Hello? Anyone there?

I'm here, really I am, not blogging as much as I should ... Life has been getting in the way. Always seems to in winter, late winter, when the days promise warmer weather and more light, and yes they are warmer and longer, but some-how that means more stuff to do that isn't knitting or blogging. Anyway, today is a bit of a catch up post. I've finished a pair of socks (finally), finished a sock, and started something new + I have been developing skills or knowledge or something around tambour embroidery.

These are Ode to frogs and the pond socks, some I 'had' to knit after discovering them on Ravelry.com. Knowing that some one, Adrienne Fong, had designed a sock that acknowledged the true spirit of frogging -aka- ripping back, I had to honor that effort by knitting some. Turns out that in the full spirit of frogging the socks are slightly too big, my fault entirely, as the pattern came in two sizes and I mistakenly assumed my feet were Adrienne's large. By the time I discovered my mistake I was well pass the point of wanting to frog. I am, It turns out a fair weath frogged, willing to frog to fix mistakes that matter, mistakes in knitting, or in chart reading, or in size where it matters. Seems that for so is at least I am happy to knit and then find someone they fit. So these socks, have gone off to J .. .. With instructions to find someone they fit if they don't fit.

And here is the current sock-on-the-needles, a Vintage Purls design, You Turn, knit not in bright pink but in soft orange. And yes - although I said on the needles - there are no needles in this sock. I had one of those - grab in a hurry- moments. I leaned over my knitting chair, camera in one hand and snatched the sock from the knit basket to make a nice photo. Unbeknownst to me the circular needle was caught somehow in something and the sock just slipped of the needle. Says something about how smooth and easy to knit on the new KnitPro carbon needles are. I'll rethread the stitches after I finish this post.

Meanwhile I am still plugging away athe the unexplainable sparkly butterfly, and learning lots. Mostly I am improving at placing beads. My fingers are becoming more detrous at separating a bead from the others on the string, sliding it it snuggly next to the needle, wrapping the thread around the needle to lock the bead in place, rotating the tambour hook and completing the stitch. All on the other side of the fabric whereni cant see. You can see that sometimes my fingers fail me, and i get gaps between beads that unfortunately I only notice when I turn the work right side up. Reminds me of a sweet corn cob with a few kernals missing. I am also learning how to design for beads, that the spaces between areas need to allow for a single bead, or two beads. You might also notice that as I 'improve' I have been frogging, using the chain link stitch character of tambour work to my advantage to quickly remove sections I feel could be done better.

And this is the latest project, cause - you know - if I haven't strted something recently I get a bit fidgety. It is Icelandic poppy by Evelyn Clarke, in a iced mid blue silk merino by spinning a yarn. So far so good although I am only one repeat in.
More details next post ... Promise. For now I am off to thread those stitches back on the needle.
Na Stella

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