Monday, May 4, 2015

Project 365: Week 17


April 23 ~ Pasta e Fagioli
April 24 ~ Daughter's 10th birthday party
April 25 ~ Husband's birthday breakfast
April 26 ~ Mural from a local restaurant
April 27 ~ Kale salad
April 28 ~ Purple flowers
April 29 ~ Vanilla Bean socks

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Twisted Ribbed Neckwarmer

All of us knitters have vacation yarn - those skeins we buy while on vacation as a memento.  I really try to focus on local dyers when shopping for vacation yarn - picking up something that I can't find anywhere else.  This beautiful Pink Carrots yarn was bought in the town of Ketchikan while taking an Alaskan cruise for our 10th wedding anniversary.  It was time to use the yarn since we are celebrating 16 years of marriage this week. 

 

My daughter is still into bright colors and requested a long infinity cowl with the yarn.  She turns 10 very soon and it seemed like a good reason to knit something for her. 


I decided on the Twisted Ribber Neckwarmer pattern.  I did change up the stitch pattern based on another knitter's notes - my changes are on my Ravelry project page.


Even though her birthday is next week, she wore it to school today with a bright yellow shirt - only she can pull off those colors.  I found the red color so difficult to photograph; the yarn is definitely is more red than pink.







Monday, April 27, 2015

Project 365: Week 16

April 16 ~ Heading out to see Les Miserables
April 17 ~ Climbing up to the disc golf target
April 18 ~ Daughter going to the goal
April 19 ~ Start of Chicken Noodle Soup
April 20 ~ Close up of daughter
April 21 ~ Flowers to brighten the house

Monday, April 20, 2015

Project 365: Week 15


April 9 ~ Learning loom knitting
April 10 ~ First buds on shrub
April 11 ~ Weeds starting to "bloom"
April 12 ~ Spring afternoon silhouette
April 13 ~ Casu Cowl
April 14 ~ Cornbread
April 15 ~ Small bird chasing a turkey vulture

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Primavera Socks

I have a love/hate relationship with Kroy sock yarn.  I don't enjoy knitting with it since it tends to be splitty and hairy.  

Also, the Kroy FX line can have skeins look completely different when knit up even though they are in the same dye lot.  


However, I love the finished socks.  They are always so cozy and feel like they will last forever.  The Kroy yarn is also very affordable and easily available in local craft stores.


This colorway (Discontinued - Clay Colors) was not the most exciting to see develop when knitting, but I now see that they will look great with every pair of jeans I wear.

The pattern, Primavera Socks, is very easy to follow and memorize.  I did mess up when I shifted the pattern a few stitches over in the beginning - didn't center it on the top of the foot when starting the heel flap.  I decided to embrace this mistake and repeat it on the second sock - I even mirrored my mistake.  I doubt anyone will notice or even care!







Thursday, April 9, 2015

Project 365: Week 14



April 2 ~ Oldest bust of George Washington
April 3 ~ Window at Library of Congress
April 4 ~ Pebbles from walk at lake
April 5 ~ Egg dyeing on Easter
April 6 ~ Primavera Socks
April 7 ~ Painted nails for daughter
April 8 ~ Black and white photo of son

Monday, April 6, 2015

Project 365: Week 13


March 26 ~ Podcaster Cowl
March 27 ~ Washington Monument at sunset
March 28 ~ Chandelier in the U.S. Capitol
March 29 ~ White House
March 30 ~ Natural History Museum (Smithsonian)
March 31 ~ WW2 Memorial 
April 1 ~ Holocaust Museum

Friday, March 27, 2015

Podcaster cowl

I'll be seeing my in-laws this weekend and decided a few days ago to knit something for my mother-in-law.  I decided to use some Patons DK Superwash in Magenta that I had in the stash.  Perfect choice since she likes bright colors. 


I also thought she would get use out of a cowl and decided that the Podcaster Cowl would be perfect for my yardage.  My goal was to get two total repeats of the chart, which I did with a little bit of yarn to spare.


