Month: February 2018

WIP Wednesday: 8/25

mildlygranolaLeave a comment

wp-15198537281241077258277.jpg

Today I am updating you on my knitting progress from my favorite coffee shop in the world. Cup of Joe opened in my hometown the year I graduated from high school. I love it here. But I am writing on my phone, so it could be an interesting post.

This week I made some progress on my socks. I am now ready to start the heel on the second sock.

20180228_143240142360733.jpg

I really should be done with this project by now, but I cannot stop knitting Elliot’s sweater.

20180228_1431421659293609.jpg

I talked my mom into sewing the buttons on for me. I am using half inch buttons instead of the three quarter inch buttons the pattern called for, because my mom had cute half inch buttons I could use. The button holes are just yarn over button holes, so half inch might work better (or maybe I think they are a little small so I am talking myself into them).

The only thing that is stopping me from whipping out the sleeves is a hat that I decided needed to be made for a birthday party on Saturday.

20180228_143203800190175.jpg

I am making another knit slouchy hat. This will be my third one in six months. It is such a great hat, I am now in the habit of making them for gifts.

Have a great week!

WIP Wednesday: 7/52

mildlygranola, , , , , 1 Comment

Happy Wednesday. I’m not entirely sure how to write this post without having to bitch about the cocoon cardigan, but I’ll try.

I’m plugging along on my St. Patrick’s Day socks. I love this yarn, by Born in a Barn Fiber Arts. It has a bit of sparkle to it. The dyer will be at Fiberpalooza again this year, and I’m planning on buying at least one more skein from her. 20180221_134919.jpgThese are socks are the first project that I’ve knit with my new Lykke Driftwood needles, and I have to say they are amazing. Within an inch of the first sock I told John that I wanted to replace all of my needles with them (By the way, apparently if someone has given you the wonderful gift of an Addi Turbo needle set they have zero interest in you gushing about a different set of needles you now want).

Now that I’m done knitting my huge cardigan I am making one for Elliot. This one is going a bit faster. I’m using the Elwood Cardigan by Jenny Wiebe. I love the pattern, it is well written, and includes sizes from babies all the way to adult women. This is a pattern that I will get a lot of use out of.
20180221_135005.jpg

I’m knitting the sweater with knit picks swish worsted. The collar and ribbing will be green. I would prefer it to be gray, but when you buy the yarn a year before knitting a sweater for a toddler you go with what you have enough yarn for. I’m knitting this in size 4, so it will fit him next year and the year after that. I hope.

I’m going to put off casting on a hat for myself for another week. I’m excited to see how far I get on the sweater in that time.

I hope you have had a productive knitting week!

Cocoon Cardigan

mildlygranola, , 1 Comment

It’s a knitting miracle! I actually finished the cocoon cardigan. I am incredibly shocked to find that I love it. It is so cozy. I actually like the color, as it is a neutral that will work with anything.20180218_111742(0).jpg

There’s only one problem. Can you tell what it is?20180218_111744.jpg

How about now?

20180218_111753_001.jpg

Does it look a little big?
20180218_111752(0).jpg

Just a smidge big. I mean, a lot of sweaters go down to your knees, right?

OK, OK, the sweater is more than a little big on me. I accept that. Now to address what happened that led to a sweater that doesn’t fit.

If I were to start the sweater today I would start with a smaller size. Over the course of knitting this sweater I lost 25 pounds, so that accounts for some of the difference in sizing. But only a few inches in width, not height.

The bigger problem is that I never got gauge when I started, but decided to forge ahead because I figured if a baggy sweater was a little baggy it would be ok. I even did the math with the difference in gauge and thought that at most it would grow four inches in width. I never even looked at stitch height, and that (clearly) kicked me in the butt.

So now I have a sweater that is too big for me that I love. This entire time I thought I was making a sweater that would fit that I would hate. It’s a funny world we live in.
20180218_111756_001.jpgI’m going to have one of my best friends try the sweater on the next time she’s over to visit. She’s a few inches taller than me, and I think it would work for her. If she doesn’t want it I am going to be sad, but I’ll pack it up and mail it to someone in my life that I think has the right body shape to fit the sweater who happens to be going through a tough time. By golly, I’m going to find this sweater a home. It just isn’t going to be mine.

Please tell me about your gauge screw ups so I don’t feel alone in my mistakes.

WIP Wednesday: 6/52

mildlygranola, , , , Leave a comment

Happy Wednesday! We’re enjoying a warm day in Iowa. It is in the mid 40s, which feels like shorts weather after the past two months. I have been trying to get outside as much as possible with the kids. My attention span for playing outside is shockingly short, so I end up daydreaming about future knitting projects while the kids play.

I’m still putting in time on the cocoon sweater most days. I have six rows left before I start the shawl collar. I am hoping to finish the sweater before the end of the month. I’m getting so close to finishing I need to start thinking about my next sweater project. I know I’m going to make a sweater for Elliot, but I still need to decide on the pattern and colors (I have the yarn for 4 color combinations).

I finished the monkey socks. They are such a fun knit. I don’t know why I haven’t made them in eight years. I ended up giving this pair to my mom, because she asked for them. I usually give her what she asks for.

20180209_213809.jpg

I told her she can’t ask for my next pair of socks. I’m making a pair of St. Patrick’s Day socks with yarn I bought at Heartland Fiber’s Fiberpalooza last year. It’s dyed by Born in  a Barn Fiber Arts. I love the color. I love the yarn. I am going to love these socks.

20180214_145001.jpg

I made up the pattern I’m using for these socks. I’m knitting a 3×1 rib and shifting it one stitch every 5 rows. That makes a slow spiral. It’s just what I needed for this yarn – something simple, but not so simple it’s boring.

In the next week I’ll be working on the socks and the cardigan. If I finish the socks I’m going to start a hat for myself. I’m going to make the Gretel Tam I made earlier this year in a beautiful Bluefaced Leicester yarn I got in my fibreshare box last year. I’ll also cast on a pair of vanilla socks to pick up when I need something mindless to knit.

Are you as ready for spring as we are? What do you like to knit when the weather is warm?

WIP Wednesday: 6/52

mildlygranola, , , Leave a comment

Happy Wednesday! I’ve been busy knitting this week.

I’m actually making progress on the cocoon sweater. I bound off the bottom ribbing yesterday. I have yet to pick up the 192 stitches for the collar. I’m not looking forward to doing that. I don’t mind picking up 80 stitches or even 100, but 192 is intimidating. It isn’t mindless knitting – you actually have to think when you pick up that many stitches. I’m going to do it tonight because John is going to a movie. I will have plenty of time for quiet concentration once the kids go to bed. Honestly, I might celebrate picking up the collar with some hot chocolate or a glass of wine and a bubble bath. I feel like I will have earned it after picking up all of the stitches.
I am done with the first monkey sock and about halfway through the leg of the second. I should have that sock done by next Wednesday. My plan is to not cast on any additional projects until I’m done with that sock. We will see how that goes.

20180206_205237.jpg
I couldn’t help myself last week and I cast on a slouchy navy hat.  I decided to bang out a The Favorite Knit Slouchy hat. The pattern calls for a thin worsted weight, but I went with a thick worsted because that is what I had in my stash and I knew I wanted an extra toasty hat. I love it. It is like my head is getting a hug.

My plan for knitting this week is to spend 15 minutes each day on the collar of the cardigan. It will probably take me about a month more if I’m knitting on it every day. If my thumbs ever heal completely I’ll spend more time on it, but until they are healthy the acrylic yarn really bothers them.

Once I finish the monkey socks I’m going to cast on a pair of St. Patrick’s Day socks. I’m probably going to do a very simple pattern on them. Maybe SKYP or School Pickup Line Socks. I haven’t decided yet. I am using sparkly green yarn I picked up last year in Winterset at the Heartland Fibers Fiberpalooza. If I’m going to buy any yarn there this year I need to knit with at least some of my yarn from last year. The festival is on St. Patrick’s Day this year, so I thought it was only right that I use that yarn.

What are you planning to cast on next?

WIP Wednesday 5/52

mildlygranola, , , , Leave a comment

Happy Wednesday! We’re halfway through the week, and I already feel like I’ve accomplished a weeks worth of knitting.

Why? Because I finally finished John’s Christmas socks. I am thrilled to be done with these puppies.
20180128_215827.jpg

On the huge cardigan I have completed 4 inches of the six inches of bottom ribbing. I’m knitting two rows a day on it.  I would pick it up more often, but the acrylic yarn bothers my thumbs. I no longer hate it. I now think it will be really cozy to throw on over a t-shirt on extra cold days when we don’t bother to leave the house.

Do you remember a really long time ago when I told you I cast on Monkey socks? And then I pulled the stitches off the needles by accident? After I finished John’s socks and the Fingerless Mitts I picked them up. I only had to pick up few stitches that had dropped down three rows. They were in much better shape than I assumed they would be. I’m getting close to the heel on the first sock, so I should be able to be done with the first sock by next Wednesday.

I am now thinking about what to make next. I have the yarn to make a sweater for Elliot, and I should probably do that soon. I know I have enough yarn for a 2 T sweater, but I hope I have enough for a 3 T sweater. He is wearing 2 T now, and I hate to make him a sweater that he can only wear for two months. I’m also going to make a few hats. I keep losing my hats, so I could use a new one. I also think they are a good late winter present to send to friends. Who isn’t perked up by a new hand knit hat?

Disclaimer: I may be convincing myself to knit hats because they burn through yarn quickly and I have a coupon for 20% off at my LYS this month. I would like to be able to use it to buy 2 skeins of Rowan Cashmere for a hat for myself and some Regia Pairfect for a new pair of socks for John. I want to stick to my yarn diet, but 20% off at Yarn Junction is really tempting.