FO: Lelah

Pattern: Lelah Needles: 3 mm for lace, 2.5 for bust (stockinette) Yarn: Romni Wools Angora Silk Mods: None, other than the standard measuring and calculating that go with this pattern. Notes: I couldn't have picked a more perfect project for this yarn. the silk/mohair blend gives the yarn strength, softness, and good drape. And the mohair gives the white yarn a faint halo effect. So pretty! I will say this, though- wet silk is gross. and it really lengthened dramatically once wet blocked- I'd say by about 3-4 extra inches. which is fine for this type of project, but potentially not so fine for others. I love the little green velvet ribbon; it is exactly what I wanted. I was fortunate enough to pick up the notions for this during the TTC knitalong, which meant that I didn't have to wait too long before I could finish this one up. I think I really love it!

Making Up After the Break Up

Lelah ended up in the languishing wip pile because the last time I was knitting it, the bust came out too big and I knew I'd have to frog that portion and re-knit. Frogging makes me so depressed. So when I first knew that it wasn't going to work out, I couldn't bring myself to frog just yet. So I gave myself a breather. A nice, long, year-and-then-some breather. But then I needed my 3 mm circulars, to which Lelah was still attached. And that's when I saw her again, still gorgeous even after all the time apart. I frogged the bust, and just like that pesky ex you can't quite let go of, I suddenly had forgotten why we broke up in the first place, Lelah and I. I invited her out to be my TTC Knitalong knitting, and we such a great time together. It was like we had never been apart. And now- well, I'm head over heels for her all over again: (a blocking photo- Lelah in Repose) I just need to sew in the elastic and add the ribbon. I'm not someone who puts off the finishing of a knit, so expect some FO shots very soon!!

A Merry Band of WIPs

There are three projects that I'm working on at the moment: Lelah, The String Bag, and my poor abandoned Central Park Hoodie, which I recently picked up again because (and this is such a ridiculous reason I can't believe this is what made me turn to it again) I was concerned that I was knitting too many projects with cream coloured yarn, and I thought it might get a bit boring, blog-wise. Yup, that's the sad, tiny reason I bothered to rediscover my CPH again. So, here's the status report: CPH: It's been hauled it out of the WIP basket, and I've begun blocking the sleeves: The hood is almost finished. Then the body needs to be blocked, and I need to find a zipper for it- I want it to be a zippered hoodie. So plenty of finishing still to be had on this one. Lelah: Everyone talks about what a fast knit this is. But I bet they weren't using a 4mm needle when they said that. And soon I'll be switching to 3.25 mm needle for the bust portion. This little top is coming along,but at tortise speed. The String Bag: I found a bunch of undyed cotton/ramie in my stash, and, no word of a lie, it begged me to knit it into a shopping bag. It actually pleaded to come on my trips into Chinatown, so that it could be filled with cheap and abundant bok choy, chinese eggplant, spring onions and small boxes of green tea. How could I deny such a request? Look at that, cozying up to the produce already. I couldn't resist it's charms. It's desperation to shop with me (and it's unfussy pattern) mean that it gets to travel around in my purse to be worked on during moments of public transit. I'd be surprised if this one takes more than a week to complete.

WIP Roundup

Somehow, even though I was sure I was on a quest for project fidelity, I ended up working on three WIPS simultaneously. First up. we have Jules:Almost done the first sock, I just need to do the toe decreases. And the second sock, of course! I'm not worried- I don't suffer from second sock syndrome. To be honest, I don't quite get it- I hardly ever hear of anyone suffering from second sleeve syndrome, and it's basically the same thing. Then we have The Eyelet Ribbed Bandeau (ravelry link). This should have been finished ages ago, but when on the final button band, I misplaced the magazine with the pattern for a full three weeks. And after the first week of the pattern being MIA, I decided to cast on for.....Lelah. Because apparently I cannot have enough white, hand-knit tube tops. I'm noticing that I really slacked off over the Sunday Self Portraits, and for those of you who found them interesting, I'm sorry! I will get back to them soon. In the meantime, here are some choclate raspberry cupcakes that I hope make up for it: the chocolate buttercream icing was made up on the fly at about 6:30 this morning, and turned out less than perfect in looks, but top notch in taste. Yum! Those funny looking muffin wrappers? Those are my new silicone muffin cups, and I can't say enough great things about them. They baking perfectly, slide off the cupcake with ease (no losing cupcake stumps to clingy paper wrappers!), and are washable and reusable. I love them!

Public Knitting

Team Knit spent Saturday afternoon in line at the Royal Ontario Museum, to get free tickets to the opening of the new addition, the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. It's been a fairly contraversial addition to the ROM, but I like it. It's gutsy, it's brave, and I think an addition that mimicked the architecture of the original building would be acrylic pretending to be cashmere. I like a good old-fashioned juxtaposition of eras anyway.

So, while in line for the two hours in the blistering hot sun, we did what Team Knit does- we knitted.

Jen's working away at Lelah there, and I'm on the second or third row of the newly-cast on Thermal. I had to put down the Lacy Skirt from Greetings from the Knit Cafe, because I ran out yarn. I checked my yardage when I first cast on, but I'm apparently waaay short. I've stopped just after the lacy repeat, so since there is no way I'll be able to match the dye lot (old stash yarn), I'll have to get something very close, hold my breath, and hope it fools the naked eye.

I'm using Knit Picks 3mm circulars. I love Knit Picks needles-- like Addis, but way cheaper. Here's a recent shot of my newest babies:

That's 2mm, 2.5mm, and 3mm. I love small needles!