May 13, 2008

The One Who Loves You The Most

This past weekend, being Mother's Day weekend and all, was naturally spent with our families.  Saturday Kev and I drove to Toronto to meet up with my parents and siblings at my sister's place. While we spent the day appreciating Mom, we were also celebrating my sister's 2nd ever Mother's Day as well as her birthday (lucky gal!).  Her loving husband had gifted her with her own copy of Guitar Hero so there were lots of laughs.  I have to say that I don't think I did too badly for my first try at the game!
So now that the festivities are over, I can finally tell you about a couple of the projects I've had to keep secret until now.  I don't know if either my mother or my sister might be reading this blog at any given time so I just couldn't risk spoiling the surprise...you understand, I'm sure. :)  So here are a couple of finished objects for your viewing pleasure.

First off is the gift for my mother.  She's a big tea fan so I thought up a nice tea-themed gift that allowed me to make something for her as well.  Enter my first chance to use my copy of Last Minute Knitted Gifts.  I knit up the tea cozy pattern which was a nice easy pattern that yields very attractive results.  I put it into a little basket with some luxurious loose-leaf teas from one of our local tea houses and a little tea strainer that can be used in either a single cup or a full pot to make tea.  Kev and I found a pretty little tea mug and signed her up for a subscription to one of her favourite magazines and presto!  Instant relaxation in a box for a mother who has given so much of herself to others.

Teacozy

Pattern: Cashmere Tea Cozy from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn:  Bernat Denim Style in Cream colour.  (ACKrylic yarn for easy washing!)
Needle Size:  5.0mm straights
Mods:  None
Notes: This was a great pattern knit on two needles.  I chose yarn in a cream colour to coordinate with her kitchen decor.  I also used ACKrylic since it is easy to wash and honestly, I didn't want my mother worrying about getting it stained if I used a more luxurious yarn.  Her tea cozies tend to get a lot of use, so having to wash it by hand seems a little cumbersome to me.
This was a fast knit, true to the time limit given in the book and had such a great texture to the fabric that I'm thinking of doing a cardigan for myself in a similar pattern.  It's simple, yet attractive. :)

Next finished project is my sister's birthday/mother's day gift.  I felt kind of bad about combining both celebrations into one gift, but I think the gift made up for it.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a good picture of her wearing the scarf since the light wasn't great for taking pictures at the time so you're going to have to settle for the WIP photo instead.  Hopefully I'll be able to get one later to update my project photos in Ravelry.  Here are the stats:

Montegobay

Pattern:  Montego Bay by Amy Singer (Interweave Knits Summer 2007)
Yarn:  Handmaiden SeaSilk 150 in the Glacier colourway
Needles: 5.0mm straights
Mods:  None
Notes:  This pattern was easy to memorize and a real joy to knit.  Being my first time actually knitting with this beautiful yarn, I wasn't disappointed.  The seasilk was exquisite and will make for an excellent summer scarf.  It's so unbelievably soft and has really beautiful drape, I want to make one of these scarves for myself now!

I used my 150 g skein (I don't think you can get this yarn in that size skein anymore)  and so I still have some of it left in this colour way (hooray!).  Now, I want to find a pattern to make with what is left over...hmmm.  Any suggestions?

All good things,
Morrighana

May 12, 2008

More Thrilling Than A Theme Park

Erm...yeah, I'm not good with heights...yet I cannot look away.

I found this video this morning while Googling errata for the book No Sheep For You.  Go figure... ha ha!
At any rate, it's definitely worth a watch.  I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.  I swear, just when you think it can't get any freakier, it does...

Knitting content later today, stay tuned.
All good things, Morrighana

May 08, 2008

Tuto Finito!

Okay, join me now as I breathe a GIANT sigh of relief....ready?
AHHHhhhhhhhhhhhh....I am so happy.

As of May 5th 2008 we have:

1.  Secret Project for family member that might be reading this blog?  DONE!
2.  Which Came First? by Anna Hrachovec pattern that I'm making for my co-worker's son?  DONE!
3.  Baby blanket for my Mom-to-be-coworker-who-is-likely-being-induced-as-I-write-this?  NOT done...which is okay because I just got my invitation to her shower which is in JUNE!  So I now have a bit of breathing room to finish it.

HOORAY!  I am so happy right now to have my knitting obligations complete...or at least mostly.  Heh heh...

