Balancing Act

Day 15 in A Month of Craft Photos by Untangling Knots is A New Skill.

With commissions on the table to be done as well as my normal stuff I'm working harder to find that balance between my reading, writing, and knitting. Most of my reading these days is relegated to when we eat. I've been rather lax on the writing area but I'm making more time for that. Knitting is the one that gets the most of my time. I'm fairly okay with that as I do enjoy it so much but I do still want to have time to be published, which does mean writing and reading are necessary beyond me simply enjoying them.

Alternately I was going to post a picture of my word doc where I'm keeping track of all commissions and the details for each but I couldn't manage to take a picture of it that was recognizable without having to go back to blur out personal information. Because keeping track of everything in this particular habit of mine is a form of a new skill ... though somewhat a hold over from those anal retentive days of being an administrative assistant.

Crafty Space

Day 14 in A Month of Craft Photos by Untangling Knots is Where You Craft.

I spend nearly all my time at my desk so that's where I do most of my crafting. Luckily it's been recently cleaned so it's a bit easier to deal with. Especially since Lynn's using the media desktop as his computer. We're doing good with the sharing really close space though it's only working because I cleared some of the clutter off the desk. Places I craft that aren't pictured: Riding in the car, standing in line, and walking through stores. 

Also? Yes, that's wrestling on the computer as that's what I was watching when I snapped the picture. Have to catch up on Friday Night Smackdown after all.  

Indoor Inspiration

Day 13 in A Month of Craft Photos by Untangling Knots is Indoor Inspiration.

Part of what I love about knitting is the texture. I'm always looking for something that's as soft and cuddly and comforting as I remember my stuffed animals being.

Crafty Gift

Day 12 in A Month of Craft Photos by Untangling Knots is A Crafty Gift.

I'm all about not buying myself things at this time, quite often actually. But, now that I have 2 shawls on commission and have in my possession their required 5,280 yards of lace weight yarn, I think it will be a much appreciated gift and well used.

A Long WIP

Day 11 in A Month of Craft Photos by Untangling Knots is A WIP.

   

This is a WIP that's been in progress since 2010. The problem with working on a large blanket worked in one piece while living in Texas is that there are only so many times of the year you can work on it. It's a crochet blanket done that's being worked in Lion Brand Homespun color Lagoon. It's intended to be large enough to fit on our queen size blanket. Once I get this main center portion complete I plan to add at least a couple rounds of a darker blue around the outside.

Craft Catch Up Again

Day 9 in A Month of Craft Photos by Untangling Knots is Your Hands.

 

I read, write, game, and knit. My hands are very important to me so I try to take care of them. About once a week I take a day off and pamper myself with a manicure. 

Day 10 in A Month of Craft Photos by Untangling Knots is Your Craft Bag.

I don't actually have a craft bag. I have a large bag that I occasionally toss things in, mostly for long trips, but I'd really love a smaller messenger type bag to carry my current project in. So, since I don't I thought I'd share my bag of ends instead.

Dropping Stitches

I'd seen it around. I'd flirted with the idea of doing the pattern. I'd even had it in my queue for a little while. It took a friend asking me to make one for her before I finally settled down to work on it.

I was interested to see how the dropped stitches would look and to see how the colors would line up in this different stitch pattern. It was really interesting to see it come into being. I think it came out exactly as hoped. I can't wait until it arrives home and the packaging is opened by the waiting owner. I suspect I'll be able to hear the squee of happiness from here.

Pattern: Drop Stitch Scarf by Christine Vogel
Yarn: Ella Rae Lace Merino in Color 123
Modifications: None
Ravelry Page

Get your own valentinr

Crafting Catch Up

Day 6 in A Month of Craft Photos by Untangling Knots is Color.

   

 This is my first attempt at dyeing yarn. So far .. I think it's gorgeous! I can't wait for it to dry and then to make it into something that I can wear. It's only 92 yards, so I'll be searching for something small. 

 Day 7 in A Month of Craft Photos by Untangling Knots is Materials.

