Socks – Page 3 – Ms Lindz – My little corner of the internet

Granny Cowl, Socks, and Tour de Fleece

Posted on July 5, 2011 by mslindz

It seems like I’ve done a pretty good job of clearing off my needles recently, which left me with not a lot to work on. Okay, that’s not entirely true. I do have Matt’s scarf, the High Seas shawl which I haven’t even photographed yet, and that crochet scarf. They weren’t really holding my interest (either scarf) or weren’t good portable knitting (I’m looking at you High Seas shawl with your charting on every row). So… I started some new things!

A while back I saw Mary-Heather’s granny squares cowl. I knew right away that I wanted to make one! I’m terrible about being random in color choices when it comes to knitting or crocheting and I didn’t much care for weaving in a lot of extra ends from having two colors, so I decided on using my handspun from last year’s Tour de Fleece that had enough color differences to make them a little more random. The Corriedale fiber was from Zarzuela’s Fibers in a special colorway for TdF last year. I have 16 squares so far (aiming for 24) and I like how they’re turning out!

Handspun Granny Squares

With the Gush socks off the needles, I figured I should pick out another sock pattern to knit considering it IS the Summer of Socks. After all the previous failed attempts, I decided I was going to get this Summer Spirals pattern to work for me. 54 stitches were still not enough and 64 stitches were still too much, so I figured out a way to add just the right amount of stitches. I cast on 60 stitches, adding in one purl stitch in each purl section. Now I’m basically following the 54 stitch sock with the addition of one purl stitch in each section. I think it’s working out pretty good so far. Just a few more rounds until I start the heel.

Summer Spirals Socks

Starting one new pair of socks just wasn’t enough for me! I decided to join in on the CSI: Most Wanted KAL and after a week or more of debating which sock to start with, I finally settled on Dawn Gnot using Plucky Knitter Primo in Sassy Sprout. I’ve done the toe and two repeats of the chart so far. The yarn is really nice to work with – soft MCN blend with a tight twist. Definitely need some more when I can manage to snag some!

Dawn Gnot Socks

This past weekend was not only a holiday weekend, but the start of the Tour de France and for the fiber spinners out there, it was also the start of Tour de Fleece! I made the decision to participate fairly close to the start of Tour de Fleece, so my only goal was to “do some spinning.” Now, I have to admit, this may have been some poor planning on my part. For some reason I knew that it started July 2nd and still thought that it must surely start later in July then that. On top of that, this past weekend ended up being a pretty busy one. I have to hang my head in shame and admit that I haven’t done a single bit of spinning yet. 😦 I suppose it’s a good thing I only joined the Lantern Rogue team, where you know you won’t be able to spin every day, since I figured there’d be a few days that I couldn’t do any spinning. I just didn’t think I’d start out with no spinning the first weekend, a holiday one at that with 3 whole days off! I plan on getting my wheel out and doing some spinning tonight. With the gym, having to grocery shop tonight, find time to make dinner, and Matt working a different summer schedule then normal, I don’t know that it’ll be that much time. Some time is better then no time, though!

Anyone else doing the Tour de Fleece this year? If you’ve set goals for yourself, how are the going so far? If not, have you done much spinning yet? So far I’m not doing so hot, but there’s still time to make up for that! Hoping to have some spinning progress to share next time. 🙂

Completed Projects

Gush Socks and Clockwork

Posted on July 4, 2011 by mslindz

It’s Monday and the 4th of July holiday for those of us in the United States. It’s been yet another busy weekend and holiday, but I took some time to take photos of some recent finished items.

First are the Gush Mystery socks that I finished about a week ago. These are also the first socks I’ve finished for Summer of Socks!

Gush Mystery Socks

Pattern: Gush Mystery Socks by Yarnissima (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: June 1, 2011
Completed: June 28, 2011
Yarn: Wollmeise 80/20 Twin in WD Pistazie
Needles: US 1 (2.25mm) Knit Picks Circular
Notes: Only made one change. I needed to add some extra rows to get the proper length and adjust for my gauge difference. Instead of doing that where the pattern stated, I added those rows before I started the patterning. I like the way this works a LOT better then adding those rows where the pattern states to. Other then that, I followed the pattern. This is the second pair of mystery socks I’ve knit and I’m happy with how they turned out.

