Tag Archives: knitting

Stashing Down Scraps

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I am still riding the wave of accomplishment from finishing my scrappy DK Hibernation Throw last week. I was cleaning up the project bag it had been living in to put the needles and notions away and noticed how small the pile of scraps were at the bottom of the bag. When I started I had two gallon sized ziplock bags full of scraps and a CONE of undyed sock yarn. Now I’m left with two quart sized bags and one sandwich sized bag of scraps that don’t have a plan.

Now, full disclosures these are not all my scraps or mini skeins. I still have my mitred square memory blanket going. I “tossed the stash” so to speak and aired out that bag to make sure all my yarn was in good order. It’s safe to say I I have plenty to work with, lol.

I’m just the kind of knitter that gets a thrill from using up as much of every skein of yarn I possibly can. I like the idea of scrappy projects where I can remember all the cool things I made with the full skein. Its akin to checking completed items off a list for me.

I’m curious, are most knitters this way? Do you keep your scraps?

Weekender On The Weekend

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As we slog through these last few confusing days of winter I find myself excited about Spring approaching in a few days. And in the spirit of spring cleaning (please ignore the not spring cleaned toys in the background) I found myself wanting to “clean up” my WIPs.

I pulled out my Weekender this past weekend and put a few rows on. I’m still slogging through the body but it makes for nice TV knitting with all the stockinette in the round. I have knit past my stitch markers for the purl details a few times. But those are easily fixed.

I’m not finding myself super engaged in this project so I don’t expect it to fly off the needles anytime soon. But I’m hoping this will be a slow and steady tortoise like project that I can enjoy next Fall maybe?

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: DK Hibernation Throw

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Spring is around the corner and I have a finished Hibernation Throw! Seems appropriate to be “coming out of hibernation” from winter and to have finished this project.

Pattern: Habitation Throw by Helen Stewart

Needles: US 10s

Yarn: Valley Yarns Franklin Natural coned sock yarn and all the fingering weight scraps from my stash

Mods: I modified this pattern for DK weight yarn (fingering held double) to make a scrappy marled version of this blanket.

This project just ticked all the boxes for me and I’m almost tempted to cast on another one! It was very to memorize and easy to read where I was when I put it down mid repeat. It used up a TON of scraps from my stash. When I weighed this behemoth it weighed 822 grams. Based on some maths I did based on the average sock yarn statistics….this blanket used rough 3,300 yards of yarn!

And I finished this in about a month and a half. That is lighting speed for me and a blanket. But I will fully admit that this became a knitting obsession and I didn’t really work on much else for that period. I did notice that when I was taking FO photos that my blanket is not perfectly square. I found that at multiple times I had to fudge my decreases on the last half because I didn’t have the right number of stitches. I’m pretty confident that this led to the last half being slightly bigger than the first half.

But I don’t care, I have a new snuggly blanket that is 100% mommy’s and no one else can use it without permission! Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Dark Side Socks (Take Two)

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I was digging around in my craft room looking for some progress keepers and I came across a sock project bag that I had shoved to the back of a shelf. To my delight, I found that it contained my second pair of Knit Picks Felici socks in the Dark Side colorway.

I had knit up the first pair for my friend in Portland when I went to visit last November. And then in the chaos of the holidays these just got forgotten. The two small tubes both had toes knit into them so all they need are cuffs and heels. I decided to get these fired back up.

The stripes are in reverse order because of how I split the tubes (aka sock snakes) but I really don’t mind. I will just be happy to have a short-ish pair of socks to add to my drawer. Though I think I have wrapped my brain around how to avoid this in the future if I want.

I worked one evening on them and made some decent progress on the first cuff. Maybe these will be my spring time present to myself?

Happy Knitting!

So Close To The End Of Hibernation

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You guys….my DK Hibernation Throw is sooooo close to being done. I’m definitely using up the smaller and smaller scrap balls now. And the rows are going much faster. Based on what I can cover up with while knitting, I think this should be a good one person lap throw.

It still feels a little “rustic” to the touch thanks to the Franklin Valley Yarns undyed sock yarn I’m holding double throughout. It might soften with washing but I’m not sure I want to wash the blanket right away. I know for a fact some of the yarns I used will bleed. And I sort of want it to be just so…at least until the first time my kids spill on it.

Happy Knitting!!

Knitting For Warmth

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It’s a mix of rainy/cold and snow/cold here today. So I’m super glad my Hibernation Throw is at the point it makes a nice blanket as I knit!

Can I say how exciting it is to be on the downhill slide of a blanket project? The rows on this project are only getting shorter and shorter as I go. I still have plenty of scraps to add to this blanket. I really think this is going to be a nice personal sized blanket when I’m done. I can admit I have googled more coned sock yarn in a grey color because I’m already planning a second throw….sheepish grin….

I’ll try to spread this blanket out and take proper photos of this blanket when I can grab some sunlight. Happy Knitting!!!

WIP Wednesday: Prism Break Hat

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It’s a dreary Wednesday here in Kansas. Mother Nature cannot pick a lane here lately. I have been able to both let my kids play outside without coats and then two days later sled with them in the front yard. The headaches are real yo!

But I digress, I am knitting on my Prism Break Hat during my many conference calls this week. I’m still in the eternity that is that is the ribbing on the sockhead slouch pattern. I am pretty pleased with my overall stitch count and how the yarn is striping around. It’s not a clean rainbow stripe as the rainbow section is kind of stacking on each other. But it is making a really interesting micro stripe.

This yarn and hat live in my desk at work. Most days I don’t touch it at all…hello end of year and impending financials audit. But it’s there and I know its waiting for me, which is all I really need. At the current pace this hat should be finished by 2022, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Habitation Throw Halfway

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My Habitation Throw is over halfway now. I finally got to where it looked good enough for me and I started decreasing.This thing is really screaming through my scraps! I have gone through a good amount of my coned solid white yarn and I had to pull some bigger used skeins out of my stash as I was working the long middle sections.

My widest point is the peachy/pink section. I am now having to strategize with my remaining scraps. I want to make sure the colors look good adjacent to one another but that I will also have roughly enough to do an entire repeat of garter and eyelets. That’s just my personal brand of crazy.

I still have a ton scraps in my bag. And I’ve pulled some DEEP stash skeins of sock blanks and Joann’s sock yarn just in case I need some longer sections. This blanket has literally consumed all my knitting time. I don’t want to work on anything else right now.

Do you have a project obsession?

Knitty McPurly Just Up And Sucked Me In

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I tried a new to me knitting good purveyor. Knitty McPurly was an audio podcaster turned video podcaster that I have followed for quite a while. Devon Ventry is a work at home mother who has found a way to incorporate a successful online knitting business. Now, she is a well established pattern designer but she has branched out to add crafting jewelry, crafty tools and project bags.

She had a sale in January and I got sucked right in. I picked up a necklace that doubles as a stitch marker holder and a cute Alice in Wonderland notions pouch. I also got a vinyl Knitty McPurly sticker for my water bottle. But currently Jellybean is using the water bottle as his go to cup so I don’t have a photo.

I’ve already been wearing the necklace and received many compliments. It is a bit fiddly to open and use stitch markers though. Since it swings up and there is very little ridge to the edges it is easy to spill….ask me how I know! But I still love it just for the aesthetics. And the pouch has been living in my tote bag holding extra ear buds and other miscellaneous stuff that used to roll around in the bottom of my bag.

All in all, I think I like her style and these were good investments!

Happy Knitting!!