FO – Christmas Gifts Revealed

Now that everyone has received their Christmas gifts, I can finally blog about them! I knit for nine of my in-laws…three sisters-in-law, two brothers-in-law, three nieces and one nephew. The sisters-in-law all received cowls and I made hats for everyone else. I love the width of each cowl, as they can be pulled up around the head to keep both the neck and head warm. I knit everything in acrylic, so it would be machine wash and dry. Instead of giving all the specifics for each pattern here, I’ll post a link to my Ravelry notes for each family unit. You can click on any of the pictures to make them larger.

Youngest SIL and Niece

GAP-tastic Cowl by Jen Geigly

Azalea Hat by Snapdragon Crafts (This was my second time using this pattern. I used the same yarn to make a scarf for this niece earlier last year.)

GAP-tastic Cowl Up

GAP-tastic Cowl

Azalea Hat

Middle SIL, BIL and Niece

Sugar Plum Cowl by Michelle Krause

Jason’s Tweed Hat by Melissa Thomson

Family Hats (Child-Woman-Man) by Bernat Design Studio

Sugar Plum Cowl

Jason’s Tweed Hat

Family Hat (Child Size)

Oldest SIL, BIL, Niece and Nephew

Basket Weave Cowl by Stacey Kietzer (This was my second cowl made with this pattern.)

The Big Hat by Davina Choy (This was my sixth hat made with this pattern.)

Janis by Berroco Design Team

Bulky Single Ribbed Beanie by Cathy Thompson

Basket Weave Cowl Up

Basket Weave Cowl

The Big Hat

Janis

Bulky Single Ribbed Beanie

FYI…there was no sock post yesterday because I am desperately trying to finish the test knit I am working on. I’m almost finished…so watch out for next Thursday!

Until next time, Happy Knitting!

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday: It’s All About the Socks

It’s Thursday, so it’s all about the socks! Last week I talked about my current sock project. I actually finished them on Sunday 🙂 I haven’t been able to start another pair (or get back to my WIP pair) as all of my knitting time has been dedicated to my test project. It’s going sooooooo slow and may be known as the Shawlette of Forever! It takes so much concentration and that has been something my brain has been sorely lacking for the last few weeks.

Here are the details on my comfy, cozy socks…

Ravelled Here: Quick Socks

Started and Finished: 1/4/2016-1/10/2016 (This should have been way faster but had a few hiccups!)

Yarn Used: Berroco Comfort Chunky in the color Lagoon

Needle Size: US10 – 6.0mm DPNs

Last week I talked about how with the first sock, I bound off and weaved in the ends and then found out it was too tight of a bind off. I was so sad when it wouldn’t go over my foot! However, I learned how to unbind off my work and then went with a known stretchy bind off (JSSBO) in rib pattern to finish up. So woo hoo for learning something new!

Since I had to redo the bind off for the first sock, I ran out of yarn with 8 stitches left in the bind off for the second sock 😦 Eek!

Thank goodness I had also knit a toddler hat (Bulky Waffle Hat) from this same yarn and had left overs from that skein. After I completed the bind off, I weighed both socks and they came out to 98 grams. That means one ball of yarn should have been plenty to finish both socks. All in all, these were very easy and I noted all my edits to the pattern in my Ravelry notes. They are super comfortable and warm…just what I need for cold nights and mornings!

With my next pair of newly cast on socks (I’m already past the heel on my first Hermione sock), I’m going to try the Fish Lips Kiss Heel that everyone has been talking about. The pattern is only $1.00 and I’ve heard that it’s the bomb diggity! I want to see if this will make a difference with those pesky little holes that seem to turn up in bulky socks on the heel.

I’m not sure if my fellow sock knitters are back on the Thursday Sock Knit-A-Long schedule as of yet; however if you want to join us in knitting socks link up and check out what Maggie, Hannah and Alex are doing over on their blogs!

Until next time, Happy Knitting!

