Just a Little Sparkly Project

I've just realized that I hadn't shared this here yet!  This is the Jeweled Cowl (free pattern!) and I'm knitting it for the EatSleepKnit Quarter 3 Craft-A-Long which is for beaded projects.  I cannot tell you the last time I used beads for a project.  I was unable to use beads when we had Maximus because he was crazy and liked to knock things over - especially bowls of beads, and Mr. Noodle tended to do the same when he was younger.  Lately though, Obi has been laying next to me when I knit and Mr. Noodle doesn't jump up on the sofa when Obi's there (which is weird because he totally pushes him around any other time, and will slap him ((no claws)) when necessary).  When this Craft-A-Long started, I didn't really have a plan, but then I saw this pattern, realized I had the supplies to knit it, and decided to go for it.  If I had too much furry help I could always stop, but it's actually worked out pretty well!

I'm knitting it in Hedgehog Fibres Kidsilk Lace in the Plump colorway and using some size 8 beads that have been in my stash for years.  They're kind of a maroon/copper/iridescent color.  Hard to photograph, but in person they add just a little sparkle.  The pattern is fun and easy to memorize, but I do have to pay attention to the lace row because mistakes are obvious in this simple stitch pattern.  I have two skeins of this yarn, but I'll probably quit at the end of this first skein (it has 459 yards per skein), because it's already getting nice and wide.  I haven't weighed the skein, but at a guess, I've probably knit about 75-80% if it so far.  I might make a pair of mitts to match with the other skein, but I haven't really decided yet. 

A Little Palatte Cleanser

The last two weeks were Spirit Week at Eat.Sleep.Knit (it's usually just one week, but they gave us a second week to finish the mascots).  I decided to make a mascot stuffie partway through, so here is Confetti, the balloon dog!  (I'm in the Puppy Floats Team.)

The pattern is Snooker the Balloon Dog, and he's knit and then folded together just like an actual balloon dog!  I used Malabrigo Sock in the Parade colorway.  It takes less than 50 yards.  The knitting is easy, but there are some fiddly parts because you need to knit it tightly so the stuffing doesn't come out.  The directions are clear, and I would absolutely make another one at some point. 

A New Scrap Blanket

Fresh off the high of finishing my Button Box Throw, I immediately wanted to keep using those scraps!  This time around I decided to use a crochet pattern worked from the center out - The Virus Blanket.  Once again I got out my leftover partial balls and little bits of superwash fingering yarns and put them into a kind of fade.  And this is the beginning! (It's actually, part way through a round, which is why one side of the square looks different from the other side - I had to get a photograph while the light was good.)

I'm still on the first color, but I'm going to be changing colors either this round or the next.  I have made a virus blanket before. (I made one in 2020 for Mr. Noodle when he came to live with us, then he turned out to love wool too much, so he has to be supervised with it.)  I remembered enjoying making it, and I thought it would be a pretty way to use up some leftovers that were floating around in bags, tangling up with each other.  I will admit that getting started this time was a bit of a struggle, but I'm sorted now, and have the repeat memorized so I can work without the pattern.  The pattern itself is free, but the written pattern is a little confusing (at least to me).  Fortunately, the designer also has a video, so by referring to the video where the written directions were confusing me, I've got it figured out!  According to notes in some other projects, I'm not the only one who needed the video to clear up some confusion.

Again, I have no definite plans for this blanket, other than turning yarn scraps into something usable.  I'll keep going until I have run out of this set of scraps or when I decide the blanket is big enough.  Big Enough is something to be decided when I get there!

Since I've been having so much fun using up yarn scraps, I noticed some fabric scraps sitting around the sewing room.  I'll show you the fabric plan later this week!  (Yep, I'm currently a scrap busting machine!) 

A New Sweater!

The Eat.Sleep.Knit Second Quarter Craftalong is  based on circular yokes!  I went back and forth trying to decide on long sleeves vs. short sleeves, colorwork vs. texture or lace, and I have looked at oodles of sweaters with circular yoke construction.  Then I saw the Kuffel sweater and it kind of grabbed me and wouldn't let go.  I love the oversized cozy look of the whole thing, as well as the bold, graphic colorwork.

