Knitting – Page 7 – sarah inskeep designs

Too Many Choices!

August 9, 2014 sarah

Look what came in the mail!

They are Swedish Hasbeens, and I love, love, love them!

Since we are standing all day at work now, comfort has for the first time EVER been more important to me than style… but with these I have comfort AND style! Total Win/Win!

You know something else totally fabulous about these Hasbeens?

They will show off hand-knit socks really, really well!

I need to get started on a pair now, so they’ll be ready to wear when the weather starts turning cooler!

The only question is: Which socks to knit?! There are SO many gorgeous choices!

These Acorn Lace socks (knit by agentscarlet, pattern by Evelyn A. Clark; both on Ravelry) would be perfect for Fall!

I love Hermione’s Everyday Socks! Just pick a yarn you love and bam! Gorgeous socks! These were knitted by Dreamsinfiber, and the pattern is by Erica Lueder; also on Ravelry.

I’m also in love with these gorgeous stranded socks! They are the Stranded Knee Highs designed by Barb Brown from Vogue Knitting Fall 2010.

I’m also totally in love with ALL of the socks in the new Fall 2014 Issue of Sockupied! Here are just a couple of my very, very favorites…

The Daisy Field Socks by Maria Leigh!

And the Time Traveler, by Jennifer Raymond!

Now I have to choose what to knit (first!) 🙂 Suggestions? Ideas? Do you have a favorite sock pattern? We’d love to hear…

Blocking, Knitting

Finishing!

August 2, 2014 sarah

I’ve mentioned before that blocking is not my favorite part of knitting…

…but it is an important part of finishing! It’s been said that blocking is to knitting like ironing is to sewing, and I firmly believe that to be true!

In order for your knitting to look its best, a good blocking is an absolute necessity.

So I recently scrubbed my bathtub good and clean and blocked a couple of large shawls that I had finished knitting a while ago but hadn’t forced myself to block yet!

Wool/silk blend shawl going in for a soak!

It was totally worth it because the stitches evened out and opened up, allowing the stitch patterns to be fully seen and appreciated!

Alpaca shawl drying on my living room floor

Wool/silk blend shawl drying on my living room floor

I always dread blocking, but I’m always so glad that I made myself do it after I’m done!

How do you feel/what do you think about blocking? Do you always do it? Never do it? Sometimes do it? Love it? Strongly dislike it?

Family, Knitting

Spekje’ Hat and Mitts

July 19, 2014July 19, 2014 sarah

I’ve been working on a new design for a hat and a matching pair of gauntlets (finger-less gloves, otherwise also known as mitts).

My lovely, and cultured sister-in-law, Annelies says that the colors remind her of a Dutch marsh mallow-like candy called “Spekje.”

So these will be my “Spekje” hat and gauntlets!

It was a perfectly gorgeous day for a knit out on the back deck…

Health, Knitting

When I was preparing for sinus surgery a few weeks ago, I thought, “Great! I’ll have lots of time for knitting during the weeks that the doctor told me I have to stay in and rest while I recover, right?!”

Wrong.

I have learned five things about knitting and recovering from surgery:

1) They put this gel stuff in your eyes to protect the corneas from scratches. I’m extremely grateful for this as I prefer that my corneas remain scratch-free! However, I learned that one should not expect to read or knit for several days after as the gel also makes it difficult to focus the eyes and it takes awhile for the gel to wear off.

2) Surgery has the general effect of leaving one deeply exhausted and in need of large quantities of sleep. Also, one gets tired very easily, needing to go back to sleep rather frequently. This depressing lack of energy leaves one with very little knitting time.

3) Effective pain medications intensify both of the above, and are a temporary necessity of life.

4) Patience is definitely a virtue, and I’m now looking forward to being recovered from surgery so I can get back to my knitting! Flexibility is also a virtue and sometimes we need to adjust our intentions/expectations to deal with reality. 🙂

5) I’m very grateful for Ravelry and Pinterest where I can appreciate the knitting of others while I’m practicing being patient and flexible! Here are a few finds that have been making me smile:

Gorgeous baby booties, pattern by Saartje de Bruijn available on Ravelry; these particular booties knitted by Leah. These are definitely going in my queue!

This adorable knitted lamb is too cute for words! The pattern is adapted from “Tiger with Dress” by Barbara Prime; knitted by fuzzymitten on Ravelry.

These Baby Bunny Booties made me squeal with delight when I saw them! They are definitely going into my queue in preparation for future nieces and nephews! Pattern by Sylvia Leake on Ravelry.

How clever! Baby Mitts with no thumbs to worry about! These are definitely going into my queue! Designed by Susan B. Anderson, you can find them on Ravelry here, and the free pattern at spudandchloe.com (just scroll down the page a bit to find the Baby Mitts pattern).

Love this gorgeous Leafy Baby Sweater by Renata Brenner! The lacey leaf stitch pattern is stunning!

I’ve recently become obsessed with hand knit washcloths, and these Vintage Hankie Washcloths by Julie Tarsha are too cute for words! I know just the friend to make them for!

Vintage Hanky Washcloth — Vintage Hankie Washcloth

I’ve never made a Tea Cozy before. Stinkymum on Ravelry has provided fabulous instructions on how to make a Proper English Tea Cozy! I definitely think its time I gave it whirl!

And someday (when I have all my energy back, of course!) I’m totally going to make the gorgeous Rona Lace Shawl by Anna Marie Jensen… I’ve never made a round shawl like this before and I’d love to learn how!