Yarn Along and Busier than Usual

So it looks like I'm making this week's Yarn Along post do double duty.  It's interesting how, when I'm at my busiest, I have the strongest urge to craft, write and create. It's been hard keeping up at work (I'm a freelance writer with a steady gig for a great client) because of my nusing babe, and I've been using nights and weekends to catch up and stay afloat. (Does he really have to nurse every hour and a half? The answer is yes, and he has the rolls to prove it.)

When I should be coming up for air, I just want to make stuff. But there are kids to care for and play with, meals to cook, a husband to spend time with, and then I should be getting to bed earlier... I'm lucky that I have a husband that shares heavily in the duties around here. But I still pine for more free time. I know that someday all I'll have is time, so I'm trying to shake it off.  The creating is happening, just really slowly.

I'm coming up with a new sock design that is a women's version of my Handsome Men's Slipper Socks:

And have been slowly working on my first sewing pattern. You may have read about a silly little contest on my Facebook page to guess what the pattern will be, based on a photo of the pattern shape. Sally guessed it right -- it's going to be an owl lovey! -- and she will get the very first copy of the pattern when it's ready. Yay, Sally!!

Time to go rest.  And maybe knit a little bit.  Who knows, maybe sometime during 2013 I'll be able to release a new pattern! [I wrote this last night but posted this morning, oops!]

Happy knitting, my friends.

Kelly

Yarn Along -- Casting Off in Order to Cast On

If you're a more industrious knitter than I've been lately, you're going to think I'm nuts (or have a very short attention span) for getting so stinking close to finishing a hat and then putting it down and moving on to something else.  All I had to do was draw the yarn through the remaining stitches, secure and weave in ends!  It was so long ago that I can't even remember if it was before Thomas was born or after.  Maybe after.  That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

In my defense, I had put it down in a drawer that I never go in.  So.... there.  Yeah.  I stumbled upon it a few weeks ago, noted that the hat was in there (oh yeah, I remember this hat now!) and then promptly closed the drawer.  Wow, I really had lost interest. 

Just the other day I got an idea for a worsted weight cabled sock pattern and went looking for my size 7 DPNs... and found them in the hat.  So I sucked it up and finished the hat.  (You can see how threading the stitches onto waste yarn only to reclaim the needles would have been double work and a waste of time.)

And I'm so glad I did!  This hat is soooo silky soft, made of alpaca and silk yarns held together (yarn choices and pattern are listed on my Ravelry project) and the haze from the alpaca is warm and heavenly.

The pattern I'm creating is a women's version of my Handsome Men's Slipper Socks, so if you've been wishing for a pair for yourself, just hang on.  I look forward to knitting these again.

Try to ignore the fact that my Cadbury Egg gets center stage in the photograph.  And that it's an Instagram.  And that I Instagrammed a photo of a Cadbury Egg.  You get the idea.

Yarn Along -- Cupcake Mittens

Some of you might remember these Cupcake Mittens by Spillyjane.  This February it’ll have been two years since I started them.  I knew when I cast them on that they wouldn’t be done in time to wear that winter, but was sure I could have them done by the following winter.  But that winter came and went, and I was newly pregnant and had no interest in making mittens for myself.

Having already knitted a six-month-supply of baby clothes, this year I have no excuses.  I’m still not very interested in them, but it’s something to do during my measly half hour to myself at night.  

I’m more interested in the immediate gratification that comes with sewing projects, but 10:30 at night is not a great time to break out the sewing machine unless you really enjoy using a seam ripper.

Speaking of sewing, yesterday I announced the relaunch of my Etsy shop.  I now sell baby shoes made from woven wrap scraps, like Girasols.  My shop is now called Sew Sweet Studio and is open for business.  Please check it out!  Thanks, friends.

Yarn Along -- New Socks?

Even though I haven't been wearing my wool socks this winter -- I really doubt I'll be able to remember to not put them in the dryer -- I'm itching to knit a pair.  Rather, when I think about knitting, I'm itching to knit a pair.  Here's where I'm at now:

You can see I'm making awesome progress.

