Corona Knitting

Okay, so this isn't all Corona knitting, but it seemed like a nice enough title so yeah, here we go...

First off, in my last post I teased some Felici that I was getting for Christmas so here's an actual picture of the lovelies. Hehe

The purple ones on the bottom are skeins that I already had, but now they can all be friends together. :)

I also bought this beautiful skein of sock yarn back in the winter with a gift card that Wool and Honey gave out for Christmas. So generous!

And I bought some yarn from the shop that used to be in our town to make mittens for a friend. The owner Kelly sent a lovely note along with the yarn. ❤

And I haven't bought any yarn since then, even with all of my recent internet purchases, and I think you should all be proud of me. I did get some from my sister and a lovely raveler gifted me some to finish a project, but we all know that those don't count. I did buy some new needles though, which I still haven't tried out.

It's a short sharp needle set from Denise and I also got a few extra cords. I love my interchangeable needles from Denise and I've been using them for almost 10 years now! I'm excited to try these out. I've been too busy working on other things so far.

I also got all my stash out one Saturday afternoon...

And as for the FOs and WIPs, we have the blanket I made for a friend's wedding gift to begin with...

And then there's my mohair top. I made this one up as I went and I'm super happy with how it turned out.

I whipped up this hat and mittens for some friends who are having a baby.

And the mittens I made for another friend...

And then I finally knit my little sister a sweater. I got the yarn for this about three years ago and it took a pandemic to get to it haha. But my sister has grown in those years, and she said this way it will fit her much longer. So it's a win-win!

And I have one WIP right now. I'm knitting a fraternal twin for this green sock I made a couple years ago. I decided to make it in honor of my little sister Lottie whom we lost at 10 weeks almost three years ago. Something about the green and purple seems to fit her. We call her Our Little Leprechaun so that might be part of it. :)

This pattern, Garden Gate (link leads to Ravelry, please exercise caution!), is so much fun!! I'll probably make more socks from it. And the Knit Picks Hawthorne I'm using isn't too shabby either, haha!

Knitty November

As per usual, I have a few FOs to catch the old blog up on. 😉 But I'll start us off with something a little different. My recent yarn haul from Knit Picks' Big Sale:

15 skeins of Biggo for a wedding blanket, a skein of Hawthorne Multi to make a fraternal twin for my lonely Garden Gate sock (link leads to Ravelry, please exercise caution!), and then I got a free stitch marker with my order, and I picked out the succulent one. I don't typically use dangling stitch markers, but it was cute and free, so why not.

My sister and I ordered more from the Big Sale, but it's part of our Christmas gift from our grandparents so we can't open it. Mine is 9 skeins of Felici, plus the free Felici they're giving with a $75 purchase. One skein is mine and the other is my sister's. They're here. In my house. And I want to squish them and drool over the stripe-y colors.

I'm planning on a Sock Arms sweater (link leads to Ravelry, please exercise caution!) with the Raspberry Beret I ordered though I have to pick out the main color still. And then I'm going to make my sister something out of the Hamburger. I picked out two other colors, but I don't have plans for them yet. But that's what Christmas yarn is for, right?

I also ordered from Knit Picks' summer (spring?) yarn and book sale, using my tax refund like the adult I am. (I'm kidding, I used the rest of it for a LEGO set.) I bought Palette for my sister's Fightin' Words mitts, some Snuggle Puff to try, a couple skeins of Billow, a Jane Austen project bag, Gudrun Johnson's Knit With Me book, and a needle promo kit. Which I totally forgot I had and need to try still.

There was also the mohair and extras I bought from Tanis Fiber Arts in the spring.

I started a striped top in the summer with the mohair (bottom skein) and the Blue Label (top skein), but it's on hold at the moment. I don't have plans for the middle skein beyond Aqua! Speckles! Important plans, clearly.

A picture of the top-in-progress...

I'm just making it up as I go along, which is kinda risky since mohair is known for being hard to frog, but we'll see. I would've doubled the mohair with the fingering but I only have one skein of each. I'm knitting top down and I finished the neckline after joining for the sleeves and I plan to tackle the armhole edgings when I pick it up again. It'll be a while though, I'm sure.

Now for the FOs! First of all, some classic baby socks! Man, I love making baby socks. These were for the baby of some friends of mine. I got to know them both while they were dating, went to their wedding, and now they have a kid! I feel so old. He is freaking adorable though.

