Monday, January 28, 2008

WIPs



Well, first I must be honest... I have not yet cast on for the Wavy Feathers Smokering I decided to make, in spite of what I say on Ravelry. I was winding the lace yarn and very near the end, when I somehow ended up with a tangled mess. ~ Sigh... ~ I didn't have the skein on a chair back or anything, but all was going fine until things suddenly pulled together in a ball and before I knew it, it was too late. I may need to buy a skein/ball winder. Lace skeins have just too much yardage to wind by hand, especially considering that I bought a total of 15 skeins from Knit Picks!!!



In the meantime, the shrug is progressing OK. It will be a little different than the original pattern, because I am doing garter stitch across the shoulders and back, and stockinette only for the sleeves. I always find myself making little changes with basic, simple patterns like these... I guess it's my way of making the finished project just a little more unique, and the knitting a bit more varied and interesting. Some might also say I just can't leave well enough alone... :)



I have also cast on to make another Homespun shawl, this time in the Cyprus colorway. It's a little difficult to see in the photo, but there is a garter stitch border all around, and a basketweave stitch center. The colors are a little off in this photo; the photo in my Ravelry stash (also on Flickr)is much more accurate.

I also received an email from Sundara - there was a batch of new sock yarn colors put up for sale this past Saturday. As might be expected, a lot of it sold out almost immediately, but I did get a skein of the "Black over Wine" colorway, which is lovely. I really need to stop buying now, and go on a yarn diet... My stash runneth over! It's so hard, to resist gorgeous new yarns, though, isn't it!!!

4 comments:

Knitted Gems said...

I was going to gently suggest that you buy a swift - not a ball winder. The swift will keep your skein stretched out while you wind it and prevent (for the most part) it from becoming a tangled mess. Then, I reread your blog and noticed that you have 15 skeins to wind. It is worth all the time and money can gather to buy yourself both a swift and a ball winder. You'll have your 15 skeins wound up in under 30 minutes.

Anonymous said...

Ugh - I hate when that happens, skein winder or not! =)

I love my ball winder/skein, it really is a lot faster.

kathy b said...

I haven't bought a winder yet. Do you LOVE it?????

Bernadette said...

Well, I'll let you know Kathy! I took Knitted Gems advice and ordered a swift, AND a ball winder... (I had a gift certificate from credit card rewards points, so I used it to buy both!) :)