I’ve been in a bit of a blogging slump (yes, obviously); not just here, but also on my regular blog as well. I figure after nine full years of online journaling I’m allowed to slack now and then…but I also realize it’s been two months since I last posted here, and (if I have any readers left – heh) it’d be nice to let everyone know I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth.
I’ve been doing a bit of knitting, and also crocheting, now that I know how. Sadly, I keep making things and forgetting to take photographs of them before I give them away (or else they are such that I cannot share pictures in the first place, as is the case for some designs-in-progress, and for some test knitting I’ve been doing for other people). So here’s a quick recap.
As I noted, I’ve now learned how to crochet, mainly so I could make those cute crocheted Mary Jane slippers. One of the members of the knitting group I’m part of in Sacramento brought me a tiny little pamphlet that went through the various stitches, and since those slippers require knowledge of everything from single to triple-double stitches, it was a handy little booklet to have on hand. So far I’ve made two pairs – one for my my mom and one for my older sister – and they’ve been gifted for their respective birthdays. Turns out I need to make a slightly smaller size for my older sister, which I was afraid would be the case so I’d already started a smaller pair, just in case. And I’ve got the pair for my younger sister’s birthday nearly completed. If I can finally get my act in gear, I will actually post pictures of the final two pairs, at least as proof that yes I actually did make them.
Once I got that whole crocheting thing under my belt I decided to see if that technique might work for my latest afghan projects (because when you live in a 100 year old house that gets very cold in the winter, you can never have too many afghans). I’ve tried various patterns in knitting for this yarn and none of them made me happy, but I really like how it turned out in crochet (and what do you know, I actually *did* take a picture of this one).
I’m still plugging away at my Clueless Cardigan, although neither my friend or I managed to finish it by this year’s Stitches West, as originally planned. Oh well. I made three chemo caps out of random acrylic from my stash for the Stitches train (they were collecting them for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society) and realized only after I’d handed them over that I forgot to take pictures of those too. Oops. I made an extremely cute little toy set that I cannot show you until the designer does the final release of the pattern. I finished a pair of socks that has been on the needles for who knows how long (haven’t taken a picture of those yet, of course), and have nearly finished my Frosted Diamonds scarf. Oh, and I finally wrote up the pattern and finished the chart for the Double Diamond Twist socks, but I can’t show you that either, because (if all goes as planned) it’s been submitted and will be published online at some point this summer.
Since I mentioned Stitches West, yes, I did go, and I was quite restrained in yarn buying this year. The only thing I picked up was a skein of ice blue 100% silk sportweight from Tess Designer Yarns for a mobius-type wrap that I am still working out in my head. I did end up taking another class this year – this time on Lapland hand garments. First time I’ve ever used US 000 needles (no, that is not a typo) but the technique is a whole lot of fun (even if the size of the needles is a bit insane), and I am thinking that this might be a great way to use up some of my leftover sock yarn, one of these years. At the very least I’ll add it to the list of design ideas I’ve already got swirling around in my head, and see what comes of it.
So that’s how things stand right now. Still here, still knitting, and (I hope) working my way slowly back to more regular posting.