The first repeat of the leaf design was a little time consuming, but then I figured out the pattern and cruised along.  It is a very intuitive chart, but only if you can read your knitting.   The cowl was initially pretty close to the neck, but it blocked larger and with a lovely drape.

  
Susan Ashcroft, the designer of this pattern, has many other cowl patterns that look beautiful.  Many of them are on my must knit list - just need more knitting time! 

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Project 365: Week 12


March 19 ~ Glass flower
March 20 ~ Knitting break
March 21 ~ About to cook Walkabout Tacos for scouts
March 22 ~ Ripe strawberries
March 23 ~ Snowy spring day out my front door
March 24 ~ Picking out yarn for road trip 
March 25 ~ Invasion of the geese

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Project 365: Week 11


March 12 ~ Gerber daisy
March 13 ~ First bike ride of the year
March 14 ~ Favorite snack
March 15 ~ Out of control sock yarn stash (over 150 skeins)
March 16 ~ Evening walk after warm March day
March 17 ~ St. Patrick's Day 
March 18 ~ Relax, Man!

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Relax, Man!

My husband doesn't really ask me to knit him anything.  Every so often, he tells me he wouldn't mind a running hat in a dark and neutral color.  So boring.  In his mind, only dark brown, dark blue, dark gray, or black are the possible choices.  I bought some yarn during a Cyber Monday sale last year that I decided would be marked for his hat and it wasn't at all boring.



The yarn is Hawthorne by Knitpicks in the St. Johns colorway.  The yarn felt a little dry while I was knitting, but it softened after a soak.  Maybe some of the dryness I felt was just the tight twist.  I wanted to knit a masculine hat that wasn't straight stockinette or ribbing.  I stumbled across the Relax, Man pattern and it was perfect - it calls for sport weight yarn, but the fingering yarn worked fine.


I did use smaller needles than called for and did not make the hat as slouchy.  It looks quite slouchy on my son in the photos, but it fits my husband just slightly looser than a beanie style hat.



As for yarn buying, I have stuck to my goal of knitting more yards than what I buy.  I bought my first skein of yarn this year when I was at a knitting retreat last week.  What yarn grabbed my attention enough for me to add it to the slowly dwindling stash?  



This is Trekking XXL in the Kunterbunt colorway.  I also came home with some beautiful Quince and Co. Finch in Belize that was a gift in the goody bag from the retreat.  



Thursday, March 12, 2015

Project 365: Week 10


March 5 ~Sunset off the deck
March 6 ~ Attempting to launch a rocket
March 7 ~ Daughter in Hard Knock Life
March 8 ~ Son finishing my birthday cake
March 9 ~ Daughter's flowers from Annie performance
March 10 ~ Birthday roses from a friend
March 11 ~ Melting Fox River

Friday, March 6, 2015

Project 365: Week 9



February 26 ~Blueberry muffins
February 27 ~ Self portrait in black & white
February 28 ~ Dried floral arrangement
March 1 ~ Whimsy Kerchief for orphan costume
March 2 ~ Son building a rocket for a merit badge
March 3 ~ Iced over window
March 4 ~ Winter sunset

Monday, March 2, 2015

Tube Socks & Whimsy Kerchief

My 9 year old daughter is loving hand knits lately.  So, I guess it is no surprise that my last two projects have been for her - I selfishly love the attention and interest she throws my way when I am furiously knitting away.


First up are some tube socks knit out of Happy Hands Yarn Toe Jamz .  I bought this yarn many years ago at my first fiber festival.  My mom tagged along with me and helped me select the color.  Once I got home, the blue just seemed too bright for me.  However, my daughter loved the bright blue when I recently pulled this yarn out of its spot deep in the stash.


I have knit socks for the kids before, but they outgrow the socks before pills barely appear.  Hopefully, these tube socks will fit her for many years and they will be retired because they are worn out - not too small.


In addition, I decided to knit my daughter a Whimsy Kerchief as part of a costume.  She is in a production of Annie next week that requires her to look prim & proper for one role and messy & drab (orphan) for another role.


