A Little Heart

 

I played around with some more crochet last night.  This is the Valentine's Heart Coaster, by the same designer as the flower.  I used a 4.5mm hook and I think it's a little bit smaller than I'd like so I'm going to make another one using my 5.0mm hook and see if that works out better.  I'm using the same yarn, Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton.

While it's small for it's purposes as a coaster (at least for my big tea mug), it's exactly the right size to slap around, toss in the air, and try to knock onto Logan's back as he walks by (which Logan doesn't even know is a game).  At least it's perfect for those things if you have tiny gray paws with pink toe beans.  That means I'm probably on the right track with the hearts.  Max does the same thing with the knitted leaves.

What I'm really working on is the second sleeve for my Pink Dexter.  I'm hoping to get it finished up soon - the temperature is dropping around here again!

Finished!

I finished my striped loop over the weekend.  This is the Mohair Bias Loop that I've made before (four or five times before).  This time I used Kid Silk Haze Stripe, which gave me, wait for it...

...stripes!  There are blue green, dusty lavender, and gray stripes in this yarn, although they're all muted and subtle.  Being amused by things like stripes that appear as I knit, I enjoyed knitting with this yarn.  I've knit the pattern so many times at this point that it's pretty much autopilot knitting.  I've figured out the best way to work the Kitchener stitch at the end (Max asleep, ceiling fan off) and I did this one in less than 30 minutes.  I don't know what my previous time was, but that seems pretty quick to me.

I think I might have another yarn for another of these upstairs in the stash, but I don't really feel the need to make another one immediately.  Maybe I'll wait a while and knit some other things for a few months before I crank out another loop.

Flowers!

 

Some of you might remember that a few years back I knit some leaves (I remember knitting them in the pickup line at the elementary school, it was that long ago).  We've used them as coasters on our kitchen table, but every year I think that maybe we should have more than leaves.  If I had more "things" I could switch them out seasonally or because it's Tuesday or whenever.  So yesterday I was Pinterest-ing (is that a verb yet?), and I wandered across this pattern for the Flower Power Dishcloth, and I thought they were adorable, and would be super cute on the table this spring, and before I knew it I had the pattern in knitCompanion, I had found a bag of Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton in various colors, and I was chaining for the start!  (And yes, it did happen that quickly.  There was no time for things like pausing for separate sentences.  Sometimes enthusiasm is a run-on.)

Anyway, by the time Vikings came on last night, I had made four of them!  The pattern is free and it's easy and fast.  I learned how to crochet through the back loop and how to make half double crochet stitches (look at me - that's four different crochet stitches now).  Also, I didn't work the last round of the pattern (round 8) because the flowers were big enough after round 7, and I liked their blobbiness.  Round 8 kind of defines the shape better.  I might make a few more this weekend because they're so cute and fast!

I hope you have a great weekend!

Another Loop

 

Yes, the Mohair Bias Loop is back!  When I was setting up the project in Ravelry, I counted and I think this is Loop #5.  It's at least Loop #5, it might be Loop #6.  How many loops do you have to knit before you have a problem?  We won't talk about that, although I have noticed lately that I've been both knitting and sewing multiples of patterns I like.   On the other hand, if I find something I like in a store, I tend to buy several in all the good colors, so maybe this is just the same thing.

Anyway, I cast on last night because I needed a brainless, portable project after finishing the socks.  The yarn is Rowan Kidsilk Haze Stripe in Chiaroscuro.  It's a gray with muted blue green and plum stripes.  You can kind of see a light stripe developing at the top of the knitting.  The skein is twice the size of a regular Kidsilk Haze Skein, so you only need one skein for a loop.  I thought the stripe effect from the yarn would be fun on the bias, so we'll see how this works out!

Loopy Academy, Cables

 

The last project for Loopy Academy Knitting this semester is the cabled project.  Knitty came out with the Resonator cabled mitt pattern right around the time this semester was beginning, and I decided that they were perfect for this assignment.  I’m using Malabrigo Sock in Natural for these because cables look great in light colors.  I need them to be smaller than the small size in the pattern, so I’m using smaller needles than called for.  Hopefully this will work, and I’ll use the required yardage.  If I come up short, I might have to add pom poms!

Finished!

I finished the Raspberry Mohair Bias Loop!  As soon as the temperatures drop around here, I’m ready to stay warm!  I did have to wear a jacket on last Friday’s run, but the mornings are a little warmer this week.

In case you were wondering what these look like when they’re worn, here’s a modeled shot.  The loop is long enough that you can double it so that it snuggles up against your neck more.  It could also hold your ears back doubled up that way, if they’re soft and floppy.

Oh, and remember how I mentioned how one skein of Shibui Knits Silk Cloud is perfect for these?  This is what I have left after all the knitting and Kitchener Stitching is finished.  I used almost every bit of the skein!

We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled blogging now.  I haven’t cast on for a third one - yet.  (Actually, it would be a third one this fall, it would be my fifth total Mohair Bias Loop.  I wonder how many of these I’d have to make before it would be a problem?)

