Like Chocolate

I started knitting the pattern Melody's Shawl by Melody Moore the other day. It's a lot of stockinette, but I'm knitting it in 100% Cashmere lace so it's definitely keeping my interest.



The cool thing about this pattern is that it is joined and knit in the round. The scary thing about this pattern is that you have to cut it at the end of the pattern in order to open up the shawl. Since I have to knit 256 stiches into 15 or so inches of stockinette, I'm guessing it will be a while until I have to worry about it :) As of today I have 5 inches complete. Gosh, this is the softest yarn ever, and I'm sure it's going to be an addiction.

I really need a camera that can take decent pictures!!! I just can't capture the colors perfectly.

Anyway, this weekend is the Lowell Folk Festival so I will probably be stuck Downtown all weekend. The lady at my parking garage didn't give me too much confidence that even though I pay $50 a month for my spot, that I would actually have one if I choose to leave and come back. That sucks. I might walk down and catch some of the action myself :) I love music, so it should be enjoyable. Just wish I had Hank here to share it with me.

Ishbel

Wow, my first lace project is complete. The kicker? It only took me 6 days to knit. This pattern is sure to be a regular standby. It is Ishbel, by Ysolda Teague. I used Handpainted Merino Superwash Fingering in the colorway Tea Towel by The Plucky Knitter.

Everyone was right about the fact that it's the perfect first lace project!

Here is a close-up of the stitch pattern:



A little further away:



And finally, it is blocking:



I finally got to use my Knitter's Block. I definitely have to invest in more pins, however. I ended up having to use some of my tapestry needles too :)

I can't stop staring...

Knitting as Life

I used to equate how messy my life was with how messy my apartment was. Now I equate my life state with how many knitting projects I start. I started two pairs of socks and a pair of mittens last week. And can you believe that I am thinking about starting another project? I reeeeeeeeally want to start a lace project. This just shows you how disheveled my life feels at the moment.

Last month was my hardest month at work in the year that I've been there. I didn't sleep more than 4 hours a night because my mind was racing. I've also had the big move on my mind. The big move to Louisiana. There's just so much that goes into moving, and I've become a professional at moving across the state. Moving to another one, on my own, well, this will be a first.

I am pretty sure the stress got to me on Friday night. I went to see the Red Sox play the Mariners:



Everything was great until the T ride home, when I fainted. I've never had anything like that happen to me before, but boy did it make me think. I cannot wait to be with my boyfriend and finally do what I want to do for a living. I plan on moving, getting a job in the local school system and finishing my music degree so I can become a teacher. Corporate America isn't worth my health. I want to be happy and healthy, and I won't be happy until I'm with my boyfriend. I am really looking forward to it!


In other news, I think I am allergic to mohair. Whenever I knit with it, my eyes itch, and I get a slight headache. This is sad because I just started these Noro Silk Garden Socks and I'm getting to a point in the skein where I see some purple peeking out. I will sneeze and itch my eyes through these!!



I would like to leave this post on a happy note, look what I scored from The Plucky Knitter, it's merino superwash sock in Tea Towel, GORG!!!!

Motivation

Well, it seems my little stash post last time around gave me a little incentive to finish a couple of projects. So that's what I did today. ALL day.

Hand cramp!

Monkey:



Uglets, if you dare:

don'tclickhere

So what's next? I don't know! Maybe a nice pair of manly socks for the boyfriend? Missing him like mad, by the way. Maybe another pair of lovely socks for myself? Maybe a lace project(eek!)? Or, maybe I will spend hours upon hours of my time searching through ravelry for the next perfect thing :)

Sock Disorder

Honestly, I don't think my sock yarn stash is that bad. It's bad that I think this way, though, because it gives me an excuse to buy more yarn. Who invented the thought that "sock yarn doesn't count" in regard to stash yarn? I need to give them a hug.



What is bad, is the fact that I have this many unfinished pairs of socks:



Ok, add two more, because I am also working on Monkey and the infamous Uglets. This is no good, peoples.

