So I've gotten back into my knitting groove, I think. I've been knitting a whole lot lately. I made (finally) a bunch of new dishcloths, and I think that's what sparked it. Surprisingly enough, this is the very first time I've tried the ever-popular Ballband Dishcloth from Peaches and Creme, eternalized in Mason-Dixon Knitting. But, I was bored, and wanted something easy to knit, that looked good, and we needed dishcloths. So. I learned that I have HORRENDOUSLY loose gauge. I used 34 stitches on 3.5 mm needles, with Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, and still managed to turn out a 9x9-ish dishcloth. (For anyone that doesn't know, the pattern calls for 45 stitches. Though I don't know necessarily how the Bernat compares to the Peaches.) But anyways. No pictures of that, because they're just dishcloths. But then. I picked up the PJ socks again. (I might have done this earlier, actually. Like, back when I posted about starting socks from the top again, to see if I finish more of them) The first one of the last pair is now done, and I like the way it looks. I might need to get ahold of a scale, though, to make sure I have enough yarn left to do the last one. It worked out nicely, and I'm looking forward to doing the next one. The tops and toes and heels are all done un-striped. Well, as much as they can be, considering I'm using self-striping yarn to begin with.
The inside and the outside of the heel and the gusset. I like it. A lot. I didn't really think about the fact that the colour sections would line up the way they did, but it's good. I'm pleased, and I'm hoping that the next one works as well as this one did. (No, I do not have bigger pictures, because I fail at taking pictures that are non-blurry when they are bigger than these ones)
And more knitting, even. Last time Sir Marksman and me were on the Island, for birthday celebrations, I pulled out the sock in progress. The one you just saw pictures of. And Tim peeked over my shoulder and asked, oh-so-nonchalantly, "do you knit gloves?" And I said that, well, I suppose I could, but I'd never done it before. Which prompted a discussion, where we talked about how a forestry engineer can't wear real gloves, because they need their fingertips too often. And ended with me getting hand measurements so as to knit some fingerless gloves. I debated making Cigar, from Knitty, but that didn't pan out. So, I did a gauge swatch (gasp!) and wrote my own pattern. It took me three tries to get it right, but it worked out nicely. It was also pretty much the quickest project ever that was not a hat or a dishcloth. (It turns out I work well on a deadline.) And yesterday was the BC-Yukon Queen's Venturer Ceremony out at Government House in Victoria. I had, in the morning, only just finished the ribbing on the second glove. But I had a 2 hour ferry ride and 40 minute drive and a LONG ceremony to sit through. And at the end of the ceremony, I had two fingers left. To knit, that is. And it looked like we weren't going to make it to the 5pm ferry anyways, and the 7pm from Nanaimo was going to be the new Coastal Renaissance, so Andrew suggested heading up-island instead of waiting around. Me, being the resourceful Rover I am, asked if we could make a quick stop enroute. Ladysmith is, after all, on the way from Victoria to Nanaimo. And I had at least an hour to finish two fingers and weave in some ends. And so we made a surprise visit, and I dropped off some fingerless gloves, and we caught the new ferry home. The gloves turned out surprisingly well, I think, considering I've only done mitten-type things before, closely following a pattern. And I have a new favourite increase. Knitting into the stitch below (either before or after your current stitch) is going to be my standby for a while I think. I like it a whole lot more than m1's (mine always leave holes, even if I use the m1a (picking up the "bar" between stitches) method, and I've never really liked the way a kfb looks. So I decided to try something new, and behold! It works!
No holes, and no untidy purl-esque stitches. I am a happy knitter. And Tim is a very happy forestry engineer, who hopefully no longer has cold hands. I forget how fulfilling gift-knitting is.
For the sake of it, because I suppose I should write these things down somewhere, that was two strands of Four Seasons "sockenwolle" on 3mm needles, with a gauge of 5.5 stitches per inch. In navy blue, from some kind of kit my aunt bought and gave me the solid coloured yarn from. I think it went to good use.
And that sash, in the first glove picture, is the Metis sash from Marksman back in October. We've determined it's a +3 conversation starter and a +5 charisma when the person you're talking to is either a) of aboriginal descent or b) knows what it is (probably because of a). Case in point? When Hon. Steven Point, Lieutentant Governor of BC, and the very first Aboriginal to hold said position, was finished with the official-type picture taking yesterday, he came over to talk to me. Because I was wearing my sash. And Marg-mom, when I dropped off the gloves, gave me a new/shiny/clean one, because "if [I was} going to wear one, it shouldn't be one of [Marksman's] old beat-up ones. Wheeha.
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