New Colourways!

It's been ages since we blogged AND since we've updated the etsy shop, but I'm finally adding some new colourways! The first one is another Harry Potter themed colourway. I call her Cho, and she's an idea I've had in my head for a while now:

I want to try different ways to dye this colourway in the future, so I'm sure the next batch will be a bit different. But I love how she turned out!

I'm going to be updating Etsy with more yarns and goodies soon, so keep an eye out!!

One of the reasons we haven't updated in ages is because we've had a busy summer/fall. We've had a craft show a month for the last three months, which has kept us both busy knitting and dyeing and it's been hard to update stock when we keep having to resupply it. Not that I'm complaining. It's been fun!

And, as always, we've been busy knitting away. We did the Hungry Bees pattern as our Socktober Knit-a-long, and mine turned out very fun

(The other foot was in an ankle wrap. Just imagine there are two feet!)

I also knit a cute little cabled cardigan

And I'm working on test knitting a pair of socks for a friend. They're very cabled and use Austrian twisted stitches. They're so pretty! I'm using MadelineTosh Tosh Merino Lite in the Sugar Plum colourway.

I hope to read the heel flap tonight! There are cables down the back of the heel, which I've never done before. I love doing new knitting things.

That's what's been keeping me busy. What about you?

Slog Saturday

I didn't get a chance to work on my Finish Friday project on Friday. I'm knitting a shawl with a deadline so I've been mostly knitting on that (more on THAT below). But, I did find time last night to work on my sock. Here's where I started:

I popped in a DVD and ended up here:

Not too much farther to go! I can have it finished in a few more Fridays if I keep this up!

LoloKnits and I managed to get lots of crafting time in during the 4th of July weekend. Here's our Knitting in Public Tip for you: If you're going to sit outside to watch fireworks, make sure you score a seat under a street light so you can knit after it gets dark. Loloknits and I made great use of a street light at the Harbourfront in Buffalo. The fireworks were late, so we had LOTS of time to knit, while everyone around us was bored and complaining.

And we also got plenty of knitting time at a parade in Lancaster on the 4th. One of my favourite bits of the parade was the Four Presidents of Mt. Rushmore. I only got one terrible picture, but trust me, they looked amazing.

Oh, and back to my shawl with the deadline: Guess who is running out of yarn? YUP, that would be me. I was doubting whether I'd have enough yarn for a few days now, but I suddenly realized last night that I would not have enough to finish. I did the math, it would not work. So I think I have no choice but to frog back and reduce the number of pattern repeats on the body and then redo the two edge charts. It's going to set me back a couple weeks and I'll miss my deadline! I emailed the designer and I'm waiting to hear back from her to see what she says. The crazy bit is that I OVERESTIMATED how much yarn I'd need, I thought I'd have plenty leftover. I was even fantasizing about what I'd make with the leftovers (socks of course). It's very upsetting!! But, if I tink back now and knit furiously I can have it done before the end of the month, easy. I was so close! I had 13 rows left.

What lessons can be learned from this? Well, thankfully I left in my last 2 life lines so I can frog back to the beginning of the edge rows no problem. That's a good lesson; leave the lifelines in place, just in case! Also, I could probably also learn to give myself plenty of time to meet a deadline. I knew this would be a tight squeeze when I signed on for it, not much room for error. So maybe that was my bad. And then, I guess I should pay more attention when I start to get that little niggling "something's not quite right" feeling. You know what I mean. The sweater's just not working in the yarn, yet you keep knitting it. The sizing is off but you think you can make it work. And you keep knitting and knitting and then when it's finished you HATE it and have to frog it. All that wasted effort. If I had paid more attention when I first started having suspicions, I might have realized earlier on that I'd have to go back and would have saved myself time and heartache. That's an important lesson to learn, listening to your Inner Better Knitter. Ah well. Tinking makes us better knitters, right?

-Sereknitty