Drops (Wedding) Shrug

WOW! My yarn from Webs came yesterday, they said they had shipped it on Tuesday! The Knitpicks order was also shipped Tuesday so we'll see how they compare.... Even though I think most people are already fully aware that Knitpicks shipping takes PHENOMENALLY long.

Here it is!
100% Egyptian Cotton
Here's a picture of it with the dress that I plan to wear for the pre-wedding informal dinner:
The 'white' in the dress is a bit more off-white and matches the yarn really well! I cast on for the pattern last night and have already gotten to the shaping for the back! LOVE this yarn and the pattern is (so far) proving easy enough.

New Projects

So you guys know that I decided to get started on a wedding shrug and a summer cardigan, but I've also decided to start another project... I know, I know, I'm dangerous without a sizeable project on the needles, when will I learn?!

Since first seeing this pattern I have been in love with it and lusting to knit my own. Now that I have the experience of knitting on the Endpaper Mitts, I feel confident enough to tackle it! It's the cover of Interweave Knits Fall 2006. In fact so many others are lusting after it that I can no longer order a back issue of the magazine! On Friday I was able to but yesterday I wasn't.... what an odd time for a 2 year old FALL issue of a magazine to sell out... Anyway, I downloaded the PDF pattern for almost as much as the entire magazine! (I checked Ravelry for sellers... no such luck). I ordered the yarn from knitpicks on Sunday but haven't received the 'shipped' email and so you guys will have to wait a week or two to see the yarns I picked! (I didn't follow the 'recipe')

FO: Endpaper Mitts

I finished these up Sunday night and wore them yesterday afternoon while it was still chilly in my house, I needed to warm my fingers up while working on my next project! I bound the stitches off of one of the mitts a bit too loosely and will either have to live with it or go back and try to redo it.... we'll see what happens because it is really bothering me.

I also have a picture of the inside of the color-work and judging from some other knitters desire to keep that a secret I'm pretty happy with mine!

Downtime Post

So I've found that I have a little bit of downtime and think that a proper post is in order. This post will probably be kind of light in the photo department, so I'll try to make it as interesting as possible. :)

As you can see, I dove right in and started on some Endpaper Mitts. I tried a little 'headband' with some scrap yarns and a pattern I found on Ravelry. It was a horrible end product because it was purely for learning the technique but I felt very confident in my yarn handling and was ITCHING for a real fair-isle project. I have TONS of sock yarn and I know it'll never get used for socks, no matter what delusions I like to believe, so I grabbed two coordinating skeins and got started! I've finished that first mitt and gotten through the ribbing on the second. I really amazed myself with how even the stitches are and how stretchy the end product is.... Yesterday I found myself trolling around Ravelry looking for a Fair-Isle sweater to get started on! Good thing it's going to be so warm in the coming months, my Fair-Isle bug will be hindered if I can't immediately wear my product. :)

Also, that spring sweater I was working on sat on my table for almost a week until I realized that it's just not going to work. That shade of green isn't something that I have in my closet already and it's a bit.... pale to look good against my skin. I kept telling myself that maybe if I made a three-quarter sleeve button up sweater it would look better. I don't know how I was able to rationalize changing the sweater style as a means of negating the color... that one is still beyond me. However, I REALLY want to knit up a sweater and so I was disappointed that I'd bought all that yarn and can't do anything with it. I'm trying to sell it, as you also may have noticed.

I was moping around (only for a few hours) until I saw another project that has been neglected for QUITE some time:
The Lotus Blossom shawl! While I LOVE the pattern, the color isn't something I could see myself wearing in a shawl. Then I thought... I have plenty of the yarn, why don't I see if there's a sweater pattern I could use it for..... I went trolling on Ravelry again... and found this!

If you look at it on Ravelry a few others have knit it up and you can see that the yoke pattern is a bit lacy, something VERY appropriate for the spring/summer months that are fast approaching. Since the pattern is free I didn't feel to bad about downloading it and printing it out last night! BUT!! I don't think I am going to get started on it until I (start and) finish another project I thought of last night.

