Category Archives: Finished Objects

FO Friday: Helping Hippos Vanilla Socks

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My Helping Hippo Vanilla Socks have reached FO status just as I was literally racing a waking baby PB. They are speckled and tall and glorious! And this is my first FO in like….awhile. It feels nice.

Two toe up vanilla socks worked with 68 stitches with a gusset heel. I used just under 81 grams of yarn which leaves just the right amount of yarn left for repairs and putting some scraps in my blanket. I used US 1.5 needles so my fabric isn’t the densest ever. But I think it should hold up just fine.

One side has a little more “grey area” or blank areas without speckles. But come on, this is hand dyed yarn and that’s just pretty darn awesome. The fit is also pretty good. Admittedly they are VERY snug up around my lower calves. But as hand knit socks are want to do….they will stretch with wear and maybe this pair will then be able to stand up all day long!?

I did notice one small problem. In my haste to beat the clock also known as baby nap time…I was just eyeballing sock two against sock one and I shorted the second sock by like 1/3 of a inch. See above, sigh. But you know what? You can’t tell when they are on my feet and if anyone really gets that close to my feet to investigate….well they just might get a little nudge from said foot. I have a finished pair of socks to keep my footsies toasty in the Kansas winter. That’s a win in my book!

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Rosewood Sockhead Hat

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Thanks to some waiting room time and knitting in bed my Rosewood Sockhead Slouch is done!

Pattern: Sockhead Slouch Hat by Kelly McClure

Yarn: T & H Fiberworks Heather’s Favorite Sock in the Rosewood colorway

Needles: US 1 and US 2

Mods: I worked the main hat until 11 inches and then started the decreases

And this time I decided this hat definitely needed a pom pom. I sewed on the snap and auditioned pom colors for Jellybean and the Hubby. They both agreed on white so that was that!

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I think this hat looks equally good either super slouch or with the brim folded into a more traditional stocking hat. And the pom pom adds a nice finishing effect. The yarn with the subtle variegation really lent itself to this kind of pattern. While it would have made good socks, it makes a spectacular hat.

My daycare provider has a birthday coming up and she spends a lot of time outside exercising her German Shepard. I can’t decide if she is enough of a hat person to like this hat. She is TOTALLY knit worthy, I just don’t know if this project is exactly her thing or not. I need to figure out a sneaky way to suss this out, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Dinosaur Jr

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Thanks to some grandparents distractions and babysitting I managed to finish out the last of Dino Jr! Last we spoke I really only had the eyes and scales left to do.

I managed to dig through my mom’s button stash in her sewing room and find two pink-ish small buttons that made perfect eyes. Jellybean is old enough now I’m confident he won’t chew on and/or choke on them. And I don’t plan on letting PB play with this one. But I thought my button choice worked nicely.

 The scales cranked out quickly and the only mod I made was to only knit two A scales instead of three. I knew I would never fit them all onto the dino without making them looked bunched up. My seaming technique leaves a little to be desired. But I erred on the side of making them Jellybean proof versus picture perfect.

All in all this was a fun knit and a good pattern. I need to work on reducing my ladders but I would probably knit this one again. And the bonus is that I managed to get this all complete out of sight of Jellybean so I’m considering tucking this away for a Christmas present!

If anyone is interested by notes, yarn usage, mods, etc are all on my Ravelry page for this project. This is probably an adventurous beginner pattern and I would say give it a whirl if you have a dino lover in your knitworthy list.

Happy Knitting!!

Pigskin Party Frog It Challenge

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Every year I participate in the Down Cellar Studio’s football KAL, the Pigskin Party KAL. In addition to knitting items for points the KAL also includes things called “interceptions” or side challenges. In October they had a Frog It Interception. And I had just the thing to participate with. This is my Stockinette Shrug I made back in 2012. It was my first “real” sweater and made from some Berroco Vintage DK. I never wore it after I took FO photos. It’s too big, not flattering at all, and not easy to style.

So I took this pile of wrinkly sweater….

And turned it into this….

I lost a little bit of yarn cutting into the bind off and dealing with where the ends were woven in. And I haven’t weighed this yarn yet to see what I have left. But it should be a little over three skeins of DK. The next step for this will be to wind them in to hanks and give them a good wash and whack to relax the yarn.

I have no designs on what I will use this yarn for next. But for now I’m happy to have an unhappy FO returned to the state of happy yarn. Not to mention earning a few points for the KAL!

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Rainbow Pop Sockhead Slouch

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My Rainbow Pop Sockhead Slouch is done, blocked and dry. I am just over the moon with how cool this yarn and pattern combo turned out!

