Cloudy Day and Alana Dakos Love

I finished my Cloudy Day Beret this week!

It was a lot of fun to do, and turned out oh, so pretty.

I did it in fingering weight instead of sport weight like the pattern calls for because I have a tiny head.  It worked out really well. I just added one pattern repeat before decreasing at the top and it worked fine. The ribbing was still a bit loose, but I added some elastic and it fits great.  This is what I always do for hats and it's working out pretty well for me.

I love Alana Dakos' patterns and have been a long time listener of her Never Not Knitting podcast.  I love the organic elements in her patterns. She often draws inspiration from nature and uses lots of leaves, vines and interesting cables.  And she picks such lush rich yarns to knit her patterns in!  This hat has a fun raindrop motif, each raindrop has a bobble in the middle to give it a fun 3D texture.  Lolo did her Autumn Vines Beret in a gorgeous rust colour (which I was totally going to post a picture of, but she doesn't have one up on Ravelry. Boo!) and one day I am definitely doing the Cedar Leaves Shawlette and the Shawl Collared Cowl.  I even have the yarn in my stash for the cowl, I just need to get around to it!! 

She has patterns for women and children, and if that wasn't enough, Alana has a new pattern book out: Botanical Knits!  There are so many patterns in here I'm excited about, I want to knit the whole book RIGHT NOW!  So, if anyone was looking for a gift idea for me, this book (and yarns to knit ALL the patterns!) would be a great idea.  :)

So, back to my beret!  I started with 2 skeins of MadTosh Sock in Silver Fox, which I overdyed to make more silvery. I knit my Cladonia Shawlette...

...that I adore beyond words and wear nearly every day.  There was a full skein plus leftover so I knit Cloudy Day and I still have 280 yards left!!!!  So, I decided to make a pair of fingerless gloves to go with so I'll be all matchy matchy with my silvery wintery accessories.  The pattern I'm going to try is the Onion Market Wrist Warmers.  I'm going to adapt them a bit, add a thumb and do a bit of ribbing top and bottom and make them shorter.  I'll probably STILL have yarn leftover when I'm done, but that's ok, it'll go to make hexipuffs.  Can't have too much hexipuff yarn!  (I had 379 hexipuffs as of last night!!)

Happy Knitting!

SereKnitty

Knitty Knutty Knotty

Have you ever gotten obsessed with a knitting project? I mean REALLY obsessed.  I mean, before you even start knitting you're thinking about how much you want to knit it and can't enjoy the other projects you're working on.  And when you finally do start it, it's all you want to do.  When you aren't knitting it, you wish you were.  When you are, you don't want to stop.  Not for anything: food, potty breaks, sleep, work.  You just want to keep knitting until you're done.  THAT obsessed.  Been there?

That's how I've been with the socks I'm working on.  The pattern is Knotty, a fun sock pattern that looks like a gnarled tree trunk.  The yarn is Noro Kureyon Sock which I just now learned is discontinued in the US, which makes me very sad. The pattern has been in my Ravelry queue for nearly 3 years, I bought the yarn over 2 years ago specifically for this pattern.  I thought the earthy greens and browns would fit the pattern nicely.  I decided that THIS year I was finally going to knit these socks.  I moved it to #1 in my queue. I told myself I could start it just as soon as I finished the hat I'm knitting for myself, but as the hat ended up needing another pattern repeat and I had to rip back, the need, the hunger to knit these socks grew.  Finally, I could take it no longer. 

On the 3rd I cast on.  I've been using the socks as a reward system:  Do a half hour on the elliptical, get to knit 2 rounds.  Post a new yarn on Etsy, get to knit 2 rounds.  That sort of thing.  It was working at first, but the problem I had was 2 fold:  First, the pattern has a lot of easy repeats that increase and decrease to make the knots in the leg.  It's hard not to keep going until you finish a repeat.  And then there's the yarn:  the wonderful lovely colour changes want you to keep going and going just to see what happens next.  I pretty much have stopped knitting anything else, except my daily hexipuffs and the Nutkin socks I keep at my desk at work to knit on my lunch breaks.  And for those of you who know me know that I'm a NOT a monogamous knitter.  I usually have at least 7 projects on the needles.  So the fact that this is the ONLY thing I've been knitting tells you that it's beyond obsession.  The worst bit is that, to get gauge, I am knitting them on 00's!!!  Have you ever knit socks on 00's?  Teeny tiny little needles I'm terrified of breaking!  It makes my hands hurt after a half an hour or so.  But, the obsession is so bad that I'll carry on, no matter how my hands cramp and ache.  And, all my hard work and late nights have paid off.  I've finished the first sock!

Isn't it fun?  I absolutely love it and I can't wait to start the next one and see how it turns out.  Do you like the nice soft filter on my pictures?  That's because I accidentally left my camera in my car overnight and the lens fogged up.  :)

Finishing the first sock has helped with the obsession.  It's more of a low boil than a raging fire.  I might try picking up my Cloudy Day beret that I am so close to finishing.  Or working on one of the 500 other projects in my oversized knitting bag.  Or maybe I'll just cast on the second sock...

SereKnitty

KnitCore at the Foundry!

