baudelaire [les chausettes du mal]

The Vital Statistics
Pattern: Baudelaire by Cookie A, available free from Knitty.
Size: Umm, my size (9.5). I didn't do the high instep modification.
Yarn: Froehlich Wolle Special Blauband in 177 - claret, bought in Zurich way back when; 2 skeins.
Needles: 2.25mm
Start to finish: 10 November 2008 to 31 March 2012.
Stash/recycle content: Not really.

Comments: What is there for me to say about these socks that I have not already over the course of the past three-and-a-half years? It's not the pattern that's evil, just this pair. Well, pair is a bit idealised - one is certainly harder to get on than the other, and one is two rows of ribbing short but oh well. These socks were one of my New Year's Resolutions to finish last year.
Verdict: Done.

road blocks

Just as was the problem with my Faux Prussian Stole at one point, I think that what has been holding me back from my Baudelaire socks is uncertainty about where I am up to and a kinked-up circular needle that made for uncomfortable knitting. Knitting is my treat, my indulgence, my reward - I should not be uncomfortable. Admittedly, both of these dilemmas are a direct result of years of being bundled up in a project bag - it is my own fault).

I applied myself the other day and in good bright daylight took a good hard look at them. One extra row at the heel and a humble set-up row and I am ready for the leg of the second sock. I also took out that nasty needle and put the sock on some bamboo double-pointed needles.

Haven't knit another stitch yet, but I do feel better about them.

2012 manifesto

Now really, before the year gets too old.

- read at least one book each month
- craft mostly from stash (I aspire to 'only from stash' but then, I'm also realistic)
- finish things

My eyes have been way bigger than my stomach for craft supplies here in the US and really, all that stuff sitting around, just becomes a psychological burden. Thankfully, most of it was purchased at the thrift store, which is where a lot of it will find is way back. I really want now to have a project in mind, and then buy supplies if necessary, rather than endlessly purchasing potential and the feeling as though I'm drowning in it.

On a similar note, there are so many unfinished projects floating around here also weighing on my conscience. Speaking of which ...

... perhaps 2012 will be the year that I finally get (a pair of) hand-knit socks?

rinse and repeat

I'm still working away at my Tibetan Clouds (un)Beaded Stole. I just pick it up every now and then when I feel like some lace knitting. As I knit it I find myself scheming and calculating - 'Ok, I'm going to 10 repeats of E on either side of the central panel and I can knit half a repeat quite easily in a day so with fifteen and a half repeats to go, that would be a month's worth of knitting, assuming that I actually did knit half a repeat every day ...' And then I shrug my shoulders and try to just enjoy the knitting, I'll get there when I get there and I don't want to be compelled to knit half a repeat every day.

Now that I have parted way with the diamond mittens, I need to consider the other two projects that I have lingering from 2008 (yes '08 - ouch): the Baudelaire socks and the Faux Prussian Stole. I think that I'll address the socks first (one of them is practically done) and then there will be a serious lace knitting push for that stole.

I think that I've mentioned before that the lace repeat there is 81 stitches wide and 96 rows deep so I certainly won't be getting half a repeat done each day on that one. And again on that I have the dilemma of needing to execute k2tog or ssk over a marker (same issue that I had with the Knitted Veil) and the clumsiness of that is a real mental block for me. Perhaps I'll just use threads instead of stitch markers and then I'll be off and knitting ...

broken engagement

Well thank goodness we're actually married because I have admitted defeat and given up on the Second Engagement Diamond Mittens that I was knitting for Tim. The mittens were one of my three projects dating from the year before last and I had chosen them as the first that I would complete. Here it is mid-February and I had knit only a couple of rounds and finally realised that I just did not want to make them anymore.

I have committed instead (and anew) to Tim's Great Garment of 2011 (the one that I was supposed to make last year but just didn't get around to). I'm planning to knit Jarrett by Kim Hargreaves from Rowan's Vintage Knits in Cascade 220, shade Walnut Heather. Lots of soothing stocking stitch, I'm looking forward to the yarn arriving.

