Wednesday, December 28, 2011

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!

Friday, December 23, 2011

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

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

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.


Wednesday, December 14, 2011

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!

Friday, December 9, 2011

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*

Thursday, December 8, 2011

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.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

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.