Lynn Carson Harris

Baby Sweater Set

While Miss P was working on her Hazel Hedgehog quilt, I knit a baby sweater, booties, and hat. I used Moutain Colors Twizzle from my stash bringing my total of knit from stash items to 19!

The booties are a tiny version of Pamela Wynn's Elf Slippers. You can see other, larger shoes I have knit from this pattern here, here, and here. I knit these booties on smaller needles and did not felt them.

The pattern for the hat is Lyalya Hoodie by Natasha Schaffer. I have also made a few of these before. You can see them here, here, and here.

The sweater was knit from the Basic Seamless Crewneck Cardigan pattern in The Complete Book of Raglan Sweaters by Leisure Arts.

I think my new grandbaby will be pretty cute sporting this look next winter. 

 

Painted Damsel Socks

Woohoo! I finished knitting these socks that I started back in November. 

They are so squishy and comfortable. I just love this yarn and the colors are pretty great too.

Details:

Pattern - Diagonal Cross Rib socks by Ann Budd in Favorite Socks by Interweave. (affiliate link)
Yarn - Painted Damsel Skinny Bugga by Sanguine Gryphon. 

Last weekend I put them on double points to hold them until I could finish them. I wanted to have something easier to knit at M's graduation ceremonies. Look how much I knit during the first graduation event. I cast on after we took our seats. After two days of graduation events I'm ready to start the heel. 

The Painted Damsel socks are number 15 in my Stash 100 project - to knit 100 things (or pairs of things) from my stash.  The new socks will soon be project 16. I'm on a roll, the 2x2 rib socks knit up much faster than the patterned socks. 

 

Keeping Busy

I'm keeping busy with little bits of sewing and knitting.. 

I love cleaning up the slow way by making things out of scraps, leftovers, and single balls of yarn. I'm hoping to see some visible progress on the sewing room soon. It should be getting tidier, right?

 

Helmet Hat - with extended cables

In my attempt to tidy the sewing room I knit another hat, a variation of my favorite hat pattern. Earlier versions from this pattern can be seen here, and here. 

On this hat the cables go all the way to the top. 

The hat was knit from the top down. When enough stitches had been added between the first cables, I added more. You can see where the second and third sets start near the top of the hat.

This is project 13 in my efforts to knit 100 items from my stash! Go me!!

The yarn is a hand dyed wool by Briar Rose Fibers.

I gave it away to a very special person. I hope it keeps her head warm this winter.

 

Stash 100 continues

Last winter I was on a knitting roll. I challenged myself to make 100 projects from my yarn stash. I quickly knit four pair of lined mittens, two pair of slippers, two hats, and three pair of socks. The knitting frenzy slowed down towards the end of winter and I switched back to quilting. 

This weekend miss P attended an all day cello workshop in a neighboring town. I packed my bag with a variety of projects to work on while sitting in the back of her classes. Happily, I finished a pair of basic crew socks I started last winter from Knit Picks Stroll.

I also cast on a new pair in this fabulous Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga I had been hoarding.

I'm glad to be knitting my stash again. I hope to add a few more finishes before the end of the year. 

WIP Wednesday

I've been doing a little knitting in my "spare" time. One finished pair for B, thanks for the yarn, Adele, and a pair of basic 2 x 2 rib socks for me in the works. My bag always contains a basic crew sock on needles. I get a nervous twitch when I have to wait for something and I have NOTHING to do. You should have seen me a couple of weeks ago at M's U of Michigan graduation when I couldn't take my knitting into the stadium. Only cameras were allowed - no bags or purses. I ended up with a lot more photos on my camera than I really wanted. 

I'm On a Roll - New Slippers

I am on a roll with quick knit projects! 

This week I whipped out a pair of slippers for myself from my favorite fast knit felted clog pattern. Seriouly, these things knit up lightning fast. 

I used one strand of leftover pink wook and one strand of a leftover hand spun - the same handspun that I used in B's mittens. 

I love the way the knitting transforms when it's washed and shrinks. 

I should have been keeping count of how many pair of these I've made in the past 10-15 years. I think it must be nearing fifty. One year I made them for all of my nieces and nephews and gave them unfelted. I thought they would get a kick out of shrinking them to fit their feet. Maybe they did but their moms might not have thought it was as much fun.

This is the 9th finish in my Stash 100 project. 

Knit All The Things

Last week, when the temperatures dropped, our boiler could not keep up and the indoor temperature dropped too. My hands got quite cold as I was knitting M's mittens.

As soon as I finished M's project I cast on a pair of fingerless mitts for myself. I am hoping that I'll be able to wear them while working in the sewing room this winter.

These were a really fast knit with only 36 stitches per round. I used two strands of Misty Alpaca sport on size 6 needles.

I like the way the thumb gusset increases branch from a single line on the side of the thumb.

The pattern is, Karin, a free download on Ravelry. This is actually my second pair of mitts from this pattern, the first can be seen here.

I mentioned yesterday that I'm challenging myself to use my stash this year. I started a flickr album for my 100 projects so it will be easy for me to see my progress. Already there are 8 finished projects! 

Next up, basic crew socks for B, stash busting project 9. 

If you want to join in on Instagram we are using the hashtag #stash100. 

Super Soft Alpaca

I have really been enjoying knitting the last couple of weeks. First I was in a frantic flurry knitting Christmas gifts for the kids. Then there was the after Christmas knitting added to that. Then came the envy knitting for the family members who wanted something like I had made for other members in the family. 

This week was mostly spent working on finishing the lined, felted mittens for M. 

The outer mittens were knit with one strand of Misti Alpaca lace weight and one strand of an alpaca yarn for which I no longer had the label. I had the yarn in two colorways, a brown and a grey and had used it for sweaters for the boys more than 10 years ago. Miss P is almost big enough to wear the smaller of the sweaters. 

But, oh my, this yarn is SO soft. When I first gave the boys their sweaters, Mr M wore his EVERY DAY of winter break that year. 

If these mittens were mine, they'd double as mittens and scarf because I don't think I'd be able to keep them away from my face. 

They are THAT soft.

The linings are knit from Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino on size 4 needles. Since they will be inside the felted mittens I was able to use up some odd leftovers of this yarn. The cuffs are both knit with black but after the cuffs I used up whatever small bits of baby cashmerino were left from other projects. 

It always feels good to use up leftover bits of yarn. 

Actually, I've been having a conversation on Instagram with a few others about a yarn/fabric stash busting project. It's been ages since I've actually bought any yarn but mostly that's because I have been too focused on quilting projects. This week, in trying to find the outgrown alpaca sweaters, which I actually had stored in the deep freezer in the basement, I dug out most of my yarn stash and now it's in a big pile in the living room. Some of it has been out of sight for so long it's as if it's new to me again. I've taken a quick inventory and will challenge myself to make 100 projects without purchasing any more yarn/fabric. I will allow myself to purchase items needed to complete a project but want to work mainly from my stash. I'm going to count my recent knits in December which makes this pair of mittens Stash Project 7.

And here is a start on Stash Project 8, alpaca fingerless mitts for myself.

 

 

A Few of My Favorite Things - Warm Woolen Mittens