Tag Archives: dk

Wishful Knitting: Hedgehog Fibers Merino DK

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I keep finding my thoughts drifting to the Merino DK I have in stash from Hedgehog Fibers. I have roughly 650 yards between my grey and blue colorways. I REALLY want this to grow up to be a shawl.

I had originally thought about doing Touchstone by Laura Aylor. But it’s a one color shawl I would have to commit brain cells into converting to two colors in a logical way. So I did some more Ravelry searching and came up with a few more options.

AAACK! Why do I have to have so many options. All of these would be lovely but I don’t have a clear front runner that scream KNIT ME! Perhaps these precious skeins just need to marinate a little longer before they decide what they want to be when they grow up…

Happy Knitting!!

More Conference Knitting

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A couple of weeks ago I attended another professional development conference. (If you haven’t figured it out I have to rack up a ton of CPE hours for my professional certifications each and every year.) This conference was held in a lovely event center that even had a good mother’s room for breastfeeding moms! But the topics weren’t exactly targeted towards this municipal governmental employee. And I was still fighting a terrible cough from the upper respiratory bug that went around my house.

So basically I was bored and miserable. Thank goodness I packed knitting!! I pulled my Mood Indigo sockhead slouch hat out because it was the easiest no-look auto pilot knitting I could lay my hands on. I added maybe 2.5 inches to the brim? This is a DK weight modification to the traditional sock weight sockhead slouch. I probably could have/should have gotten farther but I even had trouble concentrating on ribbing.

But progress is progress! I think I have roughly another inch to go and then it’s stockinette for days! I’m really liking how the colors are spreading out and almost striping? And the cashmere content in the yarn doesn’t hurt either. It’s just about the right kind of meditative knit!

Happy Knitting!!

Preparation

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I have been itching to work on my memory sock yarn blanket. And it’s been pulling all of my knitting focus. But close on its heels is my Northeasterly blanket. I have scraps, needles, pattern and my coned yarn to hold doubled all kitted up in a bag. And after a helpful comment on this blog about coned yarn….I decided to wind off a skein of the white yarn and wash it.

This being for two reasons, one to wash off the spinning grease that is used to manufacture coned yarn and two to see if the yarn blooms and shrinks up. I wouldn’t want wonky fabric after spending so much time knitting a blanket for Pete’s sake! So I stole some quiet time while PB was napping and while hubby and Jellybean were out building a snowman last weekend. I had yarn and a podcast….it was heaven!

I wound off yarn until I felt like I had a decent amount and tied off a skein. Don’t mind the dog hair, it’s just considered extra fiber content in this house. (Dex is blowing his coat yet again and I’m now vacuuming almost daily and still can’t keep up!)

The skein has since had a bath and is drying (slowing) in the laundry room. When sufficiently dry I will wind it into a cake to be ready for blanket knitting! Jellybean seemed keen to work my yarn swift and sad I finished my skein without him. So as a mommy and me project we might make a second skein to wash one of these evenings. We will see if his interest abides ninja figures and magnetic tile building.

Happy Knitting!!

Wishful Knitting: Late To The Fade

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One of my purchases from Winter Woolfest 2019 is already hopping into my knitting queue. The Fade has been around for what seems like forever now and just about every knitter has faded something. I’m not generally a bandwagon knitter and take awhile to come around to a trend. But I have been feeling the pull of Free Your Fade from Andrea Mowry. This is more my speed as it’s only three skeins so not as large of a time commitment as some of the others. I just don’t get enough knitting time to spend months and months on the same thing. I would explode. Plus this shawl comes in Fingering and DK. And I just so happen to have a pretty neat fade in some Sport weight yarn.

From left to right is my One Twisted Tree Lavish sport in the chaotic neutral, followed by the Leon Alexander DK in the Oh La La color and lastly some Anzula Ava sport in the Raspberry color. I think these make a nice shift with a tonal solid on either side with a speckle in the middle. No clue when I will get to this one but I have the pattern purchases and yarn all kitted up together just waiting for the Perfect cast on day.

Happy Knitting

Winter Woolfest 2019

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The Christmas season is over and it’s back to real life. And that real life has involved a lot of germs and coughing around here. So I made sure to take some time away from nursemaid duties and re-charge my batteries a bit. I made a trip over to Wamego, KS for Winter Woolfest 2019!

First I’ll flash all the goodies I found with my Christmas cash. I focused my monies on independent dyers and especially those I haven’t seen before. I grabbed a Little Lamb children’s book with pattern from Melissa Dallke. And four 20 gram mini skeins from her Acorn Willow yarn line for my scrappy blankets. Then I snagged a speckled DK yarn from Leon Alexander in glorious shades of purple. Next up is a dark grey and rainbow-y skein of sock yarn from the Wichita Woolery. It’s called Prism Break and it should micro stripe if I get the gauge right. Finally I finished up at a LYS booth that had several indie dyers. I gravitated to the speckles again. I picked up some Super Sock 4ply from Twisted Owl Fiber Studio in the Razz-ma-tazz color. I listen to their podcast, the Worsted Knitting Podcast when the occasionally drop episode and it’s hilarious. And lastly I picked up some Pebble Sock from Black Trillium Fibers in the Happy Fun Times color. I didn’t go overboard and I was very pleased with my purchases.

