Wednesday, April 29, 2015

On the Needles, Off the Needles

I've started a new pair of socks :) That's not to say I've finished the other pair, but I reached the heel and as I want to try out the OMG heel again, and haven't learned that one off by heart yet, it was time to pick something else for my mindless knitting. Remembering that I'd promised Becca some stripy happy socks, I decided now was as good a time as any to cast on for those, and the result (so far) is a very happy-looking Rainbow Latte toe/foot!
I've also managed to get two extra squares on my second baby-blanket. It's slow going, but coming along nicely.
Other than that I've actually been fairly monogamous, as I had two projects I wanted to finish before the end of April, and am happy to say I managed on both accounts.

First there's my homespun Hitchhiker which is off the needles, blocked and looking absolutely lovely :) So I've forgiven it all the ways it teased me as I was spinning and knitting the yarn. I ended up with 32 tips total, so not quite the full 42 to make it a true Douglas Adamsesque Hitchhiker, but close enough to fit me nicely :)
Next there's the Rye Field Pullover! I finished the knitting on Sunday, wove in (most of) the ends Monday morning (forgot the ones on the sleeves! That'll happen once it's blocked), and it's currently blocking.
As always with sweaters, I'm kinda worried that it grew too much while blocking. But merino should shrink some when drying, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. May also throw it in the machine for a spin, as it's superwash. I tried it on prior to blocking though, and it fits absolutely perfectly over the shoulders and the chest. Would probably have benefited from some waist-shaping, but as it's a test-knit, I couldn't do that at the time. Am thinking up ways of adding that after the fact if it turns out to be necessary, as I don't think I have the heart to rip back and re-knit! I consider myself a progress knitter rather than a product knitter, but not quite enough for that! Anyway, back when she still did vidcasts, Emily of WhatchaSwatching mentioned using mattress stitch to take in the sides of her Hiro sweater, which is also mostly stockinette knit in the round. It worked like a charm for her, so hopefully it'll work for me as well :) And if not, I can just undo the seam and reblock, and I'll be no worse off than I am now :)

But so far, this is all speculations. The pullover is still wet on the mats - may turn out that it fits perfectly once it's dry and on! I'm keeping my fingers crossed.


In other crafting-adjacent news, Iben reminded me of my love of colouring books when she blogged about a colouring book for adults (link is in Danish, but you can still enjoy the pictures :) ). I was instantly hooked, and bought the books (2 of them) that same evening. They arrived Saturday (as always in a HUGE package compared to the contents!), and after the read-a-thon was over Sunday, I immediately sat down with my felts to get my colouring on!
I love colouring books for adults! Especially ones with paper thick enough that I don't have to stick to pencils but have a choice.

But it's funny - I think I almost like the start photo the best. It looks better - or at least more striking - when only some of the colouring is done.

1 comment:

  1. Yeah those coloring books are big here too....I love to color...hopefully the sweater won't grow much...

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