Category Archives: WIPs

Cast On: Kindness Double Brim Hat

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Last week I finished my Kindness Mitts out of my last skein of Hedgehog Fibers Merino DK. And I have about 80 grams of yarn left between my two colors. So I did some pattern searching and I found pattern to start a hat. I am using Staci Perry’s Double Thick Brim Hat.

Now I’m just using this pattern as loose guide. I definitely don’t have enough yarn to knit a double thick brim or to make it exceedingly slouchy. But I like the stitch count and gauge enough I think I can modify it enough for my purposes.

I’ve completed about 3 inches (ish) of ribbing and I’m starting the stockinette portion. The next trick will be to decide how to work in the Salty Tales (grey speckle) color into my hat to maximize my hat size. I am deciding between small stripes to match my Kindness KAL 2019 shawl or one thick band/stripe just to be done faster.

Happy Knitting!

FO Friday: Kindness Mitts

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Here are my Kindness Mitts in all their unblocked glory! 

Pattern: Fingerless Mitts by Cheryl Goyer

Yarn: Hedgehog Fibers Merino DK in Ink

Needles: US 5s

Mods: I didn’t work the full thumb as prescribed in the pattern. I knit until it looked good enough and cast off.

 

 

As predicted the fit is pretty baggy. But they don’t fall off so I’m calling it a win. I used 125 yards or roughly 65 grams of yarn for these two mitts. I knit the first one to pattern measurements and then I knit the second one by counting the rows in the first one. I felt pretty smart doing that. They ended up almost identical!

What I’m really pleased about is that they will smashing with my Kindness KAL 2019 shawl as matching accessories. And I’m currently weighing my leftovers of this last skein of Ink and my Salty Tales to see if I have enough to eeek out a matching hat! Stay tuned….

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Kindness Mittens

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I finished my shawl last week and this week I have started some matching mitts! I really liked the pattern Fingerless Mitts by Cheryl Goyer that I used with my Free Your Fade leftovers so I decided to repeat it.

I’ve so far cast them on and worked through three inches of ribbing. I’m ready to move into the stockinette portion before the thumb. It’s kind of nice to have a speedy knit on the needles right now! Not to mention this is a nice cool project that doesn’t leave a heap of wool in my lap when its 90 degrees.

Happy Knitting!!

Neon In The Wild

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It’s that time of year again to drag my happy behind to the doctor and get all the things checked. These appointments are never fun but necessary for good proactive health care. And I have knitting which makes all the waiting bearable. I took my Gonna Need Sunglasses vanilla socks out into the wild!

I managed to turn the heel on the second sock while waiting in all the rooms! And I may have turned a few heads while people took a second to absorb the blinding neon sock in my hands.

I’m pretty happy with sock number two and the color changes are lining up decently well with sock number one. Now I just have a leg to finish and I’ll have another pair of socks to add my drawer for winter!

Happy Knitting!!

Kindness Unblocked

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I WON AT YARN CHICKEN! And here she is….my finished Kindness KAL 2019 shawl in all her unblocked glory!

I squeaked by with just the tiniest bit of blue yarn left without having to break into the second skein. I did have a more substantial ball of the Salty Tales grey color left. I’m using Hedgehog Fibers Merino DK by the way. The blue color is Ink. I even managed to weave in but not trim my ends from all the color changes.

As you read this my shawl has already been soaked and is drying on the blocking mats. Jellybean helped me and we broke out my blocking wires and really gave this shawl a good stretching. In doing this we found ONE dropped stitch. I calmly grabbed my double ended crochet hook and laddered it back up and then secured it with a piece of waste yarn on the wrong side of the work. No one but me will be the wiser!

Humidity has come to Kansas for summer and so I’m not sure how long this puppy will take to dry. Jellybean keeps checking at least every hour to see if it’s done. I think maybe I’ll set a fan on it to speed up the process for both our sakes!

A Game Of Yarn Chicken

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I haven’t wanted to knit on anything else but my Kindness 2019 Shawl from my Mother’s Day cast on. I blew through all the remaining sections and I’m on the last garter eyelets before the garter bind off.

The pattern indicated that you could continue to add eyelets if you had the yarn to do it. So I added 12 extra garter eyelet rows. You can see my remaining yarn above. Did I do the smart thing and weigh my yarn to determine how much each row was consuming so that I could have enough yarn to do the four ridge garter bind off? Nope, I sure did not! I’m just straight playing yarn chicken!

Happy Knitting!!

Kindness Continued

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My zen knitting default is definitely garter stitch…..back and forth….over and over  and over again. My Kindness KAL 2019 shawl has been my go to project lately with my congested head and brain fog. I’m in section 8 of the pattern already!

I have three full skeins of the Hedgehog Fibers Merino DK, two in the blue and one in the speckled grey. Based on how fast the yarn is disappearing I don’t think I’m going to hit my goal of using up all the yarn. The pattern does have some minimal instruction on how to add to the shawl if you have yarn left. So I’ll see how the shawl looks and how much yarn I have left when I get there. I may have to improvise.

I really want a big squishy shawl for next winter and I’m the boss of my knitting! Now I’m off to down some coffee and take my runny nose to daycare drop and work. Maybe my Rudolph nose will keep people at bay??

Happy Knitting!!

The Next Neon Heel

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I’ve come down with some sniffles thanks to PB and her need to lick my face and try to put her fingers in my mouth. Such is the life of a mother as obsessive hand washing will only get you so far. All that being said, I haven’t had much brain space for anything but garter stitch or stockinette in the round because my head is full of goo. So my Gonna Need Sunglasses Vanilla Socks have seen some action on my lunch hour.

I just kind of eyeballed it by holding the two socks up and said “yeah that looks about right to start knitting the second heel!”. Surely what can go wrong with that kind of attention to detail!

I have been really pleased with how well I have managed to keep the two socks matching so far! I have a feeling my heel turn won’t be spot on based on how fast the color is disappearing. Now….time for more hot tea and tylenol….mom’s don’t get a day off.

Happy Knitting!!

Potato Chip Knitting At Its Finest

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I literally can’t put my mothers day cast on down! Between the luxurious Hedgehog Fibers yarn and the comforting garter stitch, I’ve already made it to section three!!

The speckles in the grey contrast color have me stopping quite frequently to pet and admire the stitches. The pattern is the Kindness KAL 2019 shawl from Jaala Spiro. It’s a free pattern and absolutely wonderful.

I used the needles recommended in the pattern (US 7) and I am finding that gauge is not tight but not very drapey. I probably could have stood to have gone up a needle size. But it’s a shawl and who cares. It will just mean its extra warm for winter!

Happy Knitting!!

Mother’s Day Cast On

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The hubby gave me the best Mother’s Day present ever….three hours home alone by myself! I took a luxurious shower and cast on my Mother’s Day Cast On….The Kindness KAL 2019 shawl by Jamal’s Spiro.

I amazed myself and got through two sections while laughing myself silly to Knitting Vicariously podcast. It was HEAVEN!

Did anyone else cast on something special and selfish for Mother’s Day?