Weekend Wrap-Up: Memorial Day

This weekend was action packed. There was some traveling, some knitting, and some great company.

On Friday, we headed down to Santa Cruz, CA for a wedding. We went a day early to take advantage of the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.  I am not a roller coaster/crazy ride person, but I enjoyed watching my fiancé. We also took a stroll on the beach and checked out the sea lions.

The wedding was a rustic affair set on a beautiful ranch. The scenery was perfection. I had whipped up a shawl prior to the weekend. California (especially Northern California) is notoriously chilly when the sun goes down. By 6:00 pm I was so thankful for a warm wooly layer.

On Sunday, we headed home and just relaxed. We have been binge watching Game of Thrones and it is getting good. While watching I finished my Little Neon Cowl (Yarn: Twisted Owl’s “Birds of a Feather”). Inspiration for this cowl came from the Simple Ribbed Cowl by Orange Flower Yarn. My version is much smaller and thinner as a bulky cowl is not needed in San Francisco. Can’t wait to add it to my growing neckwear collection.

On Monday I headed to the pool with some of my friends from my book club. The day couldn’t have been more ideal. The sun was glorious, the margaritas were flowing, and of course I had my knitting in hand.

All and all a thoroughly relaxing weekend before the rush of the end of the school year. I couldn’t have asked for anything better 😊.

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3 Ways to Incorrectly Knit Anastasia Socks

For some reason the Anastasia Socks did not come together for me. Having about a dozen handmade socks under my belt you would think that whenever I picked up my DPNs magic would happen. That was not the case in this scenario. These socks did not knit up the way I planned.

Here is my finished pair:

So what went wrong?

1. I didn’t take the chance on the short row toes. As a result, the toes ended up being a little pointy. You can’t really tell when the socks are on, but in hindsight I should have gone with the pattern.
2. I mis-read the pattern at several points. Due to this, I had to remake the first 2 times before getting one complete sock. One of the biggest errors I made was not reading the chart properly. I overlooked that the chart was numbered by even rows and I was suppose to knit on every odd row. The knitted row between the eyelet rows really made a difference.
3. I ran out of yarn. At first I just couldn’t believe it. How did that happen??? Well because I used a smaller knitting needle that the pattern called for. I thought it said US Size 1. Whoops.

Overall, I am not happy with these socks. To be honest I finished them just to finish them. They are still wearable, but not my finest knitting accomplishment. I hate it when you make something and it doesn’t work out.😒

What Is Your Sock Style?

The above headline on Craftsy’s Blog got me wondering do I have a sock style?

I took the quiz and the results were… ADVENTUROUS.

Just like your sock knitting, you are adventurous. You like to try knitting different types and colors of socks, just like you enjoy trying different foods and traveling to different places. You love anything that’s bold and stands out from the crowd.

Jaywalker Socks

Hermoine Socks

So…What is your sock style? 

WIP Wednesday

As I anxiously await some recently ordered yarn, here is what is on the needles:

My Orange Socks are working up nicely. I decided to use an afterthought heel. I have never made socks with this type of construction and am eager to see the finished result. 

I got a little bored with the socks so I pulled a skien of Vanna’s Choice in Dusty Purple out of my stash and started a hat. This is totally a process pattern. I just started knitting and let it take me places. What are you knitting today?

Capital City

We headed to Sacramento for Mother’s Day to treat my fiance’s mother to a nice afternoon downtown.  First, we headed to the Capital Mall for a stroll. There we saw the Vietnam Memorial, California Firefighter’s Memorial, the International World Peace Rose Garden, and the Capital Building. I had never visited this area so it was a lovely walk. Afterward, we went to a nice restaurant for a yummy lunch. 

 
Sacramento is about 2 hours away from San Francisco so I made sure to pack a car project. I am making some basic socks using the Double Magic Loop Method. I used Judy’s Magic Cast-On to begin the toes. I have tiny feet, therefore I started with 30 stitches and only had to increase to 62 stitches. I knitted about 2.5 inches throughout the day. I do not have a pair of handmade orange socks, so these will be a nice addition to my growing collection. 

I hope all of my USA readers had a lovely Mother’s Day!

Cute Mother’s Day Card

Crafts are a great way to get kids talking. Plus they are a hands-on so even the antsy kids have a way to keep themselves busy. This year I wanted to the keep the cards sweet and simple. Paint is always a pain (long wait to dry, messy) and paper collage can be tricky for the little ones (all the cutting and glue management). I stumbled upon this cute card on Pinterest from Teacher’s Pay Teachers. Well 5 minutes and a little glue later and Tah Dah!!!

What I think I like most about this card are the awesome number of adjective possibilities that kids could come up with regarding their moms. I am sure that some of them will have me cracking up.

Happy Friday!

 

Wisp Scarf

For some reason Mother’s Day always creeps up on me. I have known for weeks it has been coming, but I got engrossed in other projects and did not start my mother’s day gift until Saturday.😳

I have had this mohair blend in my stash for what has seemed like FOREVER. In reality it most certainly has been a decade. (Sorry for no label information.) This yarn was an impulse buy in a Texas yarn shop that I don’t remember the name of either. I loved the color and the fluffiness of it so in my stash it went. Well I am so glad that I finally have some use for it. I made the Wisp scarf from Knitty’s Summer 2007 collection.

This scarf looks complicated, but if you know how to K2tog and yarn over you are golden. I was mostly finished by Sunday as you work the piece with US size 8’s and fingering weight yarn. Overall, I am very happy with the result.

I had to get a little creative with the blocking as I don’t have blocking wires.

If you like lacy patterns then I highly suggest the Wisp scarf. Crossing my fingers my mom does too.

Update: She loved it!