The yarn was a self striping one with pink and purple as well, but I cut those out since they knew he'd be a boy. I'm not sure I care about it, but I didn't think they'd want pink socks. :)

I also made some socks out of yarn one of my siblings spun for me. I like wearing them over other socks like slippers. Still haven't woven in the ends. Haha

I started a hat in April that I almost finished, but it was too tight so I ripped it out and it took me a while to get back to it. I finished it recently, just in time for the cold weather. I'm definitely into the anchor motif so I loved designing, knitting, and now love wearing it!

After years of promising my sister I'd make her Fightin' Words mitts (link leads to Ravelry, please exercise caution!) I finally kept my word.

(Modeled by our little brother who picked them up randomly and let me snap a few shots.)

And last of all, my current WIP, a Cobblestone Throw (link leads to Ravelry, please exercise caution!) as a wedding gift for one of my close friends. She picked the pattern and the general color, but I'm loving the more mindless knitting and the color is not one I'd choose myself, but it's lovely. 3+ out of 15 skeins in...

Happy February!!

I've got a cold or something (the kind where you feel crummy and your nose won't stop running), so I haven't been knitting the last few days. Not really a big break, but I would like to be knitting so it kind of stinks. :(

I've been working on a sweater for my little brother. The plan was to finish it before the Ravellenic Games start in less than a week. I think I've still got a chance...

 (A progress pic straight from my Insta story. That's as good as it's going to get right now.)

So you can kind of see the sweater here. It's a heavily-modified Abate by Alicia Plummer. (Link leads to Ravelry, please exercise caution!) I'm using chunkier yarn, so a larger gauge, and I've really switched up the neck; going for a plain crewneck to save yarn. I'm not sure my brother would like a big cowl/collar anyway. Especially one so thick with this bulky yarn.

It's still knit top-down and I'm doing the sleeves first now that I've knit a few rows past splitting for them, because I'm not sure how much yarn I have. I bought it over four years ago and my brother's grown quite a bit since then, haha!

Speaking of the Ravellenics, I'm going for a chunky cabled cardigan for me. Aidez!! (Link leads to Ravelry, please exercise caution!) This could be crazy, but I'm going to try. I've had the yarn for a while and kept meaning to start it, so this is a good kick in the pants for me. Plus, I'm one of the captains for Team Knit Picks Lovers!! And since I've never been a captain before, I get this shiny laurel:

If you have Knit Picks yarn or a Knit Picks pattern you want to use for a Ravellenics project, come join us!! (link leads to Ravelry, please exercise caution!)

Knitting Thoughts

Back in March, I picked up a shawl I started in September 2014, probably my oldest WIP ever. I knit several repeats, and I thought I'd share a recent-ish picture, though I've moved on to some other things...

In the beginning of April I wove in the ends of my Cubs sweater so I could wear it on opening day. And I took a decent picture of it-well, my brother took it for me. I'm going to a night game at Wrigley in a few weeks and I'm really looking forward to wearing my sweater there!! I also have plans for a hat made from the leftovers, but I'm sure you'll hear about that soon enough. :)

After hearing about Shannon Cook's Tops, Tanks, and Tees Knit-a-long, I searched through my stash and library, looking to see if I could join in with anything. I landed on the Dowlas Tee (link leads to Ravelry, please exercise caution!) from the spring 2014 issue of Knitscene. I ripped out a vest I knit in Madelinetosh Pashmina a few years ago (that I never wore) and swatched, all in one day. I usually plan ahead more, but I'm happy with the spontaneity of this one. I have a few tops in my wardrobe that are a similar style, so I'm hoping I'll get a lot of use out of it. By now, I've split for the back and front. Here's an older picture.

I know it's springtime and summer is just around the corner, but I've actually worn my sweaters more these past few days than I usually do. I'm terrible at wearing my knits in general, so I'm pretty proud of myself.

First off, is my True sweater. I wore it on Sunday evening after a walk in the pouring rain. With pajamas and wool socks. :D

And today (or rather, yesterday, since I'm writing this late) I was out shopping with one of my best friends. I found a super cute dress, and when I came home, I looked through my closet to see what I could wear with it. I pulled out a lace-weight blue cardi I made a few years ago, and I've been wearing it with the dress for several hours now. Because I'm super excited about my dress, and I don't want to take it off. :)

November Knitting and the Indie GAL

I've convinced myself that I need to stay up while my cranberry sauce cools, so I thought I might as well blog. :)

I promised one of my friends that I would make her legwarmers back at the beginning of the year, or earlier. She's a dancer and it gets pretty cold in the studio. I started them a few weeks ago, and finished yesterday. She loves owls, so I added an owl cable on both sides.

