2019 Knits and New Year's Day Cast On

Before we go much more into this year, and I have it in my brain, I thought I would share what I knit during 2019:

When I first made this mosaic, I was a little disappointed that I had not done more over the past year.  Then I realized that until the end of March, I couldn't knit at all, due to my broken wrist.  Then when I was allowed to knit, it wasn't for very long or to do very much.  When I gave that some thought, I decided that I actually did pretty well!  (Because of course if I had been able to knit the whole time, I'm sure I would have completed 12 pairs of socks for my Box o' Socks, and made about 50 other things, right???)

In any case, I'm pleased with what I accomplished.  I hope to do a little bit better this year, at least I hope I can do more socks, and maybe complete the 12 pairs!  Also - please note that I did actually complete TWO SWEATERS - a big thing for me.  Yes, I know there are people who make tons of sweaters, but I'm still relatively new to sweater knitting, so getting two of them knitted makes me really happy.  :-)

******

Did you do a Christmas Eve cast on?  I never have, mostly because I'm usually busy all day and evening on Christmas Eve, and don't want to take the time to stop and cast on a project.  Instead, I decided to do a New Year's Day cast on, so that I could begin the year with something new.

I don't know if you remember, but in 2018, I had saved up to purchase a yarn Advent calendar.  Of course, I had no idea that I would not be able to use the yarn right away, though again, I'm busy during Christmastime and would likely not have been able to open the yarn, wind it, and knit on a project for the 24 days leading up to Christmas Day.  Anyway, the broken wrist meant it wasn't happening no matter what.  I had decided a few weeks ago that last year's Advent calendar was going to be used for my New Year's Day cast on.  So I started winding the mini-skeins, and then on Wednesday, got started.  I chose the ADVENTurous Wrap by Ambah O'Brien for my project.

What a fun, addictive pattern!  This is what I had after only a few hours:

It's one of those "let me just do one more color" things, and the only frustrating thing for me was that I could not find the #5 mini-skein (the last color on the top), so I just substituted something I already had.  I also worked on it yesterday, and here you can see that I've made even more progress:

This weekend I plan to wind all of the rest of the skeins so that I don't have to interrupt any future activity because I've knit all that were ready so far.

Right now, my only other project I have going is the pair of Christmas socks I was making for myself.  I was on the foot of sock #1, and realized I'd made a major mistake that I just couldn't live with, so I ripped out everything up to the patterned part, and started again.  I'm now a bit further than I was before, so I'm moving along.  I'm going to have them be my first pair for my 2020 Box o' Socks.  I know in the "official" KAL, you can't start with a WIP, but since I'm on my own, I can do it my way.

I'm really happy with how my 2020 knitting projects are starting, and hope this is a sign that whatever else I work on this year will be a good project.

Have a good weekend!

Tee Top Tuesday - An FO Post

Happy Tuesday all!  I'm here with an FO post of something you have heard me talk about for months.  My Pabaigh top is finally finished!!

[crowd goes wild]

Yes, I managed to finish it last Tuesday night, then it took me a while to weave in the ends (so many ends, due to the balls of yarn not having a lot of yardage).  I soaked it and blocked it on Friday, and it was finally dry by Sunday night.  

Here is a terrible selfie I took yesterday morning to give you an idea of how it looks.

Project:  Red and Tweedy

Pattern:  Pabaigh, by Kate Davies Designs

Yarn:  Milarrochy Tweed, in the colorway Cranachan

Needles:  US size 2 and 3

Modifications:  I made the body and the sleeves much longer than called for in the pattern (really, I did!), and made the funnel neck 3 inches shorter than called for in the pattern.

Notes:  This was not a difficult knit, but it took me longer than it should have for a couple of reasons - one, I ran out of yarn and then the extra yarn I ordered never arrived, so I ordered it again, and then of course it all arrived; two, I stopped to knit some Christmas gifts while waiting for the yarn to arrive, and wanted to finish them before going back to this project, since it was for me and had no real deadline.

The Milarrochy Tweed is a nice yarn, however, you have to be careful when you knit with it - when you say, get to the beginning of a round, and want to pull the yarn to make sure things tighten up, it can break.  That's largely because it is a thick-and-thin yarn, and a couple of times I didn't pay attention and tried to tighten things up when it was at a thin part.  Other than that, it's lovely yarn and I can tell you it makes a warm tee top - I wore this to work yesterday with a cotton turtleneck underneath and was plenty toasty!

