And Now We Rest

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My 70s kitchen colored alpaca singles are all now spun and complete!

I had split the 4 ounces of fiber into two halves and spun two sets of singles. I have now wound both of them onto bobbins from my spinning wheel to rest. How long they will rest….probably until I’m brave enough and have the brain space to watch plying tutorials.

The world is chaotic right now and my heart aches for all the pain that exists. I have been taking time to reflect, read and educate myself. I have found this to be taking up some of my crafting time, and I’m okay with it because it’s important. So these singles may have a good long nap ahead of them. But that is okay too.

I hope you all are safe and honestly doing the best you can. Virtual hugs to you all!!

Winging It On Sleeve Island

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I have officially reached sleeve island on my Weekender sweater!

I picked up the pattern recommended number of stitches at the arm hole and knit an inch or so to where the pattern wanted me to start decreasing. Then I stepped back and looked at my sleeve and looked my arm….and looked at my sleeve and back to my arm. I’m confident the sleeve will fit my upper arm as it is now but I’m just as confident it will not fit if I work the pattern decreases as written.

My arm and shoulders are a little robust from hauling around a 31 pound toddler who still likes to be carried and snuggled. My arms taper more sharply at my forearms to my wrist. So based on this I have decided to wing it for the sleeve shaping. I’m going to just knit and keep trying the sleeve on as I go. I’ll start my decrease at or just below the elbow. I dug out some locking stitch markers to start marking my decreases to help me remember how to knit the second sleeve.

I am also pleased to be using my Chia Goo mini twist set that I got last Christmas so that I can knit the sleeves on a tiny circular. This way I can just zoom along and not fuss with changing DPNs or creating ladders.

I’m really happy with this sweater and hope to have this done very soon. Though it is now officially 100 degrees Fahrenheit here in Kansas so I won’t get to wear it until the Fall. Oh well, sometimes it’s just about the process right?

Happy Knitting!!

A Blanket Itch

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I have been using my DK Habitation Throw in the evenings a lot. I made it from scraps earlier this year and it was so fun. I have been fighting the itch to cast on another one. I finally tipped over the edge when I found my Teal Torch Knits minis from last Christmas’ advent calendar.

They came in a full spectrum rainbow in 12 minis, so I used my swift and ball winder to wind them into two equal cakes of six colors. I used a loose knot to connect the colors but I will russian join them when I get to the actual knitting. I also spied some leftover Suri Alpaca that I might work into the blanket. I’m considering using it a separation between the rainbow colors OR holding it double with the sock yarn on just the eyelet rows to provide some visual interest. I have some thinking to do on that one.

This project is living in my Cherry Pie Cottage project bag that is the most perfect summer theme of mermaids and ocean creatures. Probably going to be as close as I get to the beach this year!

Happy Knitting!!

A Body Complete

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I did it! I finished the body of my Weekender!!

The short rows were easier than I thought and I did manage to do each side the same. The ribbing was a bit of a challenge as I had an extra stitch on one side and one short on the other. I just fudged it to make it work. And bonus, I was able to try this one!

As suspected, the sweater is not exceedingly oversized on me. It still has positive ease but it’s not exactly boxy on me as it is in the pattern. But the length is nice and I’m glad I added the 2-3 extra inches in the body.

I finished the body and I have two 100 gram skeins left for each sleeve. So I have more than enough yarn to knit each sleeve and I won’t have to alternate skeins. I measured the armhole and my arms will fit through but they don’t have a ton of ease either. I think I will have to call an audible and knit my own sleeves. I will not have a lot of space in the upper arms to do the decreases the pattern calls for. I think my plan is just to knit a tube to my elbow and then try it on. I will just crunch the numbers and plan out my decreases from elbow to wrist.

I’m getting so antsy to finish this! I can’t wait to wash and see how the final garment is going to come out. I am also seriously considering casting on a second one in the next size up right after I finish this one! Am I crazy?

Cast On: Retro Rainbow Vanilla Socks

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As promised, after I finished my Antagonist Vanilla Socks I put some needles right back on the needles. I remembered that I still had the MustStash sock yarn wound up from my winding frenzy and so I got to work on another vanilla toe up sock.

I’m just doing a 72 stitch toe up sock on US0 needles. Nothing super fancy, I’m just going to let the yarn sing. I did notice that thanks to my winding I will be working one sock from the inside of the cake and the other from the outside to make them match. Whoops!

This is the Retro Rainbow color from Stacey at MustStash and it’s brilliant. I haven’t even finished the full six color repeat and I’m already in love. Self striping sock yarn is the most perfect kind of magic.

