Still here (and knitting away)

I have been very busy knitting lately, but as most of it consists of presents for people, and I haven't gotten off my derriere to mail them out, nothing to show at the moment. And the sun is hiding, so photo shoots have to wait. But I can write about the selfish knitting :)

You can go see my finished socks on the Purl Diva blog [link]. What you can't see in that oh so flattering picture is the picot hem I re-knit after not liking the 1x1 ribbing I knit at the top - it just looked floppy, and since I'd already knit the socks on US0 needles, I wasn't going to get smaller needles for the ribbing. Picots are all pretty and girly, anyway.

I knit up Ishbel (along with lots of other folks) with a little less than one skein of Malabrigo Lace. It needs blocking, and my wires are in NYC, so it will get blocked some time next week when we're back in the city. The yarn is so yummy, and of course I love the color (Blue Surf).

I finished a sweater (my own recipe, which will probably become my next freebie pattern, since I'm not ready to grade a pattern yet) in Schaeffer Nancy, and it's become my go-to pullover when things are a little chilly, That yarn is yummy and bouncy and interesting, and I totally lucked out with not alternating skeins. The dyeing is more in short bursts, I think, so you don't get pooling, even switching from the narrow circumference of sleeves to the wider body and yoke.

I've swatched with Berocco's Vintage Wool, a new yarn for them, to knit up a Ditto along with the folks at Purl Diva for a KAL. I was thinking of starting with a sleeve, my usual M.O., but I'm not sure if I want to stick with the short sleeves as written or make them longer, so I guess I'll start with the body.

And there are two ideas, one knit up, one all sketchy and swatchy, that I may send out into the big, wide world.

On top of that I'm about half-way through a dress for Isobel on the sewing machine. I wish I were a better sewer, but I know it takes practice, which is hard to come by in this little cottage without doors - sewing is a little too loud during naptime, and when Penelope isn't napping she'd like some attention.

Busy busy busy with no photos to show for it. Lame, I know.