Sassy Pants

Whenever I'm feeling relatively awesome, as if I could conquer the world, something humbling happens and I am forced to come back down to earth.

That SOMETHING would be these socks.

My Mom gifted me these skeins of Turtle Purl yarn last fall. 

I'm not a fan of yarn with stellina so I had not planned on keeping them.

I cast them on a US1 circular, two at a time, 60 sts each sock.

Like a boss.

Like I do this ALL THE TIME.
 

Or so I thought...

When I began to reduce stitches for the toe the stitch count was off.

One side of one sock was SHORT 4 STITCHES....really?!?

So I closed the toes, picked up the heel stitches, and closed the heels, and moved on. Socks...done.

They fit fine, I will keep them, and I like them (sparkly/twinkly yarn and all).

No one will ever know, right?

I have moved on and am currently obsessed with this colorway from SSYC's house brand, Poste Yarn. The colorway is...Ghost Town, I believe.

I'm beyond this photo and am almost to the toe on the second sock. 

I can't knit them fast enough.

This little gem arrived in my mailbox this afternoon. I enjoyed a little Amaretto and some quiet time after work with the first story.

I will need to pace myself, maybe one story per day, otherwise I'll stay up all night and read it in one sitting!

Linking up with Nicole's KCCO and Ginny's Yarn Along!

Later!

Melissa
 

Fuscia Charade Socks

I'm not such a prolific knitter that I'm able to complete a project every week. That would be silly. 

I merely have so many works in progress that it could be years before they are all complete. Tee Hee.

These Fuscia Charade Socks are in my own hand dyed, knit magic loop style on US1 circulars.

It was an experiment in how to use saturated colors with a 'tonal' skein concept. 

I'm loving how they turned out!

 I knew without a slip stitch or something similar this skein would either pool or stripe. So...they kinda stripe and kinda don't.

Today is Valentines Day in the U.S.. I made Red Velvet Waffles for my family this morning that weren't a total failure, but no flowering success either.

I short-cutted a waffle mix with Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake mix, added a few extra egg whites, and went for it.

They tasted great, but fell flat (literally), not crunchy on the outside like we (our family) prefer our waffles. Once plated they looked like a red cupcake you stomped on with a boot. 

BUT, it was the thought that counts, my family appreciated my efforts, we all laughed it off and shared a lovely breakfast. Thank goodness I raised children with a sense of humor.

The next pair of socks on my needles are Turtle Purl Glitter& Stripes in the 'What Does it Mean?' colorway.

These are once again magic loop style, 2 at a time, on US1 circulars.
 

Snacking and watching movies with my Sweetie this afternoon.
 

I'm hoping to find some extra time this week to see what everyone is working on.

Linking up with Nicole's KCCO on Tuesday & Ginny's Yarn Along on Wednesday.

Later!

Melissa
 
 

Hat completion

Welcome back. I am always so grateful for those who visit but especially the feedback I get from my fellow knitters/crafters. Your opinions are important to me. Thank You!

I finished a couple of hats this weekend and can't wait to show you.

This first hat is Dream On! by Hanna Maciejewska. My Mom gifted me this project last December. I clean her apartment every 2-3 weeks and she usually "pays" me in yarn.

Its a combination of cables and loose K1P1 ribbing. It was my first slouchy style hat and my first time using a K1b stich (knit one in the row below). 
 

The hat itself is super comfy to wear, a nice combination of not too tight and pretty to look at.
 

I've had a bad experience with Jilly yarn before so I was pretty ambivalent about even starting this project. 

I LOVED the yarn. Super soft and smooth, and no knots in the skein. (I am soooo sick of finding knots in my high-end yarns). Knitting with silk blends is a dream. I knit slippery yarns with bamboo needles to help maintain control and consistency in my stitches.

I'm getting used to the closure of this hat   :/

Is it typical for slouchy hats to be closed with 50-60 stitches still on the needles? 

My teenage son commented on what this looks like - NOT something you want on your head. We'll leave it at that, Ok? 

My Favorite Five Year Old is still wearing the pumpkin hat I mad him last November. He needs a new one.

I'm a huge fan of Libby Jonson, TrulyMyrtle on IG and YouTube. She just released a men's beanie pattern called Maximus (and offered a coupon!).

I have some green yarn on hand that I thought would look great, but Nolan wanted grey, like the guy in the picture.

The grey yarn I had on hand was a skein of Berrocco Vintage DK. The pattern calls for worsted weight yarn and US7 needles. I used US6 needles, the DK weight yarn, and knit the largest of the three hat sizes. Should fit him just fine for a few years.

I even have enough left over yarn to make on for his Dad if he likes it too.

We (my husband and I) are getting ready to belly up to some home made Super Bowl treats and preparing for yet another burst of snow later today. 

As always, I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone is up to this week. Linking up with Ginny's Yarn Along on Wednesday and Nicole's KCCO on Tuesday.

Later,

Melissa

Boy Socks

Hello!

I knit a TON of socks. I'm up to 42 pairs in my own drawer and and have knit many for others over the past few years. Last year I stumbled across several inexpensive skeins of Opal yarn on an Etsy page in Canada. When the shipment (vacuum packed-great idea!) arrived my son randomly commented, "I'd wear socks in THAT one."

I was thrilled. He has never asked me to knit something for him before. The self striping socks were on the needles right away. I was about half way through the first sock when he looked at it and said, 

"You're going to make them MATCH, right?"

You see, he is very particular about what he wears. It bothers him greatly when I wear socks that don't match, heaven forbid knit self striping socks and don't match up the stripes perfectly on both socks. 

So I ripped out my first attempt, tore apart the skein of yarn to find the midpoint, then set up for two-at-a-time socks.

I ROCKED it. 

He loves them, has worn them several times already, and has asked me to wash them.



YAY! This warms my heart.

Linking up with Ginny's Yarn Along and Nicole's KCCO this morning. I work later today and I'm hoping its quiet so I can peruse what y'all have been up to!


Have great week Crafters!

Melissa