Catching up

It seems I have been busy knitting but right now no pics to show. I have finished a couple of items on my knitting list for Christmas giving. One pair of "fingerless gloves" are done. I am also about to start an easy hat to match those darlings. These are for oldest teenage grandaughter!
One sleeve left to go on CM's cute wee cable sweater. I started them 2 on 2 circs but I didn't like the cables for some reason, so I frogged and started one by picking up stitches in the armhole and knitting down. I prefer decreasing on sleeves instead of increasing!!!
Should be finished the 2nd pair of fingerless gloves today/tomorrow. The socks need their ATH's and the scarf needs another 10" and I will be done with it as well. So this week, if it is all about knitting, I should finish up several projects.

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Have you ever changed your mind about the recipient while still knitting the item? I think I have. It solves a couple of issues and I am happier about the "list" now.

Some things happening on the work front which are unsettling but hopefully this week will see some light at the end of the tunnel!

Hope you all have a great week, filled with wonderful light and nothing but knitting!

WIP's

Thought I better update those of you who think I am just holding off until the last minute on some of my Christmas knitting!

One of the pairs of socks has turned into a pair of fingerless gloves. Hey a cuff is a cuff! no pics of that yet..who wants to see a shot of ribbing with barely a peek at a crossed cable! I promise that later this week.

More length on the Sharfik, it is really looking quite lovely. I am very pleased with how it is working out.

I have a teenage grandaughter (I have two actually, but one is particularly charming) who has suggested that if some "really, really colourful yarn just happened to jump on my needles and want to be socks" (she even talks like a knitter!) then she would be very happy! Well this is what has evolved so far. I am literally using up bits and bobs and leftovers.
The blue is what is left from the socks I finished last week. The yellow, scarlet and hot pink are all leftovers from socks. I am using (sort of) a colour chart out of Socks x3 to guide me, but I am making decisions based on quantities! Hope she will like them..she is too funny.

Next I have finished the back of a sweater for CM my youngest grandson. I am usingthis pattern although again I have made some changes. His Mom (my oldest DD)prefers pullovers for kids as she feels they are warmer and less hassle so I have converted it and I am knitting it in the round. I then did the armhole shaping and finished the back this morning (knitting back and forth of course). So now on to the front. Here is how it looks so far.
CM will look very sweet in this colour as his eyes are very blue. I am using my favourite DK weight yarn, King Cole Merino Blend Superwash Wool. I can get it at my lys (sorry no web site) for $4.29 Can$'s for 112 metres. That means that I will probably get this sweater done for just about $20. I have yet to figure out what collar I will do, probably a mock turtle neck, he is a skinny kid but does have a long neck!
I have used this yarn for a ballet sweater for Ali (GD 8 yrs old), sweaters for the other grandsons (Penguins and Dinosaurs) and now this one. I love, love, love it. It has a beautiful hand, washes well, doesn't pill and what can I say! The colour selection is wide.

Talked to T. on Friday night and Caelan (youngest GD) is over 18 lbs now. She was born April 29 so you can tell that she is not missing any meals. Still as good natured and happy as she was earlier this summer when visiting. She still loves her big brothers and the feeling is very mutual. Quinn announced to me that he always "makes Caelan laugh"!
He makes us all laugh but he just doesn't know it yet :)
Well enough chatter, looking forward to more progress on my WIPs and hope this eases your mind a bit S. ..don't worry, I will get it all done! (Do you think now is the time to tell her that I have some other stuff, I haven't cast on for yet??? maybe not!
Hope your day is filled with nice progress and pleasant knitting!

Some knitting FO's

Well as the sun was shining directly on my screen this morning, I actually had to wait a few minutes until it moved so that I could "see" the screen properly. Wonderful, beautiful, bright sun on November 17 to give us temps in the 10ºC mark today! Mother Nature isn't mad at us right now!!

I finished the pair of socks I was working on. They are from Stitches of Violet and truly are (almost) more fun that cables!!
They do give a nice pattern but do not pull in like cables do so no need to increase the normal stitch count you would use. These are knit in good old Canadian sock yarn, Confetti in a nice shade of mttled blue. I see the Confetti link is broken, sorry, took the url right off the sock bank. Do a Google for Confetti sock yarn and you will find plenty of places that sell it. Nice stuff and priced right too!

Whew that was link laden.
A friend asked me the other day, how my Christmas knitting was coming along. She knows that I will be doing something like blocking a sweater, hemming something or closing a toe on Christmas Eve. She knows me..so I couldn't let her down, I cast on for 3 prs of socks on Saturday, just to keep my reputation golden! just sayin'

I also cast on for Dad's Sharfik
and I am so happy I did. Earlier this year I purchased some yarn from a blogging friend in baby alpaca and merino. I have 9" done on this scarf and luckily I have plenty of yarn to make it to the 53" long, plus I think I will do the fringe.
This scarf is so soft...like butter. It is for my co-worker who I work with on the weekends and he allows me the odd day off when his regular job doesn't intervene.


