I am almost at the armholes on the back piece of Devan. The small gauge of Devan was killing me again so I cast on for this:



and so begins the holiday knitting. This sweater is for my best friend. I am using Mary Maxim Kashmere, which I love because it feels like a sweatshirt when knitted up. It also has great stitch definition. I work on this in the evenings, during the Olympics mostly, to give my hands a break. Devan is still traveling with me to work every day.

More yarn arrived for my holiday knitting:



The Patons is for a felted bag, the sock yarn for Broad Street Mittens and the Wool Ease for a sweater for my husband. Everyday it's a new yarn delivery...whoo hoo!

I took these pictures at 6 this morning and the only way I could get them done was to take a picture of Ian too (he's such a ham). So here is an absolutely gratuitous Ian picture (with very sleepy eyes):



I decided it was time to lose the Spring Green colors scheme and go for something a bit more autumnal. What do you think?

Have a great weekend everyone...

I have finally managed to get a completed Devans page together. It's nothing very fancy as HTML is not my native language.

Go check out all the beautiful sweaters...

I had a pretty good weekend knittingwise anyway. I finished the lap blanket watching the Olympics on Friday:



My husband is very happy with it though it has more pink than he would have liked, but the Woolspun I used as the contrast color appears much more red by itself. It only showed it's true pink self when set against the purple and blue of the Homespun.

I finished the right side of Devan on Sunday:



I don't think you can notice it in the picture but there is something slightly off about my 2 Devan sides. The armhole for the second is nearly an inch longer. Now the left side armhole is an inch larger than the pattern calls for (7" as opposed to 6") but I am doing it in a larger needle so I attributed it to that. Now what I am suspecting is that I sped up my decreases on the left side so that the difference would be fairly small, yet I failed to note that anywhere to remind myself. So I went on my merry way doing the decreases on the right and ended up at 8". My solution? Start the back. I figure I will have to frog a few rows on the right side and bring it down to match the left but I want to get the back done first. So I started it this morning on the train.

I have also started buying yarn for the holiday knitting to come:



Nothing too exciting yet. The red and the blue are the first skeins for Avery's blanket. The burgundy and gold are for a Harry Potter Scarf for a friend. This is the cheaper side of my holiday, the good stuff is yet to come, and do you love the basket I bought for myself at K-Mart. It sits right next to my favorite chair to knit in.

Still nothing from NY Knits, Mya is feeling pretty neglected sitting there half finished...

I just posted my holiday knitting list to the Winter Knit Along blog, truly I must take some mind altering substance to even think for a second that I will get it all done...

I am just about finished with the candy wrapper lap blanket. I have about 10 rows left. Far too little to justify dragging it to work, so it will have to wait until tonight to be finished. I think I will take my long neglected Devan with me today.

I've been doing quite a bit of stash enhancement in preparation for holiday knitting. I will fill you in on Monday, when I can show you pictures...

As for my yarn for Mya, I had assumed that the fault was with my mail carrier as I have had problems receiving packages from her in the past. It would seem however that New York Knits sent out my ship notice prematurely. It never shipped and they have yet to get back to me about when it will. I called again yesterday and I was told that they were waiting for a call back from the person who handles internet orders. I've ordered from them before and not had a problem, but this time I am not a happy customer. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Have a great weekend.

I finished my first pair of socks! Whoo hoo!



Pretty cool right? The picture is a bit askew because Avery was wearing them and I was taking the picture while sitting next to him.

Now I'm working on the lap blanket to try to finish that up. I still haven't received my yarn from New York Knits although I know they sent it out last Tuesday. I am getting worried...

As the Heel Turns

I have to say I am completely fascinated by the magic of heel turning. It's daunting at first I admit. On my first sock I had to rip it out a couple of times before I got it right. On my second sock, it was smooth sailing:



I will admit that I started the short rows on the train in the morning and decided that was not the appropriate place for such a momentous event (the fact that concentration is more difficult, elbow room can't be found, and the constant bouncing of the train had absolutely no effect on my decision), but I did it at home last night and it was good.


In Devan news, Chris has finished hers and it looks really cute. The colors are bright and cheerful and the corrugated ribbing gives it a cool effect at the edges. Once I finish the sock and Mya, it will be straight back to Devan for me.



You may have noticed that I put the Shapely Tank on hiatus in my progress bars. I think I may rip it out and start again in the round. Theresa was kind enough to post the adjustments on the Shapely Blog and I think it may go better for me that way. I suspect one of the reasons I haven't done much work on it is simply because it's for me. There's no deadline, no gift giving enthusiasm, but I really want it so I have to convince myself that it is reason enough.

Today is devoted to finishing the sock, although I'll be spending my evening in a bar with a dear friend who is visiting from Ireland. I doubt I'll be knitting though, it's rather hard to knit holding a mug of beer...believe me I've tried....


