ARRRRGH...ME MATEYS!

Well, another Christmas has passed and YES!!!! The pirate socks did get finished!

Here's a picture of the socks:

And here's a picture of the gift they were part of:

A pirate chest, goblet (there were two) and (not seen in the picture) a bottle of rum. (Captain Morgan dark to be exact).

I hope you all had a safe and happy holiday!

TTFN and KEEP KNITTING!

4 stashing days left until KFYS 2007.

Still Knitting....

Still working on those pirate socks and keeping an open mind about them. I got a little distracted though:

Sorry about the bad lighting. These socks have a basketweave pattern for the leg. They were knit for a little girl in the family that my co-workers and I are sending a Christmas hamper to. She said that she didn't want toys for Christmas, she needed socks (what more encouragement does a knitter need?) So I finished these over a weekend (yes! I did a sock-a-day!)

Countdown to KFYS2007 - 13 days.

TTFN and KEEP KNITTING!

I'll give it the old college try...

So I was reading one of my favourite blogs (Wendy Knits!) and she is doing what she calls Knit from your stash 2007. There are a number of rules, but the basic idea is that she (and anyone who wishes to join her) will only knit from yarn in her (their) stash, and not purchase any new yarn. Since I now have an apartment which I will have to share with my supportive yet non-knitter boyfriend, I'm thinking that using up some of my stash in this manner may not be a bad idea. For anyone else who may be interested in this endeavor please use the link provided to access the basic rules. So starting in January, I will do my best not to purchase any more wool [(aside from sock yarn which doesn't count ;)].
As to my Xmas projects...we will not speak of those. They are still WIPs. I have determined if I finish them great...If I don't the earth will not swallow me whole. They can always become next year's Christmas gifts.
TTFN and keep KNITTING!

EGADS!

It's been far longer time than I thought. (I warned you). In my defense things have been hectic here. I signed a lease for my first ever apartment and my boyfriend and I move in at the end of the month.(YEA!) On top of that Christmas looms ever nearer and I still have the scarf and (YES) the pirate socks to finish. (I do have one sock done, need to finish the second one). I have no pics to show today because my camera is on the fritz, but I should have them ready for tomorrow's blog.
TTFN and KEEP KNITTING!
Oh and I had a question regarding the pig sweater, the pig design is my own but the sweater is an adaptation of a basic sweater I found in the Fairy Time Knits book by Amy Carroll and Denise Brown.

More knitting...

Yea! The fez is finished! Actually I finished it at about 1am this morning. It looks nice, fits well and is very warm:

Now I'm working on a wee cabled sweater:

Unfortunately the lighting is bad and it is a dark green wool so you can't really see the cables (but they are there).

The sweater is for this little guy:

One of my crocheted pigs. He'll be on display at work for the month of December, along with the Pig Sweater.

So...back to my knitting. TTFN!

One down...

Ta Da! One pig sweater, ready to go...Sigh...one project down, um let's see...about 7 more to go before x-mas (they keep acumulating). Since the temperatures are beginning to drop here, I'm desperate to finish the fez as well as scarf and mitts. Sigh...At least I have one project done.

Here it is:

Front:

Back:

I believe it turned out rather well. Can't waste a day off, so I'll go work on the fez and pirate socks. Maybe I'll have another finished project to show off tomorrow.

TTFN!

Ouch!!!

I was working so hard on getting the pig sweater finished (It's sewn up and ready for the collar) that I've developed a cramp in my left hand. This cramp is probably partially due to the curse of i-cord, along with trying to keep up with the Yarn Harlot and her sock-a-day abilities. I had been tricked (upon reading of her knitting wizardry and all the historic evidence she had presented) into believing that I too could knit a sock a day...Therefore the pain I'm experiencing now. So I'm laying of socks for a bit. Oh..except for the pirate socks they still need to be completed. I promise tomorrow I will provide a picture of the finished pig sweater. For now I'm going to baby my poor hand.
TTFN!

