I fished another old CreativFestival design out of the old workbasket. This one is First Dragon Encounter by Jennifer Aikman-Smith of Dragon Dreams.

First Dragon Encounter by Dragon Dreams (WIP)

I haven’t made a whole huge amount of progress on it, but considering all I had stitched in the class was a wee bit of her bodice, I’d say I’m doing pretty well. (I think I remember this being one of my last classes for that weekend, so I decided to work on another design in class that was closer to being finished.)

The design is from the 2008 CreativFestival (and is now available on Patterns Online). It is stitched with DMC floss and one colour of Waterlilies Silk (Sky Blue Pink) on 28 count Mushroom Jazlyn.

I plan to stitch more or less as charted, although I think I will probably leave off the blackwork elements around the outside. I suppose I will see how I feel when the princess and her wee dragon are stitched.

Princess and Dragon is a post from Reflections in the Pond

I know I’ve posted a whole lot of knitting and crochet projects lately. Just to prove that I do still cross stitch, I thought I would share my progress on W for Witch by Victoria Sampler:

W for Witch by Victoria Sampler (WIP)

As always, the colours are off. I took the picture yesterday afternoon, right in the middle of a typical grey October day.

The row above the witch should have some flowers on it, but I’m waiting until I have a little better light to work on them. My goal is to get this finished up no later than the middle of next week. By then I’ll be putting out a few more Halloween decorations. (Even though the husband doesn’t really like Halloween. Can you imagine?!)

It’s Almost a Witch is a post from Reflections in the Pond

Well, I’ve been home from vacation since last Thursday and I still haven’t gotten around to posting an update. We did have a great time, although Vegas has changed a good deal from the last time we were there (a scant three years ago). It is very clear that the city is hurting and that tourism is down. None the less, we still saw a great show (the other one we wanted to see was cancelled due to rain, if you can believe it), ate a lot of great good (I highly recommend the Wicked Spoon at the Cosmo and the buffet at Paris), and even did a tiny bit of shopping.

View from Room

I did manage to find some time to do a little bit of knitting. That picture up there is the view from our room. We had a lovely, large balcony with a lounger. I sat outside and worked on my socks for a little while.

6x2 Rib Socks

Unfortunately, I don’t like how the stripe is turning out. It has stopped stripping and is now pooling, so I’m going to be ripping them out and trying again with a slightly difference stitch count. I like the yarn too much to make socks that I don’t like the look of.

Architecture Mitts

And progress was made on the fingerless gloves too. I worked on them during the plane ride down. I’m a bit worried that they are going to turn out to be too small because of the colourwork. So, I’ve put them down and I’m afraid to pick them up again. I do really like how they are turning out, so I’m sure I’ll get back to work on them soon.

I didn’t make any progress on my cross stitch project, unfortunately. I noticed that I had made a pretty significant error that would require quite a bit of picking out, which I didn’t want to have to worry about. I don’t know if it will get done in time for Halloween this year, but at least it is on my WIP list now.

Vacation Projects Progress is a post from Reflections in the Pond

So, I started another project: A Spirited Mandala by Ink Circles, from the Just Cross Stitch Halloween Collection (which I reviewed just the other day).

A Spirited Mandala by Ink Circles (WIP)

It is stitched on a one-of-a-kind piece of hand-dyed fabric from Enchanting Lair. It looks to be 28 count linen of some kind, or maybe 32 count. I’m not sure. The thread is good old black DMC.

Why start another piece? Well, I love this design. And, Halloween is coming. And, being all one colour, I figured this would be a great design to take on my holiday.

Purple Pumpkins is a post from Reflections in the Pond

Oh look, a new start! Imagine that.

W is for Wtitch by Victoria Sampler

It is W is for Wtitch by Victoria Sampler, stitched on 30 count linen banding using the thread pack which is full of yummy silk threads. And, while this may be a new start when I am already drowning in WIPs and UFOs, at least it is a) seasonally appropriate, and b) on my list of 2011 goals. This lessens my feelings of guilt just a little bit.

W is for WIP is a post from Reflections in the Pond

I’ve learned a valuable lesson: never tell a pre-schooler you are knitting something for them. Every time I pick up something to work on other than this sweater the little man says “Mommy knit sweater?”

