Category Archives: WIPs

What Did I Get Myself Into 

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The yarn for my Aeon Vest is here! Now I’m being a good girl. I’ve knit a swatch…

  
I haven’t blocked it yet. But I did use the recommended size 6 needles and the fabric is very loose. I haven’t compared this to pattern guage because it’s not blocked and I’m not sure I like how this fabric feels. I want this vest not to grow when worn or be too loosey goosey.

Now before I did this swatch I had taken my measurements to find the appropriate pattern size. I then went about marking up the pattern after reading carefully. I like to white out all the directions that don’t apply to me and make notes/highlights to help me along the way. Now I’m not sure the size I marked is the one I’ll end up knitting based on my desired fabric guage…knitting fail.

  
Having done all that, I can’t help but think….what the hell did I get myself into!? This pattern is knit in one piece and has detailed directions. But it’s my first foray into a moderately shaped piece with lots of *at the same time*. I may well lose what little brains I have left. But  I know I will need to color coded the snot out of this to reduce my chance of screwing up.

Only time will tell! Happy Knitting!!

Vestuary

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The month of February has become known as Vestuary in the knitting world. I’m not sure who started it but it’s cute regardless. I’ve never played along but I got the itch this year. I’ve been eyeing the Aeon Vest by Hilary Smith Callis.

  
(Photo @hilarysmithcallis)

I want this vest like right now in this color in my greedy little paws. Jewel tones really go well with my eyes and skin tone. Not to mention that the open nature of this vest won’t emphasize my still there mom belly. And it’s got pockets!!

This is worked in worsted and I need over 1,000 yards. I can’t afford to break the bank but I really need this sweater!!! A friend had recently mentioned she used Mighty Stitch by Knit Picks for a sweater and found it really hard wearing yet soft. Perfect for my life where I get covered in Toddler “love” every day. It’s 20% SW and 80% acrylic with 208 yard skeins. At $3.49 per ball I could knit my vest for under $25. And you guys….they had that blue….

  
It’s “celestial” and just perfect. So then I might have gone right over and put in my order. I’m hoping the yarn gets here fast so I can at least start this in Vestuary!

So Close!!

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My Husbands Pats socks are soooooo close!

  
We took a last minute three day weekend not so long ago and I got some really good car knitting in. I finished the first sock and plowed through the second one. It’s Jan 30th and I have until Feb 7th (the Super Bowl) to get these done for the #dcspigskinparty2015 KAL.

Seriously it’s like 4 more inches of ribbing and done! Fingers crossed!!

WIP Wednesday: Go Patriots! Socks 

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I have made progress on the Hubby’s Go Patriots! Socks but alas it’s become eminently clear that these won’t make the #dcspigskinparty2015 KAL deadline of the Super Bowl. But no worries I’ll still get a cute FO regardless!

  
As you can see I’m finished with the heel of the first sock. I had a brainstorm while working the foot that these are just the first few socks I’ve knit for the husband. (I have just finished the Heritage Vanilla socks for the hubby and they used a 60% afterthought heel.) Now I know what kinds of heels I like in my socks but the hubby doesn’t (and maybe won’t care). Anyhow I’ve decided to do a gusset heel for this pair. That way he has a pair of each and can tell me which is more comfortable after wearing for awhile.

We will see but for the time being I need to get knitting!

Casu Cowl Rebooted

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I managed to rip back my Casu Cowl blunder and start again with the correct pattern. 

  
I completed the set up and two pattern repeats. The patter is pretty straight forward and should be easy to memorize. The problem is that this yarn doesn’t sing to me. Therefore the project as a whole doesn’t get my mojo going. I don’t hate it….but given other options I always pick something else. I have a car trip coming up and the short back and forth rows should be good car knitting. I may just pack this project and only this project to get it off the needles.

This is definitely a case where I want the FO but I’m struggling with the actually knitting if it, lol.

Happy Knitting!

WIP Wednesday: Go Patriots! Socks

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Just a quick flyby up date on my Go Patriots! Socks.

