Category: Finished Projects

Hyrna Hap, and Arlo

I finally got around to blocking this shawl. Don’t judge me, I have a 14 week old puppy to wrangle.

No apologies for the photos in the bathroom mirror. John isn’t home right now, and I just needed to get this posted.

Project Details:

  • Pattern: Pattern? I made it up. It’s a plain garter triangle shawl, increases at each end and along the center spine every right side row. I just knit each color until it was gone and attached the next one.
  • Yarn: This is Icelandic wool, from an Etsy shop, Hespa. I’m pretty sure this is Istex Einband that is hand dyed. She dyes her skeins with plant dyes local to Iceland. I bought all but that last light brown stripe as a kit from her Etsy shop. The last color I bought on our trip through Iceland. It’s the same wool, from the same dyer, and matches the color scheme well.
  • Needle: Oh, holy hell. I didn’t record that. I’m pretty sure I used a 3.25 mm Chiaogoo bamboo circular, as it is sitting on my desk still instead of being in the case.
  • Started: June 12, 2022
  • Finished: Oh, who knows. I apparently didn’t record that either. Let’s just say sometime since the end of July.
  • What I learned: Great yarn doesn’t always need a fancy pattern. Just cast on and knit. This was a perfect travel project, and I LOVE the colors.

I still haven’t gotten around to doing a remodel post. I will tell you the Arlo story that goes with it though. The last day of the major work was the day the plumbers came to drop the tub in and get the plumbing hooked up for it. It was sort of an all-day project. They built a plywood platform under the tub, with an opening to access the plumbing works. When they were ready to put the tub in, I sort of joked that they should make sure that all the cats were accounted for.

You can guess where this is going, right? They finished up late in the day and left. I hadn’t seen Arlo all day, and was beginning to get a bit suspicious. After the noise of the construction was done, I could clearly hear him in the dining room. Coming from the ceiling, where he was trapped between the subfloor of the tub and the dining room ceiling.

Our neighbor came over with power tools to help. This is a small hole he drilled in the ceiling to make sure we were in the right crawl space. Then the fun began.

I wasn’t nearly as cheerful about this as I look in this photo. My little worrier brain had already traveled the distance between “cat trapped in the ceiling” to “dead cat in the ceiling, we’ll never see Arlo again”.

It took a bit of coaxing, but we got him out. The guys came back the next day and patched the hole in the ceiling. And Arlo promises to never do anything like that again.

A little neck thing

I have so much yarn, a significant portion of which is single skeins of the “my precious” variety. A lot of it is sock yarn, which will become socks if I ever get to all of it. I also have a bunch of non-sock single skeins, including impulse purchases, or “souvenir” yarn.

Enter “little neck things”. Little scarves, cowls, etc. This one seems to be the latest thing on Ravelry.

Isn’t that pretty? It’s just the right size to grab and go when it’s chilly out. Here’s another photo.

It’s an idiotically simple pattern, but the i-cord edging jazzes it up and makes it look like something more than a plain garter stitch scarf.

Project Details:

  • Pattern: Sophie Scarf, by PetiteKnit
  • Yarn: Shilasdair Aran merino, I bought this on a trip to Scotland in 2011. The color is Sandstone. Their yarns are dyed with natural dye materials; this skein was dyed with madder root and onion skin. I used one skein of this, 175 yards. I have a tiny little ball of yarn left over.
  • Needles:5.5mm/US 9
  • Started: November 2
  • Finished: November 4. That’s right, people. I started and finished a knitting project in less than a week. The fact that it was finished in the same decade in which it was started is newsworthy around here.
  • What I learned: Knitting from stash is delightful. Knitting something useful from stash is even better. This is a dead-easy pattern, and though it is written for DK-weight yarn, it could be knit from a skein of almost anything. Just weigh your yarn, knit the increase section until you’ve used half the yarn, then do the decrease part.

In other news, our sunny fall is finally over here in the Pacific Northwest. We’re being hit by an “atmospheric river” today and this weekend. This basically means we are going to get a shitload of rain. And apparently, severe winds, though that hasn’t hit yet. Thankfully, our generator has been serviced and fueled up so we’re ready if the lights go out.

We’re also nearing the end of our bathroom remodel. I’ll save photos of that for the next post.

New socks


New socks! I started these in August, finished last night.

