What Have I been Up To...

Hi and hope you had great holiday's, Happy 2014!  All was quiet here in Las Vegas and luckily the weather has been fantastic.

Here are a few recent projects...

I whipped up this pullover simple cable sweater on request, used Tamm Bebe.

Then did matching fingerless mitts, used my own pattern for these Men's medium (kept it basic but could have done cable or other stitch pattern).  The thumb gore is knit "set in" style after the body of the mitt is made.  So easy!

This past weekend I made a few pair of socks, this pair is a bit "crazy" made in some Hobby Lobby "Walk Away" sock yarn I had in my stash (from a long ago sale).  Ribbing is 2x2 in a 2x1 needle arrangement.

This vest I made out of another stash coned yarn, an acrylic from  Caron (yes it's been in my stash a while) "Heirloom".

The vest was worn once and when washed it ended up with a pair of black jeans which bled all over the vest, staining it.  I tried everything I had in the house to get out the stains, no luck.  Then, I remembered I had purchased laundry "sheets" not that long ago that had remarkable claims on their efficiency.  I took the stained, damp vest and tossed it into a basin of cool water.  Threw in two of the laundry sheets and within 5 minutes the dye was gone!  Close call indeed...

I've lots of projects in mind for 2014 and more yarn just arrived (I really have too much).  With that in mind, I encourage all machine knitters to "just knit" - live outside the box a bit and don't worry if you make a mistake.  It's only knitting.  You can rewind the yarn and start over.  Don't fret if you end up with a row or two more/less (no one will know), don't worry if the carriage is on the wrong side, so what if you have one less stitch than you should at the end; it's only knitting and it really does not matter.

If you haven't the courage or expertise to knit something intricate, just do it.  When you are finished you will have the skills and a whole new level of courage.  Think of your family recipes that are a handful of this and a dash of that, why not do that in your knitting?  Being self taught, I've made my mistakes but I truly learned from those and they have made me a good knitter.

What matters is for you to enjoy your knitting and produce beautiful items that you and others will cherish.

Wishing you a peaceful new year!