 

 Here's a board that Lynn made for me to easily wind the yarn back into a hank 'and' calculate how much yardage I have left. Also? That's the blue dye responsible for that brilliant color higher up.

Day 8 in A Month of Craft Photos by Untangling Knots is Challenging.

 

 These days I'm feeling super rushed, like I just don't have time for everything. It's fun and nerve wracking at times. If only there were a way to add more hours to a day.

WIP Wednesday: Blue All Around

Writing:

Magic Balance (Working Title) - Rewrites

Previous Word Count: 3,285

Current Word Count: 3,285 (Up 0)

Between OwlCon and yarn loveliness I've not had much spare time. I'm finding that balance though and should be back at it tomorrow.

Reading:

Just After Sunset by Stephen King. On a continuing theme ... I've not had a lot of time to read either. The book is living in the bathroom and I get a couple pages in at a time. I'm still loving the stories though and finding them fun. At the moment I'm on N which I also have as a graphic novel, though I haven't read it yet. I'm really looking forward to checking that out after finishing the book to see how they compare.

Knitting:
So much going on these days! It's fantastic! I'm currently on the second sock for a friend, but those aren't "due" until November, so I've got plenty of time. Which is good since they're about to be put aside to work on a pair of commissioned wrist warmers. First though, socks!



And the beginning of the wrist warmers!


Also in terms of WIP: My first dyeing attempt! I took the left over yarn from the Fireworks Wrist Warmers and added blue food dye. The water looks clear because it's sat all night and now the yarn's sucked it all up like a sponge! *glee*

Odd Notions

Day 5 in A Month of Craft Photos by Untangling Knots is Notions.

I haven't gotten confused with what the theme is for today. I'm still technically doing craft related photos, it just happens that I'm still mostly in Gaming Con mindset. When I have a pattern that calls for me to do a multiple repeat across the row I'm on I tend to grab the dice box and use something from there. I turn the dice as I go so that the number facing up is how many repeats I've done. This is particularly helpful when I've been doing lace and the pattern has changed so that I'm no longer sure how it lines up with what has come in previous rows. I have used stitch markers for such things before but sometimes they're more in the way than they're really helping. 

Nature Inspired

Day 4 in A Month of Craft Photos by Untangling Knots is Inspiration Outdoors.

It's not so much the fungus itself that inspires me, it's the little things I see that most people tend to overlook because they're small. Normally this is brightly colored flowers just budding at ground level ... considering that we're currently experiencing Noah's Ark levels of rain, this is my unexpected beauty for the day.

Many Finished

Day 3 in A Month of Craft Photos by Untangling Knots is An Old FO.

Pictured are Chinook Shawl, Shrug This, Chastain Park Shawl, Traveling Woman, Clara's Cowl, and Triangular Leaf Shawl.

This is a hanger by our front door that holds lots of scarves and shawls for when we head out to the cold.

Fireworks

These were so much fun and so quick to knit up! I love the new stitch that they taught me, though I'm not sure of the actual name. I can certainly see using it elsewhere.



Pattern: Fireworks Fingerless Mitts by Megan Bayonet
Yarn: Ela Rae Lace Merino
Ravelry Page
Modifications: Added an extra row before turning the cuff for the picot edging, added two extra rows to correct pattern at row 41.

Crafting Tools

Day 2 in A Month of Craft Photos by Untangling Knots is Craft Tools.

I figured I'd take on some of the tools that aren't getting as much love as some of the obvious ones. First up is my laptop, Kaylee (10pts to you if you catch the Firefly reference). Obviously Kaylee has seen a lot of love and attention since I purchased her in 2007. She's so helpful with multiple crafts that I do. She is the computer that sees all my writing as I work on my novels through her and research various translations, definitions, and alternate words. I use her in knitting a lot as well by looking up patterns, searching Ravelry, researching yarns, and keeping track of various notes I make while working on patterns.

