In Which I Likely Overcommit Myself

I was feeling really good about my holiday knitting yesterday. Rainbow wanted company yesterday afternoon while she worked on one of the big Lego sets she received as a gift last week, so I brought my knitting down to the family room and worked on my father-in-law's socks. A couple of hours later, I had a finished pair:

Pattern: Xeric Socks by Kino Knits (Ravelry link), size L
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll (75% superwash merino/25% nylon) in Jack Rabbit Heather
Needles: US 1 (2.25 mm)
Mods: subbed my usual slip-stitch heel
Started/Completed: December 10/December 21

Though I complained a number of times about how long these socks were taking, in reality they didn't take all that long. Part of that was because I was using size 1 needles instead of my usual size 0 (the larger size was called for in the pattern, but I also figured it was a smart move on my part to move these along). The stitch pattern was also very engaging, and once I more or less had it memorized and didn't have to keep track of where I was in the pattern, it moved along even more quickly. I very wisely made notes in the pattern when I was knitting the first sock of how many repeats I did of each section so I didn't have to measure constantly for the second sock.

The only modification I made was to do a more typical slip-stitch heel flap instead of the patterned heel flap called for in the pattern. The patterning looks interesting, but I don't think it will wear as well as the reinforced flap; having seen my father-in-law's feet, I know he needs that reinforcement.

When these socks were finished, my holiday knitting should have been done. But no -- in typically crazy knitter fashion, I decided to try to knit one more last minute in the form of a hat for my brother-in-law, the only family member I didn't have a gift for.

He and Rainbow have this ongoing joke about corn (it's a long story), and as I had this bright yellow skein of Knit Picks Mighty Stitch from my last order just sitting there, I figured I'd freestyle a corn hat for him. I only just cast on last night and so only got some of the brim ribbing done, but I'll be focusing on it today to see how much I can get done. It's worsted weight and a simple knit/purl stitch, so in theory it shouldn't take too long. Rainbow is also working on finishing up a hat for her cousin, so we will plan to drop the hats and the socks I knit for my sister-in-law later in the week (they live nearby, so we can always drive over and do a no-contact porch drop).

Lest you think I'm winding down my knitting plans for the year, here are three skeins of handspun I've pulled for projects I'd still like to knit before the end of 2020:

The green and red skein on the far left is on my yarn list for 20 in 2020, and I've decided to pair it with the natural cream in the center for a Bousta Beanie for me. The larger purple skein on the far right is destined to become Entrechat (Ravelry link) for a baby gift for a friend who is scheduled for a C-section next week, I believe. The latter project, at least, should be pretty fast, as I'm planning to knit the smallest size (and it's worsted weight on size 8 needles!). In addition to all this, I'm also spinning my HipStrings Base 12 fiber. I am nothing if not ambitious, but we'll see if I've bitten off more than I can chew!

All the Way to Eleven

It's a special day in our house. Today, this young lady is 11 years old!

She's never been a morning person, but the promise of chocolate chip pancakes made it easier to get her out of bed this morning!

 

Obviously this birthday will be unlike any other, with a Zoom birthday party, but we're trying our best to make it as special as possible! And I've already promised that as soon as it's safe, she can invite as many people as she likes to a make-up party. For now, we'll have a quieter celebration at home with just the three of us. She'll have the dinner she chose (steak and green beans, with brownies and ice cream for dessert) and will get to open birthday as well as Chanukah presents tonight. It's not fancy, but it'll have to do.

Seeing as she's the star of the day, it seems appropriate the the FO I have to share today was knit for her:

Pattern: Fantastical Fox Mitts (Ravelry link) by Vikki Bird, size S
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted (100% superwash merino) in Allspice and White
Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm)
Started/Completed: November 24/December 11

These were a fun knit and would have been pretty fast to finish had it not been for the fact that I had to knit them in secret, meaning I got maybe an hour a day to work on them in the time between when Rainbow went to bed each night and when it was bedtime for me. I think because of that constant starting and stopping, they actually took more time, in total hours, than they would have if I'd been able to sit down and focus on them exclusively for a day or so.

While this pattern is very well written and certainly very clever in its construction, I will warn you that it's very fiddly and has a lot of parts. You start with the mitten flap, which is worked top down and uses intarsia in the round (which is actually much easier than you might think). Next you work the fingerless mitt from the top down, joining the flap once you've worked a bit. The thumb opening is placed by inserting some scrap yarn and picking up for it later. The "face" is likewise picked up and knit onto the flap, and the ears (four of 'em) are worked individually in the round and sewn on. Finally the nose and eyes (buttons) are sewn on, and if you wish (and I did), you can sew a button to the back of the hand and add a loop to the top of the flap to secure it.

I'm already thinking of ways to simplify the pattern for the next time I make it (because really, how can I not make it again?). For starters, if the intarsia in the round intimidates you, it would be easy to cast on extra stitches and work the two sides of the lower part of the flap flat, then seam them. The face could be done in duplicate stitch. The ears could be picked up and knit on. And certainly embroidery could be used in place of the buttons on the face. I'm also thinking of the possibilities of using other colors and slightly different features to make the mittens look like other animals. And if cutesy isn't your thing, the pattern would be just fine to use for plain convertible mittens or mitts (it gives the option for an open thumb as well as a full thumb, and you could leave off the flap altogether if you just want a plain fingerless mitt).

