Cranking out some projects!

While I don't feel like I've knit a whole lot of interesting things so far this year, I have made a lot of things. My goal was to make a couple of sweaters, 52 hats for charity, and 12 pairs of socks, and so far, I'm right on track for the hats, I'm ahead on the socks, and I'm already nearly done with the 2nd sweater! I've got to find some more projects...

I'll start with hats. As I mentioned in my last post, I'd like to knit or crochet 52 hats this year for my Grandma's church's charity. I have never made anything for something like this, and I felt that if I have the time and resources to make myself so many beautiful things, I can make some for others. I have quite a bit of random colors of worsted and DK weight yarn, leftovers from past projects and skeins Grandma let me pick out of her huge stash. Most of it is acrylic, and all of it is too much to just cannibalize for the Ugly Square. So I am going to use up what I can to make hats this year. Much of it is pinks and purples, or baby yarn, and at this time, with 3 little boys and a nephew, I just don't have much use for those things. And much of it is very old (30+ years on some of it!) and scratchy, and I don't think I would enjoy making things with it, let alone wearing it. Grandma uses whatever she wants with her projects, so I figured I could too.

It is the 3rd week of February, and I am up to 8 completed hats. I showed 3 last time. I have a couple more Chiefs colored ones, and the others are combinations of pretty variegated yarns I have had.

I have been using the same pattern for each one, now that I have it memorized, and it was from a Red Heart label. I haven't been religiously working on these every week, but I am keeping up and catching up when I need to. I am making the "adult size" on the pattern, but I think my gauge must be pretty tight, because I can't wear these hats. I could wear the first hat. I don't know what I've changed. They at least fit the boys. Grandma tells me that she made 150 hats last year, and nearly as many twiddle muffs. I will stick to my 52...

Part of the reason I haven't been making hats every week is because I am participating in the Grocery Girls Podcast sock bash. I have planned out my entire year in yarn and patterns so I can complete a pair of socks each month (WIP's don't count) that fits the theme. At the end of the year, I would like to enter for their grand prize, which might be something really cool, and there are decent odds of winning if you complete all 12. I have on my calendar (yes, I am like that) for the first 2 weeks every month to work on socks, so I can complete them early and get them posted in time. For February, the theme is cables:

The yarn is Opal, and when it was in the ball I wasn't too keen on knitting it. I bought it to add some different colors to my sock yarn scrap blanket, but it didn't look like anything I normally wear. Once I caked it up, though, I started to see how beautiful it is. My hubby even said if I wanted to knit him a pair out of that yarn he would love them! We'll see...

I knit the Felia socks, but I started them toe-up. I am self-conscious about knitting cuff-down socks with my big giant feet. I just don't want to run out of yarn right before the toe and have to find something else that matches. I messed up the chart a little by looking at it upside-down (you can see the bottom is different than the top in the upper photo), so I wish I had done a better job on that, but I think they turned out neat. I was in a rush to finish them, since February is a shorter month and I had other goals in mind, so when the cable pattern took too long for me, I did the chart once and finished it. I wore them yesterday, and I really like just the detail on the top of the foot. No one knows it's there but me, unless I am home with my shoes off.

I over-estimated how much yarn it would take for the KirbyWirby Afterthought Heel and the cuff, so the leg is a little short and I have a LOT left over for my blanket. I love the little cables in the ribbing, and these socks don't fall down like most of my others, so I may keep the length. Love the heel! It makes so much sense. I posted about it on my Ravelry projects here.


Once I finished the socks, I started on Grandma's sweater. I showed a photo of the hot pink sweater I'm making for my Grandma, out of yarn she was donated. I quickly finished the front that was pictured and started on another project, then the 1st rolled around and I wanted to work on my cabled socks. Once I finished those socks, I jumped right in on the back of the sweater, which is identical. I am about at the same place as the photo, so I won't include one this time. I plan to finish it this weekend and do all the finishing work next week, unless I don't have time to finish the other project I'm working on, in which case I'll save it for next month. I showed it to her today, and she loved it. She even liked the reverse side, so I told her she can wear it however she wants!