  
This is A LOT of tiny stitches. I really want these to be done by the Super Bowl to count for the #dcspigskinparty2015. But I’m not sure I’ll get there. I don’t want rush so much that I stress myself out. This yarn from Berry Colorful Yarning is to die for! And the stripes are just so….stripey!

I’m still not sold on the black toes but my husband likes it. Pretty sure I will continue to complain about it until these are off my needles, lol. What’s a knitter to do but to keep knitting! 

Happy Knitting!

To Alpaca or Not To Alpaca….

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I was lured by the softness of alpaca yarn during my 2015 Central KS Yarn hop stop at Alpacas of Wildcat Hollow.

I love the softness but the drape the yarn has sort of limits its use for me. And I only had one skein of worsted weight in a pink/green colorway. I did some Ravelry perusing through my queue and a quick pattern search and I found the Casu Cowl by Galia Lael. A lovely worsted weight grafted cowl.

When I caked up this skein of yarn I found a lot of veg matter as that something accompanies small batch milled yarn such as this. I also found the yarn to be very loosely plied and quite a bit thinner than worsted weight in my opinion. In a fit of productivity I had this yarn paired with printed pattern and needles in a project bag ready to go a few weeks back.

I cast on according to the instruction and knit one pattern repeat. But it was looking nothing like the pattern page…and then it hit me. I had put the wrong printed instructions in this project bag and was in fact knitting an entirely different project…the The Darn Kinetic Cowl. Insert forehead smack here….

In a way I’m a little glad I found this mistake because I hated the yarn/pattern combo with the Kinetic cowl. So now I need to rip this out, print the correct instructions, and start knitting again.

Le sigh….

For The Love of Cashmere

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My Flying North socks hit the FO pile last week and I didn’t let the needles sit bare for long! I pulled the Dream in Color Smooshy with cashmere from my Central KS yarn hop from Unwind in Manhattan, KS.

  
This is the Lucky Stone color way. It’s a deep rich green with bits of black running through. It’s very hard to photograph but totally worth it. This yarn is SOFT!!! I toyed with using a patterned toe up sock but quickly rejected that given the dark color. I don’t want to squint at these socks, so vanilla it is!

  
I’ve completed the toe on sock #1!

Go Patriots! Socks

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After some success with my husband’s Heritage Vanilla Socks I decided to start a second pair for him without finishing the first pair.  I pulled the Berry Colorful Yarning Pats color way from my 2016 Sock Experiment and got to work!

  I’ve divided and wound the yarn into tw cakes. This will be a 72 stitch vanilla socks on size US 2 nine inch circs with a 60% afterthought heel. The hubby requested tighter running around the ankle so I may take the ribbed cuff down to 68 stitches to see how he likes that.

As I wound this yarn I was also careful to make each ball start with in same portion of the stripes. This way these babies will match. I lost a tiny bit of yardage due to this. After consulting the hubby we decided on contrasting heels and toes to make up the difference. He chose some Serenity Sock weight by Deborah Norville from my stash…in black. Not my choice but these are his socks, lol.

   
This project also helps me with my 2015 Pigskin Party KAL points total. I get bonus points for using a KAL sponsor product! Now I just have to get these knit before the super bowl…

Happy Knitting!

A Plan For Husband Socks

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My previous attempt at Husband Socks were a little lackluster. My hubby has size a 12/13 US shoe size. His foot is literally 11 inches long so that’s a LOT of tiny stitches. I’ve thus far not been very excited about knitting for his tootsies. But he’s been quietly hinting that he’d like warm socks. So I put my big girl pants on and made a new plan!

Thicker yarn + bigger needles = faster socks

  
I had some Cascade Heritage Prints in my stash that is a heavier fingering weight. And I pulled out my size 2 US 9″ inch circs from my birthday.

These are toe up vanillas with 72 stitches on the US 2s. These are flying!! The sharp points of the Hiya Hiya needles really help I’m finding. The pic above is just a couple of hours of leisurely car knitting. Fingers crossed these will keep flying along because it would be a great jumpstart to my 2016 Wishlist!

Happy Knitting and Happy New Year!!