FO's, new projects, and new yarn

The title says it all. I have pictures of two finished projects, two new projects, and a new sock yarn.

First the finished projects. The first one is the Hooded Baby Tunic in Bernat Denim Style.



The ends are woven in, the little basketball button is sewn on, and it's been washed and dried. I'll take it to church with me tomorrow and hope that Nancy is there so I can give it to her. Not my favorite project but it's done.

Next are the plain stockinette socks made using OnLine Supersocke 100 in the Hiking-Color #968 on US 1 1/2 (2.50mm) double points. They were started back in the middle of October and should have been done long ago.



They are posing on a bed of forget-me-nots. Our gardens are loaded with forget-me-nots every spring and they are so pretty!

Next we have the two new projects that I have started. The first is the Branching Out Scarf in Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool #12 which is a pretty rose color.



I've wanted to make this scarf for quite a while but haven't yet. This will be a long term project as I don't think I'll work on it exclusively. It would be nice to get it done in time to give as a Christmas gift but it's no big deal if it isn't done in time.

The second new project that I started is a pair of Sweet Socks using Cherry Tree Hill "Sockittome" in the Cherry Blossom colorway.



These are going to be a birthday present for Sue. Her birthday is two days before mine at the end of June. I shouldn't have a problem finishing them in time.
The pattern has two little cables running up the sides of the sock and it's super easy to do. The yarn is so soft and great to work with, too.

And finally we have the latest skein of sock yarn that I received in the mail.



It's a skein of Fuse from Blue Hand Fibers in superwash merino. The color is really a little darker than the picture shows and feels wonderful. It's going to make a great pair of socks!

And now dinner is ready so I have to run. Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

Harmony...

I finally worked out the sleeve decreases on the hooded baby sweater. One sleeve is done and I hope to finish the other one today. I can't wait to be done with it!

In other knitting news, I finished two more chemo hats.

The one on the left is the diagonal rib hat in Plymouth Encore Colorspun. I'm afraid it might be a little large for her but I hope the rib pattern makes it wearable. The hat on the left is just a plain stockinette hat made in Bernat Denim Style in Canvas. The acrylic/cotton blend of this yarn makes for a very soft, cushy hat. I hope it will be worn a lot. That's all the chemo hats I'm making for a while.

Now I want to concentrate on socks for a while. I have a lot of sock yarn and I'd like to use up a bunch. Plus I like wearing handmade socks.



And the reason I have so much sock yarn is stores like Little Knits have sales and I can't pass up the deals!

I received these three sock yarns last week.

Top left is Trekking (XXL) #132 (plum, blueberry, raspberry cream cake). I don't have many blue sock yarns so I thought I'd give this one a try.

Then we have OnLine Supersocke 100 Holiday Color #998 (red with green, blue, yellow and pink). This sock yarn is destined to be birthday socks for a good friend. Her birthday is two days before mine at the end of June.

And finally we have Classic Elite Alpaca Sox in #1877 "Classic Pinstripe"(shades of gray). This yarn is going to be made into a pair of socks for Scott's birthday at the end of September. They will be the first pair of socks I've made for him. He has a pair of commercially-made alpaca socks and loves them so I thought I'd try making him a pair to see if they are as well liked.

Oh, and I may have "accidently" ordered another skein of sock yarn in blues from an Etsy dyer that I found on Ravelry. I should receive that yarn in the next few days and I'll show you a picture and give all the details.

One reason I named this post "Harmony" is because the baby sweater is progressing and I'm not so cranky. The other reason is I'm using Knit Picks Harmony double pointed needles for my current socks-in-progress. I love these needles!! They are so smooth that the yarn moves very easily. The points are nice and sharp and, best of all, they don't bend when I use them even though they are wood. At no time do I feel like I'm going to snap one in half.



Right now I have them in 2.50 mm (US 1 1/2) and 3.0 mm (US 2 1/2). I am debating whether I want to order the whole set or just a couple more individual sets. Either way, I am ordering more of these double points.

Okay, that's enough for now. I don't have to work today but I do have to get some housecleaning done. Bathrooms - yuck!

Cranky knitting

Have you ever had a project that you had to finish and it wasn't going as well as you hoped? That's how this sweater project is going for me.

I finished the body and the hood and moved onto the sleeves. And totally could not figure out how the pattern wanted me to do the decreases. I started the first one and was muddling through but not having clear cut instructions was making me very cranky. Finally I searched through my pattern books and found another knit-from-the-top-down sweater and looked at those sleeve instructions.

Bingo! Now I see where I was confused. But, is my first sleeve so wrong that I have to rip it back? I decided to start the second sleeve and see if there is a noticeable difference.



So far I don't think I have to do any ripping. The first sleeve is the one to the left. It looks okay. Now I just have to buckle down and finish the d**n thing!

I received a lovely thank you note for the chemo hat I gave to my friend's aunt. She said that she had another hat but it was a little large and mine fit beautifully. The next day I talked to Lynn and she said how much her aunt liked the hat and mentioned that she would love one in white and one in pink. I can do that!



I looked through my stash and found this Plymouth Encore Colorspun #7065. I love the colors in this yarn! The pattern is Kat LeFevre's Diagonal Rib Hat and can be found on her website Creative Popoffs.

This pattern is easy to remember and fun to do. Once this hat is done, I'll make a plain white one for her.

After I finish these projects, I am not doing any "have to" knitting for a while. Well, except for my SAM KAL. And since I want to concentrate on making socks, that will work out perfectly!

Spring has returned and everyone is hoping that this time it's here for good. The leaves are all out and flowers are everywhere. We have 3 crabapple trees in the side yard and this is the first year in quite a while that the blossoms are just gorgeous. The grass is pretty happy, too.




I am sitting on the patio writing this entry and while it's a little cool and cloudy, I don't care. It feels good to be outside enjoying the day. The goldfinches, cat bird,and a dozen other varieties of birds are singing to me. In fact, it's quite noisy out here. But all things must come to an end and now I have to get ready for work. Later!