Koigu Falling Leaves: Done?

I'm not feeling the love....

After getting off to a great start with the magic cast on, I had a hell of a time with the short-row heel. I ripped it out three times, and I'm still not happy with how it turned out on one side (the side not photographed), but I don't think the wool can take another trip to the frog pond. I tried kind of a ruffly (super stretchy) cast-off, and I'm not very happy with it either! So I think I will rip it back to before the ribbing, do another repeat of the lace pattern, then rib again and finish with a flatter bind-off. Then we'll see about Sock No. 2....

Exciting Sock Update

Frogged. It was too skinny to fit over my foot or my mother's narrower foot.



Reborn. Knitty's Falling Leaves. It's going great. Maybe I'm starting to feel just a little love for the sock...

New Chicks Hatched this Morning

Talk about your cute overload! I think the black and white chick is out of the Barred Rock hen; who knows about the grey/yellow with peach face?

New Sock

The broadripple didn't fit -- way too tight -- so it was into the frog pond. I've now started on the toe-up Falling Leaves Knitty pattern, using the Magic Cast On. It's at the funny looks-like-a-Toblerone stage.

Sock Update

We are at the very exciting heel flap stage! Do you like my sock blocker - a Vitamin B bottle?

I am trying to knit this thing continental style, as I firmly believe that is a faster method of knitting than my right-hand-throwing technique (self-taught). I am doing OK on the knit rows, but I just can't get the hang of purling continental, so I am throwing the purl rows. Perhaps Bridget will show me the error of my ways this weekend in between wrangling dogs....

Charis Had a Good Day Today

Charis, Traveler and Vita ran (and showed) at the Lower Mainland Whippet Association's "show & go" today. There were ten greyhounds running, which is a really good entry for our area. Charis won Best of Breed in greyhounds, then went on to win Best in Field! Then, to top it off, she went Winner's Bitch (and Best Opposite Sex) in the show, winning her first show points (two).

Traveler placed third in the lure course and second (aka last) in open males in the show ring. Vita finished out of the points in the lure course and decided she was too pooped to show.

This is Charis standing in front of all her loot and ribbons. The big green thing is a dog bed.

It was a fun day spent just relaxing with Bridget and Jason, except for when our dogs were running. We (B and I) even got in some knitting!

First Step in the Sock Pool

So here's my first attempt at knitting a sock. It's Knitty's Broadripple, knit on two 2mm Addis in Koigu KPPPM.

I gotta say, I'm not feeling the love so far.

Couch Potatoes Part Two

Frosty and Vita share the couch, sort of.

Amazing Lace Challenge #4

Print O' The Waves is at the Shapeless Sack Stage, so what better for storing the stash?

Since I am knitting this in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted "Forest" instead of the recommended laceweight or cobweb yarn, this sucker is BIG. There are probably a dozen big skeins of wool inside the Print O' Waves Sack, not counting all the ones sticking out the top.

This photo was taken partway through the eyelet round. Getting into the home stretch now!

I am knitting this on a crappy old plastic circ I've had for a hundred years. Look at that one disgusted stitch, teetering on the very tip of that horrid plastic point, poised to leap to its doom rather than spend ONE MORE SECOND on that vile plastic needle. I am really covetting the Knitpicks Options right now....

Frosty

Frosty, aka Toe Boy, aka Frosty the Snow Dog, aka HR's Frosty ORC, is the old man around here. He'll be 12 in October.
He retired from pro racing at the age of three, and I got him a few weeks after that. He raced at Multnomah. Pedigree here.

Chick Pic

The beautiful golden hen is an Ameraucana (or maybe an Easter Egger), the silver chick is an Ameraucana/unknown cross. This chick, which I think is a pullet, is five weeks old.

The second photo is the chick and her brother (I think!) taken about a week after hatching.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbours

Hope springs eternal. Maybe today the fence will fall down.

A Visitor

Spotted this young Blue Heron just outside the chicken yard fence this morning. There is a small colony of them nesting in the trees above my garage.

More Distraction: Print O' The Wave

Yet another lace pattern, this time Print O' The Wave from See Euny Knit.

I appear to be fixated on knitting lace in worsted and sport weight yarns. This is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted "Forest" again, still in search of the perfect pattern for it. Do we have a winner yet?

I should be working on the Snowdrop Shawl...

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted "Forest" Swatches

This wool looks so pretty on the skein, but I'm having a lot of trouble finding a stitch pattern that works for it. So I've tried a few swatches: these two are the latest. The one on the left is the herringbone rib, the one on the right is the snowdrop shawl pattern. Any opinions on which is the winner, if either?

Amazing Lace Team

Black Pearl Snowdrop Shawl


Yarn Harlot's Snowdrop Shawl

http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/images/Snowdrop_Shawl_v1.0.pdf



One skein of Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace in Black Pearl

50% silk/50% wool, 1200 yards

So far, so good...

So I grab my trusty 4mm aluminum circular and get started.

First off, this yarn is FINE; it's like two sewing threads twisted together, I've never knit with anything this skinny before. Sock yarn is bulky compared to this stuff.

Secondly, my old aluminum needles are too slippery for this yarn, so it's off to the yarn store tomorrow to pick up a wood circ.

Third, I think my gauge is a bit loose, so I think I'll go down to a 3mm needle.

Fourth, the needles need to be a bit pointier to sneak around this thread-like yarn.

Outside!

She took them outside this morning, which involved an 8 inch jump from the chicken coop doorway to the ground. Guess I'd better put up a ramp for them. Cute little puffballs, aren't they? Unfortunately, one of the yellow chicks died in the night and the last two eggs weren't viable.

Chicks

One day old chicks. Dad's a grey and copper Ameraucana, moms are any of Buff Orpington (my guess for the blond chicks), Isa Brown, Ameraucana, Turken, Barred Rock.

Chicks Hatching

The chicks started hatching this morning. So far there are three, with three eggs left to go. This very blurry and dark photo shows mom and her chicks still inside her cozy cat crate. I'll try for some decent photos of the chicks tomorrow.

Couch Potatoes

Houseguest Cherry Bomb and Charis having a nap together.