So I'm knitting a Kuffel!  I'm using Berrocco Ultra Alpaca Worsted in Navy and Turquoise Mix.  As you can see in the photo (kind of), I'm through the first colorwork section.  It's knit from the top down and the neck band is added last.  I also must admit that I really like the big, open neckline because I don't like things tight around my neck and also I live in Texas, so we must ventilate in order to not die of heatstroke.  In December!

I hope to be back again later this week with more knitting, but when I tried to blog last week the photo hosting site was down, and what's the point if there aren't any pictures, right?   

Finished!

I finished my Austin Hoodie, and got the ribbon sewn on!  This is the Austin Hoodie pattern, which is written for fingering weight yarn knit at a very loose gauge.  I used Malabrigo Arroyo in Natural, a sportweight yarn (slightly heavier than fingering weight) and I'm really happy with the feel of the fabric.  

I also reversed the ribbing at the top of the sweater so there would be more knit stitches than purl stitches showing.  You still get the vertical lines of the ribbing, but it seems a little softer to me visually.

Finally, I wanted to reinforce the front edges with ribbon because front edges go through a lot on a cardigan.  I wasn't sure what ribbon I wanted to use and I lost track of how many I tried (let's just say that I've got more of a ribbon stash now than I did when I started), so instead of knitting the front bands on as I knit the sweater (which is what the pattern calls for), I decided to add them later in the traditional way.  Once I finally picked a ribbon, I knew how wide to make them.  The ribbon is from Kafka, a German company that makes gorgeous ribbons.  I found it from a place on Etsy.  It wasn't cheap, but it was what I wanted and since it will show in the hood and occasionally at the front, I wanted to be happy with it.

This pattern is knit from the bottom up, and for some reason that always seems to take forever, but I got it finished in time to submit to Eat.Sleep.Knit for the first quarter Craft-A-Long.  Next quarter, I will be doing a top down sweater, but I'll give you all the details later. 

Progress!

It's sleeve time!  My goal was to be finished with the body of my Austin Hoodie by the end of February, but I was actually able to get started on my first sleeve!  I'm currently farther along, but our mornings have been cloudy which makes it hard to get good photos.  

I hope to finish the first sleeve soon and be finished with my second sleeve next week.  Then it's just the hood and front edgings.  I still haven't decided what I'll use to face the front edgings, but if I can get all the knitting finished by the end of March, I can submit it for the Hoodie CAL.  Facings can be finished later if I need to.

I'm knitting exclusively on this right now, but I'll be starting a pair of socks later this week.  It's finally Race Week - Formula 1's 2026 season kicks off in Australia this week, and I've learned (the hard way), that I need an autopilot type of sock to work on during Qualifying and the Grand Prix.  Without knitting, I'm just a mess, and anything that requires thought is going to be frogged to correct mistakes.  The yarn and pattern are chosen.  I'll show them to you later this week!

Progress!

Now that I've gotten my Mystery MusiKAL shawl finished (pictures to follow when I get the ends woven in), I'm focusing on my Austin Hoodie again.  I have finished knitting the lower body section and divided the front stitches from the back stitches.  I've completed the woven section on the back and I'm about to start the ribbing section.  I had played with the idea of using different stitch patterns, but I eventually decided that I really did like the stitch patterns used in the original pattern, with a couple slight changes.  I did not double strand the woven section because I'm using sportweight yarn instead of fingering weight, and I am going to reverse the ribbed section at the top by knitting where I'm supposed to purl and purling where I am supposed to knit.  This should give me a slightly more subtle ribbing and still match at the shoulders.

I'm hoping to really make some progress on this and be finished with the body before the end of the month.  I have to have the whole sweater finished by the end of March and I will have two sleeves, a hood, and front bands to do after the body, so I've got to get moving!

In other news, Mickael got me a robot vacuum (and it mops!) for Valentine's Day!  It's seriously amazing!  I was just sitting here this morning, drinking my tea, and writing to you while it went to vacuum and mop the master bathroom.  Obi barks at it occasionally,  but he really doesn't seem too troubled about it, he tends to follow it a little bit, but the barking seems to be more on general principal than because he senses any threat.  It did knock one of his squeaky balls out from under the sofa yesterday, and he was thrilled to get that back!

