The Finished Items

Last time I said I had some finished objects and here they are. Three of them anyway.

Let’s start with socks. A friend in Canada gave me some wonderful locally dyed sock yarn. Checking previous posts, I note that I have been remiss in not posting details. So here are a couple of photos of the yarn. It is Kick Ass Sock by Two Birds Knitting Co. in the colourway Flue by Ewe.



One of the challenges for April in the sock knitting group was Food and Drink and I found this pattern – Effervesce by purrlescent. (Funny thing, only now checking the pattern info do I realize that both the yarn and the pattern come from people in Calgary.) Amazingly the pattern was free. I thought it would take me quite a while to knit because of the cables but it turned out to be an enjoyable knit especially once I worked out which way I like to cable without a cable needle.

I changed the heel slightly so that slip stitches followed the pattern into the heel, with purl stitches in between and three garter stitches at each edge.



The other two items are both hats for charity. I was away at the end of May into the beginning of June and rather than wait for my return to start an item for Operation Gratitude I chose a pattern and yarn and needles to take with me. The pattern was Man Hat which I knit with Bernat Softee Chunky Solids on 8.0 mm needles. It is a broken rib pattern so an easy knit with a bit of interest.



The other hat I started on the flight when we went away in the middle of April. When I fly I take a crocheted item with a plastic crochet hook so that if it is taken away there is only one loose stitch and it is not a problem losing a plastic hook. I started the hat on the flight out and had trouble finding the end of the yarn so I had way too much out of the skein. I also messed up the joining the chain so at the hotel I pulled it out and started again but I did not work on it as I was saving it for flights. I had two plastic crochet hooks just in case and I meant to give one to my husband but I forgot which was rather annoying as they were both taken off me at security on the way home. I had a bamboo hook in the same size which I took with me on the latest trip. It actually was a nice hook and worked well with the yarn I was using. I worked on the hat on both the outward and return flight and finished the hat. When I got home I could not find the hook and I can only guess that it fell out of my bag on the plane. So this hat has cost me three hooks!

The pattern is Tulips Hat and I used Red Heart Soft.

So Much To Say

But I haven't said it.

Different things pop into my head to write about for this blog but they don't make it into print. I also have some finished projects but they also haven't shown up here.

Hmm... I think just writing this is the incentive I need to take photos.

Watch this space.

Two Hats

My friend very kindly sent me a photo of the hat I made for her. She likes it and I am really pleased that it fits. The hat is squishy garter stitch so not tight at all.



And I have crocheted a hat for Operation Gratitude. This month the suggestions were both from bulky yarn and I have some in my stash so it was not hard to choose the crochet option - it is called Area Code Beanie and is available on Ravelry. It was a really quick project that should have been finished in an evening, except the extra round of double crocheted that I finished with became single crochet half way around.

The yarn is Charisma by Loops and Threads and I used a 8.0mm hook.

I Can Show Some Gifts

except I don't have photos of one of them.

One of my friends is moving across the country so yesterday her and another friend and I went to lunch as a sort of goodbye lunch. Sort of as in the sale of her house fell through so she does not know when she will be moving. We decided we would just keep having lunches until the day actually arrives.

But as this was her "official" goodbye lunch, we had gifts for her. The other friend gave her different yarns with colours to remind her of different parts of California. I thought that was a really good idea, memories when she knits them.

I made her a couple of things. As she is moving to the east, she will need cold weather clothing, so I knitted a hat. I have made loads of hats but I wanted it to be a pattern I hadn't knitted before. You think it would be easy to find a pattern but for some reason it wasn't. I finally settled on a pattern from a book I happened to have checked out from the library - Circular Knitting Workshop: Essential Techniques to Master Knitting in the Round by Margaret Radcliffe.
The pattern is Jogless Garter Stitch Hat, which is knit in the round from the top down, in a helix pattern, so that there is no obvious seam. And I don't have a photo of it. The best I can do is a photo of the yarn. I used Baby Alpaca Grande by Plymouth Yarn, bought especially as I did not have anything suitable in my stash.



I loved the joglessness (love that word too) of this method of knitting and will try to remember for other patterns in the round that are other than one colour stocking stitch.

