New Beginnings

Things are fine but busy here. I work at a university and the start of the term is always so hectic. I did manage to complete this Koolhaus hat though. I had wanted to make one before the holidays but just didn’t get to it. In Montclair one day I visited Modern Yarn and saw some lovely Malebrigo and couldn’t resist. The hat was a quick and fun knit but the constant cable crossing were a real pain. I love the results though.

I have been using up my Socks that Rock yarn in an effort at stash clearing and this is the last skein. It is a colorway called Dreidel so I was pleased to find a circular sock pattern called Roundabout Socks that reminds me of the turning of a dreidel. I like to have a pair of socks on the needles as car knitting so I’ll have to start a new pair soon. Luckily the Six Sock Knitalong pattern should be out on Friday.
I’ve been working on this Borroco vest pattern named Badia recently and am pleased at how it is coming out. I'm using some Chaco Worsted in a navy blue. I didn’t decrease at the waist and don’t think I will do the cable and lace pattern on the back. Otherwise I am following the pattern as written. I am also working on Secret of the Stole II. More about that next time.

Reading Not Knitting

There hasn’t been too much knitting around here lately. Why? I’ve been enthralled by the novel World Without End by Ken Follett. I loved Pillars of the Earth when I read it and now this book has charmed me as well. It has over a thousand pages and I finished it last night. It was so well researched and the characters were so realistic. I felt as though I were actually living in a village in medieval England. I did buy some yarn for my next project though. See the new buttons on the blog? I’m going to be a fearless knitter and participate in the Secret of the Stole II. I enjoyed the mystery stole this summer so I am trying again. I went to the monthly sale at Silk City Yarn last Saturday and bought this big spool of a mix of cashwool (whatever that is), cashmere and silk. Hope it works out. I’ve picked out some #4 needles but haven’t swatched yet. The first clue comes out tomorrow. Good thing I finished the novel in time.

Winter Vacation Socks

Here are some socks I recently finished. I used stash medium weight Socks That Rock in Henpecked and Watermelon Tourmaline. I found a lovely pattern on the web by Debra Chinn from earth faire for one pair and I used Ann Budd's Flame Wave pattern from Favorite Socks for the other. They are nice and soft and squishy. I have one more skein of this yarn in Dreydl and I am using it now. I’ve started keeping sock knitting handy for bus or car riding and since I have been going into the city a lot lately it was easy to finish these quickly. I originally bought this yarn for a Chevron Scarf but the colors didn’t work together. I love them as socks.
I’ve also started the Back-To-School U-Neck Vest from Fitted Knits. I’m using Paton’s Classic Wool that I bought for this project. I don’t like clingy things so I am revising the pattern slightly, making the biggest size on the bottom and eliminating the darts. We will see how it comes out.

Happy New Year

Today is my first day back to work in eleven days. I’ve had a terrific vacation doing local things. I thought I’d get a lot of knitting done, but I didn’t. Not much knitting excitement happened at all. I knit parts of two different sweaters using Classic Elite Skye Tweed and frogged them both. The yarn is so rough that they just didn’t look right. I bought it for a second Cobblestone Pullover but the first one took so long I have been trying to find something else to use it for. I guess it will just have to stay in my stash for a while longer. I completed two pairs of socks and I’ll try to take a picture soon. However, I saw four movies, three shows, one museum and a ton of stores. It was a really nice vacation.

My favorite movie was Juno. My favorite show was Rock and Roll, but I also liked November with Nathan Lane. In Rock and Roll I sat in the first row and got to see Rufus Seawall up close for three hours. He was great and the play was really interesting. The museum was the New Museum, which has only been open for about two weeks in Manhattan. The show was weird and some of the pieces looked just like my assignments as an art major in college but the building was impressive. The outside is terrific but my husband could not get over the fact that the floors are all cracking. At the end of my time off I started the Back-to-School U-Neck Vest from Fitted Knits in Patons Classic Wool. I’ve had the yarn for months but I didn’t know if I wanted something that clingy. I’m making a larger size in the ribbed part and I‘m going to try to eliminate the darts and I think it will fit me better. Unfortunately, there is probably no way to know until I try it on. I don’t feel like putting all those stitches on a string and then transferring them back to the needle so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Happy and healthy New Year to everyone. I know I don’t update it that often, but I love keeping this blog. I’ve only decided to make one resolution this year and that is to not be pressured into doing anything I don’t want to do. I am tired of worrying about pleasing everyone no matter how I feel. I kept this resolution by not going out on New Year’s Eve. Every year I go to some local restaurant, where there is nothing for a vegetarian like me to eat, because my friends choose it and we all then go to someone’s house and stay up too late so I am tired the whole next day. This year I went out for lunch with my husband, called everyone to wish them well and went to sleep early. Then on New Year’s Day I went to brunch at a restaurant I love and saw an interesting movie. I hate to say no to people so this is a hard resolution to keep but I am really going to think about it and try.