Rich Red on Your Head

I continue to love quick knits.  Sure, I have ADHD-Knitting Type but I refuse to let it define my queue. I really have gotten a lot better about my simultaneous-WIP numbers……..I don’t think I’ve been over 4 this year! That’s a victory for me, for sure.

I have a couple of hats from the last couple months to show off. The theme is maroon.  Here’s Quincy:

I’d been wanting to cast this one on for many months – basically since it was published. I’d read lots of raves about the unique-but-simple construction. And with Jared, you can’t go wrong. Same goes for the yarn I used. I love this knit. It flew off the needles. It’s an interesting design & it’s garter-stitch squooshy.

The other had is called MacDuff, & it’s a headful of cabley goodness:

I love cables. They are so easy and so fun. I also like Berroco Vintage yarn. Sometimes I’m looking for a little more wooliness, but Vintage sure is versatile & durable. And washable!!! For kid knits, it’s a great choice.

Summer Knitting, Fall Daybreak

I loved this knit. Lovedlovedloved it. I loved watching the colors develop. So much fun, especially on a camping trip to Rangeley:

I used Reynolds Whiskey in brown and Noro Silk Garden Sock – don’t know the colorway. I will confess to cutting yards of brown and black out of the skein as I came to them. I worried they’d blend into the brown stripes too much.  I think it was a good call. This is the Daybreak Shawl:

In retrospect, I maybe should’ve followed the advice of many on Ravelry and used yarnovers along the top egde to loosen it up. It  didn’t loosen as much as I’d hoped during blocking, but it still works.  I’m a freak for fall colors, and I also just love this design. I would definitely knit it again.

Fair Annika’s Hat

Sure, it’s summertime. But I needed a hat fix.

I bought this kit from String Theory at the Fiber Frolic in 2009, & just loved the colors, the pattern motif and the brim. But apparently not enough to knit it up until this summer??!? Embarassing.

It flew off the needles, and fits great! I love their DK-weight merino, especially the richness & depth of the colors.  I wasn’t sure starting out who it would be for, but now I am. It’s  mineminemine. Allmine.

Cauchy

My latest sock FO is from the esteemed Cookie A, and is my first project from her book Sock Innovation. I’ve owned it for some time & was long overdue to actually use it! May I present to you my Cauchy (koh-shee) socks:

I loved the pattern – very fun & easy to memorize. However, the picot edging was almost the death of me. I think my cast-ons were too tight and hence my picot cuffs, while stylish and cute, are too tight. Me sad.

The yarn was deeeeelish. It’s Harmony from the Woolen Rabbit in the Pussywillow colorway. I love the color, which is impossible for me to convey well via photo. I would be honored to knit with it again. I have another skein of Woolen Rabbit in my stash (Kashmir), waiting for the perfect non-sock project. We shall see.

Neckwear

Got a couple of recent neckwear FOs to show off. One was a real quickie, and the other was my car project for a few months (which does NOT mean I ever knit on it while driving, for the record).

Here’s the quickie – the Chickadee Cowl from Kristen Kapur:

I made this out of Malabrigo Chunky from the stash. I love linen stitch- it’s kinda hypnotic. I did cut the yarn once to mess with the pooling a little bit. I don’t really like pooling.

I had to go down a 1/2 needle size ’cause I didn’t have a 10.5, and the cowl came out a touch tight in my opinion pre-blocking. But I think it blocked out nicely, & hope the teacher recipient will like it!

Here’s the slightly eternal (6 months) Boneyard Shawl for the prayer ministry:

It’s out of Sandnes Garn‘s Tove yarn – my mom snagged a bag of it for me on the cheap a while back from Fresh Purls. It’s sport-weight, and pretty scratchy. It’s softened somewhat with blocking but not 100%. I may end up felting the rest of the skeins I have. We shall see.

baby baby baby baby

I mean, C’MON people. This is an emergency posting. I just got this photo. This is the sweater. But isn’t it kinda beside the point?

The Age of Brass & Steam

Quite a name for a shawlette, huh?

This was quick & brainless – just the way I usually like my knitting. But it was my first tryst with Rowan Denim, & I had a great time. We might have to meet up again soon. Thankfully, I have 4 skeins left.

March Madknits

I entered a bracket into the March Madknits pool again this year, and by some miracle I once again placed!! Each year, I loose my overall winner early and stop paying attention. And each year at tournament’s end, I find out I qualified for a prize. I’m telling you, it is truly madness.

Know what else is madness? The FABULOUSITY of the prize package I received from Wichita, Kansas. I was blown away. The amazing Shelly of Twist Yarn Shop sent me the following items:

a skein of Fiesta Baby Boom yarn

a box of decadent chocolates from Pam at Cero’s Candies in Wichita

some Twist swag (a notions container & a pen)

AND a handsewn project bag from a friend of Shelly’s!!

I am LOVING my loot.  My thanks to Shelly, Pam & everyone who donated goodies!

Baby Sweaters

I’m really into knitting with sock yarn these days, especially is the WIPs are not socks. (I have emerged from my sock funk this weekend, but that’s for another post.) I whipped up these two sweaters in the last month or so, & had fun doing it! I think that’s in large part due to using great yarn & great patterns. Seems like a duh moment, but it gets me very time.

1.) Use the best yarn you can.

2.) Don’t do battle with a pattern.

Here is Hannah Fettig‘s Sock Yarn Sweater, using Three Irish Girls‘ Adorn Sock:

And here is Knitting Kninja‘s Surtsey cardigan, using Spud & Chloe Fine and Shibui Sock:

Snagged some solid blue buttons for it at Central Yarn on Saturday, so it’s almost done done. Colorwork still scares me, but I need to go for it more often because the results are so fun!!

A New Blunder

Well, at least for me.

I recently bound off and blocked another shawl for charity, made from yarn sold to support a local charity. And as I laid it out to dry, I spied in horror a dropped stitch! ARGH! See it pinned below:

Waaaah. I wung it on the repair. I carried the stitch back up the ladder, & then used a long piece of leftover yarn to weave through the dropped stitch and then out a few inches from either side of it. I think that should hold it in place OK, & I don’t think you can really tell. Here’s the repair:

FO:

I turned it in to Gail at prayer shawl ministry yesterday. The ladies seemed to approve. It’s super-soft. I think it’ll get some love somewhere.