WIP Wednesday: Crazy with Startitis

In the last week, I've finished the 3 main projects I had on the needles, which turned out to be perfectly timed with Stitches Midwest. There's nothing like coming home from a show with a pile of new yarn and actually getting to use it right away, so I indulged in startitis and have been casting on with reckless abandon!

I got a test color in Shangri-La yarn, and I wasn't sure what to do with it since I am not normally a fan of laceweight yarn, and it also wasn't a full 200-yard skein. Then I remembered that a Hunter Hammersen Curl could be knit with any yarn weight and any yardage....and I was off! I'm knitting Argent, which is looking quite lovely in this shimmery yak/silk blend yarn:

My rainy Sunday afternoon knitting was to start the Delta Hat by Heidi Gustad for the KAL that is happening right now here on Ravelry. I chose the very-difficult-to-photograph Continental Blue colorway of Himalayan Trail yarn (which, as you know, is one of my faves - it's a blend of Merino and Yak. Yum!):

My yak obsession continues from there: over the weekend, I swatched for the Pennant Cardi from the new Knitscene. I'm using 100% yak sport weight yarn and I'll be subbing in my own handspun for the colorwork detail in the yoke. Knitting with this yarn - even just to swatch - has been incredibly enjoyable. Now I'm wondering why I didn't get with the program sooner, and I seriously want to knit all the sweaters in this delightful yarn.

As if all of this wasn't ambitious/insane enough, I also cast on for the wrap version of the Leonarda pattern (you know...the ginormous shawl I just knit) by Laura Chau...and it's the only project I have on the needles right now that doesn't include yak in its fiber content! Instead, I'm knitting with the two skeins of silk/merino yarn that I bought in the Fiber Story booth at Stitches. As soon as I picked them up, I knew I had to knit myself a wrap; I have a wedding to attend in October where I intend to wear it, which gives me a doable deadline - always a bonus.

Of course, the start of this project required casting on a LOT of stitches, so I was glad I remembered to check out this tutorial for the Infinite Long Tail Cast-On over on Laura Chau's blog. It worked perfectly for a frustration-free start (and I used my new stitch markers to keep track along the way, placing one after each set of 50 stitches cast on). Now, you wouldn't think that a rectangular wrap worked flat that begins with simple garter stitch would be easy to mess up, but clearly you are mistaken! I picked this back up last night (after another in a series of long work days) only to discover that I had done some weird twisty thing mid-row a few rows back. Long story short, frog city....but the good news is that I am now back on track.

Last but not least, the knitting portion is finished for this cute little top in Spud & Chloe Fine, but I have many yarn ends to weave in. I think I'll be setting this aside til I have more time for fussy finishing work over the weekend!

Thanks for stopping by this week, I hope to see you back here for FO Friday when I share a long-overdue finished project!

Easy DIY: Beaded Vintage Snowflake Ornament Kits from Solid Oak Inc.

I was really excited to step outside of my comfort zone and try something new as part of my "Christmas in July" theme this month. The kind folks at Solid Oak Inc offered me a chance to review one of their Nostalgic Christmas beaded crystal ornament kits I couldn't resist. My tree is already full of ornaments I've inherited or been gifted from other family members and friends, so these pretty crystal beaded ornaments will fit right in I think! I was super impressed with this compact little kit , which includes everything needed to create three gorgeous vintage-style ornaments - just add a pair of round nose pliers (I found mine on Amazon for less than ten bucks). The instructions had some fabulous tips for newbies like me; for example, it recommended sorting the beads and laying them out in order on a towel or beading mat to prevent them from rolling away. That may seem obvious, but I was totally ready to start beading on my kitchen table without a

What If I Didn't Add Heels?

Last weekend, I finished the first sock with my Waterlilies yarn , and just for yuks, I tried it on even though it was basically just a tube sock. Much to my surprise, it fit really well, even without a heel. Who knew? So, that got me thinking: what if I just didn't add the heels? I never thought a tube sock would actually fit nicely, but I genuinely like the fit, so...why spend time to add the heels? As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.... Let's say I decide not to add heels once the second sock is done - there will still be placeholder yarn for the afterthought heels, as you can see above, so should I leave it in and just weave in the ends? Or should I remove it, put the live stitches back on needles and at least graft them together using more of the Waterlilies yarn? I plan on mulling all of this over as I knit the second sock, and I'd love to hear your opinions of what you think would look best (or if you think this whole "n

Overdyeing A Finished Knit

Even after just a few years of knitting or crocheting, you're bound to have some finished projects lying around that never get worn or used. After 10+ years of crafting, I have more than just "some" or "a few"....and with my ongoing quest to declutter my house this year, I've become obsessed with going through these forlorn projects and making some Big Decisions. Sometimes, they are perfectly fine and just need a new and loving home. Other projects may have not turned out quite right: there might have been some mistakes in the knitting that I thought I could live with, or the yarn was gorgeous but not well-matched to the pattern, or my taste has drastically changed since I finished making the project...in any case, why on earth did I keep knitting?! Who knows, but I don't feel good about gifting anything that falls into this category to someone else. These projects have been relegated to the "frog pile" (or should I say, frog pond?), to b

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