FO Parade: Dishcloths & Dishtowels

October 21, 2013March 22, 2014 | yarn & yarns

In case it wasn’t clear in my earlier Finishing Frenzy post, September was one INTENSE month at work. What’s a gal to do when comfort knitting is in order? Dishcloths, of course!

And nice ones at that, since I had lots of well-marinated cotton left over from baby projects for Izzy and a Log Cabin Blanket knit years ago for my sister and brother-in-law.

The only problem? Shrinkage even in tepid water. (Insert obligatory nod to George Costanza.) Never mind that, let’s just revel in the before photos…

dishcloths 2 — **Patterns**: Ballband Dishcloth by Pisgah Yarn
& Slip Stitch Dishtowels by Purl Soho
**Yarn**: Mission Falls 1824 Cotton

As for the end result… Well, they served their stress-busting needs so there’s that. Plus, there’s no shortage of spills to wipe up at our house — big and tiny.

Onward.

FO Parade: Fall Fields

October 20, 2013March 22, 2014 | yarn & yarns

Last weekend, the Finishing Frenzy continued with blocking and photographs. Most even made it into Ravelry before I ran out of time. Oh, for more three-day weekends…

I’m going to queue up some blog posts now that the FOs are truly and completely finished — and before this weekend fades away, too.

A local yarn store closed its doors in August. Always a bitter-sweet event. Along with a half-priced sweater’s worth of Malabrigo and all the Noro I need for the POP blanket I intend to knit after I get this current wave of sock knitting out of my system, I picked up a lone skein. With all my favorite colors intertwined, I just couldn’t pass it by despite the high acrylic and rayon content. In fact, I was compelled to cast on that very day. And talk about a Pride & Prejudice moment: I love the result.

**Pattern**: Fields of Wheat by Varant Ekmekjian
**Yarn**: Berroco Boboli (Ginger Scone)

While fall seems to be a no-show this year in Minnesota, today’s snowflakes up North are a clear sign this is about to get lots of use.

Finishing Frenzy

October 6, 2013March 22, 2014 | yarn & yarns

I’ve been busy knitting up a storm for the past two months, but not good about finishing and even worse about blogging. Gigantic work deadline got in the way. But now that the beta version of the site has finally launched, it’s time to get back to business.

Saturday, I went a little crazy. I started by weaving in the ends of five dishcloths and one dishtowel that I knit in a stash- and stress-busting frenzy that started mid-September. That led to weaving in more ends (a shawl and two cowls). Then adding the thumbs on a pair of fingerless mitts that had been languishing for more than a month. I finished the finishing by ripping back and re-knitting the toes on too-big socks. Here’s the pile I ended up with; now for the blocking…

And since I’m in catch-up mode, here are a pair of socks I finished in August and gifted to my mother.

cabin socks 1 — **Pattern**: A Good, Plain Sock by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
**Yarn**: Crazy Zauberball (Spring Is Here)

And here is a baby hat that got the quickest of photoshoots before going into the gift bag.

**Pattern**: Dinofied Wee Balaclava by by mama cerise
**Yarn**: Cascade 200 (Lichen) & Ella Rae Classic (Yellow-Lime Heather)

Time for a break…aka, more knitting! 😉

FO: Katniss Socks

August 4, 2013March 22, 2014 | yarn & yarns

I wanted to try socks with cables and this seemed the perfect gateway pattern — two simple braids running down the front and back centers. Just the toe of the second sock was left to knit when I packed them for the cabin. I finished them up that first night then blocked them the next day in the sun.

katniss socks 5 — Pattern: Katniss Socks by Rose Hiver
**Yarn**: TFA Blue Label (Spice)

Izzy (who’s a big Hunger Games fan) came up with the firepit backdrop, which I like even better than the kicked back lake shot we started with.

These were a really fun knit and I’m sure I’ll revisit the pattern sometime soon. Who’d have ever thought at the beginning of 2013 that I’d have four finished sock pairs done by mid-summer?

FO: Maroo Mitts

July 25, 2013March 22, 2014 | yarn & yarns

Not only did our week at the cabin afford me time to knit to my heart’s content, it also gave me a great backdrop to take pics of some FOs. These fingerless mitts were finished and blocked a few weeks before our trip but fell victim to rainy weekends when it came to photography.

mitts 3 — **Pattern**: Maroo Mitts by Ambah O’Brien
**Yarn**: TFA Blue Label (Olive, Squash, & Olive Truffle)

These were a fun, easy knit, and I’d like to give a special shout-out to the designer, who offered up the pattern for free on her birthday. May her generosity return to her throughout the year!

