Mockery Socks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

More Toe Up Socks

July 9: I enjoyed working the short row toe on the practice socks for my class, so I decided to jump in and start another pair of toe-up socks in a fingering weight yarn. I should have gone down a needle size as the fabric feels a bit loose, but I’m going to continue with these right now and see how they look after I finish the foot.

July 11: Finished the foot and heel and started working on the leg.

July 24: Finished the first sock and the toe of the second sock.

July 30: Finished the foot, heel, and just got started on the ribbing on the leg.

August 9: Finished second sock!

Yarn: numma numma toasty in Blackberry Jam
Pattern: Basic toe up sock provided by the class instructor

New Niece Cardigan

August 3: I was a little confused about the pattern at first until I realized that the top part is knit sideways rather than from top to bottom. Once I figured that out, the pattern makes a lot more sense!

August 4: Finished the top section. Now I need to pick up stitches for the lace skirt part.

August 8: Finished! I want to get a snap for the closure and also do a little blocking, but I’ve posted some pictures for now.

Pattern: Vintage Rocks Baby by Dianna Smith
Yarn: Have You Any Wool Simplicity Sock in Printemps

Kai-Mei

May 9: I wanted a knitting project to work on while listening to papers at a conference, but since Devon is a bit more complex, I didn’t want to work on it. So haramis suggested Kai-Mei since it starts out with simple ribbing on the leg. So I have started these socks, but I actually haven’t spent as much time knitting as I thought I would, so I have only about 1” finished so far. But there’s still 1-1/2 days of the conference left.

May 11: I have about 4 inches on the leg finished.

May 24: Finished turning the heel and picking up the gusset stitches.

May 30: Finished first sock. Fits just right. And thank you to haramis for the tip about using a stitch marker (one that opens) to hold the YOs that will be purled together for the nifty pattern. That was definitely a big help!

July 24: Finally cast on for second sock!

July 26: Finished leg and heel flap.

July 27: Finished turning the heel and decreasing the gusset. Now I’m working on the foot. I had 8 pattern repeats on sock #1 and I’ve finished 3 of them so far on this second sock. I remember the foot going pretty quickly on the first one, so I hope to finish these in the next couple of days.

July 29: Finished!

Pattern: Kai-Mei from Sock Innovation by Cookie A
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in Happy Forest

Practice Toe Up Socks

July 8: I have not learned how to knit socks from the toe up so when a class was offered at my LYS, I had to sign up. Here is the progress from the first class meeting: a short row toe. Once I got the hang of it, it worked out nicely.

July 14: Finished my “homework” (up to right before the heel).

July 15: Worked the heel and started the ribbing on the leg.

July 20: Finished the leg. I’m all ready to do the bind off for Wednesday’s class!

July 22: Finished first sock at the final class meeting and also finished the toe of the second sock.

July 23: Finished second sock.

Pattern: Basic toe up sock provided by class instructor
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Denim (845)

Springtime Bandit

July 15: Because I just can’t seem to focus on one project at a time, I just had to start a new one. The cast on and set up for this project really confused me. I tried it multiple times and each time it just looked completely bulky and ugly and not something I really wanted to have on my shawl. So I just did a long-tail cast on of 7 stitches and went from there. There’s a little curve in the edge right there but I think it looks okay. I worked through the set-up rows and 3 of the 4 pattern repeats for the body. This is turning out to be a pretty quick knit!

July 17: I’ve finished up through row 12 of the Edge Chart and have just finished off the first skein of yarn.

July 18: Finished. I still need to block it, so I’ll do that in the next couple of days and get some pictures posted.

July 20: Blocking.

Pattern: Springtime Bandit by Kate Gagnon Osborn
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Violetas

Copper Penny Socks

June 7: I’ve been reading about other people’s experience with this pattern and their concern that the small number of stitches around will make the sock too small. Since I’m a tight knitter (and just had to frog those Devon socks twice because they were too small), I decided to go up to a size 2 needles and also to use some heavier fingering weight yarn. I didn’t change the number of stitches. And the needle/yarn combination seems to have worked. I’ve tried it on several times to discover that it seems to be fitting quite well and not at all too tightly. Finished the leg (I did 16 of the 18 pattern repeats, which seems to be about right for my leg or else I’ll be making knee highs!) today. This pattern really goes quite quickly.

June 8: Turned the heel and finished about half of the foot. Will I be able to finish the first sock tomorrow?

June 9: And I did it. Sock #1 finished and a perfect fit. I’m not sure I can do the second sock in 3 days (that’s some really intense knitting time!), but I’m definitely liking how this first sock came out so I’m eager to get it a mate.

June 21: Finally cast on for sock #2. Finished the cuff and 2 pattern repeats of the leg.

June 30: Finished 2 more pattern repeats on the leg.

July 1: Finished 2 more pattern repeats on the leg.

July 2: Once again, finished 2 more pattern repeats on the leg.

July 3: Finished the leg, heel, gusset, and started the foot.

July 8: Finished second sock!

Pattern: Copper Penny Socks (in Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn)
Yarn: JulieSpins MCN in Warm Wood

Hurricane Hat

I saw this yarn in my LYS store today and I really wanted to make something with it. I had very recently queued this Hurricane Hat so I decided that the two would work nicely together. And I was right. I really like this hat (although it might be a little on the small side). I did go up a needle size than what was called for as the hats I’ve knit on 7s in the past have been child sized.



Pattern: Hurricane Hat
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Little Lovely

Otto

June 18: Started this one and learned a new cast on method. The instructions were very good and it worked perfectly for me the first time I tried it. The head is finished, but I’m out of stuffing so I need to get more before I am able to continue.

Got more stuffing and worked a bit of the body. Took a quick picture to show current progress.

June 27: Finished body and legs. Started first arm.

June 30: Finished first arm. Am running really low on yarn, so I hope I have enough for the second arm and the ears!

July 1: The second arm was a bit easier than the first. The first ear was pretty challenging, but like the arms, the second was easier. The nose is still a wee bit pointy (and is now emphasized with the black), but I think he’s pretty cute! (I had just a tiny bit of yarn leftover.)





Pattern: Otto
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Dyed Cotton