Knitting in pink

A few new patterns and books have made their way into my collection this week.

The store received its first order of the awesome sock patterns by Cookie A. I picked these 3 as my favorites and will hopefully get to them sometimes this year. I have some very lovely solid Koigu that would look real good in any of these patterns.



I also purchased these 2 books via Amazon:



Amazon had this amazing deal where Knit 2 Together was $5.50, and I couldn't resist getting Knitting Lingerie Style as well and get free shipping! : ) There are a few patterns I like in K2T book but my favorite is the Rowena Cardigan. The KLS book has lots of very pretty top patterns that I like and a beautiful skirt too. I would never knit the lingerie itself but some of the other patterns made it definitely worth it to buy.

Last night I went to my local B&N to browse their knitting books. I was very lucky in that I found some very cool knitting books to look at and some other nice books too.

My first pick was The Cute Book. This book was full of adorable little stuffies to make out of felt. One of them was a pair of sheep, so cute! I really liked the way things were explained and would surely enjoy making some of those. Another craft to look into for me! : )

I also looked at Simple Sewing with a French Twist: An Illustrated Guide to Sewing Clothes and Home Accessories with Style. A beautiful book full of pretty things. Yet another craft I would like to practice.

Another beautiful book was The Best of Vogue Knitting Magazine: 25 Years of Articles, Techniques, and Expert Advice. This would make a beautiful coffee table book as well as a very interesting and full of information knitting anthology.

Last but not least I looked at Fitted Knits: 25 Designs for the Fashionable Knitter. I must have this book. Now. I loved like 90% of the patterns. If I hadn't known that I could get this book cheaper elsewhere I would have walked out with it. I could see myself wearing quite a few of the patterns, some with some mods, like lengthening the sleeves and such. But definitely a must have book for me, especially now that I'm starting to make real garments for myself.

So it was quite a successful trip to the local bookstore...

Also going on are some stash enhancement and some knitting.

I've been knitting on my Child's First sock the second for a couple days now. This is a picture as of Saturday morning when there actually was some sunshine.

As of this morning I have reached the midpoint of the heel. My goal for today is to finish the heel and start working on the leg. This pattern is really easy for me now as I've memorized the pattern and know what comes next. So barring very bad luck I should be done in a few days. Did you notice the stitch markers I'm using? They are Zero Stitch Markers by Sock prØn's Aija.

A couple weeks ago I had the chance to score 3 skeins Cascade 220 on the Destash blog. I got even more lucky because the person selling it told me her friend had 3 more skeins in the same dyelot that she wanted to destash. So I quickly snagged the additional 3 and now have enough to make any sweater I want.



The color is 9422, a very pretty cherry red. It is a little more pink than in the picture. I might use it to knit Ariann, or Wicked. We'll see.

So this is what's been going on here at Chez Knitting in Pink.

Read - ing

I just finished reading this book this morning. It was a very quick read, I started to read 2 nights ago and read and read some more. I enjoyed this book quite a bit, although it reminded me a lot of another book I read a couple months ago, The Friday Night Knitting Club.

Knitt - ing



I've been knitting away on my secret knitting. If you like what you see, sign ups for our June Sock Club are still open! : )

Join - ing

In the last 24 hours I signed up for 2 more sock related knitalongs: Sockamania and Sockapalooza 4.

Sockamania is organized by Anni of Confessions of a Yarn Addict. Starting in May, participants will get a sock pattern by Anni which we will knit. Hopefully the patterns will match in some way Socktopia themes! : )

The sign ups for Sockapalooza 4 opened sometimes between late last night and this morning. I've been debating the last few days whether or not to sign up for it. My main concern is knitting socks for someone's else's feet. I can't try them on as I go, what if they don't fit? But I decided that I would try my best and that it shouldn't be too hard to do! So I signed up. Also, send off are in August, so I have plenty of time to knit a pair of socks that will fit!

Participat - ing



My Secret Pal 10 hostess has asked our group to post a picture of either the ugliest thing we've ever knit or the ugliest yarn we have. And since I had one of each I decided to post both.

On top is my second scarf ever. I knit it for my husband out of some Lion's Brand chunky acrylic yarn. Not only was the scarf too short but it was too stiff and thick, we called it the "Neck Brace". I have to admit that I tossed it a few months back. No need to keep something so horrible around. I can't say that the second scarf I knit for my husband was a better success... We call that one "The Rope".

On the bottom is some yarn I received at Christmas... As a joke, thankfully. But I still have to keep it. I keep threatening the giver that I will knit him a hat out of it. But I can't even get myself to do that! lol!

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Hopefully within the next day or two I will be able to resume my usual knitting and show you either the beginnings of a sleeve or the beginnings of another Child's First sock.

In the last couple months there has been an improvement in my knitting book stash. Some of the books were received as gifts, some were traded and some were bought, either on the Destash blog or on sale with coupons at Borders. (BTW, I love those 20-50% off coupons, especially when they have the books you want in stock!)

Since the picture was taken I have bought Scarf Style by Pam Allen.

Two of my next projects are sitting pretty in those pages: The Hourglass Sweater from LFMKG and Lady Eleanor from Scarf Style. But Wicked and Lucy in the Sky are also calling my name. I have the yarn in the stash (or will have within the next few days) for Hourglass, Lady E., and Lucy. I don't have it for Wicked but I think I will soon.

Why don't you show me your book stash and tell me what projects you are going to be working on next? Post on your blog and send me a comment!

I am proud to show you my first fair isle project. Meet Fake Isle Hat from Magknits.

First the cone head shot just after finishing it:

A top shot:


Multiple shots after a good soak, drying on a vase:



Before blocking I was a little concerned about the fit of the hat. I felt that the top was too pointy and that it was a little too tight to be able to pull it down enough so avoid the cone head effect. After the soak I tried it on and the top part stretched enough that the top is flatter, so I think it will fit well. But we'll have to wait until the hat is completely dry to know for sure.

Stats
The hat was started on January 14 and finished January 25.
Yarn: Noro Kureyon in 126 and Lamb's Pride Worsted in Fuschia
Pattern: Fake Isle hat as mentioned above
Mods: I'm pretty sure I used size 7 needles instead of 6s to account for my tight knitting. I also magic looped it after knitting the first 2 rows or ribbing flat.

Conclusion: It was my first experience fair-isling. I had to teach myself to knit Continental so I could knit with a color in each hand. Of course there are some issues with puckering but I am quite pleased with myself. I think that I just might make matching mittens with the leftover yarn!

Next up in Fair Isle will be Center Square from Knitty.

I'm going to leave you with this picture:

Kmkat and her kneedles wants to know what our wallpaper is so here is mine:



This picture was taken by my husband in Shelburne Falls Mass back in August 05. Next to the entrance to the Bridge of Flowers is a little weaving shop where the owner sells a bit of yarn, handknit socks and other cute stuff! And this is just outside her shop.