A New Bag

My memory sock yarn blanket had been living in the plastic packaging that some sheets had come in. At first I was happy with the see-through plastic bag that kept things nice and tidy with a zippered closure. But the bag now has seen better days and the blanket has grown to size that it doesn’t fit inside the bag with the scrap anymore.

So in a hormone fueled Etsy shopping incident, I may have procured a large project bag from Bags by Awesome Granny.

I went with a donut print and that may have been influenced by the never ending hunger that PB has foisted upon me as she packs on those last few baby ounces. But I think it’s pretty darn adorable regardless. And the pink lining makes me happy because who doesn’t love pink polka dots?

My folded blanket and scraps fit nicely inside, for now. This bag won’t see the project through to the end but it’s a 1,000% improvement from what I had. My blanket and scraps are both now safe from sticky three year old fingers. And the craftsmanship by Darlene is impeccable. This bag will hold many a project I’m sure in it’s tenure with me!

Do you have a bag maker that you discovered and loved?

These Socks Are Electric

My Electric Mayhem Socks are just downright addictive….

I have cruised through three of the five color changes and only have a teeny bit of yarn left. I find myself thinking, I’ll just get to the next color and then I can’t quit. This yarn just makes you look like a knitting genius and absolutely baffles the muggles. Not to mention it helps this knitter get through some interminable meetings and webinars.

I only have a few grams of yarn left. I think the plan will be to finish the green section in stockinette and when I hit the yellow I’ll switch to 2×2 ribbing for the cuff. As I said before, I’m just knitting a tube until I run out of yarn and I’ll just cut in an afterthought heel when it’s all said and done. Easy peasey and no complex thinking required….just what the knitting doctor ordered!

Happy Knitting!!

Nesting….Knitting Style

So PB’s arrival marches ever closer. And while we are not ready because why would we need the bassinet assembled, the car seat installed, or meals in the freezer? But I do have my hospital bag is packed and you guys…..I may have included a (wishful thinking) project in there.

capture20180512134042724

I have been lusting after the Thotful Spot Hat by Sarah Schira for awhile. And the speckled DK skein from Potion Yarns has been calling my name since Knitting in the Heartland. In a fit of nesting I pulled out some needles, the yarn, printed pattern and a brand spanking new project bag…..and I cast on and established the brim pattern. And then promptly tucked the whole shebang into my suitcase.

I realistically may never touch it during my hospital stay. (I will have a guaranteed three night stay thanks to a c-section so it is a possibility.) But part of me feels reassured that if need be I will have pretty yarn and an easy project if I get the knitting itch. Maybe that is it’s point? To be a source of comfort and mental focal point during a time of joyous yet monumental change….just waiting in case it’s needed from inside a cheerful project bag. Only time will tell!

Happy Knitting!!!

WIP Minders Find

So Jellybean had his first incident with pointy knitting sticks. Don’t worry no one was actually harmed in the process. But Jellybean got a nice poke and my needles are a little less straight then they used to be. This prompted a late night Etsy session. I found a wonderful shop called Sunshine Lily Crafts.

And I picked up two WIP minders/needle cozies. One larger one and one shorter one to accommodate my 8 inch and 6 inch DPNs. Here’s hoping I can prevent painful poking in the future when Jellybean is flying around like a superhero or Tasmanian devil. Or you know….when I accidentally sit on my project whilst flopping onto the couch….

Note: This shop had excellent customer service and was very responsive. I couldn’t have asked for a better shop experience. Not to mention the product is very well sewn and shipped incredibly fast! I would definitely buy from her again!

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Electric Mayhem Socks

My flow of webex meetings and conference calls is not slowing down anytime soon. So I know I needed more purse/backpack knitting after having empty sock needles. And because I have been storing up a well curated stash…I know I could just go shopping through my lovelies!

Because of my baby brain and current complete lack of energy I knew the perfect sock skein to grab. And by perfect, I mean already caked up in a matching set….no winding up required! This is my Electric Mayem color from KnitCircus Yarn on their Greatest of Ease base. Literally I only had to grab a project bag and some empty needles.

I hope to get these cast on today during my webinar. My plan is to get started on a 68 stitch toe-up vanilla sock and knit the tube until I run out of yarn. This is their 75 gram set  so that should be just about the right amount of yarn for my size socks while not having to stop before the gradient is done. I will use my big box store workhorse yarn to put in afterthought heels in a solid black.

