Focused

It turns out there's not one, not two... but THREE charity blankets making their way to me in the next few days.  I realized that I could not focus on getting those out the door without also getting my act together and getting my other projects done.  And so, with determination and a fierce focus, I caught myself up!

Say hello to the Stripey Blanket!

Yarns: A mish mash of everything left over in my stash.  I do know there's some Koigu KPM, Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in there along with various other fingering weights.
Pattern: I made this puppy up!  Just a bunch of stocking stitch and garter stitches to pop the accent color.
Needle: 3.00 mm
Notes: 2 Rounds of single crochet border to complete the blanket.  (I am SO happy I kept the border simple, it keeps the blanket "cohesive"- more of a border than this and it wouldn't have turned out as nicely as I think it did.)

I would have thought that a stocking stitch blanket would have bored me to tears.  But it didn't.  Maybe it's because I also had something complicated going on a pair of other needles, but I reveled in the simplicity of this project.  It was so easy to just pick this up and knit.  There were no charts to consult, no pattern to remember, hell I didn't even need a row counter!  I made a strict rule with myself to weave in the ends after the 3 different color sections before starting again.  That made finishing the blanket so much easier because there weren't so many ends to make my crazy to weave in.

I'm also pleased the way the colors look, and the way I've done tiny stripes in each section.  This was great not only for stash busting, but also to add some interest to the blanket without over doing it.  MiL and I have already discussed combining some remaining sock yarns and doing some more of these great stash down projects- so there may be another blanket on the horizon.

Also say "Aloha" to the Maui Socks, started back in March on my trip to Maui!

Yarn: Knit Picks Felici in "Hummingbird"
Pattern: Sock Recipe: A Good Plain Sock by Stephanie Pearl McPhee
Needle: US 1
Notes: This is the first time I've successfully attempted Kitchner Stitch.  Repeat: I have been making socks for a lot of years now and this is the first time I've successfully put in Kitchner stitch.  Confession: it wasn't even so hard once I started doing it!  So yes... kitchner stitch on socks from now on I guess.

As a challenge to myself I made ZERO notes when I knit these.  The only time I consulted a pattern was to make sure I turned the heel in the middle, otherwise- this was done from my head.  I relied on the previous sock to guide me as to when I had done enough stitches.  It was hard to "let it go" but also, again, made for such an easy knit.  I could just pick these up and knit- no thinking about what needs to happen next.

I love self striping yarn.  I know I've said it many times before- but I stinkin' love the stuff.  It could be in the ugliest colors of mustard yellow and puke greens and I'd still be as happy as a pig in mug because I love watching the stripes come together.  My one stipulation is that I can't have mis-matched socks.  I just can't- and as usual, I've gone to great pains to line up all the stripes pretty closely on these socks.  (Even breaking up the yarns at the heel so that the pattern stays the same.)  Someday I might be able to make mismatched socks- I'm not there yet.

"Ola" Hats!  I also caught up on hats, because I really just wanted to knit new things with a clear conscious.   Below are August and September finished for the pile.

AND, after a second disasterous attempt on the mitten for the MiL (who does not have wrists the size of an elephant OR a bear...) I just set the mitten aside and knit October's hat too.

Let's not talk about the mitten okay?  Let's keep this positive.  I need to measure MiL's wrist with the latest failed attempt to see just how many needle sizes I need to go down- and so I've decided to just knit hats this week.  I'm hoping to hit the magic number 12 before the blankets arrive on Friday.  I'm absolutely going to have enough yarn to go over the 12 mark... so I'm just going to keep on going with that project for a bit.

I'm sorry for the long post.  I've been long over-due to just focus and finish these things.  For the first time in a long time, you'll be excited to know that there are new projects on the horizon.  New ideas.  And yes, I'm sorry in advance, a friend is due in January, a new blanket.  I'm really proud of myself for just getting all of this done this last week.  It feels so good to look ahead to new projects without other works in progress obstructing my view!