Summertide MKAL

I've been feverishly knitting on my Summertide shawl.

Clue #3 is much easier to memorize and is flying off the needles.

Clue #2 contained much more movement and required much more of my attention.

Overall I'm very please with it, but learned I'm not fond of S2KP. I like the way it looks, just a little clumsy to knit. And of course its the feature stitch of the shawl.

Final #4 comes out on Thursday. I have quite the autumn head cold brewing so it looks like a weekend full of rest and finishing this bad boy!

That's it for now. Gotta get back to work!

Linking up with Ginny & Nicole today. Looking forward to perusing through everyone's progress this week!

Later,

Melissa

City Girl Socks

I finished my City Girl Socks this morning. I love, love love them.

And, no, I did not plan for this aster to match my socks but it looks pretty cool, eh? I usually photograph projects on our back deck but because of the time of day it was too sunny back there. The dappled sunlight of our front porch was perfect.

Afterthought heels are not my favorite. I like to try my socks on as I knit them. They look great once completed, but hair-raising in the process. I'm always afraid they won't fit after hours and hours of knitting.

I will definitely be buying from Turtle Purl again!

I experimented with some dye yesterday and came up with these three beauties.

I'm trying to decide whether I should keep them or sell them. They look like a chevron throw blanket waiting to happen. I little Christmas-y maybe.

That's all for today. Moving in to this tranquil little spot for some after lunch knitting.

Later!

Melissa

Ooooh, Summertide

When we returned from vacation last Saturday I popped in to my LYS, Amazing Threads, to pick up some yarn for the Summertide Shawl MKAL.

Clue One was a no-brainer, but I love the texture.

Clue Two took some serious focus. I'm not proficient at M1R & M1L, so this section took me the bulk of three or four evenings to complete.

The shawl is crescent shaped so I'm not too concerned about the edge being too tight. I really like the separation of the edge from the shawl. Girly.

I have some time to continue these afterthrought heel socks until Clue Three comes out.

This yarn is TurtlePurl Sock in the City Girl Colorway. Very fancy striping pattern. Love it.

That's all for now! Quick & dirty before I'm off to work this morning. Linking up with Nicole's KCCO and Ginny's Yarn Along today. Can't wait to see what you all have on the needles!

Later!

Melissa

Vacation: Take 2

Victor and I bought a time share week in Spirit Lake, IA almost 25 years ago. This is the FIRST time we've come down here with no kids. Yikes.

It's been a fabulous week so far. We have a couple more relaxing days left.

Our view for the week. Since its after Labor Day, the resort is very quiet. Just the soothing sound of waves lapping the shore all day. Peace & Serenity!

We had a visitor Monday night to watch football with.

I've finished two pairs of socks since leaving home last Friday!

The first is this pair of my own hand dyed. I love the subtle striping with pops of bright colors.

I will definitely be ordering this base stock again. It knits up so smoothly. I am very, very pleased with it.
 

I usually take strange closeups of heels. The gussets of these sock speak to me. 

This one has a pool of blue that landed right on the highest part of my arch.

This one has that same pool right in the gusset. 

Speaking of my own hand dyed. I put the entire stock of Willow Pond Dyeworks on a Free Shipping setting until I get back in town. You just have to wait until Saturday for me to ship it.

The second pair of completed socks is this pair from Knitterly Things in the Joyous colorway. My kids bought me two skeins of self striping socks yarn for Christmas last year. Yes, I have a deep stash.

I'm going to wait to voice my full opinion on this yarn until I've knit with the other skein. I'm not sure if this is the intentional dye style of Knitterly Things, or if my daughter ordered a Seconds skein. The light blue is very saturated, the rest are not.  There are lots of white spots in between color changes and where the yarn ties were. They are fun socks nonetheless! Great color mix!

I also tried a new slip stitch/wrap stitch heel. It s not as neat & tidy as a heel flap, but helps carry  the stripes better for the remainder of the sock.

