FO Friday: Scrap-tober Version!

I've had this big sack of leftover scraps from my previous set of charity chunkeanies just waiting and begging to be made into some awesome scrappy hats! Three done, and at least one more and this sack will be depleted! Woohoo! I've knit so many charity hats this year that I no longer need a  pattern. For these I used Red Heart Reflective yarn leftovers, size 8 needles, and cast on 64 stitches. After about 6 inches of hat, start decreasing! Easy peasy! 

more belated finishes

February was a lot more productive than my blog would let on ... here's a couple of more finishes that never got posted about! Above was a quick set of placemats for my sister's birthday. These ones I didn't do a binding on to speed things up--instead I basically followed the same steps as my quilted coaster tutorial, but with the fabric cut to 16x20 inch dimensions. Then I had fun quilting them in rectangular labyrinths. I used two yards of fabric to make four placemats, and now I know it takes about half a yard to get two "sides." I think this is my new favorite way to construct them!

Does the cabling on this hat look familiar? It's the hat version of the cowl I test knitted in February! A fun and easy way to use another skein of Malabrigo from my stash!

crochet mania cont.

Remember the newborn baby beanies I finished at the beginning of February? Well, this weekend I finished four more after discovering ONE MORE SKEIN of the dreaded baby yarn I was so happy to use up with this project!

And in another catch-up post, I realized I never shared the Valentine's day beanie I made for my husband. It's the same pattern I used for the newborn beanies, but with one small modification: I added some rows of single crochet to break up the endless double crochet. Hubby approves and is now in his regular "running hat" rotation!

Pattern: basic beanie (link to my Rav project page)
Yarn: Malabrigo Rios, plomo colorway (used .52 skein)
Hook: size H (next time I'd go down a size, this was a little loose)
Mods: Add three rows of SC twice.

funky finishes

It's not all that often that you see my duds on this blog. That's for several reasons. Either I rip them out and destroy the evidence, or I abandon them to solitary confinement in a closet until I later rip them apart. So for something different, here's a couple of projects that I feel kind of "meh" about.

Project number one: a dog bowl placemat for my sister. This is the pin that I saw on Pinterest that inspired me to make this project. My version is pretty laughable looking at the pin now! Turns out that the original crafter of this project is from Europe. So I used Google translator to get the free pattern, which mostly worked ... or maybe not!

Problem number one: obviously doesn't lay flat. Problem number two: does this really resemble a dog bone? As much as I am tempted to send this to my sister, I'm probably going to rip this bad boy apart!

Funky project number two: the Molly hat. This is a fantastic free pattern that's been very popular on Ravelry, but somehow my version just didn't turn out so fantastic. I followed the pattern exactly, but my version is just simply too short. Look how short it looks on my hand! It barely reaches the top of my ears. Luckily the recipient likes her hats this way, but in my book any hat that doesn't cover your ears is a dud. Which was disappointing since I love the look of this pattern and the ever shrinking cables are fun and cute! I will make this one again, but I obviously have row gauge issues compared to the designer's gauge and need to repeat an extra cable or two to achieve the correct hat length.

Pattern: Molly (link to my Ravelry project page)
Yarn: Malabrigo worsted (colorway: vermillion)

FO friday: asante cowl

 

first finished object of 2016!

If you've followed my blog for even a nanosecond, you'll have quickly picked up on how cowl-crazy I am. I just can't stop making them! Over time I've learned that I'm really awful at "artfully arranging" them, however .... which means that although I love a generous double-wrap cowl, they can frustrate me. Lately I've been intrigued by the "long tube" style of cowl that has been popular lately (think Joji's 3-color cashmere cowl, for example).  The length allows for generous pooling of the cowl (which is cozy and comfy) and yet since the circumference is smaller, no need to double wrap. My problem solved! So when I saw the free Asante pattern pop up on Ravelry, I wanted to make it right away. The Party of Five mini skein sets from SweetGeorgia just sealed the deal! So this was my December gift to myself--yarn to make this cowl, and I cast on right before Christmas. Fun, easy knitting that I finished up during bowl game marathon viewing on New Year's day! It feels good to have my first "following through on my intentions" finish of the year, too.

Pattern: Asante, a freebie from Sweet Georgia yarns! (link to my Ravelry project page)

Yarn: SweetGeorgia Superwash Worsted Party of Five (2 packs, 500 yards total, in the Goldigger colorway)

Needles: size 8 Knit Picks Harmony

Mods: skipped the tiny bit of ribbing detail so I could have a brainless knit!

grand total

Okay, my unofficial goal was to hit the 30 hat mark this month ... and I did it! Yipeeeeeeee! Even better--I tallied how many yards I knit this month, and including the two washcloths I'm up to 2,567 yards. From hats people!! That's amazing. And my local knitting guild has now knit over 100 hats, ensuring that each child will receive one. I'm so proud and happy! (and next year I vow to work on this project more gradually ... lol)

Previous total: 24 hats
This week's additions: 6 hats
TOTAL hats knit: 30 HATS

current hat total, week 4

Much more productive week! Was really hoping to hit the 25 hat mark, but just came short ... next week for sure!