The other blessing about the pattern was that it offered the chance to use some of my scraps. I especially love the Squash OOAK with its pinkish hits in the gold. And since I gifted the shawl I knit with it, this way I get to still enjoy the color and touch of cashmere.

Yarn + Pattern = Not-So-Much

July 22, 2013March 22, 2014 | yarn & yarns

Stubbornness will get you every time. I know this. I know this. And yet I was determined. I saw the Bavarian Socks pattern and thought, “Oooh, that would be stunning in that Fresh colorway I picked up at Yarnover!”

Once I had the vision, that was it. It didn’t matter that the yarn was a tangled mess when I put it on the swift. Or that I ended up having to undo the cake I’d started and wind the entire thing by hand — a less-than-pleasant experience since the yarn, as lovely and saturated green as it was, didn’t have a lot of spring. Or that the whole winding experience pushed me from A-OK on time to running late while packing to leave. Remember, I was stubborn determined.

Fast forward 24 hours to Day 1 at the cabin. In my haste to begin that morning, I misread row one of the chart and didn’t realize my error until after I’d repeated it the 10 times for the ribbing. Trip 1 to the frog pond and a second cup of coffee. All was fine until the first set of long cables made me feel like I was wrestling an alligator. I dropped a stitch. I jiggered the cable together again. The first pattern repeat is always the hardest, right?

That night after a blissful day of lakeside lounging and grilling, I picked up the socks again…and found myself struggling just as badly. WTF? I’m a loose knitter on even the most stressful days. And I was relaxed.

I put the needles down in disgust and went to bed with a headache. As I lay there, I heard it emerge from the throbbing: This. Yarn. Does not want to be. This. Pattern.

Hmmm. Yarn with little give and complex cabling on size 1-1/2 needles? Yeah, not so much. My hands and sanity would not survive.

At least I had the common sense to pack more projects than I could complete. And I’m happy to report that this pile-o-knits all behaved themselves quite nicely.

FO: Color Affection 2

June 30, 2013March 22, 2014 | yarn & yarns

Another June, another Color Affection? I seem to be a creature of habit even more than I realize.

This time rather than purchasing yarn specifically for the project, I went digging in my stash. How glorious to find three TFA lovelies seemingly meant for each other. Made me feel (slightly) less guilty about the size of my hoard.

Love this yarn and love this pattern. Nothing else to say, so let’s proceed to the glory shots…

Pattern: Color Affection by Veera Välimäki

Yarn: TFA Blue Label OOAKs (Cornucopia and Olive Truffle) and 75/25 Merino Silk OOAK (Sprout)

FO: Gramps Cardigan and Hat

June 19, 2013March 22, 2014 | yarn & yarns

I’ve long admired this pattern and was thrilled to have the chance to make it for a good friend expecting her first baby. Nothing more satisfying than setting the needles to work for a fellow knitter, is there?

Pattern: Gramps by tin can knits

Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Worsted Merino Superwash Solids (Caraway Heather and Cinnamon)

Not only is the pattern put together really well, it has a fantastic blog tutorial. Total win. Wish I was even half as pleased with the yarn. I liked the colors and springiness while knitting (nearly) enough to deal with how splitty it was.

But then the wet blocking almost. did. me. in. Not only did it grow to ginormous proportions, but a couple of carefully woven seams started to come apart. Thankfully, I was able to save it with a long timeout in the dryer. (I’ve never been so happy to be working with superwash.) But just look at this before shot to see how tidy the pocket seams/joins started out. Sigh…

Light at the end of the tunnel? Knowing that not a single person will be looking at the seams once it’s keeping a cute little boy warm!

FO: Socks, Fully Groked

June 10, 2013March 22, 2014 | yarn & yarns

I went several decades without ever attempting a sock. In fact, in that time I don’t think I even considered knitting socks for a combined five minutes. Beyond that irrational fear of turning a heel, I had one other reason: I’m very particular about how my socks fit.

Yes, re-read that last line as I smack my palm on my forehead. It was only after I’d finished two pairs and taken that Yarnover Grok the Sock class that the full stupidity of that statement sunk in. Well Golll-ly, you can customize them to fit your feet exactly.

Pattern: Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s recipe fully customized

Yarn: Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball (Arroyo)

These are pretty spot-on (despite the twisted toe that came while trying to photograph my own feet).

What surprise insights has knitting brought your way?

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