  I'm also a little overwhelmed though.  I mean, I have been passing the time as I've been working on these projects busying my mind with what I would like to knit once they are done, and friends...let's just say this is more than a small list.  *rubs hands together gleefully*

Oh where to start??  Obviously I will be pouncing on my Peacock Feather's Shawl just about as soon as I get home from work tonight, but that's a long term project remember.  I'll also need to satisfy my urge to complete another project before the shawl is done so that's where my Tomato which I've been positively ITCHING to begin again after having to frog it a while ago could come in...and then those Koigu mittens I was thinking of.  Sure it's not the right season for them, but I think they would make for great warmer weather knitting since they are so small...oh the CHOICES!!

I also cast on two days ago , and will cast off tonight for another secret family gift project that I found in Last Minute Knitted Gifts.  I'm so happy to be finally knitting out of this book.  I originally bought it for the Chevron Scarf pattern, but an event has come up that put the book into action as it was meant to be.  I'll post some pics up on Monday of both my secret projects.

Pictures to come, my friends.  Hope you are having a great day!
All good things,
Morrighana

May 04, 2008

Snowdropped

Snowdropprogress2 Remember this?  Ahhh...I was so proud of it.  I poured my heart and soul into it during the time I worked on it because, for me, it was a complex project.  At the time, it was a standard I wanted to achieve in my knitting so I could show it to the woman who designed it when I met her at her book launch.  Thinking of this shawl today, I'm still cringing about what she must have thought...

I know at the time, you all offered me so much support with my version of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Snowdrop Shawl and I appreciate all of it.  It feels so good to have you all out there, cheering me on in my knitting adventures.  I really enjoy your feedback and also any restraint you might be exercising when you view the photos of my work.  From the bottom of my heart, thank you.  It means an awful lot to me to have you guys out there.

Unfortunately (and this in NO WAY reflects my opinion of your advice regardless of my awful segue) today I frogged this shawl like a mad woman.  That's right, the Snowdrop, she is no more.

"Why??" you might ask?  "But it was almost done!" I hear you say.  Well I'll tell you why.

I think I had gotten to a point where the shawl, having sat in it's Ziploc bag with the air all squeezed out of it, in the bottom of my "projects basket" in the basement (read: where bad projects go to die)  for so long that I pushed it out of my mind.  Or maybe I put it there because I wanted to push it from my mind.  I think somewhere along the line I decided I wasn't crazy about where I was taking the shawl.  This is particularly funny to me because it was very close to completion and I even showed it to the Harlot, herself.  Admittedly, when I showed it to her I wasn't totally satisfied with it then, either. 

The colours just seemed too busy to me.  I felt they were preventing the viewer from seeing the pattern for the colours.  I had bought all of those beautiful skeins of Koigu for Charlotte's Web which would have worked well for THAT pattern, but when used on the Yarn Harlot's beautiful Snowdrop shawl  turned it into what I felt was a technicolor nightmare.

The deal was sealed subconsciously for me when, having presented the shawl to Ms. McPhee for her inspection, she kind of got this slightly incredulous look on her face and murmured to herself  "That doesn't even look like my pattern..."   I watched her gently spread the shawl out with her hands to get a better look, and as she furrowed her brow a bit I think my subconscious furrowed it's brow too.  In my heart of hearts, I knew the colours just were NOT working on that shawl.  The Snowdrop pattern deserves a good, solid colour (ahem...like white maybe?) and the bright bold colours that I was using were just not doing that beautiful pattern any justice.  Even if it was my beloved Koigu.

At any rate, I'm actually pretty excited now that I've frogged it.  I managed to reclaim a pant load of my precious Koigu in colours that I still find very attractive so long as they are using their powers for good instead of evil.

So on Sunday afternoon, while I took a break from finishing Which Came First?, I set up my ball winder and gently frogged the shawl and then wound the yarn into four pretty balls that are now nestled back into my stash, just waiting for the perfect pattern to show them off.
I'm thinking of attempting either the Anemoi mittens or the Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang with some of it.  I have some light pink Koigu that would go quite well with the multicolour pink/purple/red skein of Koigu I took from the shawl.  I love the stained glass effect that I've seen some knitters achieve when they use a solid as the main colour and then detail in the variegated yarn.

Rest assured that no matter which pattern I choose in the end, I'll certainly be paying more attention to the yarn colours I choose.

 

P.S.  Incidentally...try saying Koigu 10 times fast...*snicker*  I swear it cannot be done!

All good things,

Morrighana

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