I also made her a project bag. She enjoys watching Downton Abbey and I found some special fabric on line with Downton Abbey on it. Rather than buy a set of five fat quarters where I would only use three, I bought 3 half-yards of fabric and made a slightly bigger bag. The third fabric had a stocking stitch knitted print.

The Needles Are Occupied

The problem with having too many projects on the go is that you can spend all your time knitting and still not have a completed project to show off.

I did finish three things in April but one is a gift so no photos yet, one is the black shawl show at the end of this post, which leaves one item to show today.

My completed hat for Operation Gratitude.



The pattern was free on Ravelry when we started the knitalong but now costs $4.00. I used yarn thicker than the pattern so used the appropriate size needles and cast on 8 fewer stitches; I also worked way fewer rows and did not work the eyelet rows at the top.

I am pleased that I finished a charity project despite too much not finished. We went away for a week in the middle of the month and I started a new project; I am not sure if I am happy with it so it has been set aside for now as I am not sure what I would make with the yarn anyway. I am casting off a shawl but as I am beading the edge it is a slow process; I have started to seam another project and my straight forward project gets worked on periodically.

I had picked yarn and pattern for the Sock Knitters Challenge in April but they didn't get cast on until the end of the month but as they are entered in the challenge it is incentive to finish them. I took them to knit group yesterday and they were hard going but I realised that they are easier to work on when I don't have my contact lenses in as there is a lot of cabling. They went much faster this morning. Also I have been looking at the mystery sock pattern for this month. I have some yarn that I have not been able to match with a pattern and it looks like the mystery will be perfect. Yes that will create more thinks on the needles (and I started an Operation Gratitude item) but they will be finished eventually.

Not Good Photos But At Least There Are Photos

Shawl(ette)s have been piling up waiting to be photographed. My intention was to ask my husband to take photos one weekend but I never got around to it so a couple of weeks ago I took photos. But when I looked at them they were rather blurry so I took a few today with my phone. Not brilliant but at last I'm showing off finished objects.

In order of finishing:



This is the shawl mentioned in this post. My shawl is obviously smaller than the one shown in the pattern so I had another look at the one on display at the Yarnover Truck and that one has been stretched out much more in blocking.



This was on the needles way longer than it should have been because there was a huge delay in finding the second colour of yarn and then I had to find the right beads. The pattern is Branching Out Shawlette and is available on Ravelry.

I used less than 20 grams of the second colour, from 100 gram skein and I did not want it to just sit in the stash so I cast on another shawl.



I love it and it is a pattern that needs to be well blocked to show off the design. Even so, it is still a small piece but I must remember to wear it to show off.

I was given the yarn used in this shawl when I left Calgary. It is lovely and soft and I couldn't decide whether to make slippers or a shawl. A friend said a shawl. Way back in July last year I started one and then when it was close to being finished I frogged it, partly because I couldn't think what type of cast off to work. I definitely didn't want the yarn to go into stash as I find it hard to work with yarn I have already used, so this was cast on.



The pattern is Summer Flies, a pattern that I have already made as seen here and here. One day I would like to make this pattern bigger.

I have way too many things on the needles right now and I'm itching to start more and so far this month I have one finished item. Time to get back to the knitting in hopes of being able to share more at the end of the month.

More In March

I really need to post more so that I stop coming up with these stupid titles.

I finished four things this month but I won't be posting photos of two of them as they are for gifts. I also have three projects that are close to finished: one needs blocking; one needs seaming; and the other is a few rows from the end.

Firstly we have the usual charity project. The suggestions for this month were scarves but I didn't feel like making a scarf, plus I have a few balls of bulky yarn so I opted for another hat.



The pattern is Cupcake by DROPS Design.


I used just over 70 meters of Bernat Softee Chunky Solids on 8.0mm needles. I decided against the big pom pom.

I also made some socks for the Sock Knitters Anonymous challenge. These have a little bit of a story. I bought the yarn - self-striping from Trailing Clouds - especially for their self-striping challenge last month. After trying various patterns, either I didn't like them or they were originally allowed for the challenge and then removed at the start of the month, I gave up. But I wanted to work with the yarn so rather than wait for the self-striping challenge to come up again, I cast on with the yarn this month.



The pattern is Hazelia by Mary Hough, one of the featured designers for March. I changed the heel to a Fleegle heel; which was easy to work but is not the best fit for my feet.

