Resistance is futile

I couldn't help myself; I finally gave in and knit a ballband dishcloth from MDK. And yes, those are blocking pins; I am blocking a washcloth. I wanted to admire it in all its slip-stitch glory before putting it to use.

Fun and easy to knit, although my hands tended to cramp something fierce. I went down two sizes from the recommended size 7 needles, since I'm a loose woman knitter (no, I didn't swatch; I decided to throw caution to the winds and wing it). I think I'll try size 6 needles for the next one. Already have the yarn picked out!

Lest you think I am totally unable to withstand the lure of a new project, I have two CIC FOs to show off:

Another pair of socks from the tapestry wool donated by Carla, and a vest made with two strands of sock yarn worked together. The sock yarn is kettle dyed, one skein blue, and the other purple. I like the effect produced by one color being to the fore, then the other, combined with the varying intensity of the colors. I only used about half the kettle dyed yarn, so I plan to make some socks to match.

I'm pretty happy with this vest pattern and hope to have it written up soon & posted on my free patterns page. Maybe knit it just one more time to make sure it is A-OK.

Now I'm off to pick up a pizza for dinner. I starving; there might be a piece or two missing by the time I get home.

Ye be warned

Today be talk like a pirate day. Shiver me timbers, this be more important that ye landlubbers realize! It be a lack of pirates that be causing global warming. Which, fer some cursed reason, is why a frost is predicted tonight. Arrrr--put your backs into it, ye scurvy dogs! Talk like pirates or ye'll feel the sting of me lash!

(I hope this works. I don't want my pitiful scrap of a garden to freeze tonight.)

Somebody stop me

For some time, I've been thinking about knitting a bathroom rug. I certainly need a new one, and shopping for yarn is a lot more fun than shopping for rugs. I hadn't decided on a pattern yet, but I tentatively purchased some yarn sometime back:


I wish I had more of the yellow, or maybe some blue. I have no idea if this yarn is available any more. Didn't stop me from buying it, tho'.

Another project on the back burner was new throw pillows for the living room. The ones we have now belong to the b/f, and G-d only knows how old they are. They certainly predate my arrival. I've been thinking about possible patterns since, oddly enough, shopping for yarn is also more fun than shopping for throw pillows.

Since I started the Princess Blankie, I've been thinking that our bedspread has seen better days. A little voice has been whispering that maybe, just maybe, a mitered sock yarn bedspread would be just the ticket.

Then I bought this:

Yes, I know, I'm late to the MDK party. For some reason, the book just didn't grab me at first. But it has grabbed me now, and with a vengeance. My mind is swirling with possibilities: log cabin bathrugs, or maybe a log cabin bedspread, that ballband dishcloth might look nice in bathrug size, what about a log cabin throw pillow....

Now that I'm just about finished with the second pair of CIC socks (just one toe to graft, and a few ends to weave), I'm thinking that it would be OK if I allowed myself to cast on for a ballband dishcloth. I mean, it's such a small project. Hardly worth thinking about. But a dissenting voice has been issuing dire warnings; something about a "gateway drug".

I think I'm in trouble.

One down

Well, I managed to finish up one pair of socks over the weekend:

I would have done more, but I ended up going car shopping. Not that I desparately need a new car or anything, but I've been thinking it was time to replace Penny Mustang. I didn't buy one, but I did fall in love with this beauty:

It's a Pontiac Solstice, and if the dealership had actually had one in yellow, I doubt that anything would have stopped me from driving it home. The pictures don't do it justice, IMO; it is jaw-dropping gorgeous. I haven't driven one yet; the dealership pretty much wanted you to promise to buy it before you would be allowed to test drive it.

I did test the '07 Mustang and the '06 Jeep Wrangler (how's that for variety?). The Mustang handled very well; they've made some nice improvements over the '98 I currently have. The Jeep was a fun drive, too, and would certainly be handy for my job. But it was the Solstice that I dreamed about @ night. The Solstice I picture myself caressing washing and waxing. The Solstice that would, I'm absolutely sure, make me the coolest knit blogging network administrator on the planet (and that's a lot to overcome).

Too Many WIPs

I usually have only a few items on the needles at a time: a pair of socks for me, a pair for CIC, and maybe one other item. But right now I'm somewhat out of control. I have, of course, the Princess Blankie:

Progress is somewhat slow right now because, a: I have so many yarns to choose from each time I start a new square, and b: cats keep jumping up on my lap and curling up on the blankie when I'm working on it. A good sign, IMO.

Next is a pair of socks for CIC:


This is made with the tapestry yarn kindly donated by Carla. I need to wind another skein in order to continue. Instead of doing so, however, I started this:


Another pair of CIC socks with more tapestry wool. On this pair, I'm using the yarn doubled.

Then I have my own neglected summer anklets:


I have been knitting them with metal size 1 dpns, and I really don't like metal needles, especially fiddly skinny metal needles. So this week I ordered myself some bamboo size 1s, in the hope that I will then finish them in time to wear them next summer.

I also have one-half of a pair of wool/alpaca socks that have been languishing since I started the summer anklets. Convinced that I will finish the anklets soon and return to this pair, I have had the finished sock, the second ball of yarn, and the dpns sitting on the couch all summer.

This is the sort of thing that causes my b/f to sigh and look heavenward for strength.

Last, but not least, is another CIC vest:


I got the ribbing done, then discovered I didn't have the right size circ for the rest. Got them when I ordered the bamboo size 1 dpns, so I'm itching to get back to work on this.

Since we are poised on the brink of a long weekend, I am really going to try to convert some of these WIPs to FOs. Speaking of FOs, I do have one to show off:


CIC socks, made with more of Carla's tapestry wool. I am totally in love with the red toes. I need me a pair of socks with red toes. Somebody, please keep me from casting on another project this weekend!