The last project I'm working on right now is another pair of socks. I don't remember if I've mentioned it or not, but I sing with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus under a fantastic and charismatic director. I take my knitting to nearly every rehearsal, and when I was working on the black and neon socks last month, he walked by and said that his 1 pair of hand-knitted socks were his favorite, then jokingly told me he's a size 8 1/2. I told him my feet were size 10 1/2, and he said that it's basically the same size in socks. So I thought, I'm knitting myself 12 pairs of socks (give or take 1 or 2--my hubby has some queued up too), and I hardly even wear socks. This man wears socks every day of his life (I've maybe seen him in sandals once in 6 years), so surely I can knit him a pair. I went out and bought a beautiful pair of balls of Patons Kroy yarn from Hobby Lobby the next day, and I'm working on toe-up Vanilla Latte socks for him. I am hoping to have them done by Thursday (6 more days) so I can enter them for February's sock bash. I *love* the yarn colors! They started with navy in the toe, then teal with navy flecks, then burgundy, and light blue with teal and purple flecks. I don't have a photo of them yet, but I'm getting ready to start the heel, so I will have them done for my next post. I can't wait to see his face when I give them to him! He even mentioned it to me again this week, as I was working on my Felia socks before rehearsal. I told him I already bought yarn, but I don't think he heard me as someone else started talking to him. They are flying off the needles, being mostly stockinette.

Next month, along with my socks, hats, and finishing up Grandma's sweater, I'm taking part in my very first mystery knit along! It is a sport weight cowl, and I immediately knew exactly what I wanted to use. I have some Road to China Light that I bought on destash last summer that didn't have a designated project, so it is my new cowl! I wound it up the other night, and now I can't stop touching it! I am going to enjoy the heck out of knitting and then wearing this puppy. They release a clue a week for 4 weeks, so hopefully between making socks, hats, and taking care of little people I might be able to keep up. I'm so excited! I've been wanting to do a MKAL for a few months, and it seems like spring is the time for them. I can't wait to see what it looks like.

Finally, I have a photo of a FO in the wild. I love this outfit today, and my favorite shawl is one of the best parts of it!

FO's, UFO's & WIP's

For those of you new to the knitting/crocheting world (as I was unaware of until I started watching podcasts), the title of this post stands for Finished Objects (FO's), Unfinished Objects (UFO's), and Works In Progress (WIP's). I figured it would be best if I posted my progress on the projects listed, instead of just waiting for them to be complete, as that may be a while yet for some. And, in my Etsy shop, I tell viewers to check out my blog to see what I'm currently working on, not what I finished 6 months ago and just haven't updated for a really long time.

FO's:

Finnja shawl in Malabrigo Rios

Beautiful cable detail

Harlow hat in Brooklyn Tweed Loft and sock yarn from Grandma

Inside-out

These items have all been washed and blocked, and have all the ends woven in. Basically, they are ready to wear. I'll start with the shawl.

I don't recall which podcast I heard about this shawl from, or maybe it was the designer, and I just loved the shawl in her patterns, but I fell in love with the large cables and the vertical lines. I went to my local yarn store and picked out not just one yarn to make it, but two. I'm so glad I did. I made the first with this Malabrigo in a very tonal dark gray, and the next one I make (I will be making it again!) will be in Cascade 220 in a dark blue. I love how soft this yarn is, and it was very fun to knit. I enjoyed it a lot, which may not always be said of shawls.

The next item is a new(-ish) hat pattern from Andrea Mowry called Harlow. I was going to try to finish it in 4 days like her KAL just after she published the pattern, but that was about the time I decided I didn't have to complete every KAL and just knit the things I want in my own time. It is knit in brioche stitch in the round, which are 2 things I'd never done before. I didn't think it was that difficult, as she posted great video tutorials online, and I love the effect of the variegated yarn on the inside, and the fact that it is reversible. I might make this again in lighter colors next time. It blocked a little larger than I would like, but my husband should be able to wear it, no problem.

I have another FO, but I took its photo with a couple of UFO's that are similar, so I will talk about it when I get there. I love washing my yarns in Eucalan Jasmine wool wash. It was a little overpowering at first, but now that they have sat in a bag in the closet for a few months, it is subtle and very nice.

UFO's:

#29 or 30; haven't counted for a while...

Stingray with Red Heart leftovers

Patons Wool Roving

(Un)Felted Moccasins in Fisherman's Wool

Knit Picks March Evergreen socks in Lolodidit Hippo for Christmas and Lucky mini

Blueberry Waffles sock toe-up with Sockmatician's recipe in Cloudborn

Gridiron Hat in Berroco Ultra Chunky Alpaca

Shower loofah in cotton

Lizard shawl in Mandala Warlock?

Helgoland shawl in Yarn Bee Tricycle Time, Airplane, and teal

I am considering UFO's to be anything where the knitting/crocheting is complete, but the ends are not woven in or there is other finishing work to be completed. As we all know how much I love sewing, there are quite a few of these...