It was a beautiful sunny and weirdly warm January day here in Kansas. The attendees were slightly sweltering in their knitwear this year!

This year’s theme was Classic Rock N Roll. It wasn’t quite as cool as last year’s female super hero theme but still adorable.

And this festival has really grown. This place was PACKED by 11 am after the doors opened at 10 am. It was honestly hard to move around and get into most of the booths. This kinda triggers some anxiety in me and was my least favorite part.

P.S. This Wamego is kind of Wizard of Oz themed because they have the Wizard of Oz museum. And the whole town has kind of rolled with it. They have a tulip themed Toto that made me smile!

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Mood Indigo Sockhead Slouch

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With my Hippo socks staying in my purse these days I needed some simple stockinette in the dark knitting for my bedroom. A while back I picked up some elusive Voolenvine DK in a destash score.  The cashmere and muted colors were too good to wait so I decided this needed to be a hat. I decided on another sockhead slouch for the knitting in the dark factor. I managed to get started on the ribbing. I thought my tool tin was especially apt for this project!

I’m working the sockhead slouch pattern but as it’s written for fingering weight I am following the mods made by Yarn Hoarder aka Amberlindemann on her ravelry page. So far it is really looking promising!

The yarn is kind of pooling and striping ever so slightly. But I’m not very far in so I will just have to wait and see what this works up like. No matter what it will be butter soft and wonderfully snugly hat!

Happy Knitting!!

Goodbye One Twisted Tree

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One of my favorite podcasts is Prairie Girls Knit and Spin with Danie and Susie. Danie is also the dyer behind One Twisted Tree….a fabulous indie dyed yarn. I was killing time on Ravelry at the dentist when I saw Danie post that she was going to discontinue One Twisted Tree. Her family life and health has changed over the last few years making it very difficult for her to manage both a family and her shop. So she is closing….insert tears here…

She posted that she was going to put her remainder of inventory on discount in her shop. And I needed purchase (okay…hoard) some of this yarn because her color sense is like a perfect match to me. I really don’t need more yarn but this was 100% an emotional purchase and my last chance to support a small business I loved.

I got some Prime Fingering in the Forest Floor color. This is a 75/25 merino nylon blend in fingering weight. And I have several green skeins kicking around in my stash that I’m seriously contemplating a Free Your Fade by Andrea Mowry next year.

I also picked up a skein of Lavish base in the Chaotic Neutral color. This is 100% merino at a DK weight. And almost assuredly going to be a hat or pair of mitts. Possibly for my sister next year for Christmas? Or I may just hoard this as a golden skein that makes me happy as a pet skein of yarn. Time will tell!

RIP One Twisted Tree!!

FO Friday: Leksak

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As promised yesterday my Leksak is blocked and all ready for Fall in Kansas.

Pattern: Leksak by Yarn-Madness

Yarn: Berroco Comfort DK in Menthe and Primary Blue. I used 233 yards of the Menthe and 85 yards of the Primary Blue. So all in all that’s about 94 grams of yarn.

Needles: US 4 (the pattern calls for 6s and I oopsed) My gauge ended up being 5.5 stitches and 8 rows to 1 inch.

Size: 12 months

 

Sorry no finished photos with PB. She is in the middle of a developmental leap and just kind of a crabby mess after we get home from work. Her little brain is really growing up a storm. But bottom line is that I loved this pattern and will most likely re-knit this again as PB gets bigger.

Happy Knitting!!

Leksak Stripes Complete

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My Leksak has a completed body!

I very pleased with the way the striping worked up in this sweater. Next up is a unique button band that involves not breaking the yarn from the garter hem. I’m intrigued! And now that I have completed the body work I am a lot more confident that I won’t end up playing yarn chicken. This Berroco Comfort is 50/50 Nylon and Acrylic but it actually has a nice hand to it. I’ll see how it wears but I might consider this for future kids knits….

Happy Knitting!!

Nesting….Knitting Style

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So PB’s arrival marches ever closer. And while we are not ready because why would we need the bassinet assembled, the car seat installed, or meals in the freezer? But I do have my hospital bag is packed and you guys…..I may have included a (wishful thinking) project in there.

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I have been lusting after the Thotful Spot Hat by Sarah Schira for awhile. And the speckled DK skein from Potion Yarns has been calling my name since Knitting in the Heartland. In a fit of nesting I pulled out some needles, the yarn, printed pattern and a brand spanking new project bag…..and I cast on and established the brim pattern. And then promptly tucked the whole shebang into my suitcase.

I realistically may never touch it during my hospital stay. (I will have a guaranteed three night stay thanks to a c-section so it is a possibility.) But part of me feels reassured that if need be I will have pretty yarn and an easy project if I get the knitting itch. Maybe that is it’s point? To be a source of comfort and mental focal point during a time of joyous yet monumental change….just waiting in case it’s needed from inside a cheerful project bag. Only time will tell!

Happy Knitting!!!