Category Archives: WIPs

That’s More Shawl Like

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After some dedicated knitting time, my shawl has progressed past thong phase and into baby shawl phase.

As with my other In The Lights, I find myself splitting the strands or not getting both picked up. I mostly catch and fix these as I work the next row. But there are quite a few oopsies in this fabric. I am just thinking of them as character.

This was my gung ho project until I started my granny stripe blanket and I want to work on nothing else but that blanket. So I made an internal deal to work at least four rows on this a day before I can pick up my blanket. We will see how long that lasts. I’m just glad my mojo is back!

Happy Knitting

A Crochet Cast On

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I have been sitting on a 2021 advent calendar from Queen City Yarn circa 2021. I tried and failed to make a shawl with it. It has been sitting in a closet ever since. I have been full of new year energy, new project ideas and an idea of granny stripes WILL NOT GET OUT OF MY HEAD.

I have never made a granny square or granny stitch before. But I sat down in front of a warm fire and turned on YouTube and taught myself. I went down the Ravelry rabbit hole and found the Sock Scraps Granny Stripe Blanket from Leila McCullough (Rav link) to use as a pattern base.

I mostly used the pattern for gauge and stitch count. I am not 100% following it’s granny stitch instructions as I found the YouTube videos more helpful and intuitive for my crochet skill level. I started with the full 100 gram skein and worked a couple of rows and now I’m adding the first day of advent.

I will continue in this pattern of full skein skinny stripes in between each day’s color. Unsure how this will look in the end but it’s the only way I could contemplate using this full skein in this blanket in a meaningful way.

Happy Crochet!

It Always Looks Like A Thong

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Yes, I still have lights up in my house. I finally took down Christmas decor but the lights just hit right with my seasonal effectiveness disorder. So I am leaning in. And I am getting on to my WIP pile. First up is my Mom’s In The Light.

This construction of shawl always looks like a thong at this stage. But I am moving along. I have made this pattern three times before so I’m pretty familiar. This version will not be faded and I might be playing yarn chicken. But this is what my Mom gave me to work with so I am going to figure it out.

Right now I’m just cruising through the garter in a two row repeat. Perfect for TV and fireplace knitting. Happy Knitting!!

Teeny Toe

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I have been focused on my 2023 Christmas Eve cast on socks, but my Advent Leftover Socks saw a little daylight this week thanks to an evening work meeting.

I think I added two color stripes during the 2 hour meeting? I did have to do some typing and working depending on the topic. I am keeping my socks from tangling by using skein sleeve aka ball sacks. This really helps to keep things tidy when these just get tossed into my backpack.

It’s been SUPER cold this month and I have been using lots of wool socks. I have found a flaw in my current sock mix. I have been wearing more skinny jeans and leggings and I don’t have nearly enough short wool socks to pair with them. My mid calf socks kinda ruin the vibe. So these socks will definitely be knit as shorties!

Happy Knitting!!

Dry Knitting

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I’m doing some health conscious practices this January. I’m not a big resolution person but I do believe in purposeful choices. One of those is dry January. So at night with my knitting I am choosing caffeine free soda, like this cream soda, or some sparkling lemonade. For me, its not about what the beverage is and it more about the ritual of my evening. Time alone, beverages I don’t have to share and just some quiet peace.

My rituals have (and the fact this is sport weight yarn) made significant progress on my 2023 Christmas Eve socks. I finished the foot, the gusset heel and part of the leg. If I stay on this track I should have finished socks soon!

I may or may not have pulled another skein of sport weight merino/nylon/cashmere from my Christmas haul to start my next pair of sport weight socks. 🙂

Happy Knitting!!

Saturday Mornings

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This is pretty much what every Saturday morning looks like for me. PB has early morning gymnastics so I am the wrangler of the beverages and all assorted baggage. It’s coffee for me and water or powerade for her.

This past trip I took both my Teal Dreams Beanie and my 2023 Christmas Eve Cast on socks. I ignored the beanie and focused on my socks as I was able to get the second sock to where I was starting the gusset heel increases. And reaching that milestone felt really good.

I am supporting my choices that feel mindful and happy. And keeping myself sane during a 60 minute lesson is a freezing warehouse building, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Let’s Kitchener

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I am persevering with my glitchy beanie. For no good reason other than I wanted to use up the yarn, I knit the hat until I had a a yard or so left. I am going to split the hat on two needles and just kitchener closed.

This photo creatively hides the oops/glitch from you. I’ll show you it after I have the hat finished. For now I am catching up on my Knitgirllls podcast episodes while I work on the finishing. All I am missing is a good cup of coffee.

Happy Knitting!!

Hat With A Glitch

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Whelp, my Teal Dreams Hat has a tiny glitch. When I was last knitting it, it was late in the evening by firelight. Aaaannnd, that led to a glitch. When I joined in the round I didn’t line up the stitches and it created a weird fold/twist at the BOR/EOR where I had more stitches on the live stitches versus the cast on edge. I didn’t think it was a big deal and just made it work, or so I thought.

I’m too far to rip this back. But it’s enough to make me not want to gift this one. It will still make a perfectly warm hat. I will finish this as a vanilla beanie and either keep for our stash or put in a donate pile. Sigh, I really shouldn’t knit in the dark when doing technical bits…

Happy Knitting!!

Halfway There

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For this Friday, I only have a HO. My 2023 Christmas Eve Socks are halfway done.

I did split the ball in yarn by weight. And I was actually surprised by how tall these socks turned out to be. I ended up adding 4 stitches in the leg to accommodate my calves. This sock barely fits on my sock blocker but does fit my foot.

The foot is a little long and that tells me I could have started the heel sooner. But this is still a wearable product so I will I am going to continue. The second sock is cast on my DPNs, but only just barely. Have to try to beat SSS!

Happy Knitting!!

Smaller Was Better

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I finished the second and smaller mitt. And as predicted, smaller was better. The 40 stitch mitt was a better fit than the 44 stitch mitt. So I ripped back the bigger one and started it over again. Sometimes, I hate when I am right.

I fortified myself with a strong cup of coffee in my favorite Ted Lasso mug to work the now third mitt. The silver lining? The handspun did rip out fairly well and the re-knitting isn’t terrible. This has alpaca in it so I was worried about felting. So far so good!

Now I just need to finish a third mitt to make a finished pair. Happy Knitting!!