Advent Scarf

So I'm not really religious, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy things like an advent scarf counting down the days till Christmas with yummy knitting, right? I'm supposed to be on day 9, but I'm only halfway through with day 7 right now. I have had a few commissions I can't post about to take care of before working on the scarf.

First 4 Days

I'm doing my version with worsted weight scraps instead of fingering weight, which means I'm also doing fewer stitches per row and fewer pattern repeats. Even with this, I'm a little worried about how long it's going to end up being. I like long scarves, but this one might end up extra super long. All the better to wrap around myself, I suppose!

A Shawl and a Forthcoming Hat

I have clearly been a bad blogger. I've made several gorgeous things lately and shared none of them with you! Tsk. Right now I am in the process of having a hat test knit, and then I will be offering the pattern both here and on Ravelry. I have another two in the works, but they're not ready for prime time yet.

The hat comes in two sizes, but is very stretchy. Both of them actually fit me, and the larger one fits my fiance. I need to do a final photo shoot so I can have a few great pictures of the work, but here's a little preview.

I also finished a gorgeous new shawl out of a smooshy one ply yarn.

I will very shortly have a lovely holiday garland finished, just one more miniature mitten and a few more little Christmas trees. I want to get them done before Thanksgiving, because I always decorate the day after. No Black Friday for me, just Christmas carols, hot tea, and decorating!

Sock Club Update: First Socks Finished

I can't believe I never updated my first socks progress. I finished them a month ago!

I'm super in love with them. They're kind of loud and kid primary colors and I don't care. They're socks!

I pulled a second sock club the first of October, but I haven't made much progress on them.

They have a complicated chart that I am having trouble working through for some reason. I really love the finished product, but it doesn't seem to be quite enough motivation. I'm about halfway done with the first sock's cuff. Oops. I'm going to pull another sock at the beginning of November and hope that it's simple enough to get through in a month. I'll also continue to work on the in progress socks, and eventuallllllllly finish them.

Quilting!

I have been meaning to try to make a quilt, and I've finally decided to give it a whirl. I've got some fabric, a pattern, and I've cut out the squares I will need. I'm hoping to finish it by the end of the month, but we'll see.

September Washcloths

I have gotten out of the habit of blogging after the move, oops. In any case, here are some washcloths. Maybe I will have a real post sometime soon. I've been working on some bigger things, and I'm going to want to show them off when I'm done!

First Sock Club Pick!

I have picked out my first sock club bag. It was exciting! Although I did learn that my bags didn't stay closed very well. I might have to look into something that will keep them closed while also being reusable.

I swear I didn't peek though. I closed my eyes and hovered my hand around, circling over them until I dove down and picked....

A nice self striping yarn and the Vanilla Latte Socks pattern. It's a basic sock, but with a little twist. I'll be casting on soon and hopefully I can get these socks done before the end of the month!

Move Finished

I am finished moving, and more than halfway unpacked, yay! We had trouble with getting internet hooked up to the new apartment, but everything is finally working the way it is supposed to. I have done a lot of crafting in lieu of browsing the interwebs.

I am taking part in a sock club in which you pick patterns and yarn from stash that pair up, then place the matched pattern/yarn in a bag and pull one out randomly whenever (I'm going to try for a bag a month, this might be ambitious). I have set up 16 bags, one bag a month starting September and going through the end of 2014. I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't do one every month, but I'm currently really looking forward to it.

In anticipation, I finished up the pair of socks I had on the needles.

When I finished the socks, I didn't really want to work on any of the projects I had in progress, so I whipped out a quick, interestingly constructed scarf. Since it didn't take long, I figured out a hat to match.

While reconnecting with hometown friends, I saw a big sign proclaiming "YARN" and I couldn't resist a visit. I discovered two sock yarns I've never tried before but heard a lot about (TOFUtsies and Cascade Heritage). I got one variegated and one solid and they'll be going into sock club bags for a nice surprise someday. I also picked up 2 skeins of worsted weight in a new brand (Dark Horse Yarn's Fantasy) for hats at my fiance's insistence.

It's a mosaic pattern (unblocked in this picture, forgive it's slightly squinched stitches!) in purple and teal to celebrate the return of the Charlotte Hornets. I almost certainly have enough to do a second colorwork hat with reversed main/contrast colors. He's picked a second pattern out, and it's in the works.

After all that worsted/aran weight yarn I went searching for something else in my next project and stumbled upon a test knit for ... A pair of socks! I know I'm supposed to start the sock club in just a few short weeks, but I couldn't resist volunteering. I think they're coming out wonderfully, and I'm kind of in love with the designer's published designs (I have no affiliation with the designer beyond testing a pattern for free). I might let myself rearrange a bag or two to accommodate a new sock pattern purchase.

Half Square Triangles

I am really excited about a new project I've been working on. I'm quite enamored of half square triangle quilts, but I wanted something squishy and knit instead. SO. I pulled out some yarn and made some swatches, and finally came up with a construction method I was happy with. I've picked out some lovely colors for the real blanket, and I'm getting started!

