So, the Hemlock Ring Blanket is growing. And super quickly, too. It feels really odd to be working lace in such a heavy weight yarn, but it’s also nice to watch it grow before your eyes. When you work with laceweight, you knit for hours, and your project takes 3 days to grow an inch!

Here’s a closer look at the Feather and Fan part.

I’m using 5.5mm needles, but I think I could have gone up to a 6mm and still been happy with the resulting fabric. Except that I don’t have a very long 6mm needle. I’m using a 5.5mm Knitpicks tip, on a 100 cm cord, and it’s getting a bit crowded. I’ve ordered a 150cm cable from Donni, and I think I’m going to need it pretty soon.
And did I mention that these hanks are huge? I’m up to round 87. I have over 400 stitches per round, and I still have this much of the first hank left.

Doesn’t look like much? How about now?

Huge Hanks. Huge.
Brooklyn Tweed did 101 rounds on his blanket. I may make mine a little bigger, we’ll see how bored I am and how hot the weather is when I get there. It’s another hot day today.
Last time I posted, I mentioned I was having trouble with my ‘net connection. Twasn’t the connection. My modem laid down and quietly died not long after I finished the post. I now realise that I am far too reliant on my ‘net connection. I had no internet for just over a day. I was a little lost soul. No blogs, no Ravelry, email only through my mobile phone.
Emily was asking me questions about her homework, and I had no Google! No dictionary.com!
I am pathetic!
And today my 13 month old car is back at the dealer, because warning lights are coming on that shouldn’t be. I have had no car all day. I’m almost as bad as I was without my internet.
Thank heavens for old fashioned knitting, huh? No mechanical bits that can pack it in when least expect it.

My Cascade Eco Wool arrived yesterday, from Yarns Online.

These hanks are huge! I got colour 8014.
For the Aussies, here’s a comparison.

Thats a 250g skein of Cascade Eco Wool, a 100g skein of Cascade 220 and a 50g ball of Cleckheaton Country Silk.
I told you, it’s huge!
Here’s a rabbit for comparison.

Yeah, the rabbit is huge as well!!
The Eco wool is a bit thicker than the Cascade220, knitting up at 14sts = 10cm, but it’s softer than I expected, and I think it would make a nice jumper, too.
Anyway, I’m using mine for the Hemlock Ring Blanket. I worked on it yesterday, and got up to Row 44.

Unfortunately, today is hot. 33C hot. So I haven’t touched it yet.
Short post today, our internet connection is playing up and I keep dropping out, and that, along with the heat is just making me cranky!

We had a lovely afternoon yesterday!
Lara and Mark had their house warming and baby shower. The weather was lovely, although it got a bit cool later in the afternoon, and I got to finally meet and chat with other Sydney knitbloggers like Celia, Lien, Kate and Sally among others.
And we got to play with bunnies! And a Cocky and some chooks, too.

We met Jasper for the first time.

Emily loves Custard. (And thought about bunnynapping him!). In the background, you can see Cocky watching over all the antics. But we didn’t leave Cocky out!


And we can’t forget Liza and Barbara.

Lara is going to be Twinkie’s foster mother while we’re visiting the USA. Looks like a nice place for a bunny holiday, doesn’t it?
While we were there, I worked a little on the Hanging Garden Stole.

Up to the ninth repeat now.
And on the Stupid Slinky Sock. I was a bit uncertain about starting the toe and this whole afterthought heel caper.
I took Terri’s advice, and worked the foot so that it was about 4″ short of the total foot length from the waste yarn for the heel opening. But I was still a bit unsure, so instead of starting the toe, I put the foot stitches on to two dpns to hold, and undid the waste yarn, putting the heel stitches on the two circs.

For the heel and toe, I’m using a solid yarn. In this case, it’s Knitpicks Essential in Petunia. I worked the heel, then tried it on Em.

By the way, why didn’t anyone warn me that an afterthought heel requires grafting? Grafting twice on one sock is kinda pushing the friendship!

