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.