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February 28, 2007
brief update
I had something to be done and sent out by due date and DH has got both his sudden vacation and sick at the same time, stayed at home coughing since 10 days, DS first has been in his winter holidays for two weeks and stayed at home until this coming week-end, and DS second got fever and stayed at home for two days with red cheeks and bad mood, and this was my current condition until today.
Tomorrow DH will go back to office, DS second can go to nursery and the days are slowly becoming normal. To celebrate my fragile and precious normality, I did something new today. It was fantastic, but I just don't have enough time to tell you about the story now, so I show you my WIP of cotton blanket here for now and I promise, I will update very soon next time.
BTW, this pattern is the same with Alison's. I saw that cute pinky part's wip on her blog and realized I found finally an imaginary ideal pattern for my project. The difference is that mine is single stitch pattern for all over the blanket, and hers are beautiful conplex with other stitch patterns. My adopted part is very simple, easy yet lovely, and I think even this ribby look before blocking is nice. My progress is so slow...this is the blanket with fingering baby cotton yarn...but anyway I will complete as soon as possible, I try.
Posted by trico at 11:13 PM | ???? (1)
February 20, 2007
chocolate and blanket
Years ago, I had loved a very rich and strong hot cocoa, which is not sweet. Non-sweet strong cocoa is healthy drink, and I've got a mug of hot cocoa a day at that time. And since some days, well after St. Varentine day, that hit again to me. I prepare a hot milk and put a good spoonful cocoa powder in it and enjoy. It's funny actually I had had absolutely no interest in chocolates until I become adult, and now I like it.
In addition to that, yesterday when I went to get some specific french walnuts bread for DH at a famous french bakery around here, I found they had released a new bread of experiment. Its shape is like cacao, with shiny cocoa color. It is a rich bitter-cocoa bread. How yummy! It jumped into my basket naturally and this morning, I tasted. That's exactly what I imagined by its appearance. Rich, cocoa flavor yet no sweet, chocolate brown to the core. I even smeared chocolate spread and doubled its richness.
It is my days, friends. Looks happy? But I am busy between preparing new job and errands and parenting, get unbelievably little knitting and sob.
And I've just got another kind of "knitting in need" project. One of cousins of DH has got a baby boy recently, and found out he needs some surgeries to survive to be normal baby. Since he has been staying at NICU, and maybe some more months. I decided to make a "prayer baby blanket" for him, and just casted on.
Sorry, so far I have no visible progress for current WIPS, and no photo. I will though show you my blanket in progress next time!
Posted by trico at 10:33 PM | ???? (2)
February 12, 2007
sock mood
Since some days, I've got cold and coughing. My DS team too. Only DH is behind, maybe soon. This is not a good news, yet this time it looks less serious, we can manage.
And since some days or maybe much more before than imagined, my sock fever has regained its power....I am dreaming all day about socks. Ahhhh. Socks!
I want to knit them more and more. I buy sock yarns, my sock yarn stash status is now dangerously around border.
You can find that kind of yarn-islands at my home...this wee sock( again!) is not for decoration, this time it was knitted as a gift, for a mother who recently got a baby gal.
It's finished and now wrapped...the yarn is leftover of second Jaywalker, you might already recognize. The yarn has quite a yardage, actually I have more leftover which would provide me one more pair of baby socks. It was from Celia's@Etsy.
And as I am lost in sockish fancies, other projects don't progress much...you know. Hamish is now finally joined:
I have to make just ribs around neck and shoulder. my project of ambition is staying calmly in the original nylon bag, waiting the moment of opening. I don't forget. I am thrilled.
Posted by trico at 10:10 PM | ???? (1)
February 04, 2007
novelty yarn etc
Have you already read the series of knitting novel by Maggie Selfton? Recently I have finished her first novel "Knit one, kill two" and now I am reading "Needled to death". I read it between errands, netsurfing and knitting and I am enjoying quite well. However, I have to admit that the most intriguing part of the book for me is not the description of knitting pleasure, rather I love to read the scene of Kelly, who is heroine of the story and CPA, who drinking "rich and strong " coffee friquently in the story. It is really tempting so each time when I read the part I want to get coffee....
BTW, there is another thing I noticed in the book: as the story is developed in and around a knitter's community at LYS with cafe, always someone in the scene is knitting something, and a knitting expert-teacher is knitting a compricated lace shawl, other is knitting a sweater, but there is always someone who is knitting fanky scarves with novelty, clearly synthetique yarn. In this second book, Kelly herself wants one and knitted a peacock blue eyelash yarn scarf.(she is novice as a knitter)
Indeed in our real world, there are many, many patterns and photos of that kind of yarn and its garments from magazines and shops, many publicities for that kind of novelty yarns and suggestions from the manufacturer.
But....as far as I know, which is so narrow knowledge and I know it, but I have no crue or memories of "novelty eyelash scarf" photo in any blogger's entry in real world. I believe I have never saw one. Then...who is actually knitting that kind of eyelashy-scarf? Do you have one?
As it exists, there is always people who purshase it, I understand. But also we can say it is true that there are much more novelty yarns on special discount sale than normal traditional wool.
Many knitters love and prefer wool, or natural fiber I think. I do. And I HATE eyelash yarn. So when Kelly is jumping in to that kind of novelty yarn, it looks so unrealistic to me. How about you?
BTW, I finished my originally-first-but-became-second-as-result Jaywalker socks:
This time it is mine, Yey! This yarn is thinner than other sock yarns, so even I changed the needle size up, it is quite just-size socks.
And, today I have casted on a sock and casted off. Yes. a new sock, but it is only one.
This is mini-mini sock garment for "holiday ornament, a gift bag for presenting gift cards or money to someone, a holder for your small knitting scissors, or decoration for your bulltin board or fridge". At my recent shopping at Loopy Ewe, I've got this pattern"Loopy's Red sock kit" and since then, I was dying to try it. I think this is quite clever to use the leftover of sock yarn. We can make this mini-sock only one hour or a bit more, and can give away anytime to anyone. It is so pretty! For mine, it would be a holiday ornament and it rests on the fridge for now.
*update: the original pattern has heel flap, and I arranged mine to short row. Also I changed other details. I only depend on the pattern for the number of stttches for cast on. Rather, the idea of mini-sock intrigued much!
And, let me show you another photo:
Friends, this is the sweater of my ambition. This is a design from a book "Norsk Strikkedesign" , simply named "Arangenser". Yes, it is the one with Jo Sharp's Silkroad Aran Tweed. I will cast on soon...