I Ran a 10K

Another event that was delayed.

After running the 5k in 2019, my friend and I had the crazy idea to run The Strip at Night in Las Vegas. We did not go completely crazy and opted for the 10K race, not anything longer and signed up for the October 2020 event. As we all know what the last two years has brought, you will not be surprised that the event did not take place. Even though there was never any indication when the event would be rescheduled, there were no refunds offered as the event had not been cancelled. This policy has been very unpopular with participants and (according to comments) had put them off the Ironman organization. This was not helped by the complete silence from the organization about the event. I also know this was a policy for concert promoters.

I decided to train as if I was going to run the race at the end of 2020 and finally ran for 10 kilometers on 31 December 2020. I had been putting off this long until I finally told myself I HAD to do it before year end. It was hard to know what to do next when I had two races of different length but no dates to aim for.

At last we were given dates for races and after running the 5K I started to train for the 10K. And it did take place. With all the changes in numbers of virus cases and variants I would not have been surprised by any cancellation.

Taking part in the race was amazing. The strip was completely closed down and there are spectators on both sides of the road and on the bridges. (The only part where there were not any spectators was after the start of the race as you are running away from the finish.) It really felt good having people cheer you on. The part that is not so fun is people walking and blocking the middle of the road so you have to run around them. I would have liked to complete this in an hour instead it was 1 hour and 3 minutes, which I know I shouldn’t complain about. When I finished the 5K in San Diego I was really hungry and wanted coffee. When I finished this race I wasn’t very hungry and was starting to feel cold so we just went back to the hotel and had a shower and small meal.

It was a great experience and I am glad that I did it unfortunately my friend did not join me in the end.

Here I am at the end of the race laden down with all the goodies you get for finishing.

 

 

Two Gifts

As I said in my last post, I have been slow in posting photos of finished items because I had made a couple of gifts that I wanted to make sure were received before I posted. The gifts are very different but I enjoyed making them equally.

First is a tea cosy I made for my sister. This was a fun knit and I kept on laughing at how much work was going into a tea cosy. I followed the pattern as written and she loves it.

 

The yarn is Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport, in Natural, Charcoal and Pepper. I don’t think that is true Starsky colours but close enough.

The other item I made was a coaster, or mug rug as people call them, for a friend who is going through a hard time. This is a knitter who I have met through a weekly Zoom call. Sending her yarn would have been nice but not exactly the thought I wanted to convey which was to send a hug. I was looking for heart patterns to make a coaster but didn’t like any I had found online. There was a heart on the monthly quilt I made. I adapted it slightly, omitting the wings and making the borders narrow. The quilting was simple straight line following the heart shape. I was pleased with the result which I called a mug rug hug.

 

February's and March’s Hats

I was going to write a post about my thought process and why it blog posts are in my head and not on the web. Suffice it to say I have air written a few on different subjects but here is one showing actual knitting.

I have been slow in showing finished items because in February I made a couple of gifts and I wanted them to be opened before showing pictures here. Then I just delayed on everything so I am starting off showing the hats I made over the last two months.

February Hat, worked as written except I started with a Turkish cast on so that the stitches were sitting on a cable ready for the pick up row. The yarn is Tosh Vintage (from the friend’s friend’s stash), the same as January’s hat. I may have enough for another hat.

 

March’s Hat. Worked using Tosh DK from the aforementioned stash. This is a thinner yarn than called for in the pattern, so I worked the larger size, this was not necessary and when I looked at the pattern the gauge was tighter than usual for worsted weight yarn. The hat turned out fine although I had to omit the last pattern repeat; (the yarn I was given was not a full skein), I was worried that it was not enough for a real slouch but too much for a nice looking hat. Apart from missing the last pattern repeat, I knit the pattern as written, including the tubular cast on.

 

On WIP news, getting buttons on the jacket is proving to be a slow process. I have buttons, I am trying to work out how I want to do the loops. I have finished one sock and started the other. I would like to finish them by the end of the month. I stopped working on the blanket as I needed more grey yarn and the Tunisian crochet project is coming along slowly.

Today is Pi Day and I have decided NOT to start a Pi Shawl. Although I like the fun of starting such a shawl on 3/14, I do not need another project. I will reconsider for 22/7.

 

Working With Multiple Strands

February’s projects are following different themes. The beginning of the month was provisional cast ons. Now it is working with multiple strands. You could even say there is a finishing theme as I have finished two items.

The main reason for using more than one strand in a project is that the project uses a specific weight of yarn and I do not have that yarn in my stash. Or I really want to use certain yarn(s) and doubling them works the best. An example of this is the Odyssey Shawl. I was wanting to use yarn in my stash for something other than socks. I decided these three yarns went together, the pattern was for three colours of a thicker weight yarn. I just held the yarn double and voila a finished shawl and three skeins of yarn used up.

The first project I started this month is a blanket using the skeins from the swap. I frogged the blanket I had made and wanted to get something on the needles PDQ.

  I knew I wanted to make a blanket and I knew I would be adding my own yarn to it but otherwise had no idea. I had abandoned the original project as I would have had to use so much of my own yarn it would take away from what I had received. I chose a pattern from a book I own of squares made up of a centre colour and a plain outer. The pattern called for aran weight, the yarn I have is fingering weight. I started off using the yarn doubled but didn’t proceed with that idea as I would have to make more than one square from each colour I then held four strands together and the squares are a decent size using most of the mini skein. How do I work with four stands? Firstly, I wind a centre pull ball, then I rewind with the outer and inner ends to make a double stranded ball and work with the inner and outer ends of these four strands. I am really pleased with the outcome and am using two different greys from my stash for the outer rows.

 

The other project is a Tunisian crochet pattern that three of us are working on as a MAL (Make Along). The pattern was originally written for DK weight yarn and then a fingering weight option was added, with either option two different colours are required but four skeins total of DK and only two skeins of fingering. I wanted the squidgyness of the thicker yarn but did not have any in stash. I knew I could double fingering weight but what yarn? Thinking about it instead of sleeping one night I remembered yarns I had purchased to go together but the closest they had got was in the storage container. If I used them double I would need four of them. No problem. And I now have the start to a lovely squidgy shawl.

 

Anne of Green Gables

I recently read the graphic novel version of this book. I have not read the original so can not comment on how accurate this version is. I had an idea of the subject matter of this book, had not read it in childhood had a mild interest in what all the fuss was about so when I saw a graphic version decided to go ahead.

The most interesting aspect of this book is that it is extremely well loved, including readers wanting to and actually visiting PEI to get a feel of the setting, and yet the main character is a foster child.

I have a big problem with this adoration as in the USA foster children are not loved. They are looked down upon by society, even though it is not the child’s fault they are in foster care, and let down by the organizations that are supposed to protect them. Mostly, but not exclusively, because they are not considered worthy of resources.

All too often we hear of another case of a child dying or disappearing in foster care because the workers have ignored the warning signs or have not checked on the child for months. But for all the cases that rock the news there are many more cases of abuse and neglect and just plain less than.

Imagine you’ve been looked after by the State without being allowed to make your own decisions and then at age 18 you’re on your own, quite often kicked out of where you are living as foster payments stop. No surprise that a high percentage of former foster children end up living on the streets. Or you’re quite happily living with a family and at the end of the school day your case worker picks you up and takes you to a different home. Your belongings are in a bin liner, half of them missing, you haven’t been allowed to say goodbye to school friends or the other children where you were living. Or the family you are living with want to adopt you but the courts decide you should go back to live with your mother because she has completed a drug rehabilitation program but her new boyfriend abuses you and she soon reverts to her previous behaviors so you are put back into foster care but not with the original loving family because that wouldn’t be good for anybody!

Is it any surprise that children are angry, sullen, unwilling or unable to form relationships. But hey, you continue loving Anne of Green Gables and the feisty orphan.

Starting All The Things (But Not Finishing Them)

At the beginning of the year I had plans for a few cast ons and I did start all those mentioned. Plus I started another project in the middle of the month with the minis I had received in a swap. Alas, I have just one finished item to show for all this effort - the hat - although the gift is nearly finished. The other items were worked on but the gift and the hat received the most attention and I worked a mini skein a day. And I do not have a finished older project although the jacket just needs buttons. (Yes, I am prevaricating on this as my only in person option is Jo-Anns.)

 

 

 

Which brings us to February. And, of course, I started the February hat and I started a pair of socks. Both of these started with provisional cast ons but the hat is now easy ribbing and the sock is not-so-easy circular colour work with decreases on small needles. And I am frogging the mini skein project so now I have to decide what to make with as I do not want the yarn to sit in stash. Other participants in the swap made wraps and scarves. Although these came out very pretty, they are not anything I would wear.

First of 2022

As most of the hats I make are for charity, I quite often wait until I have finished a few before showing them here. But this one has to be shown as it is my first finish of 2022.

I started this hat at the end of November on a car trip and decided to keep it as a car project even though it added to the number of WIPs I started the year with.

Last weekend we went to San Diego to meet up with a couple of people for an urban hike – Seven Bridges. This was a fun thing to do on a nice Saturday when everyone is still working from home and limiting socializing. Although I called it a hike, it really was a leisurely stroll. What this has to do with a finished object is that I worked on my car project and it was almost finished by the time we arrived home. Later this week, I finished it off (only two rounds needed) and sewed in all the ends.

The pattern is my go-to crochet pattern – Better Late Than Never Beanie – this is the seventh one I have made, and is great for using small amounts of left overs. Usually I will make the medium size for the number of stitches and add more rows for length but this time I only added one extra row of single crochet. It is a little small for an adult; later in the year I will find a charity that wants hats for teenagers and then I don’t have to worry about sending hats to places where they are not wanted.

 

Apart from this hat, I have hardly touched my WIPs. I started a project as planned with the yarns I got in a swap and have kept up with that each day and the project I started as a gift is relatively easy and has been getting most of my attention. I have sewn in one sleeve on the jacket but the two new projects are priority right now.

It’s The Priscilla Show

In my plans for 2022 I wrote that I would be starting new projects on 1 January. I started three of the four projects and as I was texting my friend I realized that all of the projects I had started used yarn she had given me either as a gift or from her friend’s stash. Although I had plans for specific projects using these yarns, I thought it was funny that all of my cast ons on one day used her gifts. Especially as I didn’t get around to my fourth cast on until a couple of days ago and for that I am not using yarn from her.

That project, although a garment, has started with relatively easy knitting; the projects I started on the first, although small, are not completely mindless.

2021 Round Up Part Two

This is the other project I finished just before the end of the year. I started this project on 30 November 2019 as the 2019 Advent shawl. I knew I would not be able to keep up with the rows every day as it is complicated lace knitting but I wanted to get it started. I started 2021 with it about half-way completed and great plans to work on it every day. In the end I decided I would work a clue each month as there were enough remaining to take me through to the end of the year. And this I could keep up with. The pattern required a lot of concentration and, funnily enough, that made it quite boring so having a plan made the end achievable. Until I hit a snag. I ran out of yarn. Towards the end, I was weighing the yarn after every couple of rows and knew it would be close. The last clue was the edging which was a sideways knit edge with yarnovers and corresponding decreases and knitting the live stitches; yarn wise equivalent to a few rows. I could have undone two rows but I really didn’t want to do that. As I said the pattern is complicated and there are lots of double decreases also I would probably have taken out four rows just to be on the safe side.

So why not buy more yarn – because it was discontinued. I estimated I would need about 5g. I went to that trusty source Ravelry and someone was selling their leftovers. But the price they wanted plus postage was more than I wanted to pay for such a small amount of yarn. I had the option of using left over lace weight in a different colour if I really couldn’t find the same yarn. But first I approached someone else who had yarn leftover from their project. They were willing to send it to me for the price of postage. This was very acceptable.

The border wasn’t hard but having got this far, I wasn’t going to rush it so I only get worked on when I wasn’t going to be interrupted. The blocking was easy, apart from size, as I soaked it and then just laid it out with the top pinned. I did not stretch it out at all as I did not think it needed it. Although we had had wet weather, it dried very quickly and it was completely finished ends sewn in and trimmed on 31 December.

Here are pictures pre and post blocking.

 

2021 Round Up Part One

This is where I show the projects that I finished close to year end and did not post before 31 December.

I mentioned that I had worked some dishcloths to have some easy projects. I also worked a hat. I had included them in my meterage for the year, all except the last dishcloth which I was not expecting to finish before year end and also is the cause of a little lie for my 2022 plans as I included it in my WIPs at start of year. This particular dishcloth was also a total fail in the mindless knitting category as every row was different. Oh well.

First off the hat, which really was mindless knitting. The pattern is Luuk, although there are numerous similar patterns available. Rows of stocking stitch and reverse stocking stitch, using some Cascade from friend’s friend’s stash and some frogged yarn. This yarn is never ending, a bit like the dishcloth cotton that I will mention next.

 

I made four dishcloths and finally used up all the brown that I had rescued from a dishcloth swap exchange from a few years ago where I ended up with a cloth that was the size of a tray cloth. The brown has featured in four cloths. I wanted mindless knitting and as it was December I made season appropriate patterns. The first is supposed to be a Christmas pudding but looks more like a big cupcake, two different tree illusion cloths and then the not mindless mosaic cloth. I still have a bit of cotton left over and I can probably get one more very scappy cloth out of it.

 

Regarding the lie in my last post, I started the year with three projects, still two more than planned so finishing a dishcloth in the evening of the last night of the year is not really a huge change to the total.

2022 Here We Come

I am starting the year with more WIPs than I intended. Two are the result of wanting mindless knitting at the end of the year (and one not turning out to be quite so mindless). One is a jacket I was hoping to finish in December but when I finished all the knitting of the main part I realized I hadn’t blocked the sleeves. This delayed finishing for a day or two and then I decided not to rush especially as I still have to purchase buttons. And then there is the lace cardigan which is the only WIP I was expecting. I am a little disappointed that instead of one WIP I have three (plus scrap blankets and hat in the car) but as two of these projects meant I was actually working on something, it is not the end of the world.

A couple of my plans are the same as last year – complete WIPs and use stash yarn I was given for charity items. One thing that I was planning on doing was using up my dishcloth cotton but as I used some of it at the end of 2021 for mindless knitting I am going to save the cotton for year end in case I am in the same situation.

Although I greatly added to my stash last year I am not stressed by it and it will get used at some point. I still have two sets of yarn from the previous closing down sale that have not been used. I have chosen the pattern and swatched for one set but have changed my mind about the other set but am not going to get hung up about it.

I would like to make the Advent shawl from 2018 but as this will require a lot of concentration, I will finish the lace cardigan first. I also want to use the yarns I got in the yarn swap. Currently I have the pattern planned but need to decide on the order in which I will work the yarns. As the swap started on 11 December, I think I will start this on 11 January. And my knitting friends and I have a KAL planned to start in February.

All these plans do not mean that I will not be starting anything new on 1 January. Like last year I will be casting on all the things. I like to make a hat each month for charity. And this year I am going to make the monthly hats from Kelbourne Woolens. I was going to do this last year but was put off by the comments on the first couple of months that the hats came out small. Well, if I’m not making the hats for anyone in particular what does it matter what size they come out? As I don’t have a crochet project currently on the go (apart from the project in the car) I am going to make another Waroo shawl using a set of minis I was given for my birthday. I intend to change yarn as each one runs out rather than when the pattern dictates. But we will see. These are just small items, plus a gift I am going to make, so I am going to start a cardigan. This will be using my not-quite-oldest-yarn which was purchased to make a particular cardigan, but I couldn’t get gauge, so now I am going to knit a different pattern where I also can’t get gauge. But at least this one will be mostly mindless knitting.

As you can see there are not massive plans for the whole year, just the first month or so, which gives me plenty of leeway to start what I want as the fancy takes me.

Year in Review (2021)

What I like when I come to write about my year of crafting is looking back to the end of last year to see if what I am making has changed and looking at my plans at the start of the year also to see if they changed.

One thing I definitely didn’t take into account was a yarn store closing, resulting in a big addition to my stash and two projects being started as soon as yarn was purchased. Although it could be argued that this was balanced out by no big events in 2020 and 2021. And there was the sudden decision to start another left overs blanket.

I had 43 items on the needles in 2021. Four of these, including the mitred squares, were from previous years. I then cast on four new things on January 1^st. Having got rid of a load of WIPs it makes sense to create a load more, right? And creating numerous new projects is an idea worth repeating as you will see in my 2022 plans post.

Of those 43 projects, only one was frogged and I am impressed that I made the decision in the same year that I started it although I did not have plans for the yarn. Seven of the total were crochet projects and only three were gifts but nearly all the hats (14) were for charity.

In 2021 I completed 7 shawls or wraps, 16 hats and 1 headband, 1 garment, 6 pairs of socks, 1 toy, and 3 dishcloths. The total is close to the total number of finished items last year although made up of smaller items. In all I knitted 7960 metres and crocheted 2024 meters. This was less than the total in but not surprising due to the closing down sale.

I really did not have big plans for 2021. I completed the two specific items – Advent socks and project from frogged yarn. I wrote that I was not going to buy yarn for hats but that changed as I made hats for a specific charity that required a specific type of yarn. The other type of knitting that was not planned was the dishcloths. I had that on my radar for 2022 to use up all my scraps of dishcloth cotton but I found myself in December with no mindless knitting but not wanting to start a major project before the end of the year. So I decided to make some dishcloths. It was surprising how many dishcloths I could make from scraps.

Happy New Year.

 

A Recurring Theme

Initially I thought the theme was cheeky cast ons but it could be WIpping Wednesday or velcroed cats. Although that last one is a theme of my life. As soon as I sit down she is there. And by there I mean on my lap her body stuck to mine. This is why humans don’t have T-Rex arms – so our arms can go around cats and still work.

The theme I was thinking about was finished WIPs and cheeky cast ons. The WIP I finished was the crochet toy. I did not work on it consistently as I could only work on it when the recipient was not in the house and it was fiddly. The good thing about this finished item is that the recipient loves it and I am pleased that I don’t have to think about it anymore. It was fiddly because it was small pieces at a tight gauge with not tightly spun wool. Add to that a not brilliantly written pattern. I have drafted and re-drafted a post about patterns in general and composed a post in my head about this pattern in particular. Currently they are too long for a post but I hope that a post or two will appear at some point on the subject.

I purchased this pattern as a kit at the closing down sale and I am glad that I did not pay full price. Anyway here are a couple of photos. One of all the pieces and the other showing the finished dinosaur.

As for the cheeky cast on, which I started on vacation, that I am happy with. The yarn is left over from this project and works really well with this pattern which is WandererCap. I worked the rib with leftover yarn from the last hat shown here, working until I had insufficient yarn to finish a full round.

I am showing three photos of the hat so you can see the top and also how the yarn changes through out.

 

And as for WIPping Wednesday. I am down to three WIPs – one of which I have put aside. I am working the sideways border on the shawl and binding off the long band on the jacket. Neither of these are easy to pick up and put down in small chunks of time but slow and steady wins the race.

