Life is starting to get back to normal as I'm settling into the New Year - I do still have one gift to wrap up and send off, but it's almost ready. Almost. With the return of my "normal", this means I'm busy looking ahead, so here's a bit of what's on my horizon:
One of my favorite designers, Ysolda Teague, is hosting her very first Mystery Knitalong (a.k.a. MKAL)! I host Knitalongs for Firefly Fibers and rarely do I have time to actually participate in anyone else's, but this one was too much for me to resist. I couldn't say "no" to Ysolda for a few reasons:
- Designer: Ysolda is an amazing designer and her patterns are always well-written.
- Mystery: This will keep me on the edge of my seat and interested. FYI, I'm already there.
- Options: 2 options with each of the 5 weekly clues. It's not like I need to make any more decisions than I already do, but *this* got me.
- Will-Power: I have none. Especially when it comes to Ysolda. Enough said.
Some knitters at the shop are joining in the fun - thank you, ladies - and I can't wait to see how the shawls knit up! I selected this beauty: SweetGeorgia Tough Love Sock in Silver for the MKAL. I swatched this morning and it's amazingly beautiful knit up. Now I'll just twiddle my thumbs until the first clue is released on Monday. Well, not really...
As I shared earlier this week, I've been knitting away on these socks. I've made progress and the second one is ready for the heel (read this as: they will be on my feet in the very near future) so I'm pushing myself to the toe of these socks by queuing up a pair of worsted weight socks for hubby! It might sound like I'm actually punishing myself by knitting a pair of socks to fit a man that wears a size 13 shoe, but Regia came out with a new worsted weight sock yarn and I've been dying to try it out.
The fabulous Churchmouse Basic Sock pattern includes versions for fingering and sport weight, but hubby needs bigger socks than the pattern sizing offers. So, I’ve been planning on knitting a larger sock by using sport weight yarn with the stitch counts for the fingering weight, but I want to knit a super fast pair of socks and Regia’s worsted weight fits the bill - remember, a men's size 13.
Along the same thought process of my previous plan, I’m using a worsted weight yarn (currently on a US 5 - the Blue Sky Alpaca's DPNs are a joy to knit with) and the pattern stitch counts for the sport weight version to produce a larger (and faster knitting) sock. Based on my math and current gauge: so far, so good. I’ll confirm as soon as I can have hubby slip the wee cuff over his foot, but I’m optimistic that this will be a simple adjustment for other knitters that need to knit larger socks - I know of one knitter that has some size 13's at home, too. I've raveled the project here if you want to check in on my progress along the way.
Now... Remember my recent post on Journey? Well, the pattern collection has been a huge hit in the shop, so I've got something special in the works! I'll share details in the near future and it's sure to be fabulous! Like, REALLY FABULOUS!
In addition to all of this, I'm always thinking ahead, so I've been busy working on classes and some new Firefly Fibers Designs. Yeah, I'm surely keeping myself out of trouble.
As for my kitchen... my cooking time is minimal during the holidays, so I'm slowly trying to get back into a kitchen routine. But, I did make this for supper last night and it was amazing! If you like grilled cheese sandwiches, bacon and eggs, it's a must try!
Cheers!
