Pickle Harbor Socks

Like the Dragon Egg Dice Bag with my family, this was another gift that I finished up simply so the Mister would have something to open on Christmas with his family.

He picked out this yarn himself quite a while ago, but when I went to order, they were out of stock. Later, when making another KnitPicks purchase (for my Sophie's Universe CAL), I discovered that Pickle Juice was back, and so I snagged a couple for his socks.

The majority of these socks were knit in August. In fact, I entirely finished them while driving from Boston to North Carolina on his family vacation.

And then I discovered something quite upsetting.

They were top-down socks. And the cast-on didn't go over his heel.

I wasn't about to rip this all out on the plane, so I set them aside and forgot about them.

Then, while brainstorming little things I could have the hubby open, I stumbled across these. I quickly ripped out the cast on, picked up all the stitches, and bound off with a yarn-over bind off.

I will tell you, the stitches were half a stitch off, since I was going in the other direction, but it didn't make a huge difference.

This was also my first double-forked short-row heel, and it was a great success. It gave the mister all the extra room he needed for his weird foot shape, and it certainly caused less strain on me!

Ravelry Project

Insulate!

My brother-in-law is a huge Doctor Who fan, and so when I found this pattern, there was no question that it would be his gift. I ended up adapting the pattern quite a bit to make it fit.

• I increased the amount of stitches in the top quite a bit
• I increased sooner on the thumb and made one extra row
• I went longer before switching to the brown/yellow lines

Overall, he loves them. When he opened the box, it was covered with an image of a Dalek yelling "INSULATE!" which, for you Doctor Who fans, was just the icing on the cake.

Ravelry Project

Little House QAL - Block 6 - The Long Winter

Today I bring you Block 6 of the Little House QAL. As has been the case with all the others, I've actually been making multiple blocks, and we'll see how they all get put together at the end, but I'm delaying a mention of more details for the sake of the pattern designer.

Mom's Foot Cozies

My Mother-in-law also gets cold feet, and so, continuing with the Christmas theme, I knit her a little pair of Foot cozies! They look a little weird when off the feet, but once on, they fit quite nicely.

After selling the cabin in the Adirondacks, they bought a house on the Cape, and I'm told these go with her Cape-Robe. So yay!

Ravelry Project

Little House QAL - Block 5 - By the Shores of Silver Lake

Today's post brings you Block 5 in this journey of the Little House QAL.

However, on an unrelated note, happy Stitches West, everyone! As this is published, I am likely finishing up my purchases at the amazing Stitches West, to be detailed in a later weekly post!

Brantingham Tree Rings Blanket

This is a project that I finished in April. I saw the pattern November of 2015, and I knew that I had to make it for my father-in-law. You see, his favorite place in the world is the porch of a beautiful cabin on a lake in the Adirondacks. He sits there with a cup of coffee and a book every morning, and it's often just brisk enough to need a blanket.

He also likes practical gifts. Gifts that can be used. And so when I saw this pattern, there was no choice: I had to make it.

I bought the yarn at Stitches West, and got started immediately when I got home. It's so soft, and so perfect.

And then they decided to sell the cabin. To be honest, I was heartbroken. But I decided I had to give him the blanket anyway, and thankfully, he still likes it. 

Ravelry Project

Little House QAL - Block 4 - On the Banks of Plum Creek

As we move along, I present to you this week Block 4
of the Little House QAL!

Dragon Egg Dice Bag

The mister recently bought a role-playing Star Wars game with the express purpose of playing it during our many Christmas car trips. And so, when I was looking for a little something he could open (I had already bought him big Christmas gifts that he had picked out), I stumbled across this pattern for a dice bag.

I used some stash yarn from my Bay Area Block, and used exactly everything that was left of it, to create this shimmery Dragon Egg Dice Bag. The dive fit perfectly, and the mister loves it. And it was Cold Sheep! I'd say it's a win all around.

He's requested another (bigger) one for his other Star Wars game, and I'm hoping to find a more Star Wars themed pattern!

Ravelry Project

Little House QAL - Block 2 - Little Farmer Boy

Taking a step back in time, I bring you Block 2 of the Little House QAL, which I had put off due to some fabric decisions. Here I present to you the finished product!

Mommom and Pop's Tiny Sweaters!

I already posted about the tiny sweater ornament I made for Grandma, but I didn't trust Mommom and Pop not to read the blog, so I didn't post about theirs!

I also made little ornament sweaters for my other set of grandparents, as you can see, but there's a little bit more context to this one. You see, my great-grandmother Lily, after whom I am named, and whom I never met, was apparently an avid knitter. She used to knit my mom's family beautiful thick, wool, fair-isle sweaters for Christmas every year.

Last year, my grandmother passed on her needles. You deserve them, she said, You're the only one who can do them justice.I cried.And I knew, at that moment, that there was no other option for their Christmas gift. It has to be sweaters on Great-Grandma Lily's needles. And even though I used her sock needles, and even though they're really sweaters for keys, not people, I think I did the best I could with the time I had.

Mommom and Pop, if you're reading this, I hope you understand how meaningful those needles were to me. I love you dearly.

Ravelry Project: Mommom
Ravelry Project: Pop