Around The House

Hello! I didn't mean to go so long between posts. I moved! For the last month my time has been mostly spent packing or unpacking boxes. Or replacing things that got lost in the shuffle. Or building furniture. I didn't have time/motivation to blog but I never stop making. I have a hard time adjusting to change and it was the only thing keeping me sane in this new environment. Plus we had an emergency! We new bought pots and pans but no potholders. Luckily its very easy to crochet a square.

This is actually TWO squares, one done in moss stitch and the other in double crochets. Sew them together and BOOM. No more hand ouchies. I used some leftover Caron cotton. Those cakes are HUGE by the way. If you're using it for small projects you'll never run out.

Putting up a curtain rod is much harder than it seems. My arms were very sore afterwards. They got a break though, I had some crochet vines from a previous project laying around which made for perfect curtain ties. I did make a lil flower 'cus I can't be still for to long.

This one is the least necessary but the cutest I think. My mom is one of those moms who LOVES a themed room. She also loves astrological motifs, so her new bedroom is night-sky themed. She wanted a star pillow. So I made a star pillow! Me-1, Amazon-0. She's also one of those moms who loves Amazon. I am having a hard time deciding how personal to get in this blog. These items are a part of my life so its hard to not share little details of my life along with them! Anyway, look at this shit, adorable.

This is Bernat baby velvet

. So shiny, so velvety soft, so nice. I want to buy a millon skeins.

This place gets way more natural light than my old apartment, and we even have a little patio so hopefully my photos improve a little ^.^ Looking forward to making stuff outside and taking nice pictures of that stuff.

Socks For Docs

I am now the owner of a beautiful pair of Doc Martin t-strap Mary Janes. An unexpected birthday gift from my uncle, who I love so much and am very grateful to have in my life. These have seriously been my dream shoes for SO LONG. But I don't think I ever mentioned them to him! What a lucky girl I am.

Of course, there is now the little problem of breaking them in. My intention is to wear these shoes everywhere, with every outfit, forever. Doc's are famously not very comfy fresh out of the box. You can find lots of little hacks on the internet to beat the new-shoe blisters. Wearing Band-Aids or two pairs of socks, I also read something once about putting them in the freezer? All of these methods are now OBSOULE, because I have invented the first ever pair of Doc Martin proof socks. DON'T Google that, just trust me.

If you are an experienced knitter, you might have a favorite sock "recipe", a basic pattern you follow because you like the fit. My only innovation here is the heel flap, so it doesn't particularly matter what pattern you use. I used the "Vanilla Sock" pattern by The Blue Mouse on Ravelry. Their pattern is super easy to follow, with clear directions and helpful diagrams. This may become MY favorite sock recipe. The fit is perfect and its super easy to adapt to your own needs.

Now for the work I ACTUALLY did, the genius idea I was bragging about earlier. You know that slip stitch ribbing I mentioned in my summer hat post? The very easy technique that makes neat stripes? It also produces a thicker fabric than other types of ribbing, because your carrying the colors over. Its basically twice the padding of a regular rib stitch. You just replace the heel flap in your sock pattern with slip stitch ribbing. You can also start the heel flap a few rows earlier than your pattern recommends depending on where your shoe hits you. I happen to have a blister on my ankle from a previous outing which acted as a helpful guide.

I had a little bit of yarn left over from my hat so now I have cute socks with the same colors and motifs. AND they'll protect my ankles.

First Post!! A Cozy Hat For....Summer?

Honestly I have been having a hard time deciding what I wanted my first blog post to be about. My uh, process, is usually VERY disorganized. I am allergic to swatching so I always have strange quantities of yarn left over. So half my projects are deliberate and the other half....freehanded, freestyled, free from all logic. my HOPE was that having a blog would pressure me to write some of my patterns down. But oops, I've done it again.

I wanted to use up my The Wool Yarnicorn. It's shades of pastel pinks and blues feel so summery to me, like the colors you'd see in an ice cream shop. The only issue is that I have a ball of the petite wool. Thick, fuzzy, warm wool. Definitely not appropriate for summer. So we pivot! This past winter I made a pair of Ulchabhain mittens, and I thought the slip stitch ribbing turned out so cool, its simple to do and comes out pretty stretchy. Hats need to be stretchy...and warm...I've got it! I dug a ball of grey acrylic from the depths of my yarn stash. It's a nice contrast to the extraness of Yarnicorn. An ice cream shop on a rainy day.

It knit up fairly quickly. Slip stitch ribbing is super easy, you slip one color all the way around, then pick it up in the next round. Alternating until you have your desired number of rows. I didn't actually know how many that was when I started. I kept trying on my unfinished hat, guessing how far I had to go. I wanted a beret kind of shape, so I made some increases after four rows, forming that little brim that berets have. Does that have a name?

A perfect way to end my first post. An unanswered question and a patternless hat. It turned out pretty cute though!