I am not generally a fan of cropped sweaters - frankly I will be happy when the current trend for them is over.  But this hits me at my hip which is OK, so it's not as cropped as it could be; and since it's a layering piece, that also helps.  I think it will be especially nice to wear over a shirt with a pair of jeans, since it is definitely pretty casual.  I was determined to wear it yesterday to work though and it looked fine with a nicer pair of slacks.

Yesterday morning, I asked The Tim to take a photo for me for the blog and for my project page.  After a HUGE SIGH (he is SO put upon, WHY do I ask him to do things???  Please keep him in your prayers, people!), he took this one, where I look slightly crazed.  But if you know my history with The Tim and project photos, you know this was as good as it was gonna get.  His only comment (having been FORCED to do this) was, "It looks nice.  But the picture will be red against red, good choice."  Being that it is Christmastime and he is a bigger PITA in the mornings than the rest of the day, I just smiled and said, "Thanks for doing this."  (But I will admit I mentally slapped him.)

I'm glad this is finished, and I have to say it is a pretty easy pattern which would likely go quickly if you didn't have yarn issues and then get interuppted with gift knitting.

And if you knit this, PLEASE don't ask The Tim to take a photo of the finished item, he is apparently *very* busy with other things ... ;-)

Saturday FO: The Last of the Official Gift Knits

I am feeling very proud of myself - last weekend, I finished the last of the "official" gift knits for this year.  What, you may ask is an "official" gift knit?  Well, that is a gift knit that you planned in advance for a specific date - in this case, Christmas - and finished and is ready to gift.

Here they are - finished, with all of the ends woven in as of Sunday, November 24, which I might point out is a full month before they needed to be ready.  This is a new record for me.  Granted, in the past, I have put aside knitting for The Tim until the very last minute, so finishing and weaving in ends late on Christmas Eve and then hurrying to wrap the gift has in fact happened.

But not this year.

Project:  Christmas Vacation Socks
Pattern:  Generic Vanilla Sock pattern in my brain
Needles:  US size 1
Yarn:  Desert Vista Dyeworks Viso, in the "Oh Clark!" colorway
Modifications:  Nope.
Notes:  As I mentioned here once before, our family has a ridiculous and wonderful connection to the National Lampoon movies, especially the Christmas Vacation one.  So when I saw the name of this colorway, I decided to break my no-buy and get the yarn to make socks for The Tim.  These were fun to knit, watching the stripes and speckles show up.  They went quickly since there was no real pattern to concentrate on, so I was able to work on them while watching TV, or listening to music, watching a podcast, etc.  I also worked on these while The Tim was around, and I am 99% sure that he will nonetheless be compeletely surprised with them on Christmas morning.  :-)

The only concern I have is that this yarn seems like it might not be too sturdy.  I hope I'm wrong, but I just got that feeling while I was knitting.  It didn't give me problems while knitting, it just didn't feel like a lot of other sock yarns.  We'll see.

Now, my big decision is whether or not I want to start any other quick projects and still call them potential gifts.  I am seriously considering starting something and not calling it a gift, or calling it a gift for myself.  We'll see.  I also want to cast on 1,000 things, so I just really need to narrow it all down and start something and just enjoy the knitting.  That's the whole reason for doing it in the first place anway, right?

Last Gift Pair - an FO Post

OK, so it's just a matter of time until something happens that will either a) make me look like a fool, or b) kick me in the butt.   Why, you ask?  Because I am feeling pretty darn pleased with myself.  Over the weekend, I finished the last pair of socks that need to be sent as Christmas gifts.  

Project:  Zach's House Socks
Pattern:  Vanilla sock pattern, with bands of color added
Needles:  US size 5
Yarn:  Encore Worsted, in the colorways, Red, Navy, and Denim
Modifications:  I made the "fancy" navy pops have a serrated ridge by doing them in slip stitches for the first round of the color change.
Notes:  My niece told me that Zach is particularly fond of reds and blues.  Since I had the most red yarn, I decided that would be the main color.  Haha, said Fate.  I ran out of the red right before the last couple of rows before the blue bands near the toes!  Nothing like having to order more yarn for a scrap project, right? 

But they are finished, and I hope he'll like them and that they will fit.  In any case, all of the knitted gifts for people other than The Tim are now finished, so I'm happily ahead of things that way.

