knit

Finished Knit–Baby Chalice Blanket

Pattern: Baby Chalice Blanket (available free on Ravelry)

Yarn: Loops & Threads Impeccable in the Forest colorway

Needles: US 10

Notes/Mods: This is an easy lace pattern, but you do need to realize that on two of the pattern rows, the stitch markers will change positions. I steam-blocked this to set the lace since the yarn is 100% acrylic. Probably my favorite baby blanket to date, and it the recipient loved it (they even passed it around at the shower). Overall, very happy with this project.

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My cousin is about to have her first baby, which of course, means baby knitting! I rarely knit for others anymore, but babies are always the exception. I got the shower invitation and went to work, finishing just under the wire. I also managed to burn through my binge-watching queue while I was at it, so I need to find a new show for my knitting time.

I really prefer Berroco Comfort yarn when knitting baby stuff, but my LYS was closed and I HAD to get started with that tight timeline. While Impeccable yarn would not have been my first choice, it blocked well, and it felt much better knitted up to me than the Snuggly Wuggly yarn (also a Loops & Threads yarn) I used on a previous baby blanket.

Whelp, now, it’s back to the UFO pile, because I need to stop starting projects until crap gets finished. I current have 4 projects on the needles, which is just too much. But, I confess, I have a severe case of “start-itis” going, so we shall see.

 

Finished Knits Round Up

Pattern: SubmergeHat

Yarn: Lion Brand Thick & Quick in the Denim and Black colorways

Needles: US 13

Notions: fake fur pouf (elastic attachment), button for the pouf

Notes: Bean’s friends wanted hats like the one I made her, so I whipped up two more.

Pattern: Baby & Child Gnome Hat

Yarn: Lion Brand Thich & Quick in the Kale colorway

Needles: US 13

Notes: Since I made hats for Bean’s friends (who are sisters), I couldn’t leave the brother out. This is perfect for a toddler.

Pattern: LotusFlowerBeanie

Yarn: Hat 1–Loops & Threads Cozy Wool in the Pewter and Earth Tones Colorways. Hat 2–Lion Brand Thick & Quick in the  Slate and Dusk Colorways.

Needles: US 11 and US 13

Notions: Buttons and faux fur poufs.

Notes: Cute hat pattern but executing the lotus stitch made my hands ache. If you have a larger head, this may fit a little smaller than expected.

Pattern: The Eternal Hearts Beanie

Yarn: WeAreKnitters Petite Wool in the Ivory and Spotted Pink Colorways

Needles: US 8 and US 9

Notions: Button and faux fur pouf

Notes: This came out way smaller than expected. I didn’t swatch, so it could be a gauge issue. However, the pattern is easy and well-written. I ended up giving it to a neighbor who has two small children.

A Finished Knits Round-Up

So, I’m finally getting around to posting all the finished projects I completed recently. Without further ado, here are the details:

Pattern: Celestarium Shawl

Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in the Deep colorway

Needles: US 4

Notes and Mods: The beads on this shawl mimic the night sky as seen from the North Pole. Used silver-lined beads from Michaels and applied them using the crochet hook method. Used the circular cast on with crochet hook. Just placed bead in the loop before picking up the stitch. I also used kfb for the increases instead of M1 because its faster and easier for me. I set up the pattern in Knit Companion and used magic markers to count stitches. As this got bigger, I pre-marked bead placement on each row with removable stitch markers. Taking one minute to do that on a large row saved time counting stitches along the way and made the project portable, as it became just endless knit stitches with a bead here or there. I omitted the  YO/ktog. I like the look of projects that did not better. Finally, I incorporated Stellar Waves edging instead of original border.

Pattern: Elm Blanket

Yarn: Yarn Bee Soft & Sleek Solids in the Mustard and Teal Green Colorways

Needles: US 8

Notes and Mods: I have no clue why they call this that colorway teal green because it is far more blue. Otherwise, the pattern is very easy and I like going with less traditional colors for babies.

The remaining projects were from the Cascade 2018 Gradient Lapghan Knitterati knitalong.

Pattern: Gradient Lapghan Block 6 from the Knitterati 2018 knitalong.

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash Merino in the Forged Iron colorway

Needles: US 7

Notes and Mods: I should have gone down a needle size. My row gauge was off and I had to omit a few rows.

