Yes, It's Another Blog Contest

Sometimes when I blog, I feel like I'm yelling down a well or something, and the only thing I hear is my own echo. I'm never sure if anybody's out there. I guess that's just the nature of this form of communication, but it gave me an idea for another blog contest (I'm TRYING to get rid of this Vesper yarn).

J and I wanna know where y'all are. We have a little map that we look at that says where our hits come from, and some of them come from as far away as Thailand and Indonesia. Others come from the good ol' US of A. It doesn't matter where you are - we wanna know about it. So, it doesn't get simpler than this. Give me a holler, let me know you're out there and tell me where you are - that's it. Just leave a comment on this post, and over the weekend, I'll put the names of people who commented in a hat and pull one out at random. Heck, even if we know you, i.e. you're a Boston or San Diego knitter, go ahead and give a yell. The prize is one skein of Vesper sock yarn - Crew colorway.

OK, onto the knitting. I've primarily been working on Icarus, which looks pretty much the same as before, even though I've made progress, and my Corset top. It turns out that it can be knit in the round without problem. There is an issue (we can them "design modifications" 'round these parts). In the front, I'm only supposed to have 4 garter stitches for the button band, but since I accidentally knit this in the round, as opposed to it being intentional, I have eight. If this was knit flat, they would lie on top each other. No biggie. Since it's turning out slightly snug, this just gives me more room. I'm having a lot of fun with the pattern. There are 6 charts total, so just when you're getting bored with doing one thing, something else comes along.

Life in general is OK I guess. I started back to school this week. I'm taking three graduate-level classes and I'm excited and nervous at the same time. Everything I've taken so far has been at the undergrad level. What REALLY sucks is that all of my classes are at night, so I can no longer go to Knit Salon or my favorite yoga class. At first, I was extremely bitter about this. Now, I'm only mildly pissed. I'm trying to find a substitute yoga class right now.

I'll leave you with these La Jolla photos taken over the weekend. The first one is a photo of local wildlife - sea lions (or seals?) to be exact, or not very exact as it turns out, since I don't know which mammal they actually are. They used to snooze up in the Cove area, but dark-hearted humans were torturing them (I know - awful), so now they nap safely on a rock in the middle of the ocean. If you look closely, you can see one frolicking in the water.


This photo just gives you an idea of what La Jolla Cove looks like, for those who've never been.
Finally, this is an "action shot" of the surf hitting the rocks. One of the things that I love about west coast beaches is how rocky they are. It doesn't make for great sun-bathing or even walking on the beach, but it makes for lovely photographs.

SRP

I forgot to post 2 new book reviews:

SRP Book 10, Size 12 is Not Fat, Meg Cabot 368 pages. This is a quick, engaging, light read. Heather Wells, the main character is a former teen pop star whose mother ran off with all of her money, leaving her forced to take a job earning a fraction of what she used to earn. Despite her fall from teen idol status, Heather is a down to earth woman settling in to her new job working in a dorm as assistant director. Heather's menial job become interesting, and dangerous, when several of her residents die under mysterious circumstances. Heather does not beleive that their deaths are accidental and tries to track down the murder. This made for an enjoyable summer read. A-

SRP Book 11, To The Nines, Janet Evanovich, audiobook. Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is back, this time tracking down a missing person on whom her employer has issued a visa bond. As Plum tries to locate the missing person she becomes a target of someones internet murder game. Not great, but decent airplane entertainment. B

Vacation

I have started my summer vacation, thoguh I am breaking away from it for the day. I started my time off by going down to Baltimore to visit with a friend who lives near there. While in Maryland I went to an Orioles game, saw fireworks after the game, went for a walk in some woods, and went to Ewenique Yarns in Bel Air, MD. Apparently Ewenique Yarns is the only LYS in its county, can you imagine that? I picked up some Claudia's Handpainted 100% merino sock yarn, Babara Walker's Second book, and a cute little bumblebee tape measure. On Sunday, I went to a Rennaisance Faire, to which I brought my second Hedera sock. At the Rennaisance Faire I saw some jousting too. Then I came home to the Feast of Saint Lucy, which takes place immediately following the Feast of Saint Anthony, which is the largest, and last of the feasts in the North End.

