Winter Wonderland MKAL - Clue 4 Done

The mystery knit along is over, it finished up on December 9, but I knew that I would not be able to complete my shawl in time for any of the prize drawings so I set it aside in order to finish some other projects.  But now that those are done I have pulled it back out and will finish it up this week.  The final clue joins the pieces together.

Pattern:  Winter Wonderland MKAL by Kay Hopkins

Yarn:  Miss Babs Yummy 2-Ply

Needles:  US 3 (3.25 mm) and US 4 (3.5 mm)

Giant Peach - Finished!

This is the final Unique Sheep Mystery Knit Along, as one of the pair of dyers is retiring at the end of this year.  They are the dyers that created the gradiance technique.  This series started back in 2009 with The Secret Garden and all of the shawls are inspired by children’s books.  Once it was established there were three a year, two in fingering weight and one (during the summer) in lace weight, thirty-three shawls in total.  I’ve done all but four and have test knitted eighteen of them and tech edited seventeen.  It is the end of an era.  This final one is inspired by James and the Giant Peach.  I knit it in the colorway November.

Fortunately I have a lot of Unique Sheep gradiance colorways in my stash, most of them in shawl kits from the collaboration of one of the dyers (the one who is retiring) with Earthfaire, plus other kits from various clubs, that will keep me busy knitting with their beautiful colors for many years to come.  See, there are benefits to having a large stash.

Pattern:  James and the Giant Peach by Janine le Cras

Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Diamond Luxe

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Hearthside Crochet Along - Finished!

I finished this up on December 18, but didn’t get around to blocking it until yesterday.  It isn’t perfect (from a gauge  perspective), but I am very pleased with how it came out.  My gauge on the last two clues was just a smidge tight.  I did not pin anything.  I soaked it, squeezed out the water, and did the wrap it in a towel, roll it up and stand on it, and then just laid it out on the blocking mats, smoothing it into shape.

 Apparently I did not post about clue 11.

And here is a pre-blocking picture that show the colors better.

The colors used were all of the recommended colors in the warm colorway:

Leaves

Monarch

Red Flame

Caramel Popcorn

Huanchaco 

Toadstool

Furiends

Sumatran Tiger

Fudge

New York at Night

Autumn Lake

Time Traveler

Pattern:  Hearthside by Jane Vaselous

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Luster Worsted

Hook:  5.0 mm (H)

 

Advent KALendar 2022 - Days 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23 & 24

Here is the finished shawl blocking, with a photo bomb by Jezebel.  Somehow I missed taking a photo of Day 21.  But I have the progress shots for all the rest.  I could have made it longer if I wanted, there is the option of adding more triangles, but I didn’t feel like doing that.  The size is really quite nice, a stole on the smallish size for when you just need a little bit of warmth, but don’t want too much shawl to handle, and you can always just scrunch it up and use it as a scarf.

Day 17

Day 18

Day 19

Day 20

Day 22

Day 23

Day 24

And a couple of photos off of the blocking mats.

A super fun pattern, easy to knit, great construction.

Pattern:  Advent KALendar 2022 by Anna Dalvi

Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Kiri

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Fuzzy Goat Box of Goats 2022 - Days 17-20

In between clues for the Advent KALendar 2022 I work on this, especially if I want to read while I knit.  Right now I am reading the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries by Dorothy L. Sayers.  They are rather delightful.

Day 17:  Purple needle huggers

Day 18:  Emma’s Yarn in Fishbowl (the blue)

Day 19:  Notions container - perfect for holding the stitch marker, the needle huggers and the tip protectors

Day 20:  Emma’s Yarn in Earthling (the green)

Pattern:  Knotty and Nice by Laura Dobratz

Yarn: Emma’s Yarn

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Perseverance Knit Along - Finished!

I finished this up last Sunday.  I am pretty pleased with how it came out.  It is a hefty blanket, and my gauge is not perfect, but not bad, especially considering I only did a gauge swatch on the first pattern. The rest I just winged it, going up or down a needle size depending on what the pattern was and how it felt as I was knitting.  It did cause me to have to rip back a couple of times when I realized the knitting was too loose, but I didn’t mind that.  Jezebel has photo bombed to apply her seal of approval on the project.  I think if I were to knit this pattern again I would knit it at a tighter gauge.  It just feels a little too stretchy to me (an effect of the fact that the yarn is superwash, perhaps).  I never had any issues with running out of yarn on any of the sections.  I do like the design, and it was a fun project.