How are you coming along with knitted gifts (if you are in fact knitting any gifts at all)?

Return to Crazytown - an FO!

I am happy to report to you that I finished the hat I'd started for The Tim.  I wove in the last of the ends right around noon yesterday.  I cannot show you a blocked/blocking photo, because there is nowhere in our house where a damp or wet hat blocking on the exercise ball would not be seen (OK,there are places, but then it would likely never get dry ...) , and since this is a gift, I want it to remain a surprise.  Hopefully once it is gifted later this month, I can get a better photo of it for you.

Project:  Tim's Crazytown Hat

Pattern:  based on the Olmsted Hat, by Jaclyn Salem

Yarn:  Stonehedge Fiber Mill Crazy leftovers from this project,  no colorways listed

Needle:  US size 4

Modifcations:  Unintentional.  I had to cast on and start the first two rows about six times.  I think when I finally got it to work, I just started in without taking a look at the pattern again.  As a result, I didn't notice until I was getting ready to work on the crown that I had just kept ribbing along, which was not really what I should have been doing.  But I liked how it looked, and wasn't about to rip out everything and start over.  So I left it alone, and followed the pattern exactly only for the crown stitches.

Comments:  This was such a fun, quick knit, even with using three different balls of yarn!  I tried it on when it was finished, because it looked a bit small.  However, it fit my large head just fine, so I know it will be OK.  Plus, it's nice to have it finished well ahead of his birthday.  Here's a photo I took attempting to show the crown, but unfortunately, you can't really see the detail:

But no worries, I think it all looks fine, and hopefully The Tim will think it's a nice warm cozy hat.  :-)

No Tiny Needle, But a [Kinda] Tiny FO!

I don't have a single stitching project going at the moment, so I have nothing to show there.  I have a couple of things I want to get started, but I've been busy with gift knitting, and just haven't picked up any other projects.  Probably since they would be for me, and once my gift knitting is finished, I can do any project I like without a deadline!

BUT ...

I do have a small knitting FO to share, so let's do that.

I finished another pair of gift socks:

Project:  Penn's Christmas Socks
Pattern:  Rye by TinCanKnits
Yarn:  Plymouth Encore Worsted, in the Candy Cane colorway (red-white), and Christmas Green colorway
Needles:  US size 3 and 5
Modifications:  None
Comments:  Another fun, Christmas-themed knit gift ready to go.  If you have not yet tried the Rye pattern, give it a shot.  It's the perfect combination for knitting while chatting, watching a movie, or listening to music or a podcast (I guess it's good for knitting while reading, but I have not mastered that).  The cuffs are ribbed, and most of the sock is stockinette, with just enough that is not to keep it from becoming a slog.

As I mentioned when I was showing you her brother Oden's Christmas Socks, I don't think these will be Penn's favorite Christmas gift, but I know her parents will be pleased that each kiddo received a pair, and I know they will keep her feet warm, so when you are talking about young children, that's not a bad result.  :-)

*****

I started on my great-nephew Zach's pair of house slippers/socks yesterday.  They will just be plain vanilla socks, in red and blues, since his mother said he likes those colors.  Since he is older with bigger feet, that's fine with me!  I will be using worsted weight yarn again, so they should still go pretty quickly.  I've also been zipping along with the hat I was knitting for The Tim, and am getting ready to start socks for him, so my gift knitting is going along quite nicely.

How are your projects - gifts or not - coming along??

Small. Quick. Cheery. Gift. FO = A Winner!

So, it IS Friday, but a long one for me.  Nonetheless, when I leave here tonight, I won't have to return until next week, and that's keeping me going.  Plus, I'm looking forward to my Going to Rhinebeck By Staying Home weekend.

But today you get my latest finished project.  This was a fast one, and very easy, but enjoyable nonetheless, and it ticks off one of the things on my gift list for Christmas.

Project:  Oden's Christmas Socks

Pattern:  Rye, by Tin Can Knits, Toddler size

Needles:  US 3 and US 5

Yarn:  Plymouth Yarn Encore Worsted, colorway 1386 (Christmas Red), and 1004 (Peppermint)

Modifications:  Only making the cuffs and toes in a different color than the rest of the sock.

Notes:  This was a fun and quick knit for my great-nephew Oden - a small project, thicker yarn than sock yarn, happy and cheery colors, and a gift.  They may be a bit big for him, but better bigger than too small.  I have no illusions that these will be his favorite gift, but I do think they will keep his feet warm.  

