Getting It Done

Okay- so we've had a frank discussion about stash and now it only feels right to show you a few completed things that I keep teasing about and let you know what's happening with the stash buster blanket.

Let's begin on a high note- FINISHED SOCKS.

Pattern: Balearique Socks by SpillyJane
Yarn: The Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga in "Sooty Dancer"
Needles: (Of all the dumb things I've done... I didn't write it down... I genuinely DON'T KNOW- small ones?  I wanna say US 2.)
Thoughts: This is a great pattern, where I should have really taken the time to learn how to cable withOUT a cable needle.  I found the cables piddly at times, and it required some patience to knit through the leg.  Also- these socks are for a man (Hi Dad!)-  and I think I would have attempted to knit them a little longer.  Especially because I did end up having leftovers and could have done at least 10 more rows (probably) on each leg.  The yarn was DREAMY to knit with.  Oh man, once the stash is a little smaller... I MUST get my hands on more.

The dark color doesn't really show the cables to their best most showy advantage- but they're for a man and so I felt I needed to balance the cables with a dark color to make it more "man friendly".

It feels good to get this done and out of the stash.

ALSO?  The January hat is FINITO.

It's cute isn't it?  This is the first time in a long time I felt very strongly that this hat needed a pom pom.  Bonus- pom pom's are great little stash busters.

And finally, the results you've been waiting ever so patiently for- the stripey blanket is started and ON the needles.

YUP.... decided to go with the skinny yellow rows vs. the thicker ones.  This is all just plain stocking stitch and this thing just ROLLS in on itself... I thought by now it would be heavy enough to stop rolling up, but I guess not.  It's kind of a neat blanket, although I've already instituted the "weave in ends after 3 color bands" rule because otherwise I'll be weaving in ends FOREVER at the end and I will be very knit depressed by the end of that project.

I have moments where I panic that I'm not going to have enough yarn to make it to 30" inches on this blanket (we're at 6" so far) and I'm already trying to come up with a contingency plan should I find myself requiring more colors.  I guess we'll just see where I end up and come up with a plan from there.  Cross your fingers.

I'm going to keep plugging away at this for a while longer (very easy knitting) and in February I'm starting a mystery project.  Mother in Law has requested mittens and selected her colors to match her coat.  I get to pick the pattern!  So I'm going to be very mysterious about the project, and will try to find some creative photos to take that won't give the whole thing away.  (MiL just spent a week in my basement helping me paint our playroom... to say that I really need to make this woman nice mittens is an understatement- she gave up a lot of time to help me, I need to pull out the fancy pants stops on these mysterious little numbers!)