Thawing Out

I've gotten back to work on my Mystery MusiKAL shawl and this was the perfect project for this past weekend.  Once I figured out where I was, the actual knitting isn't difficult, but I have to pay attention just enough to keep me focused.  This was a nice way to keep my brain from thinking about the storm outside.  You can see the new section above the diamonds.  This new part looks woven.  I'm about halfway through it by the number of rows, but since it's worked using short rows, each row is a little shorter than the one before.  I hope to be done with it in a couple of days and then I just have the final border to go!

We ended up getting between 3-4 inches of sleet from the storm.  There's a layer of actual snow in there somewhere too, but it's become one with the sleet at this point.  Overnight it becomes extremely hard and slick, but we're supposed to get above freezing today, so hopefully it will start going away.  There are a few tire tracks in it through the neighborhood, but most people seem to be staying home.  The schools are still closed around here.  

Obi had a blast in the storm.  He wanted to lay in it and play in it all day.  He doesn't have any cold weather gear, so I had to bring him back inside before he was ready, but he doesn't understand things like frostbite.  If the warmer daytime temperatures don't melt the backyard, he'll probably eat it! 

Finished!

I finished and blocked the Katahdin Cardigan!  This was a lot of knitting, but the finished cardigan is cozy and snuggly without being too heavy.  I knit it in Malabrigo Arroyo in Azules, which is a tonal blue colorway that knits up looking like Paua shell.  I used almost 2000 yards for this cardigan, but I did make a few changes from the pattern.

The pattern has waist shaping, which is usually a good idea, but in this case, with an open cardigan, I knew it wasn't going to really do any shaping, it would just pull towards the back.  Instead I added some A-line shaping instead.  I mean, if you're looking for a shaped garment, you're not going to finish it off with a huge, dramatic shawl collar and hide all that shaping, right?  So I went with the big and snuggly.  I also made the sleeve cuffs shorter than the pattern called for.  Garter stitch takes forever to get any length, and I didn't think I had the intestinal fortitude to knit cuffs as deep as the pattern calls for.  (Mine are still a couple of inches, though.)

The collar is definitely a commitment. It's not hard to knit, there's just a lot of different stitch patterns and the original pattern was written as a leaflet for a yarn company: they used as little paper as possible, so I found it easier to make a list of each of the steps and manually checked them off as I went.  Overall, I enjoyed knitting this, and I believe it will be nice to toss on when the weather cools off again!

Progress

I've made all five of my Pines Hexagons and three of my Blue Jean Hexagons for my Nectar blanket.  The pattern is easy, but not something I've memorized; and I can do a hexagon in a couple hours easily.  

I'm not weaving in my ends as I go (which I should be), but I will probably sit down with them soon.  I also haven't blocked anything yet.  It is a long term project after all, so I'll get it done when I get it done.  In the meantime, I'm finding the hexagons relaxing!

A Hidden Gnome!

I'm still working on my first sock of the new pair (why does stranded knitting take so much longer than single color knitting?), but I'm past the heel turn and the gusset now.  You can see the little gnome above, between the gusset decreases.  He's technically knit into the gusset of this sock, and he sits right on the underside of the heel.  You can barely see him in the photo below

When I started the stranded section for the foot, I decided to use a smaller needle than what I used for the stranded section of the leg.  I tried on the sock, and the leg portion is looser than I like the feet of my socks to be.  For anyone who's interested, I used US 0'S (2.0mm) for the top ribbing, heel flap, heel turn, and foot colorwork.  I used US 1's (2.25mm) for the leg colorwork.  This tightened up my gauge on the foot section so it will fit more snugly.  This also means I will have to knit more rounds in the foot to get the length right.

Brace For Stockinette!

There's going to be a lot of it!  I've started a V Neck Boxy pullover and I'm almost through with the upper body.  I've just got the left front to do, then I join the fronts and back and start going around and around and around!  I'm hoping to get to this point in the next few days.  Being a Boxy, it's oversized, so that combined with fingering weight yarn means lots and lots of stockinette stitch.  Fortunately, I don't mind this kind of thing.

I'm knitting this as part of a Flash Craft A Long ESK is hosting and I have until the end of October to finish it.  I had planned to make this at some point, so when they announced the FCAL and I looked at my yarn stash, I decided, why not?  I'm knitting this in Queensland Collection Kathmandu Fingering in Color 02 Smoky Gray.  I used this same color in the Kathmandu Aran weight last year for my Recoleta cardigan and fell in love with the yarn then.  The fingering weight is just as nice, only making a lighter weight fabric.  I think this sweater will be great for fall and winter around here, and the neutral color will get a lot of use.  A gray sweater is always a good idea in my closet!

