Pedicure Socks

Last friday my mom and I got pedicures for the very first time and while we were at the spa we mentioned the idea of pedicure socks--socks without toes so your feet don't get cold while your nails dry. The women working there thought it was such a neat idea and suggested that their patrons would buy them if we had them for sale. I don't think I would want to start mass producing toe-less socks but it might be fun to make a pair or two and take them over to the spa to see what people's reactions are...If I make a pair the pictures will be here.

Anemoi Mittens

I love Eunny Jang's designs. I have started a pair of her entrelac socks from the Spring 2007 Interweave magazine and I finally gave in yesterday and bought the pattern for her anemoi mittens. They are so beautiful! And, of course, I love colorwork. Plus I just got in a skein of Knit Picks' Silk-Merino addition to their Bare line of dyeable yarn. I am going to leave half of it natural colored (a little bit darker than a pure merino but still off-white) and have dyed the other half using a mix of Cushings Burgendy and Country Classics Tomato Red. It is drying right now and I can't wait to see how it turns out. This project will also give me a chance to try out a set of Lantern Moon's Sox Stix double pointed needles. We are thinking about carrying them at the shop but we have to test them out first. Picture of my progress will be posted here.

No time for knitting

Next week is midterms so I should be spending all of my time writing papers and studying for exams. I have absolutely zero motivation to do so, however (a symptom of the Seniorittis I've been combating all semester) and really just want to work on my many knitting projects. There seems to be a real push towards finishing works in progress and using your stash among knitters right now but I am going to take a stand and say I disagree. I like having lots of projects going at one time. The only time it stresses me out is when I have deadlines for some of the projects (birthdays, holidays, etc). Otherwise I like having lots of projects to look at and think about and a selection of different types of knitting to work on depending on my mood. I keep a really simple ribbed shell by my bed so that if I want to do some knitting while watching tv in bed I have something mindless to work on while I get sleepy. I keep a pair of mitts or socks in my bag at all time so that if i have a few minutes before class starts I have a small project to pull out. Then I have lace on size 1 needles for when my mind is alert and I want a challenge or a ribbed toboggan on size 5s for when I'm brain dead. I have other projects that I rarely work on but they don't make me feel guilty. I haven't forgotten about them, I just know that there is no rush and they are happy waiting for a while. I even have one project that I only work on when I travel- my Journey Shawl. It is going to take years to finish because I don't travel very often but everytime I look at it I think of the places I visited while working on it.

As for my stash, I don't have a problem with it either. I really have two stashes, I guess. One is what Jo calls "BoBo Yarn"-- random stuff I probably wouldn't buy but that has been given to me by people cleaning out their own stashes. This stash currently resides in plastic trash bags in the trunk of my car (the only place I have space for it). Most of it will eventually be used for charity knitting. My real stash is mainly left over yarn from projects I have completed. Sure there are a few skeins of yarn I have purchased because I just couldn't resist but I rarely buy yarn w/o a project in mind and I usually get the project started right away, moving the yarn from the "stash" to the "works in progress" list.

So no, I don't feel bad about having 17 works in progress. I just wish I had more time to work on them.

Colorwork Mitts

After making the FairIsle Socks I decided to use the same materials and techniques for a pair of fingerless mitts for myself. My hands are always cold in the winter, but having my fingers covered annoys me. With these mitts I can use my keys, type on the computer or even knit! The first pair (green, blue, yellow) is made using Knit Picks' Bare Superwash/Nylon Fingering Weight which I dyed with Cushings dyes. The second pair is made using Blue Sky Silk Alpaca, which we just started carrying at the shop. Wow what a nice yarn! I am using Brick, Chesnut and Kiwi (I love their creative color names, but the green doesn't really look like a "kiwi" to me). I will be teaching a class on this pattern at the shop in March (hopefully)-- my first class and the first time I've had anyone else make something from one of my own patterns!

Mitts #3-- a gift for the wonderful photographer who did such a wonderful job on my portraits last fall. Now she will be able to take pictures outside without freezing her hands! I am going to use the Blue Sky Silk Alpaca again but in several different colors- Peapod, Kiwi, Blue, Night and Ecru. I am very uncertain about the colors, but we will see! I am also unsure about the size. After knitting several inches I feel like it is too wide around, but I have a tendancy to make things too small ("Laura sized" as Chris says) so I may be wrong. I just don't know...is there such a thing as an average hand measurement that I could use?

Tore the Mitts #3 out, started over. They are a more realistic size now (I think so at least!). I have the first one about half done. I really need to work on these mitts more- winter will be over before they are done! To motive myself, I joined the Stranded Colorwork Challenge.