Tomorrow I leave for Maine, where I will spend about 5 days camping near Acadia National Park. I realy can't wait for that!

La Jolla Sunset

I decided that I didn't need to travel 3000 miles to see beautiful scenery (although I sure wish I had my camera when I walked the Cliff Walk in Newport!) This afternoon, I drove to La Jolla to shoot some photos and watch the sunset.

I liked this shot because of the light streaming through the clouds. At this point, I didn't realize how long I had to wait for the sun to set. It's a good thing I brought Icarus with me!

Going...

going...

almost gone! I sat there and watched the sun completely disappear beneath the horizoon. It was truly an amazing sight. It seemed to blur around its edges and change shape as it descended. There's nothing quite like watching the sun set over the beautiful Pacific!

Reds and Purples

My trip didn't leave much time for knitting, unfortunately. I didn't really even get much done on the plane. I didn't finish the magenta tank in time for the wedding and, in fact, it still isn't done. I've had nothing but trouble with it, but it's getting there. I have a big yarn tangle going on with it right now, so it's not photo-worthy.

Since I got tired of working on it, I decided to start something new - why not, right? I was going to make a Clapotis out of the Lion and Lamb yarn that I got for my birthday, but I never got around to casting on for it. Then, I got a better idea. I decided it was perfectly suited to make the Annie Modesitt silk corset tank. That pattern calls for a silk yarn, so I thought a silk/wool blend yarn would be a good substitute. Luckily, J had already gone through the troubles with the gauge error in the pattern (which still isn't fixed! Nor could I find any errata!) Another thing - I got it in my mind that it was knitted in the round, which it isn't. It's actually a cardigan designed to be knit in one piece. From the beginning, I had it in my mind that it was knit in the round - I even did my swatch in the round. I have no idea why, but I've decided to press onward, hoping that the pattern will work out this way. If any of you out there have made this pattern - will it work in the round?

I also made some progress on my Icarus shawl, albeit not much. This turned out to make excellent plane knitting - I don't really have to look at the pattern very often and it's very lightweight. I wish I'd realized that for the flight out there!

Yesterday afternoon was my neice's first birthday party. She made out with so many gifts and she just loved being the center of attention. She got this enormous car from her uncle and she was totally thrilled.

It's good to be back

I arrived in San Diego last night after what seemed like an unending week of nomadic journeying around the East Coast. Unfortunately, this post will have no photos, since my camera died right when my neice waddled out on the dance floor to entertain 250 guests at a wedding the Hamptons (nice!). This was just one mishap of many on this trip. I'm hoping that various family members will send me the photos that they took so I can show you what a ham she was.

Anyway, we flew into Newark last Thursday after a very long flight and found that the airline had lost our luggage. Really nice since they make you pack all of your toiletries. Also, they had the car seat, so we had to sit around the airport and wait for 3 hours until it turned up. By then, my neice had been awake for 13 hours without a nap and we still had to drive 1 1/2 hrs to Long Island. Actually, it's only that long IF you don't get lost in New York City. Then it takes 3 hours - ask me how I know. Imagine it, if you will, wandering around Times Square looking for the Midtown tunnel with a screaming one-year old sitting next to you. At that point, we'd all been up since 3:45 in the morning so we were not a happy crew. We considering selling Savannah to a homeless person on the street, but luckily, reason took over.

Lets just say the trip carried on in much this same way for the next few days. I'll spare you the details, but we started to call ourselves the Griswolds after all of our bad luck. We traveled from Newark to Long Island to Providence to Boston. Not to mention to and from San Diego. When I got home last night, I collapsed in bed and slept for 12 hours trying to put the whole experience behind me.

It wasn't all bad, though. We went to Newport, and on the way back, we stopped at a lovely yarn store in Wickford. At this point, J had joined us. As soon as she did, though, she too began experiencing some unfortunate luck, so there was definitely a karma problem. I also had a really nice time in Boston. While J and my husband went to the art museum, I visited three yarn stores after eating at one of my favorite lunch spots there - the New England Soup Factory. At this point in the trip, when things started going better, I starting feeling sad about leaving, but all in all, I'm glad to be home.

