Challenge in Progress – Soper Creek’s 2019 Yarn Challenge

For over a decade, one of my LYSs, Soper Creek Yarn, has run a Yarn Challenge, where they prepare kits of a particular yarn, and they challenge knitters to come up with something creative using that yarn – more can be purchased, but ONLY that yarn can be used. FOs get put up in her display window and voted on in store and online. I’ve never won, but for the last three years, I’ve enjoyed playing along.

This year, I knew exactly what I wanted to make with the yarn.  Years before, I’ve laboured over what to make, never quite sure. Not this year. I had the pattern in mind, I bought the yarn, and I cast on later that night.

The pattern and work in progress will stay secret until after voting because thems the rules and I wanna play fair, but I can post pics of the yarn in cake format!

The yarn is Briggs and Little Sport, and it’s woolly and wonderful. It has that wonderful wool smell, and this probably weird, but I keep smelling my project. It has that distinct scent, wholesome, slightly barnlike. As well, I LOVE the colours selected by Tina this year (last year’s was rather challenging for me, but I guess that’s the name of the game).

The project is very much in progress.  Looking forward to sharing pics in a few weeks!

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In case you were curious, here are the links for previous years’ challenges

2016 Yarn Challenge

2017 Yarn Challenge

2018 Yarn Challenge

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She carried a watermelon

A friend is expecting her first daughter and may give birth anytime soon.  Her baby shower was this past weekend, so naturally I’ve been knitting away for her gift.  The mom to be loves Dirty Dancing and has been making jokes that through the pregnancy has been feeling like she’s carrying a watermelon. The gift for the baby:

There were two patterns for this set:

Watermelon Baby Cardigan by Stitchylinda Designs
Watermelon Baby Hat by Stitchylinda Designs

I knit a few more rounds than the hat recommended, and I think I knit an extra two rows to the length of the cardigan. Otherwise, these were really sweet patterns to follow.

The pattern technically calls for DK weight yarn, however, in the pattern notes, the design remarked that her yarn worked up like a worsted.  I had the green Cascade 220 Superwash in my stash, so I bought two balls of white, one of which was dyed pink in my slowcooker. I’ll never get tired of home dyeing yarn!

Sock Yarn Memory Blanket – An update

Is there a knitter out there that doesn’t have some sort of scrap yarn/left over yarn memory blanket forever on the go? It is something that gets picked up and put down so very frequently, where you only work on a square or two at a time, with perhaps many weeks in between. It’s a comfort, knowing you’ll always have something familiar to turn to, and yet perhaps a test of patience knowing that it is a long term friend who may stay a UFO for quite some time.

I started mine in May 2016, and It will only have one square made from each skein of sock yarn I use, because a girl’s gotta have some rules! The squares get added after the project the yarn was initially used for or is complete, and, because of my Type A personality, I try to save the tag that came with the skein and a small sample of the yarn in a binder, where I might write some notes about the yarn, where I bought it, what it was used for, truly making it a memory blanket, attaching these memories to the pages.

I first blogged about this blanket in late May 2016, and uploaded this picture.

I provided a blanket update in August 2017:

And I’m really excited to compare that picture with this one:

For a project that feels forever going, seeing the progress is really a happy thing.

Decorating my Christmas Tree

I found a new favourite pattern. It has a silly-ish name, but it’s well written and works up quickly: Balls Up ! by General Hogbuffer.  I’m always on the mission to use up those left over bits and bobs of yarn; a few endevours have been my sock yarn memory blanket, the Ex-Boyfriends shawl, and socks that I’ve lovingly referred to as my ‘ugly’ socks, an inappropriate moniker because they are one of my favourite pairs to wear.  Why ugly socks?

There are four different remnants of Opal sock yarn being used in these socks, all joined together with the Russian join method.  It’s a little bit of a colour cacophony, but I kinda love them.

With the holiday season in full force, I wanted to expand on my knitted ornament collection, which is where I found the ‘Balls Up!’ pattern, and my goodness is addictive!  It’s especially satisfying when using self striping yarn, because you get the pattern without any effort. Also, when I say it’s a quick knit, boy is it ever! I can get one knit throughout an evening.  It is a wee bit finicky, specifically the beginning when you’re knitting in the round with only eight stitches, and it’s awkward knitting at the end after you’ve inserted your ball form. 

Something about these make me really happy.

All The Hats

I’ve been radio silent here on this blog for the past few weeks, completely unintentionally. Life, as does happen, got busy, and while the knitting hasn’t stopped, writing about it did.

We’re only a few weeks away from Christmas, and I’m certainly feeling the pressure to keep knitting, but like I’ve written about in my last few posts, hats have been the flavour of the month(s?).  Such a simple, quick and satisfying project!

I may have a slight addiction to the Barley Light pattern by tincanknits. I’ve knit five of these hats in the last six months! What isn’t there to love? It’s knit in fingering (although a worsted version is available too), it’s so simple yet the garter panel adds interest, and it’s super chic.  Written with lots of size options, these have made excellent baby gifts which can come together rather quickly – one of the five I was able to knit during a Sunday afternoon.

I’m also working on a super fun, slouchy hat for my friend’s daughter; she’s a super trendy little girl, and a slouchy bulky hat will fit her personality, in my humble opinion.  AI’m hoping to make a hat for her brother as well, but am waiting on inspiration to strike for that.  I started a different hat for friend’s daughter – I had some fun pink and white Cascade 220 in the stash that I thought would be good to knit down, but then, common sense kicked in and I realized MAYBE an 8 year old needs a hat made with something super wash… Just a hunch.

As the countdown to the holidays continues (or maybe is coming to an end for those who celebrate Hanukkah), I am hoping the odds are ever in your favour for finishing those projects you just need to get done!