The Almost Lost Dishcloth set is done!

Last night, I finished the third dishcloth.  

A Christmas Trio!

The colors look great together and festive.....could not be happier.  My hope is that the recipient will like them as much as I do.

Dishcloths are a good gift...as everyone needs them at one time or another.  If one must clean, one might as well have something pretty to do it with.

While I have been busy at work, I have also been busy knitting.   This is the season when I finish my Christmas projects early...and then add things to give to people.

This year, I am adding two Simply Spring Beanies and a festive trio of Almost Lost Dishcloths. As I have a (cough, cough) plentiful supply of yarn, it does not take me long to put these projects together.

The dishcloths are made out of Willow Yarn's Sudsy, which is my very favorite yarn for these projects. The colors are nice and the blend in the yarn keeps those colors from fading out quickly.  As I had a stock of red, green, and natural, I am making one in each color.

The Simply Spring Beanie is a multi-size top down beanie pattern.  I have used it several times and will use it again.   The fact that it is a free download on Ravelry does not hurt.   For this particular Beanie, I started with the grey and added the red.  The third color looked black in the low light in which I was knitting.  When I took the hat into a brighter space, the colored revealed itself as a dark, toasty brown.   That was a bit of a surprise, but when I really looked at it, I decided that I liked it. 

 I have a smaller hat to do as soon as I finish the third dishcloth.  I am going to decide on the striping and the colors when I have a chance to look at what is available in my carefully curated (translate:  stuffed into one of two cloth baskets) supply of washable worsted yarn.    As the hat's recipient is seven years old, I can work with a brighter palate if I decide to do that.   Not sure yet what will happen.

Also fresh from the needles is a baby blanket for one of my knitting friends.  Her son should arrive next month.  A while back I had been leafing through the Mary Maxim catalog and saw Baby Blankie Yarn.  As I was unsure of who I was knitting for, I bought both the Honeydew and Apple Blossom colorways.   Being a huge fan of self-patterning yarns, I knew that I would eventually use both.

The Honeydew colorway is nicely gender neutral so I chose that skein.   The yarn comes in a skein

large enough to make a blanket.   "Great," I said to myself, "only two ends to sew in!"  The gods laughed.   This skein had four or five knots....that tugged on came apart easily.   If I could live with knitting the knots into the fabric, I would have been making a big mistake as the knot would have, without doubt, come apart when the blanket was washed.

The bottom and side edges curled enough so that it was really bothering me.  As it is acrylic and can't be blocked, I was wondering how to fix this.   When I washed the blanket and put it through the dryer on low, the curls relaxed and disappeared.   I was very relieved.  I hope to pass this project off this week.

Once I finish the second beanie, I am..going to....knit for me!!!!!

.  

Seeing a happy recipient in a picture...

One of the things that I really like is getting a picture of someone wearing something, or using

something, that I have made for them....and looking happy!

Last weekend I got the picture of Jolaine wearing her ginormous scarf.  It made my day!

This morning, for inspiration, I looked through the DROPS pattern site.  The design aesthetic makes me want to knit even more.   As a bonus, the patterns are free.

Every once in a while, I get an idea rolling around in my head.   With the help of KnitBird, I am working on it.   If this ends up looking like I want it to look, you will see the knit object and pattern here.

The Alligator is Ready to Travel Down the Mississippi

For reasons relating to my sister Helen's and my peculiar senses of humor, I needed to make an alligator for Owen.

The first round was done in a yarn that shall not be named.  I was nearly finished when I realized that I hated the yarn.  I hated the yarn enough that I would even give the project to someone I despised.   Laughing maniacally, I ripped the project off the needles and dumped it in the trash.  No regrets.

Later that same day, I was looking for something in one of the many knitting bags that comprise my decor and I found some dark green Vintage Candiana left over from another project.   Grabbing needles, I set down to work.  

Parts of this project were an extreme challenge. My short rows needed a lot of work.  Each leg was done four or five times to get it right.

At one point, I visited the Knit Purl Hunter's short row tutorial on YouTube.  Watching that helped me get acceptable (but not perfect) short rows.   As I finished each limb, I felt as though I had won something.

Stuffing the 'gator was interesting.   The stuffing began through one of the back leg holes.   Getting the stuffing to be the way I wanted it to be took a little, but it was worth it.   Having to knit the last limb while a good part of the body was stuffed was not fun....

After this, I needed something soothing.   My carry project is a Yarn Harlot One Row scarf done in Malabrigo worsted from my stash.

