I'm moving my knitting posts to my business site: Shadow's Knit Knacks.
I've been struggling with getting the site the way I wanted and I finally managed it. I'm thrilled to be able to finally consolidate things a little bit.
I don't know what I'll post here. I do hope you follow me over there. I look forward to continuing to share knitting goodness with you.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
Socks From Dragon
Looking at the brightly colored yarn that was my birthday present from my boyfriend I knew exactly what pattern I would use for the socks he wanted me to make for myself.
The colors changed so fast that I knew most patterns would produce a multicolored mess. I hoped that the pattern I had in mind would play nicely with the colors. I was thrilled to watch the stripes and columns line up as I knit through the pattern.
The interesting heel construction is a bit snug as I pull it over my heel but within seconds I find it to be one of the most comfortable socks that I've ever worn. The paired increases and decreases throughout the foot and leg create the most interesting shape but it fits like a dream. Though you know what I love the most? They're not identical but they create a picture when put together.
Pattern: Skew by Lana Holden
Yarn: Yarn Bee Walk Away Sock in Kicky
Project page: Ravelry
Modifications: None
The colors changed so fast that I knew most patterns would produce a multicolored mess. I hoped that the pattern I had in mind would play nicely with the colors. I was thrilled to watch the stripes and columns line up as I knit through the pattern.
The interesting heel construction is a bit snug as I pull it over my heel but within seconds I find it to be one of the most comfortable socks that I've ever worn. The paired increases and decreases throughout the foot and leg create the most interesting shape but it fits like a dream. Though you know what I love the most? They're not identical but they create a picture when put together.
Pattern: Skew by Lana Holden
Yarn: Yarn Bee Walk Away Sock in Kicky
Project page: Ravelry
Modifications: None
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
WIP Wednesday: A Plea and Gloves
Knitting:
The chocolate socks seems stalled, perhaps permanently in this iteration. I did indeed find more yarn, ordered it, and gleefully began knitting with it. In the poorly lit room I knit it I could tell it was a little lighter but that didn't seem to be too much of a problem. The next day I took it with me to fighter practice where I could work in the sun. There I realized just how light the new yarn was. Even Lynn commented on it. He also pointed out, as I sat there contemplating, that I needed to be happy with the final result. I realized I wouldn't be happy with the color change, and I'd probably never wear the socks, so I ripped back all the new yarn and set it aside. I do have various plans for the new yarn as I 2 skeins of that and thus plenty of yarn to make a pair of socks. In my mind though, the cubes pattern, for me, really needs to be in a dark brown. You know how it is when your heart is set on something.
So ... I have a request for my friends that have knitting stores somewhat close to them. Would you be willing to call them and see if they 'happen' to have Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Chocolate, Dye Lot 6094? You can contact me via ShadowsKnits@gmail.com. I'll pay the cost for somebody to purchase the yarn and ship it to me. I'm well aware it's a last ditch hope and that it may not pan out. But I've contacted Lorna's Laces and the yarn stores here that carry it and none of them have that color. If this doesn't work then I'll pull the socks out and set the yarn aside for gloves for me or something and move on.
(The finished sock, the half done sock, the lighter yarn)
So since I can't work on that I've been working on other things that have been patiently waiting for me to have time for them. Case in point, a pair of wrist / arm warmers for myself. These are working up super fast, just a couple days for the first one to be finished.
Writing:
Fey Led - More Edits.
Thanks to Kathy and her incredible notes as well as a bit of help from Kara, I've got some really good feedback and I'm working my way through those.
National Novel Writing Month (NaNo) is coming up and at first I wasn't sure about participating this year. I was considering focusing on my editing and getting my current stories cleaned up. And then a voice pipped up in the back of my mind with a question ... so I may have an idea after all. We'll see. If nothing else I do have a fantastic background that will surely inspire me to write courtesy of Dragon.
Reading:
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. I'm 'really' not a fan of zombies, honestly can't stand them. I'm a fan of cerebral horror, not the blood, guts, and gore horror. But, this was one of those books that was a big hit and I like to grab those and read them when I can. So far, and I'm about halfway through, it's not focused on the ew factor. Between the writing style, the layout, and the focus of the subject matter, it's more about the collapse of society, how it happened, and the aftermath. It makes it a story of humanity and how humans deal with everything falling apart. Certainly there is the ew factor there, as the zombies are described, but with it being a sharing of other people's stories it's not an immediate feeling with the guts shoved in your face, so to speak. I'm really enjoying this book, which is a happy surprise.
The chocolate socks seems stalled, perhaps permanently in this iteration. I did indeed find more yarn, ordered it, and gleefully began knitting with it. In the poorly lit room I knit it I could tell it was a little lighter but that didn't seem to be too much of a problem. The next day I took it with me to fighter practice where I could work in the sun. There I realized just how light the new yarn was. Even Lynn commented on it. He also pointed out, as I sat there contemplating, that I needed to be happy with the final result. I realized I wouldn't be happy with the color change, and I'd probably never wear the socks, so I ripped back all the new yarn and set it aside. I do have various plans for the new yarn as I 2 skeins of that and thus plenty of yarn to make a pair of socks. In my mind though, the cubes pattern, for me, really needs to be in a dark brown. You know how it is when your heart is set on something.
