The good thing about this bad weather

Cable Cushion, originally uploaded by alicethelma.

You get a lot of knitting done!

It's a gift

a gift, originally uploaded by alicethelma.

Shhhhh. It's also a surprise.

And here's progress on the shrug.

The shrug is actually finished but I haven't time to take a photo now. I'll have Alice model it when it stops snowing - sometime soon we hope!

Sheer Joy

Hnin, originally uploaded by alicethelma.

As I'm writing this it's actually snowing here. You heard right. April 19th and it's snowing in Southern Washington. Portland too I'm sure. But my joy is not from the snow. My joy comes from photography and today I had a couple of photo shoots with two Habitat for Humanity families. This is Hnin who is 4, almost 5, and she is lovely. Adorable. 

So I really can't complain because the less than stellar weather does make for some beautiful light. Today I'm sharing my joy of photography with you.

April socks with a shrug

April socks, originally uploaded by alicethelma.

I finally finished the March socks but before I did, I had already started on the April pair. This is some unknown yarn (Regia I think) from my stash but it’s already exposing an interesting little pattern. I decided to make these socks the old-fashioned way. The way I always made socks before I knew any better (and when I derived more joy from the process). That is, from the top down on five needles, these being size 0 (zero!) again. Surpsingly, they are coming along really fast, even for such tiny needles. Because these socks are desitined for a guy with some pretty big feet (you know who you are) they’re going to take some time and that’s ok. These are now the “traveling socks”. The ones I take with me when I need something while I’m waiting. Waiting in line, or at the doctor’s office which has been happening with some frequency lately.

When I get to the heel, I may have Emily show me how to make a “Sherman” heel. Emily is a young and very knowledgable woman I met last Wed at Knit Night (at Close Knit). Speaking of which I started a little project there last week…

When I got the book Lace Style: Traditional to Innovative, 21 Inspired Designs to Knit in the mail from the library last week, I was immediately drawn to this pattern:

but Alice liked the Little Silk Shrug and it seemed easy enough and cheap enough and a good excuse to try out Rowan Calmer which I have never used before but now I LOVE it. It's not silk but I think it's great. So soft and spongy. mmmmmm

Needless to say one should never attempt a lace pattern, even one as easy as this one, at a knitting circle where one is more inclined to make mistakes while absent mindedly chattering away with other knitters while simultaneously being distracted by all the other projects. (Howz that for a nice run on sentence?). Still, the lace pattern is quite lovely as you can see.

Still monkeying around

When I finished the Monkey socks over a month ago, it looked like there was enough yarn leftover for one more sock. And there was. Just.

Third Monkey, originally uploaded by alicethelma.

And so I can happily report that two balls of Knit Picks Essential Solid (231 yards/50 grams) will yield three socks of the Monkey variety if knitted as written save for the short row heel substitution and when knitted on size 0 needles in the same relaxed manner that I do. Got that? 

I am left with a tail of about 24 inches with which to weave the toe. Amazing how it all worked out.

Note: I think this color, Petunia, has been discontinued. Sorry!

Progress not perfection

March socks in progress, originally uploaded by alicethelma.

I finally got past the heels and I’m in the home stretch of the March socks. And while these are not the prettiest socks I’ve ever made, I did realize that they comprise pair number 20. That’s right folks – a landmark moment. This is the 20th pair of socks that I’ve made since I began making socks back in 2003. Now if you would have told me, back in 2003, that I would be knitting socks on two circular needles, both socks concurrently, from the toe up with a “short row” heel, I would have laughed in your face. Some days I wonder if I was better off not knowing. Ignorance is bliss as they say.