Quick side note – I think some of the links get messed up and go to the wrong project on Ravelry. If that’s the case, just go to my projects page. I keep everything pretty organized so you should be able to find the project you are looking for.
I’m going to start posting my WIP posts on Wednesdays, that way they are all ready for #WeaveItInWednesday. Things have been, and will continue to be, busy with the shop, but I’m trying to make sure I keep at my crafting as well. Throughout this week and into next week, you’ll be seeing lots of Finished Object posts. I’m trying to spread them out, but I’m also just so excited to show you. The one about my Earnest Cardigan is already posted in case you missed it. I still wear that sweater constantly and if you haven’t checked out my YouTube Channel, please do! You’ll get to see even more about the crafting and dyeing that I do. I am even wearing my cardigan in the first couple of vlogs. So, here are the WIPs…
Total: 6 WIPs (4 active)
Knitting: 4 projects – 1 pair of socks, 1 baby sweater, 1 cowl and 1 blanket
Crochet: 1 project – 1 blanket
Spinning: 1 project
Finished: 1 project
2020 Total Finished: 4
Newborn Vertebrae – Finished
Pattern: Baby Vertebrae / Kelly van Niekerk
Yarn: Hedgehog Fibres / Shiver
Valley Yarns / Huntington / 50 Black
Needles: Size 2 (body), Size 3 (sleeves) , Size 0 (hems) , Size 1.5 (cast off)
Cast on: 2/5/2020
Cast off goal: 2/23/2020
Cast off date: 2/26/2020
Pretty close to my cast off goal! Honestly, it was mostly finished over the weekend. I just had a couple of rows left and I finished that up last night. This morning, I was able to weave in the last of the ends while dyeing some yarn. So it still needs a blocking, but that’ll happen soon. (mhmm LK finished counts on the blog. It’s my blog after all. If you don’t know what I’m talking about click here.
Back to the itty bitty sweater. I cast this on with some leftover Hedgehog Fibres yarn that I have had since I finished these socks back in 2016. Earlier this year, I set off on a mission to work through my scraps. I’m taking a ball of leftover yarn, crocheting a few rows into a blanket and then using the rest to knit some items that I will donate to charity. It’s feeling really great to use the yarn and also make items for people who need them. I’m going to post a longer post about this goal and so look for it coming soon. There will probably also be a vlog where I can provide some visuals as to why. I’m sure you can relate.
I really mean it this time… back to the sweater. Not. I will post a longer finished object post about it so I won’t give too much away. Overall – baby sweaters knit up quick. Babies are tiny. The end.
If you haven’t checked out this pattern / ebook, you really should. The pattern is really great and fits all sizes. I love that it’s a layering piece for the baby. It’s a really smart idea and it was fun to knit it.
January DVD Socks
Pattern: None featuring Fish Lips Kiss heel (Sox Therapist)
Yarn: Desert Vista Dyeworks / Vista / Silver Linings Playbook
Valley Yarns / Huntington / 50 Black
Needles: Size 0
Gauge: 8 st per 1 inch
Cast on: 1/1/2020
Cast off goal: None
I did work on these over the weekend, they just didn’t get finished. I’m up to the cuff of the socks. Because I’m knitting them two at a time, I wanted to finish the Newborn sweater so that I could steal the black yarn from there and have two separate balls for the cuff. Oh details. I knit these out of self striping yarn, but because they were originally knit for my husband’s giant feet, I had less than a ball left. Or thereabouts. I decided to knit these socks with a contrasting heel and cuff to allow for more height in the sock. Looking back on it, I’m not sure why I didn’t use the black for the toes, but there is absolutely no going back now. The socks will get done in the next few days and be ready just in time for next fall. That’s how it goes, right?
Escarpment Cowl
Pattern: Escarpment Cowl / Shireen Nadir
Yarn: Juniper Moon Farms in Cumulus Dappled / Colorway TBD
Needles: Size 7
Cast on: 1/26/2020
Cast off goal: None
I went to the Sit and Stitch on Sunday at my local yarn store, A Knit Sheep. This has been my project for those sessions. I was knitting it on smaller needles and it was coming out way too dense. On Sunday, I ripped out the whole project and started it over again on Size 7 needles. I think the gauge is way better. The yarn for this project is cotton and so I wanted it to be lighter. It’ll make for a great springtime cowl for the mornings before it warms up. Since this is heavier yarn, which I don’t knit with too often, this project is going quickly. I got a lot done that afternoon and expect to make similar progress this weekend. All in a all, a great social knitting project. I’m really excited to try out wearing a hand knit cotton item as well.
Strawberry Little Thun – NEW
Pattern: Little Thun / The Blue Mouse / Emily Franck
Yarn: agirlandherwool / DK / Strawberry Shortcake (MC) and Mint Chip (CC)
Needles: Size 5
Cast on: 2/23/2020
Cast off goal: 3/1/2020
I mentioned this as an upcoming project last week and here it is! I decided to cast this on because this colorway pairing gets a lot of attention in my shop. I wanted to have a knit up sample of the colorways and pairings for customers. I also decided that I needed more DK samples because I mostly knit with Fingering weight yarn and wanted to have both to show customers as well. In about 2 or 3 days worth of commuting and a lunch break, I was able to knit up to the sleeve split. Again, baby sweaters go quick. I’m knitting the 3rd size up, which is for 6-12 month olds. I tried to pick a size that would maximize the yarn used, but minimize the amount of time I would need to spend on this sample. Work smarter, not harder, as they say.
Again, so far, it’s a fairly simple raglan. There is some striping that I’ll be starting now that I am on the body. Something interesting is that I don’t have a size 5 needle with a 16 inch circumference. This means that when I cast on the sweater, which is top down, I was able to knit the neckline with magic loop. As the sweater grew, I did something similar to magic loop, but where the sweater was still in a loop on one side, but the cable stuck out far where I was knitting. This is hard to write in words, so check out my vlogs on YouTube for more details. I will post a video of what I mean.
I expect this to be a finished object next week. For saying that I didn’t expect too many finished objects this year, I’m quite pleased with my finishes so far.
PS. Both of these colorways are available as ready to ship items ON DK, so you can knit along with me!
Inactive
1. Neat Ripple – This is on hold until I finish up the charity items with the colors that I have used so far.
2. Spinning – Surprisingly, this isn’t technically inactive anymore. I did spin on Monday for 15 minutes. I’m hoping to do a MWF thing, so expect more details on this soon.
3. Northeasterly. I’ve been tired.
What’s Next?
I am going to be knitting another shop sample out of the DK yarn. It will be the 103 hat by Jennifer Lassonde / BostonJen out of my Graffiti colorway!
Shop
I had a shop update on Monday and LOTS of Rose Tea on Sock was loaded in. If you want to knit a sweater like my Earnest Cardigan, feel free to snag some of those skeins. You are also able to order and size and quantity of skeins through the Rose Tea listing, but ready to ship skeins are offered at a discount. As I mentioned, I also loaded up on Strawberry Shortcake and Mint Chip on DK and there are some left. You can also order these skeins as a pair in the Yarn Kits section. For more details on the best way to shop at agirlandherwool, see this post. I also plan to post a similar style vlog on this topic, so check out my channel on YouTube.
The next shop update will be on Monday, 3/2/2020. Keep an eye out for more details on what to expect. More sneak peeks on the Vlog too!