Pattern: Gradient Lapghan Block 7 from Knitterati 2018

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash Merino in Blue Indigo colorway

Needles: US 7

Notes and Mods: Only did five pattern repeats because my row gauge was a but off on this one as I was too lazy to swatch.


Pattern: Gradient Lapghan Block 8

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash Merino in the Country Blue colorway

Needle: US 6

Notes and Mods: Had to go down a needle size from the pattern because I could tell after 2 rows it was way too big.

Pattern: Gradient Lapghan Block 9

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash Merino in Iguana colorway

Needles: US 5

Notes and Mods: Fabric construction was interesting, so I am skeptical it will hold the dimensions evenly when final blanket is assembled.

Pattern: Gradient Lapghan Block 10

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash Merino in the Blackberry Wine colorway

Needles: US 6

Notes and Mods: None. Easy knit.

Pattern: Gradient Lapghan Block 11

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash Merino in the Glacier Grey colorway.

Needles: US 7

Notes and Mods: I should have gone down a needle size as the is pushing the dimension limit. I don’t like the way these cables look. They are too puffy in the middle.

Pattern: Gradient Lapghan Block 12

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash Merino in December Sky colorway.

Needles: US 7

Notes and Mods: Fastest and easiest of the blocks but probably should have gone up a needle size. I had to block this pretty aggressively to get it to size.

Pattern: Gradient Lapghan Block 13

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash Merino in the Grapeade colorway

Needles: US 7

Notes and Mods: I liked the twisted stitch detailing.

Pattern: Gradient Lapghan Block 14

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash Merino in Flint Grey colorway

Needles: US 7

Notes and Mods: I hate bobbles. That is all.

Pattern: Gradient Lapghan Block 15

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash Merino in the Violet Ice colorway.

Needles: US 6

Notes and Mods: I liked the structural detailing on this one.

Pattern: Gradient Lapghan Block 16

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash Merino in the Chive colorway

Needles: US 7

Notes and Mods: Just glad to be done. Now I just need to suck it up and assemble the blanket and border.

So, there ya go. I think I may be ready for some instant gratification knitting.

Finished Knits

Pattern: Gradient Lapghan Block 5 which is part of the ongoing Cascade Yarns Knitterati 2018 KAL. It’s available for purchase on Ravelry.

Yarn: Cascade 220 Merino in Pale Lilac colorway.

Needle: US 7

Notes and Mods: No real notes on this one. It was easy and straightforward.

Pattern: Protest is Patriotic Shawl by Nycraft Craftivist, available for free on Ravelry

Yarn: Loops & Threads Woolike in Red, White, and Navy

Needles: US 4

Notes and Mods: I knit this as written, but carried the red and white yarns up the side rather than weave in 1000 ends. If I were to make it again, I would follow what others did and use white beads for the stars rather than the white yarn. The stitches are too small to really pop against the blue. Otherwise, I love it. Also, I was pleased with the yarn in general, and it’s a good option for projects on a budget.

 

Finished Knit: “What The Fade?!?” Shawl

I finally finished this monstrosity, and it taught me I am definitely not cut out for mystery knit-a-longs. I love all of this designer’s Fade pieces, so I took a chance on the MKAL, despite being a pretty picky knitter. I can’t decide if this is clown barf or the perfect Mardi Gras accessory.

Pattern: What The Fade?!? (available for purchase on Ravelry)

Yarn: Simple Sock from The Lemonade Shop in the Wade, Goldfish, Sunday Funday, Doughnut, Jeepers Peepers, and Mommy Juice Colorways.

Needles: US 3

Notes: My shawl ended up fairly larger than most, so I may have blocked it too aggressively. I was just trying to even out the tension between the brioche and garter sections. As much as I swore off brioche knitting in the past, this project gave me a lot of practice so I am more confident about my understanding of the technique. As for the yarn, I’m on the fence about this one. I love the quality of the hand-dying, but this yarn is fuzzing and pilling like crazy just from the handling during knitting.

