Rambling Roses Design

Been thinking about going green for a while now.

No, not the noble way of going green to make this world a better place but knitting from my green stash type of going green. I think that I’m too boring to be a tree-hugger. Although, I try to do my bit by recycling and being mindful of not being wasteful – now that’s a mouthful!

Speaking of tree hugging, I once saw this group of tree huggers in Tofino getting ready to do some serious rallying about saving the forests. It was something else!!! That was back when hemp was still a whispered word. Now, we knitters, we knit with hemp.

So, I’ve been looking at all the knitting that I have been doing lately and it seems like most of it is pink. My Ravelry projects page can attest to the fact that I like this color and it’s host of cousins. Funny that, because I have all of this other stash which is NOT pink but I when I think of casting on for a new project, I always seem to gravitate towards the rosy colors.

I was thinking that the best way to nuke this pink streak was to knit with some Malabrigo Green Apple that I have. Talk about putting some zing into my knitting projects!

But I don’t feel like knitting a hat right now which is what this traffic-stopping-yarn is going to be someday, no..wait, red makes traffic stop, green makes things go, right? Bwah!

Instead, I’m going to use DIC Smooshy’s Happy Forest which will be perfect for a pair of green socks, no? Off to stalk Ravelry for pattern possibilities, that should take…um…five days at least!!!

Posted by Preeti & filed under Rambling, Stashbusting. This post has 7 comments.

5425

That’s the number of February Lady Sweaters on Ravelry!!!

This is not surprising, seeing that the inspiration for this pattern comes from Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Baby Sweater on Two Needles. Despite the fact that the days are getting warmer and I should probably consider knitting a tank top or stick to sock knitting over the summer, I couldn’t resist the urge to knit this cardigan and so cast on for it a couple weeks ago.

The going has been slow which seems to be a constant feature with all of my knitting projects. I have come to accept the fact that I’m a really, really, really slow knitter. I’m also an easily distracted knitter (Ravelry, knit-blogs, online yarn stores…)

When I began knitting the yoke, I was not too happy with the color of the yarn and the fact that the garter stitch rows seemed never ending didn’t make things move any faster. I finally got done with the yoke yesterday and have begun the lace portion of the body. This is a pretty neat pattern – EZ definitely knew a thing or two or five thousand about knitting.

The color…hmmm…it’s actually growing on me, so all is well in my FLS world. If only I can knit faster, things would be perfect.

Posted by Preeti & filed under Cardigans, Lace. This post has 7 comments.

I just kitchenered the toe, snapped a couple pictures and am blogging about my first ever finished pair of HANDKNIT SOCKS! Can you tell that I’m really thrilled to bits about this??? Like, yeah!!

Petal Shower Dublin Bay Socks

Pattern: Dublin Bay Socks published in Mossy Cottage Knits
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in “Petal Shower”
Needles: Size US 1/2.25 mm
Started 3/27 – Finished 4/21

I used the magic loop technique for the first time with these socks and there’s no turning back for me now. It makes knitting in the round so hassle-free. Small circ knitting is never going to shake it’s fist at me again.

Just a couple changes: I was having trouble with the eye of partridge heel instructions as written in this pattern and somehow the heel didn’t look “right”. So, I used the instructions for the heel from this pattern instead and it turned out great.

The other change I made was to knit a picot cuff instead of a ribbed one. It’s a bit more time consuming when you work the joining round for the hem, but it produced such a pretty edge which is perfect for the soft shades of this yarn.

There are definitely more socks in this knitter’s future!

Posted by Preeti & filed under KAL, Socks. This post has 11 comments.

The first few months of being pregnant with Prithvi had me camping out in front of the toilet bowl due to the incessant throwing up. The rest of my pregnancy went great. This would be our firstborn and we were so excited about seeing him and about becoming parents even though we didn’t really know the first thing about babies.

I went into rapidly progressive labor while my dad battled severe cardio problems at a different hospital across town. There was no time for an epidural and so I was pretty much at the mercy of…nothing, just excruciating pain!!! I passed out a couple times during labor and got intravenous meds to raise my blood pressure. 60 over 40 ain’t good BP numbers!

Just when I thought that this is how it must feel like to die, Prithvi was born and we were laughing and crying at the same time.

They never let me hold my baby right away because they were trying to resuscitate him. Of course, we didn’t know this at the time, we were just thrilled that he had finally arrived.

I read the doctor’s writing from his medical records when I got back from the hospital. Severely asphyxiated…apgar score at birth 1…revived…oxygen tent…IV meds. I felt numb because this baby who should have had all sorts of things wrong with his body, his brain, his organs fought the odds and we were out of the hospital with all systems go in 5 days.

