks for myself.  I'm not good about checking gauge for anything.  So very quickly I realized the sock was looking very small.  I decided to keep going and make them for Liara instead.  I had her try it on after I turned the heel and it fit her perfectly.   I finished the first sock already.  The yarn is ONline Supersocke 100.  (This yarn and several other skeins were given to me by my Aunt Linda a few years before she passed away.)  I'm using a pattern from one of my physical pattern books.  One of my goals last year was to use more of my books.  I started out strong then tapered off through the year.  So I'm renewing that goal for this year.  It's the Handpaint Highlight Socks by Leah Oakley from the One Skein Wonders book.  I'm going to needle up a bit and still make a pair for myself.  I'm going to make them shortie socks though.  I think I'll have enough yarn for...