This is one yarn I’m not concerned about saving scraps for my memory blanket. I want to get every bit of delicious color gradient into the sock. I am so giddy to get these going and watch those electric colors transition!

Happy Knitting!!

The Memory Blanket Rides Again

While waiting for inspiration to strike….I pulled out my trusty memory blanket!

This just makes me so happy! I’m two squares away from squaring this off again. I don’t even care how hot this is on my lap while I knit, that’s how much I love this!

I did fall down the Etsy hole and may or may not have ordered a large project bag to contain this beast. Right now it lives in a plastic sheet set bag with the zipper that’s wearing out. I feel like something this beautiful deserves proper storage! I’ll share my bag once it gets here….teeehee….

Happy Knitting!!

Dryer Ball Experiment

It was a lovely weekend here in Kansas and so I turned my 3 year tornado loose in the backyard to burn off all his little wonderful energy. I meanwhile wanted to try an experiment. I had been catching up on the backlog of the YarnHoarder YouTube podcast and recently watched her segment on dryer balls. I have had one in the past but I wasn’t impressed. Amber mentioned that she uses several at once and it cuts her drying time in half.

So my 36 week preggo body waddled to JoAnns and came home with some 100% wool to felt. I picked up three different weights to test out….roving, bulky, and worsted.

Jellybean even took play breaks to help me wind into balls!

I got them all wrapped up into balls and ensconced into pantyhose. Jellybean thought this part was HILARIOUS. I wasn’t very scientific about the size. I just split each skein into two balls as best I could tell. They totally didn’t turn out equal. Score one for eyeballing it!

Now I just need to wait for either a load of towels or jeans to pile up so I can pop these into the wash to get them felted!

Happy Crafting!

FO Friday: Strands of Drunken Watermelon

By pure force of will (and a good bought of pregnancy related insomnia) My Strands of Drunken Watermelon socks are FINISHED!

In full disclosure a good bit of the second sock was knit at 2 am…while eating cereal….and crying for no good reason other than I couldn’t sleep. I’m not sure what kind of karma that knits into this sock…but hot darn I have a FO!

Pattern: Strands of Gold by Linda Garland

Yarn: Miss Babs Hot Shot in Drunken Watermelon

Needles: US 1s

I used roughly 332 yards of yarn for this pair which or 94 grams. I have a nice little ball of leftovers to tuck into my memory blanket and to save a little for any future sock repairs. I was really happy with this yarn. It’s a nice plump 3-ply with great stitch definition. The pattern was a pretty good one. I memorized the pattern really quickly and really didn’t read the pattern after that. Which is evident because I didn’t use the short row heel written in the pattern, lol.

The socks fit pretty well even on my 36 week swollen cankles….so I’m confident the will be ready to fit for fall when hopefully I’m more normal sized. But this finish leaves me with NO SOCKS ON THE NEEDLES. I don’t want to start a bunch of stuff before PB’s arrival but I need at least a vanilla sock for work/purse knitting. Time to go stash diving!!

Happy Knitting!!

Drunken Watermelon Heel

I managed to meet my goal of working through the Drunken Watermelon heel yesterday!

I do admit this was quite a bit of knitting for me, especially given I am working a 72 stitch sock and gusset increases can feel like FOREVER.  But I’m pleased with my progress and gusset heels just fit me so nicely. Now I only have 13 pattern repeats or 52 rows of leg knitting to get to the ribbing.

Not going to lie, the weather is improving in Kansas and between conference calls and outside playtime for Jellybean……I’m interested to see how far I can get today and tomorrow on this….

Dare I dream that these are a FO by the weekend?

 

WIP Wednesday: Drunken Watermelon Socks

In a fit of pregnancy nesting I have been steaming through some of my languishing WIPs in my UFO bin. This week’s project is my Drunken Watermelon socks.

Last I shared about this project I was at the progress keeper shown hanging out at the toe. And for this week’s webex and webinar craziness, I worked on this project. I mean it’s just criminal to let Miss Babs yarn sit hibernating for almost a year!

I cruised through the rest of the foot and started the gusset increases. I have set a personal goal to get through the heel by tomorrow. The good news is that I have the first sock to compare to and it’s easy to count my rows/stitches so that I can make equal sized socks!