Then there's the memory card and card reader. I have to have both to make my camera function. One stores the pictures from the camera and the other helps move them Kaylee for editing and publishing. (Kaylee also stores all my electronic patterns and pictures.) I have a plastic bag for most of my knitting notions for around the house, mostly extra row counters, stitch markers, and such. The purple case is a hard plastic and goes in my purse to carry the few things I must have while out, like scissors, a pencil, a couple stitch markers, and darning needles. Naturally both yarn and needles are important to my craft so they're pictured. My phone is so much help, at times. I can use Google Docs to save my patterns and then I access them via my phone, no paper to fly away while out traveling! I do still use paper patterns, as shown by the paper under the phone. That's currently the Left Sock pattern for a project on hold. Sometimes the pattern is just a little too involved for the phone, with charts and such so it gets printed and then filed away after use.

Experimenting with Creativity

So Untangling Knots has a plan of throwing a little creativity into photos of our crafty things; A Month of Craft Photos. I'm thinking of doing this, we'll see how long I last.

Day 1: You in Action

WIP Wednesday: Scarf & Magic Balance

Writing:

Magic Balance (Working Title) - Rewrites

Previous Word Count: 2,624

Current Word Count: 3,285 (Up 661)

They've started on their journey and, for the first time ever, they're in the natural world around them. Many of the comforts of their automated world have been stripped away; that could send them both running back to the known world ... or not.

Reading:

Just After Sunset by Stephen King. I'm back to loving short stories. Apparently King is the only one who can make that happen. He's got notes on the origins of each story at the back of the book and I'm reading those as I finish each story. It's always interesting to see the various things that can trigger stories for authors.

Knitting:
Both the wrist warmers are complete, with no help from the designer. I suspect that at this point, with the project being marked complete on my site, she won't be replying. It's obvious that I figured it out after all. I do hope she updates the pattern for anybody attempting to make it in the future. Anyhow, since those are finished I started on the second half of the project.



That right there is 25 inches of Drop Stitch Scarf. I'm not sure how long it should end up being ... I should probably ask about that. I know it'll stretch a little bit, probably between 1/2 inch and 1 inch, with I block it. I won't want to stretch too much as then I loose width and the dropped stitches look wonky then. 

Brambles Beret

I love things that knit up quickly and easily. It's a lot of fun to work on projects that require more thought and time but sometimes the quick is what you need. This beret for a friend was exactly that.



I swore I had enough yarn to make it. I got closer to the end and started praying I had enough. Finally though it was far too obvious that I didn't have enough to finish the beret. So off we went to the store. They still had the same dye lot of the yarn that I'd bought a year ago! I wouldn't have to start over from the beginning! And because I only needed about 20 yards of the Cascade 220 ... I still have more than enough to make something for myself. Win!

Pattern: Brambles Beret by Amanda Muscha
Ravelry Page
Yarn: Cascade 220
Modifications: None intentional

WIP Wednesday: Fireworks & Finding Magic

Writing:

Magic Balance (Working Title) - Rewrites

Previous Word Count: 1,342

Current Word Count: 2,624 (Up 1,282)

I've changed the main female character's name. I realized that I'd used the same name for two separate stories and both were rather big characters. The one in this story didn't feel comfortable with the name, so it all worked out.

Reading:

Just After Sunset by Stephen King I'm just barely into the first short story in this collection. Normally I get annoyed with short stories as often it feels like just as I'm invested in the characters the story is over. King has always managed to avoid that problem, as far as I'm concerned. He manages to create characters that I'm instantly interested in. Some of that is obvious King fangirling as I've been a huge fan of his since I started reading his stuff around age 8 and some of that is the reason I'm a huge fangirl.

Knitting:
I'm terribly impatient; really, horribly impatient. Normally knitting helps a bit with this as everything is one stitch at a time and I can watch it come together. No so when I'm waiting to hear back from a designer about a problem in the pattern. I waited as patiently as I could however and finally my twitchy fingers got the best of me and I added in the rows that made sense to me so that I could continue with the actual creating part. I make notes on the print out I have so the second one will be the same and then I get back to flying along. Other than that? I love working with this yarn, I love how the pattern is showing up, and I love how they're mostly falling right into place.



