Finally Some FOs...and a Start

I started out 2018's Secret Sock Society run by the talented Helen Stewart with great enthusiasm, but I've gotten distracted by embroidery and quilting. Still, I completed a second pair of the Winter Rose socks. 

This pair is gray and is for me. This is a great pattern than I highly recommend. It does require you to knit 3 stitches together occasionally, but you get used to it.

Don't faint from surprise, but I have a second FO. This is a Sockhead Slouch Hat. 

It takes some time because it's knit in fingering weight, but it is perfect for a gorgeous gradient skein. I used yarn from Knit Circus. Truly perfect mindless knitting!

As for my start, I have to thank Kathy B! I don't know why it didn't occur to me sooner that my father needs a Twiddle Muff. 

He does indeed have restless hands, so I'm hoping this will keep him happy once I add some texture, bobbles, and i-cords.

If he likes it, I may knit up a few more for other residents in the Memory Unit.

Two Finishes

I think this took me about a year, but I finally finished my Spindrift Shawl by Helen Stewart. I have no idea why it took me so long. It's a simple and elegant pattern.

Here it is, unblocked. I'm sure that lace will really open up after a good soak. 

The yarn is a speckled fingering weight from KnitCircus. I seem to have lost track of the ballband. And I had barely enough yarn to finish the picot bind-off!

I also finished this Fair Isle hat of my own design. It came out huge, definitely a man's hat! I'm going to make some changes, downsize it and write it up as a pattern, I think.

It feels good to have accomplished a few things in the past week and a half since my surgery. I'm going to have to work quite a bit in the next weeks. Most of it will be on my own schedule, which makes it feel less onerous.

I hope most of you are having summer. It is so cold and rainy here that I am wearing jeans and a wool sweater!

It's All About Curious Handmade

I have managed to finish Magnolia, the second pattern in the Secret Sock Society, and I'm very happy with them. This pattern was a lot harder -- for me, at least -- than the first pattern in this year-long KAL from Helen Stewart of Curious Handmade. There are a lot of cables, and I cannot cable without a needle on fingering-weight yarn.

I think the yarn is a bit too busy for the pattern. Still, they are very pretty. This is the second pair I've knit from Great Lakes Tweed yarn, and they slide on like butter. This is truly a luxurious yarn!

The next pattern should come out in early June, and I'm looking forward to the next challenge. 

In the meantime, I'm working on another Helen Stewart pattern, the Spindrift Shawl. It's hard to believe that such a simple pattern can yield a stunning shawl.

Ok, so this picture doesn't do it justice. But I'm on the bottom lace now, and it is very pretty. I started this a year ago and somehow it got buried in the knitting basket. 

Thank you for all the comments about Magic Loop. I am relieved to find out that I am not the only one who struggles with this technique. A number of you suggested starting on DPNs and then shifting the stitches to the long circular. I am definitely going to try that!

Starts

At long last, spring has arrived here. After all, it's only late April! I was able to take a spin on my favorite vehicle this weekend:

I have to say that it was a bit rough and I need to build up some strength -- but it felt good to be out riding in the sunshine.

I've gotten a good start on the second pattern in the Secret Sock Society run by Helen Stewart. Magnolia is a beautiful pattern:

Once again, I'm using a yarn from Great Lakes Tweed and I love it. However, it's a little busy for such a detailed pattern:

Even so, it's very pretty and I'm going to keep going on this pair. I can always knit a second pair in a different yarn!

I hope you have a wonderful week. Mine is starting out with jury duty!

Very Quiet Weekend

It's been an extra-quiet weekend here. A few inches of snow plus sub-zero temperatures have made it a lovely weekend to hunker down.

Few things are cozier than knitting on such a weekend. As part of my stash-busting efforts, I've been working on a second Tchaikovsky Hat. The yarn is a merino-silk blend so the hat will be super soft and comfortable. This skein languished in my stash for at least a decade.

The hat design is from my current knitting crush -- Helen Stewart of Curious Handmade -- and I'm excited to say that I finished my Vintage Fairy Lights socks on time! A number of you have asked what this yummy yarn is. The dyer is Casual Fashion Queen and the colorway is Bohemia. 

I'm awaiting tomorrow's release of the first pattern in the Secret Sock Society, a Curious Handmade project. Helen will be releasing a new sock pattern every two months. As she points out, this means knitting just one sock a month. I should be able to keep up with that! Today is the last chance to join at the early bird price. You can join up at this link.

Yesterday, before the snow and plunging temperatures, I did get to Barnes & Noble to pick up a gift and do a quick sketch. Not my best, but then, the whole point is to practice.

I'm sure I'll get more knitting done tonight while Keith watches the Super Bowl. I will never understand why anyone likes to watch sports! I'll be snuggled up in my craft room, listening to an audiobook and sipping on yet another cup of tea.

A Mid-Week Hello

 I'm often surprised by how quickly the week goes. Is it really Wednesday night already? I got through my two IEP meetings and now I'm frantically trying to get my students ready for final exams next week. 

I started two projects on Sunday. I cast on for my Clara's Cape. I have never knit with super-bulky yarn before, and it's hurting my hands a bit. The issue could be the yarn: Spud & Chloe Outer. It is a cotton-wool blend, so it is super non-scratchy. But that cotton content might be the reason I can only knit a few rows a day.

And I've started a new embroidered doll. This one has a knitting theme:

I have yet to pick out colors and start embroidering, but that's the fun part!

Thank you all for your compliments about my mug rugs. I am blushing now!

Quiet Weekend

 It's been a quiet weekend in Madison. (Do you hear echoes of Garrison Keiler? I miss that guy!) Other than a few outings with friends, I've been working on various projects at home, including my embroidery club at school and a community project for my fiber group.

I made these "mug rugs" as a way of playing around with free-form embroidery. I am most comfortable following lines, but I want to venture into more spontaneous embroidery. These small circles provided the perfect experiment. And, I didn't have to buy anything for them! Pure stash-busting.

I cut the biggest circles out of felt, and the rest came from my fabric scraps. I basted the circles into place and just started embroidering with 6 strands of floss. I can't decide if they are going to be a gift or stay here at the house. They were fun, but somewhat time-consuming.

I repaired this necklace for my daughter. (I made it a few years ago and was horrified that it broke.) Now I have to get it into the mail. She's very happy to be back in the Miami warmth -- even though it's been unusually cold there. It hasn't gotten anywhere near the sub-zero temps we've had here.

This came in the mail. But I ordered it before January 1, so I haven't broken my vow not to buy yarn outside of a few major yarn events in 2018. It's going to be a Clara's Cape, one of Helen Stewart's Knitvent projects.

Today I went to an amazing LYS and walked out with nothing other than the 5 skeins of embroidery floss I needed. Go me! This LYS has truly beautiful yarn, I might add.

It was nice to have a three-day week for our first week back to school. This next one is a five-day week, which is going to seem very long! I have IEP meetings on Monday and Tuesday, and it will be nice getting them accomplished early in on.

Advent Isn't Just About Christmas

Being a Jewish girl, I tend to tune out Christmas projects such as Helen Stewart's Knitvent. But then I saw Deb's post about the Land of Sweets Cowl, and I fell in love. Not only is it a gorgeous knit, but it is perfect for stash-busting.

Here are the scrap yarns I'm starting with. I have no idea if they are going to be enough, but in a squeeze I could force myself to buy more yarn! There is yarn that is designed just for the cowl, if you don't feel like stash-busting.

So, with ANOTHER cast-on coming up, I felt obliged to pick up a WIP, and what is more perfect for the season than a wool hat? This one is Snawheid by Kate Davies, knit in KnitPicks Telemark, a yarn that sadly has been discontinued.

Telemark was similar to Jamieson & Smith that Davies calls for, but more affordable! It softens with use, so I love the stuff. But I am almost out of the supply I bought years ago.

It's a cold weekend here. But I'm not complaining. It is perfect weather for cleaning and baking. Then this afternoon, we are celebrating Thanksgiving with Keith's family. 

Oh, the weekends just fly by!