Now I just have to work out whether I can face those socks and that stole.

off the perch

Time to confess that, apart from my recently completed Wallingford, the knitting has actually gotten a bit out of control lately, which is why I haven't had much to say about it. It's just slow progress and few finished objects (except for ones I made six months ago) because I have been working on too many things at once. I fell off the perch a bit on sticking to my knit list. My three projects on the go at any one time (thereby ensuring some degree of finished-ness before I can cast on for something else) recently ballooned out to:

Baudelaire (sock knitting) - The most I have to report is that I took them with me to Sock Summit, did indeed knit a couple of rounds, and actually crossed the road at the same time as (albeit in the opposite direction to) Cookie A, designer of the Baudelaire sock, while I was carrying the sock in my handbag. Partially finished sock and designer, like ships in the night.

Knitted veil in Peruvian wool (project knitting) - Ok, the notion of a lovely big lace stole is wonderful, but the same four rows of lace pattern (and that's lace each row) 81 times over? Meh. Although I have overcome one of the annoyances of the pattern by purchasing some split stitch markers. I find it very necessary with lace to count, count, count and stitch markers really help to divide up the lace repeats and keep the stitch count what it should be. On the third row of the lace pattern the repeat is, how can I say, transposed to the left by one stitch, requiring thirteen stitch markers to be removed and replaced as you knit along the row. Ah, but not with a split stitch marker - you can k2tog with the stitch marker still between the stitches and then just rotate it into its new position. This is allowed for, of course, by the miraculous split. Took me three different packets of stitch markers to get the right size/pliability combination but that's ok, they'll come in handy. (Umm, that's the Joy sleeve on the right - bad formatting).

Diamond mittens (practical knitting) - Still in the rough.

Faux prussian stole (technically in hibernation) - I took this one on the Amtrak journey down to Portland with me, thinking that some uninterrupted train travel time may be all that I needed to get back into it. And I was right, until I ran out of yarn. Not completely - thank goodness - but came to the end of the skein that I was working with, and just when I was on a roll. I have to dig out another skein and see if I can get back into it again. And I might try some of those split markers on this project too as there are several occasions where I have to ssk or k2tog across a marker (see, handy!).

Swatch for joy - Well, I do love to swatch, and what better way to start a garment than to swatch for it and suddenly have a sleeve? This is just idle interest swatch knitting, letting my curiosity get the better of me.

Sunrise Circle cardigan - (to the left) This is probably what I am knitting the most at the moment and it's the 'oh-just-an-extra-garment-in-there' project that I have going. Stocking stitch and worsted weight yarn. I allowed myself to cast on for this second garment because I had completed all of the knitting for Wallingford and only had the finishing to go (so practically done in other words) and well, yes, half a garment later ... but anyway, I've completed both of the sleeve/front pieces (need to do some blocking) and about half the back. I think that with a bit of focus I could be wearing this soon - fingers crossed.

ps - I love the expression 'don't fall off the perch'. It's kind of like 'don't drop the ball' but not sporty.

i still knit

Truly I do. Every day in fact, which is probably why I don't have time to read quilting books but anyway ...
this is a random knitting update post:

Baudelaire socks - I cannot remember the last time that I didn't look at these. I know that I got over the trauma of the dropped stitches and started on the leg. Ah, that's right - the dilemma of how do I know when I have enough yarn left to complete twelve rows of ribbing (and a bind-off)? My good friend Heidi (who is merchgirl on Ravelry - check out her astounding Laminaria) suggested test knitting a row of ribbing, then frogging it and measuring how much yarn it required. Measure out twelve times as much yarn from the wrong end of the ball (and some more for the bind-off I imagine) and then just knit to that point. Such a good idea, I'll try it someday.

