Scrappy Musselburgh

A few weeks back, I saw a post from Stolen Minutes on using scrap and leftover fingering yarn to make a Musselburgh hat. The idea was intriguing, as my collection of small skeins of fingering yarn from socks has grown quite a bit. I decided to take some black sock yarn (never want to use black sock yarn again in a sock) that was most of a skein, and the leftover mini-skeins from my 2022 Advent Minis from Hue Loco.

This was a fun and relatively mindless project to work on. As suggested, I used the Magic Knot to connect the yarn as needed. Stolen Minutes pre-wound a skein, and I decided that I wanted to be able to choose as I progressed. I am happy that I did that.

The hat looks funny when you are done knitting it, and the length in the pattern seems like it must be too long.

But, Ysolda knows best, and once you turn it in on itself and then have the cuff, it is perfect. This is a very warm hat, think cold winter snow shoveling. I made this for my husband, and plan to make myself one. I was a bit worried about the thickness, so I made him the XL Adult size. For myself, I will stick with the regular Adult size.

An early Spring means that this most likely get worn until next winter, but here is the finished project.

And the reverse view:

I have finished one of the Cougar Ridge socks, started on the second. Once I got into the rhythm of the sock, it was very easy to work on.

#Musselburghhat

#ScrappyMusselburgh

Socks and more Socks

My socks using the Mondim yarn are now finished, and I used a soft pink for the toes. These are not superwash, so they will most likely be mine, as I do not trust others to handwash their socks. The pattern is of my own making, a twisted 3×1 rib, coming off of a twisted 1×1 ribbed cuff.

I also received some more sock yarn from Gauge Dye Works, part of her birth month sock collection that she just started. The pink and green is her January birth month sock, and the Purple with a touch of green is the February sock. I am trying not to look at her other monthly sock creations!

I have just started working on another pair of socks. Wanting a break from the colorful variegated and striped yarns that I have been purchasing, I opted to use the JaggerSpun yarn that I received about 18 months ago from The Wooly Thistle Fall 2022 sock package. This is the same package that brought me the Mondrim sock yarn, so I am feeling a bit happy about using this up finally.

The yarn is a fine fingering weight. I was searching for a pattern that would have lots of interest in the knitting, since the yarn is a solid color. Holding and smelling this yarn, it has a very sheepish feel and smell. It brings back memories of wool festivals. Cougar Ridge is the pattern that I chose, from the Laine book 52 Weeks of Socks Vol. II.

I am also continuing to work on my scrappy Musselburg hat. This is for my husband, should be a warm work outside hat. It makes me happy to find a place to use up leftover Advent mini skeins. There are plenty of small amounts of various sock yarns in my stash collection, so I am thinking to make one for myself in the near future. It is nice to have a mindless knit at times.

And, when I saw the newest Laine book, 52 Weeks of Accessories, I knew that I needed that. The photography has improved from the first book, 52 Weeks of Socks.

These are just a few of the items in the book that I found intriguing. I took the book to my monthly knitting group, and it was well-received there also. I particularly like the mittens shown below.

#GaugeDyeWorks

#jaggerspun

#TheWoolyThistle

#Laine

#52WeeksofSocksV2

#52WeeksofAccessories

#MondimYarn

Fenna

For Advent 2022 I chose to sign up for 2 Advent mini skeins (24 skeins from each dyer). The dyers were Hue Loco, and Moonglow yarns. 

Hue Loco was the first that I signed up for in the summer of 2022, then I saw the add from Moonglow that the theme was a rainbow, and of course I had to.

I decided to knit up the Hue Loco yarn into a garter stitch Faroese shawl, ala Stahman’s Shawls & Scarves by Myrna Stahman. If you do not own her book, I think it a must. I have knit many many Faroese shawls, and a couple of Seaman’s scarfs from this book. I first met her on a weekend knitting retreat at a local yarn store in Elmhurst (Have You Any Wool for those local Old-Timers), who had invited Barbara Walker to teach a class on Mosaic knitting. That was wonderful, and when the shop owner discovered that Myrna was attending, she asked her to also do a teaching day. That was such a wonderful weekend.

The simplicity of the garter stitch shawl has always appealed to me, but I had not yet knit it. When I saw the Hue Loco Advent yarn, which I had ordered as singles, I am not quite sure why I chose singles, I thought of the pattern Fenna from this book, the beautiful Faroese garter stitch shawl. I also love her patterns, because they all start at the top, and you can just knit until you have the length you want, or until you run out of yarn. The shoulder shaping of these shawls makes them fit so nicely on you.

So, next was to choose the colors. I was not enamored with the order that they came in the 24 day sequence, so I laid them all out and arranged the colors in an order that worked for me.

