No Job, but Some Knitting

With all of this free time on my hands but with the lack of incoming funds, I've had more than enough time to sit, knit and use up some of the yarns that have been languishing in my stash. I have been attempting to knit directly from stash in the past year and except for Christmas gifts and Rhinebeck, I've been successful. With most (ahem, but not all) of my gift knitting out of the way I've begun to focus on finishing up some of my WIPs as well as making plans for knitting new items out of my stashed yarns. So far this month, I've been able to make a few projects for myself and I couldn't be more excited.

So what have I made?

First was Simple Things Shawlette. I received the yarn as a gift and had been agonizing about the perfect use for it. It was way too nice to put on my feet yet I felt that the color variegation would hide any lace or cable work. Mary-Heather's design for Simple Things is spot on for this dilemma. Nice yarn that you can't figure out what to do?

Here's mine:

Pattern: Simple Things Shawlette by Mary-Heather Cogar

Yarn: Sundara Fingering Silky Merino in The Life Aquatic
Needles: No. 4s

On a whim the other weekend, I cast on the Destroyed Cowl by Martha Merzig. One skein, stockinette to the end, yes, please. Knitting this was almost the closest thing to instant gratification you can find. I did have the issue that some other Ravelers have had of not getting the stitches aligned correctly when the ends are joined together and having the dropped stitches continue to unravel through the join and into the next column. I rigged mine so that the ends I was weaving in secured the stitches to keep them from unraveling further.

Here's a crappy picture of the finished cowl.

Pattern: Destroyed Cowl by Martha Merzig
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Green, 215 yds.
Needles: No. 8s

I also finally (and I mean FINALLY) finished Dad's Christmas socks. These took way, way too long to finish. I reknit heels and feet and toes. Here they are in all their faux gold toe glory:

Pattern: Globe Trotter Socks by
Yarn: Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Heather in Toasted Chestnut and Knit Picks Essential Kettle Dyed in Gold (for the toes)
Needles: No. 1.5s for the main sock and No. 1s for the toes

Hmmm...what other knits have I finished so far this month? I also finished up a pair of Bella's Mittens for myself. After knitting four pairs of these mittens, I am happy to be done with them. I made mine in a cheery gold. The one issue that I have with these mittens is that as the pattern is written you are supposed to cinch up the tops and the thumbs like the end of a hat. I found that with the top of the mittens this left large gaps where your fingers could poke out. A kitchenered top is much warmer and leaving a long tail to weave in and close any other gaps is a must.

Pattern: Bella's Mittens by Marielle Henault
Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky in Sunburst Gold
Needles: No. 9s

I have to say that as much as I enjoy these mittens, especially the very long cuffs, the yarn does shed. I wind up with course, curly yellow hairs all over my black wool coat. Not the look I was aiming for.

Lastly, I want to include a mention of a wee little gift that I gifted to Nancy for her birthday in November. I originally forgot in my haste to gift this to her to take a single photo of it. She was nice enough to snap a few for me. She has a nice camera and the photo-skillz to take great snaps.

Pattern: Mug and French Press Jacket by MK Carroll
Yarn: Valley Yarns Valley Superwash in Grass and Grape
Needles: No. 5s

The knit was quick enough once you figure out the smocking stitch. After that it goes by in a dream. I had first thought of not putting a bottom on the jacket but was afraid that the mug would just slip right out without it.