Hogwart Socks

They're finished. The design and charts needed to be modified more than once but the end result was okay. The pattern still needs a little tweeking, so I'll work on that.

Here are my "shadow knit" Hogwart socks, in Ravenclaw colors.

And when you tilt them:

The Hogwart's "H" is on the sock on the left and the Ravenclaw "R" is encased in a shield on the right sock.

Here are the details:
Pattern: Hogwart House Socks; my own design, not yet published; 2 needle; toe up pattern with short row heel; 8 inch cuff
Yarn: elann.com Sock It to Me 4 Ply; 1 ball 46460 Steel Blue, 1 ball 41759 Platinum
Color: 46460 Steel Blue, 41759 Platinum
Gauge: 8 st/inch
Needles: US#2.5/3.0mm

My comments:
This was not only my first design in shadow knitting, but also my first time shadow knitting anything. It was fun and I learned some design tips as I went along. Once I get the right colors, I look forward to designing a pair of socks for each of the houses.

Clue 1 done!

I finally had the time to sit down and finish knitting clue 1 of my Mystic Light KAL. I am so happy that I finally can cable without a needle--at least with this yarn (I had difficulty with this technique when I was working on a pair of socks). There are 3 cables: a center one and one on the beginning and ending of the row, which ends up being along the neckline. Here are some pictures:

and a close up of the center cable

and a close up of one side.

I am knitting this with Fleece Artist Sea Wool (color: amber) on size US8 needles. Clue 3 comes out today, so I need to get going on clue 2!

Cape Ann Knitting Retreat

I had a lovely weekend at the Cape Ann Knitting Retreat hosted by Claudia/CountryWool. It was a fun group, the views were amazing, and I finished my reversible baby sweater! Here is a picture of each side:

Can you spot the differences? The most obvious are:
1. The shoulder seam (knit line on right, purl on left)
2. The neckband (rolled in on left and out on right)
3. The waistband (rolled out on left and in on right)

What a great idea for a sweater. This way, if you make a mess, just flip the sweater inside-out and you're clean again (well, you look clean anyway).

I had never knit with Peace Fleece before and I really liked it. I think I see a Peace Fleece outer-wear sweater in my size in my future! The knitted sweater softened so much with a hot soaking. Claudia showed us some of her tried and true Peace Fleece garments and they looked and felt great after years of good use.

So here are my project details:
Pattern: kids' Harris Tweed Reversible Stitch Raglan by CountryWool
Yarn: Peace Fleece Worsted; 1.5 ball
Color: Zarya Fog
Gauge: 4.5 st/inch before blocking; 4 st/inch after blocking
Needles: US 8/5 mm (I used 2 circ US4/3.5mm)
Comments: Fun and quick pattern to knit. I love that you can turn it inside-out and it still looks great!

Nordic Knitting

Before I leave for my Reversible Sweater Knitting Retreat headed by Claudia/CountryWool, I want to share what I made at a past retreat.

I love this sweater--it's my absolute favorite thing to wear in the winter! I started it in 2006 at the Nordic Knitting Retreat and finished the following year at the next retreat. First I made this hat as a gauge swatch:

Look at the pretty hem (my introduction to hems--LOVE them):

This was my first big project using both hands carrying yarn (stranded color knitting). There's a great video on the technique here: Philosopher's Wool

And here are the pattern details:

Pattern: Lusekofte In The Woods Sweater & Hat by Claudia/CountryWool;
seamlessly knit in the round
Yarn: "Heilo" by Dale of Norway
Required Gauge: I don't have the pattern in front of me with all of the details
Comments: Well written pattern; fun to knit and wear!

Hopefully I will post pictures on Monday of the baby sweater I plan on starting and completing at this weekend's retreat. You can get a lot of knitting done when the kids are not around and all of your time is spent knitting! Until Monday...

Update on WIPs

I can't believe it's April already! How time does fly. I have fallen WAY behind on my knitting. My goals for March were only half met and I have a very busy April planned. Here's an update on some of my knitting:

HSS3 sock swap: I have started the first sock (these need to be completed and mailed in 2 weeks...). These are a pattern I am designing using "Shadow Knitting". The shadow design starts with the cuff, so for now you just get to see the striped foot:

Mystic Light KAL: just over half done with the first clue, and the second clue was released yesterday. I totally changed the yarn I originally planned and went with Fleece Artist "SeaWool" , colorway: Amber. I am really happy so far:

Adventures in April

I survived March, but with only half the knitting I hoped to complete. So that makes my April knitting FULL. Here are the goals:

1. HSS3 socks: Hogwarts Sock Swap socks: I need to finish knitting the socks and finish putting together my package before April 15th. I already have a couple of goodies for the package. Finished 4/29/08

2. Mystic Light KAL: Clues are released each Wednesday. I will be very happy if I can keep up with each week (I've already behind...). UPDATE: only finished clue one in April

3. Reversible baby sweater: I will be making (and finishing) this the first weekend in April at Claudia's retreat. Finished

4. Monthly Adventures (Ravelry group): Swapping yarn this month to go with the beads from last month. Soon we will be knitting bags with the beads and yarn we have received! UPDATE: swap mailed and received!

5. and 6. Project of the Month (Ravelry group): I was really hoping this group would be working on a project I could resist this month. Instead, we are doing two projects and I want to knit them both! I'll give the full details later, but the projects are "40 year felted bowl" and a knitted book cover. UPDATE: never even casted on!

7. Loose Knit Group (Ravelry and Yahoo group): We are making bags this month. I am hoping to make a twined knitting MP3 bag using the wrist warmer pattern from my Twined Knitting group (Ravelry and Yahoo group). This would be a gift for one of my girls. (Loose Knit group goal: to knit some presents before the holiday crunch!) UPDATE: yep, maybe next month...

There are other things I would like to add to the list, but the idea here is to make it possible for me to complete everything. So I will not add anything else for this month and will try my best to complete all 7 goals!