And then I knit. At first I was really trying to feather the colors in slowly, but I gave that up as the shawl got larger.

It was a lot of weaving in of ends, but I love the outcome. This is absolutely my current go-to shawl, I think because it is so soft and squishy, a combination of the singles yarn, and the garter stitch fabric. While I finished this shawl quite awhile ago, I neglected to post about it until now. I wish that I had a mannequin to model sweaters and shawls. My lighting leaves something to be desired also.

There were some leftover mini-skeins that have been patiently waiting.

And now those are being incorporated into a scrap Musselburgh hat. I first saw this on Stolen Minutes Instagram post, she is on her second one now. I am starting with using a black sock yarn that I had purchased for the heels and toes of socks for Dan. While I love how those turned out, black yarn was not my favorite to knit with, so this has sat for awhile.

#HueLocoAdvent2022

#MoonglowYarn

#FennaFaroeseShawl

#MyrnaStahman

Dancing Flower

I really should not be buying yarn this close to the wonderful Christmas gifts that I have received. And I should not be purchasing another bag. But I did, and I am.

I am going to first blame it on Maika. Yet another Instagram post showed their Sweet Surprise box at 50% off. I have one other bag of theirs that I purchased last summer in Boulder, and I really like it. I was hoping that it would not be the same fabric, but at 50% off I was willing to take a chance. This is the bag that I got last summer, and that I love using.

And, I was not disappointed, this new bag is so nice, and really doubles as a knitting bag and purse. The design of the bag, as well as the fabric is different from what I purchased last summer.

An interior zipper pouch and an open pouch, plus a clasp for keys. It also has handles and a shoulder strap. All vegan. So, while writing this, I just had to order another Sweet Surprise as a gift! They have such a great mission, and the colors and fabrics are gorgeous.

This yarn just showed up today. I was buying more of the neutral yarn from Woolens and Nosh to knit the 2nd pair of the Advent socks (ran out of the first mini skein). She offered up the minis again, and I had seen this gorgeous Christmas yarn knit up. I will save that to knit next Fall and a new pair of Christmas socks. My sister Diane will notice what this photo of the yarn was taken on.

Her eco-friendly packaging is also a plus, I love how this yarn was packaged, arrived safely in the mail, and the packaging then went to the recycling bin.

Hmmm, Gauge Dye Works may be bringing something also.

#WoolensandNosh

#MaikaGoods

Kumiko

I finished my Kukimo socks about a week ago. They are now washed and blocked.

The color is a bit off from these 2 images, I think that the following one of the finished sock is closest.

I would use this pattern again, it is a great way to use up small bits of yarn. Almost like a patchwork sock. However, the yarn is not something that I would use or recommend. It was very splitty, which was problematic when picking up the stitches from the sole. And, while it is very soft, it does not seem like it would wear well. Wonderland Yarns & Frabjous Fibers, Cheshire Cat yarn.

I did wear my 2023 Advent socks from The Cozy Knitter during the Polar event a couple of weeks ago. They are very warm, and cheered me up during a dreary weather event.

Always needing a pair of socks on the needles, and on my way somewhere one day with no time to wind yarn, I pulled out this skein from a Wooly Thistle sock bag that I purchased in the Fall of 2022. 

I was not enamored with the skein, and felt that it would just be a striping sock. I was surprised as I started knitting with it. The yarn is very “sheepy” (my own technical term). The yarn is Mondim, and made of Portuguese wool using Campandica sheep from Baixo Alentejo. Campandica sheep is not really a breed, but rather the area. I think that the sheep are Laicaudia sheep. If anyone has any further intel, I would be interested.

This is the description from The Wooly Thistle: 

The Woolly Thistle is pleased to offer Retrosaria Mondim Fingering Weight Yarn! Mondim is a non-superwash fingering weight yarn made from fine Portuguese wool. It is named after a Portuguese village once famous for its sock knitting cottage industry. Shades 100 and 300 are natural (not dyed).

• Breed: 100% Portuguese wool
• Package: 100g 
• Weight: 4 ply (fingering)
• approx. 421 yds/385 m
• Gauge: 24 – 32 sts = 4 inches

The Laicaudia sheep appear in neither The Field Guide to Fleece nor The Fleece & Fiber Source book – both by Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius. These are great books that I have had for years, and use as a resource to understand the fiber. You can find either of these books used at AbeBooks. 

It is a non-superwash, which is also another reason that I probably never used it. I am going to have to tag this for someone who would be assured of hand washing the socks. I must admit that I am enjoying knitting with it. I have started with 64 sts, in a 1×1 twisted rib, using a tubular cast-on.

These were the yarns in Wooly Thistle bag that I had received, and the Mondim is the first yarn that I am knitting from it, primarily because there are few superwash in this set. They did give suggestions for sock patterns, I think that the Rauma may be next for a pair of slippers.

