Revived Socks

 

I cast these on in December of 2011 and then apparently stuffed them in a bag and completely forgot about their existence. Fast forward two years and I am doing some cleaning and organizing, and hark, what is this? I honestly do not remember casting these on and working on them, but I have notes on Ravelry stating I did (apparently cast on while watching The Biggest Loser).  So I decided to quick finish them up so I could wear them this weekend. Monday is supposed to be so cold here that the governor of Minnesota closed all schools in the entire state for that day. Before the Wind Chill is factored in they say a high temp of -10°F and I have heard colder than that on some channels. Yikes. So having a paid of bulky wool house socks sounds mighty fine to me!

 

 

• The Pattern: Socks 101 by Larissa Brown from the book "Knitalong: Celebrating the Tradition of Knitting Together"
• The Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky in the color Elderberry Wine. I used just under 1 skein for the pair of socks, 115.0 yards (105.2m).
• Needles: US 10 - 6.0 mm double point needles
• Knit a ♀ Medium
• My notes on Ravelry can be found HERE.

 

As you can see by looking at the toe construction, I decreased more on one toe than the other. I think I got confused about which size I was working on and followed the directions for the small sock on the first sock. When I finished it I was not thrilled with the toe, but I thought Well, if I make these again I will change the toe construction - because I am not an elf and my feet aren't shaped like an arrow.

Then I finished the second sock and realized it was a Jenny oops - meaning I fudged up that first sock. So I have a pair of house slippers with wonky toes and I know that if I make them again I need to REALLY watch that toe construction.

I wore these all last night and my feet were toasty warm in them. When it gets cold like this you can just feel the cold seeping in through the walls and floor of the house, so I am pretty sure these will get some good wear for the next few days/weeks.

If I were to change anything, I think I would make the ribbing much higher (which would make this a two skein project in this yarn) and I would watch the toe construction so I didn't get wonky arrow toe on one foot next time. I might also try an eye of partridge heel on it as I am sort of in love with the eye of partridge heel.

Pleased to have a wearable garment and to have cleared up a long lost WIP! Win!

Jaded Dreams but Warm Hands

Another pair of mittens finished! I once again used the Wool-Ease Mittens pattern by Stephanie Taylor. This was knit with 100 yards of Brown Sheep Lambs Pride Bulky yarn with size 10 double point needles. These are really warm and the fit is perfect. If anyone wants the details on my project pop on over to my Ravelry page. (I did very minor mods on the pattern - the pattern is pretty much perfect just as it was written!)

I keep making mittens in an effort to stop my hands from cracking and bleeding so much. Sadly - it's not helping too much. I am still struggling with chapped and bloody hands. BUT I will keep trying to wear mittens and moisturize in an effort to stop this.

 

Temperatures are well below normal here in the Twin Cities. It's been cold and the roads have been awful to drive on. Every year I wonder why we live here. It's just bitter cold and miserable. Maybe I will have to look at pictures of my garden from this summer. Summer in Minnesota is awesome. 

The Halloween/Autumn Cowl - FINISHED!

 I finally got a few pictures of my finished Halloween/Autumn Cowl. I started this in October and had a false start, ripped it out, and then went a completely different direction with it.

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in Limeaid (137 yards or .72 of a skein) AND Gnomeacres 100% Superwash Merino Wool Worsted in colorway "Smell My Feet" (198 yards or .90 of the skein)
Needle:  US 8
Pattern: Barbara G. Walker's Hexagon Pattern from the book A Treasury of Knitting Patterns.
Size: 7.5 inches by 23 inches
Love: ♥♥♥♥ I rate this 4 hearts out of 5 - only because I would have done a few things different if I made it again.
My Ravelry Project notes can be found HERE.

It sits nicely on my neck and I can fold it down or where it tented up for added wind protection. (I am picturing gassing up the car in a nasty winter wind when I say that.) It actually goes around my shoulders under my jacket and I can zip up so that I get no wind on my neck. (Which means no snow down my neck too!)

What Would I change? I think it would have looked better with a picot edge on both sides.When I started this version of the cowl I didn't know I was going to do a picot edge - I just got toward the end and thought it would look good. In hind site I would have done it on both sides.

