So, I guess I need to pay more attention to what I buy, because you know that gorgeous, variegated yarn that I got last week?
Well, I managed to get it all wound up this weekend, and I got a surprise!
Turns out, it’s self-striping and it looks totally different than I was expecting! I had no idea when I brought it home. It’s hard to tell from just looking at it all wound up, but I think it’s going to have some cool super-long repeats. (Yes, I could have just looked at the website and I would have seen that it was self-striping… But I just didn’t.)
I’m so excited to get knitting on these socks! they’re going to be so pretty!
Have you ever been surprised with your yarn purchases?
It’s nearly the end of the school year, so it’s been wildly busy around here. I’m on the board of our preschool co-op, so there’s lots of year-end stuff that we have to do. We’re getting ready for our big kid to graduate from PreK (which is insane and hitting me harder than I expected). And, we’re getting ready for a big multi-state trip back to visit grandparents (our first big trip since Covid, and our first time flying with two kids. It’s going to be nuts).
Needless to say, I’ve been a little stressed. So, when my little one and I had a bit of free time the other day, we went on a coffee/donuts/yarn run. They were more excited about the donuts than the yarn, but they’re two, so that’s not really surprising.
I, however, bought myself a lovely skein of Urth Uneek Fingering. I know nothing about it, except that it was soft, pretty, and superwash. I plan on making a nice vanilla pair of socks with it while we’re traveling. I’m hoping for some nice, low-key, relaxing knitting for the plane (HA!)
Now we’ll just have to see if I can remember my formula for improvising socks…
What’s the last thing that you treated yourself to?
Can you believe it?! I’m already done with the socks I picked up last week! (Yes, I did have them about 80% done. And yes, they have been sitting unfinished in my stash for almost a year. And yes, this pattern was published before this pair was even close to completed. Hush.)
I even wove in all the ends and blocked them! Ooh la la!
Unfortunately, they’re a little bit small (which, honestly, was probably why I stopped knitting them in the first place), but at least they’re finished and super cute. I guess they’ll just have to go in the “to be gifted” pile for someone with slightly more petite feet than me.
Have you ever successfully resurrected something from your hibernation pile?
I’m feeling indecisive, or at least indecisive enough that I don’t want to commit to a whole sweater right now. So, I took a dive into my stash and found a project that should be pretty doable. It’s nearly finished, at least, so I should be able to give myself that finished-project-serotonin-boost that I love.
You might remember that I published this pattern a few months ago- super cute Rainbow Socks.
Well, it turns out that I never actually finished the prototype. I got 80% of the way through the socks, wrote up the pattern and decided to go do something else. Typical Allison.
Eagle-eyed readers will notice that I changed the design a bit to add more rainbows at the heel and toe. I definitely like the more-is-more aspect of the final pattern, but I’m not unraveling anything right now, so I’ll keep these guys as they are, with their boring toes.
I’m determined to finish these socks! Will it take a day? A week? A month? All summer? only time will tell.
What’s the last project that you pulled out of hibernation?
And now that I’m done with my little cabled sweater, it’s time to move on to… something else.
What else, exactly? I have no idea. It’s been super-hot here in Seattle, which isn’t helping my knitting mojo, either. But I’m always happy to troll around on Ravelry for a little bit and consider my options.
My first thought was that I didn’t want to start anything big, so maybe a little stuffed animal. Maybe this stinking cute little family of bears with a full wardrobe of sweaters? Tsutsu Bear by Cynthia Vallet.
Or maybe I should make myself something light and summery? I’ve had my eye on this tee for a while. I don’t really have any warm-weather sweaters (which really feels like an oxymoron), so maybe it’s time to try out some nice linen or something. I really like how the pattern is pretty flexible and easily adaptable to a variety of bodies. Outline Tee by Jessie Maed Designs.
Or maybe I try something really out of my comfort zone, and try my hand at crochet again? The last time I crocheted a sweater, the results were… questionable. I really like how this top looks, though. But will it look like that on me? I suppose there’s only one way to find out. Calad Shirt by Jessica Tsung.
I’m going to think on it for a while, dig through my stash and see what speaks to me, and maybe make a run to my yarn store. Hopefully something really piques my interest.
What do you knit when you don’t know what to knit?
And just in time for a heat wave, of course. I finished my kid’s sweater on Monday. Tuesday was a chilly 50 degrees, so we busted it out right away on a little trip to the woods near our house. He looked like a cross between a baby hobbit and a little old man. Frankly, my ideal kid aesthetic. (Though I think the cute factor could be upped with the addition of elbow patches.)
And literally by Wednesday, it was in the 70s, and over the weekend it got into the 80s. So, it seems like this super-cozy, cabled wool sweater will not be getting a lot of play until next fall.
