Citrine Socks

This is the first shipment of the Jewelbox Lace Club.  A Renee Leverington of Goddess Knits club.  The theme is jewels, hence the Citrine.  This is my first pair of socks with beads.  They look very pretty, but feel a little odd.  If I had them to do over, I would make the cuffs longer.  I have noticed this before with Renee's sock patterns, the cuffs are not very long.  This usually works well on me, because I have muscular calves, and I have had problems with socks being too tight, but on this sock I would have liked a little more length in the cuff.  Still, they fit well enough, and my kitchener stitch skills are steadily improving.  The yarn is nice to work with, and I have a fair bit left over.  I love the color.

Pattern:  Citrine Socks
Yarn:  Decadently Divine Decadent Sock Light (463 yds, 100 gr) in Citrine
Designer:  Renee Leverington, Goddess Knits
Needle Size:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Mystery Sock 2011.1 - Finished!

Just finished my second sock.  I am finally getting the hang of the Kitchener Stitch at the toe.  I am actually good at Kitchener Stitch in other knitting applications where I can lay the two pieces of knitting flat so I can see what I am doing, but in the toe you don't get that luxury and working in the small space and with the needles in the way makes it more challenging.  I used the tutorial at Knitty.

And here is a beauty shot of the Avira shawl:

Mystery Sock 2011.1 - One sock finished

I finally finished up one of the socks for the Mystery Sock 2011.1.  The pattern is called Snowdrift.  It is by Renee Leverington of GoddessKnits.  The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Select in Sugar Maple, 100% Superwash Merino.  I still have trouble with the Kitchener stitch at the toe, but hopefully I'll get better with practice, and I plan on getting lots of practice this year.  Now, back to the second sock...

Mystery Shawl 21 - Clue 1

Goddess Knits Mystery Shawl 21 started last weekend.  I finally cast on today and finished up clue 1.  I was waiting on beads.  The first clue is always a very quick knit.  I still have not done Mystery Shawls 18, 19 and 20 or finished the Fall 2010 Mystery Shawl.  But that is okay.  I have lots of projects going at once right now, but it is not stressing me.  I just alternate between the projects in a sort of round-robin fashion and I am enjoying the variety.  The biggest challenge is finding places to stash them where they are not in the way, but not completely put away.

The yarn is Decedently Divine Decadent Lace, also by Goddess Knits, 100% Merino, 100 g, 880 yards.  The color is Living Coral.  The beads are 2-08-228-76 (Beadcats stock no.) red transparent silver-lined matte irid.

Athena Fingerless Mitts - One Done

I finally finished my first fingerless mitten.  It only took me three tries.  The fit still isn't quite perfect, but it is not bad, not bad at all.  I had to modify the pattern somewhat.  The first time I knit the mitten it came out boxy and was way too big at the wrist.  So I made the cuff smaller by 8 stitches, and added the stitches back in on the first row of the hand chart.  I also started the thumb gusset on row 3 of the first repeat of the hand chart.  Once I had increased the appropriate number of stitches I kept knitting and didn't  stop working the gusset stitches until I had completed 5 repeats of the hand chart.

I really love this yarn.  The subtle yet intricate variegation of the colors is simply gorgeous.  The yarn is Zen Yarn Garden Superwash Sock, 400 yards, 100 g, in colorway Athena, specially dyed for the ZenGoddess Lace Club.  The pattern is by Renee of GoddessKnits.

Mystery Sock 2011.1 - Clue 2

Finished up Clue 2 this morning while listening to Car Talk.  I am loving this yarn and the color.  The only problem with Mystery Socks is that the clues only come out once a week, so I have to wait and I just want to finish these socks so I can wear them to work.