I knit these with a little trepidation because it had been a full year since Rainbow had seen and loved the pattern, but I'm happy to report that she was absolutely thrilled with them! We've conveniently got a snowstorm coming tomorrow (the estimates I've seen range from 5 to 8 inches total), so it looks like she'll soon have a chance to actually use them, too!

Wednesday WIPs

Good morning and welcome to the last full day of Thanksgiving prep! Rainbow and I have just prepped two loaves of challah for the stuffing (which translates to cutting off all the crust, cubing the insides, and leaving it to dry out a bit). Yesterday we baked three dozen pumpkin cranberry muffins and made fresh cranberry sauce. Today, in addition to mixing up the stuffing (my great-grandmother's recipe, which is really more of a savory bread pudding), we'll mix up the mashed sweet potatoes, leaving only the turkey, gravy, and apple pie for tomorrow. I honestly thought that I'd spend most of this week crafting, but cooking for Thanksgiving, even when it's a smaller-than-normal dinner, takes a lot of time!

Today I'm joining Kat and the Unravelers to chat about my knitting and my reading.

After I finished my Hitchhiker, I realized that other than a shawl that's in hibernation, I had nothing on the needles! There's still a fair amount of holiday knitting to do, though, so I wasted no time in casting on the first pair of man socks. These are for my father; I figured I'd do his first because they're in the darker (and therefore harder to see) yarn and also because I will want to mail my parents gifts early in December.

I know the yarn looks like a plain-old navy here, but it's actually a pretty complex shade of Knit Picks Stroll called Midnight Heather that has some green and teal shades in it.

Neither of the dads is very adventurous in his clothing choices, so this is about as wild as I could get for my father. I've picked an equally sedate color for my father-in-law, a color called Jack Rabbit Heather that I'd describe as a warm brown-gray:

Both guys are getting plain stockinette socks, worked over 70 stitches, with a heel flap and gusset and wedge toe. I started the first sock on Monday and worked on it through a (Zoom) board meeting, and I already have nearly 5 inches complete on the leg. If I can manage to find time to knit (perhaps while the turkey is in the oven tomorrow?), I think the socks will go quickly. It's really all about prioritization.

Meanwhile, the Giftalong started at 8 last night, so once I got Rainbow into bed, I cast on a gift for her. Last year she saw and fell in love with the Fantastical Fox Mitts (Ravelry link), and while I got the pattern, I didn't have the time or the right yarn to make them for her. So I'm making them now and keeping my fingers crossed that she still likes them!

I'm using Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Allspice and White and knitting the smallest size, though I think there will still be a bit of room for Rainbow to grow. As nice as it is to have her home -- and we've just learned that there are three diagnosed cases of COVID among staff at her school, so I expect she'll be home longer -- it does make it difficult to knit for her in secret! I can only work on presents for her when she's asleep, and this week she's been going to bed later.

Since my last Unraveled Wednesday post, I have finished three books:

 

Jew(ish) was an Amazon First Reads freebie, and it was a quick, easy read. It was interesting and gave me some food for thought, but as the writer is British and a lot of the book deals with British politics, I felt that there were large chunks of the book that I didn't understand and didn't really apply to me. I guess you get what you pay for, right? I gave it 3 stars.

 
I think I mentioned before that I wanted to read Bridge to Terabithia because Rainbow was reading it in school and I couldn't remember if I'd actually read it when I was her age. I have since determined that I never actually did read it, so it was worthwhile to pick it up now. While I can see why it's been so praised as a classic, I also found it really dated, so I do wonder how much kids today will relate to it. The edition I got from the library was a special 40th anniversary edition, and I appreciated the addition of a special reflection from the author on the occasion and the text of her Newberry Medal acceptance speech. I gave it 3 stars.

I'd had a long wait from the library for The Vanishing Half and was delighted to get it a week or so before I expected -- and frankly once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. It's a really beautifully written story of two light-skinned Black twin sisters, one of whom decides to "pass" as white and live her life as something she is not. Aside from the fact that Brit Bennett tells a really interesting story, I think the questions of race and identity that it poses are quite timely given current events and active efforts to understand and undermine racism. I gave it an enthusiastic 5 stars.

Today, in between all the cooking, I'm hoping to finish my current book, The Great Believers, and move on to the next Gamache book that I have on loan from the library. I hope that your WIPs and your books are entertaining you and that your house is filled with good smells today!

The First of Many

I have a finished project to share today that I predict will be the first of many -- and it's all Bonny's fault. After drooling over her many Hitchhiker shawls, I finally cast one one last month, and on Sunday evening, just before bed, I finished it.

Pattern: Hitchhiker by Martina Behm (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Handspun Targhee/bamboo/silk (details in this post)
Needles: US 3 (3.25 mm)
Started/Completed: October 15/November 22

For my very first Hitchhiker, I followed the pattern exactly as written, although because I had less yarn than called for, I only made it to 39 "teeth" rather than 42. Still, it's a lovely little shawlette, and I am thrilled with how it came out. It was really an excellent pattern for knitting while doing something else, as it requires attention in very few spots (the beginning and end of each row and the beginning of every eighth row) -- everything else is just knit.

I have yet to block this, but I plan to take care of that later this week. I think I can stretch it a bit so that it's a bit bigger and so that the fabric has a bit more drape.