The top photo is one of many dish cloths that still need ends woven in. I have done an i-cord loop at the top corner of all of them, but they just need to be knotted and woven in to be done. I'm making many more of these for Christmas this year, so I'll try to get them all done in one fell swoop.

The next photo is another Christmas gift, for my little Bl'aig. He has an under the sea room, which I'll try to post photos of soon, and so I asked him to pick from a few patterns I have available, and he liked the Manta Ray. There was a pretty cool hammerhead shark too, but he has a huge stuffed shark we found, so I thought another sea creature would be neat. I doubled every dimension in the pattern because I wanted something he could hug, not an amigurumi sized animal. It just needs some large safety eyes and a little pink tongue, and stuffing and sewing ends. One Christmas gift done! I'm making stuffed animals for all the boys this year, more on that later...

The Patons Wool Roving was on clearance (most of it) from JoAnn's, so I thought it would make nice wool dryer balls. They are supposedly going to cut drying time nearly in half, and they make your clothes fluffy without damaging them, and they're pretty colors. I need to wash them so they will felt together, instead of unraveling in the dryer. One or more of them, I discovered too late, is made from a wool/acrylic blend (Bernat Roving), so that will probably be a bust, but the others should work out well.

Speaking of felting, I started this project over a year ago, and just haven't gotten around to completing it. I saw The Yarn Hoarder's podcast over these felted slippers last year, and fell in love with them. I loved them so much, I decided to immediately go out and buy enough yarn to make them for all of the family. Fourteen people!! I was nuts. My hubby talked some sense into me, and told me to just make one pair and see how they went. I started on one, finally finished knitting it, sewed it together, then took over a year to even start the next one. I took almost all the yarn back to the store. All but enough for my slippers. So I finally finished the second one, although I don't think I made them the exact same size. I couldn't remember which size I made the original, so we'll see how they felt up. When I felt them. It'll be before Christmas, because I want to wear them this year, and I need to felt the dryer balls at the same time. I'm a little scared that they will not fit, but I won't know until I try. I have huge feet, so if they don't fit me, I can shrink them for someone else in the family...

Speaking of huge feet, I got to make myself 2 pair of socks earlier this year. I wanted to make some Christmas socks using my Lolodidit Hippo for Christmas, but I didn't want to make boring vanilla socks. I found this lacy pattern for free from Knit Picks (it comes in a set of 12 toe-up socks, one for each month!) with neat evergreen trees, so I thought that would be a nice pair. The pattern was pretty easy to memorize after the first couple of X's, but I had to look at each row for the trees. I like how they turned out, the yarn was so soft and beautiful, but they don't fit exactly like I hoped. They are a little tight, as the stitch count was lower than I'm used to, but with the lace chart, I wasn't sure how to adjust. I have a large (arthritic) ankle that swells often, so it is hard to get them over that. I can endure it for one day a year, though.

Next up are my Blueberry Waffle socks. As I mentioned, I have huge feet, so I want to make sure I have enough yarn to finish the length of my socks. This pattern is written for top-down socks, so I started them toe-up. I heard about Sockmatician's Toe-up sock recipe, so I combined these 2 to make this pair. I like the colors, I like the heel, I just wish I had made the foot a little shorter. These seemed to take forever, as I was trying to make them one at a time on my 9" circular needle. Once I switched to magic loop after the heel, they went much faster. I don't know if I'm a huge fan of the 9" circulars. I need to try them with a plain vanilla sock, instead of a patterned one. I think that might help. The Christmas socks seemed to fly off the needles, they went so quickly. I knit them magic loop the whole way. I was happy to have them done.

These Gridiron hats are all done, and one is even blocked! The red one is ready to wear, and this yarn blocked gives such nice stitch definition, even for being bulky. This is the yarn I let Blessing pick out at the Yarn Barn in Kansas, when I bought all kinds of beautiful new-to-me yarns and fibers this spring. I like the way they turned out, they went fast, and they should fit the boys for several winters. And they're so soft! Alpaca blend, I love it! More Christmas presents!

Next is a little test that I made, also in the hopes of making for Christmas. It is a little cotton loofah (I don't remember where the pattern came from), but I think I'll just buy them for $1 from Dollar Tree, instead of going to all the work to make one. It was a nice idea, just not for me.

