And yet a new toy

Introducing my new Kromski Harp, better know to the family as Harpie:



I blame this one on one of the girls from Stash and Burn, who started weaving a while ago. Interesting enough, nobody in my family seemed surprised to see a loom showing up, I guess since I knit, I spin, I dye yarn, and I make candles and soaps, they were just wondering how come no weaving so far. As long as sheep do no show up in the backyard ....

My first weaving project has come up a little rigid: newbie mistake, I beat the hell out of the weft:



My second project was supposed to be a table mat, but I completely screwed up the calculation for the warping, so I have no idea what it will be (pictures as soon as I figure it out.)

But I am still knitting, I finished my latest Jaywalkers:

Really?

I have been back for 2 weeks and I haven't posted anything yet? Summer days do fly by, maybe I should imitate Susan and establish here a policy of Five on Friday too.

Anyway, do I have 5 things to report? Let's see.


Pattern: Oak Ribbed Socks
Yarn: Baby og Hosegarn
Ravelry project page here

I started these sock on plane to Amsterdam and I completed them few days before coming back. As all the patterns from Knitting Vintage Socks, I love them!


Pattern: Yarrow Ribber Socks
Yarn: Poems Socks
Ravelry project page here

Hollis got her her first shipment of this sock yarn last February at Stitches West, and I immediately grabbed a skein: among the long color run sock yarns, this is definitely my favorite!


Pattern: Jaywalker
Yarn: Regia Canadian Color
Ravelry page here

Yes, I did start another Jaywalker, my default sock pattern, on the plane ride back home.

I did work on my Sugar Maple Shawl and I happy to report that I have to finish the last repeat, knit the border (the orginal pattern did not have a border, but I have decided to add one) and then I am done!

The Purple Charlotte was completely neglected, but I started my first Pi Shawl (so much for NaKniWweMoDo!)

Awake at 6 a.m.

Being awake at 6 a.m. without an alarm clock going off means serious jet lag for me. I am not a morning person and my "natural" awaking time is between 10 and 11 (not that I can do that many often, hence the need for alarm clocks.)
But I am up, and I even had breakfast (me hungry in the morning? something is wrong with me!)

As I said before, my plan for the Ravelympics was socks, so let's talk about socks.

I knit the second Swim Team Jaywalker on my way to Europe:



Yes, it is right, definitely bigger than the first one. I had forgotten that the sole has fewer stitches than the instep. Rip rip rip. Then I knit the heel three times, because I could not remember what I did with the first one (I did remember that I had some serious problems like it is documented here and here.) But at the end I won:


Pattern: Jaywalker by Grumperina
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Multi, 2 skeins = 430.0 yards in Jungle Stripes

The there are the Upstream Socks:


Pattern: Master Upstream Pattern by Cat Bordhi
Yarn: LuLu's Yarns Supersock Merino Light, 1 skeins = 483.0 yards

These were a relatively quick knit since I did not make them very long; glad I made them, but really not sold on the whole "let's put the gusset increases someplace else."

Coming soon ...... December Socks.

Feeling overly confident

Remember when I said that nothing can wrong with a Jaywalker? Ah ah, look here:



No, the sock was not supposed to be 11 inches long, but sometime toward the end of the foot I forgot I was knitting them toe-up (I think, it looks like the only explanation for what I did), and I decided to knit the heel and then turn it, so I have a sock with the heel under the foot:



Do you think I noticed? No, a friend of mine, who is not a knitter, looked at my socks and asked, "You are turning the heel now? Isn't it too long?". Yes, I do have friends who do not knit but know stuff like "turning the heel", because, well, what do you think I talk about all the time?

So, rip rip rip. And a FO (every once in a while something needs to go right):



Men's handwarmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, in Claudia Handpainted Worsted, just half a skein, for my dad. Another check on the x-mas list.

When everything else fails

When everything else fails and things go wrong, nothing set everything right better than a Jaywalker:



Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Jungle Stripe, toe-up because I want to use all the yarn (and because I am not over my last top-down trauma yet), nothing can go wrong. Casted Tuesday night, and I already turning the heel. I am at peace with socks again.

The Gryffindor socks? Take a peak.

April?

Seriuosly? And where did March go? And if someone finds it, can they check for February too?
This past week has been especially blurry because I fell sick on Sunday night and I slept until Thursday morning. HWME needed to be the "mom" for few days, and he is still shell shocked. I do not think he realized what a number 10 years of full time working mom guilt had done on me, and so how complicated the kids' schedule has gotten this year that I am their full time driver.

There was some knitting while I was sick (not much, HWME was very worried), it's time for the monthly check on my knit-along.

My March projects were:
- Reynolds Dover Pullover
- Debbie Bliss' Mia from the book "Junior Knits"
- Jaywalker
I finished the sleeves of the pullover, I just have to finish the edging of Mia (already picked up the gazilion stitches), and I finish my Jaywalkers:



They have been renamed "the ugly Jaywalker" - have you ever seen more hideous pooling? Knit Picks Sock Garden. So appaling I like them.

The plan for April? Keep working on Mia and finish the Simple Knitted Bodice. The list is getting shorter!

Well, the ugly Jaywalkers are for me - I can't certainly give them to someone else!

Green, pink, and yellow? I am still working on two of my blue projects. Green and yellow are not really my colors, but I have sign-up for the ISE again and I making a scarf with this: