Having hubby home is wonderful, but it also has proved to be a source of distraction for me. Hours that I used to have to just putter around and knit or whatever is now time when he wants to go here or there or just have my complete attention. Not that I’m complaining about that, but rather I’m still trying to adjust to all the changes. I don’t expect to get too used to having him around all the time either, because eventually, he will find some type of job and we’ll have to work out a new routine again. But it has been a bit of a diversion for me changing my routine for the past year.
I have several finished projects to show off though! The first is a diversion of the knitting kind. When we had our staff meeting at work a couple weeks ago, Linda asked for a volunteer to knit up a sample in one of the yarns that wasn’t doing so well. So, since I knew we had a car trip coming up, I volunteered. I figured I could whip up a quick little project… and I did. (Never mind the fact that I could have finished a couple other things in that time).
Here’s what I made:
Pattern: Top-down Alpaca Mitts by Ann McClure from Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders: 101 Small Indulgences
Yarn: Schulana Mosco in color Orchid
Size 2 (2.75mm) needles
This was actually a pretty fun pattern once I got beyond a few distractions. The layout in the book created a little confusion for me at first. The pattern included written directions for the lace pattern, a chart for the lace pattern and thumb gusset and written line-by-line instructions for the construction. The lace chart and written pattern were on different pages though. Also, the instructions for placing the cables on the palm were a little convoluted and confused me at the beginning as well as the pattern being interrupted by extraneous instructions. I ended up having to knit the right mitt twice. (I added an extra pattern repeat somehow the first time, which threw off the thumb placement). The pattern is well written in terms of the actual knitting instructions, but the flow of the pattern wasn’t good for me. I really enjoyed working the smocking on the wrist. Despite my issue with the pattern, I think they turned out really cute.
Despite finishing these so quickly (about three days) I hit a bit of a rut. Last Thursday on the way to work I was trying to figure out how many things I had OTN and stopped counting at about six. It was definitely time to finish some things, so I did.
This was just a basic sock pattern with a six round stripe using Noro Kureyon Sock in colorways S164 and S102. Knit on size 1.5 (2.5mm) dpns. I actually ripped out half a sock to start the stripe sequence in a different spot with the S102 on the second sock, but am much happier with the end result than I would have been if I would have just left it that way. I have about 10gms left of the 102 and 15g of the 164… which will show up somewhere else eventually. (Wink, nod, smile) These socks sort of remind me of Fruit Stripe Gum that I used to like when I was a kid.
And
I finally finished the Squirrel mittens
I loved this pattern and would highly recommend it if you are thinking about doing a color-work project. I redid the thumb on the first mitten to correct the tension problems I had originally. I used ML for the hand part and switched to two circs for the thumbs which worked better for the small circumference. I love the inside of the thumb. I think these will get worn today based on the weather report!
In the midst of all this, I have been knitting a pair of plain white anklets, which have served as my demonstrator project for the sock class that is finishing up tonight. They will probably be done soon. I probably won’t post a picture, because truthfully they are really boring. I only knit on The Big V vest project at work (when I have time) and I’m also still trying to make progress on my bi-color cable sweater (I’m doing the bust shaping and find it needs too much focused attention and dedicated time to work on much right now). I’ve also got a partially knit shawl lurking in my knitting basket and I just started working on the socks that I actually planned to knit in January… behold, the Pop-out Penguins have begun:
And last, but not least, I cast on another pair of the Noro socks for my purse project. No pic yet since all there is right now is a cuff.
That about sums up what’s going on and off my needles, I hope your January has been a productive month!
Happy Knitting!
Nana
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