My plan is to make this long enough so that the recipient can loop it around his neck and still have ample length to tuck it into his coat.

One of the wonderful things about using the Yarn Harlot's pattern is that you can keep knitting and knitting and knitting and only have to stop when you have your length or when there is enough left to bind off.  You can also, when you do your swatch - which you will - figure out how wide you really want the scarf and adjust your stitches easily...just use a multiple of four. On bad days, I can still manage counting to four.  

This pattern is great for highlighting variegated yarns.  I do think it is a great way to use those lovely skeins of yarn that one has to have because it was so beautiful for which there was no plan.  

My home project is a throw that is being made in Bernat Blanket.   While this yarn does not have a

lot of give, it makes a velvety cloth that feels good.  One of my friends needs a pop of color in his living room.  He is getting a purple throw to play off a lime green wall.  

When I did my swatch I was thinking about the pattern to use.  This yarn does not show well in a fussy pattern.   This time, I decided to do a 13 stitch rib.  So far, I am very much liking how this is turning out.  I have five skeins but may only need four.

As this is a fairly mindless project, it is a nice break from the alligator.

I will be doing a couple of baby gifts next. I have a pattern chosen for one of the projects...details to follow.

A weekend of resting and knitting....

Jace's hat got finished.   Grandma Sharon will receive it and give it to Jace at her leisure.   This is one of the rewarding aspects of having a stash.   This hat was made with yarn that was on hand.    I didn't

Jace's Hat....New Size for a Growing Boy

even have to look long or hard for the colors required.

The Simply Spring Beanie really is a great pattern.  I really love the range of sizes....and that I have a lot of the right in the top layer of the stash.   This is a hat that can be done again and again.   The hat goes so quickly there is no time to get bored.

Shaggy, who rocked his Packer sweater, is also getting a black and orange sweater for Halloween.   This yarn also came right out of the stash.   As I had kept good notes, this sweater went quickly also.  

Both projects will go out in the mail this week.

  Another project I have been wanting to do is also on the needles.  Helen and I decided that Owen should have an alligator for reasons that shall not be revealed.

The yarn I choose is Willow's Fawn.  Fawn comes in a couple weights.  The alligator needed green DK.  While Fawn's green was more lime than gator, I chose it.   The color is "quite lively."   The yarn is okay to knit.   I would rather have been able to get this color in Burrow or Wash, but the weight and the colors just were not available.   The pattern is actually a crocodile, but let's not be picky.

So Much Knitting....So Little Time for Anything Else....

Over the last month or so, the needles have been very busy.   Why?   In the second half of November and the first half of December, I am really busy with other things....besides knitting.   One of the gifts I give myself is not being stressed over finishing projects for the holiday season.

One of my favorite tricks is to knit socks up to the toe and have the socks rest until I can get the accurate measurement of the recipients feet.   Once sock recipients are "grown enough" the width of their feet seems to be relatively stable.....the length, the length is the measurement in question.  At Thanksgiving, I will measure the lucky feet and finish the socks.

Seven Chayle Cloche hats are done.  Three Dinosaur hats are done.  One Primero hat is done.  Eight dishcloths are done.  A couple dog sweaters have been done.  I am now working on another hat and a scarf.   When all this knitting is done, there is some baby knitting to be done before I try to do some knitting for me.

The Chayle Cloche hats are really, really cute and fun to do.   I still like the pattern after having knit

eight of them. The flowers don't take much yarn and are a great way to use up small amounts of leftovers that are too much too throw away and too little to plan a project with.

This is the only hat with dark red flowers.  The other hats have pink flowers or purple flowers....as the recipients are in the "the only colors that matter are pink and purple" stage of life.

I had thought it might be fun to experiment with other types of flowers, and may yet, but decided that I needed to push through the projects for this round.

The Dinosaur hats were a lot of fun to make.  There were only three to do.  Two have been mailed

away to their lucky recipients.  Owen loves his....and uses it
as a toy.  He pulls the hat down over his face and giggles. 

In the mix there were also a couple of Unicorn hats.   This was a neat project as it was good for skill building.   I had to relearn the loop stitch for the mane...and figure out what colors I liked together.   The horn was easy to knit.   The challenging part was putting the main and the horn on the hat so that it would look right when it is worn.   The two little girls who got the hats seemed to be pleased.  That is all that matters.

The Primero hat is also great for using up odds and ends of colored yarn.  I do like colorwork a lot and decided to do this to give myself a mind break.  This is not a difficult project, but still a very satisfying one.   As it is a quick project, it is also great for gift giving!

