In the Spirit of the Spectrum

What better day to dye yarn and roving than the day before your mom comes to visit? Why would I do that? I'm cleaning like a mad woman today! But anyway, in the spirit of the Spectrum, I have come up with this lovely colorway. How does Supernova Sunset sound? This is what happens when the cherry Koolaid I buy is the magic color changing kind (the blue) and I go ahead with it anyway. As for knitting, I have been doing only a little, and not enough for a post. So I will just leave you with this. April is coming! Orange and Yellow!

FO Ian's Mittens

Ian's Mittens are done and done.

~Stats~

Pattern:
Easy Peasy Japanesy Mittens- V Knits 2006

Yarn:
Butterfly Mercerized Cotton (100% mercerized cotton) 200m/100g
I used only 3/4 of one ball.

Needles:
2.25mm metal dpns (set of 4)

Pros:
I like working with cotton since it's always no nonsense. It was interesting to watch the color patterns develop. Ian wore them to a peace rally and while holding up a banner, and realized that there was no wind blowing down his sleeves thanks to the mitts. He loves them!

Cons:
None really. They were a nice, quick knit. I should write out a pattern before I forget maybe.


I've also started a new project. I am knitting up one of the Staff Shrug patterns from the Summer 2005 IK. The pattern I am knitting is by Pam Allen.

A Thrift Trip

Who doesn't like a good thrift store hunt? There's the interesting odor, the wide array of characters, the quality of music being piped in through the sound system... it's so weird it's funny. I always love going. This trip I got some pretty good finds! 5 sweaters that cost a total of $27. Pretty good for the yarn I will be harvesting! First one (the grey sleeveless turtleneck) is a 20% cashmere/ 80% wool. Second, (the black/grey cardigan) is 70% lambswool/20% angora/ 10% nylon. Third, which I got for the lovely green color is acrylic, but so pretty! Fourth, (the light blue sweater) is 70% lambswool/ 20% angora/ 10% nylon (....I am thinking lace!). And fifth is a tan colored 100% cotton, which I have discovered is knit with 2 strands of yarn, which means double the amount if I want! I have started the process of unraveling. The blue sweater and the cotton sweater are almost done and the sleeveless turtleneck is on deck. I'll hopefully do some washing and hanging tomorrow!

Does red with black count?

First off, thanks to everyone for the nice comments on my Circle Shrug. This has been one of my favorite projects I have to say. If anyone else is thinking about trying it out, I say go for it! It would be really cool to see what other colorways would look like.

This is my first '-a-long' for anything. It's very wide open and not very restraining so I thought I'd give it a go. Now that being said, the March colors are Red and Pink, I've got mitts on the go for my dear boyfriend, but they are red and black. I think that is close enough, yes? It's a simple pattern off the top of my head, just because I was messing around with the yarn, to see what would happen. I actually like how they look in the photo more so than in person.

I'm on the thumbs now so it won't be long until I finish these babies off. It has snowed the last couple of days in Vancouver, so if I get these done in time, the BF will get some good use out of them.

In other news, I put in my notice today at work, because I have been hired at the Vancouver Public Library. (VPL). Very excited about that!

Circle Shrug FO

Yay! Here she is folks.

~Stats~

Pattern:
Twisted Float Shrug (Circle Shrug) from the Fall 2005 Vogue Knitting Magazine

Yarn:
Noro Kureyon (100% Wool) 100m/50g
Color 138 Dyelot A (Pinks, Orange, Olive) 9 skeins
Color 148 Dyelot A (Chocolate Pink) 3 skeins

Fleece Artist Goldielocks (56% Kid/24% Silk/20% Nylon)
(I'm guessing that Goldielocks also refers to the color, since there was no color/ dyelot/ weight/ yardage.

Needles:
5.5mm circular needles in 16"/40cm, 24"/60cm, 32"/80cm length

Pros:
Do I even have to say? Look at it! It looks really cool. The idea behind the pattern is different from the usual, which is what initially attracted me to this project. Also, the sleeves are worked onto the main piece from stitches held on waste yarn, so there was no sewing the pieces together. Working with Noro yarn is always nice too.

Cons:
As I mentioned in a previous post, the damnable twisted float stitch leads to tangle and frustration. But I sucked it up. I shouldn't whine so much. Hee hee.

My favorite part

Ugh. I do not like weaving in ends. After I finish a project I lose all momentum the second I realize I have to weave in the freakin' ends. And I can't block until I do that! Drives me mental sometimes! Ah! So what I'm trying to say is that the Circle Shrug is off the needles, I just need to WEAVE IN THE ENDS! and block it.