Colors used, in order of use (from bottom right corner to top left corner):

Unshaken

Nightlife

Caricia

Black Hole

Unwilling Hero

Blue Goldstone

Like Rain

In the Cabana

Fugue

Swept Away

Country Village

Captain

Pattern:  Perseverance by Jane Vanselous

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Enduring Worsted

Needles:  US 6 (4.0 mm), US 7 (4.5 mm), US 8 (5.0 mm)

Fuzzy Goat Box of Goats - Days 10-16

This is my easy go-to project when I’m caught up on my Advent KALendar knit.  The latest additions:

Day 10:  Emma’s Yarn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (already knitted in to the shawl)

Day 11:  John Gregory’s recipe for Goat Cheese Prosciutto Pizza

Day 12:  Emma’s Yarn in Clear the Air (the smaller of the two caked up skeins)

Day 13:  Fuzzy Goat Stitch Marker

Day 14:  Emma’s Yarn in Happily Ever After (the larger of the two caked up skeins)

Day 15:  Fuzzy Goat Pin

Day 16:  Emma’s Yarn in Be Hoppy (not yet caked)

I will probably not be trying the recipe - just not a fan of the toppings, I’m afraid I’m terribly pedestrian when it comes to pizza toppings.  We do make our own pizza, in fact we are having pizza tonight.  I make the dough in my bread machine, and it is super yummy.  We are spoiled now.  I do like the shawl pattern, but I think shawls like this really need a knit on edging.  I may have to see if I have a suitable skein of yarn in my stash for that.

Pattern:  Knotty and Nice by Laura Dobratz

Yarn:  Emma’s Yarn

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Advent KALendar 2022 - Days 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 & 15

I’ve been keeping up with this quite well.  The clues each day are small and easy to manage, and the pattern is really quite simple and straightforward.  Even the lace is pretty easy, especially for lace that is worked on both sides.  Day 9 continues the third triangle.

Day 10.

Day 11.

Day 12 finished up the third triangle.  This is a fun construction, and I do like the fact that there is no right or wrong side.

Day 13 started the fourth triangle.

Day 14.  The photo is a little dark as it was raining all day yesterday.

Day 15.

Pattern:  Advent KALendar 2022 by Anna Dali

Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Kiri

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Fuzzy Goat Box of Goats 2022 - Days 4-9

The Fuzzy Goat Box of Goats goes for the complete month, not just to Christmas, so it is not a traditional Advent calendar.  Here are the first nine days.  You can see that I have almost finished knitting the first mini skein of yarn.  The pattern is pretty easy, and I like the color play.  So far we have:

Day 1 - Fuzzy Goat Yarn Bobbin

Day 2 - Emma’s Yarn in Securrity

Day 3 - Purple star point protectors

Day 4 - Emma’s Yarn in Parasol (the speckled that I am knitting with)

Day 5 - Peppermint Bark

Day 6 - Emma’s Yarn in On the Rocks (the other speckled skein)

Day 7 - Goat Garage Magnet

Day 8 - Emma’s Yarn in Sprout (the skein that has not been caked)

Day 9 - Purple acupressure finger ring (I had to look this one up on the Fuzzy Goat website as I had no idea what it was, but I have tried it out, and it does actually work).

And here is a picture from Day 5, just to prove that the Peppermint Bark exists.

Pattern:  Knotty and Nice by Laura Dobratz 

Yarn:  Emma’s Yarn

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

 

Advent KALendar 2022 - Days 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8

Day 3 introduced the second triangle.

Which continued to grow with Day 4, and a little lace work (a nice break from the moss stitch)

And some more lace work on Day 5.  This lace is worked on both sides (there really isn’t a right side or a wrong side with this pattern).  I’m not a huge fan of working lace on both sides, but this was not hard.

Day 6 is getting us ever closer to finishing the second triangle.

Day 7 is almost there.  Day 8 completed the second triangle, at which point I discovered that I had made a mistake with my first triangle.  I was two stitches short.  So I ripped back.  It was actually pretty easy to rip back because of the way the second triangle is joined to the first triangle.  Basically I just peeled the second triangle away, picking up the live stitches of the first triangle as I went.  Then I raveled the second triangle.  There were still a few stitches at the very start of the second triangle that I could not disengage until I had raveled the second triangle, but that was easy.  I knit the missing rows to get the correct stitch count and then redid all of that previous work.

