afton shrug, finished

I am both happy to have this finished and unsure how I feel about it. It's nearly impossible to take a picture of it especially if it's not on, so the contortions below are really rather humorous and I have no idea how it looks on me. A fun July start and finish nonetheless. 

As expected, it was an easy knit (with one exception, read on) and a good pick up/put down project. In fact, it got put down for a bit because I got distracted by socks and because at one point when it was evening knitting it was lulling me to sleep! Talk about being a relaxing knit. This was a Blue Sky Fibers pattern, and Blue Sky Fibers cotton yarn which is incredibly soft. 

My one gripe, at least the way I knit, is that second sleeve. I switched to the smaller needles and ripped out the bind off multiple times and it still flares and lays/springs differently than the first line of ribbing which behaves very well. I ended up doing a sewn bind off, pulling rather snugly, and then weaving a double ply of sewing machine thread around the edge just under the bind off to get it to sit a little more like the cast on edge. I'm not sure if that's going to be a long term solution but it improved things a bit and I can't really tell there's thread. Not wildly different in terms of size/width, but definitely different in terms of springiness.

Even in the picture above I can tell, and that's annoying mostly because the cast on sleeve is so much better behaved than the bind off sleeve. Oh well, I bet it will all work itself out! I am hoping this looks nice with a navy and white polka dot dress I have. Of course it's in the 90s for the near future, but maybe some day I will want to have a layer over a dress again. 

rose garden socks, finished

Well. That was kind of fun. String to socks in less than a week and they turned out looking very whimsical. I'm thinking of a cottage-y garden when I look at them, so I'll call them my rose garden socks. 

I did manage to find the second sock mostly relaxing and remembered the heel and gusset process with a minimal amount of looking things up. That feels like a win. Also using the removable stitch markers to count rows was extremely effective not only to help me keep track, but it introduced the potato chip knitting phenomenon - just one more row til I can place a kitty cat. Silly, but true. 

I mostly like how they fit. I might go down a few more stitches to 60 for the next sock since these at 64 are fine but I suspect they'll grow with wear. I could also go down a needle size but I already have these and there is another solution. I also suspect that using a "normal" sock yarn will change the fabric. This was, even for fingering weight, very thin yarn and it is a blend (acrylic/rayon/polyester) that might not grip on itself a lot. I am looking forward to wearing these in some shoes (rather than flopping around the house in them like I have) and seeing how I like it, if the heel behaves, and if they still fit. 

I am reserving judgement re: am I a sock knitter or not for the moment, but these were really fun. And I am proud that they took me a week and not a month. And I can imagine a few skeins of yarn I already have that would make lovely socks. Not getting ahead of myself here, because how many socks does one person need, but I think I hear my stash calling. 

agave sweater, finished

Blocked, seamed, and hanging in the garden! Agave is off the needles. Pleased with this finish and looking forward to wearing it this week. The color, 'buttermilk', is a delightfully cheerful but soft yellow. The fiber content, very soft cotton, makes for a lightweight but draped fabric that seems to hold the lace pattern well. The bottom edge is curling up just a bit, so it will be interesting to see how that goes when I've worn it a few times. The other thing I hope changes with wear is the drape of the sleeves. They haven't quite relaxed into full drape yet, but I suspect they'll soften up and get there; they just came off the blocking board today. 

The pattern, Agave by Yumiko Alexander, was easy to follow and pretty straightforward as far as construction goes. It's knit flat in two panels which are then blocked and joined at the shoulders. The sleeves are picked up and knit flat (!) and blocked into shape. Once that's all done, the sides are seamed. I've not made one like this before but had no trouble. The yarn I used was Jody Long Cottontails which is soft and light and was pleasant in my hands as I worked. I can't say I am a fan of how many times the yarn was knotted though. One ball had at least 3 knots in it. The others weren't quite that bad. Each time I came to a knot I untied or cut it out and left ends to weave in. I don't think the knots would have worked themselves very well into this sea of stockinette stitches. I do like the stitch definition and drape. I suspect if I had gone with a linen yarn as the pattern called for I would have achieved even more drape but this was on SUCH good sale at my LYS during yarn crawl (like $1 a skein I think?) that I decided this was the material for this sweater. I had to scrounge around for one extra ball online at full price (it's discontinued) but overall this was less than $20 of materials which makes me enjoy it even more. 
 

