down to the wire

#bangoutacarbeth

#fringeandfriendslogalong

You guys! I can’t help but give myself a little pat on the back for finishing not one but two knitalong projects by today’s deadline. Even the ends are woven in! Super happy with how they both turned out too. Carbeth gave me a little bit of a scare when I first cast it off because instead of the intended positive ease, the sweater pretty much hugged me like a sausage casing. But through the magical powers of blocking, it ended up being okay. I’m pretty happy with the fit and the marled fade makes me smile. It’s a great way to use up those colorful single skeins that we all have lying around.

Another technique to play with stash yarn is logcabin knitting. It’s just the most fun! I am so glad that I didn’t give up on these logcabin socks during the bumpy design process. I wrote down the steps to make them and just have to translate my messy notes into a free pattern for anyone interested in knitting a pair.

If you get a chance, please check out the hashtags for both knitalongs on instagram. There are so many cool projects in both. I am totally adding the Carbeth Cardigan to my future sweater list and the inventiveness of the knitters in the logalong feed just blows me away!

february knitalongs

I can’t believe how quickly this month has flown by! Has it for you? Definitely unusual for February but I have no complaints. The faster winter speeds by the better. This month has been filled with lots of fun knitalongs which are terrific motivators for getting projects off the needles, don’t you think? Here’s a quick rundown of the ones I am currently participating in:

The above pair of socks were for the little bobbins Christmas Eve cast on and also the Box O’ Sox kal. I love how comfy they turned out to be. The pattern is Emily’s Favorite Socks and the pretty yarn is from A Homespun House in the cozy nights colorway.


Still working on my logcabin socks for the Fringe and Friends Logalong. I decided to go with a darker color scheme for this one. It’s taking a little bit longer since I am trying to write down the steps as I knit.


Next up is a pair of Valentine’s Day socks for the hearts and heels kal hosted by the happy knitting podcast. The yarn is Paintbox Socks in the passion colorway. How was your Valentine’s Day? My husband and I usually give each other cards and some candy to celebrate the day. Nothing too fancy. This year’s treats are Japanese strawberry KitKats my fave!

Last but not least is the project that has been my main knitting entertainment this month. It’s the Carbeth pullover by Kate Davies knitted for the fast and furious annual bang out a sweater kal hosted by Kay & Ann of Mason-Dixon Knitting. I will post more pics next week after it’s washed and blocked.

I hope that you are having a fun month of knitting and creating. Are you joining in on any knitalongs or craftalongs this month/season/year?

fringe and friends logalong

One of the highlights of my knitting year is participating in the Fringe and Friends KAL that is hosted by Karen Templer on her Fringe Association blog. The last three years have all been garment based but this year I was excited to see just a general technique as a prompt for the KAL: log cabins. Leaving the theme so wide opened to other crafts has been fun & inspiring. Check out the Instagram feed (#fringeandfriendslogalong) to see cool projects ranging from garments to accessories to housewares to lots of squishy blankets. The blankets in particular were tempting me but I already have five (yikes!) on the needles/hook at the moment therefore a smaller project seemed like a smarter plan. Since socks are my next favorite project to knit on, I was excited to try to improvise a pair using the log cabin technique. Everything started out fine and I was completely smitten with how lovely indie dyed yarns combined with log cabin knitting. But then the creative thought/planning process kinda froze up on me and I ended up staring at the above rectangle for weeks. The hubby thought I was crazy because I kept pulling it out and swearing at it. I finally forced myself to just try out a few ideas even if it meant a lot of ripping out. And eventually something clicked:

Eureka! I have a sock!