Previous total: 18 hats
This week's additions: 6 hats
TOTAL hats knit: 24 hats (wooohooooo!)

current hat total, week 3

Oof. This week was pretty pitiful. I'll have to step it up next week!

Previous total: 15 hats
This week's additions: 3 hats
TOTAL hats knit: 18 HATS

current hat total, week 2

This week was the week of the "chunkeanie" pattern (a free pattern by Wooly Wormhead, you can find it here)--I busted out six different hats using that pattern! Super fast and fun, and especially fast with chunky/bulky weight yarn! I also finished my another neon yellow and black sidewinder beanie (not pictured) and am halfway through another (below). Next week? I'm feeling the urge to double-strand some worsted weight yarn for more super speedy hats. Maybe this free Marled Hat pattern by the folks who make Plucky Yarn??

Previous total: 8 hats
This week's additions:  7 hats
TOTAL hats knit: 15 

FO Friday: Another cowl!

Yeah, I know ... I'm cowl crazy! I need another cowl like I need a hole in my head, but I just can't stop knitting them ... this is my finished Twining cowl test knit. I can't say enough good things about this pattern--the designer wrote a flawless pattern that's easy to follow, and has details that make the knitting easier and intuitive (like matching a knit one below detail on a knitting round, and a purl one below on a purling round). Love that! And it's reversible. This is my first real reversible knit, and it was super fun!

Pattern: twining cowl (link to my Ravelry project page)
Yarn: Western Sky Knits Willow DK (colorway: Lilacs)
Needles: size 5 Knit Picks Caspian interchangeables
Mods: Used size 5 needles throughout instead of switching to larger needles.

And now I'm making speedy progress on the other test knit on my needles, Brandy's city lights beanie. I only have four more "arrows" to go!

finished cheater string quilt!

My sewing stashbusting roll continues! My cheater string quilt is officially done. This is the first time I did a machine-sewn binding, and it worked fabulously. I cut a generously sized binding, which I'm sure helped! (three inches wide, with the edges pressed to the inside at approx. 1/2 an inch)  The pattern I used is the Wishes String Quilt, a free tutorial published on the Moda Bake Shop website. It was super fun and an easy way to make a string quilt. I ended up using all three of my jelly rolls ("Spring House" from Moda) and almost two whole jelly rolls of Kona Cotton (colorway: snow). That's a lot more fabric than the pattern called for. But .... my squares ended up a little smaller and I needed more to make a generous king sized quilt, so I'm not that surprised. Love, love, love these colors. Lots of turquoise blues, yellows, pinks, and greens. Super happy colors. This is by far the prettiest quilt I've made to date! Initially I thought I'd need to make new shams for my pillows, but the old yellow ones go pretty well with the new quilt. On to my next sewing project! Next up: placemats. Lots and lots of placemats!

FO Friday: Mont Royal socks

Happy dances here, because my "happy" socks are done!

Pattern: Mont Royal socks (link to my Ravelry project page)
Needles: Size 1 Addi Sock Rockets
Yarn: Spinningfates Megara (colorway: the bees knees)
Mods: Nada! Super super fun pattern! Toe-up, short-row heel with fantastic instructions if you've never done either method.

And congratulations, Lise, you are the lucky winner of the Mont Royal pattern giveaway! I've forwarded your contact information to Brandy and she'll be in touch. :-D

Linking up with Freshly Finished Friday at Hard Knit Life--see what everyone else has been making!

FO Friday: fraternal twin socks!

 

It's pink socks with black stripes! No .... it's black socks with pink stripes! Wait a second ...

Yup, it's fraternal twin self-striping socks! Normally this level of mismatching would drive me crazy, but I love these. The yarn is SpinningFates Twisted Sister socks, in the colorway "Roller Derby." But I've dubbed these my "carpool derby" socks since they were mostly knit in my first experiences hurrying-up-and-waiting in the carpool pick up line at my daughter's elementary school. These socks are also my first time knitting socks without a pattern--I've finally knit enough pairs to know that all I need to do is cast on 64 stitches on my favorite 2.5 mm needles and away I go! Somehow that makes me feel even more like a "real" knitter. More details on my Ravelry project page.

I also finished the tiny LSU baby hat! This one I did use a pattern for, lol!