What are you knitting (or not knitting) these days?

Knitting Pattern: Thermal Textured Socks

Yarn Along

I thought I'd check in by way of a short Yarn Along post. Baby's estimated due date came and went yesterday, so now we wait.  Not like I haven't been waiting (and only waiting) for the past week or so for him to get here.

To make this boring time even more dull (I'm not exaggerating), I've picked up my Cupcake Mittens again, which I started in February 2011.  (Ravelry is such a great resource, isn't it? I didn't used to know how precisely old all my WIPs were...)  I'm knitting the thumbs and wouldn't mind it if baby came before all the ends are woven in.  Hint, hint, Baby.  The good news is I have a plan to avoid weaving in all 90+ ends in each mitten.  Stay tuned.

Apologies for the lame cell phone picture -- my real camera is packed in my hospital bag.  And so is my current book, so here are my husband's books.  They're apparently very good if you're into special forces/secret ops type reads. 

I just finished and loved The Star Garden, the third in the Sarah Agnes Prine series set in the Arizona Territory in the late 1800s/early 1900s.  They're the Best. Books. Ever. and I plan to own the series in hardcover someday soon.  I already can't wait to read them again, even though the story is still so fresh in my mind.

Okay, back to waiting!  Wish me luck!

2012 Stash-busting Challenge Update and Link-up!

Finally, my friends!  I apologize for the wait.  We have 38 people signed up for the 2012 Stash-busting Challenge (it's not too late to sign up) but haven't had an update since February (so sorry about that!).

According to my Ravelry projects and the stark proof in my yarn storage area, I've completed 15 projects from my stash this year and still have at least 6 WIPs.  How many projects did you work on from your stash so far in 2012?  I feel that I could have finished many more had I not taken up sewing in March!  But thankfully I'm catching up quickly with Baby #2 on his way.

Here is a look at what I've done since the last update, and below that is a link-up so you can show off how you've been putting your stash to good use. I apologize in advance for the lackluster photos and background -- I don't yet have a model for many of these projects!

Here goes!

This is Carina Spencer's Small Things Sweater with the bonnet from her Giftwrap Sweaters eBook. The eBook was a thoughtful gift from a reader who should know that I have plans to make the sweet romper from the book, as well. The yarn is from Brambleberry Yarns and I love the color -- Cynthia hand-dyed the yarn with natural, plant-based dyes.

This is the gift wrap sweater in Lion Brand's Fishermen's Wool.  The yarn is leftover from a fall table runner I crocheted and felted two years ago (that's it? seems longer).  The wool feels stiff and crunchy at first, but softens after blocking and wearing.  I didn't have enough suitable buttons on hand for this one, so I guess it counts as a WIP, doesn't it?

This is Baby Sweater Vest, an interesting knit designed to keep you from having to put as vest over a small baby's head.  That said, it came out bigger than I expected, a size I wouldn't mind stuffing a baby's head into.  It's in Knit Picks' Wool of the Andes Bare, leftover from my Gallatin Sweater Coat. I strayed from my typical color schemes with the red buttons, but I'm glad I did.  I love them and they remind me of a dress I had when I was three or four years old.  How's that for long-held memories?

I'm sure you're all familiar with Ginny's simple newborn hat with a touch of lace.  It was one of the first things I cast on for our new baby, in Knit Picks Shine Sport.

This is my second Milo vest and definitely not my last.  I made it with the leftover DK weight Knit Picks Swish (superwash) from Nathan's sailboat sweater.  This is such a hardcore stash-buster that I had to make garish stripes out of the stuff to make it work.  I think I'll get used to the colors when there's a cute baby sporting them...Or at least, I hope.  I started a pair of mittens with the scant leftovers and ditched them -- the yellow and red striping reminded me too much of Ronald McDonald and I couldn't bear to make Nathan wear them, much less look at them while I knitted.