Finished Knit–21 Color Slouch Hat

So, after seeing the kit for this hat pop up on my Facebook feed like a bagillion times, I finally caved and bought the kit from WEBS. It was my selfish, post-Christmas knit, and while I had some issues with the kit, it turned out fine. Because the skeins are so small, I decided to hand-wind them rather than break out the swift and winder. So, I just started at the beginning and as I progressed, I made the Heathens take turns being a human swift while I wound the colors as I came to them. They learned quick to hide when I hollered one of their names. Lazy on my part? Maybe, but we’ll just call it a character-building exercise for them, shall we? Additionally, my attempts at jogless stripes were an epic fail, but what’evs.

Pattern: 21 Color Slouch Hat (pattern available for purchase individually on Ravelry, but you really want to order the yarn/pattern kit on this deal. Retailers other than WEBS offer it, so you can find it online with a quick search).

Yarn: Blue Sky Fibers Wookstok (I’ll spare you the list of the 21 colorways…ain’t nobody got time for that)

Needles: US 6 and US 7

Notes and Mods: Ran out of Spring Ice so I doubled Spun Gold row. Ran out of Rusted Roof so did three rows Driftwood instead. Not enough Earth Ivy left for the last row of that colorway, so subbed Cranberry Compote.

This kit is a little frustrating because there really isn’t enough yarn for some colors. I was diligent about not doing too-long yarn tails and my gauge is good. Even if these two factors were not perfect, I was short two full rows of Rusted Roof, and an inch or two of a too-long yarn tail still does not cause such a shortage. Substitutions with remaining colorways, however, are easy enough if you don’t mind that fact.
However, I am pleased with the finished hat because I have a very large head and this sits slouchy-perfect on me. I was worried that other projects I snooped seemed more fitted, so I was sure it would not fit me as intended. But it did! (ok, so maybe my gauge ended up a tiny bit looser than anticipated, but yarn shortage is still a thing here so you may need to improvise like I did).
Finally, I confess that, since this is for me, I could not fathom weaving in all those ends. It was a knot-tying extravaganza! No shame!

Overall, this is a comfortable, very wearable hat that fits my large melon well. Now, if I could just convince myself to slog through the never-ending shawl that’s left on my needles, I can focus on the Ravellenics next month and start knitting down my stash before I lose my closet to the yarn.

Finished Holiday Knits

Alrighty, now that the holidays have passed, I can post the few last-minute gifts I whipped up in the days leading up to Christmas. I swore not to do any gift knits this year, but finally decided that it just would not be December if I wasn’t knitting a gift or two. All of these were fast projects (at least as far as “fast” applies in knitting terms), and with stash yarn

Pattern: Polku Messy Bun Hat (available for purchase on Ravelry)

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Country Blue colorway (I held the yarn double for this project/gauge)

Needles: US 10 and 10-1/2

Notes and Mods: Made this for my Mother-In-Law, who requested a hat that allowed for a ponytail. I went up a size to ensure the gauge and yarn would work.

Pattern: Man Hat (available for free on Ravelry)

Yarn: Loops and Threads Charisma in Deep Woods Colorway

Needles: US 8 (wish I had used a 9 or 10)

Notes and Mods: Made this for my sister’s very knit-worthy boyfriend from stash yarn. He has a big head so I think I should have gone up a needle size or two. His son loves it so much, I’ll be knitting him one after I finish up my current WIPs.

Pattern: Man Hat (available for free on Ravelry)

Yarn: I Love This Yarn in Camo colorway

Needles: US 8 (though I used a US 10 just for the cast-on to prevent a too-tight edge).

Notes and Mods: CO 88 stitches to make up for smaller gauge. I have used this crappy yarn before and the color pooling never makes sense. For example, I knit this hat with the yarn in the exact same pattern and stitch count and there was no significant color pooling. The recipient is a big camo guy, so hopefully it’s not too crazy for him.

Pattern: Little Red Riding Slippers

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick in Constellation colorway

Needles: US 10

Notes and Mods–Made these for my sister who is not a fan of knits, but loves Ugg boots so I took a chance on Ugg-inspired slippers. I screwed up on attaching the cuffs so the seam isn’t going the way I prefer, but I was not willing to rip it out at that point. If I make these again, I will pick a yard that gives better stitch definition at this gauge. She’s actually worn them, so I’ll count that as a win.