So ... I have a request for my friends that have knitting stores somewhat close to them. Would you be willing to call them and see if they 'happen' to have Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Chocolate, Dye Lot 6094? You can contact me via ShadowsKnits@gmail.com. I'll pay the cost for somebody to purchase the yarn and ship it to me. I'm well aware it's a last ditch hope and that it may not pan out. But I've contacted Lorna's Laces and the yarn stores here that carry it and none of them have that color. If this doesn't work then I'll pull the socks out and set the yarn aside for gloves for me or something and move on.
(The finished sock, the half done sock, the lighter yarn)
So since I can't work on that I've been working on other things that have been patiently waiting for me to have time for them. Case in point, a pair of wrist / arm warmers for myself. These are working up super fast, just a couple days for the first one to be finished.
Writing:
Fey Led - More Edits.
Thanks to Kathy and her incredible notes as well as a bit of help from Kara, I've got some really good feedback and I'm working my way through those.
National Novel Writing Month (NaNo) is coming up and at first I wasn't sure about participating this year. I was considering focusing on my editing and getting my current stories cleaned up. And then a voice pipped up in the back of my mind with a question ... so I may have an idea after all. We'll see. If nothing else I do have a fantastic background that will surely inspire me to write courtesy of Dragon.
Reading:
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. I'm 'really' not a fan of zombies, honestly can't stand them. I'm a fan of cerebral horror, not the blood, guts, and gore horror. But, this was one of those books that was a big hit and I like to grab those and read them when I can. So far, and I'm about halfway through, it's not focused on the ew factor. Between the writing style, the layout, and the focus of the subject matter, it's more about the collapse of society, how it happened, and the aftermath. It makes it a story of humanity and how humans deal with everything falling apart. Certainly there is the ew factor there, as the zombies are described, but with it being a sharing of other people's stories it's not an immediate feeling with the guts shoved in your face, so to speak. I'm really enjoying this book, which is a happy surprise.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Spring Socks
I've been working a lot lately on projects for me ... in colors I wouldn't normally wear. It's been interesting.
I've always gravitated more toward dark colors, black, dark purple (purple being my favorite color), dark blue. There's a reason my Nanny used to say I looked like a walking bruise. She on the other hand looked stunning in pastels.
I remember getting dressed for Kindergarten one morning and she pulled out a pair of yellow pants. (It was the 80's, they were actually in style.) "I don't want to wear yellow." Nanny looked at me for a moment, shrugged, and told me to pick my own clothes from then on.
I think in a way these socks remind me of her, the cotton up to a bit harder treatment than a lot of wool paired with the delicate lace and all in her beloved pastels.
I'm really glad this yarn fell into my basket and Lynn picked it out for my next project.
Pattern: Curvy Lace Socks by Kathy Wesley
Yarn: Patons Grace in Lavender
Project Page: Springy Lace Socks
Modifications: None intended
I've always gravitated more toward dark colors, black, dark purple (purple being my favorite color), dark blue. There's a reason my Nanny used to say I looked like a walking bruise. She on the other hand looked stunning in pastels.
I remember getting dressed for Kindergarten one morning and she pulled out a pair of yellow pants. (It was the 80's, they were actually in style.) "I don't want to wear yellow." Nanny looked at me for a moment, shrugged, and told me to pick my own clothes from then on.
I think in a way these socks remind me of her, the cotton up to a bit harder treatment than a lot of wool paired with the delicate lace and all in her beloved pastels.
I'm really glad this yarn fell into my basket and Lynn picked it out for my next project.
Pattern: Curvy Lace Socks by Kathy Wesley
Yarn: Patons Grace in Lavender
Project Page: Springy Lace Socks
Modifications: None intended
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
WIP Wednesday: Colorfully Skewed Socks Part 2
Knitting:
That tiny little toe I had last week? It's all done with and has been put aside for it's sibling. Between the construction and the desire to see how it affected the colors the knitting on these has just flown by.
Reading:
Dune by Frank Herbert. Progress on this hasn't been quite as fast. I'm past the halfway point and still very much in love with the story. There just needs to be more hours in a day.
Writing:
Fey Led - another round of edits. Of the 5 or 6 people that said they'd gladly read it and make editing suggestions, only 1 ever replied with anything. So, I'm going through and working with their suggestions to make things more readable.
That tiny little toe I had last week? It's all done with and has been put aside for it's sibling. Between the construction and the desire to see how it affected the colors the knitting on these has just flown by.