I did not want these socks to match but I did not want them to be completely random either so I worked the second sock in the opposite direction with the toe starting where I had finished the cuff in the first one.

February Is For Finishing

I haven't posted in a while but at last I have some photos to show as February was a good month for completing projects.

First, photos of a hat finished in January. As usual the delay is because I wait for the recipient to receive the item.



The pattern is Little Knight, Newborn Purple Hat that I knitted with some Vanna's Choice that was in my stash. It used just 23 grams of yarn and is very stretchy so will fit for a while.

My first finished item in February was this.



I started it in June last year and all the knitting was finished by July; it's just the sewing of the different pieces to the body that took the time. My aim this year is to finish projects that have stalled mostly for finishing reasons. That's not going quite as fast as I aimed as the pig was my January project.

The pattern is from Knitted Farm Animals by Sara Keen, a book I got from the library and as I had pink yarn in my stash, decided to cast on. The brown was also in my stash. All together I used 50 grams of DK weight yarn plus fiber fill for stuffing.

Another of my aims is to knit something with sock yarn every month. And in February I finished this project started in January.



The pattern is from Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders another book I got from the library and I used two balls of Patons Kroy Socks.

And as usual there is an item for charity. I decided to make the crochet pattern suggested in February.



The pattern is Mint Chocolate Beanie (Crochet) currently available on Ravelry. I used Red Heart Soft that I bought last year when it was on sale.

Also off the needles was a shawl I knitted from yarn left over from a different shawl that also hasn't been photographed. And I undid an item. It was close to being finished and I could not think of an edging so I just frogged the whole thing but I cast on a new project immediately as I knew if the yarn went in the stash it was likely not to be touched for a long time. I started a pair of socks but didn't quite manage to finish them in February.

I have updated yarn in/out and knitted/crocheted as at the end of February; it is looking good so far.

Sewing in 2015

It's still January and I have a sewing project to show.

I made a bag for a friend's birthday. She is an all round crafter, so I made her a draw-string project bag. I had a couple of unused fat quarters and some left over coordinating fabric and just chose the size based on using as much of the fabric as possible. For the draw-strings, I had to sew lengths of fabric together.

I didn't take the final measurements but it is a roomy bag. Big enough for straight needles and big enough for a garment or a number of balls of yarn.

End Of Year Baby Clothes

On the Yarn Crawl I bought three skeins of baby yarn. This was a planned purchase as a new baby was on the way. I had enough yarn to make a cardigan, hat and mittens. As hard as I tried I could not get a pair of booties out of the leftovers.

The patterns I used, from Sirdar and Patons, date back to when my sister was expecting but the design of a basic cardy does not change.

The first photo does not show the true colour of the yarn. I usually take a photo of everything I make but for some reason I could not find a photo of the cardigan so I asked the baby's mama to take one. The photos of the hats and the mitts show the colour better.



In November I mentioned visiting the Yarnover Truck and a yarn store that I hadn't visited before. I wrote that I had made some strange decisions. One of them was the yarn I bought for the next item. Before we went I wrote down the yarn weight and how much I needed for a few items I was interested in . One item on the list was yarn for a baby jacket, there was also yarn for a hat, some needles and I can't remember what else. Anyway when I was looking at baby yarn, I looked at the wrong entry and bought one 100 gram ball of worsted weight yarn. There is nothing wrong with the yarn, it was just that I had not bought enough for the intended project. After a big search through Ravelry I came up with another top down pattern that was for the correct weight of yarn and I used the whole of the ball.



And a bonus when I came to finishing the two cardigans; Jo-Ann was having a sale on buttons.

I still have two shawls from last year to show off but they both really need better photos.

From Last Year

I have a couple of projects from last year to show plus some yarn I purchased.

Firstly socks. I am not knitting socks so much now but I still have some sock yarn and if I like the challenge in the Sock Knitters Anonymous Group I will join in. I had some sock yarn that I had purchased a while ago for the edging on a shawl (which I still need some photos so I can show it off). When I decided that it was not right and I bought some different yarn I now had a skein of sock yarn that needed to become something. One of the challenges for November 2014 was slipped stitches so that seemed a good opportunity to use the yarn and I chose a pattern that I owned.