I used Willow Burrow as the colors are wonderful and I have a lot of it.   The Vamp Red color is one of my favorites.  The grey is really nice also...heathery rather than slate.   First, I tried a white yarn

with these two colors.   There was something not quite pleasing about the colorway.  I used the off-white and liked the results much better.

What I like about this pattern, and patterns like this one, is that the hats made can look very different with different color combinations......and that this is another project that can help use up partial balls of yarn.

A couple years ago, I made my great-nephew, Jace, a hat.  It was simple...mostly grey with a couple of red stripes.   He loves that hat.  It is his favorite...even more than his custom John Deere hat.   This year, the hat will not fit him anymore.

A request came from his mother, via my sister-in-law, for one in a larger size.   I found the yarn right away but could not remember the name of the pattern.  After looking through my files, I got the bright idea of checking my Ravelry projects.  Voila!  The name of the pattern, Simply Spring Beanie, was revealed.  Simply Spring is a top down beanie.  While it is a bit putzy to start, it is great if you need to make adjustments as you go for a better fit.   Not only is this pattern written for a wide variety of sizes, but it has the bonus of being free!

My brother, Ed, and his wife, Sharon, adopted a wonderful little rescue dog.  Shaggy came up from the south and has not yet experienced a northern winter.  The first sweater was a bit tight.  The second

sweater, done in tasteful Packer colors, was a good fit.   I am hoping to knit a Halloween and a Christmas sweater for Shaggy so that he has a nice wardrobe!

As Shaggy is a small dog, the yarn for his sweaters is coming out of my stash....for which I am very grateful.   Clara Parkes has a new book out, "A Stash of One's Own,"  which is a great read.   The book is a collection of essays written about why we build yarn stashes, what we do with our yarn collections, and how different knitters approach stash use and maintenance.  I am enjoying this very much and recommend this book...and all of Clara Parkes' books....as a good read.

Knitting like a machine.....

For the past month or so, I have been knitting like a machine.  There are so many projects to get done.   Fortunately, the projects are all fun.  Watch for pictures!

The Making of a Dog Sweater

Ed and Sharon adopted Shaggy.  Shaggy is a dachshund/cocker mix, and from his pictures, a very cute little guy.  Winter in Alabama, where Shaggy came from, is very different from winter in Wisconsin.  Shaggy needs a sweater!

Esther Bozak wrote a custom fit dog sweater pattern that I had used before.  The dog sweater's previous recipients were Suzy Q, a tiny Yorkie, and Coquetta, an elegant and charming King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. Each of these girls got a couple of sweaters. 

Perhaps my favorite was a sweater made for Coquetta out of black worsted and a fun fur yarn that was very popular at the time that matched Coquetta's coat.  That was a fun project and I laughed the whole time I was knitting it.

When Sharon asked if I knew anything about dog sweaters, I went back to Esther's pattern confidently.   An e-mail requesting the needed measurements went off...and the measurements returned.

Next, I pulled some Willow Burrow Worsted out of my stash to knit Shaggy's prototype sweater.  As always, I did a nice gauge swatch.  Satisfied that I had the right fabric, I did the math and began the sweater.

Fortunately, I done this before.  I do not recall having the same problems with the original sweaters as I did with Shaggy's.   Someone, in the intervening years must have re-typed and not proofread the pattern.   As I know what the sweater was supposed to look and fit like, I was okay.  Had I followed the pattern without thinking, I would have had a sweater for a very oddly shaped dog.   Having seen pictures of Shaggy...I knew better.

The sweater left in the mail yesterday.  I hope it fits!  If it does, there will be one done in Packer colors...and maybe a couple more...

Shaggy's Sweater

Stop me before I start again!

I got some new yarn.  Really pretty new yarn.  For socks. For me.  I am swatching.....

Also on the needles is a dog sweater and a couple of pairs of socks.

There is a very large box of yarn from Willow Yarns waiting in my living room.   It represents multiple holiday gifts.

I have promised myself not to start anything else until something is finished.

I suspect.....I LIE.

The Throws have landed......

Piper loved her throw.   It is the combination of purple and bling that she, at 12 (yikes!) is perfect for

her.

The throw ended up taking three and a half or so skeins of the James C. Brett Marble Chunky Glamor.   To make sure that I did not run out....I had five skeins total.  While I could have made this a bit longer, I was happy with where I ended this.

This yarn was a bit of a risk for a busy household. Normally, I will only send knitted offerings that can go through the washer and the dryer.  This time, because the yarn was so perfect, I send something that needs special handling.

