Addictive

Have you seen Sarah Jordan's  I'm Still Stranding cowl pattern?  Be careful if you purchase the it.  It's addictive.! I planned to simply get the cast on stitches on the needle then go to bed but all of a sudden....

I'm absolutely in love with the pattern!  I'm already thinking about using the charted design with worsted weight to make regular, long scarves.  Or a sweater body.  Or just use it as written and make 1,000 more color combinations.  The charted pattern is so simple yet the color changes keep you engaged.  I can only imagine how much fun it would be if I was using self striping yarn for my constrasting color like the pattern recommended.  Anyway, if you haven't seen the pattern, go take a look, but be warned.  It is addictive!

I was worried when I started winding the yarn for my I'm Still Stranding.  It started off looking perfect on the swift then suddenly.... It got bad.  Really, really bad.  I ended up having to cut the yarn a few times.  I have no idea how it was so tangled in the skein.  Oh well.  I got it caked eventually.

While I had the swift and ball winder out, I went ahead and caked a few more skeins.  The extras are intended for the Insanity blanket which has basically been put away for the summer.  It's just too hot to knit on it right now.  Although.... I've been too lazy to put the giant tub of scrap yarn away so it just sits beside my desk and acts as an extra table.  I have pulled the blanket out of it a few times and knit on it when I wasn't feeling the love from whatever project I was currently working on.  It will probably remain beside my desk for the rest of the summer so it may see a little more action despite the heat.

Okay, this one is more so I have a record of my progress than for your entertainment but....  Have I mentioned my DAV project?  I promised to deliver 75 knit hats to the DAV (Disabled American Veterans) by early November.  What was I thinking??  Currently, I have 41 knit, 34 more to go. As long as I keep up the pace, it should be doable.  I haven't paused the knitting long enough to take photos but soon....

Happy Knitting!

Is it Fall yet?

We just got water in the pool last weekend and I'm already ready for fall.  It's just way too hot. 98 degrees today and tomorrow.  Ugh!

I don't have much to talk about other than complaining about the weather.  I've finished 35 out of the 75 promised hats for the DAV.  Well, the knitting part is finished.  They all still have long pieces of yarn hanging off them in case I want to attach pom poms.  I'm not going to make/order the pom poms until I know I have the hats done. 

I finished that one yesterday.  That hat was actually hand knit, not made with the Sentro.  I used Lion Brand's Fisherman's Wool which I love.  I had to order it from Lion Brand's website because none of the big-box yarn stores around here carry it anymore.  Makes me very sad.  I also don't know why I didn't order a whole lot more of it when it was on sale.  I only got a few skeins in various colors.  I should have bought sweater quantities in all the colors, plus more for hats and gloves.  Oh well.  I probably would have had to buy a new house store it all in anyway.

I finally got to my LYS the other day and of course I bought a bunch of stuff. I hadn't visited the store in a very long time, probably close to a year!  Shameful!  Anyway... a friend, Martha from Dyeing For Art, was having a trunk show so of course I bought a skein of her  yarn.  It doesn't look that special in the photo, but it's a beautiful pale gray tonal with silver sparkle added in.  I plan to use it with that purple Malabrigo to knit Sarah Jordan's I'm Still Stranding.  The pattern suggests self striping yarn for the constrasting color but I love that gray and purple together and while the purple is tonal, I think it has enough variance in its shading to make it work.  Finger's crossed.

Other than the fact that I've had that song stuck in my head ever since I bought the pattern a few days ago, the pattern looks to be excellent.  A fun, easy yet not mindless, project.  Based on all the color combinations I came up with while searching the stash for a skein to use with the silver sparkle, I may be knitting this cowl/scarf about 50 times.  

Oh, it just dawned on me.... In my last post, I was talking about starting the second Christmas sock.  I finished it a few days later.  How does it take 4 1/2 years to knit the first sock and 3 days to knit the second?  And it's always like that for me!  I'd say I drag my feet on the first one because I know I have to knit a second one exactly like it, but I don't have that problem with mittens so....  Who knows.  Just one of life's little mysteries.

Happy Knitting!

Continue-itis

You've heard of start-itis.  Well, I'm suffering from continue-itis.  I just keep knitting on the same items and never seem to finish them.