Well, needless to say as the days at work become less busy (closer to Christmas etc), I will have time to (sssshhhhhh) knit at work! Thank heavens, otherwise S. would be so right, she may be anyway but at least I need to try and get this all done. Oh and I bought some yarn for a sweater for oldest GD yesterday..oh well, that might not be for Xmas...we shall see!
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Off to the post office to mail some yarn to a couple of friends and also the shawl to my sis! Finally get this all out of the way and get to work. See ya, hope your day is filled with sunshine and wonderful knitting moments:)

FFFFfinallly FFFFinished

So at least I can say that I finished something this week.  For a while, I didn't think I was EVER going to finish the shawl edging but I finally did.  As you can see from the photos, it does look much more finished and complete! 

So some not so current stats:  This was a gift for my sister which my (one friend in particular) friends were shocked to learn I had it complete by the late part of June I think.  (Her b/day is Oct 6!).  That is a real remarkable thing for me, I am usually Susie Stress, doing things at the last minute. 

It is made from Opal (yes the sock yarn people) Sweater yarn.  Got it from a friend who acquired it from a seller in Germany.  It is a variegated yarn in gorgeous deep shades varying from deep purple to mauve.  My sis's favourite colour is any shade of purple.   I made the Candle Flame shawl, a fairly popular pattern available on the web.  There were several versions and I did acquire the updated version with corrections. After gifting the recipient and hearing her admire it, I suggested (What the HELL was I thinking! :) an edging.  I brought along my "Knitting on the Edge" book and she picked a 22 stitch "Twin Leaf" edging from the book.  As the top of the shawl measures 84" across, you can imagine that it was one heck of alot of knitted edging!!!

It measures approximately 40" from centre back to the tip.  A real picky person would notice that the edging has an "up & down" to it and I did not reverse it I just kept right on going around the 3 sides of the triangle.  It is done, needs one more good steaming and it will be off in the mail to her in Calgary. 

Enjoy your day, hope it is filled with complete things and nice knitting!

Knittin' & Knittin' & Knittin'

As I think I have said I am knitting an edging chosen by my sis for the Candle Flame Shawl I made her for her birthday. It is a 22 stitch repeat of a pattern from "Knitting on the Edge" by Nicky Epstein. You would think I would have it done by now. You would think, however I blocked the shawl before making it a present and it was very nice. This yarn has quite a bit of acrylic in it so the blocking didn't exactly change and stay as we are used to with 100% wool content.

So I killed the acrylic. Wish I could find the articles I have read about doing this but I can't seem to right now. Basically it is simply using heat/steam to press it and it works wonders. I do have a couple of pics to show you, hopefully you can see the difference.

I am showing two pics, one is more washed out than the other but in each picture the edging on the left side has been ironed and in fact is already attached to the shawl. If you count, you can see there are about 3 "patterns" on the one on the left however the one on the right has about 5 "patterns". It is very "puckered and lumpy" (highly technical terms of course!) That is how much it presses out and flattens, when ironed with heat and steam. I have done the shawl itself too before attaching the edging and it feels very soft and quite drapey (is that a word?).
In the next few days, I am determined to have this done. The deadline (self imposed) of Oct 31, has obviously come and gone but it has taken me longer than I had hoped. However, it will happen and it will get mailed and she will like it!!

Not much other news on this front, you will see finished pics once this is totally complete. I am on the last edge now, having turned two corners with this edging so wish me luck and a nice day of knitting!

May your day be filled with nice "edges" and lots of knitting.

What the heck?

I know, I normally don't say "heck" but why on earth do the postings I make on here sit so far down on the page. This is only just happened the last couple or 3. it is really a strange glitch...no other highly technical term I can think of to describe it!

Was over to perform my "Grammy" duties this morning and watch Christopher and ended up cuddling with Ali too as she was home sick from school. Poor thing, she was so pale. She had been sick in the night and had a few runs to the bathroom (pun intended) this morning but other than that, she was just generally yuck!
Today was only a half day of school so it was the day to miss if it had to happen.

Then I raced off to work for 2 pm but had some help come in for the evening so I left work at about 6:30pm. Nice to have a bit more of an evening for sure

I talk to L. later and she said they both had slept alot in the afternoon so that is good, hope CM doesn't get it..he can't afford to lose any weight!

Not much else to report, a few more rounds done on his sweater and a few more on the shawl edging. That is definitely taking longer than I had planned. I just have one more side to knit up and so I should be able to get it done, steamed and off to sis once and for all in the next week.

Hope your day is filled with nice edges :)

This n that

How was Hallowe'en for you. Waiting for DD to send pics of the kids as I of course, raced out of work and didn't stop home for my digital. Ali was the aforementioned pirate(ss?) and her costume turned out well and she had lots of fun. CM was a wee Lion...so cute. He did have a pumpkin that his Mom carried for him so he came home with candy which he proceeded to go through and throw into Ali's pile. We all laughed and thought how cute he was..

Finished the body of a (top-down) sweater for Ali that I have been knitting on for far too long. Still working on (what seems like)the neverending edging on my sis's Candle Flame Shawl. I have sewn on what I had, which didn't go near as far as I thought it was going to, so now the project is the entire shawl plus so not as portable as it once was. I am determined to get that done as now it is almost annoying!

Socks continue and I have made some progress on CM's Christmas sweater.

Other than that, I am hoping to have time to "just sit and knit" on my days off this week, that is providing I get 2 days off this week.