poor man's cashmere

Malabrigo Sock yarn isn't cashmere but it's still really soft.


Pattern: Lacy Kerchief Scarf by Lisa Daehlin (published in Interweave Knits Summer 2005)
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock (1 skein; 440 yds) in Cote D'azure
Needles: 4mm Addi Turbo circs
Notes: I increased/decreased every 8 rows (i.e. on row 1 of chart) instead of every 6. Before blocking, the scarf measured 7" at the widest point and 61" long. After blocking, the scarf is 8" at the widest point and 72" long. I have 18g of yarn leftover so that means I used about 361 yds. I misjudged the midpoint of the skein so I have leftover yarn. But that's ok because 72" is plenty long for a scarf.

Thanks for the inspiration, Li. I love it.

Li's fault

Last week, Li posted her latest FO - a cashmere scarf. I spent Sat at work thinking of the yarn I could use to knit myself one. Right after supper, I dug around in the stash and settled on a skein of Malabrigo Sock in Cote d'Azure.


The scarf is more than half way done and I'm loving it. Thanks for my latest obsession, Li.

Today, I went to our one and only local fiber festival. It's teeny but worth the one hour drive. I scored some SweetGeorgia sock yarn:


And a skein of undyed silk/cashmere (still blaming you, Li):


And that's it for me. I bought a drop spindle & some roving but it's for a friend who wants to learn how to spin. I was very restrained. Probably because this arrived in the mail this morning:


This is my hubby's yarn stash. It's his because he ordered and paid for it. This yarn represents the Whistler sweater (made famous by the Yarn Harlot) that I'm supposed to be knitting for him. Am I insane for agreeing to knit a huge (hubby is 6'4") fair isle sweater?

I don't have any good cat pictures to share with you. Phoebe is pretty much glued to her heated bed and Ricky's taken to sleeping under the quilt on our bed. They're not very photogenic. So here's a gross picture:


It's a paper wasp nest that hubby found in our crawl space yesterday night. I sent him down there to see if there were any foundation issues (no leaks so we're keeping the big maple tree) and he found this under the wood floor near the fireplace. That explains the occasional buzzing that I heard last summer. Ewwwwwww!

reorg

Who knew that a simple bookcase would turn the living room inside out? When we bought the new TV stand, we also purchased a matching bookcase to go with it. Hubby had this week off so we dismantled the old bookcase and while the furniture was out, I had the brilliant idea to rearrange a few things. After 2 days, the only thing that hasn't moved is the TV/stand & the big sofa. Everything else in the living room is switched around. Not totally sure that I'm done but I think it's an improvement.

I am still working on Vicki's socks. I've made a few mods to the original pattern that I hope are improvements. I've just finished the heel turn. I hate p2togtbl's.

I finished the first Lorna's Laces sock.


I don't know why but I'm completely enchanted with the solid heel & toe.

I've also been working on the Lace Ribbon Scarf.


I started this ages ago and put it down but when I don't feel like working on a sock, this is getting some attention.

Ricky sez, "Look into my eyes... I want to go for walkies NOW!!!"


He has been such a pest. It was raining Tues & Wed and he wanted to go outside so badly. Ricky would walk up to the back door, roll around, and paw at the edge. I finally gave in and put the harness on him. We walked out onto the back stoop, he hopped down to the lower step, got his paws wet, and stopped. He finally clued in that it was raining. We stayed outside for 5 mins while he tried to find somewhere dry to walk then I picked him up and took him inside. After I unclipped him from his harness, he wandered off to snooze - content that I'd done his bidding.

L.O.V.E.

Blocking (sorry for the poor picture - it was late at night):


And this morning, released from bondage:


Pattern: Aeolian shawl; made the shawlette size
Yarn: Marion's Sock Yarn (light fingering; 80% merino and 20% nylon; 420m; 100g); col unknown (pale bluey-greeny); 1 skein with about 18" of yarn leftover
Beads: 6/0 silver lined clear seed beads
Needle: 3.5mm Addis
Blocked dimensions: 44" at its widest (not along the top edge because it curls); 22" long


Notes: Because I was going to run out of yarn, I did the cast off with only one strand. And since I was using a heavier yarn, I chose to do 5 stitch nupps. The nupps are hardly visible. I also went up a size for the beads. The yarn bled a fair bit when I soaked it but I don't think it's changed the colour any.


If I were to make this again, I'd probably skip the nupps or make the nupps using laceweight.

I am totally in love with this shawl as you can tell by the fact that I knit it in 8 days - I can't even knit socks that quickly. Being sick on the couch/bed helped a lot, too.

five!

Only 5 more rows and then I can cast off!

too busy knitting

Thanks for the get well wishes. I am feeling better now but not 100% of me is working. I hope to recover enough that I can go to a fibre festival tomorrow (the only one local to me).

You get a quick update on Aeolian cuz I'm too busy knitting on it to stop and blog properly.


This picture was taken a few days ago so it's a lot bigger now. I'm about a fifth of the way through the edging charts and the rows are starting to feel really long. Still loving the beads.

infected

I've caught a coupla bugs. I am sick with the flu - fever, chills, & aches. And I must be really sick because I could only eat 2 perogies for supper. Being sick doesn't usually affect my appetite but this time, I just couldn't eat.

I've also got startitis. Thanks to the new edition of Knitty. I love Shipwreck and Aeolian. My need to cast on was so great that I was forced to knit Aeolian because I had a suitable yarn and matching beads on hand.


I am using Marion's Sock Yarn and clear silverlined 6/0 beads. This is my first beaded project and I'm very excited.