Pattern: Simple Baby Hat (free Ravelry download!), link to my Ravelry project page
Yarn: Mellowspun DK
Needles: Size 5
Mods: None! Knit two-row stripes alternating each color. Super fun and satisfying knit!

finished hat friday

Pattern: Bray Cap by Jared Flood (link to my Ravelry project page)
Yarn: SweetGeorgia Superwash Worsted (one skein, colorway: saltwater)
Needles: size 5 for brim, then 8 for body
Modifications: None! If I had enough yarn leftover I would totally make a huge pom pom for this one! Love this pattern--super fun, and super cute! I was afraid it would be too slouchy, based on the pattern pictures, and was all set to omit some pattern rounds. But what I realized mid-way was that the models are wearing the hat high on their heads--it fits great as is if worn "traditionally" ... aka to cover your ears! So don't worry if you don't like the "slouchy" look. It really fits quite well! I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about how warm a hat with lace eyelets would be, but this hat got a test run during our Wednesday snowfall and passed with flying colors!

 

finished rainbow fun!

Sadly, these have been finished and photographed for nearly a week now, but another cold has got me behind the blogging 8-ball this week. Sigh. While I hate this cold, I LOVE these finished socks! The fit is great, and they are so cheerful!

Pattern: Fork in the Road Socks by Lara Neel (link to my Ravelry project page)
Yarn: White Birch Fiber Arts, colorway: The Full Monty (used up almost 2/3 skein)
Needles: Size 1.5, magic loop
Mods: None! This was my first time doing what Lara calls her "thumb-joint heel." As you can see, it's basically evenly spaced decreases like how you'd work the crown of a hat. The fit is great, and more comfortable than I expected! The pattern calls for the same decrease pattern for the heel, so you don't need to kitchener the toe at all. So this would be a good pattern for someone who despises kitchener, but is comfortable with doing provisional cast-ons (you do one to work the heel).

This is by far my best matched pair of self-striping socks to date!

another fine tune ....

 

It's done! Yes, this is my second time knitting Joji's fine tune cowl. But it's such a fantastic pattern, I would not be shocked if I eventually make another! It's garter stitch, it's relaxing, you can play with adding color in non-overwhelming ways, and the short rows make it fun and interesting to knit. Love, love, love all around! This project is only the second time in my knitting life that I've knit something where the main color is .... white! White just terrifies me from a stain perspective. Totally silly, I know. But this colorway, Madtosh's "cosmic wonder dust" has just enough tiny flecks of color to make knitting in white not so intimidating to me. I'm really enjoying these splatter-style colorways right now. They're addicting to knit, since it's a surprise to see what color ends up on your needles next. Similar to my addiction to self-striping yarns--it's fun to see what's coming next. This time I tried a new-to-me base of Madelinetosh yarn, "Dandelion." It's a fingering weight mix of merino and linen. The linen content is low, so it's not scratchy or hurts your hands. I would definitely knit with this base again! The only negative is the yardage is a bit smaller than most fingering weight skeins, coming in at 325 yards instead of the normal 400+ you see from other fingering weight yarns. When I made my first fine tune cowl, I needed just over one skein of Tosh Merino Light (maybe 1.3 skeins?) to finish this cowl. In retrospect, I could have just ended early after the first skein and still would have been able to double-wrap the cowl. But with the low yardage of Dandelion I needed the full two skeins for this project.

Pattern: fine tune cowl (link to my Ravelry project page)

Yarn: Main color, Madelinetosh Dandelion in Cosmic Wonder Dust (used two full skeins), Contrast Color stripes: four Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light unicorn tails in colorways Fathom, Neon Peach, Pop Rocks, Edison Bulb, and Button Jar Blue (was able to get up to four stripes from one unicorn tail, with some leftover yarn!)

Needles: size 4 Addi turbo's 

Mods: NONE!

fast finish: lullington hat

My first finish of 2015! And it was a fun, fast one! My love of garter stitch is well-established--garter in the round? Not so much. That would be my ONLY quibble with this pattern--it calls for garter in the round. But given the aran weight, the rounds go fast and I found it surprisingly tolerable. I won this yarn last December and ooh, it was delicious to knit with! I'll definitely try to use some Posh Yarn again. You'll see this hat pattern again at some point this year ... I have several skeins of Madtosh Chunky that would look fantastic in this pattern.

Pattern: Lullington Hat (link to my Ravelry project page)
Needles: size 8 Addi's
Yarn: Posh Yarns Sylvia Aran (colorway: Wisteria Lane)
Mods: None! Fantastic pattern!

Linking up with Fresh Off the Needles at Hard Knit Life--see what everyone else has been making!