To complete EFA photos, I had to post a shot of it modeled, here by D#1.
I've gotten to wear it and appreciate the pockets for warming hands. One more lament for Rowan Magpie, I miss that yarn. (Notice how Skye is watching D#1 intently. He's such a character.)
Yes, my Fangorn Forest EFA is finished. The photo does not begin to do this masterpiece justice. I am so pleased. I like the fit of the shoulder and sleeves, after modifying the armholes and sleeve increases. I like my made buttonholes more than the k2 tog, yo buttonholes in the pattern. I like my straight shoulders more than the sloped shoulders of the pattern. And I like the surprise I added:
Ingenious Knit Klips hold the pieces together better than any type of pin I've used. I'm using backstitch (for strength & stability) and I can line up the sleeve increases perfectly, as you see here. Learned about these great gadgets from The Girl From Auntie. I am so in love, I may never dread finishing again.
The sleeves are done and I'm working on pocket linings. I made up a tree for this sleeve based on 2 trees already in the pattern. It made knitting the sleeves more fun to break up the moss stitch this way.
The tree on this sleeve is already in the pattern; I happen to like knitting it so here it is again, on a sleeve.
A site called Cute As a Button, that's who, er where I found these buttons, with trees on them. They have lots of buttons from all the major (and some minor) places. Knitters need buttons, so this is a good resource for them.
Sleeves are 3/4 done; that is 1 sleeve is all finished and the other is more than half-done. I'll be pinning the finished one in place to be certain that I like the sleeve length, since the sleeve cap is so shallow on this design. Stay tuned for pictures.
Now while sleeves are knitted, must decide on buttons. Suggestions welcome.....
Yes it is done. The back of EFA, which weighed a lot at one point, being up to around 150 sts of Aran-weight wool on the needle. Not blocked, but completed nonetheless. Later today I hope to block it, then I can put it together and do the finishing before starting on the sleeves. I left the back neck stitches live on a strand of washable wool, so I don't have to pick them up, just knit them on. Here's a close-up of the trees:
Now a break from EFA until the back is blocked out.
Meanwhile, as a dyed-in-the-wool Lord of the Rings fan, I'm announcing that the Children of Hurin came out today. My DDs have offered it to me as an early birthday present. And in a wild coincidence, I found this sock yarn and pattern. So of course I bought the yarn:
and the pattern. And it turns out that the designer, Laura Andersson, is a scientist turned knitting designer, as well as fellow LOTR fan. Maybe someday I'll leave the lab too, and become a full-time knitter. One can dream.....
You are looking at the toe of a future sock, in case you couldn't tell. A toe made not with a figure-8 cast-on or with a Turkish cast-on but with short-row shaping and no wrapping. Yes, this toe was made by casting on half the final number of stitches onto waste yarn (a provisional cast-on: knit a few rows with waste yarn then connect the real yarn and you are done). The toe shaping comes from Pegg Thomas of Twin Willows Farm; it's in her 2-needle sock pattern, which is how I learned to knit socks in December of 2006 (seems like I've knitting socks forever!). When I switched to magic loop on 1 circ, I realized that the toe could be adapted to this method. Here's proof! I casted on the circ and knitted back and forth to create the toe as I did here. then put all stitches on my long size 3 circ (yarn is Filatura di Crosa 501 in Lilac with Cebelia cotton for reinforcing) and continued the pattern as written. The pattern may be found here. As these are for DD#2, I had her try them on. She is very picky but these meet with her approval (whew).
As for Twisted Flower, they will be made of that lovely eau de Nil green FdC 501 for DD#1 (also picky, but in a different way). She wears not clogs, so I shall do a normal heel in heel stitch for her, makes the pattern easier to adjust to my gauge.
And the waving lace socks? I'm wearing them today; here they are:
The denim blues hat is done; I really like the way the variegations made thick stripes. Do you agree?
Next hat will be of Baruffa Maratona (why did they discontinue it? WHY???) and I'm using a neat pattern I found in my Barbara Walker Treasury #1, the little shell ribbing. DH thinks it's cute but soemthing masculine enough for him to wear on a vest (he's not a knitted hat kind of guy, more of a Scottish tweed cap guy). The color is a light royal blue, I'd call it.