Have a great weekend....

Devan Update!
Brynne is also finished and her Devan is very masculine and handsome, check out the great black and blue varigation in the stripes. And check out the cutie who models it!

I thought it was time to put some pictures up. I realized it had been a while since I had much to show. I haven't finished anything but there's been progress.

Here's my second sock, I'm working on the heel flap:



I'm figuring it will be done tomorrow.

Here's the body of Mya:



I may block this and do the seed stitch trim this weekend if I haven't received my yarn for the sleeves. It shipped out yesterday but comes Priority Mail so it may not be here in time for the weekend.

Here is the Candy Wrapper Lap Blanket:



I've been working on this in the evenings. it's a good break from the small needles of Mya and the sock.

The knitting group on Tuesday was great. My friend Christina came and was working on her sweater. There were some faces from the last time and some new ones as well. Sonia, the woman I mentioned last time who was making the preemie hats, has gone completely in the other direction. She is doing a sweater for herself from Rowan, on 17s, in the most beautiful red colorway. We all told her we can't wait to see it when it's finished.

This link was posted on the Knitlist yesterday and I just had to share. Read this woman's story and realized you are taking your life in your hands whenever you pick up your needles.

I love living a dangerous life...

I finished the body of Mya before I ran out of yarn. I did know I was going to run out of yarn so I placed an order on Friday with New York Knits. Of course I couldn't order just one little ball of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, that would have been cruel and unfair. No one would expect such a small delicate yarn to travel alone, right?

So I in fact did a bit of Christmas shopping. Christmas is all about bags this year (I believe I have mentioned this before) so I picked up a skein of Cascade 220 and the pattern for the Madeline Bag by the talented Julie Anderson. I love her designs and in fact I have e-mailed the boys at Threadbear for a kit for the Amanda Backpack once they get up and running.

I grabbed my second sock from the car on the way to work this morning. I am really trying to get into finishing mode, so I can clear out all my WIPs and work on holiday stuff. I only have two large projects in mind for the holidays. I have been promising my son a blanket for years, quite frankly, and I really need to get that done. I also have promised my best friend a hooded sweater so that is also high on the list. I'm figuring with everything else being fairly small, fairly quick projects, I might get most of them done. Most importantly I am seriously excited about most of these projects so that helps a lot!

I also want to try to work on my IPod Cozy again so I can have a workable pattern. The last 2 attempts pretty much sucked but I have had a few brainstorms about them recently so I will try yet again.

Tomorrow night is the Knitting Group at Barnes and Noble again (86th and second). I have been looking forward to it for weeks. If you're in the neighborhood stop by and say hi! We meet at 7.

Check out CityKnitter's informal survey, she's looking for people's opinions on NYC yarn shops.

Well no news is good news at the moment. They put my mother on an anti psychotic so she is no longer delirious, which is good. I'm not sure about the whole "matter of days" thing. She is very strong and I think it is hard to put a time frame on how long a person can hold out. Thank you to everyone for their kind words and support, it really means a great deal.

I have been working sporadically on Mya. I have completed the left side and am working the back as of this morning. I am definitely going to need more yarn, so I will probably pick some up on my way home this afternoon. I think I will just have to suck up the Manhattan prices in this instance.

I am totally preparing myself for holiday knitting at this point. I want to clear the decks on my current projects so I can start casting on for some presents. I am thinking of jumping into Alison's Pool for the Pooling Colors Scarf from the Fall 2004 Interweave. I'm just figuring out who on earth I would give it to (or dare I keep it for myself?). I will contemplate this over the weekend and make a decision Monday. I also want to make up my list of presents this weekend so I can start figuring out my yarn needs. Hey, any excuse to buy yarn works for me!

I totally missed my blogversary on Wednesday. I have been blogging for a year now. Wow time flies and what great people I have met and corresponded with over this past year. It certainly has made the world seem a bit smaller and way more friendly so I thank you all for that!

Have a great weekend...

My mother has taken a very bad turn. It seems she has reached her final days, although knowing my mother it will be a few weeks, so blogging may become a bit sporadic for a bit.

I didn't work on Mya at all this weekend because of everything going on with my mother. After the rug issues I didn't want to risk it and frankly I was far too distracted. Harry Potter V worked a little better to de-stress me.

Thankfully my dear friend Christina, who's the recipient (well her son Joshua anyway) is a knitter so she was able to ooh, aahh and gush over the half finished product along with a picture of what it will look like.

I was able to pick her going away gifts. We got her my favorite stitch bible of the moment Ultimate Sourcebook of Knitting and Crochet Stitches and of course the Needlemaster

She is hoping to have some good knitting time being a stay at home mom. How true that is remains to be seen. She is also threatening to start a knitting blog, I wonder where she gets these crazy ideas...