Pools of sorrow, waves of joy

FO!! This is pair 2/13 !



I am in love with these socks!! The yarn is wonderful, the pattern is pretty yet simple enough that I was able to read while knitting, and they fit perfectly!!

Pattern: Vanilla Latte Socks by Virginia Rose-Jeanes
Yarn: Lynai Superwash Sock Yarn in Across the Universe
Needle: 2.25 mm Magic Loop
Notes: Two at at time, toe up. I looove the Eye of Partridge heel! I think it's my favorite now.







in love with the speckles!!! Hope everyone has a good Wednesday :)

Aquarium, Sock FO #1/13

I have finally finished a pair of socks!

Pattern: Hermione's Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici in Aquarium
Needles: 2.25 mm
Notes: I knit these 2aat cuff-down with Magic Loop. This is one of my favorite sock patterns because it's easy to memorize and has awesome texture.

It has been several months since I've even worked on socks, so it felt very good to be back knitting them. I think the magic is in the tiny needles, the thin and beautiful yarn, and because the whole project fits in your lap.

My goal this year is to knit thirteen pairs of socks, and this is pair 1/13! At one point this past year I thought, I have too many socks. But, I've worn almost every pair (of hand knit) because it's been so cold! As I type, they are having a nice soak in Eucalan wash.

I have two pairs on the needles now:

The first pair is nearly finished actually, I just have the leg and cuff left:

This pattern is Vanilla Latte Socks by Virginia Rose-Jeanes, in Lynai's Across the Universe.

And the second pair is just a stockinette sock to have for mindless moments:

Actually, I cast on these plains socks to balance out the Hearts and Flowers socks I originally had planned for the Across the Universe yarn. It was, unfortunately, a poor yarn/pattern combo. Hearts and Flowers by Wendy Johnson is a beautiful pattern and I hope to knit it with a better suited yarn choice soon.

Enjoy your weekend, friends!

two old FOs :)

I finished both Hitchhiker and the Colorblock shawl in March, but never took photos of them! (with a real camera, instead of my cell phone, I mean :) )






Pattern: Hitchhiker by Martina Behm
Yarn: Madeline Tosh Sock in Tart
Needles: 3.25 mm
Notes: I wanted to use as much of the skein as possible, and ended up with 35 teeth

This yarn is soooo beautiful, I loved knitting with it. This is my second time knitting this pattern, and it is my favorite! I have yarn to knit my aunt one too :)



It started snowing!!



Pattern: Colorblock Shawl by Jenn Pfeiffer
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici Sport in Sunny Day and Lana Gatto VIP
Needles: 4.0 mm
Notes: The only modifications I made were sandwiching the MC between the CC (which ended up being the main color!), and shortening the length of the shawl.



I love it!! Both yarns are super soft, and the Lana Gatto has a touch of cashmere in it :)



That's it for now! Hope you guys are having a great weekend :)

TGIF!!!

This has been such an off week for me and it has really tested my patience... I am so happy it's FRIDAY!

Since the third clue for the mystery mitts Grand Right & Left was released today, I can share clue two!



I LOVE the cable on the top so much! How pretty is this design?! I finished knitting this clue last Saturday and it was hard waiting a week for the next clue!

You might notice my blue nails...they are so bright! They were part of my April Julep box; the color is called Ally. I normally don't wear polish this bold or bright, but after wearing it this week, I'm really enjoying it! The Julep monthly box is really neat, you can choose which colors you like and the company sends you two polishes and something extra (like cuticle cream) for $20. (if you're interested in signing up, click here)

One last thing, my parents are raising two pigs!!



About five weeks old now, they are cute and oinky and they squeal!!





Happy Weekend!

(I don't know how to tactfully say this, but the pigs will be eaten). 

Mystery KAL

In my last post, I mentioned that I'm knitting a pair of mystery mitts. Here they are so far :) This is Clue One:



That pattern is Grand Right and Left by Paula McKeever (she also designed Cafe au Lait mitts!!). Right now the Fingerless Glove Fanatics board on Ravelry is hosting the MKAL. There will be four clues; clue two was just released today :)



I started knitting them two at a time on Magic Loop, however, clue two is just for the right mitt, and clue three just for the left, so I have separated the mitts to their own needles. The yarn I am using is Knit Picks Telemark in Aubergine. It is tough to knit, like literally, it doesn't have much give! But it really has nice stitch definition, don't you think? I am happy to be using it since I purchased a bit when Telemark was being discontinued a year or two ago. Using stash yarn is always nice.

Ahem... speaking of stash... and yarn... a box with this in it was delivered yesterday:



:)))))))) 

(I was told sock yarn doesn't count as stash) 

a stash update

1. A friend on Instagram recently started dyeing yarn and each colorway is absolutely gorgeous!

I have shown you the top skein before, it's Roxanne; I purchased it last month from Vanessa before her shop opened. The other two colorways are Across the Universe (left) and Loch Nessa (right). Aren't they so pretty?! It's hard choosing a pattern for them.

Loch Nessa

She just dyed some springy colorways too! Visit her website, Lynai Yarns, for yarn and other pretty things :)


2. I have also shown you the skein on the right before (I bought it in Portland last summer) but I recently added to my Opal Vincent Van Gogh collection!!

I might go back and buy a few more...  these Van Gogh yarns just make me so happy. I am pretty sure they will be plain, stockinette socks. I have seen this yarn knit up and the colors alone make the socks.


3. Wonderful Dag sent me a great package a few months ago (which I realize I never wrote about!! erg!) with this roving that she processed and hand-dyed:

and I spun it up! 

It's about 76 yards of worsted weight yarn!! I love the colors so much, and it was a lot of fun to watch the colors emerge when I was spinning it!


April is going to be a busy month for projects! I hope I can keep up. Progress photos as soon as there is progress :) but I'll tell you there are two cross stitch projects, one mystery knit a long for fingerless mittens, some mice and hay bales, and another Hitchhiker (for my aunt). And I really want to cast on socks with the Lynai yarn!!

Today is my Friday because I have the day off tomorrow! Woo hoo :) Hope you guys have a great weekend!

(p.s. I decided to add a word verification in order to post a comment because I was receiving a lot of spam comments. I know it's kind of a bother but hopefully it's not too annoying! if you have any suggestions/comments about it, you can always email me too, at starshineluck @ gmaildotcom)