WIP Wednesday: Low Mojo

I started this on December 19, when the bulk of a long and very cold winter was ahead of me:

This is actually the second in a pair of leg warmers. I raced through the first one. Les Cables de Faux is an easy pattern and I knew I'd have lots of opportunities to wear leg warmers. Leg warmers, like scarves, can feel endless, though. Once I started the second one, my mojo evaporated and the whole project sat around for for a couple months. Maybe I would have been more motivated had I known exactly how long and cold this winter was going to be.

I came across it when I was whipping through my pre-wedding cleaning. At that point, I had only done the cuff and a few rows of the pattern. I would like to be able to have this one wrapped up -- I don't see myself wanting to knit legwarmers in July -- but I'm really struggling to stay focused on it!

Are there any projects you've really had to push yourself to finish?

Don't forget to see more WIPs at Tami Amis' blog.

Sunday Sketch

Should Have Been An FO

Can you see why this isn't the FO I was expecting?

I bet you spotted the problem immediately: I used a 1-by-1 ribbing for the cuff on on one sock and 2-by-2 ribbing on the other.

Yes, I feel stupid.

These are intended as a gift, but I can't see presenting them as a pair. I could keep them for myself, but they aren't my colors. The only satisfactory solution I could come up with is to buy a second skein of the yarn and knit another mis-matched pair.

Though these aren't colors I wear, I do like them -- and that's a good thing since I'll be spending quite a bit more time with them!

WIP: Autumn Trellis

I know that the last thing I should do is start a sock (way too many WIPs, but more on that later). But I just couldn't wait because this is the first time I've "designed" a pattern:

I am calling it Autumn Trellis. I have the "designed" in quotation marks because this is really just a variation on the basic top-down sock pattern. I don't remember where I found the stitch pattern, but I changed it a little bit so it's kind of original.

I don't envision myself as a knitting designer, but it's kind of fun to do something semi-original.

Don't forget to check out other WIPs with Tami Amis!

A Good Excuse For Not Blogging

Yep, we've made it official.

Keith and I got married over the weekend! After 11 years, we're pretty sure this relationship is going to work out.

We had a very simple ceremony at the state Capitol on Friday, followed by dinner at a tapas restaurant for immediate family. On Saturday, we had a dessert reception with family and friends. The weekend went exactly as I had hoped: very casual and relaxed. 

I had a "big white" wedding the first time around and, well, clearly a big wedding does not guarantee a long marriage. This celebration was just right. The moments when Keith and I exchanged vows stand out as the most important part of the weekend. When he said his vows to me, I knew that he meant every word. As did I when I repeated them back.

Celebrating with family and friends and very little fuss was just right for Keith and me.

The feeling of celebration was enhanced by news we had had received in the weeks before the wedding: Both my children have been accepted into graduate programs. Seth will be attending veterinary school here in Madison; Rachel is deciding between two criminology programs in Florida.

For all of us, life has its bleak passages. It's important to savor the good times.

Yarn Trends

Although this is a crummy flash photo ...

... the yarn itself is beautiful.  It's a skein of Miss Babs "Yummy" handpainted fingering yarn. I think I bought it from a destash on Ravelry -- though I'm not sure.

What I am sure of is that I was lusting after this yarn because there had been a lot of buzz about it on Ravelry and on blogs. I pulled this out of my stash yesterday when I was searching for a good yarn for a pair of fingerless mitts. I smiled when I saw it. I remembered how much I wanted it -- and then was amused by how easily I forgot it once it was in my stash.

Looking back, I can see that there are definitely trends in yarn popularity. Some, like MadTosh, retain that buzz. Others seem to attract less attention, even though people are still buying them. I haven't heard of anyone stalking Web sites for Wollmeise, although I'm sure people are still purchasing it.

 I imagine that Ravelry has helped a lot of indie dyers get buzz. I had a subscription to Yarntini sock yarn for a while -- but it arrived faster than I could knit it up! I remember swooning over Plucky Yarn when I actually encountered it.

There is so much amazing yarn out there. And, yet, I never seem to lose my desire for more! It's kind of like chocolate; I just can't get enough of the good stuff!

Are You Kidding Me?

A friend told me that Lion Brand has discontinued the pastel baby colors of its Homespun. This is serious. Serious enough that I got on Facebook to check it out -- and I hate Facebook the way other people hate Homespun. Lion Brand announced the discontinuation here.

Now, Homespun is not my favorite yarn, but you can make one incredibly cute baby blanket from it.

Given the strong reaction on Facebook -- where you can sign a petition of protest -- it appears that there is a market for this yarn. I am devastated that this blanket is no longer possible. Sure, you could substitute, but Homespun worked perfectly for this particlar item.

And the few people who have this in their stash are selling it for outrageous prices. Not very knitterly in my mind. However, who am I to judge? 

For more information, follow this link. However, I think you have to be on Facebook to see it. Sorry.

Making on Monday

I haven't posted anything about jewelry for a time, so I thought I'd do a quickie. This is one of the things I've been working on lately:

Just a simple Peyote base with disk and seed beads added. I love doing these. There is something very soothing about these, especially when I follow a path like I did this one this one. Color hooks me with both jewelry and knitting. There is something so satisfying about holding color in your hands and making something.

I haven't paid any attention to my Etsy store for months, but I think I'll put this up for sale there in a couple weeks and see what happens. I'm so much better at making things than selling them!

FO Friday: A Viral Pattern

Finished but unblocked: Hermione's Everyday socks, a gift for my darling niece Rebecca. I didn't pick this pattern because it was popular -- I didn't even realize it was popular when I cast on. Rebecca is a Harry Potter fan and purple is her favorite color, so the two just came together. This is a great little pattern: easy, fast, but a with enough of a pattern to ward off boredom.

The yarn is Regia Extra Twist Merino. I don't remember where I bought it, but I haven't seen it again. And that's a shame because it is lovely to work with a creates a soft fabric. The color-blocking that shows in the photo is much less pronounced in reality. The yarn is splitty, though, so I would not use it for lace.

I have always loved waffle-weave fabric, so it's no wonder that I like this pattern.

Don't forget to to check out other FOs with Tami Amis.

Worth Reading

This is a real gem of a book:

Author Ann Hood (you might remember her as the author of The Knitting Circle) has pulled together a batch of charming yarns from 27 knitting writers, (Who knew so many writers had time to knit?) including some of my favorites: Lan Samantha Chang, Andre Dubus II and Elissa Schappell. She snagged some of the best-known authors, like Barbara Kingsolver, Su Grafton, and Ann Patchett.

I have to say that there isn't a weak link in this lovely chain (think crochet!) of stories. Lan Samantha Chang has a thoughtful essay on whether we knit gifts for ourselves or to satisfy the recipient. Martha Frankel's piece has a surprisingly dark side to it. Jennifer Lauck is touchingly honest in her retelling of a one-year marriage. And, yes, knitting is featured in all the stories.

There are some patterns sprinkled throughout the book. None tempted me -- but then there are no color photos (or any photos at all) like the ones we are all used to on Ravelry! That's OK, my Ravelry queue is already ridiculously long.