Category Archives: Knitting

All my knitting adventures

Ready For Section Four

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My Volcano Trail cowl is whizzing right along. I am now adding my mystery skein of green sock yarn and this time I’m doing it correctly!

I am solidly in section four and getting ready to start section five. As with most of my projects where I hold yarn double…..I still fixing my mistakes where I don’t get both strands in both stitches. Sigh….

The only yarn I have left to fade in is a purple speckled/variegated skein of Ms. Crosby’s Hat box. I am thinking it will blend nicely. I am intrigued to see how I will end up seaming this up an what the finish will look like. Its in the 90s here in Kansas so I won’t be needing what will about to a DK weight cowl anytime soon!

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Knee High Christmas Socks

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At long last I finally have my (Not So) Knee High Christmas Socks off the needles!

Pattern: None, a 72 stitch sock snake with toes, heels and cuffs hand knitted on

Yarn: Lolodidit Plush Sock in Hippo for Christmas

Needles: US 0s

Since I decided to scrap the knee high concept and just make regular socks, I ended up using the main yarn for both cuffs and heels. Plush Sock has a generous put up of 430 yards and I ended up consuming 84 grams or 360 yards of the yarn. So I have some nubs of yarn leftover for my scrap blanket.

The fit is pretty decent they are not tight on my calves as I had expected. They do come up a tad bit higher than my regular socks. These will be nice boot socks for the winter. I do need to do a citric acid soak on these as I’ve had the speckles on Lolodidit yarn fade on past projects.

Happy Knitting!!

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!!