Mindful Knitting.....

One of my current projects is the Fairbanks Cowl from Interweave Knits 2014 Gift Issue.  The pattern is lovely and is perfect for someone I know.  One of the Willow yarns, Blossom, was perfect for the pattern.   As I had wanted to try the yarn, I was ready to go.

Mindfulness...being present in the moment no matter what one is doing....is something I have been thinking about and working on being better at.   This project has been a powerful lesson in mindful knitting.  This project has also truly increased my skills in frogging (rip it, rip it) cabled projects.  

The cabled patterns in this project are truly lovely.   Unfortunately, the patterns are also truly easy to screw up.   I am enjoying the process despite the backward progress being much faster than the forwards progress.   It is shocking to me how much my mind wanders when I am doing this...and how hard it is to rope it back to what my fingers are doing.  This will be lovely when it is done....and well worth the effort.

Sam in his Heart Skull Hat

The Heart Skull hat landed in Lebanon.    Sam likes it a lot....says it fits well.   Siouxsie writes a fabulous pattern and I will use it as a base for more.    Sam, I think you will agree, really rocks the look.

Nearly Forgot!

Check out Craftsy for this free pattern....easy and so very cute.    This is the Punkin Head hat.   This is done in Plymouth Encore in 0-3 month size.   The pattern is written for a wide ranges of sizes.   The leaf is from a free Ravelry pattern referenced in the hat pattern.  It is an interesting pattern....and fun to do.

This is a great gift and a quick one to do.   I had a lot of fun with this.

Sam's New Hat

I like to knit for my brother-in-law, Sam.   He is a good receiver.  He wears what I make him.  He will wear stuff that is a little crazy.   When I saw the Siouxsie Stitch's Heart Skull Hat on Ravelry, I knew I had to make it for him.   It left in the mail on Wednedsday.  It should, I hope, arrive today.

The Heart Skull Hat in Berroco Comfort

The yarn is Berroco Comfort.  The colors are deep and rich.  The yarn itself is a nylon/acrylic mix.  It is soft and stretchy.  For people who do not tolerate wool and do not live in a particularly cold climate it is a good choice.  As it is a bit splitty, a bit of care must be taken to avoid mishaps, but it is a pretty good yarn to knit up.  Due to sales and random good luck, I have a big bag of hat exclusively for use of Sam hat production.

This was a really fun project and knit up quickly.   I may do a set for a cousin, his two year old son, and the new baby expected in April.   They would get a kick out of it....as would the grandma.  I might even do one for the mom, if I thought she would wear it.  What better way to express family love than matching skull hats?

My Socks are Wearing Out!

Many of my nice, handknit socks are choosing to die now.   As I really need to be in the mode of

Austerman Step Eye Candy

knitting for others, this is not good.   My Austermann step score from Elann came and I started on the Eye Candy colorway.    There was also a skein of Online yarn that keep surfacing in the baskets.   Now I have two pairs of socks active on the needles for me.   These I can pick up and put down as time is available....but I will have them done sooner than later and will be able to send the socks that can no longer be darned off the to the great sock drawer in the sky.

Row Gauge.....Often Forgotten......But OH....How It Can Bite You

The past month has been really busy.   While I have been knitting, I have not been taking pictures.   Work gets in the way of my knitting life.

My friend, Rob, cannot wear any wool.  He loves knitted things though so I work hard to find nice acrylic yarn to make him things.   He needed, I decided, mukluks.   Mary Maxim to the rescue! 

I bought Titan...a nice bulky with NO wool.  I knit the mukluks.  Did not pay attention to the row gauge.  OH NO.  OH NO. OH NO.  There were fewer rows per inch than Lamb's Pride Bulky thus looonger feet.  SWEAR WORDS.

When I told Rob the sad story and how I would make him something else, he replied....LONGER FEET ARE GREAT!  I can wear more pairs of socks in the slippers.  Problem solved.  This time.

On the needles now...several pairs of socks, one pair of mittens.  In the planning stages...the dreaded Packer baby sweater.

The Elly Sweater by Rowan

The Elly Sweater

I was taken by the Elly sweater.  It looked so sweet I had to do it.

The first error was using a cheap yarn.....not that inexpensive yarn is always bad but this was a bad choice.    Blocking did not help the curling of the edge pieces.  The crocheted border did.

The crocheted border.....oh......that crocheted border....I did the first two rounds of it twice before it hit me that I should be using British terms instead of American terms.   That bugaboo surmounted, I did the first two rounds two more times before I was satisfied.   I played with the last two rounds of the border a bit before I was happy with the look of the piece.

Because I could, I knit the flower accent before I did the border because I could.   When it came time to put the flower on, I could not find it.   Not in the knitting bag, not with the project pieces, not on the table where I had been putting odds and ends.   It came to me that I had thrown it away.   I knit it again.

The lesson learned here?   Don't use yarn that doesn't have good "spring" for sweaters.  I did not like the experience with this sweater any better than I liked previous adventures of this sort.   Most of all, I learned to MAKE SURE I am not tossing out something I need.

Here is a close up of the flower accent:
  

Would I knit this pattern again?   Maybe....with a different yarn.....and not very soon.

Will I use Bernat Baby Softee again?   Not likely.   The yarn did not have any "spring" to it and it was splitty.    The pink color is soft and pretty...the pictures don't do it justice.   I learned a lot while I did this....and won't forget those lessons soon.