Country Girl socks complete!

One sock done, one on the needles! These are the Country Girl socks from Heart Strings. They are done in Knit Pick's Essential sock yarn in Dusk, very denim friendly! It has a nice stitch definition, although I'm finding it difficult to see the stitches since the colour of the yarn is so dark. Like all my socks, I'm using the Magic Loop, using a 100cm/40" size 3.0mm/US 2 needle. This pattern only has charts, so I'm getting quite used to that! Nice socks!

Now the update...it took 2 days, but I completed the second sock; no new pictures as it looks just like the first sock! But they are done and I can't wait to wear them. This yarn is a winner! It's soft and has great stitch definition. I've learned my lesson with dark yarns and intricate patterns, though!

Leaf Lace Shawl complete!

Wow...7 days to make a lace shawl?? This shawl, which I made for the local hospital's cancer centre, was started on Saturday, August 13, and completed on Saturday, August 20. It's the Fiber Trend's Leaf Lace shawl and it was quite easy to make. I used 10 50-gram balls of Jo Sharp DK Wool (in Porcelein) and it turned out very nice! As I mention in the WIP post below, I used a 32" size 10 (US) Addi Turbo needle so I guess I can say they really do make you knit faster! The yarn is beautiful to work and washed up nicely. The finished size is about 72" x 45", which is the "large" size shawl in the pattern. I'll make this one again, especially since it worked up so fast. The pattern is a 10 row repeat and was very easy to follow. I used only the chart and not the written instructions, which is a first for me! OK, between the chart and the needles, I guess I'm a faster knitter!

Leaf Lace Shawl WIP

I started the Fiber Trend's Leaf Lace shawl using Jo Sharp DK wool in Porcelein. I'm not overly fond of the colour, but it's a nice neutral. I had hoped it was a lighter colour than it is, but it's still very nice and is working up beautifully. I started on Saturday, August 14 and hope to have this done by Labor Day, which shouldn't be a problem. But, like the Flower Basket shawl, once you get a few hundred stitches on the needles, it drags along forever! I'm half way through the 4th ball of yarn (out of 10), so I'm about half way complete. I'm using a size 10 Addi turbo 32" circular needle, as the pattern suggests. Because I found the Flower Basket shawl to be far too loose using DK yarn and a size 10 needle, I started this on a size 8 needle, but that was too tight. It's working up nicely on the size 10 needles.

The pattern is very simple to follow and quite shockingly, I'm only using the chart, not the written pattern, so I'm now a convert to charts!

Gary's socks - done!

Gary's orange socks are finally done! I had a few glitches...not with the pattern, which was simple, but with running out of yarn! When I got to the foot, it was apparent that a single 50g skein was not going to be enough. I found the same colour at Herrschner's, on sale, and ordered 2 more balls. I had hoped that the dye lots would work, but miracle of miracles, it was the same dye lot that I got from elann.com months earlier! It took an additional 4 grams from the second skein to finish the sock. Gary wears a size 10.5 US shoe, so they are pretty average for a man. It knit up exactly on gauge, which is 7 sts/1 inch in stockinette on a size 3 Addi turbo circular needle using Magic Loop.

Now I have 2 slightly smaller balls of orange sock yarn which will make a nice pair of socks for me. I doubt I'll use the same pattern, but I will eventually make these up for myself!

Basketweave lap throw completed!

This is my basketweave lap throw that I made for the local cancer centre. I used a nice deep blue/teal heather Encore yarn. It took 5 full skeins, knitted on size 11 needles. This is such a simple pattern, but so nice! It measures 42" x 50", just right for a lap throw. It washes and dries beautifully, so it will be just right for a gentleman undergoing cancer treatment. I've got 5 more skeins, so I'll make up another one! This took about 8 days to complete (OK, so I knit faster than I thought I did!).