FO Friday: Can You Stand Another Sock?

I promise the next photo I post will NOT be about socks. But this is my only FO at the moment:

It's a Plain Vanilla Sock in Opal's Little Prince colorway. There's no such thing a a bad Opal sock, and I love the finished product, but this was kind of tedious to work. I guess I enjoy their colors that form faux-Fair Isle patterns better.

It's going to be a frantic 24 hours for me. I am making dinner for 8 this evening, and then my Crafter's Destash yarn sale starts at 8 tomorrow morning. Did I mention that I have to work all day? When the sale ends, I think I'm going to put my feet, queue up Netflix, and indulge in some mindless knitting!

FO Friday: Ojo de Dios

Tah-dah: The Ojo de Dios Shawl is complete!

And yes, it is beautiful, but the pattern has a design flaw. It looks great from behind, quite dramatic, but it doesn't hang well in the front. The way it was modeled for pattern should have given me a hint of that problem.

Some knitters reported that they found this to be an easy pattern on Ravelry. I struggled with the triangles -- maybe that's just me.  The yarn -- Plymouth Gina -- is affordable and beautiful, and comes in lots of lovely colorways.

I haven't blocked it yet, so I'm hoping it will grow some so that it is more of winter shawl.

If you like this pattern, make sure you read all the comments on Ravelry before you take the plunge!

And thanks to those of you who let me know that Tami Amis is updating her yarn shop. That would imply that she is fine but busy.

FO Friday: Pretty in Pink

This has to be the slowest pair of plain vanilla socks ever. It's not in my Ravelry project list, so I may have started these as long ago as 2009. Or I just never entered the project.

At any rate, they are done now and I am quite happy with them. The yarn is Lorna's Laces Sock Stripe Flamingo. It's still available, and I have to say that it both looks and feels wonderful.

These are destined to be a Hanukkah gift, but I'm not saying who the recipient will be -- even though I don't think she reads this. You just never know!

FO Friday: Not Quite Seasonal

I am thrilled to present "28's Cousin 53."

I just love this shawl. I don't always pick the right yarn for a particular project, but this time ... I did a great job (if I do say so myself). This pattern really lets the yellow yarn shine. I picked up the yarn a few years ago, but the Madison dyer is still in business: htNEVELE Designs on Etsy.

I wore it once, and then winter transformed instantly into summer and everyone had to scramble to get their summer clothes out of storage. I'll pack it away, where it will have to wait patiently for fall.

The pattern, a freebee by Lynn Ashton,  is pretty simple and would make a great first-lace project.

FO Friday: A Simple Cowl

It's another Present Cowl.

I think I'm done with this pattern for awhile. It can't be beat for showing off a beautiful worsted yarn. And speaking of yarn, I have no idea what this is -- but I love it!

I have a quiet weekend ahead of me, so I'm hoping to make some progress on the toe-up sock. It was nice to learn from the comments that I'm not the only one who just doesn't get toe-up. It's too bad because I love Wendy Johnson sock patterns. But there are plenty of awesome cuff-down patterns, too.

Keith just got home with a very woozy cat. Weeko has major dental problems. She's so skittish and hard to handle that they really drugged her up at the vet. She looks, well, drunk. But it's more sad than funny. The poor baby is going to need major dental surgery, so we're lucky to live a mile from the UW Veterinary School -- where Seth will be a student in the fall!

We hope they can get her in soon. She is in so much pain that she's barely eating or drinking and she's losing weight. If I'm not worried about my children, then it's the cats!

Don't forget to check in with Tami Amis for more FOs.

FO Friday: Les Cables Des Faux

These took a me a while, but I'm glad I finished them:

Les Cables Des Faux is a free pattern from Needle Addict. As the title implies, it's a faux-cable pattern. Very easy and well written pattern. I did make some adjustments: I wanted my tighter and less slouchy that the originals, so I subtracted one pattern repeat and cut a couple inches off the length. I love the way they came out.

Confession: These are filled with mistakes -- missed yarn-overs. I decided that the mistakes wouldn't be noticeable and didn't frog. I think I made the right decision. When I wore them to work the other day, I asked my knitting pals to find the mistakes; they couldn't. However, if these had been intended to be a gift, I would have frogged and re-knit.

The yarn is Plymouth Galway in a heathery gray. I love it when an affordable yarn makes a great project. If I make these again, I'd use the same yarn.

The sad part: It was cold and snowy enough here on Wednesday to wear them!

Check out the other FOs with Tami Amis.

FO Friday: A Viral Pattern

Finished but unblocked: Hermione's Everyday socks, a gift for my darling niece Rebecca. I didn't pick this pattern because it was popular -- I didn't even realize it was popular when I cast on. Rebecca is a Harry Potter fan and purple is her favorite color, so the two just came together. This is a great little pattern: easy, fast, but a with enough of a pattern to ward off boredom.

The yarn is Regia Extra Twist Merino. I don't remember where I bought it, but I haven't seen it again. And that's a shame because it is lovely to work with a creates a soft fabric. The color-blocking that shows in the photo is much less pronounced in reality. The yarn is splitty, though, so I would not use it for lace.

I have always loved waffle-weave fabric, so it's no wonder that I like this pattern.

Don't forget to to check out other FOs with Tami Amis.