A New Cardigan

I started a new cardigan at the first of the month, but then it got bumped aside for the tiger.  A girl has to have priorities, right? (And the fact that north Texas has basically had triple digit high temperatures since the end of May means I'm not sure when I'll be able to wear it.  For reference, we don't usually hit triple digits until late July or August.)

Anyway, I am slowly working on it and I'm just starting the patterned section in the yoke.  The pattern is #19 Cabled Yoke Cardigan, and I'm knitting this in Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light in the Turquoise Mix colorway.  I've knit with the worsted weight Ultra Alpaca several times and I love working with it, but this is my first time using the lighter  DK or sportweight.  It feels the same, only a lighter yarn, so it definitely goes on the list of yarns I will use again.  It's a 50/50 blend of alpaca and wool so you get the softness and drape of the alpaca along with the bounce and memory of the wool.  This means it feels good to knit as well as to wear.  I'm guessing this lighter weight will be more useful in my closet here in Texas as well.

Have a great weekend! 

I Made A Tiger!

The last few years I've participated in Eat Sleep Knit's Yarnathon program which is a combination of yarn buying loyalty rewards, knit (and crochet) alongs, and random other yarn related things.  There are four teams each year and this year I am a Targhee Tiger.  (Team sorting happens at 12:01 AM EST New Year's Day for previous customers.  It's very exciting.)

At some point during the year (it's been in the summer the last couple of years at least) there is Team Spirit Week.  It's a week of team based activities including a Mascot Challenge, which is to knit or crochet an image of your team's mascot.  It could be a stuffie or a dishcloth or anything with your mascot.

I've usually done little amigurumi stuffies for this challenge and this year was no different.  This is my tiger.  I used the Snowy and Amber The Tigers pattern.  This is not a beginning amigurumi design, but I can say the head, body, and legs are all crocheted together as you go.  The rest is added on later, and it took a few hours to sew on all the details and finishing bits.  I used Emma's Practically Perfect Sock yarn in Volume (orange), After Dark (black), and Terrazzo (cream) with a 2.25mm hook.

I love my little finished tiger!

Also, I should probably mention that I have no affiliation with Eat Sleep Knit other than as a customer and I'm not getting anything from this blog post except for a reason to share my new tiger, which I'm very proud of.

Slowly, But Surely, It's Getting There!

I finished the body of my third Ambiente!  I've even gotten the neckband finished.  The next steps will be weaving in ends and knitting the pocket lining.  Then, I'll need to sew the pocket lining into the sweater and finally, knit the sleeves.  My goal is to get all of the ends taken care of and the pocket completely finished today so I can start the sleeves by tomorrow.  (I've mostly been keeping up with the ends as I go, but I didn't worry about them while I knit the split hems, and they're still hanging from the neck edge.  At least there's not a full sweater's worth of ends to deal with!) 

My ultimate goal is to finish this by the end of the month for the ESK Second Quarter Craft Along.  I'm starting to think I might make it!

Have a great weekend, and if you're area is crazy hot like ours is, make sure you stay hydrated!

A Crash and Burn, But Also, Rising From The Ashes

In April I started knitting the Sous Sous pullover.  Before I began I looked at Ravelry projects to see what other knitters had said about it.  There were a few who knit it exactly as written and were happy with it.  More of them had made changes, and while a few of those were for fit, most were to correct issues with the pattern.  I knew this going in.  I made notes.  I read the pattern ahead of time.  I thought I had a plan.

Wow, was I wrong!  I was almost finished with the back before I ran into trouble, but when things went wrong, they really went wrong.  At that point you have two choices, stick with it and try to fix the problems, or just stop.  I chose the second.  Moving forward would have required moving backward (which I don't have a problem doing, on general principle) and rewriting/refiguring part of the pattern.  It can be done, but I'm kind of on a time limit for this sweater since I was knitting it for the ESK 2nd Quarter Craft-A-Long.  If I'm going to have to do all of that, I don't want to feel rushed.

So I frogged it.  Then I went looking at patterns.  I started out looking at sweaters, but I decided to knit something completely different.

