My So-Called Scarf

May 18: Yesterday, I was winding some of my Malabrigo (while reading; it helps me keep my mind focused on the reading) and so I found myself looking at this yarn and wondering what to do with it. I decided this morning that I was going to use it rather than letting it languish in my stash. So I started searching patterns and decided to give this one a try. I’ve done about 2” and so far I’m really liking how the colors are working together with the pattern, so I’ll keep it. I’m so happy to have the yarn meet its pattern destiny.

May 24: Finished. Given to Susan since she loved this yarn.

MIL Socks

Feb. 7: Trying again to knit a pair of socks for my MIL. Will be much more careful about measuring this time (I made one sock with the foot way too small). And I’m just going with a very basic sock - ribbed leg and stockinette foot.

Feb. 9: About an inch left on the leg before I start the heel. I didn’t realize until looking at this picture exactly how the colors were lining up. I like it.

Feb. 11: Finished with the heel and now working on the foot.

Feb. 21: Had a two-day conference so I worked on this during the speakers’ presentations. Finished the foot and now working on the toe decreases.

Feb. 22: First sock finished!

March 6: Cast on the second sock.

April 25: I’ve now turned the heel on the second sock and just have to do the foot and toes.

May 4: Finished the foot of the second sock. Now just the toes remaining!

May 5: Finished! Just in time for Mother’s Day.

Pattern: Silver's Sock Class
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Multi in Mt Creek

Spring Forward

March 27: Cast on and finished a few rounds of the cuff.

April 8: Finished the cuff and the first 6 rounds of the pattern repeat.

April 9: Finished the first set of pattern repeat (24 rounds) plus 2 on the next set. (2-1/2 pattern repeats total for leg so I’m almost halfway there)

April 10: Finished another 26 rounds of leg. Only 8 more rounds to go before starting the heel!

April 11: Finished the heel flap, turning the heel, picking up the gusset stitches, and started decreasing the gusset.

April 12: Working on the foot now. If I’ve figured out the measurements correctly, I have about 36 more rounds to to before I start decreasing for the toes.

April 14: Finished the foot. All that is left is decreasing the toes and sock #1 will be finished.

April 15: Finished first sock! It fits perfectly, but since the yarn is not very stretchy, it’s quite a chore to actually get the sock on and off! But since it’s so comfortable, I’m not likely to take it off too quickly. ;)

April 18: Cast on for second sock.

April 19: This second sock is flying by! Finished up through picking up the gusset stitches today!

April 22: Finished the foot so I just have the toe left!

April 23: Second sock done! I’m very happy with how these turned out, although I’ve learned that this yarn is not the best for socks because it’s not very stretchy. Once I get the socks on, they fit beautifully, but getting them on over heel and ankle is quite a struggle!

Pattern: Spring Forward
Yarn: JulieSpins 50/50 Merino/Silk in Gold

Emily's Birthday Purse

February 12: Started.

March 29: Finished!

I used an i-cord handle rather than the cabled handle from the pattern because the cabled handle just seemed too wide for the small purse. I love the material that I used to line the purse, but once again I was reminded about how much I dislike doing all the finishing on projects. Perhaps I should invest in one of those small handheld sewing machines so I don’t have to do so much handsewing for adding linings.

Pattern: Cable Bag
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Azul Bolita

Brigit Socks

February 16: Cast on and finished 5 rounds of the cuff.

February 17: Worked a little more on first sock. Finished the cuff and 9 rounds of the leg. The very small cables are rather annoying with a cable needle, so I think I’ll look into the how to cable without using a needle and see if that helps.

February 22: Finished the leg and the heel flap. I decided that working with the cable needle was actually less annoying that trying to cable without a needle. I did, however, slip the stitch from the cable needle back to the left needle rather than knitting it off the cable needle. That seems to help.

February 26: Working on the foot and have about 5” completed so far.

February 28: Working on the decreases for the toe.

March 1: Sock #1 finished. Another perfect fit and oh so comfortable. I can’t wait to knit its mate so I can wear this pair of socks!

March 3: Cast on for Sock #2 and finished the cuff.

March 22: I’m finally getting back to working on these socks. I hope I can finish by the end of the month so they’ll count for February Sockdown! I’ve finished turning the heel and am now decreasing the gusset stitches.

