Wednesdays Are For Knitting: Baa-ble Hat

December 5, 2018 By Carole

Remember a few years back when it seemed that everyone was knitting the Baa-ble Hat? I didn’t jump on the bandwagon then but I thought it was a super cute pattern.

And then last January I was in my local-ish yarn shop and they had kits for this project all made up. The right yarn in the right amounts and colors along with the pattern. I grabbed it and it sat in my craft room for the rest of the winter. BUT I had set myself a deadline for the end of this year as part of Ravelry’s new feature they rolled out last January and it’s been weighing on my mind to get this done.

I knit it up over the Columbus Day weekend back in October. It went fast and, even though it looked awfully big, I persevered.

You know where this is going, right?

Too big. Waaaaaay too big.

Huh. Maybe it will fit Dale?

Annnnnnnd . . . no.

Jo-Ann had the brilliant idea of ripping it back and turning it into a cowl. I tried that and it was soft and cute but ultimately was a disservice to the pattern. As in, it just looked like a blue, green and white striped cowl because you couldn’t tell there were sheep.

I put the thing in time out.

But that Ravelry deadline was bugging me. And really, I wanted the hat to be done so I could wear it.

A week or so ago I ripped it out completely and started over with significantly smaller needles. (Can I just say? I must have read the pattern wrong because the needles I used originally were 2 sizes bigger than recommended. #rookiemistake)

I finished it up and I added a pom pom and done!

Of course the ultimate test is . . . does it fit?

Yep! It fits great and the pom pom is the bomb and the sheep are super cute and I love it!

It took a while to get to the finish line with this one but I sure am glad I stuck to my goal and got it done.

Wednesdays Are For Knitting: Appleseed Mitts

November 28, 2018 By Carole

You guys! It took some fits and starts but I finally got my groove on with the Appleseed Mitts.

And I proceeded to knit 3 pairs.

Now. These are unconventional. The yarn I used is Mission Falls 1824 Wool. It’s sadly discontinued and I had 5 skeins in a variety of colors that I bought eons ago but not enough of any one color to knit a pair.

So I mixed it up. Combos of teal and gold, maroon and natural, gold with both maroon and natural just fell off my needles once I got the hang of the pattern.

And speaking of the pattern, it really is great despite my earlier issues. I will say that I used the smaller needle for the cuff and the larger needle for the hand (which is not how the pattern is written) and that worked well for me. Yes, it was initially an error but sometimes mistakes work out for the best. (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it)

This a great project for binge knitting and now I’ve got three Christmas gifts ready to go. There’s only one pair with a definite recipient, the rest are up for grabs, frankly.

Want one?

Wednesdays Are For Knitting: True Colors

November 14, 2018 By Carole

Today I am finally going to share my finished True Colors with you. I took these photos last week and I have to admit I was rather disappointed when I finally got around to processing them yesterday. I almost put this post off again so that I could take better shots but at this point I’m going with “done is better than perfect” and sharing them even if they aren’t up to my usual standards.

In all honesty, this is a tricky piece to photograph. It’s very long and it starts out really narrow (that pink bit toward the bottom right) and then it increases to the wide natural stripes at the end.

And oh man do I love those stripes! The yarn is from Woolen Rabbit, the mini skeins were in a kit I picked up at a Fiber Revival a few years back, I think, and the natural is just Kim’s undyed base – but I can’t remember what base this is. #badknitter

I had to modify the pattern some since it calls for 10 different colors plus the natural. I had 5 colors in this kit so I just rotated my way through them. And I didn’t have quite enough to make this as big as the pattern calls for but, honestly, it’s huge and I wouldn’t want it to be any bigger than it is.

I love the way the colors reverse as the scarf (shawl? I can’t decide) reaches it widest point. And yes, that was a crap ton of ends to weave in. It was a labor of love, though, and I really am thrilled with the way it came out.

And now that I’ve blogged it – I get to wear it!

Unraveling

October 31, 2018 By Carole

I’m joining with Kat and friends this week to talk about knitting and reading.

On Friday I shared this photo on Instagram. It’s a beautiful ball of Juniper Moon Farm Moonshine in the color Popsicle. I wound it up and started knitting Thea Colman’s Appleseed Mitts. I didn’t swatch and went down a needle size because my gauge is always loose.

You know where this is going, right?

They are small. Too small for me. And, while I thought I’d just give them away, I just don’t feel right about that either because they are a bit on the stiff side. So, I’ll be unraveling and starting over on bigger needles. I may even go up a size, too. I’m reluctant to do this because I’ve already done that cuff twice now (since I didn’t read the directions and screwed up the beginning of the round) but I just have this feeling that this mitts will be great binge knitting if I can just get it right. And yes, I’ve considered that maybe this yarn and pattern just aren’t a good match.

I wish I could say let’s talk about reading with excitement but I’m currently slogging my way through Transcription. Like Kym, I must lament that it’s no Life After Life. Still, I’m intrigued enough to finish and I do enjoy Kate Atkinson’s style and I think she’s doing an excellent job of portraying just how damaged the people of England were following WWII.

And there you have it: unsuccessful knitting and unexciting reading. But, even so, knitting and reading are my favorites.

Wednesdays Are for Knitting: A Walk in the Woods

August 15, 2018 By Carole

I’m so excited today to finally show you the finished A Walk in the Woods shawl! I bought the kit back in February. I cast on in May and I finished in early July, after which there was the usual avoidance of blocking. But a couple of weeks ago I finally blocked it (and seriously, why do I avoid this? It doesn’t take that long, especially with a simple triangle like this one) and took some photos.

Turns out the pergola is the perfect spot for photographing hand knits. It provides lovely filtered light and the wood is clingy enough that the wool sticks right to it.

The pattern is really enjoyable and easy to follow. It looks like a very complicated design but trust me when I say that’s not the case. If you can follow a simple chart you can knit this with ease.

The yarn is Ball and Skein Providence, a very squishy worsted weight that has absolutely gorgeous stitch definition.

Those pergola rocks make a great back ground for the hand knits, too. Finding multiple uses for this space is fantastic considering it that it was rather . . . spendy.

The final reason for the delay in sharing this project with you is that I had to wait for the recipient to get it. Yep, I gave this one away. To KYM. Remember how she helped me so much with our front garden design? I couldn’t think of the proper way to truly thank her for that help. I considered just sending her a check – too impersonal. I considered a gift card to White Flower Farm – but couldn’t decide how much would be enough. And then one day, as I was pondering and knitting, I truly looked at this shawl and thought – this doesn’t belong to me, this belongs to Kym. The color combo . . . the simplicity of the design . . . even the name of the pattern . . . they are all just her style. I mailed it off last week and when she (finally!) came home from Up North it was waiting for her.

Word is she’s pretty happy with it. And I’m pretty happy about that.