Cast on 3 times…

I cast this yarn on three times for a pair of socks and never got much further than the cuff. The pattern was just never quite right for this yarn until I cast on Jaywalker by Grumperina. Over 10,000 people have knit these socks and I’ve never really been interested in the pattern. But as it turns out, I think this yarn is perfect for it. It’s a very easy pattern to knit with two-row repeats. I love the way the yarn zigzags.

I finished my Nautilus Hat over the weekend.

Pattern: Nautilus Hat by Grace Akhrem

Yarn: Sincere Sheep Cushy Fingering

Needles: US 3 – 3.25mm

Notes: Knit as written. The pattern was well written with no mistakes that I noticed. It would make great gift knitting.

Hats off to Summer…

Nautilus Hat 1

I admit that I have a terrible case of startitist. It’s not new for me. So many beautiful patters come on the market every day and it’s so hard to pick just one and stick with it. I have at least 2 grey sweaters on the needles, two tank tops, two pairs of socks, 1 green short-sleeved sweater for summer and new this hat.

In defense of casting of for this hat:

1. The yarn came from my stash. So bonus. Cost: $0

2. My mom pays for the subscription to Interweave Knits as part of my Christmas gift every year. Cost: $0

3. That basically makes this a free hat…shut up. It’s the logic I’m using. Don’t look too closely and keep it moving folks.

The pattern calls for Cascade Heritage Silk (Fingering weight, 4 ply, 85% Merino Wool & 15% Silk). I didn’t have a full skein of that in my stash but I do have ton of fingering weight yarn in my stash. Most of it’s sock yarn and most of it’s luxury yarn. I love cashmere. I have a problem. Eventually I want to knit myself a cashmere fingering weight sweater, but I digress.

It took me about two seconds after seeing this hat in the Summer 2014 Issue of Interweave Knits to know that I had the perfect yarn in my stash to knit this. And as an added bonus, almost the exact same color too. I pulled out a skein of Sincere Sheep Cushy (Fingering weight, 4 ply, 80% merino, 10% nylon & 10% cashmere). I’m not sure what color this is since the band wasn’t marked with a color but it’s an off white/cream color. It’s so beautiful and so amazingly soft.

I don’t knit a lot of hats because I prefer to knit with wool but wool is so hard on my face. I can wear it fine on the rest of my body but my forehead hates it. It itches and I will scratch myself raw. Who wants a raw forehead? Let me tell you it’s not attractive, not at all. But this yarn is so soft. I’ve tried the hat on numerous times and it’s so comfortable, I’m looking forward to being able to wear it camping as soon as possible…not that I have any camping trips planned anytime soon. Maybe one for next month but at this point, nothing I can really call as solid plan.

The Nautilus Hat spirals around and around for over 8 inches before you begin the decreases. It’s a very easy to memorize pattern and makes for great TV knitting. I cannot wait to be able to wear this hat. Hopefully it looks as nice on me as it does on the model.

What are your summer knitting projects?

Anyone participating in The Summer Sweater Knit Along hosted by Nice and Knit?

It was like I dropped off the face of the earth…

Last post: October 22, 2013
Today: May 29, 2014
Durration of absecense: 7 months

7 month, wow. I never intended to be gone that long from this blog but as things go sometimes, my life changed. Or at least I changed jobs. I stopped knitting, started running and have been semi-very busy.

Not much knitting has been done in those 7 months. I finished a couple of pairs of socks, started some sweaters and did very little knitting. I missed knitting but I my time was so taken up by the running that I didn’t have time in the evenings for knitting. Now that summer is upon us, I’ve started running in the mornings and recently pulled my groin so bad that running has been off the table for almost 5 weeks.

No running means knit all the things!!! I have been knitting. I’ve currently got two adult sweaters, 2 baby sweaters & two pairs of socks on the needles. Not to mention the two sleevless tops that I started last summer that still aren’t finished. Apparently I do things in two’s.

Here’s one of my current projects:

Vanilla Latte Socks

Pattern: Vanilla Latte Socks by Virginia Rose-Jeanes
Yarn: Poste Yarn in Ibiza colorway
Needles: 2.25mm metal

I plan to be back soon with more knitting. But before I do, I need to update my Ravelry project page. It’s out of control with so many unfinished projects.