Almost done with the back to EFA, then block and assemble. I'm excited, so excited I'm going to end this post and go knit it!
OK, I wimped out again on the Twisted Flower sock! If the charge is that I crave instant, well, fast gratification, I'm guilty. Truth be told, my gauge is going to be very different from the 9 sts/in the pattern calls for. I can compensate in part by doing 1 fewer flower repeats; since I'm giving them to DD#1 (who wears not clogs), I can make a standard heel stitch heel flap. But really, what with wrestling with EFA, work, Passover, and everything else, I just wanted some relaxing and mindless knitting of an evening. If you haven't tried this pattern by Evelyn A. Clark, please do. It's in the Spring 2004 issue of Interweave Knits (and maybe sold as a separate pattern through their website). It's easy to memorize, relaxing, easy to convert to magic loop (or 2 circs).
On the charity front, I completed this hat out of Cascade 220 wool donated for the Ships Project from a fellow Knitters Review member:
The pattern is mine, just sets of 3 st mock cables offset by 3 st clusters of moss st, after 2 1/2 inches of 1x1 ribbing. Did the mock cable every 5th row. Since it was knitted on 2 needles, I crocheted it closed using a slip stitch. Now I'm in the midst of this one:
Pretty denim blues yarn; it's Plymouth Encore wool and acrylic blend. I bought it from a Knitswap member for her fundraising project. When I told her what I was going to do with the 2 skeins, she kindly sent me 2 more in forest green. This hat is just 2x2 ribbing that segues into baby cables, and you can see that it's being knit by the magic loop method (size 7 circs and they are the Inox made in Mexico).
On the EFA front, rather, back, I've completed the charted section (yay!!) and have in reality started the armhole dec, although the pictures don't show it yet.
Close-up of the trees in the middle:
And here's how I'm going to block this section: I'm going to fold it in half, stuffing some socks along the fold (so it won't create a crease - in theory), then pin it to the correct dimensions on my weeny blocking board. This should work because, see the fruit tree in the middle? It's not part of either front. So I should be able to stuff something in back of that part, because it comes from extra stitches for the most part. The 2 ends of the back correspond to the left and right fronts. So I'll pin through both layers but not through the middle section, except for 1 pin at top and 1 at bottom. If I wind up with a little ridge, I can spray it and pin it to dry afterwards. Or steam it with the iron. The back will come out slightly wider than the 2 fronts, but I figure that when I add the button and buttonhole bands, more width will be added to the fronts anyway. Once I know what the final width of the back is, I can modify the bands accordingly. And then do the collar last. Wish me luck!
So here's the sock that seduced me after a little over an hour of knitting. After a little more knitting, here's a French heel all done!
I have to admit to being so obsessed by this pattern (plus I need the socks!) that I finished the first sock last night, but was too tired to take a picture of it. Although I wasn't too tired to cast on the cuff and knit a few rows of ribbing! I'll take a picture later, and you'll see what I did about running out of yarn; 123 yds per sock just is not enough, even doing the cuff and leg on a size 4 then switching to size 3 for the heel flap on. Good thing these will be clog socks and not sandal socks!
Ta da! Yes the toe is purple, well, lilac. Good thing I bought 3 skeins of FdC 501 when I went crazy at Elann.com the other month, and good thing that the 501 goes a bit further, sock-wise. Put it this way - when making the Pretty Comfy socks out of it, all 3 of them, I had nearly enough left from each skein to make a toe. So I won't have a full skein of lilac left. I'll have a full skein of eu de Nil green left though. How does that grab you for a sock color combo? Crazy stripes. And I can add in some papaya-orange as soon as I frog the toe & foot of the failed sock (bind-off the raw edge for the coffee sleeve). Really wild! My DDs will either fight over them or not want to come within 50 ft of them. Maybe I'll run run a poll as to which scenario we get (#1 DD is graduating from college in May; #2 DD is a junior in HS, so you get the ages we're dealing with here).