The yarn is Stocainn sock yarn, from Shilasdair yarns in Scotland. They don’t have this in their online store currently, but I cleverly bought a few skeins of this for the stash when they did have it. Their yarn is dyed with natural botanicals. I didn’t record it, but I’m pretty sure this was dyed with madder root.

I used 2.00 mm needles, and the same old jerry-rigged pattern. These are for me.

And of course there are new socks on the needles.

More about those later.

Sharon Air

Good lord. I decided to do a blog post about my latest project completion. That was about an hour ago. For some reason, something happened under the hood, and the directory where the photos were supposed to upload got changed to a non-existent directory name. It took me over an hour to figure that out and fix it. So here we are. I have a finished project, and I’m not quite as excited about it as I was an hour ago.

Project Details:

  • Pattern: Sharon Air, by Casapinka
  • Yarn: Plucky Knitter Lodge Fingering
  • Started: August 12, 2022
  • Finished: October 1, 2022
  • Needles: US 5
  • For: Me
  • Modifications: None that were intentional. I forgot a whole section on one of the side ”wings”. I just did it out of order when I figured out why my shawl was a lot shorter on one side. I added a few rows on the second wing since they weren’t quite the same number of rows on each side.
  • Rating (Pattern/yarn) *****/*****
  • What I Learned: I had to change colors MANY times, on this, so got pretty good at that. This also taught me to dig around in the stash before I go buy new stuff. There is some pretty fine yarn in that stash of mine.

I really love wearing shawls like this. I tend to always be cold in the non-summer months (and sometimes in our summer months). It’s nice having something to wrap around my neck to keep warm.

I also really like this yarn. It’s a linen/wool/silk/cotton blend, and is very light and drapey. I bought a single skein of four different colors, and this was the perfect project for it.

The week that was

Or, Out of Covid Jail

After John tested positive on Sunday, I did the same on Monday. We were restricted to our cabin for 5 days each, so John was out yesterday, me this morning. I felt pretty lousy for a couple of days, but have no symptoms now other than reduced sense of smell.
We missed four ports in Norway, though did get a few photos from our veranda. The prettiest day so far was Geirangar fjord, which was spectacular, with many stunning waterfalls.

Our cabin attendant, Mohammed, took good care of us for the week. He made sure our window and veranda wall were kept clean so we had a good view at all times.

We arrived in Bergen yesterday, and today is the midpoint of the cruise. Many passengers are staying on for the full trip to Stockholm, though there is also a lot of turnover from people only doing the two week portions. We did a tour in Bergen today, here’s one of the highlights.


Some fine Norwegian wool, and a sheep-themed bag to put it in.

And I finished a pair of socks.


The wool is from deep stash, Elliebelly 100% BFL. Same old pattern. These are for me.

Stay tuned for more adventure now that we are able to explore!

Mine Hill Cardigan

Oh my!! Another finished project!

Project Details

  • Pattern: Mine Hill Cardigan. This is another CustomFit design; you choose the basic pattern, which then uses your specific gauge and body measurements that you’ve entered.
  • Yarn: John Arbon Appledore DK, color Sheep’s Nose
  • Needles: 3.25 mm
  • Started/Finished: July 28, 2021/June 16/2022
  • For: Me
  • Rating: *****/***** for yarn and pattern. The yarn is wonderful. It’s a sheepy, slightly rustic yarn, which knit up into a nice, drapey fabric. The Custom Fit patterns are no-nonsense, no-handholding, but clear and straightforward. I’m also amazed at the fit of the sweaters that I’ve made using this method. I always tend to knit sweaters that are too big for me. The whole time I was knitting this, I was quite sure that it wasn’t going to fit, but there you are.
  • What I Learned: I’m learning more about sweater fit with each of these sweaters that I make. Baggy sweaters aren’t flattering for most people. I’m also learning how to be more particular about my finishing work. My seams aren’t perfect, but they are getting better. I’m also getting more selective about choosing patterns that I will actually wear. This will be one of those closet staples that will get a lot of use.

This is a tough color to photograph, especially since my corner of western Washington apparently didn’t get the memo that it is summertime. It’s in the mid-50’s and overcast here today, which makes taking pictures chancy. If we ever see sunshine again, I’ll get a photo outdoors so you can see the true color. Here it is still skeined up, which shows the color better:

And a close up of the front stitch pattern:

One last photo. We might be going somewhere next week.

Stay tuned!

Hansel Hap

Finally, the mystery project has been gifted, so I can show you what I’ve been up to.


It’s a baby blanket!

