Author Archives: atangledyarn84

Knitting Pool Side

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Summer is in full swing around here and that includes swim lessons. Jellybean is taking group lessons and PB has parent/tot lessons. My hubby took to the water so I was free to lounge poolside with Purple Rain Vanilla socks.

This still sock number and and I’m fully past the heel and working up the leg. I think I have one grey/purple color left before the final pink. My plan is to work the pink section 2×2 ribbing to close out the sock.

I did have another swim parent, a dad to boot, recognize my knitting and correctly identify it as a sock. I missed Knitting in Public day earlier this June so I am counting this as my event, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Well…..Shoot

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So my Volcano Trail hit a speed bump. I had grossly misinterpreted the pattern and had my color changes ALLLLL wrong. So I had to pull back a full section of my cowl….sigh

Basically I jumped right to adding the third color (green) instead of slowing fading through the pink where you hold it double with itself. It wasn’t too bad to get back on the needles because with I just fed my needle through the top loops of the garter bumps and I then I was free to pull out the work above it. I did have to fix about 1/3 of the stitches where I accidently got down a row.

My brain had been looking at the green and it did look quite jarring. I MUCH prefer the slow pink fade that I have now. It’s a lot more subtle and beautiful. I have been making this my go-to after the kids go to bed knitting. It’s great tired mommy brain knitting while I binge my latest show.

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Green Worsted Hat

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My hat streak continues with the last cake of worsted yarn that I have wound up many moons ago. This hat is going to be eloquently called “Green Worsted Hat” as the yarn doesn’t have a colorway name and I’m not feeling creative, lol.

This is very THICK or heavy worsted yarn so I am creating robust fabric. I think I cast on 80 stitches and I’m working on a US 8 needle. The yarn is disappearing quickly so I should get close to using up the whole skein.

Still don’t have a solid plan for this hat other than my growing collection stowed away in my cedar chest. Maybe a gift? Who knows but I know I am not done knitting hats, lol.

Happy Knitting!

Volcano Trail Progress

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I would have thought I would have been obsessed with this cowl as much as I had been with my In The Lights, but I have more of a regular interest in this latest marling project. Which means normal Rachelle progress on this cowl. My Volcano Trail has moved past the edge and the first marling section and I’m well into the third.

So far the colors are blending nicely and making very defined but still coordinating color blocks. I do have to be careful to make sure I am getting both strands of yarn. I find myself fixing stitches from the previous row more often that I would care to.

The bottom rolly section will get seamed back on itself so I’m not worried about that. And this pattern has an incredibly creative way to make invisible increases in garter stitch. I really like that trick and will definitely keep that in my tool box.

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Mom’s Bonus Christmas Hat

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Mom’s Bonus Hat is done and dusted! I crushed this project with only inches of yarn leftover!! (Picture me doing enthusiastic fist pumps in the air.) And perhaps by coincidence or fate….today is her birthday. So happy birthday Mom!!

Pattern: My own 88 stitch basic beanie with a flat/seamed crown

Needles: US 7

Yarn: Shepherd’s Mill 2 ply DK in the Berry Gradient colorway

Mods: None really I was just creating on the fly for this project.

This hat used up almost every last bit of the 51 grams or 141 yards of the remaining gradient I had leftover from my Mom’s first Christmas gift hat. I am SUPER pleased with how my idea for the boxed crown came out. An my Kitchener skills aren’t too shabby either, lol.

I think I will plan on wrapping up the first hat I knit and give to her for her birthday with a bottle of wine. And then this recent hat will sit until Christmas time where everyone I know will be getting hand knit hats, lol.

Now I just need to scheme my next hat cast on! Happy knitting!!

A Purple Rain Heel

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Purse knitting for the win! I have reached the heel on my first Purple Rain Vanilla Sock

This yarn is turning out less gradient and more color blocky. But I am considering that a pleasant surprise. I am still struggling to make sure I don’t split the plies on this yarn but as long as I pay attention, its not horrible. My plan is to just knit up the leg until I get the last color block and then add the cuff. And I will make the cuff until I run out of yarn!