Gush Socks – Foot Detail

Gush Socks – Heel Detail

Second, I have my first Camp Loopy project done!

Clockwork

Pattern: Clockwork by Stephen West (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: June 15, 2011
Completed: July 2, 2011
Yarn: MadelineTosh Pashmina in Oak (just over 1 skein) and Dahlia (about 2/3 of a skein)
Needles: US 5, 32″ stainless steel circular
Notes: Followed pattern as written except for the bind off. Working the bind off as written for me made it too tight, so I did the JSSBO bind off instead.

Clockwork worn as a wrap

Not much of an update, since I’ve got tons of other things I’m working on and this year’s Tour de Fleece just started, but I plan to share those with you soon! Hope those who are celebrating the holiday are having a good one and that those who aren’t have had a great weekend. 🙂

Completed Projects, Current Projects

Dahlia Cowl, Gush Socks, and Clockwork

Posted on June 23, 2011 by mslindz

Oh, hey, I’ve got an FO to share! I was thinking I had already posted this, but it seems that it’s been over a week since I last posted and I hadn’t yet taken pictures of my finished Dahlia Cowl. Time sure has been getting away from me lately!

I love the colors of this cowl and it’ll be nice to wear come fall and winter. I have some other handspun that I might make into a scarf using this pattern (just adding more length and no buttons). I haven’t done it much, but I really do enjoy knitting with my handspun and need to do it more often!

Dahlia Cowl

Pattern: Dahlia Cowl by Jessamyn Leib (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: June 4, 2011 (started spinning)
Completed: June 11, 2011 (finished knitting)
Fiber: Zarzuela’s Fibers Hand Dyed Polworth in Dahlia
Yarn: 95 yards of 2-ply handspun from above fiber (8 WPI)
Needles: US 10.5 bamboo straights
Notes: Followed pattern as written. Very easy to follow and memorize once I got going. With the bulkier yarn I spun, I used a larger needle and was still able to get 24″ in length out of it with some yarn left over. It’s super squishy and soft!

Dahlia Cowl – Flat

I managed to make it through the second clue on both Gush socks shortly after the third clue came out.

Gush – Clue 2

Gush – Clue 2
You can see the pattern more “open” in this picture

The third clue was a lot shorter then the second and within about a day of knitting, I was through it on both socks.

Gush – Clue 3

The forth and final clue came out yesterday. I’m roughly halfway through it on the first sock and hoping I can get these socks finished this weekend. It’s not the most portable project because of the chart, though I think I’ll definitely get them finished before the month is over.

My Camp Loopy project, Clockwork, has seen a lot of progress. Here it is on the first day of camp (June 15th).

Clockwork on the first day of camp!

Color is more accurate in the above photo, but here’s my current progress (taken with my phone camera).

Clockwork Currently

I’m two repeats into the second section. The rows are pretty long, so they take a while, but I think I’ll be finished with it soon enough. I have to say that I really like knitting with the MadeleineTosh Pashmina. It’s so soft! This will make a great shawl once it’s finished.

This week, Summer of Socks started! I had grand plans to cast on for the first featured sock pattern – Summer Spirals – on Tuesday, June 21st. Turns out the yarn I first wanted to use wasn’t going to work with the pattern and the pattern’s stitch counts. It was too small and going up a size would have made them too big. Frogged. Tried three other yarns and all had the same issue. Too big and if I went down a size, too small (twice) or too small and if I went up a size, too big (twice). I did the only thing I could think of: threw the pattern, yarn and needles in a corner to think about all they’ve done wrong!! Hahaha! Kidding! I set it all aside and decided I’d come back to it after finishing up the Gush socks. 😉

Are you participating in Summer of Socks this year? If so, what patterns are you going to knit? I have a few in mind, but like usual when it comes to socks, I’ll decide on the next pair once I get a pair finished. I’d like to get Maelstrom #2 done, so long as it doesn’t bother my hands again! (Speaking of which, things are back to normal knitting for me. Yay! 🙂 )

Completed Projects, Current Projects, Knit Ramblings

Elektra, Cleaning the Craft Room, and Projects

Posted on June 13, 2011 by mslindz

I finally have pictures to show of my Elektra shawl, which I finished back in April, right before our cruise the first week in May. I absolutely love how this shawl turned out, despite running out of yarn and having to finish the bind off with a thinner and darker version of the yarn. The beads in the pictures are true to color, but I couldn’t get the Fuchsia color just right in any of the photos. It’s a bit darker in person.

