Monday, January 11, 2010

Columbine Socks and Minimalist Cardigan

I started knitting the Columbine Socks from Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles by Cat Bordhi. These are knit from Happy Feet on size 0s Addis. This is my first pair of socks with a lace pattern and it is moving along really well. I finished the first sock in a week, and unfortunately have to work for a living and to get back to reality.





The lace pattern, up close...


Minimalist Cardigan
And finally a photo of the Minimalist Cardigan from Interweave Knits. This was knit in Andean Silk from Knitpicks, colorway Fedora, on size 7s.



This turned out fairly well - not quite like I expected though. Both the body and sleeves got longer. Good thing it was originally a 3/4 length sleeve or I'd have been ripped the sleeves back by now. I do really like this sweater and might like another one, but I am not doing that much moss stitch again for a LONG time. I don't mind the switching back and forth between knit and purls, but I like more variety. I need to buy some kind of sweater clip to keep the front together too - otherwise, I spend too much time adjusting it all day.

Winter in Minnesota can be very long and get old fast. The days are short, the snow is deep, streets are a mess, and the wind chill below zero. We got going early with the cold weather and snow early this year. So, what to do keep up good mental health this winter? We got a new TV - and have been watching lots of good movies. It seems to be foreign film month at our house. I highly recommend Broken Embraces - with Penelope Cruz and directed by Almodovar. Just watched Coco Before Chanel with Audrey Tatou - also very good. And Female Agents with Sophie Marceau - a WWII movie about French female spies based on a true story. Oh, and White Ribbon - a German film about the strange goings on with children in a small village just before WW1. And The Orphanage - a movie about a woman who returns to live as an adult with her husband and adopted son to the orphanage in which she grew up.

Other than that, we're getting ready to brew beer again, starting back to kickboxing classes tomorrow, reading, and knitting. Pictures soon....