We had our monthly knit night in Lowell last night, and I have to say, it was AWESOME to be knitting outside and drinking watermelon beer. I got a lot of compliments on my Monkey socks, which I have been working on, and not working on, forever. I think it's something to do with the natural lighting. I do love them, though :)

Multitasking

Today I mastered the art of knitting and reading a book at the same time.

Let me set the scene. Here I am, nestled into my corner cushion of a sectional, surrounded by all things I need close. I have a book, my knitting, a glass of water, the remote, and tissues. I don't really need the tissues, but if I did need one, they are here. Whenever I get up and I see my butt indent in the cushion surrounded by all of these "necessities," it dawns on me that I am really lazy. But I digress. Anyway, I was watching Dog the Bounty Hunter(don't ask, I am a guilty pleasure tv whore) and knitting my Uglets,(really, they are too ugly to post pictures on here) when I glanced over and thought to myself that when the boyfriend is unavailable, it is the prefect time to read! So I nestled my book on my legs, propped my feet up on the ottoman, and read and knit.

This is all before I learned how to knit and watch tv. Go figure.

Whoa

I've been knitting a lot lately.

After I finished the Tanged Yoke Cardigan, my last BIG project, I spent hours and hours on Ravelry.com trying to find the next knitting pattern that I could get passionately into. It didn't happen. I spent more hours searching and searching. My knitter friend suggested plain socks. I decided to follow her lead and do just that, to get me out of the knitting rut I was in. So I knit these:



I used Cherry Blossom Fibers Mini Striping Sock Yarn from Woolgirl.com. The pattern was Yarn Harlot's Basic Sock Recipe. You can find that pattern for free on the DIY network website. I ended up giving these to my mom. I hope she likes them!

Next, I cast on for Owls, a really cool sweater pattern by Kate Davies. I knit the body already, but haven't quite cast on for the sleeves yet. I know I will! Not sure when, but it will happen! Sometime. I hope.

A few weeks ago, my previously mentioned knitting friend invited me to go with her to meet Ysolda Teague at the Hub Mills Store in Lowell, MA. It was great! I bought her book, Whimsical Little Knits, and ogled the cute patterns. This week I cast on and completed Tiny Shoes.



This is a photo of only one of the shoes, but I assure you, they are both knitted and gifted :) It took me a few tries to really get the pattern down. It's a little difficult for me, at first, to get used to a different designer's pattern writing style. I constantly feel like I over complicate patterns for no good reason. I will read trouble spots over and over again hoping that it will click. The way I usually get through it is by trying to knit it the way I interpret it. Most of the time, it's a V-8 slap to the forehead for not understanding it the first time. After I eventually got the hang of this one, it took me about an hour to finish each shoe. The big bonus was that I used leftover Smooshy sock yarn!

Get this. I also cast on for a lace(gasp!) project. More details on that one next time...

Hmmmmmmmm...

...forgot I started a knitting blog. That's kind of funny! Moving on...

I've been thinking a lot about knitting lately, and what it has done for me. I was talking to a friend who had asked me for advice on losing weight. I've become quite the expert on that! I started to talk about how I used food as a comfort and a solution to boredom, but that eating become a bad habit. I replaced my bad habit with a good one. And I can't even begin to tell you how much more in control of my weight I am now! I mean, when I am really into a project, I almost forget to eat completely. Unless I am not actually knitting with the yarn, but eating it. That's totally possible too. Then again, if I was eating it, my stash would be a lot smaller. Anyway, knitting has been much more than a hobby to me. It's kind of been a saving grace. Not only has it curbed my appetite, but it's also been a friend to me. Is that sad to say? I am in a long distance relationship and knitting has really comforted me when it gets hard to be alone and so far away from my boyfriend. So there's two good reasons why I love knitting. That's only two reasons amongst many others. It's not a perfect relationship, you know, between me and knitting, but most of the time knitting's good to me.

Right now I'm working on some plain vanilla socks using Yarn Harlot's Sock Recipe. The yarn is Cherry Blossom Fibers and it's mini striping.

First Post

Hi!

Welcome to my new knitting blog. More to come soon!

'Til then,
Shauna