WIP Wednesday: Brass and Steam Shawl is almost done!

 Posted by on June 12, 2013 at 12:03 pm
Jun 122013
 

I’ve been exclusively working on this shawl. It’s been so easy to pick up and put down at will.

shawl_2

I don’t have much yarn left, it’s about the size of a handball, I would estimate. If I stop now, I’m not sure what to do with that small bit left so I’m pressing on. I want to finish and have just enough for two hexipuffs, so about twenty yards short. I also don’t want this shawl to end at an awkward size. We’ll be settling into our new home next week which means I’ll be able to block this with my blocking wires. I can’t wait to be out of this hotel room!

For more works in progress, check out Tami’s blog.

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WIP Wednesday: Age of Brass and Steam Shawl

 Posted by on June 5, 2013 at 11:35 am
Jun 052013
 

Once again, my teal socks have been frogged. I just wasn’t happy with the idea of knitting one sock and having to make the other one. I also don’t think the yarn wanted to be socks. It told me it wanted to be a shawl. I’ve been so chilly here in Minnesota and my Mrs Tumnus shawlette is nice but not cutting it. Yes, I could just wear long sleeves, but I moved from Tennessee where I rarely needed to wear long sleeve shirts. So I have none and the stores here are only selling summer wear.

full_shawl

I listened to my yarn and a shawl was born. The pattern is the Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief, a free pattern on Ravelry. The pattern calls for DK or worsted weight yarn but I’m using fingering weight so I’ve just kept going past where the pattern says to stop. I also want this to be a larger shawl than what it calls for. It’s going to need a good blocking when I’m done. I want to use up as much of the skein as possible so I can make a hexipuff or two.

For more WIPs, check out Tami’s blog.

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WIP Wednesday: Yep, still more hexipuffs needed

 Posted by on May 29, 2013 at 11:35 am
May 292013
 

It’s been sometime since I last blogged about my hexipuff blanket. Actually, it’s been almost six months! I’m still plugging away at it. I feel like I’ve been in a knitting funk so they’ve been the perfect project to work on while I try to get my mojo back.

puff_blanket

I’m really pleased at the progress I’ve been making. I’m going to need more yarn that’s not in the blue range. I’m seeing a deficiency in yellow, green and orange. And just brighter colors in general. I love the bubblegum pink puffs that are tucked in there. The bright orange ones look nice as well.

For more WIPs, check out Tami’s blog.

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WIP Wednesday: Circle Socks

 Posted by on May 15, 2013 at 11:39 am
May 152013
 

The short row heel socks I was working on have been frogged. Somehow, I managed to cast on 82 stitches instead of my usual 62. And in our move, I think I put that ball of yarn into a box which is now in storage. I’ve had the itch to work on socks so I treated myself to a ball of Crazy Zauberball.

circle_sock

The pattern is Anne Campbell’s Circle Socks. They were designed for self striping/crazy striping yarn. I’m planning on changing out the heel for a short row heel because I’m bent on trying out the technique. Plus, I think it’s an usual pattern.

For more WIPs, check out Tami’s blog.

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WIP Wednesday: Short row heel socks

 Posted by on May 1, 2013 at 11:19 am
May 012013
 

I’ve been meaning to try out this whole short row heel sock thing for some time. Most of the socks I’ve made have a flap and gusset heel which is nice but tends to sag around my heels. Apparently, I have very pointy heels. One way to make my sock heels less saggy is to go down a needle size for the heels. I haven’t tried that yet but I might next time.

For now, the curious monkey in me wants to try a new technique. I’ve done short rows before so the new-to-me part is applying them to sock heels.

 teal_sock

The bait and switch is this: I haven’t started on the heel part yet. I can’t decide if I want to knit the leg a bit longer. Right now it’s at 3.5″ but I’m getting a wee bit bored with plain stockinette in the round. The yarn, however, is scrumptious! Sharp eyed readers may recognize it as yarn I picked up from Stitches South. It’s Cephalopod Yarn Skinny Bugga in Maxima Clam. It’s really soft but it’s been really good about not pilling like the Dream in Color Smooshy I used for my Mrs Tumnus shawl.

I’ve been busy finishing up some other projects but you’ll get to see those on Friday! For more works that are in progress, check out Tami’s blog.

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FO Friday: Mrs Tumnus Shawl

 Posted by on April 19, 2013 at 1:51 pm
Apr 192013
 

I finished the Mrs Tumnus shawl yesterday. I’m quite surprised at how quickly this knitted up. Here is the full shawl on the blocking mat:

mrs_tumnus_mimi_hill

And here is a detailed photo:

mrs_tumnus_detail

I cannot wait for it to finish drying. It will feel like a hug that is much needed today. I hope all of my Boston readers are safe. I used Dream in Color Smooshy and knitted this on a set of US7 circs.

It’s Friday and Tami’s put up this week’s link.

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Stitches South recap, part one

 Posted by on April 15, 2013 at 11:20 am
Apr 152013
 

Yes, this will be a post in two parts about Stitches South! Part one featuring the goodies I picked up will be up tomorrow. I had the pleasure of splitting a room with Stacey from FreshStitches (check out her blog post about our weekend over here) and she is a hoot! And a great roommate, too.

We had a delicious Southern home-style lunch at Folks‘. When I saw the giant rooster in front, I had to get a photo of us in front of it.

insert cock joke here

Vanessa and Stacey having fun

As you can probably guess, we were up to no good for most of the weekend. The food was amazing! And tasted so fresh and from scratch. For example, the gravy that came with my mashed potatoes had a strong beef flavor and not like it came from a packet. That taste only comes from making gravy from beef drippings.

I also had the pleasure of meeting (and purchasing from) the fine folks at Cephalopod Yarns.

Cephalopod Yarn

Left to Right: Lisa, Sarah and Sam

As some of you may know, they were the Sanguine Gryphon and now operate as Cephalopod Yarns. They were hilarious and delightful to talk to along with (not pictured) Shannon Okey from Cooperative Press.

I found that I’m not the only knitter slash art journaler out there! Stacey Budge-Kamison, the owner of Urban Gypz was there with her art journal on display.

Stacey Budge-Kamison and her luscious yarns

Her yarns are super textured while still being soft. I like working with art yarns so I treated myself to some of her mini skeins, but more on that tomorrow.

I had a blast this year at Stitches South (I did last year too!) and I was pleased to see that there were more vendors this year. I still don’t quite fit into the ‘target’ market (I saw a lot more women who are older than I am by quite a bit) I’m glad to see that XRX is trying to lure in more young and independent shops.

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WIP Wednesday: Mrs Tumnus shawl-ing along

 Posted by on April 3, 2013 at 10:49 am
Apr 032013
 

I can’t seem to put down this shawl! I’ve been busy watching the first season of Game of Thrones (I’m way behind, I know) and knitting on this at the same time.

tumnus

I’ve been very impressed with how easy the repeats are to memorize and how quickly it knits up. The yarn is living up to its name, it’s so smooshy!

For more WIPs, check out Tami’s blog.

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FO Friday: Lydia Bennet Secret Stockings are DONE

 Posted by on March 29, 2013 at 12:24 pm
Mar 292013
 

I finished my Lydia Bennet socks yesterday!

lydia_bennet_socks_doneOf course, today is a grey and rainy day which means they took forever to dry. When I photographed them, they were still a little too damp to wear even after several trips through the dryer. Oh well, I’ll wear them later today/tomorrow.

For more FOs, check out Tami’s blog.

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