Monthly Digest & Wrap Up | January 2023

January 31, 2023January 28, 2023 bookishluna3 Comments

Hello and welcome to my monthly Digest post where I talk about the things I made, books I read, and other random things I did in January. This first month of 2023 had a few ups and downs, but over all it was a good start to the new year. I actually read not one, but two books! I also completed a lot of projects that were lingering on my needles.

Books

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, I ended up giving this book 4 stars. I really enjoyed the story and I realized that Bardugo’s writing really pulled me in pretty quickly. I cared about characters quickly and needed to keep reading to find out what happens next. I actually have the second book in the series on loan from the library and I plan on getting than read ASAP because I enjoyed the first so much.

Knit 2 Socks in 1: The Easiest Method Ever for Knitting Two Socks at Once by Safiyyah Talley, this knitting reference book I picked up back in October at NY Sheep and Wool festival. I really have wanted to learn to make socks from a sock tube and I thought this book would be perfect. She does a really good job of describing the process and I am hoping to tackle this type of project this year and will for sure have this book open next to me.

Crochet & Knitting

Anker’s Sweater (Website|Ravelry), I already wrote up my stand alone post on this project because I really loved the process and outcome. You can find the post linked here, Finished Object | Anker’s Sweater by PetiteKnit. It was a dream to knit and I love how adorable the tiny sweater came out.

Multi colored granny stripe scrarf handing on ladder

Granny Stripes by Lucy of Attic24 (Website|Ravelry), this was a year long scrappy project where I took a ton of leftovers and just added them to an ever growing scarf. I used the mentioned pattern as a guide in making this, but did not stick to the cast on amount.

Half of a scarf hanging out of a bucket bag.

Sophie Shawl by PetiteKnit (Website|Ravelry), This I think was my favorite make of the month. I used up some leftovers from another project and ended up making what I called my Cruella de Vil shawl because it is half black and half white. It is perfect to wrap around and keep warm as well. The knitting process was straightforward and it was a great mindless TV knit.

Oslo Hat – Mohair Edition by PetiteKnit (Website|Ravelry), this is the second time I made this pattern. I ended up making this one to gift to my boyfriends Mom who loved the one I made for myself. I ended up modifying it by adding roughly an inch in length to the body of the hat to make it more slouchy.

Random Things

Mocktail in glass with sock being knitted and project bag.

Since I don’t really drink I wanted to enjoy a fun drink on New Years. I ended up coming across a recipe called Sparkling Blueberry Ginger Mocktail by Minimalist Baker. It was super yummy and easy, I plan on making it again the next time I get some blueberries. It is really nice because you can adjust it to your taste by adding more or less sparkiling water.

I also took a change this month to go to an open knit night at one of the yarn shops I shop at. I was not really sure how it was going to go because I never have gone before, but it was nice. I got to meet some new people and got some progress on one of my many WIPs. I am not sure when I will be able to go again, but I certainly plan on trying to go again.

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Knitting, Crochet, Crafting, Art & More

Finished Object | Anker’s Sweater by PetiteKnit

January 26, 2023January 9, 2023 bookishluna3 Comments

Hello and welcome to a little post where I share some of the details about my most recently finished knitting project, the Anker’s Sweater (Website|Ravelry)! This project is a top down textured yolk sweater with some raglan increases, the rest of the sweater is stockinette. This particular pattern is made for sizes 3 months to 8 years. So, it works up super quickly! I ended up making the size 9-12 months so it can be used next fall/winter by the baby and their parents. I figured, they would get a ton of stuff for when the baby is very tiny, so having something for down the road would be helpful.

Picture of completed baby sweater on a comforter.

Why This Pattern

Well, I made this project for a few reasons, the first being I made an adult T-shirt version of this sweater in the past so I was very familiar with the construction already. This is for sure a beginner friendly pattern, but already knowing kind of how it was going to work up was for sure a selling point on the pattern. I also had yarn that I could use for the project already in my stash, so I wouldn’t have to wait to receive an order or take a tip to a yarn store. Normally, I would have no qualms about doing either of these, but I found out about the shower about a month before it was set to happen. Time was for sure not on my side to complete this project.

The Yarn

For this project it calls for two strands of fingering held double, which tends to be a DK once combined. Taking that into consideration, I took a peak at my yarn stash, I had a large enough pile of worsted weight yarn and did a swatch. It worked out so I decided to use Encore Worsted Solids & Heathers from Plymouth Yarn. I also liked that it was made of a material that could be washed with a little less care. Always good for baby things. I ended up using a green/blue color called 678 Light Green Forest.

While Knitting

Picture of half finished sweater next to its project bag with a wintery scene fabric on a couch.

This thing worked up so quickly, it was kind of hard to believe. I have never made a baby sweater, so that might be why I thought it was going to take longer. I knew, obviously, that it would work up faster than one of my sweaters, but honestly, it was kind of staggering how fast it went. On the first day I was already 60% though the yoke, the second day I was already entirely through the yoke and halfway through the remaining body. Only two days and I was working on other projects. The arms also only took about a day each, this really is a fast knit, I didn’t even knit the smallest size. The one thing I noticed while working is I did not enjoy working on such small circumference with a thicker yarn. It was more so noticeable the first 10 rows of each sleeve. It felt like there was just too much around my hands, but once length was added it was perfectly fine.

