WIPS & SIPS: Major progress & New Schtuff!

The chevron socks of DOOM are finally getting closer to being done, thanks to an 18-hour roadtrip earlier this month. Basically, I forced myself to work on this project as much as I could while en route to Kansas City, where we visited family and celebrated our 9-year (!) wedding anniversary. We ended up bringing home some beertastic souvenirs, of course!

Over the weekend, I finally grafted the second sock together and began the arduous task of knitting the cuffs and toes. I apologize for the all caps, but.....I AM NOW TWO TOES AWAY FROM HAVING THIS PROJECT OFF THE NEEDLES!

Needless to say, I am really looking forward to this project being done. I know I will love the socks once they're done - the yarn is incredible and they will be super-duper warm, too. However, knitting socks sideways is definitely not for me. I can't stress this enough. I have been working on them since the beginning of May, so it will be a huge relief to go into August with a clean slate.

In other news, I started another dinosaur for the FreshStitches/Spud & Chloe CAL this month - the more the merrier, right?! I ran out of the contrast color for the final stripe and was getting low on the main color as well, so I am 'cheating' a bit by alternating rounds with another yarn that is close enough in color to make the dino's head. As luck would have it, I happened to have an eensy amount of leftover yellow worsted-weight yarn in my stash that was similar enough to what I've been using to pinch hit! Phew!

This is the final week of the Tour de Fleece, and I have been keeping up with my spinning - in fact, I spun a whole bobbin's-worth of yarn on the rest day this past Monday! On Tuesday, I was ready to ply these two bobbins of singles spun from my batt-making endeavors in June:

One of the singles apparently contains some sort of Elvish magic, because it just won't quit. Once I ran out of the single from the other batt, I started grabbing leftover singles that have been sitting around my craft room - first, the Masham from Sweet Georgia, then some Anzula BFL, followed by leftovers from a different single spun from a batt, and finally, the polwarth I dyed a while back. That pretty much cleared out all of my bobbin leftovers, so I gave up. I'll probably keep all of the leftovers in a single skein (kind of like a magic ball!), though I will separate it from the main yarn.

I also couldn't resist dipping into some of the fiber I'd earmarked for Spinzilla this fall - 8 oz. of natural Jacob top from Louet. It smells so nice and sheepy, and after working with so many dyed fiber and funky batts, I was ready to work with something a little more basic. I set my Victoria to the finest setting (you can read more about it here on Monday's post) and spun through the first half of the fiber - I think these are the thinnest singles I have ever made! The fiber all but spun itself, it was very easy to work with. I'll be spinning the next half of the fiber this week so that I can turn it into a two-ply by the the end of the weekend!

Thanks for joining me this week! For more WIP Wednesday inspiration, visit the Tami's Amis Blog!

Easy DIY: Beaded Vintage Snowflake Ornament Kits from Solid Oak Inc.

I was really excited to step outside of my comfort zone and try something new as part of my "Christmas in July" theme this month. The kind folks at Solid Oak Inc offered me a chance to review one of their Nostalgic Christmas beaded crystal ornament kits I couldn't resist. My tree is already full of ornaments I've inherited or been gifted from other family members and friends, so these pretty crystal beaded ornaments will fit right in I think! I was super impressed with this compact little kit , which includes everything needed to create three gorgeous vintage-style ornaments - just add a pair of round nose pliers (I found mine on Amazon for less than ten bucks). The instructions had some fabulous tips for newbies like me; for example, it recommended sorting the beads and laying them out in order on a towel or beading mat to prevent them from rolling away. That may seem obvious, but I was totally ready to start beading on my kitchen table without a

What If I Didn't Add Heels?

Last weekend, I finished the first sock with my Waterlilies yarn , and just for yuks, I tried it on even though it was basically just a tube sock. Much to my surprise, it fit really well, even without a heel. Who knew? So, that got me thinking: what if I just didn't add the heels? I never thought a tube sock would actually fit nicely, but I genuinely like the fit, so...why spend time to add the heels? As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.... Let's say I decide not to add heels once the second sock is done - there will still be placeholder yarn for the afterthought heels, as you can see above, so should I leave it in and just weave in the ends? Or should I remove it, put the live stitches back on needles and at least graft them together using more of the Waterlilies yarn? I plan on mulling all of this over as I knit the second sock, and I'd love to hear your opinions of what you think would look best (or if you think this whole "n

Overdyeing A Finished Knit

Even after just a few years of knitting or crocheting, you're bound to have some finished projects lying around that never get worn or used. After 10+ years of crafting, I have more than just "some" or "a few"....and with my ongoing quest to declutter my house this year, I've become obsessed with going through these forlorn projects and making some Big Decisions. Sometimes, they are perfectly fine and just need a new and loving home. Other projects may have not turned out quite right: there might have been some mistakes in the knitting that I thought I could live with, or the yarn was gorgeous but not well-matched to the pattern, or my taste has drastically changed since I finished making the project...in any case, why on earth did I keep knitting?! Who knows, but I don't feel good about gifting anything that falls into this category to someone else. These projects have been relegated to the "frog pile" (or should I say, frog pond?), to b

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