nearly there

Clint and I have gotten back together. We put our relationship on hold for a bit while I worked on socks and cross stitch and coasters, but we have settled our differences. In a stroke of adult knitting maturity, I made myself pick up one of my two current wips rather than casting on something new. I did cake up yarn for the next thing, which made it even harder, but I am determined to not let things languish too long. Well. Things I started this year. Let’s not discuss the couple of hibernating projects. Move along. 

I think it’s looking really good. I really like the colors together and can’t wait to see how they play together in the wings of the piece. As of this writing I only have the two uppermost squares of this center panel left to do, so I am very motivated to try to get those done tonight. Then I have a gaggle of ends to weave in before moving on. I solemnly swear I will not let that be a point where I put it away for weeks again. 

mercury socks, finished

All done! I am apparently in the mood to name my knits after Holst’s Planets. Mercury is my second favorite movement from The Planets, extremely close behind Jupiter. Starting immediately on the heels of the Neptune socks, no pun intended, this piece was already on my mind. The orangey speckles brought to mind a planetary landscape, but it couldn’t be Mars - that music is way to intense for the feel of this yarn. The frenetic energy of the micro stripes and the mild flashing map quite nicely onto the perky fluttering lilt of Mercury the Winged Messenger, so there we have it. 

This pair turned out looking very different than what I imagined when I impulse bought the skein, but I have now learned something about reading yarn that I think I will stick in my mind. I’ve read lots of articles about the topic, but there’s nothing quite like experience to make something make sense. Truly a fun knit, I think they turned out quite successfully. I knit these on US 2 (2.75mm) needles though, and I’ve been hearing other people say they use 2 or 2.25mm needles, so I think I’m going to spring for some US 0 (2mm) 9-inch circulars and try those out for my next sock. For science. I think the gauge here is totally fine since I think I knit quite tightly on the tiny circulars, but I am curious to see what a difference it will make. Why not? For true scientific method, I may try to make some shorties from the leftover yarn so nothing changes besides the needles. We’ll see what I decide when I get around to my next pair. I’ve got some other things I’d like to give attention to, but the sock mania has been really fun. No regrets. 

pumpkin coaster improv

This was another beautiful mess I made on the 'Sunday of stitching' at the beginning of August. Spooky season is nearly upon us, and has already firmly arrived in the realm of retail. I found some joy inducing towels depicting a horse wearing a witch's hat. I got a set for myself and a set to share with some friends who will appreciate them as much as me. For one of the gifts, I would like to pair the funny towel with some quirky pumpkin coasters. This is another project inspired and taught to me by Pin, Cut, Sew on YouTube, and it was so fun. 

As with any scrappy project, one must start with a mess. At least I must. From the chaos emerges sensical discrete combinations and lines to sew one at a time. Then in the end, from mess comes magnificence. I do enjoy the improvisational process once I am in it, but sometimes starting it can be hard to let go of expectation and control and ending it can be hard to look at the piles and know they need to be put away. These piles are still languishing. I tell myself I want more coasters, but that's not strictly true. I will likely make more because the piles are still there but that was not the intent at the end of this particular day of making. 

My first effort was made as described in the tutorial. It is a kind of wonky log cabin construction of strips around a central starting point. It was fun but time consuming and I don't have many spooky fabrics that lend themselves well to strips. I really like how this one turned out, but I didn't really feel the pull to keep going like that. Making more meant changing my tactic.

Instead what I did was combine larger pieces of fabric in a more improvisational patchwork type of layout. This worked well with the larger scale foxes and owls, and let me showcase a bunch of black kitties on one. The recipient has four black cats, so I am glad to have found that scrap to include. She also likes purple, so for the back of each pumpkin I used the same purple geometric print. This makes them reversible to all match or be scrappy as the mood strikes. 

I enjoyed the improv play in making these and I like how unique the finished product is. I like that I have one of my own to keep and a set to give, that they didn't really take up that much in the way of supplies, and that I actually would like to sit down soon and make some more. 

mercury sock number one done

Do I have other things on the needles? Yes. Other projects in different crafts I want to do? Absolutely. Did I cast on another pair of socks the same day I finished the last pair? You betcha.

I'm still on the quest to see if I like to knit, and to wear, hand knit socks. This is my third pair of the summer and the third weight, technically. The first pair was also a fingering weight yarn but a "light" version and in a non-wooly fiber. This is a more typical sock yarn, so it probably represents the best prototype I will have for "hand knit sock". I'm using a yarn I bought on a LYS trip with mom while my folks were visiting. We both picked up the same pretty looking skein and I decided to just get it. I did not know it would microstripe like this, which is pretty cool! I kind of wish the stripes were a little thicker because the colors are so pretty, but I don't mind. 