#Kukimosocks

#TheWoolyThistleSockBag2022

#Mondimsockyarn

#TheCozyKnitterAdvent2023

Hibernating

FORGOT TO HIT THE PUBLISH BUTTON ON THIS ONE. BETTER LATE THAN NEVER! (From 1/14/24)

Today has been a very cold day here, and 2 more to look forward to. I think that the high today was about 2 degrees, -11 tonight. My husband is out of town, and yesterday (before the cold set in), I had friends over for wine and company. I must say I have found it hard to return to the pre-Covid levels of socializing. It is also compounded that my job became full-time during Covid. I had plans for working on projects all day, and I found myself sitting and watching movies and knitting. Not the best movies, but, good ones for knitting (don’t require following an intricate plot). I have been working on the Kumiko socks. The top of the foot took me about 6 times of repeating, I either missed the correct pick-ups from the sole, or messed up the pattern.

The toe of the socks is knit first, followed by the sole and then the heel. The toe required a Turkish cast-on. I liked this video the best by Andrea Mowry. I saw another that used 2 sets of circular needles, but preferred this. The construction really required using a magic loop for the toe, so I used my circular needles, and used them for the brown section, but the join kept snagging up. 

I have been keeping track of the weights of the yarn that I am using for each section so that, in theory, I could knit these socks up using scrap yarn bits. Obviously, the top of the foot and the leg are taking up the most yarn. I had to quit a bit before the 3 1/2″ recommended length. I am knitting the second sock simultaneously. 

Straight needles were used for the periwinkle top, using my new Signature needles that my husband got me for Christmas. They are lovely, and then I switched to my Signature DPN’s for the leg and cuff. 

Not being a great fan of toe-up socks, I went out of my comfort zone. It took me a bit of comparison to my other socks to get the foot length to what I think is correct. I know that the advantage of toe-up is that you can just keep knitting until you run out of yarn. Perhaps it is because I initially learned to knit cuff down, or it may be my preference for knitting socks with DPN’s.

I had all kinds of crafting plans for this weekend, and feel that I missed the boat on doing a lot today. I found the house to be so lonely and quiet. The cats and I just hung out, and none of us ventured outside. Tomorrow I need to get started on some sewing and new projects while it is light, and then hunker down when the sun goes down, which is still way too early. 

While I was trying to decipher the pattern for the Kumiko socks, I also cast on a pair of fingerless mitts. This is my own pattern, which you can get for free here if you are interested. These were knit using the remainder from a set of Backyard Chicken yarn by Hue Loco. I have several other sets also of these trios, so this is a good way to use them up. 

Stolen Minutes, who I follow on Instagram, has a great podcast discussing how they used leftover scraps of fingering weight yarn. I really need to try this, looks like a great use of leftovers. She made a Musselburgh hat with them, this is one of my new favorite hats to knit, as it is actually warm.

To a more productive day tomorrow. School starts in a week, so I really need to take advantage of this free time. Just miss my husband.

#KoiguTwistedMitts

#BackyardChickens

#Kumiko

#Toeup Socks

Pom Pom

It seems that the past few years were a great boon to knitting, and knitting and crafting magazines. I was a bit late to the game on many of those, and started with some issues of Laine that I found on sale at LYS’s. I have since become a subscriber to Laine, as it is not always possible for me to get to a LYS and snag a copy.

Making was the next magazine that I found, and really loved the mix of knitting, crafts and cooking. I think that this was a favorite magazine to get, and I purchased as many past issues as I could find, and subsequently became a regular subscriber. Then, they went all digital. I guess that I am old fashion, as I like a physical magazine, and love perusing through them when they first arrive, and later as a refresh. That was the end of my relationship with Making. I still have plenty of the older magazines.

Pom Pom was not on my list, as I had the above 2 journals to occupy me. Then, I heard that they were going out of business. So, I looked at the list of journals still available and chose ones that I thought might have projects that interest me. And a week ago, these arrived:

It has been enjoyable reading these, although there are not a lot of projects that currently catch my eye. I find many of them to be simpler than I normally gravitate towards. I did find these socks in Issue #42 that I am anxious to cast on for:

They are named Kumiko. The texture is really interesting, as well as the fact that I could use this opportunity to use up larger scraps of sock yarn. If you check out the pattern on Ravelry, there are some very innovative mixes of colors.

