Sunday, May 04, 2008

Change Is Good...And All About Sleeves

Well, for me it is. A little change on the layout, and I feel as though I have a new wardrobe. OK, maybe not a new wardrobe...just a few new things. It's spring, what can I say.

Don't be deceived by her sweet, soft face and gentle disposition. Mae snores.

"Yeah, and sometimes she gets windy too, if you know what I mean!"

Gandalf on his "It's-Easy-To-Be-A-Tough-Guy-From-Up-Here" perch, looking out the window.

In my books, it's a good week when I actually make tangible PROGRESS on my WIPs. They may not be FOs, but they are that much closer to being finished:


Columbia is on the bottom. She's a Starmore design from "American Portraits". Marina has a completed one. We may have started knitting Columbia at around the same time, but Marina has considerably more discipline than I do when I comes to sticking to one or two projects. Because, you know. I'm not known for doing that.

And if I had, my Gingko Leaf tunic from Fiddlesticks Knitting would have been done sometime in 2004 when it was started. I really don't know why it's taken me so long to finish it up. Oh wait, I do actually. Lace. On both the right and wrong sides. And knitting with the Ecoknit cotton. It's incredibly soft yarn, but it tickles the nose... The finished sleeve is on top.


Laleli and I have decided to kiss and make up. I started work on the first sleeve yesterday. Every time I start knitting stranded/Fair Isle after having been away for awhile, I'm amazed I stayed away for as long as I did. It's love, kids... I made it through the day without messing up the chart or the colour placements. AND I remembered the differences between right and left, up and down, and how to count.

And the Mork socks? No, I haven't given up on them. I'm actually enjoying them, funky weird colour stripes and all. Um, they've actually been frogged (again...) and restarted. I tried to do a slip stitch on the top of the foot as well as the leg, but decided I didn't like the way it was turning out. So...once again. At least I know this is some pretty tough yarn. Despite all the pulling (and swearing) I've put it through, it's holding up quite nicely, with hardly any splitting.

So...have you heard about this? A new (to english North America) knitting magazine out of Europe - Verena Knitting. I haven't seen it yet, but as soon as I do, I intend to pick it up. Has anyone seen a copy yet?

Have a good Sunday everyone!

13 comments:

Marina said...

Aww come on, I'm trying to convince some people that I can actually play nice and knit with others at their pace ;-) Now, don't let me finish Laleli first!

Speaking about patterns, have you seen the new books by Kim Hargreaves? I'm waiting for Nectar to be sold in the US.

I'm glad Gingko has graduated to WIP status. It's lovely!

Bridget said...

I laughed out loud at the cat photos/comments! They are gonna pay you back, you know, for exposing their secrets ...

Beautiful knitting - I always figure that having a few things going means that there is always something around that I'm in the mood to work on. (I can justify anything, trust me.)

I got a card in the mail the other day for a free trial issue of Verena - I'd never heard of it either, but am a sucker for free trial issues, so I'll probably send for it ...

Your template looks lovely - that's one of my faves.

Lorraine said...

Hey- I like what you've done with the place...

The WIP's are all so beautiful, it must be hard to decide which one to work on. I think being an octupus would have it's advantages.

Chops sends noogies to the Dudes.

Chris said...

I like the new look! Very readable.

Ah, Gandalf, will you still be so brave after you fall off your perch?

I've lost track of how many projects you have going. ;)

miyamojo said...

Good thing Mae's photo was first! I thought I was lost. Even Gandork doesn't look like himself... don't tell him... he looks like a panther! ;) His head might get too big and he'll fall!

Your knits look like candy! :)

Anonymous said...

The place looks nice! Spring requires some changes.

Mae snores? Hez does too! And Sheba did but much more robustly. Gandalf doesn't look perched all that securely up there.

Working on WIP's is progress! I hear it's how you get FO's.

Nicole said...

Hmmm, love the new blog look! I used this template once for a while (when I was actually using my Blogger blog) and enjoyed it.

The shots of the little dudes are priceless! I especially love Gandalf's perch.

Shannon said...

While out walking with girl and dog I saw a black cat who's temperament reminded me of a certain kitty :) I'm gonna have to go hunting for that magazine...I have not seen any Vogue or IK here yet. I'm getting worried.

carolyninAlaska said...

Drat! I just realized the comments I left using the Ravelry didn't post, but disappeared into some internet black hole...
Your projects are looking great... good to see you got your Laleli sleeve going.
Your new template is a great change for spring too!

knitseashore said...

I want to change my blog soon too. I think we all need a change and spring is the perfect time to do that.

Thank you for telling me about that new magazine. It's the first I've heard of it -- sounds interesting!

Sonya said...

Knitting monogamy has it's place but it's HARD. I don't believe for one minute that Mae snores or does any other offensive bodily functions. She's too cute.

All the projects look wonderful, especially Laleli.

Lorraine said...

Tagged- run faster on those little legs next time.
See my blog.

Marji said...

Lovin' ginko.
Seems I remember you starting it too, I think, and so it has to be less than 4 years ago.
um, just so you know, I tagged you on a book meme last week...