I'd forgotten how much I dislike having mutliple projects on the needles at once.  I mean, one simple, knit while I read type project and one complicated, gotta pay attention project on the needles at the same time is okay.  It's a good thing actually.  But more than that.... and it's just a bad case of continue-itis.

I did finish the knitting part of Mimosa and one side seam is sewn.  But that other side seam....  I really neeed to finish it before Sarah beats me over my head with my knitting bag but....

But when given the choice between sewing seams and knitting....

Even when the knitting is slightly boring and never ending, I'll choose knitting over seam sewing any day of the week.  There may actually be an end in sight for Squish.  I guestimated its length this morning and it looks like I only need to add four more color stripes.  And that means, by next Friday, I should, hopefully, be showing off a finished Squish.  Fingers crossed!

I'm not sure if I ever mentioned it, but my husband gave me this book, Selbu Patterns, by Anne Bardsgard for Christmas.  How he knew I wanted it or where to find it is beyond me but he really came through this year! 

 

And of course I had to immediately cast on a hat.  It's not a true Selbu designed hat, but it is using a Selbu design element.  This is the one knitting project without a deadline or a waiting receive so of course, it's the project I want to knit on most.

I could have knit this hat 16 times by now but I'm struggling with the chart color vs my yarn colors.  See how the chart is black and white?  Actually, it's charcoal gray and white.  My yarn is charcoal gray and yellow.  On the chart, the background stitches are white and the pattern is gray.  But my yarn, the background is gray and the pattern is knit in yellow.  I can't tell you how many times I've had to tink back and switch my colors.  

I'm at the halfway point of the chart though so 16 more tinks and reknits .... and I'll be back to solid color knitting.  If I focused, I could have this hat finished by next Friday too!

Wish me luck and happy knitting!

Mimosa

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.  Ours was really nice.  New Years wasn't much.  The family slept and I worked but Christmas was wonderful.  

I was so proud of Hayden.  She'd spent Christmas Eve Eve at her other grandparent's and she normally has a little too much fun there and comes home exhausted and a little grouchy.  I was a bit concerned about how she'd behave Christmas Eve at my nephew's house, in a strange house, with people she rarely sees, make that loud people she rarely sees, and withoout a nap and past her bedtime...  But she did fantastic!  She walked in, made herself at home and had a blast playing with my sister's grandkids. She even sat at the kid's table to eat and didn't need any help from her parents. The only time she got upset was when we took the book away from her so that someone else could do the traditional reading of The Night Before Christmas.

As for my Christmas Eve Cast On project, I cheated and cast on a few days early.  It's a sweater for Sarah that was actually a Christmas gift for her.  I thought I'd be safe because Sarah announced she wanted me to knit her the sweater early to mid December.  The pattern is Mimosa, a free pattern on Ravelry.

The sweater's design is super simple.  It's basically just a few rectangles sewn together and it's knit with US15 needles with mohair-like yarn.  Being free and so simple, the pattern doesn't even provide gauge but it does mention what yarn the designer, Ola Otuli, used.  I decided I'd use the same yarn just to be safe.

A brief internet search for the yarn took me to an Etsy shop, DewKnit in Lithuania.  I was pretty excited because Etsy's shipping esitmator thing said the  yarn would arrive between December 19 and January 5th.  Perfect, I thought.  It would never arrive before Christmas so I could wrap up a note and there'd be zero expectation of having a knitted sweater under the tree on Christmas morning.  Or so I thought.

Well, the yarn arrived on December 20th.  Thankfully Sarah is an understanding big girl these days and still didn't expect the finished sweater to be under the tree.  She has, however, checked on it's progress daily ever since  the yarn's arrival.

The sweater is knitting up quickly and I'm enjoying the yarn.  It's hairy like mohair but it's a wool/alpaca blend rather than being actual mohair.  And I'm loving it.  Mohair tends to make my hands sweaty and I feel like I end up with more fiber in my eyes and nose than on the needles when ever I've knit with it.  But this  yarn, this yarn doesn't shed like mohair.  It doesn't shed at all.  I can knit wearing my black work pants with no worries at all.  It's super soft and did I mention how fast it's knitting up?  If it wasn't for that pesky job of mine, I probably could have had the sweater knit and under the tree Christmas morning.

