Tap, tap, tap... Is this thing on?

Well, hello blog. I could give lots of reasons for my long blog absence, but it’s mostly just whining about how I’m really busy so I’ll skip that and jump right into more interesting things…

How about a list of my Favorite 5 Projects finished since my last blog post?

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5. Mockery socks [ravelry project page]

I lost my sock knitting mojo at the end of June, but before that happened I finished five pairs of socks this summer. These Mockery socks knit in Malabrigo Sock were my hands down favorites. Something about the pattern combined with this particular yarn was really a blast to knit and I love the fit. Although the pattern is knit as a top-down sock, I just took the stitch pattern and knit it upside-down.

I have a seasonal issue with socks: if it’s too warm to wear wool socks, I have a hard time actually knitting them. There’s something about wrapping up a pair of socks on a chilly night and putting them on right away that I really enjoy. In other words: the forecast is high for more socks this fall/winter.

ps The additional pairs of socks? Lacy Ribs by Wendy Johnson [ravelry project page], Hedera by Cookie A [ravelry project page], Waterfall by Wendy Johnson (which went laughably wrong, but are at least finished!) [ravelry project page], and Los Monos Locos by Jennifer O’Sullivan (a toe up version of Cookie A’s Monkey pattern) [ravelry project page].

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4. Just Enough Ruffles scarf [ravelry project link]

The Mockery socks & this scarf were both projects for Malabrigo March. This scarf is knit from one of my favorite yarns, Malabrigo Silky. Loved the color, loved the yarn, loved the pattern. I made it a tiny bit larger than the pattern suggested just to use up as much of the yarn as possible.

I’m not really a big scarf knitter (so boooooring), but I would knit this one again for sure. Now… if only some Malabrigo Silky would magically appear at my door :)

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3. Liesl sweater [ravelry project link]

I was in the Sundara Seasons yarn club last year and had kind of forgotten about the whole thing when 3 skeins of lovely Sundara Aran Silky Merino landed on my doorstep. I’m not usually a big fan of red, but there was something so appealing about this yarn! I cast on for Ysolda’s Liesl sweater and a week later, I had a finished sweater. The only thing I’d change would be to possibly go up to the next size for the sweater, but I only had 6 grams of yarn left at the end so that wasn’t really an option.

This sweater was actually a bit of a mini-explosion of knitting Ysolda’s patterns. I also knit an Ishbel scarf and an Elijah elephant.

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2. Handspun shawl [ravelry project link]

You know when a project all comes together and turns out exactly how you planned? It’s definitely a heady feeling when that happens and, even though I finished this months ago, I’m still insanely proud of it. The yarn to make this shawl was all handspun by me and all came from the A Verb for Keeping Warm Wooly Wonders fiber club. The wool fibers here include: Finn, Blue Faced Leicester, and Targhee. They were all different plys, some 3-ply, some 2-ply, but all roughly a worsted weight. Not really the best type of yarns for a shawl completed at the start of summer but I’m looking forward to taking it out for a spin this fall.

The pattern is a mix between Cosmic Pluto’s Simple Yet Effective Shawl and Orlane’s Textured Shawl Recipe. I laid out the colors in the order I thought would work before I started knitting, and then basically threw in stitch patterns & alternated yarn colors when it felt right to me. A fun free-form project, not really my usual style of knitting. I think I need to do this kind of thing more often!

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1. Sleepy Monkey baby blanket [ravelry project link]

The minute I saw this pattern in the Twist Collective’s Spring 2009 issue, I knew I was going to knit it. I rarely knit anything in the same yarn & colors as the pattern, but I did in this case. I know from past experience that colorwork can be on the disastrous side if you don’t pick harmonious colors, and with everything else going on this spring I knew I didn’t have time to plot out an alternate color palette.

After ordering the yarn, it was just a matter of finding a baby to gift the blanket to. Fortunately Tim’s co-worker (and good friend) and his wife announced they were expecting about the same time the pattern was released. I knew I’d have plenty of time for the knitting since the baby wasn’t due until September.

After a few shipping delays (some of my colors were backordered), I cast on in early May. The fact that I didn’t finish until August is rather embarrassing. The knitting itself was pretty straightforward. But then there was the steeking. And the borders (also colorwork) were pretty time-consuming. And then I was out of town for several weeks, so it sat around waiting for a good time to block. Plus, there wasn’t a lot of time pressure (thank goodness).

I don’t know if it’s the most practical baby blanket for Tennessee (double thick colorwork? Pretty toasty for sure), but it certainly is one of the cutest knitting projects I’ve worked on! I enjoyed the challenge of knitting this project and it leaves me hungry for more challenging colorwork projects.

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Ok, that’s it for my Top 5 list. I think my next post will be about my Bottom 5 summer craft-related events. It’s never a bad thing to look back and think about what you want to do differently next time, right?

Comments

[LDSVenus]

You have definately been busy :P. Love the monkey baby blanket, very cute!!! You've been busier knitting than I have, but then I would have to whin too :P.

[Kari]

Hey there,
How much do I love your monkey blanket! Is it for sale by any chance? (I'm expecting in Feb. and it would make a great receiving blanket!)
Thanks!

[school_dubl]

Hi Merry Christmas and Happy New Year