Yarn is Footloose from Forbidden Woolery and the pattern is Slip-stitch Cable Socks from the Little Box of Socks. I changed the heel to a horseshoe heel from The Sock Knitter's Workshop.

Also in December I finished some fingerless mitts for my husband. His hands get very cold even here in Southern California so I made him some mitts with yarn left over from a different project. (Um yes another project that needs a good photograph.)



The yarn is Afghan Hound by Fiber Hound, a gorgeous merino/silk mix with great stitch definition. The pattern is by Ysolda Teague.

And now some fun yarn that I bought last year. I saw this on Ravelry and couldn't resist.



The yarn is from Trailing Clouds and is a self-striping sock yarn dyed in the colours of the lines on the London Underground Map. I started to knit with it this month as the challenge was self-striping yarn but I couldn't find a pattern that I liked and fit the challenge so I am going to wait for another month. (And cast on something else instead.)

Next time an update on the baby items I finished before the end of the year.

First Off The Needles

Half way through January and I already have two finished items to show. Neither used entire balls of yarn so I cannot count balls of yarn out but I can record the meterage knitted; so far yarn is going down in 2015. (And another little item was made while I was watching football last weekend.)

This year I really want to make (knit or crochet) an item for Operation Gratitude every month. Last year I managed one a month from January to September inclusive. Each month one of the moderators of the group on Ravelry suggests one knit and one crochet pattern. I started the crochet pattern but it wasn't working with the yarn I was using so I did a quick search on Ravelry and came up with a free knitting pattern for a hat where I could use some of the bulky yarn I bought last year especially for charity knitting.

The pattern is Chunky Bamboo Stitch Hat and I knit it with Bernat Softee Chunky Solids on size 8 mm needles.



Remember this yarn? I cast on a pair (OK technically one, although it is possible to cast on two at the same time) of fingerless mitts on 1 January - new year, new project. The pattern is Flecktone and I used 2.25 mm needles. I made cuffs shorter than the pattern but the top comes further up the hand. I love them.

Off To A Good Start

In my last post for 2014 I said that all the yarn counters would be set to zero. KnitMeter.com would do this automatically but I would have to reset my yarn in counters.

I am really excited to say that my yarn in is currently showing a negative number. This is because at the beginning of last week I sold some yarn and the buyer has received it so it is definitely no longer in my stash. Whenever I buy/gift/donate yarn it reduces the yarn in. Yarn out records yarn that I have used myself.

And by next weekend I should be recording a couple of finished objects. They might not count as complete balls of yarn used but there will definitely be meterage knitted up.

A Collection of Cuteness

Trying to catch up with photos of knitted items from last year. Which would be more successful if I uploaded photos from my camera.

Today we’ll have a triumvirate of booties.

I have mentioned how my son’s girlfriend loves anything made for her or her family and that blue booties had been requested. I found some more blueish yarn in my stash and started on the standard bootie pattern but I knew that they were too big so I found more yarn in my stash to make smaller booties. It was white baby yarn, probably 4-ply, so I followed the pattern for worsted weight yarn to make smaller booties. But there was no stopping me and I remembered I had yarn left over from the baby cardigan so another small pair of booties was made.

Three pairs of booties; three ends of yarn used up; all I had to do was buy ribbon and mail them.

How Bad Is It?

Tomorrow Knit Meter will reset the numbers to show that I have knitted/crocheted the grand amount of zero. I will change the yarn in and out to zero too. It would be nice if I had a project close to finishing so that I could start the beginning of the year in credit but I think it will be a couple of weeks before a finished object appears.

So looking at the numbers, it would appear that 2014 was not a good year for reducing stash as there was 12858 meters of yarn in and 10243 meters used. But like any good statistician, I need to manipulate the numbers. Firstly I will deduct the yarn that arrived on 26 December that I had won from a blog. That will make yarn in 12018, still too high. I could deduct the yarn I purchased this year that I knew that I wouldn't knit until next year. If I deducted all the yarn I bought on sale to make into charity items in 2015 then the yarn in will be 11226 or 10386 if I also deduct the prize yarn. Still not quite enough. But if I deduct the yarn I was given that I showed you in the last post then I can bring yarn in down to 10155 meters, less than yarn out. Which goes to show that you can prove anything with manipulation of numbers!

