State of the Project: Pride and Prejudice socks I

Well, as you can see I have made some progress. I am really liking the ombre so far!

The most time-consuming part so far was actually the beginning, because Niina isn't a basic B and doesn't just use something like k2p2 for the rib. Oh no, it was cables and then some more cables. Also, I really wish the original pattern wasn't pink peacocks on a black background, because counting the little black boxes hurts my eyes. 

Anyway, onwards and upwards! Or I guess, in the case of these socks, downwards! :-)

What's next?

I don't like to sit around idly (at least not lately, ha) and there are so many beautiful projects out there in the world that I'm going to start my next one tonight, namely the Pride and Prejudice socks by Niina Laitinen, a prolific and talented Finnish designer. She has designed several KAL stockings for different holidays and published three books, the third of which should come out in these parts this autumn. The Pride and Prejudice pattern is from her second book and was pretty much the main reason why I purchased said book. The peacocks look absolutely gorgeous!

Technically this is cheating a little, because I already started this project earlier this month. I ordered the yarns at 3:30 AM on the 1st of January, but after restarting the project three times because the leg kept turning out too small I have decided that I hate the colour combination I chose, namely Drops Fabel in fall orange and Drops Delight in a blue-teal-green ombre which is very peacock-y. I thought two contrasting colours would look nice together, but they are actually too loud. The pattern colour needs a more subtle background - no wonder I've mostly seen these socks in black or white. I decided to make them with a white background and use a purple to pink ombre for the peacocks. Wish me luck!

State of the Project: Winter Escape III, the finale.

Well, it's done! The sleeves were easy, of course, although if I'm being honest the holes under the arm where I had to make six extra stitches and then pick them up as I was making the sleeves are a little too big. 

Because I wanted to stretch and block the jacket a bit, I decided to soak it in warm water with some wool shampoo. I was worried that the colours would bleed into one another so I asked the hive mind in the Drops Workshop FB group and was advised to knit a tester and soak that first. So I did, and the colours didn't bleed. I also used a colour catching sheet. 

Now I  just figure out what to do with all the yarn I have left over :D

Thing is, I used Drops Nepal, which is a lovely, pretty chunky (150 metres in 100 grams) blend of wool and alpaca, which makes it soft and warm, but also makes it felt easily (as I've actually seen with the last jumper I made) and kind of unsuitable for socks, which are some of my favourite patterns to make.  

State of the Project: Winter Escape II

Well, after lots of increases and three skeins of golden yellow yarn, the body is done! Now all I have to do is make the sleeves, and then hide the loose ends and sew on the buttons, which are two of my least favourite things do do :P

I had been a bit worried that the cardigan would be too small, because I usually wear a size M, but I didn't have 4.0 and 5.0 mm circular needles like they used in the pattern and I decided to make a size S using 4.5 and 5.5 mm circular needles. The body fits more or less okay and the yarn I used (Drops Nepal) does have some give, but I am still a bit worried about the sleeves, because I have big biceps.

State of the Project: Winter Escape Jacket I

Since this project is the most time sensitive, kinda, I figured I would start with this one.

I was browsing the Drops Design website last Friday and came across the Winter Escape sweater pattern, which immediately caught my eye because it is such a happy, bright spot of colour. After some hemming and hawing I decided I needed one and ordered the yarns right away. 

I received the yarns the next day and by then, I had decided that I wanted to make this design in cardigan form, because I actually already made myself a sweater last November (the Solfest) and I figured I didn't need a second one. Well, after casting on the stitches and finishing the neck I immediately regretted my decision, because knitting stockinette stitch back and forth with different colours is actually super annoying. However, I kept going and tried to make some time for the cardigan each day this week.

I finished the yoke yesterday. Making the yoke was quite the chore, but here we are: I got to the part where I made the armholes and there isn't much colourwork left to do on the body. Doing the pattern on the sleeves is going to be much easier in the round from the right side :-)

Intro and my 2020 projects.

Well hello there, internet.

My name is Moody and I like to knit when the mood strikes me. Occasionally the things I make even turn out looking okay enough to wear. 

The idea of this blog came about when I bought one of those "Be your own boss" notebooks for 2020 and started thinking about all the stuff I want to get done this year. To be honest, my 2020 goals mostly involved money (and not spending it on yarn, ha!) and books, but I did do a list of UFO's (aka unfinished objects) and patterns that I had my eye on. Having a blog seemed like a good way to keep myself accountable and also sometimes post pictures of stuff I've made. Heck, maybe to even to find like-minded individuals?

So without further ado, here is a list of projects that I currently have on my plate (or needles as it were): 

• The Winter Escape cardigan cardigan by Drops Design. I saw this pattern last Friday and knew I had to make it, because that yellow colour is just too darn pretty and I know it would make me so happy in the cold, dark, snowless winter. I am currently halfway done with the yoke. This is the project I want to finish first, because I want to be able to wear it to a thing in February.
• The Pride and Prejudice socks by Niina Laitinen. This is a pattern from her second book, Satumaiset silmukat (Fairy-tale stitches), and even though I don't really wear stockings, I saw so many people post beautiful photos of these ones that I decided to make them, too. 
• The Ocean Breeze jacket by Drops Design. I'm not actually a huge fan of knitting with cotton yarn (or cotton yarn in general), but in some moment of temporary insanity I decided to crochet a top last year, and ordered some. The top never ended up happening, so I searched for a summery knitting pattern for which I could use the same yarn, and this is what I came up with.

I also have some projects planned that aren't on the needles yet. More on that in future posts.