Show and Tell…again

My mom went to Italy and France for two weeks. She just got back last weekend and she was sweet enough to bring back presents for everyone. I have to share mine with you. My mom has never had a real vacation in her whole life so when she did she went in style. Her sweetie had business in Venice and she tagged along. When he was done he took her around Venice and Lake Bellagio in grand style for a week before they jetted to Paris for another week. Paint me jealous!

But my mom is the kind of person who always thinks about other people. I told her not to worry about bringing me presents, just have a fantastic time and don’t worry about anything. I think she had a great time based on the few pictures that I’ve seen. Her sweetie emailed me a few while they were gone.

But back to the presents! My mom…she’s so sweet to me!

From Paris she brought me the newest Stephen King book (I’m a fanatic, you should see my library…hard copies of almost all his books) from Shakespeare and Company. Shakespeare and Company is a hugely famous. I would die to go there. When she gave it to me, she told me to look on the inside and I thought it was a signed copy but even better! Shakespeare & Company. I think I turned green with envy!

Only my mom would travel the world and come home with the cutes hand stamped note book with dachshunds on it. It’s blank on the inside, perfect for notes and ideas. How cute is this!

And because my mom is my mom, yarn from Italy. Thankfully she’s a knitter too and appreciates how I am about things like this. I can’t wait to knit this up!

Before my mom left on her trip I wanted to make her a little something to help make her trip really special…at least as much as I could. So I made her a project bag to take her plane knitting in. I found some really cute Vespa fabric to make the bag and gave it to her when she dropped my sister off at my house for me to take her to Oregon. So the picture above is of my mom in Florence with her knitting bag. Have knitting will travel! I hope she had a good time!

Show and Tell…

Last weekend was Lamb Town, a fiber festival, in Davis, CA. It’s about an hour from my house and it seems that every time I realize that it’s time for Lamb Town, it’s already passed and I missed it again. But not this year! This year I finally was able to go for a couple of hours. It’s primarily a spinning event but there is a market place. It’s a small event but the market place was fun because I got to meet some semi local dyers like Jo Dee Fish of Fishknits, Brooke Siennes of Sincere Sheep & the owner of Invictous Yarns (who’s name I have forgotten).

And now that the “tell” portion is over, let’s see the show!

Full Gradient in Pink & Gray from Fishknits. I already have plans to knit this into Simple Shawl for Fancy Yarns by Jen Hintz. I saw this one by Meelissa on Ravelry in the same yarn but a different color and was smitten! So cute and perfect for wearing to the office.

Sincere Sheep is one of my favorite booths anywhere, anytime. I love the colors and Cushy is my favorite base of any yarn company big or small. At some point I will make a fingering weight cardi out of it. It’s Merino, nylon and cashmere. It’s so soft and squishy and knits up like a dream (I’m currently knitting my SKA October challenge out this yarn). I picked up two skeins of Cushy and Sock Knitting Master Class by Ann Bud from Brooke. She’s so lovely and gracious. I just want to hug her every time I see her!

Invictus Yarns, what can I say. Her colors are amazing. So vibrant and lovely. I couldn’t pass up the orange and black for Halloween and as an added bonus it’s sparkly! I can’t wait to knit this up. The teal was so beautiful and just looking at it makes me think of Tahiti.

I picked up a skein of Miss Babs in Dragon Flight too. I love Miss Babs. I’ve knit up a cowl for myself earlier this year with it and it was a dream. I just wore my Brighton Cowl for the first time the other day and got lots of compliments on it.

I also picked up a pair of puppy snips from Hiya Hiya. These will be perfect for keeping in my travel bag. I know airport security won’t take these from me!

And last but not least I picked up the Tri Fold Pattern holder as a Christmas Gift for my mom. I mostly used my tablet for patterns anymore but my mom works from paper all the time. We both have a magnetic holder for charts and such but this will hold her whole pattern including any charts. I think she’ll really like this. The fabric was so cheerful I couldn’t pass it up for her.

All and all, I had a lovely afternoon at Lamb Town and I’m sure I’ll go back next year. Especially since I didn’t get a chance to see the animals this year. But that’s ok, there is always next year!