A Finished Object, a Frog and a Sneaky Cast On

The finished object is the Advent Socks which I worked as a year long project. The pattern (from December 2020) was set up for one sock to be knit over 12 days. I knit one section on each sock every month. At the end of part 10 (October) I knew I was very close to the required length. In November I worked the few rows required before starting the toe shaping and then just decided to keep going and finish both socks so that would have to be one less thing to worry about in December.

These are not the best socks  have knit. Although I used sock yarn, as it is all leftovers, there is a difference in thickness and make up of each yarn. Also my swiss darning (duplicate stitch) is not wonderful in some places. But as the pattern is worked all around on the leg and foot they are double thickness and cosy and I was not concerned about exact fit. But I am very happy with them and will wear them around the Christmas season. The socks are made entirely from leftovers. On both socks I used up all of the original main colour but had other options to add in. 

 

 

I did not intend to frog the next project especially as I was using yarn that had come from a frogged project. I started a shawl on vacation in May and it was designated my vacation shawl but the yarn and pattern did not go together so I (metaphorically) ripped off the band aid and the shawl is now back to yarn. I really want to use this yarn as it was a gift (and I like it) but I think I am going to wait until I see just the right project and not try to force the yarn to fit in with something.

 

I was on vacation and did not want to take one of my WIPs because they weren’t at a convenient point to just pick up and knit. So I grabbed some needles and yarn for easy poolside and reading knitting. I completed a hat and a bit. The completed hat is the Molly hat and the yarn is more than likely YOTH Big Sister. (It was part of the big load that I was given from a friend of a friend's stash.) As this hat will go into next year’s charity pile, I worked the pattern as written and did not worry about the slouch which, generally, I am not a fan of.  The first photo shows the pattern and the second photo shows the colour.

 

I then used leftovers to cast on the Wanderer hat. Although this is intended for vacation knitting, if I can fit it in I will finish it before the end of the year just so that I have one less WIP.

Excluding the hat I cast on for vacation knitting, I have four WIPs plus two blankets and I am really excited by this number. In September the number was nine plus two. I am not working on one of these projects at all so that leaves me just under four weeks to finish three projects. As my husband said, that's one week for each project with some extra days leeway.

Of course, none of this is going to happen as I am writing this with a cat “velcroed” to me.

It’s WIPping Wednesday

Was I going to write regular posts about my WIPs when there seems to be little change? It is the season for WIPs so I think I should.

Everything is moving forward but no finished items to show. This is partially due to some unknitting. At the weekend I worked on the toe of one sock. I was about half-way through it and realized I had not changed needles. I have used a size smaller needles for the cuff and heel and would do the same for the toe – only if I remembered though. I wanted to start the toe shaping before finishing the colourwork pattern, which was only three rows and then I continued in one colour. When I looked at it the gauge was definitely too loose so it was pulled back to the end of the colourwork. Of course, I didn’t have the smaller needles to hand. If I had I expect I wouldn’t even have been in the frogging position. So what could have been a quick finish is waiting for the next opportunity.

I started the frill on the dinosaur, it wasn’t hard but so fiddly, which I write every time. I have not worked on it this week as the intended recipient has been at our house. This is another project that is so close but so far.

The jacket is coming along nicely. It is my easy knitting so can pick it up at anytime. I finished the second sleeve and picked up stitches for the hood and am half-way through that. I still am not sure if it will be finished by year end as although it is easy knitting there is a lot of it.

I have not picked up the complicated shawl as I am waiting for more yarn. I ended up buying some from someone on Ravelry who had some leftover from their project. I could continue working the border with what I have left but I am being prudent and waiting until I get the other yarn in case there is a difference in tone. There shouldn’t be as it is a commercial yarn but having got this far and taken a long time I might as well wait.

A Cheeky Little Cast On

My last post was about how well I was doing with my WIPs, so what did I do? Cast on a new project. To be fair it is a gift and it was a very quick baby hat.