I started and finished these in the period of eight days, and it only took me that long because for five of those days, I didn't get a chance to knit at all!  Seriously, you could finish both socks in a day if you just spent the time knitting.  This is also a really nice pattern, well-written and easily understandable, with lots of good illustrations where needed.  On top of which, it's free, so why aren't you using it to make many pairs of socks???  I know that once my gift knitting is complete, I'm making a pair for myself.  :-)

I hope everyone has a good weekend - see you next week!

Starting With a Finish

Hello and Happy First Day of Fall (even if summer weather is still horning in)!  Yes, I am annoyed that the fall weather we had last week turned back into summer weather, BUT - I know that as we go forward, fall will really happen, and the weather and temperatures will be those that make me both comfortable and happier.  (Unlike summer, where I know it will only get hotter before it's time to cool off.)

Anyway, I hope all of you had a good weekend, or at a minimum, not a terrible one.  Mine started out OK, but got derailed yesterday and I never caught up with myself.  At least it was on a Sunday and didn't put the whole weekend out of sync!

The good news is, I have a finish to show you - YAY!  

Project:  Grey Tabby Socks
Pattern:  Heel Toe Do Si Do, from Crazy Sock Lady Designs
Yarn:  Ancient Arts Fibre Crafts 100% Superwash BFL Wool 4-Ply Fingering Sock in the Grey Tabby colorway (part of their Meow Collection)
Needles:  US size 1
Modifications:  I did a normal 2 x 2 rib at the top, rather than the twisted rib indicated in the pattern.
Comments:  This was such a fun knit, the pattern just zooms along!  You can't tell in this photo, but the front of the sock ends up with a chevron-type look, and it's easy enough to remember that after the first few 2-row repeats, you've got it in your head.  I probably could have finished these sooner, but I took some time to [obsessively] finish my counted cross-stitch project.  I've never knit one of the Crazy Sock Lady's patterns before, but if they are as well done/written as this one, she has her sh*t together, I must say.

The yarn is from my stash, which pleases me, and it is has a cozy feel to it as you are knitting.  It moves along well in your hands, and doesn't get tangled on itself along the way.

These will be for me, and now that they are finished, it's time to get started on some gift knitting.  I don't have a lot planned, but I want to get it underway so I'm not doing anything at the very last minute.

Finally, RIP to my Edie sweater, at least for now.  I took it over to Loop yesterday, when they were offering a help session.  Besides the issues that started the whole thing out, the person there pointed out to me that the friend who made a temporary fix (said friend said she had "triaged" it), had actually done something that meant that the sleeve that was the problem had about 20 extra stitches on the needle, so regardless of what could/could not be figured out, the sleeves would not match at all.  I went home and frogged it, which on the one hand was dismaying, but on the other hand was OK because since it's linen, I won't even think of re-knitting it until next spring/early summer, when it will all feel new again.  And at least in theory, since I have already knit the body, it should all go more quickly.  I wouldn't even consider this except that I really want this knit, and it was an enjoyable project.

And that's it for today.  I hope all of you have a good week, and that none of your projects have to be frogged for any reason.  :-)

And Here You Go, a Friday FO!

Friday is upon us, and after this week, it is even more than usually welcome.  Plus, today I have an FO to share with you - seems like it's been a while!

I finished a pair of socks for myself.  You may recall that I had completed a single sock of the Georgia Socks pattern, and decided to move on to something else.  I was still wanting to make a pair of shortie summer socks, and as I said when finishing the first sock, I don't mind scrappy socks, just not changing yarns really frequently.

So I made myself a pair of shortie socks the way *I* wanted to do it.

As you can see in the photo, the heel on one of them has two different yarns, but since they are for me, I don't mind.  It's also far enough down on the heel that you won't see it when the socks are worn in shoes.

Project:  Watermelon and Mojito Shortie Socks

Pattern:  Vanilla shortie sock pattern of my own

Yarn:  Watermelon Self-Striping Yarn from Artistic Yarns by Abi; West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4-ply in Mojito; and the yellow and golden brown are from tiny remainders in my stash that I no longer can identify.  

Needles:  US size 1

Modifications:  Well, none since it is my pattern and I make it up as I go along ...

