Category Archives: yarn

My Trailblazer socks

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I joined my first KAL last month with a free sock pattern, Trailblazer Socks, from Winwick Mum. It looks like a cable running off-center down the front and back of the leg but it doesn’t require a cable needle or holding stitches in front or behind.

The secret is a new-to-me stitch called the Right Lift Increase or the Left Lift Increase along with ssk or k2tog. She has a great tutorial if you need a refresher. It’s relatively self-explanatory but sometimes a picture IS worth a thousand words especially to a visual learner.

I am farther along than these pictures show from the weekend. In fact at this time I’m just a few rows from the toe on the first sock.

The dark yarn makes the cable a little hard to see but I still like the texture it provides.

Speaking of the yarn, this Regia 4-ply is a workhorse of a yarn. I’ve used it before and the yarn doesn’t pill or get holes in it, at least I haven’t had those experiences yet. I plan to knit the toes in one of my hand-dyed yarns leftover from a sock from couple of years ago.

The KAL has ended but as there was no official deadline, I’m going to keep on knitting.

  1. Have you ever joined a KAL, MKAL*, CAL* or MCAL*?
  2. Did you finish the item?
  3. Did you like the finished item?
  4. Would you do it again?

My answers:

  1. This is my first.
  2. Not yet but I will.
  3. So far so good.
  4. Yes, if I like the end product. I don’t think I would do a mystery KAL just because I like to know what I’m investing my time and yarn into.

On to knitting…

Patti nona

My yarn swift

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A yarn swift is a device that holds a hank of yarn fairly taut so one can wind it into a ball without creating a hot mess of tangles and knots. Usually I use my knees, an upside down patio table or Mr. Aitch’s arms as my yarn swift. Having a rotating mechanism is much easier.

Here are the parts of my swift.

Two arms 30-inches long that are notched in the center to fit together to make a cross. One hole is drilled into the center to hold the arms onto the base. Each arm has holes drilled partway through to hold the dowels that will eventually hold the yarn. A two-piece base. Two washers though one would work to make the arms rotate easily. Five 6-7 inch dowel rods.

The two base pieces notch together.

Next the washer(s), and the longer dowel.

These are the washers I used. I couldn’t find a large one with a hole that would fit my dowel. The smaller one fits inside the larger one perfectly so it won’t wobble when the arms turn.

The two arms lap together in the middle to make a cross and slide over the center dowel.

The four other dowels are pushed into the holes, one on each arm, to correspond with the size of the yarn hank.

I ground the ends of the dowels just a bit with a pencil sharpener so they would go into the holes easier.

Voila! I spent $10.68 on the wood and washers. After several hours of cutting, repeatedly plugging and unplugging my tools, and assembling, I got myself a yarn swift that when not in use, takes up very little space.

I had a short video of the swift in action but I couldn’t get it to load properly.

My next sewing project will be to make a drawstring bag to hold all the pieces.

Now if I had a woodworking shop and all the necessary tools, this would have looked more professional. In my dreams a band saw, drill press, table saw, chisel, and a router would be awesome. Instead I used a jigsaw, drill, coping saw, hack saw, Dremel tool, screwdriver, utility knife and sandpaper.

Here are the two videos I watched for the dimensions and demonstration from Cozy Corner Crochet.

If you want more details, just leave a comment.

Now, if I can make this, you can too!

Patti nona

Broken seed stitch recipe

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This sock recipe landed in my inbox last week. It’s not a complete sock pattern in that the designer (Hanna Leväniemi) assumes you know how to knit one already. Since I do, I wanted to give it a try. Here’s a link to the Broken Seed Stitch recipe.

blue, green, yellow hand-painted yarn

This ungodly, bright yarn was a dyeing experiment from September 2020 when one of our granddaughters dyed yarn with me. It’s been sitting in my fingering-weight yarn stash for a few years thinking I would overdye it sometime but obviously didn’t.

I really, really, really needed a sock project on my needles so with Mr. Aitch’s help*, I wound it into a ball. I wanted to coordinate it with something that would tame the glaring colors and found some Knit Picks Stroll in Aurora Heather, a deep green with bluish undertones. I’ve used this color twice before and it’s just beautiful.

My typical sock is 64 stitches on US #1.5 (2.5mm) and I knit top-down (from the cuff) to the toe. After 15 rows of k1, p1 ribbing I joined the “contrast” color and followed the 4-row broken seed stitch pattern.

I. Am. Loving. This. Sock.

The Aurora Heather really toned down the bright greens, blues, and yellows so they almost glow.

My only issue is where the colors and pattern change at the end of each row. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong or if that’s just the nature of the stitch. When I knit the second sock, I will knit a half row before I change yarns so the join will be on the opposite side of that sock.

The inside looks cool, too!

So what’s on your needles, or hook, or embroidery hoop?

Patti

*I’m seriously thinking about getting a yarn swift so I don’t have to beg Mr. Aitch to hold the yarn on outstretched arms while I slowly wind the it into a ball. Do you have one or can give me any suggestions for one?

Thanksgiving week – Part 2

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Monday of Thanksgiving week (November 26) Mr. Aitch made coffee. Not a rare occurrence but since he retired, he doesn’t make coffee everyday. I’m not much of a coffee drinker but I do like a cup of hot chocolate made with half mike and half coffee. Plus a generous mound of whipped cream drizzled with caramel and chocolate syrups. If you are familiar with Bob Evans Restaurants, I copied this Caramel Mocha recipe from them.

(C) Bob Evanshttps://www.bobevans.com/menu/beverages/caramel-mocha

I’m not exactly sure how they make it but my version is just as good. And I can have it any time I want in the comfort of my own home.

I carried my cup of deliciousness to my “knitting chair” and drank more than half of it when I had to get up to do something. Pepper decided to try it. Fortunately she couldn’t her snout down to the mocha part but she did get to lick some of the chocolate syrup on the inside of the cup. The rest of the drink went down the drain.

Gratuitous turkey dinner picture.

All of the side dishes are gone now and only some turkey remains. I froze it in small 2-cup portions for turkey pot pies later in the winter.

Drum roll, please……

I finally finished my Easy Mosaic Socks by Winwick Mum!

I started these socks way back in February, hit some snags of my own doing, but managed to finish these beauties within the year! Click here, here, here, and here for the snags/snafus.

This pattern looks difficult but only one color of yarn is used on each row.

The socks turned out beautifully and even with all my issues, I’d knit another pair The soles are striped and fun!

The Regia 4-ply tweed yarn in charcoal is a workhorse yarn and Knit Picks Chroma Twist in Surf’s Up (discontinued yarn) has a subtle color change that is had to see though one sock has a more greenish tint than the other.

I love these socks!

Finish anything lately? Knitting, crocheting, sewing, quilting?

Patti nona