Project Details

Pattern: Hansel, by Gudrun Johnston

Yarn: Miss Babs Yummy 2ply, various colors

Started/Finished: February 2022/June 2022

For: Steph and Paraj’s baby girl

This is the medium size, and is plenty big for a baby blanket. I didn’t add the lace border, since it was big enough without, and I was running short on time. This is a straightforward, easy pattern, really only basic knitting skills required. The pattern was easy to follow. This would make a nice shawl also, there might be yarn in my stash for another one.
The baby isn’t here yet, but I’ve done my part.

Here’s one more photo.

New socks!

I did finish the Ukrainian flag socks last night. As usual, they are a welcome addition to my collection. Though my sock drawer runneth over, some of those pairs are perilously close to wearing through at the heels, and I have way too much sock yarn in the stash to spend time darning socks. I’d much rather cast on a new pair. I do have a pair of John’s socks on my desk that need a new toe, but that’s just reknitting, not mending, so that is acceptable.

Here are the finished new ones:

The color in photos looks a little bumblebee-ish, but it is really blue and sunflower yellow, not black and yellow.

The yarn is Biscotte Bis-sock, color Minions. I knit these with my in-my-head top down-flap & gusset heel pattern. I used Hiya Hiya bamboo double pointed needles, size 2.00mm. I’ve played around with different brands of dpn’s over the years, often claiming that “these are my very favorites”, but these really are among the best. They are lightweight, with very sharp tips, and seem durable. The current pair has lasted through at least a half dozen pairs of socks, and don’t seem to be particularly fragile. And there has been no fraying of the tips. I also love my Lykke dpns and will keep those in rotation as well.

And no, it absolutely does not bug me that my socks are usually fraternal twins. There isn’t enough time in the day for me to try to match stripes exactly.

So there you are. I’ve already started the next pair. The yarn is from deep stash, you’ll just have to wait until I have a few rounds done to see what’s next.

Tits Up!

Finished socks! The yarn is Adorn sock yarn, from Three Irish Girls. The color name is Tits Up!, which is from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel tv series. I love the show, so I had to buy the yarn.

I used the same pattern-in-my-head that I always use. 2.00 mm needles, as usual. Nothing fancy, just plain socks.

Here is where I am on the Get Out of Ukraine Socks.

The colors are more Ukraine Flag by Starlight than the real flag colors, but I like it.

And here’s a blast from the past.

Pretty exciting, eh? The really exciting part is that is the beginning of a sweater sleeve. Here are the rest of the sweater pieces.

Fronts and back done. I just have the sleeves and the front bands to do and this will be a finished sweater. This has been marinating a bit, but I’m determined to finish it soon. It will be a nice in-between-seasons piece to wear in the spring.

That’s what the finished sweater will look like, although I’m making the sleeves longer. And I still haven’t decided on the pockets. I think I’d like the line of the sweater better without the pockets right over my hips, which certainly don’t need any accentuating.

I do love this yarn. It is Appledore DK, by John Arbon Textiles. It is one of those yarns that would work knit up into a wide gauge range. I’m trying to restrain myself from buying more of this in some other colors. I think it would make a lovely shawl. Or two.

Stay tuned!

The banjos have stopped*

Wintergrass is wrapped for another year. It was a great festival, with a nice variety of music styles, and a diverse cast of performers. It’s tough to pick a favorite, so I won’t. This is the first time in two years we’ve been out doing much of anything other than with our close family and friend ”pods”. It was REALLY nice to be in a concert venue with live music. The festival is in Bellevue, which is in King County to the north of us, and they are still requiring masks and proof of vaccination for indoor spaces. They also sold only about the half the usual number of tickets (intentionally), so we felt pretty safe, especially since the Covid numbers have dropped pretty dramatically here.

I did get some knitting done. Here’s the sock in progress.

I started the long weekend with just the cuff of that second sock started, so got about half a sock knit. I also worked on a secret project that will be a gift, so I can’t show it to you. That sock yarn is from Three Irish Girls, it is their Adorn sock yarn, color name ”Tits Up!” (reference to a character in Mrs. Maisel).

I realized while uploading that photo that I completely missed posting a finished project.

Those are socks for John. The yarn is John Arbon Exmoor Sock yarn, colors Mackerel Sky and Mizzle. It’s the same ”pattern” I always use for socks.

I really am going to try to be a better blogger. Really.

*That could be the first line in a banjo haiku.

