UhlissaKnits

 When last we met, I was plotting and planning several light summer tops. I am pleased to report I now have three sweater WIPs, and the only one I've made much progress on is being knit in worsted weight wool (i.e. - the opposite of a light summer top). In my defense, the 3rd quarter of the Yarnathon began on the 1st, and it was hard to resist jumping in. I'm working on Dimbala by Laura Chau, using the insanely wonderful yarn Classy from Dream in Color. When I started looking for a pattern for this quarter, I was surprised how many of Laura's patterns were already in my queue. I wanted to do something that felt very different from all the things I've been working on, so I opted for this worsted weight sweater, which drew me in with it's henley neck and elbow length sleeves. I'm adding a few extra inches to the body and am hoping to split for the neck today. I love how quickly it seems to be going and can't wait to see how it turns out. ...

I want to make all the things right now ! It's been a few weeks since I have shared much but finished projects, but I haven't been terribly focused in my knitting lately, so there's still plenty to catch up on. I needed one more little project to reach my goal for the Yarnathon second quarter sock craft a long, so I started browsing ravelry for patterns for short socks. I had never had much interest in making shorties until I saw some absolutely gorgeous creations in the forums. It wasn't quite what I had in mind, but I found the Colour Twist pattern and decided to use some leftovers from other q2 projects and play around a little and see what I could come up with.  I've been playing with stripes to sort of mimic a fade, and the texture of the stitches has created a pretty interesting effect. These should be done this weekend, and I'll move onto some non-sock projects.  A few weeks ago I cast on Birdwatcher one night when I couldn'...

Last weekend I finished the first of the   Wookie Socks  I started at the beginning of April. The pattern is written for a surprising small foot, and I was terrified I didn't make a big enough adjustment to make them large enough for the intended recipient. I used 2.75 mm for the ribbing, and 3 mm for the body of the sock instead of 2.25 and 2.75.  They call for an afterthought heel, which is not my favorite thing, and I was anxious I would knit an entire sock before I found out it didn't fit. Instead, I worked about an inch past the heel stitches that were put on hold, went back and knit the heel and had the BF try them on before I continued the foot. Almost astonishingly he could get it on, so I finished the sock and I think it ended up pretty perfectly. I'm way more excited about working on the second sock knowing it will result in a well fitting pair of socks.  Hermione's Everyday Socks  has almost 34,000 projects on Ravelry, so ...

 The night I finished Lady Cordelia,  I was not interested in winding yarn and starting the last pair of socks for the KAL, so I cast on Hug Shot instead.  It's been near the top of my queue since I discovered Casapinka last year.  I bought the Malabrigo Mechita specifically for this pattern last July, and it's been wound, taunting me, begging to be knit from the table in my craft room for the last few months. I haven't made much progress, but it's nice to have an easy project on hand to take a break from complicated socks and tiny needles. I have several other WIPs that would have probably achieved the same goal, but when you're in a cast on mood, it's really hard to do anything but cast on. On Monday, I did cast on  Raspberry Cordial , the last pair of Socks of Green Gables. I'm using Hedgehog Fibres Sock, which is a new yarn for me. It feels more like a single than the tightly plied sock yarns I've recently come to fav...

I had even less knitting time this week than normal,  due to a sore arm I could barely move on Wednesday night after my second covid shot. However,  I'm hoping to make up for it this weekend.  I have four inches left of the feet of my  Lady Cordelia  socks. I've carved out my whole afternoon to work on them. If I can manage to get them finished,  I'll have just over two weeks to cast on and knit the last pair for the Green Gables KAL,  Raspberry Cordial .  I'm not sure if it's the cables,  or just me, but these feel like they're taking forever.  They're absolutely gorgeous,  but I made the leg relatively short (1 1/2 pattern repeats) and substituted a short row heel in hopes of getting to the feet faster.  With the pattern only on the instep, it definitely feels faster,  but that could be an illusion.  I'm also knitting with new needles, which could be a factor.  The Hiyahiya points are super sharp,...

I haven't updated lately, but I've had my hands on quite a few things in the last couple of weeks, but even still, I  feel like I've lost my knitting mojo.  I can't get myself to focus on the projects I'm "supposed" to be knitting.  I'm under massive stress in my professional life, and it's definitely been affecting my personal life.  I have made a lot of knitting plans, including a MKAL I couldn't resist,  with deadlines lately  and I reached a point a couple of weeks ago where the knitting felt more like an obligation than the fun, relaxing hobby it's supposed to be.   so, i picked up my powder wrap instead of working on the projects that were stressing me out.  It's a comforting knit - larger needles,  super soft and squishy, and a fairly simple pattern.  Knitting in worsted (the absolutely delicious Berroco Ultra Alpaca) also has the benefit of a sense of instant gratification. A couple of hours of knitting has a ve...

This turned into another cast on week. I have so many things I want to knit right now,  that I have a feeling this is going to continue for the foreseeable future.   Green Gables , the second sock of Lisa Ross' KAL , has me totally smitten.  I think this was the one of the four patterns I was most excited about,  and so far it hasn't disappointed.  I don't do much lace knitting,  but this was a manageable amount in a fairly intuitive pattern.  I've lost some momentum now that I'm onto the fairly plain leg/foot, but I'm still really enjoying them.  Boyfriend has been patiently watching me knit things for myself for months,  and I think he was starting to feel a little left out.  I bought this amazing Star Wars book about a month ago,  knowing there were several things in it that he would appreciate.  The pattern I was most excited about was the Wookiee socks , which I cast on for him a couple of nig...