This time last year I wrote that I wanted to use up stash. Looking at these numbers it doesn't appear that I have managed to do that. But actually I am very happy with my yarn accumulation. Most of the yarn purchased this year has had a purpose and mostly it has been for gifts or charity. I also went through my stash and sold some and swapped some. My sock yarn has dropped so that now I have just three amounts earmarked for socks and four earmarked for other projects. So I am pretty happy with my stash. This year I will knit mostly from stash but if there is something that I really want to make then I will not worry about buying yarn.

In 2014, I had 68 items on the needles nine of which were crocheted and four were frogged. Of the remaining 64, 12 were for charity and 28 were for other people. Of the nine items on the needles at the start of the year, I finished six and frogged one. This does mean that I still have two items on the needles that were there this time last year. One of them is the never ending project that I am not even going to make any predictions for as I obviously cannot keep to them. Although, surely, I should be able to finish both of these before the end of 2015?

I am starting the year with eight projects on the needles, including the two old projects. That is one less than last year but still not a good number. Although I am going to change the wording to eight unfinished projects. As one is a soft toy that I am (slowly) in the process of finishing. (I am not fond of sewing up toys.) One is a bag that is finished but I am thinking of adding a sewn lining so it does not count as finished in my book. One is a project that I am thinking of frogging but as I have no other plans for the yarn I haven't bothered to frog. Which means there are five projects on the needles. Which still sounds too many especially as I know I will be adding to them this week with all the January knit alongs.

This time next year I hope to be writing that the two old projects are finished; that I have less then eight unfinished projects; and that yarn in was less than yarn out.

But whatever I write I know that each year I will be thanking my husband for another wonderful year.

Yarn In

In the interests of full disclosure, I am counting all yarn in even if it is a partial ball. Especially if it is yarn that I was coveting. :)

A newish member of our knitting group has amazing yarn; many from small dyers. She was knitting a pair of fingerless mitts with flap with a spectacularly striped yarn in a neon colourway. Amazing yarn but not currently being dyed although the dyer Wild Hare Fiber Studio has other great colours for sale.

I am such lucky person, that Sheila gave me the left overs. About 55 grams. Score! I was tempted to make socks - as you know I am a sock knitter. But this yarn deserves to be shown off. So it will become fingerless mitts. Very soon I hope so that they can be worn this winter. Ha!



Yarn out is recorded when I have posted photos of finished objects quite often there is a delay because I am waiting to take photos or for gifts to arrive or decide on the perfect post. Before the end of the month, I will record all yarn out for this year so that there will be a complete record for 2014, even though I know there are a few things that have not been fully revealed.

Warm Heads In Calgary

As mentioned a couple of posts ago, I have been knitting for the family still in Calgary. Although these were finished in November, I had to wait for the parcel to arrive in case they read this blog.

Firstly there’s a hat just because I liked the yarn. I found a pattern on Ravelry – Chunky Triangle Rib Hat by Gretchen Tracy. Although I cast on way fewer stitches as the pattern cast on of 70 stitches seems way to many for a bulky yarn. I also left off one pattern repeat (3 rows) as I did not have enough yarn. No great photos but I am pleased with the finished hat. It can either be worn slouchy or the brim turned up for a normal hat.



The one thing I love about my son’s girlfriend is that she loves all the handmade items I make for them. She had been at a fair and they had children’s headbands, rather than buy one, she asked me to make one. I asked the colour and was told purple. As you can imagine, I didn’t want to buy yarn but if I was going to make something it should be in the colour requested. I have some purple in my stash but I did not think it soft enough for a headband so I decided Red Heart Soft in the grape colorway was purple enough. I looked at many, many headband patterns on Ravelry and decided to just knit my own. I used the yarn double with appropriate sized needles and knit in single rib, when I got to half the circumference, I put a cable in, half the stitches crossed over the other half, continued in rib to match the length of the first half, seamed and voilà a headband.



Now two members of the family had head coverings, I didn’t think my son should be left out. I had seen a pattern, shortrows sideways hat by Kristi Porter after making one disastrous attempt at buying yarn I did get some other yarn. Again I had to guess on circumference as my son has a big head.



Lastly, I was requested to make some blue booties for the baby boy they were expecting. I had blue yarn in my stash and decided that I would try a different pattern from my standard. I chose Baby Uggs by Autumn Street. I followed the pattern knowing they would fit the baby at some point. The baby came early and is small so at the moment they are like leggings with feet.



