Spring Knitting Progress

"Knitting is very conducive to thought. It is nice to knit a while, put down the needles, write a while, then take up the sock again." - Dorothy Day

And now, to take a break from the kitchen and check on the knitting needles.

The Paris Mittens project "frogged" (a Ravelry.com term for croaked). After finishing and blocking the first mitten, I came to the conclusion that it was just too tight, and ripped out the whole thing (an undertaking I don't recommend. Once blocked, a finished piece should not be unraveled if you hope to use the yarn for something else, as it can weaken the fibers. However, the yarn stood up well to the unraveling, so it should be reusable). I'll eventually start it again, with added stitches to help loosen the tension.

Currently on needles and occupying my attention are the following projects:

The "Frederick and Anne" Scarf:

This pattern is from the "Jane Austen Knits" magazine that came out last October (see my "What would Lizzie Knit" post). The center panel is a leaf that represents the heroine Anne from Austen's novel "Persuasion," and is flanked on either side by waves that represent Frederick, her love interest.

shawl, on circular needles

The "Wine and Roses" shawl is nearly done. I decided at the last minute not to make it really huge, but once blocked it will still be pretty big. I put all three sides on a circular needle and started the first round of the flowered edge.

What would life be without at least one sock project in progress? Just not as interesting, especially with a fun project like the Frivolous Sock. Also from the "Jane Austen Knits" magazine, this sock features a lattice pattern from the toe up to the cuff, with a fancy gusset design along the sides of the foot section. From the ankle up to the cuff, colored beads are strategically placed on the latticework, and the cuff is finished off with a Picot edge. A wide silk ribbon in the same color as the beads is laced through the top of the cuff just below the edge, to be tied in a loose bow. The frivolity on these is through the roof.

I'm using the yarn I dyed recently - "Eire" - for this project, with deep purple ribbon and beads:

To be continued...