If you decide to knit yourself a Mimosa sweater, and you plan to use the yarn, Drops Melody, as mentioned in the pattern, I highly recommend you order from DewKnit.  Yes, the yarn had to travel from Lithuania, but it made the trip quickly, even at Christmas.  The yarn was packaged well and the customer service was great.  I won't hesitate to order from DewKnit next time.

And now I'm off to knit a few more rows.  I can't wait to hear about what everyone else is knitting in the the new year.

Three on Thursday - Quick Knits for Valentines

Thank you all for the wonderfully positive knitting and puzzle mojo you sent my way.  After reading your comments, I quickly finished the puzzle and pulled out a box of yarn and started a new project.  I'll show you the new shawl tomorrow but for now, I wanted to give back and share a little Valentine's knitting mojo with you.  So, for today's Three on Thursday, we have three quick to knit Valentines projects.

First up, and probably most difficult of the three, Valentine Plaids Hats from Cassandra May.  I just may have to knit all three of these for Hayden.  She's growing like a weed though so I better hurry!  The patterns are designed for newborn up to toddler size.

Or how about a cowl for the grown-ups?  Sweet Valentine Cowl, designed by Ambah O'Brien, is written for two sizes - a long and a short version.  I really like this one because I don't think I'd really notice the hearts if the cowl wasn't knit in traditional Valentines' colors.  Honestly, and no offense to the designer, I see lily pad leaves rather than hearts.  But that's probably because I've been reading a lot of fish pond/aquarium books lately and they are on my mind.  Whether they are intended to be hearts or lily pads, I like this design.

And, last but not least, a Valentines Dishcloth from Cecilia Fameli.  This pattern would be great for those of you (and most likely me) who have procrastinated until the 13th and are in a sudden Valentines Day panic.  Although it's technically a dishcloth, it could easily be used as a special wash cloth for the little one in your life.  Or knit it in manly colors for that boy child who's living on his own and may need a little motivation to wash his dishes. 

Thanks again for sending such an outpouring of knitting mojo my way.  You wouldn't believe how much it helped and I hope one of these patterns returns the favor.  I also hope you'll join me over at Carole's for today's Three on Thursday link up.

Three on Thursday - A small haul

 Yarn shops are so dangerous!  For today's Three on Thursday, I thought I'd share a recent shopping trip.

I ran into my LYS, Center of the Yarniverse, right before Thanksgiving to pick up a copy of Painterly.  Have you seen Painterly?  Are you into Mason Dixon/Modern Daily Knitting's field guides?  (Sorry - I'll never get used to the new name. I have a hard enough time remembering names and if they suddenly wanted me to call them something different, they should have used different initials.)

Anyway...  If you are a Kaffe Fassett fan, you MUST get a copy of Painterly.  I thought their previous Fassett field guide - what was it?  #13??? - was awesome but Painterly is just.... Oh My Goodness!  If you haven't already bought a copy for yourself, you should definitely include it in your letter to Santa!

But because I'm utterly incapable of walking into the yarn store and buying only what I went in for, I also picked up a new knitting bag.  My friend Betsy from Love Ewe Farm makes them and sells them out of the yarn shop.  Sadly, I don't see them listed for sale on either Betsy's or Yarniverse's website but if you are interested, I'm sure you could contact either place to purchase one. 

There are two versions of the bag.  One has the painted sheep on the turquoise background pictured above and the other is a real photo of two of Betsy's sheep.  I had THE hardest time deciding between the two.  The turquoise background finally won out.

And wouldn't you know, while I was wandering around the shop trying to decide between the two knitting bags, this skein of yarn jumped into my arms.  Frankly, I think I did pretty good to only buy one skein.  It's named Charred Marshmallow and the photo does nothing for it.  The yarn is so much warmer and rustier brown, and well, exactly charred marshmallow color, in real life.  And if the colorway and the name Charred Marshmallow wasn't enough to convince me to buy it, the yarn base is called Sugarcookies Sock.  How on earth could I resist that?

