Mayfest, time to work in the garden

Okay, so I missed my April post. Just barely, though. It was a busy month. Hubby and I have been doing all kinds of projects around the house (repaired kitchen drawers and added pull-out trays to most of the lower cabinets, changed some lighting fixtures and fans, etc.) and garden (got a compost pile and rain-collection containers, installed an herb garden, started working on a drainage ditch in the front yard--using the excavated soil to turn the sand box, which we no longer need, into a vegetable garden patch, repot some plants, etc.). As you can see, we were quite busy. Well, okay, so my husband did most of it. But, hey, I had to supervise, right?!

Anyway, I did knit, too! No really! I have been working on this really cool vest/shawl.

The original inspiration as

96-13 Loosely knitted top in Puddel.

I found the pattern on Ravelry. But it is available for free at the above link. However, I completely changed the yarn from the original pattern . Instead of the suggested

DROPS Puddel from Garnstudio
400-450-500 g colour no 07, medium grey,

I used Julia's Vinca (sock yarn), color 810 (some kind of purple/plum and blue). The color between skeins varies a lot, but, hey, it's inexpensive. I like it so far; but since the yarn is rather thin, it takes a while.

It's really quite an easy design:

I
Instead of stocking stitch, as the pattern suggests, I used the pattern stitch called "Crocus Buds" from the stitch library in "Now you're knitting - super how-to handbook and design treasure."

Row 1 of Pattern: K1, *YO, K2* Repeat from * across needle.
Row 2 of Pattern: *P4, with left needle bring the third st on right needle over the first 2 sts and off the needle (P3SO). *P3, with left needle bring the third st on right needs over the first 2 sts and off the needle. Repeat from * across.
Row 3 of Pattern: *K2, YO. Repeat from * to last stitch, K1.
Row 4 of Pattern: P3SO, repeat to the last st, P1.

It took me a little while to figure out the pattern (I am still not very good at following instructions), but eventually I got it right. I really like the pattern. It makes for a very light vest. However, it's not the kind of pattern that is easily done without looking, so it's harder to knit while doing something else like watching TV, or on the bus without getting nauseous from looking down all the time. Also, as I progress, it's a bit bulky to take along...

So I needed another project for my commute to work. And what easier project than socks, right?! I had bought a whole bunch of different sock (and other) yarns on eBay. So I started a pair of plain ol' toe-up socks with Opal, color NEON, 1931. Each skein I bought came with a small skein of accent color, which I am using for the toes and heels.

Since I like to knit both pairs of socks simultaneously, I decided that I really don't like 100 g skeins. I always seem to get into a big mess with I start the skein from both ends :).