Eketra

Pattern: Elektra by Rosemary Hill (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: April 7, 2011
Completed: April 28, 2011
Yarn: Wollmeise 100% (609 yards) and a little bit of Wollmeise Lace (17.5 yards) in Fuchsia
Needles: US 5 Addi Lace circular
Notes: Pattern was pretty easy to follow once I got past the start of Chart B where the marker placement is only listed in the written instructions. Despite getting a smaller gauge then stated in the pattern, I still ran out of yarn, so I would suggest anyone knitting it have at least 630 yards of yarn and be sure to check gauge! Placing the beads wasn’t too bad until the bind off row where you place beads AND work the bind off. I did end up missing to place a bead, which I noticed after it was blocked, but I managed to sew one where it should have been without it looking weird. I love how it turned out and it looked great with my dress on the cruise in May. 🙂

Eketra – Full Size

Eketra – Back

Eketra – Detail

This weekend, I spent quite a bit of time in my craft room getting it clean and more organized. I wish I had some before and after photos! I cleaned out this plastic 3-drawer thing that has been through many moves with me (and that I’ve hated for the longest time, mostly because it was full of heavy things which made it hard to open or close) and moved everything worth keeping into the 3-drawer chest I bought from IKEA a while back. There wasn’t a whole lot worth keeping. Most of it was things that should be tossed or go in the Goodwill box. I took 3 bags of trash out and a box of things to go to Goodwill the next time I go. I think it still needs a little work to be how I’d like it to be, but first I need a bigger shelf, so that’ll have to wait. Only thing left to do is put up the blinds in there.

While cleaning, I found my Namaste bags (a Newport and a Zuma) and a buddy case. I decided it’s time to let my Namaste bags go to a new home since I will never use them. They just aren’t the right knitting/purse type bag for me. You can see pictures here. They’re also listed in my stash on Ravelry on my sell/trade page, with info. Leave a comment, email me, or PM me on Ravelry if you’re interested in them.

I also found the scarf I started for Matt back in 2009 during the cleaning of the craft room. It’s got to be my oldest WIP! This sucker needs to get finished, so I’ve pulled it out to work on. I plan to get it finished before it’s cool enough for him to wear this winter.

Matt’s Scarf

Despite all the cleaning I did, I got in a fair amount of knitting time, too. I started and finished the Dahlia Cowl out of my handspun on Saturday. It’s currently blocking and waiting for buttons. I didn’t run out of yarn! Not sure I got gauge since I didn’t check, but I had a little left over from my skein after knitting it to the 24″ the pattern says to. Hopefully it’ll be dry today and I can finish it up by adding the two buttons. It’s super squishy and will be nice to wear come winter!

I’ve been moving along on the Gush socks. After figuring out how many extra rows I needed and knitting them where indicated, then starting Clue 2, I decided that I really didn’t like how they looked with the extra rows. I frogged back to where the design starts on the toe and added the additional rows in the toe before starting the design. Adding the extra rows where indicated just didn’t go with the rest of the design at all.

Gush Sock

I’m hoping to get Clue 2 done on both socks before the next clue comes out on Wednesday. I’ve already re-knit Clue 1 of the second sock, so as long as I don’t get too distracted by casting on High Seas tonight! 😉

Completed Projects

Stripey Socks and Upcoming Projects

Posted on June 10, 2011 by mslindz

Happy Friday! Today I have an FO to share. 😀 I was able to finish up my Stripey Socks yesterday! These will be fun and bright to wear once it gets cooler again.

PDY Stripey Socks

Pattern: 66 stitch toe-up sock with slip stitch heel (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: March 16, 2011
Completed: June 9, 2011
Yarn: Perfect Day Yarns Self-Striping, colorway “She Woos Me”
Needles: US 0 Knit Picks nickel circular
Notes: Generic toe-up sock using Wendy D. Johnson’s slip stitch heel and my rounded toe. I love the fabric I get on US 0’s with this yarn. I may try to knit my next pair of Vesper self-striping socks with the same gauge. Just a bit tighter then what I’ve been getting on my stripey socks.