Loving the Vera Bradley bag Dee bought for me in Door County. I love this fabric and it matches my shades.

Next of my needles (after lunch maybe?) is this self striping from Turtle Purl Yarns in the City Girl colorway.

I will have to catch up with all the projects when we get home on Friday, but linking up for the Yarn Along and KCCO for now. Have a great Wednesday!
 
We are headed out for lunch and some shopping. Whoop Whoop!

Melissa

Mini Vacation & YARN SALE!

I am sneaking out of town with my husband for a whole week.

The last time we had a parent-only trip our 18 year old was in diapers, so like...15 years...?

To celebrate I'm offering FREE domestic shipping for everything in my Etsy shop.

All sales will be shipped when I get back home next weekend.

Enjoy!

Melissa

Sock Blank Experiment: Done!

I just squeezed these photos in before the sun went down. Whew!

Using my camera with a low light setting is literally a shot in the dark for me. Sometimes it works, and sometimes not. I DO like the photos much better than with my phone. The color is more true and so much richer. (I did snap some quick shots of my hydrangeas with my phone before I came in. The bugs decided to gnaw on my ankles, so I had to come in.)

I dyed the sock blank in a rich yellow, bright pink, and straw green. (East light)

My favorite part of these socks is the gusset. A transition in color and shape. (East light)

 Sweet, sweet beginnings. (West light)

I always giggle at the end-shape of socks I make for myself. I prefer a longer, slouchy leg section, and the foot to be snug. Thus they always look a little elf-ish to me. They fit perfectly, but they still make me giggle.

There are a few more pictures posted @willowponddyeworks on Instgram.

Just a reminder: There is a skein in these same colors for sale on my Etsy site, its variegated, not self striping.

This is what I snapped quickly with my phone just as the mosquitoes were rising up out of the grass.

This is an older hydrangea that is a little light-starved under our flowering crab, but pretty nonetheless.

The tiny, delicate petals fascinate me.

A Gerbera Daisy my husband brought back to life.

These are a couple of hydrangeas my husband bought me for Mother's Day. The heads are HUGE and all three plants are very heavy with blooms.

The blooms on this Lime plant are bigger than my head!

Looking very forward to seeing everyone's progress this week. Linking up with Nicole at Frontier Dreams tonight and Ginny"s yarn along in the morning. 

Later knitters! Thanks for stopping by!

Melissa

Sock Blank Experiment: Part 2

Getting this post up pretty late today. I literally ran out of daylight yesterday.

Okay, okay. So I had the house to myself and I sat in the couch and knit all evening. Fine.

A couple days ago one of my customers asked me if Willow Pond Dyeworks was on IG. Truth: I had to Google what IG was, and after learning she was referring to Instagram, I leapt into action called my daughter. She walked me through setting up both a personal IG account, and one for WPD. You can find us as @willowponddyeworks on Instagram. Neato!

I finished both heel flaps before bed. (earned myself and ice cream sandwich, I did!)

Interesting how the daylight changes the basic tone of a photograph. I took all of these pictures about an hour ago. One looks much more orange than the rest. Hmmm. I may have to play with the settings on my phone a bit.

The saffron and pink are striping a little differently than I had imagined. The big surprise for me is how the larger stripe affect appeared after a few inches of knitting. I didn't expect that. Cool!

That in itself is my favorite part of knitting with hand dyed yarns. The surprise is worth the wait, and the money we pay. Its a piece of true hand made art. It develops as you continue to work your craft.

This is a 56st sock on size US1 needles. I have size 7.5-8 feet, but prefer my socks to be snug.

If you were to knit this same sock blank in a 64st sock, or on a different size needle, it would look completely different. It may not even stripe. Isn't that crazy? I love that!

I do have a skein of yarn for sale on my Etsy shop in this colorway, its just variegated, not self striping.

Looking forward to the progress everyone has made this week.

Linking up with Ginny's Yarn Along and Nicole's Keep Calm Crafting On.

Later Friends!

Melissa