Fun with Beads and more Ravellenics 2014

Well, last night I finished up my Stella by Starlight Headband.

It's a) a WIP for Ravellenics 2014, and b) my First Quarter project for EatSleepKnit's Yarnathon.

The beads were my new challenge, and they actually weren't as hard as I thought they would be. I did have to do some digging through my tools to find my teeny-tiny crochet hook, but once I read this knitty tutorial, it wasn't hard at all, just fiddly. 

I'm glad I finished it, and I'm surprised I still have a semi-decent quantity of yarn left, enough for another small project.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it, at the moment. 

Ravellenics 2014, and a Finished WIP!

Well, it's official:

I've been sucked into the entertainment value that is the Ravelry Ravellenics 2014, despite not watching any of the actual Olympic events.

So, I have a few things to add:

1) I'm working on a pair of Quick Bulky Socks:

The pattern comes from Toronto's very own Knit-O-Matic, via their blog, and the yarn is Briggs and Little, leftovers from the Fall Lake Slippers.

I just finished the first sock today, and I'm hoping to finish the second by the 23rd (the end of the Olympics).

2) A Fair Isle Hat to match my Fair-Isle Mittens.

I've only just gotten past the ribbing, but the worsted-weight yarn (also Briggs and Little. . .hmm, I'm seeing a pattern here), means it does knit up reasonably quickly.

Finally:  Ravellenics allows you to enter works-in-progress, that you finish over their time-span,  and I did just that.  I finally finished my Glacier Sweep shawl!

It took quite a while, but I'm loving it.  It's warm (which has been nice given the recent weather, even if it is starting to warm up), and it's squishy, and the colour is just wonderful.

The Other Half of the Sock-Along

Well, I finally finished the first of the Elementary Watson Socks.  They're only a season late, right? 

The pattern is actually quite awesome, and it is free, but the woman's size knits up big.  A lot of people in the Sock-Along found too big, sadly.  I have small feet, but I also knit these at tighter tension then the pattern calls for, and it worked out ok, even if they are a touch long in the foot. 

Anyway, I've started in on the toe of sock number two, and I must say, they seem to be knitting up faster this time.

I've had lots of knitting time, since I finally got Sim City 4 to work on Windows 7 (and that took a lot of fiddling, let me tell you!)  I've also been doing a lot of knitting to Babylon 5, since I've got a bunch of upcoming deadlines for things that need to be done.

However, I'm looking forward to this Friday. Assuming all works out with getting a reservation, I have a date night on Valentines Day!  (Ok, it's sappy, yes, but I'm still looking forward to it.  We're making it a treat and going to a seafood place, so it should be tasty!)

Tanis Fiber Arts Etsy Shop Update!

So, Tanis Fiber Arts has an Etsy shop.

And I think my pocketbook was a lot happier when I didn't know about this.

But today, from 8 am to 8 pm, she's offering 6 colourways on 3 different yarn bases.

I already put in my order, (which I am very excited about!) but the new colours look awesome!

More details about exactly how this works is on her blog.

Finished Things!

Wow, there's so much going on with my knitting that there are a few things to update with!

But, I'll start with this post on some new finished projects!

The first is the Sit and Knit Mitts.

This whole night-time photography thing really sucks. . .

And the second is the ever-languishing Pyjama shorts.

These have -so- much seaming it's brutal.  If/when I make these again, I'm definitely going to alter them somewhat to be in-the-round.  I'm also going to make the one size smaller, too.

Very Late Fall Sock-Along!

So. . . remember my entry into EatSleepKnit's Fall Sock Along?

I finally finished the first of the Froot Loop Socks.

Just blocked it this morning.  Transit knitting is great for doing toe decreases.

And yes, this is quite a bit past the deadline.  But that's alright by me -- this pattern is actually quite thick and warm, and is well worth waiting for.  And it looks like I will have yarn left over, too.

Colourwork Test-Knit Socks and KAL Progress

So I have yet another pair of test-knit socks.

The colour-work socks don't have a pattern live yet on Ravelry, but they're progressing along ok.

I'm using the Blue Moon BFL Fingering I got at Lettuce Knit a while ago, and then Knit Picks Stroll Solids in White.    It'll be interesting to see how they turn out.

Also, I'm further along with my entries in the Sweet Georgia KAL.

My River Runs Through It Mittens:

And the Glacier Sweep Shawl:

Things are progressing well on the knitting front, it looks like!  I'm hoping to have some more things finished up soon.