Last week, Sheri of The Loopy Ewe blogged about Camp Loopy. Just a few days before I read her post, I had been wishing I could go to summer camp this year, and this kind of camp is right up my alley!

The first challenge project to go along with the theme “Campfire Nights” is to knit a two color cape, shawl, or scarf. I decided to knit a pattern that has been in my queue for a while now: Clockwork. After some thought on what colors and yarn to use, I decided on MadelineTosh Pashmina in Dahlia and Oak.

MadelineTosh Pashmina

This weekend I’ll wind up the yarn, print out the pattern, and find the right needles so I’ll be ready to cast-on on June 15th!

Since I decided on no more sweaters for a while, I’ve been searching around for a shawl pattern to knit, preferably one that would look good out of one of the Wollmeise Lace colors I have. I haven’t seen anything that just called to me to knit it, so I just kept looking. Then, this past week, Kris mentioned to me on Twitter that we should do another knit-a-long (we knit Camber together via Twitter last year). After some discussion, we decided to knit High Seas. I thought this would be perfect for the Wollmeise Lace I have in Flaschenpost, which is a lovely blue-green color that reminds me of the ocean.

Wollmeise Lace in Flaschenpost

The fact that the shawl looks like waves, doesn’t hurt either! I love the ocean and frequently find myself missing it. We’ll be casting-on on Monday. I’ve already got the pattern printed, just need to wind that GIANT skein of yarn this weekend.

Have a good weekend everyone! I’ve got some new craft supplies that recently arrived and I’m looking forward to playing around with them this weekend. Hoping to have something to show you next week! 🙂

Crochet, Current Projects, Spinning

I’ve Been Crocheting, Spinning, and Knitting!

Posted on June 8, 2011 by mslindz

As the days go by, I find that I have less pain in my hands/wrists and can knit a little bit longer each time. I feel like I’m almost back to “normal,” though I am still getting a little pain now and then. I’m still a little slower then is normal for me, but I suppose that will come back in time.

Since I’ve been crocheting, knitting, AND spinning in the last week, I’ve got some progress to share!

The scarf is coming along nicely. I’m enjoying working on it and seeing the colors change. It seems a little slow going because I keep adding or skipping stitches, then realize it a row or two later. Ah well, I’m still enjoying it!

Spring Ripples

For June and July in the Soild Socks group on Ravelry, there is a mystery pattern from Yarnissima. Initially I wasn’t going to join in since I never finish mystery knit-a-longs, but there was this green Wollmeise in my stash that called out to me, so I wound up the skein into two (mostly equal) cakes of yarn and cast on! The pattern can be found on Ravelry here: GUSH – Solid Socks June 2011Mystery Sock. I’ll probably just refer to these as my GUSH socks or mystery socks, since that title is a bit long. 😉

This past weekend, I finished up the toes of both socks. The second clue came out yesterday and I’ve already started working on it.

GUSH Sock

Speaking of socks… I have tried to finish up Maelstrom and my stripey socks. I love the gauge I’m getting on Maelstrom, but it’s a little on the tighter side for Socks That Rock Mediumweight (I’m using US 1.5’s) and it really hurts my hands when I try to work on it. I have been knitting on my stripey socks and they’re moving along, slowly. I think the US 0’s are bothering my hands a little, so I’ve been limiting my time knitting on them. I’m hoping they’ll be done soon, though!

There has been spinning! I finished up the Cheviot I had on the wheel from Zarzuela’s Fibers in the DC Sunrise colorway a while ago, but I haven’t taken pictures of it yet since it still needs to be washed. After I finished that, I started on the Falkland I got from Stitches ‘n Rows in the Silver Age Joker colorway. I put it aside for a bit when my wrists got briefly worse, then the fiber for The Dahlia Cowl SAL/KAL that’s going on in Zarzuela’s Fiber Junkies group on Ravelry arrived.

