Shoot

I just saw the comment from midnight purls about the needle sizes on the sonata. I thought I had set my blog to email me when I got comments! Dang. I'm really not a swatch-and-wash girl, to the horror of some of the more experienced knitters at my Stitch n Bitch. I know I will learn my lesson soon enough...the hard way, I'm sure.

Thanks midnight purls. I like the fabric I'm getting from the 3s, hope it doesn't change too much when I wash it!

Wishy-Washy

Remember a couple posts back when I made a big deal about my orange lace RECTANGLE and how I was STICKING TO IT?

















Yeah.

This is Kiri, a totally lovely and well-written pattern by Polly of All Tangled Up. I've gone through 9.5 repeats of the lace pattern, and the whole thing is bunched up on my 12" US6 addi turbos. I have other size 6 needles, but I don't want to switch to bamboo because I think my gauge would change quite a bit.

Speaking of needles, yowza. I have resisted buying a set of Denise interchangeables because I've borrowed some and not really liked the needle tip shape (I also don't much like plastic). I'm not sure how gung-ho I am about the whole key-tightened join but maybe it's not so bad. I don't think I'd necessarily get the $60 set, maybe just some of the smaller sizes (4-8?) that I use most often. I could do that for $30, skip the carrying case (it's not all that pretty anyway), and have a pretty good set of needles. I'm waiting for more reviews to come out for now.

I realized that posting about my secret gift project wasn't going to wreck the surprise for anyone; my friend will be on her honeymoon for the next week and a half and I'll be giving it to her a week after that, and anyway the chances of her coming across this (unless she googles people she knows when she's bored, like I do) are slim. So:



















Following the instructions in the MDK book, I started this blanket with elann.com sonata and US3 needles. I'm not too jazzed about the picked-up stitches on the sides of the garter-stitch strips. Maybe they will start to look better as the blanket takes its shape. I'm doing pinks and browns, but throwing some green in there for interest. I'm planning to do a few lace strips in some of the different colors to make it a little more eclectic looking. I'm not sure if that's the word I really want to use. At any rate I think she will like it, if only as a snuggle blanket. I think it's a good wedding gift.

But don't worry, I bought her something off her registry too!

Deadlines

I thought once school was over I'd be blogging like mad, but suddenly I heard about the new Stitch n Bitch book submission deadline and I have been working on a project for it ever since. Obviously I couldn't blog my way through the pattern, so I haven't had much material to post about lately.

I was very excited to be in a town with an actual Craft Store a few weekends ago because Berkeley only has Art Stores and Yarn Shops, which don't tend to want anything to do with such a humble commodity as dishcloth cotton. Hit with the MDK dishcloth craze I bought a few balls and instantly (INSTANTLY!) wish I'd bought twice as much. Live and learn.













I'll post my dishcloths, burpcloths, etc later, in a big dramatic stack. I think they're best in big dramatic stacks, or else hanging out of the pocket of my apron. My roommate is upset about my plan to actually use them to wipe shit up, but that's what they're for, so, Tough.

I'm also almost done with Mesilla, but I dropped the neckline quite a bit and wanted to get the neck trim right, so I ended up redoing it the other day. I'm also trying to figure out the trim, because I'm not in the mood to hem it, so I might change it a little. The KnitPicks Shine Worsted is so soft, but it's also pretty thick so I don't think I'll be wearing this on really hot days.

I'm also getting a Log Cabin urge, but I won't be able to blog much about that until later, lest the giftee find out about it!