FF&L Milestone

FF&L: % Complete as of Wednesday, 12.28.05

WORKING ON 5TH REPEAT OF CHART 2 (11 rounds to go)

Nine rounds knit since my last update --> 135 total rounds completed.

• 61,864 stitches cumulative (8,776 stitches since my last update)
• 46% of body completed (7% since my last update)
• 39% of entire shawl completed, including edging (6% since my last update)

I may only knit 5 repeats of chart 2 rather than the 7 suggested by the pattern. This is a huge shawl, and being only 5'1" tall, I really do not need a huge shawl. I think it will be plenty big with only 5 repeats. I'll make the final decision once I complete the 5th repeat. Of course, all my % completion updates will change because the % will be based on a fewer number of stitches. I would actually be more like 55% complete (before edging) if I cut back on the number of repeats.

THE MILESTONE
I have finally reached 1,000 stitches on the needles of the FF&L shawl (rounds 133 & 134). Now, each time I complete a round, that's AT LEAST 1,000 more stitches completed!! Here's some pictures of the shawl at the 1,000 stitch per round juncture.








In the middle of round 129, I switched to size 40" needles (addi turbos), mainly because I wanted to spread the shawl out a little to get some good pictures.








It was the third night of Hannukah last night.

Grey Stripes Complete

I finished the grey stripes socks Monday, 12.19.05, in the morning, so wore them to work that very day!!! They are really comfortable - very cushiony - I think because of the bamboo stitch.

The Stats: GREY STRIPES SOCKS

64 stitches on size 1 US (2.5mm) addi turbos
Magic Loop method: 2 socks; 1 circ
Reynolds Swizzle (fingering weight)

cuff: 20 rounds: k2, p2
leg: 40 rounds: bamboo stitch
heel: 32 rows: eye of partridge stitch
gusset/instep: 58 rounds (bamboo stitch for instep; stockinette for sole)
circular toe

Start: 12.10.05
Finish: 12.19.05


Here's a picture of the socks right after the completion of the gusset decreases.




I've started another pair of socks. These will be out of Lorna's Laces in the Jungle Stripe colorway. I've finished 13 rounds of the cuff (K2,P2).

Grey Stripes Progress

I had plenty of time to knit yesterday, as I did not go into work. (Sometimes it's nice to be sick...). I progressed nicely on my socks getting to just past picking up the gusset stitches.

I specifically chose a back & front for the socks because the striping using the bamboo stitch kind of disappears due to the length of the color stripe which is not quite long enough to go two complete rounds. It therefore kind of messes up the striping. I wanted the full effect of the striping to show up on the front of the sock. The leg is 40 rounds of bamboo stitch. Generally, when I knit socks, I usually knit only 30 rounds for the leg, but I wanted these socks a little longer because I always end up with a fairly good amount of sock yarn left over. (I still knit my usual 20 rounds for the cuff).

FRONT




BACK (note the disappearing stripes)




EOP HEEL (eye of partridge)




TURNED HEEL





GUSSET P/U: Last but not least, the gusset stitches are all picked up. This is where I have to resort to using two circs to complete this part. I then put the two socks back on one circular. I like to arrange the stitches so that I am now knitting the socks in profile.

It's all in the Bag

This is my sock project bag. Just thought I'd share...



It contains a row counter, a picture tutorial of the magic loop cast on, the Magic Loop book, notes I've jotted down during sock knitting, a pencil & paper (for the note taking), some patterns, a yarn cutter, markers, a few safety pins (I use one to mark the start of my round), a needle for the finishing process and two Addi Turbo needles, both size 1 US (2.25mm), although one is 40" & the other is 47" long. I start out with the 40" and then I use the the 47" when I have to p/u stitches and begin the gusset. I have not figured out how to do this part on just one circular. But - once I've picked up all the gusset stitches, I go back to using just the one needle. I prefer to use the 40" size for the socks and just use the 47" during the gusset phase. Working with the 47" during the actual knitting process was too cumbersome - the loops were just too big & got in the way.

NEW : Grey Stripes Sock Project (& FF&L Update)

On Saturday, very spontaneously, I decided to start a new pair of socks. It suddenly occurred to me that I needed a small project to work on when I was out & about. Case in point - I had a hair appointment Saturday afternoon (color, weave & cut) which would be about 2 1/2 to 3 hours long, of which a good bit of that time would consist of just sitting around "processing." So the light bulb went off in my head and voila!, a sock project was born. This would be real simple to work on under the hair dryer. The catch was, could I cast on & get started before it was time to leave for my appointment? (I use the magic loop, 1 circ-2 socks method and it does take a bit of time to get the cast on down pat). In addition, I had a skein that I needed to divide into 2 balls. I'm using Reynolds Swizzle, in a grey with red, blue & green stripes (#4042 colorway).