I also would have liked it better with the inside liner being the multi-colored yarn all the way through. I didn't think I had enough, so I decided it would be better to have a center stripe of the green rather than a row or two at the very end when I ran out of yarn. I am fine with it like this - but I think it would have been just a notch better if it were all the way across. The liner is single crochet which probably ate up more yarn than if I had knit the liner as well. Didn't think of that until just now.

Overall I call it a win. I am happy with the way it wears and think it's interesting and different. My hubby said it would generate a lot of comments when I wear it out. I am anxious to wear it out and see if it's true! ☺

A Cuppa Joe

 

 

 

Our local Target has a Starbucks in it, so after a shopping haul I will occasionally indulge in a nice big cuppa Joe. This last time I pulled out a cozy I knit to wrap around my coffee and it was so icky. You know how stuff gets when it's been in the bottom of your purse too long and even though your pets don't go in your purse somehow (magic?) their hair does go in your purse and will collect on any knit item you carry. So I was a little embarrassed by my hand knit cozy covered in paper scraps and dog hair and decided to make myself some new ones.

 

The Pattern: It is a free pattern on Ravelry called "Woven Cable Coffee Cup Sleeve" by Linda Thach.

The Yarn: I used left over worsted weight Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride 100% wool. I used 21 grams which is about 36 yards (33m) of yarn.

The Needle: I knit this on Size 5 needles, and I used double points. I just thought it would be easier with the cables to have the double points. When I make this again I will do it on straight needles instead of double points, but I will probably keep the dp's handy for the cables and for the provisional cast on.

The results: I really like it. I learned how to do a provisional cast on and then kitchnered the two sides together in the end, although you can cast on anyway you like and then just stitch it together as well. I had never done a cable like this before either, so it was fun to learn a new cable. I almost always hold my stitches the wrong way when I cable, and this was no exception. I had to rip out after a pattern repeat and start over. (Why do I find Front and Back so confusing?) Anyway - now that I have made this once I am eyeing other left over balls of yarn and thinking about how many coffee cozies I could have in a week or two! What else can you make with 40 yards of left overs?

 

My project notes on this can be found on my project page on Ravelry "Pretty Pink Cable Cozy".

 

 

Shepard's Harvest Festival, Part 3 - The Haul

And for my final installment, I thought I would show my gluttony off and post a couple photo's of the fabulousness that I brought back home with me.

I try really hard at these festivals to buy things that I cannot purchase at my Local Yarn Shops. This is actually a little hard to do as my local yarn shops are really really good! The Twin Cities is blessed with MANY wonderful shops and several of them had booths set up at the yarn festival. I love StevenBe "The Glitter Knitter" and his shops The Yarn Garage in Rosemount and Steven Be in Minneapolis, but his booth is ALWAYS swamped and I actually just try to do a quick drive by and then stay away. It reminds me of a beehive where all kinds of people are flying in and doing that intricate dance that bee's do when they fly into the hive and tell the other drones where the sweet sweet nectar can be found. His booth is like his stores - just filled with things that stop you in your tracks and make you reach out and touch things. I struggled this year to just zip by. Got caught on some Three Irish Girls yarn next to a DayBreak Shawl (I think this is actually the shawl that was on display!) but I untangled myself and kept going. Then I had to walk by again (these things happen) and my eyes fell on this bag below.

I grabbed it and slowly made it to the register and purchased my bag. Love it! I found out they are part of a line of Zombie totes and accessories put out by the blogger and pod caster Tina Henry. Will have to get more Zombie goodness in the future!

And below is all my wonderful haul laid out on my table when I got home. You will notice to the right there is a large pile of Brown Sheep yarn. I got this at over half off the price I normally pay and this is one of those yarns that I use A LOT. I mean all the time. So I kind of HAD to buy two large bags full and blew a large chunk of my pool of saved funds right then and there. I felt a little sad that I was bringing home a big pile of yarn that I can get easily and that I have used so much - but the savings I got it for made me happy again.