Notes:  I love the finished socks!  All of the yarn is leftovers from my stash, and the two main yarns are from two of my favorite pairs ever.  They seem extremely summery to me.  Originally, I was going to call them Watermelon, Mojito, and Lemonade Socks, but then I ran out of the yellow yarn (aka "Lemonade") so I adjusted my name for them.  

When I make pain vanilla shortie socks, I just knit 12-18 rounds of 2 x 2 ribbing, then an inch to 1.5 inches before starting the heel flap and gusset, and then just knit after that until they are the length I want and finish off the toe.  They generally go pretty quickly, and all of the pairs I've made like this are very comfy and well-fitting on my feet.  I seem to do best with the heel flap and gusset construction, at least of the options I have tried so far.

So I am very happy to have both another pair of finished socks, as well as an FO to share after what seems like a long time.  

*****

I started to wind the yarn for my next pair last night, and it was clear it was one that was not going to cooperate with the winder.  I have about 90% of it wound, and there is some more untangling left for tonight before I can even start thinking about next steps.  But I'm ready to start a new pair, so I'm determined to have the yarn bend to my will!

Now I just have to get through this workday without a) killing anyone, and b) going insane.  There's a better chance of "a" being easily accomplished because none of these people are worth doing time, if you get my drift.  ;-)

Happy weekend to all of you!

One and These Will Never Be Done

I hope all of you had a nice July 4th, if you celebrate.  Ours was quiet but nice.  We spent as little time as possible outside, because the humidity made it hard to breathe, but we had a good day nonetheless.

Today I have a HO (Half-finished Object) for you, that will only ever remain in that state.  You may or may not remember these:

I was making a pair of Tracie Millar's Georgia Socks.  Not just because I liked the pattern, but because I have been wanting to make more shortie socks, since I like them in warmer weather.  But so far, I'd only made myself two pairs, which I talked about here and here.  Those socks have gotten a fair amount of wear, and have also held up really well.

Well, on Wednesday, I finished sock #1:

And that, my friends, is the last time you will ever see this project.  Because I'm not knitting a sock #2, for the following reasons:

1.  It turns out I don't enjoy scrappy socks where you change yarns so frequently.  The lighter stripes were just not enjoyable, because you just didn't get to use the yarn enough to really feel like it was working.  As a matter of fact, I changed the toe because I was sick of the tiny stripes.

2.  In the interest of giving afterthought heels another go, and learning something new, I decided to go with the cut in afterthought heel included in the pattern.  And I have decided that afterthought heels are just not for me.  They are too fiddly, and I hated having to still make the heel once the sock knitting was finished.

3.  Having said that, I was ready to soldier on with sock #2, because they looked nice enough.  The clincher to this forever and always being an HO was when I tried them on.  I was knitting the size I usually knit, with the needles I usually use, and after everything else, they were WAY too small, and the heel was incredibly uncomfortable.

So - NOPE.

Yesterday I started a pair of plain vanilla shortie socks.

I'm not saying I would never make this pattern again, as I enjoyed knitting it.  But in the future, I'll make a larger size, with a heel flap and gusset.  And I will either do a colorblock thing, similar to the one other pairs I've made, or just use a solid or self-striping yarn.

On the one hand, it was disappointing and frustrating.  But it was also a good learning experience, and worth it for that reason.  It just means it will take a bit longer until I have another pair of shortie socks.  ;-)

Here's hoping you have a good weekend.  I took the day off work today, and will be meeting a friend for lunch, which should be fun.  We used to work together and teach serials cataloging workshops together, then I left and took another job and she retired.  So occasionally, we get together for lunch and have a lot of laughs.  Other than that, neither myself nor The Tim have any specific plans.  I think it's supposed to be another hot one, so it may not be conducive to doing a whole lot.  But it's still a weekend, so we'll take it.

Keep cool, and I'll see you on Monday with the winner of the first giveaway!

First of July and Last Project of June

Hello there - today is July 1, which is for some reason is a surprise to me, though it shouldn't be since it's eleventy billion degrees and a bazillion percent humidity, as one would expect in July.  Ugh.  But, as another month begins, there's a clean slate and that's always good.  June was a tough month in our house, but there were two good knitting-related things that happened.

First, I finished the socks and sent them off to their recipient.  Last week, I received one of the nicest thank-you notes ever - and a real one, sent via snail mail that the person took the time to write and send.  Such a nice surprise! 