Yellow is not usually my color because it seems to highlight the red tones in my face extremely efficiently but this one works. It's more butter and less marigold. The neckline is kind of interesting since it's just a straight line seam interrupted for a head to go through. I kind of like the resulting boatneck though it has some figuring itself out to do to lie correctly where the lace panel is. It seems to behave differently than the rest of the neckline which makes it wave up a bit. I have confidence it will work out. Would consider making again with the other sleeve option, but these flutter sleeves are really quite fun. More feminine than I am usually comfortable wearing, but still fun. 

On first fit it is comfortable if just a bit fussy in the length department. Being cotton I did not want to make it too long since it should grow over time, but right now I'm wishing for an extra inch or two. Again, not worried and it will work perfectly with flowy pants for now and will look better with the jeans as it grows. This was a fun one, though I don't want to make a sweater knit flat again any time soon! I've learned it's not my joy, even if the finished product is pretty joyful. 

eat your heart out, anthropologie

These. Look. Awesome.

I nearly did not see this project through. I made a couple of pieces this spring and thought it was just too much work with the thin yarn and tiny hooks. Mom offered to pitch in and do a few, which gave me some extra oomph to get over the doldrums. We also found a few great artificial (non-yarn artificial...) succulents to add to the mix. I like that they both are bulky and take up space and add a different texture so the whole thing is not just fuzzy. They're also in shapes that I think would have been just ok with yarn but really look super in the plastic. 

I had some dense foam from something, making an ottoman top I think, that I used to fill in the bottom of the fixtures and the succulents are just kind of poked in (store-bought have stems) or perched and squished into place. It worked out surprisingly well and I think they turned out looking even better than I had imagined. They're a matched set in the stairwell and they make me smile every trip up and down the steps. 

plant parents of the world unite

Wow, I finished the stitching on this just after Valentine's Day and I finally got it in a hoop! Goodness that's a lot of procrastination. This lovely thing is a design out of a library book called "Self Care Cross Stitch" and it made me giggle. I did not completely adhere to the called-for colors since I have a pretty decent stash of colors that were rather close. 

The time between last stitch and today was spent fretting about the "right" way to soak and block it (answer: just like my knitting, no big deal) and then having it be a bit wrinkly on the ironing board for literally weeks before I finally got some water in the iron for steam to smooth things out. It looks great now. The purple hoop is pretty awesome for it - a yard sale find - and I am looking forward to finding a fun spot on my wall for it to sass people as they pass. 

scarlet sophie scarf, finished

That took no time at all! I can totally see why so many folks have made multiples of these. The extremely simple design is a lovely canvas for a special skein of yarn. I could see featuring texture (like cashmere) or a pretty speckle or other interesting color feature. That is, if you're the kind of person that can rock a tiny scarf. I am one of those people. I have definitely been through phases of wearing small silk scarves, so this fits right into that aesthetic. Plus, my mom crocheted me one very similar to this, which is what inspired me to try it out in the first place. I love that one with a button down shirt. 

This one turned out great! It is a little wider than I imagined, so perhaps a reprise might not include as many increases. I did not use a dk weight yarn, instead I opted for a fingering weight, so I guess the "correct" version is even wider? Dunno. Would not want that. I do like the yarn I used both for its feel and its color. That red is going to be fun for the summer. It's a little orangier than it's turning out in the pictures, which is what drew me to the color in the first place, but it will still be a nice accessory for a patriotic vibe in July. 

I used up every last inch of the ball of Catona yesterday evening, which was very satisfying, though I ended up needing to fudge the second end because I was running out of yarn. It's a bit less pointy than the first end. I ripped back several times to get it looking right, and no one will know but me unless they look really closely. Which would be kind of awkward if I was wearing it, to be honest. I thought about, but did not rip all the way back to the midpoint. That just seemed like an overreaction. 

I enjoy the croissant form factor photos I've been seeing around the internet, so here is mine for good measure. I'm still chuckling that I was influenced by YouTubers and my mother to make this little guy, but it was an incredibly fun knit and I am going to really enjoy it. 

mushroom forager tank, finished

It's been quiet from the writing perspective, but busy with the needles this month. I have been motivated to finish projects I have going so that I feel spacious enough to start some new ones. Not a rule, but certainly a good way to push myself to follow through on things I've started. This tank top I started in January is finished and I am quite pleased with the way it fits and how the color looks against my barn tanned skin. 

