Sahara Update
oh, the things a little fitting can do! both sides are now the same length (despite the the slightly askew photo). i need a photo wall or something to take good pictures. maybe i'll set up a studio in the basement .. either that or turn it into a stash storage rental facility.
why you should try things on as you go ... i ripped out sahara because it was too small, reconditioned the yarn and started again. while i was working on the front panels i seem to have lost strack of which was which, and despite my measurements they were definitely uneven. the mannequin never lies. i'm back on track now!
it is sunny outside and it has emptied my mind. don't i have work to do? i want to sit on a stool in the window. i think i might, i'll let you know how it goes. 
i finished my sock reno. it ended up being a tear down, but i like 'em. my arches are very high and they feel a bit baggy. ramona suggests i decrease some sts on the underside of the foot in the inch leading up to the heel flap.
I started working on a kipa for my dad in a colour he might like. but he doesn't dig it. he's really picky, really hard to pin down. i have some sea silk in a stormy blue at home but the fibre is not right for a kipa, it's too floppy. it needs a merino. maybe i'll bite the bullet and order some handmaiden or fleece artist in the colour i need. but then i need to order 3 skeins.
the yarn i am currently using for the kipa is Regia Kaffe Fassett Design Line in Landscape Fog 4253
You can now download patterns from Louet North America (they are a yarn company). you have to pay for them, but since when have we ever turned down a good pattern browse?
Store Projects 
Liane made VEIL from Berroco: Nora Gaugan Book #2. She suggests 3 skeins of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece. i love unexpected colours.
the next store project is MOBIUS from Berroco: Nora Gaugan Book #2 in Mission Falls 1824 Cotton in colour 208 Merlot (dark magenta) ... i choose my colours & sample size based on the colours we have a surplus of and who it will look good on ... this one is directed to my mom. we are making the arms longer because short sleeves are stupid for canada. if it is warm enough to wear short sleeves then there's no way you're wearing a sweater and if it is cold enough for a sweater then there's no way you are wearing short sleeves. i'll take a picture in the sunny window in a sec.
the colour of the original socks SANG when it was k=worked on 2.5mm in a k3 p1 rib! i couldn't help myself, i ripped them back, reconditioned the yarn, and revised with gusseted heels. but the
mismatched yarn on the top half of the leg wasn't working, the colours were fighting with the original colour, so ripped back, found a purple on the shelf that made a nice contrast and knit up as far as proportions and balance would allow.
but when the purple cuff was done, the foot was out of balance, the toe needed to be purple. the sock was also too long, i was bad and had worked the foot with crinkled yarn, before i reconditioned it, and washed it in eucalan. a surgical intervention was necessary. i removed the orange toe plus a few rows to shorten the foot, put 1/2 the sts on scrap yarn, the other half on a 2mm needle and made a short row toe. then i grafted the toe to the foot and we (me and my sock) lived happily ever after.
by the way, blanacing on a stool while you lean back and stick your feet out and take pictures of them is excellent exercise for your abs. i suggest 3 reps of 10 to 15 pictures.
My First Knee Socks
I'm still into them, i just need a lot of stimulation and once I worked out all the kinks in this pattern i wasn't as psyched. i think i'll use a different increase pattern up the back of the second sock to keep things experimental.
Both of the skeins of ayrn were dyed at the same time but the colours are slightly differernt, the second is a bit brighter in the blue
Freebies ....
Surveys ....
You Designed What?!questionable design choices from the runways of New York's Fall 2008 fashion shows
my knee socks in progress ... making calf increases
wrap for my mom's b-day .... last wednesday. gave her another sweater instead. i'll save this for mothers day!