When I was ready to give spinning a go after my wrists were feeling a bit better, the SAL/KAL had started, so I figured I should get going on it. In two days I had it spun, plied, and washed! That may be the fastest I’ve spun something up in a while. I love how squishy and soft it turned out. If I calculated it right, I ended up with 92 yards, which is a bit short of the 120 yards required for the pattern. I do have a small “leftover” skein that didn’t make it on the first bobbin that I didn’t measure, so I might have around 100 yards total.

Here’s a shot of before and after spinning up the fiber.

Dahlia Polworth Fiber

Dahlia Polworth Fiber – Spun

I’ve been debating about what I want to cast on for next now that I’ve cleared a few sweaters off the needles. I think I’d like to do a shawl of some sort, but I can’t seem to decide on a pattern! There’s too many ones that I like out there. What shawls are on your list to knit or that you’re currently working on? Or is there something else (that isn’t a sweater) that you’ve got on your “must knit” list? I want to cast something on, but nothing in my queue or stash is really calling to me! What a problem to have! Hahaha 🙂

Current Projects

So Many Projects, Never Enough Time

Posted on April 20, 2011 by mslindz

The last few weeks have been a bit hectic. I spent the first week of April getting ready for a trip to DC (part work related, part fun), then I was in DC all last week, now I’m re-adjusting to being back at work AND getting ready for another trip in May. I still need to go through and upload pictures from my DC trip. I’ve spent a fair amount of time away from the computer while at home, so I just haven’t had time to get to it yet, but I’m hoping to share those soon! I had a fabulous day with Laura while I was in DC. We went to the zoo and yarn shopping. Cute animals and yarn – is there a more perfect day? 🙂

I did take some time to take pictures of all my WIPs yesterday and get them uploaded since I hadn’t photographed almost any in-progress pics of them yet. Here’s everything I’ve got on the needles right now.

Just before leaving to DC, I had a sudden moment of “omg must cast on something new for the trip!!” Suddenly the thought of all the stockinette and garter stitch projects I have going made me feel like I’d be totally bored with them and that I needed something more interesting to work on. I quickly looked through my stash, picked a pattern, and cast these on while Matt drove me to the airport. The yarn in Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Mediumweight in the Farmhouse colorway and the pattern is Maelstrom. I have knit this pattern before and found it to be quite enjoyable. Just enough patterning to keep it interesting and keep me from getting bored with it. I was able to get the first sock to where all the gusset decreases have been done.

Maelstrom #2

I only knit on this at the airport waiting for my flight to DC, on the plane to DC, on the bus to the hotel, on the bus back to the airport, at the airport waiting for my flight home, and on the plane home (and while stuck on the runway for about 45 mins). The rest of the time while taking the Metro pretty much everywhere I went, I brought my Perfect Day Yarns stripey sock with me to knit. I managed to get the first stripey sock done and get up to where I start the gusset increases on the second one! For some reason these socks seem to be taking me a long time and for no good reason other then they keep getting put on the back burner so I can work on other things. I love the yarn and the colors, so once I finish Elektra, I think I’ll focus on finishing these.

I did try a new-to-me cast off on these: Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off. I think it’s my new favorite! It is, like it’s called, surprisingly stretchy. I like the way it looks and it’s a lot easier then the typical sewn in bind off I have done. Definitely my new go-to for toe-up socks.

PDY Stripey Socks

Last post I mentioned that I was waiting for the beads to arrive so I could cast on Elektra. They on April 7th and I cast on for it right away. Yesterday I was 4 rows from finishing Section B when I realized I did two bead rows in a row, skipping an increase row. I had to frog 18 rows, 9 of which had beads. I’ve knit about half of those rows over again and I’m hoping to finish Section B today. I’ve got a week and a half to get it done and blocked. Hopefully I can get it done.

Elektra

Last post I also mentioned starting Rook. I did finish the first one, though it’s not finished in this photo.

Rook – almost finished

Slipped Hours has seen a fair amount of progress, especially this weekend while we were at a Cincinnati Reds game. I’m up to where I’m increasing from the waist shaping and on to the second skein of yarn. Not super interesting to look at right now, but it’s growing pretty quickly. Since I’m focusing all my knitting energy on Elektra, I’ve set this (and all other projects) to the side until it’s done.

