Fyrewitch's Knitting Adventures

FOs

In spite of all evidence to the contrary, I have actually been  crafting my little fingers to the bone. I finished two items yesterday.

  I freestyled this little top for the Witchlet. (I love the term freestyled, it makes you sound all creative and free spirited, instead of the realisty of being too lazy to find and follow a pattern).

It's crocheted, all trebles, using Moda Vera Paul yarn that I scored cheap from Spotlight last year.

It's a little big for her, but she'll grow into it. She thinks it's great.

 

 

These are socks for my mother, to replace the previous pair I made her. She managed to shrink them. Onya Mum!

I've immediately cast on another pair of socks, as Mummy dearest's birthday is coming up. I've also got another pair on the needles, which I've christened my "Can't be Arsed" socks. I cast them on at about 11 the other night because the yarn was calling my name and I just wanted to see how it would knit up. They will probably just be house socks as the yarn is a bit too thick to wear with shoes, so I thought I may as well go all out in my laziness. I knit a row before joining, which is sinful, and frankly, a whole lot easier, and only did 5 rows of rib (which is my most hated part of the sock).  I'm wondering what other sock knitting blasphemies I can perform before this pair is over.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I love September. Here in the great land of Aus, September is spring. The native plants are finishing their flowering season, there are baby birds everywhere. The days are clear and warm, and the nights are still cool enough to sleep comfortably. Perfect! September is also my birthday!

This year, my friends got together and gave me a Spotlight voucher. My best friend now understands that there is no such thing as too much yarn, and is assisting me with my habit, bless her. Here are my birthday goodies:

I picked up a loom set and some balls of yarn, all of which will be used for socks. The blue and red balls I've been eyeing off for ages, but were a bit expensive. Perfect for buying with a gift voucher!

I also picked up a couple of circular needles to try to teach myself the Magic Loop method of sock knitting. At this point I'm not terribly impressed. It seems fiddly and irritating, and no where near as efficient as my DPNs.  Still I'm asking my Magic Loop loving friends on Ravelry to defend themselves explain their love of the circular needles. I'm wondering if the needles I've bought are substandard. The join is incredibly uneven and difficult to use.

While I've been quiet, I've also been doing a heap of knitting.

Socks for the witchlet's stepmother were completed and seemed to be a hit.

They are Epic Lattice pattern by Nancy from Whitknits.com, with yarn Rosehips in Autumn from my favourite dyer, Michelle at Needlefood. I enjoyed the pattern so much I also cast on a pair for myself. My pair is in Blackforest, and I swear I've put on about 5 kilos while knitting them, as all I can think about is gateaux! They are on hold at the moment though as I have other deadlines looming.

Also, the dishcloth a day challenge is over  - and I was over it well and truly by the end. I ended up with 10 dishcloths which I duly posted off to Karen at K4BN. She is a great lady and does so much to help those in need.

My current project is a Ravlery based swap, so I won't post anything about that at this point, just in case my swappee manages to figure out I'm making stuff for her. Let's just say I'm working my little fingers to the bone. I did take a break over the last day or two and whip up these.

Aren't they cute? My own pattern in Lorna's Laces. Such pretty blues and purples.

I've also put together the list of gifts I need to make prior to the end of the year (including my Christmas knitting). Let's just say I freaked myself out a little!  All the yarn I need - well except for the blankets I have in mind - is now sorted and in labelled bags so I don't have to keep the list in my head. Now, I just need to get onto the serious business of making them all.

I don't think I've covered here the fact that I was asked not to come back to the witchlet's old school where I was still helping out (I guess that happens when you make a complaint about the principal) but it has been a bit of a blessing - it means the charity crafting I was doing for them has been dropped which gives me a heap more time for my projects till the end of the year. And then next year I can continue my charity focus with K4BN. Yay.

Socks Ahoy!

I haven't written anything yet about the fact that I entered the 52 Pair Plunge back in June. This challenge is to produce 52 pairs of socks in 52 weeks. Insane, I hear you say. Impossible, you chortle. Where are the nice men in the white suits? I hear you ask. You're probably right, but what is life without challenges?
At this point I'm about 8 pairs of socks behind, but I'm determined to catch up. I currently have 4 pairs of socks on needles at various stages of completion. Most recently added to the list of completed socks are these.
Made using Tofutsie yarn, which I've decided I adore. It's wonderful and light, and very comfy, perfect for summer socks. This is actually the first proper sock yarn that I purchased. I'm glad I waited this long to use it. It's much lighter than other sock yarn, and these socks felt like they took forever to knit. But I'm sooooo happy with the finished product, it was worth the wait.

The next pair of socks on my to-do list is a pair for my father for Father's day. I'm planning on having them finished before the weekend is over, so watch this space!

Wassup Dawgmutha

Well lots has been happening around the witch's stead. I've just been too slack to bother blogging about any of it.

The Goddess Socks are done, and they feel as awesome as they look.

I wore them all day yesterday and didn't want to take them off last night. The yarn is gorgeous and soft and the pattern is so pretty!

Given my interest in socks, I've decided to join the 52 Pair Plunge on Ravelry. The goal is to make 52 pairs of socks in 52 weeks. I don't know if I'll make it, but I'll sure have fun trying!

I've also been inspired to start Guerrilla knitting, or yarn bombing. Basically the aim is to use yarn like graffiti to soften the landscape and to create art in public spaces. I have scoped out the local neighbourhood for places to "tag" and am knitting up appropriate shaped pieces to sew on in the dead of night. I will post pictures once the tagging has been done.

I mentioned my new escapades to my mother and told her I was planning to have little tags on the items saying "Knitted by Fyrewitch". I may as well use fyrewitch as my street name as I use it everywhere else. My mother immediately wanted her own street name, so I christened her Dawgmutha on the spot. (Serves her right, she christened me Susan. Ick.) So if you see my mum wandering the streets, make sure you use the traditional greeting of "Wassup Dawgmutha!" At the very least, it will freak her out.

Guerrilla knitting has taken off in the states, and the founder of Knitta will be here in July, when there will be a display at the National Gallery in Canberra. If you feel like assisting, check out Denise's blog for information.