For my first attempt at these socks, I am going to use a package of sock yarn that I purchased several years ago. The list price is $35, but I know that I got this on discount, just not sure how much (I am guessing 50% off). It would not be a color group that I would have paid full-price for, but the bargain drew me in. This was purchased from Fiberista in Oak Park. They were a short-lived yarn shop that got into State and Federal trouble for selling yarn kits with patterns, but only purchasing one digital copy from the designers, and then giving them away with their kits. I never joined their monthly club, so was not part of that scam, but did go to the shop occasionally. The owner, Hunter, was very friendly, and it is the place where I could get the Brooklyn Tweed yarns, which I love for their use of American wool and American manufacturing. If you want to read about the Fiberista scandal, here is one of the articles.

This yarn is Wonderland Yarns (frabjous fibers), and is a sock/fingering weight yarn. Five different colored skeins with 128 yards for each 1 oz skein, 100% Superwash Merino. It is loftier than many of the sock yarns that I use, will be interesting to see how it knits up. I am thinking about the brown for the sole, and the periwinkle for the cuff and top of the foot. Just need to wind these up and start knitting.

#LaineMagazine

#MakingMagazine

#PomPom

On the12th Day

Today was the last day of opening my “12 Days of” Gifts.

Day 11: Yet another beautiful mini-skein. And a tag to include with a special gift. This tag is from East of India, which appears to be a wholesaler only, so you would have to look at your favorite crafting or knitting shop. They also have some items available on Amazon if interested.

Day 12: Swatching wires and the last mini skein. I have never used swatching wires, this makes so much sense. I am guessing that a couple of these gifts mean that I need to swatch more frequently. I do swatch, but not as precisely as these would allow. These were made by HandWorks Northwest. I have blocking wires, buy they are too long for blocking out a swatch.

Here is the box, and all of the wonderful gifts that I have received the last 12 days.

The accessories all together:

The gorgeous rainbow of yarns and the large grey skein. I have a pattern in mind, but I cannot locate it. It is a shawl with a main color and scallops or shells of accent colors in-between. If anyone has an idea of what I am talking about, I would greatly appreciate it.

I feel so grateful for my wonderful knitting group. I am already looking forward to next Christmas, have started collecting items, and have ideas for others.

#12DaysofChristmasKnitting

#OakParkStitchnBitch

Advent Socks 2023

I have finally finished the heels and toes, woven in all the ends, and washed my newest Advent socks.

For The Cozy Knitter Advent 2023 socks, I chose to knit a spiral of K3, P1 and rotating one stitch each row to spiral around the sock, using size 1 Needles. The spiral was reversed for the second pair of socks. I am pleased with how these came out, and intend to keep these for myself, being the sucker for rainbows that I am.

Here are this years Cozy Knitter Advent socks, and the past 2 years as well. The ones with the black heel and toe are from 2021 and were gifted that year to my husband. The pair with the white heels and toes were from 2022 and are waiting in my gift pile for the perfect recipient. Both of the previous socks were just knit with straight stockinette, and I really wanted to mix it up this year. I am glad that I did, and also that I ordered the extra yarn for the heels and toes, of which I still have the second mini skein for when I knit the second pair of socks. The bonus socks for all 3 years are patiently waiting for the time to knit up again.

My socks from Woolens and Nash were a fun project. I used the pattern that came with the yarn kit, Peace and Joy Socks by KnittenKristen. I chose to do the afterthought heel, as I did not want to break up the even stripes in the socks. Needle size 1.

As I stated earlier, I was a bit bored with the colors at the beginning at the cuff, and since I didn’t know what was hidden in the bag, I was initially not sure that I would like them. Well, I am very pleased with the outcome. I did not however, have enough of the light gray yarn to knit the heels with, so I chose a dark grey color from my stash (I think it was left over from a Gauge Dye Works sock project). These are being saved for my husband, I think for his upcoming Birthday.

I will definitely be ordering both of these sock sets for Advent 2024.

#TheCozyKnitterAdvent2023

#WoolensandNashAdvent2023

I Needed That

I have opened days 9 and 10 of my “12 Days of”. Each day I look forward to a quiet alone time so that I can savor the gift opening. Only 2 days left of gifts. Feeling totally spoiled.

Day 9: Oh the wonderful things that I never knew I needed. For Day 9, I received yet another mini-skein, and cable locks. I was not even sure what they were, then I saw this Instagram post on them from Twice Sheared Sheep.

How handy these will be for knitting shawls on a circular needle, I am anxious to try them. A couple of years ago I had ordered the Advent box from Twice Sheared Sheep. They have greatly increased their knitting notions, and I already have some items in mind from them if we do this gift exchange again. Coco Knits and Twice Sheared Sheep have really done a fantastic job of providing knitting accessories. To think that growing up, I just used tied yarn for stitch markers! All the things that I was missing.

Day 10: Yes, another beautiful mini skein. And, my hands have been very dry of late. I will add this moisture stick to my knitting bag. 

#12DaysofChristmasKnitting

#TwiceShearedSheep