The Chunky Glamor can't go in to the dryer or it will die.  Piper is old enough so that she can take care of this.  On the upside, it should not need laundering often.

Mallorie's throw was done from Willow Burrow bulky.  That washes and dries beautifully.    The easy care and the lovely color choices make this yarn a favorite for me.   When I was doing the arithmetic for the required yardage, I decided to guess on the high side.   The throw took twelve skeins rather than the 18 that I had purchased.   I would by far rather have yarn for a second project than worry about running out.

Figuring out the pattern for the horse throw was an interesting challenge.   Once I roughed out what I

wanted, I used Excel to chart the patterns to make sure everything would fit.   While I would normally use Knitbird for this, the graph was very large and ended up working much better in Excel.

Writing the pattern out so that I could use it to actually make the blanket was enough of a challenge that I decided not to write it up for others to use.   I found I had written things out a bit oddly and could proceed because I knew what was in my head.   I don't want to torture anyone with trying to figure out what it is that I meant.

Most of the horse throw was done over a two week vacation.  It was hot outside so I sat in the air conditioning working on the blanket.

 This is a detail of the blanket...the row and stitch gauge changed the horses a bit...the vertical line of horses is a bit more stretched out as though the horses are running faster.

I am glad these projects are done...and won't do another big one for awhile!

A Tale of Two Throws....

Piper and Mallorie are my grand nieces.   They both have moved into new bedrooms and have new decor.   Every year I knit them something.  This year it will be throws.

Piper loves bling.   She also loves purple.    James C. Brett has come out with the perfect yarn.....Marble Chunky Glamor.    As I do love the Boulevard Blanket pattern, I decided to use it as it is a subtle pattern and the yarn is busy.   Originally, I thought I could get away with three skeins. 

When I finished the first skein and measured......I bought a fourth.  After more thought, today I will go buy a fifth.   Will I need it?  Likely.  I do not need to scramble towards the end of this project.

As Depth of Field had ordered a bag of this yarn so I could have part of it, I am glad I can buy all of it.   That way, the other skeins are not lonely on the shelves.

This project is a fairly soothing no think project.   I am carrying it around with me to knit as long is it is not too large to make this impractical.

Mallorie still loves horses.   I could not find a pattern that I liked.   Off to the drawing board!   This taxed my math skills, but I have come up with something that will, I hope, work.

Sharon, Mallorie's grandma, showed me pictures of the new room.   I had thought to do it either in Burrow Bulky Delicious....a delicious red or one of the horsey looking browns.  After consulting with Sharon, we agreed while red might look nicer in the room....Mal likes things that are "horse colored." I am going to do this in the Fireplace colorway.  The pattern is drafted and the yarn is on order.

The chart has enough going on so that I will be working on Mallorie's throw at home....alone.....maybe even without the TV or music.  

As these are the largest of my planned projects for fall and the holidays, it was important to get moving on them both!

Dishcloths?

Dishcloths might not seem the most fun thing to knit...but they can be.  Pinterest, Ravelry, and random blogs on the internet have a wide variety of patterns.  Many of these patterns are free.  As everyone, even those with a dishwasher, has to wash a few dishes this makes a practical and quickly done gift.

Dishcloths are done in many themes:  animals, plants, pictures, sayings.   Finding the right pattern for your victim  recipient is half of the fun.

One day at work, we were joking around.   Out of that came a need make someone a special dishcloth.   Had I not been able to find a very nicely done (and free) pattern, I would have drafted one.

As I have a nice supply of Willow Yarns Sudsy at home, the only challenge was picking the color.  That problem was solved by grabbing the ball closest to hand...which also happened to be just about my favorite.    One cast on and 47 rows later.....voila!

Thank you holynarf for the pattern and the fun!

The Polar Bear and the "In Threes" have gone...

The polar bear is done.    I really liked the way that the head was done in the version of a bear.   What did I like most of all?   The nose was knit separately and attached.   It was easier to make sure the

nose looked the way that I wanted it to look.   I also liked doing the eyes before attaching the head.  It was much easier to place the eyes and make them look nice.

Doing faces on stuffed animals is not my favorite thing to do as I am always afraid of making the animal look.....psycho.   The animal is supposed to be a friend for a little one, not the stuff of which nightmares are made.

The tail on this polar bear was cute too.   I had thought about skipping the tail but then decided

that I needed to do it. The tail is not stuffed, but puffs nicely on its own.

