FOFri #40: Just In Time To Be Late

Posted on May 8, 2015 by shoelaceswitcher

I finished my mom’s Mother’s Day socks just in time… to arrive one day late in the mail. Oh wells, they’re done! Can we take a moment to appreciate that they’ve technically been on the needles since 2013, however, I had only knit one leg until I picked them back up again on 4/28. Which means that I knit about 80% of a pair of socks in just under 10 days! That has to be some kind of record for me.

These is the Flocked Sock pattern by Sara Morris. It’s a nice, simple sock with a fun little slipped stitch repeat framed by garter stitch columns. I added 2 sts to each garter stitch strip so that they were 6 sts wide, and I did my own thing for the heel and the toe, otherwise they are unmodified. I used Miss Babs Yummy 3-ply sport weight sock yarn in the Autumn Forest colorway. This yarn is so squishy and delightful, it was a joy to work with. If the socks look a bit big in the photos, it’s because my mom has longer feet than me. I knit the feet to about 10″ and had a golf ball sized bit of yarn left. If your feet are any larger than that you might want a shorter cuff (mine were about 6″) or a second skein.

I also finally (finally, finally) finished the knitted jewelry frame that I started for myself after making 6 of them for my bridesmaids and then losing the project bag containing the final one for 8 whole months. Man, it feels good to finish that thing, and I love how organized my jewelry is now. I went all #KonMari uncluttering on my collection, too, so that feels good.

All in all, it’s Friday, the sun is shining, I went on a nice bike ride yesterday, I have a massage and a spinning event to look forward to tomorrow, I’ll likely go for a hike on Sunday, and I finished some socks in record time. I’d say things are looking up! Happy Friday, friends.

FOFri #39: Socks, and a Plan!

Posted on April 24, 2015 by shoelaceswitcher

Praise be to the wooly higher-ups, I’ve finished a pair of socks… FOR ME!

The last time this happened was over a year ago, in March 2014. I hesitate to say that my sock mojo is back, but it is certainly once again on the rise. Knitting these suckers ‘simultaneously’ (by alternating between socks after each section) made the process go much more smoothly for me, and eliminated most of my sock-stagnating hangups.

The yarn is the January shipment of the Rockin’ Sock Club, BMFA Socks That Rock Mediumweight in the colorway Feelin’ Groovy. The pattern is from the club a few years ago, Intrepid Traveler by Gail Marracci. I borrowed the stitch pattern but used a square heel from Sock Architecture and a toe that I winged. The stitch pattern was lots of fun and makes for a nifty effect with highly variegated yarns. And yes, these are the brightest socks I own!

Ambition is my middle name!

And now, for my plans. We’re nearly through April already and I have yet to set any Second Quarter goals. In truth, there are just so many things I want to make, it’s ridiculously difficult to narrow things down. Here, I’ll attempt to list one project per somewhat arbitrary ‘type’:

Old sock: Mom’s Flocked Socks (ideally by Mother’s Day… ha)
New(ish) sock: Camelot Monkeys
Old shawl/scarf: MalMarch Sundry
New shawl/scarf: Silky Shallows (for the IndieUntangled Q2 KAL)
Hat: Norby in BMFA BFL Tipsy
Handspun: It’s high time I put some of my handspun to use, I just need to nail down the pattern, maybe one of the Curls or The Way From Brighton? (inspired by the #handspunchallenge over at WithWool)
Garment: Whenever spring rolls around, I wish I had a poncho or a cape, something substantial that I could throw on over my clothing without having to actually wear a jacket. I really love Manteau, and I even have some yarn for it, so I’d love to make this happen (you know, before it’s 90 degrees and humid as all get-out).

I have finished 6 projects so far this year, so listing 7 above is likely ambitious, but I like having specific goals to work towards. I think the projects above represent enough variety that I shouldn’t get bored and should have a knit for every situation (some simple, some interesting). If I can finish them all, awesome. If I can’t, well, then I’ll just have some more WIPs and I’ll see what’s still inspiring me when the third quarter rolls around.

How do you plan what to knit next? How do you choose? I find it extremely difficult, especially when I keep acquiring pretty yarn in stash. I WANT TO KNIT THEM ALL!

Linking up with Freshly Finished Friday.

WIPWed #87: I MADE A THING!

Posted on April 15, 2015 by shoelaceswitcher

Guys, I’m super excited right now, because I’m writing this while wearing my first ever (completed) handknit sweater!

First garment!

It fits!

Even though it spanned almost 6 months, my Overdyed Cypress vest was a pretty simple knit. It’s composed of only two pieces (front and back), with no waist shaping and itty bitty sleeves made by some increases. I was in between sizes so I made a smaller size for the back and a larger size for front, with no trouble joining them together. I was really worried about fit, especially in January when I had finished all but the armhole and neckline edgings and I tried it on and it looked terrible– but it turns out, actually finishing a thing really improves its fit! Now we just need to work on better sweater modelling and photography, those photos make it look a little misshapen and baggy, but I swear it looks nicer in person.

Neckline detail.

Tubular bind off.

While it wasn’t difficult knitting, the pattern was a little bit fiddly. Jared Flood calls for no fewer than three needle sizes for the edging ribbing (yeah, right) and the tubular bind-off was a bitch. But the pattern was clearly written and is gorgeous and stylish, like most Brooklyn Tweed designs, so I definitely recommend it. There were a few things I’d do differently if I were to knit it again, namely I’d use 6’s and 5’s for the ribbing sections (instead of 6’s and 4’s) as the edges are all just a tad tighter than I’d like. I’d practice seaming on some swatches (my first side seam was so messy!) and I’d be sure to keep the slipped stitch rows of the tubular bind off and cast on extra loose, because my edges are hard and stiff instead of nice and stretchy. All in all, I’m just so happy I made something that’s actually wearable, and from yarn that I overdyed, to boot! That is one satisfying finish.

Who’s got the button?

The brightest of socks.

Somewhat less satisfying was finishing the knitted jewelry holder I’ve had on the needles since last July. After the project bag went missing for nearly 8 months, I was excited to finish the knitting, block it, and get the darn thing assembled this morning… but I couldn’t find the buttons anywhere. WHERE ARE THE BUTTONS?!?!?! So it sits forlorn on its blocking board until I can locate the little buggers.

At least my Tropical Traveler socks are going well. I’m really loving this simultaneous-but-not-two-at-a-time method I’m trying out here. Instead of getting hung up on a part that requires thought (heel or toe) and letting the whole pair languish for weeks until I have time to think about it, I can just switch to the second sock and speed through the easy parts and have twice the amount of sock done before the languishing happens. Then I get the tricky bits done one both socks in the same knitting session and everything just feels more efficient. Plus, there’s less chance of forgetting what I did or losing notes between socks. All in all, I think it’s a win.

#MegaSAL spinning, so pretty.

MalMarch (hah!) Nube

My Discworld-themed #MegaSAL spinning is progressing at a slow-but-steady pace, and I was able to find a few minutes to spin up some of my fluffy MalMarch Nube rolags, too. This is the third bobbin, so I’m halfway through the singles.

As for this week’s reading, I’m still working my way through the #KonMarie’s Ode to Tidying and have now progressed to the 7th Outlander book, An Echo in the Bone. Sometimes I feel like I’m in a mildly abusive relationship with these Outlander books. They keep me up at night, they suck up all my time, and they take me on an emotional roller coaster, yet I’m dreading the day when our time together will end. What will I do?!

Perhaps even more importantly, though, what sweater should I knit next?! Ambitions, I have them.

Linking up with Yarnalong and Stitch Along Wednesday.