When they're halfway done, they look a little like bunting. Especially when I do them two at a time! I was too lazy to get the other two colors out, so I did another two before finishing them all up, and this is what they look like when done.

Please excuse the strings, I'm too excited about the knitting part to have sewn in any ends yet. I haven't decided exactly what pattern to put them in yet, but I kinda like these little diamonds.

Or perhaps I can go with a pretty little chevron styling? I just noticed that the leftmost white square is reversed, oops!

So far I have 10 to play around with. I'm making a baby blanket size, so I'll need a total of 144. Looks like I I have some work ahead of me!

Barbara Walker Treasury Project

Over the past two months I've been making my way through a set of 9 dishcloths from Barbara Walker stitch patterns. I got to choose how many to cast on, and how long to knit. I also got to choose the edging myself. I have come up with 9 super neat washcloths!

The yellow and black one is specifically for Chatham, since I had to make it quite large for the pattern to show up. My favorite is the green and pink one, surprisingly. It's kind of difficult to look at, but something about the colors and the cute little pattern makes me love it.

Several of the patterns would make interesting borders or patterns within a larger project. A few are absolutely great for dishcloths. One (the purple and white one) is particularly NOT suited for a washcloth and I'm not sure what to do with it.

Somewhat related, I made a wee little scrubby to go with all of the dishcloths, and I think I might have to make some more. Perhaps in an orange...

...So it would be a goldfish!

Going Granny

I have a secret. I've been eyeing granny square blankets with envy lately. I've even added a book full of the squares to my Amazon wishlist. I even made a few little squares on the way home from apartment hunting in another city.

I made one in every color combination just to see what they would look like. I think it needs something more, though, so I threw in a teal.

I also think I'm going to add a light grey too. I almost feel like I might need a warm color too, just for variety's sake. Maybe a yellow. I haven't decided yet.

Weaving Success!

So I finished my scarf, and it looks fabulous. I warped it one night, and finished it by the next afternoon. I love knitting, but sometimes scarves get really boring. I'm currently convinced this is the perfect way to make scarves. Still lovely and yarn filled but gives me a quick break from knitting.

Pretty sure this shot would be the perfect artsy picture if I'd just straightened out the wrinkles. Alas, I'm the moron behind the camera and not someone better.

I also made a pair of baby booties from leftovers. I sewed them up the same way and didn't feel like taking it out, so then I made two more and sewed them up the other way. They cried out for embellishment, so I pulled out a crochet hook and tried two different edgings.

Personally, I like the bulkier ruffled edge better, but the smaller picot is cute too. I couldn't stop at just the booties since I still had partial skeins of both teal and white left.

So I made a hat. With the cutest freaking pom pom ever. I love this hat so much I don't want to give it away even though it's only toddler sized at best.

Bi Craftual

Tonight I broke out my little loom and warped an easy scarf. Since this is the very beginning, there's a bit of paper and waste yarn that you should definitely ignore at the bottom.

It's going pretty well. So much faster than knitting stitch by stitch, and exactly what I needed.

Hopefully my tension when I beat the threads will get more even. Right now it's okay, but they're not even enough. The ends are especially tricky to get right.

Batch O' Hats

I have another group of hats ready to go. This time they're headed to a local charity, Johnson County Christmas Bureau. JCCB serves more than 12,000 people every year, giving them access to coats, scarves, mittens, hats, personal care items, and other necessities. They're having a Christmas in July event that I'm going to try to attend. It is very close to when we move away and we haven't planned everything out yet, but if I have to miss it I will just have to drop them in a donation bin around town.

This time I used a pound of yarn, but wanted to break up the monotony, so I used some pretty blue leftovers to make a hat as well. Also going is a crocheted hat I found that I made a couple of years ago and have never worn. I thought it might like to find a home where its cute little stripes see the light of day every once in a while.

Self Striping Yarn is Supposed to Be Easy

I finished the first sock in my current pair. I had to rewind the ball upon reaching a knot to figure out where to start to maintain my striping pattern. Unfortunately, I discovered that there was a relatively short run before another knot, which started in a completely different place AND was running backwards. SO. I wound the whole thing into a new center pull ball, marking the color changes as I went. Turns out, there weren't enough stripe sequence repeats for me to make a matching pair of socks, so I had to just start at the outside of my new ball and work, hoping not to hit the point where I know I need to start my second sock for the cuffs to match (I didn't). I'm disappointed they won't match. On the other hand, I finished the first sock.

The second sock's cuff will (hopefully) be the same. The toe part will be different. I really love the pattern of these socks. It's subtle enough that it doesn't fight with the self striping, but interesting enough that it's not incredibly boring to knit.

Oh, and remember that cowl I mentioned casting on the other day? I finished it too.

I wasn't planning on using this color pattern, but I just so happened to use a scrap of the icy blue yarn as my provisional cast on. I liked it so much, I decided to use more of the blue leftovers for the edging. I was worried I'd run out, but it reached with just a few yards to spare. I love the dropped stitches and I kinda want to find more patterns that take advantage of them.

