Wednesday, January 28, 2015

WIP Wednesday


Currently in progress (clockwise from top left)
  • Dovana shawlette, knit in Malabrigo sock, the same yarn I was using for these failed socks. Very happy with this so far
  • Follow Your Arrow 2 mystery shawlette. Chose to do clue 2b, which included slipped stitches, and these looked bad! See below. So I ripped back and worked reverse stockinette instead of slipped stitches where called for. Still not pleased with how it looks. :-/ But not going to rip back again. Maybe it would have been better if I hadn't chosen to use green for those areas. Oh well. 


  • One row stripe socks. Using two balls of leftover fingering weight yarn for these toe-up socks. Short row toe and heel. Happy with these so far. 
  • Jade leaves socks. This is the 5th time I've knit this pattern and once again I love how quickly this lace pattern goes. Using Dream in Color Smooshy--love this yarn, and unexpectedly love the colorway. In the skein, the brown/green combo looked meh, but it's knitting up really nicely.

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Embracing the unknown!

Aka The Joys of the Mystery Knit Along

My latest project is a shawlette, part of a mystery knit along (MKAL). So far, one clue in, I'm having fun. But I'm also a tiny bit nervous.

For this MKAL, I trust the designer, I've knit many of her designs (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) and have faith this one will turn out well. I've made a handful of other MKAL projects that I liked (1, 2, 3, 4), but I have been burned twice recently. 

First burn was only minor--really, when it said the finished object would be a scarf, I should have just stopped right there. Not a scarf fan here. But I went along and made it anyways. It was fun to make, but I have no idea what to do with the finished scarf. It's a bit wacky :-/



The other burn was of such severity that I frogged the project after a few clues when I realized just what it was going to be like. The item itself seems nice enough but I would never use a bulky weight poncho-type thing, and I had decided that it would be something I'd keep, so I decided to find another purpose for the yarn. 

Here's my progress with my latest MKAL, the Follow Your Arrow 2 pattern by Ysolda. 


FO: Lucky 7 Hat


A relatively quick, fun knit hat, knit out of Dream in Color Classy in "purple rain," a lovely, subtly variegated dark purple. With the ribbing, this hat could stretch to fit a large child's head through a small adult head. Knit almost exactly as written, see details on ravelry

4th hat of #15in15

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Darn it!


Found one heel of a sock wearing thin and decided to tackle darning! Because the stitches remained intact, I was able to use duplicate stitch. Prolonged life for some of my favorite socks. I tried to link up my ravelry page for these socks, but it turns out they're pre-ravelry!! I remember the yarn having been a gift...I think it's ArtYarns. And the pattern was improvised. :)

Sunday, January 18, 2015

They can't all be winners


It's been a week of tough decisions, including deciding to rip out this nearly-finished sock when I finally came around to the reality that this would not fit anyone I know. There are a few flaws that  contributed to the poor fit, IMHO: the too-short heel flap, and the unstretchy bias lines created by the two columns of twisted stitches at the front of the ankle. 

I considered ripping back to above the heel flap, lengthening the heel flap then modifying the design on the top of the ankle, but ultimately decided it wouldn't be worth it. Already thinking about what sick pattern I'll start next with this lovely yarn. 

Bummer. 

FO: Dark Night of the Sole Socks

I do love a pun



First finished pair of socks in 2015! These are for Raj, using yarn that was bought a few years ago with him in mind. The pattern makes for a nicely stretchy sock that fits him well. Unfortunately, the pattern is pretty much lost in the yarn... Oh well. 

I knit these socks two-at-a-time, magic loop. Not sure how I feel about two-at-a-time. Pros: don't have to keep notes to ensure socks are identical, don't have to worry about slight tension differences between the two socks (this has happened to me!). Cons: continual switching of yarns takes time (those seconds add up), more fiddly. 

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Three hats!


Three hats done toward my #15in15 goal! 

Top left is Bronntanas, a Ysolda pattern, knit in Malabrigo worsted. After reading comments of other knitters on ravelry who said the hats came out too big, I knit the adult small size expecting a larger hat...well it seems more like a true adult small to me. :) or even a child sized hat. This one goes into the gift/donate pile. 

Top right is a hat I improvised (see details on my rav project page). I had the purple lambs pride that I wanted to use up, so I just knit the ribbing until I finished it--makes for a good folded brim. Then I used small balls of white and noro to knit the mosaic pattern. The mosaic pattern looks a bit sloppy, even after blocking,, which is disappointing. Another one for the gift/donate pile. 

Bottom is a garter ear flap hat that I modified to have a rounder crown. This is the adult small size, though it does fit my large head. I did a short I cord at the top and a small tassel at the end. Another one for the gift/donate pile. 

Monday, January 12, 2015

FO: Boot Cuffs


From the near-instant gratification department, these boot cuffs! They took a few hours, used less than 100g of yarn (from the stash...I think this is the yarn I used for these leg warmers 8 years ago and also for this hat and mitts set perhaps). These are a gift for a friend--hope she likes them!

These are #2 in the "other" category of my #15in15. :)

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

FO: Smocked Tunic


My first finished object of 2015 is a little sweater for Erin. The pattern is Smocked and the yarn is cascade 220 superwash (leftover from a baby blanket I made about 5 years ago).



I love the puffed sleeves and the smocking panel. Nice girly details. I changed the bottom edge from the ribbing called for in the pattern to a folded picot hem. 


I also modified the construction of the beginning--omitting the button panel in the back and instead working it in the round. This worked great for me. I'm so happy with the finished result. It's hip length now; hopefully this garment will last through the spring. 

First item in my #15in15 challenge--"other" category. Also used stash yarn!

All details are on my Ravelry project page

Monday, January 5, 2015

#15in15

As promised, I'm back to talk about my crafty goals for 2015. My plan: 15 in 15! 

- 15 pairs of socks*
- 15 hats
- 15 other knit/crochet projects
- 15 projects that use the sewing machine

* this may be modified to 15 individual socks (7.5 pairs) in case I find that knitting 15 pairs would be loony. 

Another big part of my goals for the year is stashbusting! My yarn bins are overflowing--it's ridiculous. I have visions of an organized craft corner, but I need to make a serious dent in my stash to help make that happen. 

I've already finished my first knitted item--a little knitted tunic for Erin. I'll be back to tell you more about that tomorrow. 

Sunday, January 4, 2015

2014 Recap

Apparently, I took a year off from blogging--ha! Didn't realize it had been quite that long. Well, it's a new year and I've got new intentions. So we'll see how this goes! I think I had a pretty productive 2014. I remember setting crafty goals for myself at the beginning of the year, but can't remember where I wrote them down, so I really don't know if I met any or all of them.

According to Ravelry, I finished 29 projects this past year!

Including 6 pairs of socks, 11 things for Erin, and 9 gifts for other people. The things I made for Erin are definitely my favorite, and the project I most enjoyed was her Christmas stocking.

Of these projects, the Colorblock Wee Cria sweater spent the most time on the needles.... because I put off the finishing (just sewing on buttons, and sewing the pockets) for more than 5 months!! This was my last finished object of 2014--finished on New Years Eve. Thankfully, it still fits her. :)

I'll be back tomorrow with my crafty goals for 2015. Cheers!