Nothing to See Here

Nothing to See Here

With the insane temperatures in Brooklyn the last couple of days*, we've been keeping the blinds shut at all times, preventing good photo shoots. I do have a pair of socks and one in progress to photograph, but those will wait for the cooler weather that should be arriving soon. I also have a little yarn shopping to show off.

For now, I'll entertain myself (and maybe those of you who are reading this) with a couple of knitting to-do lists. I still have the same spinning projects on the wheels--Bluefaced Leicester on the Schacht (of which less than 1 pound of the 2 pounds I bought is spun) and the mohair/wool dyed blend on the Joy (spinning from the fold is extremely time-consuming). I'm still in knitting mode for the time being, perhaps because the wheels are too far from the air conditioner and my hands sweat.

Items to finish before Labor Day:

1. Socks for my mother's birthday. These are plain, cuff-down socks knit in Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, the Foxy Lady colorway. I've finished the gusset decreases on the first sock. Her birthday is technically August 16 or 17**, but I will be going home for Labor Day and will give them to her then.

2. Two linen hand towels, from Mason Dixon Knitting. I bought the yarn for these yesterday, and they will become my subway knitting as soon as the socks are finished. These are part of a wedding gift.

3. Go With the Flow tank. I'm on the front, finally finished with the lace border that seems to take ages. I plan to get a lot of knitting time on this this weekend. For now, go look at Laura's.

4. Print o' the Wave Stole. I'm on the border and can finish this before the end of the month. It's on hiatus until the tank and socks are completed.

Christmas Knitting List (so far):

I'm trying not to fall for the "every gift must be knitted" urge, but it's hard at Christmas. However, I'm trying to keep the list short and sweet with fairly simple gifts. If I don't get time for something, I have plenty of stash yarn for a last-minute hat.

1. Fair Isle Vest/Sweater for Mom. I bought the yarn for this in February--Jamieson's Shetland DK. This will be the most time-consuming project, as it may very well be self-designed.

2. and 3. Plain socks for Dad and my father-in-law. I bought two skeins of CTH Supersock last night for just this purpose.

4. French Market Bag for my mother-in-law. I made one of these for Mom, and she uses it every day.

5. Socks for my sister.

6. Pirate Socks for my husband (from Pam's wonderful pattern).

7. Something for my grandmother. Maybe Cozy, using some of the handspun merino from handpaintedyarn.com.

There are some other potential recipients, but I'm going to start with this list and see where it takes me. Last year, I added things at the end as I had time.


* You know it's bad when entering the subway station feels like descending into the seventh level of Hell and you cease to care when sweat starts dripping down your legs.

** I don't know the exact date because my cousin was born on the other day, and my mother has spent the last 15 years telling me it's one day or the other, trying to confuse me. I now refuse to even try to find out the exact date, telling her I'll call her on one or both days.