March 25: If I’m counting correctly, I think I have about 18 more rounds to go before I begin decreasing for the toe. So I should be just fine to finish this by the end of the month!

March 27: Finished! I’m wearing them now and they’re a perfect fit and very comfortable. I love them!

Pattern: Brigit (free Ravelry download)
Yarn: Lotus Yarns Nirvana in Hitchcock Starlet (buy this yarn here or here)

Breathe Deep

March 14: Started first mitten this morning.

March 15: Finished first mitten and cast on for the second. I’m up through the cuff on that one now.

March 16: Finished! A really great fit. I knitted the first one (left) using DPNs and the second (right) using Magic Loop. The ML one seems a little looser but they still fit well. (I was testing to see which way I liked knitting them better - I think ML won for these.)

I picked up 3 stitches for the thumb rather than the 2 it called for since just the 2 would have left me with quite a gap. All in all, I’m very pleased with how they turned out and I absolutely love the fall colors in this yarn.

Pattern: Breathe Deep
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Stonechat

Forest Canopy Shawl

March 7: Cast on. The pattern is fairly simple so everything is going well so far.

March 8: I’m up to 155 stitches (need to get to 195 before beginning the border rows).
March 9: Just a few more rows tonight. Up to 163 stitches.
March 10: Almost finished with the body. Up to 191 stitches (of 195), so just two more rows to go before I begin the border rows (8 of those and then the binding off rows). Also, I joined in the 2nd skein of yarn and I tried the Russian Join which honestly makes me a little nervous, but it looks like it it holding up so far. We’ll see how it goes when I block it!
March 12: Finished with the knitting and so now I just need to block it (pictures are currently unblocked and not in good light). I have quite a bit of yarn leftover (I’ll measure it tomorrow) so I wish I had know that and finish an additional pattern repeat. But I do love the color and it’s oh so soft!

March 13: Currently blocking. It’s not quite as big as I had expected, but it’s a very nice small shawl. (About 3 feet across and 1-1/2 feet the other way)

March 14: This dried rather quickly so it’s all finished.

Pattern: Forest Canopy Shawl
Yarn: Malabrigo Silky in Indiecita
Shawl has been sold in my etsy store: karendawn.etsy.com

Patty

Malabrigo March Project

March 7: Started and finished knitting this small project this morning. I just need to go get some buttons to make it a completely finished project.

March 12: I finally got some buttons and sewed them on today. This is a great project for leftovers of yarn so I think I’ll be making more.

Pattern: Patty
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Tuareg

Retro Rib Socks

Jan. 22: I’ve been holding off on actually using any of my “precious” Sundara, but I realize that’s kinda silly. Yarn should be knitted, not stored in a box. So I wound it into a ball and started these socks. I’ve only done about 11 rounds so far, so I’ll post a picture when I get a little more done. I will say that starting off with a purl round working on DPNs is something I haven’t done before and it was a little difficult to get it to feel “comfortable” at first. But it’s perfectly fine now.

Jan. 23: Worked on a little more of the leg and finished 5 pattern repeats. Only 12 more to go before starting the heel.

Jan. 24: Finished up through 9 pattern repeats.

Jan. 25: Finished the leg, turning the heel, and picking up gusset stitches. Now working on decreasing the gusset stitches.

Jan. 28: Working on the foot now.

Jan. 29: Sock #1 finished. And I absolutely love it. Not only is it a perfect fit, the Sundara is just absolutely lovely and soft and comfortable. I think this might turn into one of my favorite pairs of socks. Now to make its mate! (Update: I finished the cuff on the second sock.)

Feb. 14: Finally got back to working on this project. After a marathon day of knitting, I finished the leg, heel flap, heel turn, and picking up the gusset stitches. My hands really hurt, but I’m really happy with the progress.

Feb. 15: Spent a good chunk of today working on this sock and it’s approaching the end. I have 6 more rounds on the foot and then I just have to decrease for the toe!

Feb. 16: Finished. Perfect fit. I think these are my absolutely favorite socks I’ve made so far. I think it will be hard to get me to take them off!

Pattern: Retro Rib Socks from Favorite Socks
Yarn: Sundara Sock Yarn in Lenten Rose