This yarn was a clearance find at Fillory at LAST year's Bay Area Yarn Crawl. I at least started it before this year's ;). It's a discontinued Berocco cotton rayon blend and was kind of an unforgiving yarn to work with. I had it on large needles for a loose gauge, but it's got NO stretch so was a bit fatiguing to work with which is kind of why it sat for a few months before I picked it back up again in May. 

It shrunk a surprising amount when I blocked it. This turned out to be a good thing because it was looking a bit big around the arm holes and the v neck was bordering on scandalous, but it didn't actually turn out as long or as baggy as I was hoping from making the largest size. The internet tells me it's possible to add length to a stockinette bottom up sweater with just a small amount of fiddling and I have one extra skein of the yarn, so it is an option. It does look very cute with the right pants, though so I will be living with it for a while before considering a modification. As I said to my coworker who wears shorter tops on the regular and looks fabulous, I am trying to embrace the short top as A Thing for myself. 

The mushroom brown is not a typical color for me, but I quite like it with my dark features and olive skin, especially with that bit of a suntan. I wasn't sure how I would feel about the random lines of color but I have to say, love it. They're perfect to give this simple piece a bit of interest but not so busy that it's a mess of color. I would make this tank again for sure, trying a non-rayon yarn so the whole thing stays a bit roomier post block. I would probably want to figure out how to combine the XL body with a smaller size for the top bit so the arm hole/v-neck situation works out like this one, though. I have to say I was a bit skeptical about the pattern because it was so simple but sometimes simple really works!  

defying gravity, finished

It is FINISHED! I am so very pleased with how this turned out, and I would absolutely make this pattern again. It was a very fun knit and the finished piece is really unique. It did grow quite a bit in blocking! I suppose that is due to the silk in the yarn, more slippy maybe? I think it's ok and the oversized look is very much what I was going for but I'll keep that in mind for the next time in case I want to try out a different size.

There was just a little bit of pooling with my second skein of yarn - the consequence of not alternating skeins - but I don't really mind it at all. This green color is just *chef's kiss* perfect, and I am tickled at the combination with the pinks I had in my stash. The cutest part, that is not obvious to anyone but me, is the little yellow brick road piles in the middle of the granny squares. That small pop of gold sparkles up there and makes the piece more interesting than if I had just chosen to use the light pink again in the center and is a fun nod to the story that inspired this color combination. 

 

I've worn it to work already, and it was happily comfy and not at all itchy all day. Because it grew, I will say the neckline is a bit more open than I felt comfortable wearing with out a tank top underneath. I am considering taking out the bind off and expanding the ribbing to give myself a little more coverage in that department. It's fine for now, but definitely something I may pick up and adjust on an evening when I want to be frustrated. ;) 

a good soak

I finished knitting my Geddy Tee last night! I had put it down for a few days this week (after finishing the body last Friday) because I had the impression that picking up stitches for the arms and neck was going to be annoying. It absolutely was not. The arms were super fast, and even the neck was a breeze. I picked up the neck in the morning yesterday and was binding off at the end of the day with a short amount of knitting time. I was feeling kind of like a knitting super hero. 

My next hurdle was weaving in ends! I sent a photo the knit night ladies after binding off and then intended on putting it aside to work on my throw blanket. Better sense prevailed and I got a needle to take care of the ends right away. If I had not, I'm sure it would have been another couple of weeks before that was done. There were a lot from the granny squares, though they were mostly woven in as I crocheted so I just snipped those off, and the rest in the body and ribbing weren't actually that difficult to do, I just don't love it. I chatted on the phone while doing them, so it went by fast. 

This morning I felt motivated to get it blocked right away; I'm hoping to wear it to work one day this coming week! Given how vibrant this yarn is I was not altogether surprised to see some dye coming out in the water, but it did mean I soaked this for very little time and mostly with the granny squares parked up on the side out of the water. I did not want the green to catch onto those bright pinks and muddy them up. 

I haven't pinned anything except the bottom ribbing, which I want to tame to be as wide as the body, or at least as close as possible. It is currently puckering the bottom in way more than I really want (and more than the pattern photos suggest is correct).  When I first laid it out it was 26" across, so nearly 52". This is supposed to be a 48", so I slid the fabric around a little bit vertically to make it longer. It is now measuring closer to 24.5", so 49" which is close enough. I tried it on before blocking and mostly liked how it fit so I'm a bit nervous about how it will be after blocking. Way too big? Way too long? I knit it longer than recommended by 2" to avoid it being too short so this would be ironic. It feels like some of the "spring" has come out of the fabric but that could come back as it dries. This is always the price I pay for not doing a gauge swatch - suspense while blocking! 

bag lady reprise

Late in the evening of my "bag lady Saturday" I found myself wondering what would happen if I downsized the pattern I was using for the zippered project bags to make smaller ones. Voila! They are super cute.  I used a fun stripe print for the inside, and combined a pretty purple flower print with some sassy alpacas.

