Tag Archives: knitting

Kindness Continued

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My zen knitting default is definitely garter stitch…..back and forth….over and over  and over again. My Kindness KAL 2019 shawl has been my go to project lately with my congested head and brain fog. I’m in section 8 of the pattern already!

I have three full skeins of the Hedgehog Fibers Merino DK, two in the blue and one in the speckled grey. Based on how fast the yarn is disappearing I don’t think I’m going to hit my goal of using up all the yarn. The pattern does have some minimal instruction on how to add to the shawl if you have yarn left. So I’ll see how the shawl looks and how much yarn I have left when I get there. I may have to improvise.

I really want a big squishy shawl for next winter and I’m the boss of my knitting! Now I’m off to down some coffee and take my runny nose to daycare drop and work. Maybe my Rudolph nose will keep people at bay??

Happy Knitting!!

The Next Neon Heel

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I’ve come down with some sniffles thanks to PB and her need to lick my face and try to put her fingers in my mouth. Such is the life of a mother as obsessive hand washing will only get you so far. All that being said, I haven’t had much brain space for anything but garter stitch or stockinette in the round because my head is full of goo. So my Gonna Need Sunglasses Vanilla Socks have seen some action on my lunch hour.

I just kind of eyeballed it by holding the two socks up and said “yeah that looks about right to start knitting the second heel!”. Surely what can go wrong with that kind of attention to detail!

I have been really pleased with how well I have managed to keep the two socks matching so far! I have a feeling my heel turn won’t be spot on based on how fast the color is disappearing. Now….time for more hot tea and tylenol….mom’s don’t get a day off.

Happy Knitting!!

Potato Chip Knitting At Its Finest

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I literally can’t put my mothers day cast on down! Between the luxurious Hedgehog Fibers yarn and the comforting garter stitch, I’ve already made it to section three!!

The speckles in the grey contrast color have me stopping quite frequently to pet and admire the stitches. The pattern is the Kindness KAL 2019 shawl from Jaala Spiro. It’s a free pattern and absolutely wonderful.

I used the needles recommended in the pattern (US 7) and I am finding that gauge is not tight but not very drapey. I probably could have stood to have gone up a needle size. But it’s a shawl and who cares. It will just mean its extra warm for winter!

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Baldwin The Bathroom Monster

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Baldwin the Bathroom Monster is DONE! I managed to put in the mouth and weave in all the ends!

Yep, hes a bit wonky! But hes soft and happy and squishy. And most important of all…..ready for PB’s birthday today. One year ago today I tried to got to bed the night before and ended up with my water breaking and heading to meet PB at the hospital.  Tomorrow we will throw a party with our family and let PB smash her face into her first cake. I cannot wait!

Baldwin is all ready to take notes!

Pattern: Baldwin the Bathroom Monster by Rebecca Danger

Yarn: Premier Yarns Parfait Layers in Sweet and Spicy

Needles: US 7

Mods: I accidentally made the feet two different sizes and my magic loop accidentally moved my decreases around a bit so my toy biases a smidge. But he’s perfect!

I used only about 78 yards of this bulky weight yarn. I would say it’s on the lighter end of the bulky spectrum. Baldwin ended up with pants and shirt thanks the self striping nature of the yarn cake. This project took maybe 6-8 hours total to knit so it was a fast one. Except for I only managed to snag a few minutes here and there so it took a lot a lot of days. I’m tempted to make this pattern again and see if I can do the magic loop correctly this time. Hmmmmm

Happy Knitting!!

Mother’s Day Cast On

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The hubby gave me the best Mother’s Day present ever….three hours home alone by myself! I took a luxurious shower and cast on my Mother’s Day Cast On….The Kindness KAL 2019 shawl by Jamal’s Spiro.

I amazed myself and got through two sections while laughing myself silly to Knitting Vicariously podcast. It was HEAVEN!

Did anyone else cast on something special and selfish for Mother’s Day?

Overshot The Heel

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The socks for my dad have kind of been on the back burner lately. I was working on them awhile back and I was talking and knitting at a BBQ and I overshot the heel placement. I was hoping to put in waste yarn for a Susan B Anderson style afterthought heel. But alas it was not to be. I’m going to have to cut in a KirbyWirby style afterthought heel by cutting live stitches. I’ve totally done both before. I was just hoping for the version that is less likely for me to drop stitches.

So with that little oopsie…this project has kind of fallen to the bottom of my WIP pile. It’s not the end of the world but it has kind of killed my mojo a little bit. Has that ever happened to you?

More Work Knitting

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I had some MAJOR organizing and note taking to catch up on after making it through audit season. I love my job but this year has been really challenging due to the fact we had a change of management DURING audit season. Not to mention we have three open positions and a lot people are working double duties.

I try to look at the bright side….my Gonna Need Vanilla Socks are making decent progress on my lunch breaks. Sock number one is already done. And I’m past halfway through the foot on sock number two.

And I love when I can mash up my love of organization and love of knitting. Not to mention knitting has taken the edge off some really stressful days lately!

Happy Knitting!!

An Almost Finished Baldwin

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My Baldwin the Bathroom Monster is all done (with the knitting part that is)!

I finished with two weeks to spare on PB’s birthday! Now Baldwin still needs a mouth and a bellybutton. I might also possibly add a crochet flower tail because the husband thinks that will make it extra cute. The only thing stopping from being done is that I am out of white felt in my craft stash for the Rebecca Danger style mouth. Now this is easy to fix with a trip to Joanns or Micheals soI hope to have this all tucked in time for PB’s party.

Stay tuned for finished finished finished projects photos! Happy Knitting!!

 

Wonky Monster

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I bit the bullet and finally worked my first magic loop project. I have been working on PB’s birthday monster, Baldwin the Bathroom Monster. The body is done and all I need is arms. But aside from the mis-matched feet I discussed last time….Baldwin is also a little wonky….

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This piece biased like crazy and twists sideways. I lost control of my magic loop at some point and just guessed about how to get my cord placement back in order. And the best I could tell it was fine. But I obviously moved where my decreases were and caused some biasing. Whoops.

But again I’m really getting closer and closer to PB’s birthday and I have decided that I like my monster with character! This Baldwin is super soft and just squishy enough for PB to chew on. So all I need to do is knit arms and I’M DONE!

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Baldwin The Bathroom Monster

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I knit Jellybean a toy for his second birthday. And I got the crazy idea back over a month ago that PB needed a monster for her first birthday. So we went shopping and she helped me pick yarn. Well I finally got around to starting the silly monster. I had a silly mental block around the fact I would need to magic loop this toy. While I understood the mechanics I have never really use that technique. I finally put my big kid pants and just started.

I worked both feet and got the project started in the round. It was kinda fiddly and my cord on my interchangeable needles isn’t exactly ideally flexible but I’m making it work and figuring it out.

I did make a not so nice observation. My monster feet are two different sizes. One is noticeably smaller than the other because I must have forgot some rows somewhere. It’s less than three weeks until PB’s birthday party and I have decided I don’t care and all the cool monsters have mis-matched feet. I’m the boss of my knitting!!

Ps. This is living in my Bags by Awesome Grannie project bag and it’s making me soooo happy!

Happy Knitting!!