Knitters of the world unite...

I had a strange revelation yesterday. I was knitting (working on the tassled fez) in Harvey's and no one was looking at me like I was growing a second head. Perhaps this is because I look like I'm crazy and unstable and no one wishes to alarm me...or just perhaps this is because it's no longer strange to see someone happily clicking away in public. To support this theory I have this story to tell:

Earlier that afternoon I was knitting at the table in my LYS, when these two young women walked in. Obviously novice knitters, they wished to make a scarf moving beyond just the knit stitch. So they were shown these fantastic scarf designs using K1P1 rib and fell in love. After a brief lesson into the wonders of purling, one girl purchased some wool and needles, and they both were off down the street. A while later I was walking down Bank St. and I passed a Tim Hortons (what a surprise here in Canada) and I glanced in the window and saw those two girls. The one had her needles and wool out and was happily casting on while her friend watched carefully.

So...dear readers I tell you: Take back the knit! Fear not that others will think you need to be locked away...Perhaps those stares are not in horror but rather speculation as to what you are doing...and maybe...just maybe...they will learn how to knit as well. Wouldn't the world be a wonderful place if everyone knew how to knit?

Anyhoo...enough rambling, on to projects. I have only one completed right now...a pair of socks for my boyfriend (who will not get them until Christmas...this way if the Alpaca scarf doesn't get finished, I'll still have a present for him) :

I've used a Regia sock yarn and just a simple sock pattern. I think they turned out rather well.
TTFN and remember to TAKE BACK THE KNIT!

Okay I lied...

This blogging thing is far easier than I thought.
Good news!!! The pirate socks...(those wonderful, aggravating, pirate socks) I think I've finally figured out what I will do with them: Instead of stranding, I will work the basic leg and duplicate stitch the skull and crossbones motifs. Hopefully this will solve my problem.
However, I've added to my list of knitted items. I need something for my boyfriend's mother...I'm not sure what to make her...She doesn't wear socks (even in the winter) so they'll be kind of useless. She's into spa type things...Any suggestions?
Now that I'm almost done my hat...I'll have to start on my scarf and gloves (or mittens) I haven't decided. Sigh...so much wool, so little time...

Bear with me I'm new at this.

This is the first time I'm blogging and if anyone actually reads this and expects a blog a day, you're in for a disappointment...the best I can promise is a blog a week. I just need a place to rant about my knitting triumphs and woes.
Christmas is about 39 days away now and I still have several presents to complete.
1 pair of pirate socks (men's size 10 ARGHHHH!!!!!!) They are causing me some difficulty due to the problem of getting the stranding around the leg loose enough so the sock will go over the heel, but tight enough so the stitches look nice and even...SIGH...I've frogged the first leg about six times now.
1 alpaca scarf for my boyfriend...It's coming along nicely see:


Incidentally, the sheep in my pictures is one of my collection. I've named him Russell in honor of the book Russell the Sheep by Rob Scotton (if you get the book check out the illustration on page 5 knitters will get a kick out of it).
1 sleeve, the collar and embellishments of the pig sweater:
Front:


Back:


I'm going to use black I-cord to highlight the tail and the head and snout of the pig.
For X-mas I also have two sleeves left to go on a kid's sweater, but it's made of really chunky yarn and done up on 10mm needles.
And lastly a hat for me (to brave the winter in Canada's capital city):


It's going to be the Tassled Fez from "Hat's On!" by Charlene Schurch. This is my first attempt at Fair Isle-ish knitting and I'm immensely proud of it. I use public transit and I can see myself having great difficulties in keeping myself from screaming out "YES I MADE THIS!!!!!!!!" every time I get on the bus.
I think that's all I still have to do in 39 days... I can do it...I hope....I guess...NO! I must be positive. So I'll pull myself together...pour myself some liquid courage...and try and get those pirate socks to work.