The Mystery Stole is moving along, albeit slowly. I took about a week off from it, because I've been spending a lot of time with my sister and her family. They come out here for several weeks for the summer, and most everything I do either stops completely or moves at a snail's pace. I'm on row 185 of Chart D, so I know I'm well behind others. That's okay, because I'm also taking my time and meandering through (or trying to) HP7 at the same time. I know others who raced to finish it, only to suffer from PPD (post Potter depression). I know I'll be depressed at the end of this monumental series, and I want to savor every last bit right now while I can.
The Drop Stitch Lace Tank has become my social knitting because I'm now working on straight 2x2 rib for the back. I have about 3 1/2" left before I can move on to the right front. I finished the front left section, after ripping it back to the beginning of the underarm split. I wasn't happy with the edges, and decided to create a selvedge, easy for picking up stitches, by slipping the first stitch of each row.
I cast on a new project also, not part of my Summer Knitting Goals, although it is a felted bag. It's Natalie's Squatty Sidekick and is turning out to be the easy knit, as intended. I had two balls of Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky in chocolate and light blue to make a felted bag, so it was a perfect fit. Even though the pattern calls for 220 yards of worsted weight using size 8s, unfortunately, I ran out of yarn! I had 220 yards of bulky weight, and the combination of size 15s and my loose gauge did me in. So the project is on ice until I order and receive more yarn from WEBS. This was a mini kal I'm doing with my visiting sister, and guess what? She didn't run out of yarn. I haven't checked in on her bag in a few days, so I wonder if she's done. Sigh... Hopefully, I'll be able to post a finished picture of hers.
BTW, until July 31 you can get free shipping on any Valley Yarns order of $50 or more from WEBS. I am so easily suckered into these deals that it quickly doesn't become a deal anymore. Wish me luck in resisting.
Finally, a FO. The Feather and Fan socks were a breeze to finish, it seemed, once I knew they fit my sister. Here are the details:
Project: Wendy's Feather and Fan Socks
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill SuperSock Yarn in Monet colorway
Needles: KnitPicks Classic Circs in US size 1 (2.5 mm), 2 circs method for casting on the toes, and then magic loop for the rest of the body (still needle dancing!).
Start: June 2007
Finish: July 2007
Thoughts: I have been enjoying Wendy's short row heels, and am happy to report that I can join the completed heel with the instep without any resulting holes. I like the feather and fan design; it's super easy to memorize and shows off the variegation well. I've realized the 64 stitches I've been using with socks lately are too big for my feet, even though my gauge is on. That means I'll have to play around either with 2.25mm needles and/or cast on less stitches.
Hope you're keeping cool in our summer heat. Knit on!