This is Ebb Tide.  It's a poncho, or maybe a capelet.  I'm not sure where one ends and the other begins.  These seriously chunky cables add a lot of texture to something that's mostly stockinette stitch.  I'm knitting it in Yarn Love Amy March DK in Orchid (the same yarn I attempted to use for Sous Sous).

At some point I would like to knit the Sous Sous pullover.  I love the look of the finished sample, but first I will have to sit down and figure out what is going on.  Or maybe I'll find another pattern and just plug in the stitch pattern.  I don't have to decide that now though.

Have a great weekend!

Quality Control

I've started the fourth and final color of my Elsom wrap, Herb.  I'm very happy with all of the colors I've used in this project and will definitely be using the Cascade Heritage Sock again when I'm looking for solid fingering weight yarn options.

Sometimes, as I'm knitting a project I start to wonder about it.  Is this sweater going to be cozy?  Will these socks keep my feet toasty?  Is this wrap going to be the perfect extra layer of warmth?  That's where the Chez Pink Lemon Testing Professional comes in.  This highly skilled team member is always ready to step in and test knitting projects at any stage of the process.  As you can see, the Elsom wrap got a surprise inspection earlier this week, but fortunately, it passed its tests with flying colors.  You can tell that by the way the Testing Professional has passed out under his work.  This wrap is going to do its job well!

Have a great weekend and be sure to test your knitting frequently!

Second Quarter Knit Along!

April 1 meant a new quarter, which in the ESK Yarnathon means a new CAL (Craft A Long - knitting and crochet inclusive).  This quarter's theme is Indie Hand Dyed Yarns, so we have to use yarns that are hand dyed by small companies but we can make anything we want!  (Insert Snoopy style happy dance here.)

I've decided to start with a pullover - the Sous Sous pullover.  I'm knitting it in Yarn Love Amy March DK in the Orchid color way and I'm off to a pretty good start on the back so far.  This is knit in pieces (I can't remember the last time I knit something in pieces) and yes, it's really wide.  I'm knitting the smallest size and it's going to be a very oversized pullover.  I love the cables and seed stitch (moss stitch?) combination and it really is knitting up nicely without using too many brain cells, now that I've done enough that I can see the pattern.  Since this is hand dyed yarn, I am alternating skeins, but I'm alternating at the side edge, so the carried yarn will be caught in the side seams.  I'll do the same for the front.

Brioche

Long time no blog!  We're fine here, I've just been super lazy where the blog is concerned.  I have been knitting and actually have some finished projects to show you today, if anyone is even reading this anymore.  If not, well, I've talked to myself my whole life, why stop now?

I finished my Tourist Shawl.  I followed the pattern exactly as written, but I didn't add the tassel.  It's knit in Malabrigo Lace in Orchid (the main, lighter color) and Hollyhock (the contrast, darker color).  

Brioche creates a thicker fabric than stockinette knitting but it's very light and airy.  (It is not actually buttery, which is one way you can tell the difference between brioche knitting and brioche bread.)  

This is the first time I've knit brioche using laceweight yarn and I think it's just about perfect.  Soft and light and not too thick!

I also knit a second brioche project, this time in fingering weight yarn.  This is Cinnabar, knit in Hedgehog Fibres Skinny Singles in Sorry, Not Sorry (the main, darker color) and Pinky Swear (the contrast, lighter color).  Yes, it is bright, sorry about your retinas.

This was a much simpler project to knit and the colors just make me smile.

These were both knit for the first quarter ESK Craft-A-Long for their Yarnathon.  I was very excited to see Brioche as the theme because I just think it's fun to knit.

I plan to get back to more regular blogging, and I do have a few things to actually show you.  We're all fine here.  Caleb was home last week for Spring Break and he's now a little past the halfway point of the semester.  He's having a really good semester and actually getting out of the classroom to do more field work.  It's fun to hear how excited he is!

I plan to be back later this week, so if anyone is still reading my mental rambles, I'll see you then!

Almost There

I've finished the back!  I've just got the front to do, then joining the shoulders, weaving in ends and doing an edging on the arms and neck.  I think the pattern calls for a knitted edging, but I might do a crocheted one instead.  I'm still on track to finish by midnight, Monday night.

Have a great weekend!