This is technically the 2nd go. The first one was ripped out as the edging was done backwards, I folded it forward rather than backwards; it might have helped for the pattern to say that you should pick up your cast on row from the wrong side. There's also a bit of a math issue in the middle of that pattern as after the pattern repeats you should be on round 41, not 40. I had Lynn check that one twice, to be sure. Normally I wouldn't say anything, I'd just go on, but this doesn't look to have been made all that often and I wonder if the problems with the pattern are causing that.

Braided Cowl

I finally finished the cowl that I used the baby alpaca for! I really like how it came out and I'm really happy with the grafting together of the two ends. The cables were a bit hard on my hands since they were so large but I made it work. While I'm not a fan of large needles and bulky yarn it is nice to have something work up so quickly.

I love that I'll be able to wear it in a couple different ways since it's reversible and I made it double the length. Now if it'll just stop being 80 in the shade here and remember that it's January after all.


  
Pattern: Clara Cowl by Gretchen Ronnevik 

Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca Grande in 2213 

Ravelry

Mods: None that I know of.

WIP Wednesday: Brambles & Magic Balance

Writing:

Magic Balance (Working Title) - Rewrites

Previous Word Count: 606

Current Word Count: 1,342 (Up 736)

Slow progress but progress. We've met the 2 of the main characters and learned a bit about where the story is going.

Reading:

The Light-Years Beneath My Feet by Alan Dean Foster. I read the preceding book a couple of years ago and have been wanting to read the rest of the series. So far it's enjoyable. While I understand the need for words that aren't English words, given that it takes place on alien planets, I struggle to avoid skimming when those words are used repeatedly.

Knitting:
Just last night I cast on for a beret that's been commissioned so there's no much to show. I love the chart though so it should once again be a quick knit and be a lovely finished piece.



I also received this in the mail just today: a skein of Ella Rae Lace Merino in Pumpkin, blue, and maroon that's destined to become a glove and scarf set as another commission.

Plans for the Year-ish

I have a ton of yarn sitting here in stash that I need to use thanks to lovely gifts and impulse begging (I don't buy, husband does that ... after I give the eyes). I think I've narrowed down what I'm going to do with all of it.

Currently on the Needles:

1. Deep Bubbles for ? (Is supposed to be a surprise after all)

• Bubble Stream Sock Pattern
• Knit Picks Stroll Tonal Deep Waters

Up Next - Stuff I have Yarn for

1. Grey Socks for Dragon
• Par 5 Socks Pattern
• Supersocke Cotton Grey Tweed
2. Kicky Skew for Self
• Skew Sock Pattern
• Walk Away in Kicky
3. Chocolate Cubes for Self
• Cubist Sock Pattern
• Lornas Laces Chocolate
4. Cabled Gloves for Self
• Cabled Glovelets Pattern
• Cascade 220 Superwash in Spruce
5. FallBerry Set for Self
• FallBerry Mits, Hat, and Scarf Pattern
• Caron Simply Soft Celestial
6. Mint Pomatomus for Self
• Pomatomus Sock Pattern
• Patons Stretch Socks in Spearmint
7. Brown Shawl for Self
• Colannade Shawl Pattern
• Baby Bee Sweet Delight Baby in Chocolate
8. Circle Shawl for Self
• Circular Tweed Pattern
• I Love This Yarn in Toasted Almond and Coffee
9. Denim for Self
• Woven Diamonds Sock Pattern
• Sugar N Cream in Denim
10. Amusing for Self
• Amused Pattern
• Lion Brand Wool Ease in Chestnut Heather
11. Sherbet for Self
• Twisted Sock Pattern
• Sugar N Cream in Sherbet
12. Water Socks for Self
• Twisted Mockery Sock Pattern
• Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in Deep Waters
13. Caprica Circles for Self
• Circles Socks Pattern
• Knit Picks Felici Caprica
14. Summer Socks for Self
• Japanese Feather Socks Pattern
• Patons Grace in Lavender
15. Earth for Lynn
• Java Socks Pattern
• Loops and Threads Impeccable Worsted