Next up is a little something I made last year, but still need to block. I was inspired from a lady in the Mandala yarn Facebook group, and I had the same yarn, but it didn't turn out quite like I'd hoped. Still needs blocking. It was a lot smaller than I thought it would be, maybe that will change a bit once it's blocked. It is acrylic, though, so I'm not sure how much it will stretch. Anyway, it's lightweight and pretty for fall. Maybe next fall...

Last for the UFO's is this amazingly soft number. I spent what felt like months working on this shawl (so many repeats of the big section of color), as it was hard for me to memorize at first, and it was tricky if I messed up. If I were to make this over again, I would definitely run proactive lifelines, as there were 1 or two places where I had to tink back and didn't get it right. This is the gorgeous Helgoland shawl by Melanie Berg. I saw this on the Grocery Girls podcast, and it was lovely then, and still is. It is humongous. It took most of 3 skeins of yarn, big skeins of Yarn Bee (the same as what I used on the boys' sweaters), and it is so soft. I love the colors together, although if I knit it in wool, I think I would use 3 solid colors. It just needs ends woven in, and a light blocking. I don't want it to grow any more, it's already huge. I bought 4 of her patterns, as there was a discount, so I'm looking forward to trying out more of them in the future.

That's it for the UFO's. Wow, this is a long post. I think I'll leave WIP's for the next post. Maybe next week some time. Goodness, 3 posts in 2 weeks? It must be Christmas. Anyway, I have to get some sleep before work tomorrow (I am reffing a big volleyball tournament), so I should wrap this up. Have fun making!

Thanksgiving fun

It's Thanksgiving, and I finally finished the project I wanted done by Thanksgiving, a few days early even! I called my cousin last week to let her know I should have her sweater done by the end of the week, and we arranged for her to come by to try it on Thursday. 

This forced me to really work hard for a couple of days, as I still had the finishing touches to do, like making the tabs for the sides, sewing them on, weaving in ends, and blocking. I got it done in time though.

Here is a photo of the original design:

Here is a closeup of the cable pattern:

This is the blocking process:

And this is the finished product! I forgot to take a photo after it was done drying (blocking), so I had to run out to the car and have her hold it up before she drove away...

Here is the sweater on, as she intended to wear it:

Blocking the sweater was fun. As you can see, I got a little creative with the process. I didn't have any T pins, which were suggested in the article I read, but I had just enough of the boys' little trains to cover the whole garment. They were the perfect weight to keep the ends flat. I just used a spray bottle and dampened the edges, not even the whole garment. If I had more time, I would have blocked it before sewing it together, and done the whole thing, but she was only available on a certain day, sooner than I planned. 

My cousin loves it! I am so pleased with the way it turned out, and even more pleased that she likes it too. Even though it was essentially a large rectangle, I am excited to have my first knit sweater completed. If you remember, I made a crochet sweater quite a while ago. I think I am ready to attempt a baby sweater pattern for Samuel out of yarn I've had since the twins were born. It didn't take nearly as long as I thought, which is the main reason I've never tried before. 

On a more personal note, my Dad is not doing well. It seems like only a matter of time before the cancer wins, due to an infection it is causing, which is hindering chemo treatments. Please keep our family in your prayers. We are still praying for a miracle, but at this point it's not looking very promising.

Thanks for your time and happy Thanksgiving. I hope you get to spend it with loved ones, and that you never miss an opportunity to tell them how much you love them.

Halfway there and an end in sight!

I am amazed at how quickly this sweater is coming together. The Fisherman's Wool is not exceptionally thick, which would normally make for a quick knit, but it is going quickly nonetheless. Maybe it's because I've had a lot of time on my hands to work on it, waiting for Blessing to come.

Here are some photos of it so far:

The top photo is the front of the piece. It is a little narrower than I had hoped, but hopefully after blocking (which will be a new skill to try with this piece), it will lay nicely and be wide enough. 

I made this neckline part of the rectangle of the whole piece, but after my cousin got to try it on, I realized that I should probably taper in the neck just a bit, and make the shoulders a little wider. I will take it out and redo the whole neckline some time in the near future. I would like for it to not curl down like it is now, and hope that blocking and tailoring it a little smaller will fix that.

The second photo is a closeup of the cable pattern I chose. I really like the way it snakes and the multiple pieces, as opposed to just 2 different strands like many cables. I found this pattern on Pinterest and chose #4. It's only 8 rows and then it repeats. I don't plan to use it down the back.

I think it will turn out to be a lovely piece. I bought 3 skeins of the wool, and I have lots left of the first one still, so maybe when I'm finished I'll have enough leftover to make her a scarf or hat, or even some cute armwarmers. We'll see.

