FO's!

Yay, I have Fo's! My first for 2012. I have been knitting up a storm this week. Got my pink socks finished. I realized that the reason they were turning out big was because they were meant to wear over socks! Duh. I am thinking of getting some of that puffy paint stuff to put on the bottom of them to make them non-slip.

 Pattern: Double Knit Over Socks by Ray Reid

Yarn: King Cole Splash DK

Needles: US 4

 

I saw this pattern this week on a podcast I was watching (it was an older podcast from Diane at Knitabulls). I am rather addicted to her podcasts right now and keep watching old ones while I wait for her new weekly ones! I would quite happily watch all of them from last year but for some reason they don't show up on my ipad, and that is what I use to watch, while I'm sitting with my feet up knitting!

The pattern is called Drifty It's from the Red Collection by Mandy Powers. I don't like anything with fairisle or intarsia in it because I hate knitting it. . . . or so I thought! I loved the look of this hat so much I wanted to give it a try. What a pleasant surprise to discover that actually fairisle is much easier to knit than intarsia! I discovered something new too. All the time I was knitting intarsia it was so slow going because you had to cross the yarn over, but with fairisle you don't have to actually twist the yarn as you knit. I'm sure most of you all know this already. It makes knitting something like this so much faster than I expected.

  

I started this yesterday and finished it off this morning! I would have finished it last night but my neighbor came over for a glass of wine so I put it down. But oh my gosh, I just LOVE it, and I am so proud of myself for trying something I thought I didn't like (and finding out I actually do like it)! I didn't have any bulky yarn for it but I thought if I knit the largest size and use worsted weight wool it might turn out the right size for Kristen - and it did :-)  I want to order the Lambs Pride Bulky yarn to knit this for me now too, AND make us both a pair of mittens to match. The only sad part is we won't probably wear these until next winter, it already feels like spring here in TX with temps in the 70's this week!!!!

Pattern: Drifty

 Yarn: Hobby Lobby's I Love this Wool!

Needles: size US 8 

I'm making good progress on my Dahlia cardigan, although I do have to rip one of the sleeves out. I didn't realize I had to start the decreases so soon, so it ended up too long and not decreased enough. I thought it might look ok like that, but it doesn't, and considering the price of this yarn, I know I need to frog it and do it right. I'm on the second sleeve right now and once that is knit (correctly) I'll frog the other one and re-do it.

Yarn Along - 1

 I thought I'd join in with Ginny's Yarn Along this week. The two things I've been doing most since Christmas is knitting and reading :-)  I'm now in two book clubs, my main (real) one, and a 'virtual' online one with some friends.

This week I'm reading Cutting For Stone with my 'real' club, we'll be discussing it at our first monthly meeting on January 19th. I have to say, this is not my kind of read at all, so I'm not really enjoying it, but still plugging away at it . . . it's over 600 pages long!!! I'm also reading a Thomas Kinkaide novel with my online club and I'm really enjoying that one (more my kind of read).

As I mentioned in my last post, I cast on for a pair of socks so I had something small to knit while working on Wray and Dahlia. I'm using THIS pattern on Ravelry, they are called Double Knit Oversocks. Even though I've gone down two needle sizes (the pattern calls for us6 and I'm using us4 dpn's) I still feel like it's a little loose! I know, I know, I should check gauge, and honestly this is the LAST TIME I don't! I really will check my gauge with everything I knit from now on out - promise!

I've come to the conclusion that I have tiny feet - well not tiny in length, I'm a size 7-7/12, but the width of my foot seems very small, either that or I just knit really loose. All of the socks I've ever knit have felt loose and could, in my opinion, be a little smaller for a better/snugger fit.

Still, one sock finished, the key now is to cast on straight away for the second sock or I will be dealing with SSS (second sock syndrome) and will end up with yet another 'lone sock'! Yes I have others sitting in baskets waiting for it's partner!

I'm waiting for a package from Knitpicks this week, I ordered a 16" needle so I can knit the sleeves of Dahlia, doing them on the dpn's is slow going and I keep getting 'ladders'! I'm hoping I can knit them on the 16" for the most part before the decreases start? I've also ordered some sock yarn from them, in cream. I've wanted to knit these socks for ages. . . 

They're the Lingerie Socks from Knitty.com You can see them on Ravelry HERE. The picture is linked to the Knitty site. Not sure if I'll make them or pick a different pattern, I'm also wanting to try toe-up remember!