Thoughts Overall

I really think this is a great simple pattern with a little something going on for visual interest. It is a combination of simple stiches, and uses them to make something that looks harder than it is. Obviously, it still takes some work, and those increases can be tricky if you are unfamiliar with them, but a quick tutorial on youtube will fix that quickly. It was also well written pattern, it was all straight forward. Also, I just want to make it clear, I did not make any modifications to this pattern other than working with worsted weight yarn. So, this really shows how much I enjoyed this pattern, I tend to make modifications to wearables these days. I think I would for sure make this pattern again since the process was fun and enjoyable and the outcome was super cute and I cannot wait to gift it.

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Current Reads and WIPs

Current WIPs and Reads | January 2023

January 15, 2023January 9, 2023 bookishluna3 Comments

Hello and welcome to a midmonth check-in where I am sharing the things I am currently reading and my works in progress and share how I am feeling about each of them. I am happy to report I am finally reading a bit. Not nearly as much as I have in the past, but I am making some progress in that regard. Due to this, I am reading a few books that I am going to be talking about. On top of that I have two projects I am working on as well. Without more rambling, here are my current reads and WIPs

In progress knitting projects and my eReader on my bed.

My Current Reads

I am currently about half way through Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. I am buddy reading this with Misty’s Book Space and it has been really fun reading this book in small chunks and talking about it weekly. So far I am enjoying the book, the author has done a really good job with setting the mood and establishing the characters and setting. There have been a few things I could have done without, but over all I am enjoying it. I am very much in the phase of I need to keep reading to see what happens next, which has not happened in a really long time. I am very happy that it seems like my reading mojo might be returning.

The second book I am currently reading is Sundial by Catriona Ward, this was also a buddy read, but I did not keep up with it sadly. I am still reading it though and I will finish it! I will be a good buddy reading partner lol. I am enjoying this story, it is a horror thriller, but I am enjoying Ninth House a bit more at this point. But, I have a ton to read still so I am curious to see if I feel the same by the time I finish them. I think the main reason is this is more a thriller\horror where as Ninth House is more fantasy/mystery dark academia. Both are written well and, like I said, I am liking them both.

My Current WIPs

The first project I am really focusing on is the Sophie Shawl by PetiteKnit (Ravelry|Website), I started this project in December of 2022 and I would really love to finish it and use it. I am over halfway done at this point and the width of the shawl is getting smaller from here on out. I think I should be finishing it within the week. It is going to be more of a scarf than a shawl in my option. I am also enjoying making one half black and one half white, The second project I am working on, which is more of a background project is the Big Cozy Cardi by Andrea Mowry (Ravelry|Website). This is more of a long term project that I am working on a little each day. I am loving the pattern and process for sure. It is going to be a big oversized cardi with a mohair collar, so it is going to be super comfortable.

What are you currently reading or working on?

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Knitting, Crochet, Crafting, Art & More

52 Weeks of Socks | Series Introduction

January 8, 2023December 31, 2022 bookishluna14 Comments

52 Weeks of Socks book, a stack of 3 yarn balls, a gall jar with pieces of paper in front of a circle pillow leaning against a wall on the floor.

Hello and welcome to a bit of an introduction for a series I am going to be doing over the next year. In 2022 I picked up a knitting booked called 52 Weeks of Socks published by Laine. I flipped through it quite a few times, but never made a pattern out of it. Then a few months ago I watched a video by Eliza Okay where she slowly makes her way though this series. It kind of inspired me to really get into this book and give the patterns a go.

The main reason I was hesitant with working with this book was how I felt I was so inexperienced with the techniques within the book. When I first picked up the book I had never done a toe up sock, I never did cables, I never even looked at a chart before. In addition to all of these, I had never used DPNs in my life. A lot of the patterns, at least the ones I took a look at, needed to use DPNs. Now you can manipulate a pattern to be done on magic loop or 9-inch circulars, but I also had no experience in doing that as well. I honestly felt like I didn’t know enough to do any of the patterns, which made me sad, but I knew that one day I would learn a lot of these things and be able to tackle it.

Now, at the end of 2022 I have done a lot of the things I was hesitant about I have worked on in other projects. Mind you, a lot of the sock patterns had combinations of these new things. I decided the best way to work on these other skills was to learn them mixed in one at a time into things I already “mastered” or at least knew well enough. I did two toe up socks in 2022, I did a shawl covered in cables, I used charts on a few projects and I even used DPNs on a project! Oddly, even though I felt more confident in my abilities and really enjoy making socks, I never really picked up the book again. I think because at that point, it was just a book in on my shelf and I had other sock pattens to make that I also owned. Then I came across Eliza‘s video and subsequent videos working her way though it, I was inspired to take the book out and start working my way though it.

Now, I am not only going to make socks out of this book. I am going to be making a little series out of it to share my initial feelings, how the process went, and my other all thoughts. Now, since the book has so many patterns I needed to figure out how I was going to maneuver working through this challenge/series. There were many way to do this; working through it chronologically, random number generator, or throwing the book like Eliza tried to do in one of her videos. I ended up landing on another option, which you can see in the picture above. I wrote each number on a strip of paper and then place them all in a jar. When I need a new sock pattern, I can just go and pick a number out! Nice and easy, as well as random, which I prefer.

Now, since there are 52 patterns in this book, I don’t really plan on making them all in a year, but over a few years. My goal this year is to make 6 socks out of this book. I figured two months per pair would be manageable, especially since some are more complicated than others. I am hoping to get a mix so I can fly through some and be able to take my time on some more challenging patterns. Either way, no matter how this works out. I am very excited about this new challenge and sharing it with you all.

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