WIP Wednesday

Until I get my knitting mojo back I will be working on two more Scraps Blanket. Like all fiber lovers I have a yarn stash and then a stash full of scraps. Time to put those scraps to use! 

I am making a rectangular one:

 And a circular one :

What are you working on this Wednesday? 

Advertisement

Choices

It is a warm night so I have my chilled Chardonnay poured. Now what to work on…#wipproblems 😞

Finished Objects Friday

Recently, I participated in a testing pool group on Ravelry for a pattern for a child’s cat hat. I have always wanted to be  a tester so I signed up and got knitting. I liked the pattern so much I made two!

Check out my project pages and keep the look out  for the published pattern.

Cat Hat in Black

Cat Hat in Red

Two Neon Nutkins

The Neon Nutkins are done. Woot woot!

 Yarn: Twisted Owl Sock Yarn in Birds of a Feather

Pattern: Nutkin Socks

Needles: US Size 1 Knit Picks 62″ circular

Method: I used magic loop rather than DPNs. Just make sure when reading the directions you note that needles 1 and 4 are the back/bottom of your sock. I made these socks one at a time, but it would be possible to make both simultaneously.

What I liked:

1. The pattern was easy to memorize. Therefore, these were a pretty quick sock knit.
2. The Short Row Toe. I have never made socks with short row toes and I have to say I like them. I don’t know why I was so intimidated by them before.
3. The pattern was free!

 

What I didn’t like:

1. The directions for the short row heels and toe. The instructions tell you to use a yarn over in the short row shaping rather than wrapping the yarn. I found this to be such a bother and the yarn overs resulted in huge gaps in the heel seam. I ended up frogging the first heel and wrapping the yarn on the short rows.
   

   Gaps in the heel seam

2. My socks came out a little snug. I did use a half size needle smaller than the pattern called for, however, reading other comments I don’t think I am the only one. Just keep in mind that the pattern is not super stretchy. If you have wide feet please adjust your gauge.

So would I make these again? Most certainly. I love my Neon Nutkins!

My Third Anniversary

One-Way Tee

Well it is here! My 3rd Blogging Anniversary. It has been a wonderful experience participating in the blogging community. Not only have I enjoyed writing about my life, but I have had such an amazing time reading others blogs too. In honor of this special day here are my five of my top posts from the past 3 years.

1. Conquering Machu Picchu  highlighted my journey on the Inca Trail. To this date it is one of my proudest accomplishments.
2. Lacy Beginnings Scarf is one of my free and original scarf patterns. This pattern is a great way to beginning learning how to make lace- like patterns in knitting.
3. No Stash Girl was a post I wrote to highlight that not every knitter is a borderline hoarder (haha). Yes I love yarn, but no I don’t need 100 skeins tucked away in my closet. This post explains why.
4. Summer Travels: New York City highlights my last trip to New York City. We got to eat well, see a great show, and I got to model one of my Purl Soho knits on the Brooklyn Bridge.
5. Best Buy Ever! This cone of yarn was one of my best purchases ever! I got a great sweater and a beautiful scarf out of it. I kick myself to this day for not buying more cones.

Finally, I would like to thank all of you for supporting my blog either through your views, likes, or comments. I hope for you to keep reading in the year to come. 🙂

Two More Pouches

Three done and four to go! My zipper pouches for my bridesmaids are slowly being completed. I love how these came out, especially the blue and orange one. The combination of the zipper and beads is a nice color pop. 

  

Cherry Blossom Festival

Street Festival season has begun! This weekend was the kickoff of the Cherry Blossom Festival in Japantown. This annual festival celebrates the traditions and culture of the Japanese community.  One of our first stops was a Tea Ceremony demonstration held in a replica of a Japanese Tea House. This was a really nice experience. We learned a lot about how Tea Ceremonies are a elemental component of traditional Japanese culture. During the demonstration, we go to sample a sweet and some traditional green tea. Thank goodness the red bean cake was overly sweet as the tea was quite bitter. Next up was the origami exhibit. The items on display were pretty amazing. Hard to believe they are made from a couple of pieces of paper huh?

Afterward, we headed for the good stuff…the food :). The lines were super long at most of the stands therefore, we only got to try two items. The first was beef balls. These delicious treats consisted of beef fried in a rice coating with teriyaki sauce on top. So yummy!

Next, we tried Japanese Hot Dogs. These were outstanding. I forgot what exactly was on mine, but I do remember how delectable it was. The coolest part was the seaweed garnish on top.

Lastly, we did some sake sampling. My favorite…sparking sake. It had a smooth subtle taste with just the right about of bubbles.Cheers!

 

Freebies

I love Instagram. It is such a great way to share projects and promote fiber related things. I recently stumbled upon this post: 

   What a cute hat! And the pattern is free? Awesome! I clicked the link to Knotions Magazine and discovered a nice site. There are free patterns and tutorials available. The patterns look very well written and most contain charts and written directions. So when you have a few moments head over to their site to oogle some fiber goodness. 

Finished Object Friday

Well I am back in San Francisco! It is good to be home. Our trip was a little fast paced, but a great change in scenery.Travel always makes me happy.

On the trip, I started making a pair of Nutkin Socks by Beth LaPensee. This is a free pattern on Ravelry that is well written. I really like that she included a chart and written directions. The pattern is very easy to memorize, so it makes for a quick knit. I didn’t have  US 1.5 knitting needles, therefore I am using my Knit Picks US size 1 circular needles. The change in size did make my socks a little snug, but I have teeny tiny baby feet so it works for me.

Yarn: Twisted Owl Fiber Studio 2-ply Sock Yarn (100g) in “Birds of a Feather”

One sock down and one to go! What did you finish this Friday?