For a good cause

January rolls on here at Pittsworth Manor -- miserably dark and, while not as cold as it has been lately, still fairly chill. It's great weather for knitting, but not so much for much of anything else.The astute among you will note that that's a sock in the picture, not a mitten. I'm trying to keep up with NaKniMitMo 2010, really I am, but duty calls, and at present I'm one mere pair of L'Amour et la Morte socks (Ravelled) away from being able to send another parcel off to the Antique Beat Boutique.

I should also mention that from now until 31 January 2010, 50% of the proceeds of select SpillyJane Knits patterns will be donated to Médecins Sans Frontières to support their work in Haiti. You can see (and pick up) the patterns on Ravelry here.

Getting ready...

...to knit the heel on the current L'Amour et la Morte sock:
...for NaKniMitMo 2010:


...and strangely enough, for the 2010 Knitting Olympics as well:I still can hardly believe that subjecting myself to such a deadline seems like a good idea. The last time it was a total bust (for me, at least,) but 2006 was a long time ago. It might be cliche, but things are different now. Still, fingers crossed. Now all I need is a team that will have me.

Fruition

The Thistle Mittens (Ravelry link) are finished:
I'll be working closely with MacKintosh Yarns to ensure that the pattern is available sooner rather than later. In the meantime, check out their yarns. I, personally, can't say enough about the Iona Sportweight.

In other news, I am pleased to report that my L'Amour et la Morte (another Ravelry link) socks have happily taken up residence at Antique Beat. Two more pairs of Men's socks are slated to join them there this month.
And for my final news of the day, the Pear Mittens (again with the Ravelry linkage) are currently getting a thumb. Shortly thereafter they'll be having their picture taken, and then? Expect the pattern to be released this evening. I'll update with the link when they're out.

ETA: They're live! The Pear Mittens are available NOW, on Ravelry!

Encore (et encore)

L'Amour et La Morte (on Ravelry) sock production continues.

I still love this pattern (to death.) And, happily, two more pairs took wing for the UK yesterday morning (may their recipient love them.) That's four pairs (three of them sized Men's Large) finished in less than a month! Here they are, all trussed up:Two pairs (for the Antique Beat Boutique) to go. That's (practically) nothing at this point.

And then there's this, as seen on my Ravelry projects page, which I find particularly apt:

Socks in Transit

Freshly shipped to the U.K. this morning:The first two (of four) pairs of L'Amour et La Morte (on Ravelry) socks destined to take up residence in the Antique Beat Boutique. As always, I am unnaturally taken with the packaging and tags (velvet ribbon has this effect on me.)If only I could travel in the envelope with them.

L'Amour et la Morte (at long last!)

I have no idea why, but it seems like these socks just did not want to be finished. But they did -- and here they are! The pattern is up and out and ready to go.Get the pattern here on Ravelry or here on Etsy. Here are all the dirty details that you're just dying to know:

Named for a song by The Real Tuesday Weld, the L'Amour et la Morte socks feature a skull and heart motif just beneath the cuff and a heart-shaped cable that runs down the leg and foot.This is a great pattern for those times when you only want a wee bit of colourwork or when you only have a wee bit of yarn to use for it (less than half a skein of Knit Picks Gloss Sock Yarn was used in the production of an entire pair of these socks.)

The cable chart is (as always) large and colour-coded so you won’t go batty when working the pattern.Yarn requirements: 440 yard MC fingering weight yarn (2 skeins Knit Picks Gloss Sock Yarn if using,) and 100 yards (significantly less, actually) of CC yarn.

The pattern is a clear, concise, 5-page .pdf file with large charts and images. LOTS of images, I might add!

Size: Women’s Medium (or any foot/leg that is 8” in circumference.)

Gauge: 8 stitches = 1 inch (2.5 cm) in Stockinette st

Yarn: 2 skeins of Knit Picks Gloss Sock Yarn (220 y / 50 g) in Burgundy (MC) and 1 skein (a partial skein will do) of Knit Picks Gloss Sock Yarn (220 y/ 50 g) in Porcini or the equivalent amounts of any other comparable fingering weight yarns.

Needles: One set of five (5) double pointed needles in US 2 (2.75 mm) or size necessary to obtain gauge.

Notions: A stitch marker to mark beginning of round (optional,) a cable needle (also optional) and a sewing needle to weave in ends.

Skills Needed: Increasing and decreasing, knitting in the round, stranded knitting, cabling, twisted stitches, and chart reading.
Enjoy the socks! Let me know if you have any questions!

Sheep Labour

The bad news: still waiting on that sock pattern. The good news: if not today, then tomorrow morning. The other good news: there are sheeps!!I met these cute little critters this past Sunday while visiting Featherstone Estate Winery in Vineland, Ontario. They're great believers in sheep labour, which I think is a fabulous idea. An adorable, fabulous, wooly idea (don't even get me started on how much I love their use of falconry in the vineyard -- I wanted to meet Amadeus!) As for the wines, allow me to recommend their Black Sheep Riesling. I love living so close to several thriving wine regions.

Ok, back to the sock!

Sockpeek

With any luck, the L'Amour et la Morte sock pattern actually will be out today. Here, have a quick peek at the sock so far:Yep, it needs a heel and a foot. Once again, the pattern is charted and written and ready to go, and all I need to do is get decent pictures of the sock itself. Stay tuned.

ETA: Am rapidly losing decent light to photograph in...the socks will be out tomorrow, 16 July 2009. Just a wee extension, I promise. ~j

Socks with skulls on

It's official: after a good long while my L'amour et la Morte socks are officially back in production! This means that they'll be finished soon, which means that the pattern will be out soon. Soon,(which is a fairly funny word, if you stop to think about it,) in this case means my self-imposed deadline of Wednesday, 15 July 2009. And though I might grumble (in this case at myself, which is just plain confusing,)about having to self-impose deadlines, it's the only way I'm going to be able to knit and release all the things that I plan on knitting and releasing this summer.

Ok, enough already; on to the sock:Yep, that's a sock-in-progress, all right! Ok, maybe there's not as much progress to show as of yet (and there might be even more if I hurry up and stop blogging already,) but the good news is that the sock is on the move. I don't know if you can tell which direction I'm taking the skully little lovely in yet, but you will soon (there's that word again!) enough.

So here's hoping that this little nibble will tide you over til we next see the sock. In the meantime, have a cupcake.

The stalled sock

Because you've been waiting so patiently for it, here's the aforementioned sock:Meet L'Amour et La Morte, (what will eventually be) my latest sock-pattern-in-the-works. It shares its name with a song by The Real Tuesday Weld, whose music I have been much taken with as of late. Keep an eye out for more pictures of the sock soon, since after this initial burst of colourwork it's going to change gears somewhat. Exciting, no?

There are mittens on the way as well, most notably the Owlmittens, which I'm hoping that you'll enjoy. These, of course, are the mitteny incarnation of my Owlsocks. Other surprises are on the way as well (as usual.)