Tag Archive | crafting

Friday, bah

Today is Friday and it is a good thing it’s Friday, but I’m not in a very Friday-ish mood. I’ve got some frustrating work stuff going on that’s not helping my mindset. I might have ended up browsing for yarn online this morning! I also decided I needed a fun new project.

49a7f868-cad3-40a9-b58c-313a8b831072 These will be shortie socks using leftovers from other projects. I’ve only got three pairs of shorties and have been enjoying them as spring has sprung. I’m pretty sure the pink is Hedgehog Fibres and the black mix is Madtosh. The colors don’t exactly match but eh. Whatever. I’m even tempted to use some of my smaller balls to make single socks and just mix and match. Great way to use up some sock yarn! Happy Friday, friends.

WIP Wednesday

Apr8

What did I do after finishing that pair of worsted weight socks? Immediately cast on another, of course! This one’s for the boy to wear with his Doc Martens. I didn’t have enough of the Mountain Meadow Tweed left, so I pulled some Cascade Eco Cloud from deep stash. It’s not superwash so they’ll definitely need to be handwashed but it’s fine, I’ll just throw them in when I wash my handknit socks. I am using the Mountain Meadow leftovers for accents though.

The toes will also be the darker brown. He says they’re “vibey”, which is apparently a good thing. However, now I am tired of brown so I need to switch back to something lighter and brighter! Also my new puzzles came today so I have something besides knitting to keep me occupied.

d853989f-3f37-4a9c-821c-4177ae1c3e35 Hope you’re all coping well today. I’m currently in the “this is never gonna end” state of mind, which hopefully will pass quickly. If not, there’s wine. Well, honestly, there’s wine either way.

Two on Tuesday

Apr7

You can take this “two” in two different ways: I’ve got TWO socks to show you, and I have TWO different things to show you. Here are my finished worsted socks!

fe71bc31-6ea1-4a8b-83fc-37152d2553e6 I used the Rye pattern for stitch counts but just did a basic sock with a ribbed leg and stockinette foot. They’re so thick and squishy and I already have yarn picked out to make another pair. This yarn is Mountain Meadow Wool Tweet Worsted and it feels sturdy enough to withstand some hiking!

The other thing I wanted to share is more new yarn. Yesterday I got one last skein, the last of my stress purchases. This is Two Sisters self-striping sock yarn and it’s so FUN. (Hey, TWO sisters! It fits the theme!)

Now I don’t know what I’ll look forward to, with no more yarn en route. I got too accustomed to happy mail days!

My weekend was full of baking (lemon bread, yum!) and making. I made some masks for a nurse friend of mine who does some work in a telemedicine office. I knitted masks and added 2-layer cotton linings. (Note: I know these are not medical-quality masks. I don’t intend them as such and neither does she. We’re both operating under the concept of “better than nothing” and “what the hell, we have nothing to lose”.)

afbc4270-6d5a-4946-8df1-5891876fc259

Oops. I broke the two theme. Oh well, anyway, I pulled out the girl’s sewing machine so I could cut up an old cotton button-up shirt and sew up the linings. And, confession time: I kind of liked it! I might need to play some more with simple sewing. What if I could make my own project bags?? Unfortunately, hunching over the masks triggered a muscle spasm on Sunday morning so Sunday wasn’t too productive. I’m hoping next weekend will be a little better!

FO: Simple Cowl

Apr4

I snuck out into the gray, overcast morning to get some photos of my newest FO, a simple stockinette cowl I finished yesterday. It’s not getting blocked. Sure, it might could use the bath, but whatever. I’m a rebel these days. (Okay not really I’m following all the pandemic rules to the letter which means I need some freedom in other areas, all right??)

The yarn is from Alexandra the Art of Yarn…wait…no, I’m looking at that yarn on Ravelry and this totally is not the yarn I put into my project page. What the heck. This is not a fingering weight and the colorway is not Purple Rain and I have NO IDEA what yarn this is. Crap. I have no idea if I messed up when I created the project page, or if it came home with the wrong label. Oh well, it’s pretty yarn that makes me think of Maleficent and it’s a lovely simple cowl that was comforting to knit and will be comforting to wear.

Edited to add: I found it!! It’s Hummingbird Moon Super Moon Worsted Weight in Dark Queen! And it’s 100% superwash merino and it’s nice and smooth and soft.

4AC9C326-E454-4F92-9462-61AC8F28F5FB Sigh Whatever. Happy Saturday, friends. I hope you’re not freaking out about not being able to sew well enough to make masks or about possibly never being able to find chicken breasts at the grocery store ever again or whether your kid at college will be able to pay their living expenses. It’s not fun. I’m gonna go knit now.

FO Friday: Socks

Apr3

These socks actually got done two days ago, but I forgot to post until today. These are plain vanilla socks, with yarn from Old Rusted Chair in the color Devil’s Details. Love the yarn, loved knitting such simple socks. I finished them one night while watching a movie and immediately put them on because my feet were cold. I might have worn them for the next 36 hours.

They are good socks. The other photo is what happens when I sit down to try to take a picture of my feet: I get “helpers”!

I have one more WIP on the verge of becoming a FO, and I’ve got the second worsted sock in progress too. I’m hoping to get lots of knitting done this weekend; how about you?

Wonderful Worsted

Apr2

Have you ever made socks with worsted weight yarn? I hadn’t, but I cast one on last night after work and by bedtime I was past the gusset! And not only is it super fast, it’s thick and squishy too. The yarn is Mountain Meadow Wool Tweed Worsted, and I’m using Agate for the body and Pumice for the cuff and toe. It might not be the softest yarn against my face, but I think it will make fantastic boot socks.

