I have a cunning plan

- a plan so cunning that you can put a tail on it and call it a weasel! *

It involves reducing my sock yarn stash (and gaining percentages for the Sockyarn-O-Meter), fulfilling some of my designer aspirations, and having a good time. And lots of knitting, obviously.

So I might be a bit secretive in the future :)

The sock yarn stash

I just wanted to show you the sock yarn stash to be reduced/eliminated by the Sockyarn-O-Meter progress. 

From left to right starting along the top line we have: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Solid in colourway Firefly (the yellow one), red Arwetta, Socks That Rock Lightweight in Firebird and Ruby Slippers, Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Montana Chokecherry, J-Knits Superwash Me Sock in Tampa, Artyarns Ultramerino 4 in 138, purple Arwetta, a leftover ball of Wollmeise in Drachenblut, Shibui Knits Sock in 4401, Claudia Hand Painted Yarns Fingering in Ocean, Colinette Jitterbug in Velvet Damson, and Claudia Hand Painted Yarns Fingering in Argyle 2. At the bottom we have: Socks That Rock in Lenore, Arwetta in medium grey, dark grey, and black, and Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Multi in Shadow.

It's not that much but still enough to make me 14 pairs of socks... :)

Sockyarn-O-Meter Progress II

- they're just rolling in those percentages, aren't they? ;)

I managed to finish my Leyburn Socks in Koigu KPPPM (colourway P40035 - pretty much more vibrant than in the photo below) which I started back in ... *off to check on Ravelry* ... January. 

I have a number of things to say about them, but as my brain is about to suffer a multivariate-data-analysis-induced breakdown, you'll get them in bullet form: 

• This is one of the "foreign" yarns I've bought from one of my fellow Ravelers to explore some of those highly interesting sock yarns I can't buy (at a favourable price) arond here
• It is my first pair of toe-up socks! Though I really like the toe construction (and not so much the heel although I do understand why it is clever) I really have to get used to knitting them the "wrong" way round
• I learned a new cast-off method from my Knitter's Handbook: tubular cast-off. Brilliant for good-looking elastic bind-offs at the top of a toe-up sock! So brilliant that I don't mind it involving a tapestry needle...
• The lattice stitch pattern is a bit tedious, but it looks nice...

I think that's it. And it earned me 94 g (I thought they were 50 g skeins?) = 9.4% on the Sockyarn-O-Meter - wooot! :)

And now that I've added percentages to the Sockyarn-O-Meter twice in one day, it's going to take quite some time before that will happen again, i.e. I am halfway through the first one of the next pair... I don't mean to reach 100% by tomorrow anyway.

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Info:

Pattern: Leyburn Socks

Yarn: Koigu KPPPM colourway P40035, 2 skeins (94 g, apparently)

Needles: 2.25 mm dpn

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A side note: the flat stinks of coriander... dear boyfriend insisted on eating it on his serving of chili con carne... the mere smell makes me feel sick - eeeeeewwww... (Just had to say it - almost can't think for the smell...). 

Ravelry-linked progress bars

I may be a bit slow, but I just discovered the Ravelry-linked progress bars - scroll down to see mine in the side bar. Here's how.

Did anybody whisper procrastination?

Sockyarn-O-Meter Progress I

Baby steps are also steps, right? 

Here's my first project for the Sockyarn-O-Meter that I started recently. A mobile cozy for the dear boyfriend's mobile phone - he's been asking for one like mine for ages. Now he just wants one for his iPod, too :)

It's 12 g of Arwetta sock yarn used, colourway: black. 

And 12 g equals 1.2% on the Sockyarn-O-Meter! :P

On that note, I also have a pair of socks approaching the final cast-off!

Right, I'm off to study some multivariate linear regression... |-)

I'll be there...

... June 13th at noon (the link is in Danish).

Rosa

Another set of mobile photos from the office showing my recent FO: Rosa by Kim Hargreaves (pattern in Thrown Together). Link to my Ravelry page here. I had to include three photos - all of dubious quality - to show you what I wanted:

This one shows the sweater nicely... 

