The Pretty Little Things

Suddenly all my knitting is in pretty summery colors. That makes the emotions flow peaceably like the nice evening surf at the beach. Love that. I even bought a summery Chaps bag to use for a knitting bag. It's in lime & turquoise. The size is 12 1/2"H x 18"W x 6"D & there are 3 interior sections, one of which zips closed.

I have dug around the house, under the chaises, in my closet, in shopping bags, etc. to unearth all my sock yarn stash, wherever that may be. I balled them all up and I have enough yarn to make 6 pairs for the Summer of Socks '08. My goal is to use & finish these pairs this summer. If I get more done, that'll be a bonus. (Who doesn't want to have to go shopping for more yarn??) I have several for sure patterns set aside, ready & waiting to begin. The excitement is palable. You see pictured (Lft to Rt) a ball of Fleece Artist in a blue/purple/brown color, 2 balls of Knit pick's Memories in Smores, leftover JKnits in Boston , Fiber Oasis Washable Merino/Bamboo blend in Hard Candy, Sundara Yarn in Cobalt Over Mediterranean, & Zitron Cara in Turquoise Blue. The only yarn I'm not over the top on is the Knit Pick's yarn. That yarn feels icky & it pills so bad even with hand washing oh so carefully. It'll be the last pair I knit perhaps. S.O.S. '08 here I come.

Josephine had to be frogged & restarted on smaller needles. I swatched on the size 5 needles, but in spite of that working out to gauge, the actual tunic grew like the dickens on the needles. If you set it aside, the completed row would lose it's tension & that subtle change made the thing get wider & wider over time. Hmmm. What to do. After a conference call with my knitting guru (Deborah), I decided a less slippery needle in a smaller size was in order. I reworked the pattern on size 4 Bryspun circulars. It got the job done. You see 4" completed and the first waist shaping row has been completed. BTW, never have used Bryspun needles, but I really like them. Nice & lightweight, unique needle tips perfect for lace work, & although slicker than bamboo needles, not as slick as my nickle-plated Options. I will buy these needles again.

Clementine has stolen my heart. I <3 this pattern & this yarn. I've almost used up one ball of the ALpaca Silk & have knitted up 19 3/4". The 4 row repeat that you work for 15" is easily memorized, which means mindless stress-free knitting.

Since the back of the Lacy Skirt is off the needles, I cast on for the front. I had let this sit for a few weeks because I was sick of st st & yellow yarn. But, Deborah went to town on her skirt & it pushed me to pick mine back up. It's so unfair that she almost completed the entire skirt in a week compared to the two weeks for me to get just one side done. Sibling rivalry still lives strong. (Hey, it's good for a swift kick in the butt too.) I've made the 1st of the 3 lace panels, set it aside & started the 2nd. Once you knit all three halfway up, you join them across the top to finish the second half before going to the st st portion of the skirt.

There's the beef so to speak. I'm off to knit night tonight to try & get some more done.