I’m back this week with a (somewhat lengthy) knitting and crochet update! I got a lot more done over the course of the past month than I expected and had a lot of inspiration from fellow fiber artists lately, so I have quite a few projects to report about. First, we will start off with the Finish It (or Frog It) February Challenge. Then I will share what I have already finished since last month, and I will end what a report of what I am working on now.
To Finish or Frog?
In Finish It (or Frog It) February, the goal is to take stock of all your current projects that are not yet complete and decide what you are going to finish and what just needs unraveled so that you can use it for another project. I only have one project that is languishing in my knitting bin, so this seemed like the perfect time to evaluate what to do with it!
Back in October my husband and I were about to go on a trip for our 20th wedding anniversary. I had just started to get my knitting mojo back in full force, and I wanted a nice project to take along with me. However, I also had committed to further reducing my yarn stash before buying any new yarn. I had several small balls of O-Wool Classic 2-ply from back when I was making baby things to sell on Etsy, and I liked the way the colors all looked together. I thought maybe I had enough for a shawl, found a pretty pattern that looked like it would lend itself to some scrappy knitting, and went with it! However, as I went along, I quickly realized that I really didn’t have enough yarn for what I was hoping to make happen. So when we came back from our trip, I put the stripey WIP away in the bin, not wanting to make a decision about what to do with it just then.
I took it back out this week and weighed all the yarn balls along with the section of the shawl I had knitted, and it only came out to around 175 grams, give or take a few. That’s really not enough to make into the shawl pattern I had in mind as it is. I could possibly order some more yarn to coordinate with these, but that sort of defeats the purpose of a stash-busting project! So, I have decided to frog this and make something else with these yarns instead. Because one of my goals for this year is to improve in knitting color work, I have an idea to knit some kind of fair isle “doodle” cowl or scarf, just practicing various fair isle patterns using the different contrast colors against deep blue/purple background, and stopping whenever I run out of yarn. To do this, I am would be using charts and instructions from The Doodle Knit Directory by Jamie Lomax (Amazon affiliate link). In fact, I already started playing around with some different motifs I might use. Such fun!
Finished Objects!
My first finished object for this month’s update was a headband/earwarmer for my mom to match the mittens I gave her for Christmas. I followed the Calorimetry pattern by Kathryn Schoendorf that was published by Knitty back in 2006. I decided to put a couple of buttons on this in different places because it was very stretchy, and I wanted my mom to be able to adjust the fit a little.
My second FO is one I am super proud of, my Winter in the Apennines sweater! I ended up going up a needle size on this due to my gauge being a little tighter than the pattern called for. I also ordered a little extra yarn, but in the end that wasn’t necessary as I had plenty leftover. The only other change I made was to shorted the collar because I knew I would often want to wear a collared shirt or turtleneck under this and wanted those to be visible. I also probably could have made one size smaller than I did because it did end up being a tiny bit more roomy than I actually wanted it to be. Still, I am immensely proud of finishing this so quickly, and I am very pleased with the color work and how it all turned out. The main body was knit using Drops Alaska in Off White, and the Midnight Blue contrast was also Drops Alaska. For the one narrow contrast stripe I ended up changing from the planned mustard color to a nice emerald green using some more of my leftover Alpaca Lana D’Oro.
Works in Progress:
I have just a few current active WIPs, one of which is a pair of Slip Knit Socks in Viking Garn Sportsragg, color Multi-pink-purple for the main color with contrasting heels and toes in Light Gray. I hadn’t tried this yarn before, and it is a little thicker than my typical sock yarns. Hopefully the scraps will still work to hold double for the DK Weight Vanilla Socks I started last month since that is partly why I got the color that I did!
Another current work in progress is the Honeycomb Vest by Sarah Castor. I cast this on just about a week ago using Viking Garn Trend Merino in Warm Red. I had been looking for a nicely textured pullover vest pattern with low-ish neckline to wear over blouses and turtlenecks, and this pattern is one I have had pinned for quite a while. My plan is to knit this a couple of inches shorter than the pattern calls for because I want it to hit right about at my waist, rather than mid-hip as shown in the pattern. I also am skipping the waist shaping because the fabric created by the honeycomb stitch is so stretchy that it really seemed unnecessary. This is a rather slow-going project because the stitch pattern is a little fiddly, and the gauge is considerably smaller than what I knit my sweater in. But I am really eager to have this piece in my wardrobe, so I will keep at it!
My final current project is a scrappy project that is inspired by all the crochet and knit combo cardigan and vests that are trending right now, especially the Jethro Cardigan from Tanis Fiber Arts. I still had several small balls of wool yarn in varying weights leftover from back when I had my Etsy shop, most of which were in autumn colors. I decided to pull them all together into a bunch of granny squares and make something wearable for around the house. Since the weights of the yarns are not all exactly the same, I did fiddle around with the gauge of the last round of each square to try and get them close to the same finished size. Some are finished off with a mystery wool that is on the lighter worsted side, and others are finished with the leftovers from my sweater which is more of an aran weight. Once sewn together and blocked, I think they will even out. I haven’t yet decided whether I will put sleeves on this or just make it a vest, or whether I will knit on a button band or just do straight ribbing and leave it open. Time and the amount of coordinating yarn I have left will tell!
Weaving in the Ends
So that is what I have on the needles and hooks right now! It’s a lot for me, considering that a year ago I wasn’t doing any fiber crafts at all. I am glad to have regained this particular creative outlet. If you’ve read this far, thanks for hanging in there with me! I would love to hear what is inspiring you or what you are working on this month, so leave me a comment below.
Until next time…
Kiel