Yarn Storage

I’ve been faithfully taking pictures and posting yarn to my stash on Ravelry, so I know what I have to work with when selecting a project. Due to holiday sales, plus already acquired yarn and the Yarnbox Sock Club, I now have 147 different skeins of yarn stashed. I think it’s time to start digging into that yarn! The problem I had is that it was all hidden away in my closet and kind of unorganized. I’ve been looking at different storage options and think I’ve hit on something that will inspire me and let me see what I have. I still want to cake all of the yarns. This will allow me to get started on a project pretty quickly. I think it will also create more space. Here’s the before (you can click each image to make it larger):

Overflowing Acrylics in a Basket

Closet Stash

Bulky yarn / Project Bags

Sewing Machine & Yarn in Bags

I had to go to Michael’s last week to get some pipe cleaners to clean out the weeps (drainage system that allows water to flow through) on my windows. While there, I noticed they were having a 50% off sale on baskets. What a perfect idea to help store some yarn! I bought these and a cute box to store my DPNs in!

Pretty Box

DPN Storage

Flatter Baskets

Large Round Basket

 

I also went on Amazon to see if I could find something that would fit in my office / craft room. Half the room is dedicated to my virtual work office, home computer, printer and bookshelves. The other half is dedicated to crafting! I found a Seville shoe rack system that I bought two of to stack together. While my husband was at his work dinner, I put the new shelves together and started moving stuff around. Here are the results!

Sewing Machine moved

New Yarn Storage

More Yarn Storage

Comfy Knitting Chair

Bulky Yarn and Project Bags Behind Chair

What does your crafting area look like? How do you store your yarn? I think I’m going to be happy with what I’ve done and see lots of creating happening!

Until next time, Happy Knitting!

 

 

Thursday: It’s All About the Socks

My Hermione’s Everyday Socks have been in snooze status on Ravelry since October 21st. It doesn’t seem that long ago in some ways and in others it seems like a lifetime ago. So much has happened since that time and I feel like a different person. I knew that I wanted to start my Thursday sock posts again, as it will spur me to make lots of socks this year. I made a slight name change to the series and I hope you like it!

I committed to a test project for a cables and lace shawlette and that has consumed most of my knitting time since shortly after Christmas. I knew I wanted to have something to blog about, so I took a break and cast on for a super easy and quick sock. It’s actually called Quick Socks and is knit with bulky yarn. Since I work from home; I always need thick, comfy socks to keep my feet warm.

I’m using Berroco Comfort Chunky in the color Lagoon and size US 10 – 6.0mm DPNs. You can see my notes in the link above; however I will say that I’ve made several changes to the pattern itself. I learned how to knit a toe and heel using German Short Rows and I decided to use that technique with this pair of socks instead of wrap & turns. It’s much less fussy and easier. I made the length of the foot longer than the pattern called for (7.5 inches instead of 6 inches) and I’m so glad I did as they are a perfect fit.

I fiddled around with the row after the heel because it didn’t seem correct and made my notes on the paper pattern, as well as Ravelry so I wouldn’t forget with the second sock.

Heel complete!

I also didn’t like only two rows of 1×1 ribbing for the top of the sock. Instead I completed five rows of 2×2 ribbing. And after that, things got tricky! I cast off using the directions from the pattern, cut my yarn (big mistake) and wove in all my ends (another big mistake). Then this happened.

I could not get it over my foot! Eek!

I have never cast off and then figured out something didn’t fit! Eek! So, I learned how to undo my cast off and put the stitches back on the needles…that part wasn’t so hard, albeit a little nerve wracking as it was my first time. It was the unweaving / unknotting of my ends that caused the most grief. I really know how to weave in ends so they will not come out!

Unweaving finished and ready to start undoing the cast off edge.

Back on Two Needles, one more to go!

Back on the needles and ready for cast off again!

In the end, I went with the JSSBO (Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off) and I bound off in the 2×2 rib pattern. Of course, I had to attach more yarn since this cast off uses way more yarn. One sock is complete and fits so nicely. Now, to get the other completed 🙂

If you’d like to join me and my fellow sock knitters, we have a Thursday Sock Knit-A-Long. You can check out what Maggie, Hannah and Alex are doing over on their blogs!

Until next time, Happy Knitting!

One sock down; one to go!