Slipped Hours

Even with all these projects in the works and knowing I should focus on getting Elektra done, all I want to do is cast on more things! It sure didn’t help that I recently went through my queue to clear out things I’ll never knit, no longer interested in, or can’t remember why I even queued it in the first place. I came across so many things that made me go “… and I want to knit that and that and that… and OH THAT!” I’ve even got two projects set up on Ravelry for the next sweater and shawl I want to cast on.

L to R: Shibuya, Berroco Vintage DK, Rock Island, and SweetGeorgia Yarns CashSilk Lace

I saw Shibuya at Fibre Space (which you can get to pretty easily on the metro – only a few blocks to walk from the metro station to the shop) where they have a sample of it knit up in Berroco Vintage DK. I saw it and immediately fell in love with it. I needed to make one for myself! I bought the book, yarn, and needles for it on the spot. Normally I wouldn’t buy needles because I have a pretty big collection of them, but it seems that I only own one US 5 needle that is always in use, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have another and it meant I could swatch for it right away. At any rate, I’m itching to cast this on! Trying to hold out until I’ve got some other things (like Slipped Hours) off the needles first.

The other project I want to start soon is Rock Island. I’ve had this SweetGeorgia Yarns CashSilk Lace in my stash for a while and had it set aside for another shawl. I hadn’t cast on for the intended shawl because I really needed 1000 yards and I only had 800 yards. I was planning on just making it shorter then called for, but after a lot of debate, I knew I wanted to knit the whole thing, so this was waiting for the right project to come along. Well, it has! I love a lot of Jared Flood’s patterns and this is no exception. Once I get Elektra finished, I’ll be casting this on right away.

What projects are calling to you lately? I’m sure I’m not the only one that’s been bit by the startitis bug. 🙂

Completed Projects, Current Projects

Saroyan FO and Current Projects

Posted on March 18, 2011 by mslindz

It’s Friday and I have an FO to share! 🙂

This may be the fastest scarf I’ve ever knit. Three days and it was done! It was an enjoyable knit, too.

Pattern: Saroyan (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: March 11, 2011
Completed: March 13, 2011
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Rodecian, 2 skeins
Needles: US 9 bamboo circular
Notes: I initially did the entire increase section wrong. I did the increases every right side row of the pattern repeat, but it shouldn’t be done on rows 3 or 11. Oops. I ripped it out and started over on March 11. After I restarted it, I couldn’t put it down! I did change the part worked when you first cast on and before the first pattern repeat and the last part after the last pattern repeat and the cast off. I followed the notes here (Ravelry link). I did the decreases differently then written so that they better matched the increase section. I followed the notes here (Ravelry link). I have a total of 28 leaves – 6 for the increase section, 16 for the straight section, and 6 for the decrease section. I’m happy with how this project turned out!

Saroyan Worn as a Scarf

In addition to wearing it as a scarf, it could also be worn as a wrap!

Saroyan Worn as a Wrap

After finishing Saroyan, I started on High Road. I had a bit of trouble with it at first because I had a hard time keeping count of what row I was on, but I finally got smart and put a row counter on my work to help me keep track. The yarn, Metamorphasis from A Verb for Keeping Warm, is 70% merino, 30% silk blend and it’s very nice to work with. I like the colors and the fabric it’s making.

High Road

I’ve still been working away on Cassis. It hasn’t seen much progress this week. I managed to spill tea on the collar of it when I got to work one day, did my best to wash it out, then it took about a day and a half to dry out completely. You can still see some of the brown tea stain on it. It’s not too noticeable, but when I look at it, I definitely see it. Just like mistakes in your knitting – it’s probably not as noticeable to someone else as it is to me! Not sure what, if anything, I’ll do about it, so right now I’m just continuing on and not worrying about the stains.

I have a stripey sock I’ve been working on since December (often setting it aside for other projects). The yarn is Perfect Day Yarns self striping in the She Woos Me colorway. I like the colors and the yarn, but for some reason, stripey socks sometimes get sent to the back burner when other things are more interesting. They’re good to keep around for something portable and easy to pick up, though, so I pretty much always have some type of plain sock on the needles. Anyhow, I was finally at the point where I finished the heel on Wednesday.

