Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Ten on Tuesday

Are you a creature of habit?  Do you have favorite dishes that you like to serve or take to a party?  Do you tend to buy the same plants year after year for your planters?  I know I do!  And this is why I love this week's Ten on Tuesday Topic, and even more so because it is knitting related!

10 Patterns I Could Knit Again........ and again, and again

1. Hockey Hats, as modeled below by my dog Neal.  I have lost count of how many of these of have made, but I would guess it's at least 40.  Probably more.  My son's team mates have warm heads though in their team colors :-)

2. Monkey Socks.  I love these and they look great in variegated or solid colored yarn.
3. Cedar Creek Socks.  Another great pattern for variegated yarns and they fit great.
4. BFF Socks. Simple and classic.
5. Turn a Square.  I find these addictive. I can never knit just one!
6. Alpine Topper.  There are so many fun color combinations.
7. Tulips.  I think this is such a sweet sweater for little ones and I find it fun to knit.
8. Cotty. This is another fun, easy knit that looks great with pretty much any yarn.
9. Koolhaas.  There's something about this hat that I just love!
10. Clepsydra Mittens.  I love how they're a basic mitten with a little cabling on the top.

These are some of my favorite Go-to patterns.  I'm looking forward to reading everyone's lists today over at Carole's blog and I'm sure my Ravelry queue will grow today!








Monday, July 7, 2014

Mystery Solved!

It's Mystery Monday again! This week though I have finished my Mystery Shawl and can reveal it to you.

Last week, I had finished clue #3.  This week I finished clue #4....
 
and clue #5, which was the bind off.  The bind off is a crocheted bind off which I hadn't done before, so I learned something new.  I love when that happens!  My crochet skills are very very basic, so I was pretty thrilled that I was able to do this AND have it look nice.
Here it is, off the needle and ready for blocking.
Blocking turned out to be a bit interesting.  I decided to do it on the deck because it was a beautiful day.  It was nice and warm, not a cloud in the sky, and a strong breeze with very low humidity.  By the time I got the straight edge set, it was at least half way to dried!  Luckily Matt's girlfriend was here and was willing to jump in to give me a hand.
Now it's all blocked and dry! I thought this picture was better than it is, but you can click on it to enlarge it for better viewing.
Here's a better view of clues 4 & 5 after blocking.  I think clue 4 was my favorite, even though it took me the longest to knit.
If I have to wash this again sometime, I think I will block it indoors and take the time to pin out each crocheted loop to give them more definition.  Other than that small detail, I'm quite tickled with how this turned out!

Quick recap of the details:
Pattern: Through the Loops Mystery Shawl KAL
Yarn: Black Trillium Pebble sock, gradient kit in the color Amethyst
Needle: US 6 (4.0mm)
Mods: None