    

Again, the tiny circular needles are making this a truly effortless project that is easy to put down and pick up. It's taking a bit longer for this pair (four days for the first sock instead of two) but that is largely because I am actually doing other things. Tonight was a good night, though. I did most of the foot and finished the first sock. Will probably cast on the second sock tomorrow before work. 

my first satsuma street

I have the itch to cross stitch! Mom got me hooked on some FlossTube channels and has also made me some very pretty pieces lately so I have felt inspired to return to this craft, quite possibly my first craft? Satsuma Street is a designer who uses color and whimsy in a way that appeals to me. Not only are the colors bright, I enjoy the way she combines her colors in the designs. Some of her work, the cities and some of the season samplers, are geometric and bright in a way that gives me It's a Small World vibes.

Mom told me just at the end of last month that there was a Xmas in July sale going on, so I popped over to see what I could see. I quite like the small ornaments she has designed for Halloween and Xmas when I have seen them on the various YouTube channels I now follow. When I looked through the sale collection, I saw two bird themed ones I particularly liked. Turns out they were individually available but also bundled up with two others, so for just a little bit more cost I got four charts instead of just two. Yes please. I have a partridge with a pear, two lovey doves, a hen with an Eiffel Tower (so cute), and four birds on a telephone. That last one just totally got me with both whimsy and color. 

I resisted the impulse to go with the exact colors called for, despite the fact that I enjoy her colors, and instead opted to dive into what I already had to see if I had colors that were close. I was pretty pleased to be able to pull satisfactory colors for everything, even some of the actual called for shades. I already had appropriately sized Aida as well, so away I went. 

 

I really enjoyed starting this chart. This is just one evening of stitching! The last time I worked on a cross stitch project, my proud plant parent sass, it seemed like it took forever even though it was relatively small. For some reason this one has been more enjoyable and I could not put it down. The phone is starting to take shape and there's a couple of birdie bellies making an appearance. I am pleased to be using my newest project bag, also with birds on it.  This will definitely be done by Xmas. 

neptune the mystic socks, finished

Neptune the Mystic is the subject of the final movement of Gustav Holst's The Planets. It is an ethereal treat for the ears that scintillates with mystery and magic. As I worked up this yarn and considered what it was telling me about itself as I went along, this mystical character and soundscape came to mind in the deep purples and blues gently interrupted by subdued, but somehow still sparkly, pinks, greens, and browns. 

I started these the evening of August 1. After a successful day in the sewing room, I had a peaceful evening downstairs in the soft light of the living room enjoying the iridescence of the yarn as it worked up into a cozy fabric. It was wonderful to have a full and varied day of deep creative time with my hands and mind. 

    

It did not take me long to finish the first sock, just another day, and just a couple days after that I finished the second. DK weight socks certainly do work up quickly and I can understand the appeal of a slightly thicker more slipper like sock. These are slightly on the short side because I was uncertain how much yarn one sock would take in a DK weight situation. A bit of research on Ravelry suggested that my size might be kind of close to the whole skein, so I went conservative on leg length because the idea of running out of yarn at the end of a second sock is very unappealing to me. 

They turned out looking great both in dim light and in bright sunshine today where the colors can really show up. They'll either be for me to keep or as a gift for my sister in law. I think her feet are slightly larger than mine though, so they may be staying here if I can't block them bigger when I get her measurements. Such is the risk of starting socks for someone before you're sure what size they are! 

pyramid pincushion

I found myself sewing up a storm this weekend, especially Sunday. I've been enjoying watching Pin, Cut, Sew on YouTube for a while now and one of my favorite things she does is suggest small projects you can whip up with scraps. The tutorials are engaging to watch and inspire me to spend some energy making little things that are both fun and functional. This pin cushion is one of those things. I think it was an older tutorial, but another pin cushion tutorial she posted lately made it come to mind. Making the zippered bag earlier in the day and actually using pins made me feel like it could be useful to have a pin cushion. Like the kindle plops I made last winter, I just needed time to be convinced it was useful for me. 

  

These are all scrap fabrics, many of them from the Bohemian Ponies quilt that is currently gracing my bed in all its glory. That is an epic project totally worth commemorating in pin cushion form! The bottom is a piece of pink corduroy from my rehearsal tote which was kind of fun to incorporate, and the tab is from some really great twill tape I recently purchased for bag making. It kind of reminds me of Fruit Stripe gum. 

I had bought a large bag of poly pellets to use for my future knitted gnomes, and it came in handy here for weighing down the pin cushion so it doesn't poof away when poked with a pin. The suggestion was to use rice, but I had the pellets so went with those. It's a bit wonky and perhaps slightly overstuffed, but it works to hold pins and certainly fits nicely into the chaos of my sewing table. Very pleased with this and would love to make a list of sewing friends to share more with!