I’m posting this a little early this weekend, since I missed last Sunday. Hope you don’t mind – I have a lot of cool stuff to share this week. Current projects, finished objects, cool websites, and what’s in the (growing) queue…
First off, I’m making quite a bit of progress on CBtY’s socks, and am hoping to finish them up in the next couple of days. Here’s where they were last Sunday, a week after I cast them on:
Click for larger picture
And here they are right now:
I love the 2 socks on 2 circulars from the toe up method, by the way. I’ve been able to have him try them on so I get a good fit, any little adjustments I’ve made along the way are automatically incorporated into the second sock, so no need to remember what I did, and I can make them as high as I want without fear of running out of yarn before I get to the end. And it’s a lot easier to throw them in my purse to work on while I’m waiting at appointments and stuff, because I don’t have to worry about the needles falling out the way they would if I were using double-pointed needles. I like how the striping on these is offset a little bit; I think it makes them more fun to wear.
Next is a little pair of Fetching fingerless gloves I made over the holidays (free pattern here). My hands get too cold when the thermostat is set lower, so I’ve really been getting some use out of them. (Sorry for the poor picture quality; it was a really bright day when I was taking these.)
Anyone remember my poll a few weeks back about what my next project should be? Well, the Lizard Ridge Afghan won, and I bought the first 2 balls of Noro Kureyon to give the pattern a try:
I haven’t started that yet, partly because I’m finishing up the socks that were part of people’s Christmas presents, and partly because I’m a little hesitant to make an afghan that isn’t easily washed. I also might switch from the yarn above to another Noro yarn that has some silk in it and would be a little softer (Silk Garden, which I used in the wavy gravy hat I posted before). So the jury is still out on that one…
Let’s see, that leaves me with the cool website and another project in the queue to tell you about. Back in mid-December, I put myself on the waiting list to sign up for Ravelry. I’d been reading raves about it, and wanted to find out what the big deal was.
My invite to join came on New Year’s Eve, and I finally had time to check it out thoroughly this week. It is INCREDIBLE! I can see popular patterns people are using, what yarn they’ve used for their different projects, read feedback from people about the yarns they’ve used, whether they liked the pattern, ways to modify them, where to find good video tutorials on new techniques, etc.
For example, earlier this week I had found 2 patterns I liked (Rogue and Cardigan for Arwen). I then looked through the pictures and notes people had posted of the versions of these sweaters that they had knitted, along with the details of what yarn they used, how they thought it fit, what changes they made to it while they were knitting, etc.
I decided to use this yarn after seeing several versions of both of the sweaters knitted from it, and reading that the people who used it were delighted with it. Plus, it’s a closeout at almost half price!
But I still couldn’t decide which pattern to use. I knew from reading that the vast majority of people had added rows to the sleeves of the Arwen sweater because they were too tight as written in the pattern, and that people felt that the sweater could have been constructed in an easier manner, with less seaming to do at the end. But I liked the cardigan style, and want to try the reversible (2-sided) cables that run down the front and around the hood.
I actually used one of the Ravelry pattern forums to solicit feedback from folks who had knitted either or both. When people responded that they had liked Rogue pattern so well they had knit two of them, and then someone posted that she had just finished hers in a zip-up cardigan version in the same type of yarn I had chosen (complete with pictures!) and loved it, I made my choice and ordered my pretty purple yarn. What a great resource! I highly urge anyone who knits (or crochets) to put themselves on the waiting list and check it out.
I just have one more pair of socks before I can start my new sweater… 🙂
So, what’s on your needles this week?