I unfortunately won't be able to make it to Rebecca's this Saturday - my neice is having her 1st birthday party. I do have some info about the Eunny vest class at the Grove that I don't have time to post about now, but I can tell you that it starts September 9th, so make sure you order your yarn in plenty of time.

See you all soon!

Isis is a very friendly lap kitty. She is the first cat that I have been around who seems to crave human contact. She seems to get lonely when I am not around. When I come home from work she first demands her dinner, then she insists on sitting on my lap, or sitting right next to me, so that she can be pet. Like most cats, she finds whatever I am trying to read or to look at to be the perfect place for her to sit. On Sunday, when I laid out the sleeve of my jacket, Isis decided that since I was paying attention to the sleeve, she needed to be near the sleeve too, so that I didn't forget about her. Isn't my girl pretty? The picture shows how the cuff looks with the sleeve. You can't really see the cable/lace pattern in the picture, but I suspect that you won't really see much of it on the jacket either.

Final thing for today, Newport from my cell phone:

SRP

Book 8 Equal Rites, Terry Pratchett, 213 pages. What happens when a dying wizard accidentally gives his wizard staff to a baby girl? Since everyone knows that women can't be wizards, it can't be anything good. Equal Rites is another of Pratchett's Discworld books. Christine got me reading these books, and, in fact, this is another one of her books. Pratchett's novels are witty, intelligent, and a fun read. A-

Book 9 Seven Up, Janet Evanovich, audiobook. I have listened to this book before, and chose to listen again, mostly because it has been that is the audiobook on my Ipod that it has been the longest since I listened to it. This series of books features inept bounty hunter Stephanie Plum and her adventures (and misadventures) in Trenton, NJ. This series is light and makes for a pleasant listen. While the books are somewhat formulaic, they don't be monotonous (unless you listen to one after another, after another, after another)

I haven't chosen a final name for my sock yet, but I promised a winner to the contest and so I will name a winner. Kim with Flaming Hot Sugar Shock is the winner. I like saying the name, but it seems a bit long, I want something a bit shorter over all. I liked all of the names, so while I am not using any of them, thank you for the ideas. Kim, please drop us an email at thepurlygate@gmail.com telling me what LYS you would your gift certificate to be to, or if you would like some Fleece Artist Merino sock yarn.
(yes there are bruises on my ghostly white legs in the photo, no I don't have a clue what they are from, I bruise easily and never know what caused the bruises)

I chose a yarn for the cuffs of my Season's jacket. I am using some light sport/fingering weight Mostly Merino yarn, which I picked up at the Mostly Merino showcase at Circles yesterday. This is approximately the color, but it is actually darker than it shows here, which is called Indigo. The yarn is not soft in the way that 100% merino wool is, there is some mohair in the yarn, so there is a slight scratchiness to the yarn, but, it is very nice to work with nonetheless. I think that the wool may still have some lanolin in it.
I have another photo which I can't get to upload showing the colorwork, Isis, and the cuff. I will show you that one on Tuesday (hopefully)

Why is that when we have Schilling pitching and a 2 run lead in after the top of the second we have to have rain, thunder and lightening? Rain delay, but sounds like it could be less than 45 minutes, shoot they radio commentators are talking about the possibility of Schilling not coming back after the rain delay.

Heartache

The thing about the Red Sox is that every year (except 2004) they will lift your hopes then break your heart. My heart isn't broken yet, it is, after all, only August, so hope still springs eternal. Despite the eternal hope, yesterday was painful. 2 games against the Yankees in one day, and both were losses. I was fortunate enough to go to the first game, my first experience of this classic rivalry in Fenway. I love going to Fenway and I was very excited to finally see the Sox take on the Yankees live, but the Sox were in the weak part of their pitching rotation, and so despite a decent performance by Johnson, the game was a punch in the guts. We lost 12-4. I listened to some of the evening game, but couldn't stay awake for the whole thing. I went to sleep while we were still winning, so at least I didn't have to sleep knowing we were now 3 1/2 games behind.

