FO Friday

I have three four FOs to share this week, after missing a few weeks in the mayhem. I'm thrilled with all of them, but especially glad to have the first one off the needles at long last.

1. Cabled Quasi-Crew Socks
I started these as a test-knit for the designer in October of 2010. I made it through the first sock quickly enough, and then the second languished for a long while. I ended up having to rip and restart it three times due to various problems. What a relief to have a 2 1/2-year-old UFO finally turned into a FO!

2. Becca's Baby Blanket
A dear friend of mine at work is expecting a baby (any minute now!), so of course I had to make something special for her. She doesn't know the gender, so I wanted to keep it fairly neutral, but something different from the typical yellow and green. I found the perfect yarn in my stash from back in 2010, and it felt great to use "deep stash" for this project. I chose the pattern so that I could be sure to use up all the yarn; it's now discontinued, so I wanted to use it all in one project.

Based on the "Grandmother's Favorite" pattern, in Knit Picks Simply Cotton Sport

3. Maggie the Mama Owl
I am crazy about owls, so when I saw this pattern come out, I just had to make one! It's part of the monthly KAL for the Retro Lemon Podcast, too. Her body is knit in handspun, and the solid brown is Cascade 220.

4. Fire on Ampersand Mountain!
Late-breaking news! It's 10:30pm and I just finished a pair of socks that are just TOO COOL to wait until next Friday. The pattern is Ampersand and the yarn is Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Mediumweight in the color "Fire on the Mountain."

WIP Wednesday

It's WIP Wednesday, and I have been busy with some WIPs over the past few weeks. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Little Owl #2
You might recognize this pattern, as I recently finished knitting one of these little owls for my mom. One of her friends thought it was a real hoot (sorry... couldn't help myself), and so I'm making a second one for her. It just needs wings, feet, and stuffing. She requested it in green for St. Patrick's Day.

Just call me Patty!

2. Moosejaw Hat
This is a hat that I'm making for a friend of mine. He asked me oh-so-nicely to make it for him about 2 years ago, and I forgot all about it until my husband reminded me a week or so ago. I'm designing it to feature his nickname, "Moosejaw" in colorwork, along with a moose. I'm working it in Plymouth Sockotta yarn, which is a blend of cotton, wool, and nylon. It has, unfortunately, been discontinued.

Don't worry, that's not the infamous "naughty moose."

3. North Whales Road Sweater
This sweater, which I'm making with Malabrigo Worsted in the Lola Gilet pattern, got put on the back burner when I was away over Thanksgiving and needed to sit down and make up a spreadsheet for the left front decreases. It was languishing in its project bag until this weekend, when I decided to take action. I feel so foolish now for letting it linger so long; it took me only a few minutes to work out the decrease spreadsheet, and not much longer than that to work up the 40-ish decrease rows. Worsted weight yarn on size 9 needles just flies by, as it turns out, especially when each row has so few stitches.

The back is finished, and I'm working on the left front.

4. Finally, I recently pulled my Cabled Quasi-Crew socks out of hibernation. I made the first sock as a test-knit back in October of 2010, and never got around to making the second one. I have to admit, though I love the way that cables look, I find them rather tedious to make, which is probably why this has been unloved for so long. They are made out of Knit Picks Essential sock yarn (the old version of Knit Picks Stroll) in African Violets.