Kid's Shawl Collar Cardigan from SweaterKits

The pattern is Kid’s Shawl Collar Cardigan from SweaterKits, which came as part of a kit I bought at the Creativ Festival last fall. The yarn is Cottonlicious, which is distributed by SweaterKits. It’s like a thinner version of Bernat’s CottonTots, that is it is essentially a cotton single with a thread wrapped around it.

The pattern is well written and easy to follow, except for the fact that the finished sizes don’t match the sizes in the pattern. By that I mean, the pattern says the sleeves are 12 1/2″ long, for example, but if you follow the pattern, they actually turn out to be 13 1/2″.

I’m making the largest size (6/8), since I would love for the little man to be able to wear it for a while. And, being that it is a kit, I was terrified I would run out of yarn. If you look at the one sleeve in the picture, you can see a small band where the yarn is quite bumpy. That’s because I ran into several yards of yarn that was spun thick and thin, and since I didn’t know how much I could waste, I decided to just go with it. I don’t think it looks too terrible. Right?

All I’ve got left is the collar, and then I can go back to work on anything I want. That is, until I decided to tell the little man I’m knitting another sweater for him.

“Knit, Mommy!” is a post from Reflections in the Pond

My March self-imposed sock club isn’t going isn’t going quite as planned. The yarn hasn’t arrived in the mail, so I doubt I will be able to get the pair of socks I designated as my “March socks” done in March.

Since I don’t want to fail in my third month, I’ve decided to make a bit of change for March: it will be two pairs of socks!

The first is a pair of anklets which I actually started last December. They kept getting put on hold while I worked on various other projects.

Saturday Socks from Knit Picks

These are the Saturday Socks from Knit Picks, knit in their Comfy Fingering yarn in colour 5090 Lilac. The yarn and pattern was part of their Fancy Feet Anklets Kit from last summer or there about.

Saturday Socks - Cables

Although the pattern was written to have the cables on both socks the same, I decided to switch them to make the socks look more balanced. (I apologize for the poor pictures. We haven’t had much sun here for the last little while.) The colour of the socks is more true in this picture.

The second pair of socks for March is a simple pair of anklets made using Berroco Comfort Baby (which is the same composition as their Comfort Sock yarn, just a different range of colours). The colourway is 4811 Multi Baby, and as you can see, I got some weird pooling at at the gusset.

Simple Short Sock

I used the Channel Island cast on that I learned at the Lucy Neatby workshop, and I am very please with how it turned out. It is very stretchy, and looks really nice too.

Channel Island cast on and eye of partridge heel flap

Unfortunately, these socks are turning out to be a little too big for me, but it looks like they will fit my mom just fine. Funny how, with the number of socks I’ve made this year, I haven’t ended up with very many new pairs for myself. I think I need to do something about that.

March Socks – Part 1 is a post from Reflections in the Pond

Halloween is getting closer, and I still haven’t finished up Ink Circle’s By the Full Moon. I am getting close though:

By the Full Moon by Ink Circles (WIP)

It is stitched on another piece of fabric from that sampler package I got from Ayrloom (through eBay), using DMC treads.

I’ve also been working on another pair of commissioned sock. These are Kai-Mai from Cookie A.’s fabulous book Sock Innovation. The yarn is Crystal Palace Maizy (a corn fibre and elastic mix) in a very bright purple (too bright for me, surprisingly).

Kai-Mei from Sock Innovation by Cookie A. (WIP)

That’s them stretched on my homemade sock blockers. They do a surprisingly good job, but I should have made them just a hair larger. If you’d like to make your own, here’s the directions I used.

And, I have been able to fix the sleeve of my Top-Down Shoulder Warmer! I had to decrease from 72 stitches to 62! That’s pretty substantial, for those of you that don’t know much about knitting. Consider that I am getting approx. 19 stitches to 4″ (not quite guage, but not far enough off to account for the huge sleeve), I took out about 2″ from the sleeve size. Right now I’m working on the second sleeve, and then I can try it on to be sure the back isn’t too big. Wouldn’t that be funny?

And don’t forget: today is day 17 of Missy Ann and Annette’s 31 Days of Halloween giveaway. (Aren’t they super generous!) Head over to Annette’s to enter today’s draw.