I enjoyed this project so much that I'm already contemplating my next one. For starters, Rainbow really wanted this one, so I need to make her one in a skein of sparkly purple yarn so I can keep this one for myself. And I'm also thinking about quite a few skeins of handspun in my stash that would be perfect. How many is too many Hitchhikers for one person?

Before I start another or half a dozen more, though, there is still gift knitting to do, and that has to be the focus for the moment. I will be back to chat about that tomorrow. But the talk of gift knitting reminds me that I wanted to mention that the Indie Design Giftalong kicks off on Ravelry this evening at 8 p.m. Eastern. This is the eighth year for the event and my eighth time participating as a designer (plus I'm also on the mod team), and I'm excited! All participating designers create a bundle of 10-20 designs that are on sale for 25% off for the first week of the event (using the code giftalong2020); you can find my bundle here. If you're one of those people who can't access Ravelry safely right now, the patterns can also be found in my Payhip shop (look for the Gift Knitting 2020 collection), and I'll be offering the same discount using the coupon code giftknit2020.

Pattern Release: Hakova Sheli

I think I've said before that one of the hardest parts about pattern designing for me is coming up with a good name. In this case of this hat, I had no problems whatsoever because the crown of the hat immediately reminded me of a fond memory from childhood.

For the Jewish holiday of Purim, it's a tradition to make and eat a special type of cookie, called hamantaschen. These cookies are triangular and said by some to represent the three-cornered hat favored by Haman, the villain of the Purim story. While that story may be apocryphal, what's undeniable is that the cookies are delicious, and it's a fun tradition in many families to make the cookies and share them with friends and families. I have some very clear memories of helping my mother fill hamentaschen as a child, and I also remember her singing a Purim song in Hebrew that goes "Hakova sheli shalosh pinot," which translates to "My hat has three corners." Could there be a more perfect name for this crown? I think not!

Hakova Sheli is worked in basic brioche stitch using a fingering weight yarn. It's super simple until you get to the crown decreases, which are really more fiddly than difficult and go very quickly once you've got the hang of them. I've graded the pattern to four sizes, approximately toddler to adult large, but the stretchiness of the brioche stitch makes for a very flexible fit.

I used a self-striping yarn from Fibernymph Dye Works for my sample (the colorway is called Cold Snap), and I just love what brioche stitch does to stripes. As with all of my patterns, it's been professionally tech edited, and I also had a bunch of volunteers preview knit it, so you can be sure the pattern is easy to follow. Through the end of the month, I'm offering it for sale for 20% using the code MYHAT.



But wait, that's not all!

In addition to offering you this new hat, I also want to mention that the seventh annual Indie Designer Giftalong starts tonight at 8 p.m. EST! I have participated every year as a designer and for the past few years as a group moderator, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that it's my favorite time of year! I've selected 20 of my most popular patterns for the pattern sale portion of the event, which runs from the start of the event until 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday, December 2. All my paid patterns are eligible for prizes in the KALs, including Hakova Sheli. I hope you see you in the group!

The Last, the First, and a Start

I was trying very hard to finish up two Gift-a-long projects by the end of 2017, but I only managed one. And I'm thrilled with it!

Pattern: Whippersnapper by Triona Murphy, size 3-6 months
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in Pond Tonal and Dale Garn Baby Ull in an unnamed blue
Needles: US 1 (2.25 mm) and US 2 (2.75 mm)
Started/Completed: December 22/December 31

I knit this as a gift for my best friend, who just had her third son. They live in Colorado, so I made the smallest size both because it was would be fastest to knit and because the baby is likely to need a sweater right away. Even for a fingering-weight sweater, this knit up quickly, and it was an easy knit, too. I went with the two colors I used mainly because it was what I had enough of in my stash, though I completely love Triona's original idea of using a gradient set of mini skeins for the wide stripes and a solid for the thin stripes. I can see myself knitting this again one day for Rainbow (perhaps using thicker yarn to upsize it more). My only very minor complaint is that there were a lot of ends to weave in for such a small sweater, but I didn't think carrying the blue through the green sections was going to be a good idea.

I tried very hard to finish up the second project before midnight, but frankly I wasn't sure if I'd be able to stay awake that late and I probably wouldn't have finished anyway if I had, so instead I put the knitting away, went to bed, and finished up these socks yesterday, making them my first FO of 2018.

Pattern: Intrecciate Socks by yours truly (currently only available in Knit Now but coming to my Ravelry shop later this winter)
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Pewter
Needles: US 0 (2.0 mm)
Started/Completed: December 21, 2017/January 1, 2018

I decided to knit these up because I knew I would want another sample of the pattern to photograph for republishing when I get the rights back, and I really wanted to knit them in the kind of yarn I'd originally envisioned for the yarn -- namely a semisolid yarn with multiple plies. The multicolored singles yarn I used for the original sample was fun, but I think the cables pop much better in this pair.

I'm feeling very virtuous for using up this yarn, as it had been marinating in my stash for likely a decade or longer. I received it in a swap back then, and it was old enough that Shepherd Sock still came in a 50 g put-up and you needed to buy two to make a pair of socks.

There are a couple of projects in progress back home, and I still have Rainbow's striped socks on the needles (which will see some action a little later this afternoon, as the Mister and I are headed to a movie), but I felt the urge to cast on a new design yesterday. Unfortunately it appears that I was not counting very carefully and was short two stitches, so I had to frog last night, but I cast on again this morning and all is going well.