Second, I finished my Crazytown Cowl.  Two projects in one month finished is a record for me!  Here is where I started:

Project:  Crazytown Cowl
Pattern:  The Shift, by Andrea Mowry
Yarn:  Stonehedge Fiber Mill Crazy - this yarn is made from mill ends, and no two are alike.  They also don't have colorway names, so I can't help you there.  ;-)
Needles:  Size 5US
Modifications:  Yeah, right.  It took me 5 tries to properly get it started!
Notes:  I LOVED knitting this!  I was inspired to try the pattern and the yarn when The Tim, Hamlet, and I stopped at Hidden River Yarns, and the owner, Lisa, was making one using this yarn.  Hers looked so pretty and so unique, I decided I wanted to try it.  I already had two skeins of Crazy in my stash, so I only had to buy one more (which pleases me, since I've been trying not to buy yarn). 

It's knit in seven sections - this is after Section 1.

I took it along while we were in WV for Memorial Day.  Every morning after taking Hamlet for a walk, we would sit on the front porch until everyone else got up, and I would knit on this project.  I managed to get halfway through Section 2 by the time we got home.  Jack approved.  :-)

Oh my sweetie, how we miss you! xoxo

Once you finish the first section, you are basically in the groove, so to speak, and just mixing different yarns at different times.  Each row is only one color, and the color patterns are created by slipping stitches.

Once I wove in the ends, it was time to block it.  With the humidity and rain in mid-June, it took 4 days to dry!  Then it was time to sew the back seams together, et voila!

The front:

The back:

I am SO excited with how it turned out!  Plus, I learned how to do the I-cord bindoff, which was much simpler than I was expecting.  When I saw that bindoff in the instructions, I was a little hesitant.  Then I remembered that one of the people who taught me to knit said that the best way to learn something was to follow the instructions and not think about it.  The instructions in the pattern were incredibly clear, and - it worked!

This is the only modeled photo you'll get at this point - I would have passed out even inside if I'd put it on and tried to have The Tim take photos.  Fortunately, the Molly hanger is happy to step in for now.

Now I'll put it away with the hats, gloves, etc. until the cooler weather arrives, when I know I'll wear it a lot.

I could see making another one down the line - every time you made one with different yarns, it would look completely different.  It is one of the most fun projects I have ever knit.  It would also be a good gift knit for someone special.  I can't recommend this pattern enough, really.  If you are at all interested, give it a try!

Thank goodness these good things came out of June, so it was not a total loss.  On to July knitting!  (And stay tuned for some developments ...)

Friday FO

I am happy to report an FO - these were actually finished a week ago tomorrow (Saturday), but I didn't have them blocked and photographed until now.  These are the socks I knit for a friend's husband who is having a kidney transplant this coming summer.

You may recall they started out like this:

The first sock went pretty quickly, and soon I'd started the second.

The second sock zipped along - mainly due to the fact that I needed something to occupy my mind over the past week, and knitting fit the bill.  Since these were just plain vanilla socks, they were a perfect project.  And I think the finished pair look great.

Project:  Socks for Brian

Pattern:  Classic Socks for the Family, with a 2 x 2 rib on the cuff, 3 x 1 rib on the leg, and an  Eye of Partridge heel

Yarn:  fiberstory FAVE sock, in the colorway Tranquil; the toes are Knitted Wit Gumball in the Cranberry Bog colorway

Needles:  US size 1

Modifications:  None

Notes:  This turned out to be a wonderful project on several levels.  I actually bought this yarn, because since I don't know Brian that well, I wasn't sure if he would like bright or wild socks, and that is most of the sock yarn I own.  When I saw this color, I not only liked it, but the name of the colorway - Tranquil - seemed perfect for him, since hopefully his life and health will be more tranquil once the transplant happens.

The yarn is so lovely - tonal, and so incredibly lofty and soft to work with.  It takes a pattern really well, and I can imagine that a textured pattern would look great using this.  I was a little bit nervous that I would not have enough yarn for both socks, since the yardage is slightly less than I'm used to, so I decided to jazz them up with a different color toe.  The Knitted Wit Gumball in Cranberry Bog seemed like a good combination, and I love the way they turned out.  (As it turns out, I would have had enough of the other yarn, but I didn't want to agonize since these were a gift, and I wanted them to be an enjoyable project for me).