Stuff That's Planned But Waiting on Other People

1. Gloves and Scarf Duet for Kelli
• Fireworks Fingerless Mitts Pattern
• Drop Stitch Scarf 2 Pattern
• Ella Rae Lace Merino
2. Mr. Fox Scarf for Sorcha
• Mr. Fox Stole my Heart Pattern
• Knit Picks Palette (Most Likely)
3. Something for Dusti
• Pattern to be decided after she sends me yarn
4. Wrist Warmers for Stephanie
• She's looking for pattern
5. Purple Cherie for Self
• Cherie Amour Pattern
• Yarn Bee Princess in Joust (Need 4 more skeins)
6. Knit Corset for Sorcha
7. Knit Corset for Self
8. Bat Shawl for Dusti
9. Brambles Beret for Susan
10. AT-AT for Fiona
• Waiting on yarn purchase
11. Pineapple Delight Shawl for Sorcha
12. Headband for Jenny
• Waiting on yarn purchase

That should be enough to keep me busy for a bit. Any suggestions, concerns, comments?

Knitting for Dragon

Around the turn of the year Dragon said he had a project for me. Always eager to help those I love I asked for details. He needed gloves.

I couldn't resist pointing out that I'd asked if he'd want such a thing over a year ago and he'd then laughed a bit and pointed out that we're in Texas, such things weren't necessary. He hails from the much colder north you see and mostly laughs at us silly southerners and our "cold" weather.

But, joking aside, I went hunting for the perfect pattern for him. The only things he asked for was fingerless and a manly shade of black or grey. Are there unmanly shades of black or grey? Anyhow, with him being a photographer I knew he'd need something to make it easy to use his camera. I found a really awesome pattern.



Pattern: Cigar by Kerri Cadd
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Worsted in Black and Grey
Modifications: None that I know of
Ravelry

But that wasn't enough for me. See, he might not always need the exclusive use of just those fingers. Plus, I now had a whole skein of black that I'd only used about a yard of. So I whipped up a pair of the fingerless gloves that I keep going back to.



Pattern: Snuggles Fingerless Gloves by Anna Peck
Yarn: Lion Bran Wool-Ease Worsted in Grey and Black
Modifications: Just my usual of switching the cables.
Ravelry

I decided to do these in both colors because the grey makes the cables show up a bit better plus they'll match his scarf a bit closer and look more like an intentional thing rather than the mismatch that knitters occasionally end up with. He can tell at a glance which pair of gloves makes a set and can choose based on what he needs. And I get to wrap my Dragon in a little bit more love.

(Those are Lynn hands in the shots, he's kind enough to model for me when I need manly hands.)

WIP Wednesday: Clara's Cowl & Finding Magic

Writing:

Magic Balance (Working Title) - Rewrites

Previous Word Count: 606
Current Word Count: 606 (Up 0)

Yeah ... with everything going on and then Lynn now being home I'm working on finding that time again. 

Knitting:
If the yarn looks familiar that's because it was originally shown as my capelet. I'll still go back and make that because I do love it but I wasn't loving it in this yarn, plus I'd need more yarn and not knowing when I'd be able to buy more, I'd rather it not sit for an unknown time. But this looks gorgeous and I think it's going to be wonderful to wrap around my neck when it's cold out.

The Morphing Shawl

I started this shawl with the full intent of following the pattern and having a gorgeous piece of lace knitting done in plenty of time for gift giving. It's funny how our brains work.

The pattern? Lovely! The yarn? So scrumptious! The following of the pattern? Not a chance.



Perhaps I would have had fewer problems had I used the suggested weight for this but you know how it goes. Instead I used a lace yarn, something much thinner than suggested. I quickly realized that I'd have to change the needle size too because that solid portion was looking mighty lacy already and I was only about 5 rows in. Then I realized that I'd be better off if I could make the solid portion much larger but I still needed to hit the required number of stitches before getting to the lace sections. So I changed my increases.

