Biggest Yarn Splurge….Ever

Posted on January 5, 2015 by atangledyarn84

My favorite Aunt did something wonderful this year. Instead of trying to find something I didn’t already have and would love for Christmas, she did something genius. She wrote a letter and tucked in some cash, with one rule. Rule: Spend it on something personal and luxurious! It was something she had always wanted to do and would have loved herself at my stage of life.

I knew right away it would be yarn. And deep down in my knitters soul I knew what I wanted….beautiful gradient sock yarn. I’ve been honing my sock skills this past year. And I’ve always wanted badly to work with gradient color. I went to my favorite Etsy store for gradients: Knitcircus Yarns! I’ve drooled over their yarn forever but couldn’t justify spending that on myself.

I chose carefully…Over The Rainbow custom gradient matching sock yarn. My little knitter hands CANNOT wait to get my hands on this. I had a mini panic attack as this is the most I’ve ever paid for yarn. But I’m worth it…I hope!

Stay tuned and I’ll hope to do something very magical with it. Happy knitting to all!

2014 in review

Posted on January 3, 2015 by atangledyarn84

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog. I’ve never posted this before but I enjoyed reading others..so here goes nothing!

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 11,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

FO Friday: Baby Knits!!

Posted on January 2, 2015 by atangledyarn84

I finally wrangled Jellybean (thankfully in a happy mood) and took some FO photos for some of my finished baby knits!

First up, my Rolled Cuff Baby Booties! These used a minuscule 43 yards of yarn, weight a measly 22 grams, and took just a couple of hours. They fit perfectly on his one to two month old feet. They are tad bit small on this three month old feet.

Next up the Candy Corn baby booties and hat! To be honest these booties are just weirdly shaped and never really fit his feet well. The hat though….just perfect. It’s just more adorable than I can imagine. We get tons of compliments when we wear this hat out and about. My Ravelry details are here.

Lastly is the Garter Ear Flap Hat by Purl Soho. This one had some issues and all totally my fault. I had size problems with the first one I knit. The second attempt honestly languished on the needles. I just lost the mojo to work on this one. So I stuffed this hat into my purse over Christmas and got it done! Sad news….Jellybean has almost outgrown this size now, lol. My original one actually fits better now. Not to mention I messed up one of the pattern rounds on this second attempt. Oh well….it’s cute and will keep him warm at least once or twice. My Ravelry notes on this one are here for those interested.

Yes….he’s figured out how to stick out his baby tongue. And enjoys doing so profusely!

Happy Knitting to all of you from Jellybean and I!

My Very Own Cedar Chest

Posted on January 1, 2015 by atangledyarn84

My mother works part time in an antique store and I have put her on the hunt for a cedar chest over the last year. One FINALLY came through the store. It’s small-ish but in very good shape. It just needs a good polish on the outside. I’m not sure where it’s going to live in our home but for now it’s in the basement. (Sorry for the crappy photos…winter time in a not well lit basement. Well you get the point)

This knitters heart is happy. I have a great place to stash my finished woolen items and woolly yarn! Hopefully this means no more dreaded moth damage…

How do you protect your precious items?

WIP Wednesday: Very Berry Vanilla Socks

Posted on December 31, 2014 by atangledyarn84

After I cast off the last pair of vanilla socks I had the itch to cast on another pair. I dug around in my stash for some more Knit Picks Felici self-striping yarn and came up with two skeins of Mixed Berry. Then I hunted through my Rav queue and found DVD – Simple Toe Up Socks .

So onto the needles they went. I quickly realized I need to change the pattern….

The toe increases at 2 stitches per round just don’t cut it for my man-like toes. So to the frog pond I went. I used a 4 stitch increase per round and got this…

Much better! I’m working both socks at once, just on separate sets of circulars. So I actually have two toes made. On to the foot sections I go. This pattern uses an afterthought heel and I’m excited to learn this method!