My daddy didn’t get to hold his first grandchild though because two days later, his body quit fighting and he died. I didn’t get to say goodbye to him. It was hard. That was when I knew that joy mingled with sorrow left you numb.

Here is our fighter – strong in mind, body and spirit and nothing, nothing can ever crush him. Our pride, our joy, our Prithvi turned 10 today.

We love you son…forever.

Posted by Preeti & filed under Family. This post has 13 comments.

Too quiet…that’s what this blog has been. It seems like I’m in sort of rut life-wise, daily-wise, health-wise. Nothing crazy, I’ve just been feeling a little out of sorts lately and I think a trip to the doctor’s office is warranted. Seeing that I’m not too crazy about seeing the doctor, let’s talk about knitting.

My first ever sock is done and I’m so pleased!! This is for the UAE Knitters Sock KAL that has been ongoing. The pattern I’m using is Dublin Bay Socks (free PDF pattern) with some Dream In Color Smooshy.

The colorway is called Petal Shower. It’s amazing how these yarn companies come up with fantastic names like this. I think they must have a yarn namer conjuring up names all day like Lipstick Lava and Lunar Zazzle and Strange Harvest. I wonder what he named his kids…Rainbow or Spectrum, perhaps?

I have to admit that I get carried away by the name of the colorway when I shop for yarn online and there have been a couple not-so-happy moments when my order arrived. Not so long ago, I ordered some Malabrigo Worsted to knit up the infamous February Lady Sweater. The colorway was called Dusty and looked so pretty on my computer screen. So I clicked away and into my cart went 5 skeins. Doesn’t it look all shiny and pretty in the skein?

Trust not the monitor!! I should have noted the fact that the name Dusty meant something. When knitted up, this yarn looks like it has bits of dirt smeared into it so when I wear this sweater it’s always going to look un-laundered. Sigh!

Then there was Pansy-Go-Lightly another Smooshy colorway for some ‘happy socks’. I think that these socks are going to turn out too happy. Purples, lavenders, pinks – sounds pretty? Not! It looks like some kid went crayola crazy during this yarn painting session. Sigh, sigh!!

Still I’m enjoying knitting with the Dream in Color yarn – it sure is smooshy and sock #1 feels lovely on my foot. Also, I’ve swatched and cast on for my Dusty February Lady Sweater. The color is what is making me neglect this project but the yarn is still just as gorgeous. I think that once I get past the garter yoke and move onto the lace body, it’s going to be ‘funner’.

Back to the socks, I’m on the heel of my second sock and I hope to be done sometime soon if this ickky feeling passes and things don’t go south into flu-land.

When I began this blog post I didn’t know what to talk about but it looks like I’ve rambled on. Regular blogging will resume soon since Prithvi is back at school after two weeks of Spring Break. Having him home was a treat for me as well as for Kiki although, it seems like his appetite has gotten enormous and there were many requests during the day for cake and cookies and sandwiches and even oatmeal!!! It’s a good thing that his metabolism is way better than mine! Now it’s back to school to finish off the last term of Grade 4.

Posted by Preeti & filed under Rambling, Socks. This post has 7 comments.

The quickest way to zap sock phobia is to get together with a bunch of friendly knitters and cast on for socks -TOGETHER!!

That’s exactly what a few of us from the UAE Knitters Ravelry Group did this past Friday afternoon. It was wonderful getting together with these wonderful women and no two people in the group were from the same country – that’s knitting diversified…AMAZING!!!!

We had Jocelyn, Hala (who was sweet enough to make the two hour drive to Dubai all the way from Abu Dhabi), Debbie, Jackie, Caroline, Rain, Jennifer (with her adorable daughter) and me.

There was plenty of oohing and aahing going on with all the lovely stash that everyone brought along. There was Argosy yarn which was so gorgeous that we considered if we should we skip the knitting and just wear the yarn instead. No, we love knitting too much!

Gorgeous finished objects were featured… Jocelyn’s amazing Mossy Leyburns

The drapey Bamboo Clapotis she knit for her mom

That was not all, she brought along her Hurricane Hat in Malabrigo worsted that she so aptly calls The Power of Nine.

Then there was Rain’s gorgeous Purple Halter which is almost done.

We didn’t forget the socks though….here are almost all the sock yarns that everyone is going to be using.

I say almost, because Caroline was being a good girl and swatching for hers and so her yarn is not in the picture.

I don’t think that the rest of us swatched – we just cast on and the sock knitting began! Some of us even used a new technique taught to us by Hala – the German Long Tail cast on.