After getting through the charted out lace, all 3 charts of it I realized it still was going to be way too small. Time to poke at the charts again. I figured I'd be okay if I kept doing the lace (and extrapolating what the edges should be like since it didn't quite line up as before) until I'd doubled the lace section before doing the edging.

Still not large enough but by then time was growing short and I was sick of the lace portion. I poked at the charts a bit more. There was a solid portion between the last lace section and the edging. I could simply make that quite a bit larger to match the stitches needed for the edging and it'd look intentional. So back to the calculator (I normally call him Husband) and I had my next goal. I flew through that and began the edging. Once more I had to somewhat make up what happened at the edges as it didn't line up exactly perfectly but I kept the pattern extending outward.

Then it was time to take a really deep breath and block it. If it all fell apart now I had only 2 days to find a replacement gift. I strongly considered pictures of the attempted shawl and a promise to remake it if it did disintegrate in the blocking process. It wouldn't have been a great solution but I had nothing left in the brain reserves at this point.

Luckily it blocked out beautifully and the recipient loved it. Good thing Miss Kid is always glad to help out on showing off the pretties that her step mother makes  so it can be photographed, I couldn't ask for a better model. And look! The little points stayed pointy and OMG it's awesome! *squee*



Pattern: Lingonberry Shawlette by Andrea Arbour
Yarn: Knit Picks Shimmer in Bayou
Project Page: Ravelry

WIP Wednesday: Dragon Gloves & Magic Balance

Writing:
Magic Balance (Working Title) - Rewrites
Current Word Count: 606

I'm picking up a story I've worked on for 2 separate NaNo wins, one was titled Finding Magic, the other Correcting the Balance. Some of the first portion was rewritten for the second attempt but either way it's a lot of story that needs work. So far I have only the writings of historical madmen on the new document, I know where a large portion of this story is going though so I'm not too worried.

Knitting:
It looks a little sad in pictures here but lest you think I've only done 4 rows all year these were not my first project of the year. Dragon asked for gloves and I've already finished the first set and I'll share those later. This is the second set that I'm making for him and I figure at least this way he'll have choices based on what he'll be doing while out and about, be it photography or errands.

WIP Wednesday: Secret Shawl & Fey Led 3

Writing:
Fey Led (Working Title) - Rewrites
Previous Word Count: 46,533
Current Word Count: 48,731 (Up 2,198)

And done, done, done!! Who wants to beta it? I know it has issues but I'm to close to see them at this point.

Knitting:
Speaking of done ... only 2 more rows and the bind off!! I'll totally have this done and blocked by Sunday with no problem!

Chinook Shawl Complete!

I ordered the kit for this shawl sometime back in March. I wasn't able to get around to opening it until September. I had a brief moment of "omg Gods what am I thinking I can't do this" before I shushed myself. One Stitch at a Time, that's the rule.

Winding the yarn up into a ball each time was a delight, knitting with it was fantastic, seeing the pattern emerge was enthralling. I was in love with this shawl. Little things kept coming up and I'd set it aside to finish something else along the way (money has this particular draw) but I always kept coming back to it as quickly as possible.

And then? Sitting on the couch at Dragon's house after my November novel was done, while watching my yearly viewing of Star Wars, the final stitch was bound off. It was done. I scrunched it up in my hands and buried my face in it. Blocking it was going to be a problem but I left that for when I returned home. I was even more glad that I'd woven ends in as I went along so all I had left to weave in was the final end.



I'm not sure I'm fully done with it. I may perhaps block it again, but it's already huge. I don't know if it really needs to be larger or if the thought has appeal just because "I can". However it is warm, gorgeous, and cuddly soft. I am beyond delighted at the results of months of knitting. I'm now dreaming of more shawls in various gradients of blue, purple, and green.



