WIP Wednesday - October edition

Since last time...

On the Needles
I'm still working on the sweater for Anne. Despite it being half-brioche, It's actually knitting up a lot faster than I had feared. I'm almost done with the front and then need another 10'ish cm for the back. I hope to finish the body by the 14th when I see her next, so she can try it on, and then on to the sleeves and neckband. I HOPE I have enough yarn - it's taking up more than I expected, but I did buy a buffer-skein as per usual, so fingers crossed. Otherwise it's commercial yarn, so should be possible to get more.

I've been wanting to make another Happypotamus pretty much ever since I finished the first one, and since I want it to be a birthday present for Liz, I figured I should get started on it. All pieces have been made - now I'm just crocheting them all together. I'm about 1/3 of the way and have another month and a half to finish, so no sweat there.

Last weekend I was feeling decidedly under the weather, so I picked up the cozy memories blanket again, as it makes for perfect comfort knitting - I can snuggle up under it and knit it at the same time! I've done a bit of maths, and calculated that I need approx. 512 squares. I currently have 350 squares done, so I'm getting there!



However, none of the projects mentioned above are portable - and I needed something portable for Connect group last week, so I decided to cast on "Knit Your Love" by Martina Behm. I've already knit this once before, but loved the result so much that I left it on a train last year!!! Way past due to get another one started!

Off the Needles
It's gotten COLD here recently, and I couldn't find any of my bulky socks. As any other knitting addict, rather than go looking for the three pairs I knew I had, I just cast on a pair :-P Bulky socks knit up FAST (not as fast as finding pairs I own though...) and a few days later I had warm toes again :-D I'm very obviously not used to working with bulky yarn though - it kinda hurt my hands to knit with. Part of that might also be because it had to be at a very tight gauge though. Either way, I'm pleased with the result.

WIP Wednesday: Week 36

It's the first Wednesday of the month, so time for my WIP post! I even have a couple of finished objects :-)

One of these didn't even make it to a WIP post as a WIP, as it was a testknit so I had to finish them quickly. Unlike most sock testknits the designer here asked us to finish both socks for the test, rather than just one. Fortunately they were really easy and fun to knit, so I finished both by the deadline without any problems. These are the Balcony Bliss socks in some Mayflower Luxury sock yarn. Luxury indeed - this yarn is so incredibly soft that I'm tempted to use the other skein for a shawl instead!
I also finally finished the first pair of Kinda Magic Socks. These took me a LOT longer than they should have, but they turned out to be a lot less fun than I had expected them to be. I'm still going to finish the other pair as well, but am glad I only bought two skeins. They aren't difficult as such, but you have to pay SO close attention to your gauge all the time, so they can't be as mindless knitting as I like vanilla socks to be.
While on vacation I finished the "Closer To You" shawl out of some yarn I bought in New Zealand in 2015. I've been wondering what to use this yarn for ever since I bought it, but finally found this pattern which turned out to suit it perfectly. It's still far too warm to wear shawls, but I will enjoy it greatly once it gets a bit colder.
Last but not least, I finished the Goldfish Memory Wrap last night, and it's currently blocking! I made a few mistakes along the way (e.g. purled a row I should have knit! Couldn't be bothered tinking though, so I'm calling it a feature!). I love the way the colours work together, and can't wait to wear it (although I wouldn't mind if it's too warm for that awhile yet. It'll be winter and cold soon enough...). While blocking it I discovered I'd accidentally dropped a stitch several (20+) rows down! Have no clue how I missed that until now, but fortunately it should be a fairly easy fix one the shawl is dry.
As for WIPs, I have a few socks on the needles, but only one project really worth showing off. Cousin Anne asked me if I'd knit her a sweater as she figured I'd get it done faster than her mother. Not sure about that, but I'll certainly give it a go! She apparently looked through a ton of knitting magazines at the local library, and found what looks like a really cozy sweater. It's not a pattern I'd ever have picked for myself (most of it is half-brioche which is about as time-consuming to knit as moss-stitch), but I think it'll suit her really well. We went out to buy yarn the day before our vacation, so I didn't get to swatch and cast on until this week. I've knit the first skein, but was too eager to finish my Goldfish, so I've put it on the back burner for the time being - it'll be brought back tonight though.