Faux Prussian Stole - I completed one of the five-and-a-half 81-stitch-by-96-row repeats and collapsed from exhaustion. That in itself was such a feat that I have not yet quite recovered enough to start on the next repeat. I did, however, purchase an Addi Nature circular needle (bamboo tips) which I think will hold the yarn better. It was very slippery knitting on the Addi Turbos that I was using.

Diamond mittens - Going well but haven't picked them up for a while. All I have to go on the left mitten is the individual fingers (which get tucked in underneath the mitten top) and the thumb. On the right mitten I have started the ribbing thereby hoping to avoid second mitten syndrome.

So what have I been knitting everyday?? Wallingford! Which is actually a pattern called Wallington but as I go to a knit night in Wallingford on Mondays it was too much to have two such similar words milling around in my brain. Rather than rename the neighbourhood I thought it easier to rename my project (ah, yeah). Besides, I like the word Wallingford better. This is my first adult-sized garment project and I am knitting it from recycled wool. So far I have completed the two sleeves, the back to just beyond the armhole shaping and one front about as far as the waist. This leaves: the rest of the back, the rest of one front, all of the second front, the collar and front bands, the wrist straps and the belt and the wrist and waist casings.

Hmmm, will I make it? I think so. It won't matter too much if the casings are knit from a different yarn as they are on the inside of the garment and I imagine that even a portion of the wrist straps could be in a different yarn too as that portion will always be concealed inside the casing. The belt is a bit more of a challenge in the potential substitute stakes - where the belt would sit inside the casing depends whether I want to wear it buckled up or tied. This is likely to make it more difficult to conceal a portion knit in a different yarn. Regardless, this is all down the track - I have to complete the garment pieces first before I do the finishing (although I predict that I will be seaming with a different yarn: just. in. case.)

95.6 per cent

Ok, this post is going to be a bit of a Ravelry(-related) rant. Those of you who don't use Ravelry may want to skip it, or may wish to continue for an amusing insight into a meticulous* mind, namely my own.

The particular feature that I take issue with is the little status bar that indicates your progress through a project. Here's a quick screen shot:

So, Ravelry is great and the progress feature is great but it causes me enormous amounts of angst. To begin with, how do you know how far you are through your project? Is it just knitting progress that you're measuring? What about blocking and seaming - how do they factor in? I mean, these things bother me.

The answer to all this is, of course, that you just guesstimate it yourself according to your own rules but, oh people, the lack of structure and boundaries leaves me in such a quandry. Not to mention that you can only measure your progress in intervals of five percentage points. Yes, you're either 25 per cent of the way through or 30 per cent; there's no in between. So how can I express that I am 95.6 per cent of the way through my swallowtail shawl?? 95.6!! Only four rows and the casting off to go. I am really excited.

Ok, on the topic of progress, where are things at around here at the moment?

diamond mittens (the second engagement) - I have started on these mittens again and am about halfway through the first one, according to a mental schema that I have instituted that divides each mitten up into four parts - rib, hand, mitten top, fingers. So half of one glove means about 25 per cent of the way through the project. I'm going to say 27 per cent, just because I can.

Baudelaire socks - I have made some recent progress on these, just a few rows here and there (well, one after the other but you know what I mean). I have finished the heel and am now just working on the leg. I have to work until I have enough yarn left to do twelve rows of ribbing? How will I possibly know when I have twelve rows worth of yarn left? This dilemma alone is enough to put these on the backburner for me.

black velvet floral printed skirt (the second) - Yes, I have two. This one is in much more autumnal tones and is finished (took in the waist, new waistband) but for the want of a hook and eye at the top of the zip. I'd say 97 per cent for this one.

black cotton floral printed skirt - Noticing a trend here? I worked on this one today and sewed in the gathers at the waist. I'll be doing the grosgrain waistband facing again and it will also be wanting a hook and eye at the top of the zip but that will have to wait until Monday. About halfway.

estate sale quilt top - I was fortunate to rummage through the linen cupboard and find a very large, dense cotton sheet that I picked up at another estate sale of sorts (except there was no sale - the bloke was completely renovating the house and wanted it cleared out; everything was free). I have tacked the quilt top to the sheet in order to stabilise it. Progress? I'd say about one per cent because there is a lot of mending to do. Anyway, it's all packed away now so that I can finish the long languishing vintage fabrics quilt instead.

