the knitting mouse

Back in August, my Grandma sent me this adorable needlepoint. A knitting mouse! How awesome is that? I knew I needed to do something special with it. It sat for weeks, until I finally found the time this week to attach a pillow backing to it. It makes me smile everytime I glance at it!

hearts on my sleeve

Today I'm staring at my pile of heart blocks and assessing my progress. Five blocks have borders, one block needs a pink border, and I have two more blocks to create. I'm debating adding a second, skinnier garter stitch border to each block as well. Slow but steady progress!

snake socksss

Another new project? After vowing to finish three projects this month? I know ... but after finishing one, a baby blanket for an expecting friend, I saw these adorable snake socks in Sue Whiting's book, Cute Knits for Baby Feet. I couldn't resist making these as a "big brother" present! And yes, these were fast--you could make these in a single day if you have the luxury of knitting without the frequent interruptions of little ones! :-D

 

Pattern: Snake Socksss by Sue Whiting (size 3/4)

Needles: Size 3 and size 6 straight needles

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool, approx. 1/3 of each skein (this pattern would be an excellent stashbuster!)

Modifications: I omitted about seven rows of the stripe repeat on the leg portion of the sock. It just seemed long enough already! I don't regret that decision--they are almost knee socks even with my modification! 

Obviously, I went with non-traditional snake colors by throwing in the navy blue into the mix. I wanted to use stash yarn, and discovered a surprising lack of range in different greens in my stash. Even so, I love the end results! I've always enjoyed the way striping looks in reverse stockinette, so I appreciated that this pattern purposely utilizes that approach. These socks are actually knit flat and seamed--normally I would have avoided that and knit these in the round, but by knitting flat you can avoid jogs and it was easier to have cleaner color joins.

The verdict? Fun and adorable! My model liked them so much, I just might have to make another pair for her!

big needle knit afghans: lace block baby blanket

Drum roll please ... the lace blocks baby blanket is done! (if you could only see the happy dance I'm doing right now!) I mentioned this in previous posts on this project, but this pattern knits up fast. Seriously fast. I really enjoyed this project, and I predict this pattern will become my new go-to-pattern when I need a quick knit baby gift. This is one of my favorite types of patterns--super easy, but with deceptively complicated looking results. Each row is a simple repeat that combines garter stitch blocks with yarnovers and K2tog's or SSK's. That's it! The leaning nature of the decreases is what makes the garter stitch blocks have alternating directions. I also love how you end up with a gentle zig zag edge.

To recap, here are the details:

Pattern: Lace Blocks Baby Blanket by Diane Zangl (published in the book "Big-Needle Knit Afghans")
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft Eco (249 yards per skein, I used four skeins)
Needles: size 10 Addi Turbo's
Finished dimensions: 49 inches long by 35 inches wide
Modifications: I skipped the crochet border, and didn't block.

Now I need to keep this momentum going and finish the other two projects on my must-finish-this-month list! What are you working on? Be sure to check out the other WIPs at TamisAmis and YarnAlong!

sew cute

 

Last month, I dusted off my sewing machine to make these pillows for my sister and totally fell in love with this color combo ... so much in love, that I managed to scrap together a tote bag out of the leftover material! 

 

 

I love how cheerful it is! Have a great weekend!

holding pattern

August came and went in a whirlwind ... between a last chance, end-of-summer beach trip and the craziness that comes with the beginning of fall semester in a university town, my energy for knitting plummeted. I have two blanket projects that have been creeping along that I'm determined to finish this month--that way I can have my slate clear for holiday knitting and a pair of socks for Soctoberfest  next month! That's the plan anyway ... 

 

 

Since you've last seen the progress on my lace blocks blanket, I've finished another half a skein ... two more skeins to go (approx. 300 yards). The end is in sight!

 

 

 

And the last time you saw the many hearts blanket was nearly 3.5 months ago, when I was still pregnant and anxiously awaiting baby boy's arrival ... since then, I've started constructing some of the "blocks" in order to get my mojo going on this project again. It's going to be so cute once I finally finish it ... 

 

 

 

And this is a new project I started in August, but have stalled out on ... it's Rebecca Danger's Terence the Tap Dancing T-Rex! It's the first time I've knit one of her toy patterns, and I've become a big fan. The pattern is so well written and just as adorable as the finished product! I attempted to eek out an entire t-rex using one skein of Cascade 220, despite the fact that the pattern recommended 250-275 yards. And guess what? I ran out of yarn with one more foot left to go ... that's what I get for being cocky! I think I've found a close-enough match in my stash of a similar turquoise-blue yarn for the second foot. It will be visibly different, but I really can't justify purchasing another skein of Cascade 220, especially since I won't be able to get the same dye lot and there will still be a color difference. Arg. Lesson learned!

 

What are you working on? Be sure to check out the other WIPs at TamisAmis and YarnAlong!