Reading:
Dune by Frank Herbert. Progress on this hasn't been quite as fast. I'm past the halfway point and still very much in love with the story. There just needs to be more hours in a day.
Writing:
Fey Led - another round of edits. Of the 5 or 6 people that said they'd gladly read it and make editing suggestions, only 1 ever replied with anything. So, I'm going through and working with their suggestions to make things more readable.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Bear Sweater
When Dragon asked for a Bear Sweater I thought he was teasing, as he does. And while he was having fun, he was also serious. He wanted a sweater made only from scraps of yarn and lots of different patterns. My job was to find a way to make it happen while also keeping the sweater from turning into something scary. Mr. Bear came to live with me so I could easily measure and try things on him. I pulled out the fun book of colorwork I got for my birthday last year and I started experimenting.
I pulled out all my scraps that I'd been collecting and spread them across the bed. I figured the best way to pull it all together was a unifying color and black is a fantastic color for that.
I practiced cableing without a cable needle. I tried a bit of fair isle.
I worked on decreasing while keeping the pattern. I played with patterns I'd wanted to try but hadn't had time for.
And finally I put it all together.
Project Page: Ravelry
I pulled out all my scraps that I'd been collecting and spread them across the bed. I figured the best way to pull it all together was a unifying color and black is a fantastic color for that.
I practiced cableing without a cable needle. I tried a bit of fair isle.
I worked on decreasing while keeping the pattern. I played with patterns I'd wanted to try but hadn't had time for.
And finally I put it all together.
Project Page: Ravelry
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
WIP Wednesday: Colorfully Skewed Socks
Knitting:
I was happily knitting along on my chocolate socks, fairly certain that I'd finish them by Friday since I'd just started the foot on the second sock. And then the end of my yarn popped out of the bag. :( Apparently going up a needle size and losing a repeat from the leg does affect the amount of yarn used that much. *sigh* So I've hit up Ravelry to see if anybody there that has it marked as "willing to sell / trade" will reply. If you happen to have Lornas Laces Shepard Sock in Chocolate and are willing to sell, I'd be interested.
So, yesterday when I had my little yarn disappointment I was frustrated. Nothing else in my stash really appealed. I didn't want to start a new project, I wanted to finish the one I had. But picking through my stash I finally came across the yarn that Dragon bought me for my birthday last year. Seeing it made me remember the smile he had when he handed it to me. "Yarn, lots of colors, colorful socks for you." So I pulled the yarn out of stash and started a pair of Skew socks.
They shall be 'very' colorful socks,
Reading:
Dune by Frank Herbert. This would be a delightful story if I could give it more time. I've been so distracted with other things lately that I just haven't had a whole lot of time to sit and read like I'd like to. I did end up taking it to the bath with me one day just so I could relax and read. I need to get a move on though because the rest of my to read list is getting antsy. Plus I 'might' have fallen down and bought 2 more books last night ... I submit that it's not my fault since I 'had' to buy one since the author was there to sign it and since it was the second in the series I needed to get the first one as well, for completeness sake.
Writing:
Nothing just yet. But, after a good talk with a friend yesterday .. and the realization that I've let a rude, mean person stop me from something I enjoy ... I will start again. So this is a note to say that if I don't have something going in the writing section next week you should offer, and follow through, with beatings.
I was happily knitting along on my chocolate socks, fairly certain that I'd finish them by Friday since I'd just started the foot on the second sock. And then the end of my yarn popped out of the bag. :( Apparently going up a needle size and losing a repeat from the leg does affect the amount of yarn used that much. *sigh* So I've hit up Ravelry to see if anybody there that has it marked as "willing to sell / trade" will reply. If you happen to have Lornas Laces Shepard Sock in Chocolate and are willing to sell, I'd be interested.
So, yesterday when I had my little yarn disappointment I was frustrated. Nothing else in my stash really appealed. I didn't want to start a new project, I wanted to finish the one I had. But picking through my stash I finally came across the yarn that Dragon bought me for my birthday last year. Seeing it made me remember the smile he had when he handed it to me. "Yarn, lots of colors, colorful socks for you." So I pulled the yarn out of stash and started a pair of Skew socks.
They shall be 'very' colorful socks,
Reading:
Dune by Frank Herbert. This would be a delightful story if I could give it more time. I've been so distracted with other things lately that I just haven't had a whole lot of time to sit and read like I'd like to. I did end up taking it to the bath with me one day just so I could relax and read. I need to get a move on though because the rest of my to read list is getting antsy. Plus I 'might' have fallen down and bought 2 more books last night ... I submit that it's not my fault since I 'had' to buy one since the author was there to sign it and since it was the second in the series I needed to get the first one as well, for completeness sake.
Writing:
Nothing just yet. But, after a good talk with a friend yesterday .. and the realization that I've let a rude, mean person stop me from something I enjoy ... I will start again. So this is a note to say that if I don't have something going in the writing section next week you should offer, and follow through, with beatings.
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