Sooooooo Close

I really busted my butt this week on this granny stripe crochet blanket. I didn’t finish it for the Super Bowl a few weeks ago and so my mojo stalled. But I really want this finished snuggly blanket. So I worked diligently all week to get from Day 15 to Day 22. My hands hurt a wee bit…

This thing has been to 4 hour allergy testing appointments, work lunch meetings and everything in-between. I encountered many compliments along the way on this blanket. Makes a crafters soul grow three sizes…

There are three mini skeins left and then the contrast border. I want to make the finished end look like the beginning. Thank you mild OCD.

Happy Crochet!

A Crochet Cast On

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!

Tiny Socks #6

PB may be close to ending her gymnastics journey so I’m cherishing the last few sessions of knitting in peace. This week I focused on starting my 2020 Chromatic Yarns advent mini #6. I managed to crank out the first sock and start the second before we had to hustle out the door.

I am using an Erin Lane bag from her Hank does the Olympics line. It’s purple and makes Jellybean smile so this bag is a regular in my rotation. I need to possibly look for more size 1 US needles as these metal JoAnn needles are getting bent under my tension.

I am also holding PB’s hair tie on my finger because while PB likes pony tails, they only last 20 minutes tops, lol. Happy Knitting!!

Time to Weave Ends

All my blanket mojo means there are dozens and dozens of ends to weave in. Thus far I have been doing them few by few. But I let the blanket get away from me.

I took three HOURS and three episodes of Leverage: Redemption to weave and trim a whole a whole mess of ends. I was pretty proud of the ball I built.

Now with all the admin taken care of, I can get back to the knitting! Happy Knitting!!

Memory Mojo Unlocked

My blanket mojo has fired up after the holiday haze has lifted. I have added NINE squares since last I showed this off last time.

I finished off an entire row and started a brand new one. This newest row is leftovers from my tiny sweaters and tiny socks from the 2021 Chromatic Yarns advent calendar. I still have a tiny nub of yarn leftover after I complete all three things. So those are going into my scrap stash.

I have 24 minis and 17 squares across, so when I hit the end of the row I will have to decide to go to another row or add an additional column. What do you think??

Ghosts of Advents Past (Part 2)

When I found my wee advent socks, I also found the mini sweaters I was making. I hated them…they were short sleeved and very tiny. So I ripped them out and figured out a long sleeve and larger version I liked.

They turned our great! I am still using Wee Sweater by Sarah Schira pattern, just with some mods. A wee sweater takes me a full evening of TV knitting. So I only have two of these complete but they are fun and get a little faster each time.

For these, I found some gold ribbon that I plan to “hang” the sweaters from for a sweater garland. This garland will be separate from the tiny sock one. One is good so two must be better!

Happy Knitting!!

Ghosts Of Advents Past (Part 1)

With all the festivities this year, I decided to pull out my 2021 Chromatic Yarns advent calendar. I had this big plan last holiday to knit 24 tiny little socks. Yeah…..that never materialized, lol.

I’m feeling a little more grounded this year so I re-evaluated and decided that the socks should be pairs. I have managed to finish two pairs and almost done with a third. These are the first three advent days in order.

When they get done, I am thinking of stitching them to a ribbon decorative twine to make a garland. But let’s get over the hurdle of 48 total tiny socks. It takes me half an evening of knitting to make a sock if I can stay off my phone. So maybe a Q1 2023 goal?

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Perpetual Hope

Every behind the curve I decided to use my Queen City Yarn advent calendar to make the pattern it came with. It is Perpetual Hope by Kino Knits. I am still in Clue one……lol.

The yarn is sock weight and variegated in nature. I have already peaked at others FOs and I’m willing to give this one a try. If I get into it and I fall out of love I will frog back these minis for something else.

Oh, and the stitch markers were included with advent calendar. They are wooden, beautiful and lightweight. Perfect for a shawl project!

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Garter Rainbow Wrap

My Garter Rainbow Wrap is done, washed, blocked and photographed!

Pattern: None really but I did take some notes on my Ravelry project page.

Yarn: Cloudborn Fibers Superwash Merino Fingering in Antique white held double with my Teal Torch Knits 2020 Christmas advent calendar

Needles: US 9s

This was my LAST project to use up all my lingering advent calendar yarns before my 2021 calendar shows up. It feels really super good to get this yarn used up and into beautiful project. I think this shawl/wrap will go to work as my “work blanket” when winter really starts to hit. The two end triangles are not perfectly matched but they are close enough for me and anyone who looks too close will get a bop on the nose!

This project was a marled one holding two fingering weight yarns double. I used up an amazing 2,201 yards of yarn! And it wrap nicely around my whole upper torso. I forgot to measure the finished dimensions but I’m guessing its roughly 7 feet long about about 2.5 feet wide. Super cozy! And you can’t even hardly tell where I grafted the last part!

Happy Knitting!!

Ready for Grafting

I did it! I made it to the point on my Rainbow Garter Wrap where I could graft my current work to the portion of the All My Stitches that I abandoned!

YouTube showed me that grafting in garter is pretty easy and only had one “pattern” to remember. But y’all….it really did take me a minute to get my tension right. I started off WAY too tight and then I went to loose. After about three inches I did settle into a nice rhythm and tension.

It took me about 45 minutes to graft all the way across and my shawl is blocking in my laundry room. I hope to snag some cute pictures to show you folks later this week! Happy Knitting!!