When I was going through my leftovers to find leftover lace weight yarn my husband asked if I was going to make the new baby a blanket. I do not feel inclined to send a blanket to Japan but I said I would make booties. The problem with booties is that mothers either love them or hate them. So I decided on a hat. After a lot of thought that is. I have made many baby hats more than once as they are just so cute but I decided to make a different pattern, using leftovers of course.

The pattern is Gather by Tin Can Knits; the yarn is Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK from Sublime Yarns. I worked as many complete rib rows as I could with the white yarn and then changed to the pink for the pattern. The hat is the total length as stated in the pattern but I though it looked a bit short in comparison to the width. But the baby was not big at birth, so I am sure it will be fine for a while as long as it doesn’t take forever to get to Japan.

WIP Update

I used to regularly write about my WIPs but I think I stopped when there wasn’t much change from week to week. I had a look through my posts and the last regular weekly update was in April 2014. I do not intend to make this a regular weekly feature but as we are in WIPping season it is time for an update.

I currently have six projects plus two blankets. The two year long projects are close to the end. The socks are at the toes and the shawl is at the border. It is sideways knit border and not hard after all the lace but I am pretty certain I do not have enough yarn. I worked about 1/6 of the border, weighing yarn before and after and I used about a gram. (Now I wish I had more accurate scales than 1 gram.) The yarn is discontinued so I cannot purchase any more. I have contacted a couple of people on Ravelry who have left overs from their own projects and I will write about how that went when I finish the shawl. I could take out a couple or four rows of the lace pattern but that is not a task I want to undertake, so I may have to work the border in a contrast colour. I have some leftover lace weight yarns in colours that will contrast nicely; just have to decide which one I am going to use.

I have been working on the crochet toy, and is it fiddly! It is nearly finished, just have to work out what the instructions mean for the frill around the head and I am done. Oh, apart from sewing all the little bits to the body. That should be finished by the end of the year.

I have nearly finished the second sleeve of the jacket. I have blocked the body and will pick up and work the hood and pockets before I sew in the sleeves just to make the knitting easier. I’m aiming to finish it by the end of the year but once it’s all sewn together there is still a big front band to knit.

I have been true to my word and not touched the lace cardigan nor the vacation knit so that I can finish the other projects.

A Quick Little Cast On

Since I started the WIP challenge, I have not cast on anything new. But two things combined to cause me to make something. Someone had posted a picture of a cute headband and there was a birthday coming up. I decided that was an acceptable cast on; otherwise I would be spending time shopping either rin person or online. The only limitation was colour.

I may have mentioned that I was given a lot of yarn from a friend of a friend’s stash and I took it on the basis that I could do anything with it. In there was a 50g skein of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light in a greenish colour. It was hard to capture the colour with my phone. (I am having problem with my phone capturing true colours, but that’s a whole different story.)

Pattern is Headband with a Twist and is available fro free on the designers website. I used just under 30g and it would be perfect for leftovers.

When You Have A Choice of Beautiful Sock Yarn

What do you do? Knit a pair of socks from leftovers and take four months to do so! The yarn is left over from this project. I used about half skein of each and they are so beautiful I knew they needed to be used in another project. One of the options for July’s Sock Knitters Anonymous was Slipped Stitch Colorwork. Searching through Ravelry, I found this pattern 

I wasn’t sure if I would have enough yarn to just use two colours so I did use the third colour for the cuffs, heels and toes. Weighing the yarn after completing the project I would have been cutting it close so I saved future me from “do-I-have-enough-yarn angst”.

I don’t know why it took so long to finish these socks but when I had not even finished the first sock by the end of July they got pushed to one side. With the incentive of the WIP knitalong, these socks were the next project to be focused on and I completed them within the month of October. I am really pleased with them and they are lovely and soft.

 

I am now down three projects from the original eight. I am on target to finish the two year-long projects and have picked up the garment as my next project. The knitting on this is not hard but I am changing much of the pattern to fit with my gauge and measurements. The body is complete and I am now working on the first sleeve. After both sleeves there is a hood or collar and the front bands. I really would like to get it finished by the end of the year.