I loooooved knitting this Newborn Vertebrae buttonless cardigan in Knit Picks Palette leftovers.  I hope to find the time to knit him the Baby Vertebrae version for 0-3 months in worsted weight.  The sweater was written in plain stockinette, but I jazzed it up with a fair isle pattern from the Knitting Stitches Visual Encyclopedia.

I admit that this sweet sweater was the longest-ever WIP to sit in my stash.  I started it well before Nathan was a twinkle in our eyes -- I'm not even sure if we were married when I first knitted all the pieces!  I didn't have a recipient in mind, just a pattern I wanted to knit and some hard-to-work-with cotton boucle yarn I inherited from a colleague years ago. The yarn was so hard to work with that I gave up on sewing the pieces together -- there was no way that I could get a darning needle through this clunky mess, so I put it down and let years pass by.

But just a week or two ago I had a bright idea -- you know, the kind you get while you're in the shower or as you're drifting to sleep at night -- to sew the pieces together with my sewing machine!!!  Needless to say, it worked, and in time for my second child to arrive.  That didn't take long, really!  Only six or seven years.

 

This sweater, a Dale pattern, is the bane of my existence.  I started it when I was pregnant with Nathan and you can see how much I've learned about myself as a knitter since then.  1) I hate weaving in ends. 2) I hate seaming.  And this pattern has heaps of both.  I pledge to finish it in time for Baby #2 to wear -- I've done almost all of the work already -- but it's so hard to pick up and weave in all those ends, knowing how much seaming is left and that a collar still needs to be added.  I really hated adding the button placket as an afterthought and haven't touched a similar pattern since.  The little had just needs some fake grafting and some i-cord ties.  What's stopping me?  All those ends to weave in.

But I do love these old-fashioned buttons (or at least I think they're old-fashioned; they remind me of my grandmother), so I'll do my best to press forward.

I still have yet to finish a smaller version of Bit Snowy Owl for the baby's room (this one includes a jingle ball for his amusement) and a pair of mittens for Nathan.  The owl is made from unknown yarn gifted to me by a different co-worker and the mittens are Knit Picks DK City Tweed leftovers from a vest and sweater.  I love how well the colors go together despite the yarn being purchased separately.

Lastly is my Aestlight Shawl, which still hasn't been blocked (how embarrassing).  This yarn was the last to enter my stash last year, a gift from my husband.  I'd better block it soon so I can start wearing it this fall.  Silly me, last Christmas I thought I'd have been wearing it last winter!  I might have, if it weren't for the edging.  I found it tedious and kept losing interest.

Now it's your turn.  What have you been churning out from your stash?

Yarn Along: Starting and Finishing

While I wait for Baby #2 to arrive, I'm in a weird state of starting small projects (a pair of newborn socks, anyone?) and finishing a bunch of others.  And by finishing I mean a flurry of weaving in ends, blocking, seaming and sewing on buttons.  It's tedious work and my least favorite part of the knitting process... but if I don't do it now, I may never do it once the baby gets here.  And I already missed the boat with two sweaters and a pair of booties I'd started and never finished in time for Nathan to wear when he was a baby, so I don't want to make that mistake again.  (It's mostly the seaming that gets me, but I ask you this, how is it that someone who loves buttons so much hates sewing them on?  What a cruel twist of fate.)

That's mostly why I haven't posted a stash-busting update recently... it's hard to say, "look at all this stuff I've made from my stash" when it's a heap of unseamed, buttonless knitting with yarn tails all over the place.  But I'm planning a photo-heavy update for Friday, so please check back to link up your progress on knitting from your stash this year.

Despite all the finishing, I've recently cast on a pair of mittens for Nathan from Zoe Mellor's Adorable Knits for Tots. It's my third pair from this book -- when these are done I'll have knitted a pair in all three sizes.  Baby #2 will get Nathan's hand-me-downs, but lucky Nathan will get a new pair every other year or so.  These are knitted with Knit Picks City Tweed DK in Toad and Jacquard, leftovers from Nathan's Milo vest and placket-neck pullover.  Don't the colors look great together?  Another stashbuster to add to my list!