In knitting news, I tried swatching the yarn I bought to use on the edging of my colorwork jacket (Season of Darkness Winter of Light). The yarn is lovely, tweedy, and 25% cashmere, unfortunately, it is also a worsted weight yarn, and therefore created too dense a fabric for the piece.

Today, I am heading over to Circles where there will be a showcase of Mostly Merino yarns. At one point I was thinking of making the cabled riding jacket from Loop d Loop (okay I don't own the book so I know I am spelling it wrong) but now I am thinking that instead of spending money I don't have on 13 skeins of the yarn, I might use the sport weight Mostly Merino yarn for the edging on my colorwork jacket. Can't wait to see what they have in the show case!

Next time I post, I promise to have a winner to my name that sock contest! Finally thing, Isis has decided she likes sleeping in the bathtub during the day (last year she merely played in the tub), I assume that is because it is cooler in there. Are there other cats out there that like sleeping in the tub?

Seasons

I have no clue where summer has gone. I haven't finished my summer tank that I was making based on my actual measurements, and I am not sure that I will finish it. I don't feel inspired by the project, and so, it sits on my sofa, neglected, almost, but not quite abandoned.

My wedding ring shawl, started with an intense desire to knit and create something of that complexity and loveliness has also been left unworked on. This was going to be my main summer project. I haven't wanted to pick up those needles though and I can't quite say why. I still think the shawl is lovely and still want to make it, but not right this second.

Right now, the knitting that most inspires me is for fall/winter. Season of Darkness, Winter of Light from Norsk Strikedesigns has me it its clutches. I know for a fact that I don't have enough yarn to do the colorwork, but I have 1/2 the amount I need, so plenty to get me started and to tide me over until the rest comes in. I have one skein of the yarn I am going to test out for the edging, and I know that if I can get gauge with this yarn I can get enough to do all the edging from Circles.

This is my start of the colorwork. I am loving it. This is a sleeve, it is knit in the round and the jacket is knit from sleeve to center, then other sleeve to center. I don't have a good enough sense of the color changes to be able to predict what is coming up next, so Season requires attention, but this is good. I find that my mind relaxes more when I need to focus on a task. Knitting Stockinette leaves my mind too free to race around and, while it is somewhat calming, on its' own it is not enough.

I am rambling now, so I will shut up. I wish I could return to my sleeve, but, unfortunately, I am not independently wealthy, and so, like many others, I must work.

Quick Post

I know - two posts in one day - can you stand it? But since I won't be able to post for a while, I wanted to show you some recent yarn acquisitions. First off, I went to Lori's Frames Fibers and Frills on Sunday because I was having kind of a lousy day and desperately needed to do some yarn shopping, ya know what I mean? They had some really nice stuff, and I decided to go ahead and bite the bullet on the yarn for Eunny's vest since she had a color I really liked.

The grey (Heron) I actually bought on my honeymoon - I got it at 50% off at shop in Mendocino. I bought 5 balls with nothing particular in mind, and that turns out to be the perfect amount for the vest - yay! It's a wonderful netural, so I decided to combine it with this lovely burgundy color, called Brocade.

I also recently ordered some yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I got some Socks That Rock, medium weight, in Star Sapphire. Of course, the photo is completely inaccurate. It's much more purple than it looks there.

So, that's all folks!

Reid is Finished!

Just in the nick of time. Actually, it's not completely done. I still haven't sewn on a button; in fact, I haven't even purchased one, but I plan on doing that today. I also need to press the edging since it's curling a little bit.

Pattern: Reid, from the Spring 2006 issue of knitty

Yarn: Rowan 4-ply cotton for body and Rowan Cotton Glace for trim

Needles: Addi Turbo circular, size 3 for body and size D crochet hook for trim

Date started: 7/28/06

Date completed: 8/15/06

Modifications: I used a thinner yarn and a smaller needle to take care of the sizing issues that other bloggers had mentioned. I think these changes were enough to make it the correct size. In fact, I'm concerned it might be a bit small, which I never dreamed of. When I measured, it was 20" around, and that's how big Savannah is. I also shortened the arms my 2" and they seem to have come out to Savannah's exact measurements. This, of course, means she won't be able to wear the sweater for very long, but at least it will fit for the christening.

