Pink and Stripes Belle Epoque

 Iiiiinteresting.
This was certainly a pattern to stretch my meagre sock knitting abilities!
After a plain sock and a sock with a single bit of wandering lace, I must be ready for something all-over, right?
Right.
Turns out that after a few false starts, I'm ready for anything. And whatever I wasn't ready for, the yarn graciously hides.
This is my second time working with Moda Vera Noir, after a brief jump into acrylic. It's very... crunchy. There's fuzz to the yarn that obscures the stitches a bit too much for my liking, and the stripes seemed such a shame. I really like the pink, and I kinda like the greyish-greeny color in between, but together? Meh.
I've got about half the skein left over, so I've actually split the colors, knotting all pinks together, and all greys.

I did these socks two-at-a-time, and I must say, it's the only way to do socks. When you're done, you're really done!
The pattern, intuitively enough, comes from Melissa Morgan-Oakes' book 2-at-a-Time Socks, which is not only a useful resource, but also one of those great books that stay open when you read them. So useful for a knitting book!


I enjoyed the pattern overall, even though you can't even really see it in the finished socks. And the 2-at-a-time method? Total win.

Convertibility

I love things that can be other things.
Panniers that are bags.
Breakfast cereal as dinner.
Photos that are souvenirs.
A shawl that can be a cardigan, a shrug, a hood and more!
Versatility by Amanda Williams is one of those patterns that was probably a bit too much for me at the time, But I really, really wanted this convertible shrug-shawl-cardiga-thing!

Of course I didn't think to swatch, nor did I use yarn that was probably a good choice here.
In fact, I used a cheap and bulky acrylic that's delightfully soft, but not very easily manipulated by newbie hands like mine.

This pattern taught me lace, bobbles, and cables all at once.
It also taught me that I have no idea how much yarn something takes. I had to buy another ball of yarn. And another.
And then I had about a hand span left in the end.

I really liked the end result. Even if, you know. It didn't actually fit me.
But that's okay! Knitting always fits someone.
in fact, my cat thought it would make a fabulous blanket for her.

Things can always be other things if you let them. And cats love everything for themselves.

Steampunk Ruffle Gloves

Okay, I'm feeling confident in my knitting prowess. Time for something new.
Time for something costumey and fun.
Time for gloves. With ruffles. Can't be too tough, right?
Wrong.
Not only did it take me three attempts to get gauge, I also managed to never think about how much yarn one ball is.
You know that magical state where you believe that however much yarn you have will be enough?
Yeah.
This was very much not helped by the fact that when I went to buy another ball for the second glove, the yarn was different.
Not a little different in colour. I mean completely different in feel and handle. It wasn't the soft, squishy yarn that had me excited in the first place. This yarn was flat and distorted and no fun to work with.
Still, i finished the gloves.
And I have the perfect buttons.

The ruffle is a little too floppy and wants to come down over my arms, but still. These gloves go perfectly with my vintage bike. Perfect for transition weather.

Cat Paw Socks

My second pair of socks! Whee!
I made these ones out of a baby acrylic I had lying around. I thought it would be fun, but I got kind of bored with it straight away. The color is just too flat.
On the other hand, I adore this pattern.
It's cat feet! On my socks! Could there be anything cuter?
As promised, these socks were done from the tow up with a wrap and turn heel. I'm not a huge fan of the heel, mainly because I don't quite understand it, I suspect. It made some holes along the heel, but that's okay. I still love them!

Once again, I didn't do enough ribbing. I was just so keen to cast these off and try them on!
The designer also sells yarn on Etsy, and she contacted me after I'd finished the socks to tell me they looked nice. Awwwww. How sweet of her!
her yarns look delicious, why don't you go check them out for yourself?

Ravelry

If you have an interest, there is a community on the internet dedicated to it.
in the case of yarn obsessions, you can't go past Ravelry for sheer encyclopedic awesomeness.
Want to be my yarny friend?