I was inspired by the piles of scraps leftover from the baby quilt I made recently, and I sort of improvised my way through the sizes based on whatever the scraps told me. I suppose I could measure and try to replicate this again, but of course I didn't write anything down so this could be like those dinners you sometimes make only once because there's some random combination of leftovers in the fridge. 

I made two, one for me and one for a friend. I think I'll keep the one with the little tab and give her the one with the purple zipper. 

bag lady

Today was quite a day! I spent the lion’s share of the day in my sewing room bookending a big organizing/clean up with sewing these perky springy bags. 

The first finish was the veggie quilted tote bag. I saw a tutorial on YouTube a while ago for a quilted tote and this has been on my mind ever since. Last night it got downright distracting - all I could think about was how much I wanted to make it! So this morning after watering my herbs outside, I sat down to realize the vision. It does not disappoint. I’m looking forward to using it at the farmer’s market next week. Both fabrics were from a box mom sent me, they must have been in her stash. (Bottom row, second over for the adorable tiny vegetable lining fabric). I was too lazy to make the fabric straps as called for, but I did have some navy cotton webbing in my stash which looks great. I ended up ordering some more webbing online because this was such a good solution, and I’d like to make more. 

 

The other three bags are project bags for hand stitching (or whatever, I suppose). Mom introduced me to these the last time she was here for the holidays, and I rewatched the tutorial so I could make some more. This is from an Elizabeth Ann Can Stitch video, and they are kind of addicting once you get into it. I loved pulling together the different fabric combinations and using the zippers as extra pops of color. These are all somewhat “precious” fabrics to me - I have resolved to use the lovelies instead of letting them sit around in piles. That bright blue bird print is a Tula Pink impulse buy from Golden State Quilting and I LOVE it with the royal blue zipper. I’m going to be keeping the gray/green birds with the eye watering neon lining and the other two will be gifted to mom and Samara. 

It has been a while since I have felt this relaxed and spacious. I had other adulting things to do too, which usually gets in my head, but none of it was urgent and I was actually able to put them aside for the day. That is pretty much unheard of. So proud of that and happy to have gotten some color play in today. Just look at them! Spring has sprung! 

springy table topper

Last weekend I had a hankering to play with some more scrap sewing. I am really enjoying the stash of “precuts” I made for myself and squirreled away (this reminds me I should do it again with the growing stash of scraps from recent projects). I wanted to make something to grace my dining room table for spring/March so I pulled a quantity of greens and found myself a neutral linen (not surprising for me) to cut to match for patchwork improvising. 

 

I wanted to make simple four patches and combine them to make a sparkly patchwork panel. It was a lot of fun on my design wall moving things around for a couple of days. I bordered it with a great plaid that I think just takes it over the top straight to St. Patrick’s Day. That gave me a goal, to finish it before the holiday today. 

I used this pretty linen-ish garden print for the back and, as has been my habit lately, decided to hand stitch the binding down to the back. It took me a little bit longer, but I finished it by Friday the 13th! I’ve actually been enjoying the slower approach to binding. The hand stitching without need for a pattern or planning is meditative. 

I chose to do crosshatch quilting, in the light gray thread that was already on my machine. It was quick and simple, pretty much the same as the patchwork. This is not an overthinking project. 

It took me a few days to actually “style” the table so it looks festive, but here’s my springtime table scape! Shopping around the decor and things I recently organized was satisfying and fun. I love how it turned out, and I am really pleased with how the handmade items I’ve been pulling out and creating new have made my home cozy and full of personality. 

neapolitan, finished

Fastest sweater ever. I finished this sweater 3 and a half weeks. I even blocked it the same day I bound off. Can you tell I am excited about it? I was intending on writing some in progress posts, but this just flew off of my needles. I did not want to put it down. This is the Coloring Book Raglan by Aimee Sher and I would highly recommend the pattern as an easy and fun knit. I like the twisted ribbing at the neck, arms, and hem, and I really enjoy the wide 3/4 length sleeves. I realize the colors are a slant rhyme to Neapolitan ice cream, but I can't not think of it when I see the stripes. The whole sweater feels a little cotton candy-esque to me, too. 