WIP Wednesday: Week 31

Soooo... apparently I only post WIP posts once a month now? :-P At least that means you're pretty sure to see heaps of change between each post!

Very shortly after my last post, I finished the Rainbow Elfe I was working on. I love the way it turned out, but actually haven't worn it "for real" yet, due to the heatwave we're currently having. Ah well - it'll keep till autumn.

I've also finally finished the Snowmelt shawl. It was originally designed as a 2 colour shawl, but I had a long gradient yarn I wanted to use for it. I absolutely LOVE it! I added about 20 extra rows to use up all my yarn, and ended up with less than 20 meters remaining - score! It's a cotton blend and thus not quite as warm as it could've been, so I've actually already used it a few times. It'll come in VERY handy once it cools down a bit.

Getting those two things off the needles really prompted my startitis (because why finish other WIPs when you can cast on something new and shiny instead?! :-D) and this past week I've cast on two new shawls.

First I started the "Closer to You" shawl using a merino/possum blend I bought in New Zealand. It's nice and soft but FAR too warm to work with these days, so I didn't get very far at all, before I had to put it aside.
Instead I cast on for the "Goldfish Memory" wrap that I've been eyeing for quite awhile. I finally decided on which colours I wanted to use for it (all from my stash - go me :-D ) and got them wound over the weekend. These are all fingering weight merino or merino/bamboo blends, so much nicer to work with in this heat. I haven't gotten very far on it yet, but am loving the knit. I'm two rows away from starting pattern section 4 where I get to add the third colour! :D

I've only done a tiny bit of sock-knitting over the past month, but at least I got the first blue Kinda Magic sock done - so now I have a fraternal pair!

WIP Wednesday: Week 27

It's been four weeks since I posted a WIP post last, so I have a ton of things to show off this time. Not very many finished objects, but I'm SO close on a few.

All the Socks!
I've finished one pair of socks and am in the middle of 4 other pairs. The finished pair was me trying out a new heel, and it turned out waaaaay too big, so I ended up giving them to Christian in the hopes that he could fit them - fortunately, he could :-D
I'm knitting two pairs of "Kinda Magic Socks" from Wool and the Gang which Liz got me the yarn for. I'm not entirely impressed by how they've sized the socks (far too short leg, far too long foot - I had to make a VERY shorter toe than the pattern calls for - and I have fairly large feet, for a woman!), but it's a fun knit nonetheless and a very clear indicator of how much a person's gauge can change - even just from day to day!


The last pair is a testknit I signed up for last month. I finished the first sock (and thus the testknit) over the weekend, but haven't yet cast on the second one. I'll probably do that once I finish one or both of the Kinda Magic Socks.

Meet Lark, the Cutest Monster Around
Some of our friends recently had a boy, so of course I had to make him a stuffed toy. Lark turned out so much cuter than I had expected, so though he was a lot of work, it was so worth it :-D

Almost done!
I don't think I've shown my rainbow Elfe off before. I started it just over a month ago and am almost done!!! Just one more stripe and then I can cast off. I've knit the Elfe 3 times before, so I took a chance and didn't swatch :-P Looks like it fits just fine though... we'll see how it goes after blocking. It's quite a bit longer than my other Elfes, but I wanted to use up every last bit of the rainbow yarn - besides, I like tunics, so it's all good :-) Just hope the yarn softens up with blocking though... it's a tad scratchy just now.

WIP Wednesday - Week 23

I've been doing a lot of finishing this past week, so have no works in progress, but 3 finished objects!