And no, I have not been neglecting EFA; I need that jacket to wear for spring while it is spring yet! So here is where I am on the back - this part requires working from 4 charts simultaneously. I like to spread them out on my bed in the order worked; it's the easiest way I find. I'm actually about half-way to the armhole, so for being able to work on it only 1 day a week, not bad. Blocking this will be a challenge, as I've mentioned before. I may pin it out on our spare bed.
The sleeves call for multiple increases to the point of sloppiness, imo. I took out extra stitches at each armholes; that should save me about 5 pairs of increases on each sleeve (yay!) and make them more tailored-looking. I want a jacket, rather than a cardigan; more structured-looking and maybe a bit stiffer than a cardi. And I will put pockets in the side seams. Front pockets would definitely ruin the look. Slash pockets would - I can't even begin to think of it. Side seam pockets - perfect.
Skye is whining piteously and I am home alone with him, guess I should walk him now.
Having to work with charts spread out all over for the back of EFA, I've decided that it's Fangorn Forest (or is it the Mirkwood?) from Lord of the Rings. So I guess I'm either Merry or Pip then. The going is slower now; you don't start the end charts on the 1st stitch or end on the last stitch. I'm now on a part that requires looking at 4 charts (one is pretty easy so maybe we can call it 3 and a half charts). I can't have a family member disturb me at a critical part now, like when I'm changing charts. So to preserve sanity and family, I'm knitting EFA only for a few hours on Sundays, usually to old Westerns or "Law and Order" reruns. Somehow, mindless TV in the background helps me concentrate on knitting better. Do you find it so too?
Haven't done any more knitting on EFA, but here's more blocking, now the left front.
You know, I might actually learn to like blocking after all. Maybe even look forward to it. Putting the 2 fronts together:
and there's a look at what the sweater will be. Still need a solution for blocking the back, my weenie blocking board is too small and DH just does not understand why he should sleep under a damp comforter while the back blocks. Just wait until I have to block the Maidenhair shawl! Oh the agony!
To console myself for having to frog the back of EFA (almost to the ribbing!), I wet-blocked the very-distorted right front. Look how nice the trees appear now. The dimensions of the front are 13 1/2" wide, 18" to armhole, and 9 1/2" from armhole to shoulder. This should make a nicely fitting jacket, with room for pockets on the side seams. When this is dry, I'll do the left front. I always used to detest blocking, regarding it as something to be avoided at all costs. But in the past few years I've come to apppreciate the finished look that blocking gives some garments. Not to mention that fact that if pieces bias or distort, it's very difficult to sew together evenly. I used to detest circular knitting and now look at my socks! Just goes to show how open knitters should be to learning new techniques, and applying old ones (if one might call blocking a technique).
So after frogging, I reknit this section of the back, very loosely this time around. I think it was worth it; I'm much happier with the V-stitches and even the bobbles look perkier somehow. I'll be tackling the charts within charts in a much happier mood now.
Socks are really beginning to move fast for me. Here's as far as I got on Friday in 1 hour, with casting-on, doing the cuff, and completing 1 pattern repeat. 
And here's as far as I got while watching "Hollywoodland" last night. The leg is done and I'm ready to start the heel. These are the Pretty Comfy Socks and the yarn is 100% superwash merino wool Filatura di Crosa 501, color Papaya (looked coral, not tangerine, that's the surprise I had when the yarn came). The pattern has short-row heels, but think I'll do a different one that fits me better. Maybe will do short-row toes, since I like the fit of those. We'll see.
As for EFA, I started the back but I think I shall have to frog part of it. For certain, I'll be frogging because of this part:
That's what I get for knitting while watching a tense episode of "Law and Order." I'm afraid to knit the whole back and hope that blocking will S-T-R-E-T-C-H it out. Nope, better to frog now and avoid tears, regrets, and curses later.
