Hi there. I'm unblocked.

Why is it that when I get sick it always happens on the weekend? Just for once I'd like to be nice and sick on a Wednesday. I had so many lovely knitting plans, not to mention that I've had to cancel a playdate with Wen-wen. We were going to go thrifting. I was going to make pizza and cupcakes. Bah.

Do me a favor and have some fun and report back to me, K? I'm in need of some vicarious thrills.

Here, have another photo.

blockitty, blockitty.

p.s. grump, grump.

Posted by Elli at 8:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)

Wow! It's kind of hard to come down from that Demi post, but I guess it's time to move on. Thanks much for all the thoughtful comments; I'm all pink and blushy here.

Getting back to the slightly more mundane...here's the latest Plain Old Sock project I've been carrying around with me:

This is Luna Park, color 203* and you're looking at sock number two. I haven't posted about this project yet because, well, let's just say that I'm a bit underwhelmed. The colors aren't quite as charming knitted up as they were in ball-form, and the yarn is annoyingly unbalanced which means both socks have a bit of a twist to them. Also, for merino it feels an awful lot like regular old sock yarn. Nothing special folks. Move along.

In other project news, I finished the first half of Hanami, picked out the provisional cast-on and started knitting the second half. Everything was looking lovely...I got a few inches in before I noticed that I was getting some nasty pooling. What gives? Needless to say, Hanami is in time-out for a while.

Fortunately, I have (relatively) new yarn to console me:

Hello. We are an impulse purchase.

Two Saturdays ago I may have spent some quality time in the sale section at Stitches and Scones in Indy, and we all know I'm nothing if not helpless in the face of discounted lambswool. I blame Wendie for taking me there and Jared for making a cameo as the little voice in my head who kept saying "but it's Tweeeeeeeed...**"

All right, I'm off to go knit now. More new-projecty excitingness coming soon!

*Didja see how I remembered to tell you what yarn I'm using for a change? 10 points for me!
**I'm sure he's not this whiney in real life.

Posted by Elli at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (26)

Part I: Salutation and a Lame Excuse

Ahoy there, knitterly people! I know things on the blog have been about as exciting as watching ice cream melt on the sidewalk, so you guys all get ten points for hanging around. The knitting has been chugging along at a leisurely summerish pace (slowly, and without deadlines) and, well, you know how it goes.

Part II: Attempt at Distraction and Pacification with Pretty Yarn

Find here a picture of my lovely new angora to ease the shock of reentry:

Souvenir yarn from Paris, courtesy of the Parents du Thunk.

Part III: The Knitting Bit

Ok, down to business. The Modified Hanami is progressing nicely...I'm nearing the end of the first half. Here's what things look like currently:

Hello there. I am warm and fuzzy.

A slight aside: it suddenly occurs to me that this is the second year running that I find myself knitting a shawl out of kid mohair in July. Could it be a subconscious rebellion against over-air conditioned workplaces, or perhaps just a coincidence?

Part IV: Tardy Finishing Disguised with Positive Spin

I bought buttons and sewed them onto Demi yesterday! Stay tuned for FO shots. Finally.

Posted by Elli at 7:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)

So you may have noticed that I’ve been a bit absent from blogland lately. Not to worry! I’ve just been busy and then I had to go to San Diego last week for a conference. I meant to blog before I left but it seems that I underestimated the time I needed for packing and all that. So here I am! Still alive and everything.

Have I found buttons for Demi yet? No I haven’t. Have I been knitting? Yes I have! Meet the latest shawl:

green = provisional cast-on

Continuing in the stashbusting theme of late, the yarn is some that I got from the lovely Lois last November. The kidsilk-hazey nature of this yarn lends itself nicely to shawl-ness, but I didn’t want to pick a super-complicated pattern since there’s quite a bit of variegation in the colorway. For a while I considered adapting the Mason-Dixon Bubbly Curtain into shawl form, but then one day I happened upon Melanie’s pattern for the Hanami Shawl and decided to run with it.

I’m skipping the basket weave half, and I’ve upped the gauge quite a bit, and I’ll probably quit the cherry blossom pattern before I get down to the point where the eyelets all line up (otherwise it’ll be Really Long) but a Hanami it is nonetheless.

Time to get back to the unpacking!

I knit. Yes I do.

Posted by Elli at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)