I’d also like to say thank you so much, ladies, for all the comments lately. I know I don’t get out there to comment very much, and I really do need to make more of an effort, but yes, I really am that shy.

Making Progress is a post from Reflections in the Pond

I have decided to name 2010 “The Year That Sucks”.  Yes, things have continued to go down hill.  Admittedly nothing is quite as bad as losing our beloved Isis, but the continuous stream of crappy things is really wearing on me.  The latest was an email that came last night from my local yarn shop announcing their closure.  And that sucks big time.

On the plus side, my yarn shop started a big clearance sale today.  All of their discontinued yarn is $1 a ball (and there is some good stuff there), books are $5 and everything else is 40%.  So, after my trip to the asthma clinic (good news: I don’t have asthma; bad news: I have some sort of respiratory tract disease /allergies), I went over to see what I could pick up.  And for $120CAN I got 68 skeins of various types of yarns, three books and one magazine.  Not bad at all.  (Sorry for the craptacular picture.)

To continue the good news, I have actually finished a project! It is the wee baby hat I shared the other day, Noggin, knit using Bernat’s Cottontot in colourway Wonder Dreams.  I still have a little kimono to knit up too before my dad’s co-worker goes on leave in mid-February.  I should be able to make it.

Noggin Baby Hat

I’m also making progress on Enchanting Lair’s Kitchen Blessing, for which I have changed the colours.  I’m stitching it on Firecracker from Country Stitch (at 1.5x strength) using Dinky Dyes Aussie Gold.  I am, unfortunately, running out of the silk and really need to get out and buy some more.  I’m still not sure what I will use for the border.  Maybe more of the Aussie Gold or maybe something else.  Once I get a chance to get to my LNS, I’ll see what my options are.  I’ve decided that there is no way I am going to be able to make this look traditional, so instead I’m going for a modern take on traditional Chinese banners. (The colours in the picture are a little off.)

Kitchen Blessing by Enchanting Lair

I would also like to say thank you for all the kind words about the loss of Isis. I’m coping fairly well, but I still hear and see her everywhere.  I take a good deal of comfort in the fact that I know she is now with my dog Max, who was her best friend until he passed away about ten years go. I thought it might be nice to share with you my favourite picture of Isis, taken about seven years ago.

Isis

I hope all of you are having a wonderful new year.  I know mine will eventually get better.  There is a Chinese saying: 先苦候甜 （seen fu hao tim) meaning that if something starts off bitter, the ending will always be sweet. Let’s hope that is true.

And So It Continues… is a post from Reflections in the Pond

With Baby Man back to his old self, I’ve been able to get a bit more time to knit and cross stitch.  I’ve been busy with socks (yes, more socks), Castles in the Air, and even a couple of special gifts.  I’ve also been mourning the loss of my nsLNS, Golden Threads, which made the news of their closing official today.  quanta has been kind enough to grudgingly agree to let go down next weekend to say goodbye and check out the sale… and maybe spend some money.

I put the finishing touches on my Pretty Comfy socks the other day.  And while they are pretty comfy, I think they are kind of ugly too.  The yarn pooled really strangely on the first one, and then the second one striped nicely on the leg and pooled weird on the foot.  All this even though I used the same needles, had the same tension and started at the same place on the colour repeat.  At least they are comfy to wear.

Pretty Comfy Socks
Yarn: Cascade Fixation in colourway 9843 Purple Passion

Now I’m working on another pair of socks, again using Fixation.  (Which is super comfy but a bit annoying to work with because of the elastic.)  This time I’m trying two socks at once on two circular needles.  I’ll keep you updated with how they are progressing.

I’ve also been working on some dishcloths and occasionally on the Lotus Blossom Shawl, but I don’t have any pictures to share yet.

On to cross stitch!  I’m slowly plugging away at Castles in the Air.  I’m about 3/4 of the way through Part 2 now.

And, since yesterday was TW Wednesday, I finished up the lattice backstitching on the front of Delightful Dragon. I had hoped to have it done by the end of the month, but because I am working on a gift, that is not going to happen.

I’m going to be putting the last of the beads on the H Fairy this evening, and will have a final picture of her to show soon too.

Finished -Ugly- Socks! is a post from Reflections in the Pond