I might even make some for the boy to wear with his Doc Martens, if I can manage making socks for man-sized feet. They do take a long time, but then again, as fast as worsted weight socks go, maybe it would be fine!

More yarn showed up in my mailbox the other day. I swear, having good reasons to buy yarn is definitely a silver lining to this whole mess. These beauties came from Yarn Cafe Creations and helped pay to repair their water well. I felt good helping and I got yarn!

The two on the left will be a future shawl of some sort, and the one on the left will become socks, probably as soon as I finish my worsted socks!

I’m so glad I’ve got my knitting mojo back and will enjoy it as long as it decides to stay. I’ve also been rewatching the Twilight movies and just having something so familiar that I love so much has been really comforting. I’m thinking I’ll move on to the Harry Potter series when I’m done with Twilight. What are you finding brings you the most comfort these days?

It’s back…I think

Mar30

My knitting mojo seems to have returned (knocks on wood). I don’t know if it’s connected to finishing the puzzle and needing something else to occupy me, or if it’s coincidental, but I spent quite a while yesterday working on my Bonny Lass shawl and she’s growing nicely. I’m on Chart five of eight now.

The yellow strand is my lifeline, which I have been using faithfully and makes me feel more secure. Now watch, the one time I have a lifeline, I won’t mess up and need it! Actually, that would be great. This pattern is pure lace and I have no desire to tink or frog any of it.

It was a good weekend overall, really. Got some much-needed cleaning done, spent some time outside, got some knitting done, watched some Twilight movies for comfort, and the husband made bread for the first time. It was delicious, and made enough for pizza crust too. I have to say, there are some things about this enforced time at home that are not all bad. I mean, it sucks that we have to worry about whether we should use up our flour or milk on baked goods, but it’s lovely that we’re taking the time to do that baking, and it’s probably good for us to learn to appreciate what we have. I am very very lucky. I have a large, unopened bag of flour, three gallons of milk, and probably 20 rolls of toilet paper. (Don’t fret: we shop at Sam’s regularly. I had bought a package shortly before the pandemic started. I’m not a hoarder.) The boy is feeling restless and bored but oh, he’s being so patient and understanding about everything. He gets it, gets why it’s necessary, and he’s making the best of a hard situation. I’m so proud of him right now.

I am lucky, and if it weren’t for the background worries of infection and recession and deaths, I might be pretty content with this peaceful life at home. Maybe it just bodes well for retirement!

Happy Monday, friends. Hope it’s a good one for you.

Not a stitch

Mar26

There was no knitting yesterday. Crazy, right? We’re working from home, I have so much time, I should be knitting up a storm! Wait, no, there is no “should be” anything right now, so let’s say, you’d think I’d be knitting up a storm. Instead, I spent most of my free time yesterday working on this:

WHY I thought this would be a fun puzzle, I don’t know! There are so many black pieces and shades of gray and I despair of ever finishing it, but I’m just stubborn enough to do it, if for no other reason than to allow myself to buy a more colorful puzzle.

Today we have sunshine and it’s almost Friday and it was another happy mail day at my house. This is the last of my stress-purchase yarn but it’s all so GOOD:

On the left are two skeins from Orange Jellyfish Dream. The bright multicolored is sock yarn and the purple/gray was a discounted OOAK skein of fingering weight, so maybe a shawl? On the right are four skeins of SoLo, a fingering weight merino from LoloDidIt, that will become an Olive Pink shawl. Maybe I’ll get some knitting done tonight, who knows!

WIP Wednesday: Bonny Lass

Mar25

I know it’s Wednesday because Blogville tells me so, with other WIP Wednesday posts! I wasted no time in winding my beautiful Bonny Lass yarn from Kitty Pride Fibers last night. I’d already done some pattern hunting while I waited for the yarn to arrive so I just had to make my final pick. I knew I wanted lace, and I felt like it needed to be a classic half-circle shawl shape. I ended up choosing Dowland and cast on last night.

This will definitely NOT be a watching TV kind of project, and in fact, might be the first project where I faithfully use lifelines! I’m about to start chart two of eight, and I’m thinking the first lifeline will go in at the end of chart two, just to be safe. Do you use lifelines for all your lace projects?

Well, this was a day

Mar24

I don’t even know what day it is. Tuesday, maybe? I think so. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed for sure; not grumpy but anxious and unsettled. I pushed through some work and made mac & cheese AND li’l smokies for lunch, and that was good. We had a team call this afternoon and I was surprised at how nice it was to see the faces of my coworkers. I walked Duncan in the fresh air, and even though it was still kind of gray, it felt good. And then I came home and made some chocolate pound cake. Somehow, through all of that, I’ve come out on a better side. It’s not great, not perfect, but not as dismal as this morning. My happy mail today helped a little, I’m sure.

The yarn is A Bonny Lass from Kitty Pride Fibers at Dye Hard Yarns and it’s just as gorgeous as I thought it would be. I can’t wait to wind it and cast on for a big, lacy shawl. The bags are from Aunt Steph’s Handmade Gifts. She was going to be a vendor at KITH, but when that was cancelled, I found her Etsy shop and managed to restrain myself with just these two bags. There were so many others that tempted me though, and I found the prices very reasonable!

As for actual knitting, this is my most recent WIP. It’s the Round and Round Cowl and I’m using a self-striping yarn from Biscotte Yarns. I love their yarns but have found that the socks I make with them tend to felt faster than other yarns, so I figured this nifty black and white would make a good neutral cowl.

But tonight I’ll be winding yarn before I do any knitting. Gotta get my Bonny Lass ready to go. Happy day, friends!