Helen, my sister, likes the creatures to smile.   This was easy to do as I also did this before I closed the head.   The pattern's creature used a small, straight-line mouth that just did not look friendly.   I used duplicate stitch to make a smile that would be hard to pick out.  In fact, everything was sewn together firmly to make it easier to play with the bear without killing it.

The Wendy Eider yarn that I used for the "fur"

part of the bear was really not bad to knit with.  Dropping a stitch was NOT a good idea.   This bear felt soft and very cuddly which was the point. I hope this happy bear will make Henry a happy boy.

Rory is Henry's baby sister.   If I send something to Henry, I also send something for Rory (and vice versa).  

The In Threes pattern has been on my list of little sweaters to try for a long time.    Rick had gotten really beautiful dark rose skeins of Encore for a

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different project.   I made the year old size.   When I was done with the knitting, I had maybe two yards left of one skein.

Part of the last two yards I used to sew the buttons onto the sweater so that I could have the look that I wanted.

The buttons came from a great Etsy shop and were perfect with the yarn.

This pattern has the excellent qualities of being a quick knit and very, very cute.

The Polar Bear Grows

Wendy Eider Chunky makes a very nice fur for a stuffed animal.   The yarn is not bad to knit with and has only one flaw......when one knits with it, one cannot see the stitches.

The Body of the Polar Bear

I did find not being able to see the stitches a bit of a problem, but the furry result is oh so worth it.

When I bought this yarn, I picked it up in several colors.   Toys from the Toybox patterns referred to this particular yarn and I wanted to see how it would work out.   Knitting up the rest of what is living in the stash will be a pleasure.

I do question the wisdom of giving a small boy and off-white toy.   A Polar Bear the toy must be though....so the joy Henry will likely get from this is worth the knitting getting grubby.

New Projects......and One Finished....

The Finished Cardigan

Rory's floral cardigan is finished.  I do love Bernat Floral Jacquards and wish that I had more of this and of the rose colorway.   I have a little more of the rose and may be able to eke out a small cardigan from it.   By the time I figure out where I have put it for safety, Rory will have grown out of it.

Part of the challenge of this sweater was to make sure that the patterns worked well across the body of the sweater as parts were stopped and started.  I am fairly pleased with the results though wish the sleeves were a little different.  It

Close up of the front...

would not be possible without doing so much finagling that I would likely toss the sweater rather than deal with it.

The Sweater Wizard pattern was a little odd but I persevered.  Friday night, I attached the buttons and put the sweater through the washer and dryer.   As I have said before, I am never truly happy with a project after I finish it.  This one is nice though.  

I did choose a size that Rory won't be able to wear for a bit.   The In Threes sweater that Jan has made for Jackie's new baby looked so cute that I have just started one for Rory.   I am using a rosy pinky red Plymouth Encore. 

I think I have just the buttons for this.    They came, some time, ago from one of my favorite Etsy shops.  GloriaPatreSpinNKnit not only has really nice buttons, but fabulous stitch markers and some other notions as well.    The buttons I recall are floral and would look really nice against this color.   My button stash is small but not well organized.   I am trying to use those up also.

Owen's Car Button Sweater left in the mail today.   I will say that the sweater went through the

washer and dryer beautifully.    I had some reservations about the yarn before it was laundered.  The yarn did soften up nicely.

This pattern also came from Sweater Wizard.   As I was sewing the sweater together, the sizing seemed very odd to me.  I am hoping the sweater fits Owen and that he gets some wear out of it.

Just to keep things interesting, I have started on a Polar Bear for Henry.  Henry is a little older, so I am using Wendy Eider Chunky for the bear's fur as he is past the gumming stage.   I do have reservations about an off white bear for a small boy but he loves polar bears....how can I NOT make him one?

Sara's throw is coming along.  If I work on it between things, it will be done in plenty of time.  I hope.

Startitis...

Spring must be the time in which a person's thoughts turn to starting new projects.   I have several on the needles now and am not allowing myself to start another one (a polar bear) until at least ONE project is done.

At the moment there are two active sock projects, a throw, and a baby cardigan that is actually going to fit a 2 year old.  

The throw is a good contemplative project to which not much attention has to be paid so it gets picked up and put down depending on how many paths my mind is winding at once.   As it has a June deadline, my mind should be focusing more on the throw....