The stripes are from yarn that Dave got me on one of his trips to visit our friends in Bend, Oregon (before we separated, obviously). He met the alpacas, which is pretty cute. He brought me back four skeins of beautiful yarn that I have not known what to do with since. (The fourth color is white and is a slightly lighter gauge). I thought about different types of projects with one or two skeins in combination, but nothing really excited me. I did want to try to keep them together if at all possible because they actually look really beautiful together. When I saw the pattern for this I decided using them in this way was a great idea. I debated adding the brown in the mix with the pink, purple, and robin egg blue, but its actually my favorite part. It adds a maturity to the overall mix so it doesn't look so little girly. 

The main color is a yarn I will definitely use again in a sweater. It is Woolfolk Luft, and I "met" it on yarn crawl last year. I forget which shop had it, but I remember picking up a skein and thinking it was so very soft and I could probably wear it next to my skin (which I usually don't do with wool yarns, itchy). That particular skein was black, so when I went looking for a color to use in this sweater I wasn't really sure which way I wanted to go. Gray seemed fine but unexciting to me, and a natural would have looked great with the alpaca colors but likely would have washed me out. The blue was a risk on a couple of levels, first computer screens are notoriously bad at translating real life color and second it's kind of an odd choice, but it's a color I really love on its own so it felt worth giving it a shot. I'm so glad I did. It's a beautiful shade. 

The sweater feels like a cozy old sweatshirt already. The heft of the Luft yarn is just REALLY satisfying, especially in the twisted rib sections. The hem hangs great and, surprise surprise, I really like the neckline. I would definitely make this pattern again in other yarns, maybe in the same one (!) and I'm interested to try out all of the various options for sleeves, length, etc. I'm happy that I have plenty of the alpaca left for other projects, maybe some mitts. I'll have to wear this a few times to really know for sure, but I think I may have just met my favorite knit so far. 

floral fun

Finishing up the baby quilt and clearing off the card table felt like it deserved a palette cleanser. I was watching a favorite YouTuber the other day and she whipped up one of these drawstring bags in like a half hour so she could put a new sock project in it. I have used this particular tutorial (from In Color Order) before, so it was kind of fun to reconnect with it. 

These lovely zinnia flowers are from a Pacific Grove trip with my folks. They are so bright and happy! I also got the coordinating print on the same trip (accidental coordination, I'm pretty sure they are not related fabric lines) and I just love that greenish yellow combined with the electric pink. I used a very old print for the inside - it's curios in light grey and white. It's girly and bright and I just love it. And it was SO FAST. I plan on making more of these in different sizes for project bags. The Firefly Totes have been fun to make, but sometimes something simpler is most appealing. 

No zinnias outside yet, but my favorite daffodils are blooming! 

octavia glamour shots

Behold Octavia in much nicer lighting! I should explain the name. Last year's Bay Area yarn crawl "mascot" was an octopus named Octavia. This yarn was the largest purchase I made on that fun crawl, with the explicit intent of making this sweater. I must have subconsciously had the octopus in my head picking out these colors because they are definitely a call back. 

I am impressed with myself that I finished it so quickly, even with the month and a half or so languishing in the corner once I bound off. Fingering weight sweaters are not for the faint of heart! I have another worsted weight one on the needles right now and boy those may be my jam. But the nice drape and lighter fabric that can be achieved with fingering weight is so different, it is probably worth the effort to keep trying some more patterns. This one is seamless and has very little in the way of stability in the upper parts which may be my least favorite thing about it besides the neckline, but the a-line shaping and the fun hem are elements to keep in mind.

What else can I say about her? I love the colors. There's a small part of me that wishes I would have made the entire thing in this beautiful tonal navy, but I can't resist a fun color combination at the yarn shop. Also, I really enjoy coral as a color but it's tough for me to wear, so this nautical pairing both makes sense in terms of the yarn crawl theme and makes the coral wearable for me since it's farther from my face. 

Being totally honest, I'm not 100% satisfied with how the underarm end-weaving-in went, but I expect that to sort of work itself out over time and with wear. I'm looking forward to seeing if this merino/linen/rayon blend is one that I can tolerate well against my skin. The person at the yarn shop suggested it may be, so it felt worth a shot. It's fitted in the upper body and arms but not so much that I couldn't put a tank top on under it if I needed to. Probably not a T-shirt though. Hopefully something to enjoy wearing this spring! May it not get too hot too soon.