Some Socks

I don’t think I’ve posted these two pairs of socks that I finished.  They were for my friend Browne.  He loves bright colours and hand knit socks.

Opal sparkly socks

I used some left over turquoise yarn for the cuffs, heels and toes.  I am always worried about running out of yarn when I’m making bigger men’s sizes, so often use the contrasting colour for cuff, toes, for sure.

Ravelry project page is here. I finished them so I could take them with me on my last trip out to Vancouver.  So bright and happy!

The other pair I had been working on were made with Biscotte and Cie “bis-sock” yarn in the Dark Side colourway.  The contrasting cuff/toe were with some left over Sweet Georgia Yarn Tough Love sock yarn.  They turned out so nice!

Biscotte & Cie “Bis-sock” in Dark Side colourway

Ravelry project page is here.  The colourway was inspired by the Pink Floyd album “Dark Side of the Moon”.  The cover image is a prism on a dark background.

I’ve been really busy lately with the gym, other fitness events, gardening and of course our new baby girl.  I have been working on a sweater I started a few months ago, for me, called the Lionheart Pullover.  I also have been working on my charity hats.  But as always, I’m itching to get another pair of socks on the go.

Advertisements

So Faded Sweater, Deux

I really enjoying knitting my So Faded sweater; and I wanted to knit one for Ande.  I had some really lovely sock yarns that would “go” well together.

“So Faded” sweater

The Ravelry project page is here.  I enjoy working with finer gauge yarns.  I find chunky/bulky and heavier make my hands hurt.  Plus I love the fine fabric.  This was mostly Knit Picks “Stroll” sock yarn, and one skein of Sweet Georgia sock yarn in “ultra violet”.  The colours are cooler than represented in this photo.

This was a fairly quick knit; I wanted to have it done quickly so I could mail it out to Ande.  It’s fairly snug; my stitch counts were a little off, but with a wash and some blocking it fits her very nicely.

I want to do another “So Faded” type sweater, but to use yarns that are speckled or tweeded that blend well into each other, almost an ombre type of blend.

Busy, busy, busy

One would think that retirement means you slow down, that you have leisurely days, don’t do much of anything.  Well, I’m always doing something.  Either in my office, in the house, or out at the gym, gone for a bike ride or walk, or with the dogs.

And with the longer daylight hours, it seems I don’t sit down and knit as much as during those cold, dark winter months.  I’m working on a pair of socks right now that I want to get finished and in the mail by Monday.

But, here is a lovely distraction:

Meet Zin’s Legacy!

Bill and I and the boys were talking a few weeks ago about how much we missed having a little girl greyhound in the house.  We decided to apply to our adoption group for another female from one of their upcoming hauls.  We expected to wait a month or two because often the newly arrived dogs are already matched to an adoptive family before or shortly after they arrive in Canada.

We were extremely happy and honoured to adopt Zin’s Legacy.  She has a close personal connection to the president of the board of the adoption group.  She is a very sweet, very tiny little girl.  Her race weight is only 55 pounds!  Very petite.  And we love the brindles!

I drove over to Edmonton on Wednesday and picked her up early Thursday morning.  We were back home by 230 Thursday afternoon.  The boys loved her and they all got along just fine.  Greyhounds can be very accepting quickly as they are used to being around other greyhounds.  “Their peeps” so to speak.

She is two years old (just turned in April), so still has some puppiness in her.  We are working on learning the house rules.  She is doing great!  Very sweet, very happy.  Now if only we can get her to sleep past 6 a.m. 😀

I have some knitting projects to share, but will work on those in the coming days.

Adventures in (horrifying) watercolours!

I’ve been self-teaching watercolours for about half a year or so. Some look not too bad. Others … ugh.

This is a pivotal scene from one of my most (if not -the- most) favourite movies, The Best Years of Our Lives. I used graphite paper to trace the shapes and wanted to paint it in monochrome or tonal values. It all went horribly awry 🤣🤣. Oh, well. It’s a process.

Wee Flax

My mom asked for a donation to her church’s silent auction.  I didn’t feel like donating a hat or anything like that, so I made a size 2T Flax sweater.  Such a great pattern!  I really love the Flax I made for myself a few years ago (and I intend to make myself another one soon).

Tin Can Knits “Flax” sweater

Ravelry project page is here.  I used an easy-care acrylic (Lion Brand Pound of Love), but it’s very soft.  I hope some little kid is warm!

Cabled Hat

I had this yarn for a while – Sweet Georgia Yarns superwash worsted.  I tried making a scarf, I tried making a hooded cowl, but nothing really wowed me.

Lucky 7 hat

I’ve made this hat before and used the same mods.  Ravelry project page is here.  I did buy a big fluffy white pom pon, but it’s too heavy and pulls the hat weirdly.  I need to find one that doesn’t have a solid core.

The yarn is great – nice hand to it and the stitch definition is lovely.  I have another couple of skeins of this yarn in different colourways, so I will most likely use them for hats.

 

Orange Surprise Sweater

“Pink Memories” pattern

I added this project to my Ravelry page when I didn’t have the pattern in front of me.  I knew it was some odd name, in my mind it came up as “Orange Surprise”.  The actual pattern is called “Pink Memories”. 😀

I had this Madelinetosh Tosh DK that I had bought years ago to make a short sleeved sweater.  I decided I wanted to use it for this, so I had to source come other yarn so I would have enough.  I found some at Hawthorne and Wool and love how it complements the orange.

I made my usual modifications to the sweater (longer in the torso, longer in the sleeves).  Instead of doing the colourblock option that the pattern has, I decided to add some contrast colour stripes/bands.  I like how it turned out.

Back

I also did my preferred method of waist shaping.  The original pattern calls for an A-line shaped body, but I didn’t want that.  It also has garter stitch sections, and a pocket.  I ignored all of those.

Waist shaping

Again, I was off with my measurements and it’s a bit roomier than I had anticipated.  I washed the sweater when I got back from my trip to Vancouver, and it became quite loose and drapey.  I put it in the dryer for a while and that tightened things up a bit.

The colour of the yarns is most like the second photo.

The yarn was nice to work with, but the orange bled a lot onto my hands and needles.  It certainly is different after washing.  I am starting a new project with another colourway of this same yarn, so I did my gauge swatch and then washed it and dried flat.  It bloomed and softened.

perfect for under my rain coat in Vancouver!