Ibbi Socks - Sock Two - Heel Turned!

While waiting for more colors for my Tessellation Nation I’ve been working on my socks, and have turned the heel on my right sock, and then some.  I also looked at the patterns for the other two accessories, and fished out the yarn for one of them.

On a totally unrelated note, my cat Jezebel slept in bed with me for about four hours this morning, for the very first time.  She came to me not quite three years ago as an adult, four year old, kittie, rescued from a neighbor who really couldn’t give her the home she needed.  She is a very sensitive cat, she hates loud noises, people wearing shoes, kids, strangers, and being picked up and held.  But she is also a very loving cat, and really wants attention from us, but on her terms, like laying on my chest in bed for pets, but not staying more than ten or fifteen minutes.  But this morning, around 12:30, she came and laid on my chest for about 15 minutes, even relaxing and dozing a little, and then she got up and instead of leaving, she lay down between my legs, and she stayed there until a little after five in the morning, when she got up to go pee.  It is quite a breakthrough for her.

Pattern:  Ibbi Socks by Inge-Lis Holst & Katrine Hannibal

Yarn:  Onling No. 18

Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Ibbi Socks - Sock Two - Cast On!

Having finished sock one, I cast on sock two yesterday afternoon.  I find that casting on the second sock right away (the same day, anyway) helps prevent second sock syndrome.  I have tried the two at a time magic loop, and didn’t like it, well, it was mostly the magic loop I didn’t like.  I prefer the two circular needles for my socks.  I have worked two socks at a time on two sets of circular needles, but am not crazy about that method either.

These socks are from the 2024 Onling Advent set.

Pattern:  Ibbi Socks by Inge-Lis Holst & Katrine Hannibal

Yarn:  Onling No. 18 in Color Rosa

Needles:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Ibbi Socks - One Sock Done!

This is my “I don’t feel like working on any other projects but still want some fiber in my hands” project, so it isn’t getting worked on super consistently.  I tend to work on it in spurts - work the cuff, turn the heel and work the gusset, then work the foot.  Once I started working the foot I wanted to get it done so I focused a bit more on it and this morning I finished up the first sock.   I don’t do the standard toe shaping anymore if I can help it, instead I shape the toe to fit my foot.  Yes, that does mean that I have a left and a right sock, and I’m good with that.  It also means that I have socks that fit my toes very well.  I mean seriously, is anyone’s toes shaped the way most sock patterns shape their toes?  Custom shaping them is easy, it just requires a lot of trying the sock on between rounds to make sure that the decreases are working out properly.  Obviously most of the decreases happen on the very sloped part of the toes, and I work them every other row.

Pattern:  Ibbi Socks by Inge-Lis Holst & Katrine Hannibal
Yarn:  Onling No. 18 in Color Rosa

Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)

Tessellation Nation - And so it begins…

I have finally started working on Tessellation Nation.  Most of the motifs have been released, which will give my a lot of freedom in my assembly, although she does have a recommended order of construction, and I will follow it, to a certain extent.  I know that lots of folks are varying the colors in their pentagons, because the frame color is really the important one, but I like things a bit more orderly, so have not been varying mine.  I do have a layout and a general color scheme, but there are still a lot of things that I am sorting out as I go, so I am going slow, and letting the design and color decisions come naturally.  I have lots of other crafting projects that I can work on while my subconscious mind ponders the next step.  I am using the recommended yarn - Scheepjes Terrazzo.  I had ordered some colors to get me started, so that is what I’m working with for now, and ordered some more last week to help fill out my pallet.

I do think that this is going to be a grand adventure, and I’m going to savor the journey.

Pattern:  Tessellation Nation by Sue Maton of The Mercerie

Yarn:  Scheepjes Terrazzo 

Hook:  3.75 mm (F)

Lightning Thief - Cast On!

I have lots of yarn in my stash, and lots of yarn that was bought as a project, and I thought it was about time that I started knitting them up.  Being the methodical sort, and not wanting to make decisions, I simply grabbed my first box of fingering (I have a lot of fingering weight yarn in my stash), and pulled this project yarn out.  When I was stashing my yarn on Ravelry I identified the pattern if the yarn was bought for a specific project, so it was easy to do.

