Seeing Red

~Specs~

Pattern:
My own hybrid sock pattern full of favorite things like "toe-up" and "short-row heels(and toes)".

Yarn:
Lana Grossa - Gaimersheim (Mega Boots Stretch) 1 ball 400m
70%Virgin Wool/23% Polymide/7% Elite (PBT)

Needles:
2mm bamboo dpns - set of 5

Pros:
Lovely mindless knitting and small enough to take on the bus! The yarn was nice too. And I got to bug my Fella a lot when determining size/fit and when taking finished product photos. I find it's nice to designate a project for just "bus-and-break-time-at-work" knitting, even if it takes a bit longer to finish.

Cons:
None! (Well, just that the self-striping looks a bit funny around the ankles due to knitting the heel.) Far as I can tell my Fella loves them too.

I recently purchased a copy of Jennifer Stafford's domiKNITrix. My first project from the book is already underway. Snow Devil Hat!


I am knitting it up in baby alpaca (is anyone surprised? I love alpaca!) and I like all the shaping that is going into this hat. I think this is a hat I will actually wear once it's finished!

If you are wondering why this photo is it's side, so am I. For some reason, this photo and this photo alone does not submit to the rules of balance and order. I tried loading the photo turned clockwise, counter clockwise, upside down. I tried loading it in a bigger size with the same results. WTF? WTF! I am only so computer literate. I don't know any fancy tricks. So I am stuck with swearing at the computer monitor and admitting failure.
See? See! Why?

And again!

Rag Rug FO

Woo-hoo! First knitting FO of the year!

~Specs~

Pattern:
"Dizzy Rug" from Mason-Dixon Knitting.

Yarn:
Mystery fabric from Value Village (thrift store) cut into 2 1/2 inch strips

Needles:
10mm straight needles

Pros:
Very easy and quick to knit. This project is a definite plus if you are into instant gratification! I love the end result. It's now sitting in our entrance way in front of our bookshelf.

Cons:
Knitting a rag rug is hard on your hands. The rag/yarn is heavy which makes movement with the needles a tad difficult. Also, instead of showing a contrasting color when stitching the rug together (which is in the original pattern) I opted to seam the rug together so the stitching wasn't visible. I originally had a dark chocolate brown as the contrasting color but decided the rug looked more seashell-esque without the brown.

What else to do...

When you get a new table....

Then make a new tablecloth!

This was a really quick project.
The shibori fabric was brought back by my mom last time she went to visit family in Okinawa.

I don't like it when tablecloths sit askew so I made little ties on each corner to avoid that.



I designed the ties so that center of the tie is sewn into place on the reverse side, then threaded though two button holes. The photo above shows the tie threaded through the two button holes.

So that's that. The first sewing project of the new year is in the bag. Now, onto the next...