Overall thoughts: The sizing issues with this pattern made it a bit more of a challenge, but other than that, I found this to be a well-written pattern, and I think it turned out really cute. The chart for each piece was different, showing that the designer put a lot of thought into how lace pattern should work. The lace pattern is challenging, but not overly so. It kept my interest pretty much the entire time. This sweater took a long time to make for such a tiny little thing, though.

Onward and upward! I've started something new, and in my totally delusional world, I have a belief that I'll finish this in time to wear to the wedding on Saturday. I'm making this sweater, Amelie, which you may remember from a previous entry. Since I'm tired of things not fitting around my bust area properly, I'm doing an experiment. I'm making a smaller size than I would normally make, one that's 3 1/2 inches smaller than my bust, and I've added short rows, per the instructions in Big Girl Knits. I'm hoping that this will allow the sweater to fit me better. It also might mean that it's simply too small.

Here's my progress so far:

The color isn't nearly that bright in person. In fact, it's really rich, in between red and pink. I'd call it magenta. I've started the neck and back shaping, so I'm making OK progress, but even after I'm done with the sweater, I need to knit and attach that lace portion at the bottom. I'll have lots of time on the plane, though. I leave tomorrow, at the lovely hour of 6:30 a.m. So, I have to be at the aiport at 4:30! Yuck.

By the way, does anybody out there recommend any yarn shops in the Hamptons?

Boston

There are things I truly love about this city. Without getting into a car, and with very little walking I was able to leave the city behind this weekend. All it took was a strong back (and arms) to carry some camping gear and $12 to get aboard a ferry out to the Boston Harbor Islands. This serious of islands are part of a state/federal park, and there is camping on some of them. The Bitter Knitter and I went out to Bumpkin Island, which we explored as thoroughly as possible and on which we sampled some of the native, edible, vegetation (thanks goes out to the Park Ranger who lent us a book identifying edible plants!) Among the plants were two that we used to make tea on Saturday morning. I think this white plant was Yarrow, but I can't remember for sure. It's leaves lent a slight, almost, but not quite minty flavor to the tea, which was actually made more with Tanzy (or something like that).
Saturday, after the night out in nature, several of the N.End knitter's joined Bitter Knitter and I on the main Harbor Island, Georges, where we spent a lovely afternoon, sitting, soaking up some of the sun (and some shade), picnicking, and knitting. With me on this trip came My Sock v 2.1 (a slightly smaller size that v 2.0).

Speaking of my sock, I owe you a winner to the contest, well, you are going to have to wait a little longer to learn the winner. Why, you may ask, well, because none of the names are talking to me right now, and the names I have thought of, I don't love either, so when my sock has a name, the contest will have a winner.

Another thing I love about the city, is free Shakespeare on the Common, which I went to see in their final performance of this year. Things I hate about Boston: Starbucks closing at 8:30 on a Sunday despite a line pouring out the door. At least stay open until intermission is over! !

Green Gable FO

This morning, I finished my Green Gable. Here's a photo of the finished product.

Pattern: Green Gable, designed by Zephyrstyle

Size: 40" bust (XL)

Yarn: Cotton Fleece in Plum Patina, 3 skeins plus a little of a fourth

Needles: Addi Natural Size 7, 24" cord for body and Addi Turbo, size 5, 32" cord, for ribbing. I also used size 5 Lantern Moon dpn's for the armhole ribbing.

Date started: 8/6/06

Date completed: 8/13/06

Modifications: I completely changed the waist shaping. I don't know if it worked out or not, but what I did is work 5.25" even from where I removed the sleeves from the needles, then I decreased 2 stitches at each side 4 times, every 4 rows, for a total of 16 stitches decreased. Then, I worked even for 2" and then increased at the same rate. By the time I was done, the sweater was the right length, so I started the ribbing right after that.

