Author Archives: atangledyarn84

Books to Kick Off 2025

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This past holiday, I was blessed to receive some books from my friends. I have fallen off the reading trend in December and moved to some audio books for my commute while my podcasts were on holiday hiatus.

But these books look great and I think I am going to jump start my reading on my upcoming Moms trip to Oklahoma. Four days, one AirBnB, no kids and all the down time. Right now my plan is to take All Good People Here and We Solve Murders with me. And of course my knitting….possibly my spinning. I haven’t decided.

Happy Reading!!

Cast On: Scandia Hat

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After finishing my Flats Hat, I needed another easy project on the needles. So I cast on a hat called the Scandia Hat.

This was the DK yarn that Santa put in my stocking from KnitCircus. It is their Divine DK in the color Pet Rock Speckle. Since this is a plump DK, I moved down to a US 7 but did cast on up to 100 stitches.

These hats are so forgiving that they will always fit someone. I am ribbing this hat brim with a 2×2 rib. It will still be my basic beanie recipe with a folded brim. Those just feel automatic to my hands while I am watching or talking with people.

Happy Hat Knitting!!

Finished: Pigskin Party Blitz Blanket

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The Pigskin Party Blitz Blanket is DONE DONE DONE!

As predicted, this thing ended up MASSIVE. After blocking and drying, this thing covers my whole entire sofa. Those holes really opened up.

Pattern: Sundance Throw by Jessica Reeves Potasz (Rav Link)

Hook: K hook (6.5MM)

Yarn: Chromatic Yarns – Sturdy DK base in so many colors (Rav Link for specifics)

Mods: Omitted the fringe in the pattern.

This project contains a ton of mistakes, flubs and fixes. But it is cozy and so warm to snuggle under. I think I plan to put this on my side of the bed on top of my quilt for some extra winter warmth. I used 11 skeins totaling 2,706 yards of yarn. I scored over 650 points in the Pigksin Party KAL for this blanket.

I think I will be done with blankets for a minute and switch to some sweater knitting for a change of pace. At least until next year’s KAL….

Happy Crocheting!!

Finished: Flats Hat

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The Flats Hat is complete and ready for my 2025 gift bag.

Pattern: My own 88 stitch beanie “recipe”

Needles: US 8s

Yarn: Thelittlewolfknits Opti base in the Pigskin Party KAL exclusive colorway “Flats or Drums”

I forced myself to extend this to maximize yarn usage. I used 82 grams or 179 yards of yarn total. I got 40 bonus KAL points for using sponsor yarn. I really like how the dark brown spiraled in this hat at my gauge.

I would definitely buy more yarn from this dyer again. It was nicely dyed and I didn’t have any colors bleed. And the hand of the finished fabric is very soft and nice. Orange isn’t usually my colors but I love how the browns and green bits punch this one up.

Now on to my next hat! Happy Knitting!!

The Last Bit

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Y’all….I am down to skein 11 and the last bit to boot for my Pigskin Party Blitz Blanket!

I am now entering the phase where I watching my ball of yarn to make sure I can finish a full row of stitches. I do want to try to finish with a row of SC to make a stronger edge to match the cast on edge.

This project is super heavy and I am not looking forward to blocking this one. I am fairly certain my washing machine on the delicate cycle will be the way to go. I have a clothesline in the basement I can hang this one to stretch it out using its own weight.

Let’s finish this! Happy Crocheting!!

Flats Hat Decreases

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My Flats Hat is ready for decreases!

The family sat down and watched RedOne since we missed it in December and I cruised through the body of the hat. The move is great and seeing a jacked Santa was something else! This yarn is Littlewolfknits yarn in the Opti base called “Flats or Drums”. I picked flats because those are the superior wings IMO.

I managed to get my DPNs installed before my eyes started crossing and it was time to go to bed. I should be able to wrap this up in the next couple of days. And bonus for me, it will earn me extra points in the Pigskin Party KAL for an exclusive sponsor product.

Happy Knitting!!

Starting Skein 10!

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I am committed to this blanket. I really want this done and I am honestly kind of bored with the monotony. It’s also getting very heavy and I started using blanket clips to help me flip it back and forth. And I am persevering, I am officially on skein 10 for my Pigskin Party Blitz Blanket.

I coming to the realization that this thing will be mahoosive. Unblocked and still one skein to go….this thing covers my parents patio table. This will probably end up a large throw size. I am fairly happy with the color progressions. If I wasn’t trying to clear out this yarn, I might have left out the teal and the green/yellow.

One more skein and I can check this off! Happy Knitting!!

2024: A Year in Stats

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Photo by Lukas on Pexels.com

I sat down and updated my Ravelry account to wrap up my 2024 items and I decided to crunch some stats on what I did last year.

  • I finished 51 projects that totaled 13,962 yards of yarn used up
  • I purchased 84.5 skeins of yarn that totaled 16,566 yards of yarn brought in
  • I made 41 completed hats that represented the bulk of my knitting this year
  • I purchased 10 new bats or braids of fiber this year
  • I finished 5 skeins of handspun
    • Tallied a total of 1,429 points for the 2024 Pigksin Party KAL
    • Attended three in person knitting events or retreats

So all in all, a very productive year for me. I really felt my knitting mojo coming back after I changed my work situation. I did bring in more yarn that I used up but only by 2,600 yards so that isn’t so bad. I’m really showing my inner accountant with this post, lol.

I don’t really feel like setting any goals for 2025 and letting the fiber guide me! Happy New Year!!

Cast On: 2024 Advent Socks Take Two

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I have been watching The Cozy Knitter make her advent socks and she does this cool feature of adding blips of the contrast yarn as she changes stripes. I have always meant to try it but then the holidays hit and I can only manage stockinette. After finishing a vanilla version, I am committing to trying this out!

I had to dig through my scraps to find some toe yarn. It’s a light grey from Red Door Fibers and should blend well with this mix of colors. I then used the scraps of the white contrast yarn from The Cozy Knitter to start my blips every 4th st.

This is my normal recipe for a 68 stitch toe up vanilla sock. I will do afterthought heels and this time inside a stripe to not mess up my colorwork. I am trying to work hard to make my floats stretchy and not pull them tight. It would be nice if these socks fits at the end!

So far I am happy with the look of these and I am learning a lot about managing the white yarn to avoid 1,000 ends on the inside. Should be interesting!!

Happy Knitting!!

Turning My Flats Brim

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Thanks to a holiday dinner at GGs and some family chit chatting….I knit enough to turn the brim on my Flats Hat.

My little cousins were mesmerized at how much fabric I could make during one family party. They tried to convince me that this was orange enough to be a hunting hat, lol. I know I need to make more ribbed brims for my hat collection, but it is just so much faster to work stockinette in infinity.

This hat has a deadline to score some extra points in the Pigskin Party KAL. This yarn from thelittlewolfknits earns me sponsor points! These hats really don’t take much time if I can force myself to be monogamous…but that has been a problem lately as I want to cast on all the things!

Happy Knitting!!