I took these with me when we went home over the Memorial Day weekend, to add in some extra good juju.  While we were there, I showed my niece Amanda and her husband Patrick how they were coming along, since they are the ones who are really good friends with Brian and his wife Nancy.   Then I had the brilliant idea to have them knit a few stitches, for even better juju.  So Amanda knit about five stitches, and Pat did three stitches.  They were both nervous and worried that they would mess them up, but both of them did just fine, and I think they were surprised that it "worked."  There are some thoughts and prayers of Jack included as well.

I figure with all the goodwill and good thoughts in these socks, Brian's recovery should be smooth and hopefully without issues.  :-)

******

If you are reading this, you've made it through another week.  We don't have any plans for the weekend, which is fine, since we are still taking it one day at a time.  I hope that whatever you have planned - or however you decide to just relax - makes your weekend a good one!

A Fun Day Followed by an FO

Yesterday was one of the best days ever!  Dee has some great photos on her blog documenting the day (because of course it didn't occur to me to take any photos.  At all.  Eejit).  The weather cooperated and the kitties and Hamlet were thrilled to have company.  Hamlet was quite disappointed at the end of the day when I came home alone - he looked for Dee for a few minutes and then looked at me as if to say, "WHAT have you done with her???"  I haven't had such a nice and fun day for a long time and I have to remember to remember it when I get back to work and have a regular day there.

*****

Today by contrast is overcast and misting outside.  A good day to be inside and doing some of the things I'd planned for this week.  But first, it's time for me to show you the last of the Started-Before-I-Broke-My-Wrist-Projects.

Project:  First Down Socks
Pattern:  My own!  And it worked! (And it's nothing difficult or earth-shattering, but nonetheless ...)
Yarn:  lolodidit Everyday Sock, in the Fly Eagles Fly colorway
Needles: US size 1
Notes:  I was perusing the lolodidit site one day after hearing the Grocery Girls talk about her yarn on their podcast, and saw this colorway and decided I MUST HAVE IT BECAUSE - EAGLES!!!  I cast on these socks last fall when football season started, and then of course broke my wrist and that was that for a few months.  But once I was able to knit again, they started to feel the love and I decided that I would not start any new projects until all of the BBW (Before Broken Wrist) projects had been finished.

Of course, I wanted the pattern to be something special.  But I couldn't find one that I wanted to use with this yarn.  So I made up my own, and am quite pleased with the result.  The yarn is wonderful to knit with, and the colors are so great (though you can't really tell in my photo, sorry).  I will now put these away until football season starts again this year.  Hopefully both the Eagles and I will have a better season this year (though they did very well last year - me, not so much)!

So now I'm all "caught up" to myself, and can start some new projects without leaving others in limbo.  I have started another pair of socks - the ones for the friend's husband getting a kidney transplant - and will be winding yarn today for this pattern.

I hope all of you have a good one today.  :-)

This Friday Is Brought to You by an FO

Well, after months of working on it, then not working on it, then working to finish it, I can finally report that my Neverender is officially finished!!!

Here it is, blocking away!

Project:  Neverender

Pattern:  The Weekender, by Andrea Mowry

Size made:  34

Yarn:  Brooklyn Tweed Shelter, in the Caribou colorway (6.5 skeins)

Needles:  US size 7, 8, 9

Modifications:  When you are finishing the neckline and the sleeve cuffs, you are doing 1 x 1 ribbing.  To bind off, the pattern has you put the purl stitches on one needle and the knit stitches on the other, and do the kitchener stitch to bind off.  I followed it for the neckline, because I wasn't really sure what was going on until after I finished it.  It was awkward, and I think another bind off that would be more straightforward would be fine and look better (my kitchener is OK but not perfect).  So when I got to the sleeve bind off, I just did a tubular bindoff which was much easier and looks just fine, in my opinion.

Notes: This has been a really popular pattern on Ravelry since it first came out (as of this post, there are 4405 projects listed).  I was not lured into it until I actually saw one of the women who works at Loop wearing the one she had knit.  I liked it so much better than any of the photos I'd seen, so I decided to make one for myself.  I also had a store credit, so I decided to purchase the yarn used in the original pattern (which I am seldom able to afford to do).  I'm happy with the final product, but I just felt that this was a knitting project that would never end.

The pattern is fairly straightforward, and easy to follow.  The construction is different, at least from anything else I've knit (granted, I'm a fairly new sweater knitter), but the instructions told you exactly what you needed to do and when.