Pattern: Chinook Shawl by Nina Isaacson
Yarn: Various Knit Picks
Project Page: Ravelry
Mods: None

WIP Wednesday: Secret Shawl & Fey Led 2

Writing:
Fey Led (Working Title) - Rewrites
Previous Word Count: 45,725
Current Word Count: 46,533 (Up 808)

I think I can see the end of this one! So, so close!

Knitting:
Still working on the Secret Shawl. I believe I'd have been done by now had I not gone off pattern with it. But it seriously wasn't going to be large enough. So I begged my wonderful husband to help with the math and I added a couple repeats of the pattern plus another section. So many mods to this pattern .... I typically just follow the pattern. I've got a few ideas for. I think I might start getting the design bug here too. After the gift's been given I'll share the pattern info and all the changes I made since it's with a much thinner yarn.

WIP Wednesday: Secret Shawl & Fey Led

Writing:
Fey Led (Working Title) - Rewrites
Previous Word Count: 45,475
Current Word Count: 45,725 (Up 250)

Tiny progress but progress! At least I'm getting back into the world of this novel.

Knitting:
The secret knitting is going well. I'm onto the second chart of the lace sections. Win!

Opposites Attract

I finally have a finished object to share!



Stephanie asked me to make her a pair of wrist warmers. She found a pattern that she liked and I found several yarn options. To make it easier for her to pick the colors she wanted I suggested that we could alternate the colors. She loved the idea though questioned how hard it would be. I'd never done it before but it couldn't be that difficult, right? Right! *laugh* I'm not scared by new things. So Lynn helped me figure out what exactly the pattern meant since numbers aren't my friends. (I keep trying, they keep rejecting me.)

The color changing was so easy! Also it was a huge help since the cables were every 8 rows and the color change was every 4 rows. No more keeping track of what row I was on! The alternating colors made it so easy to see my stitches too and set it in my mind how my stitches look so that on other projects I can more easily count rows should I lose track.



No, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. Along with making the cables cross toward the thumb on each glove I make the colors opposite on each wrist warmer, as requested. It made the progress on each a lot of fun to watch as they grew and the colors stacked up.

I had so much fun working on these. I can't wait to see pictures of Stephanie wearing them. *grin*

Belated Birthday Present

Proving that my friends love me and know me so well, I have presents to show off.

Dragon surprised me with yarn for socks in lovely bright and wonderful colors. Now to figure out a pattern that will really showcase the gorgeous colors. There were also some framed prints of his photography but I'm not sharing those. *wink*


Phoenixsansfyr also took note of my knitting obsession and gifted me with this fantastic book. I'm already drooling over several of the patterns inside and looking forward to playing with the motifs and colors and seeing what I come up with.

WIP Wednesday: Gift Shawl, Gift Socks & Fey Led

Writing:
Fey Led (Working Title) - Rewrites
Previous Word Count: 45,475
Current Word Count: 45,475 (Up 0)

Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm a slacker. I took the last week off from most writing to simply give my brain a chance to reset back into Fey Led. I'll be getting back to work on Fey Led in the next day or two.

Knitting:
I have secret knitting ... kinda. I don't think either of the recipients read the blog but just in case I won't mention names. First up is a pair (well, ok, just one of the pair) of socks. I'm in love with the pattern and the yarn and I simply adore how the two are playing together. I started these socks for a friend and haven't gotten very far on them but they're already on hold a bit.



They're on hold for this shawl that actually has a due date and I really need it to be done first. I started the socks because I didn't have the yarn for the shawl. It came in while I was in Austin. I had to play with the numbers a bit (i.e. stared at it confused until Husband Man stepped in and handled the scary math for me) since I'm using smaller needles and thinner yarn than recommended. I still wanted it to be decent size though so I think this will work out.



Both projects are in Knit Picks yarn which I'm seriously beginning to love for every project. The socks are Stroll Tonal in Deep Waters and the shawl is Shimmer in Bayou. Sorry for the iffy pictures but it's cold outside and my heat isn't working (guy should be by today to look at it). Rather than brave the cold for the sunshine in the pictures I'm staying inside and trying to conserve the warmth I've got.