Start Something Sunday - 10/23/2016

So, you might be wondering about what is living in the bag.

I braved going into The Yarn Vault and found some deep stash:

This skein is part of my very first order from The Loopy Ewe in 2012, and it looked like a great skein for my Socktober socks. It's Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in the Aurora Borealis color way. It looks like blueberries to me; so, I decided I wanted to make Blueberry Waffle Socks. I heard about the pattern on some of the podcasts I listen to. 

I actually cast on Thursday and did a few rows every now and then on Thursday and Friday, in between chores and other activities. Last night, we went to the hockey game and I got lots done:

I think I'll head to my spot in front of the tee vee now and do a little knitting. The latest episodes of The Durrels in Corfu and Poldark are already in the DVR. Indian Summers is taping right now.

MK out.

Show Off Saturday - 10/22/2016

I'm sorry that there wasn't an FO Friday post yesterday. I finished my project bag in the wee hours of Friday morning, but decided to wait until later in the morning to take a picture or two. Well, I overslept, went for a walk later than I wanted to, had to work on some paperwork, did some cleaning, ran some errands - and the next thing I knew, I woke up in front of the tee vee and went to bed. Charming.

Lucky for you, I got a good night's sleep and it's still daylight.

I finally finished that little cardigan that has been OTN since May.

Pattern: Oli Woo by Louisa Harding
Yarn: Berroco Comfort DK in Seedling and Turquoise 
Comments: I bought this yarn several years ago when an LYS near me was going out of business. I bought the book some time after that. I've been wanting to make all the things from the book. This cardigan is the third project I've made from it. As you can see, there are no buttons yet. It's because I can't decide about the closure for this cardi; so, I'm calling it done - at least for now.

And here's the little Halloween themed bag!

Pattern: Lined Drawstring Bag, a tutorial by Jeni Baker
Fabric: I used three prints from the Riley Blake Halloween Magic collection and a Kona Cotton Solid.
Comments:  I've used this tutorial to make project bags before. It's a good one. This bag is my Loopy's Monthly Mixer fabric project for October. The challenge was to make something scary. 

All the little characters in the top print are kind of scary, but spiders (in the bottom print) scare me the most. The pumpkins with the goofy faces aren't too scary, are they?

I still have the July, August and September fabric mixer projects to do. Oy vey! But here's a sneak peak of the fabric for two of them:

MK out.

WIP Wednesday - 10/19/2016

Y'all! The current WIP count is SIX!!! This week, I will have an FO to show you. I wish I was close enough to finish another one, but it is what it is.

In order to try to get one finished for next week, I'm going to concentrate on two projects. One is the Loopy Monthly Mixer for September:

I'm making a Liesl using yarn from The Yarn Vault. It's Azul Profundo on Malabrigo Rios. I know I purchased this yarn from Gauge in Austin, Texas during the Hill Country Yarn Crawl. I'm not sure of the year, but I know it was before 2011 because I logged it into my Ravelry stash page in January of 2011. 

I'm also working on the toy assignment for Loopy Academy:

As you can tell, I haven't gotten too much further than the last time I posted a picture. I need to get on the good foot!

On the sewing front, I am working on some Christmas projects. I won't talk about them until after Christmas. I also have some fabric on deck to make some things. (Of course I do!)

I realize it is already October 19th, but I still haven't cast on a pair of socks for Socktober. I already know what yarn I want to use. It's another skein from The Yarn Vault. 

I want to make a Halloween-themed drawstring bag for the October Monthly Mixer and my Socktober socks can live in it. Isn't the fabric cute?

One of the Loopy Academy projects is a zippered box bag - but since there's a two-yard fabric requirement, it's more like a set of zippered box bags. 

I think this fabric looks so happy and I can't wait to cut into it.  I am trying to narrow down which tutorial I will use to make them, because there are several really good ones out there.

Another Loopy Academy assignment is to make a table topper or wall hanging. 

I have found the pattern I want to use. I'll share more about it another time.

Well, I'm nothing if not ambitious.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 10/10/2016

There are so many movies out right now that I want to see, but we've been in and out of town a lot lately. I don't know about you, but re-entry just seems to take longer for me these days. We get home, I unpack and start the wash, and then there's all this catching up to do. By the time I feel on top of things and get the-project-of-the-moment (whether it be fiber related or not) all organized and set to go, we go back out of town. I'm ready for a break!!!

Anyway, most of my movie watching has been at home. (Insert sad trombone sound here.)

I read The Book Thief a few years ago and really liked it. The movie is a good adaptation of the novel that was written by Markus Zusak. It is set in Holocaust Germany and is about Liesel (Sophie Nelisse) who is being fostered by a German couple. When she joins their family, she cannot read or write. The father, Hans (Geoffrey Rush) teaches her to read. This act opens up a whole new world for her that she shares with her best friend and a young Jewish man that the family is hiding. Emily Watson plays the mother in this film. It was very good.

Sisters, starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, is about two women who find out they have a couple of days to clean out their childhood rooms since their parents have sold the house. Dianne Weist and James Brolin play their parents.There are many Saturday Night Live comedians also starring in this film. It's crude in parts, but it's funny. It was fairly entertaining.

MK out.

FO Friday - 10/07/2016

I finished my socks!!!

Pattern: Show-off Stranded Socks by Anne Campbell
Yarn: Dragonfly Fibers Djinni Sock
Comments: I loved making these socks. They reminded me how to much I enjoy making socks and I already have three pair planned for the next few months. 

I made the legs longer than I usually do, and I like them. I didn't follow the pattern for the heel. I now wished I had, because it is unique and I wouldn't have had to pick up gusset stitches. I do like a heel flap, but it gets a little fiddly with all the double points sticking me and all that. (Until I get all the stitches picked up and organized, I use DPNs.) It works for me, although there is probably a better way. I'll likely use this pattern again; so, there's next time. The yarn is pretty luscious too. I have another skein in a semi-solid color that was gifted to me by my Secret Santa last year.

The WIP count is down to SEVEN!!! I'm so excited. I hope it stays on a downward trend, but those skeins of sock yarn that I'd like to crack open soon are staring me down. On a positive note, I am in the process of putting together that little cardi I've been working on...so, there will be another FO to show next week. Yay!

MK out.

Lazy Saturday

There wasn't an FO post yesterday because there are no FOs. I really wanted to have one, and I am almost there with the pair of socks currently OTN.

I think y'all will see them next week, but in the meantime, here's where I'll be hanging today:

MK out.

FO Friday - 9/23/2016

It's really Saturday, but if I don't get back into the habit of my regular features on this blog, it will vaporize and cease existence.

I finished my Lone Star State Knitters KAL project:

Pattern: I used one of the lace charts from Renee's Lace Class Scarf and made a washcloth.

Yarn: Cascade Ultra Pima

Comments: My online knitting group is hosting a KAL. We were given a pattern and we could make the pattern as written into a scarf, or use a part or parts of it and make whatever we fancied. 

Since the ongoing theme at Chez Merry Karma seems to be upheaval, I picked the simplest motif and made a washcloth.

I wanted to have at least one other thing finished by now, but since I have four projects on the front burner, that didn't happen. Oh well...there's always next week.

Here's hoping!

MK out.