Very Late Fall Sock-Along!

So. . . remember my entry into EatSleepKnit's Fall Sock Along?

I finally finished the first of the Froot Loop Socks.

Just blocked it this morning.  Transit knitting is great for doing toe decreases.

And yes, this is quite a bit past the deadline.  But that's alright by me -- this pattern is actually quite thick and warm, and is well worth waiting for.  And it looks like I will have yarn left over, too.

Colourwork Test-Knit Socks and KAL Progress

So I have yet another pair of test-knit socks.

The colour-work socks don't have a pattern live yet on Ravelry, but they're progressing along ok.

I'm using the Blue Moon BFL Fingering I got at Lettuce Knit a while ago, and then Knit Picks Stroll Solids in White.    It'll be interesting to see how they turn out.

Also, I'm further along with my entries in the Sweet Georgia KAL.

My River Runs Through It Mittens:

And the Glacier Sweep Shawl:

Things are progressing well on the knitting front, it looks like!  I'm hoping to have some more things finished up soon.

The Cable Sweater is done!

Pretty much just like it says.  After starting it in Dec 2012, this sweater is finally done.

It's amazing how much I learned over doing this, and how much I managed to salvage from my previous mistakes.  How to alternate skeins, work with different fibers, how to cable, how to fix wrongly-crossed cables. . . . the list goes on and on. 

This was my first attempt at a hood, my first ever attempt to sew a zipper (ugh, to that by the way), and my first cardigan ever made.

And yet somehow I don't mind that it's not for me.   Maybe I'm just glad it's done.

Another single sock. . .

So I finished my test-knit Foare Socks. 

I really do like them -- simple enough to be brainless, but the colourwork keeps them from being too boring.

I've also never done that type of heel before.  I do think I screwed up my YO's on the heel, but I can darn over the holes if they annoy me too much.

Now I have yet another single sock from my test knitting!  Not that I really mind. 

More Knit Alongs

Hello again!  It's been a bit slower in my posting -- things have been keeping me busy, but hey, that's life, right?

I've cast on two new projects, both for a Knit-Along in the Sweet Georgia Yarns group on Ravelry.

The first is a pair of A River Runs Through Mitt Fingerless Mittens.  They'll be a birthday gift for a friend.

The second is a Glacier Sweep Shawl, for me.

Yes, my circular is horribly kinked up, even after soaking it in hot water.  But the weight of the shawl should eventually un-kink it.

So I have lots of knitting and things to work on, but I'm really rather enjoying myself with it all.  There are a couple of long-standing works-in-progress that I hope to have finished soon, so stay tuned for more posts to come!

Completed the Quest for New, Warm Fuzzy Slippers

Yeay for quick-knit projects to help me use up my overflowing yarn cupboard.  Even better when I get warm feet out of the deal.

Anyway. . . 

The Purple Purl put up a 'Slipper Quest', both in their Newsletter, and on Ravelry.

And here is my (finished already) contribution, in the form of my Lollipop Slippers.

They're a DROPS pattern, that I tweaked, and they're done in bulky-weight yarn (In my case, I did them in a skein of Misti Alpaca Handpainted that I got at the Purple Purl's Pre-Boxing Day Sale.)

The pattern did come out a touch big, hence the addition of a crochet edging and the twisted cord laces.   But they're absurdly warm, which is great with the cold weather we've been having.

Also, they're my first entry into the 12in2014 challenge for this year.  Yeay!

More Socks

It seems I have a love of test-knitting socks.

In this case, I'm testing knitting Foare Socks (and no, I'm not quite sure how you pronounce that, but the pattern is awesome, regardless).

It's a colour-work pattern, so I balled up both colours, and it came out quite well.  I think the colours should work well together.

For the lighter, (and main) colour, I'm using the other skein of  Tanis Blue Label in "Frost" that I originally got in case I needed it for the Gox Socks.  Well, the Gox socks are getting closer to done, and I don't think I'll need it, so, I put it to use.   The darker colour is an inherited mystery yarn, so I'm happy to try and use a bit more of it up.

The other nice thing is that the pattern is a lot of basic stocking stitch, which makes it wonderfully brainless television/computer knitting.  That's good, considering that the deadline for having one sock done is Jan 19th. 

I am a Winner!

Forgive the excitement, but I found out yesterday that my Pine Cone Mittens won a prize in one of the Ravelry Challenges I'm in.

The challenge is called 12in2013 (now 12in2014 with the new year) and it is to use stash that wasn't bought that calendar year, and the Pine Cone Mittens definitely qualify.

I was one of the lucky people who won a prize for my December entry.  I don't know what my prize is, yet, the person who was kind enough to gift it to me is getting it based on taking a look at my Ravelry Queue and profile.

I'm still excited, though.  I don't seem to have a lot of luck in winning things, so I will take all the luck I can find.

A New-To-Me KAL

So EatSleepKnit is hosting various knit-alongs.  They've revamped the Yarnathon so that we now have teams, and completing challenges gives us both more individual yardage, and the chance to win prizes.

The first challenge is here on their blog.

So, I cast on a Stella by Starlight Headband, using the leftovers from the Evening Star Cowl.

The pattern calls for beaded yarn, but I'm going to try beading (which I've never done before, hence the new-to-me part).   I'm thinking I'll add glass seed beads to the headband, probably at the centre of the lace motif.

I've got lots of things on the needles, but I'm excited about all of them right now.  Also, most of them don't have deadlines, so it's a lot less stressful.