I’m not keen on the heel in the pattern. Is it just me, or is it a bit pointy? Anyway, at this point, I should have checked the length of the foot, but I was more preoccupied with the pointiness of the heel.
So at Lara’s, I started the toe. The pattern calls for a star toe, so I blithely followed along. I didn’t finish it until I got home last night.
I ended up with a pointy toe and a pointy heel. I didn’t take a picture, because I don’t like nighttime pictures on my camera.
So I ripped out the toe, and part of the heel. I did a standard toe, and I shortened and rounded off the heel a bit, and then tried the sock on Em. (After kitchenering the toe and the redone heel!)
Here’s where I noticed that I should have checked the length of the foot. It was too short.
So I ripped out the toe, lengthened the foot, and did the freakin’ stupid toe again.
And grafted it. Again.
This time, it fit.

Lucky, because I was ready to toss it.
Between the trauma of two circs, pointy heels, short feet, three toes and four graftings, this sock easily tops my “Worst sock ever” list.
But sock number two?

I feel better already!

I don’t know why I own a camera. I never think to use it until it’s too late.
The Phildar yarn kept talking to me, but there was a problem. I think it was speaking French. I clearly didn’t understand what it was saying to me.
I thought it wanted to be a summer tank top for Emily. So I spent a good part of Wednesday finding the stitch pattern I was looking for and swatching for gauge. Once I’d worked out the details, I cast on.
It definitely did not want to be a tank top for Em. I’d also forgotten that I don’t really like to knit with cotton. Or with tape yarns. Tape yarns play havoc with my perfectionism. They twist and they don’t sit neatly. And I spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to smooth them out again. So I did all this work, then got cranky and ripped it all out, and never took a single picture.
We shall not speak of the Phildar Phil Ruban again.
Yesterday, Ailsa and I went over to Cabramatta. Again, I should have had the camera. We had a great day! We walked up and down the main street, shopping for fabrics and poking around in all the shops. We had an absolutely delicious lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant. The Beef Noodle Soup was fantastic, and Ailsa had the Vietnamese pancake, which she assured me was also delicious. I’m imagining the way it all looked, but that doesn’t help you much, does it?
Ailsa came over to pick up her share of these.

Blocking wires! We ordered them from Knitpicks, and Jill was kind enough to play courier for us, collecting them and mailing them on. (Boo hiss to Knitpicks for your international mailing policies!) Three sets, one for me, one for Ailsa and one for Lara. I get to deliver Lara’s in person tomorrow.
Now I want to block something, so today, I got back to work on the stole. Em had a friend over, so I had a relatively peaceful day left to my own devices. I got 30 rows done on the stole, then disaster.

Can you see it? I have no idea what happened. I would’ve sworn that I followed the pattern exactly.
Does this make it easier?

Those stocking stitch patches are not supposed to be there. Thankfully, the frogging was uneventful, and all the stitches are back where they belong, just 10 rows back.
Bah!

So, finally, the Cabled beanie and Gloves are done.

Specs:
Pattern – “Cover Girl” from Family Circle Easy Knits for Kids (Originally published in Winter ’99/’00 issue of FCEK)
Size: One size
Yarn: Recommended yarn is Cleckheaton Country 8ply. I used Cleckheaton Country Silk 8ply, same yarn with the addition of 15% silk. 3 and a half balls.
Needles: Recommended 4mm. I used 3.75mm for the hat, and 3.25mm for the gloves.
Modifications: Extensive.
I modified the hat by reducing the length by one pattern repeat. (8 rows), see this entry.
I modified the gloves extensively. The pattern is written for knitting flat and seaming. I can’t think of anything worse than seams in gloves. Or seaming gloves! So to start with, I just rewrote the pattern to knit them in the round. The recommended gauge is 22sts/4″. The pattern has 42 sts across the hand. That’s nearly 8″. Em’s hand is about 6 3/4″. And my gauge was off, so the glove was something like 9″ around to start with.
So I had to rip out the whole glove and rewrite the whole pattern. Tthe pattern I knit resembles the original, in that it has a cabled cuff and stocking stitch hand. The method of knitting it, and the stitch count is completely different.

I didn’t knit the scarf to finish the set. The kid already has plenty of scarves that she doesn’t wear! She looks pretty happy with the hat and gloves though, doesn’t she?
Hopefully she’ll wear these ones.
The Slinky Socks and Hanging Garden are still going strong, and I’m (im)patiently waiting for my yarn for the Hemlock Ring Blanket.
But right now, this is talking to me.

I’m trying to ignore it.