One of the pairs of socks is a lovely rose color.  It is warm and happy.  The second pair of socks is vibrant and lovely and the colorway sang to me from the computer screen.  I had to have it and begin it as soon as the skein came in the mail.   This pair of socks is my traveling project right now.  The pattern emerging is addictive and one of those that I knit quickly down one more needle as the bus is coming to see what will happen.  This is the same as a mystery novel that is a little predictable but exciting anyway.

One of the other projects is a cardigan for Rory.   I did not find a pattern I wanted to use so I ran swatch numbers through Sweater Wizard.   The finished size will fit Rory when she is 2 rather than now.  I am okay with that as I do not want to rip it out.

The yarn is no longer available and came from the center of the stash.  I have several colorways but really, really wanted to use this colorway as the blues, greens, and oranges looked so cheerful.

The yarn in the skein....

The sweater is coming along nicely.   I chose to do the cardigan top-down to make it easier for the color bands to work out nicely.

This way this yarn is dyed to make little floralish patterns is one of the best uses of math ever.  When I used the rose colorway, I was enchanted.   I bought what I could find as the yarn was already out of production when I first tried it.

This should be an easy project.  It is one, though, for which very careful manipulating of the colorway to start the sleeves and the body is necessary.

Close-up of what the yarn looks like knit to the correct gauge.

 Gauge is always important...but with these yarns it is crucial in order to get the pattern that the yarn is dyed to make.

While the strips will be different widths in the sleeves, the body, and the yoke it should look nice.  I am thinking...pearl buttons?

The Tofte Hat

When the Tofte Hat first rolled through the pictures of Ravelry's featured patterns, I was intrigued.   Last week Monday, I was in the Yarnery and saw the pattern and some samples.  It was time.   The yarn came home with me that day.

Winding Malabrigo into balls from the skein can be an exercise in patience.  These skeins were little rat nests of tangles.  Each skein took around three hours to tame into a ball.  I know from experience that using a swift would not have made it better.  

The feel of the Malabrigo slipping through my fingers as I knit made the detangling worth the pain.   The hat came off the needles in less than a week from purchase.  That is a record for a short time in the stash.  I will admit to a mistake or two in the crown shaping.  By the time I figured that out....I decided and did fix the error with well placed duplicate stitching.

The Tofte hat now, on this first day of spring, rests in wait for next winter.

The Journey of a Thousand (or More) Stitches

The completed loooong scarf.

No...the journey does not begin with one stitch but with a really good swatch.

Swatching is despised by many but for me it is a necessary evil.  Not only did I need the swatch to figure out how many stitches I really needed to get the correct width, but I needed to know how loose or tight the stitches would be so that I could manage the amount of stretch the finished garter stitch would likely suffer.

This yarn is not terribly elastic.  I THINK that I knit this tightly enough to minimize stretching.  I do know that I knit it loosely enough so that the fabric would drape the way that I wanted it to.  I hope, like Goldilocks and the perfect porridge, that it is just right.

Every once in awhile, it is good to do a massive garter stitch project.  Why?  Because it gives a good chance to figure out how the finished knitting works and a lot of practice achieving nice, even knitting at varied (daydreaming happy to nutty stressed) levels of body tension.   Why do I care about the latter?  Because, when I start a project then put it down for a month or so I want the gauge to be the same.   For me, this has been an issue.

My reward for finishing this is the Tofte Hat.  I hope to knit that this weekend.

Garter Stitch.....Some May Say Boring...I Say .... Meditative

One would think that after the Pillowghan (which I now wish I had ripped back and made longer...lesson learned) that I would not be willing to do a project that requires miles and miles of garter stitch.    Miles and miles of garter stitch does not pique interest or engage the brain.  There are times in live when one wants neither of those.  Fortunately for the person who asked for a ginormous garter stitch scarf, this is one of those times for me.

One of the people at work that I like and respect, brought me a fortyish year old loooooooong garter stitch scarf that surprisingly (not) is on its last legs.    I agreed to make another if he went out and found the yarn he wanted.   

The yarn came from JoAnn's.  It is a very nice acrylic that I am actually enjoying knitting.    It is soft.  It is not splitty at all.   The color is pooling beautifully.

The yarn is Big Twist Rainbow Classic Multi.  One skein has 447 yards.   This project will take one full and one partial skein.

This is coming along nicely.  While I do have to pay attention to make sure that I don't drop a stitch in the heat of TV knitting, it is a calming project and one that I am happy to do.

Measuring the work against the old scarf this morning, it looks like there are eleven more inches to do.  As I race toward that goal, I have to decide if I will make it an inch or so shorter to allow for the famous garter stitch stretching.  I am not sure what I want to do it.   I will have plenty left to do a nice fringe to make this scarf like the original.

