Three Days before Christmas

December 22, 2009| Lindy| 0 Comment | 2:44 pm

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As the title of this post states, it’s just three days before Christmas and I am down to the wire with two Christmas presents still on needles. I just haven’t had enough time this last week to knit very much. But I DO have all my Christmas shopping done. (This includes all the supplies for Christmas dinner.)

There’s a Winter Storm Watch in place for Omaha and most of the surrounding states and if the weathermen are correct, we will be snowed in for Christmas. The snow is supposed to start on Christmas eve after 2 days of freezing rain, which is supposed to start tonight.

Fortunately, our only traveling member of the family — my DD from Boston, has already arrived ahead of the storm. Now all we need to do is batten down the hatches and ride out the blizzard — I sense some long uninterrupted knitting time in my near future….

Hopefully, I will have a chance to take some pictures and post them before I need to wrap up the unfinished knitted projects. Happy Holidays!

WIP: Clapotis Scarf in Jaggerspun ZephyrWIP: Clapotis Scarf in Jaggerspun Zephyr

I have started another project even though I have at least two others on needles. I just got the itch to knit the Clapotis Scarf pattern along with some of the other members of my knitting guild. It took me a bit of time to decide to join the knit-along, because I wanted to use yarn from my stash rather than buy yarn for this project. I finally settled on the Jaggerspun Zephyr lace weight yarn I had left over from a lace scarf I knit for my DD a couple of years ago. This yarn is 50% fine grade merino wool and 50% Chinese Tussah silk in 2/18 Lace Weight. The colorway is Teal. I am using size US 4 (3.5 mm) needles.

This scarf is knit by starting at one point of a parallelogram and increasing stitches until you reach the desired width of the scarf. Then you knit a series of straight row sections until you have your desired length and then you decrease stitches until you reach the far corner of the scarf. Along the way, you drop stitches to create an open pattern between rows of stockinette stitches.
So far, I have knitted the increase section to the point where I will begin the straight rows and start dropping stitches. Here’s a picture:

The Clapotis pattern is free on Knitty.com. Here’s a link to the pattern: Clapotis Pattern

10 in 201010 in 2010

I’ve signed on for a Ravelry group called “10 in 2010”. The idea is to identify 10 knitting projects you want to complete in 2010 and share your progress with the group. It’s a variation of a knit along.

So here is my “10 in 2010” project list:

Baby Romper & Cardigan(from Dale of Norway – Baby 203) in Baby Ull

EZ Green Sweater – because I want to learn to steek – yarn to be determined

Manly Aran Socks (from Knitting More Circles around Socks) in Knit Picks Stoll – merlot colorway

Finish Cable Rib Socks in Knit Picks Risata – baby doll colorway

Socks for me using Zueberball yarn – pattern to be determined

SFS Socks in Regia stretch – olive drab color

Teddy Bear (from Debbie Bliss Toy Knits) – using Peaches & Cream yarn

Socks using Brown Sheep Wildfoote yarn

Socks using Debbie Norville Serenity Yarn

Hat & matching scarf for me — yarn and pattern to be determined

This is an easy way to set some goals for knitting projects. If you are on Ravelry and are interested in joining, go to Groups and look for “10 in 2010”. Happy Knitting.

Knitting Socks in Waiting AreaKnitting Socks in Waiting Area

Yesterday, I had the role of being supportive of my DH while he underwent some tests at our local hospital. (Nothing serious, just part of routine maintenance for the over 55 crowd.)

Anyway, I decided to take along a pair of socks I am knitting as my “keep occupied” project for the time I would be sitting in the waiting area. I am doing cuff down, two at a time on 2 circular knitting needles. So I pulled out my knitting and started to knit away while I sipped on a cup of coffee. An older woman walked into the group of chairs where I was sitting — and pulled out her knitting!

She was knitting something on dpn’s in a pretty dark green yarn. For a time, we sat and knit without any conversation. Then, she put away her knitting and came over and sat next to me and chatted. (I think she was anxious about whomever she was waiting for, but she never really said.) I learned that she was working on a pair of mittens and she was very curious about the method I was using for knitting socks and my self-striping yarn. We exchanged bits of information about yarns and knitting and then she was called to go back with her family member while he/she recovered.

It’s interesting how knitting forms a link and an introduction for us. I know it made the time in the waiting room go by more quickly for me and I’d like to think it eased my companion’s anxiety a little and helped her time in the waiting room pass more pleasantly.

P.S. Started the socks so that I would have an easy knit project for the knitting guild meet ups. More on the guild in another post. I promise to post a picture of the socks when done.