It's been a few weeks since my last WIP update and I'm posting a few days later than planned, but my non-knitting life continues to be incredibly busy and I've missed my knitting time. I keep daydreaming about my WIPs waiting for me at home and casting on new projects.  The ESK Yarnathon 1st Quarter Mosaic KAL wrapped up on Wednesday, and the last few weeks I was feeling a little stressed about the projects I needed to get done. Of course, "need" might be a little dramatic,  but I had grand plans for the quarter that eventually degraded into reasonable plans as March snuck up on me,  and I was determined to finish my three projects.   I did manage to finish all three: Geometrica , Pucker and Impossibly Possible .  I even finished and submitted my projects a few days before the deadline! Those extra days turned this into a cast-on week! The second quarter KAL is socks,  and the amazing Lisa Ross is hosting a sock KAL that started the 1st as well. I d...

I skipped last week's round up,  because life got in the way and I didn't get much knitting done. This week wasn't much better,  but I do have a few bits of progress to share.  Curling Mist I've almost finished the legs, and I like how they're looking,  but I'm still having trouble getting excited about knitting these socks.  Impossibly Possible  I cast on these amazing  Impossibly Possible  socks last weekend and I absolutely love them, though I haven't had a lot of time to focus on them. It's been quite the learning experience so far.  This is my first attempt at toe-up socks. It took several tries to successfully employ Judy's magic cast on.  This  video  was incredibly helpful.  Then the heel calls for German short rows,  which I had never done before.  I'm not sure what my problem was,  but it took several tries to get right.   I love the mosaic,  the f...

In my effort to resist casting on new projects,  I planned to spend some time on a few WIPs I've been neglecting. However,  I picked up my  Hoarfrost , and haven't been able to put it down! This worsted weight shawl is so soft and fluffy and is working up beautifully in KnitPicks Preciosa Tonal. I started it in November,  and didn't make much progress until this week.  I think I struggled to focus because I couldn't make the pattern seem intuitive.  After working a few rows last weekend,  it suddenly clicked. I got the hang of the ribbing and flew through the last 15 repeats.  A few nights ago,  I began the lace section.  I've never been much of a lace knitter,  but this pattern is great.  It's easy to remember and has been going pretty quickly.   I also had my first scare with interchangeable needles while working on this. I was using wooden tips, and one started to separate from the metal con...

Cold, snowy weather allowed me to work from home and gave me a little extra knitting time this week and I couldn't pick just one project to focus on.  Geometrica  I finished on Wednesday! This was such a fun project and I'm really happy with the results.  You can read more in my FO post.  Pucker  Finished the first sock this morning.  This has been a fun knit,  but mosaic isn't very stretchy, so I felt like the foot took forever to get long enough.  I'm trying to motivate myself to get the second sock cast on,  but I think I'm going to work on other things for a while first.  Long Winter's Night Working on clue 5 this morning.  I keep making mistakes,  but have chosen to ignore them and carry on. I'm enjoying the break from fingering yarn and tiny needles.   Curling Mist  I don't know why I'm having such a hard time getting excited about this one.  It's a great...

Pucker Mosaic socks! Two of my favorite things in one project.  These have been at the top of my queue for a while,  and I cast on during the super bowl. My yarn choices felt a little out of my wheelhouse, as they are definitely bold and bright. Not sure why I bought self striping yarn,  since I generally don't like it,  but I'm fairly pleased with the way these are coming together.  The SweetGeorgia (yellow) is a little thicker than the String Theory, but it doesn't seem to be causing any issues.  The cuff is so soft and squishy,  I'm very tempted to start stockpiling more SweetGeorgia. (I already have a couple other skeins,  but now I think I need more). I've only knit most of one leg, because I got distracted by other shiny things,  but I'm planning to make some progress in the next few days.   An unexpected day off work on Wednesday gave me the chance to cast on  Curling Mist from the Handmade Sock ...

Finishing my Sumu socks earlier than expected,  I dedicated Sunday knitting to making some progress on the MKALs I'm behind on. I ended up only touching one of them, but I made some good progress.  Geometrica MKAL   Clues 1-3 I had completed Clue 3 a couple of weeks ago, but it sat neglected in my project bag for a while. Last weekend I made it through clue 4 and 2/3 of clue 5. Last night and this morning I finished clue 5 and 6. In the meantime more clues were published.   Clue 5-6 I really love this project,  and I'm really looking forward to finishing. Clue 8 was released yesterday,  so I'm not too terribly behind.  I've been cheating a little and looking at the charts for the next clues, and I'm super excited for the mosaic to get a little more interesting soon. There are still 3 clues yet to be published,  and I have a feeling it's going to end up being awesome! Also,Reason #245642 that I love KALs: forums full of helpful tricks l...

Somehow it's already the end of January! This is a very busy time in my non-knitting life, so not much to report this week.  My Sumu  socks are finally looking like socks! I finished the heels last night, and I'm still fascinated by this technique. There is no heel flap and no picking up stitches. The gusset is increased while you continue to knit in the round. Only a small heel turn is done flat and then you return to knitting in the round for the decreases. I think this was a great technique to try with my first two at a time socks.  I'd like to get these done this weekend and I'm feeling pretty optimistic.  The insole pattern has become very intuitive and the bottom of the foot is plain,  which will go much faster than the back of the leg. The back leg pattern was mostly 1x1 ribbing,  but there is a textured pattern down the middle.  It took me almost the whole leg to get the hang of it, and even then I had to double check th...