I made a size 34, because I figured it would be the size that would work best for me once it was finished.   The pattern states that it is intended to be worn with 10 inches of postive ease, and I did not want my size regular size with an extra 10 inches - I don't like overly large things, and there was no one I wanted to ask to join me in it when I wore it.  I'm really pleased with my final product - it has room for wearing with a layer underneath, but it's not crazy oversized.

The yarn was for me the worst part.  I did not enjoy knitting with it at all.  I am the only person I know now who is not in love with Brooklyn Tweed Shelter, so keep in mind that if you ever give it a try, it may turn out to be your favorite yarn ever.  I found it kind of scratchy and just didn't like the way it was to knit.  Who knows, maybe if I had used a different yarn, I would have enjoyed the whole process of knitting it more.  But I powered through, and I do have to say that when I soaked it and blocked it, the yarn ended up feeling very soft (which is good if I'm gonna wear it).  

This photo gives you an idea of how it fits me.  And of course, there is a story behind this photo.  Last Saturday was sunny, cool, and REALLY WINDY here.  I had asked The Tim if he would take a finished product photo of me wearing it, and he said that was fine.  So on Saturday, he suggested we take some photos out on our deck.  As I said, it was very windy, and stuff was flying everywhere.  In every single photo, my eyes are either closed, my hair is straight up, or something has flown in front of my face (a leaf once, a plastic bag another time, for instance).  The photo above is the best of the lot, even though it's not.  At one point, a branch from the neighbors' tree bonked me in the head.  So in this photo, my hair is being blown around AND my glasses are in the process of being knocked off my face.  After the "photo shoot," The Tim said they had turned out really well.  When I saw them, I asked how he thought they were so great, when I was either standing with my eyes closed, or in this case, had my glasses heading off my face.  He responded, "I was taking photos of the sweater, not of you."

So there you have it.  This was the best photo of the sweater.  You'll have to take my word for it that I'm the one wearing it ...

Artistes, am I right???  ;-)

Six Months Later, an FO Post!

Oh 2019, you will be the year of so few projects!  But that's OK, I'm not in a contest to get a certain number of things finished to win a prize.  But I have two recent FOs and after so long, it's a nice feeling to have things FINISHED.

First up is my Sweet Tart Shawl. 

Not difficult - it just takes a long time when you can't knit due to a broken wrist!

Project:  Sweet Tart Shawl

Pattern:  Drea's Shawl by Craig Rosenfeld

Yarn:  MadelineTosh Sock, colorway Tart; and Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino (no colorway listed)

Needles:  US 5

Modifications:  None

Notes:  This was an enjoyable knit.  Once I got the hang of things and remembered where to start the alternating yarn for the stripes, it was something that was easily able to done while watching TV, or talking to someone at a knitting group.  The stripes make it fun to watch grow, and by the time you get to the solid part, there's not that much more to go.  Now I just have to decide if it's for me, or if it will be a gift for someone.  The photo above shows the truest version of the colors, but the photo below of it being modeled by the Molly hanger, shows how nice it looks when you wear it.

This was my first time using Koigu yarn, and it was lovely to work with.  And I know that currently MadelineTosh yarn is controversial, but I have had this in my stash for a while, and it is my favorite colorway of that line.  When I worked at Rosie's Yarn Cellar, I was able to add a bit of MadelineTosh yarn to my stash because I got an employee discount.  Come to think of it, that's how I was able to accumulate most of my stash ... it was lovely yarn to use, and I am looking forward to using what is in my stash for other projects.  

I think I'll put this shawl away with the gifts, since I'd be putting my other shawls away until fall anyway, and if I am not inspired to think of it as the perfect gift for anyone, I'll keep it.  

If you enjoy making something that has some interest during the knitting, but is also an easy project, this pattern is for you - and it's free!  It's a win-win situation.  :-)

*****

We had a wonderful Easter weekend, and enjoyed our usual visit from my niece Amanda and her husband Patrick.  As is our tradition, we made our Inappropriate Easter Eggs, which I will share in another post.  But it made for a lot of laughs, and along with good food and drink, as well as perfect weather, we couldn't have wanted anything more.  I hope your holiday weekend was a good one as well.  I have to say that Hamlet and the cats were completely worn out today, as they had quite a good time, eating the treats that were brought for them, and getting all kinds of extra attention.  Apparently, being popular and good hosts can wear one out ...