2023: Wk of 5/14-20; Ranunculus Progress, Colorwork Socks, and Hat Cast-on

RANUNCULUS UPDATE

This is a super easy knit now that it’s just a stockinette in the round for the body. I’m almost out of yarn so I’ll be finishing off the body today. Then I’ll use the collar mini to make a very small ribbed cuff for the sleeves followed by a small garter hem. Probably will have to use a second mini to be able to finish the hem.

“WINTER” COLORWORK SOCKS

Arg. The risk of making this a sometimes project. Could not find the background yarn for the second sock’s purple stripe. So I had to rip it out on the first sock and reknit the sock with a different purple background yarn. Definitely an eclectic pair of socks. I need to knit the final 2 stripes on the second sock and then I’ll knit the foot in some leftover sock yarn. The yarns don’t match in any way but I almost always wear shoes so no one sees the foot of my socks. These are supposed to be “whimsical” and just use up leftover yarn. They aren’t a gift for anyone, just fun ones for me to wear.

NEW HAT and POM POM ACQUISITION

Despite my logic that it would be more fun to cast-on the colorful rainbow yarn for the next hat, I cast on the same tan tweed I used in the first student hat. Decided I was more interested in “finishing off” the yarn. I did order a bunch of faux fur pom poms to hide my less than pretty crown decreasing. At only $0.50 a pom pom, I felt the hats could enjoy the splurge. I’ve also found a use for a crochet bag I bought several years ago. It’s now my “hat yarn” bag.

COVID

It took 3 years but hubby and I finally came down with Covid. My test result went positive so fast I it did a second time because I thought I did something wrong! Doc put us on meds, Paxlovid for me and something for hubby that didn’t interfere with his blood thinner. We are both doing much better although have persistent tiredness. Fortunately for us our insurance still covers Covid testing and treatment until mid-July.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week of crafting. This has been a Ravelry Year of Projects post. Bloggers are encouraged to share their fiber plans for the year and then post weekly updates. Sticking to the plan is not required. 😉

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2023: Jan Review, Welcome Feb

“Borrowing” an idea from Backstage Knits, I plan to do a brief “end of the month” review – what projects were on my needles at the beginning of the month, what projects came off, and what projects got cast-on.

JANUARY

JANUARY 1 ON MY NEEDLES To start the month I had 3ish carryover projects from 2022 on my needles.

1. a hat for my son using “rainbow” yarn he had given me for Christmas
2. a reversible hat that uses leftover Christmas stripe yarn for one side and leftover “dark” stripe yarns for the other with a ivory brim yarn in the middle
3. a pair of colorwork socks.
4. “ish” Wasn’t on my needles but decided to put my hubby’s sweater back on my needles so I could redo the hem.

The colorwork socks are “low priority” so they will likely be “on my needles” for many months.

JANUARY CAST-ONS I cast-on 3 new projects.

1. Sea Glass Tee – consistent with my knitting plan, I started the year off with a new sweater/tee cast-on. I’m loving this tee but learned I need to alternate with other knitting so as to not overstress my thumb and cause it to hurt.
2. Second “Rainbow” Hat – turns out the first hat I knit was too small for my son’s head. I was afraid of that since I’d never knit him a hat before so I just followed the instructions for a large sized hat. This project wasn’t on my ’23 knitting plan but I wanted to get a replacement hat to my son as soon as possible. He is enjoying the bigger hat and his girlfriend gets to wear the first one.
3. Vanilla Socks – the hats were my “walking” projects so I needed a new “brain dead” project for my daily morning walk. I love the self striping yarn I’m using and since it’s planned as a gift, I get a lot of joy out of knitting it.

JANUARY OFF MY NEEDLES 3 FOs for Jan

Both “rainbow” hats were completed in January. And I finished the reversible hat which one of my stepsons is enjoying. I did tink the ribbed hem of my hubby’s sweater and replace it with a garter hem. So it was kinda on my needles and off my needles in January.

Rainbow Hats

Reversible Hat – Christmas Stripes

Three FOs in one month is highly unusual for me. The fact that they were hats and 2 were already started prior to the month is a big reason that 3 got finished. I will not likely have that many FOs in future months.