This one shows the colour accurately...

And this one shows the ingenious bottom edge construction...!

I like that this is a quite fashionable knit - it almost looks like something I bought, but I couldn't find something just as nice :) The frills are so great :D

Yeah, I'm really pleased with this one.

Info:

Pattern: Rosa by Kim Hargreaves

Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk, colourway Guava + some old red mohair for the frills.

Size: self-constructed xxs to match the thicker yarn

Mods: I made puff sleeves; I attached the frills while binding off rather than binding off and sewing them on afterwards; the smaller size gave me a need for 6 buttons only.

If I were to knit it again, I would move the buttonholes 1 stitch farther away from the edge rather than having them in the middle (as the buttons won't be in the middle when buttoned, then). And maybe I'd make the button band narrower. But that's just details...

Sockyarn-O-Meter

Britt has started a Sockyarn-O-Meter, and with loads of foreign sock yarn bought from other Ravelers piling up, I think this is my call! (I counted at least 14 different (couples of) skeins over at Ravelry). So - I'm making my own Sockyarn-O-Meter, slightly different from Britt's, but here goes: 

- 1000 g used = 100% (i.e. 10 g used is +1%)

- all sock yarn counts

- I can knit whatever I want with the yarn, but I think socks are my favourite

- If I buy new sock yarn before reaching the 100%, 10 g will equal -2% (but really I should try not to - I just don't want the project to fail due to a single purchase)

- Prize: whatever suits my fancy :)

Yup, 1000 g is a lot, but I agree with Britt that it should be possible, let alone necessary :)

It will take some time, though :P

Amimono Endeavours I

You know you've been knitting with fine yarn when... you think that Koigu sock yarn is kinda heavyweight.

And here's what I've been knitting:

My Amimono Coral II got a good start while watching the Cambridge Spies mini series last night and this morning.

Well - that's all - no more time for procrastination! I have some nice graphs to describe...

Have a nice weekend!

Plans!

I have entered the Amimono mode!

Upcoming projects are:

Coral (my second; just cast on...)

Daffodil

Olive

Amber

Granite

Mmmm.... :)

(and I guess it goes well with my NaKniSweMoDo obligations....)

I think I'll have to get myself on my bike tomorrow and go and get the one or two skeins I need for a beautiful red Daffodil - and buttons for the long finished Rosa by Kim Hargreaves; I really want to wear it now, just need those buttons... 

A brief report from the office...

No matter how busy I am (and I am!), every day has room for a bit of procrastination... So I just spent a few minutes shooting photos of my new sweater with my mobile. The photos are not the best known to mankind, but I don't have time for a real photo shoot, and I thought this was better than nothing. They do actually show the colours quite accurately!

(Don't I look happy? :P)

Despite the facial expression in the last photo, I'm actually very pleased with this sweater! 

Info:

Pattern: Sommer in Tokyo by Marianne Isager (published in Japan / Japanese Knits or whatever the Interweave title is...)

Yarn: Filcolana New Zealandsk Lammeuld (the blue ones), Tvinni (pink), and another yarn from Henrichsens Uldspinderi (orange)

Needles: Addi bamboo, 2.5 mm (yup, 2.5 mm and jaquard); the pattern says 3.0 mm, but 2.5 mm matched my yarn better

Size: I made it 1 pattern repeat narrower than the smallest size in the pattern - and my gauge is slightly smaller

Yarn consumption: I didn't weigh it, but I reckon I used approx. 70 g of each of the blue yarns, approx. 60 g of the pink yarn, and approx. 20 g of the orange one.

Despite the tiny needles and the jaquard I actually really enjoyed knitting it. The start was slow, using the sleeves as swatches. But once I wanted to know how much of the pink yarn I would have left over for another project, I started knitting away on the body. I did take some time to pull myself together to weave in the ends, and then even more time until I got round to blocking it. But here it is - and it's nice! I thought it perfect for the first rainy day after a month(!) of sunshine. (And I'm now convinced that people with glasses weren't meant for biking in the rain... :P)