We will be selling our hand-knit wares at The Foundry again this Saturday from 12-5!  We really enjoy this venue.  There are unique vendors, interesting demonstrations and yummy treats! Last month the Grilled Cheese Truck was there selling yummy sandwiches. 

We have been working hard knitting and dyeing for this coming weekend.  I'm excited to announce that I will be bringing lots of new yarns, some new colourways AND lace and worsted weights! I'm thrilled to be expanding my line of yarns beyond sock yarns and I've been having lots of fun with my dyeing pots.  Here are a few previews:

We hope you'll stop by and say hi.  This is a fun indoor event and a great way to support local artists and crafts people!  And did I mention the great food?  :)

Even More Cristmas Knitting!

While Lolo was playing with baby lambs downstate, I've been busy trying to finish up the last of my now seriously overdue Christmas projects and get some of my WIP's off the needles. 

You'd think this would be the last one, but no, I actually have one more Christmas gift I haven't even started knitting yet!  By the time I finish this one, Christmas will be here again!  :)  But I did finish a pair of socks for my sister:

Look familiar?  That's because Lolo and I made the same pattern! 
I also crocheted (yes, crocheted!) an amiguri octopus for my niece Blueberry

Now, I just need to find time to get to the post office to mail them.

I alos finished a project I started in the fall.  My Hogwarts Express Shawlette. 

I left it blocking on the floor when I left the house Friday night.  I'm sure I'll get home to find my cat lying on it.  What is it about cats and wet wool? 

I have NOT been doing a good job cold sheeping so far this year as I've recently bought two sweaters worth of yarn.  But I justify these purchases because they are patterns I've been wanting to make for a very long time.  and the yarn was really pretty.  :) But I can't start either until I finish a few more WIP's. 

We'll be at the Foundry on the 9th, so I know we're both working on some Valentine's themed knits to bring.  Stay tuned for an update on that!

Till then,

SereKnitty

Hello everyone! Lolo here. I'm back for a short jaunt downstate and I had some lovely adventures. This year has been my year to cold sheep, as I have 80,000 yards of yarn and I think my husband has started looking at me a little screwy. ;) Today is the 23rd day of no new yarn and I'm not missing it yet. My mom threw me a big curveball though - as part of my trip down, we went to a lovely farm shop in Gardiner NY. It's called White Barn Farm - here's the site: http://whitebarnsheepandwool.com/

I resisted all of the gorgeous yarn but I did buy some lovely buttons for the new sweater I'm making, a new Stephen West pattern and a great project tote. The best part of the trip was that there was a newborn lamb at the farm! She was born the night before and was just having her first meal. She's a Cormo lamb and has yet to be named.....I'll try to find an update on that later. :)

Isn't she cute! The shop itself has a great sign to welcome you and some beautiful views:

Before I left, my mom and I set aside some time for some crafting that she's been meaning to do for a long time - needle felting!

 

This is her first try, a little hedgehog! It's so funny that she was so nervous to try it because not only is she a former art teacher, she's one of the most creative people with a great "eye"!

Even though I brought 10 tons of projects to make, I really only managed to finish two -

 

Socks for my sister-in-law

 

an octopus (with pipe cleaners to make the arms bendy)

 

 

My ravelry queue is busting with things to knit....I'm trying to get a good mix of new things and UFOs that have been lying around. I'm on a toy making kick, some bunnies and a robot coming up. For at least the rest of the night, I'll be working on Levenwick by Gudrun Johnson in kelly green. :)

 

levenwick

 

May the yarn be with you......

 

 





More Christmas Knits! And Tinking. :(

I thought I had finished the Cloudy Day hat I'm making, but it turns out I need to add another pattern repeat to it to make it bigger so I had to tink back quite a bit.  This is what happens when you make changes to a pattern.  In this case, I'm knitting it in fingering weight yarn instead of sport because I have a tiny head and it'd be too big if I did it in sport.  As is, it's more like a beanie than a beret, but it'll soon be fixed.  And once I block it out on a dinner plate I think it'll be just right.  I had hoped to get it done today, but I guess it'll wait.  BTW, I'm knitting it using Mad Tosh Light in Silver Fox that I overdyed to make more silver grey.  It's the same yarn I used for my Cladonia shawlette that I adore and get so many compliments on. I think they'll look great together! 

So, to console myself for all my wasted knitting time, here is a picture of the Pint Sized Pine Trees I made for a Christmas gift for my boyfriend's father, who makes his own wines.  They're quick and adorable knits that can go over a wine stopper or cork to add a bit of festivity to a bottle of wine, or they can stand alone. I loved them so much I want to make a whole forest of mini tree ornaments for Christmas next year!

(They are also a great way to use up bits of yarn in your stash, those wine bottle corks that inevitably find their ways into kitchen drawers and beads.  I have lots of random beads.) 

Happy Knitting,

SereKnitty

Christmas Knitting

I know it's mid-January, but I'm finally posting pictures of some of my Christmas knitting.  I made snowmen ornaments for my co-workers.  They were fun to make and I enjoyed dressing them up using bits of yarn from my stash.

They were big hits in the office.  Aren't they adorable?  The pattern is called Lumpy, Rosy and Slim, found for free on the KnitPicks website.  It's easy to adapt and make your own. 

Did I just give you an idea for next year?  :)

Happy Knitting! 
SereKnitty