As expected I finished the Summa Shawl just a few days after my last WIP post. I played yarn chicken till the very end and ended up with less than 2 meters left of the light green yarn! Success! I can't believe how quick a knit it turned out to be, and am looking forward to seeing how it turns out once blocked. But here it is in all its unblocked glory :-)

Last week I was told that one of my coworkers is stopping later this month. I happen to know that she's a huge fan of unicorns, so decided to make one for her. The pattern was inspired by the SO FLUFFY unicorn from Despicable Me, but I decided to give it rainbow hair instead :-D It turned out really well, but was SUCH a hassle to make, that I doubt I'll make more of these. I plan to give it to my coworker this Friday and hope that she likes it.

After 1.5 years on the needles, I FINALLY finished the Skew socks. Not at all sure why they took me this long to finish. Sure, they're more complex than a "normal" sock construction, but not that bad. I like the way they look (the fit could be better, but that's my own fault as I didn't swatch ahead of time :-P) and LOVE the yarn! It's a merino-possum blend I bought in New Zealand and so lovely soft and warm! Waaaaay too warm these days, but they'll be awesome come winter.

WIP Wednesday - Week 22

StashDash2018 (a podcast knitting race) started this past Friday so as usual I'm finishing All The Things! (Capitalized, so it's true now). The previous years I've signed up for the 5K event, but I'm thinking I might only do the 3K this year - we'll see.

First finished item - the wingspan made out of my Christmas yarn. It's ridiculously colourful and I love it! Don't know how much I'll actually wear it, but I had fun knitting it, and that's the important thing.

Second finished item - a pair of socks for a colleague of mine. They're nothing special, but just a simple spiral around. I finally got to give them to her yesterday and I think she liked them 🙂 Of course, it is waaaaay too hot to wear them now, but they'll keep.

Third finished item - the forest wreath cowl. My first real attempt at two-colour brioche. I like the way it looks, but am not a huge fan of the actual knitting part of brioche knitting (which is also why I stopped after just two repeats instead of the 3 the pattern suggested), so I'll probably never knit any of the larger items.

I loved the yarn I used for the forest wreath though, and as I still had quite a bit left, I decided to use that for the Summa Shawl. I cast on Sunday and have pretty much been knitting exclusively on that ever since. It's flying off the needles, and I absolutely love how it's turning out. I fully expect to finish within a few days :D

WIP Wednesday - Week 19

No finished objects this time. I'm saving up finishing projects for stashdash (starts May 25th) in the hopes I'll be able to reach 5K again :-D

That said I've made a lot of progress on a lot of WIPs :)

First, I've been working on no fewer than 3 pairs of socks! The first are just plain vanilla in a self-patterning yarn. I'd brought them along to knit on at a work event as they required little to no attention and therefore made for perfect "keep my hands busy" knitting. I'm just past the heel but am in no rush to finish as I'm putting these aside for mindless knitting.
One of my colleagues/friends saw me knitting (hard for her not to - she was sitting right next to me!) and started squeeing so much over the socks that I immediately offered to knit her a pair too (would just have offered her said socks, but her feet are quite a bit smaller than mine, so that wouldn't work). I cast those one the very next day and am about half-way through the first sock. I really like both the pattern and the yarn.
Finally, I discovered a test-knit I just had to sign up for as it called for "extremely varigated yarn", and I had just such a skein I didn't know what to do with. I cast those on and finished the first one (all the test called for) in less than a week - it was very potatochippy to see the diamonds appear! I can't quite decide what I think of the finished sock - the purl bumps make to almost too busy - but know that I definitely want to knit a no-purl version at some point.

Other than that I've been knitting on my colourful wingspan. I'm on the very last wedge and my very last colour. Definitely not sure that I'll have enough yarn to bind off with, but fortunately it's just plain black, so I should be able to find more in my stash ;) This has been put aside to finish for stashdash! :D

Since I put that aside I had to find something else to work on, so I picked the Snowmelt back up and have managed to add on another 20 rows to that. I'm half way now, and will soon increase the stitch count to 500+ stitches per row!!! :-O
(Still not a huge fan of the current colour, but I loved it in the skein so I'm sure it'll be better once the green starts to appear.)