Day 8 completed the second triangle and started the third.

Pattern:  Advent KALendar 2022 by Anna Dalvi

Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Kiri

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Fuzzy Goat Box of Goats 2022 - Days 1–3

I have a little bit of a thing for Advent Calendars.  I’ve been collecting them for a few years now.  I probably have enough right now that I could have a year (or more) of Advent Calendars.  And yes, some of them have not even been opened.  This is the Fuzzy Goat Box of Goats 2022.  For some reason I decided that I would open this one.  It came with a pattern (always a plus) - Knotty and Nice by Laura Dobratz.

Day 1 - the cute little Fuzzy Goat yarn bobbin

Day 2 - the lovely pink yarn, 10.1 grams of Emma’s Yarn in the color Securrrity

Day 3 - the purple (!) star point protectors

Pattern:  Knotty and Nice by Laura Dobratz

Yarn:  Emma’s Yarn

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Advent KALendar 2022 - Days 1 & 2

Anna Dalvi is an extremely talented designer that designs exquisite shawls.  I have a number of them in my library but have not knit one before.  For several years she has been holding an Advent Mystery Knit Along where she releases a clue a day.  I have those patterns as well, but have never participated.  I started to one year but didn’t like the color choices so I dropped out.  I purchased the 2022 pattern and when the first clue dropped this past Thursday I did a little stash diving and came up with this pair.  The pair is from 2019 and was dyed up by The Unique Sheep for Ste Patrick’s Day, but I prefer to think of the speckled as Christmas lights/decorations against the snow and the green as holly leaves.  I started with the speckled for Day 1.  Just a cute little triangle of moss stitch.  No right or wrong side was indicated so I put a locking stitch marker on the side on which I worked the increases.

Day 2 introduced the lovely green.

Pattern:  Advent KALendar 2022 by Anna Dalvi

Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Kiri

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Winter Wonderland MKAL - Clue 3 Done

Clue 3 finished off the first side, and started the second.  The last section of the first side has some double increases, and the gray is worked as short rows, which gives it the shape.  The lace pattern in the first pink section of the second side is candy canes.  I barely had enough of that mini-skein to finish, ending up with maybe two feet left over.  I had plenty of my second mini-skein.  I’ve already started working clue 4 and have pulled clue 5 into my knitCompanion app.  I’ve seen a finished photo and it is a really cool design.

Pattern:  Winter Wonderland MKAL by Kay Hopkins

Yarn:  Miss Babs Yummy 2-Ply

Needles:  US 3 (3.25 mm) and US 4 (3.5 mm)

Winter Wonderland MKAL - Clue 2 Done

Once I got into the rhythm of things the second clue went fairly quickly.  I didn’t make any modifications to the pattern for this clue.  I’ve already set up clue 3 in knitCompanion, and have the clue 4 pages added as well.  The yarn is really lovely to work with.

Pattern:  Winter Wonderland MKAL by Kay Hopkins

Yarn:  Miss Babs Yummy 2-Ply

Needles:  US 3 (3.25 mm) and US 4 (3.5 mm)

 

Winter Wonderland MKAL - Clue 1 Done

I am a bit of a sucker for Mystery Knit Alongs, especially when Miss Babs dyes up such beautiful sets for them.  I have more than a few in my stash, just waiting to be knit up.  This one I am almost doing on time.  I think clue 4 will be dropping soon.  The color way is Dark Canis Major, and the gray is Quicksilver.  There were so many lovely colorway options it can be very hard to choose.  I try not to overthink it and just go with something that makes me happy.

It did take me a couple of tries to get this one going, mostly because I forgot a very important detail that I had read when looking over the pattern about slipping the first stitch of each row.  I remembered it when I introduced the first color, so I ripped back and started over.  My next challenge arose with the first chart.  I didn’t really care for how the repeat was marked as the spacing between the first three repeats of the pattern and the last repeat of the pattern were not the same (11 stitches, and then 10 stitches), which made the placement of the next set of motifs not line up symmetrically with the first set, which just bugs me.  So  I decided to shift the start of the first motif over one stitch, which allowed me to have 11 stitches between each of the repeats without putting the last repeat right up agains the center stitch.  It also meant that I could have the second set of repeats placed symmetrically in relation to the first set - the first pattern row being 9 stitches.  It also meant that I did not work the partial trees on the second set, but that is fine by me.