PDY Stripey Sock

Then I tried it on and it was too tight. There weren’t enough stitches around and while it fit alright, the stitches were really stretched around the instep area of the sock. I knew it needed to be frogged and more stitches added. I frogged it completely and started over. The first time I had 60 stitches around, this time I have 66. So far it seems to be fitting, but then the other sock fit at this point, too. I’m just hoping it fits once I’ve done all the instep increases! Here’s where I’ve knit back to since frogging it.

PDY Stripey Sock

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny and warm day. Today is rather gloomy and rainy. This weekend is promising warmth and sun, though, and I’m looking forward to that! This winter seems like it’s been a long one. It’s nice to see warmer days here and there. Not much in way of plans this weekend. We’re going to see the new movie Paul with some friends tomorrow and I do hope we get out and enjoy the nice weather at some point. I’ve got Monday off and I’ll be hanging out with my mom for the day! Should be fun. 🙂

Have a good weekend everyone!

Completed Projects

February FO’s!

Posted on March 9, 2011 by mslindz

I can’t believe it’s been nearly a month since I last blogged! Where has the time gone? I haven’t felt like I’ve been that busy, but I haven’t been great about taking in-progress shots of my current projects which seems to result in me not blogging.

Since I last posted, I’ve finished 4 things! The first thing I finished was the Wurm hat I was working on.<p.

Wurm

Pattern: Wurm by katushika – Rav link to pattern (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: February 11, 2011
Completed: February 20, 2011
Yarn: Brooks Farm Solo Silk in a light purple, about 1/2 a skein.
Needles: US 2.5 (3.0 mm) Addi Turbo circular, US 4 (3.5 mm) bamboo circular and DPNs
Notes: I did the brim a bit different. I did a provisional cast on to do a turned hem for the hat rather then casting on and knitting the cast on edge with your working row as the pattern states. I think this makes for a brim with more stretch. I started with the US 2.5 needles working the first stockinette portion and the purl row, then switched to US 4’s for the rest of the hat. I did 10 purl sections as the pattern called for, which gave me just the right amount of slouch. If you like really slouchy hats, I’d recommend doing more then that. After that last purl section, the hat gets pulled in VERY fast. Overall, I’m happy with how this hat turned out and it’ll be nice for cold days to help protect my ears.

Wurm – Side

Wurm – Back/Top

Next up is a cute little bunneh made out of my own handspun. I kept seeing these little guys around on Ravelry and got the urge to knit one OMGRIGHTNOW a few weekends ago. I had this handspun sitting at my desk along with needles and I cast on right away. Worked on him only while sitting at my desk, so he took a few days to complete, but I think it would have gone a lot faster had I worked on him more then just at my desk.

Bunny Nugget

Pattern: Bunny Nuggets by Rebecca Danger (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: February 19, 2011
Completed: February 21, 2011
Yarn: Zarzuela’s Fibers Targhee in the Emeralds colorway, handspun by me to fingering weight
Needles: US 1 (2.25 mm) Knit Picks DPNs
Notes: I only used a small amount of yarn. If I had to guess, I’d say roughly 40 or so yards. The pom pom was too big at first, but I cut it down to be smaller. Still a bit big, though I think it adds to the cuteness!

For the pom pom, I tried a new tool, which may now be my favorite knitting related tool ever. I first bought this Clover small pom pom maker from my local Hobby Lobby. I quickly discovered that the smaller one in the package that makes a pom pom 1 3/8 inches big was as big as my bunny nugget! I trimmed it down to size and used it anyway because I was too impatient to wait for the extra small pom pom maker from Clover to arrive. These pom pom makers are FANTASTIC! It makes making pom poms almost painless compared to every other tutorial on how to make them that I’ve ever seen. Totally worth the investment if you make make pom poms at all.

After finishing up Wurm and knitting a Bunny Nugget, I focused on getting Matt’s socks done. With some focus, they were finished pretty quickly!

