It's a wrap!

Finally! I finished it!!! The shawl/wrap/vest thingy. Actually, it's an adaptation of the DROPS Design, "96-13 loosely knitted top in Puddel." Except, of course, I didn't use their Puddle yarn, but the Vinca #810 (blue-purple-vine marbled), and I used the crocus bud pattern, which, by the way, I really like.

Yeah! Haven't actually worn it yet. Desperately waiting for weather cool enough to be able to tolerate something a little warmer.

So, with that out of the way, I started a new project with one of the yarns I got in my big Freecycle coup. Among all the stuff I got were 14 skeins of Berroco Cliche, color Krispie Treat. It's really nice! But, it's discontinued, so if the 14 skeins aren't enough, well...

I found this DROPS Design "1-1 long jumper in moss stitch" on Ravelry. I thought it would work well with the Berroco yarn. But I think I will open the front to make it more of a cardigan than a pullover. I used one skein for each sleeve (6 inches long), five skeins for a length of 15 inches for the back (I haven't cast off yet, just in case), and have now 7 skeins left for the two front panels. We'll see...

I prefer to work on the sweater at home, so I started another pair of socks as my bus project. I bought two skeins of Vinca # 803 (a green-blue marbled hue) a while back. So I started my standard toe-up socks with that yarn.

Hmmm. Lots of DROPS Design and Vinca going on these days, it seems. I guess you like what you like :).

Super funky chunky VEST

First I made another one of those funky bags with leftover yarn:




I love how all those little pockets look, outside and inside (okay, so it just looks like a black hole, but really, there are two pockets on the inside!):




No pockets on the back. The overall color theme on this one is more green-brown tones, whereas the previous bag was brighter colors.



When I realized that these bags don't even make a dent in my leftover yarn stash, I tried to come up with a "bigger" project and decided to make a vest:



I really like all the weird color and texture combinations. It was a fun process, knitting and picking the next yarn or yarn combination.



However, the vest came out not just funky, but also really chunky :( and is not very flattering to wear. At least not for someone who "needs" flattering :). It's warm, though.

My husband really likes it and thinks I should add it to my "stash" and sell all that stuff at a booth next holiday season. He even wants to "man" the booth :).




It was great actually using up a lot of yarn. Oh, by the way, our foster dogs also helped with that. I woke up one morning to a huge yarn mess in the living room. They had had a ball over night. Fortunately for me, no work in progress was destroyed. Unfortunately for my daughter, she was not as lucky :( ...

Anyway, here is the "left over" leftover stash:


This does, of course, not include the stash of "new" yarns. Yarns are like books. It's hard to resist them in the store, but once you have them at home, they keep staring at you...

Anyway, next project: another pair of socks. Basic stand-by: toe-up. Yarn: Patons Stretch Socks, Mineral:



Three-stitch, two-row pattern:
Row 1: k, k, p
Row 2: k, p, k
repeat


I knit a lot during the bus commute to work. And socks are easy to take along...

All I want for Christmas...

... is to get in one more blog before December is over as well (no post in November). Not much blogging, but I did knit. Lots of homemade presents again this year:

Socks for Wanda (who came for just a couple of days, but it was still great to see her!):





Remember the toe-up "circle socks" I made on our road trip around this time last year? The original design was on Ravelry by Anne Campbell. Yarn is Patons Kroy Socks 4 Ply.




Socks for Melanie (our new friend and fellow exchange student host mom):

Oops, it appears, I forgot to take a picture of them before I gave them away. I need to catch her wearing them...

A very simple Lion Brand Fun Fur scarf for her niece, Brianna, who, by the way is a wonderful, beautiful, I-am-running-out-of-adjectives young lady:



A chap stick or lip balm holder with Sugar'n Cream for Theresa:



And presents from the heart (with no material content) for Malinda and Gwen (the two invited me this year to come along on their annual pre-Christmas shopping madness trip - it was one of my best Christmas presents to hang out with them for hours while hunting for some last minute presents), Theresa and Katrina (not knitted, but hand-made, nonetheless):

Oh, and, of course, the usual barrage of cookies for friends and coworkers. This year, I had a lot of help with baking from Theresa, which was fabulous!!! It was so much more fun and so much easier. She loves to bake and decorate, but she also likes to eat cookies :), as do I, of course. Aside from tons of cookies, we also made the most wonderful cheesecake (with a few tweaks: add a little eggnog and reduce the sugar, no extra sugar in the crust, 6 eggs instead of 5 eggs and 2 yokes, and then drip a little eggnog on top, along with a little nutmeg and cinnamon) - a real joint family effort - it was quite cute, the four of us in the kitchen, all doing our part to make this work.

