Tanis Fiber Arts

FO: Just Keep Swimming Socks

| yarn & yarns

I’m definitely a creature of my surroundings. No surprise, then, that my fish socks demanded serious needle time during our cabin vacation. Finished them up with plenty of time to hold a photo shoot on the dock. (The perfectionist in me feels compelled to tell you that these hadn’t had a good soak yet — that’s my excuse for the wonky colorwork, especially in the gusset area, and I’m sticking with it!)

The socks sure came in handy when the temperatures dropped mid-week and I was otherwise regretting the fact that I’d failed to pack bed socks. Given the double layer of yarn created by the stranding, I’m pretty sure these will be a favorite this winter — whether or not I feel the need to “Just Keep Swimming!”

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Pattern: Swedish Fish Socks
Yarn: TFA blue label in Deep Sea and After the Sheep Panda in Butterscotch

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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?)

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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?

WIP Wednesday: Vertices Unite

| yarn & yarns

I’ve been monogamously knitting on my WestKnits shawl in hopes of finishing before the TFA KAL deadline (end of the month). Was really worried that I might not make it for awhile there… But I managed to power through the challenging middle sections thanks in no small part to encouragement from Jane. But now I’m on section 5 and not worried about it or section 6. (And trying not to think too hard about the i-cord finish!)

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WIP Wednesday: Vertices Unite

| yarn & yarns

Last week I decided I wanted to join in on some KAL fun (#westknitskal and #tfashawls2014) so I cast on a twofer, drawing from stash. Here’s my start on Vertices Unite by Stephen West, using a combination of DK and fingering weight TFA yarn.

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Section A, which I’m only about 1/3 done with, combines Iris and Canyon in alternating rows. I added the next two colors that will be up, Lucky Penny and Stone, in the background to help spur me along. So far it’s an easy knit but there are some challenging — or at least new to me — sections coming up. Looking forward to seeing if I can pull them off!

WIP Wednesday: Ombre Cardigan

| yarn & yarns

Between the long weekend and this easy-going swath of stockinette, I’m losing track of time…

Just under the Wednesday wire, here is this week’s WIP. I am sailing happily along and reached the bottom stripe last night. My poor socks haven’t left their project bags even once this week. Not much else to say except I’m really loving these yarn colors — together and apart.

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WIP Wednesday: Porthos Socks

| yarn & yarns

Normally, I’m not a fan of pooling. In fact, I started my Vintage Office Socks three times before I found a combination of stitches/inch and needle size that gave me irregular stripes. This time, though, I’m digging the way the pooling curls around these socks in combination with the pattern’s curvy vertical lines.

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Where do you stand on the pooling continuum — love or hate?

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