Mystery Sock 2011.1 - Clue 1

Another of my resolutions for the New Year is to knit more socks.  I have only recently been bitten by the sock bug.  They are a lot of fun to knit and there are so many cool sock yarns.  Last week I started a Mystery Sock Knit-Along by Renee Leverington of Goddess Knits.  I've been knitting her Mystery Shawls for a while now, but this is the first Mystery Sock that I have done.  The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Select in Sugar Maple.  I love the colors and the way the scrunches in the cuff interact with them.  As can be seen in the picture I am knitting both socks at the same time, from opposite ends of the ball.  That way, when I finish the last clue I will have both socks done, avoiding the one sock blues.

Winter Mystery Shawl 2010 - Finished

I finished this up this morning.  The last clue was easy and a pretty quick knit.  I read while purling back on the wrong-side rows.  I only have 38 grams of yarn left over though, which may not be enough to make the fingerless mitts.  And here is a better picture of Miss Chatelaine, looking very Audrey Hepburn.

Winter Mystery Shawl 2010 - Clue 4 Done

I finished up Clue 4 this morning, just in time for the final clue to come out today.  I'm loving this one, the yarn is so wonderful to knit with, and the pattern is complex enough not to be boring, but still a quick knit even with the beads.  Hopefully I'll have enough yarn left over to make myself a pair of fingerless mittens.  Of course, I'm 3+ shawls behind in the Goddess Knits Mystery Shawl series, and a new one starts soon, and yes, I already have the yarn.  Plus I signed up for her Mystery Sock.  Yeah, I'm way over-committed on my knitting, but I don't care.  It keeps me off the streets and out of the pool halls.

Winter Mystery Shawl 2010 - Clue 3 Done

I finished up Clue 3 this morning.  It was a quick and easy knit, not much actual lace work, not many beads, dead simple lace pattern.  I really like this yarn.  I'm going to have to make something with the leftovers, maybe some fingerless mittens, which I think would be very elegant and warm, or a cowl.  I have recently become a convert to the cowl.  They are great when you don't want to wear a scarf but you still need some extra warmth around your neck.  The beads show up well in this photo.  They are white - Beadcats stock number 2-06-012-36 white opal matte irid.

Winter Mystery Shawl 2010 - Clue 2 Done

I spent the day watching John Wayne films on Turner Classic Movies and knitting Clue 2 of the Winter Mystery Shawl 2010.  This is another Goddess Knits design.  The yarn is a real joy to work with (a blend of Cashmere and Merino) and I love the color.  This is going to work up into a very elegant shawl, that will also be cozy.

Athena Fingerless Gloves - Cuff

This is another of the ZenGoddess Lace Club kits.  I think that this was actually the first shipment.  The colorway and the pattern were inspired by the Goddess Athena, one of my personal favorites.  The yarn is Zen Yarn Garden Superwash Sock, 100% Superwash Merino, 2-ply tight twist fingering weight.  The colorway is amazing, with beautiful, subtle variations that the photo does not do justice to.  I actually had the first glove almost finished, but when I tried it on I realized that I would have to do a fair bit of customization to get a reasonable fit.  I have very slender wrists, but my hands are fairly broad.  So I took some measurements, noted the gauge, and ripped.  My first modification was to cast on only 52 stitches for the cuff, rather than 60.  Now that I have finished the cuff, I need to increase the number stitches.  I also am planning on starting the thumb gusset earlier than the pattern calls for.

Venus Cowl

Yet another ZenGoddess Lace Club Kit.  This one is a cowl, inspired by Venus, and knit in Zen Yarn Garden Serenity Sock - 80% superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon.  I added the beads.  I tried it on, it is soft and cozy, just what we need on these cold winter days.

Isis

This is another of the ZenGoddess Lace kits.  This one is a scarf, knit in Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20 yarn.  The yarn is 70% superwash Merino, 20% Cashmere and 10% Nylon and is super soft and apparently sturdy enough to use for socks.  It would certainly make for luxurious footwear.  The inspiration for both the color-way and the pattern was the Goddess Isis.  I substituted pale yellow beads for the ones provided in the kit.

