Second Sleeve, Second Sock, Second Rug

I'm still working on the January Aran, started the second sleeve last week but haven't worked on it much. The February project from the Almanac will be the double knit baby bag. I've had my eye on that one for a while. I spent the weekend working on the first February sock. That one's done, and I'm almost to the heel on the second sock. I just may finish in February! It's been a while since I finished a pair in the proper month.

It was a glorious February day yesterday, calm and sunny, not too cold to weave on the porch in a wool sweater. I wove a second denim rag rug, maroon and indigo, before the sun got too low and my fingers started to freeze. I need to cut another pair of jeans into strips to have enough for the next rug, more indigo I think, as there some maroon left in the strip box and I don't want it to bee too busy. Snow this afternoon, I hear, so maybe I'll get those strips cut today and wait for another sunny afternoon to come along.

King Midas

Colette saw Cupid's Arrow at Mew Mews yesterday and said I should make a gold one, so here it is.

2 skeins of metallic gold DMC 6 strand embroidery floss and size 1 needles, same modifications as Cupid's Arrow.

Cupid's Arrow

Those who know me well will not be at all surprised to hear that, after knitting more than a dozen hearts, I began to look at them differently. So, after Valentine's Day was over and the knitted hearts had been distributed, I cast on for a variation on the same theme. I call it Cupid's Arrow.

Sorry for the bad pic, I'm still not good at photographing small things. You get the main idea, though. ;)

Here's how to do it:
Follow pattern until you have 16 stitches. Work 2 rounds plain.
Next round- k2tog all the way around.
Knit one round.
Next round- (k1, m1) all the way around.
Work plain over 16 stitches for about 20 rounds (use your judgement on proportions here).
Stuff tube and continue working pattern as written.

This one was knitted in some leftover Scout's Swag sock yarn on size 0 needles. Not sure what I'll do with them (party favors? jewelry?), but I'm planning on casting on another one very soon, just 'cause.

9 More Hearts

I decided to keep knitting these, 1 per day, until Valentine's Day. Here are the latest 9.

I've really had a good time digging through the scrap basket and seeing how they turn out. One more tomorrow, I think, then I'll pass them out.

January socks

Well, I finished the January socks last night. I left them on top of Tara's backpack, and when I got up this morning, both the socks and the back pack were gone. In their place was a different pair of socks, turned half-inside-out, no doubt abandoned in a moment of New Sock Madness. They are knitted from the same yarn as the last pair I gave her, in December, in the same colorway but a different dye lot. Santa was kind enough to leave this second batch of sock yarn in my stocking.

I really like how the heels turned out, both different but both making a nice graphic design.

I started a pair of socks for Finn this afternoon, from some sock yarn that Sallie gave me from her stash. I want to jazz up my default toe-up sock, but have not decided on what stitch pattern to plug in. I hope I have it figured out by the time I'm done with the toe.

Spread a Little Love

Cheryl Andrews of Wooly Bear Hand Knits has just put out a pattern for Valentine's Day, Spread a Little Love. She's donating all her profits from this pattern this month to Heifer International . I hunkered down with my scrap basket this afternoon and knitted four of them.

Clockwise from top left:
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (black Lamb’s Pride on size 3 needles),
Prom Queen (pink rayon weaving yarn on size 0 needles),
Pumpkin Pie (orange two-strand yarn on size 3’s),
Sunshine of Your Love (yellow worsted weight wool on size 3 needles).

Pumpkin Pie is a bit different, as I figured out partway through I did not have nearly enough yarn to knit the whole pattern, so I improvised.

Since it was snowing, I popped in a Doctor Who dvd and knitted one per episode. They were a nice break from the larger projects I've been working on lately, a little instant gratification to keep me going. May knit more tonight, one never knows. ;)