I can't knit enough Socks!

Another pair of socks off the needles. Once again it is Susan B. Anderson's How I Knit My Socks pattern. I love this pattern for self-striping yarns. Plus, I have it memorized. The yarn is Knit Picks Felici in the colorway Witch's Brew.

For me, knitting socks is a great stress reliever. I like to have a pair always waiting. It's a great project for when I have ten minutes here or there.

And yes, I do have yarn ready for the next pair.

Sending Comfort through Knits

As I mentioned on my family blog, my brother has been recently diagnosed with a fairly rare syndrome. Unfortunately, I cannot be there to help cook, clean, and provide in-person comfort. We've sent a restaurant gift card, and I immediately felt the need to knit him something.

It's just a hat, but I'm hoping, that in this case, it is the thought that counts. A hat knit with love, if you will.

The pattern is Skyping Beanie by Halldora J. It was an easy knit. I just wish I had knitted it a bit longer. Even with blocking it still isn't overly slouchy. Still, it's a hat that is easily tossed on to cover the messy hair, or when a little extra warmth is needed.

The yarn is Sublime Extra Fine Merino Wool DK. It is sublime. Soft, so easy to work with, and the finished knit is lovely. I would definitely buy this yarn again. Love it. I think I bought it online at WEBS, but I am not 100% sure about that.

My knitting plans for my brother had included a pair of fingerless gloves. Unfortunately, after trying three different patterns I finally came to the conclusion that it was just not going to happen. I do have enough of the yarn left that I thought I might knit him a tie. I think the color is a great one that would go with a lot of other ones.

So, for now, I am back to sock knitting. Gotta finish that second sock!

Moisturize Me!

Look what I got! This lotion is fantastic.

I have had eczema since I was six years old. Currently I have a flair up on the knuckle of my middle finger. On my dominant hand. That sucker is constantly cracking, peeling, and stinging.

I use a ton of lotion. I am very picky since so many of them just don't help. The Healing Lotion from The Humblebee is my new favorite. It's thick, but spreads over my hands easily. The scent is very light, doesn't irritate my nose. I want to say it smells organic verses perfume-y. Later, I caught myself wondering what smelled so nice...turned out it was my hands :-)

The true test is how it affects the desert of dry skin on my knuckle. Turns out this lotion makes the patch of scaly skin feel supple and smooth. There is no burning, no stinging, no redness. I could bend that finger without feeling like my skin would rip apart. The best part is that hours later my hands still feel great. I've picked up kids, helped with homework, made pizza, and my hands still felt soft and smooth.

Oh! Almost forgot. As a knitter, I don't like any lotion that leaves my hands feeling greasy, or feels like the it (or the scent of it) will transfer to my yarn. No worries here!

So yes, I love this lotion. I need multiple bottles of it. And, as much as I would love to hoard it all for myself, if you want to give it a try you should. I paid less than $8 (including shipping) for this bottle of goodness. So worth it.

Click HERE for The Humblebee

Cat Hats

 Irene loves cats. Irene also loves cat ears. I've made her several cat hats over the years, but this is the first time I made one with ears.

The pattern is Cabled Cat Ears Hat by Lorna Watt. The yarn is Knit Picks Mighty Stitch Super Bulky. This hat knit up very quickly, but it also made my hands hurt! The finished hat is heavier than the typical hat. Very warm, too. Still, it was fast and the cables made it a bit more engaging than the usual. I did add an additional cable section to the hat to give it more length. I think if I was to ever make the pattern again I would use bulky yarn instead of the super bulky. That is just due to personal preferences on look and fit.

Irene loves it and tries to wear it even on days when it is 80 degrees out. Silly girl.

 And yes, I did make myself one. Irene and I have matching hats. We can be silly kitties together .

A Tale of Two Mittens...and a Hat

 I love Cephalopod Yarn. Unfortunately, it is discontinued. Every once in a while someone on Ravelry will destash a skein of it. This skein I just happened to find on eBay. I rarely go on eBay, in fact I don't even have an eBay account anymore. However, I was checking out a friend's eBay destash when I thought I'd just put in Cephalopod Yarns and see if anything came up. Surprisingly, there were 4 different listings.
This one is Cephalopod's Skinny Bugga in Ghost Moth. I've actually knitted a hat in Ghost Moth, and loved it, so I bought the skein.

 Light Stripe Mitten by Pauliina Hurme is the mitten pattern I knit. Granted, my mittens do not have stripes and I had to change a little bit of the pattern, but it was an easy and fast knit and worked well with the yarn.

I had to add extra length to the finger portion of the mitten. Apparently I have a freakishly long middle finger. Plus, my long finger made doing a kitchener bind off not doable. Instead I did two rows of k2tog before pulling the yarn through to cinch it closed. I also had to add length to the thumb. I just kept trying the mitten on (while keeping count of the rows knitted) until it finally covered my entire thumb. Then I did two rows of k2tog.

 I am pleased with the mittens. It was an easy and satisfying knit.
 I knit the Wurm Hat back in 2013 with Cephalopod's Ghost Moth. As you can see, the colors don't exactly match up. Of course, four years between dye lots will account for that as well as number of stitches, patterns, etc. Still, I like they way they look together and they go well with my new winter jacket.