Overall progress? 95.6% x big project + 27% x small project + 30% small project + 97% x sewing project + 50% x sewing project + 1% x huge overwhelming project .... umm, I'd say about 100 per cent crafting satisfaction.

* yes, that is a euphemism for obsessive

too practical?

Is it indeed possible to be too practical? It is certainly possible to do too much practical knitting, if only that other endeavours in the sock and project categories get sorely neglected.

Since I instituted my 'knit list' in November last year, all that I have managed to cast on and complete are practical knits (and crochets) - fourteen of them! My sock and project knitting at the time, Baudelaire and the Swallowtail shawl respectively, are still on the needles. This is not, per se, a bad thing. The whole point of the knit list was to restrict the number of projects on the go at any one time and to prevent a proliferation of barely-more-than-cast-on lace shawls, under the mental weight of which I would surely have suffered a nervous collapse.

So there has been some success there at least with being disciplined. I cannot cast on for another pair of socks until I finish my Baudelaire pair. Which means facing them again. Way back on 10 December I discovered two dropped stitches and have barely looked at them since. Until today. I just decided that it was time. Thankfully the two dropped stitches had miraculously been repaired (by me, I guess - I've blocked it out). And like many things that you put off and put off because they seem too dreadful, once I actually started again it was a real pleasure. I'm using a lovely Addi Lace 2.25mm circular and how different it feels in my hands to my current practical project. The change in needle, the change in yarn weight, the change in fabric - going from one project to another. I am in love with these socks again.

And because I do always like to include a photo, here is my current practical project. It is Molly from Debbie Bliss' Junior Knits. This is something that I have wanted to knit since ... well, before baby bear was born I think and here I am knitting the 3-4 year size. I'm using some yarn that I recycled from a Boden cardigan, it's 60 per cent silk 40 per cent cotton and the project is knitting along at a good pace. It is always a bit of a gamble to substitute yarns, particularly fibre content, so I hope that the pattern will hold up in the silk/cotton blend.

murasaki

I was going to call this post 'purple reign' but murasaki (Japanese for purple I believe) is such a lovely word. A new year and I have three purple lace(y) knitting projects on my hands:

Swallowtail shawl - damn that shawl percentage calculator! I truly thought that with the 19 budding lace repeats finished that I was halfway through the shawl. Turns out I was wrong. After having been busy with this baby since late November 2008, I have finally worked out how to read the charts for the lily of the valley border. Frankly, in the download currently available, I think that it is badly laid out. Anyway, after having puzzled over how to approach the border it finally clicked when I sat down to start on it today. And with understanding came the realisation that there are 22 rows in the border which is about double what my initial calculations had allowed for. So there are way more rows. So I'm only 30% of the way through! On the bright side (and there usually is one) the shawl will be larger than I had expected which I am happy about. There will be a separate, long and boring post about nupps.

Baudelaire - a bit neglected, poor things. When I last worked on them it was to remedy a whole lot of frogging that occurred after the discovery of a couple of dropped stitches. All very traumatic. I have now completed the heel on the first sock and it's time to just knit right on up the leg but I've still got a bit of a mental block about it (must have moved there from the swallowtail shawl).

Fern glade - had I mentioned this yet? In my ongoing search for something to keep my head warm that is not a beanie I cast on for this a week or so ago. It's going well, almost all of the eight repeats completed. The lace pattern is great - there are yarn-overs and decreases every row and it certainly does make for a more pronounced and textural knit. You can also get sharper angles when you decrease on every row.