This is yet another pair of socks, this time with a bit of colorwork for fun. I'm using Fibernymph Dye Works Traveler, Lisa's sportweight base, and I just love how quickly it knits up. Combined with the fact that these are shortie/ankle socks, I think it's fair to say that they are not going to linger on the needles for very long.

Counting Down

There has been much knitting the past several days, and projects are finally starting to wind down. All the same, I also feel like I am running out of time.

First, the finished -- my Plummy Mitts are complete!

Pattern: Plummy Mitts by Katy H. Carroll, size small
Yarn: handspun Targhee
Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm)
Started/Completed: November 25/December 3

I made these exactly as the pattern called for, with zero modifications. And they are a perfect fit. After blocking them earlier in the week (in the hope that the yarn would bloom a bit, because the yarn used for the second mitt was a bit thinner than that used for the first mitt), I brought them into work yesterday and have been making good use of them when the office air conditioning kicks on (yes, even when it's freezing outside -- our HVAC system makes no sense). They are incredibly squishy and cozy, and I kind of want to wear them all the time. I still have a bit more than half of the yarn leftover, so I need to figure out what to do with it. Unfortunately it's not enough to make the matching cowl, but maybe I'll make another pair of mitts for home or something.

Meanwhile, I am in the home stretch on Rainbow's Vanilla Is the New Black socks, with just the foot of the second sock left to knit. I'm very confident that I can finish these up this weekend and have them ready for the first night of Chanukkah, if I decide to give them to her then.

The one project that's causing me a bit of concern is my Flower Market Shawl, which is moving but slowly. That's really my own fault -- I just haven't been working on it as much. I'm through five of the eight repeats of the main body chart at this point, and I'd really like to have this finished up before we leave for our trip, so I'll be focusing on it more in the next two weeks to try to make that happen.

I've also got another pair of socks on the needles, cast on pretty much because I needed something to work on while putting Rainbow to bed (which means nothing with a pattern or that requires actually being able to see my knitting), and obviously I couldn't knit her socks in front of here. These are another pair in Knit Picks Felici, in the colorway Hawaiian Shirt. They're just a plain stockinette, but I'm planning to try out an idea for a new heel with them.

The weekend ahead is looking to be pretty busy, with a couple of birthday parties for Rainbow (one of which is hers) and a holiday party for us adults as well as podcast recording time. I'm still hoping to get in a few hours of crafting, though, and hope that by next week I'll have some noticeable progress to show you!

Feeling Stripey

My projects this week have been all about the stripes.

I haven't touched my Flower Market Shawl since you last saw it, though I'm hoping to put in some serious time on it this weekend. Instead, I've been focusing on my Plummy Mitts for my evening knitting and Rainbow's Vanilla Is the New Black socks for lunchtime knitting.

I finished up the first of my mitts last night and it fits perfectly!

The colors are a bit brighter when there's actual daylight

I'm hoping that the yarn blooms a little more when I block these, because there were definitely a few spots where it was a bit on the thin side and the fabric is a bit see-through. I've already gotten started on the second mitt, and I anticipate having a finished pair by next week.

Meanwhile, I have finished up the heel and moved onto the foot of Rainbow's socks, and they are continuing to delight me with their colors.

I'm a tad bit concerned that these might be a bit big on her (because I tried them on and they fit me, albeit tightly), so I may go down to the smallest size for the next pair. The heel was fun to knit on these, and I'll be interested to hear how she likes it as compared to the heels she's experienced with the previous socks I've knit her. Sizing concerns aside, the pattern is easy and a lot of fun, and I'm really enjoying the yarn. It's been a while since I last knit with Felici, and I swear it's gotten softer. I'm not sure how that will translate into wearing well, but at least with Rainbow she's more likely to outgrow her socks before she wears them out.

The weekend ahead looks relatively calm, so I plan on filling it up with lots of knitting and spinning time. December has really snuck up on me and there's less time than I thought I had to get things done, so I'm going to need all the time I can get!

Giftalong Fever

Remember the last couple of weeks, when I was decrying the fact that I was feeling totally unenthusiastic about my knitting and wondering where my mojo had gone? I'm happy to report the feeling has completely left me and I am completely enthused by my current projects thanks to the Indie Design Giftalong. I've got three projects on the needles that I'm actively working on, and I'm enamored with them all.

First up is the only real gift that I'm knitting, and that's a pair of Vanilla Is the New Black socks for Rainbow. These are being knit in a lovely, bright colorway of Knit Picks Felici called Hopscotch.

I'm nearly halfway done with the first sock (if you consider the heel the halfway point), but these should move along very quickly given that the heel is the only part where I really need to pay attention. I started these over the weekend but didn't get too far, as I could only work on them when Rainbow wasn't around -- I really want these to be a surprise! These will be one of her Chanukah presents, and for now they're my designated lunchtime knitting.

The other two projects are both for me. One is the Flower Market Shawl, a pattern I bought last year and that has been patiently waiting for me to find the perfect yarn for it. I realized that the faded skein of yarn I spun a couple of months ago had just the right amount of yardage and would look really great in this pattern, so I didn't waste much time in winding the skein and casting on right after the GAL officially kicked off.

I'm in the middle of my fourth (of eight) repeats of this motif, and the rows are just starting to get long enough that I notice they take me a little while.