Ps. Happy New Year to all 😉

Holiday Stash Enhancement

Posted on December 30, 2014 by atangledyarn84

I was weak and couldn’t resist the Knit Picks Cyber Monday sale. Here is proof of my ~~shame~~ ~~weakness~~ great deals…

I managed to grab some Knit Picks Biggo in a neutral color for a baby blanket. I also chose several skeins of Shine Worsted, Comfy Sport, Cotlin, and some Stroll Fingering. While putting this away I realized I have more yarn than I could ever knit but these were such great sale deals I just couldn’t pass it up. I’m hoping some of these skeins will turn into some sweaters and accessories for Jellybean…time will tell!

Did you hit up any Cyber Monday sales?

Finish It or Frog It

Posted on December 30, 2014 by atangledyarn84

Jellybean is napping and I’m taking advantage of it. It’s the end of the year and it’s time to go through my WIPs in a “finish it or frog it” frame of mind.

Here is what I’ve decided so far..

The Baby Bunting from Jellybean’s nursery…Frog it!! With Jellybean coming early I just couldn’t finish this and honestly don’t have the time or energy to work this now. I’d rather knit him cute clothes now that we now that we know he’s a he, lol.

A random ribbon scarf from at least two years ago…Frog it!! I was working these for craft fairs, and in which I’m no longer interested. So into the frog pond this went and the yarn back into my stash.

Fingerless Mits from who knows how long ago made from leftover bits from some sweater yarn? …. TBD. I don’t want to frog these as I could really use some fingerless mits, but I don’t have the urge to knit them currently. I’m going think more on these.

My Plain Rye socks…Finish them!! These woolen socks are perfect for my cold feet. I’ve finished the first sock and then fallen victim to the dreaded SSS. I’ve put these on my night stand to finish this winter!!

Random sock project…Frog it!! These pre-date my Ravelry tracking. I don’t even know what in the heck these are, lol. Nuff said..My Cuff to Cuff Sweater…Finish it! I’m excited to wear this. It might not get done this winter. But get done it shall! I’m enjoying this knit so I’m not in any hurry.

There you have it! My craft room feels so much better already and my project bags are organized and ready to go for 2015. Anyone else out there do any purging these last few days of 2014?

Input Needed

Posted on December 27, 2014 by atangledyarn84

My husband has FINALLY asked for a hand knit!! Insert squeal of glee here….

He has asked for a pair of hand knit socks! Never mind his size 12 man feet. I like kooky colors and sparkles and I don’t mind a bit of scratch just as long as they are warm. Now the husband on the other hand doesn’t do scratchy. So here lies my conundrum, what yarn to knit with? I have nothing in my stash that is appropriate.

So I’m asking the blogosphere for input. I need a sock yarn that is sturdy yet soft and that comes in man approved colors. What do you guys use??

Ps. I’m also on a budget so I need a yarn that won’t break the bank…

FO Friday: Toe Up Vanilla Socks

Posted on December 26, 2014 by atangledyarn84

I have conquered my socks! What a great way to wrap up my #sockswithsarah year!

I used size 1US dpns and 8″ 1US circulars. I loosely followed this pattern and adapted to fit my gauge and yarn weight. I used almost two whole skeins of Knit Picks Felici fingering weight in Aquarium.

I’m really sad that this yarn is discontinued because it knit up like a dream! Except for some laddering in the foot sections I’m pretty happy with these. I wore them to work on Christmas Eve and they kept my toes nice and toasty!!

Happy Knitting

Almost…..

Posted on December 23, 2014 by atangledyarn84

I have one complete sock!!

And since I knit two at a time on two separate sets of circulars the second sock is almost to the cuff! The first fits like a dream but has some issues with ladders on the foot section. I’m chalking it up to a learning experience and will fix on my next pair. My “give a sh#t” level with a three month old to take care of is just not that high, lol. They function as socks just fine!

Have you ever just moved on from an imperfect knitting project?

My Tangled Yarn Knitting Adventures

Ramblings from an obsessed knitter