Pattern:  Winter Wonderland MKAL by Kay Hopkins

Yarn:  Miss Babs Yummy 2-Plu

Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm), US 3 (3.25 mm)

Perseverance Knit Along - Clue 11 Done

Finished up clue 11 this morning.  Just one more to go.  I’m pretty pleased with how it has come out from a gauge perspective, especially as I have not knitted any gauge swatches.  I have changed my knitting needle size on some of the patterns, but I just winged it, adjusting based upon the stitch pattern.  I have never run out of yarn, either.  I have a nice bag of little balls of leftovers.  I will have to figure out something fun to do with them.  Maybe a matching pillow.  I used US 8 (5.0 mm) on this clue.

Pattern:  Perseverance by Jane Vanselous

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Enduring Worsted

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm), US 7 (4.5 mm), US 8 (5.0 mm)

 

Fan Shawl - One Skein Done

This has been my easy project to work on while reading or while in meetings (especially good for that!), so I have been making fairly rapid progress.  The pattern has you work 5 sections, repeat section 5 a total of four times and then start decreasing stitches.  When I got to the end of section 4 I weighed my skein.  I had 61.5 grams left, when I finished section 5 I had 41.6 grams left.  If you do the math you can see that I would be able to work three of those section 5 repeats with my first skein, so I decided to work another increase section.  At the end of section 6 I had 15.9 grams, which was a few grams more than I needed to work another half of section 6.  When I reached the end of the first skein I joined the second skein and continued on, finishing the second repeat of section 6.  I am about halfway through the third repeat of section 6 and then I will start working the sections with the decreases.  I should also add that I am not using the recommended needle size, which is a US 9.  I just don’t like working on a needle that large, especially with a fingering weight yarn, so I went down to a US 7.  I like the fabric that I’m getting.  I get very annoyed at the thinking that to get more drape you just use a larger needle.  If you want a fabric that drapes, use a yarn that provides that characteristic.  Knitting on larger needles just gets you loose stitches that won’t hold their shape.

Pattern:  Fan Shawl

Yarn:  Hand Painted Knitting Yarns Fingering Weight Superwash Fine Merino

Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm)

Fan Shawl - Cast On

Having finished the Void Socks and my Mermaid dress/tunic I was looking about for another project to cast on.  I have several of the Hand Painted Knitting Yarns kits, including three of this pattern - the Fan Shawl.  I grabbed one and caked up the first skein (the kit comes with two) and cast on.  It is a reasonably mindless knit, lots of short rows with eyelet lace in between.  My first go I was doing German short rows, because I like them, but working a row of YO, K2TOG when you have not done a plain knit row to work all those double stitches is a pain, and doesn’t look so good.  So I ripped back and did the pattern recommended wrap and turn.  You don’t have to knit in the wraps, as this is garter, and I’m not.  I am much happier with how it is turning out.  The pattern has you keep increasing with each new section until you have 5 sections, and then working sections 6 and 7 with no increases, and then decreasing.  I may keep increasing until I am almost out of yarn on my first skein and then work one section without increases, and then working the decreases, just to maximize my yarn usage and the size of the shawl.  The pattern calls for a US 9 needle, but I am using a US 7.  My gauge is pretty close to what the pattern calls for and I like the fabric.

Pattern:  Fan Shawl

Yarn:  Hand Painted Knitting Yarns Fingering Weight Superwash Fine Merino

Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm)

Hearthside Crochet Along - Clue 10 Done

Clue 10 worked up quickly.  I wasn’t sure about the color when I received it - New York at Night - but I liked it when I worked it up.  It is a very dark green, almost green-black.  Clue 11 is already out and I have ordered the yarn for it.  I am very pleased with how this has worked up and the fact that it is laying flat with no blocking.  While I have been using Enduring Worsted for the knit blanket, I have been using Luster Worsted for the crochet blanket.  I really like how the Luster Worsted works up and how it feels.  My cat Jezebel also approves.  Although she didn’t photo bomb this time, she did curl up on a corner of the blanket while I was working on it.

