What Karen Knits

Ashfield Cardigan: Division for the Sleeves

2012-01-16T11:16:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend I got to the point in the cardigan where I got to set aside the stitches for the sleeves. I always love this point when making a top down raglan because it's when I feel that the project actually starts to look like a sweater. So I got a little thrill of excitement when I got to that point and especially a few rows later when I can really see the shaping.

So then I'm supposed to knit two inches after the underarm before starting the shaping for the waist. I'm almost to that point. But before I start shaping, I want to get some measurements from myself to see if that's the best place to do the shaping. So that is my next step for today.

I also finished up the first ball of yarn (that's the point when I took the above picture) and have started the second (wrestling once again with my errant ball winder). That, too, makes me feel like I'm a good ways into this project. Hopefully I'll get in some good knitting time this evening when the baby goes to bed.

Quick Picture and Self-Reminder

2012-01-10T21:32:00.000-05:00

No knitting time today (I used the brief time that I had today for some sewing) alas. But I did look at the pictures on my camera and I had forgotten that I had taken a picture of my gauge swatch in progress for the Ashfield Cardigan, so I thought that I would post that.

I also remembered that there was something that happened that I forgot to write about and I want to note it just as a reminder for myself. I need a new ball winder. My current ball winder has pretty much given up the ghost. Last year I was winding some difficult yarn and I think I stripped the gears in the winder or something to that effect. Ever since, it doesn't wind smoothy: sometimes when I turn the handle, I hear a horrible grinding noise and it doesn't take up any yarn. So winding balls of yarn has been less fun this past year. And winding just one skein of yarn to start the Ashfield was nearly torturous. For the last fourth of the skein, I just took it off the ball winder and wound it by hand because I was so frustrated with the ball winder. So I definitely need to make sure to remember to get a new one before I need to wind more yarn.

Finding Time to Knit

2012-01-08T21:59:00.000-05:00

So last night I did indeed get through working on a swatch for the Ashfield Cardigan. I'll be honest. I rarely ever do swatches for projects. I know that I'm a fairly tight knitter, so I often use a size larger needle (unless the called for size seems right to me for that particular yarn) and just start the project. Most of what I've made fits just fine but there have been a couple of projects that probably would have benefited from doing a test swatch first.

So for my swatch for this cardigan, I went ahead and started up a needle size. The pattern called for size 4. With the MCN yarn that I'm using, it's very "plump" and I just really felt that a 4 would make the fabric too tight. If that was truly what got gauge, then I was going to need to choose another yarn for this pattern because this wouldn't be a good match. So I started with a size 5. And that seems to have worked. When I measured my swatch, I was pleased to see that I match both stitch gauge as well as row gauge (I often don't get row gauge and have to make some adjustments in projects). So I started in on the pattern.

The cardigan uses a raglan shape and starts at the neck. I've gotten down through row 8 on the lace chart, which starts after a bit of working on the neck. I didn't measure what I have and my WIP is out in the front room and I'm in the back of the house, but I think that's about a bit over an inch of the cardigan started. It doesn't yet look like much since it's still just a long piece that rolls back onto itself. But I'm loving the feel of the yarn and the fabric feels pretty good, although perhaps a bit tight (it's that "plump" MCN). I hope it will drape nicely. I'll be able to tell that better as I go along.

Now to the title of the post. Before I had my son, I would have considered today's progress rather meager. "I didn't get much time to knit today," I would have said. After having a baby, I consider today's progress to be really great. "I found quite a bit of time to knit today," is my new saying. But very little of that time was an extended period. Instead, I had my knitting out and available all day and whether my son was sleeping, I grabbed it and knit as much as I could. Sometimes that was half a row and sometimes it was more. And I got a decent chunk of time in after putting him to bed for the night. This is my new knitting life and it's not too shabby. I just have to make sure to keep track of where I am in the pattern so that I won't get messed up and have to frog back.

How does it feel to knit like this, in bits of time grabbed here and there? Sure, part of why I started knitting was to relax and have something to give me a break from the stress of grad school. Can knitting like this still be relaxing? Absolutely. Although I have one eye on the knitting and one eye on my son to see if he's still asleep, I do find myself unwinding during these moments that I caught today. I think it's like sleep after having a baby: your body starts to adjust to not getting long periods of sleep and also learns to fall asleep quickly when a moment for sleep does arrive. Although I'm still tired on some days, I'm surviving with the broken sleep (sometimes my son wakes once during the night and sometimes every hour or two), heck thriving even. My knitting life can do the same. And by doing so, I can actually have a knitting life. It just might take me a bit longer to finish the cardigan than it would have before having a baby. Or maybe not as I often got sidetracked on other projects. Now my focus is on one project (with perhaps one other project) at a time which might lead to more finished objects and fewer works in progress. So perhaps everything will actually even out in the end.

New Year, Newish Blog Purpose

2012-01-07T21:22:00.001-05:00

I've been using this blog just to post the finished projects I've made. Basically, I keep all of my notes on my project page on Ravelry and then when a project is finished, I just copy those notes, add a few pictures, and post here. There have been a few times that I thought about writing posts about knitting or what I'm currently working on, but I didn't because this blog was, in my mind, just for finished project posts. But why? Just because that's what I've done in the past doesn't mean that I have to continue that in the future. And so I am taking this blog in a slightly new direction. Not entirely new, because it will still be about me and my knitting, but it will be about my entire knitting life and not just finished projects. So with that in mind, here are some of my current thoughts on my knitting life.

Wait, knitting life? What life? I had a beautiful baby boy in August and my knitting life has definitely taken a nose dive since then. I just don't have as much time to knit as before and I don't have as much time to get into intricate projects (such as lace shawls) because I don't have the luxury of uninterrupted concentration time. So what little knitting I've done has consisted of very simple projects. I also haven't used my spinning wheel since my son was born (that's something else this blog will do--given that I have any time to spin--I'll also talk about spinning). Now, I don't want to give up any time with my son and don't feel bad that I'm spending time with him instead of knitting. But I do feel the desire to do something really intricate with knitting.

Now that my son is 4 months old, he's starting to take longer naps (sometimes) and go to bed an hour or two before me (sometimes). I plan to use those times, when he is sleeping, to get some knitting time in and time that I can use to perhaps create something that does more than just use stockinette or ribbing. So I'm spending this evening (my son is napping right now) planning out some of my future knitting ideas. I've gone through my queue on Ravelry and have pulled up some of the projects that as of right now get me excited. I'm going to list them here and pick one and then after I'm finished with this post, I will go wind the yarn and print the pattern and find the correct needles (swatching if necessary). If I actually get started on the project tonight, that would be great, but I'm going to make my goals small each day so that I can be able to meet them and feel happy when I exceed them (instead of disappointed when I don't meet them). So here are the projects I'm currently contemplating.

Evenstar Shawl: This shawl is circular and done in a lace weight yarn. As soon as I came across the pattern (it went into my queue on December 2, 2010), I knew that I had to knit it. And I bought yarn specifically for it: JulieSpins Vera Lace in True Blue. Can't you just see that beautiful yarn and beautiful shawl matched up together? I haven't done a circular shawl yet, so this would be something new. And the lace pattern really seems like it will match with my desire to do something intricate.

Trellis and Vine Pullover: This pattern came out in the Fall 2009 issue of Interweave Knits. I love the detail around the bottom, neck, and wrists. Although the pattern calls for DK weight yarn, I had in my stash some lovely MadTosh Eyre (worsted weight) in Lapis that I immediately pictured the sweater being knit in. So my plan (since January 8, 2010) has been to swatch this and see if I can get gauge for this sweater in my yarn.

Herbivore by Stephen West: I love the way that Stephen West designs look. And yet I have knit only one of his patterns (Akimbo). I really need to do more. And the shape of this shawl is appealing. I've also had it queued for a while: since June 1, 2010. I picked up some Malabrigo Sock in Solis on May 27, 2010, so I must have queued the pattern for this yarn in particular just a few days after I got it.

Celtic Knot Stole by Sarah Kendra Hughes: Okay, so the name of this one definitely caught me, as well as the look, but it was not the pattern itself that I was first attracted to. Instead, it was some yarn. In the summer of 2010, I went on an Alaskan cruise and one stop was in Victoria, British Columbia, a town I fell in love with. There were several yarn stores there and I found this Skacel Merino Lace yarn in this gorgeous green and picked it up with no project in mind. So I started searching on Ravelry and that's when I found this stole. I thought it would look exquisite in the green and have had it queued since August 1, 2010.

Mediumweight Pullover by Hannah Fettig: I made the lightweight pullover a few years ago and I love it. I wouldn't mind making that pattern again, but then I saw that the designed put out a pattern of the same design but in a different weight of yarn. I've had this MadTosh Pastoral in Nocturne sitting around since December 30, 2009. I've been pattern jumping with it, but thought that to really highlight the beautiful yarn, this simple yet elegant pullover pattern would be perfect and have had it queued since December 25, 2010.

Pom Pom Peds: I don't like the pom poms. I'll just start off with that. But I do like the ankle socks. I've had it queued since October 14, 2011, but I have not yet matched up yarn for it. Actually, my plan is to make several pairs of these. And I have more than enough fingering weight yarn lying around to do so.

Miss Bennet's Beaded Bag by Joanna Johnson: When Jane Austen Knits came out, I fell in love with quite a few patterns and definitely have some great knitting plans for that special magazine issue. This pattern, besides just liking it, will do two things for me: first, I will be able to try some Spud and Chloe yarn, which I've been wanting to do and second, I could try my hand at adding beads to my knitting. The one downfall with starting this one is that I don't have the beads. I'll need to fix that and get some beads so that I can start this one.

Pemberley Slippers by Kristi Schueler: Another pattern from Jane Austen Knits. I love the lace edging. And sport weight yarn? Why I have some in a colorway named for a Jane Austen character (Plucky Knitter MCN Sport in Captain Wentworth). Matching these two up seemed great (so what if I'm mixing books: Pride and Prejudice with Persuasion).

Ashfield Cardigan by Melissa LeBarre: Finally, this cardigan is from the New England Knits book. I loved so many of the patterns in this book but this is one I definitely want to make. The yarn (JulieSpins MCN 250 in Veritas) has been sitting in my stash since November 8, 2009. I bought it originally for another pattern, but I think that I'll like it as this cardigan better and have had it queued since August 5, 2011.

So now which one do I pick? Do I go with the yarn I really want to use? The pattern I really want to make? The item I'm most immediately going to use? The one that has been queued the longest? The yarn that has been in my stash the longest? I think I'll actually pick two projects. First, the Pom Pom Peds (minus the pom poms) because I haven't done socks in a while and it will be a pretty simple project. Now I just need to go through my fingering weight yarn and pick something. Then I think I'll do the Ashfield Cardigan because I'd like to be able to wear it before the weather gets too warm and also because I want to knit a pattern from a book since I have all these books on my shelf that I always forget to check out when I'm looking for patterns (I usually just search on Ravelry).

So I have about 40 minutes before I plan to go to bed. That should be enough time to get the Ashfield Cardigan started: yarn wound, pattern read, needles picked out, and hopefully swatch started. Any leftover time I'll spend picking out yarn for the ankle socks. Unless the baby wakes, which is entirely possible as he's making a lot of movement right now (watching him on the video baby monitor). So we'll see what happens for the rest of this evening.

Christmas Gifts: Summer Winds

2012-01-06T20:50:00.000-05:00

I was waiting to post about these two projects until after Christmas but then I got a little busy and still didn't post, so here are the details of two much delayed projects: Summer Wind II and III.

November 15: I really liked the one I made for myself so I decided to make one for my sister for Christmas.

December 1: This time I bound off with a needle two sizes larger and it was so much better than my first Summer Wind. I’m really happy with how this turned out and I hope my sister likes it.

December 16: This one is for my mother-in-law. By this point, I pretty much have this pattern memorized. Such an easy yet elegant project!

Pattern: Summer Wind by Irishgirlieknits (available for purchase on Ravelry)
Yarn for Sister's Summer Wind: Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere in Ponder Dusk
Yarn for MIL's Summer Wind: Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere in the November 2011 Dream Club color

Potato Chip Scarf

2011-11-14T14:23:00.000-05:00

October 21: I’m jumping on the bandwagon to make one of these scarves. I’m a couple of inches along and it’s starting to really show off the swirly pattern. Yay! I decided to sew the beginning edges together so that it creates a curved edge and am really happy with how it looks.

