FOs: Socks!

let me just say that both pairs of socks you're about to see have been finished. For months. Back in January, I talked a little about my knitting goals for the year. My sock yarn bin is overflowing, and I've been trying to make some sort of dent in it. There's no dent, but hey, look! Socks!

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First, Hermoine's Everyday Socks in Squoosh Ultra Sock-Vintage (available at ESK). This pair was fun to knit, and I love them, except that I would only cast on 60 stitches for a future pair. I've found that's my magic number on a size 1 needle.

I finished this pair in a month, which is big news for me.

Pair number two is Charade in Spun Right Round, Sparky the Sock, Rah Rah colorway. These are just about the most perfect sock ever. The fit is great (60 stitch cast on), the pattern was siumple enough to memorize, and the yarn. The yarn!

Yeah, I love them.

Knitting/yarn goals

Well, it's only 22 days into the new year, so I can still proclaim my crafty intents for the year, right? In the yarn realm of my interests, I finally learned to weave!

I received the Ashford Sample-It loom from a very sweet friend a year ago, and on January 1st, Elliott helped me set up my first warp. The pictured piece is now a finished scarf, but I haven't taken FO shots yet. It was very quick and enjoyable to weave the scarf, and I see lots of weaving in my 2015 forecast.

After discovering that I have a BOATLOAD of sock yarn (boatload is a technical term, btw), I want to focus on sock yarn projects this year.
I purchased a reed for the loom to weave with sock yarn, which will be a part of my plan.
I also intend to make at least four pairs of socks this year. For me, that's a pretty lofty goal, since socks are my kryptonite.

But I'm halfway through the second sock on this pair, which I started January 2nd. It's Hermoine's Everyday Socks (free pattern), and I'm using Squoosh Ultra Sock in the Vintage colorway. I hope to finish this pair in the next week or so.

my ravelry project

Additionally, Eat Sleep Knit is doing another year of the yarnathon. I participated in many of their challenges last year, and I intend to do the same this year, as some of the KALs were already in my knitting plans.
Unfortunately, projects like my Scrappy Hue Shift won't count, since the majority of the yarn used has to be from ESK. But I still plan on finishing that blanket this year!

I also intend to finish Backshore (bottom of the post), the choose your own adventure shawl and these mitts.

So, you know, normal ambitious dreams of knitting and weaving all of the things. Nbd.

FO: Brickless

While at Stash Bash, several of us knitters decided to knit Brickless. I loved knitting it, and I finished in less than a month, but then, of course, it sat in the closet for two months before I blocked it. Yesterday. It happens.

Blocking isn't difficult, but I always seem to put it off. I think the cats are the real reason I avoid it; they love to sit on things, including wet, pinned knitting.

I used a skein of Kinfolk Yarn and Fibre MCN High Twist, in Western Sky. It was a Christmas gift from E, and I was happy to use it so quickly. The leftovers went towards my Scrappy Hue Shift (and I sent some to other blanket knitters as well).

I have one more finished shawl in the blocking pile, and one mystery shawl that is unfinished....

My newest addiction

I've always been inspired by C's amazing blankets. Just LOOK. Completely amazing and saturated in color, but a blanket always seemed like a behemoth of a project. I don't know what made me change my mind, although Jesse's newest project certainly played a role, but I now have a blanket on the needles.

It's directly inspired by Jesse's version in the post I linked to, and I'm using the Hue Shift pattern. I'm using up sock yarn scraps, and have also purchased some fun mini skeins from various yarny sources. I swapped some mini skeins with Jesse, and plan to do so with Amanda as well!

I'm starting my eighth square (with a total goal of 144), and I've enjoyed every stitch!

My only complaint is that I have to take breaks from knitting (I fell on some ice in New Mexico last winter, and my right wrist has been intermittently tender). But I guess that's okay, since I have plenty of other projects to work on. I know this will be a long-term WIP, but it is fun and eventually, I'll have a blanket!