Bear With Me

 

I’ve got less than 10 inches of knitting left on this loop, so if the blog will humor me, I’m going to keep going on this until it’s finished.  I hope to get it finished today, but Mondays are crazy around here, so it might get finished tomorrow instead.  I’m so close to being finished, it seems silly to work on anything else right now!

Oops! I Did It Again!

 

I warned you that it would probably happen, and it did - I started another Mohair Bias Loop!  This is also ShibuiKnits Silk Cloud, but in Raspberry this time around.  I’ve gotten about 10 inches or so knit already.  Once again, it’s proving to be the perfect project to work on during the day in the little breaks of homeschooling.

The good news for you here at the blog is that these work up pretty quickly, so you won’t be looking at it forever.  The bad news is that I have yarn for three more of these in the stash.  You’ve been warned.

Have a great weekend!

Finished!

 

Last night I finished my Smoke Ring!  The best part?  Max slept through the Kitchener stitch portion of the finishing.  It’s not too difficult to Kitchener stitch with this kind of yarn once you figure out how to keep it from tangling up in its own fuzz.  The problem is that you’re joining such a wide section (as compared to the toe of a sock), so your yarn tail is very long, and it takes over an hour.  That’s a lot for a cat to sleep through.

This is the Mohair Bias Loop, knit in ShibuiKnits Silk Cloud in the Tar color way.  Tar is not quite black, it’s a dark charcoal.  (I think Abyss is the true black color in this line.)  I used all but a couple of feet of the skein of yarn.  At 330 yards, it’s like the yarn is made for this pattern.  There are some other yarns that are also brushed kid mohair around a silk core, like Rowan’s Kid Silk Haze, but they need more than one ball of yarn to make a loop.

I can’t get over how fast this project went.  I’ve got another skein of Silk Cloud upstairs in the stash, so I might just cast on for another one of these later today!

A Smoke Ring

 

Several years ago I made a couple of Mohair Bias Loops.  One was gifted, but the other I kept and have worn and worn and worn.  Fast forward to a week ago when I was sorting through my stash a bit and I ran across a single skein of Shibui Knits Silk Cloud in Tar.  I had ordered it last spring as an alternate skein for Loopy Academy and had decided to go with my first choice when it came time to cast on.  Since this one little skein had no destiny, it just sat in my stash until I figured out what to do with it.  As soon as I saw it the other day, I knew it should be another Mohair Bias Loop.  I resisted casting on for it until late Tuesday when I decided to go ahead and start it.

The Tea Leaves Cardigan is mindless knitting right now, but it’s a little bulky for taking out of the house.  The Glace Bay shawl is almost mindless knitting, but it involves counting which means I can’t work it around other people who might talk to me.  (I can’t talk and count very well, I’ve tried, and it always ends in disaster.)  The Meditative Crochet Blanket is bulky and involves counting, so it certainly isn’t a portable project.  A new loop is both mindless knitting and is portable, so it fills a gap in my Works In Progress.

I’ll knit until I have just enough yarn to Kitchener stitch* the thing together, and then I’ll have a new, dark charcoal loop!

*Kitchener stitching with this type of yarn isn’t too bad as long as the cat is asleep and you can work uninterrupted for a bit.  I don’t recommend it for your first Kitchener stitching though.

New Socks

 

A couple of weeks ago I showed you the beginnings of a new pair of socks.  That has been frogged.  I just wasn’t loving the yarn and stitch pattern combination.  I love the colors in the yarn, but it isn’t really knitting up well in the patterns I’ve tried with it (I’ve tried three).  It’s in a time out for now.

In the meantime, I started another pair of socks, this time in a more subdued color way.  The yarn is Malabrigo Sock in Lotus and the pattern is Hermione’s Everyday Socks.  I’ve done this pattern before and enjoyed it and I knew it would work on this much more subdued color way.  This is the first time I’ve used this yarn and I’m enjoying it.  It knits quickly with no snagging or splitting and feels good in my hands.  I’ve been using more Malabrigo in the last year and I’ve liked everything I’ve done with it.  I’ve also loved the colors.  The Lotus is pretty and it’s interesting, but it hasn’t grabbed me by the throat the way Aguas and English Rose have.  That’s probably a good thing because I don’t need three or four garments in each of their colors!

Carrie

 

I’ve finished my Carrie wrap/scarf/narrow shawl thing!  I did a light blocking, consisting of laying it out on towels and spraying it down with water and patting it into shape.  No blocking wires, no pins.  It was big enough without them.

This was an easy project that didn’t require a lot of concentration to knit.  I loved the little picot bind off and I think that’s a nice way to finish that final edge.  I think this pattern would work well in a multi-colored variegated yarn as well as a solid also.  I might be making more of these!

There was a question about the Wiksten Tank yesterday and since I’ll be finishing another one today, I’ll get some photos so I can explain how I finish the arm and neck edges tomorrow.  I don’t know if I’ve ever read the directions for those, I just do what I was taught years ago.  My way has a few more steps, but it makes them lie flat when they’re finished.

