Fresh WIPs

It seems like whenever I finish up a big project, especially one that has taken a lot of time, I get an urge to cast on all the things for a while afterward. I'm definitely in that mode now, and in the last week or so I've started three new things and finished one.

The finished project isn't very exciting and hardly seems like it should count. When I finished up my Inspiration socks, I had about a quarter of the skein leftover, so I decided to use them for a little bit of crochet. Using an F/3.75 mm hook, I started with a small circle and worked my way out and up to make a little basket/bowl type thingy. Because the yarn wasn't superwash, I thought I'd see how it would felt, so it got tossed into a couple loads of laundry. It fuzzed and shrank up some, though not completely (likely because it was still worked at a fairly tight gauge), but it's the perfect size to be a cozy for the pot of fancy lotion Rainbow gave me for my birthday this year!

I will probably try to felt it a little more, as my original intent was for this to be a little bowl to sit on my nightstand, where it could be a useful receptacle for little things like buttons and stitch markers. So it may not be super useful right now, but it was a fun little experiment, particularly as I want to do more crochet this year.

But on to the WIPs! I've been promising Rainbow a new sweater for a while, so I did finally cast on for a Little Boxy for her on Sunday.

I'm using Fibernymph Dye Works Bounce (superwash merino/nylon) that she picked out earlier this year at Indie Knit and Spin. The colorway is Peacock Blue, which is turning up more green here than it is in real life (this listing in another base in Lisa's shop shows it better). Because I'm working with hand-dyed yarn, I am alternating skeins every round. I don't know if I am technically using the helical knitting method, but I am not twisting the strands as I switch them. Instead, I'm just grabbing the new strand from under the strand I've been using as I start each round, and I'm finding that it has a much smoother effect than the twisting I used to do.

So far, I've only worked the ribbing at the bottom of the body and one round of the stockinette on larger needles (I used a US 2.5/3.0 mm for the ribbing and am using a US 4/3.5 mm for the body). The 1x1 ribbing is definitely the slowest part, especially during the first couple of rounds when you're really being careful to make sure you haven't twisted your work and when there isn't quite enough fabric on the needles yet to comfortably stretch around the full length of the circular. Because I knew I'd be working with two skeins at once, I decided to make things easy for myself and used both for the cast on. I used my favorite method for casting on, long tail, but I thought I'd change things up a bit. Because the bottom is worked in 1x1 rib, I did an alternating knit/purl long-tail cast on. I think this makes the CO edge blend into the ribbing a bit better, and it also creates an interesting effect on the edge.

My other new project uses the same yarn but in another color (or perhaps I should say colors). A few weeks ago, I won a set of mini skeins from Lisa as part of her yearlong knitalong program in six shades of purple. Naturally Rainbow immediately asked if I could make her something with them (the love of purple has diminished as she's gotten older but hasn't entirely gone away), so I thought I'd try a slouchy brioche hat that she could alternate with the Sockhead Hat she loves so much. I cast on for it on Saturday and had completed probably an inch and a half by Monday morning when I realized that it was going to be way too big for her -- even too big for me. So I ripped it out and started again. I'm almost back to where I was, and the fit looks to be much better.

Despite what they might look like here, these skeins are actually two different colors, though I'll grant you the difference is subtle. I used the same two-strand knit/purl long-tail cast on for this hat, and I'm using the same quasi-helical method to alternate my skeins each round. I have a total of six mini skeins, which I think are 20 g/80 yds. each, so I doubt I'll use all the yarn, but I should at least be able to use most of it. It's not as portable as my usual sock project, but it's been fun knitting.