Everyone is using pretty basic sock patterns. Well, everyone except Rain. Get this, she is knitting two socks on one circular, toe up and that’s not all – she’s making up the pattern as she goes along!!!!

Here’s my sock progress so far. Not much, but knitting along with friends will help move these socks off the needles and onto my feet!

Posted by Preeti & filed under Dubai, KAL, Socks. This post has 5 comments.

I was determined to knit a bit on my TTL Mystery Sock each day and I did. Each evening I would knit a repeat or two on this sock and things were going well until I finished turning the heel. It fit, the pattern looked great and there were no mistakes (I think).

I can’t get over how pretty the Eye of Partridge heel looks:)

Aha! All the smugness about that heel business was just the pre-cursor to all things going downhill from that point.

Doesn’t look like anything is wrong??? Let me explain…

Like every eager sock knitter, I tried the sock on every few repeats and always kept thinking that it was nice and snug on the leg but then really floppy on the foot. Each time I dismissed this seemingly disproportionate fit thinking that this is probably how handknit socks felt. Me crazy!!!

Enter sock sole to fit a Sasquatch…

It never occurred to me to check my STITCH COUNT! Bwaahahahaha grrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don’t feel like ripping, picking and re-knitting the foot of this sock right now and so the only way to go forward was to cast on for another pair!!!!

This time Cookie A’s Monkey in some delicious Ruby Red Fleece Artist (I’m having linkage problems so no links, sorry). No problems with this sock…yet!

Posted by Preeti & filed under KAL, Socks. This post has 6 comments.

“Buscando Azul” – Seeking Blue.

I don’t know much Spanish but that’s what the online translator said and it’s a perfect name for this hat.

Yet again, I’m smitten by the gorgeous-ness of Malabrigo this time in it’s chunky form. The yarn and the color – love, love, love. The pattern for this Chunky Dean Street Hat…well, I’m not so crazy about it. I think it must be the way the decreases turn out on the top of the hat. My finicky knitting voice kept looking at the decreases merging into the pattern and saying, ‘I don’t know…’

The recipient seems thrilled with it though and even stepped outside after school to let me get a few pictures. This hat will keep his noggin toasty warm, that’s for sure.

I had to remind him that it was time to go back home to cram for mid-terms (yes, exams are upon us again!!!), but he got sidetracked by this boy toy and I had to sneak a picture of him…coveting!

Boys will be boys, always!!!

Posted by Preeti & filed under Family, Hats, KAL. This post has 5 comments.

I can’t believe that I finished the Hurricane Hat in 4 days!!! For me, this is a HUGE achievement given that knitting minutes in my day are few and far between.

On each round, the placement of purls effectively creates a whirlwind swirly pattern. This simple combination of putting knits and purls together to create something so lovely is what makes me want to keep going back to knitting.

The bits of blue on the forest green of this yarn reminded me so much of this…

…we were driving up to Alouette Lake at the Golden Ears Provincial Park a couple years ago. I remember how surreal and beautiful the mountains looked with fog snaking it’s way around them.

I finished the hat using 2 circs because I didn’t have a long enough cable to magic loop the top. I figured that this is the reason Cat Bordhi proclaims that Socks Soar on Two Circulars – and it’s true!!! The top of this hat got done in no time at all and there was no awkward poke-you-in-the-eye drama with DPNs. Now, that the hat’s all done, I think that I will just use 2 circs to get my socks finished. In the meantime there’s a lovely cake of Malabrigo Chunky tempting me.

This yarn is evil! Delicious, but evil!!!

Posted by Preeti & filed under Hats, KAL. This post has 8 comments.

I’m having blog post title brain freeze here.

The sock is growing steadily and I’m on the foot – I never thought that I would ever knit a sock and now that I can, I am beginning to understand what all the rage about sock knitting is. My favorite part was the heel and then turning the heel – loved it!!!! (I’m too lazy to haul out the camera for progress shots and so that will have to be for next time)

In the meantime, I’ve joined the madness that is Malabrigo March ’09 on the Rav Malabrigo Junkies Group and will be casting on for the Hurricane Hat in this lovely green colorway called Forest.

I just love this yarn (who doesn’t love mmmmmmmmmmmMalabrigo) and the only way I can describe it is buttery soft and squishy:) There will be hat knitting beginning tomorrow.

Any other Malabrigo Junkies out there?

Posted by Preeti & filed under Hats, KAL, Socks. This post has 5 comments.

Green on my mind

Yolking Around

And done!

Double Digits

Quiet

Zap Your Sock Phobia

Sock Grief

Seeking Blue

Aloutte Swirls

Can’t think of a half-interesting title

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