More Blue Green

 

I’ve added another color to my Carrie.  I’ve got a few ends to weave in, but I’ll do that when I’m all finished with the knitting.  I’ve just started the next color (it’s on the needle, so you can’t really tell), but in addition to that color, I have two more to go.  There will be a total of seven colors in this gradation.

Wonkydonkey commented yesterday that there was a lot of blue green around here right now and that’s absolutely right!  I’ve noticed as I scroll down through my Ravelry projects (they’re in order of WIP’s first, then most recently finished, going backwards in time) that there are definite color trends.  Right now it’s all about bright blues and greens, but go back a little and there are a few gray and cream projects, then red projects, then pale blue green, then dark green, then pinky, berry tones, and so on.  There are always a few projects that don’t seem to fit with the others, but I do seem to do several projects within a color range before moving on.

Have you noticed you work like this too, or are your color choices always random?

Something New

 

I’ve started a new pair of socks and a new sweater recently, but I didn’t have any shawl-like things on the needles after finishing my scarlet hood.  Yesterday, I took care of that problem.  I went through my collection of mini-skeins and grabbed a set to make Carrie.  When I realized that I was a little low on yardage, I found two more mini-skeins from another set that would work perfectly, so I added those to this project too!

You’ll have to wait to see what the other colors will be, but you can see my first color is kind of a turquoise and blue combination.  I’ve already gotten a feel for the pattern, so this should be pretty easy to knit up!

Scarlet Hood

 

I finished my Scarlet Hood and got it all blocked.  It was supposed to be on the blog yesterday but it wasn’t dry yet.  The fact that a tropical storm went through here yesterday might have something to do with the not drying in time.  Anyway, it’s dry now and it’s all finished!

This is the Winterberry Hood in the size small, knit in Madelinetosh Pashmina in Scarlet.  The only changes I made to the pattern was to skip the bobbles in the edging pattern.  The pattern lets you choose which side of the capelet section is open, and I chose the right arm for the opening.  It’s a super easy pattern and it knits up quickly.  I’m really happy with the way it finished!

A Couple of New Projects

 

After finishing my Big Damn Heros last week, I grabbed the last bit of Pashmina in my stash (2 skeins of Scarlet) and cast on the Winterberry Hood.  I think this is going to be perfect in the red Pashmina.  (Just FYI, I did skip the bobbles.  I’m not a bobble person and I didn’t think I’d like them, even thought there aren’t that many of them.)

Also, since I finished my footies, I started another pair of socks yesterday.  These are regular length socks in Biscotte and Cie in the Rocket color way.  Since when I hear Rocket, I think Rocket from Guardians of the Galaxy, I’m going to knit the second sock from the other end of the skein and start with the pink.  The first sock is blue, pink, white and the second will be pink, blue white; because as Rocket himself says, “Ain’t nobody like me, ‘cept me!”  It just makes sense that Rocket socks wouldn’t be identical.

I guess that’s just how my brain works.  It’s never gone in a logical, straight line.

Have a great weekend!

Artesian

 

I have done six repeats of Artesian so far, and started my seventh.  Sometime in the second repeat I started understanding what was going on so it's actually moving pretty quickly at this point.  I’ve got enough yarn to keep going for a while, but since I’m not trying to make this blanket sized, I’ve got to keep an eye on how big it’s getting.  I need to put an extender on the cable so I can stretch it out full length and make a decision.  Also, I’m really looking forward to blocking it.  There is a mesh lace pattern that should open up quite a bit after blocking that doesn’t look like much of anything right now.

Follow Your Arrow 2, Clue 3

For Clue 3 of this MKAL I chose version A.  It added a lot more texture to my shawl!

Clue 4 was released this morning and the final clue will be out in one week!  I can’t believe how fast this has zipped by.

My shawl picture is below, so if you don’t want to know what Clue 3A looks like, don’t scroll down!



Spoiler Alert below!



Turn back now!



Last chance!

Follow Your Arrow 2, Clue 2 Spoiler

I’ve knit the second clue of Follow Your Arrow 2.  I chose version B this time.  Here’s a link to my Ravelry page (along with needle size and yarn info).


I’ll post the picture below.


I hope you all have a great weekend and stay warm, wherever you are.  We’re supposed to get rain and it’s cold again.  I’m planning on some hot tea, good movies, and knitting.


Last chance, turn back now if you don’t want to see Clue 2, version B.


Heere there be monsters!  (Not really, it’s OK.  Don’t be scared.)

Artesian

 

Switching patterns with this yarn was definitely the best thing I could do.  I’m three repeats into Artesian now and I’ve got a feel for the pattern so it’s just zipping along.  I love watching the color changes happen (and I seriously love this color - Mandala).  I’ve decided this yarn reminds me of a Paua shell.  It’s hard to photograph well, but I did get a close up (and then color corrected) that’s pretty close.

I hope those of you sitting in snow right are staying safe and cozy.  You probably don’t want to know about the sunny, warm day we’re having here in North Texas.