Please excuse my crazed look. This was after two full days with twelve 8-year-old girls. We were almost done and ready to head home. I think you understand now.
My project du jour during our camping weekend was a plain toe-up sock. I worked on socks throughout the year in 2007, and in 2008, I made only one or two pair. It was time to try to learn a toe up sock without being a slave to numbers. I really wanted a recipe, similar to the Yarn Harlot's basic sock recipe. I found the Lifestyle Toe Up Socks - No Swatch Needed by Charisa Martin Cairn on ravelry and this was the time to try it. It features a no wrap short row heel. It intrigued me so I gave it a shot with some stash yarn, STR Heavyweight in Nodding Violet. It's a little wide on me, but these will be for my sister as a late Christmas gift, and I think they'll fit her fine. I have to cast on for the second one tonight to get started.
With the fun steam blocking of Ingenue on Friday, I pulled out some other FOs that were ready to go and blocked them. What fun! I have a scunci steamer, purchased on sale at Target with a 10% off coupon, and this baby has earned its keep and then some.
Sweetie Niece's late Christmas gift, the Republic Hat, got a steam shot and relaxed beautifully. I just have to wrap it up and send it off to Ithaca, NY where it'll get some use in those freezing temps.
Project: Banana Republic Hat Knockoff by metaphysical_muse
Yarn: Misti Alpaca Chunky in Lavender, 1 skein
Needles: Knit Picks Options, US sizes 8 and 10
Start: December 31
Finish: December 31
Thoughts: I love the vintage-y style of this hat and will be perfect in the cold NY temps. I bought this yarn at my very first yarn crawl with my knitting group at a now defunct store. I've never had the right project for it, until now. I'm glad the alpaca will be well-used.
Mods: I made it longer so it would cover the ears more. That's it. If you haven't made one of
these, you definitely should. Super cute, super style!
Project: Child's Rainbow Scarf by Joelle Hoverson
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Bulky in Roasted Coffee, 1 1/2 skeins, and Noro Kochoran Natural, 1 skein
Needles: Knit Picks Options, US size 10
Start: January 11
Finish: January 21
Thoughts: The mistake rib was fun at first, especially the color changes, until it got too bulky to work with. Then I let it sit for a bit while I played around with other projects. Followed the pattern but chose yarn to man it up a bit, as it's for my brother-in-law. This is a surprise replacement the teeny tiny Irish Hiking Scarf I made him years ago. No mods, other than knitting it really long and then steam blocking it so it grew longer. He's tall, so the goal was to make it long enough so he could wear it Parisian like. I hope I get a picture of him in it one day, but don't hold your breath!
