Many months ago, in the before-time when we were able to go places and look at things and buy them in person, I bought the neatest handmade oak cabinet for my pen accessories. Perhaps it was originally a jewelry case, as the top drawer is sectioned off and lined with red felt. The other drawers are unlined though, and recently I thought it would be fun to knit drawer liners with leftover sock yarn. There weren’t any patterns in Ravelry that were similar to what I had in mind, but there was a table runner in fingering weight with a width close to what I wanted. That gave me a starting point for how many stitches to cast on and what needle to start with.
After a couple of tries, I landed on a cast-on of 92 stitches with size 2 needles. I did a garter border but then as I started thinking about the body, I decided I wanted some kind of ridge to create valleys for pens to rest in. I did a few rows of k6, p2 / p6, k2 but that wasn’t creating a ridge on the stockinette side, so I switched to a garter ridge instead of a purl ridge. Nope, that didn’t work either, so I went back to the purl ridge. Though it created a dip on the smooth “right” side, it made a nice ridge on the purled “wrong” side, and I decided I just needed to adjust my thinking and switch right and wrong.
I kept knitting until I ran out of yarn and after blocking I ended up with a rectangle about 13″ by 4″. It’s a good length for the drawers but I want it deeper to fill the whole drawer, so I need about 40 grams to get a piece 13″ x 9″.
However, what I discovered is that 4″ is the perfect length for my Kaweco pens, and I happened to have exactly enough spots for all of them!
This was a fun little weekend distraction, and I’m looking forward to making a full-size version soon!
I’ll start with the obvious: this is a huge shawl. I used all but 14 grams of my two skeins of Kitty Pride Fibers’ Ocicat Fingering in the color A Bonny Lass. The pattern says you can repeat section eight up to two times to use up more yarn, so I repeated it once. I didn’t want to risk running out of yarn, though I think I could have squeaked through just fine.
After finishing the dining room yesterday morning, I really thought I was done painting for a while. It’s been hard on my back, elbows, wrists, hands — everything, really. But the work and the final products are really good for my mind, so by last night I was pulling pictures off the walls in the living room and starting to dust and spackle. I’m going to take it slow, though. I’ll do bursts of prep in between spurts of knitting today, and take my time. The boy asked me last night what I was going to do when I ran out of rooms to paint, and I had no answer. After the living room, I have a stairwell to paint, and that’s it for painting. I could be done by the end of the week. Then what?
The sock yarn will actually become socks, and the two little pirate sheep in the middle are temporary tattoos, how fun is that? And that sticker in the upper left corner? LOVE with the yarn ball? I think that would make an amazing real tattoo! Only if I did it, of course the yarn would be purple. We’ll see if I still want it once we’re allowed to go out into the world again.
I was spreading the ModPodge on this one last night and the husband walks by and says with dismay, “You’re gluing that one together too?” LOL! I guess he’s not a big fan of finished puzzles either! This is the last one to get glued, I think, so he’ll be fine. But I like the idea of hanging this one in our sitting room, which is where we have our record player and piano, and where the kids used to practice their instruments.
And it does! The hardest part might be deciding which awesome sock yarn to knit next!
The socks only grow if you actually sit down and knit on them!
Those are all first socks but at least I’ve now got two completed first socks, and that feels good! Plus these are both quick socks, with one being a shortie and one being worsted weight, so second socks shouldn’t be too far behind.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Happy Monday, friends. Hope it’s a good one for you.
bonnyknits 