First is a new slouchyhat. The first slouchyhat was knit two years ago…

…and while it is wonderful and serves me well, the yarn is soft and pilly. And pilled it has. Half the cabling is lost in pilling.

This time I’m knitting a bit of a chuinkier slouchyhat this time, using the Star-Crossed Slouchy Beret pattern and Berocco Blackstone Tweed.

The hat is knitting just a smidge loose, which I think will be helped by blocking. We’ll see. I like it, though. Simple and fast.

Not so simple or fast, but thoroughly enjoyable so far… the Omelet shawl.

I am not far into it, at all. But I can see the patterns developing. I spread it all out every few rows just to admire the shapes and the fact that all these yarnovers and decreases form such cool shapes. It’s my first proper fancy lacework, and so far it’s relatively simple, as long as I’m careful to follow the charts.

Last but not least, my sock.

Nothing special, just a ribbed sock knit with KnitPicks Stroll Tweed. It’s nice soft simple yarn and it’s nice to have a small on-the-go project. And to tote it in, I have…

A new Zuma bag!!

I have wanted one for awhile, after coveting a fellow knitter’s Zuma bag at a knit night. They’ve been hard to find, but I located one on sale online, and it’s finally made its way to me. I love that it’s a big sack bag disguised as a cute leather girlybag. :) And the fake leather is so soft and nice. And the extra pockets are just perfect. Love it love it love it.

What have you all been working on? :)

I scrapped the RPM sock for the time being, as it yet again DID NOT FIT MY FOOT. This sock curse is as maddening as my feet are.

I have a solution. To the left is a new sock in progress. It is a simple 3×1 rib sock that I am making out of simple and sophisticated KnitPicks Essential Shoreline Twist.

With this sock I will carefully work with my ridiculously shaped feet, and figure out my measurements and how they pertain to stitch counts. I will retain these records for further socks.

Oh, and no more short row heels. They’re the devil for my feet. Flap heels forever.

In other news, I’ve been pressing forward on the Doctor Who scarf, and decided to take  measure and some photos. I was rather… blown away by my progress. Looking at my chart, I am over halfway done. The scarf is 5 feet unstretched, 8.7 feet stretched to blocking length. It’s trippy to think I’m halfway done, even though it’s taken me over two years to get to that point. Can I finish it in time for Halloween this year, and fulfill my Fourth Doctor costume? We’ll see.

Pics of the over-halfway progress:

I love looking at it. It’s all coming together!

I had a job interview yesterday and kicked it’s butt, so I celebrated with new yarn. Here, you may ogle it. It’s Biscotte & Cie – Felix in the Belle Gueule colorway. Self-striping superwash merino deliciousness.

Also!

Regarding the shark hat:

So many of you have stepped up offering test knitting support, kind words and encouragement, and you’ve all been more than patient waiting for the pattern. It will be ready for release very soon! My small but dedicated team of test knitters have been fabulous in helping me perfect this pattern so that it can be as error-free as I possibly can make it before release. At this point, it’s my own paranoia making me triple and quadruple check it. You’ve all been fabulous and I appreciate all the resounding support. :) Knitters are Good People.

Whatever happened to your __________?

Write about the fate of a past knitting project. Whether it be something that you crocheted or knitted for yourself or to give to another person. An item that lives with you or something which you sent off to charity.

I have two pairs of lost socks.

Lost completed socks.

That fit.

I lost them before I could even get around to photographing them completed.

You see, right before I moved to this house, I was on a sock spree. I knit two first socks, and then I knit both of their matching pairs. I was proud. They fit my weird feet. One pair was a simple rib sock, and one pair was Lighthouse Gansey, a pattern I loved but had to frog repeatedly. Both were knit from delicious KnitPicks Stroll in different colourways.

They both went missing in the move, and many searches later I have deemed them lost to the void. I am very sad about this, and here’s a secret: ever since, any socks I have knit have not fit very well. The closest I’ve come was the Who socks – they fit once put on, but putting them on over my heel area is a fight every time. It’s like my reign of well-fitting socks ended with those two pairs.

My next pair will be meticulously planned. I will measure them to fit my stupid feet, and I will frog until they fit. Hopefully I can break this curse!

A lovely person on Ravelry has made the needed edits to my pattern, and with credit to her, I’ll be test-knitting and re-releasing the pattern soon. Watch for updates, and to all who have been frustrated by this hat, I give my sincere apologies. It is a lesson learned as a noob designer: Don’t be in a hurry to release your patterns. Be thorough and do your best to make sure it is correct the first time around.

In pleasant Shark Hat news, something awesome is going on over at Halos of Hope. One of my shark hats has been knit, named after a wonderful pit bull (which, given my other aspiration in life, fits perfectly), and took an inspiring voyage for cancer awareness. I have no place to brag in this awesome story; I am merely humbled that something as adorable and silly as my shark-eating-head hat could be an inspiration for something like this. Halos of Hope is an awesome organization; if you can spare it, throw them a donation.

Last weekend was spent in Virginia, up mountain at my sister (the Knitting Pirate)’s house. She is not my blood sister, but her and my two swornbrothers make it a point to unite ourselves a few times a year.

Sister and I knitted. Natch.

My sock is RPM knit in Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock Multi. It looks weird when not on a cylindrical object, but it’s knitting up very nicely.

Knitting and wine while watching our brothers cook was bliss. It was an enjoyable retreat and I look forward to their visit here in February.

Falling back into that comfortable knitting groove is nice.

Wibbly Wobbly.

I took a significant knitting hiatus over the summer, and came back with a vengeance.

Timey Wimey.

I tried very hard to make them symmetrical, but the dye was uneven, so no fault of my own. I still love them.

...stuff.

Stripey socks are cool.