FOs 2014

FO: Vertices Unite

| yarn & yarns

I finished my Vertices Unite just under the wire of the #tfashawls2014 June deadline. (#tfashawls2014 runs through the summer) Special thanks to Jane for cheering me through section 3 and Patchelle for cheering me through the i-cord bindoff!

Here’s Izzy modeling the blocked shawl last Sunday on her birthday. (Aside: I now have a teen. How did that happen?)

vertices-izzy-square

Pattern: Vertices Unite by Stephen West
Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts fingering & DK mix (canyon, iris, stone, lucky penny, ravine)

vertices-square2Along with being a fun knit, what I especially love about this shawl is how different it looks when you drape and wrap it different ways. The medium (aka DK) size I created is so squishy and cozy, it’s almost got me dreaming of fall.

Pretty sure another one of these is in my future — a small one would be a good way to use up some fingering scraps. How often do you knit the same pattern more than once?

FO: Kandinsky Patinas

| yarn & yarns

composition stormWassily Kandinsky has long been my favorite painter. (In fact, I used to have a cat named after him.)

So when I saw that the Art Walk series had created a colorway based on his Composition Storm, I just had to have a skein. Yarn that special deserved a special pattern. No plain vanilla socks, here. I settled on this lacy pattern by Tanis Lavallee.

I’ve gotten over the hurdle of wearing my hand-knit socks. That said, these cashmere lovelies might just hide out in my sock drawer for a few more months…

Pattern: Patina Socks by Tanis Lavallee Yarn: Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20, Composition Storm
Pattern: Patina Socks by Tanis Lavallee
Yarn: Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20, Composition Storm

Groundhog Day Knitting

| yarn & yarns

These started as my “must use up the cashmere” project. By the time I reached the first toe, though, I’d taken to calling them my Very Hungry Cashmere socks since the colors reminded me so much of Carle’s caterpillar.

Yarn: Pattern:
Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts purple label (Painting Jeans, Squash & Autumn Sunset)
Pattern: Yarn Harlot’s Sock Recipe

I’m smitten with them — even more so than I’d thought. I was about two pattern repeats into my Happy Street shawl when it occurred to me that something about it looked familiar…

groundhog dayWorse yet? I was catching up on FO shots this weekend and realized that I’d knit three projects in a row with blue, gold, and burgundy stripes. Here are my Follow the Yellow Brick Road socks, started during Izzy’s rehearsals for The Wizard of Oz.

Yarn:
Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Solemate (Legen…wait for it..dary)
Pattern: Yarn Harlot’s Sock Recipe …again

I’d like to think I know it when I’m in a rut…

Sock Anniversary

| yarn & yarns

Given that I finished my first-ever pair of socks a year ago today, I’m as surprised as anyone by my new-found love affair. Yet, a passionate affair it is.

Evidence: a half-dozen socks that have left my needles since December’s Canyon Flower Socks.

sock madness2
Clockwise from upper left: Vintage Office Socks, Lichen Socks, Scrappy Solidagos, Painting Primavera, Ribbed Submarines, and Fresh Hickory.

And, my dear friends, I have a few more finished pairs waiting to be blogged. Yep, I’m in deep. And I’m not even going to try to blame this winter. There’s just something so satisfying right now about playing with color and texture on a small canvas — feeds my creativity AND my need for completion.

Perfection.

Let’s Just Pretend Winter Is Over, Shall We?

| yarn & yarns

Can’t hurt, right? Maybe that Polar Vortex will realize it smells like three-day-old fish and just move along  now that we’re on the other side of the equinox.

You could say I jump-started my spring cleaning with this blog. A refresh and move were long overdue. I’ve swept up many of the loose pixels on old posts… Please forgive the rest you find lingering in the corners.

While I’m not so foolhardy as to actually box up the knitwear, I’d like to put my winter FOs into a tidy pile here.

First up, my Frosty Fiddleheads. Taking the time to add the lining was worth every second.

Pattern: Fiddlehead Mittens by Adrian Bizilia Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts DK (Lucky Penny & Charcoal), lined with Frost in fingering
Pattern: Fiddlehead Mittens by Adrian Bizilia
Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts DK in Lucky Penny & Charcoal, lined with Frost in fingering

Next we have my Ravellenics project, the Hat Halfpipe: Ogiku. Here’s how the photo shoot played out, in case this series isn’t clear. Izzy grabbed Lily to help her model. The predictably jealous loyal Violet decided to join in. No surprise who won the “battle of the pets.”

Pattern: Ogiku by Sarah Mombert Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts Cosmic label in Atlantic & Natural
Pattern: Ogiku by Sarah Mombert
Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts Cosmic label in Atlantic & Natural

And last, but not least, the infinity cowl and fingerless mitts I made my mother for Christmas. While she was excited to receive them, know that this shot if more about what a good sport she is.

Patterns: Cafe au Lait Mitts by Paula McKeever & Honey Cowl by Antonia Shankland Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino in Jupiter
Patterns:
Cafe au Lait Mitts by Paula McKeever
& Honey Cowl by Antonia Shankland
Yarn:
Malabrigo Silky Merino in Jupiter