I'm still enjoying James Herriot's well-written All Things Wise and Wonderful and am finishing up Dr. Sears' The Birth Book. Despite how long ago it was written -- and the fact that it was written by an M.D. and his R.N. wife (who gave birth to at least seven babies at home, I believe her eighth was adopted), it's full of the best and current information on having a natural birth in or out of a hospital setting and avoiding needless interventions.  I'm finding it even more useful and practical than Ina May's Guide to Natural Childbirth, which I also enjoyed.

Perfect-fit Newborn Socks

I promise to post some action shots as soon as I have a pair of tiny feet to model the socks.

These might not be the tiniest newborn socks ever, but they will fit!  I created this pattern to combat my personal pet peeve about commercially made newborn socks.  I've found that the feet of store-bought socks are too short and the heel doesn't line up with baby's heel.  (It's no wonder they get kicked off as soon as baby kicks those legs while demanding his midnight feeding!)  And I firmly believe that a pair of brand-new, adorably small feet deserve a pair perfectly fitting wool socks.  Wouldn't you agree?

So I started with a newborn-sized cuff and made the foot a bit on the long side to accommodate real-life baby feet.  I paired the added length with 2x2 ribbing that goes all the way to the toe for stretch and longer wearability.

Here's what I came up with. It's ribbed, it's cute and, best of all, it fits!  (And hopefully for longer than baby's first few weeks.)

 

 

 

Materials:

About 60 yards fingering weight wool (I used Knit Picks Stroll in Wonderland Heather)
Size 1 needles or size to get gauge

Gauge:

8.5 sts per inch in st st

Instructions: (make two)

Cuff:

CO 32 sts, distribute across 3 DPNs and join in the round without twisting. Work in 2x2 rib for 24 rounds.

 

Heel flap:

Work back and forth in st st on these 16 sts as follows:

 

Row 1 (RS): knit

Row 2: sl 1, purl to end

Row 3: sl 1, knit to end

 

Rep rows 2 and 3 six times (12 more rows worked), ending after a RS row.

 

Turn heel:

 

Row 1: (WS) sl 1, purl 8, p2tog, p1, turn

Row 2: (RS) sl 1, knit 3, k2tog, k1, turn

Repeat rows 1 and 2, decreasing across the gap, until all heel sts have been worked and 10 sts rem.

 

Gussett:

 

PU 7 sts along edge of heel flap, knit across instep sts cont in rib pattern, PU 7 sts along other edge of heel flap and knit 5 heel sts -- 40 sts.  The middle of the heel is now the beginning of the round.

Round 1: Knit one round plain (continuing rib pattern along instep sts)

Round 2: Knit to 3 sts before the end of needle 1, k2tog, k1; knit across instep sts in rib pattern; k1, ssk, k to end of round.

Rep rounds 1 and 2 until 32 sts rem.

Foot:

Continue knitting in the round, cont rib pattern, for 20 rounds.

Toe:

Stop working rib pattern on toe.

Round 1: k to 3 sts before end of needle 1, k2tog, k1; k1, ssk, k to 3 sts before end of needle 2, k2tog, k1; k1, ssk, k to end of round.

Round 2: knit

Rep rounds 1 and 2 until 12 sts rem, ending after round 1.

Graft toe closed with kitchener stitch and weave in ends.  Now slap 'em on the newest, freshest baby you can find!

Yarn Along: Big and Little Knits

I just finished Nathan's placket-neck pullover (Ravelry pattern link) minus the grafting the armpits and weaving in ends and I'm so relieved that it's not too big on him.  I did some major adjusting to the sleeve and body lengths to ensure he'd get more than one winter out of it -- and because the sizing is for this pattern is just plain absurd. 

The size I knitted for him, with a 25-inch chest circumference, states "2-4 years."  Um, that's a gigantic size range, dear pattern writer.  I measured Nathan's ever-lengthening limbs and just went for it.  And I'm still a little shocked at how well it panned out.  I wish I had a picture of him in it (yes, I tried it on him as soon as I cast off, with stitch holders and yarn ends dangling) -- he looks so cute in it.

