Just one more end

A little while ago I finally blocked and got photos of my Andrea's Shawl.

As is traditional with shawls, this was an interesting and beautiful knit but I've now finished up with a shawl I'm not sure how to wear. I love the fact that this is two colours and it's probably this that meant I did actually wear it to work a couple of weeks ago.

To my surprise, after wearing it much of the day I discovered just one more end that had escaped being woven in. There's always one.

A metephor for life I suspect: nothing is ever finished.

WIP: Effervesce

Twisted stitches and cables are my all-time favourite features for socks and yet it's been a while since I last knit a pair that met that description. I've been working hard to dig out patterns for the many variegated yarns I'd acquired and so had deliberately neglected all beautiful cabled patterns. Until now...

These are my Effervesce socks in a Flamboyance Yarns sock club yarn - Pharos sock in colourway "Sea Dreams".
I really like the way they're coming out. The yarn has just a touch of green amongst all that blue adding a bit of interest without masking the stitch pattern. The cable pattern has plenty going on but is predictable enough that I don't have to stare intently at the chart whilst juggling yarn and needles (which is obviously how I do my knitting).

Project: online at Ravelry.com

FO: Blanket Squares

This year has mostly been about the quick knits - tiny projects finished almost before they were begun. Case in point: one blanket square...

No, I'm not knitting a blanket. I knit two identical squares as a contribution to a baby blanket for someone in my local knitting group. The squares are knit from the centre out and in this way I avoided having to swatch first.

Pattern: Sock yarn square by Shannon Geddes
Yarn: Regia Stretch Color in colourway Edmonton
Mods: Left the YOs as YOs rather than knitting into the back of them to close the holes.
Project: Online at Ravelry.

PS - This blanket was also the reason for that garter stitch back in January, but that square just didn't want to work out.

FO: Stripe Tease

They've been a little while coming, but I finally finished my Stripe Tease Socks:

I started these as a last minute project for December's "Unusual Construction" SKA Challenge but I think I knew even then that they weren't going to get done in time, I just really wanted to knit them.

The cuff and toe are knit in the round and then the rest of the sock is knit flat, in strips -- initially three short strips down to the heel, followed by three more short strips for the base of the foot, then finally three long strips all the way down the front of the leg and foot. Each strip is connected to the others through knitting only, no sewing required but lots of stitches to pick up.

I think the last strip in particular is magic -- it feels like zipping up the sock!

And finally it all comes together and your left with a toeless sock. One toe later and you have this:

Pattern: Stripe Tease by General Hogbuffer.
Yarn: Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball in colourway U Boot (Submarine) 1511.
Mods: Nothing deliberate but the second one came out more true to the pattern than the first!
Projects: online on Ravelry.

PS - Yes, I can feel the "seams" on the bottom of my foot. Surprisingly though, they don't actually bother me once my feet are actually walking.

An Interesting Array of Objects

As I sit here procrastinating, this struck me as quite an interesting arrangement of objects:

This is the base of my shiny Apple work monitor and is typically used as a store for small objects that I want to know where they are. It currently contains:

• Post-it bookmarks - I read hefty programming tomes rarely, but when I do these are an essential I *love* them. I was first introduced to them by my dad and quickly adopted them for myself. This particular set came from Amazon.
• A bottle top - I drink too much (water) to be constantly hopping up to top up my mug so have a 2 litre bottle within arms reach at all times. I'm not totally sure why I keep the top since I don't think I ever use them, just in case I guess.
• Nail file - I bite my nails, then I regret it and file them tidy again.
• A Swiss franc - I'm off to Switzerland for a conference later this month.
• A lady bug - I was given one of these in a German lesson last term because they're apparently significant and represent good luck. I lost mine immediately but then later found one by a bus stop - lucky me!
• Four paper clips - I thought I would use these as part of my thesis reading organisation... they're still there.
• Three sewing needles - this is perhaps overkill for work! There's normally only one but I brought one in on Wednesday for the Calorimetry and also took one out of my purse the same day; some tidying up required!
• iPod Nano - this is my running iPod. I really must go for a run this week! I was doing really well with the Couch25K for a while and then have basically stopped at week 7. Every week (or so) I squeeze in one more week 7 run but never progress. Whoops!

Now, back to some thesis?

Cowls

I promised there would be cowls as I waited for the circular to finish my Stripe Tease sock:

In December I knit a Bandana Cowl to match my Verity hat. Unfortunately I almost immediately lost it during a very dark, extraordinarily windy evening of disappointment (I wasn't wearing it at the time, in hindsight this was my first mistake). Knowing taht it had made me very happy that for the short time it had been in my life, I ordered a replacement skein and made plans to reknit.

Only then I lost the hat. (I still have no idea how or when).

No longer constrained by a need to match the hat I did not own I bought a second skein of the lovely Malabrigo Twist and knit up both cowls in quick succession.

Pattern: Bandana Cowl by Purl Soho.
Yarn: Malabrigo Twist in colourways Olive (green) and Tuareg (blue).
Mods: None.
Projects: online on Ravelry... green and blue.