Will this scarf still be around in forty years?   I hope that it is used and loved as much as the first one.  Maybe it will be still around with the holes and the wear of the first.  

Great Things Rest in the Stash

Periodically, I go through my stash.  Yes...I do forget what is there.  Sometimes I need something particular that I know I have and am not taking the easy way out (I have a lot of stash..) and buying it instead of looking for what I need.

This time, I was going through boxes looking for something else and two skeins of Encore Sock appeared.   Encore, in all of its weights, is a go-to workhorse yarn.   The colors are nice.  The care is easy even for the busiest of recipients.   Finding these two skeins is like finding...gold.

Encore Sock is discontinued.   It is a shame as it was done in nice colorways and it a quick and pleasant knit.   If Stashbot is correct, I may be able to get a pair of socks out of one skein.  That way, I could make two gifts with what I have. 

While I like this enough to make a pair for myself..there are only two skeins and it would be nice to get the gift socks out of the way.  Who knows?  Maybe there is more in the southern part of my stash?

Socks are such a good carry along project.  This year, I am making the Christmas and/or birthday gifts early so that I don't have to power knit to get the gift done.  Nothing like forced knitting to suck out the joy.   As I use transit, I have a lot of waiting time.   At least I can put it to very good use!

My thinking knitting is done at home.  My deep thinking knitting is done at home, with the television and the phone off so there are no distractions.  I have a couple of those projects lined up to push my brain.   In the meantime though, I am making a series of easy to knit, low stress socks.

Not All Feet Are Created Equal

Commercial socks are really not a good fit for every foot.   If one's foot or ankle is out of the norm, socks from the store just don't work.   I have a friend, Nancy, with just that problem.

Nancy sent her measurements and I pulled some yarn from the edge of the stash.  Going to the center is just too scary right now.   I chose some Encore Colorspun DK as it colors of the two skeins are like sunshine.   The "sock" gauge at which I work this yarn is five stitches to the inch (8 rows...if you are curious).   These socks are going quickly.  I want to get the first pair to Nancy to check the fit.

While this picture doesn't really show what I was doing well - if you squint you are kind of able to see it - it shows what I was doing to the back of the cuff to take the top of the cuff down to the measurement I needed at the heel flap.   No, I did not take notes but will have to look at the first sock carefully as I do the second.

I am going as quickly as I can before I forget why I did what I did.

With a little luck, I can finish the first sock quickly and do the second cuff this weekend.   I would like to get these on Nancy's feet so I can know if my numbers are correct.

From the Depths of the Stash!

Out of the depths of the stash came the kit for Bunny Slippers which I had to have from Mary Maxim when I saw it several years ago.   The kit had been languishing in a box with other baby knitting related things until the right baby came along.

The kit had yarn for three pairs of slippers....a green pair, a pink pair, and a blue pair.   With the yarn provided....a fourth pair could possibly be made. 

The yarn is Baby Kashmere which, though the kit is not, still available from Mary Maxim.   The yarn is very pleasant to knit with and not too splitty.  As I am a loose knitter, I ended up getting the gauge with Size 6 needles.

The pink pair is done and in the mail today.  The blue pair, which will go to Owen, is still in progress.   I will wait a bit to do the green pair as I don't want the booties to languish in a drawer.   The last of this yarn will wait for the next round of babies.

More sparkle...

The sparkle socks I was knitting myself are done and waiting for their world debut tucked away in my sock drawer.  

One of my friends is coming in from of town next month.   One of her favorite gifts is a pair of handknit socks.    Raggi has some nice worsted weight sparkly sock yarns.   This pair of socks will have pink sparkle on a range of cream, pink, and brown.

Raggi is currently hard to get in the US.  I am hoping that someone takes over the distributorship

Raggi Sock Yarn

from the folks who are retiring from the business.  Raggi is a truly wonderful yarn.  The colors (check out http://www.jarbo.se/en/artikel/raggi/ - this picture is from the that site) to see all that these folks do with socks....from plain to snazzy.   The colors in this version are great.  The picture doesn't show the dark pink lurex that gives this colorway a nice bit of bling.

I have made socks from this yarn for a lot of people.  It has been my go to yarn for a long time.  I will miss it when my stockpile in the stash is depleted.

There are lighter versions of Raggi also.  I have some of the finer version but have yet to knit it up.  It is resting in the stash until I get a chance to work on it.   The finer yarn will be used solely (HA!) for my feet.  I am looking forward to it.

