Pattern: Toe-up variation of Donyales by Black Dog Knits
Yarn: Oceanwind Knits, fingering in Rainforest
Size: 60 stitches around (to fit my feet)
Yardage: 2 skeins, roughly 300 yards
Needles: 2 mm, 5" rosewood

After much procrastinating I am finally finished my socks (err. well actually, after I finished taking my pictures and walking around in them for most of the evening I discovered that there were some ends that hadn't been woven in yet). The pattern was quick to memorize (there are only three different rows and you do one of them twice) and made it seem like my socks were going even faster than usual; I think this is because I was counting repeats instead of rounds. The ribbing makes them nice and snug. My only regret is not making them a bit taller. I got more sock out of the end of the first skein than I expected and have way more left over than I am likely to need for darning later on.

In other news, things are going to get very exciting, and hectic, around here very soon. After looking for over a year we have finally found a house we both like and can afford and will be moving in near the end of June. I apologize right now for any overly sporadic blogging that occurs while we're getting ourselves settled and sorted out. We are very excited (and moderately terrified) about this change. I am especially looking forward to having a yard and doing some gardening - I have long dreamed of having a strawberry pot just outside our door where we can grab a few ripe berries for breakfast.

I finished my new shirt this morning. It took me a little longer than I'd anticipated because I decided I didn't like the look of top stitching on this fabric and did all the finishing by hand instead. I used this pattern with several modifications.

When I did my mock-up I found the sleeves a little tighter than I like so I added three-quarters of an inch to the sleeve width. I also thought the shirt was a bit on the long site and took two inches off the bottom. While I was in the mock-up I also decided that I liked the look of the ungathered sleeves so I skipped adding the sleeve elastic. Since I wanted to hand finish my shirt I decided not to use elastic in the neck either (it doesn't really seem necessary anyway). Instead I gathered the fabric into a narrow binding. So far I'm finding my shirt very comfortable.  It's nice and loose but not too much and the cotton is nice and cool.


I still love this fabric. The print is a perfect balance of feminine and sophisticated for me and it has a really nice feel. It's actually two layers of gauzy cotton that are laminated together somehow; it makes it feel kind of thick and delicate at the same time. When I washed it I noticed that it frayed rather badly so I used French seams everywhere and turned in all the raw edges.  I like my clothes to be kind of sturdy anyway - it helps them last longer.

I'm definitely going to be making this pattern up again, probably with some different modifications to keep things interesting. The pattern has some longer sleeve variations that I think would look just as cute with the shirt as with the dress (though I'm thinking of making one of them too).

Some fun mail arrived today. A whole box of snaps along with a tool to set them. I'm not totally sure what I'll do with them yet (though one is going to form part of the wrist/belt strap on my sock purse) but the potential embodied in them in fantastic. I love things like that - like quilt shops and hardware stores - objects and places that make you feel like you can do anything you want and they're just waiting for you to start. (And right now I've got the whole weekend ahead of me.)