Arg And A Prayer

Update on the Twist socks! Made it through the portion of the pattern I was having trouble with. But do you want to know a wonderful thing? The designer, Jody Gordan Lucas read my post and contacted me! She wanted to personally see if I was doing ok and how she could help. Now, I am offically impressed. She didn't have to do that, but she did. How awesome!

I also cast on for a new prayer shawl. It is Haruni by Emily Ross. I found it on Ravlery. The crochet bind-off will be my challenge. I bought some great yarn for this project at Your Local Yarn Shop. Classic Eltie Alpaca Sox is the yarn that I chose, in a gorgeous plum/pink color.

Gotta run . . . literally, as the half-marathon is tomorrow.

Pirates and Twists

Back in 2007, I bought some yarn on line. Truth be told, it was my first on-line yarn purchase. I had a design for a valentine-type sock in mind. The colors of this yarn would have worked perfectly. . . if I had finished designing the sock. Alas, the yarn came and the design sat. And sat. It's still sitting at home somewhere, I think. The yarn is a superwash 50/50 merino/tencel by Yarn Pirate. It is a fingering weight yarn that is silky smooth to touch. Sweetheart is the colorway name, with red, white, pink and magenta repeating through out. But because the pattern sat, the yarn did too. Occasionally, I would consider using the yarn for a pattern. But it just didn't seem to work. Either the pattern would be too lacy or the yarn would be too bold. I had given up matching the two.

Along came Twisted by Jodie Gordon Lucas. Not too lacy. Not too fussy. Just enough pattern to keep things interesting, but not muddy the water. I began to think that this just might work. What do you think?

So far, things have been going fine. I have just begun the decreases/increases for across the foot. I am having trouble making sense of this portion of the pattern. So I will take these to the lunch knitting bunch to see if they can help. If not, then I will have to chart it out. Do you occasionally chart patterns out if you have trouble? I find it very helpful to visually see what is happening. Because it sidelines my knitting for a while, I use it as a last resort. The lunch ladies will be able to help me . . . I hope.

Tiny Ruffles

So, I work with this great lady. She has joined us (our "group" is 4 strong now) knitting during our lunch everyday. See, we walk to the library and knit for a half hour before we eat. Not a whole lot of time, but enough to complete a few rows each day. It is satisfying to know that I can complete a project this way . . . even if it does take the whole school year! But back to the conversation at hand. This lady is fun to be around and is enjoying her knitting. Though still learning, she tackles everything head on. Sometimes, taking the pattern too seriously, she make a few mistakes and gets frustrated. But she is sticking with it, having finished a sweater, half a sock and a baby blanket.

Well, this lady has a new grand baby! So I started these for her. Aren't they just the sweetest?! Besides my poor color choice, I think they are cute. Next time I will choose bolder colors. The pastels get lost and muddy. They are Rufflicious by Diane Kostecki. The yarn is called Blue Terra Cotta by Claudia Hand Painted Yarns and an Ivory by Lorna's Lace. Both are fingering weight and were easy to knit with.