Samples for Lady Dye Yarns (and Overcoming My Fear of Variegated Yarn)

First, let me apologize for abandoning my blog while I was in Europe. I wish I could say that I was too busy exploring German countryside, hiking the Swiss Alps, knitting with the finest of Wollemeise and drinking wine, but alas, that was not true. Instead, I was hard at work and putting in a lot of hours at the lab. While that might sound lame, the truth is, I really enjoy working in the lab in Germany. It was really great to see some old friends again and make some new ones too!I did manage to do some knitting while I was abroad, but I'm going to fast forward for now -- I promise I'll come back to Europe in later posts.

These past few weeks I've doing a lot of knitting and I'm excited to show off some of my recent FO's!
A few weeks ago now, I saw on Facebook that Diane Ivey of Lady Dye Yarns was looking for knitters to make samples using her yarn to display at Stitches Midwest. And for payment, a few skeins of her yarn! Let's be honest, who wouldn't knit for more yarn?

Lady Dye Yarns

When I picked up the yarn from Diane, I asked what she wanted me to knit, assuming she had a pattern in mind. But then the deal got even sweeter..... she said it would be great if I could make a hat, but it was up to me to decide what to make. How awesome is that?? Not only did I get the fun of knitting with something with free funky yarn, but also I got an excuse to browse ravelry for a few hours with an actual purpose.

So here's a picture of the yarn she gave me for knitting the sample -- two skeins of her Worsted Superwash Merino. Now, I'll be honest, I rarely knit with variegated yarn. Initially, I didn't know what would be the best type of pattern for this yarn... simple, textured, lacy, cabled? Not to mention that "blue-orange" is a bold color combo. Luckily Diane did give me a little direction saying that something cabled would look better than something lacy.

Superwash Merino Worsted Yarn from Lady Dye Yarns

FO - Neon Ski Hat

With that in mind, I searched ravelry with terms like "cable", "hat",  and "variegated" and eventually spotted the pattern for the Neon Ski Hat. I remembered this pattern was used in a reddit KAL, and I just loved the projects that came out of it. Specifically, I liked that the hat was not a regular, old hat. It has a unique shape and a ton of texture, giving off a fun and jovial vibe to match that of the yarn. In the end, the hat actually turned out even better than I imagined!

Neon Ski Hat

So a few notes... You might have noticed that one skein was a bit lighter than the other. The simple solution to that was to alternate the skeins every round and every two rows when knitting flat. Also, the "body" of the hat is initially knit flat and then joined in the round, but the stitch pattern didn't line up when I went to join in the round. Fortunately, I found notes from MooBooBaby's project which described exactly how to avoid this problem for a large size hat.

Me modeling the Neon Ski Hat and Maine Morning Mitts.

FO - Maine Morning Mitts

I had some yarn leftover, so I also made some mittens to match! I wasn't sure exactly how much yarn I had left, so I opted for making some fingerless mitts. The Maine Morning Mitts pattern I used was quick and easy. I managed to finish them in one afternoon. No significant mods here, except that I made them a bit shorter than original pattern called for. 

Close up of the Maine Morning Mitts

Lesson Learned

From this experience I've learned that I need to be less hesitant my yarn choices. Me of the past would steer clear of variegated yarn, because I didn't know how to use it. Fortunately now I have a bit more confidence with choosing good patterns for variegated yarn, which is perfect since I have two more skeins of Lady Dye Yarns to play with!

Yarn from Lady Dye Yarns for more fun variegated projects!

Thanks again Diane for the awesome yarn and for changing my mind about variegated yarn! Have fun at Stitches Midwest this weekend!!

Lady Dye Yarns Team at Stitches Midwest

A Never-Ending Snowstorm Means Never-Ending Knitting!