I have been using the recommended colors:

Leaves

Monarch

Red Flame

Caramel Popcorn

Huanchaco

Toadstool

Friends

Sumatran Tiger

Fudge

New York at Night

Pattern:  Hearthside by Jane Vanselous

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Luster Worsted

Hook:  5.0 mm (H)

Perseverance Knit Along - Clue 10 Done

Clue 10 went quickly.  It is a fun stitch pattern that is easy.  I used a US 6 needle on this clue, just as I did on clue 3, which is the same stitch pattern.  Just two more clues to go!  I am using the recommended colors:

Unshaken

Nightlife

Caricia

Black Hole

Unwilling Hero

Blue Goldstone

Like Rain

In the Cabana

Fugue

Swept Away

Pattern:  Perseverance by Jane Vanselous

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Enduring Worsted

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm)

 

Mermaid - Finished!

I finished this last Thursday and it just came off the blocking mats this morning.  It is sort of a t-shirt dress and comes down to just past my knees.  I think the ease is pretty good.  I may try styling it with a belt just because of the weight of all of that knitting hanging off my shoulders.  Overall, though, I am pretty happy with the result and am also happy that I used an entire Advent set up.  Well, less 3.4 grams of skein 24, which is the skein that I used for the I-cord edgings.

Pattern:  Simple Raglan from KnitsThatFit

Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Rare Breed Advent Calendar - Sport Weight

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Mermaid - Nineteen Skeins Done

I am almost done.  I’ve actually started skein 20 and have skein 21 caked up.  There are just 2 skeins left to cake.  It looks like the length is going to be good for wearing as a tunic with my leggings.  I did screw up my increases, and ended up increasing more than I intended, but I think I’m going to appreciate the extra ease more than the extra length.  I am interested in how it will block out and wear.  I do love the colors.

Pattern:  Simple Raglan from KnitsThatFit

Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Rare Breed Advent Calendar - Sport Weight

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Void Socks - Finished!

I finished these up this past weekend.  I ended up having 3 joins in my second sock due to damage from carpet beetles.  I am very thankful there wasn’t more.  I am pretty pleased with the fit, although I think I could have started with fewer stitches on the cuff to make them just a wee bit more snug.

I do have several sock patterns to choose from for my next sock project, but my knitting mojo seems a bit low right now, so I think I will concentrate on finishing up some WIPs.

Pattern:  The Void Socks by Melanie Gibbons

Yarn:  madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Logwood

Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Void Socks - One Sock Done!

I finished up the first sock Tuesday, so less than one week to finish.  I am already working the gusset decreases on the second sock, so that one will be finished soon.  Knowing that I will soon have these finished I went looking for another sock project to cast on.  Over the years I have joined several sock clubs.  I have a nice series of socks based upon the Chronicles of Narnia, so I will probably be working through those next.  I did dig out an in progress sock that I had cast on just over a decade ago.  I had unearthed it when I was cataloging and organizing my yarn, and putting it up in nice plastic containers, and had set it aside.  I knew that there were issues with it as I saw evidence of carpet beetle activity.  It has been stored in a thin cotton bag.  I finally took it out last night to evaluate the damage.

Yeah, I think that skein is pretty much a total loss.  There are a few larger balls, but nothing big enough to knit a sock, and I really don’t like having joins in a sock.  I already have two joins in my second Void Sock, one because there was a knot, and one because of a thin spot where a carpet beetle had been at work.  There were actually a couple of thin spots, one I discovered very early in the winding, one I discovered just as I started the heel (I had just joined the second ball, so I tinked back and started again), and one that I discovered this morning as I was starting to work the gusset decreases.  Both joins are in spots that are not going to have much impact, thankfully.  I am hoping that I don’t find any more thin spots and that I rescued that skein in time, unlike this one.  I will be stash diving for a replacement skein, fortunately I have a lot of sock yarn in my stash.  The sock pattern is Danube by Janel Laidman.  She was a very talented designer that has pretty much vanished from the knitting scene - based on the lack of activity in her group on Ravelry.  I have some other sock kits from her that may have met a similar fate.  I have them in a plastic bag and one of these days I’ll muster the courage to evaluate the damage.

In the mean time, back to my Void Socks.  When I get to this point I really just want to keep going until I finish.

Pattern:  The Void Socks by Melanie Gibbons

Yarn:  Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Logwood

Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)