I cast on for the slouchy version (120 stitches) but I am using some recycled purple yarn (100% lambswool from a J Crew sweater) and I expect getting a tighter gauge than called for so it is presently pretty snug. I'm hoping that a good blocking will help to slouch it out. This is one of the challenges/adventures of knitting with recycled yarn for me - I'm never quite sure of the gauge and while you certainly can knit with two strands of the yarn together if you need something thicker, what if you need something in between? Sure, you could knit a gauge swatch but really ... Oh well, I guess that you just make do and improvise and learn along the way.

I'm expecting fern glade to be finished pretty quickly and next on my practical knitting list is the Flip Your Lid Diamond Mittens (Ravelry link) for Tim. Recycled yarn - a nice soft grey J Crew sweater (again - their lambswool sweaters fill the thrift stores). It's currently knitting up at 30 stitches to 10cm on 3.5mm needles and the pattern calls for 36 stitches so I might go down to 3mm and see how that goes. No, no, I haven't cast on for them yet, I've done a gauge swatch. See, I said that I'm learning.

three little kittens

I'm wondering how long it will take to lose these mittens ...


The vital statistics
Pattern: Basic Cuff-Up Mittens by Patti Pierce Stone
Yarn: Recycled hand-dyed yarn - it was originally a Gap sweater, 90 per cent lambswool 10 per cent angora, which I unravelled and then dyed with the help of Val of Actual Size Creations; the colourway is Auntie Jane
Needles: 4.0mm Addi turbo for the cuff, 4.5mm Addi turbo for the body of the mitten
Start to finish: 30 November 2008 to 9 December November 2008

Comments: I have actually knit two pairs of these mittens. Not that the first pair got lost or anything - it was given away as a thank-you gift at Thanksgiving. Now baby bear and her best friend have matching, interchangeable mittens. A very simple pattern, the second time around it was a bit of a slog. The yarn is lovely, very soft and has already survived a machine wash. II made the smallest size and cast on only 20 stitches (instead of 24) and increased to 28 because otherwise I felt that the cuff wasn't snug enough. They've knitted up quite densely and with at angora in there should keep baby bear's hands very toasty. I'm still debating whether to crochet up a safety cord to keep them together. I think that I would prefer clips to clip them to the cuff of whatever baby bear is wearing - is that sort of thing still available?

Verdict: I hope that they don't get lost because there's no way that I could knit them a third time, well, not this winter at least.

And in other crafting news, after trying to work out what to sew I did find a bit of motivation and finished sewing the two lengths of batting together for the vintage fabrics quilt. At night while trying to fall asleep I have been dreaming up what the backing will look like, so I'm getting there. I today completed repeat 12 of the budding lace pattern for the swallowtail shawl - yippee! That's seven more to go. I am trying to knit one repeat a day in order to maintain momentum and also because I can't wait to start on the Faux Russian Stole (ravelry link) which I plan to be my next project knitting.

I spent a lovely couple of hours yesterday sitting in one of the display galleries at Seattle Art Museum knitting Baudelaire while baby bear slept in her stroller. Much to my horror though, and quite uncharacteristic of my knitting woes, I discovered two dropped stitches! After working an entire pattern repeat or so of the leg. Dreadful. Lots of frogging and confusion about where I was up to with the heel once I had frogged back far enough to rescue the stitches. Still have no idea what went wrong.

And practical knitting - it's time for a new practical knit. I had mentally committed to starting a baby version of Olga Buraya-Kefelian's Cabled Cowl but all I really have to knit it in is a dark grey and being for baby bear I just can't get into it in that colour. Truth be told, I'm not really so into the dark grey wool either which is what I knit my wide-brimmed hat from. So on a whim instead I decided that I need a slouchy beret and cast on today for the Star Crossed Slouchy Beret (ravelry link) by Natalie Larson. I didn't have any appropriate weight wool for that either but rather than going out and spending money, I went through my thrift shop sweater stash, found a J Crew sweater, 100 per cent wool in a very nice purple and started to unravel. The yarn is very fine but I'm finding it working well knitting five strands together. Actually, I think that this is a sweater that I bought at a yard sale, I think that it cost 50 cents.

sew what?

