Rusted Root

It's done!




Pattern: Rusted Root by Zephyr Style
Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy in Sea Foam
Needles: US7 (4.5mm) and US6 (4.0mm)

I'm pretty pleased with it. When the yarn arrived a few months ago I was annoyed to see that KP had sent me yarn from two different dye lots, but when I inspected them in good light, they looked identical so I thought all would be well. And from these pics, I don't think you can notice any difference. But when I wet blocked it (couldn't find my spritz bottle) HOLY COW! I had wide horizontal stripes! Now, if I'd meant to do that, it would've been perfect, but as I didn't I was really afraid I'd have to toss the whole thing once dry.



You can kinda see them in this pic, though since it was dry, they'd practically faded. But I was really annoyed with myself for not knitting the same dye lot balls in order. Ah well, knit and learn.

Overall, this is a really cute pattern, and I really liked working with Comfy--it's a much softer cotton/acrylic blend and is pleasant to work with, holding up nicely to ripping out, and isn't splitty at all. I'll definitely be using it again (and making sure I let KP know to PLEASE send me balls from the same lots!)

I'm now working on a baby blanket for another of my friends who's adding to her family (a growing trend among my friends, no pun intended!).

interruptions and progress

That's how it's seemed this month over here -- lots of things interrupting my writing progress and me taking out my frustrations by knitting (but still only at night before bed). What's really going on is that I've been fighting off diss fatigue, and when I'm ready to go, a ton of things suddenly appear that compete for my attention (as happened again today). The result is that though I have a good base to work from, three weeks into the month, I've written about 15pp in my third content chapter. A major PITA. I think I need to go back to my strategy of saying no to everyone and everything and hole up to finish this chapter, which I still think I can finish by the end of this month--like I said, I have a solid base of notes and free writes to work with.

On the bright side, I'm making progress on my Rusted Root:


Lace detail:


The color is way off in these and I was too lazy to fix it, and they were taken with natural indoor light. Ah well. The colorway is Sea Foam so it's actually much more aqua-blue than this; the pics make it look like Rowan's Cashcotton in Clear. Anywho, I'm quite pleased with this so far and am about an inch from starting the hem, then it's sleeves and neckline and voila! Top-down construction rocks. Mom has now requested one of her own, hee!

Since I had my camera out I decided it was time to finally get some pics of the Yaquina Bay cardy:


I knit it top down, left out the waist shaping, changed the ribbing at the cuffs and hem to 1x1, and added pockets as well as my color windows and racing stripes (as I call them). I probably should've gone with slightly wider pockets but these are good for those pocket pack tissues and my cell phone, and a little dosh(!), which is probably what'll go in them, though they are actually big enough for me to get my ridiculously thin hands into them comfortably, lol. Obviously, I still need to weave in the ends but I did at least get the zipper for it finally! It's very snuggly; I can't wait to get some use out of it this fall/winter.

Well, I'm off to work on the Rusted Root again. I'll definitely be holing up this weekend to write!

an update with more happy

lol, I know. I've been such a slacker updating over here. But I have a good reason and that is that I've been diligently working on my dissertation. Two content chapters drafts have been turned in and I'm working on the third. The last content chapter is also partially written thanks to a conference presentation that earned me a lot of compliments and praise, and my intro and conclusion are also starting to take shape. It's been a busy four months. My knitting has continued and I've been good at sticking to my stash as well. I'll be adding to it for three specific projects soon though (two more gifts!), but overall, I'm pleased that I've been sticking with my destashing resolution.

I'm currently working on Rusted Root by Zephyr Style in Knit Picks Comfy in Sea Foam. It's a nice aqua blue color and the yarn itself is so soft. It's quickly become one of my favorite yarns. I had to start over and cast on for the next size up, though, since it was fitting a little too snuggly.

Speaking of KP, I'm sure you've seen the new Zephyr acrylic needles they've come out with. I've been debating whether or not to try them since I've become such a fan of their Harmony needle tips (I barely use my nickle plated Options anymore). I started poking around the Ravelry forums and found out that KP is sponsoring a giveaway of an entire Zephyr Options set! Click here for the details and to enter yourself!

Off for more writing! Will update with pics soon. And I need to finish weaving in the loose ends on the Yaquina Bay that's been done forever and get that zipper in! Summer heat has not helped my finishing that off unfortch.