I'm also finishing up a pair of newborn socks for baby #2, who should be here within the next few weeks.  The pattern is my own, and I plan to release it on the blog soon as a freebie, hopefully later this week or early next week.

After loving All Creatures Great and Small and All Things Bright and Beautiful, I'm enjoying the short snippets of All things Wise and Wonderful. It's perfect for my short attention span these days and the few minutes I can stay awake long enough to read in bed before turning out the light.

Stay tuned for the free newborn socks pattern AND and update on the 2012 Stash-busting Challenge (are you still in?).  I hope you've been putting a nice dent in your stashes, too!

Happy knitting,
Kelly

 

Yarn Along: Cast on and Cast off

This sweet little cardigan is the fastest thing I've cast on and cast off recently.  The pattern is Newborn Vertebrae and it was fast and easy, even with the motif I added from Knitting Stitches Visual Encyclopedia.

The best part is it held my attention, which is how I knitted it so quickly and cast off not too long after I'd cast on.  It's so typical for me to become bored and get distrated by another project, and I imagine the sweater's tiny size also helped.  Sometimes it's hard to believe I'll soon have someone so small in my family!

Someone casually tried playing with all the yarn ends I'd cut -- look at the look on his face!  Caught ya!

On the reading front, I recently finished One Thousand White Women and haven't had a chance to hit the library for my next book.  Does anyone have recommendations for similar reads?  I'm loving the Native American/Wild West/Pre-1900 genre(s) as of late.  Thanks for your recommendations!

I recently joined Goodreads and I'm still filling my queue.  Wanna be friends?

Until next time, Happy Knitting, my friends!

Yarn Along: Catching Up

Tonight I shared a photo of what I'm knitting and what I'm reading on my Facebook page without even realizing what I was doing -- Yarn Along!  So here I am with my first blog post in almost two weeks.  HEL-lo!

I took this blurry cell phone photo to help motivate me to finish some WIPs before getting tempted to cast on a new baby knit. On the left is EZ's Tomten Jacket for Nathan, middle is the free version of Newborn Vertebrae (with a colorwork motif from Knitting Stitches Visual Encyclopedia) and on the right is the inside-out Milo vest, showing all of the lovely ends I still need to weave in.  What a mistake that was, and not just because of all the loose ends -- these colors look hideous on the vest, but went together so well when I first bought them for Nathan's Sailboat Sweater.  Oh well!

All three are stash-busters.
I had also planned on catching up on some One Thousand White Women, but then my husband crashed the party, grabbed the remote and on came Deadliest Catch. Maybe tomorrow night.

What are you knitting and reading?

Yarn Along - Sweet Baby Things

After a few months away from knitting, I'm decidedly and happily back!  Especially because now I know we're having a baby boy, and I can choose the yarn and the patterns more wisely.

I'm almost finished with the Gift Wrap sweater in size 6 months, and I really enjoyed the pattern. It was so fast and easy (and seamless!), and I'm a sucker for stripes. I love the tone-on-tone brown of Lionbrand Fishermen's wool in Nature's Brown and Brown heather, both from my stash.
I'm in between books right now, but I recently read These is my Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 and loved it.  It's set in the Arizona Territories and life at that time and place blew my mind.  The sequel is Sarah's Quilt; not as knock-your-socks-off awesome, but still a good read.  I've more recently read a few no-tears potty training books (potty training can involve tears?) -- do they count?

Next I will weave in the ends of the Gift Wrap sweater and search for some coordinating buttons... and see what else I can make from my stash. I'm seeing tiny, little fingering-weight baby socks in my future.  And a bulky-weight jacket to match Nathan's fall jacket, which is still incomplete thanks to not having size 10 DPNs or circs in my possession. (I almost couldn't believe I didn't already own every size DPN imaginable.  How is this possible?)

I look forward to writing a stash-busting update soon. Be sure to check back and link up!

PS. In case you missed it, check out yesterday's rant on blocking for my best blocking tips and instructions. They're finally out there for posterity's sake!