Winter Mystery Shawl 2010 - Clue 1 Done

Call me crazy.  Call me a lace and fiber addict.  I started another lace shawl this weekend.  This is the Winter Mystery Shawl 2010 from Goddess Knits and the first clue came out yesterday.  Frankly I couldn't resist casting on with this yarn.  It is scrumptious.  The yarn is from Spinning Bunny and is 80% merino, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon.  The color is Velvet Merlot.  There are beads, but they are hard to spot in this photo.  It is rather gray outside today, so I had to use the flash.  It shows up the lace pattern very well, but not the beads.  I am using white opal matte irid (Beadcats stock no:  2-06-012-36).  They contrast nicely without being garish.  I think they look like pearls, or snow, on the deep burgundy yarn.

Fall Mystery Shawl 2010 - Chart 2, repeat 1

I finished the first repeat of Chart 2, I have 4 more repeats to go.  This one is a bit harder than some of the other lace that I have done, mostly because the chart is crowded.  There is a lot going on in it.  It requires greater concentration - when I get distracted by someone talking to me I tend to lose my place and make mistakes.  Fortunately I have not made many mistakes and they have been very straightforward to fix - I catch them on the next right side row.  I really like the way the pattern is turning out.  The picture doesn't really do the beads justice, though.  The only drawback with this pattern is that I have to do the same chart 5 times, and, well, frankly, I am easily bored.  The upside is that the chart is getting pretty familiar to me already, and the key to this one is being able to read your knitting and the chart so you can keep track of where you are, and if you do get distracted you can find your place again without too much difficulty. Another factor making this shawl more challenging is the dark color of the yarn.  It is harder to see your stitches, which makes it harder to read your knitting.  Good lighting is the key here, and I have an Ott light where I sit when I knit.  All the beading really slows things down too, and breaks up the rhythm of the knitting.  But the beads do look really good, so it is worth it.

Hathor - Finished!

I've been indulging in some quick projects this past weekend.  This one was a real joy to knit, partially because of the yarn - Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20, 70% Superwash Merino, 20% Cashmere, 10% Nylon.  The pattern was also fun to knit - another Renee Leverington of Goddess Knits design.  The kit was from the ZenGoddess Lace Club.  Every kit was a different goddess.  This kit was Hathor, an Ancient Egyptian goddess who personified the principles of love, beauty, music, motherhood and joy.  Renee chose yellow for her association with the sun, and ruby beads.  I'm not sure why she picked the ruby beads, but they reminded me of pomegranate seeds, which have their own mythical significance in the story of Persephone and Hades.

Hathor

I have been wanting to cast on this project ever since I received it.  The yarn is Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20 in Hathor.  I love the color, love the yarn.  This is one of the ZenGoddess Lace Club shipments.

Fall Mystery Shawl 2010

I am so addicted to lace.  I no sooner finish one shawl when I start another.  But this time I had a bit of a quandary.  From a temporal perspective (release order) the next shawl in the sequence should have been Mystery Shawl 18, but I don't have the beads for that shawl yet.  I do, however, have a substantial bead stash, and I happened to have one bag of the beads that I had decided to use for the Fall Mystery Shawl, and seeing as how I have just completed the Summer Mystery Shawl, I could logically do the Fall Mystery Shawl next, even it is not the next shawl pattern released.

This pattern is a bit more complex than the previous ones from Goddess Knits that I have done.  There are left and right twists, plus beads.  Fortunately, Renee's patterns are logically laid out.  The yarn is Decadently Dark Decadent Lace in Decadent Cranberry.  The beads are gold opaque with colorful metallic iridescence (Beadcats stock no. 2-08-840-18).

Summer Mystery Shawl 2010 - Clue 3

I finished Clue 3 this afternoon while watching The Daily Show and Colbert Report.  We were getting caught up as we have been out of town for most of the past week.  I actually knitted most of this clue on the car ride back from Ohio on Wednesday.