If I had to do it over again, I would have doubled the yarn from the beginning and made it just a bit wider. The original sweater was heftier in weight and had some stiffness to it. This one is light and soft, which will be nice, since she'll have to wear something underneath it, and will make it good for fall and spring as well as winter. 

I probably won't be able to finish the sweater for a few weeks, since we have scheduled a c-section for Blessing on Friday. Our little guy will be here before we know it, and our lives will change dramatically for a while. With that in mind, if you are the praying type, please say a prayer for us, that we have a healthy baby boy, my recovery goes smoothly and quickly, and that our transition to a family of 5 is smooth. Thanks for reading and God bless!

P.S. I'll try to post pics of him before too long. I have so many cute projects to photograph him in!

A new project

We finally have everything unpacked and now I'm just sitting around waiting for Blessing to make his move, so I thought I'd get started on a project I have been thinking about for quite a while. One of my Mom's cousins approached me last winter to ask if I would consider making a sweater for her, based on a garment she already owned. I told her I'd give it a shot.

We got together at a family function again this summer (we don't get together with all the distant cousins but a couple times a year) and she brought the sweater so I could get an idea what I was getting into. It's a really pretty vest-type piece, and instead of being a full sweater, it just has tabs on the side. Should be easy-peasy! 

I took it with me, and spent a few weeks looking up pattern ideas before I discovered I couldn't really find a pattern to match what she wanted exactly. She said she wanted "boxy," as this one is very straight, and she didn't mind having a different neckline. I suggested a boat neck, which should be fairly straightforward, because otherwise I would have to do some serious research to shape the shoulders like this sweater. I found a pattern I like, and the cable detail is beautiful for this! Unfortunately, I haven't been able to figure out how to purchase the pattern on Ravelry, as it's part of a collection or a book, but after studying the photo closely, I think I've discovered a way to emulate it without needing one. I noticed the neckline is basically a bind-off with an inch or two of stitches at each end, and then you just pick up the stitches on the other side. Since I won't be working in the round (because of the tabs on the sides), I'll just make it like a large rectangle with the neck hole. At least, that's my plan.

I then spent several more days looking for wool yarn that would give it the stiffness that she wants and the gauge that I want. After several texts and emails, we finally settled on Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool in Oatmeal.

It's a little bulkier than I would have preferred, but the other yarns we were discussing I would have had to order online without having an example of, and I really dislike doing that. And I got to use all my JoAnn's coupons to get this...

Hopefully it turns out beautifully, and just what she wants. I started on it the other night, but had to stop a few rows in until I decide exactly how I want to do the cable. I'll pick it up again tonight, after I do a little more scouting online for ideas.

I'll probably post photos as it comes along, so I can document what I did as much as show off. I hope to have it finished before Thanksgiving, but I'll probably have to get together with her a couple of times to check and make sure the fit is good. I would not be surprised if I had to take out the neckline a couple of times to get it right.

I like working with the Fisherman's Wool already, compared to the scratchy Alpaca I used for the purple cowl recently. Maybe I'll make my knot bag out of it...

Until next time!

Photo Shoot

These were some photos I took to update some of my Etsy listings. I may caption them someday, but today is not that day...

A Week's Worth of Hats

And I'm not kidding! After I finished my sweater, I had some miscellaneous hats I had found on Pinterest I wanted to make. So I spent all last week working on several different types of hats with yarn I (mostly) had lying around.

Knit Men's Beanie: Remake of the jogless stripes hat I previously made; it was a little small for the customer

Stash buster Rainbow Stripe Hat; per Pinterest pic, I did 8 increase rounds, starting with 10 dc; each color is 3 rounds, except pink, which is 2 in fpdc/bpdc ribbing; H hook and Red Heart yarns

Baby Cable Hat: This really looks much better on than it does here! It fits snugly. Per Purl bee pattern here; Bernat Satin yarn in sage and size 4 dpns

Slouch Hat: Also looks better on. Per pattern with shoe rug yarn and Red Heart in Aran

Hershey's Kiss Hats: for the boys! Still need to add ribbon. From pattern, I hook and 48 stitches on final increase instead of 44; I Love This Yarn in graymist

Stripe Pom Hat: An original creation! H hook and I Love This Yarn in navy, Red Heart with Love in iced aqua, Deborah Norville for the pom and edging, and Vanna's Choice in radiant lime; 8 stitches for 5 sets of 2 rows, then increase as normal until 54 stitches