A Mystery

For the second year in a row, I did Stephen West's fall Mystery KAL.  For the second year in a row, I didn't finish during the KAL.  This is the Mystery MusiKAL Shawl from fall of 2025.  I've got two more sections to go and I have to take some time to figure out where I am before I can actually start knitting.  The KAL called for four colors of yarn, but I decided to use five.  Also, I'm pretty sure that the way I used my colors has nothing to do with the A, B, C, D he uses in the pattern to tell you which color to use where.  His designs seem to work well even if you change things up though.  (One person did the whole thing in one color - it's stunning.)

I've used (in no particular order) Malabrigo Ultimate Sock in Oro (gold), Malabrigo Ultimate Sock in Teal Feather (blue green), Sweet Georgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in Cassis (pink), Sweet Georgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in Lupine (blue violet), and Madelinetosh Twist Light in Weathered Frame (brown).  I initally wasn't going to use the Weathered Frame, but I liked the way it seemed to ground the brighter colors, so I decided to go for it.  As you can see around the edges of the shawl, I haven't been a good knitter and woven in the ends as I go, so at some point I'm going to have some major weaving in to do.  Fortunately Netflix just got all the James Bond movies, so at least I'll be entertained while I'm doing all of that!

Have a great weekend and stay warm!  

Progress

I'm knitting right along on my Austin Hoodie!  I've done the waist shaping decreases and I'm very close to beginning the increases now.  I'm also to the point where I need to start thinking about the other stitch patterns used on this hoodie and if I want to use them or change them.  

The pattern is written for two different stitch patterns in the upper body - a double stranded woven stitch and a slipped stitch rib above it.  The pattern is also written for fingering weight yarn and since I'm knitting it in sportweight (a heavier yarn than the pattern calls for), I've decided not to double strand anything.  When you change stitch patterns, you need to make sure your gauge doesn't change or your sweater won't fit.  Some stitch patterns can be swapped out easily, others require a change of needle size to adapt the gauge.  (As an example, garter stitch and seed stitch both push out horizontally, so if you use either with stockinette stitch, you need to go down a needle size or two or your garment will flare.  Cables pull in horizontally and you also lose some elasticity in the fabric, so you need to increase your needle size, or the total number of stitches to keep the size of your fabric.)  Unfortunately, there's not a simple formula to substitute stitch patterns, you just have to swatch, or place a lifeline and be prepared to undo things until you get the gauge right.

Like I said, it's about time to start making decisions. 

On the subject of decisions, I decided to go ahead and frog the sock I had started.  I will pick a new sock and yarn pairing as we get closer to the start of the 2026 Formula One season (AKA March).

Have a fantastic weekend and I'll see you next week! 

It's Probably Nothing...

 ...but I haven't really decided yet.  

I started this sock at the first of the year because I didn't have a pair of socks on the needles.  The plan was to use this yarn (Madelinetosh Twist Light in Confetti Bomb) for a pair of top down Scatterby socks. The pattern is written as toe up, so I'd essentially be plugging the stitch pattern into my own basic vanilla sock pattern.  This is as far as I've gotten - the ribbing and one repeat of the stitch pattern.

The problem is that I'm not sure I'm feeling this yarn and pattern combination, and (this might be the most important part of the issue) I'm not really working on socks right now.  I like to knit socks while I watch sports.  I watch two sports:  Texas A&M Football and Formula One Racing.  Football season doesn't start up again until August and the 2026 season of Formula One doesn't begin until March.  There are a couple of practice sessions in February, but no racing until the first weekend of March.  

My knitting has been focused on my Austin Hoodie and finishing a couple of shawls I started last year.  I've run out of yarn on one of them, so I'm waiting for a restock so I can get more, and I've got to figure out where I'm at on the other one and how to get going (this is a job for a quiet afternoon).  I just don't need a sock in the current rotation.  

So my dilemma (if it can even be called that), is do I frog the sock and set it all aside until we get closer to when I'm actually going to be knitting it, or do I just set it aside as it is now, leaving it in progress, and see how I feel when I'm ready to knit socks again?