And then Theresa also made a super yummy and very light cake - Maulwurfkuchen - that was gone within minutes :).




Now, if that doesn't look yummy!!!!

Socktoberfest, again...

Gotta hurry and get my Socktoberfest entry in. I did actually knit a few pairs of socks this month. A pair for Theresa's birthday...




a pair for Katrina (sh... she doesn't know yet)...




and a pair of little toe socks...

I ran out of the Patons Kroy Socks in Denim Jacquard and actually found a skein on eBay. So I could finish the pair I had started. I was amazed, though, how different the colors were on that one skein that came from a different batch. Oh, well, they are just socks...

Lots of people gonna get socks for Christmas this year or whatever other handmade little things. I have definitely picked up my production some again, but am still a bit uninspired these days. I do have to show off my cute little toddler hoodie, though. Here is little baby A.:




Isn't she just the most adorable little thing?!



Btw, the doggy in the background is Woody, a Shar Pei mix, who is desperately looking for a permanent home.

But back to Christmas presents... I also finished a few more picture frame earring holders. Just need to get my husband to get out the nailgun to assemble them with me. Oh, and another shopping bag:

Socks on the road...

During the holidays, we took a road trip through West Texas. If you have ever been to West Texas, you know that it is vast. This means a lot of driving... My husband drove, my daughter listened to music or watched movies on her portable DVD player - except for those times when I pointed out scenaries to her, such as windmill farms, mountains, cacti (lots of cacti - in all kinds of colors: green, gray, purple, pink, with and without spines), dessert, nothing (lots of nothing - in all kinds of colors: brown, tan, beige, light brown, dark brown, with or without vegetation), small and not quite so small towns. We had fun, and saw lots of little gems in between, like the McDonald Observatory, Alpine (a quaint little town), different museums with all kinds of funky stuff, a meteor crater in Odessa, an old (but still active) movie setting, the Marfa lights, and much more (well, maybe not much more, but more).

So, while DH drove and DD watched movies, yours truly knitted, of course!! I finished a pair of really cool socks.


They are called "circle socks." I found the original design on Ravelry. It is by Anne Campbell. Her website has the pattern.


The yarn is by Patons, called Kroy Socks Stripes, color Bronzed Berry Stripes. Quite possibly my new favorite (inexpensive) sock yarn. I bought a whole bunch, in all kinds of different colors. Not sure how it wears yet, but it knits nicely.

The Kroy is a new sock yarn they carry at our local Michaels. I am so glad. They did not used to have any sock yarns. Now they also carry Patons Stretch Socks. I also knitted my first pair of socks with that yarn.


I liked the feel during knitting. Now I am curious to see how it wears and washes.

Here is my finished pair. Oh, yeah, I saw these "screwball socks" on Ravelry, which sort of inspired my own screwy version. My usual toe-up socks with the "screw" pattern for the instep and leg parts.

Instep:
Let's say, ndls 3 and 4 are your instep ndls.
After you are done with the toe increases and are getting ready for a pattern:
k ndls 1 and 2 throughout all this
ndls 3 and 4 are worked as follows:
p6, k the rest of ndl 3 and 4
k3, p6, k the rest of ndl 3 and 4
k6, p6, k the rest of ndl 3 and 4
k9, p6, k the rest of ndl 3 and 4
keep doing this, moving your 6p by 3 sts on needles 3 and 4
until you are at a point where the last 6 sts on ndl 4 are purls
next row:
k ndls 3 and 4 to the last 3 sts on ndl 4, p3
start ndl 3 on the next round with 3p, k the rest of ndl 3 and 4
and start the next tread of your screw socks.

Once you worked your heel and start the leg part you want your tread to go all the way around the socks, so:
work your 6 purls on opposite needles:
if you start ndl 3 with 6 purls, also start ndl 1 with 6 purls and work as before, winding your purls around your socks, if you will.

And here is the final product: