Spring Has Sprung

I now have a sure sign that winter is officially over. The calendar has nothing to do with it. The weather forecast is also inconsequential (given that it was dripping rain at the same time that today's forecast stated it would be clear, we KNOW that the forecast is faulty). No, I know for a fact that Southern California is in for nothing but hot weather from now until Young Man grows at least six inches.

How do I know this, you might ask? It is simple. Durrow is finished. Yes, nothing forecasts hot weather better than finishing a long-sleeved sweater in April.

Pattern: Durrow by Jodi Green

Yarn: Rowan Denim in that elusive black

Needles: Addi Turbo size US 6

Instigator: Kay, of Mason-Dixon Knitting. She has no shame, but her new book with Ann is fabulous!

Details: I knit the smallest size in the pattern and then shrunk the yarn with lots of hot water. For the neckline, I picked up the recommended number of stitches, knit the first row in K2 P4 and then decreased one purl in each rib over the next two rows to end up with K2P2 rib for an inch. This was a fun and challenging project. I learned a LOT (intricate cables, mattress seaming, dealing with Rowan Denim, and figuring out how to modify a neckline), but it was all worth it. I am very proud of this one. Young Man loves it!

Since he wouldn't stand up for the photo, you can't see that I added a few inches to the sleeves (at the cuff) and to the body. My hope is that this will fit him for a year. He grew three inches in the past year (!) and will undoubtedly beat that this year, so the race is on.

Weekend at Gryffindor

With all the fancy schmancy socks that I've been knitting, I completely forgot how quickly I can whip up a simple pair.

Socks - Weekend at Gryffindor
Pattern - Basic sock with 56 stitch tubular cast on and stockinette
Yarn - Regia Nation
Needles - US 1
Destination - Young Man's feet (I know, they will never look this good again.
Notes - Okay, so these aren't really HP socks, but this was a quick, easy pair of socks that is definitely close enough for an eight year old.




Next up is a progress shot of my New England socks from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush. These are being knit on US 0 needles in Brown Sheep Wildfoote. This is the first time that I've knit with size 0 needles and, man, it takes forever to see progress! The weekend break with the US1 needles was a shocker. That one size difference is huge!

Finally, it's a progress shot of my FLAK. I know, it's about time! This is in Brown Sheep Nature Spun in Blueberry. The yarn is nice and soft. I am loving this and learning so much! Janet has done a very nice thing with this pattern and her guidance.

No Pictures Today

I had a delightful post with photos of my stash, but Blogger was persnickety today. I set out this post and then, suddenly, I was once again able to upload photos. I guess today is a twofer.

"I'm Telling Dad!"

It was an average day, just another April 1st. I had heard about this Flash Your Stash thing and thought I might give it a go. It took a little while to get it all organized and photographed and then Mr. Engineer installed a new hard disk in my link to the outside world, so the pictures had to wait until today to be seen. I have heard that the first step to solving a problem is to admit that you have one. Okay, let's see.....

First we have the sweater yarn stash. No problems here. My goodness, several of those skeins are being used right now for my FLAK, so they aren't technically even stash yarn. Three other sets have already been swatched and are ready to knit. All of these have patterns tagged and are in queue.

Next is the sock yarn. Absolutely no problems here! We have a nice variety of yarns and all will eventually be worn by someone. Very nice. If there is a problem, it could be that the stack doesn't have any STR in it!

The felting stash is very small. Again, all this yarn has patterns ready and are in queue for knitting. I even have fabric ready for the linings of the two bags that are in the raw state here.

The frou-frou yarn isn't too bad. I'm glad that I discovered real yarn before I bought too much of it. Still, the Fun Fur makes fun hats and I have some takers for scarves. Young Man appreciated my "gift" of the Bernat Disco. It's allllllll his, baby.

Okay, there may be a little problem here with the scarf, hat, and baby sweater yarn stash. I don't have any babies to knit for so what am I doing with yarn for 3-4 baby sweaters???

Put it all together and it isn't so bad, right????

As I was almost half finished with the photography, Young Man walked into the room. He stopped and gasped, "I'm telling Dad that you have too much yarn!" I quickly countered with the logical response that he has too many toys. Thus a stalemate was born. Mr. Engineer did peek in the room as the final photo was being taken. He asked if I had added a box or something to make it look like more. When I responded that I had not, he paused and then said, "Well, you should." He then quickly left the room. Hmmmm.

Here is my stash in its native habitat where it plans domination over lives in peaceful harmony with the quilting stash.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (and Knitting)

Life has been going back into hyperspeed lately. We just had a delightful visit from my sister and her husband. This was his first time back to California in nearly 40 years. Yes, things have changed a bit. We packed in as much siteseeing as we could. We went to the Train Museum in Perris, the auto museum in LA, and the Air and Space Museum in San Diego. We also had a fantastic morning at the tide pools at Cabrillo beach and some other California experiences.

The house now seems much quieter and we are looking forward to the next visit when it will be our turn to travel.

There is now more time for knitting, but I think I would rather have the company. Durrow is very close to finished. I knit everything and put just the neck together before washing and drying. The Rowan Denim yarn did shrink, but not quite as much as I thought it would. The sleeves may be very much too long. I need to rethink the neckline as well to put in some decreases. Young Man is getting rather anxious to wear this after watching me knit it for so long. I have made some progress on my FLAK, but need to take some photos. My saddles are finished and I am working my way down the back.

I fell down on my sock KALs, but that's okay. I'll get there. I have one finished for Feb/Mar and I just started the KOTR KAL sock. I don't think the Six Socks pattern will be started before the new one is up.

Pattern: Child's French Sock in Citron Pattern and Diaper Knitting
Source: Knitting Vintage Socks, by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Brown Sheep Company Wildfoote in Vinca Minor
Needles: US 1
Thoughts: Nancy Bush has done it again! I really like her patterns. They are well planned and well written. This one is no exception. It was fun to knit and the final product is comfy and gorgeous. I believe that these are going to my neighbor. I missed her birthday, so these may be an early entry into the holiday knitting box!