My one bummer is that in one of the darker purple sections had a ply break. And that run away play wound it backwards on to the previous yarn. So now I have a line. The dark line is where I have three plies of yarn that is immediately followed by a lighter section of just one ply. This could potentially be a week section of the sock. For this reason I won’t gift these socks. I figure if something goes wrong then I can always mend or patch what blows out.

But it has been good for my knitting mojo to have this project showing such good progress. It makes me feel accomplished even though I can’t seem to find big blocks of time for knitting!

Happy Knitting!!

Out Of Hibernation

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Well, I decided to move this project out of Hibernation and into FO status. These were intended to be my Knee High Christmas socks. But in the end I just couldn’t get past how much brain space and purling it would take to make my original vision. So I wasn’t even picking this project up…..at all.

So I am just going to finish them as they are. I have already added a very small cuff to each sock and I finished the toe decreases on the second tube. This was a Lolodidit Hippo for Christmas skein I had cranked into a sock snake/sock tube.

Basically at this point all I have left to do is add heels and then these can move into my sock drawer. They will be pretty tall but won’t be knee highs. I do have some concern that they won’t fit my full calves but if that happens these can just be socks for my sister. Win win.

It feel liberating to finally make a decision on this project and get it out of my WIP box. Happy Knitting!!

Racing To The Finish

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Mom’s Bonus hat is racing to the finish. My yarn ball is getting scary small!

I have solidified my decision to make this hat a box top. I need every bit of this yarn to make a hat that will be big enough for an adult head. Which means I will knit until I have a yard or two of yarn left and then I will close the hat with Kitchener stitch. This means my hat will have “ears” but I don’t think my mom will mind.

I really don’t have much choice as I don’t have any coordinating yarn in DK in a similar fiber content to add in. Literally nothing…..so here I am. It is kinda nice to think about finishing this project with zero leftovers. I just wish I wasn’t cutting it so close, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Volcano Trail

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Summer had me itching for a new project aka new cast on. So Iet myself cast on my Volcano Trail that I had been wishfully knitting.

I am just barely past the cast on, lol. But this first chunk will be a stockinette section folded over and seamed to itself for the top edge. So I am holding the first color double with itself. I am excited for the colors I have picked for this project, they are quite eclectic.

First up is some Shibui Knits Staccato in the Raspberry color and next I will add some Spunky Eclectic Spunky Socks in the Wild Child color. My third color is a mystery skein of greenish sock yarn that I got in a mystery box purchase. And I will round out this project with a skein of Mrs Crosby’s Hat Box in the Pansy colorway.

So if those yarn names mean nothing to you, basically the cowl will move from pinks to greens and back to purple thanks to marling. This project promises minimal purling so that is a bonus for this garter loving girl!

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Scrappy Marl #2

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Despite my hesitations about this project I did manage to finish my second scrappy marl hat. My second Scrappy Marl is done, blocked and photographed. In the end, I’m okay with this project but still largely “meh” about it.

Pattern: Scrappy Marl by Beata Jezek (Ravelry link)

Needles: US 6s and 8s

Yarn: A whole bunch of tiny sock yarn scraps with no real scheme

Mods: I upped the needle sizes by 2 in order to get a bigger hat than my first one.

This hat ended up using just over 300 yards of sock yarn. I think I used up all but four of my tiny balls of sock. I consider it “tiny” when its under 5 grams. So this was a great stash buster for me.

Just as in my first one I used a spit splice to join all my ends so I didn’t have 1,000 ends to weave in ends. My kiddos laughed at me because I legit used a balloon to block this hat. I inflated the balloon inside this hat and set out to dry. They couldn’t wait for it to dry so they could have the balloon, lol.

This FO is definitely going into the donate pile. It is a fine hat but I just don’t love the chaos of colors. But it is still a functioning hat and will keep a head warm. The yarn is all superwash so I would feel comfortable donating this to a local shelter or other charity.

Happy Knitting!!