Annual dishcloths.

As long-time readers might remember, every year for Christmas, I make my grandmother a set of dishcloths. I realized last week that I hadn’t made this year’s set yet, so after a quick trip to the store, I sat down yesterday afternoon to get started. Christmas movies, PJs, tea, and the Christmas tree made 4 dishcloths quick work. Now I just need to wrap them and that’s one more thing checked off the list! Still lots of other knitting happening here, but lots I can’t share just yet.
(Rav link)

How is your Christmas knitting coming along?

Linking up with KCCO and Yarn-Along.

Graham hat.

I’ve finally finished my exams and final papers, so I can start sharing some of my Christmas knitting! First up is this hat I made for my friend L. I’ve had my eye on this pattern for awhile and I’m really pleased with how it turned out. I shortened the ribbing by 1″ but added an extra inch of the broken rib pattern to make up the length. It feels a bit early for Christmas gifts but since L is going away with his family for the holidays, I wanted to make sure he got his gift before he left.
(Rav link)

Have you finished your Christmas knitting yet? Or are you like me, frantically knitting until Christmas eve?

Linking up with KCCO and Yarn Along.

Blueberries.

So awhile ago I started knitting a very tiny, very cute sweater. A sweater for a baby who was only the size of a blueberry. You might remember helping me pick a pattern for the yarn I had bought.

I finally finished the sweater, just in time for a baby to make her appearance! I packed it up and sent it to the US at Thanksgiving, and let me tell you, the tiny, cute sweater is even cuter on a baby. (And, by some miracle, it fits.)

(Rav link)

Now I’ve got to get started on another cardigan for another baby who made her appearance a few weeks ago! I’m going to make a little grey cardi with a decorative yoke in a soft grey yarn. (Rav link). Since the cardigan will be so simple, I think it will need some special buttons… any suggestions?

Linking up with KCCO.

Camping socks.

As promised, these are my September socks for Liesl’s sock challenge! I actually knit the part first sock during our camping trip to Presqu’ile Provincial Park at the end of August, thinking that I would start the challenge then, but moving got in the way so I’m counting these as my September pair.

The pattern is my favourite basic sock pattern and the yarn is Lana Grossa Meillenweit. The colourway was perfect for our camping trip… it reminded me of the colours of the fossil beach at the park. I still have some photos from that trip that I could hare but they’re very summery… would you still like to see camping photos or are you through with summer?

(Rav link)

PJ shorts.

I finished these PJ shorts a few weeks ago but I’ve just gotten to uploading the photos… aren’t they so perfect for summer? I actually started this pair for me, but they’re a bit small, so they’ve become a part of my sister’s PJ collection. The fabric is a cute floral print from my mum’s stash, and the pattern is from Liesl Made.

I’m hoping to do a bit more sewing in the next few months, so I’d love to know- what are your favourite online sources for fabric and notions?

On another note- I haven’t found a site I love for tracking my sewing projects. I’ve added this one on both Craftsy and Kollabora– do any of you use either? Which do you prefer?

Happy Monday!

Linking up with KCCO.

Itaka Cardigan

I finished my Itaka cardigan! This was a test knit for the designer and I love how it turned out! I knit the 33″ size for my sister and it fits perfectly. The yarn is a sport-weight mill end that I picked up at a tent sale last summer. The pattern calls for DK weight, but I got gauge with the sport weight… this was the only modification I made. Next time I’ll probably make it a bit shorter so that it’s cropped, although the full-length version is quite nice too.

My project on Ravelry is here and the pattern has been released here.

Linking up with KCCO and Yarn-Along as usual.

Brigitte Scarf (#LoveAtFirstStitch Launch Party!)

Tilly‘s book comes out today and she’s having an online book launch party! I’ve made a Brigitte Scarf from the book to celebrate!

Since I chose such a plain fabric, I knew I wanted to do some embellishing… a perfect opportunity to try the “fancy” stitches on my machine that seldom get used! I did two rows of this criss-cross pattern in a dark purple and a medium purple.

You can find the instructions to make your own Brigitte scarf on Tilly’s blog, and you can preorder Love at First Stitch here (the North American release date isn’t until October, unfortunately). You can also order a copy directly from Tilly here if you’re impatient and don’t want to wait until then!

Let me know in the comments what you’ve been sewing this week! Happy Thursday!

So close.

I am so close to being finished my exams… one more tomorrow! It’s in the evening until 10pm, which isn’t great, but after that I’m off for the summer (and to find a job)! I’m also moving on Saturday (back to my parents’ house for the summer), so the next few days are going to be busy ones.

Appropriately, I also finished my exam socks today! I made these up as I went along, but they’re pretty basic- toe-up, short row heel with gusset, and 1″ of ribbing at the top. I also made these quite tall, I worked even for about 5″ after the heel. The yarn is Lion Brand Sock-Ease in 133 Circus Peanut. This was my first time using this yarn and it’s a pretty average sock yarn. What I really loved about this skein was the colour! It’s so bright and cheery for spring, which was much needed today as we got the annual ‘I thought we were done with this’ April snowstorm.

(Rav link)

These are also my (very late) March socks for my 12 socks in 2014 challenge, since I never finished the socks I cast on in March. I’m hoping to finish another pair this month so I’ll be back on track!

I haven’t been doing a lot of reading this week outside of my coursework, but I have been sneaking in a few pages of House Girl by Tara Conklin when I have a spare moment. It’s a great novel, and I’m really liking how the historical and modern timelines play off each other.

Let me know in the comments what you’re currently knitting and reading! If any of you are also writing finals, good luck! Have an amazing day.

Linking up with KCCO and Yarn-Along as usual.

Birthday Socks for H.

I actually finished these socks months ago (sometime in November), but since they were a gift for H around the same time, I haven’t had the chance to take photos of them until now! This pair is another from Tanis Lavallee’s Business Casual pattern, which I’ve made once before. I really love the cables on these socks and the pattern is a free download!

The yarn is Patons Kroy Sock, from a big bag of this colourway that I got from a sale last summer (that’s probably why the socks don’t quite match… different dyelots?). I’ve made a few pairs of socks out of this yarn for myself as well, and it’s a bit thicker than most sock yarns, which makes it quite robust.

(Rav link)

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend… I’ve completed 2 of my 4 finals so I’m almost done!

Cabled Canuck

I finished my Cabled Canuck last night… it feels good to have something off the needles for the 2014 Ravellenics! That’s why I picked the hat for my first project- I knew it would be a quick knit. My next project is going to be the Maeva Socks, which are going to take a bit longer.

I really love how this hat turned out! The yarn I used is Rocky Mountain Dyeworks Troll Falls Worsted in Bronzite, and the colour is perfect for this hat. I forgot to switch to the larger needles after the ribbing so the hat is a bit snug- it fits, but I’ll probably use 5mm needles for the body next time and I will also probably go down to a 4mm for a 4.5mm for the ribbing so get the edge to but a bit more snugly.
(Rav Link)

Thanks H for helping me out with the photos for this!

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend! Let me know in the comments what you’re knitting for the Ravellenics!