MIssion Possible 2008

There's a group on Ravelry named as above. I've read through the "rules" and the message posts. It sounds like a good idea. I could use a little push to clear up some knitting room, both literally and figuratively. You are to find 12 things that need to be addressed in your ufo's or stash. It's pretty loose, and can be a combination of things. I'm even thinking about paring down some of my knitting library as part of this project. Anything you don't complete by December 31, 2008, you are supposed to donate somewhere or burn. If you burn it, you're supposed to videograph the burning and post that on YouTube.

Off the top of my head, these things are burning the biggest holes in the pocket of my soul.

1. Kimono Shawl, a ufo

2. Green & Turquoise Big Sweater

3. The Idena Big Sport Cotton yarn in orchid. Yessir, yessir, 2 bags full

4. The original batch of Due Chine

5. Niko's sweater from 2005--knit, frog, or get off the pot!

As for the other 7, there are sooo many choices and I have some other notions, but I have to think on them awhile. I don't want to be too hasty and make committments to deal with things of which I won't. Trying to find the balance between realistic and inspiring action.

If I had ever figured out how the hell to put a button on the sidebar, I'd put the Mission Possible one there. For members of Ravelry, here's a link to the group: Mission Possible Group.

Objets de finisshemont

F.O. Fschmom Socks

These socks were made for my Knitty sock swap pal, Fschmom. They were due Labor Day. They weren't done on Labor Day. As a matter of fact they weren't done for a long time after that. But now they've been completed for a while, hanging out, waiting for me to wash them and mail them. In the mean time Fschmom hurt her arm and can't knit. I certainly hope what little knitting she can do now isn't spent knitting socks for me. O, the guilt! I hope the socks fit her. I'm a little worried about the arch being too tight. We wear the same size and they are a little tight on me. I always assume that other people have finer ankles, wrists, and fingers than I do. This has worked so far.

Color disclaimers: The most accurate color is in the bulletin board photo--naturally the least clear photo. There is no pink in this color scheme. There is a lot of soft salmon/rust. I borrowed a pic of the yarn from the Lorna's Laces website. The beads are bright, clear red which is a color not found in the sock, but I like the way it looks, because I believe it attracts attention.

Details:

Pattern: Rolling Thunder by Sivia Harding

Location: Knitty.com

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Irving Park

Needles: dpns, 2.25 for top of cuff, 2.0 for remainder

Techniques: Cuff down, hemmed, flap heel, very tightly knit probably 8-9 stitches per inch.

So Many Things to Knit

There are so many things to knit, especially now that there is a dusting of snow on the ground and the temperature is below freezing even in daylight. Wristwarmers-neckwarmers-Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride worsted gloves for me. My fingers want to feel the spring of real wool across the needles and the teasing catch of mohair and the tiny whisper of angora. Shhh.

I'm making progress on this silk, bamboo, and wool stole. (50% bamboo, 25% silk, 25% wool. I'm about half way. The colors are beautiful and it's exciting to see it reaching garment status, but it's not as much fun the way it hangs on the needles. That's more because of the materials, than the size of the object, but it's both. The yarns are soft and yummy to the surface touch but as drapey as I intended. There is the possibility that I may have to knit onto each end because it may be a mite short in length. I just have to see how it behaves when it's off the needles. I don't mind that at all. I'm almost hoping for it so I can flex a little creativity and give it a bit more personality.

Baby Hat Revisited & Socks

Here is a better, but still lousy picture of the baby hat for Ethan and 1 and 1/5 of the matching socks. (The second sock is now finished.) I still couldn't get the color right on the hat, so let me throw in the 1,0o0 words that this picture isn't worth. The green of the sock is warmer than in the picture. In fact, it's KnitPicks Essential sock yarn in the color Grass. Here's a picture that I borrowed from Ravelry. It's more accurate than KnitPick's own picture. As a matter of fact, my picture is better than that of KnitPicks. They really should look into that.

Back to the hat. So the green yarn was held together with a self striping yarn in which every other stripe was gray and white mixed like a ragg. The remaining stripes were bright green, orange and hot pink. When knit together, the green of the Essential became infused throughout whereas in my picture it only appears as a stripe. The whites and oranges in the picture are much less prominent and a quick glance might not evev reveal that it is striped. Altogether, it is much warmer than the picture, and quite appealing.