Finishing Work, It’s not for Sissys!

I’ve had several projects that just needed finishing work done. I’ve spent the last few days working on them and have 3 done. I’ve a couple more to go but I’m making progress.

Pattern name & Ravelry link – Truckee Shawlette by Kristen Ashbaugh-Helmreich
Project link – Rainwater on my Windowpane in Klamath Shawlette
Cast on date – May 11, 2013
Finishing Date – September 29, 2013
Yarn – MadelineTosh Merino Light in Window Pane & Rain color ways
Needles – US 6/ 4mm
Notes/Mods – No mods. Knit this almost entirely in Klamath on vacation in May but it took forever for me to block it and do the finishing work on it.

Pattern name & Ravelry link – Summer Wind by Irishgirlieknits

Project link – Summer Wind, Winter Breeze
Cast on date – March 2013
Finishing Date – September 29, 2013
Yarn – Alexandra Crafts Diamond Lake in Pacific Blue
Needles – US 5/ 3.75mm
Notes/Mods – No mods. Lovely, easy knit.

Pattern name & Ravelry link – Crooked Wheels
Project link – Crooked Wheels on a Dusty Road
Cast on date – September 9, 2013
Bind off date – September 25, 2013
Yarn – Skein BFL Sock in Fig
Needles – 2.5mm
Notes – Started Gusset after row 32. Bound off after row 42. This pattern drove me crazy! Nothing wrong with the pattern but the asymmetrical cables made me crazy. I like everything to match! But they turned out great and I’m happy with them.

I now only have 5 WIPs, the fewest I’ve had in a very long time. Most of them only need a little bit to go and then they’re done and none of them are socks!! Doesn’t mean I won’t cast on for another pair…but for now I think I’m going to work on finishing up what I have that just needs minor things. Maybe a finish two more before I cast on for something new policy?

Fall Sweater Repair…

I’ve been doing a lot of reading up on adding grosgrain ribbon to your button bands to reinforce them and give them a more finished appearance. My Aryn Tunic Cardigan that I knit last year had lost a button months ago and thus I hadn’t been wearing it. But I bought a pair of leggings last week and since this cardigan is long and covers my rear, I needed to repair it before I could wear it. I figured that since it needed the repair, now would be a good time to try out adding the ribbon to a cardigan.

I’d been nervous about trying this since I was worried that I might ruin the sweater but what the hay? Why not try it out? If it didn’t work, I could always just remove the ribbon and reattach the buttons. So I cut off the remaining buttons, measured my ribbon, folded and ironed the ends and pinned it in place.

My band is still a little wonky but otherwise it looks the same.

The inside looks much nicer and feels more secure. I won’t be losing any buttons off this sweater.

For the button hole side I had to fold the ribbon in thirds and iron it before running it through the sewing machine. I didn’t want to cut the ribbon since grosgrain seems to fray badly when you cut it. Then I just pinned it in place and stitched it on by hand the same way I did the button side.

I used the Knitmore Girls Grosgrain Tutorial (found here). It was easy to follow but I wish they also had one that was just pictures with written instructions vs. a video. I just follow pictures and written instructions better than video. But otherwise I found it very helpful.

Since this sweater was knit with cheap yarn from a big box store, it also really needed a good shaving. It had pilled badly and was very fuzzy. But now it’s back in shape and ready for fall wear.

And just in time too. Fall has fallen here in Northern California and it’s my favorite time of year. The weather is cooling off and the sun light has that diffused look to it. It’s so lovely. I’m ready for falling leaves, long walks and that crisp bite to the air. Not to mention Pumpkin Spice Latte’s from Starbucks, yum!

How about you? What’s your favorite part of fall?

Finished Another Pair…

Pattern: Budleigh by Rachel Coopy from her book Coop Knits Socks

Yarn: Jitterbug by Colinette in Fushia

Needles: US 1/2.25mm

Cast on: 08/23/2013

Bind off: 09/09/2013

Notes: Mirror image socks. Easy to memorize pattern. Yarn is soft & cushy.

My Project Page: Budleigh

One Dropped Stitch

A Dropped Stitch is Never the End of the World