The lower left hand corner has a bunch of random alpaca that I kind of just had to have. The kind that you touch and end up opening your wallet and throwing money at random people in the hopes that the alpaca will then follow you home. Lovely Lovely stuff from alpaca owners.  There are also a few bold colored skeins up front that came from Happy Hands Yarn. I love this yarn dyer! She is just such a sweet sweet woman and her hubby is great too. We talked to them last year and I got to talk to her briefly this year. I am ALWAYS drawn to her colors and both years at the festival I have come home with a pile of her yarn. She also dyed the yarn for Lila & Claudine's Shop Hop in 2011 and it was the best yarn in the bunch! Just wonderful yarn and I will look for her booth every year.

I bought a few canned items from a person who had a booth in the barn. Sauerkraut and Strawberry-Rhubarb Jelly.  The sauerkraut is already half gone and I wish I would have bought a LOT more. It's something I will be watching for at other festivals. YUM! And in the above photo you will kind of see on the Zombie bag a spoon rest in the shape of a sheep! Yup! Brickyard Pottery & Glass had a booth and I had to have one of the sheep spoon rests. I was a little annoyed that the back was rough and she pretty much told me I could take it home and sand it and it would be fine. It would have really messed up any sort of counter top or wood table. Lucky for me I have a plastic cutting board on my counter under my coffee maker that it can rest on without hurting anything and I use it everyday now! WIN!

One of the yarns I fell in love with and ended up buying A LOT of was the yarn from Sun Valley Fibers. They have a Ravelry Group and they have an on-line store as well. The orange and black yarn (called Oriole!) and the next 5 skeins (stopping at the one marked CORAL) are all from them. They were one of the few boothes that took credit cards and I kind of went bonkers. The yarn was just so yummy I couldn't stop myself! (No - I don't knit socks and YES it is all sock yarn!) I do however have a lot of shawl patterns in my que on Ravelry so ... yeah. I should be good now hu. The multi colored red/orange yarn 7 skeins up is a yarn I went back to three times. It is called "Girl On Fire" by JL Yarnworks. I kept asking myself if I really loved the yarn or if I was just hooked on the name? Turns out it was both. Home it came! And way up at the tippy top are a gray and a yellow skein of corn yarn from Corny Goodness. If you haven't heard of corn yarn here is their "about page" where they talk about how wonderful this yarn is. (anti-bacterial, anti-odor..... all kinds of cool properties to this yarn!) They had a baby blanket made from this yarn there and I was quite taken with it - and may make one out of this fiber some time in the future.

And here is the mug I purchased at the festival. When I went to put this in my backpack I accidentally elbowed another woman in the boob! Color me embarrassed! She made a joke about me getting the other one too and that maybe they would grow a little bit bigger. Hee hee! At least she wasn't upset!

The festival was just wonderful and I had such a good time. I am already looking forward to next years festival!

Things are getting done!

About a month ago I started the Figurehead Shawl by Alexis Winslow. The body was very easy to work but the border was a real challenge. That's a knit scallop edge! The design is really really clever - but I hated working on the border. Of course now that it is finished I am in love with it and thinking about other colors and yarns I would like to work this in. It's really cute!

I worked my version in Brown Sheep Prairie Silk yarn - Which is now discontinued. I really love Brown Sheep Yarns. I used just over 1 skein of each color - a lavender and a grey. REALLY love the results! I originally wasn't going to put a button on the project, but after I blocked this out I got more length I found that I could. The way I am wearing it in the picture below is with it buttoned under my chin and tucked under the bulk of the shawl. It was really windy when I took these pictures and the shawlette really kept my neck from feeling the wind!

I have been wearing headbands a lot lately and have been looking for simple headbands to knit. I found this pattern on Ravelry called "Cool Cotton Headband". I knit it up and it took 27 yards (15 grams) of cotton! A perfect use for those left over balls of yarn from knitting washcloths. This is a free pattern on Ravelry and I was able to knit it up in about an hour. (I think it took a little longer than that but I was surfing the net and drinking coffee....) It's still a little thicker than I would like for everyday wear - but I think it would be a perfect headband to throw in my make-up caddy for wearing at night when I wash my face. Would make a great instant gift or stocking stuffer too. I knit this with Debbie Bliss Pure Cotton. (I could make three of these out of one skein and still have a little left over yarn!)

And I finished my Sari to Drop-In Scarf knit out of Frabjous Fibers Millefiori yarn. (The recycled Sari yarn.) The pattern I used was Barb Bettegnies Drop-In Scarf pattern from Creative Knitting, Fall 2010: Accessorize with Style. I had made this scarf a couple years back in ribbon yarn and loved the pattern. It's really fast and easy and the results are quite pretty! This was another stash buster for me and I am very pleased with my results!