Overall thoughts: This pattern wasn't the most clearly written pattern I've ever used, but after doing some math, I was able to figure out what was intended. Like a lot of patterns, the upsizing didn't seem to work that well. I feel like the raglan seam is too long for my body, so the sweater is a little loose right above my bustline. I have this problem frequently, so it may be that I have an unusual shape. It could also be my row gauge, too. However, I feel like it's a very stylish pattern and I'm overall quite happy with it. I loved the fact that there was very little finishing, since that is my least favorite part. I love Cotton Fleece yarn. This is my second sweater that I've made out of it, and it knits up so well. You can't beat the value, too.

My next favorite, have to make it, sweater comes from...

Vogue Knitting???? Could it be? Why, yes it could!


Remember this?

Remember I said I was looking for a cardigan to make out of it - something with cables and a shawl collar?

When I finally got my VK (which the Borders in Mission Valley didn't even have one day AFTER the official newstand date), I saw this:

Perfect, wouldn't you say? Make that 16 sweaters I'll be making from my stash. Actually, I'm one ball short. So a trip to Common Threads can't be far behind.

SRP

Book 7 March, by Geraldine Brooks, (audiobook)--In this novel Ms. Brooks attempts to recreate Louis May Alcott's famous family, the Marches, from Little Women, and to tell the story of the family's absent father. Mr. March, was away from the family during most of the famous novel, down in the south supporting the Union troops during the Civil War. It has been many years since I read Little Women, and I will admit that many of the details I don't remember. For instance, in my memory, Beth dies from scarlet fever while her father is gone, but I could be wrong about that. I also don't remember specifically what Mr. March was supposed to be doing with the Union Army. This telling of Mr. March's story did not ring true to me. I can't pin point exactly what in the narration felt wrong, but something did. The first problem I had was that Mr. March was a vegetarian. That seemed like something that Louisa May Alcott would have mentioned had she intended the absent father to be one. I am sure that vegetarianism was rare enough in the 1860's that the children would have noticed a difference in their family's diet and would have commented on their lack of meat and animal products in their diet, or would have commented on the fact that with their father away they were at liberty to eat meat. In the author's defense, she based the Mr. March character on Louisa May Alcott's father, who was, according to the afterword, a vegetarian.This was my most obvious point of dissatisfaction, but there were other issues, I just can't put my finger to them. The other issue I had was that Beth was alive when her father came home, she had recovered from scarlet fever. Am I forgetting something? Overall, I was left dissatisfied.

This novel does make me want to re-read Little Women though.

Knitting news, I have finished the short row shaping for the right side of the tank/top that I am making. Sorry for the poor picture quality, I forgot the camera card for my camera so I used my cell phone.

Name that Sock Contest News

If you read my posts, you may have noticed that last Thursday I asked for help naming my sock v. 2.0. So far I have 8 suggested names, and while the names are great, I want to find out what other ideas you guys have. It has been suggested to me that not every knitter out there has a sock knitting fetish, the way I currently have, so I thought I would change the prize somewhat. The new prize will be either a skein of Fleece Artist Merino sock yarn from Circles (when it comes in), or a $20 gift certificate to the LYS of your choice. This is to encourage those of you who don't want sock yarn to delve into your creative mind and post possible names.

When I posted last Thursday I said that the contest would end on Thursday or when I finish the first Hedera, which ever was latest. Well, it appears that the contest will end on Thursday. I liked working with the Mama E yarn, which was very soft and had little pooling (only pooled in the gusset). Hedera was an easy pattern and an attractive one too. The heel flap is considerable longer than I am used to in socks, which creates a long gusset, nearly half the length of the foot. I did not find that this long gusset created any kind of problem with the fit of the sock though.

Finally, this weekend I fell in love with a sweater pattern. I find that I must make Season of Darkness and Winter of Lights, this will be started very soon I expect. I will be changing the colors, but expect to order the yarn for this sweater in the very near future.

