K’needles update 2

This week I finished the pink lace scarf. It turned out well so I’m donating it to a women’s shelter/ministry. I hope it will lighten up someone’s day and won’t be itchy. The lace turned out pretty, but for quite a few inches I forgot what the pattern was and did k2tog for all decreases rather than switching back and forth between k2tog and ssk. I can barely notice though so I just let it be rather than tink. Not only would tinking have undone all that work, this yarn catches in itself and makes it very difficult to do so; it would have been a mess.

Right now I’m working on my 5th dishcloth this week. They knit up fast with little mental strain, which has been a perfect project. The only thing better would be straight-up stockinette. It’s tempting to cast on a sweater. 

I haven’t touched my larger projects because I’ve been busy studying for my comp exams. It’s good to push those off to the side every now and then when life gets busy, but I always make sure I leave myself good notes so I can pick them up without having to remember anything (because often I don’t).

I will be starting a sleeved shawl for my grandma sometime this week. Special request when I visited her this weekend. Still trying to figure out a pattern/method and the yarn type and color. Exciting but also nerve-wracking. I want it to be perfect for her.

Beads purchased!

During my browsing on Ravelry, I kept seeing projects that incorporated beads. It was even on Knitting Daily. So I’ve been in the market for some cute craft beads. Looked at Michael’s and nothing caught my fancy, so I was disappointed and even more impatient to experiment with them.

Hobby Lobby just recently opened, so my friend and I headed over there to check it out. She had lived near one in Chicago and frequented there but I had never been in one before. (There was one in Mason City, however I never ventured there because it was difficult to get to and it was very small, like ‘small shop in a short strip on the side of a highway’ small). Anyway, we walked around the perimeter so I could get an idea of what they carried. They carry a few things I can’t find anywhere else so I filed those in the back of my head. :)

We ended up at the bead section and I managed to find this cute bag of plastic beads. They will go nicely onto worsted weight yarn. They were $4.99 and I used the handy 40% mobile coupon (I am grateful for my smart phone and am glad my brother talked me into getting one). Sadly, there isn’t any information about the beads. I would like to know if they would wash well, and other care information. I’m also a bit conflicted because they are made in China.

I still need to figure out a project to make with them. It’s hard to tell from the picture but they are turquoise, pearl, and brass—an all-time favorite combination of mine.

What do you think I should make with these?

K’needles update 1

As you will soon learn, I am not one to work on only one project at a time, especially when I have long projects in the works. I like mixing long, medium, and short. It keeps me sane. However, oftentimes a yarn from my stash will catch my attention so I’ll pick it up and work on it right away. It’s a thrilling thing to do.  However, it adds yet another project to my typically long list of on-needle projects.

Here are three projects I’m currently working on.

The purple is the top border of a shawl. This project will take a very long time to do. The lace pattern requires a lot of focus so I only work on it at most 30 minutes a day. It will be gorgeous and warm when it is done, which makes me impatient.

The pink is a lace scarf I’m experimenting on. Made up my very own lace pattern for it. It’s an acrylic yarn made to look like mohair. I got it from a bundle of estate sale yarn. It was one of those yarns that jumped out at me from my stash. If it turns out well, I’m going to donate it to something.

And the variegated is a dishcloth. I attended a conference this weekend and dishcloths are a great project to bring to work on during the sessions.

I’m also working on two pieced-together blankets. One is currently stalled because I lost the sheet that said how many stitches/rows there are per each block and I’m not very good at counting that in knitting yet. The other is stalled because the needles I use for it are being used for the scarf.

Also, if I hadn’t run out of sock yarn, I would be working on a sock as well. They are very fun and simple. 

Multi-Colored Disappointment

This week’s post starts with disappointment and a long story.
After successfully making socks, I wanted another stab at it. It went very smoothly the first time.

I shouldn’t have been afraid to do it all these years! However, the socks were made out of regular wool, which means much too itchy for sensitive skin. So off to Michael’s to buy a cotton, polyester or smart wool blend. There wasn’t much selection so I bought Loops & Threads “Luxury Sock” yarn. Even though it still has some wool in it, I like working with, and it doesn’t seem to bother me, so I will buy more of it.

I went on Ravelry and picked out a great sock pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lacy-spring-socks. Very cute. I perused the notes from others who made it, as one always should, and discovered it ran big for lots of people. So I checked my gauge and measured my leg and figured it would be just fine.
After I had gotten quite a ways down the length of the sock, I kept fretting and fretting, trying to reassure myself that it would fit. After awhile, I got venturesome, and, while in fear that I might lose stitches, I slid in my leg and tried it on. It didn’t fit. It fit around my leg perfectly but without tension--so, not good for a sock whose predator is gravity.

I had worked hard, though, getting to that point so I decided to just finish it. Maybe it would fit my mom’s leg. I have oddly thin calves and she has normal sized ones. I knitted along happily as I convinced myself about the socks' future happy home in my mom’s sock drawer. And she was excited about it too it seemed. I finished it up, she tried it on, and it was too big for her as well.
So now I have a completed sock that is pretty but no foot to wear it.

What does one do with this? I have a few projects I’ve made through the years that I chalk up to experimentation and I put them together in a bag in my closet. Usually those projects look like the island of misfit toys so I feel sad to put this beautiful sock in with them. Sometimes, I will  rip up a project and use the yarn to make a scraps project, but the sock yarn is so weak that it doesn’t really lend itself to that. So, to the island it must go.

Of course, instead of making it a pair, I decided to use the remaining yarn on something else: socks that would actually fit me. I’ll make my mom socks the next time around. I’ll have to pick up some navy blue yarn (her favorite color).