A Rant About Blocking (and some tips)

I'm about to embark on blocking several baby sweaters and a shawl -- yes, I sometimes leave the tasks of weaving in ends and blocking to do all at once, although it's not a smart tactic.  And it got me to thinking about the usefulness of blocking.  I mean, we're doing this for a reason, right?

I've had friends ask how they should block their finished objects, and first I swallow the urge to say, "here, let me google that for you."  (Have you ever been to that website?)  And then I say this:
 

• It depends on what the finished object is, what it's made of and what condition it's in.  A plain old scarf or a hat?  I'd typically skip the blocking step altogether.  But if it's a fancy hat or a lacey scarf, I probably would block it.
   
• If it's acrylic or some other manmade fiber, don't bother blocking it -- it won't do an ounce of good.  (Here is where I'd try really hard to resist the urge to say something obscene about acrylic.)
   
• If the finished object is already at the desired measurements and isn't curling or creased, I'd block it lightly by pinning it down and placing a wet tea towl over it.  Remove the tea towel once the object has absorbed most of its water and allow it to dry comletely before unpinning.  A light blocking will make the stitches look more even and help the sweater keep its shape for a little while.  This method is great for baby garments and things you want to gift (or wear!) ASAP.
   
• Finally, there's the full-soak method for finished objects that really need the help.  This includes lacey shawls that need to be pulled to bigger measurements, sweater pieces with inappropriate curls or off measurements (block before you seam!) or items with noticeable creases.  Soak your finished object for a few minutes until it's completely saturated, then press or roll it between clean towels to remove most of the moisture.  Don't wring it!  Then lay it flat, shape or pull it to the measurements specified by the pattern and pin in place.  Wait until it's completely dry to unpin it.  Now flaunt it like it's the most beautiful thing money can't buy!

And some tips:
 

• Depending on the object, you'll probably need to block it each time you wash it, so it's a good idea to learn this minor skill.
   
• Keep your blocking objects in a separate room with the door closed, away from pets and small children.  Just sayin'!  I have three cats who love to sit on wet wool.  Weird, right?  I can say from experience that it's a real pain in the arse when the pins get pulled loose and there's cat hair stuck to my finished objects.
    
• It's worth it to invest in blocking pins and a real blocking board (and lace blocking wires, if you knit lace).  It makes all the difference in how the object comes out and ease of blocking.  Plus, the initial investment is pretty small.
   
  
• Good luck!  If you need help, just google it!  : P

Yarn Along: Finishing up and Casting on

This is my first Yarn Along post in a few weeks, and it feels good to be back!  (And knitting again.)  After a brief hiatus to embroider and do some sewing machine research (and to learn to sew -- check out my post on my first and sentimental sewing lesson), I finished a little butternut squash and cast on a new sweater for Nathan.

You might think it's a little nuts that I cast on a sweater for my son during the same month Spring will begin, but I have two theories that support my decision:

1)  It'll still be sweater weather for a while yet, and he can wear it as a jacket as it gradually gets warmer out.

2)  He'll be able to wear it again next year.  The size says ages 2-4 and the finished garment has a 25-inch chest circumference -- so I think I'll be in good shape.

If he grows like a weed this year and it doesn't pan out, I'll have learned a lesson, and hopefully someone else will be able to wear the sweater someday.  I'm still enjoying knitting it, and after all, that's why I knit.  Don't you?

The pattern is Child's Placket-neck Pullover and I'm knitting it in Knit Picks DK City Tweed in colorway Jacquard.  I like the pattern and I love the yarn, but that pattern really needed something.  It's a simple knit, which I wanted, but it's pretty boring as written.  And simple doesn't equal boring in my universe.

I was itching to knit some cables, so I did a bold thing, and by bold I mean potentially stupid and/or risky.  I added a chain cable from the book Knitting Stitches, and at the moment there's no way to know how it'll work out out when I get to the placket.  I might not be able to pull off a smooth transition and it might look comlpetely stupid; or I might be able to forecast how long I can knit the body to get a smoother join.  Or no matter what I do it might not look right... but that's a risk I'm willing to take in order to use my brain a little while I knit.

