FO: The Shift

It is not often that I go on a huge jag, but I have been completely head over heels for Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool. So this cowl was right up my alley.

Pattern: The Shift by Andrea Mowry

Yarn: Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool in Salty Dog, Family Jewels, and Lapis

Needles: US 4 - 3.5 mm

Seriously look at these colors. The combination of slow color changes and the textured pattern is really fantastic, and this has been an FO that I get lots of compliments on.

Larp "Armor" Panels

I mentioned recently that I had started LARPing, and one of the really fun things about that for me has been not only been the game itself, but also the different sort of crafting it has encouraged me to do.

Based on the concept I had in my head, I broke out some geometry and did some basic drafting and layout.

I did my first ever attempt at satin stitch, which I am satisfied enough with, despite it being my first time trying. This actually made a great handwork project at an outdoor event I attended that had plenty of downtime chatting.

I didn't break out the sewing machine for this project, but instead I just handstitched some coordinated double-sided bias tape.

Ta-da! "Mystic armor" panels to be attached to the rest of my costume! (Apologies for crumpled look, as these needed a quick press with an iron before use.)

Hallima socks

In 2022 I joined a local LARP, and since my character knits in character I had a great excuse to make socks during down time. It literally had been many years since I had made socks in worsted weight, and I forgot how incredibly fast they go.

Needles: US size 3- 3.25mm

Yarn: Ella Rae Classic Wool Solids & Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino

Yarn supplier: The Knitting Room (closed) and Mind's Eye Yarns

Pattern: made-up toe-up with short row heel

These were just made up from stash leftovers in relevant colors, but I totally added them to this character's kit.

Trigradient Shawl

Sometimes you have the perfect yarn waiting for you in your stash. I have been absolutely obsessed with the soft gradients of Spincycle Yarn's Dyed in the Wool, so I jumped at the chance to pick up some of their seconds last year. And while Midsommar is not my colors generally, it is my exactly up the alley of my friend Diamondsoled. And the Valley Superwash DK has been hanging out for a few years, waiting for the perfect squishy knit.

And it turns out Diamondsoled just bought her first house and painted her room in golds and pinks, with touches of blue and lilac. I wouldn't have necessarily have put these together spontaneously but they match her new space perfectly and look great draped as a cozy layer in a favorite (goldenrod colored) chair.

The Trigradient Shawl was a great pattern, with slightly different front and back for two different looks.

Pattern: Trigradient Shawl by Stephen West

Yarns: Valley Yarns Valley Superwash DK in Squash (MC) & Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool in Midsommar (CC)

Yarn Suppliers: Webs and Spincycle Yarns 

Needles: US 4 - 3.5mm

This project was my first time doing brioche stitch, and I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I got in the rhythm. I has 3 skeins of each, so I wanted to optimize to make it go as far as I could, which the pattern is flexible about. In the end I did the final bind off in CC instead of MC, since I ran out of the main color first. Ultimately I used all 3 skeins of the Valley Superwash, but just over 2 of the Dyed in the wool, so the remainder will show up in another project.

Trio Blanket

I cast on this project in January 2020 and finished it up in Nov 2022. Turns out over 3000 yards of fingering weight yarn take a really long time to turn into a blanket if you don't work on it regularly. This was a pattern I had been wanting to make since I had first seen it though, and it is absolutely in my preferred colors.

Pattern: Trio Blanket by Susan Carlson

Yarn: Sheepjes Whirl in Blackberry Mint Chip, Green Tea Tipple, and Peppermint Patty Cake & Queensland Collection Dungarees Fine in Chrysocolla

Yarn Suppliers: Webs & Mind's Eye Yarns

Hook: C / 2.75mm

After knitting the pattern as written, I did a couple of rounds around the outside with the leftover colors I had and a little Queensland Collection Dungarees Fine to give it a more finished look and tuck in the carried yarns on the edge.

Annie at Mind's Eye Yarns had suggested the Queensland Collection Dungarees Fine, and I will absolutely be making more with it. I love that it is a recycled fiber yarn (from jeans!) and it has a great linen-like feel.