the Akamai Knitter

Remember how I said I was blocking another shawl? Well it finally dried (living in a climate with high humidity sucks) and I finally got off my lazy ass to take pictures of the thing.

Pattern: Shetland Triangle Shawl (Ravelry link) from Wrap Style

Yarn: Fearless Fibers Lightweight Superwash Sock Merino Wool in Lust

Needles: size 4US/3.5mm

Started: May 7, 2009

Finished: May 13, 2009

I so enjoyed this pattern. It’s so easy to memorize and yet it’s not boring to do. In fact it was just blissful and I would make another in a heartbeat. Since this one is for my mother, I might just make one for myself and maybe  a few more for any innocent bystanders that may fall my way.

I’m so in love with this yarn. It blocked beautifully and it’s incredibly soft. I had zero problems knitting with it. There were no issues with it splitting or any other such nonsense. And the colors? Oh so heavenly.

I’m already lusting for more. (No pun intended.)

While I was out yesterday, I caught a rainbow on the way home. All I had was my phone so the picture isn’t the best. That’ll teach me to leave the house without my camera.

Hopefully you can still enjoy it! It makes for a much more interesting sky then the last one.

Happy Monday, folks! I just might block another shawl today. Shocking, isn’t it?

Has it been nearly a week since I last blogged? Really? That long?

It hasn’t been like I haven’t had anything to blog about. I’ve just been resting up and vegging in front of the TV and I’m feeling much better now. Thanks for all the wonderful get well emails and comments.

Speaking of television,I’m disgusted with the fact that Dollhouse has been canceled. I’m hoping that Castle and The Unusuals will get picked up for a second season.  Although it looks like Castle is the only one with a fighting chance.

I’m excited about tonight’s season finale of Bones. If you’re a fan, you’ve seen the trailers. It could be great or it could be a monumental disaster. Let’s just cross our fingers and hope this episode doesn’t end up in the toilet like last year’s finale did.

Also, I was shocked with last night’s American Idol results. I know Kris Allen is a very talented guy, I don’t want to take anything away from him, but I always believed Danny would be right there with Adam. In fact, I’m still in a state of disbelief.

During all this insane TV watching, I had to keep my hands busy.  I finished a few things and hopefully I’ll be able to show them off in the next few days.

Then the unbelievable happened. I actually blocked a shawl!

Pattern: Caricia by Anne Hanson

Yarn: Dizzy Blonde Studios Sock Yarn in Olivia

Needles: 4US/3.5mm

Date Started: April 4, 2009

Date Finished: May 17, 2009

This was a really fun knit. I love Anne Hanson’s patterns. Her instructions and charts are so consistently easy to follow. In fact, I may have just started another of her patterns.

But I digress.

The yarn was a real pleasure to use. It reminded me of Fearless Fibers base yarn, which I adore. The Olivia colorway just made my toes tingle with its saturated goodness and its subtle variations.

Today I plan on blocking another shawl.

Tomorrow there may be socks.

I do believe I’m back in the saddle.

Sammy defies you to disagree.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Remember that headache I had? It’s bloomed into a full-on flu. When I’m not napping, I’m resting up in front of the TV and knitting. And since I really loathe napping, I finished up Caricia yesterday.

So it was time to start a new shawl.

In my fevered state, I decided Kiwassa* would be a nice easy knit. I really should have looked at the pattern before I started, because keeping track of a 16 stitch pattern repeat hurt my brain.  So I stopped.

Once I stopped, I took a good look at it and I decided that I’m really not happy with the way it looks.

After consulting with one of the lace experts I have on hand, we decided there’s just not enough stitch definition. I should probably leave this for when my head is clearer, but I’m going to try to see how going  down a couple of needle sizes works after I finish writing this post.

Since I stopped working on the Kiwassa before the day was through, I started another shawl that I knew would be easy peasy. I think I’m much happier with the stitch definition this time.

Just like I’ve heard, the Shetland Triangle** pattern (Ravel it!) truly is as effortless as breathing. It’s also very hard to put down. I really had to force myself to go to bed last night. Reminding myself that I was sick and that I need to get better by Saturday helped.

I haven’t forgotten about the Lyra(Ravel it!). I’m anxiously waiting for the day my brain clears the fog so I can start working on it again. I just think that working on it right now is a recipe for disaster.

Surely I can juggle the three projects without my head exploding? It’s doable, right?

Right?!

Phew. Deep breath.

Here’s a distraction from the crazy.

I have a kitty shot of Scheyer. Can you find his head? :P

Have a great weekend, everyone!

*For those curious, the yarn is my own handspun.

**Again for those curious, the yarn is Fearless Fibers Lightweight Superwash Merino in Lust.

I finally dug out the bin of laceweight yarn to start Lyra (Ravel it!). I originally planned on using cashmere, but I was way short on yardage. Instead, I settled on Jaggerspun Zephyr in black.

Although I’ve never finished a square or circular shawl, I’ve started a few of them. They’re very fiddly to begin wit, having only two stitches on each double-pointed needle. I found the easiest way for me to go about it is to use the Bellybutton Circular Start.

It’s not pretty. In fact it looks a little obscene. But it gets the job done.

I tried to get a better picture of my progress, but the stitches are dangerously close to falling off the needles.

I’m anxiously waiting on some 16″ circulars to arrive. I could have sworn I had a pair, but I can’t find them. I might try forging ahead with two or three circulars if the 16″ doesn’t soon. I’m just not a patient person.

One thing I tried and couldn’t get the hang of is Magic Loop. I think I just need more practice with that technique and I’d rather not risk messing up this project with something so new to me.

Look what came in the mail for me last week.

After blogging about Ed’s gorgeous spindles, I couldn’t resist snagging one for myself.  This is Petula from Tilt-A-Whorl Spindles.

To fully appreciate the gorgeous 3-D effect of his talent you have to see it from the side.

Not only does this spindle look fabulous, it spins like a dream. It’s heavier then what I’m used to in a spindle, but I’m really looking forward to using it.  For now, I’m content to just gaze upon it.

Happy Tuesday, people! Can you believe May is nearly here?

I’m still working on my Montana Moon socks. I ripped out the offending waffle rib and opted for a plain vanilla k2p2 rib. They’d probably be over and done with if not for the fact that I started something else.

Megan and I decided to knit Caricia together. Only I jumped the gun and started it about a week before she did. Some friend I am.  Although to be fair, I did put it aside for a few days after i started to let her catch up.

Don’t you love how it looks like ass? Here’s a bit of detail that doesn’t look too much like ass.

Just in case you’re wondering the yarn is from Dizzy Blonde Studios in the colorway Olivia. Nice stuff.

I probably would have been able to have gone all Cookie on Megan and smoked her to the finish line, only I’ve also been spindling. Now, I’m still chugging away on the Butterfly Girl batt.

Except another spindle is calling my name.

Wendy made me this spindle awhile back. Sadly, it’s still a virgin spindle, meaning it’s never been used. Never. So really, it needs fiber on it. Don’t you think?

I mean that’s the wonderful thing about spindles. You can have several different projects going on at once. Or should I say that’s the awful thing about spindles?

Hrm.

Speaking of spindles, have you heard of Tilt-A-Whorl? Ed has some serious spindle mojo going on. Check him out. I’ve got a serious lust on for the Flutterbies.

Robbyn complained mentioned how much she missed the kitty pr0n. So here’s a shot of Scheyer and Sammy bird-watching just for her. I can’t get over how big Sammy’s ass is. (He’s on the left.)

Happy Thursday! Thanks for reading. :)