Needle Upgrade

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My mitred square blanket has been getting a lot of love. And that has come with a downside….


My clover needles from Joann’s have deformed. The soft bamboo just can’t stand up to the gauge I’m knitting at and the double decreases in the squares. See how the left one needle has a divet? And neither has a sharp tip anymore. It’s become increasingly hard to knit. So I did some research and secured some new needles!


These are Knitters Pride Karbonz 16 inch size 1 US needles. Nice and light but with sharp metal tips. I can’t wait to get cracking on some new squares with these!

Happy Knitting!!

Project Planning

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Yesterday when I talked about my scrap blanket obsession I mentioned the Down Cellar Studio Pigskin Party KAL. This is the kind of knit-a-long I can really sink into. I get to knit what I want and yet still earn points towards prizes. And I have my game face on this year (famous last words…)


Behold the bag of possibilities. WIPs don’t count for this KAL so it’s all new projects. I did some stash diving and queue searching and came up with the following:


In this pile is:

Each bag contains the caked yarn, needles and pattern. (I’ll tell you about the yarns later.) This way once the KAL starts I can pull a bag and go. These projects also represent some gift knitting, charity knitting and selfish knitting that I have been meaning to get to. Here’s hoping proper preparation prevents poor performance this fall!

Happy Knitting!

All The Squares

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I might be my imagination but I think I’m getting faster at my mitre squares!


I can almost do an entire square in an evening….provided it’s not my bedtime turn with Jellybean and I can just sit and relax. I’m still working across the bottom but I know I will make another column after this row. I plan on going crazy on this blanket into September 7th when the Pigskin Party KAL kicks off. Then his will go back to hibernation for a bit.

Happy Knitting!

Dusting Off The Sewing Machine

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After Jellybean received his big boy he also requested * “soft fings” to snuggle with. I dug around in extremely dusty fabric stash boxes and came up with some fleece remnants and end of bolt pieces.


I let him pick a couple fabrics and let him be part of the sewing process. (Aka watch the machine and hand me stuff). In the end we had two pillow cases and two snuggle blankets. They are FAR from perfect or even but they are soft and made my child happy.


I really haven’t had the urge to sew at all since Jellybean was born. Like at all. It was nice to flex some different crafty muscles!

*Note: the presence of softies did not improve the duration or quality of said child’s sleep….this momma is still very tired…..

Up The Leg

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My Vacation Vanilla Socks saw a little more progress thanks to a trip to IKEA. Jellybean got a big boy twin bed that doubles as a tent/secret hideout. God bless the swedes….here’s hoping we can sleep sometime soon!


I’ve turned the heel and started up the leg. I can’t get enough of these speckles! I had been working from one large cake of yarn. I broke out the scale to weigh the ball and split the yarn into two equal amounts. This way I can maximize the yarn in these socks. Now I’m just going to knit leg and cuff until I run out of yarn.


Don’t you just love the happy triangle that a gusset heel makes!?

Happy Knitting!

Wine Time

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I have the good fortune of making friends who happen to have cool jobs. My friends from my grad school days opened a winery about 5 years ago. Its Prairie Fire Winery located on I-70 west of Topeka. They make all their wine from only Kansas grown grapes. And last weekend they hosted a grape harvest event and I scored a ticket! Thought I would share a few photos from the event. Salud!

White wine sangria….mmm

Flint Hills view 

Me sweaty after harvest

The lovely grapes 

A robins nest tucked in the vines
The happy group!

The First Heel

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My Vacation Vanilla Socks have reached the heel of the first sock.


This speckled yarn has been a soothing project. I love watching the blips of colors pop up. I’m doing a standard gusset heel as it fits me well.  I must admit I only add a few stitches to this sock at at time but it’s growing despite my best efforts. 

Happy Knitting!!

The Mitre Rabbit Hole

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I’m feeling a bit of ambivalent about my WIPs of late so my blanket has been the recipient of much attention.


It’s squared off again. For sure I’m continuing to add to this project. And I think I’m going to add another row versus a column…for now at least.

I have less than a month until the start of the Down Cellar Studio’s Pigskin Party KAL and that contest does not allow WIPs. So I need to clean the decks so to speak before picking up new projects. I’m already scheming on what I’m going to cast on! Until then…..more Blanket!!

A Lucky Win

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I have been playing along with the Down Cellar Studio 12 months to Christmas KAL. The wonderful BostonJen has been encouraging us all to knit ahead of the Christmas rush and she is drawing winners from the Ravelry thread. Guys…..I won this month!


I received the most kind note, a skein of spunky eclectic sock yarn, DCS pin and set of stitch markers. BostonJen runs a successful podcast and numerous KALs and her following is HUGE. So being picked a winner is quite a feat and I feel incredibly lucky. I can’t wait until I can cast this on!!

Happy Knitting!

A Sincere Lack of Motivation 

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My Summer Morning Shawl still looks like this…


I just can’t make myself work on this. After some deep thought I realized I just don’t love this yarn and pattern combo. I’m also hating working back and forth in stockinette. So I’m going to frog it. This yarn deserves better. I managed to find a better pattern even!


@Jimmy Beans Wool

This is the Neon Jungle Cowl by Jimmy Beans Wool and I think will suit my Rainbow yarn just splendidly! I feel happier already knowing that this project will suit me much better.

Happy Knitting!