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."

FO Friday

I am riding high on the finishitis wave, and milking it for all it's worth. This is the item that started the finishing mojo going: my Simple Knitted Bodice by Stephanie Japel. I started it last September and abandoned it in January with just a sleeve and a half to go - not much work considering that I made the short-sleeved version! I was able to complete it in just a few evenings and now I'm looking forward to wearing it if we can just get some cool fall weather already!

I just committed a major knitting sin/crime by posting a picture of an item before blocking it.

I made several modifications to the pattern as I went. After initially following the pattern instructions regarding the length (even binding off), I decided that it was too short, so I ultimately frogged the bind-off and lengthened the body by about three inches. I picked up for the collar and finished it before starting the sleeves. I omitted the sparkly contrast yarn and just let the heathered raspberry color speak for itself. I ended up using just over 3 skeins of Cascade 220 (about 715 yards) which is amazing considering I added the extra length. I have almost 2 full skeins left over which will make another nice project or two.

WIP Wednesday

Recently I have been working through a bout of "finishitis" (the extremely rare condition that occasionally presents in knitters who have numerous unfinished projects-in-progress, with symptoms mirroring those of it's much more common counterpart, "startitis"). During my recent move it occurred to me how many WIPs I had in various stages of completion, and I was motivated to finally finish some of the languishing items.
This week, I have been working on my neglected February Baby Sweater, which was originally intended as a gift for either of two babies who are each now approaching 6 months of age (fail). The wonderful thing about being in the phase of life that I'm currently enjoying (read: my mid-twenties), is that hardly a day goes by without an announcement from one friend or another that a new baby is on the way. So, I have knit on with renewed resolve to finish this adorable garment for whichever baby happens to come along at the right time.
Here's the sweater in its current state of noncompletion: