Thursday, March 1, 2007

A good day for knitting (Adriana)

I woke up this morning filled with plans for the day... until I looked out the window.
snow
When you can barely see the building across the courtyard, you know it's a good day for knitting!

I have been a busy knitter lately. I finished my Manos hat! I got rid of the Cotton Fleece lining which was uncomfortable and I knit an additional 4 inches of the Manos to give it a nice brim.
manoshat

I also finished my gauntlets:
gauntlets2
The pattern is from The Purl Stitch and the yarn is my own handdyed.

gauntlets cleo
Here is my gauntlet in action petting Cleo. She seems to be enjoying it :)

I also made a little headway with Granny's birthday socks:
grannyssock2
I measured her calves and I'll have to do some increases as I go up to ensure that they fit properly. For a 89.5 year old woman, she has shapely legs.

Remember my disaster with the Trekking socks? Heather, being the brilliant lady that she is, suggested that instead of ripping back the heel and redoing it, I should just rip out the toe. I did it and now the sock actually fits! Plus I was able to fiddle with the colours making my sock less green than before.
trekking socks
This is Trekking XXl 100. Isn't it strange how different the two socks look from each other? That's part of the fun of Trekking.

trekking socks2

trekking socks3
These are such photogenic socks!

Remember how I said that Katy was going to be my next project?
audrey1
I lied!
Meet Audrey, from Rowan 35, knit in Rowan Calmer, the Calmer colourway. I picked up this yarn on sale and had been intending to knit it after Katy since it is more of a summer sweater. I wanted to have it done in time for Granny's big party in May. After swatching (and even washing the swatch) for Katy, I found that all I could think of was Audrey. A little encouragement from my mom and I was off in a new direction. This sweater for me represents my family, both because I want to wear it to a family gathering and because it shares its name with my cousin. I've been homesick lately and I think that knitting this will help.

Lately I have been choosing my knitting projects for emotional reasons. Knitting Birch was a cathartic experience to help me work through something personal, and now I chose Audrey to feel closer to my family. Has anyone else picked knitting projects for this reason?

5 comments:

Heather G. said...

Go Granny!! I hope I have shapely legs when I am 89.5 (or now would be good too)

I am a very emotional knitter. I knit what I feel like. I really can't manage much more than my garter stitch log cabin right now because I have been feeling very anxious and scattered. Or when I start a project sometimes I do it thinking that accomplishing this project will make me feel good... does that make sense?

The gauntlets look fabulous! Maybe it is time for me to knit another pair?? And it matches your hat so well! And those trekking socks, how weird do they look? They are like brothers and sisters who only have a last name in common. But they are gorgeous in their individuality!

It is snowing like CRAZY here. People are totally panicking... it was almost funny to hear them calling their loved ones on the streetcar and making sure they were OK. It is just snow! The freezing rain is not due to start for a few hours yet!

Adriana said...

The Trekking socks look less weird in person. I don't feel like I'm wearing mismatched socks :)

Toronto people are so funny when it comes to snow. Did you see the feature on the Rick Mercer Report last week?

Anonymous said...

Everything you knit is beautiful. I wish I could see it all in person. Glad the socks are done, I want to try my treking socks as well. I would name your knit collection --Berry Beautiful.

Adriana said...

Tee hee, thanks Rosemary :)
You're right, I do tend towards reds, pinks and purples. Knitting with Calmer in a pale blue/green is a nice departure for me.

Unknown said...

it all looks great--nice work, lady!

when i'm trying to decide what to knit i generally choose between lace and colourwork. usually, but not exclusively, if i've just knit one i get the urge to knit the other for my next project.

the only piece that i've knit based entirely on emotion is my Tweedy scarf.