November 14: All finished. This was a fun pattern although it got a bit repetitive at times. It also made a fairly short scarf; I measured it at around 32”. It barely wraps enough around my neck to stay on. If I were to do this again, I’d want to use another skein to make a longer scarf.

Pattern: Potato Chip Scarf by Barbara Aguiar
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Kaleidos

Hat for Luke

2011-11-14T14:21:00.000-05:00

November 13: The hats that I originally made for Luke were newborn size and his head is growing fast. As he is approaching his 3rd month, the previous hats no longer fit him well. I thought that this style hat, with the ribbing and the ability to roll the brim up or down as needed would be one that would fit him for the rest of the winter as he continues growing.

Pattern: Little Boy Blue Ribbed Baby Hat by Tonya Wagner
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Bijou Blue

Tulip Sweater for Luke

2011-11-11T14:35:00.000-05:00

September 27: Taking a class for this sweater at my LYS. First class was tonight. Instead of using the colors from the pattern, I’m using some Malabrigo from my stash and using only three colors.

October 27: The third class was this week and we did the seed stitch edging (where a button band would go but there are no buttons for this sweater) and i-cord edge.

We ran into a big problem: if you slip the first stitch of each row as the pattern instructs, when you go to pick up stitches, you don’t have enough to pick up especially if you do every 3 of 4 like the pattern calls for. That means you’re actually picking up every other row (the slipped stitch) and skipping several rows every 3 stitches. Add to that the smaller needle size and there’s a major problem in that the edging gathers so tightly that it just can’t be right. Some people picked up the stitch to the side of the slipped stitch (which got them to every row--skipping every 4th row). For myself, I did not go down the suggested needle size and I just picked up every slipped stitch. Mine is probably still a little tightly gathered, but it is much better than before. But if you read these notes before you start knitting this pattern, I’d recommend not slipping that first stitch as it seems to serve no real purpose.

November 10: All finished. And it seems to fit my son rather nicely so he’ll get some wear out of it right away!

Pattern: Tulips, a Colorful Cardigan for Baby by Lindsay Pekny (for sale on Ravelry)
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Pollen, Vetiver, and Bijou Blue

Summer Wind

2011-10-22T10:03:00.000-05:00

August 6: I wanted a fairly simple pattern that would show off the yarn as well as something that I would get a lot of use out of. This long cowl met those requirements perfectly. The pattern is simple but the eyelets really add some interest and the yarn is dreamy to knit with. And I discovered last winter that I like these long cowls: I can wrap it twice around my neck to keep warm but wear it just once around the neck as a decorative item.

October 4: Put this down for a long while and picked it up again today. I guessed wrong about where I was in the pattern, so I had to backtrack a little but I think I have it figured out now. I’m just starting the other border, so not much left to go on it now.

October 21: Finished this morning. I should have gone up a needle size or two for the bind off. Even though I tried to bind off loosely, it’s still tighter than the cast on. But it doesn’t look too bad and it feels and looks just fine on my neck, which is the most important part. And I finished it just in time as the weather is starting to get colder now. I foresee getting a lot of use out of this.

Pattern: Summer Wind by Irishgirlieknits (available for purchase on Ravelry)
Yarn: The Plucky Knitter Primo MCN 75/20/5 in Hilo Bay (birthday present from Emily!)

Monkey Bib

2011-09-18T08:08:00.000-05:00

September 18: I'm doing a craft show in November, so I'm making more bibs for inventory for the show.

Pattern: Imp by Elaine Fitzpatrick
Yarn: Knit Picks Dishie in Tomato

Gifts for Layla

2011-09-10T08:05:00.000-05:00

Shortly after I found out I was pregnant, my brother-in-law and his wife also announced their pregnancy. Layla was born a few weeks after Luke, and I made several projects for her. Since she's finally been born and the items should have been received, I'm finally able to post about them on the blog.

First up is a blanket:

June 11: Cast on for Layla’s blanket. I have three skeins so I split the second skein in half. When I get there, I’ll start the decreases.

July 16: Finished! And it looks like I figured out the yarn usage perfectly as there is just a little bit leftover, perhaps would have been enough to do 1-2 more rows but then it would have been cutting it really close.

Pattern: Diagonal Comfort Blanket by Lion Brand Yarn
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash (color #844)

Next is a cardigan:

July 19: I really enjoyed making this cardigan for my son and decided to make one for my niece (due two weeks after my son). I picked these colors because they seem to be the accent colors that my SIL is using so I figured that meant she likes them!

July 27: Took a bit of a knitting break while I was reading A Dance with Dragons and finally picked this back up today. I finished the body and also did one sleeve. So just the other sleeve and the button bands to go (and picking out and putting on the buttons).

July 28: I finished up the other sleeve today. I came to the realization that I really don’t like using DPNs on such a small circumference in larger needle sizes. I wonder if it is because my DPNs in those sizes are longer than the ones in the smaller sizes (that I use for sock knitting). Perhaps I should look into getting some shorter DPNs for things such as baby sweater sleeves.

July 29: And the knitting part is done. I’m blocking the sweater now and plan to go find buttons tomorrow. I’ll probably add the buttons on Sunday and then this little cardigan will be finished. Just one more item (socks) planned for Layla and I can send off this cardigan, the blanket, the hat, and the socks.

August 3: So I didn’t get to the store for buttons, but I looked through the buttons I do have and found some cute daisies. I happened to have exactly 7 of them, so I think I’ll use those.

September 9: Finally got the buttons sewed on. I love the way it turned out!

Pattern: Little Coffee Bean Cardigan by Elizabeth Smith
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash (color #836 and #812)

Finally, I did a matching hat for the cardigan:

September 10: I had enough yarn leftover from the cardigan to make a matching hat. This pattern seemed simple enough to be able to use it and to make the stripes as I did on the cardigan. It was an easy-to-read pattern and a fast knit.

Pattern: Basic Newborn Hat by Jennifer Jackson

Marsha's Reading Mitts

2011-08-17T13:25:00.017-05:00

August 9: I realized that I had not yet made something for my MIL's birthday. Yikes! I think this is the perfect pattern and a good yarn to choose for her. I finished up through the thumb division on the first mitt today.

August 11: Not much knitting mojo lately. But I did finish knitting the main part of the first mitt today and sewed the top edge down. Still need to sew the bottom and add in the thumb. Then I get to do it all over again! It does look and feel really nice.

August 16: Finally finished the last bits of the first mitt and started the second one getting up to the point of dividing stitches for the thumb. Need to finish tomorrow as MIL is arriving the day after.

August 17: And done! The sewing to create the picot edging went a lot more smoothly this time (not that it was bad for the first mitt) as I feel I really got the hang of it. I usually pass up projects with picot edging because I don’t like the sewing up part, but now I think I can handle it so I can add more projects to my queue ~grin~. I’m looking forward to giving these to my MIL.

Pattern: Susie's Reading Mitts by Janelle Masters (free download on Ravelry)
Yarn: Cascade Yarns Alpaca Lana D'Oro in yellow (colorway #1105)

Malabrigo Mahogany Hat

2011-08-06T11:31:00.000-05:00

July 29: I decided not to use a smaller needle for the ribbing. Since size 8 seems to work best for hats for me, that’s what I went with. I did only about 2 rounds tonight.

July 30: Finished the other 8 rounds of the ribbing. I overdid it this morning with doing some weeding outside (while 8 months pregnant) and as a result, I was just wiped out today and didn’t feel much like doing anything!

August 2: Right after the ribbing comes the first round with cables (1x1). I’m definitely glad that I’ve had practice cabling without a cable needle because this round would have been even more painful had I actually tried to use a cable needle. I’ll just say that I didn’t enjoy knitting that round very much and I’m glad that it’s only about 3 rounds (if my skim of the pattern is right) that contains these 1x1 cables. Why? Well, I’m a tight knitter and I didn’t look ahead to see that the cables came right in the next round so didn’t try to consciously knit the previous round a little more loosely (which is what I usually do). Second, the needles that I’m using, although some of my favorites, do not have sharp tips, which made grabbing onto the stitches really difficult. I’m most thankful, though, that I chose not to use the smaller needle for the ribbing because moving from a smaller needle to a bigger one on this round would have made it virtually impossible for me to get it finished without a bunch of dropped stitches and probably a bit of cursing. If I ever decide to knit this pattern again, I’ll make sure at the very least that I have needles with much sharper tips.

August 2 (later): I finished the remaining cable rows. Trying to knit more loosely on the previous row helped a lot but it was still not a fun section. Now it’s just 2x2 ribbing, so easy peasy.

August 6: So, the pattern said to knit 2x2 ribbing until the hat measured 7-1/4”. At 6-1/4” I tried it on and it seems like it was going to be a good fit for my head at that point, so I decided not to knit the last inch. Apparently the decrease section goes by really quickly (I should have realized that 7 rows wouldn’t take much space). So the finished hat doesn’t quite come all the way down to cover my ears, which it would have done had I just finished that last inch. Alas. I guess I should have listened to the pattern.

One place, however, not to follow the pattern is on decrease round 5. If you do the last K1 on the repeat then it will mean that you are taking the next knit stitch + purl stitch when you K2tog. Then you would purl a knit stitch, which would make the ribbing pattern off. So I just got rid of that last K1 (making the repeat K2tog, P1, K1, P1) and I think that really was what was intended because everything worked out just right after that and I ended up with the 13 stitches that the pattern says will remain. So I think Round 5 has an error.

So, listen to the pattern for the length to knit to but make the change on the decrease round 5.

Pattern: Jesse's Christmas Hat by Elspeth Kursh (free Ravelry download)
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Mahogany

Crooked Paths

2011-07-28T06:26:00.000-05:00

July 16: I've wanted to knit this hat for quite a while (even though I'm sure it won't look quite right on me). I finished the 1.5 inches of 1x1 ribbing this evening. Even though the designer stated she is a tight knitter, I actually went up a needle size because starting with 5s and moving to 7s just still seemed too small for my usual use with Malabrigo worsted. Even the 6s for the ribbing feel a little small. Perhaps I shouldn't have used the smaller needles for the ribbing and just started with the 8s. But I'm going to just keep going and see how it turns out.

July 17: I finished the three repeats of the pattern today so all that is left is the decrease section. This hat definitely knits up quickly. Just looking at the pictures of the finished projects made me think that it was a little more complicated than it actually is. So it's one of my favorite types of patterns: a simple easy-to-follow pattern which looks amazing on the finished project.

I also tried it on since I finally had enough hat to do so, and it might be a tad tight but it does fit. Yay! If I knit this hat again in the future (highly likely), I think I'll use 7s for the ribbing instead of 6s just to make it a little less tight.

July 18: Finished! I'll have to see what happens after I block it, but I think I also should have gone up yet another needle size for the body (9 instead of 8). I had forgotten that almost every beret type of hat that I've knit has failed to have that distinctive beret poof because of my tightness in knitting. So right now it fits more like a beanie than a beret. It still looks nice, but it just doesn't quite have the same effect. Crossing my fingers that blocking will help it.

July 27: Blocking does seem to have helped. I blocked over a dinner plate as usually suggested for berets (I had not done this before).

Pattern: Crooked Paths by Melissa LeBarre (available for purchase on Ravelry)
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Violetas

Portlandia Cloche

2011-07-16T16:41:00.000-05:00

June 28: I really just wanted to start a new project, something not too complicated yet with a little lacework, so I think this hat will work nicely.

July 14: I got a little bored in the repeat section so I put this down for a while. But once I got through that section and back to the longer section (with the decreases), it finished up quickly. Alas, this type of hat looks terrible on me.

Pattern: Portlandia Cloche by Emily Johnson
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in In Vino Veritas

For sale in my etsy store: http://karendawn.etsy.com

Mouse Bib

2011-06-30T15:13:00.000-05:00

June 26: This one had the short row beginning option so I didn’t have to go to another pattern to do it. Another great design and easy knit.

June 27: And done. I think I may need to take a little break from these bibs for a few days and work on something else. Although it’s nice to be able to start and finish a project in a day, I don’t want to get burned out on these!

Pattern: Do I Smell Cheese? by Elaine Fitzpatrick
Yarn: KnitPicks Dishie in Azure

For sale in my etsy store.

Pig Bib

2011-06-26T15:41:00.000-05:00

June 24: Once again, I followed the instructions (1 stitch difference) in the frog pattern for the short row beginning.

June 25: And done. I’m really flying through these bibs!

Pattern: Pig Out! by Elaine Fitzpatrick
Yarn: KnitPicks Dishie in Flamingo

For sale in my etsy store: http://karendawn.etsy.com

Frog Bib

2011-06-23T06:42:00.000-05:00

June 21: Finished almost through the main body of the bib. Looks really cute! The pattern was easy to follow, although having a chart would have been really handy.

June 22: Very easy finish to the bib. Looks great. I’ll definitely be making more of the bib patterns by this designer.

Pattern: Hop-a-Long by Elaine Fitzgerald
Yarn: KnitPicks Dishie in Tranquil

For sale in my etsy shop

Baby Socks #4

2011-06-23T06:39:00.000-05:00

June 20: Making socks to match the hat. I’ve now done this pattern several times so I didn’t even need to look at the actual pattern this time around. Yay!

June 21: I definitely have the pattern memorized now. I think I could make one of these in my sleep at this point.

Pattern: Easy Baby Ankle Socks by Hattie Adkins (free Ravelry download)
Yarn: JulieSpins Merino 370 in Christmas Cactus

And pictured with the matching hat:

For sale in my etsy shop (with matching hat)

Third Easy Peasy Newborn Sock Hat

2011-06-23T06:36:00.000-05:00

June 19: Cast on for yet another of these hats. This time I’m trying out 12” circulars instead of DPNs. Seems to be going pretty well so far!

June 20: Working with the 12” circulars went really well, so I’ll definitely keep using them (which means I’ll need to expand my needle collection). And I love the way the hat turned out. Such a quick, yet satisfactory, project!

Pattern: Easy Peasy Newborn Sock Hat by Keri McKiernan
Yarn: JulieSpins Merino 370 in Christmas Cactus

For sale in my etsy shop (with matching pair of socks)

Baby Socks #3

2011-06-19T18:38:00.000-05:00

June 18: Should have just enough yarn leftover to make this pair of socks to match the baby hat. At least I’m hoping there will be enough. Just in case, I’m shortening the cuff just a tad.

Finished the first sock and got through the heel flap on the second. I’m now thinking that there’s not going to be enough yarn to finish, but I”m going to keep on trucking for now and cross my fingers.

June 19: Okay, so I apparently am not good at calculating how much yarn is needed! I ran out while I was still decreasing the gusset stitches on the second sock. I had a tiny bit of the Malabrigo Sock in Impressionist Sky leftover, so I continued with that. And I ran out just as I got to the toes! So I looked through my stash and thought that the JulieSpins in Night Heron seemed a decent match, so I finished out the toe with it. If you look carefully, you can definitely see the different yarn (three different!) but from a distance it does actually blend together okay. But now I’ll know a little better about how much yarn is really needed, even for a tiny pair of socks!

Pattern: Easy Baby Ankle Socks by Hattie Adkins (free Ravelry download)
Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Harmony Mist

Second Easy Peasy Newborn Sock Hat

2011-06-18T12:55:00.000-05:00

June 17: This pattern was indeed “easy peasy” so I’ve decided to make another one. I measured the yarn and I should have enough leftover to make a pair of baby socks to match.

And finished! I’m really enjoying making baby-sized projects. They go so quickly so are very fulfilling and they are just so darn cute!

It’s going to be cutting it close to get the socks out of this yarn (if my measurements are right, I’ll be 1 yard short), but I’m going to give it a try. (Hat modeled by Cabbage Patch doll Parker Jed.)

Pattern: Easy Peasy Newborn Sock Hat by Keri McKiernan
Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Harmony Mist

Simple Skyp Socks

2011-06-16T19:59:00.000-05:00

January 5: I wanted a simple sock project to take with me on my trip and although this is indeed simple, I didn’t have as much time to knit as I had thought, so I really only finished just the cuff on my trip.

May 20: Finally picked these back up again. Gosh, I didn’t realize that I had started them back in January. Yikes!

May 22: Finished the first sock. It’s an excellent fit and I look forward to having the matching pair, so I’d better get started on the second sock right away!

June 10: It took me a little while to get started on the second sock, but I finally did tonight. I’m about 2 inches into the leg.

June 15: Today I finished the leg, turned the heel, decreased the gusset stitches and am now working on the foot. I don’t know why I let these socks linger for so long; this is a super quick pattern!

June 16: And done! I think I’ve fallen in love with this yarn; it is so incredibly soft. (The picture of the single sock is more true to the actual colors of the yarn.)

Pattern: Simple Skyp Socks by Adrienne Ku
Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Harmony Mist

Frog Button Baby Cardigan

2011-06-10T15:15:00.000-05:00

June 7: This pattern seems fairly easy and the cardigan is cute. I picked the colors based upon what I have in my stash that I wanted to use up, but I think they look nice together and the dark green of the Vaa cancels out some of the pinkish/peachish of the other to make it more boyish. At least I’m hoping that will be what happens!

Finished a few rows after the sleeve division today. I really love the way the two colorways are working together and I think it looks just fine for a little boy.

June 8: Finished the body today.

June 9: Finished the sleeves today. I used a sewn bind off for the sleeves to make absolutely sure they weren’t too tight.

June 10: Right side button band finished. I picked up 64 stitches and it was quite easy (after a little bit of math) to figure out how far apart to space the button holes, which were simple yo button holes. Managed to evenly pick up exactly 64 stitches on the left button band as well. Whew!

Went to Joann’s to look for buttons. I had in mind some in a dark wood. But then I started looking at some of the fun buttons and fell in love with these frog faces, so I decided to go with those instead of my original idea. I think it gives the cardigan a whimsical side. Now I’m really looking forward to seeing this on my little guy, but I’ll have to be patient for now.

Pattern: Little Coffee Bean Cardigan by Elizabeth Smith
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Vaa and Novembrie

Skew Socks

2011-06-08T05:49:00.000-05:00

May 10: Started these during a class at my LYS tonight. The homework for next week’s class is to finish up through the foot. So far so good!

May 24: In tonight’s class I got up through the grafting together part of the heel construction. This is a really intriguing design and the way the colors are coming out with the yarn just makes this a fun project to knit to see what happens next!

May 30: Finished all the way except for the bind off. Class is tomorrow night and we’ll be doing a sewn bind off which I’ve done once or twice but will wait for class to refresh my memory on how to do it.

The leg goes really really quickly with the short rows. I was expecting it to take longer (guess I was thinking about a traditional sock construction), so I was quite surprised to get through it so fast!

I did have to break into the second skein of yarn to finish off the sock so it looks like I’ll need to pick up another skein when I go to class tomorrow (last time I was in my LYS, there were a couple of skeins left, so I hope one is still there!).

May 31: Bound off the first sock and started the second. The sock looks so weird!

June 2: Working on the foot portion of second sock.

June 6: The nice thing about this pattern is that it seems to go quickly. Perhaps it is the whole skew part but especially once you get to the short rows on the leg, the socks just fly off the needles. So the second sock is done. The socks are a tad big (the heel pokes out in a little point and there are some baggy places), but they are close enough of a fit. But very very odd looking!

Pattern: Skew by Lana Holden
Yarn: Regia Design Line Kaffe Fassett 6-ply (colorway 05950)

Akimbo

2011-05-24T11:19:00.002-05:00

April 23: I wanted to try to clear out some of my WIPs before starting new projects, but I just couldn’t help myself today in starting this shawl. The very beginning section was a little tricky (although I’ve done similar starts before), but I just tried to cast on loosely so I could more easily pick up those stitches. I also used a k1fb instead of M1 for the set up row because I had trouble finding the bar between stitches to pick up to make the new stitch.

April 26: I finished the garter stitch part and am ready to add in the contrasting color and start the chevron section.

May 21: The chevron section is rather slow going. It’s taking me around 30 minutes for each row so I’ve been trying to do a little each day instead of one massive knitting session. And after today’s little bit, I have just four rows remaining. Almost there!

May 22: And done! Needs to be blocked, which I’m about to go do. I really like the colors together.

May 24: All dry and ends woven in. I’m really happy with how this turned out.

Pattern: Akimbo by Stephen West (available to buy on Ravelry)
Yarn: JulieSpins Merino 370 in Garnet and Black Beauty

For sale in my etsy shop.

Fresh Picked Baby Hat

2011-05-22T13:56:00.000-05:00

May 17: This looked like a really simple hat pattern and I mostly wanted to use it for the numbers. I started with the middle size, but quickly ran into problems--with the numbers.

Cast on was 114 stitches and a 2x2 rib was an option. Well, with that cast on, it would be uneven. So I cast on 116 stitches instead and did a 2x2 rib. After I started the stockinette portion, I decreased back down to 114 stitches.

As for the decreases, I’m not there yet, but the numbers don’t add up there either. So instead, I’ll start with a K4k2tog decrease, then go to K3K2tog, and so on. Looking at the numbers, that should work okay.

May 18: Okay, so apparently I read the pattern wrong. (Honestly, I think it’s a poorly written pattern.) The decrease as written: “On your next row, knit 3 stitches, knit two stitches together, continue with all stitches on needle.” I originally read that as continue doing K3, k2tog along the needle, but the more I looked at the pictures, I realized that the decreases weren’t happening that often. So what it really means is do one decrease and then continue just knitting for the rest of the needle. Once I got that figured out, decreasing was a lot easier, but the ending bit was off count so I just winged it at the very top. I really think that the pattern could have been written more clearly.

I did not include the little bit at the top, just made it a flat (well round) top.

Pattern: Fresh Picked Baby Hat by Leslie Clarkson (free Ravelry download)
Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino in Lettuce

Another Baby's Hat

2011-05-09T05:49:00.000-05:00

May 1: I was going to make a pair of baby socks from this yarn but I decided to do a hat and see how much is leftover afterwards. I’m not following any particular pattern, just trying to do a very basic hat.

I cast on 88 stitches and started a 2x2 ribbing. I’ll probably keep that up for an inch or inch and a half. Then I’ll switch to stockinette (will increase two stitches so I get up to 90, which will help even things out when I get to the decreases for the top) and do basic decreases around the top.

May 7: Finished. The yarn has a lot more pink in it than I first realized, so I’m thinking I’m going to have to save this one for a baby girl rather than my own little boy.

Pattern: Improvised
Yarn: Claudia Hand Painted Yarns Fingering in Just Plum

Baby Socks #2

2011-05-01T13:53:00.000-05:00

April 28: Finished first sock and up through heel flap on second sock. Super easy pattern and quick to knit up!

April 29: Second sock finished. So cute!

Pattern: Easy Baby Ankle Socks by Hattie Adkins (free Ravelry download)
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock in Impressionist Sky

Rainbow Baby Hat

2011-04-23T15:59:00.001-05:00

April 21: Started on magic loop but the cables was too twisty and it was uncomfortable, so I switched to DPNs. Much better.

April 22: Finished the main body of the hat. All that is left is the little i-cord decoration at the top, but my eyes didn’t want to stay open so I decided just to put it aside and go to bed and finish it in the morning.

April 23: All done and so cute!

Pattern: Easy Peasy Newborn Sock Hat by Keri McKiernan
Yarn: KnitPicks Felici in Rainbow

Alice Top

2011-04-21T17:45:00.001-05:00

August 31: When I saw the pictures for this pattern, I immediately fell in love and knew that I wanted to knit this top. And I happened to have some Malabrigo in Natural that I thought would be perfect. But the weather is starting to change now so if I want to wear this before winter begins, I need to get it finished soon. So I jumped into this project.

The pattern is rather lengthy and there are a lot of parts (and charts) to it. But the designer has done a good job of explaining exactly what you need to do so I haven’t had any problems following along. I’m just making sure that I’m really paying attention.

The neckline is a rather ingenious construction, using what I’m going to call a backwards mitered square (meaning it uses increases rather than decreases).

September 2: Finished with the yoke and divided for the sleeves. Only a couple of rows beyond that at this point. But I can now clearly see how the neckline looks and it’s pretty darn nifty how that whole backwards mitered square thing worked out.

September 12: I’ve been working on this a little bit each day. And I’m just one round away from finishing the bust, so it’s coming along quite nicely though I’m not sure I’ll have it finished before the weather turns cold.

April 17, 2011: Wow has it really been this long since I’ve worked on this project? I decided to pick it back up today and worked a good portion of the body. I have around 20 rows remaining before I start the bottom hem. Then I’ll just need to do the sleeves. I’d love to have this finished by the end of the month, but I think if I target the end of May, that might be more realistic.

April 19: Finished the body up through the frill at the bottom, which I’m looking forward to doing. Yay!

April 21: And now the body is completely finished. I tried it on and it does seem to fit though it hard to tell over my pregnant belly! This will be a top that will have to wait until next year to be worn. Now all I have left are the sleeves. I was originally going to do the frill option, but after seeing the frill on the bottom (which I do like) and trying it on, I’m not sure I’m keep on the frill for the arms, so I think I’m going to do the non-frill option for the sleeves.

April 21 (later): I went ahead with the no-frill sleeves and I’m so happy that I did because I think it turned out really great. No modeled shots right now because I’m 19 weeks pregnant so it doesn’t quite look right on me at the moment. But I think that after the pregnancy, it will fit quite nicely. But alas, it looks like it’ll be going into storage until after the baby arrives.

Pattern: Alice Top by Katya Wilsher
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Natural

Baby! Blanket

2011-04-21T13:03:00.001-05:00

April 7: I’m due in mid-September but won’t find out the sex of the baby for another month, so I’m making this blanket in a neutral yellow. It’s the first item I started knitting for this baby!

April 12: Made it to the halfway point.

April 13: Finished another repeat. Just two more to go.

April 15: All finished! I’m really happy with how this turned out although it definitely needs a good blocking.

Measurements after blocking: 26” x 29”

April 21: Added pictures. The little rocking chair is one that my mom used when she was a little girl. I was so happy when I visited her last month to be able to take it home with me.

Pattern: Wool Leaves by Jared Flood
Yarn: Cascade Eco+ in Yellow (#6927)

First Baby Socks

2011-04-21T12:59:00.001-05:00

April 9: Although this isn’t the first project I started for the baby (that’s the blanket), this should be the first project I finish. Got up through right before decreasing for the toes tonight (and would have finished first sock if I hadn’t been so tired).

April 10: Finished first sock and started second sock. So tiny! Later in the evening: Finished second sock. So cute! And I was able to get the stripes to match up really nicely. Only four of the six colors, but technically now the baby and I will have matching socks.

Pattern: Leftovers Baby Socks by Matthew Hesson-McInnis
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici in Rainbow

Honey Cowl

2011-04-07T10:18:00.001-05:00

March 27: I felt like starting a new project and this one caught my attention. I do love knitting with this yarn!

April 7: Finished this one last night. So happy to have a project finished as it’s really been a slow time for me with knitting lately.

Pattern: Honey Cowl by madelinetosh
Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino in Matisse Blue

For sale in my etsy shop: Cowl

Bunny Nuggets

2011-04-07T10:15:00.001-05:00

March 29: Quick and satisfying project!

Made the blue one first and decided it was a bit lonely, so I had to make it a friend (March 30).

Pattern: Bunny Nugget by Rebecca Danger
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Jewel Blue and Hummingbird

For sale in my etsy shop: Pair of Bunny Nuggets

MIL Afghan

2011-04-07T10:11:00.000-05:00

September 12, 2010: Finally decided that I’d better start this if I want it to be a Christmas gift. I think I’m going to do this assembly line style (since it’s 6 of each block), so I did the middle squares for the first 6 blocks (pink) and now am doing the second color on those 6 blocks.

October 7: The weaving in of all the ends is going to be killer, so I’m trying to do as much as possible while I am knitting. Have added the third color to two of the six squares.

October 24: Finished all the yellow bits on the six squares. Started on the orange-y bits between the yellow triangles. Not enjoying picking up the stitches here because it’s harder to see where to pick them up.

November 18: I’ve been putting off the orange-y bits because I have not liked doing them, but I figured that if I keep putting them off, this will never get done, so I did three of the remaining four squares tonight. Just one more to go for this section. Hope the next isn’t as fussy (the stitches to pick up are difficult to get to and I don’t think it’s making a very neat edge, but we’ll see how it looks in the end).

November 20: I decided to just finish one whole square to see how it turns out--although the assembly line format does seem to work, parts of it feel a bit wonky so I want to make sure it all works out before I do six squares that look terrible. I finished almost all of one square (just one more border color to add to it) and I’m rather amazed at how it does come together and it is actually square. Although this is definitely never going to be high on my list of most fun projects to knit, it does look really neat and doing one whole square has given me the motivation to keep moving forward with it because I think the end product will be really neat and my MIL will love it.

December 5: I spent most of the weekend working on this project. I’ve finished the middles of the first 6 squares, all squares have the first border around them. So I’m getting really close to the halfway point!

December 30: This is now my priority project. I have finished the first two borders on all six of the first set of squares, so just one more color border on them and I’ll finally be at the halfway point. I do really like how the squares look, but the project itself is rather tedious and I don’t really enjoy working on it.

January 1, 2011: Finished the borders on the first six squares (still some ends to weave in). Halfway there!

January 18: Of the last six squares, one is complete (ends still to weave in). The other five are about halfway, or nearly halfway, complete.

January 23: Progress is being made! Of the five remaining squares, all have the first border round complete. Only two more border rounds for each of them. Then the massive job of weaving in the ends. Then seaming together and probably blocking. Is the end actually possibly in sight?

January 26: Second round of border complete on all five remaining squares. Just one more border round to go on them all!

January 27: Borders finished on all but one square!

January 28: The knitting is finished! Now I have all the finishing left.

January 29: I added a picture of the back of one of the squares to show how many ends I have to weave in. I have all 6 of Block B and one of Block A to go. But at least the knitting part is done! Yes, I know I’ve already said that, but I feel really excited about that!

March 3: Almost finished with weaving in all the ends. Just half of one square left to go. My goal is to finish that tonight and spend the weekend seaming the squares together. Then blocking and drying all next week so that I can give it to my MIL when we visit the following week. A very late Christmas gift, but I’ll be so glad when it’s finished and in her hands!

March 4: Oh my gods, I can’t believe it. All the ends have been woven in!! That in itself feels like a major accomplishment. I’ve seamed four squares together into one long strip. I plan to do two more of those and then seam the three strips together. I’m finding the seaming itself not too difficult except for the color. The dark brown makes it difficult to see the stitches so I have to have a bright light right overhead while seaming.

March 5: Done done done done done!! I can’t believe that it’s actually done! I’m going to block it tomorrow and then I’ll get some pictures added and will give it to my MIL the week after next. I’m so amazed. I can’t believe that I persevered and finished this. It is definitely a project that I know my MIL will love, but I will never ever do it again.

Pattern: New Traditions Afghan by Nina Isaacson (kit from KnitPicks)
Yarn: KnitPicks Wool of the Andes in Tulip, Orange, Pumpkin, Caution, Avocado, Calypso Heather, Bittersweet Heather, Snickerdoodle and Oyster Heather

Handwarmers for Kelley

2010-12-29T15:00:00.001-05:00

December 24: Matching handwarmers for the hat that I made my sister for Christmas. Yes, this will be a late present.

December 26: Finished the first mitt. I’m really glad that ribbing stretches because these are small and although they do fit, it probably would have been better to add at least one more set of 4 stitches, perhaps even more than that.

December 29: Finished the second mitt. Still a little tight, but this time I used a sewn bind off and that at least helped make the edge a bit looser than on the first one.

Pattern: Riverside Handwarmers by Ivete Tecedor
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in Rose Smash

Cowls for Eden and Gina

2010-12-29T14:58:00.001-05:00

December 23: I finished the second of two cowls today. I wanted to make something for the two gals in my gaming group and decided this cowl would be great. So I picked out yarn in the colors I thought they would like (Gina got Whale’s Road and Eden got Emerald) and went to work. I finished the first one during our gaming session and gave it to Gina. It took me a couple more days to get to Eden’s but it is now also finished. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of Gina’s (did at least get a pic of the yarn) but I did take a quick picture of Eden’s (I'm also posting a picture of the yarn for Gina's).

I was wondering why these turned out to be tighter than the one I made for myself a while back. Apparently my needles were in the wrong pocket so I used much smaller needles (10 3/4 instead of 13) than intended. Oops. At least they still fit!

Pattern: Dolores Park Cowl by Parikha Mehta
Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky in Emerald and Whale's Road

Ribbed for Mandy's Warmth

2010-12-29T14:55:00.001-05:00

December 20: I did another project (bath mitt) for my sister-in-law and just wasn’t happy with the way it turned out. So I decided to make her this cowl as well.

December 23: Much better! This is a gift that I’m proud to give to someone. I really like the way it turned out.

Pattern: Ribbed for Your Warmth by Sonia Ruyts (free download on Ravelry)
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Hummingbird

Little Miss Sunshine

2010-12-29T14:53:00.001-05:00

November 21: Need to get working on Christmas gifts so I decided to give this one a go. I had a bit of a mini heart attack last night when I couldn’t find the pattern. But after a while spent looking for it, I finally found it, safely tucked away inside another pattern. Colors used should be Semolina (yellow), Coal (black), and Serrano (red).

November 24: Finished all the knitting bits. Used a whole skein of the Semolina and part of a second. Now it’s just a matter of piecing it all together, which is the part I really hate. But I’ve got about a month, so hopefully I can talk myself into completing it during that time.

December 6: Did all the seaming and putting together of parts. The only thing left to do is to embroider her face. I’m really pleased with how it looks so far so I hope I don’t mess up the face!

December 21: Finally stitched the face. The mouth is a little crooked, but overall, I think it turned out quite nicely. I actually don’t really want to give this away, but I did send it out in today’s mail.

Pattern: Little Miss Sunshine by Alan Dart (out of print)
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish DK in Semolina (yellow), Coal (black), and Serrano (red)

Fishy Bath Mitt

2010-12-29T14:51:00.002-05:00

December 20: I’m just not happy with how this fishy mitt turned out. I also think there are a couple of minor errors in the pattern. Present for Mandy for Christmas. Decided to make her something else to go with this as I just didn't feel like this mitt was good enough.

Pattern: Fishy Bath Mitts by Helene Rush (part of kit)
Yarn: Knit One Crochet Too Cotonade in Caribbean and Neon

Emily's Christmas Pink Ranger

2010-12-29T14:47:00.002-05:00

December 8: Details of this project will be posted after Christmas as this is a present for Emily. A couple of vague notes: I’m using a technique that I haven’t used before on this project and I’m finding it a bit tedious. But it’s good to learn something new. I just hope it all turns out okay!

December 12: I had a hard time doing ____ with the project (blank to be filled in after Christmas) so part of it looks a little wonky. I did finally have a breakthrough regarding _____ and what I’ve done since then looks a lot better. Although it doesn’t look great for the part I did before I figured it out, I just don’t have the patience to take it all out and do it over again. Sorry, Emily!

December 12 (later): I’ve reached saturation point on this project for today, so I’m putting it aside for a while to work on other gifts, but I’m determined to get this one done in time so Emily can get it for Christmas!

December 18: Finished! I would do this only for Emily but will never do this again!

December 25: Okay, so the gift has been opened and I can post details. First, the new technique I used was intarsia. Not something I plan to make a habit of (the bobbins were annoying) but I’m glad that now have the skill in my knitting arsenal. The technique that I discussed in the ____ above is the dreaded seaming, which is the bane of my knitting existence.

Pattern: Might Morphin' Power Rangers Intarsia by Alan Dart (out of print)
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish DK in Petal, White, Coal, Red, and Gray

Mom's Felted Bag

2010-12-29T14:43:00.001-05:00

December 7: I made one of these bags a while back for my mother-in-law. She mentioned it to my mom during our summer vacation and my mom seemed interested, so I decided to make one for her for Christmas.

December 17: Finished and felted. I think it turned out great!

Pattern: Angela's Fabulous Felted Bag by Angela Roberge
Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky in Onyx and Deep Pine

Rolled Brim Hat (Take 2)

2010-12-02T13:24:00.001-05:00

December 2: With the first half of this yarn, I made a rolled brim hat, but I was unhappy with the “nipple” at the top. So I decided to try again. I cast on 72 stitches and just knit and knit and knit until I felt that it was tall enough. Then I started decreasing (if I remember correctly, it was something like the following):
K10, K2tog
K all (2 rounds)
K9, K2tog
K all (2 rounds)
K8, K2tog
K all
K7, K2tog
K2, K2tog
K2, K2tog
K2tog
Pull yarn through remaining stitches.

I had to start doing the major decreasing in a hurry because I was almost out of yarn. I was a little worried about how it might turn out because of that, but I’m actually really pleased with how the top looks. Definitely a successful hat!

Yarn: Madil Yarns Pierrot Print

Groovy Slipper Socks

2010-11-30T08:32:00.003-05:00

October 9: Although it’s DiC’s September Dream Club yarn, my LYS started it in October. The bulky definitely knits up quickly, but I had a problem when I was decreasing the gusset stitches. A voice in my head told me something was wrong, but I went ahead with the pattern. I should have listened to that voice. If you follow the pattern, the heel will be off center. You need to start the round (and thus start needle 1) at the center of the heel stitches, so knit half of the heel stitches and then start counting for needle 1. I had to frog back about half a dozen rounds to correct it.

October 28: Finally sat down and finished the first slipper sock.

November 16: I decided to make it my goal today to finish the second slipper sock, and I did. It actually didn’t seem to take as long as the first one--perhaps because this time I realized that the pattern had errors in it and so I didn’t have to go through the process of figuring that out.

Pattern: Groovy Slipper Socks by veronica van (Dream Club exclusive pattern)
Yarn: Dream in Color Groovy in Bayou

Cabled Nook Sleeve

2010-11-30T08:28:00.005-05:00

November 2: Emily asked me to test this pattern to see if it fits my Nook. Finished two pattern repeats. I didn’t believe that it would fit because in unstretched form, it is tiny! But so far it does appear to fit. I did got up a needle size since I know that I knit more tightly than Emily, but in doing so it looks like my gauge is off (4 stitches per inch instead of the listed 5). But honestly, I don’t think it would fit at 5 stitches per inch.

November 7: Almost finished. Just need to do crochet edging and add button. It’s a tight squeeze but it does fit around my Nook.

November 9: I still need a button, but I’m going to go ahead and call this done.

Updated with picture showing button:

Pattern: Cabled Kindle Sleeve by Emily Nimz
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Paris Night

For sale in my etsy shop: Nook Sleeve

Tamarind Cowl

2010-10-31T16:09:00.003-05:00

October 24: I wanted a quick project to start and finish in one evening. Although this is an easy project, I didn’t think about how long it would take to do the increases and then knit around on twice as many stitches. So I’m just a little over halfway finished with it.

October 25: Arghhh! The tight bind off strikes again. And I was really trying to bind off loosely. I guess I should have used a larger needle. It’s so tight that it won’t stretch over my head. ~sigh~ I’ll probably take out the bind off and try again, but that’ll be a little later because I don’t have the patience for that right now.

Pattern: Tamarind Cowl by Kristen Hanley Cardozo (free Ravelry download)
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Apple Tree

For sale in my etsy shop: Headwarmer

Brioche Cowl

2010-10-31T16:06:00.002-05:00

July 19: Started during a class at my LYS. Definitely glad I took the class as this was difficult to begin (some of the terminology in the pattern is a bit confusing), but now that I’ve got the hang of it, it’s going more swiftly. I do need lots of concentration to do it, though.

September 18: Wow, I hadn’t worked on this in a while, so it took me a little while to figure out exactly what to do again. So I have one mistake that now would be really difficult to fix so I’ll have to leave it (a piece of the yellow crosses over the blue near one edge).

October 9: So, brioche is really neat but it takes forever just to get a little bit done. Instead of having this project just constantly hanging over me, I decided that it was currently the perfect length for a cowl. So I knit one row straight and bound off. Then I sewed the two ends together. Ta da! Reversible cowl!

Pattern: Reversible Brioche Scarf by Lori Law
Yarn: Cascade 220 Wool in 9325 (blue) and Cascade Lana D'Oro Solids in 1105 (yellow)

Airy

2010-10-31T16:04:00.003-05:00

September 11: My LYS is participating in the Dream Club this year. This hat and yarn is the September pattern. Before looking at the pattern, I thought it might be a little more complex than it actually is. But after viewing the pattern, it’s super easy but it looks really great and allows the yarn to really shine through. Some of the skeins of this yarn had a lot of orange/peach in it. I picked the skein that had very little of that so I could get more of the purples and red-purples. Love it.

October 6: Worked on this off and on (mostly off) since starting it, but I’m finally at the point where I can start decreasing for the top.

October 7: Finished!

Pattern: Airy by Veronica Van (pattern for Dream Club)
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in Rose Smash (Dream Club offering)

Malabrigo Neck Thingie

2010-10-31T15:59:00.003-05:00

September 25: I’m in the mood to make some cowls, so this is cowl #1 for the season.

September 26: And finished. Simple pattern but it looks really nice. And it’s Malabrigo soft!

Pattern: Malabrigo Neck Thingie by Anne Sahakian (free download on Ravelry)
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Vaa

For sale in my etsy shop: Cowl

Argante

2010-10-31T15:46:00.002-05:00

July 20: Am intrigued by the construction of knitting a shawl from side to side. So far so good and I like how it’s looking and really love how the yarn is feeling.

August 25: I’m almost to the halfway point. I keep thinking that I’ll go ahead and stop “now” but then I have more yarn in the first skein left and I think maybe a wider shawl to really be able to wrap around myself will be nice. I haven’t counted the number of repeats I’ve done so far but I seem to have quite a few stitches on the needle so I’m sure it’s been a lot.

August 30: And I’ve hit the halfway point (and beyond). I really have fallen in love with this sideways construction because I can just knit until I’m halfway through the yarn and then start the other half. It’s going to be wonderful for wanting to use up as much of the yarn as possible! I’ll be doing more of this type of construction (and more from this designer).

September 23: Finished! I ended up with a good chunk of yarn leftover so I guess I could have made it wider, but I’m happy to have some left rather than running out so I think that’s fine. And it turned out to be a really great width that I will easily be able to wrap around myself to keep warm. Although I got a bit bored of doing the edging pattern over and over and over, I did enjoy the sideways construction of the shawl and like that it is wide from tip to tip and narrowed from top to point.

Pattern: Argante by Corrina Ferguson
Yarn: JulieSpins 50/50 Merino Silk in Tea Rose

Hermione Hat

2010-08-18T14:54:00.004-05:00

This is the hat that Hermione wore in the movie Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Here's mine:

August 13: I learned a new cast on for this hat - the Alternate Cable Cast-On. It wasn’t too difficult to get the hang of and after knitting just a few rounds, I can see the benefits of using this cast on. It provides a rather nice edge for the K1P1 ribbing. I’m glad that I tried it.

August 16: Finished! A perfect fit. Instead of doing the two full additional repeats, I did one full repeat and one half (I stopped just before beginning the eyelets) before starting the decreases. I’m glad that I did that because I think having 7 additional rounds on this would have made it just a tad too big.

Pattern: Hermione's Cable and Eyelet Hat by Jackie Lauseng
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Frost Gray

Roll Brim Hat

2010-08-06T12:01:00.002-05:00

August 5: Since the yarn is so wild with color, I wanted a nice, simple pattern to go with it. The pattern works nicely, but I’m not super fond of the colors personally. Thus this hat is for sale in my etsy store: karendawn.etsy.com

Pattern: Easy Roll Brim Knit Hat (recipe) by Laurie Perry
Yarn: Madil Yarns Pierrot Print

Traveling Woman

2010-07-31T11:56:00.001-05:00

July 9: Started during the River Knits Retreat.

July 11: Started Chart A. Somehow I was two stitches short. Decided to add stitches at the edges on next two rows (inside the 2 stitch border, not right at the edge) to make up for it. Looks okay.
July 16: Finished the two repeats of Chart A and got well into Chart B. On my second repeat of Chart A, I was once again two stitches short (I made sure to keep the pattern straight so increased in the two places that had 12 stitches rather than the needed 13 and I think it looks okay). I’m not sure what happened each time to lose those two stitches.
July 18: Finished! I knit it as written, with no extra repeats. I might have had enough yarn to do more but I didn’t want to risk it.

Pattern: Traveling Woman by Liz Abinante
Yarn: Handmaiden Casbah Sock in Stardust

For sale in my etsy shop.

MacDuff Hat

2010-07-31T11:54:00.003-05:00

July 8: I saw this pattern and just immediately wanted to cast on for it.

July 12: And finished. Easy knit. Love the way the yarn colors came together even though it does hide the cables a little. This will be a great fall hat.

Pattern: MacDuff Hat by Corrina Ferguson
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Loro Barranquero

Half-a-Cardi

2010-07-31T11:50:00.002-05:00

July 1: As the pattern is supposed to be for XS, I added 5 extra stitches to start and also went up a needle size. The yarn is very soft.

July 7: I wasn’t sure how much yarn I might have left and was worried about running out so I stopped the cardi a little shorter than I would have liked and knit the sleeves. I have a little leftover (need to measure) so probably could have done another couple of rows on the body.

Pattern: Half-a-Cardi by Patti Gonsalves
Yarn: Neota Designs Chinook in Indigo Nights (bought in Estes Park, CO)

Multnomah

2010-07-13T06:59:00.004-05:00

June 28: Got about halfway through the garter stitch section.
July 6: Finished! A very simple pattern. Still need to block it and then I’ll post pictures.

Pattern: Multnomah by Kate Flagg
Yarn: The Sanguine Gryphon Bugga! in Blue Metalmark

Available for sale in my etsy shop.

Cropped Cardigan

2010-06-30T12:15:00.001-05:00

June 22: Doing a test knit found on the Free Pattern Testers board at Ravelry. Received pattern yesterday. Bought yarn today.

June 28: Finished. I ran into a couple of small problems along the way but the designer was quick to respond to questions and I was able to get back on track each time fairly soon. My gauge was just a tiny bit off which has caused the sleeves to be a bit snug, but we’ll see what happens once it has been blocked.

June 30: Blocking complete. Fits just right.

Pattern: Not yet available
Yarn: Cascade Sierra

Wool Peddler's Shawl

2010-06-30T12:12:00.005-05:00

February 22: I needed a project to work on for a car trip tomorrow so I decided that this shawl would be an easy project to take with me.
April 8: Just 4 more rows to go in the garter stitch section.
May 12: Picked this one up again and finally started the lace section.
June 19: Finished! Right at the end, though, my needle slipped out of the last stitch as I was reaching for my scissors. And a couple of stitches unraveled, but I couldn’t figure out how the heck they were supposed to go back together so I did my best at fixing it, but I think it looks a bit off. But it’s not too terrible so it should be fine. The soysilk yarn was really interesting. I love the drape of the yarn (it doesn’t even seem at all like it needs blocking!) but doing things like weaving in ends made me feel like the yarn isn’t very secure because it slips around a lot and doesn’t have a lot of grip. So it makes for a beautiful shawl, but when I wash it, I’ll have to be extra careful, I think.

Pattern: Wool Peddler's Shawl by Cheryl Oberle (in Folk Shawls)
Yarn: South West Trading Company Oasis

Sold in my etsy shop.

Rainbow Socks

2010-06-21T06:46:00.002-05:00

May 20: To help show off the stripes to the best advantage, I’m doing a very basic sock pattern. I started toe up (using Judy’s Magic Cast On) with 16 stitches. I increased to 72 stitches. Then when I finished with the toe, I started a 4x2 ribbing on the top of the foot. I think I’ll do a short row heel but I’ll decide for sure when I get there. Love the stripes so far.

May 21: Went with the short row heel (followed instructions from Wendy Johnson’s Toe Up Socks book). I think it turned out okay.

June 2: Finished Sock #1. Did a 1x1 rib on the cuff (in red) and used a sewn bind off.

June 13: Worked on Sock #2 over vacation. Just need to finish up the leg.

June 16: All done. I’m a bit upset with the second skein (and thus second sock). There were lots of splotches of dye especially in the yellow sections but really in all of them. So I have a rainbow spotted sock.

Pattern: none; just basic toe up socks
Yarn: KnitPicks Felici in Rainbow

Never Ending Vaa Scarf

2010-06-14T08:42:00.002-05:00

March 4: Another Malabrigo March project. I wanted something super easy to work on while my literature class is taking a test this afternoon.

May 12: Super easy also means super boring. It looks nice but the process of knitting it brings out some yawns. I’m hoping to finish it this weekend during a conference I’m going to.

June 3: I seem to have misplaced this project. I hope I didn’t leave it in the hotel back at the conference. I’m truly mystified over what has happened to it.

June 11: I had found the scarf on top of the fridge right before we left on our trip so I shoved it into my suitcase. I forced myself to work on it on vacation and am happy to report that it is finished. This just might be the last scarf that I knit (unless it’s a lengthwise scarf like Just Enough Ruffles). I get so bored doing the same pattern again and again and again and it becomes a never ending project that I hate to work on. I’m just very glad this one is done.

Pattern: Fire to Earth: Brown Berries by iSel
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Vaa

For sale in my etsy store: karendawn.etsy.com

Just Enough Ruffles

2010-06-14T08:39:00.002-05:00

June 6: Started while in Colorado on vacation.

June 9: Working a scarf longways like this is the way to go! This scarf seemed to fly off the needles compared to something like the Vaa Scarf I was also working on at the same time. Easy pattern and the scarf comes out very nicely. (Still needs to be blocked)

Pattern: Just Enough Ruffles by Laura Chau (available for purchase on Ravelry)
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Polar Morn

Greta in Paris at Night

2010-06-03T07:17:00.002-05:00

May 28: Finished first leg

June 1: And now finished with the entire cat. I tried to really focus on putting this one together so that all the parts would look “right”; I’m tired of making wonky toys. And I’m quite happy with how my Greta turned out.

Pattern: Greta the Captivating Cat by Rebecca Danger
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Paris Night

Small Funky Sock Monkey

2010-06-03T07:15:00.003-05:00

May 19: I’ve been looking forward to knitting from this kit so I decided to go ahead and start. Beginning with the small monkey (which does seem pretty darn small!).

May 20: Hmm…am disappointed with my monkey so far. The lips just aren’t very poofy and the small monkey is very small. Perhaps the larger version will go better, but I’m just not sure why my monkey’s face doesn’t look like the one in the pictures. Did finish the main body yesterday; just the arms and ears (and eyes) to go.

May 20 (later): Finished all the knitting and minimal seaming. Just need to get something for the eyes. Taking the piece of yarn and tying off the neck (making it seem separate from the body) seems to have helped quite a bit, but I still am not completely happy with how this monkey turned out. Here’s hoping the large size goes better.

May 27: Sewed on eyes. I’m just feeling meh about this project.

Pattern: Funky Sock Monkey (small) by cockeyed the sockateer
Yarn: Blue Moon Socks That Rock in Purple Rain and Rhodonoite

Vine Yoke Cardigan

2010-06-03T07:11:00.002-05:00

January 17: I really wanted to get started on this cardigan especially because the construction really intrigues me. I’ve never done a cardigan knit from side to side before. So I finished the buttonhole band and two pattern repeats of the next section. So far it’s a fairly straightforward knit but also fun.

January 20: I got the the part where I started the sleeve. When I was putting the sleeve back together with the yoke section, it took me a little while to figure out what went where. When I finally figured out that “left needle” meant the left needle (after not turning) of the sleeve stitches, it all came together quite nicely. But there were a few head scratching moments in there!

May 18: This one had been on hold for quite a while so I’m now turning back toward it and focusing on getting it finished. I’m now over halfway through the back section so that means I’m halfway through the project!

May 26: Getting close to the end. I picked up some buttons today so that when I do finish with the knitting I can get the buttons sewed on right away and get this project in the finished category! Love how it is looking so far.

May 27: Finished! 3rd from top picture is finished but unblocked. Currently blocking.

May 31: Got my husband to take a couple of pictures of me wearing the cardigan. Yay!

Pattern: Vine Yoke Cardigan by Ysolde Teague
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Applewood

Gryffindor Bag

2010-05-12T14:16:00.006-05:00

February 10: Started

March 19: I learned the most awesome fair isle technique this morning: Two Handed Fair Isle. I’ve only gone two rounds using this technique, but it’s pretty darn amazing so far. I was concerned about some of the long floats on this project (although not overly so since I plan to line the purse so I would be hiding the floats) and now I don’t have to worry about them! I was excited about fair isle before but now I’m just ecstatic! See the difference? The bottom part is with the floats and the top part is with the new technique.

March 21: And the body is finished! I’m going to have to figure out how to do the crochet parts for around the edges and the strap so I may put this on hold for a little while until I figure that out.

March 27: Finally getting around to blocking this, so I thought I’d add pictures. The picture at the very bottom is the reverse side, so you can see the difference between the regular stranded method (bottom) and the weaving in method (top) that I mentioned above.

March 30: Finished the crochet edging and strap. I’m not sure if I’m super keen on the strap but I think I’ll leave it for now. So all that’s left is the lining (need to go buy some fabric so I’ll do that in the next couple of days).

April 8: Finally started working on the lining today. I’m not the world’s greatest at sewing so this is going to take me quite a while because I really want to make sure that it all comes together well at the end.

May 12: In an effort to finish up some of the lingering projects, I pushed through sewing in the lining this morning. That’s one of my least favorite parts of a project, so I’m so happy it is done. This is a cute little purse!

Pattern: HP House Fair Isle Pouch Bags by Rosemary Waits (free Ravelry download)
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Maroon and Daffodil-Marigold

Available for sale in my etsy shop.

Mouse Queen

2010-05-12T14:12:00.002-05:00

September 6, 2009: I decided to try a different approach with the Queen. Instead of knitting all the pieces first and then seaming them up (like I did with the King), I’m doing the finishing/seaming as I go. So today I was able to finish all of the lower part of her body. Next up will be the arms, and then I’ll work on putting together everything on the head. It did seem to go a lot better this way, with alternating knitting and sewing I was able to get more done in a shorter amount of time than with the King.

March 14: So this poor little mouse has been sitting around for far too long without a head and arms. I decided to finish her up today. Alas, that was not to be accomplished.

So I’m a little pissed off. I bought the kit from Knitbeads that’s supposed to contain all the yarn I’ll need to knit all of the medieval mice. Ha!

On the Mouse King, I was just shy of the brown color for his belt and had to use a little of another color to cast off. That worked okay, but I will need more of the original brown for one of the other mice.

So today I started in on one arm of the Mouse Queen. Hmm…I think. That pink color is getting awfully low. Will I have enough for the other arm? Definitely not since I have something like only 8 inches of yarn left after the first arm.

So now my Queen is missing an arm.

Then I went to knit the crown. I ran out of the metallic gold yarn with about half a dozen stitches to bind off (since I used glue to fold over the crown, I was able to just thread the last inch of yarn through the last few stitches and use glue to secure it). But I still have the clasp for her cloak that I’m supposed to make out of it as well as two more crowns for the prince and princess mice.

I’ve been making sure to have short tails for my cast on and bind off. I’ve been using thread to sew the pieces together rather than the yarn. I’ve been trying to make sure I have enough yarn. So I think that the kit just doesn’t contain the right amount of yarn to knit all of the mice.

So now I have my Queen almost finished. Just minus one arm (and one cloak clasp). And I’m going to email knitbeads and see if they’ll send me more yarn. If not, then I will never buy from them again and I’ll make sure to let others know.

May 12: I got my yarn a bit over a week ago (it was a rather lengthy process of emails back and forth before the yarn was ready) so I finally sat down this morning to finish off this little queen. About 30 minutes later and I was done!

King and Queen together:

Escher Socks

2010-05-12T14:10:00.003-05:00

January 28: I’ve been itching to cast on for another pair of socks, so I decided to dive into these. I’m also trying out magic loop again (I usually prefer DPNs). I found the first 3 rounds rather fiddly, but now I’m on round 5 and it’s starting to get a lot better. Since I knit fairly tightly, I started with going up a needle size and casting on the larger size (60 stitches). I’ll knit a couple of pattern repeats and then see how the sizing is going. (Later: The fit is good!)

March 17: Wow. I started these quite a while ago. It usually doesn’t take me this long to finish a pair of socks and I’m nowhere close to finishing right now. Last night I did do another pattern repeat on the leg of the first sock. Just about 1 or 2 more of those and I’ll be ready to turn the heel.

April 2: Am now focusing my attention on these socks. Yesterday I turned the heel and got all that part taken care of so I’m working on the foot. Hope to finish the first sock in the next couple of days and start the second.

April 6: First sock finished. I’m really glad I did the large size because even so they still feel a bit tight. I’m wondering if I should go up a needle size for the second sock. I’m going to wait until this one dries from its blocking to see if that makes a difference before I decide and start the second sock.

May 9: Yeah, I’ve been sitting on these socks for far too long. In an effort to finish sock #2, I’ve been focused on knitting this project for the past couple of days. I’m past the heel and on the foot now. If I counted right, I have 6 more pattern repeats (or technically 3 more full pattern repeats) to go before I decrease for the toes.

May 11: Finished finally! (And yes, the blocking helped tremendously in making the first sock fit right.)

Pattern: Escher Socks by Lorna Miser (published in Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn)
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in In Vino Veritas

Dipped Infinity Scarf

2010-05-12T14:06:00.003-05:00

April 9: I’ve been wanting to start this project for a while now so I finally gave in and began it. The stitch pattern is super easy and so I think it’ll be quite fun and simple to knit and look wonderful when it’s finished.

April 10: Got to the first color change today. Exciting! Later: Got to the second color change.

April 12: Worked on during knit night and just at the end of the evening, I dipped into Night Heron (fifth color, third color change).

April 15: Added in Pussywillow. Just one color more after that!

April 23: All finished! Just need to block (the ends want to curl in) and take pictures.

May 10: I’ve had one heck of a time getting this to dry after blocking. It sat on the blocking board for 3 days. Then I took it off and used a hair dryer on it. Still wet, I hung it on the towel rack. And this morning I finally ran it through the low heat cycle on my dryer. It’s still got a slight dampness to it but a lot better than it was. If it’s not completely dry by tomorrow morning, I may run it through the dryer again (although that caused the edges to want to start to curl in again).

May 12: Now dry.

Pattern: Dipped Infinity Scarf by Laura Chau (for sale on Ravelry)
Yarn: JulieSpins M370 in Black Beauty, Root Beer, Garnet, Bluebell Woods, Night Heron, Blue Slate, Pussywillow, and Christmas Cactus

Raverly Red Hat

2010-05-12T14:04:00.002-05:00

April 10: I really liked the yellow cable hat that I made but the color doesn’t suit me. So I’ll save the yellow one for a gift and make this red one for me.

April 16: Finished tonight. Love! Super soft and cozy.

Pattern: Sarah's Cabled Hat by Sasha Stavsky (free Ravelry download)
Yarn: Malabrigo Twist in Ravelry Red

No Cable Needle Cabled Hat

2010-05-12T14:00:00.002-05:00

April 7: Taking a knitting class tomorrow on cabling without a cable needle so I knit the ribbing tonight to prepare for the class.

April 8: Just back from the class. It was great. Now, the first round with cables went very slowly and was a bit frustrating because I had knit so tightly that instead of staying still while I moved stitches around (this technique involves letting stitches loose momentarily), I kept having the stitches drop, so I had to get out the ole crochet hook and pick up the dropped stitches. Grr. So the next time I made sure to consciously knit as loosely as possible for the next set-up row and that seemed to work as the stitches were so much easier to manipulate and I was able to get the hang of the technique. Now I can definitely see the benefits of doing it this way and how it will be much faster for doing cables. Yay!

April 9: All finished. I’m definitely a lot more comfortable with not using a cable needle after this project. I think I’ll make another hat with my Ravelry Red Malabrigo Twist.

April 10: As I’m looking at the pictures of the hat, I’m not liking the places where there are purl bumps in the middle of the cables. I wasn’t sure if the pattern was correct when it said to repeat those rows but I went ahead with it. Now I’m regretting it. So on the next one I make, I’ll just knit across instead of adding purls in the cables and see how it turns out.

Pattern: Sarah's Cabled Hat by Sasha Stavsky (free Ravelry download)
Yarn: Cascade 220 in Marigold

Gathered Scarf

2010-05-12T13:56:00.003-05:00

February 6: Started for my MIL’s birthday or Mother's Day. I’m not sure yet whether or not I like the way it’s pooling.

February 22: I worked on this scarf a little bit more this evening. The blocks of pooling have broken up so it’s looking a bit better. I’m going to keep going with it because I think my MIL will love it no matter how it turns out.

March 19: Finished first skein of yarn and got well into the second skein.

