March knitting
I slowed down with my knitting last month. But I still made some progress.
I started the month by making a tam to match the Noro stripe scarf I knitted Lisa the previous
month.
This was my first work in colour strand knitting. But it's sort of cheating. It's as easy as colour strand gets, because I used only two yarns, one which was variegated. I think it's called Fake Isle? But I think it was a good introductory project before I attempt the real Fair Isle.
The yarn is Noro Silk Garden. The pattern I used was from Angela Sixian Wu's Three Tams available free on Knitty.
I also knitted my first pair of socks! I used worsted weight yarn, so they're thick and warm. pure wool, plain gray, nothing much to look at. I didn't want to waste expensive yarn in case I sucked at socks. They look a lot like Neil's work socks. They're just missing that ugly orange band around the top.
Ugly ?!!? hell yes! But I adore them. I wear them proudly. They're not perfect by any means. The first one I knit looser, so it's a tad big. the second one fits just right, because as I gained confidence I knitted more consistently and was tighter between DPN's.
Ah yes, DPN's. they are not the easiest things to work with, but I'm getting the hang of them.
For the sock pattern, I used the tutorial in Getting Started Knitting Socks by Ann Budd. A great book. A great author/ sock guru. I have even begun a second pair. This time i'm using some Berocco sox variegated yarn, :)
Lastly I spent the bulk of the month working on another coworker's scarf. This time I took on an intricate Celtic cable design -- The beautiful Amy Cabled Scarf by Yvonne Kao.
My coworker requested brown. I ordered some cinnamon DK swish from Knitpicks, and when it arrived I was off! ... to what I quickly learned was a very slow and arduous start.
Even though it was labour-intensive and required well over 1000 cables or twists, it was so worth it. I'm very happy with how it turned out. I adore celtic knot designs. I never knew how much work went into them.
I just finished this today. It will be hard for me to part with this one. A great deal of conversation happened over this scarf. and many silent thoughts and feelings and ideas got worked into the magical chains. I think it's safe to say that knitting has become a part of me.