Finished Heather and a Single Sock

Baby Man is not sleeping.  In fact, we were up at 4:30 this morning.  The stress of dealing with a 2-year old on little sleep combined with all the nights I’ve spent sleeping on the floor has lead to a very, very sore back for me.  At this point I am running on fumes and back medication.

I have managed to finish one of my Francie socks.  I only did 1 1/2 repeats of the leg pattern because I prefer short-legged socks and because the yarn I am using, Crystal Palace’s Panda cotton, doesn’t have a lot of yardage.  (Once the sock was done, I saw that I had a enough left over that I probably could have done at least another 1/2 of a repeat, but I’d rather I have extra at the end then not enough.)  The foot shaping on these socks are is really cool. It is a lot like the shaping on the socks I finished last month, but with the addition of ribbing and a little  better transition into the toe.  This is, by far, the most comfortable sock I knit so far.  I can’t wait to have a completed pair.  In fact, I’ve already got started on the second sock! Yay me!

A Single Francie Sock

I’ve decided to take part in the 2010 Ravelympics and knit Crafty Diversion’s Carmen Bolero.  (FYI: Anne is offering a cupon code for the Ravelympics.  Use code CDRavelympics2010 when buying any pattern on this page and get 20% off.  I’m thinking about the Eleanor Roosevelt hat and Lillian cardigan.)  Of course, this will cut into any time I planned to spend stitching for The Wagon’s Stitching Olympics.  But, honestly, I have no chance of winning that, as much as I would love 20 skeins of Dinky Dyes. 🙂  However, it is entirely possibly that I could finish knitting a hooded cardigan in a couple of weeks.  (Yes, I do live in a dream world.)

And speaking of stitching, I have managed to cross something off of my WIP list: Heather by Serendipity Designs.  It was not a pleasure to stitch as it is full of French knots and partial backstitching  on Aida.  I know that I should have changed the fabric that came in the kit, but I didn’t bother and I paid for it.  Nonetheless, the finished piece is lovely.  I think I will probably end up making it into a bag if I ever get up enough energy to pull out the sewing machine.  (The fabric is plain ivory Aida.  The weird colouring is a shadow.  It is dreadfully dull here today, so the picture looks awful.)

Heather by Serendipity Designs

I also wanted to mention that Pauline of A Stitching Frenzy is having another giveaway.  This time she is offering a copy of Jill Oxton’s Cross Stitch & Bead Weaving.  There are some really pretty projects in this issue.  I had actually thought about getting a copy of this issue, but never got around to it.  (The best of intentions around here don’t amount to much when not getting sleep.)  Head over to her blog to enter.

And I just came across this new Chatelaine design: Midi Online 2 – Rajasthan Lotus Temple Pond. It would be an understatement to say that I want to stitch this design.  Time to save my pennies.  The chart isn’t released until May 1st, so I have some time.