YARN IN/OUT -182g

Three FOs really helped my yarn out even though they were only hats. So 180 grs out and none in. Course getting a lot of yarn in December helped control my desire to buy more. 🙂

STITCHES – 68,489

I got a lot of knitting done this month. It’s winter (even though it feels like summer in Florida) so no gardening or traveling taking up my time.

2023 is off to a great start!!

FEBRUARY – ON MY NEEDLES

Heading into February I still have 3 projects on my needles.

1. Sea Glass Tee
2. Vanilla Socks
3. The ’22 carryover colorwork socks is low priority. Does that make it a UFO instead of a WIP??

A goal will be to finish the Seas Glass Tee in February.

SEA GLASS TEE UPDATE

I decided to do an icord bindoff for the sleeves instead of the sewn bindoff the pattern calls for. I just think an icord looks so much better. I did have to rip out the cuff as even though I used the same needle size as the collar it was still too big. I’m noticing that my tee sleeves are all too loose. I wanted it to fit fairly tightly on my arm. I’m always afraid my tees are going to be too tight but instead they are too big. I think I need to drop down needle sizes as I work down the body so they are less “boxy”.

VANILLA SOCK

The sock is coming along fairly quickly although the Sea Glass it’s getting most of my knitting time. I did start the second sock but ripped it out when I wasn’t satisfied with the toe. I’m pretty confident I will have the socks done by the end of March so that I can give them to my daughter’s friend.

Wishing everyone a good week, knitting and otherwise.

This is a year of projects (YOP12) update. YOP is a Ravelry Group – make a plan for the year ahead for all your fiber activities, then update your blog each week. Plans can be calendar year (like mine) or mid-year start (like many). Following the plan is optional and creates some of the fun of posts. YOP started it’s 12th year in July and I’m starting my third year in the group. You can find more detailed information about my projects on my Project Pages in Ravelry (MaureenHD).  I’ve been knitting for six years.

2023: Wk of 1/22-28; Reversible Hat FO, Sea Glass Tee Update, and Sock Cast-0n

SEA GLASS TEE

Still loving this tee. I’ve separated for the sleeves. I’m about to go back to the sleeves so that I can try to have the sleeves coordinate with the body. That means I need to break my yarn into sleeve and body balls so that they match. Thankfully it’s short sleeves so I don’t have to do this very long. You obviously don’t have to have the sleeves match the body but I prefer when it does.

I’m happy that using the yarn ring forces me to knit continental and probably even looser than if I was knitting two handed. I like the looser gauge as I think it shows off the stitches more. I’m already using 3 needle sizes larger than the pattern calls for in addition to the continental knitting!! I’ll be dropping down needle sizes as I knit the body to give it some waist shaping. I am using the magic knot technique the pattern recommends. I did not make a magic ball as suggested but I think I will for my next one. Alternating between 2 minis has turned out more stripey than I had intended. You really do need to alternate every row!! I think it does look nice also as stripes like some of the projects did with 4-5 rows before changing colors.

REVERSIBLE HAT FO!!

I finished the reversible hat!! This was a stash buster project. The Christmas stripe yarn is leftover from the stocking I knit my granddaughter. Not sure what the other yarn is leftover from. I’ll be mailing it to my stepson this week. He will be able to get use out of the “winter” side of the hat. Knowing him, he’ll wear the Christmas stripes anyway.

VANILLA SOCK CAST-ON

I needed a new “walking” project so I cast-on a pair of socks. I love this yarn although sadly the dyer no longer dyes yarn. Fortunately there are a lot of good self striping yarn dyers out there so I’ll still be able to get my favorite type of sock yarn. It is my hope to give these socks as a gift to one of my daughter’s friends who is a brewmaster. He often gives us discounts on beers he brews when we visit Charleston so I’d like to give him something from me.

And that’s it for this week’s knitting. Can’t believe January is almost over already. We are halfway through our time in Florida and happy to be missing all the snow and ice back in Cincinnati. Wishing everyone a good week, knitting and otherwise.

This is a year of projects (YOP12) update. YOP is a Ravelry Group – make a plan for the year ahead for all your fiber activities, then update your blog each week. Plans can be calendar year (like mine) or mid-year start (like many). Following the plan is optional and creates some of the fun of posts. YOP started it’s 12th year in July and I’m starting my third year in the group. You can find more detailed information about my projects on my Project Pages in Ravelry.  I’ve been knitting for six years.