Archives

Mindless Knitting: Barley Hat & Quadratic Shawl

Jan28

It’s Wednesday, right? I think so. I’ve already had a fair bit of waiting room time that needed truly mindless knitting, so I managed to finish the Barley hat I started almost two weeks ago. I really really enjoyed making it, so much I didn’t want to stop, apparently: the hat ended up as a major slouch hat instead of a normal beanie. I just wanted to keep knitting ’round and ’round! But I’m going to pretend I did it on purpose because I do love how it turned out.IMG_3734 IMG_3736 IMG_3739I’ll definitely be making more of these and maybe even manage to make some as a fitted beanie like it’s supposed to be! If you’d like to make one too, here’s the pattern on Ravelry. I made it as written for the adult medium except I knit the body at least 9″, I think.

My other mindless knitting was on the Quadratic shawl. I started this at the very beginning of September last year and got a good start before getting pulled away by holiday knitting. Since it’s all garter stitch, it’s perfect for when you need to be distracted but can’t follow complicated patterns. I’ve gotten a fair bit done, but you can definitely see where I stopped and re-started. I wouldn’t have thought my tension would be so different in the span of four months, but clearly it is. Here’s hoping it’s less noticeable after blocking.IMG_3744But the Quadratic is going back in a drawer for a little while, because last night I signed up to do a little event. Our local downtown has an event space called The Exchange, and once a month they host local Etsy sellers for a show. It’s only 4 hours, but it’s free, and I think it’s a truly awesome idea. I just learned about it recently and inquired last night, thinking I’d start with the March event, and they offered me a spot at the February event on Valentine’s Day! Woohoo! So until then my fingers will be flying on hats and boot cuffs to have a good variety for sale. My inventory’s a little low, so wish me luck on building it up in the next two weeks. (EEK!)

Craft Room Organization: Phase II

Jan27

I couldn’t stand it any longer: I spent Sunday afternoon sorting my yarn stash so that it was all together by weight! Thank goodness for Ravelry, too. I pulled up my stash and filtered it one weight at a time so I didn’t miss any yarns, and there were several where I looked at the name and it meant absolutely nothing, but hey, I’d uploaded a photo of the skein! I got to remind myself how much gorgeous yarn I have, I got to pull out a few skeins of cheapo acrylic I’ll never use, and it looks much better than before!IMG_1271Last step is waiting for the husband to build the diagonal dividers for the shelves, but I can be patient on that…I think!

It’s Bittersweet: Finished Rainbow Cowl

Jan25

Guess what I finished last night? My rainbow cowl! I’m so happy because that means I can either wear it or list it on Etsy. But I’m so sad because that means I can’t knit on it anymore and I so enjoyed knitting with that yarn. I totally need to save up to buy some more Vice yarn. Great stitch definition, soft without being too floppy, and those colors!IMG_1263IMG_1266This is unblocked, so I still need to wash it and pin it out but I think it’s a great size. This was a wonderful travel project too, so I expect I’ll be making more with my fancy single skeins. I even have about 60 yards left, and I’m wondering if I can squeeze out a wee pair of fingerless gloves, something just like a handwarmer. If I succeed, I’ll share it!

Craft Room Organization: Phase One

Jan24

I was hit with a little wave of inspiration today. I’m sure you’ve all seen the blog post from Repeat Crafter Me about her yarn storage. And using that type of shelving isn’t anything new; in fact my woodworker husband has been wanting to make them for me for a while now. But what struck me today was how she put her buttons into little glass jars, separated by colors. Brilliant!

Previously, I had two button boxes. One held all my loose single buttons, the other held button cards with 2 or more of the same buttons. When I need multiples of the same button for a project, I knew which box to grab. But what was frustrating was digging through the boxes looking for the right button in the right color.

So while I watched my tennis this morning, I separated all my buttons into piles. I kept most of the button cards intact, since they’d still fit into the jars that way.IMG_1260 Then I gathered up the several empty glass containers cluttering up my craft room. Some I’d bought intending to use kind of like a yarn bowl, and some I just had because…well, because they might come in hand someday. Today, they did! I didn’t have enough, but thankfully my husband happened to have three Ball jars just taking up space in his workshop, and he donated them to me.IMG_1261Yay! I love my new button jars.

Now I just need to get him to make those dividers so I can make my yarn look all pretty. But I can’t help but wonder if by color is the best organization. I’ve got my yarn by fiber (alpaca, felting wool, superwash, soft/merino wool, cotton, silk, acrylic). That way when I need a certain fiber, I know what colors I have available. But it does look so much better by color. How do you organize your yarn? What do you like/not like about it?

FO Friday

Jan23

It is Friday, right? For reals? I just now realized I posted a WIP Wednesday post…on Thursday. And you all are so nice that none of you made fun of me (in writing)! So thank you, I appreciate it. In my defense, Monday was a holiday and threw everything off. I think I’m back on track now. And I actually have a finished project to share.IMG_1247These are boot cuffs made for a niece’s birthday. I kind of made up my own pattern and added some of my favorite new buttons. I really hope they fit and she likes them! They’re Raveled here, if you’re interested.