I'm happy for any thoughts you might have on the matter if you'd like to share them in the comments! 

New Year, New Knitting

For my first project of the year I cast on an Austin Hoodie.  (It's knit from the bottom up, so what you see in the photo is the hem on the lower edge that I draped over Fifi's neck.)  The EatSleepKnit Yarnathon for 2026 is doing projects with hoods for the first quarter (there's more details at the website and at the Ravelry group, but basically stand alone hoods or balaclavas as well as hooded garments.)  Towards the end of the year I noticed that I have a lot of colorful cardigans and sweaters, but very few in neutral colors.  I had knit an Austin Hoodie years ago, but the yarn I used was itchy on my arms.  It felt fine as I was knitting it, but I tended not to wear the sweater for very long, which was unfortunate because it was really cute.  Fast forward 10+ years, and here we are doing it again!

I'm knitting it in Malabrigo Arroyo in Natural, which is a sportweight yarn.  The pattern is technically written for a fingering weight, but it's knit very loosely.  I checked the projects on Ravelry and there are a number of people who have used sportweight successfully, so I decided to go for it!  I am making a few other changes to the pattern though:

• I'm not knitting the garter stitch front bands as the pattern directs you to do when you knit the body.  The vertical edge of stockinette stitch (the stitch used for most of the body of the sweater) likes to roll to the wrong side.  With the narrow front bands as the pattern is written, this tends to roll them to the inside of the sweater.  I distinctly remember it happening on my sweater and I want my front bands to stay where I put them.  I plan to go back later and pick up stitches around the front and knit a ribbed front band.  This will not roll to the inside, and I can face the front bands with ribbon, which I really think add a lot to the stability of the front edges and they're just super pretty.  I've ordered some ribbon and when it arrives, I'll decide which one to use and I'll know how deep my front bands need to be.  In order to change my front bands like this, I had to adjust my stitch count on the fronts.
• I made the lower hem deeper than the pattern calls for.  I did this on my first Austin Hoodie and it counteracts the tendency of stockinette stitch to roll forwards on the horizontal edge.  Deeper hems just add a bit more weight to keep things where I want them.
• I will not double strand the yarn in the woven section as the pattern calls for.  In a sportweight yarn, I'm pretty sure that would make those sections bulletproof.  I'm actually playing with the idea of skipping the textured stitches all together and just knitting the whole thing in stockinette.  I'll decide that later though.
• Finally, I might add a single button or buttons to the front band.  Since I'll be doing those last, I can decide once I've blocked it and tried it on.

At the moment though, I'm just knitting away on it!  I don't have to make any major decisions yet, so I can just enjoy the process right now! 

Let's Try This Again

I see that I haven't blogged since July of 2025!  I had no idea it had been that long ago!  I vaguely thought my last blog post was sometime this past fall, but apparently not.

I don't think I have it in me to go through absolutely everything I've made since July, but I think in an effort to start somewhere, anywhere, I will quickly sum up last year's makes.

• I crocheted one cardigan.
• I knitted two shawls (Technically one of those was begun in 2024 and finished in 2025, but that meant it was put in the 2025 list of finished things so I'm counting it here.  My list, my rules.) 
• I finished a knitted pullover that was also started in 2024. 
• I knitted nine pairs of socks. 
• I sewed eight tops.
• I sewed two skirts.

Here is a photo of the very last socks I finished this past year, just to make the post a little more interesting:

These are the Hermione's Everyday Sock pattern, knit in Potions and Purls Luna Sock in the Gingerbread Cookie colorway.  If you've never knit this pattern before, I highly recommend it for a simple, easily memorized design, perfect for sock knitting in public or while watching TV.  I've found I need this type of pattern (easy to memorize and knit on autopilot) to watch Texas A&M football and Formula 1 racing. 

We are currently out of season for both sports right now, so while I have a new pair of socks on the needles (I'll show you current projects in future blog posts), I'm mainly focused on finishing some Works in Progress right now.

We'll talk about those later, but I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season and new year, and I'm hoping to get back to more regular blogging as we move forward!