• snowflake sleeve

    I waffled about it for awhile, but finally decided to do some colourwork on my holiday sweater in order to use the yarn I have!

    Ohhhhh yeah.

    I guess it’s been awhile since I did any stranded knitting, and I LOVE it! There are Norwegian stars on each of the sleeves.

    For the body, I used a smallish motif across the waist to change colours, so the lower body is blue. The one ball of blue should make the sweater long enough, and I still have enough teal for the buttonband.

    creative yarn use

    I felted Dale’s clogs as well, but they’re too big! I’m not sure that I can shrink them any further, so that might need some creative problem solving too. I’ve got an idea…

  • go, go, go, wait

    done the yoke

    My teal cardigan is past the yoke split! I love that part. I’m nearly through 2 of the 3 skeins of the teal that I have, so now I need to decide what to do – I have a skein of a blue and one of a sandy grey, which I want to incorporate somehow. Stripes with the blue, maybe. Or some kind of lace pattern that uses 2 colours?

    Raglan

    I finished the yoke of D’s cardigan, but now I have to wait for more yarn! I hope the new yarn matches, but since it’ll be for the buttonband and shawl collar, it should be ok if it’s slightly different.

    ginormous clogs

    I finished a pair of clogs! Super quick and satisfying (though the large needles did irritate my arm somewhat). They’re hilariously large, of course! Now to get them felted. I actually have a pile of woollens that need washing and blocking, I should really get on that.

    Colette Zinnia pleats

    For a change of pace from knitting, I started a Colette Zinnia skirt yesterday. I got through the printing out, taping (which I do kind of love, it’s like a very easy puzzle), cutting, and pleats yesterday. And yes, I’m sewing it by hand! I’m making version 2, the shorter one with pleats and pockets, but omitting belt loops.

    Turns out I didn’t have any brown thread though, so I’m using blue for the visible stitching and dark grey where I want the stitches to be less visible, like inside the pockets. I’m using a chocolate brown flannel, and it’s soooo soft. I do think it’ll be a bit ‘sticky’ to wear with say, leggings, but should be ok with slippery tights or leggings and a slip. I actually did want to do a lining, but I don’t have any suitable fabric. Maybe next time!

  • clogs and candy

    Also known as: Tuesday check-in!

    one giant clog

    The trusty Fiber Trends felted clog pattern is such a good one! Some of it does take a little bit of attention, but there are lots of plain knit rounds – and since the yarn is held double and worked on US 13 / 9mm needles, it goes super fast. I’m using Cascade 220 from my stash, and it feels good to use stuff I already have.

    I did cheat on the clogs by starting a new sweater yesterday though. Anzula’s For Better or Worsted is just lovely! I only have a small amount of yarn, so I’m planning to make this one shorter-sleeved.

    new sweater

    Over the weekend some friends came over for an epic caramel making party, which was so so fun. It took the 4 of us 5 hours to make 3 different batches of caramel, including cooling (which could have been longer), wrapping, and a lot of knitting and chatting. None of us had made caramel before, but it was nice to work on it all together!

    The chocolate ones (recipe from Martha) set really nicely. They look like Tootsie Rolls, but they’re much softer and darker.

    chocolate caramel

    The vanilla + sea salt ones are pretty runny, but delicious. Recipe is from the Homemade Pantry.

    a bit runny

    Not pictured, bourbon sea salt! I didn’t stir enough when adding the condensed milk, so it got a little brown on the bottom, but it turned out totally fine. So good.

    It was interesting to try out different recipes – the vanilla caramels used a lot of heavy cream and a tin of Lyle’s Golden Syrup, while the bourbon ones had a can of condensed milk and corn syrup. I think I’ll try making the vanilla ones again, but this time cook the mixture to a bit of a higher temperature for a slightly firmer, more chewy caramel.

    Watching: Just watched the Walking Dead mid-season finale (omg) and caught up on season 4 of Boardwalk Empire. I think I need to watch something lighter for a bit.

    Reading: Asunder by Jodi Meadows – quick read, engaging, and I was able to take out the eBook from our public library!