This is how the hat looks with no folded brim. It’s very slouchy and accommodates a pony tail.

Pattern: Sockhead Slouch by Kelly McClure

Yarn: Lemondade Shop Simple Sock in Stormy Day. I used 76 grams or 304 yards of yarn for this hat.

Needles: US 2s. My gauge turned out to be 7.5 stitches and 11 rows to 1 inch.

And here is how it looks with a folded brim. I personally think this is how I’ll be wearing mine. It just looks so sharp!

I did get some pooling at the crown decreases but it’s very negligible. And if anyone gets that close to notice and point that out then I will just headbutt them. This project was soothing balm to my sleep deprived mommy soul. I almost want to cast on another one to have such a happy meditative knit in my bag.

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Leksak

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As promised yesterday my Leksak is blocked and all ready for Fall in Kansas.

Pattern: Leksak by Yarn-Madness

Yarn: Berroco Comfort DK in Menthe and Primary Blue. I used 233 yards of the Menthe and 85 yards of the Primary Blue. So all in all that’s about 94 grams of yarn.

Needles: US 4 (the pattern calls for 6s and I oopsed) My gauge ended up being 5.5 stitches and 8 rows to 1 inch.

Size: 12 months

 

Sorry no finished photos with PB. She is in the middle of a developmental leap and just kind of a crabby mess after we get home from work. Her little brain is really growing up a storm. But bottom line is that I loved this pattern and will most likely re-knit this again as PB gets bigger.

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: PB’s Sporty Cardigan #2

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Well, ladies and gentlemen….PB has a new sweater! The Second Sporty Cardigan is finished, washed, blocked, buttons added and ends trimmed off. Now I just need cute baby photos to put the icing on the cake.

I went with the round two tone buttons. As you can see I really worked a lot of buttons into this sweater. And the top two turned out really close together. But I kind of like it. Now I can fasten the top two buttons and let the rest of the sweater hang open to show a cute onesie underneath.

Note: Blocking didn’t completely correct my buttons bands but it greatly improved them. I’m marking this a win and moving on.

Pattern: Sporty Cardigan for Boys and Girls by Cecilie Clark

Yarn: Frabjous Fibers Messenger Kit and Knit Picks Comfy Sport. I used roughly 266 yards or 89 grams of yarn to make a 12 month sized sweater. This included every last drop of Frabjous Fibers so no pesky leftovers hanging out in my stash!

Needles: US 4s (I forgot to switch to 6s for the body so I just kinda rolled with it. My gauge is just a little tighter and my sweater a smidgen smaller than I wanted but it’s still lovely)

Mods: See above or check out my Rav notes.

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Gidday Baby Sweater

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PB’s Gidday Baby Sweater has been done and sitting for quite awhile. I just couldn’t muster the gumption to dig out and sew on buttons. Well after a couple of poop-splosions this week I was running out of sweaters for PB. So here is her finished Gidday Baby.

I found some nice neutral semi-transparent buttons in the right size in my button stash. Which is impressive because my button stash is minimal at best. Are they the best buttons for this sweater….no. But do they look okay and make a perfectly serviceable sweater…..yes!

I made some mods in order to shoot for knitting a 12 month sized sweater. I’m not sure if I exactly made it 12 month sized but it’s big enough for PB to wear. So I’m taking that as a win and running with it. My Ravelry details can be found here with a brief description of my mods.

Now do I dare start a true 12 month sweater for PB? And if so what should it be???

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Big Bang Vanilla Socks

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My bathroom knitting proved fruitful, my Big Bang Vanilla Socks are finished!! I finished the last afterthought heel….this time with no knots, yay!

img_4847Pattern: My own vanilla socks over 68 stitches with afterthought heel

Yarn: Turtlepurl Turtle Toes in Rock, Paper, Lizard Spock

Needles: US 1s

I used 77 grams or 355 yards of the self-striping Turtlepurl yarn and about 5 grams or 23 yards of Serenity sock solid red.  Even with as tall as I made these socks, I still have the striping yarn left. Maybe I could make some easy leg warmers for PB to match mommy??

I’m really happy with the yarn. It knit up beautifully and the colors really grew on me. The fit is fantastic in the foot and in the heel. But my post pregnancy legs are still….well they are what they are. And the cuffs are a tid bit tight. I will have to see how they wear and if they are uncomfortable or fall down. But it’s still 90+ degrees in Kansas so it will be fall before I find out.

I would totally buy this yarn again. This dyer is amazing and the fabric is scrumptious on my feet. My only conundrum is what easy peasy vanilla project I should start next for my “knitting after the baby goes to sleep” project….

Happy Knitting!!