These socks are the perfect pick me up to tuck in my purse to wait in social distancing lines and drive thrus. Thank goodness for knitting!!

Getting Creative With Self Care

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The world isn’t getting any less crazy. So I’m leaning HARD into self care Wednesday nights.

This week’s regime is brought to you by Amazon. I got some under eye masks (hello stress induced dark circles), a clay mask for my large pores, and some argon oil to moisturize my curls in this humid Kansas summer heat.

On Wednesday’s I find my comfiest PJs after the kids go to bed and then I either take a hot bath or do some easy yoga and then I do some “beauty” treatments while I knit and watch TV. It has come to be something I really look forward to during the week.

I hope you all are finding some ways for self care!

Weekending Short Rows

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I’m inching every closer to finishing my Weekender Sweater. I had split for the armholes and knit up both sides in the plain section. I’m finding it helpful to knit the sections in one after another. Meaning I knit up the front until I got the right height and then I counted my rows and knit up the back to same measurement.

The next step in this project is to knit a series of short rows before the final ribbing that will create the boat neck collar. I think I will like ways knit those in a similar fashion. I hope these will mean I can keep them symmetrical and therefore matching.

I’m keen to get this knit up and bound off so I can try the sweater on. I am thinking its not going to have as much ease as the pattern suggests. That is what I get for not swatching but I do believe blocking will add some because the Malabrigo is superwash. And for my body shape it is not always a bad thing not to have a huge amount of ease and be a little closer fitting. I just need to knit faster so I can find out!

Happy Knitting!

70s Kitchen Themed Yarn?

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Summer is heating up here in Kansas and I’m finding myself outside a lot more with the kiddos. We stick pretty close to home these days and are finding new ways to use the spaces and in and around our house.

I got a few moments this past weekend to sip my favorite beer and do some spinning on the back patio. The kids managed to entertained themselves nicely and for long enough I added a decent amount of alpaca spinning project. I’m still practicing my drafting with the park and draft method.

I’m found myself staring at these colors and thinking “these look like a 1970s kitchen”. There is a lot of gold, orange, yellow with tiny amounts of blue and avocado green.The yarn is getting easier to make consistent. Prepping the roving into thin strips really helped me draft in a continuous and even manner.

This represents about half of the 4 ounces of roving that I started with. I think I’ll wind this off onto a spinning wheel bobbin so that I can start spinning the other half. I’m still working up the nerve to take some YouTube lessons on how to ply yarn on a wheel. For now I’m content with just making pretty singles and letting them rest.

Happy Spinning!!

FO Friday: Antagonist Vanilla Socks

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Happy Friday! To celebrate this week I have a new pair of socks to snuggle my feet in. My Antagonist Vanilla Socks are done, washed and blocked!

Pattern: Toe Up Vanilla Socks using 68 stitches and a gusset heel

Yarn: Stranded Dyeworks BFL Nylong Fingering in Antagonist color

Needles: US 1s

These are the perfect socks. They have a nice sturdy fabric thanks to the BFL fiber content but they are still next to skin super soft. The speckles really pop out of the dark grey main color. The fit is really good with plenty of room in the heel and the cuff hugs my leg just right amount.

I do have a decent amount of yarn left from the skein. I used 68 grams or 272 yards in my socks so I have roughly 130 yards left for my scrap projects. Which I’m not mad at. I definitely see more BFL socks in my future.

Happy Knitting!!

2020 Mother’s Day Cast On

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Every year on Mother’s Day I take some time for myself and cast on a new project with full delight and wild abandon. WIPs be damned….it is incredibly satisfying to have a little treat just for myself and let myself do as the mood strikes. This Mother’s Day kind of snuck up on me given the current state of our world. So I found myself on the eve of Mother’s day with no real plan.

I searched my brain and I remember that I had a skein of KnitCircus Trampoline in the Dream a Little Dream colorway that came already caked up. It’s a gorgeous gradient that felt right for Mother’s Day. I did some pattern searching on Ravelry and came up with the One Perfect Skein Shawl by Fredi Baker.

This pattern is specifically designed to use up the whole skein of yarn and would showcase the gradient nicely. Bonus points were that it was garter stitches and eyelets, which is kind of my jam right now. Though it has a picot edge, not sure how I feel about that but I can always modify that

I can’t wait to see how this purple fade plays out. I didn’t get very far on Mother’s Day as PB asked to take me on a bike ride on the local park trail. I of course said yes as I needed to burn off breakfast in bed feast of pancakes and bacon. This means I neglected to get my customary photo of my babies with my project cast on. Oh well, maybe I’ll wait until it’s finished and get my group photo then.

Happy Knitting!!