I guess the good news is that I can always rip it out and start over.  The sweater is clearly boring simple enough for that.  I resisted the urge to put narrower cables on the plain sleeves -- phew!  Wish me luck!

P.S. At the moment I'm reading an array of sewing books.  In a sewing-related post I'll let you know which ones are good for learning to use a sewing machine.  It's still too soon to tell! 

Linking up to:

Quick Stash-busting Challenge Update

I hope everyone who joined the 2012 Stash-busting Challenge is enjoying working their way through their stashes.... I am!  I just wanted to pop in with a quick update:  I'm happy to announce that 28 people have joined the challenge so far! 

 

If you're interested in joining in, there's still time -- the year's still young! Go here for more info and to sign up and grab the nifty challenge graphic.  In case you missed it, I posted an update and link-up not too long ago.

I think the most fun part about only working from my stash is rediscovering the yarn I already have and being surprised by how great the colors are -- I must have forgotten! -- and how much of it there is.  Yeah.  And, of course, the need to be super-creative about what I make and how I make it. 

Most of my stash is in the form of leftovers, so that means lots of time spent on Ravelry finagling patterns to meet the needs of my stash and swatching up a storm to see they work out.  It also means many smaller projects -- and lots of stripes on the bigger ones.  I love stripes, but don't love weaving in ends.  Hrm.

I just finished the secret project I soft of wrote about in this week's Yarn Along post (well, I wrote about the yarn, at least).  Now what to do with the leftover beautiful yellow wool?  Perhaps another secret.

I spent a bit of time this week adding to my Ravelry queue and updating my completed projects.  I admit that in weak moments I've queued up a bunch of things that I can't actually make this year from my stash, but that's okay -- I'll just make them next year.  Or when I run out of stash this year.  If that's even possible.

Happy knitting, my friends!

Yarn Along

Last weekend I broke out my yarn swift for the first time and wound a ball of wool for a secret project.  So clearly I can't say much about the knitting, but I can show off the luxurious yarn.

It's worsted weight wool I had in my stash from Brambleberry Yarns and it's been dyed with goldenrod.  The color is called Sunshine and it's an intoxicating shade of yellow that seems to change in the light in ways I've never seen yarn colors change before.  Sometimes it's really warm and buttery, and other times it's cool and lemony, and other times it's shades in between.  Each one is lovely, and the yarn is knitting up so beautifully that I can't wait to see this garment on the recipient.  You'll get a more complete view of the finished object someday.

Tonight I hope to cast on a butternut squash for Nathan's kitchen set.  The apple and pear I knitted him recently are so sweet, and he actually plays with them -- a first for a knitted object.  Even if he didn't play with them, I like looking at them in his kitchen set from across the room so much that I'd still enjoy them immensely.  I can't wait to get started!  All three free patterns are from Linda at Natural Suburbia. 

I don't think I ever shared my pear finished object report.  The pattern is fun to work, easy to execute and knits up fast -- it was a real joy to knit and I highly recommend it!  The apple was fun, too, but for some reason the pear was slightly more fun.  Maybe it's because of its fun, really cute shape.  (You can see the apple in my 2012 Stash-busting Challenge graphic at the bottom of this post.)  All are great stash-busters.

A Boy and His Hat

I finished Nathan's hat recently, but he didn't really get the chance to wear it (with me and my camera around, anyway) until this weekend.  Here's an Instagram recap:

 

I designed the hat so it can (hopefully) be worn for more than one winter. The striping pattern is supposed to remain the same no matter where you fold up the brim, but I guess the hat is just a little too big for it to work out that way now (or maybe Nathan's head is too small?  Doubt that!)  I'm sure it'll look the way it's meant to next winter.  When I include it in my someday knitting book, I'll be sure to write it for three- to four-year olds instead of two-year olds with larger-than-average head sizes.  :) 

I really liked this Instagram, so I thought I'd add it in, even though it's completely unrelated.  Sometimes life is like that.