While I'm feeling a little guilty for breaking my 'no more yarn purchases this year' rule, I'm glad I broke it.  The thought of getting to knit with this yarn is keeping me motivated to finish my Christmas gift knitting.

And while I realize that's three things, I have to throw in a fourth.  I just love my LYS.  They always tuck a little something extra into your bag.  It may be a stitch marker, a pin, a tiny bar of soap that looks like a cookie, or a knitting related sticker... You never know and it's always fun to get home and discover it.  This time, it was a tea bag.  A tea bag from Stash Tea.  

How did my LYS know I was trying to drink more tea and less coffee?  I don't know, but I do know the Spice Dragon Red Chai was so good I immediately went online and ordered a box of practically every kind of tea Stash Tea offers.  

Good grief that was an expensive $14.95 Field Guide #16!

Three on Thursday - Stash Busting

As much as I love LOVE receiving giant boxes of yarn in the mail, I have to admit, I'm enjoying this whole forced stash busting thing COVID-19 is causing. And thus, three more stash buster project ideas...

Leftovers Sweater by Julie Philip

I love this idea and I especially love how the sweater on the right has been embellished with what I assume is embroidery.

Slip Stitch Stash Hat by Renee Rico

Or how about this beauty?  It always amazes me the effect a simple slipped stitch can have.

Northeasterly by Skeinanigans

Now, this is my kind of pattern.  I can knit for as long or short as I wish with a color before changing.  I can knit it long enough to be a full sized blanket, a baby sized blanket, a scarf, or even a table runner.  The knitter calls the shots!  A friend from my knitting group is knitting one of these and ever since I saw hers, I've been thinking I need to cast one on.  She's using her Advent kit yarns but I would just used stashed yarns.  Although.... it would be a good excuse to sign up for one of those kits.  Hmmm...

Hope you'll join me for Three on Thursday.

Makers' Monday - Shawls for Mom

Welcome to Makers' Monday, a celebration of knitting designers, artists & creatives.

It's hard to believe but Mother's Day is only about four weeks away.  Do you knit for Mom?  I never knit a shawl for my mom but I wish I had.  I think she would have liked to receive, and would happily have worn, any of the following.  Perhaps in honor of Mother's Day & remembrance of my own mom, I should knit myself a shawl.  (Or maybe even six!)

Magic Spring Shawl courtesy of Katerina Bobkova

I will definitely knit myself this Magic Spring Shawl sometime soon.  It reminds me of a smaller & simpler version of a Find Your Fade and I think we all know by now how much I loved knitting that.  The Magic Spring Shawl is a free (gotta love that!) Ravelry pattern designed by Katerina Bobkova of Cathy-Cathy Designs.

Or perhaps you'd like a hint of lace.

Simple Spring Shawl courtesy of Michelle Krause

The Simple Spring Shawl has just a tiny bit of lace to break up the garter stitch monotony.  Designed by Michelle Krause of Leah Michelle Designs, this would be a great beginner's lace project or movie knitting for more advanced knitters.  The lace appears to be fairly simple & easily memorized.  You won't have to play yarn chicken when knitting the Simple Spring Shawl.  Just weigh your yarn before you start, then knit until you've used up half, then begin the decreases.  Simple!

Woodland Spring Shawl
courtesy of Christina Wall

Or how about knitting a Woodland Spring Shawl?  Designed by Christina Wall of A Knitter's Life, this triangular shawl appears to be about half garter stitch and half lace.  I really like knitting this style of shawl.  You start off with simple garter and you can make lots of progress quickly.  About the time you start to think you'll go mad from garter stitch, the lace begins and holds your attention to the very end.

Primula Spring Shawl courtesy of Linda Choo

Or how about this beauty designed by Linda Choo for Garden Canadensis?  The Primula Spring Shawl is crescent shaped with an all-over lace pattern.  The size of this shawl can easily be adjusted by knitting more border repeats.  And while we're talking about the border, those pesky border nupps can easily be replaced with beads.  (Y'all know how I feel about knitting nupps!)