This is what I accomplished over the weekend, this and turning the heel on sock #2 of DH's CTH Supersock merino in Java. Night mode on camera in daylight = yellow cast, have to remember that for the future. Lotsa blocking coming up, maybe I should get started now and avoid the rush (I have only 1 weany blocking board). Now I'm setting the charts for the back, and this is the part that's most challenging. There are charts within charts within charts it seems, and the stitch count for 1 chart varies but the total stitch count for the row does not. Good to have rubber stitch markers, the ones I really like the best by far. They bounce across the room less often (for me anyway) than the hard plastic ones. As for fancy bead and wire markers, all I can say is I won a set and I never use them. Don't get me wrong, they're very pretty, so pretty in fact I should make earrings or hair sticks or a shawl pin out of them. But they just don't work as stitch markers for me.
As if I needed more yarn, I read on Jenna's blog about irresistible Sundara's yarn, and so I clicked on the link to discover this. Of course I ordered a skein (sport merino, thank you very much) to make a to-die-for (to-dye-for?) pair of spring socks, a lacy pattern I should think. I can hear myself explaining to DH about why I spent $22 on 1 skein of yarn for 1 pair of socks: "It's not my fault! The website made me do it!" It's not just knitting socks that's addictive. The very yarn is addictive (and since accumulated sock yarn doesn't count as stash, one can buy and buy, even if one is participating in the stash fast of 2007). Am I participating? I think I need a quantity of yarn that would count as stash first, ahem! Or a fortification of supplies so my knitting muse would be satisfied.
Now in the thick of the forest (is it really a forest? A fence, just a few trees, more like the edge of a large property maybe...) there's cabling galore. When I lost my favorite cable needle by FibreTech (now discontinued, so no link to it), I had to make do while the last set from Halcyon Yarns was in the mail: I cabled without a needle. Now I am hooked on how fast it is to do this, even though I now have several sets of needles again. I think that's why I was able to get 3/4 of the way to the armhole the other night in only 2 hours.
Over the weekend I finished the left front to the Enchanted Forest Aran, so yesterday I took a break from "magic looping" this sock of Cherry Tree Hill merino (worked doubled)
to start the right front of EFA.
I really like the way this knits up in Magpie, and the color is so nice - not quite a sky blue, not quite an aquamarine, but a saturated pastel green-blue. I'll have to photograph it on a different background; my camera keeps adding yellow to correct for the colors of the plaid spread.
I'm taking a short break from EFA; almost at the armhole. Here is where I can add length to it, so I need to decide how much more length to add.
A close-up of the trees in the enchanted forest.
Right now it's 14 inches long and there are a few rows on the chart to go before the armhole decreases. I don't want to block the length out too much; I'm sure that would distort the proportion of the trees and other details too much. So I'll ponder a bit and decide on the right length.
For the EFA KAL, as I mentioned before, I started my 3rd EFA with a new cast-on I learned in honor of the EFA. To see a close-up of it, click here.
It's really quite easy, much more so than the Channel Island cast on. And you don't have to try to guesstimate how much yarn you need for the cast on edge, like you do with long-tail or Channel Island or German twisted or many other types of cast on methods.
Here's how you do it. ALERT! I'm left-handed so my needle is in my left hand when I cast on.
1) Start with a stitch casted on by the simple cast on (or thumb method), it'll give a nicer appearance than a slip knot. Secure the tail along the needle with your fingers until the 1st stitch is secured . In all the photos, the tail of the yarn goes to the left while the yarn from the ball goes to the right.
2) Cast on a 2nd stitch by the same method.
3) Pull the 1st stitch over the newest stitch you made and tighten slightly. One stitch has been cast on.
4) Cast on 2 more stitches by the thumb method.
5) Pull the 1st of these 2 stitches over the 2nd and tighten slightly, now you have 2 stitches cast on.
6) Continue in this manner, always casting on 2 new stitches by the thumb method and pulling the 1st of the new stitches over the 2nd of the new stitches. 
Study what you have done: each time you pull the 1st stitch over the second, you create a little knot that secures the stitch in place. Plus, you created spaces between your stitches that will make your edge elastic when you knit your ribbing. With this cast on, I found that I could get a nice springy edge in 1x1 ribbing without using 2 needles to create width while I casted on. Look at both sides of your cast-on edge: they look different. Which edge is right side and which is wrong side is up to you; I decided after I began knitting that I liked the edge with the yarn tail coming off to my left more, so that's the right side of my EFA.
