WIP Wednesday - 4/18/2018

Because I'm about halfway finished with this shawl:

I started this shawl:

And because I'm more than halfway finished with these socks:

I started these socks:

MK out.

FO Friday - 4/13/2018

Sorry...very late with this post.

Pattern: Tracie by Joji Locatelli
Yarn: Suburban Stitcher Single Sock in Tandoori and Sweet Pea
Comments: I actually finished this shawl last week and wore it to Fiber Fest. The pattern is very well written. It was my first time to use Suburban Stitcher yarn and it's very nice. I liked it so much that you may have noticed that I bought more at Fiber Fest.

I used one size smaller needle than suggested to make sure I didn't run out of yarn. The shawl came out kinda small, but I knew it would grow after blocking. I was right, but it's still not as big as Joji's. I'm totally fine with it, because I'm not a very tall person.

For comparison, I took an  unblocked picture

and then a picture after blocking. 

I think the size is perfect for me.

Pattern: Wisp by Cheryl Niamath
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace in Amaroso
Comments:  I like the pattern, and the yarn is nice, but I've decided that I don't really like knitting with lace-weight yarn. The only modifications I made was to knit one more repeat to make the yardage requirement and I skipped the buttonholes. If I make it again, I will use a provisional cast-on and graft the ends together. This time, I will seam the ends together. This project fulfills the "use lace-weight" requirement for Loopy Academy. 

MK out.

DFW Fiber Fest - The Aftermath

I helped my friend in her booth on Friday. 

It kept me from going too crazy.

Well, I really could have gone crazier. The sock blockers are from Perfectly Catchy Designs. The cute bag is from Whimzee Stitches Designs.

I found the best skein to go with my Plucky skein at the West 7th Wool booth that was right across the hallway from where I was hanging. It's Conference Call by Madelinetosh on TML.

The Suburban Stitcher booth was right around the corner from Must Stash. I'm using the exact colorway that Dianne used to make her Suburban Wrap. I really love this combo.

Of course, I had to buy some Must Stash Yarn. It was really hard to pick. 

I bought I Am Fearless and a blank mini for cuffs, heels and toes. I really like her new Affirmation Series. 

And I bought some yarn to make a Sock Arms Sweater for a special someone.

All, in all, not bad. 

In other news, I ordered the yarn for Loopy Academy Extra Credit today; so, hopefully, I can just sit back and knit now.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 4/9/2018

Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning and Colin Farrell star in The Beguiled. Set during the Civil War, only two women and a handful of students remain at a girls school in Virginia. One day, one of the girls comes upon a wounded Union soldier. She gets him to the school, where the headmistress decides she'll delay deciding what to do with him until he heals. Soon, all the girls develop a shine for him and he takes advantage of the situation. It was good.

In 2010, the Argentine film, The Secret in Their Eyes, won Best Foreign Picture and I remember seeing it in the theater. It was very good. In 2015, the film was remade with Julia Roberts, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Nicole Kidman. Roberts plays an investigator with the LA district attorney's office whose daughter had been brutally murdered thirteen years prior and the killer had gotten away. Her friend and former FBI counterterrorism agent (Ejiofor) now thinks he's found the guy and goes after him. It was just as good as the original.

MK out.

WIP Wednesday - 4/4/2018

Hello, hello!

Update on the number of  current WIPs - five. That number is about to go up by at least one, because I have to start my April socks. I haven't decided which yarn I'll use, but it's going to be a stripey this month. I'm doing the Grocery Girls Sock Bash - a challenge to knit a pair of socks a month for the year - and the theme for April is stripes. I have several stripeys in my stash, but DFW Fiber Fest starts Friday and a new stripey or two might make its way home with me.

There are two WIPs I'm trying to concentrate on right now though. The first is the Loopy Academy lace yarn assignment

and the second is a shawl that was started January, but was quickly put aside for other shiny new projects

Speaking of DFW Fiber Fest...I don't know if y'all noticed, but I've purchased yarn in every month of the new year so far. 

In January, I bought the yarn I'm using for the shawl I mentioned above.

In February, I purchased some yarn to make a sweater.

Last month, I bought yarn to make two hats, a shawl, a sweater (more like a sleeveless top), and a pair of socks. Two purple skeins for the sweater mentioned above made it in this picture. Ignore those two.

Here's the yarn to make the shawl. The shawl is finished and blocking at the moment.

I'm supposed to be cold sheeping lite - using stash, unless there's a compelling reason to purchase yarn (ex: someone's having a baby and I don't have yarn suitable for the gift I intend to make, Loopy Academy assignments, I've run out of yarn for something I'm making OR I just feel like it. OK, not that last one.)  

So, back to DFW Fiber Fest, I want to find a skein to go with this one to make a shawl by Joji Locatelli.

And I want to buy yarn to make the Suburban Wrap, also by Joji Locatelli. And I want to buy yarn to make the Humulus pullover.

I will leave you with the Party in My Mailbox I had recently. I purchased these cute enamel pins from the Grocery Girls.

See y'all on the flip side.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 3/26/2018

The Greatest Showman wasn't high on my list of movies I wanted to see, but when we were on Spring Break recently, I had the opportunity to do so. My trepidation centered around the fact that I was not impressed with Hugh Jackman's singing ability in Les Miserables. To his credit, he did a decent job in The Greatest Showman, except for the bar scene after the fire - the nasally vibrato was back, and it wasn't pretty. It was just as I had remembered it from before. That being said, this film was not a heavyweight, but it was very entertaining. It's about P.T.  Barnum's rise to fame. Michele Williams, Zac Rfron and Zendaya also star.  I liked it.

MK out.

FO Friday 3/16/2018

Hey, hey!

I finished a pair of socks.

Pattern: Candy Floss Socks by Emily Clawson
Yarn: Rainy Days & Wooly Dogs Ricin - Gothsocks in Frostbite
Comments: I added another column of cables on the other edge of the top of the foot. I like my socks to work on either foot.

I finished a cowl

Pattern: Hawthorne Cowl by Circle of Stitches
Yarn:  Malabrigo Rios in Cumparasita and Sandstone
Comments: This project fulfilled the Brioche assignment for Loopy Academy. I wasn't sure if I would like Brioche. Now I know that I do. The fabric is so squishy!

Now, I'll concentrate on my Tracie shawl until I cast on the next assignment and another pair of socks.

MK out.