The color of the sky

Finished my gray bag. It's about the same color as the sky was up until right now. Terrible rainy days stopped me from using it - I didn't want to get it wet. But now it looks like it's drying up, so the bag deserves a photoshoot before I put it in use and inevitably spill something on it, scrape it against a wooden fence or pull a stitch.  

So here it is, in all its gray glory. 

This bag was supposed to rid my stash of Marija yarn, but alas, I still have a skein and a half left. What should I do with it? Crochet something? Maybe a pair of simple slippers?

Meanwhile, I'm continuing with my stash-busting mission: I'm knitting the Honey cowl, same yarn as my Equisetum hat. So far, my stashbusting busted 8 skeins. That is a terrible result, I thought for sure I used up more of my yarn. 

Is this a bad time to admit that I've been to Zagreb this weekend and bought a skein of Regia sock yarn?

Brainless

I almost forgot how much I enjoy making socks. Well, the first sock at least, I always seem to get a slight case of the 'second sock syndrome'. But making socks is awesome, especially that feeling you get when you pass the heel, try your sock on and it actually looks like a sock. I'm very proud of myself in those moments. 

The pattern is Brainless by Yarnissima.

 

These socks were my first ones done in actual sock yarn. And by that I mean I used yarn that says 'sock yarn' on the label. It's Müller Super Sport Strumpf, this was pretty much the only color they had left. Someone in Zagreb had raided the yarn stand in the Müller drugstore by the time I got there.

Still, this was a nice blend of neutral colors and the yarn is not hairy like some yarns tend to be, so I got a pair of nice, smooth socks.

The pattern was a bit confusing, I must have read and re-read that thing a hundred times before I finally figured out what it wants me to do. But it was worth it, I love the way these socks turned out. Especially the cables that run along the side of the toe, then part in the gusset section and turn back into a cable on the leg part.

Pretty satisfied with the short row heel as well, no holes in my wraps and turns for once.

Next project: Drops bag form Marija (Unitas yarn). I hate this yarn. It's not stretchy, it's coarse, I think the needle requirement on the label is wrong and I just really, really dislike it. 

And in addition to being a yarn snob, I think I also became a needle snob. After knitting with Knitpro needles, the other brands are just not good enough. The ones I'm using here are Prym. Not as smooth as the Knitpro and the cable is not as bendy. Combined with the awful yarn, knitting this bag is making my hands hurt. 

But at least I'm using up my stash.

Two tiny hats. And one for my big noggin.

So, a coworker is pregnant, and has asked me to knit a hat for the baby. She doesn't know the sex yet, so I tried to choose a pattern that would work for a boy or a girl. I think I failed, both hats are sort of girly, but I'm going to ignore that and hope the baby turns out to be a girl. She already has a son, and I got the impression she wants this one to be a girl. So I'm just sending girl vibes, right? 

I also made something for myself. Because, when it comes to knitting, I'm my own best customer. And all that stuff about the joy of giving and knitting for others - I feel the biggest joy when I knit something for ME. Yup, selfish. But honestly, would you give something like this away? 

The pattern is Equisetum. Words can't describe what a great pattern it is. It's simple to follow, even tough it's only written, no chart. It comes out beautifully, and I love the effect the wraps give. Never did anything like it before, I'm really pleased it turned out so well. 

The pattern is knit flat, I did mine in the round, which meant purling every other row and making sure to turn the knits into purls and vice versa. There are a few not-so-pretty purl bumps, from where I added new yarn. Turns out, I only know how to hide the new ends on plain stockinette. 

 

The yarn is Rozetti First Class, super soft and nice to work with. I did find 3 knots in the first skein, but none in the second skein, so I guess it was just a bad skein. I absolutely hate those stupid knots that sneak up on you just when you think your knitting is coming along beautifully. 

Next project - socks. For real this time, I think I finally found a pattern. Brainless. But I also have a skein and a half of the Rozetti yarn left, and I want to use that up. Maybe a cowl? So many potential projects, so little time to knit them.

Uhura

After summer sewing, here's some summer knitting for ya. It took me pretty much the whole summer to knit this shirt.

The pattern is Uhura, the yarn is Dada nova. I bought 5 skeins of it and used up absolutely all of it. I did a crochet border around the neck, but didn't have enough yarn to do the same around the arms. 

I omitted the keyhole thingy, because the neckline is already low enough, no need to have my bra peeking trough that hole.

I knit the top parts first, sewed it all together, then picked up stitches on the bottom of the band and did the body in the round. 

I didn't do the folded hem the pattern calls for - instead I knit 6 rows of the lace chart and crocheted around the bound off edge to stop it from rolling. 

Wow, look at the pattern this zoomed out picture is producing. Zebra.

Click the image to de-zebrafy.

Next project : anything to use up some of the yarn I have in my stash. I had my mind set on socks. Have the yarn, got the needles. Now all I need is to find a pattern. But guess what? There are THOUSANDS of sock patterns on Ravelry. How am I supposed to choose one?

A tale of many shorts

My summer sewing bug seems to have left me. The sewing machine is in its case, and my sewing motivation is currently at 0%. Until next summer, I guess. Or somebody's birthday. 

So here are the last summer projects I did. To sum it up in one word: Shorts. Or pants, you choose. 

 

I based all of these on shorts from the store - I just traced the shapes and sewed the pieces together. With great success, I might add.

I hope you can tell this thing has pockets.

Boxers. They make a nice summer PJ shorts.

So that's pretty much it. It's still very warm here, so I still have a chance to wear these before I put them away for the winter. And maybe next year I'll sew some tops.