Rut

I am in a knitting rut. I realized how long it's been since I updated the blog, and then realized I don't really have any new finished objects to show you. Well, that's not entirely true.

I test knit this pair of Simply Lovely Mittens. That is the only thing I have finished since I last updated my blog. I knit them in a single night, and took the pictures the next day. They're cute, but they're minuscule considering how much time has passed since my last entry.

Of course, that doesn't mean I haven't been knitting. I've worked on a scarf (and may have just cast on a cowl this evening....), and a hat. I also have a sock that I started for a vacation.

I reached a knot in the ball of self striping yarn, and I'm trying to decide if I want to just continue knitting with the joined piece, or if I should try to get back to where I am in the color repeat. I'm afraid that if I do the latter I won't have enough yarn for the second sock. Of course, I could always use the part I cut out for the toe, but then I'd be going through a lot of extra effort for socks that don't end up matching anyway.

I'm so close to the toe and I know I should just make a decision, but it's tough. I'm annoyed that I have a knot in a ball of self striping yarn, though I know it's considered acceptable by the manufacturer. I suppose the first step would be figuring out where in the color repeat the tie on is...and then weighing the remaining yarn and how much I'd have to cut out t see if I have enough for a second sock...plus the cut out yarn wouldn't be wasted because I could make hexipuffs...I am beginning to come up with a plan.

Black Death Shawl

I have made myself a shawl. I've never made a shawl for myself before, and I kinda love it. Picspam to follow. First I steam blocked it. I didn't do it too harshly, and one of the corners looks like it will need some more steam but it's totally wearable!

Pattern here.

I can of course wear it "grandma style," which I rather like. Would probably be the warmest way to wear it, even if it's not fashionable.

Of course I had to get one of these shots, since everyone seems to have one. I really like the way it looks stretched out, and I'm considering reblocking it a little more harshly. On the other hand, it's already squooshy and lovely.

Apparently this is the fashionable way to wear triangular shawls nowadays. Point is in front and to one side. I like it, and this is probably how I'll wear it most of the time. On the other hand, it really emphasizes...half of my chest. Which I giggled at when I saw this picture. Chatham didn't warn me, of course.

Then again, Chatham also thinks I should wear it like this to keep my head warm. I don't have a picture of the back, but I'm pretty sure it looks ridiculous, and wasn't really keeping my neck warm, which I think is the point of a shawl.

A final glam shot on the railing. The light coming through the shawl makes the subtle lace really stand out.

I think it is just absolutely fabulous and can't wait for it to be cold again so I can wear it.

Colorwork

I've been really into colorwork for the last two weeks. First, I made a few dishcloths for the Walker Treasury Project. I have a few more planned too, and I already have a load of dishcloths but I'm not sure you can have enough! I like swapping them out after one use, so the more the merrier.

Stripe and Rib Pattern

They are bot slip stitch patterns, so they're not too difficult. I like both of them, though the red and white pattern involved a lot of slipping stitches from one side of the needles to the other for it's colorwork. If I were going to do it again, I would definitely leave off the garter border and knit only the colorwork portion. After casting off, I'd add some sort of crocheted border to keep it laying flat.

Four Stitch Check Pattern

I also got a book full of hat patterns for my birthday, and pulled out three colors from my most recent 5 lb yarn acquisition to whip up a hat.

It was supposed to be long and slouchy. So far I've only achieved the long part. I'm going to try stretching it over a plate or bowl in an attempt to make it slouchier. I like it as is, but I might look a little bit like a conehead. I'm not sure I can pull it off, so I'm hoping for some slouch!

I like the look of the corrugated ribbing, but it is definitely not as stretchy as regular ribbing and I'm not sure I love it for hats. I also really like the snowflake motif. I'm considering using it in something else too. Perhaps some sort of matching cowl or scarf? Only time will tell!

Stash Addition =)

As a reward for organizing my stash of yarn, I decided to try buying a lot of mixed yarns on Ebay. A 5 pound lot of yarn that is all from before my time, in fact.

Cortez thought it was the most interesting thing in the world. She spent the next 30 minutes going all the way around it. The pink one was especially smelly, apparently, because she sniffed both sides of it and made her silly 'too smelly' face. Yuki didn't care.

But then! Then I did something too interesting for even her to resist. I put it outside to air out a little.

They both agreed that the green skein they're sniffing there is super smelly too. I can't really smell much beyond that the yarn was kept in a cardboard box for a little too long, but I thought it might benefit from some time in the open air anyway. It's all acrylic, as far as I can tell, and it's cloudy outside so I'm not worried about fading. What I am a little worried about is matching those smaller amounts with another yarn to make a hat out of. A few of them I can fit well enough to make something I think is attractive enough to be donated, and I'm sure I can find something to do with the rest of them.

Maybe I'll make some slippers, like I did for a cousin. She said they keep her feet very warm. Yay!

With some leftovers, I made a headband and cowl. I still have a little of each left, so they might show up in future hats.

Pattern: Calorimetry.

Pattern: Heather Weave Moebius Scarf.