Spring Flowers & Butterflies Shawl,
courtesy of Katherine Bryant

This one has the dreaded nupps too but once again, they could easily be replaced with beads.  And we'll forgive Spring Flowers & Butterflies Shawl for those nupps because look what else it has - Lilies of the Valley!   I LOVE Lilies of the Valley.  They happen to be my birth month flower plus they remind me of my mom.  She had acres of them growing in the yard. (Okay, "acres" is a slight exageration, but she had a lot.)  The house always smelled of Lilly of the Valley in the spring.  Even more exciting than the Lilies of the Valley, Katherine Bryant, the designer, is offering the pattern for free on Ravelry!  And, Ms. Bryant is kind enough to tell us in advance how many beads we'll be needing.  This pattern is definitely going near the top of my Ravelry que.

And last but not least, I wanted to mention the Sundae Summer shawl.  I wasn't able to obtain permission to use a photo but I thought it was worth mentioning.  It's a free Ravelry pattern, it appears to be extremely simple and quick to knit and you could make the pattern your own by changing up the weight and/or fiber content of the yarn.  The pattern is so simple, with the right yarn, you could probably wait until Saturday afternoon to start knitting and still have it finished by Mother's Day morning.

Will you be knitting for Mother's Day?  Feel free to share pattern suggestions in the Comments below.

Makers' Monday - Wedding Shawls

Welcome to Makers' Monday, a celebration of knitting designers, artists & creatives. 

It's that time of year when the postman seems to constantly deliver wedding invitations. While my kids don't seem to be the slightest bit interested in getting married, or even dating seriously for that matter, their friends are starting to take the walk down the aisle.  And it's got me thinking about how proud I'd be to have my daughter or, even though she'd never be good enough for my son, a daughter-in-law make that walk wearing a shawl or veil that I had knit.  So naturally I took a look around Ravelry and here's what I found.

In no particular order...

Le Bon Mariage courtesy of Tiziana Sammuri

Le Bon Mariage, designed by Tiziana Sammuri.  Gorgeous, right?  And it looks doable.  The pattern is in both text and chart format & Ravelry gives it an "average" difficulty rating.

Or how about 

Monica's Shawl courtesy of Meeli Vent

Monica's Shawl?  This shawl was designed by Meeli Vent for a 2012 KAL.  To knit this beautiful shawl, you'll need to go to Meeli's blog and download each KAL clue separately but it will be worth it as the pattern is free.

Next up is the Snow Queen Pi Shawl.

Snow Queen Pi Shawl courtesy of Bad Cat Designs

This beauty was designed by Andrea Jurgrau of Bad Cat Designs.  You'll need to check out the pattern's Ravelry page to see all the details.  It's stunning and being a Pi shawl, it's probably not horrendously difficult to knit.  One of the things I like about this shawl is how different it looks in different colors of yarn.  Knit in white it's definitely Snow Queen-y or wedding-y but the Ravelry page shows one knit in aqua that reminds me of a starfish or sea anemone.  I think this pattern could be extremely versatile.

Or perhaps something at an even finer gauge.

Cecilia courtesy of Rita Maassen

For this gorgeous shawl, you really need to check out it's Ravelry page to see all the detail.  "Cecilia" was designed by Rita Maassen and is knit with cobweb.  I love how the border is worked in a different direction from the body.  I'd have to make one slight change to this pattern if I was to knit it myself though.  Y'all know how I feel about knitting nupps.  Or is it knupps? I see it spelt both ways.  Either way you spell it, I'd have to replace them with beads.

Or maybe you're looking for something a little fancier and with a bit of history behind it.

The Princess Shawl courtesy of Sharon Miller, Heirloom Knitting

This heirloom shawl is a thing of beauty. The Princess Shawl can be found in the Etsy shop, Heirloom Knitting, or on Ravelry.  The pattern is so large it comes in e-book form and calls for gossamer or cobweb yarn. This one is probably way beyond my skill level but it's fun to dream about knitting it for my daughter to wear one day. 

And last but definitely not least,

Shetland Stars courtesy of A Passion for Lace

This shawl/veil/piece of art makes me want to get married all over again.  This gorgeous shawl leaves me a bit speechless. Blocked, it's six feet square and knit with cobweb or gossamer.  SIX feet square!  I'm still just speechless.  It's truly a floor length veil.  Just look at it!  See?  I'm so amazed, I almost forgot to name it and give credit to the designer.  This beauty is the Shetland Stars Square Shawl from A Passion for Lace.  I think it's pretty obvious Sarah won't be getting married in this veil but maybe if I started today, just maybe I could finish in time for a great, great granddaughter to proudly take the walk in it.

