Monthly Archives: July 2023

Hello!

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I’m in-between projects right now, so I decided to take this opportunity to break out a toy that I got for my birthday: my Hello Loom!

It’s so cute- it’s a laser-cut wooden loom. Actually, it’s two looms! One is about the size of a credit card and the other is the size of a paperback book. It reminds me of the cardboard looms I’d make from cereal boxes when I was a kid. (I don’t think I ever actually finished a woven piece when I was a kid. Much like grown-up Allison, kid Allison was good at starting projects, but not great at finishing them.)

Anyway, I pulled out a big box of yarn leftovers and started playing around. It was super easy to set up, and before I knew it, I was halfway through. Then, after an evening of Star Trek, I was finished. So fun! It’s certainly not perfect, but I enjoyed playing with my loom.

Now, I only have two questions:

  1. What am I supposed to do with my little piece(s) of weaving? Or am I just making a bunch of coasters? And,
  2. How am I supposed to get it off the loom without messing it up?

Any of you weavers that can help me?

Done and Dusted

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Not much to report this week, just that I finished my self-striping socks! Woo!

And, just like I said last week, it took maybe 20 minutes to finish them up. 30 if you include weaving in the ends and blocking them. Sure, I could have pushed through and finished them last week, but it was kind of nice taking my time with them and only working on them when I was really in the mood.

I’m glad I got them done, and I’m so pleased with how they turned out. The colors are so pretty. And, the fabric is so soft and smooth, especially since I knit them with smaller needles than I usually use.

I can’t wait until the weather turns and I can wear them!

Have you finished anything lately?

So close, so far

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I was totally determined to get these socks done this week, but it’s just not happening. Not from lack of trying (sorta).

I got close. I’m halfway through the toe decreases on the second sock. In fact, if I hadn’t sat down to write, I could probably have finished by the time I post this.

But, you know what, I’m a-OK with leaving them as they are right now. The socks are pretty. They’re going to be lovely when they’re done, but it’s hot outside. It’s not like I’m itching to put on a pair of new wool socks right now, anyway. And I’m super tired after almost a month of near daily playdates and almost constantly entertaining my kids, so I’m going to give myself a break. (School is out for the summer, and it’s become wildly obvious (again) that they’re both huge extroverts. They need to play with kids and get out of the house every day, or they turn into little chaos gremlins. I, however, am a big old introvert (hence the knitting), which means that every playdate and outing I set up for them leaves me fully overstimulated and exhausted.)

Anyway, all that’s a long-winded way of saying, the socks aren’t done yet. They will be done, and soon, but not yet.

How hard do you push to finish a project?

1.5

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I’m one and a half socks deep into this project, and I’m still making progress. Something that doesn’t feel like it happens much these days.

I did my best to match up the stripes, but my first try, I was wildly off. I ended up having to frog basically the whole leg portion and re-knit it, which is never my favorite. But I’m so glad I did!

They’re not an exact match, but if you look closely at the colors, they’re actually dyed slightly differently, so no matter how careful I was, I could never have matched them up perfectly. I guess that’s just how hand-dyed yarn goes.

I was a little bummed about it at first, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. That little bit of variation makes the socks even more interesting.

Do you try to match up your socks perfectly, or do you go with the flow?

One Down

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Woo! I’m on a roll. I just got back from a big trip to visit family, and my kids are finally at the age where they can just sit in the airplane and watch shows/play games on their tablets. Instead of having to do a whole dog-and-pony show for my toddler, I was able to sit for a good chunk of our flights and just knit and listen to my book. It was fantastic.

Not only did I get to do some knitting, I managed to knit up a whole sock (and a half, but then I frogged it).

And I gotta say this yarn is full of surprises. First, I thought it was variegated, then I thought it was an ombre/gradient situation. But now, it turns out that it’s fully striped! I don’t know if I’ve ever been so surprised by a yarn.

Luckily, it’s been a good surprise so far.

I mean, it’s super cute! And “Uneek” (which I guess should have been a clue). I don’t know if I would have put these colors together on my own, but I really like how the yarn looks knit up.

Now to match the stripe pattern for the second one.

When’s the last time you used self-striping yarn?