For those who haven't been keeping up with the New England weather, we are amidst the most epic and never-ending snowstorm of all time. No exaggeration. Since my last snow day post, we've had three snow days, and it takes a lot of snow to shut down Boston. Most of Boston is exasperated with the weather, but I must admit, I've enjoyed living in a winter wonderland. Fortunately, I can say that because I don't have a car or driveway shovel out, and I have a job that allows me to easily work from home. Plus the snow days allowed me to sneak in a few extra hours of knitting, so I can't complain.

Before I get to the actually knitting, I just want to take a second mention two other feats I accomplished this week: stash organization and blocking! These are on my list of bottom 5 knitting activities (along with weaving in ends, grafting, and frogging). Even though I dislike the process of organizing and blocking, the end results are worth it.

Blocked - Hive Mind Cowl

Here is a test knit for the Hive Mind Cowl that I finished knitting last month. The pattern is not available yet, but when it is, I'll let you all know. It's made out of this bulky alpaca/merino/acrylic blend, and the brioche stitch makes this even softer and squishier. The cowl is a holiday gift for my fiance's friend, but I didn't want to give it without blocking. Now the gift is very late, but I'm so glad I waited. It looks so much better.

FO - Eugenia Mittens

I also managed to finish the Eugenia Mittens started on the last post. I mostly followed the pattern as is, but I did the following modifications:

• used a 4.0mm needle throughout, 
• worked rows 1-16, 1-16, then 1-10 in the cable pattern, 
• started the thumb gusset at row 7 instead of row 5, 
• only worked thumb gusset until there were 13 stitches, and
• picked up 4 stitches when working the thumb, then k2tog twice on the next round.

Overall I liked how these mittens turned out. To be honest, I have a love-hate-love relationship with mittens. I love how they look, then I hate making the thumb, and then love how they turn out. These will also be a belated gift. One day I will catch up with all of these gifts!

WIP - Gloucester Baby Blanket

This weekend I also started drafting a pattern for a baby blanket, which I will share here once its done. I'm calling it the Gloucester Baby Blanket, as its inspired from an old fisherman's sweater. 

Now I'm off to get ready for work tomorrow. I almost forget what that's like!

Go Pats!

What a night! Last night my fiance, Michael, and I watched the Super Bowl at our friend's new house in Southie (South Boston). Needless to say, it was an exciting night and a great game, even for football un-enthusiasts.

The only thing I missed out on last night was being able to knit during the game. Football games are usually prime knitting time for me. Right now I am working on a pair of cabled mittens, which requires me to keep a constant eye on the instructions. I try not to pull out those kind of projects in a social setting. A mindless stockinette project is a whole other story of course.

WIP - Eugenia Mittens 

The Eugenia Mittens by Mollie Woodworth that I'm  working on are for the February Reddit KAL. On Saturday morning, I casted on with the a dark Autumn Red yarn and quickly knit up most of mitten.

Midway through the Eugenia mitten in Autumn Red.

Just as started the mitten top decreases, I realized that I did not have enough for a second one. My face looked just like this...

Once I finished moping about it, I casted on again with a light pink yarn. For this project I'm using Caron Simply Soft, which is a super soft and durable, acrylic yarn.

Attempt #2 on Eugenia mittens in Persimmon.

I toyed around with buying Cascade 220 for this project (Iridescence or Walnut Heather... or both), but I made a strikk New Year's resolution to destash before buying anything new. I have a large stash of Simply Soft thanks to my mom, who recycles the leftover yarn from her crocheted afghans to me. While I would prefer to use natural fiber, I do love the ease of washing and handling acrylic yarn for items such as slippers and mittens as they tend to take a lot of abuse.

So far I've finished 90% of one pink mitten, and I love how its turning out. The cable pattern is simple, but looks very intricate when its finished. This would make a great first "learn to cable" project. Plus there are two ways that one can repeat the cable pattern to get slightly different looks. If you're following the pattern, I did the 1-16, 1-16, 1-10 cable pattern.

Today is actually another snow day in Boston (third day in one week!), which means besides working from home, I can get in some good knitting time and make some headway on mitten #2.

Another beautiful snowfall this morning Brookline Village.