Ok, so I have my knitting under control and it's going well. I'm sticking to my knit list, enjoying the discipline. I've always been good at following rules, I think that this is just what I needed. I'm up to the ninth repeat on my swallowtail shawl and have turned the heel of my first Baudelaire sock.

Now there's the sewing issue. I have so many things that I want to make but I seem to get around to sewing even less than I get around to knitting. Knitting is, of course, more portable and easier to pick up at a moment's notice. And easier, and safer, to put down. Unless you have a place to leave it out, getting out the sewing machine is a trial in comparison and all those pins and needles and scissors and the two-year old. Hmm, what to do?

In the absence of a ravelry for sewers (or is there one?!?) here is my current sewing situation.

complete unfinished projects
This was the first stage in dealing with the knitting. So, currently lurking around and in no particular order I have:

vintage fabrics quilt - the top is long complete and several weeks ago I found some great fabric to be the batting on a thrift tour in Burien. I was afraid that there wouldn't actually be enough of it though and that has put me off proceeding for weeks. Friday past I finally laid it all down on the floor and yes, there is enough! Now I am hand sewing two lengths of the fabric together and am about half-way there. Next steps will be putting together the backing and doing the quilting. This will involve getting out the sewing machine (sigh).

felted jumper bag - lots more bird embroidery to do. I worked on this a bit a few weeks ago, it's just a matter of sticking with it.

reverse engineering a dress pattern - impetus for this has stalled given how cold the weather currently is but I still think about it often and would like to get on with it. I actually have a number of these on the go and they're at ready-to-cut-out stage. I think that I will make toiles first.

black skirts - I have three black skirts - one cotton with a floral print and two printed velvet - all of which are in a different state of disassembly so that I can replace the waist band or add darts or some such to make it fit me. They have been like this for a long time. And although once upon a time Di helped me to draft a new yoke for one of them I have no idea whether it would now fit me.

practical sewing
That is, things that are required in our household right now that I have resolved to sew from recycled fabrics.

pyjamas for baby bear - I did actually have a go at these a couple of months ago using a pattern from a Japanese pattern book but with no great success. I did buy a commercial pattern at the thrift shop recently - Simplicity 8173 - though and should try that. I think I'll make the pyjamas but with long sleeves.

woollen legs - I love love love this idea of using the sleeves from garments to make children's pants and would like to try it with some woollens. This would mean getting out not only my sewing machine but also my overlocker.

Where to start??

queue

I have been using Ravelry a lot lately. I think that it's part of the desire that I currently have to get things in order. I've been assigning yarns to projects and thinking about knit categories and priorities. I'm really keen to use up some of the yarn that I have lying around - some of it has been carted across the Pacific and deserves to be used.

Unfortunately, the Ravelry queue doesn't quite accommodate my knitting plans so here they are for your (dubious) edification.

sock knitting
current - Baudelaire - going well, have completed the gusset and am about to start the heel on the first sock. I'm liking it.
next - Jaywalker in Noro Kureyon sock yarn, shade S233 - my mum chose this yarn when she visited and I want to try the Jaywalker pattern. I might even do it toe up.
and then - Travelling Stitch Legwarmers - I actually bought some new yarn for these (Louet Gems fingering weight in eggplant), an unusual state of affairs as I am quite committed to yarn recycling these days.

practical knitting
current - basic cuff-up mittens - in hand-dyed recycled yarn (90% lambswool, 10% angora from a Gap sweater). I have done one so far - I think that the ribbing could be tighter and both the hand and thumb shorter. They're size 2-3 years but I would be amazed if they didn't get lost before then!
next - foliage hats - presents for friends who sent our camera back to us from Switzerland, twice*. I'm going to use up some Manos del Uruguay that I have in stash and more of the recycled grey lambswool that I used to knit the wide-brimmed hat.
and then - oh, how to choose? Dashing, Cabled Cowl, Ice Queen?