I have been madly knitting smaller ones.

I still have a few things to photograph, November’s socks are finished, the shawl with beads is finished, and there are two baby cardigans just waiting for front bands.

Yarn Explosion

Last year I added Knit Meter to my blog to record how much I knitted and crocheted. Also, I kept a total of balls of yarn in and balls of yarn out as I was trying to use up my stash. This year I added meters in as this seemed a better comparison of my stash (hopefully) reducing. For example, I could knit up a skein of lace yarn at 1000 metres and buy a ball of bulky yarn at 70 metres. The difference between in and out would remain the same but the actual amount to be knitted would go down.

The year was going well, even after the purchases on the yarn crawl both the metres out and balls out exceeded the in numbers. That all changed this month when I need yarn to make a baby blanket and it coincided with Michael's yarn sale. Some of the yarn was more than 50% off, meaning that I could not reproduce the price with a coupon. I purchased all the yarn I needed for the blanket (I think, more on that later) plus I bought enough yarn for the monthly challenges in Operation Gratitude.

Having done that I wouldn't say there was no stopping me but more yarn purchasing occurred. I had to take my husband to the airport so on the way back I stopped in at a store that I knew sold locally dyed yarn as I wanted a yarny gift and saw bulky yarn that I thought would make a great hat. (The good news is that the hat has been knitted and every centimetre used, so that at least is zero gain.)

Then a friend wanted to visit a yarn store a bit further north because the Yarnover Truck would be there. All I can say is that yarn fumes given off in the confined space made me make some strange decisions. I wanted to get some striping yarn to make a hat. They had some wonderfully soft yarn, merino/cashmere/nylon, in a great mix of colours but light fingering weight. The softness and colour were so right that I convinced myself that I would knit a hat in fingering weight yarn. This is so not going to happen but having decided I was going to knit a stipey hat I purchased some more yarn at a local store. A hat has been made but the whole ball was not used. So for this hat there will be 2 balls in and no balls out.

So instead of decreasing, my yarn supply is going in the other direction.

I Have Some Finished Items

Lately it feels as if I am knitting away but have nothing to show for it. But when I was rounding up photos for posting here, I was pleased to note that there are four different projects to show.

First is the crocheted baby jacket that I showed an almost finished photo in my last post. I am not too happy with the top of the stripes and as there is a good chance I will make this again, I might make some changes to improve this. Looking at the notes on Ravelry, I am not the only one to comment on this. The pattern only has two buttons but I did not do a fantastic job of picking up edge stitches and there were three gaps/holes that I decided would work as buttonholes. I had bought the buttons a while ago when they were drastically reduced. I had intended to use two for this and two if I made it again. At least I had three buttons but annoyingly I am left with one. Hubby said I should send it with the jacket, like you get spare buttons when you buy clothes. This is a gift for my nephew's little girl.

And here is the scarf I made in September for Operation Gratitude.



This was my last item made for Operation Gratitude this year. I am in the process of boxing everything up to mail before the end of the month. By that I mean I got a box from the Post Office but it is not big enough so now I have to go back to get another one. Which I did except I couldn't find anywhere to park so I have to choose a better time to go.

I finished the socks I started for the September challenge. To try to use up as much yarn as possible I made them longer than the original pattern. There's no way with this yarn I could make matching socks but the yarn is variegated enough not to matter.



And finally I made a hat for my Grandbaby. Apparently the one I made at the end of last winter no longer fits so I whipped up something quick to tide her over. This is a quick garter stitch knit. (Although as it is knit in the round, it's like knitting stocking stitch flat.) With ear flaps and a rolled brim and decreases to give it interest.



That's everything off the needles; what about everything that's on the needles?

As I am desperately trying to use up sock yarn, and I finished a pair of socks, I cast on for the November challenge. I'm halfway through one sock but it would be nice to finish the pair before the end of the month so I can start another pair for December's challenge. This would be doable if I wasn't knitting things to send to Calgary. Because it is cold up there. Also I have reached the cast off stage of a shawl that has been on the needles for a while but finishing has been delayed as I needed contrast yarn and beads.

The shawl I showed in my last post is finished and blocked, just needs the ends sewn in. And photos of course.