Now it’s back to WIP wrangling…sigh.

Finished Kint–Amy Scarf

I had my very first Yarnbox lingering in my stash, and when this pattern popped up on Ravelry, I knew I finally found the right match it to go with this delectable yarn.

The pattern is super easy, and this yarn is absolutely awesome. It’s a mix of fine merino and baby alpaca, and one that I will definitely be ordering again.

Pattern: Amy Scarf (available for purchase on Ravelry)

Yarn: Big Bad Wool’s Pea Weepaca in the Teal, Tree Frog, Night Owl, Leaf, and Water colorways. (It’s fingering weight, by the way)

Needles: US size 4

Notes and Mods: The original pattern called for more colors, so I added rows to make up for only using 5. I also just kind of played fast and loose with it. I discovered that, after knitting the first five color sections, repeating them all would make the scarf too long (especially since wet blocking would add length). So, I just tacked on an additional section of the first two colors (switching them so the scarf would start and end with the same color. Ultimately, I lost at yarn chicken, so the last section is a few rows shy of what I planned, but it’s not noticeable when wearing the scarf. Since this is for me, I wasn’t that concerned about it.

A Finished Knit…or Three, New Year’s, and Fun with Kitchen Appliances

We made it through Christmas, and despite the lingering sadness that permeated the season, we ended up with a simple yet wonderful celebration. Good food, good family and friends, and new memories. Even with the pared down festivities, I still ended up running around like a madwoman, and left too many tasks until the last minute. When I wasn’t working, I cranked out a few more knitted gifts:

mittenPattern: Antler Mittens by Tin Can Knits (Available both on their site and through Ravelry). I selected the adult medium size.

Yarn: Berroco Comfort Worsted in Burgundy Red

Needles: US Size 6 and 8 DPN’s

Notes: This was a super easy and fast project, though the decrease sections were a pain in the rear. Otherwise, great project that was a gift for the neighbor.

slippers

Pattern: Non-Felted Slippers (available on Ravelry).

Yarn: Loops & Threads Cozy Wool in Moss and Pewter.

Needle: US Size 9

Notes: The original pattern is about a US women’s size 7. I researched plenty of other Ravelry members’ project notes and upsized them to a men’s size 13 for the husband. Quick knit but it’s a tight gauge, making those decreases a little challenging.

headbandPattern: Blue Leaf Headband (available on Ravelry).

Yarn: Lionbrand Woodspun in purple colorway.

Needles: US 10-1/2

Notes: Well-written, fast pattern. I made it in less than a few hours. I followed the buttonhole option for finishing, rather than adding icord ties.

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As for me, I received the spirializer attachment for my KitchenAid, which came just in time for much-needed New Year’s resolutions. Since Mom passed, my gym time has been sadly lacking and the scale informed me this morning that something’s got to give. The fact that my jeans feel like they are cutting me in half should have clued me in sooner. I played with it last night and made spicy butternut squash fries with maple-yogurt dipping sauce. I passed on the rice and ate that with my chicken instead, then made it to the gym bright and early this morning. Baby steps indeed:

squashI’m jumpstarting this New Year with a good attitude and a list of goals a mile long. After all, as Adam Duritz once wrote: “It’s been a long December and there’s reason to believe that maybe this year will be better than the last.” I certainly hope so.

Finished Project–“Common Bean” Shawlette

common bean 2I finished this scarf/shawlette last week using yarn I picked up while we were in California earlier this summer. Despite the fact that the temperature is still hovering right around the dark side of hell, the fall knitting bug has hit me in full force. I keep my current project next to my laptop, and barter with myself–For every half hour I stay on task with my current article, I get to take a five minute break and knit a row.

common beanI already have a stack of patterns I’m just itching to get to, as well as fall decorating and baking and all of the other things I want to be doing. But alas, until I catch up on work, I’m stuck daydreaming about cooler weather, rainy days, and expanding my yarn budget.

Pattern: Common Bean by Caitlin French. It’s free on Ravelry.

Yarn: Malabrigo Mecha in the Arco Iris colorway. This yarn claims to be bulky but I honestly think it falls more toward the Aran side.

Needles: Size 10

Finishing: Wet blocked and pinned with a fair amount of aggression.