So what do you think? Are you knitting or have or will you knit a wedding shawl or veil?  Please share your experience in the comments.

Makers' Monday

Welcome to Makers' Monday, a celebration of knitting designers, artists & creatives.

I'm still obsessing over  St. Patrick's Day patterns and ideas.  Today, I thought I'd share a few hat patterns.

First up is the  St. Patrick's Day Kiss Me Hat offered by Cassandra May at Little Red Window.

Kiss Me Hat courtesy of littleredwindow.com

Knit with worsted and designed for babies and toddlers, this would be a super quick knit and great for colorwork beginners.  

Bit O' Luck, courtesy of Keya Kuhn

I just love this adorable hat pattern designed by Keya Kuhn of Cedar Hill Farm Co. on Ravelry.  This fair isle pattern uses fingering weight yarn and is sized for infants through adults.  Every time I look at the photo,  I picture a large Irish family with each member wearing their own version of this hat.

Which hat will you knit?

Makers' Monday

I thought I'd start a new thing to acknowledge and celebrate other knitters, designers and artisans.  I'm calling it Makers' Monday and today, I'm focusing on knitted gifts for Valentines Day.

I found each of these projects on Ravelry.  First up,

Valentine Heart Hat

The Valentine Heart Hat from Sandy Koh.  The pattern calls for worsted weight yarn and the fair isle stitching is fairly simple making it not only a quick knit, but also a good color work beginner project.

Heart Dishcloth

The Heart Dishcloth is another quick to knit project from Yarnspirations.  Even better, it's free!

With Tulips in my Heart

Last but definitely not least, is the With Tulips in my Heart shawl.  It's an elongated triangle with simple stripes of garter stitch broken up with heart shaped lace and a picot edging.

Hurry up and get knitting. You only have eight days until Valentines Day!

Octopi

Today's post will be about octopi because what else would I write about when I haven't knit a single stitch in four days?  Work has been crazy busy & the shifts have been long.  By the time I get home from work, I've only had seven or eight hours to eat, sleep, shower, eat again & get dressed in time to go back to work.  On top of that, it's been busy at work so I haven't had time to knit there either.  I'm starting to twitch from lack of knitting.  Or maybe lack of sleep.  No, I'm pretty sure it's lack of knitting.

So, what do I blog about when there's been no knitting for days on end?  Octopi!

One of my favorite supervisors defecting from  her life in Cash Control & moving out of state.  She has an odd octopus obsession & over the years, I've knit her a few octopus items.  Tomorrow is her last day & since today's my day off, I thought I'd quickly whip up a new octopus thing for her.  I hit Ravelry & typed "octopus" in the search bar .... and, well, I doubt I'll be giving her another hand knit octopus.  It turns out I've already knit her all the simple, quick-to-knit octopi.  I did, however, find some seriously awesome patterns that would have been a blast to knit.  If I'd started a month ago, that is.

Check out these awesome patterns.  There's an Octopus Tentacle Scarf.

 And there's this cool fair isle octopus hat.

And I found several different mitten patterns.  These are fair isle,

These are just textured knitting with what looks like bobbles,

And another colorful pair of fair isle mittens.

These would be great for using up little bits of left over yarn.

And then there's this free pattern for fingerless mitts which I absolutely love & may end up making for myself.

And of course there's octopus socks.

Look  how cute those socks are laid side by side.  They not only have octopi, they also have mermaids!

I can't fathom how long it would take me to knit these socks but I absolutely love them. 

And last but certainly not least, take a look at this octopus sweater.

It's knit in the round with stranded colorwork and the tentacles wrap around onto the back.

It's an octopus hug!

After looking at all these patterns, and wanting to knit them all for myself, I'm coming to the realization that maybe having an octopus obsession isn't such a strange thing after all.

Anyway....  Allison, we will miss you & we love you, just not enough to attempt knitting a pair of octopus socks in a single day.