Persistent Knitter

I finally purchased the Rogue pattern. Here are some pictures of this simple beauty for those of you who haven’t heard of it yet: http://www.sheeweknits.com/rogue.htm

I’m thinking this might be the next sweater for ME. I’m cranking on Hardangervidda lately (although that might be interrupted by me starting back to work next week. Bleah), although I’m a bit tempted to start Ingeborg before starting the sleeves for that one. I’ve got several possiblities for the yarn in my stash for this sweater. Mission Falls 1824 Wool (oooh sooo soft); Rowan Wool Cotton; Rowan 4 ply cotton and some All Seasons Cotton. I’ve got a skein of 2nd time cotton to try out - it’s a tweedy yarn (each ply is a different color) but knits up very soft. Not sure it’d be right for this project - good thing I only have a skein.

I also have that wonderful Rick Rack 100% rayon yarn to play with, but I’m still toying with ideas in my head on that one. So far I’ve managed to break my ball winder winding up one of the skeins. This is not a yarn to mess with lightly :) I have replaced my ball winder and vow to never again let my 2 year old play with it again - she started the breaking process and I finished it by daring to use the ball winder for it’s intended purpose).

So what am I really working on? Hardangervidda of course. (No new pictures, just imagine a few more rows done) Here are some sock projects I just started:

On the left, the Sock of the Month (May 2004) from theknitter.com using Bearfoot. So far I’ve only done the ribbing - which is a cute little shell rib. It took me until I got this far to make sure I was doing it right; it’s pretty subtle. The rest of the pattern makes little butterflies on the leg. It should be a very pretty sock and the yarn is sooooo soft. On the right are socks I started for my daughter. I laid out all my various Opal sock yarns (most self patterning) and let her pick the color. So far it’s just 48 stitches in a simple k2p2 ribbed cuff, and I’ve switched to a k3p1 rib for the main part of the leg. I have only spent an hour or so on it at this point - they should go pretty fast.

Some of the people in my knitting group have asked "How can you get so much knitting done with two kids?". Well, my daughter goes with her two friends & a nanny during the day, and Alex spends most of his time doing this:

Such a peaceful sleeping baby. I had put him in the swing for a few minutes while I finished this entry and when I turned back around - voila - sleeping baby! :)

My husband saw this book on the counter:

and asked, "What next, Extreme Knitting!??!". I was fairly amused by the idea. We started tossing around things like Bungee jumping while knitting! Or maybe sky diving while knitting? All a bit crazy for me. I’m lucky to get in some knitting while sitting on my couch.

The book is pretty cool - it shows numerous edgings for sweaters/other stuff and really great pictures. I could have used this when I was designing Flashy Lace, as I originally wanted to do a lacy edging and then a more stockinette body. Owell - I think Flashy Lace came out ok anyway. I can’t wait until it gets cooler again so I can actually wear the darn thing.

Hardangervidda
I’m making superb progress on Hardangervidda. Of course I haven’t posted in forever, so you’ve got some catching up to do.
First there was this:

Then this:

And finally tonite:

Woohoo!!! I’m so glad I’m making good progress, and it’s much more interesting knitting the pattern part. I think once I get the body of this done, I’ll start up Ingeborg’s body. (My mom is visiting this week, so I can re-measure her to make sure I’m making the right size). I have also started a few sock projects but no pics on those cuz I’m all picture-d out for now.

I have pictures in the camera (ok, one picture), but no motivation to pull it out and post it. I’ve done 6″ on the stockinette portion of Hardangervidda, and have 6 more inches to go before starting the next pattern section. I’m really cruising along! It goes pretty fast and being able to pick it up at any time during the day when I have a spare moment helps - the moments really add up.

On another note, Ingrid posted that she wanted one of these SpaceBoard thingies. After clicking on the link and seeing it, I want one too!!! Anyone know of a local place to get one in the Denver Metro area? I’d like to avoid paying shipping if possible. I might get time later today to do some calling around, but not likely unless my kids both nap at the same time!