Done, done, and started

I’m apparently better at knitting and finishing things than I am about blogging about them. I have two finished pairs of socks to show.

I finished these about a month ago.

Those are for John. The yarn is Zen Yarn Garden Squooshy Sock, color Anna Grace. This is lovely yarn, though the color is one of those that is difficult to photograph accurately. It’s a summer sky blue, but looks more aqua in some of the photos.

I finished the second pair over the weekend. These are for me.

I love, love, love these. This is Opal sock yarn, the color is from their 25 years of Opal Jubilee Collection (#11047 if you are looking for it). Those colors will brighten up the gloomiest day.

Both pairs are my own basic pattern, top down, 72 stitches, heel flap and gusset, knit on 2.00 mm double point needles.

Here is the newly started pair.

The yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners Signature Sparkle sock yarn, color Vintage Tinsel. It’s much sparklier in real life.

Those will be quite festive for the Christmas season!

One finished, another started

New socks! I don’t even think I showed that I’d started these, but they’re done as of this morning.

I started these on July 28th, so just about a month to finish. The pattern is the same MacGyver’d pattern I always do: top down, German twisted cast on with 2 by 2 rib, flap heel and gusset. Knit on size 2 mm double points. The yarn is Urth Uneek Sock, color Tigress.

That makes room in the WIP list for a new pair of socks.

A boy that I know that likes blue has already claimed these. John says these are pretty close to Carolina blue. The color name is Anna Grace, but I think it looks like cumulocirrus clouds.

The yarn is from deep stash. I bought this years ago from Kris when she had a yarn shop named Sonny and Shear. The yarn is from Zen Yarn Garden, especially dyed for Kris and named after her daughter, Anna Grace.

There’s lots more going on in my knitting world, but I’ll save it for next time.

A two-fer

Here are more new things hot off the needles.

Socks! Same old jerry-rigged pattern, size 2.00mm double point needles. The yarn is deep stash Socka wool, I don’t think they even make this any longer. I think it looks like white cupcakes with sprinkles.

That one is a Hitchhiker, not the first I’ve made, and likely not the last. I used a skein of Wollmeise Pure, color Poison #5. The color in the third photo is close to what it really looks like.

I love both, though it is way too hot to wear anything with wool right now.

New things off the needles means one thing: new projects coming!

Stay tuned!

Dockside Cardigan

Finished!

Project Notes:

  • Pattern: Dockside Cardigan, by Amy Herzog. This is one of her CustomFit patterns.
  • Yarn: Warm Valley Orchard wool/alpaca blend. This is deep stash yarn, purchased on a vacation to their farm on Orcas Island in 2006. It’s about time it got made into something lovely. I used a bit under 1600 yards for this, I have a little under 700 yards left for a squishy shawl, or perhaps hat and mittens.
  • Needle: Size 6 circular
  • Started: February 22, 2021
  • Finished: July 27, 2021
  • For: Me
  • Rating: *****for both pattern and the wool. If you haven’t used CustomFit, you pick your pattern, enter your own body measurements and your row and stitch gauge from your swatch. You get a pattern that is customized for your fit and the yarn you want to use. I’m sold on this. This is the best fitting sweater I’ve ever made.
  • What I learned: I need to knit more from deep stash. I have some very lovely yarns that I’ve collected over the years. The new and shiny will always catch my eye, but the “old and curated” once caught my eye for a very good reason. I also learned to trust the measurements. I tend to knit oversized sweaters in general, so I kept thinking that this was going to be on the small size. It fits perfectly.

Another couple of photos, since I don’t finish a sweater every day.

Forgotten but not unloved

I’m not sure how you can forget to post about such a pretty pair of socks. That color! That woolly wool!

This is my usual generic jerry-rigged sock pattern: 2×2 ribbing, heel flap and gusset, no frills. I modify the standard heel flap by adding a few more rows, it fits my high arch foot much better. I used 2.00 mm needles.

The wool is John Arbon Exmoor sock yarn. It is a lovely wool blend with a bit of nylon for durability. The colors I used are Mizzle, and Quickbeam (that orange). I’m really happy that I love this yarn, because I bought a bunch of other colors as well. You can get some of your very own at John Arbon in the UK, or at Woolly Thistle here in the US (though they are sold out at the moment-not my fault, I bought direct from the UK). I will warn you about checking out the John Arbon website, it will be difficult to resist some of their other offerings. You may see some of their yarn in future projects here at Chez Knitting Doctor.