cosmicpluto knits!

knitting olympics win…and fail

Win:

I finished my socks! As I predicted, once I got down to it, the second one only took about a day and half to finish.

Fail: I was motoring along on my black Terra sweater, getting ready to finish it up tonight and block it so I could wear it tomorrow. Body and sleeves totally done, one buttonband done. Fits awesomely. I go to get the last skein of yarn to wind….

…and I left it at work. Booooo.

I guess it’s being left behind while I take off to Boston for a week!

one week left

So, let’s see the state of things -

Lego man has a head and torso!

The torso wasn’t actually done in this photo (see how the bottom edge is curling up) but it is now, sockets and all. And I’ve knitted up the first piece of the legs.

Elf shoes are done and felted, but too big. Blame my lack of firsthand knowledge of baby sizes. I miiiiight make another pair, smaller, but we’ll see.

One gentleman’s sock is done, but I’m not sure when the second one will be. It’s not super pressing.

And then there’s the French Press slippers. Sigh. I decided to axe one pair from my list, so there was just these 2 pairs. Done the knitting and all that. Then came the felting…and felting…and felting.

Four cycles later (top loading machine, no agitator, with towels) the red pair is felted enough, but too small. The blue pair is felted enough (although the seam areas have kind of a crease) and might fit another person, but not the recipient. They’re both too shallow on the sides and don’t look like the other finished photos at all!

I’m disappointed and discouraged with felting (I haven’t had much luck with it in general). And now I have to figure out other presents. Maybe there’s still time to do some clogs instead, those have turned out well in the past!

P.S. Pavlov’s Dogs (my handbell group) is playing the Rivoli Christmas Show tonight and tomorrow! More info here if you’re in Toronto. I know Rotate This still has tickets!

socks, socks

I actually really need to be knitting some of those French Press Felted Slippers right now since the lozenge pattern socks are off the needles!

2 skeins of Austermann Royal and loosely based on Nancy Bush’s pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks. I did my cuff differently, subbed my own heel and toe, and did the whole sock on 70 sts.

Of course, I cast on for some more socks right away – I guess I’m kind of in sock mode now!

I have such mad love for this sock right now – this leg was one afternoon/evening of knitting (at work and then a little bit at home). Based on another sock from Knitting Vintage Socks. I’m working this over 68 sts, in Dream in Color Smooshy. The colour is Shiny Moss and I LOVE it!

One thing I don’t love? Lenses that are picky about focusing. I went out into the rather cold weather (hovering around the freezing mark) in the hopes of getting some pattern photos for 2 sweaters.

I stayed out there for a good long while, toes getting colder and colder, and managed only a handful of useable shots – not even of the sweater that I really wanted to get photos of! (The red cabley one I’m wearing the photo). Sigh. The Sigma 30mm lens I love is kind of moody and wasn’t focusing properly with the remote, so I have a LOT of out of focus photos. Sigh. I guess I’ll have to just try again this week. Maybe with someone else as the model.

(More love to balance out the annoyed face – have you seen Dr. Steph’s Hansel mittens? I need some to go with my Gretel, and they look super fast and cozy!)

that time of year again

Not very many people get knitted gifts from me anymore – I did the whole ‘everything knitted’ thing one year but some people would really just prefer a Sephora gift card, you know?

But on my short list of gifts is a scarf, and some toys, maybe some weaving, and of course some socks.

These are actually ‘due’ in mid-December, so I really need to keep at them for a bit! I’m past the heel decreases on this one actually, hopefully I can just power through over the next week. I do love the yarn – it’s Austermann Royal, which is merino, silk, cashmere, and polyamid (nylon?). I bought it at Le Bon Marche in Paris so it’s a bit special!

Pattern is based on Nancy’s Bush’s gentleman’s sock with lozenge pattern (whew, that’s a mouthful) but basically I just looked at the starting point of the diamond pattern and figured my own from there. The recipient has feet on the smaller side, so I’m doing these on 70 stitches, and I just did a plain rib for the top of the sock.

Oh, and for those still left wondering a bit about my whole handbell group thing? Here’s a video! I’m not in it because I only joined a few months ago, but you get the idea!

There’s another video on Youtube here, but it’s a bit racy since it’s got a bit of burlesque in it!

greys

I seem to be running in colour families these days!

On the needles, a more interesting (and hopefully better-fitting), top down raglan. Mmmm this yarn is so soft! I got it in Paris, it’s Plassard Meri-Cash8. 90% merino, 10% cashmere, with lots of plies.

Off the needles, plain ribbed socks, top down, but with red toes! Ultra Alpaca Light. I’ve now got a red pair with grey toes on the go.

I’m headed to Ottawa for a weekend away – have a good one!

new lens eye candy

I’m completely enamoured of my new lens. To celebrate, some random photos! Mostly flowers, because, well, they make awesome subjects. I really need to practice with some yarn though!

Some new plain ribbed socks out of Regia Cotton on the go:

And my favourite of the day, a dandelion – the prettiest annoying weed there is.

P.S. In case you missed it in the last post, the lens I got is a Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4.5!