Handknit socks! (And a heaping portion of guilt.)

The Embossed Leaves socks are finally done! It was definitely worth frogging them back and starting over with smaller needles. They fit perfectly now and are on their way to being my favorite socks. I mean, they're pink.

Details:

cast-on: January 21
finished: June 27
pattern: Embossed Leaves Socks from Favorite Socks
needles: US 1.5
yarn: Chick Chick Studio Toes in the Grass Handpainted sock in Watermelon
mods: shortened the cuff and did 6.5 vertical repeats instead of 7.5

Then the guilt set in. I started putting away my needles and leftover yarn from this project and realized how. freaking. much. yarn. I have. I counted enough for ten pairs of socks and two sweaters alone, plus a gazillion miles of laceweight and worsted. And a few extra miles of dk and bulky. Sigh. So, I've decided to start stashing down. My next project will either be a pair of socks or the Whisper Cardigan from the spring IK. I can't decide, because the Outside In socks are calling my name, but I also just got Cookie A.'s new sock book and there are at least four in there I want to make. But I just finished socks, so .... the cardigan. For now.

I'm also going to stash down on books. My book purchasing has been fast outpacing my book reading--even with the 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge--so my goal is to read all my unread books before buying anymore. I have very little willpower in the face of 15% Barnes and Noble coupons, though, so we'll see how long that resolution lasts.

I really do finish things!

I finished the lace scarf I've been working on this month. I played around with some stitch patterns until I found one I liked in laceweight. My original intent was to make a wrap, but once I got started I knew I wouldn't want something large in this pattern, so I made it into a scarf instead.

Details:

cast-on: June 1
finished: June 16
pattern: a little somethin' I made up
needles: US 3
yarn: Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud in raspberry

Fun fact: It's the same stitch pattern as the Spring Forward socks, a fact I didn't realize until I was about halfway into my second repeat. I kept thinking, "Why does this seem familiar?" Ha!

Next up I'm going to finish my embossed leaves socks and frog my insanely girly ones. The girly ones ended up being a smidge too small, and I'm not crazy about the pattern with the yarn. Oh well. As soon as I get the embossed leaves finished, though, I'm going to get to work on another wrap idea I've got, in some fabulous Tilli Tomas yarn I scored on sale from Annie Amelia.

I haven't forgotten how to blog!

Who knew?

Since my last post eons ago, I've finished some Easter bunnies for the kids (very cute), a Rickenbacker scarf for a swap (cute, but the yarn ended up too scratchy, I think), and my Ophelia. The Ophelia is a winner. I wore it yesterday and it was a great fit, even with more negative ease than I intended it to have. Details follow.

Easter bunnies:

cast on: March 7
finished: March 9 (the faces were added the night before Easter, but we're not counting that)
pattern: Easter bunny by Christine Manitz
needles: US 8
yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Velvet Grapes (left bunny) and Violetas (right bunny)
mods: I was almost out of the Velvet Grapes, so I knit that bunny's body to pattern but shortened the ears. To make sure they were obviously different, I shortened the Violetas' bunny's body and did the ears to pattern.

Really cute pattern and very quickly executed. The yarn, of course, rocks.




Rickenbacker scarf:

cast on: April 22
finished: April 28
pattern: Rickenbacker scarf by Kirsten Kapur
needles: US 8
yarn: Araucania Atacama
mods: I didn't use a contrasting color for the ruffles, I just held the yarn doubled.

This was a nice little pattern too. The yarn was crap, though. It felt lovely in the skein, and the colors were gorgeous, but it didn't knit up well. If it hadn't been plan B for that swap already, I never would've used it, but I was sort of stuck. Ah well.




Ophelia:

cast on: May 18
finished: May 28
pattern: Ophelia by Elizabeth Klett
needles: US 8
yarn: Tahki Yarns Sierra
mods: none

Another great pattern. This yarn has wonderful drape and hand, but it was a bitch for me to get gauge with. It's already been two other projects that never got off the ground, so this was its last chance pretty much. Luckily, it worked out.


Now for some random thank yous. (Aren't I exciting today?) First, The Fold in Marengo, Illinois. I had a great trip to Chicago in April and met up with some Ravelers from the Traveling Scarves group. We knit, we drank, we ate Greek food, and we went yarn crawling. The Fold is about an hour outside Chicago, but well worth the trip. The owner let us stay for half an hour or so after closing so we could browse to our hearts' content, and she carries Socks that Rock. I ended up with three skeins. Woo hoo! So if you're ever in the Chicago area, GO. It's incredible.

Secondly, while in Chicago I bought some Lantern Moon US 0 dpns. Within a month, two of them had broken. I called their HQ and two brand new needles arrived yesterday. Customer service is a good thing, you know?