The other project is, coincidentally, also being worked in handspun and using a pattern I bought previously. It is a set of Plummy Mitts that I'm knitting up in the skein of Gwen Erin Targhee I finished earlier this month and couldn't bear not to keep for myself. I think it was a smart move, because I really love how the first mitt is knitting up.

I'm part of the way into the thumb gusset, and I think if I can get in a decent amount of time on the first mitt tonight, I should be close to finishing it up (if not actually finishing it). My plan is to use these mitts at the office to keep my hands and wrists warm; despite the fact that there was extensive work done in the building last year to make the HVAC system more efficient, I am still always cold because the air conditioning comes on pretty much every day and the heat never seems to. Fingerless mitts should make a bit difference while still keeping my fingers free to write and type.

If I happen to be really productive and finish up all these projects with time still left in the GAL, I'll be casting on another pair of socks for Rainbow as well as a baby sweater for a baby that is due very, very soon (I totally dropped the ball on that one, but at least a baby sweater is a quick knit). One thing at a time, though -- I'm determined to keep this GAL all about enjoying myself and not overdoing it.

If you still haven't taken advantage of the big GAL pattern sale, here's your reminder that it ends at 11:59 EST tonight! You can find my bundle of sale patterns here. You don't have to buy new patterns to participate in the fun, though -- if you already have patterns by participating designers in your library, you can use those! I'd really encourage you to come join the Ravelry GAL group and have fun chatting and playing the games. It may seem a little intimidating because it's a big group and the chat moves quickly, but you can jump in anywhere you like!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's just about that time again -- Indie Design Gift-a-long time!

Just what is the Gift-a-long (or GAL, for short)? It's a giant celebration of holiday gift crafting shining a spotlight on independent designers. For roughly five weeks, knitters and crocheters will be crafting along together on Ravelry while they also chat and play fun games. The whole thing kicks off with a giant pattern sale: All participating designers have created a bundle of 10-20 patterns that will be 25% off for the first week of the GAL. All patterns by participating designers are eligible for the KAL/CALs, and all paid patterns are eligible to win prizes (which include download codes for free patterns as well as some pretty amazing physical prizes).

I am participating in the event again this year as both a designer and a moderator. I'm also planning on knitting some things myself, and I'll admit I'm being totally selfish and knitting only for me this year. I've already got my yarn wound up and ready to be cast on:

These skeins are both handspun, and I'm very excited to be knitting them.

If you'd like to find out more about the GAL, go check out the Ravelry group (and don't be intimidated by the size of the threads there -- just jump in anywhere you like!). You can find my bundle of sale patterns here. Hope to see you on the GAL board!

Inching Forward

I confess to being more interested in my book in the past 24 hours than my knitting, but nevertheless progress continues. My socks (thanks to being taken out and about yesterday and to the movies again last night) are approaching the 75% complete mark:

I predict these will be done by the time the week is out, and I'm glad I decided to bring this extra skein of yarn along with me. I'll be heading home with two pairs of socks!

Rainbow's cardigan is also approaching a critical point. I have officially finished the cabled yoke, which means I've been able to set aside the charts, making the whole project much more portable (even if I'm only toting it around the house). I'm now in the middle of a series of short rows, presumably designed to raise the back of the sweater a bit, after which I'll knit two more rows and then be ready to split for the sleeves!

Thus far I've been alternating skeins every two rows, but once I split the sleeves from the body, I'll be using one skein for the body and one for the sleeves (I'm using two mini skein sets, so I have two balls of each color in the gradient). There may be a slight difference in color between the two sets, but I don't think it will be so noticeable given the space between the body and sleeves. There is some shaping in the body, but not very much, so once I get past the split the knitting should be fairly mindless and faster (or so I hope!). I'd say my hope of getting this sweater done by the end of the Gift-a-long are pretty much impossible; even if I did nothing but knit for the remainder of the vacation, I'm not sure that would be enough. But I do want to get it done sooner rather than later so that Rainbow can wear it while it fits and it's cold enough to wear a wool sweater.

We've got three more days of vacation in Florida, and I'm trying to soak up every minute. I spent today sitting by the pool and got a little more than 100 pages of my book read (with a brief nap somewhere in the middle). This evening, I intend to work on both projects and read a little more before turning in. If only every day could be like this!

All the Little Needles

If I had to pick a theme for my vacation knitting, it would be little needles. I've got two projects in progress, and they're both being worked on size 2.5 mm needles or smaller. Luckily I am totally comfortable with these small needles, but it does mean that I don't get a lot done in a short amount of time.

After numerous knitting missteps (including another one last night that required me to tink back most of a row), I am finally done with the cabled portion of Rainbow's Dancing Leaves Cardigan. On top of that, I've also finally transitioned to the second color of the gradient.

I decided to transition to the new color by doing two rows of each as my yarn supply of the previous color ran out. I was questioning it, but Rainbow says she really likes it, so I'll keep going. I'm glad the pink lasted as long as it did, though, because I think the stripes obscure the cables quite a bit. Here's a closer look:

I am really counting on blocking to help make the cables a little more crisp; right now, they're fairly lumpy bumpy and don't pop much off the background

Meanwhile, my on-the-go project has been a new pair of socks, and I'm trying a new method as well as a new pair of needles.