I was talking to my mom and she was thinking that the night before the wedding we could have a rather informal come-if-you-want dinner for the family that is coming in to visit from out of state. I already bought a dress that I could wear to some of the other wedding functions but it has short sleeves and I could see myself just shivering in the middle of a restaurant somewhere. Then I thought.......... shrug! That would be perfect, something quick and easy and warm but not too bulky. Ravelry shopping led to me finding a pattern by the same guys that gave me my last pattern: here. I felt a little bad about not picking the retro shrug in Lace style (because I've only knit one pattern from the entire book) but I rationalized that by saying it was too lacy, I need something warmer. Also, it helps that this pattern is free too!

I am currently in the process of looking for some off-white yarn to meet gauge and match the dress without appearing too yellow. Yellow next to my face REALLY washes me out and that would not be a good look the night before the wedding.

Wow, that's a pretty sizeable post, and a fairly conclusive update to what is going on in my world this week! Hope it satisfies you as much as it has me!

For Sale!

So I've decided that the yarn I bought for my Spring sweater just isn't quite right for me. I but up 1000 yds of it and am trying to sell it or trade it away. If you know of anyone interested, shoot me a message!
The picture shows what the yarn looks like knitted up on size 4 needles. I have knit up 2.5 balls but will wash and re-skein for the buyer. All the other skeins have been wound into center pull balls on my ball winder. I should probably mention that it is Berroco Nostalgia colorway 6672

My Latest Obsession...

Pic Updates

So, here are the pictures that I promised!

Michael's Fingerless Gloves:
He insisted that I post this pic! This next picture shows a very close idea of the color:
Here is a good image of the finished project:
Ok, I hope that satisfies your need for pictures of the new project! I sure loved knitting with this yarn and the satisfaction of a quickly finished project was very empowering! I hope to knit up a similar pair (but without the fingers) for myself using some Olive yarn I bought from Abby.

I took this picture of my Nebula Ringwood socks over the weekend but they have since been knit up past the beginning of the calf muscle and cast off for a finished pair! Just in time for the supposed snow we'll be getting over the weekend. I LOVE everything about these socks: the yarn, the fit, the pattern. Can't wait to wear them!
Finally, this is my new project:
The spring sweater out of some yarn that I have still forgotten to check the contents on... and I just realized that I threw away the ball bands after winding them all into center-pull balls.... oops.

Anyway this yarn is knitting up very smoothly and quickly with great texture. My only concern is that the drape isn't very nice and that the sweater will take on a 'stiff' appearance once I finish it....

And, since it's been soooo long, a pic of Fezzy!

Wow... lost in knitting (and work)

Sorry for such a long silence! My work has starting picking up again and I'm not complaining. I sure love what I do but when I get home I'm much too tired to take pictures or think about a blog post. I'll try to summarize what I've been up to since finishing my gorgeous shawl....

WOW! I just checked to see when I finished the shawl so I could use that as a reference point to the rest of my knitting... I didn't realize I haven't posted in close to a month!

Well not much has happened on the wedding front. I had my dress fitting (it took all of 15 min or so) and the seamstress claimed that it looked as if the dress had been made for me! All we had to do was shorten it! Thank goodness for that, it puts us under the budget we had set for alterations. We also went to pick put flowers. The lady helping us was very draining... she knew a lot about flowers but not a lot about how to tell people about them. It was very hard to imagine what she was telling me when I didn't know what flowers were called by what names. We finally got it all figured out and I kept thinking about the bouquet for a few days after, "Oh wow, those are perfect" type deal.

Knitting.... I started and finished Michael's Fingerless gloves. I haven't taken any pictures yet but I'll try to take pictures of everything this weekend. Michael says he likes them but I think they are way too tight....

I've been knitting on my own Blue Nebula Ringwood Socks. I've turned the heel in both of them and am just working my way up the leg now. (no pics yet!)

I've also started a Spring sweater (or so I'm trying to tell myself) from Louisa Harding's Modern Classics. I bought some yarn.... I can't quite remember what kind.... but it was from Webs, because that really narrows it down!

I think that's a quick recap of what's been going on at my place and I'll try to keep better track of the days passing!