Right here:

Is where I fell back in love with the arch-shaped socks.

The scarf of bad timing

2.5 skeins of Cascade 220 lambswool Peruvian highland merino wool, The Heathers. In green, as you might could tell.

Fisherman's rib over 40 stitches. About 5.5' long. Started in the Boston airport and finished 8 days later. Learned that picking up stitches in fisherman's rib is kind of tricky. Blocked it by hanging it in the bathroom, tying another scarf to the end and tying a spray bottle to the end of that to weigh it down some-but-not-too-much.

Knit for one of my nearest and dearest.

The spirit of the curse

Well. The curse is alive and well. The gift isn't a sweater, it's not for a Boyfriend, and we aren't "broken up," per se. Additionally, the knit itself wasn't the catalyst (indeed, it hasn't even arrived yet), but the timing was spot-on.

Spirit of the curse rather than the letter of the curse.

Needless to say, I'm not doing so hot right now.

Stealthy

I've been single-mindedly knitting myself into a fury, but I have to be careful: the recipient might be watching. Here's a sneaky-style taste:



Slightly heathered emerald green lambswool by Cascade Yarns. Mmm. Soft but not too soft. Man-style.

Will be shipping it off soon (as soon as I get around to taking some pictures of it), and then -- full update.

In the meantime, someone needs to buy me all of this yarn. Especially in the Veilchen colorway. And Poison Nr. 5. Mmmmmm.

Taking a break

The sweater keeps getting bigger, the rows get longer, and I need to... not look at it for a few days.

And the arch-shaped socks? I'm not... entirely positive where they are right now. No, seriously. I think they're in my bookbag from St. Croix... Maybe?

I started some mittens with some Jo Sharp Alpaca Kid Lustre in deep maroon. Not sturdy, but will keep me warm on the way to the car in the mornings. It's going fairly quickly, which is kind of exciting. No pictures yet. Soon, though! I'm thinking that since they're simple I may embroider them a la Lene. (She talks about her methods here).

I also picked up a half-finished handkerchief and finished it up:


(I need to fuss with my camera controls. BOY is that noisy).
(Okay, I'm just excited that I know what that means).

I got some use out of the previously finished one while I was sneezing and snurking through my post-vacation cold, and here are my conclusions:

So much better than the paper towels I'd been using at work. So much better. Of course, so is fine-grade sandpaper, but these made my nose happy.

Pattern for super nose protection (though you hardly need one):

-1 skein KFI Patagonia Nature Cotton makes two handkerchiefs with a smidge left over.

-Size 5 needles (though I tend to knit pretty tightly -- just keep your gauge loose enough to be drape-y but tight enough that they don't, you know, leak).

CO 22 sts (for a larger one cast on 30, but if you tend to carry things in your pockets keep in mind that the larger size can be a little bulky)

Fisherman's Rib:

Row 1: k1p1 all the way across.

Row 2: Sl1, p1, *K into row below, purl, repeat from *.

Repeat row 2 until you have a square-ish shape. Since this is a pretty boingy stitch it's a little hard to tell. Estimate. It's just a handkerchief.

Bind off, weave in ends. Use to cover nose. Blow. Wipe. Snurgle.

If you're squidgy about immediate contact with nose goo then make a lot and throw them in the washing machine when you run out.

If you're not, however, then you can get away with one or two. When it starts getting full of goo then just take it to the sink, give it a rinse, and wring out. It's damp when you use it again, but the cool water feels really nice on a sore nose.