I'm not going to go into the specifics, because I'm planning on writing up the directions for these, but suffice it to say that I'm making them in such a way that there's as much plain knitting in the round as possible. I started these late in the day on Friday and got about an inch of cuff done. Then, on Saturday, we drove to the opposite coast to visit family and I got the entire leg done. Yesterday, we went to a movie and then to have dinner and watch the Steelers game with some friends, and I finished the rest of the first sock and got started on the second. Aside from the toe shaping, these have required virtually no thought whatsoever, so they've been perfect for when we're in the car, watching TV, or just sitting around.

The needles I'm using are new to me: Knitter's Pride Karbonz. I picked them up to try when my LYS was having its big going-out-of-business sale, but they've been sitting the bag ever since. My opinion of them is somewhat mixed. I really like the tips and the cable, which is less flexible than some of my other sock-sized circular needles but really has no memory. What I like less is the carbon fiber shaft of the needles. Although I don't seem to be getting chills from them as I feared, I am finding that they have quite a bit of drag compared to my usual metal needles. I've adjusted to this by now, but at first I found that my knitting was a lot slower because I had to spend more time moving the stitches along the length of the needle. So I doubt these will replace my beloved Sock Rockets, but I can see them being in a regular rotation. And I'd definitely like to try some other Knitter's Pride needles now.

A Study in Contrasts

I had such great plans for my vacation knitting. I figured I'd get through a ton of Rainbow's Dancing Leaves Cardigan, to the point where I actually wound all the yarn before we left so I wouldn't have to do any of it by hand. I apparently overestimated my ability to pay attention to the pattern. First, I had trouble when I got to the second chart and couldn't get the first row to work out. I knit and tinked back the same row several times and even counted the stitches a couple of times before I realized that the second chart repeated several lines from the end of the first chart. So that was a good half hour of knitting time wasted. Then, after knitting quite a few rows on Tuesday afternoon, I looked down at the knitting and realized that I'd miscrossed about two-thirds of the cables several rows back. So I spent another hour or so dropping down the five stitches in each cable and reknitting them back up. The cables are now a bit sloppy but fixed. Here's what they look like:

And here's how they should look, for comparison:

Finally, here's what the whole yoke looks like now -- I'm definitely getting closer to the end of the cables and the complicated part that requires me to pay attention:

After this minor disaster, I decided that my brain was clearly not up to handling the complexity of the stitches required for this project, so I switched over to something much more brainless: stockinette socks. I'd started my pair in progress after Thanksgiving dinner and then promptly ignored it, but I managed to finish the second sock of the pair in about 24 hours (thanks to a movie and a long wait in a Verizon store when my father's phone stopped working and he had to get a new one).

Pattern: my basic stockinette, worked over 60 stitches with a 3x2 ribbed cuff
Yarn: Fibernymph Dye Works Traveler (sport weight; 80% superwash merino/20% nylon; 328 yds./100 g skein) in Coffee at Luke's
Needles: US 1 (2.25 mm) Addi Turbo Sock Rockets, magic loop
Started/Completed: November 24/December 21

I really enjoyed knitting these. It was my first time using Lisa's sport weight base, which reminded me a lot of Socks That Rock Lightweight (but with the added bonus of nylon), after having used her sock weight bases several times. Given the lower yardage in the skein, I opted for slightly shorter legs than usual (6 inches versus my normal 7), and I figured that 8 stitches per inch was a good gauge, so I went up a size from my usual needles. These have a good thickness to them, and I have just a small ball of yarn leftover, which will be good when I need some scrap yarn.

I have another skein of sock yarn here with me, and I'm planning to wind it up (by hand!) tomorrow so that I can cast on with it on Saturday, when we're driving to the other coast for the day to visit some family. Those will also be plain stockinette socks, but I have plans to do something a little different!

Packing It In

This is turning out to be quite the week. We are leaving early (and I mean early!) on Friday morning for our annual trip to Florida, and I am feeling a bit like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get everything in order. The Mister has year-end meetings most of the week, so he's leaving early and coming home late, plus it's Rainbow's birthday on Thursday, plus I've still got my job to show up for, so you can understand why it's hard to get a grip on things. I'm trying to get most of my packing done prior to the last minute, but there are always the things you can't pack until the last minute anyway. I know that it will all be worth it when I step off the plane and it's warm, but for now it's stressing me out.

The knitting is helping with the stress, in a way. I finally finished Rainbow's Eiswasser hat today, so it will be ready for Chanukah. I'll block it this evening after she goes to bed and leave it on a radiator so it will be dry and I can hide it in my suitcase.

I'm not sure if there's enough yarn leftover for a pompom, but I'll try. The hat is a bit top-heavy already, so it can't support a big on and still stay on her head. It would feel good to use up every bit of this skein of yarn, though.

I have not touched her sweater in days, if I'm being completely honest, and frankly I'm not feeling too guilty about it. I will come on the trip with me, and it will end up being my main focus while we're away. I'm trying not to pack too much knitting this year, taking only the sweater, a pair of socks in progress, and a couple of balls of dishcloth cotton. I figure that it's unlikely that I'll finish all of that, and if I do, I'm sure I can find a Michaels somewhere to get some more dishcloth cotton or sock yarn. Or I'll just read (I started another Outlander book about a week ago and it's 1,400+ pages, so it will take a while to get through).

Tonight, my goal is to finish plying up the final skein of handspun for the year and perhaps do a little more organizing. The worst part of vacation is definitely the packing!

