Sunshine blanket of DOOM – finished!

It’s done *happy dance* and it’s awesome!

I decided to increase the basic Pinwheel pattern to 50 stitches between YOs. That’s a massive 500 stitches total. The blanket I pulled of the needles was a good size, and I hope it would grow a little after blocking.

It nearly doubled in size. That’s a 30cm or 12 inch ruler that almost reached all the way to the centre before blocking and comes nowhere near afterwards. It is huge.

I love it though. So bright and happy for my little boy. And the pattern is so ridiculously easy that I’ll be able to whip up one for the pram/car seat quickly.

Ravelry link.

Lava Waterfall Socks

I’m on a sock RAMPAGE!

These are my Lava Waterfall socks. These socks from Wendy Johnson were something a bit different for me. I followed the pattern faithfully, which I never do. I wasn’t a huge fan of the construction of the heel, but I trusted the pattern, and it did turn out nicely. I do prefer the Fleegle heel to this one though.

The yarn is so soft and squishy, and the orange makes me smile. They are probably slightly too short, but I got really tired of the pattern towards the end.

Ravelry link.

Happiness Socks

These are called Happiness Socks because, honestly, could you be sad if you were wearing them?

These are heavily modified Hermione’s Everyday Socks. I changed them to toe-up, TAAT, with a Fleegle Heel and 10 rows of twisted rib for the bind off.

I adore them.

They are squishy and warm and comfy and RAINBOW!!!1!!

Ravelry link.

The best part is that there is a lot of yarn left over. I have another skein in my stash, so I might make knee-highs next time 😀

Drop Stitch Scarf

I’d eyed off scarves featuring drop stitches for a while, but, like the Odessa, it was so worth it! Drop stitch scarves are very impressive, and look a lot more difficult then they actually are.

I have had so many compliments on this scarf, and it makes me feel a bit smug 🙂

How impressive is that?

60 inches of pure 100% hand-dyed merino

Paired with my Odessa hat it is very warm and snuggly.

Ravelry Link

Never underestimate how much fun it can be to purposefully drop stitches. I would count down to the drop row, and giggle like a schoolgirl as they unravelled.

Beading

After a break from knitting, my to-do list has grown massively as we suffer through a horrible cold snap. Some days it rarely gets above freezing, and I am cold.

What does that mean?

KNITTING!

I’ve been keeping my eyes out for a really cute beanie pattern. now let me preface this by saying that I am not a hat girl. I just don’t wear them. but it’s damn cold.

Enter Odessa.

Such a pretty hat/beanie/headwarmer/tea cosy. The spiral stitch pattern captured my imagination, but what truly won me over was the beads. I am a magpie, and anything shiny will catch my eye and make me happy. Only issue was that I had never done a beaded knit before. Did I dare to try what looked like such a formidable technique?

I totally did, and it was totally worth it 😀

My head is so warm! And shiny!

This free pattern uses a combination of YOs and SSK to craete the beautiful spiral towards the top of the head.

*****space saved for photo when I con my husband into taking it*****

There were a few tricky parts to this pattern, but once I found my rhythm it grew very fast. Two nights and I had a very warm head.

Here is a copy of my notes from my Ravelry project page, which include some helpful hints.

• It is easy to lose count during the Odessa stitch pattern. To prevent this, I placed a stitch marker (loop of waste yarn) after each repeat. It helps if you accidentally lose a stitch or forget a YO.
• If you forget how many repeats of the non-beaded pattern round you have done, you can tell by how many stitches it takes to get to the bead within a repeat (another reason the stitch markers come in handy!). Note: this is counting from after you do the SSK.
  3 stitches until knitting on top of the bead = first round.
  2 stitches until knitting on top of the bead = second round.
  1 stitch until knitting on top of the bead = third repeat.
• You always knit the previous YO, and do a YO straight after doing so.

CO 110 on 4.5mm.
Knit 9 rows of ribbing with 4.5mm.
Knit 6 repeats of Odessa pattern to give approximately 6 inches of hat before beginning decreases.
Used 88 beads.

I knit these using a very warm 100% Merino wool. Shamefully (as an Aussie) I chose a New Zealand wool, but it was worth it for the colourway.

Eye Catching Ribbed Scarf

>My best friend is off to China next week, and I thought I’d make her a little something to take with her. Despite knowing about the trip for about 6 months, I only decided to knit something about 10 days before she left. Why do I do it to myself?

Anyway, I needed a quick knit that would help keep her warm during the cold season. I remembered the Enjoyable Rib Scarf from a UFO floating around. Dug through the yarn cupboard (yeah, I have a cupboard of yarn. Don’t you?) and discovered some gorgeous bright blue bamboo/cotton blend. It was so silky in my hand I knew it would be perfect.

I cast on enthusiastically and slogged along. And kept going and going and going. I was pretty bored by the end.

But I think the end result is worth it. A nice, squishy, warm scarf that will hold its shape.

The yarn brought out the decorative stitch quite nicely.

I found my stitches were a little uneven, so I blocked the scarf by laying it flat on a towel and spritzing it with water, then pulling into shape. It stretched a bit width-wise, not so much length-wise. I left it to dry overnight, and I was happy with the results.

By about 20 rows in, my hands remembered the pattern so I no longer had to 🙂

Hope she likes it and it keeps her warm on the Great Wall.