March 31: And now finished! I’m not sure if/how to block this scarf with the whole gathered effect, but it does seem to want to curl inward so I might try to do some sort of blocking to see if I can get the curl to settle down just a bit. Otherwise, I’m looking forward to giving this to my MIL for Mother's Day.

Pattern: Gathered Scarf by Maryse Roudier
Yarn: Yarn Love Elizabeth Bennett in Maiden

Toe Up Practice Socks 2

2010-05-12T13:53:00.002-05:00

February 16: Taking another knitting class, learning a different technique for toe up socks, using Judy’s Magic Cast-on. And I can say that it’s definitely magic!

February 22: Finished my homework and all ready for class tomorrow night.

February 23: Tonight’s class covered the heel which went quite well. Gotta finish up the leg this week so I’m ready for the bind off for next week’s class.

February 27: Finished my homework (the leg) and all ready for the cast off during Tuesday’s class.

March 2: Sock #1 finished in class (it’s just a tad bit tight) and Sock #2 started. For some reason I had a little bit more trouble with the cast on for the second sock (I had to start over about 4 times) than I did with the first, but I think I got it once again. I think I’ll do some extra practicing over the next few days, though, so that way I can make sure I remember how to do it.

March 15: Finished the foot and heel of Sock #2.

March 18: And finished Sock #2. The yarn feels a bit stiff and the socks are a bit tight, so I’ve tossed them in the washing machine and will block them, hoping to soften them up.

Pattern: Basic Toe-Up pattern passed out during knitting class
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Aran

Drop Stitch Scarf

2010-02-26T21:29:00.004-05:00

October 18: I bought this yarn so I could try out some bamboo yarn, but then I wasn’t sure what to do with it. This pattern seemed like a good fit. So far it looks like it does fit pretty well. It’s also a simple pattern and is knitting up pretty quickly.

February 8, 2010: I had put this aside for a good long while but decided to work on it this evening. It’s now at about 29” and I’m estimating that I’m halfway through the skein, so it should turn out to be a good length.

February 22: I’ve been concentrating on this project a lot more lately because I really wanted to finish it. And now it’s done. I think I guessed just about right on how much yarn I had remaining and it turned out to be a pretty nice size (I’ll measure later) so I’m quite pleased with how it turned out. I think this was indeed a good yarn-pattern match.

Pattern: Drop Stitch Scarf by Christine Vogel (available as free download on Ravelry)
Yarn: Farmhouse Yarns Bonnie's Bamboo in Bamboo

Lazy Susan

2010-02-26T21:26:00.004-05:00

February 17: Doing a test knit for my friend Emily.

February 20: Finished. Pattern is easy to understand, and my hat came out just fine. Sadly, this style of hat does not look good on me so I shall have to find someone to give it to.

Pattern: Lazy Susan by Emily Nimz (pattern available for free on Ravelry)
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Jewel Blue

For sale in my etsy store: karendawn.etsy.com

Ingenue

2010-02-26T21:23:00.003-05:00

January 29: I can’t seem to stop myself from starting new projects instead of finishing projects. But I’ve been really looking forward to knitting a sweater with this yarn and I think this pattern works rather well for the yarn so I wanted to give it a start. I’m really loving the rich colors in the yarn.

January 31: Two skeins used so far. It’s so gorgeous! I’m in awe of the way the colors just blend together.

February 1: The main body is complete (and used almost all of 3 skeins of yarn). Just the sleeves remaining!

February 3: Started the first sleeve. Since my row gauge is a bit off, I’m adding a row or two between each of the decreases and increases to help make up for it.

February 6: Finished the first sleeve. I think it used a bit over half a skein, but I’ll get more precise measurements a little later. I also went ahead and sewed down the neck section so that way I could make sure everything is fitting okay. I hope blocking adds a little length because I’m thinking the body is just a tad bit short, so we’ll see what happens then. But must start and finish the second sleeve before I get there!

February 10: And finished.

Pattern: Ingenue by Wendy Bernard (from Custom Knits)
Yarn: JulieSpins MCN 200 in Cedar

Dolores Park Cowl

2010-02-26T21:20:00.003-05:00

February 6: Started as an easy knit for game night. And also finished. The pattern notes said that there would be very little yarn left (and warned about leaving too long a tail at the beginning), but I had several yards remaining at the end. This was my first time knitting with the Chunky Malabrigo. It’s definitely something I’ll use again.

Pattern: Dolores Park Cowl by Parikha Mehta
Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky in Bobby Blue

Lightweight Pullover

2010-01-31T10:22:00.003-05:00

October 20: When I saw this pattern, I just had to knit it. I even bought yarn specifically for this pattern (which I rarely ever seem to do these days). Got started on it tonight. I used a 24” circular to start and it was difficult going at first because the stitches weren’t quite enough to go around (120 stitches), but I don’t have a 16” circular in size 6, so I made due. When I increase, things will be better. Right now, I’m just getting exactly enough slack on the stitches to make it work.

October 25: Finished the 9” neck (took almost a complete skein). Round and round in stockinette is a little boring (I did a lot of reading while knitting it), but I really like the feel of the fabric the yarn is creating, so I’m excited to keep going with this project to see how it will turn out!

November 10: Divided for the sleeves! It’s coming along nicely.

January 2, 2010: Finished the body of the sweater. Just the sleeves to go. And so far it fits well.

January 16: I’ve gotten to the point on the sleeve that the 16” circular is just a little too big and the stitches are stretched pretty tightly over it. I don’t want to do the 2x2 ribbing with that happening. When I was at a LYS in Texas, I saw that there were some 12” circulars and I almost bought some but decided against it. Now I wish I had. I checked my LYS and didn’t find them so I ordered one online. I’m going to wait until it gets here before I get back to work on this project, so it’s on pause for a few days.

January 22: The 12” circulars are working much better (although it’s sometimes a little tight to knit on such a small cable), so I’ve finished sleeve #1 and started sleeve #2.

January 30: Finished! I’ve posted two pictures pre-blocking. I’m blocking right now and will post more pictures after that.

Pattern: Lightweight Pullover by Hannah Fettig (available for purchase on Ravelry)
Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns Fresco (wool, angora, alpaca) in Regatta

Jarrett's Felted Clogs

2010-01-31T10:18:00.002-05:00

January 17: My husband has been complaining about his cold feet and I finally figured out that he’s been hinting that he would like a pair of these clogs. So I’m knitting the massive men’s large size. I’ve finished the main body of the first clog (just the sole to knit and of course the felting to go). This is still a fairly quick knit but at the largest size, it’s certainly taking up more time.

January 19: Finished knitting the first clog. I’m going to wait to felt it until I finish the second so I can do them at the same time. I also think I’m going to need more of the blue yarn as I weighed it before and after knitting the first clog and I’ve used up just over half of it. ~sigh~ (I’ll be fine with the grey, though.) In good news, the clog is ginormous on my husband’s foot, which means it should felt down quite nicely.

January 23: Picked up the second skein of the blue this morning so I started the second clog. Good thing I got the extra skein as I would have indeed run short of yarn by just a tiny bit. Finished the main section. Now I just need to sew up the bottom, knit the sole and attach it. (And of course felt them.)

January 26: Finished, felted, drying. (Am getting very tired of knitting this pattern! Although I am always very happy with the results.)

Pre-felting

Post-felting

Pattern: Felted Clogs from FiberTrends
Yarn: Cascade 220 Wool in #4002 and #9449

Cable Footies

2010-01-16T08:29:00.002-05:00

January 13: Started these socks last night and they knit up quickly. I’m almost finished with the first one!

January 14: And first one down. I went ahead and immediately cast on for the second (although I did only two pattern repeats) so that way it would be started and I would let it languish under the Second Sock Syndrome.

January 15: Finished. I wore them to bed last night and my feet stayed nice and warm all knit. What a luxury to wear Malabrigo on my feet!

Pattern: Cable Footies from One Skein
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Velvet Grapes

Blanket of Many Browns

2010-01-16T08:26:00.002-05:00

June 10: I was going to make a blanket with a bunch of cabled squares out of this yarn, but I decided I wanted something else. Looking through my patterns, I found this one and I thought it would be perfect for these various shades of brown. So I cast on and did the first square and first strip.

June 11: I decided to make the dark brown be just the central square rather than having it throughout the rest of the blanket since the other browns are a lot lighter. I like how it looks so far.

July 7: Worked a little bit on this project.

July 10: Spent a good chunk of the evening reading and working on the blanket.

July 14: This blanket is really starting to speed along and get much bigger. I really love how it’s looking so far!

July 19: Although the contrast of the stripes does not look as stark in actuality as it does in the photo, I decided to try some alteration of the ordering of the colors to see if it helps to break them up a bit.

September 9: Project on hold until I finish my mom’s blanket.

January 4, 2010: I’ve decided that I just don’t have it in me to finish this in the massive size that I had originally planned. It’s about the perfect size right now for a baby blanket, so I’m going to add two more rectangles to even it up and then add the dark brown border and call it done.

January 12: Finished. It measures about 32”x33”. I’m rather glad that I decided to make this a small baby blanket size rather than the large queen bed size that I had planned. If I had to pick up more stitches along the edges just once more I think I would scream. Two log cabin blankets are enough for me!

Pattern: Joseph's Blankie of Many Colors from Mason-Dixon Knitting
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton and Dyed Cotton (Nut, Sand, Bone, Pebble, Expresso)

Felicity

2010-01-16T08:24:00.001-05:00

Jan. 6: I started the hat this morning using a size 6 needle (pattern called for size 5). I finished about 3 inches before I decided to check gauge and fit. Much too small (should have been 5 stitches per inch and I was getting 6; I couldn’t put it anywhere close to around my head). So I frogged it.

I started over again this evening going up yet another needle size to 7. I’m back to about 3 inches and I have exactly 5 stitches per inch, so it looks like I’m on target now.

Jan. 7: Finished. It’s still pretty darn tight (so good thing that I went up the 2 needle sizes!), but I’m hoping that blocking will stretch it out just the little bit needed to fit without cutting off my circulation!

Pattern: Felicity by Wanett Clyde (available as free download on Ravelry)
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Pink Frost

Hats for Charity

2010-01-16T08:22:00.002-05:00

December 5: There’s a box at work set up to take donations of winter wear items, so I thought I’d knit up some simple hats with leftover bits of yarn to donate.

For the pattern, I’m just casting on 88 stitches, doing a 2x2 rib for about an inch, increasing to 96 stitches, and then just continuing in stockinette to the increases.

Finished one hat so far and started on a second.

January 6, 2010: Since the deadline for the winter clothing drive is Friday, I’m going to call this project “finished” even though I only knit two hats.

Pattern: Improvised
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Little Lovely and Oceanos

The Corrugator

2010-01-16T08:18:00.002-05:00

October 18: I started another pattern with this yarn, but I wasn’t enjoying knitting it so I switched to this pattern. Now I’m thinking that I made it too wide because at only 110 yards per skein, even with 3 skeins of this yarn, I don’t have very much and the scarf will probably be a lot shorter than I’d like. But I’m going to keep going with it and see what happens.

Later: Okay, I changed my mind. I decided that the fabric was too tight and also that it was going to be way too short, so I ripped out what I had done (about half of one skein) and started over. I went up to size 8 needles and cast on 29 stitches (I had cast on something like 41 the first time on size 6 needles). I think it’s working out better this time.

January 3, 2010: Finished this scarf in the car on the way back from Texas. I like the colors but hate the feel of the yarn, so I think I’m going to donate it.

Pattern: The Corrugator by Paula Smith
Yarn: Noro Kureyon (#226)

Mockery Socks

2009-12-21T21:28:00.004-05:00

November 1: Finished the leg of sock #1 and started on the heel flap. I’m realizing how much I’ve missed knitting socks!

November 5: Finished the whole heel part and now working on the foot. I decide to just do a plain stockinette foot all the way around rather than continuing the pattern on the top of the foot.

November 15: Finished the first sock and cast on for the second. I love this blue!

November 24: Finished the leg of sock #2 and just got started on the heel flap.

December 21: Finally able to get back to these and finish them off. I think they turned out fantastic! Love the color and the pattern. Very comfortable on my feet.

Pattern: Mockery Socks by Katie Grady (available to download free on Ravelry)
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock in Impressionist Sky

Mom's Christmas Blanket

2009-12-21T14:17:00.002-05:00

August 13: My mom liked the blanket I’m making for myself so I’m going to make one for her as a Christmas present. We went to the LYS and she picked out the yarn, so I hope that means she’ll be happy with how it turns out.