Not Enough Hours in the Day

I miss the days when I was still knitting mittens -- they knit up so quickly compared to my current projects!

I've been working on Rainbow's Eiswasser (which is still a secret from her) primarily during my lunch breaks at work, and it's moving along slowly but surely. I was really getting pretty quick at the cable pattern until about the last 24 hours, when I guess I got too confident. First I miscrossed a cable (which I didn't discover until a couple of rounds later and had to drop down to fix), and then today I kept having to tink back and reknit the same 24 or so stitches about three times because I kept dropping a stitch. The good news is that I've finished two repeats of the cable chart, so that leaves just one more repeat plus nine rounds of a fourth repeat until I can start the crown decreases.

I will likely work on this more this weekend in the interest of getting it done sooner rather than later; it's still a couple of weeks until Chanukah starts, but I want to be sure I have time to block it and make and attach a pompom. I don't think I will finish it in time to ship it down to Florida ahead of our trip with the rest of Rainbow's gifts (we leave a week from tomorrow), but it can't hurt to put in a little extra time, particularly as I feel like I haven't had much with this particular project. And I do want to be sure I complete at least one Gift-a-long project this year!

The other project on the needles is much more slow going, despite the fact that I've put in what feels like a lot of time. It's Rainbow's Dancing Leaves Cardigan, which is finally starting to look like something (albeit a small something).

The color is not at all accurate because we had hardly any natural light today.

I had hoped to be finished with the yoke chart before we left for our trip, but I'm only about a third of the way through and have lots of stuff to do other than knitting this weekend, so I'm fairly certain that won't happen. But at least by the time we get there, I'll have much more time to devote to working on this, even if I don't have enough time to get the whole sweater done by the end of the year and the end of the GAL. Really, I'm not too broken up about that -- it was probably a little over ambitious to think I could knit even a kid-sized sweater on size 2.5 mm needles in about a month. I know she'll be happy to have it whenever it's done, and she'll certainly have plenty of time to wear it once we're back from vacation and back to the reality of winter.

This weekend we're having a family birthday party for Rainbow, who (if you can believe it) will be seven a week from today. We're also doing a little holiday gift exchange, as we won't be seeing the Mister's side of the family again until we're back in January, so I have all the mittens wrapped up and ready to be distributed. I was thinking today, as I was walking home in sub-freezing temperatures with snow swirling around me, that I really should've knit myself a pair, so I guess the mitten factory will have to reopen at some point!

Sanity Check

Those of you who are parents know that the love you have for your children seems endless. That's certainly how I feel about Rainbow. She is my one and only, and even when she's having a tantrum and driving me crazy, I love her more than anything. Sometimes this love drives me to do crazy things. Like knit her a sweater on size 0/2.0 mm needles.

Let me back up a bit. You may remember that I'd declared my intent to knit her a Dancing Leaves Cardigan for the Gift-a-long using a couple of gradient mini skein sets. The pattern calls for starting with a size 0 needle and then moving to a size 2/3.0 mm. I had to go down to a US 1.5/2.5 mm needle to get gauge, but I don't own anything smaller than a 0, so that's what I cast on with. I've now worked on this sweater for two evenings and only finished about a dozen rows.

I don't have an issue with using needles this small per se; I regularly use size 0 needles for my socks, for instance, and I can churn those out pretty quickly. I think what's tripping me up most here is the chart; it uses symbols that I'm not used to and also multiple symbols for the same stitch (for instance, one symbol might be used if a stitch is knit on RS rows and purled on WS rows, and an entirely different stitch is used if the stitch is knit on both RS and WS rows). As I've knit more, I've definitely gotten a bit more familiar with the symbols and haven't had to stop to check the key as much, and the good news is that once I'm past the yoke, the rest of the sweater is just stockinette, so I'll be able to fly (slowly) through that. I am hoping that I can get all the cabling work done before we leave for vacation so that I won't have to try to make sense of tiny charts while I'm knitting poolside.

Rainbow's Eiswasser is moving along slowly as well, and I'm inching closer to the end of the 1x1 ribbing.

I think the forward movement on this project will be a lot faster once I get past the brim. I am a fast knitter, but all the moving of the yarn back and forth really slows me down, and the kicker is that my knitting time on this has been really limited because I can't knit on it when Rainbow is around. I've planned for this hat to be a Chanukah present for her, and fortunately the holiday falls rather late this year (the first night is on Christmas Eve), so worst case scenario, I have until New Year's Eve to finish it.

One thing I neglected to share in my last post is that I did finish one gift for her. She had asked me not too long ago for a cowl like the rainbow brioche one I made for myself several years ago, so I got out some brightly colored handspun and knit up a quick one for her:

This is just simple brioche stitch worked over 80 stitches on size 7/4.5 mm needles. I opted for a closer-fitting version for her rather than an infinity cowl for safety reasons, but this is tall enough that she can scrunch it down, fold it over, or even pull it up over her head and ears if it's really cold. The yarn, BFL from Gale's Art in the colorway Crayon Box (a MDSW purchase), was a delight to knit with, and it's made me want to spin up some thicker yarn. In fact, I might do just that with the All Spun Up merino I picked up at Indie Knit & Spin earlier this month, which hasn't yet made its way into the stash.