We thought tying a kerchief on her head would be a good solution when having to look the part of an orphan.  The yarn used is Paton's Classic Merino in Plum Heather  I think this kerchief would look even better knit in a brighter color and a cotton blend for the summer time.
  

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Project 365: Week 8


February 19 ~ Chicago Mix popcorn
February 20 ~ Red cowboy boots
February 21 ~ Textures in table arrangement
February 22 ~ Vegetables to be roasted
February 23 ~ Historic schoolhouse
February 24 ~ Tube socks
February 25 ~ Entrance to a barn


Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Project 365: Week 7




February 12 ~ The Who's Tommy
February 13 ~ Hexagone Cowl
February 14 ~ Prep for homemade sushi
February 15 ~ Rose (artificial)
February 16 ~ Daughter's first knitting lesson
February 17 ~ Red branches among snow
February 18 ~ Roasted Tomatoes with fresh basil


Saturday, February 14, 2015

Hexagone Cowl

Many years ago, I bought a lonely skein of variegated Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport.  I was a fairly new knitter, but quickly realized it wasn't enough yardage to use by itself.  Soon after, I bought another skein in black with the hopes of knitting a fair isle project.



Honestly, fair isle is just not my favorite thing to knit and those two skeins keep getting pushed to the bottom of the yarn bin.  When I stumbled across the Hexagone Cowl, I knew it was perfect for this deeply stashed yarn.  




The pattern is very easy to memorize and brilliantly breaks up any potential pooling.  


I also tried a new to me cast off.  You just knit 2 stitches through the back loop and transfer that stitch from the right needle back to the left needle.  Repeat from knit 2 through the back loop.  It didn't seem that stretchy at first, but it really is just as stretchy as my cast on.  


These colors aren't what I typically wear, but the black tones them down and make it more attractive to me.
  



Next on the needles is some sock yarn I bought years ago.  I love the bright electric blue, but was never excited about wearing it.  My daughter pounced on the yarn when I pulled it out the other day.  Perfect!  She will be getting some bright blue socks soon.





Thursday, February 12, 2015

Project 365: Week 6



February 5 ~ Veggies for soup
February 6 ~ Chocolate truffles
February 7 ~ A potting shed
February 8 ~ Church window
February 9 ~ Son studying for photography merit badge
February 10 ~ Winding yarn
February 11 ~ Barn in the middle of malls and traffic lights

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Project 365: Week 5



January 29 ~ Declan's Hat
January 30 ~ Buildings from a riding club
January 31 ~ Picking off cilantro leaves
February 1 ~ Bundled up go into the blizzard
February 2 ~ Making pancakes
February 3 ~ First pair of glasses
February 4 ~ New pack of gel pens

Friday, January 30, 2015

Declan's Hat

Last November, I knit a hat for my son using yarn I didn't enjoy.  It was acrylic, but I had knit with the yarn before and liked it.  Not so much this time.  So, when my son lost his hat in school after a couple of months, I wasn't completely upset.

Old Hat - Lost Forever

I decided to just go back to the old standby of Cascade 220 wool for the new hat and he picked out the same color blue as the hat he lost.  I gave him a few options for patterns and he chose Declan's hat.



I searched for a cast-on that looked like it would flow into the 2x2 ribbing and found the Alternate cable cast-on tutorial from Woolly Wormhead.  




Other knitters noted the hat runs large, so I knit him the small on size 5 needles.  The hat fits his 12 year old head perfect and my head as well.  I also started crown decreases after the cable ended in order to provide a little more depth.


As for other knitting, I dug out my Rambling Rows Blanket last week and figured out that I had completed 15 out of 55 blocks when I put it in hibernation last spring.  The hardest part to starting again was just refreshing my mind on what decreases are used in the mitred blocks.  I cast on for a small square and I fell back in love with the back and forth of garter stitch with easy decreases.  I am 4 blocks further along and even decided to go back and weave in some old ends.  My goal is still to finish before Christmas of this year.