A new year means new projects
Since I finished the FIL socks, purple socks, and Waving Lace socks (pics of those last 2 coming soon), Sahara is on hold until the Tilli Tomas yarn comes in, and I haven't figured out the crochet on the Baby Roses Dress yet, I've needed some new projects to work on. I've actually managed to work on Daniel's sweater while doing some law school reading, so I am almost up to the armhole on that. I'm thrilled b/c I didn't think I could do cables and read at the same time, and while it does slow me down on my reading, it's ok when I don't have a ton of reading to get done.
I made the Yarn Harlot's Unoriginal Hat back when she first posted it in November. Back then, I was one of 62 people to have made it on Ravelry. There are now 657 Unoriginal Hat projects on Ravelry!! 583 are listed as finished. I guess now it really is unorginal.
I had originally bought the Berroco Air yarn that I used for my hat to make a hat and scarf set, so I finally decided I should do the other half of the project (although it's really more than half since it's going to take a lot more time and yarn). Here's what I have come up with, along with the matching hat. I'm going to email Stephanie about it and see if she cares if I put the scarf pattern up as a free pattern, since I'm sure others would like to make a matching set as well. If so, then I'll write this up for those who don't feel comfortable improvising patterns.
I've also cast-on several new socks since I finished all the old ones I had going. First, a pair of Monkeys in Colinette Jitterbug in the Castagna colorway. There's been some big debate on Ravelry about how to do Monkey's toe-up. Just flipping the chart upside down apprently doesn't work b/c of the way the increases and decreases are done. So then someone came up with this pattern which is supposed to be for toe-up Monkeys. Well, yes, they are toe-up, but the chart is not flipped or in any way changed from the original pattern in terms of direction. It seems the big changes are the cool heel and that she took out the purl stitches. So if your concern is about the pattern showing up correctly, this pattern will not do it for you.
I decided that I didn't care if the pattern was upside down, so I am just knitting from the chart as written in the top-down pattern. So far, I think they look great!
The specs so far: Knit on size 1 Pony Pearl dpns. Judy’s magic cast-on to get 10 stitches on each needle. Increase 4 stitches every other round until reach 16 per needle. Knit 10 rows. Begin lace chart. I think the toe is a tad too pointy for my taste, so I would do 24 total stitches to start if you're going to try this cast-on method (which by the way, I think is awesome!!)
The yarn: My skein weighed 110 grams, which made me happy since the label says 100. However, when I was splitting the yarn into two balls, I found a knot at the point where one ball was 52 grams and the other 58. Since it was close to the middle, I used that as the dividing point and will do the smaller ball first. If it seems too short, I’ll join the other ball and use up the last 6 grams, and at least then the join will be on the leg where it is less likely to bother me by rubbing my foot. The yarn is nice and squishy which I like. The green seems to be swirling around the sock which I like the look of, so no bad pooling yet. It's hard to photograph the pattern with variegated yarn, but the pattern shows up pretty well in real life. A winner thus far, and a very addicting knit. The chart was easy to memorize, and I find it hard to put them down. Hopefully that motivation will continue.
My new purse knitting is OU socks for my friend Nancy. Now, anyone who knows about the rivalry between UT and OU knows she must be a REALLY good friend for me to be willing to make socks in OU colors. I actually ordered the yarn from Loops yarn store in Oklahoma as they advertised OU colored yarn. The red seems pretty red to me, not Crimson, but I'm hoping when it's knit up it will look more like the actual Sooner colors. (I highly recommend clicking on that link and reading the bottom part of the instructions - colors to avoid - too funny!!!)
The yarn is called Tempted Hand Painted Good Grrl in the colorway I Want Candy. I am using size 1 Pony Pearl dpns. Cast-on using Judy's Magic Cast-on, 24 stitches, 12 on each needle, and then increased 4 stitches every other row until I had 16 on each needle. I am doing a 2x2 rib, which I plan to do for the whole sock (I figured stretchy is good since I don't know if she has wide or narrow feet), and then I'll do a little block of stockinette with OU in purls on the legs. I don't expect to finish these anytime soon, but they are good purse knitting as they are mindless.
I also took some time out from these projects to whip up some really cute ornaments for a friend's ornament shower which I will post next time. They are super cute! Until then, Major says hi! He's exhausted because we've been celebrating his namesake's return to Texas as Running Backs Coach and Assistant Head Coach!! Yippee!!