Not much progress on my vest this week. I have had a lot of insomnia and I won't work on that project when I am tired or lacking focus. I don't want to mess it up!

In other news - We are breaking records for our warmth here this weekend. It is just amazing out! Yesterday it was 67F  - our normal average high for this time of year is 37F! That's a huge difference! I saw kids biking outside the house in shorts and t-shirts! Amazing! I will be out in that garden before I know it!

Mail Call!

When I went on to Etsy to purchase my shawl pin a couple weeks ago I ended up spending some time looking at other stuff too. Etsy is so addictive! I somehow (heh) ended up finding someone who was destashing. (Squee!) And so I ordered one of her lots which was Brown Sheep Handpaint Originals Yarn. I picked up 4 skeins of Onyx, 2 skeins of Cranberry, and one skein of Chestnut.

I am a BIG fan of Brown Sheep yarn. I use it a lot. Love the feel of it, love the finished products I have made from them, and I really like the colors the yarn comes in. I used my flash on these pictures so the colors are bleached out here, but these are wonderful colors.

I have been enjoying thinking about what I want to make with this yarn. I originally thought a shawl would be very warm and wonderful, but I read that this yarn felts really well, so now I am toying with the idea of making a bag out of it. Not sure which way the wind will blow on this, but the thought process is a joy!

Burly Spun Mari 2: The Resurrection

I am continuing on with my effort to sort out my knit goods. My latest reclaiming was a hat I made in 2008 out of Burley Spun. I liked the hat - but again - top down construction made it kind of pointy and weird. Add to this that it's lime green - Totally rocked out an elf thing here.

I didn't take awesome pictures of this the first go around - but you can get a sense of the fit of this hat on my Roger Head. Keep in mind Roger does not have my insane big hair to tuck under this hat either - so you can imagine how high this sat on my head. Not exactly keeping the old ears warm.

This next shot shows a much more relaxed hat. The pointy top is pretty much gone and the length is much better. I did the Eucalin soak for about an hour and then rolled it in a towel to get most of the water out and then stretched it onto good old Roger here. It dried in a couple days.

And lastly - here is me wearing the hat. It fits over my giant crazy hair and is pretty much the perfect size now. So much more wearable!

Wonder Twin Powers - ACTIVATE

I am trying to slowly work into a crochet-capable existence. I am improving and I can mimic uTube videos, but I cannot read the language yet. I decided recently to use up some of my scrap from my Treadmill afghan and knit up a couple headbands.

I am pretty pleased with the results! The first one is in Purple and the second is a pretty Teal. They are both in Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky and I used just over a half skein on each of these.

I had the thought that I could give these as Christmas gifts, but then I thought....No. Too scratchy for your average Joe. So, alas, I will have to keep them all to my greedy self! (yay!)

I am fairly sure these are single crochet. I used an (h) size hook and chained 13 for my foundation. Then I just hooked and hooked until it went around my head. Then I crocheted both ends together and that was that!

I love how fast crochet is. I love the freedom of just whipping out a quick headband. Sadly my wrist is now KILLING me from making these, so I can't see doing much crochet in one sitting in the future. Maybe I can work up to it - but pain is a pretty big motivator to NOT mess yourself up.

Sunday Snippets

This is my first Sunday Snippets. It's hard to not explain each photo......

Scrappy Draft Blocker

I finally finished my draft blocker for the front door. I started this back in June with left over yarn from my afghan I was knitting on the tread mill. I just added scraps in no order and when the scraps started getting thin I went on the scraps from my next afghan. All yarn is Brown Sheep Bulky and I used about Four skeins worth by the time I finished. I ran it through the washer on Hot twice and then the dryer once. Then I filled it with feline pine cat litter (around 15 pounds worth!) and seamed up the end with a yarn that was close in color. It's pretty perfect.

The pattern can be found http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/60492A.html?r=1 in it's original form. I made mine larger so I could knit it on circular needles and avoid a seam up the back.

I really like it! I got to use a bunch of scrap yarn and it might help keep the heat costs down a fraction - and our house a tiny bit warmer.