The 1 skein to 2 balls process took me about 45 minutes. I must admit, I did have help from the "peanut gallery," (Scooter & Cleo).










I first had to wind the skein into a ball. Then I had to divide that ball in half, trying to get two equal balls. Here are the 2 balls eye-balled for "sameness." The left one is good to go.




Because I want the yarn running in the same direction (ie: same patterning sequence), I had to rewind the right ball. Here are the two completed balls of yarn.



Now the hard part - casting on using the magic loop method, 2 socks at a time. The picture below shows 75% of the cast on completed - 32 stitches for the 1st sock and 64 stitches for the 2nd sock.




This picture shows the completed cast on. The remaining 32 stitches of the 1st sock are now cast on.




5 rounds of the cuff are completed. Basic ribbing for cuff: K2, P2






The cuff after 10 rounds and 20 rounds, respectively. Cuff now complete. Scooter likes what she sees.






I am experimenting with using the bamboo stitch for the leg. 3 rounds in the pattern have been completed in the following picture.




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FF&L: % Complete as of Monday, 12.12.05

WORKING ON 4TH REPEAT OF CHART 2 (4 rounds to go)

Four rounds knit since my last update --> 126 total rounds completed.

• 53,088 stitches cumulative (3,680 stitches since my last update)
• 39% of body completed (2% since my last update)
• 33% of entire shawl completed, including edging (2% since my last update)

QUICK & EASY Finished Objects

As we did last year, we will be having a holiday gift exchange at work. For our holiday luncheon, we will be taking a cruise out on the bay. It will be freezing cold, but fun.

I made this hat & scarf for Jodi. I think it will suit her quite well. She likes to ski, so hopefully she'll get some use out of this.



THE PARTICULARS

Hat
1 skein (+ a tiny bit of a 2nd skein) Lion Boucle in the Taffy #930-213 colorway
US 9 circular needles - knit in the round
Basic stockinette stitch
Start: Friday, 12.02.05
Finish: Saturday, 12.03.05
Estimated Time: about 2 hours

Scarf:
2 skeins Lion Boucle in the Taffy #930-213 colorway
US 10.5 circular needles
Basic garter stitch, knit until no yarn left
Start & Finish: Friday, 12.02.05 <--> Saturday, 12.03.05
Estimated Time: about 2 hours

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This pretty blue scarf was made for Marianne. It's nice & fluffy and quite warm!! I know she's going to love this.





THE PARTICULARS

Scarf:
2 skeins Moda Dea Fur Ever in the Blue Heaven #3841 colorway
US 10.5 circular needles
Basic garter stitch, knit until no yarn left
Start & Finish: Monday am before work and pm after work, 12.05.05
Estimated Time: 2 hours --> NOW THAT'S QUICK!!!

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Last but not least is this pink scarf I made for myself. This was my "take a break from the Frost Flowers & Leaves shawl" project. I needed some mindless knitting, and this wonderful pink color was calling my name. I didn't realize it at first, but there are "sparkles" in this. Pretty cool!!



THE PARTICULARS

Scarf:
2 skeins Moda Dea Zing in the Icy Pink #1724 colorway
US 10.5 circular needles
Basic garter stitch, knit until no yarn left
Start & Finish: I forget, but it was towards the end of November 05 sometime...
Estimated Time: probably about 2 hours

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Here's a picture of these 4 projects thrown together just because I felt like it.

FF&L: % Complete as of Friday, 12.09.05

WORKING ON 4TH REPEAT OF CHART 2 (8 rounds to go)

Thirteen rounds knit since my last update --> 122 total rounds completed.

• 49,408 stitches cumulative (11,016 !! stitches since my last update)
• 37% of body completed (9% since my last update)
• 31% of entire shawl completed, including edging (7% since my last update)


Here's the blob, looking at it from the underside.




It makes a convenient holder for my yarn & row counter!




••close up of the flower pattern••




••close up of the leaves pattern••

Caplotis C'est Finis

My second Clapotis is finished.
Yarn: Just over 5 Skeins Patons Grace, Tangello
Needle: US 6 (4mm) circular needle
Pattern: Clapotis
Structure: Incr/Decr Section: 8 repeats; Straight Section: 16 repeats
Total Stitches: 30,614
Time: 6 days (11.17.05-11.23.05)




I also began a scarf yesterday, for something quick & easy. I really needed a break from the FF&L shawl, which I have not worked on for about a week now. It's become a daunting project due to the sheer size of the thing. I'm just over a quarter of the way through, but there is so much more left to do. It's very overwhelming. I figured I'd extend my break from FF&L a little longer by making this scarf. I may add the darker pink to the light pink to make one big long scarf, or I may just make 2 separate scarfs. I'm not quite sure yet.