I'm working on a shawl right now. The pattern is Bricks (link leads to Ravelry, please exercise caution!) by Justyna Lorkowska, a designer I really admire. She always has lovely patterns coming out. This is my first time knitting one of her patterns, but it probably won't be the last! (So cliche, I know.) She has a knit-a-long going on until November 30, which was my motivation for knitting this shawl. (Link goes to a Ravelry forum, which you need an account to see. Please exercise caution!)

I'm a bit in love with Instagram filters, and I adore how this photo looks... (Also, that snowflake blanket that my grandparents gave me last year...soo soft and cozy and in my favorite color. I didn't think I could love it any more. Then I discovered its beauty as a backdrop. *cue angelic music*)

As for the second part of this post...the annual Indie Gift-A-Long (link leads to Ravelry, please exercise caution!) is going on right now!!! I'm not participating as a designer this year, but I encourage you to check out all the lovely designers who are. Select patterns (link leads to Ravelry, please exercise caution!) are 25% off until November 30 at 11:59pm (EST). I've really enjoyed the GAL the past few years, and I'm sure it will be just as fun this year, if not more. I'm planning on joining in with a Modern Tartan Slouch (link leads to Ravelry, please exercise caution!) by Talitha Kuomi eventually. We'll see if I get any farther than that... :)

Goodbye, October!!!

I'm not ready to say goodbye, really. Time flies so fast! I haven't hit my twenties yet and it feels like every year goes by even faster than the one before! October was a great month for my knitting. I didn't knit much this summer, which I think left me nice and refreshed for a new fall knitting season. :)

I finally wove in the ends to a sweater I knit back in March. It's my first "real" sweater, pullover, long-sleeved. I'm super proud of it and I can't wait to wear it all winter. It's still a bit warm for a worsted-weight sweater.

Next up, I finally finished a hat for my sister. I knit one just like it for the Gift-A-Long 2014, and she modeled it for me. I told her I would make one for her. It's only taken two years...

I've also been working on my Cubs sweater. We made it to the World Series for the first time in 71 years!! If we win the next two games, we'll be baseball champions for the first time in 108 years. Really hoping... This isn't the most recent progress, but here's a super flattering picture.

October!!!

Part of me isn't ready for it to be October. But, mostly, I'm excited. Especially because this year October means a postseason for the Chicago Cubs!! I'm not really a sports person, except when it comes to the Cubs. I've been a fan my whole (albeit, short) life. I grew up listening to Pat Hughes and Ron Santo on the radio all summer long. My parents took me and my siblings to games at Wrigley Field every once in a while. I was so thrilled last year when we got to the postseason, and since I'm a fairly optimistic person, I was hoping for a World Series title. It didn't happen, obviously, but watch out world...this is the year!!!

And what does all this have to do with knitting? Early this year, I decided to make a Cubs sweater. I had loved the idea of the Crackerjack pattern since I first saw it. But I thought, what if I brought that concept to a sweater? I picked out a pattern I've had in my queue for a few years, Madigan. In March, I bought some Quince and Co. Lark in Cubs-inspired colors. I was planning on casting on on opening day, but I didn't start it until late August. But I've been keeping track of all the home/away wins/losses since the beginning of the season. I'm almost to September at this point. Here's a shot from the other day that I posted on Instagram...

A Few February Finishes

Yes, I can be a nerd when it comes to alliteration and such...

I finished the shrug a few weeks back.

Ravelry Project Page

I bought some super chunky yarn at the beginning of February. I wanted to make a cowl out of it, but I had to go through several tries. I took the biggest needles I had, which were size 19, and knit in seed stitch, but that was too thick. It was still too thick in garter stitch. So I decided to try arm knitting. It was fun! I didn't look anything up, I just transferred my knitting experience with needles to arms. I really like the way the cowl turned out too.

Ravelry Project Page

This picture and the next one are tied for the best picture of the cowl doubled up. I obviously wasn't trying very hard. :P

I brought out all my yarn this week. I like to do it annually towards the beginning of the year-not usually this late. It's nice to get an idea of how much I have. I had my sister Anna take some pictures of it with her nice camera. I organized it by color this time. :)

I think this is the best picture of all of it at once.

And I just had to add this beauty... 

As a send-off, a close-up of a slouchy hat-in-progress...