Unhappy Needle

My planned ruffle was not a success. I guess I tried to force too many stitches into too small a space. This was the result.

I don't think it can be fixed, so I'll need to replace it. Meanwhile I've ripped out the offending stitches and am back to a plain garter stitch scarf. I guess it will have to be a crochet ruffle.

Garter Stitch Plus

I have been knitting this scarf. The base is plain garter stitch in a combination of sea colours which I spun up a while ago.

I'm now knitting--would you believe a ruffle! I'll do one along each long edge of the scarf.

And you can see my dogs are still being up close and personal while I take things easy.

Confession

Two chocolate Easter bunnies have disappeared from my home in recent days.

I have been knitting, but not much else. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Another Pair of Socks

I finished another pair of socks this morning.

This is the first time I've been seriously tempted to abandon the second sock. The fit isn't as good as the others I've made. I think that's because the cuff is a bit too short, plus continuing the rib through the top of the foot pulls that in a bit more. I've given myself a bit of extra length in the foot to compensate. I'll see how they feel when I wear them. Even if they don't turn out to be my best pair, I'm learning and gaining experience, so it's OK. 

Ruffles to the Max

This crochet collar began with a bit of leftover wool. It was spindle-spun, hand-dyed Finn-Cashmere, so a rather special scrap. In my ongoing exploration of neck adornment possibilities I made a rough elipse. My next step was to add a few freshwater pearls. I wanted some matching seed pearls to finish it off, but there were none to be found. So it sat for a while. Then I dug out some hand-spun silk. It's usually a bit of a gamble to try to dye a matching shade, but I decided to try anyway. It worked! Today I stitched around the basic shape with the silk. Once that was done, it was time for adornment.

I endeded up with a mass of ruffles. I like ruffles. In this context I'm thinking of them as being like coral--a sea blue-green coral collar. It should be fun to wear in the coming cooler days.

Happy Things

Melt-in-my-mouth soft, sweet, ripe cherry tomatoes from my friend A's vegie patch

And an unexpected couple of hours spent brainstorming with another creative soul this morning.

Subtle Colour

I've been experimenting with necklaces lately. I have some new tops which call for a slightly different length than I'm used to. I've seen several silver necklaces like this in the shops, but I wanted just a touch of blue for mine.

The test will be when I've worn it a few times, but for now I'm happy.