I bought this yarn from Earth Faire back in 2015, for the pattern Lightning Thief  by Lily Go.  The yarn is not the original called for in the pattern, or any of the yarns listed on the pattern page.  It is Araucania Yarns Huasco Multy Botany Lace and is categorized as light fingering.  The color is Teal and I have two skeins, so I’m making the large size of the shawl.  Having finished my Wallflowers and started my Tessellation Nation, I felt I had enough mental attention to add another knitting project to my current WIPs (now at 11, down from two dozen).  Yes, I know I could have continued finishing up WIPs, but sometimes you just want to start something new.

Pattern:  Lightning Thief by Lily Go

Yarn:  Araucania Yarns Huasco Multy Botany Lace

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Wallflowers - Finished!

After almost a year, I have finally finished my Wallflowers blanket.  The course started on April 2, 2024 although I didn’t start actually working on it until May 20, 2024, finishing it up on March 26, 2025.  It is beautiful and I am very happy with it, as is Jezebel, who has claimed it as her own.  

This photo was taken before it was finished.  It is folded up on a plastic box that holds the leftover yarn from the project.  At the start of the project that box was completely full.  She really likes the arrangement, so I think it will stay.

Blocking was straightforward.

As recommended by Sue, I pinned it out on my blocking mats and did a light steam with my iron.  Now I can focus on Tessellation Nation.  I was really hoping to finish Wallflowers up in December before Tessellation Nation started on January 1, but I fell down the spinning rabbit hole and was distracted.  I ordered more yarn yesterday (I only had 12 colors selected, and she recommends more - she used 30) and will finally start working through the video lessons again.  I had paused when I got to the crocheting part.  I’ve been downloading files and setting up the project in knitCompanion.

Pattern:  Wallflowers by Sue Maton

Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed DK

Hook:  3.75 mm (F) and 3.5 mm (E) for the border

 

Bolster Pillow - Finished!

This fiber was from Paradise Fibers, and is called Girl with Pearl Earring.  It is 54% Merino, 40% Kid Mohair, 6% Stellina.  I ended up with two skeins, one of 51 yards and 60.3 grams (~.85 yards/gram), and one of 72 yards and 79.1 grams (~0.91 yards/gram).  It was spun on my Kromski at an 8:1 ratio and played on my Kiwi at a 9.5:1 ratio.  I didn’t really know what else to do with it, but had a vague notion of turning it into a pillow, and ended up settling on a bolster pillow, so I grabbed a US 8 (5.0 mm) needle and cast on some stitches.

If you look at the blocking picture you can see that it did not come out as a perfect cylinder.  Yes, my gauge changed because my two skeins of yarn were not quite the same weight.  They weren’t that much off, but it was enough.  I didn’t really let it worry me, because I figured it wouldn’t make too much of a difference when I worked it up into the pillow.  I finished the knitting quickly, casting on March 13, and casting off March 14.  Then I had to wait for the bolster pillow form to arrive.  It came yesterday.  I immediately stuffed it into my waiting tube.

Yes, the bolster sticks out some at either end.  My tube was between sizes so I went with the larger size figuring yarn stretches and pillows compress and bolsters should be on the firmer side.  For the end caps I had already decided that I was just going to crochet circles until they were big enough to join with my knitted tube.  I had some sparkly DK yarn from Expression Fiber Arts left over from another project so I decided to use that.  I did the cast off (smaller end) first.

I joined the last round with the cast off edge using single crochet, pinning the end cap to the knitted tube using locking stitch markers and placing stitch markers about every 1.5 inches around the circumference so I could do the finagling to make them fit together neatly.  I then crocheted another end cap the same size and attached it to my cast on edge.  That was easier to do, just because of the nature of cast on and cast off edges, and the fact that it was a bit looser then my cast off edge.

I am delighted with the result.

Pattern:  None, just a simple knitted tube and some crocheted rounds

Yarn:  Hand spun by me

Needle:  US 8 (5.0 mm)

Hook:  4.5 mm