Happy Birthday to me

So, how was everyone's weekend? Mine was good and bad. I had a great day on Saturday, yarn shopping, knitting and eating. Disentangled, Cora, Jessica and I hit the Common Threads sale bright and early on Saturday morning. Until the last minute, I had one ball of Cotton Glace in my hand, but I couldn't just get that, could I? The only thing I was actually in the market for was Cotton Fleece to make Green Gable, but they didn't have any colors that I liked, so I got myself in some trouble and bought 15 balls of this:

I don't have a project in mind for it, but I'm picturing, cardigan, wide collar, maybe some cables...my favorite cardigan to throw on when there's a chill in the air (yeah, right, like that happens much around here).

My weekend was sort of bad, too, though, because I had a birthday yesterday. I'm really hating getting older, and I felt sort of down yesterday. It didn't help that I didn't do anything to celebrate. I did that on Saturday night. So I pretty much just sat around the house. Next year I should definitely do something fun.

I also met my goal of finishing both fronts of Reid by Sunday night. I'm getting closer, but I've still got the sleeves to do. Knitting sleeves tends to kill me, but I'm hoping since these are baby sleeves, it will go quickly.

Speaking of that ball of Cotton Glace, my shopping companions were very helpful with picking out a color for the crochet edging that will go on Reid. I don't think I could have come up with such a terrific color combo without them. What do you think?

I also finished Ribby Shell over the weekend. Actually, I finished it yesterday and wore it out immediately, so this photo was taken after it was worn for several hours. It stretched out a little, but not too bad. It seemed to hold its shape well. That yarn is so soft that it felt incredible next to my skin. I think I'll wear it to work today!
Pattern Stats:

Pattern: Ribby Shell by Chicknits
Yarn: Kona Bay Cotton in Espresso, 6 balls
Size: 39" bust
Needles: Addi Turbo Size 8, 24" cord
Date started: 7/30/06
Date completed: 8/6/06
Overall thoughts: This is a great pattern - no seaming or finishing required. I only had to seam up the shoulders. For that, I modified by doing short row shoulder shaping and a three-needle bindoff, so I actually didn't do any seaming. The yarn I used, although soft, wasn't perfectly suited to the pattern. The fabric was a little loose. I prefer this yarn knit to a DK gauge, but I have more in a magenta color, so I can try that out. I'll probably make this pattern again someday. It was a really quick knit!

Finishing that up allowed me to cast on for Green Gable. I'm using Cotton Fleece in Plum Patina, which is a little outside my normal color comfort zone, but I'm absolutely loving it. The pattern is interesting to work at the moment, but I'm getting into the portion where I'm doing raglan increases forever, and I'm acquiring more and more stitches. This should definitely be the most tedious part. I'm also a ball short of yarn, so lets keep our fingers crossed. I usually end up with quite a bit of yarn leftover. I bought the last skein the LYS had, so I might definitely be screwed! At least with a top down raglan, you can make it shorter if you have to.

Friday Update

I ended up bailing on the Knit Salon last night, which is really unlike me, because I wasn't feeling too well, so I just stayed home, relaxed in my PJ's, did some knitting and watched a Netflix movie. Even though I felt crummy, it was a relaxing evening, all in all. I made some good progress on Reid - I finished the left front. My goal is to finish both fronts by Sunday evening, so that is still looking possible.

I also finished my first Pomatomus sock. I can't believe how long this took me. I am really pleased with the way it turned out, although something went wrong in my toe shaping - I couldn't say exactly what. It fits me well and I'm sure these will get a lot of wear over the cooler months.

I really liked the way the yarn did a stripey thing on the foot (it seemed to pool some on the leg portion). I thought both had were nice effects, but I prefer the striping.

I'm already up to the heel flap on the second sock, although I don't think I'm going to jump back into it right away.

My Cotton-Ease order arrived yesterday. When I placed the order, I fully expected to receive an email saying that they had sold out of the colors I wanted, but it actually showed up! I don't have any specific plans for the yarn, but I think a sassy, fitted cardigan is in order for the Bubble Gum. I don't have a particular pattern in mind at this point, though.
Don't forget to submit an entry to name J's sock!