Finally, I got some exciting news the other evening. On a whim, I'd entered the SSK lottery a while back, figuring I wouldn't get it but it couldn't hurt to try. And guess what? I got a spot! I talked it over with the Mister, and he told me I should go (I suppose it's only fair, as he goes to fun places on work trips all the time), so I've confirmed my spot and sent in my deposit. I will have to book a flight once the date is a little closer (Southwest does fly direct, but they don't have flights available yet for that far out), but it's actually happening! I am really excited because I've never been to a retreat like this before, and the teachers who are lined up are amazing. It will be a bit of an adventure -- I think the last time I traveled on my own was back when I was in college or grad school, and I've never been to Tennessee. There's still quite a bit of time until the event, but I guess I should start my yarn fund now!

The Mitten Factory Is Closed

It took staying up a bit late last night, but I'm happy to report that the last pair of holiday gift mittens is officially off the needles! Here's a look at the pile:

All of these were knit using Susan B. Anderson's Waiting for Winter Mittens and Fingerless Mitts pattern, with some minor modifications. I believe the original pattern has you put the thumb gusset in at the end of the round, but I put it in the middle so that the beginning of the round falls on the outside edge of the wrist/hand when the mitten is worn. I also used lifted increases rather than the m1s called for. I adjusted my needle size on some of the mittens using thicker yarn (those would be the pairs worked in Cascade Eco Wool; I went up to a US 6/4.0 mm for those), but most were knit on US 5/3.75 mm needles. The other yarns I used were Knit Picks Telemark and Merino Style (both discontinued), Malabrigo Merino Worsted, Blue Moon Fiber Arts Targhee Worsted, and Valley Yarns Amherst.

I can't promise there won't be more of these mittens, especially since I've pretty much got the pattern memorized now and I have lots of worsted leftovers that would make great mittens to donate, but I do need to take a brief break.

Finishing off that last mitten meant that I was now free to finally cast on my Gift-a-long projects! The first one to jump on the needles was a new-ish pattern called Eiswasser. I'm knitting this for Rainbow as a gift, and it's a surprise, so that means I can only work on it at work or after she's gone to bed. It's not going to be a quick knit by any stretch of the imagination (the cast on starts with 156 stitches, and that stitch count doubles once the ribbing is done to accommodate all pull-in of the cables), but I think it'll look pretty amazing.

The yarn I'm using is some Fibernymph Dye Works Bedazzled in Cake Pops that I bought several months ago with the intent to make something for Rainbow. I think the stitch count is going to be large enough that I won't really get stripes once I get to the cabled part, but that might be better because it won't obscure the stitch pattern as much.

The other GAL project I'll be starting this evening is the Dancing Leaves Cardigan I've been swatching for over the past week. I did finally get gauge on US 1.5/2.5 mm needles (yes, you read that correctly!), so it will be a very fine gauge knit and will likely take me all of the GAL period to finish, if it fact I can finish it by then. I figure that if I can limit myself to working pretty much exclusively on these two projects, I can get them done.

But who am I kidding? There's another project on the needles for when I need a break from thinking -- just a pair of plain stockinette socks in FDW Traveler (Lisa's sportweight base) in the colorway Coffee at Luke's. I cast them on after Thanksgiving dinner, thinking they'd be good to work on during the Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life marathon I had with my mom the next day.

I suppose it's probably not a bad idea to have a fairly mindless project on the needles for those times when I want to knit when Rainbow is around!

Knitting Friday

Hi, everyone! I'm a day late with my usual post because I decided to take Thanksgiving off. Well, not really, but the reality is that I was busy most of the day and by the time I remembered it was Thursday, it was pretty late and I just didn't have the mental energy to put together a coherent post. So you get a Friday post instead.

On this Black Friday, I'm staying far, far away from the malls. Instead, my mother is coming over and we are spending the day binge-watching the new Gilmore Girls on Netflix. I'm planning on knitting as much as possible while we watch. For one thing, the mitten factory is almost done. I finished up this pair for my father earlier in the week:

(Waiting for Winter Mittens by Susan B. Anderson, size L for width but size XL for length, in Cascade Eco Wool)

And then these were finished last night before I went to bed (but you'll have to make do with an in-progress shot):

(Same pattern, size L, in the discontinued Knit Picks Telemark)

I'll be casting on the last pair this morning and, if I'm speedy enough, finishing it in short order so that I can move on to knitting projects I'd rather do.

One of those projects is a surprise gift for Rainbow, who asked me to make her a brioche cowl like mine, but shorter. I pulled out some handspun that I spun years ago with the intention of making something her and cast on. I think this will be a quick knit, as the yarn only had 180-ish yards and this is the result of one evening of knitting:

Gale's Art BFL in Crayon Box

If those two projects don't keep me busy enough, I've got a new pair of socks that I cast on last night with this skein of Fibernymph Dye Works Traveler (Lisa's sportweight base) in a colorway that's very appropriate for today's activities -- Coffee at Luke's.

Lisa is actually having a progressive sale in her shop this weekend, and she has a lot of holiday colors in the store right now, so I'd encourage you to click over!

Whether you're shopping or shopping from home this Black Friday, I wanted to remind you that 18 of my patterns are still on sale for the Indie Designer Gift-a-long with the code giftalong2016. There are thousands of other patterns on sale as well, so definitely take a look and support independent designers this holiday season. And don't forget to come join the fun in the Gift-a-long group!