I totally got out of the habit of taking pictures of works in progress during the Christmas Knitting Mania, because I knew I wouldn't be posting them until they were finished. However, given the nature of the current WIPs, it will be a long drought without pictures if I keep forgetting to do photo shoots. (Do you like how I say that like before the Christmas knitting I took WIP photos all the time? I just flipped through my archives and the only WIP photos are of the sock's cultural tour. Geez, I suck.)

Fortunately, I remembered this evening, and whipped out my new blanket, perfect for photo shoots. As I mentioned, I seem to be burgundy obsessed at the moment, so the nice light blue blanket that my in-laws bought us for Christmas will be excellent for photos of projects. I finally got around to putting the really good lamp next to my knitting chair (there is space thanks to the tidying now), so I hve reasonable light. I know you should take knitting photos in natural light, but we get very little light in our house (which has its advantages and disadvantages), and it's cold and snowy out, and I don't want to dump my knitting in the snow. So this will have to do. It's a pretty bright light, so it will do the job for now. Better solutions will be pursued.

After my surprisingly successful monogamy around Christmas, I've gone back to my usual slutty knitting. It's nice having so many things, actually - I have something different for every mood.

First up is the beginning of my beautiful, beautiful Mountain Peaks Shawl, pattern here. This pattern is fantastic. The only lace I've done is Branching Out and Pomatomus, yet I am following the charts with almost no trouble. (of course, I'm only on chart one!) Even better, when I was reading over the pattern in advance (!), I was confused about one thing emailed Miriam, and got a fast and helpful reply. Awesome! Two thumbs up for this pattern so far. We'll see how I do when I get to the short rows.

This is the silk that Beth bought me for Christmas. It is very subtly variegated, which just makes the lace look like the sun is shining on it. Glorious! It is so shimmery.





It's more burgundy and pink than it looks in those pictures - a great colour for me. I'm hoping it will go with the dress I'll have for Erin's wedding.

That's right! Erin is getting married! Ashley proposed on her birthday (January 3rd), and they're getting married next summer. (For those of you who don't pay much attention to these things, Erin was my roommate before I got married, and she was the greatest roommate ever. We had a blast. Imagine my delight when she moved into the basement suite in our house last year! So now she's my downstairs neighbour, and she was also a bridesmaid in my wedding.) Not only that, but she asked me to be her maid of honour! Whee! She's leaning towards burgundy for dresses, so I'm hoping I can wear this. (Because let's be honest here, my lifestyle does not really offer up too many opportunities to wear silk shawls.)

As previously mentioned, I have, after wanting it for well over a year, picked up Rogue. Flush with my success on Samus, I decided I was up to the task, and once I printed off the (awesome and well written) pattern, I felt pretty confident about it.

Here's its progress so far.



It's in Bartlett 2-ply yarn, which is very sheepy and full of lanolin, which means my hands are way less dry than usual. (This is clearly an excellent winter knit for Edmonton.) It's a bit scratchy, but when I washed my swatch (!) in wool wash, it got very cozy, so I think it'll be perfect. It's exactly the oatmeal-y colour I wanted.

I finished the kangaroo pocket at Stitch n Bitch the other night, which looks great. (It's a little wonky in the photo because the needles are in behind it.



I was a bit nervous about the closed cables (it says ADVANCED cable skils on the pattern, and I hate to presume about my own skills), but so far so good.



I am loving knitting this. The pattern is SO good, and it's a great mix of mindless and attention requiring. Two thumbs up! My knitting is very satisfying at the moment, can you tell?

My log cabin baby blanket is also coming along well. I'm using Trillian's technique to avoid some of the picking up, so it's scrunched up in this photo because it's all on one big circular. (I love interchangeables.) The colours are also so bright that they really don't photograph well.



I really like how the Crayon is looking in the log cabin style, and it's so nice and soft without being too heavy. Excellent for babies - I will definitely be ordering more of this.



And, finally, my thrum mittens. It's been a bit neglected this week (so many projects to choose from means some get neglected), but one is done and the other is in progress. This is a Fleece Artist Thrum Kit. Highly recommended - it's SO soft.



Outside...


And inside!



My mother was so impressed with this that she actually sort of hinted that she'd like a pair! That's totally unheard of for her. By the time I'd get a chance it'll be spring (curse you, spring babies!) but I'll hopefully be able to make her a pair for her birthday in November. (Somebody remind me in September when the babies have settled down a bit, ok? And nobody get pregnant for the next few months so I can have a lull.) She'd never heard of thrums before but apparently her hands get really cold, so it seems like the least I can do.

I have a few other things in the immediate queue - I promised a few things to people, and since poor Karen broke her hand she made a very pitiful request for a mitten that will go over her cast, which seems like a manageable project that will drastically improve her life until the cast comes off, especially once it gets colder. I'll have to figure out the best way to do it once I see the shape of the cast tomorrow. We're going to Calgary tomorrow (woohoo!), so we'll hit the yarn stores and find some nice non-wool yarn to make her some broken hand mittens.

Isn't that selfless of me? Going to the yarn store to buy yarn for my poor broken-handed friend? I know. I am a giver. Mmm, Calgary yarn stores.

Now the question is, what knitting to pack? Hmm. Decisions decisions. Unfortunately, due to broken hand I'm driving, so I won't be able to knit with my snazzy new headlamp. Poo. Still, I'm sure there will be knitting time. Maybe I'd better just pack everything.

Labels: Log Cabin, Mountain Peaks, Rogue, Thrums, WIPs