amberica | Knitting Update

What follows is just a personal status report of where I'm at with my knitting right now, and some near-term goals I have.

I just finished my Moebius scarf. No pattern, I just did alternating "stripes" of knit and purl, about 5-7 rows each. The only thing I needed to look for online for was exactly HOW to do a Moebius in one piece without having to knit a long rectangle and then grafting the ends together in a half-twist. I did find instructions, but it took me several re-readings before I figured out how to do it. Then it was easy, if not a little weird! I probably won't bother with it again. I don't really like it too much now that I'm done. I'll probably wear it a little bit if it gets really cold, as it makes a GREAT warm scarf when worn in a double-loop around the neck, but I don't like the way it looks pulled up as a hood.

I used Jo-Ann Sensations Angel Hair in Beige, on a 50" US11 circular needle. (Yay Denise Needles!) Actually I started off with the cable a little shorter, but after I got all the stitches on after picking up the "other" side, I added the 5" cable for a little extension. It was awesome. I love my Denise Interchangeables!! I think I cast on about 135 stitches on Saturday, and I finished it tonight (Monday), so it was pretty quick. I don't like the look of it too much though - too bulky, and the knit/purl rows bore me. I think if I ever do attack a Moebius again, I'm going to do something more fun and lacy, and use a lighter weight yarn. Angel Hair is really pretty bulky, and kind of uglier knitted up than it is in the skein. I will probably just do it in a grafted rectangle too. It was just a teeny bit annoying having my cables all doubled up on themselves the entire time.
On Friday, I cast on for a project that I'd been thinking about doing for a while. I originally found the pattern on the Lion Brand website, where it was called "Very Easy Ripple Shawl" but then I realized it's just a basic feather-and-fan motif. Super simple, going pretty fast, but it will take a couple weeks at least, depending on how much I work on it. to make it, I got 6 balls of Microspun in Lilac ON SALE last week, so that was cool. I don't know what I'm going to do with it. Is there anyone that thinks they might want this? It's actually much prettier in person than it looks on the Lion Brand website, and sure to be very cozy. ^_^ (If no one wants it, I'll probably just keep it for myself. It's not a color I would normally wear, but it is kind of pretty.

04Jan2006 ETA: See pix of shawl in progress here.
ALSO on Friday, I started casting on for a pair of "snowboarding socks" for Jon in black Wool-Ease, but after getting about an inch in on the toe, I decided they were not thick enough. I showed Jon to see what he thought, and he agreed that he wants something much thicker for snowboarding, but then I told him I was thinkig about continuing them anyway and adding TRANSFORMERS intarsia at the tops of the cuffs!! Like, one Autobot sock and one Decepticon sock - heehee. I told him that I had made some charts for them a few months ago and he was really stoked by the idea. So I guess I'll probably continue that project, but not right away. He claims he needs a new stocking cap first.

Oh, but speaking of socks! This is funny - I was playing with that Angel Hair yarn, really, it's crazy bulky and fuzzy, and Jon said he wanted socks out of THAT stuff! LOL - I have just under 2 balls left, and I forget the yardage and gauge offhand, so I'm not sure if I'll need more, but they have tons of it in this color lot so I can just buy more if I need to.
Finally, imogen_blue have decided to do a knit swap with each other! I'm really excited - I'm going to make her the Skull Illusion scarf so she can conquer the world in it, and I think she's going to make me a lovely pashmina with wool from one of the neighboring farms near where she lives (in Australia). THAT IS SO COOLl! I actually tried starting Skull Illusion twice before but I just wasn't doing too well with it, so I ripped it out and gave up. But now I have a reason to be motivated and really do it! ^_^