Sunday, March 27, 2011

Pink Quickie Cowl

Here is the finished cowl. An extremely quick knit. I knit 50% of it yesterday while enjoying a Netflix marathon. The pattern is Quickie Cowl. I will absolutely make more of these. This one used a single skein of bulky yarn. I knit this one flat, lengthwise, and joined the ends using a three-needle bind off. I may knit the next one in the round if I have two skeins of a particular yarn. If knit as a continuous loop, the rib pattern will be oriented vertically. I'm quite happy with this and it is going in the gift stash. I must dismiss the thought that it goes perfectly with my pink sweaters......

Friday, March 25, 2011

Gift Stash/Destash


This is the project on my needles now. It is knit in Bernat Softee Chunky, so it will be a quick project. The pattern is called Quickie Cowl and is available on Ravelry. I am knitting this as a straight length. When it is done, I will either join the ends to form a circular cowl or add buttons so it can be worn flexibly. The yarn is from my stash.

Last week I undertook to clean out my stash as part of a general desk cleaning. In general, I don't dispose of yarn before it has been knit. The rare instance being when I suddenly had an allergic reaction to some yarn I bought years (and two states!) ago.

This time, I just went ahead and threw out a few skeins of variegated acrylic yarn that was just not worth my time. I see no reason to buy more yarn just to save $4.00 worth of acrylic in a color scheme that is not working for me. The yarns were in beautiful Autumn colors that looked so inviting in the skein. Once knit.......not so good, more like kitty spew.

As for the other things found in stash....I am knitting gifts ahead of time. I do have yarn that I bought and still like. This way, I can have a supply of gift items ready well before the next round of holidays, birthdays, whatever. Also, small, easy projects, such as scarves, mitts, hats, will give me something mindless to work on while dreaming up the next geeky project. I always have a few ideas in mind, but they can take years to accomplish.

TARDIS Socks, finished



Here is a shot of the business end of the TARDIS socks. The photo was taken under UV light, to highlight the glow. Still doesn't do it justice. Never mind why I have a UV lamp handy. I have lots of niche tools. Anyway, that is why my thumb is in the photo. At the top, you can see my thumb holding the casing of the lamp. The white embroidery of the sock is reflected in the surface of the lamp as well.

I have given the socks to Zuchar for her birthday and she is pleased. She has been instructed to sit in a dark room and stare at her feet. I am actually debating making a second pair of knitted TARDIS, this time as mitts. That way, I get to start with the fun parts and I can play with them as I like. If I knit socks, I'd pend to much time staring at my feet.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Brevity mitts

This is the current project, fingerless gloves in worsted weight yarn on size 5 needles. I am using the pattern, Breve that is available on Ravelry. These mitts are wonderfully easy to make, just 40 stitches of 4 X 1 rib knit in the round. After both tubes are knit I will add "afterthought thumbs".
My goal this year is to knit up some stash yarn and have some gifts ready for when I need them. In particular, I plan on giving these to ********. \One thing I really like about this particular pattern is that the fabric has a sleek look, nice and uncluttered. Worsted weight yarn knits up quickly so the project won't take forever. That also gives me time to day dream about the next geeky or complicate project. I am planning something that came to me in a dream.