Wishful Knitting

This was a quick little knit. It was great to watch the colors ebb and flow. I don't mind the pooling a bit. I think this colorway is called Sophie, but I would have called it "think spring!" My handy helper is always ready to help with the drying and blocking process- she loves it. It's probably time to buy some blocking wires and maybe a board- but the bed works for now. I just have to ensure it's dry by bedtime! (Oh, and I have to keep my furry friend off the bed as well during these drying times.) This photo shows my only modification of the pattern, I added more rows of garter stitch at the end to use up the yarn. I didn't have enough left for another repeat of the eyelet section, but I wanted to finish the skein. Plus, I thought the extra rows would be additional anti-roll protection : ) The fabric has a nice drape- it seems like I will get use out of this when the weather gets chilly. I suppose time will tell, but The Truth Is.....I just like seeing it...

Well, as I said before, my favorite little scarf is starting to show it's age : ( There are pinpoint holes, and the ends are beginning to fray. I started searching around Italy to see if I could find a similar scarf at one of the markets. What I learned about myself is that I really had no idea what actual specific colors were in the scarf- so I started taking it everywhere I went to try and find something similar. I didn't have any luck- and then I had an idea. I had heard of custom-dyed yarns, so I could send it off and see if someone could re-create the colorway with yarn. Then I had another idea....surely this colorway already exists....somewhere. So, I headed to the Blue Moon Fiber Arts website to have a look. Their colors are amazing and wonderful! I decided to give myself a little Mother's Day present and I splurged on 4 skeins! After I made Azzu's Shawl with merino, it was a little itchy. I had an "OH NO!" moment, when I imagined the Socks that Rock Li...

From what I can tell, my current shawlette/scarf passion started for two reasons: 1.) a giant "leftover" ball of fairly expensive yarn 2.) my current favorite scarf is showing some serious signs of wear These 2 factors have converged and my knitting craze has aggrandized. I never paid much attention to shawls because I have never worn one draped over my shoulders in the traditional sense. I do, however, wear little scarves around my neck frequently when I have a little chill. So a small shawlette would be perfect. The leftover yarn was a ball of Dream in Color Smooshy. I made fingerless mitts out of this yarn and still had a ginormous amount leftover. I should check the yardage on the skein- it must be like 1,000 yards : ) Anyway, this extra ball of yarn was hanging out downstairs on the table daring me to use it in some way. I'll save the discussion about my ancient scarf and it's signs of wear for another time perhaps. So, off to Ravelry I went to find a pattern- a...

This tank top was seriously languishing in my project bin forever. I started it when I was knitting just about every project from Last Minute Knitted Gifts . I heavily modified it to make it more wearable- I made the straps wider and added a little waist shaping. Then, when I had but a mere 20 minutes more work to do, I ignored it for a year or so : ) It turned out quite nicely. I am eager to wear it to see how the hemp behaves. This is the first time I knit with hemp- it was a bit rough on my hands. When I washed it, there was not any color bleed, but the smell was very strange. I happen to have a very good sense of smell- most of the time, I wish I didn't! Nonetheless, when I was washing this tank top, it smelled kind of "chalky." There are some bugs that smell like that when they are smushed. It's a strange smell. The garment did not smell when it dried- thankfully! I know it looks lumpy here, and I was in a hurry to get the picture, but it fits well. It's reve...

This is my favorite picture for the moment. Since there are 2 little gals in my life, there are frequently 2 very similar knitted items : ) I am so happy that she wound up choosing her own colors. Originally my little Z-bomb wanted the same color scheme as her sister. I was not intrigued by the idea of knitting 2 nearly identical sweaters, but I would have done so if needed, of course. I think the swinging point came when I told her the name of the purplish colorway- yep, it's called Fairy Tale. She loves it and so do I. Specs: Pattern: Drive-Thru by Wendy Bernard Yarn: Knitpicks: Wool of the Andes Size: 6 Mods: Made the sleeve circumference larger

This project was in the boot of the car for a long time. I had it stashed back there so I always had some knitting with me. As it turns out, it's an excellent idea for me- I was able to work on it quite a bit. I had ordered this yarn a while back from Knitpicks. I got 2 different colors and I was going to make the chevron scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. But, once I started knitting, I didn't like how it looked, so this yarn has been hanging out in my stash for a while. Even though I like these colors, I don't wear these colors and I don't think they look great on me. Since I realized this mid-knit, I only used one skein of the 2 I had. So, it's very short, which is fine since I don't wear shawls, but I do frequently wear little scarves. It's the perfect size for a 4-year-old! But would look ridiculous on me draped out like that. This photo brings me to the second thing that I don't love about this shawlette- it's too "holey." I suppo...

Well, I was cold! It seemed like a good idea- I mean I frequently wear a scarf inside! It makes sense. It's practical. Cowls are IN . It's a good use of small amounts of yarn. It keeps me warm........no matter what the excuse, my friend Stacy put it best when she SHOUTED (in public), "IT'S A DICKEY!" followed by peals of laughter! The good news is that my daughter H loves it...so she'll happily wear it around the house. Fashion is so much more forgiving for a kid : ) Drat. Specs: I don't think they matter much : P Also, H thinks this also makes a perfect hat!!!

These first pictures were right when the sweater was finished. As you can see, she is thrilled with it and for that I am happy. Otherwise, this sweater is not my favorite. For whatever reason, the sleeves (the first time I finished the sweater) were too tight. I think fellow knitters had mentioned this on Ravelry, and although I had her try them on a couple of times, they were too small. After I knitted the yoke done is when I decided the sleeves were not going to work. At this point some of my kind and loving friends and family tried to convince me to weave in the ends and give it to my second daughter, then re-knit another for my oldest. But, well, the colors were those chosen by H and Z had picked out her own, and well, I just couldn't! So, I frogged and re-knit. Then I didn't like the yoke, which I changed around a few times and I still don't necessarily love it. I think the colors don't have enough contrast-but she LOVES it, and for that I am happy! I picked up too...