And on this blanket, I’ve actually drawn out the blanket with the colors in place so I can make sure that everything will come together nicely rather than the very striped effect that my own log cabin blanket is doing. I’m happy with it so far.

December 20: Oh my gods. I can’t believe it. I’ve finally finished this blanket (and just in time for Christmas). I still have a few ends to weave in but overall it’s done! I did have a few little boo boos. I ran out of yarn at the end (and those colors weren’t available at my LYS and I didn’t have time to order more online), so the last brown and maroon stripes are a little skinnier than they should be. But I put a small border in the off-white around the edge (the same color as the middle) and I think it looks great; it really ties the whole thing together. My hands feel like they’re going to fall off, but I’m so very happy with how it turned out.

December 21: Pictures added. It somehow ended up square rather than rectangular. It measures about 47” across.

Pattern: Joseph's Blankie of Many Colors from Mason-Dixon Knitting
Yarn: Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash in Ruby Heather (1909), Shire (1918), Walnut Heather (862), Aran (817), Chocolate Twist (1945)

MIL Clogs

2009-12-21T14:15:00.002-05:00

February 28: My MIL saw the clogs that I had made for myself and she commented that she wouldn’t mind a pair for herself, so I’m making these for her for Christmas. Today I finished the sole and upper part of clog #1. Just need to finish the second sole and attach it and the first clog will be done. (Well, done besides the felting.) I love how quickly this pattern knits up!

February 29: Finished first clog and felted it. I’ve never felted Cascade 220 before so I didn’t know how quickly it would go. I almost got the clog too small (in fact, I worry that it is 1/4” too small) because I didn’t check it quickly enough! I hope it fits. Still need to do the second one.

December 10: Finished second clog. I felted this one a little less so that it’s a bit larger than the first (which I’m worried might be just a tad too small). I hope they fit! (Added picture of clog #1 felted alongside clog #2 unfelted so you can see the difference in before/after felting.)

Pattern: Felted Clogs (AC-33) by Fiber Trends (purchase at LYS or through Ravelry)
Yarn: Cascade Yarns 220 Wool in Gold (#9463B) and Gris (#9473)

Clothilde

2009-12-21T14:12:00.003-05:00

November 19: I tried not to start a new project, but I just couldn’t help myself. This yarn and pattern were just calling out to me.

December 5: Finished the knitting. Love it! Just need to block it now and get some pictures.

December 21: I blocked it shortly after knitting it, but finally finished weaving in the ends and took a few pictures today.

Pattern: Clothilde by Kristen Hanley Cardozo
Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino in Matisse Blue

Amanda Hat

2009-12-21T14:10:00.002-05:00

November 27: Trying to figure out some quick Christmas gifts. I decided to use the leftover yarn from my FLS to make this Amanda hat for my SIL Amanda.

November 28: And finished. I’m rather pleased with the way it turned out. I hope Mandy will like it.

Pattern: Amanda Hat by Gina House (pattern available for free on Ravelry)
Yarn: Madeline Tosh Worsted in Seaglass B

Reclamation Shawl

2009-12-21T14:08:00.005-05:00

September 22: The pattern is super easy to memorize and I love the way it is turning out so far.
October 24: Finished! It still needs blocking, and I especially want to make sure that both sides are even when I block it. For some reason, even though I was doing the increase in the first stitch of every row, the two sides did not come out even. Very odd.

Pattern: Reclamation Shawl by Stefanie Japel
Yarn: JulieSpins M420S in Ink Over Orchid

Scarf has been sold in my etsy shop: karendawn.etsy.com

February Lady Sweater

2009-12-21T14:04:00.002-05:00

September 3: I’ve been wanting to knit this pattern for a really long time, so it’s exciting to finally be starting it!

September 5: I’ve knit down enough to be able to separate the armholes and a little beyond that. I’m also almost finished with my first skein of the yarn.

September 8: I’m working on the pattern on the body and definitely into the second skein of yarn by now. So far it looks good. I’ve timed myself to one pattern repeat (4 rows) per Buffy episode. I haven’t calculated how many more pattern repeats I have for the body, but I would guess by the end of Season 6 (which is what I’m on now), I should have it pretty close to finished.

September 17: Okay, so it’s the end of Season 7 of Buffy (so a little longer than I thought), but that timing was perfect because I’ve finished the body of the cardigan. Just the sleeves to go!

September 19: Working on sleeve #1.

September 27: Finished first sleeve.

October 15: And finished! Well, almost. Finished with the knitting at least. I still need to block it and then buy and put on the buttons. But I’m really happy with how it’s turned out!

October 17: I found some great buttons and sewed them on today. I’m really really pleased with how this turned out!

Pattern: February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne
Yarn: Madeleine Tosh Worsted in Seaglass B

My First Design Hat

2009-12-21T14:00:00.005-05:00

October 10-11: I had some more of the blue yarn left after making an Owl Hat but I wasn’t sure that it was enough to make another whole hat, so I decided to use it with the grey wool and do something with colorwork. I had just picked up a book of colorwork stitches (Colorwork Stitches: Over 250 Designs to Knit edited by Susia Johns), so I decided to make my own hat creation using one of the stitch patterns from this book. The one I picked looks like a snowflake. I’m pretty happy with how it has turned out although I think I may have waited just a little too long to start the pattern; it might have looked better to be closer to the edge.

I do plan to write this up as a pattern, so look for that at some point in the future.

Pattern: Mine!
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Blue Velvet (#813) and Cascade 220 Wool in Grey (#8509)

Hat has been sold in my etsy shop: karendawn.etsy.com

Owl Hat (Again)

2009-12-21T13:58:00.003-05:00

October 8: I made another one of these hats for a gift but it was really hard to give away, so I wanted to make another one for me.

I wanted a small project that I could start and finish in one evening and this hat was just perfect for that goal. It turned out really nicely.

Pattern: Owl Hat by Ruthie Nussbaum
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Blue Velvet (#813)

Windy City Hat

2009-12-21T13:52:00.001-05:00

September 13: A pretty easy knit. I went up to size 8 needles and also added about 3 extra rounds of the stockinette before decreasing at the top. Fits great!

Pattern: Windy City Hat by Jodi Haraldson
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy in Some Summer Sky

Aestlight Shawl

2009-12-21T13:50:00.004-05:00

August 10: Started the shawl. The construction is a bit different from some of the other shawls I’ve done, so I’m excited to see how this one comes together. Because I did these YOs on the edges for the toe up socks, I’m feeling pretty comfortable with doing them on the garter stitch triangle. Otherwise, I think that it would have been a little bit of an adjustment at first to get the hang of them.
August 15: Only 3 rows left in the garter stitch triangle!
August 16: I’ve started on the border. I’ve picked up all the stitches and I’m up through row 4 so far. I had a couple of weird issues with the picked up stitches and knitting through the back loop. I counted carefully and made sure twice that I had all the loops, but for some reason on the knit row after the one through the back loop, I found two places where something wonky happened and it looked like the stitches hadn’t been picked up correctly. I was able to fix them both times and as I’ve knitted a little further along, I don’t think it shows at all, so I hope it’s all taken care of. But I’d really like to know how the mistakes happened!
August 23: I’m now exactly halfway through the Bird’s Eye Lace section. (Sadly, with the semester starting up, I’m having a lot less time to knit so it’s been slow going). My curse as a tight knitter has struck again. My bird’s eyes are rather small. When I stretch them, they look okay, so I’m hoping that the blocking will make them stand out, but mine are no where near as large or prominent as other pictures I’ve seen of WIPs. (Speaking of pictures, I need to get some updated ones!)
August 25: Just 6 more rows to go with the Bird’s Eye Lace!
August 27: I’ve finally gotten to the edging (I’ve finished just one repeat of it so far) and I’m finally posting a couple of updated pictures. I’m also using the handy trick that haramis mentioned of using a DPN as the second needle for the edging. Thanks Emily! It’s a lot easier to work with.
August 28: I made it to the halfway point on the edging section. I may actually be able to finish this shawl within the next week!
September 12: I got a little bogged down working on the border because it was so repetitive and got boring after a while. But I pushed through today and finished it. It’s currently blocking (see picture). Although there are some parts I would have liked to see turn out better, I’m pleased with it overall.

Pattern: Aestlight Shawl by Gudrun Johnston
Yarn: Wollmeise 100% Merino Superwash in Gewitterhimmel

Available for sale in my etsy shop.

Happy Frog

2009-12-21T13:48:00.003-05:00

Sept. 7: Started the body of the frog.

Sept. 8: Finished the body, both arms, and one leg. This little guy is turning out a bit smaller than I had expected. But I think he’s going to be super cute. I learned how to do a picot bind off to create the digits on the fingers/toes. I had to redo the first arm, but I think I’ve got it now. I need to get to the hobby store soon and pick out some eyes!

Sept. 9: This little guy is nearly finished. He’s all put together and looks really cute, but I still need to embroider on a mouth for him. So that’s all that he needs and he’ll be done! (And I have enough yarn and another set of eyes so I can make him a companion.)

Sept. 12: Mouth completed (if a little wonky)

Pattern: Happy Frog by Emily Stoneking
Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino in Lettuce

Birthday Cowl

2009-12-21T13:46:00.003-05:00

September 1: I felt like working on a quick and easy project this evening, so I picked up this cowl. It was an easy pattern to memorize and I think it turned out really well.

Pattern: Birthday Cowl by Nova Seals
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy in Some Summer Sky

Mouse King

2009-12-21T13:44:00.002-05:00

July 12: Started the king mouse. I’ve finished knitting all of the pieces. Now comes the hard part of putting everything together.

July 14: Got the body and head put together.

July 24: Put on the feet, crown, and ears.

August 30: This poor guys was without arms and clothing for far too long, so I took an hour or so this morning and finished him. Some parts are a little fiddly (I need to get more practice at piecing small parts together), but he looks cute over all.

Pattern: Mouse King from Tails of Yore by Alan Dart (from Simply Knitting Issue 53)
Yarn: various colors in Hayfield Bonus DK

Whitby

2009-12-21T13:41:00.002-05:00

August 1: Started the first sock and finished up through the heel flap. Knitting socks with sport weight yarn definitely moves quickly!

August 2: Finished first sock! The pattern is pretty easy (both to memorize and to read). It’s a slightly different type of heel than I’ve done before (I believe it’s a square heel) and I think I like it. It seems sturdy and like it will wear a little better. It also looks like I’m going to have almost exactly enough yarn. (If my measurements are correct, I may have 0.1 oz leftover.)

August 21: Finally cast on for second sock.

August 29: I decided to treat myself to a full day of knitting and watching Buffy. After 12 episodes (season 4), I have another completed sock. And actually 0.4 oz of yarn leftover.

Pattern: Whitby by Nancy Bush (from Knitting on the Road)
Yarn: Mama Blue Knitting Goods Troika Sport in Ruby

Selbu

2009-08-20T19:33:00.003-05:00

I’ve been wanting to try some colorwork so I decided that this hat might make a good first project. I picked some leftover sock yarn that I thought both looked decent together and also had enough yardage. It wasn’t until I started working on the hat that I realized that the colors are John Deere colors. Oh well, the hat is mostly for practice. Perhaps if it turns out okay then I’ll donate it somewhere.

August 20: The colorwork had been really slow going. I was trying out different ways of holding the yarn (even getting some continental knitting going) but nothing was really comfortable. I was at the point where I just decided to pick up each color as I needed it, which was extremely time consuming to drop the yarn, pick up the other, knit a stitch, drop the yarn, pick up the other, knit two stitches, etc.

I got one of the Knitting Yarn Guides. It’s a very small piece of plastic, but what a difference it makes! It’s a lifesaver!! I think I knit 9 rows last night faster than I had knit the rest of the hat up to that point (11 rows plus the ribbing). The yarn guide keeps my yarn untangled, I can easily grab the color I need without having to drop anything. And the tension stays almost just right.

In fact, it helped so much, that I flew through the knitting of the rest of the hat and it’s now finished! I’m quite happy with how the colorwork came out. Now, the shape of the hat is another story. It’s not quite as flopsy as it probably should be, but that’s okay.

Pattern: Selbu Modern by Kate Gagnon Osborn
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy (Happy Forest) and MadelineTosh Sock (Chamomile)