FO Friday: Mom’s In The Light

The wooden coaster turned tassel maker works just fine. I got my tassels finished and temporarily on my Mom’s In The Light. We even got to see that yellow ball in the sky that was the sun for some good photos.

Pattern: In The Light by Casey Day-Crosier (Rav Link)

Yarn: Laneras Barefoot (100% Polworth) held double with yellow and green

Needles: US 8s

Mods: Omitted the lace section to conserve yarn as I only had two skeins.

I tried to style this shawl on my necklace holder. This photo was before it’s wash and blocking so it’s a little scrunchy. But I think it still looks nice. My mom is coming this week so I can get her input on the tassels before I do final touches.

I used every bit of each 400 yard skein for a total of 800 yards used. So this was a nice bang for my buck getting yarn out of my stash. And it will be nice and toasty with the fingering held double.

Pin Update

It’s been a minutes since I got out my bag of stitch markers and assorted progress keepers. I tend to use a small subset of what I have and that is a shame! I also purged the top of my dresser and found 8-10 new enamel pins I needed to add to my collection

My mom made me this simple canvas pouch that is perfect for pin holding. And the tools inside are not at all bothered by the backs on the inside. I would never store yarn in something like this, that would be a nightmare of snagging.

I just need to keep working on filling out the back! PB tells me that she loves the tinkling sound it makes when I carry it and it shakes. She says it like an inside windchime!

Happy Knitting!!

Halfway (Ish)

My blanket mojo is making it hard to work on other projects but my Mom really wants this shawl so I am making sure it gets some love as well.

This is In The Light and I have made it three times before so I am very comfortable with this pattern. Normally this would call for fading but I skipped this to use the yarn my Mom bought. I may be playing yarn chicken…so I am keeping track of my balls of yarn and where I am in the pattern. The edging starts at like 180 stiches and I am at 90 something.

I probably won’t be able to knit the full pattern but I should be able to knit to a stitch count that fits the multiple needed and still add the edging. This will just mean it will be a tid bit smaller, which won’t affect its warmth at all. I just need to keep knitting!!

Happy Knitting!!

Moody Blues

Progress is slow on these socks for the second go around of this yarn. But I have reached the moody/blue section of the fade.

I got a little irked as I found a dropped stich on one these back in the greens. I had knit SO FAR past it that I could not possibly ladder it back up. I slipped a stich marker on it and during a lunch hour I dropped down the row next to it to fix it. I combined that dropped stitch with a good stitch and then laddered back up. And on the next round I just increased one where I lost that stitch.

One stitch won’t affect the overall fit. Just a little mad that I didn’t notice. I will give myself grace that these live loose-ish in my purse and take a lot of abuse. They are faring well considering all that!

Happy Knitting!!

That’s More Shawl Like

After some dedicated knitting time, my shawl has progressed past thong phase and into baby shawl phase.

As with my other In The Lights, I find myself splitting the strands or not getting both picked up. I mostly catch and fix these as I work the next row. But there are quite a few oopsies in this fabric. I am just thinking of them as character.

This was my gung ho project until I started my granny stripe blanket and I want to work on nothing else but that blanket. So I made an internal deal to work at least four rows on this a day before I can pick up my blanket. We will see how long that lasts. I’m just glad my mojo is back!

Happy Knitting

Snowy Finished Socks

A snowy finish to share this week! My 2023 Christmas Eve Socks are complete with frosty photo shoot!

Pattern: My own toe up 60 stitch sock with Wendy B Johnson gusset heel

Yarn: Lilliput Rudy’s Sport in Tail Wagging colorway

Needles: US 2s

Mods: very little but I did add some leg increases to accommodate my calves

These socks have the perfect amount of ease. I do find that the feet portion are maybe 3-4 rows too long. The toes have a little too much fabric to them in my boots. But they will work. The variegation really played out nicely in this FO. It kind of reminds me of some vintage Christmasy types of decor and ornaments.

I do have another skein of sport weight yarn picked out to start. I also have the advent leftovers on the needles. I should buckle down and finish those but I am going to follow my whims and work a little on both!

Happy Knitting!!

It Always Looks Like A Thong

Yes, I still have lights up in my house. I finally took down Christmas decor but the lights just hit right with my seasonal effectiveness disorder. So I am leaning in. And I am getting on to my WIP pile. First up is my Mom’s In The Light.

This construction of shawl always looks like a thong at this stage. But I am moving along. I have made this pattern three times before so I’m pretty familiar. This version will not be faded and I might be playing yarn chicken. But this is what my Mom gave me to work with so I am going to figure it out.

Right now I’m just cruising through the garter in a two row repeat. Perfect for TV and fireplace knitting. Happy Knitting!!

Teeny Toe

I have been focused on my 2023 Christmas Eve cast on socks, but my Advent Leftover Socks saw a little daylight this week thanks to an evening work meeting.

I think I added two color stripes during the 2 hour meeting? I did have to do some typing and working depending on the topic. I am keeping my socks from tangling by using skein sleeve aka ball sacks. This really helps to keep things tidy when these just get tossed into my backpack.

It’s been SUPER cold this month and I have been using lots of wool socks. I have found a flaw in my current sock mix. I have been wearing more skinny jeans and leggings and I don’t have nearly enough short wool socks to pair with them. My mid calf socks kinda ruin the vibe. So these socks will definitely be knit as shorties!

Happy Knitting!!

Well, It’s A Hat

Well, the Teal Dreams hat is done and off the needles.

Pattern: My own 96 stitch “basic” beanie with folded stockinette brim

Needles: US 8s

Yarn: Lilliput Yarn Woof Worsted in the Tucker colorway

And now I present to you the glitch. When I was knitting together the folded brim, I developed a little pucker. My last few brims have been ribbed and easy to keep the edges aligned. I guess that is a little harder to keep track of in stockinette and I had more live stitches than cast on. Sigh

I didn’t notice this until I was three inches into the body of the hat. And I made the executive decision to just keep going. The hat will still stay on a head and keep it warm. It’s just not up to my exacting standards. This hat will live in the kid bin for school/sledding/etc.

I am going to start my next had to clear my palette of this oops! Happy Knitting!!

Dry Knitting

I’m doing some health conscious practices this January. I’m not a big resolution person but I do believe in purposeful choices. One of those is dry January. So at night with my knitting I am choosing caffeine free soda, like this cream soda, or some sparkling lemonade. For me, its not about what the beverage is and it more about the ritual of my evening. Time alone, beverages I don’t have to share and just some quiet peace.

My rituals have (and the fact this is sport weight yarn) made significant progress on my 2023 Christmas Eve socks. I finished the foot, the gusset heel and part of the leg. If I stay on this track I should have finished socks soon!

I may or may not have pulled another skein of sport weight merino/nylon/cashmere from my Christmas haul to start my next pair of sport weight socks. 🙂

Happy Knitting!!