But, thank goodness, I managed to make the sweater big enough that it’ll definitely fit all the way through the next year (probably). There’s plenty of length in the sleeves, and if I blocked it out, I’m sure I could get some extra room around the belly and chest. I haven’t blocked it yet, because it fits just about perfect as is, and it’s extra-squishy and fluffy pre-blocking. It’s possible the neck will be a little too tight if this kid’s gigantic head keeps growing at its current rate, but that would be an easy fix.
I’m so happy to have this sweater finished! I truly don’t know the last time I finished anyproject, much less a full sweater. And, I’m so glad it turned out well! Now I’m thinking of making myself another Ben sweater to match… My current one is definitely “well-loved.”
I’m thiiiiis close to finishing my toddler’s sweater! Miracle of miracles, I got it seamed up over the weekend, and the sleeves actually look proportional to the rest of the sweater! I had serious doubts about that, but hey, it turns out that my math was correct! Who knew?
It’s so cute, and all I have left to add is the neckband! And, I suppose, block it. But that’s it! I honestly didn’t think this sweater was ever going to get finished. I’ve gotta say, it’s a nice feeling, getting close to finishing a long project. It’s been too long since I managed a bigger project like this.
And it even looks like its still going to fit the kid… maybe even next year!
I’ve just about done it- I’ve got all the big pieces for the toddler Ben-ish pullover finished. (And right in time for summer-y weather to set in. Though this is Seattle; I’m sure it’ll get back to cold and rainy before the week is out.)
The sweater looks so good! I just love this cable pattern- it’s making me want to knit up another Ben for myself (the one I made for my husband 10+ years ago and that I subsequently adopted/stole back is looking pretty disreputable). I can’t wait to see this on my little guy. He’s naturally got a real “tenured professor” vibe, so it’s basically a crime that he doesn’t have a cabled sweater already. Maybe I should add some elbow patches, too.
Anyway, all that’s left is to seam it, add the collar and block it. And if I say it like that, it doesn’t sound like much, but I’m sure it’s going to take a few weeks for me to actually get around to finishing up everything. Because why would this step take any less time than any other step? For a tiny little sweater, it’s really taking a lot of work. Long gone are the days of finishing an entire adult sweater in two weeks.
How do you feel when you get close to the end of a project?
It’s been… a long time since I did one of these posts. Mostly because I haven’t had time to sit down and watch anything interesting on TV, much less do the digging to find pattern resources.
Then it occurred to me, there’s a show that I watch all the time that heavily features a famous sweater. (I’m logging way more time watching this show than I really care to admit, if I’m being honest.)
It’s grr-ific, tiger-tastic, and literally the only show that my 2-year-old will watch. It’s Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood!
Do I enjoy watching Daniel Tiger? Not particularly. Is it a great show for 2-year-olds? Definitely. Do I still use the “teaching songs” with my big kid when I’m trying to get them to stop hitting their brother/put on their shoes/not freak out when something goes wrong? Absolutely. Do the songs work? Sometimes.
Anyway, look at Daniel’s cute little red sweater:
It’s a cute little zip-up red hoodie with drawstrings and pockets. I think it’s supposed to be a raglan sleeve, but it’s hard to say, with it being a cartoon and all. But with a little searching I found a couple options.
First is the Rainbow Child cardigan by Rebecca Newman. This pattern looks super flexible (and cute!) and could easily be adapted into a DT sweater.
The R&R Hoodie by Tanis Lavallee would be perfect, with almost no changes! And it comes in a range of sizes. It’s at a pretty small gauge, though, so that might not be quite as cozy as Daniel’s sweater.
But after all that looking, I realized that I should have just searched “Daniel Tiger Sweater,” because of course someone has designed the perfect Daniel Tiger sweater. It’s called the Neighborhood Sweater by Analisa Gedge. It’s adorable, screen-perfect (or at least as screen-perfect as you can get with a cartoon.
Now, if I actually make DT sweaters for my kids, what’s the likelihood that they’ll still be watching the show when the sweaters were done?
I started working on the second sleeve, and, well, I almost immediately ran out of yarn. I had managed to delude myself into thinking that I had enough yarn to make it through the sleeve. But, no matter how much I wanted it to be true, I had barely made it through the cuff when I was left with this much yarn:
So, I ran back to Webs and ordered another skein. I was excited when the package showed up yesterday, but then I suddenly realized- I had no idea if it was going to match. The color on the website vs. the actual color was so wildly different, it suddenly occurred to me that the new and old yarn might not match at all.
I crossed my fingers, held my breath, and opened the package.
And thank all the Knitting Gods! Not only did the color match- the new yarn was actually the same dye lot as the stuff I ordered months ago. I certainly lucked out!
On the Needles 