If you can find a couple of skeins of Raggi, make yourself a pair of nice thick socks.  Your feet will bless you and your toes will sing your praises.

The Pillowghan is done...and on to the next!

The pillowghan is done and now peacefully co-existing on the couch with Dolly.

When I was working on the blanket part of the pillowghan, I measured the work against my body.   When the blanket reached the point at which, when draped over my feet, it reached my chest, I thought I was done.  Okay...so arithmetic failed me.  I thought I was at 53".  No.  I was at 46".  Did I measure it before I bound off and started the edging?  HA HA HA HA! Fortunately, the blanket works for me.  While I ended up liking this project, it is hard to fold, keep folded, and keep looking tidy.  Fortunately, that is not a problem for me.

Craftsy came out with a very nice new acrylic yarn, Sprightly.   I bought the super bulky version, at a very good price, because one of the colors as seen on the screen would look splendid in the new apartment of a friend of mine.  The color, Carribean, looked perfect.  Out of the box, it was darker than I wanted the color to be.   Out of the skein, it looks a little better.  The yarn is nice, though a little splitty.  

Fifty Four Ten Studio has to be my favorite designer of throws and blankets.   For the Sprightly, I am Boulevard Blanket pattern.  Having learned my swatching lesson with the Yak Hat, I did several swatches before I had the fabric that I wanted for this project.   It is moving along nicely and I am enjoying the ride.

I bought ten or twelve skeins and will make this a nice length for wrapping up and resting.

The Sparkle Socks are nearly done...may even finish them today.

Next...a pair of sparkly Raggi socks for a gift for a friend who will visit next month.

So much knitting, so little time!

A Happier Hat!

The mYak hat is now redone.  Is it a perfect job?  That would be a "no."  It is a good enough, wearable job.

The hat is photographed like this so that you can see the weirdness of the color jog.  While this could have been done better, it was not.   It is not a huge deal and I believe that I will be the only person bothered by it.

This time, I knit the mYak at 5 stitches to the inch.  The fabric was firm, yet pliable.  When I tried that hat on, it covered my ears and fit tightly enough to be good for cold day wear.

This time, I did do a gauge swatch.  As I was knitting, I kept a close on the the yarn to make sure I would not run out.  I really did not want to put another $30 into this project.   As I was knitting this, I kept thinking about hats, what I like to wear, and what I am willing to knit.  It is time to be more adventurous.  

Socks with Bling

On one of my many searches through the knitting bags in the dining room, I came across a sock project that I had ripped out and restarted.   The label for the yarn was gone.....I have a vague memory of where it came from....and an even more vague memory of the yarn label.  The memory of the yarn was strong and I remembered how much I liked it.  It became my "carry around" project.

I do remember seeing this yarn in a catalog and deciding I really needed it.  How long ago?  Best not to confess.

The yarn is fun to knit and lovely and rich in color.   I have, and I hope this is correct, a vague memory of more yarn like this somewhere in the stash.   I don't think this is available anymore...and I really do like it.

At one point, I did believe that sock yarn does not count as a purchase.   This changed when I realized that even if I was a millipede....I have WAY too much sock yarn.   Now, sock yarn does count.   I am glad to be using up some of the skeins in the hoard.

Death of the Pressed Rib Cap

Yesterday, I was out in the wind...and cold as the Pressed Rib Cap just did not give any protection.   This is not a fault of the pattern or the yarn, but of the knitter who failed to swatch.

When I got home and warmed up, I whipped out the scissors....and the hat is now two small balls of yarn waiting to be knit into something else.   I think I know what I want to do.....but must....must swatch.

The pillowghan is coming along nicely.    I am nearly halfway through the miles and miles and miles of garter stitch.    As it is very cold here right now, I am glad for the length of the knitting.  It keeps my lap very warm.

Why Swatching is Important....

Over Christmas and New Year's, I made a hat.  The yarn was a very expensive impulse buy....mYak....and seemed really nice.   One of the skeins did have a knot in it...which at this price point was annoying.   I used the pattern, the Pressed Rib Cap, that the yarn was shown with...which was plain but nice. 

I decided to skip doing a gauge swatch and just drop down a needle size and go for it.   This...was....a mistake.   The hat is....fine...but not as tightly knit as I prefer.   I am wearing it anyway as I hate to waste such expensive yarn.  I know I could rip it out and reknit it.  I could....but I just don't want to do that.  

As I am a big proponent of swatching, this was something that should not have happened.  The moral?  Don't be lazy.