project knitting
current - Swallowtail shawl - enjoying it already.
next - Now this is where it really opens up! It could be anything but there are actually some yarns that I have that I really want to use up - a recycled cotton/linen/silk in a bright indigo blue and a recycled heathered dark green Shetland wool. We'll see how swallowtail goes but I am thinking more lace. Then there's the small issue that I have never actually knit an adult garment ...













* We left our camera on our friend's kitchen table in Zurich back in May this year. He sent it through to Germany (our next stop) but it didn't arrive until after we had already departed. When it did finally arrive it was held by customs who wanted duty to be paid on it. We had by now returned to Australia anyway so we let it be returned to our friend in Switzerland who had now departed on a three-month tour of South East Asia. Upon his return to Europe he sent the camera through to us here in the United States. It arrived on Friday.

the knit list

What is the ideal number of knitting to have on the go at any one time? I'm sure that it differs for each individual knitter but I have discovered from experience that to have too many things on the go at once is too chaotic for me. So I'm thinking about restricting myself to the following categories:

1. sock knitting - always good to have a pair of socks on the go, currently Baudelaire
2. practical knitting - these are the things that are actually immediately required in the household, like mittens for baby bear and some wrist warmers for Tim; plans are for target wave mittens in recycled Opal sock yarn and Dashing in Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran Tweed (Highlander)
3. project knitting - something that I want to knit but that is not immediately needed; something to knit for fun; something to knit for the joy and challenge of knitting it; something like a Swallowtail Shawl perhaps?
   

goodbye mr kitchener

Who was Kitchener to begin with? Or why at least is it called Kitchener stitch? Well anyway, never again. Or not if I can help it.

Hello magical figure eight cast on. Yep, Monday I officially cast on for Baudelaire. And what a fabulous technique. It was my first time so the stitches are a little sloppy but I'll pull them into shape later. We'll see how this goes but it could be toe-up socks for me from now on.

on a lighter note

Ah, seem to have recovered from my earlier dip - here is the yarn that I wound up today:














Or rather, unwound from skeins into hanks. I bought this lot at Value Village on Lake City Way a couple of weeks ago. Six balls (one partly used though) of 25 grams, packaged as three lots at $1.99 each. I think that the yarn is from Japan but this is only because I bought a few other balls that were definitely from Japan on the same day and just assume that they came from the same person. Anyway, this yarn is lovely and fine, lace weight perhaps and I have made it into two hanks:
















It's almost quite sculptural isn't it? I'm planning on dyeing this yarn on Tuesday (public holiday in the US). I hope that I can get a brown/purple/deep pink thing going. I have never dyed yarn before but am going to have some help so promise to show how it goes.

And in a determined effort to actually document some works in progress here is some lovely yarn that I bought earlier this year from Handart in Zurich:
















It is difficult to capture the absolute shade of a yarn, isn't it? One last effort there at the right. And as you can see, these skeins come with a special extra card of thread to use as reinforcement in the toes and heels. I don't think this is an admission of the yarn's ineptitude for the job, just a Swiss extra.

This is strictly speaking not yet a work in progress, it is a pre-work in progress; the yarn is wound, the pattern has been printed out (Baudelaire from Knitty), a plastic ziplock bag has been assigned. I just can't find my blasted 2.25mm Addi Turbo circular that I bought a few weeks ago specifically for sock knitting - bother. Might be pre-work in progress for a while.

ps. I've been using ravelry a lot more lately. I changed my user name to yarncycle because I like to use recycled yarn. That's what has prompted me to pay attention to when things were started and finished. In some ways it's great to know when you started things, in others ... well, see post below.