Matt’s Camo Socks

Pattern: Plain Vanilla Top-Down Socks (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: January 1, 2011
Completed: February 23, 2011
Yarn: Zarzuela’s Fibers Merino Sock in the Camo colorway, just over 1/2 a skein (approx. 250 yards)
Needles: US 0 (2.0 mm) Knit Picks circular
Notes: Used my own plain top-down sock pattern for a 68 stitch sock. I really liked working with this yarn and Matt seems to like the finished socks! 🙂

My final FO for February is Seneca. I absolutely LOVE this sweater. It’s probably my favorite of all the sweaters I’ve knit and other then the minor freak out over the skeins not matching (which turns out isn’t an issue at all), I had no problems with the pattern or fit or… well anything! This is my second sweater of the year, so I’m still on track for knitting 12 this year.

Seneca

Pattern: Seneca by Jared Flood (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: February 1, 2011
Completed: February 26, 2011
Yarn: MadelineTosh DK, 5.5 skeins (1231 yards)
Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm) HiyaHiya stainless steel circular
Notes: My gauge was off for this sweater, but I really liked the gage I got with the US 7 needle, so I did some math and decided to knit the 40″ size instead of the 44″ size that I would have knit if I had got the pattern gauge. By my math, I would end up with a 44″ sweater knitting the 40″ size based on my gauge and I did! I did make some notes in my Ravelry project page about some missing information/errors in the pattern. There’s no errata for it that I could find, though these are noted in the comments of the pattern on Ravelry (which I didn’t check until after I’d finished the sweater). I made a mistake in Chart A and added an additional knit row where one shouldn’t be. I don’t think it’s noticeable at all and if I didn’t mention it, I doubt anyone else would notice either! I realized it when I’d reached the cables on the yoke and I knew there was no way I wanted to basically start my entire sweater over to correct it, so I made the decision to keep going and include the error I’d made. I did make the same error through every instance of Chart A that I knit and I even did it for Chart B as well so that at least the mistake is consistent. Overall, even with the error I made, I’m totally in love with this sweater! It fits great, the yarn was fantastic to work with, I love the color, it can be dressed up or down…. what’s not to love? 🙂

Seneca – Back

Seneca – Yoke

Seneca – Sleeve Detail

I need to get some updated pictures on the current projects I have going since the two main ones I’ve been working on don’t have ANY in-progress shots yet. Hopefully I can do that today or tomorrow and share what’s on the needles for me later this week!

Current Projects

Scalloped Potholders, Volna, and Socks

Posted on January 31, 2011 by mslindz

Recently, I kept seeing a crochet potholder pattern come up in my friends feed on Ravelry being favorited and queued. There are a number of pretty and colorful ones that people have made and since I had some cotton yarn in my stash, I caved and whipped one up in pink and green. The pattern is Scalloped Potholder by Pracilla Hewitt. This is the first one I made and I’ll consider it finished when I make the second one, using up two full skeins of Lily Sugar’n Cream cotton. At least that’s the plan assuming I can get another one out of what’s left. I don’t think it will be a problem, though.

Scalloped Potholder

I think I’ll use mine more as a hot pad then a potholder, but you can never have too many of either! I thought they’d be a good way to use up some yarn in the stash and make something I can use in the kitchen. The second one will be opposite: green shells, pink for the rest, and crochet the two together with green. On the second one I might try going up a hook size once I hit the scallops so it will lay flat easier. The one above I blocked because it was curled pretty bad and wouldn’t really lay flat. It seems lays mostly flat now. I think my crocheting was just too tight and pulled it in. We’ll see. I’ll play around with it a bit to see if I can’t get it to lay flat. I seem to have trouble with that sometimes when it comes to crochet!

For a few months now I’ve seen Noro lace at various LYS’s. I keep thinking I should pick up a skein, then debate about what I’d do with it and eventually put it back on the shelf. For months, it’s been calling me. Then I saw the perfect pattern: Volna. I had other things going on at the time I posted about it back in November, but recently I picked up a skein at the LYS and cast on last week.

Volna

I haven’t progressed on it much because I’d been focused on knitting Watershed, then I started the Textured Shawl, but I hope to get back to it once I get one of my other WIPs off the needles. Speaking of which, I did finish one of Matt’s Camo Socks a week or so ago and I started the second one. I love nice the yarn feels knit up.

Matt’s Camo Socks

I’d like to focus on this and get it done now that I have Watershed finished. We’ll see. My interest changes all the time on what I want to work on or what interests me! 🙂

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