And that’s all. Boy, I’m so unproductive this week. I could have worked on my seed stitch beanie, but…well. I didn’t. I had an unexpected lunch date, which was lovely, so didn’t have that time. And after I finished the cuffs and sewed the buttons on, I needed to stretch my legs plus the puppy was bonkers so he got a nice long walk and then it was almost dinner time…you know how it goes. But last night during tennis, I did cast on my beautiful rainbow Vice. It’s a plain stockinette cowl with ribbed edges and it’s going quickly.IMG_1251Can I just knit with this yarn forever and ever? It’s the best yarn ever and I want more.

I might not finish anything today. I get to have lunch with some good friends and then I have to run errands for the mother and errands with the children. We’ll see how far I get this morning!

WIP Wednesday

Jan22

I’m still working on that seed stitch hat, the one I started a few days ago with my new turquoise HiKoo Simpliworsted. I’m using this pompon and seeds hat pattern and the first time I made it, I switched to bigger needles for the body of the hat as well as increased a couple of stitches for extra slouch. Then after two hours of waiting room knitting, I was almost out of yarn but not close to the end. I frogged back to the brim that night and started over with smaller needles and no decreases. Now I have 2cm to go before I start decreasing, and a worryingly small ball of yarn left. But this is the perfect pattern for this yarn, so I’m going to just keep going and buy another skein if I have to. I just love seed stitch with the bounciness of HiKoo, it’s all squishy and fun and springy.IMG_1242

I’ve set it aside for today, though. I have another boot cuff to make and then I’m going to tackle my lace scarf while it’s quiet. It’s Australian Open time, so I can listen to the soothing rhythm of tennis while counting my YOs and k2togs. 

Missing You

Jan21

Yesterday was my dad’s birthday. It was the third we’ve had since he died. He would have been 71. And I made it through the day. It wasn’t pretty, wasn’t fun, but I did it. It helped that I had errands to run, doctor appointments to deal with, things that kept me busy and kept my mind occupied. Of course it was always in the back of my mind, but I didn’t have much time to dwell on it. And when I did have time, it was a different kind of grief than years past.

The first year, I kept thinking I was forgetting something, something I was really supposed to do that day. And then I’d remember: I was supposed to be calling my dad, but couldn’t. It was a series of sharp pains throughout the day. The second year, that feeling of forgetting something was gone but the loss was still sharp. We might have had cake but I’m not sure. This year the pain itself had softened, but it was joined by a pervading sense of permanence. No way around it, he’s really gone and I really won’t get another birthday with him. It was just a sad day from start to finish.

I’m glad it’s over, really. I woke up refreshed this morning, eager to have a better day today. No big plans, which makes for the best kind of day, doesn’t it? I see yarn in my immediate future, maybe a trip to Half Price Books.

Pretty Yarn Pictures, that’s all

Jan20

Over the weekend, I made it out to two of my LYSs and since I was shopping alone, I had no one to tell me I couldn’t or shouldn’t buy these lovely bits of yarny goodness.IMG_3686Classic Elite Chateau. Light as air and fluffy-soft.IMG_3687Malabrigo Worsted. The only skein I saw in either store.IMG_3688Malabrigo MechaIMG_3689HiKoo SimpliWorsted. I love this squishy yarn. It’s already halfway to being a seed stitch beanie.IMG_3691A splurge: Madelinetosh DK in Astrid Grey. Isn’t it gorgeous? It will be a cowl, possibly another Honey Cowl.IMG_3684A bigger and better splurge: Vice’s Floozy worsted in Plain Jane. I can’t get over how beautiful this yarn is. Every skein I saw by Vice had these strongly-saturated, vivid, rich colors. I am so in love with this yarn.IMG_1225_2 IMG_1226It’s all wound and ready to become a simple cowl. It will be stockinette with ribbed edges, nothing to distract you from the beauty of the yarn.

Have you made any splurges lately? What yarns make you weak in the knees?

I mustache you a question: Do you like boot cuffs?

Jan19

Is it bedtime yet? No? Only 3:30, eh? Well. Soon it will be wine o’clock, so that’s something. I am tired, it has been a long day already, but I can finally share the finished boot cuffs. They went to a couple of girls who love mustaches, and I just happen to have some mustache buttons. Soooo…IMG_3617

IMG_3621Fun, no? I’ll definitely be making more of these before the next craft show.

Yesterday I went shopping and bought gorgeous yarn I don’t need, and tomorrow I will show you pictures. Today I am tired so I am going to go visit my couch. It is calling my name.

Just a wee bit of Barley

Jan16

It’s really hard to blog when you can’t talk about your projects. I’m still working on my little secrets and they’re going really well. But today I’m in need of a simple travel project, so I poked through my Ravelry queue for a hat to make, and the Barley hat by Tin Can Knits jumped out at me. It keeps popping up in top 20 lists and other blogs, and I love how it’s mostly simple stockinette with a nifty patch of garter stitch. And then, guess what? I discovered I had another skein of Malabrigo Worsted in my stash! (Is it bad when you keep finding surprises in your stash?) So now I have an easy, fun project ready for my waiting room knitting!IMG_1214Clearly hats are my go-to travel projects; what are your favorites?