Splitz Top is "Splitz" (& FF&L Progress)

I decided to frog the Splitz Top I had been working on. I just was not happy with it and I found that there were too many errors in the pattern which I really did not want to deal with. (The errata did not catch one of the glaring errors, so I decided it just was not worth my time). Here it is in all its glory in the frog pond...



Besides that, I've got the Clapotis bug again so I started my second one last night using the yarn from the Splitz Top. I am using Patons Grace in Tangello, size 6 US (4mm). It's a 100% mercenized cotton and I like the way it is knitting up.



I'm only through row 109 on the Frost Flowers & Leaves shawl. That translates to only one row of the FF&L knit all week!!! I needed to take a break from it but will get back to it this weekend. Here are my usual stats on my progress...

FF&L: % Complete as of Friday, 11.18.05

WORKING ON 3RD REPEAT OF CHART 2 (5 rounds to go)

One round knit since my last post --> 109 total rounds completed.

• 38,392 stitches cumulative (792 since last Thursday)
• 28% of body completed (0% since last Thursday)
• 24% of entire shawl completed, including edging (1% since last Thursday)

FINALLY Finished

Well, I finally finished the pair of socks which I had started over a year ago, October 2004, during the World Series watching the Red Sox. However, I did not like the way the pattern was turning out, so I frogged the whole thing and did not start this pair again until several months later. This time I did just a basic stockinette pattern. But I put this down many, many times to work on other things, so did not finally finish it until now - OVER A YEAR SINCE THE ORIGINAL START DATE!!! Wow - I cannot believe that in a year's time, I only completed ONE pair of socks. In the 2 years prior to that, I had probably knit over 20 pairs of socks - talk about "sockknitters block..." This pair was knit with Plymouth Sockotta on size 1 US (2.5mm) Addi Turbo circular needles using the magic loop method on a base of 64 sts. I think the colorway is called Mexico.

Needless to say, I have not worked on FF&L at all this weekend.

FF&L: % Complete as of Thursday, 11.11.05

I finally switched to 29" circs, although I didn't need to. I think I could have gone several more rounds, but I wanted to be able to take some better pictures. These pics are with 2 circs - 1/2 of the sts on the 24" & 1/2 on the 29". I took the pictures during the transition round from the 24" to 29". What better opportunity to be able to spread it out a little bit for the camera...Pretty, huh????

WORKING ON 3RD REPEAT OF CHART 2 (6 rounds to go)

Three rounds knit since my last post --> 108 total rounds completed.

• 37,600 stitches cumulative (2,312 since Monday)
• 28% of body completed (2% since Monday)
• 23% of entire shawl completed, including edging (1% since Monday)

Kitty Time

Ok - what can be cuter than this? --A kitty in a box-- No, make that...A kitty in an itty bitty box. Jazz-Purr can barely fit in the box, yet he has to get in it and check it out just the same. I guess he thinks he's a lot smaller than he looks. Granted, he's under 8 pounds, but to try to make this box his bed? I don't think so...Does he think no one can see him? I don't think so..Isn't he just the cutest? I DO think so...

And I bet you all are wondering what was in this box that created such a stir. It's a universal dock for the soon to be delivered 60gb white video iPod that Jacob ordered. Lucky boy. And thank-you Steve Jobs for your continuous innovation & vision. GO APPLE!!!! Yep - you got it - I'm a huge Apple fan. Have been since 1991 when I used my first mac. It was the SE, the teeny tiny little box with a whopping 8k of memory, if I remember correctly.

Ok - time to give Jazz-Purr's sisters some attention. Cleo & Scooter, it's your turn to take center stage. Scooter is the tabby & Cleo is, well, uh-hummm, just Cleo. Being a tortie she has what you would call - tortietude...She takes full advantage of any attention she can get. She even nudges her way in to get that attention when someone else is at the receiving end. She thinks she's Queen of the house. She also has to go eat or drink when ever the other 2 kids are doing that. Miss little bossy nudge-nick. But, you gotta love her!!! Scooter is our little lady. She's the quiet one, but don't get on her bad side. She'll certainly put you in your place. I guess that's why when Jazz wants to play, Cleo is usually the one he bothers (I mean plays with).