Knitty Confessions #6

In my early knitting days, I never would have thought about partially frogging a WIP. I couldn’t imagine picking up all those stitches. Nowadays, I seem to do this without a moment of stress (about the process anyway) and merrily rip back a project to correct a mistake or change a pattern. In the past, I might have lived with the mistake or frogged the whole project because I couldn’t even begin to contemplate taking the stitches off the needle.

Frogging is a rather intimidating thought for beginners. If I’m working a flat piece, I try to frog back to where the next row is a Right Side Row. If I’m knitting in the round, I frog back to the beginning of a row. Then, I just concentrate on getting all the stitches back on the needles.

Sometimes, this process results in a few “slipped” stitches in the middle of the row. I just go back around and fix them by re-knitting them before I start the next round of knitting. In the case of purl stitches, I just turn the WIP over to the wrong side and re-knit it. In a few minutes, I’m back on track and re-working my project.

How do you fix a knitting mistake? Share here!

YarnGiveAway on Instagram

It’s time for a little destashing at the iknit2purl2 household.  I recently organized my knitting books and found a few duplicates (my relatives know what my favorite hobby is!) and I have several duplicates of sock yarn, more than I need because why was I thinking I’d knit so many pairs in every colorway that I really, truly, can’t live without, love.  (Although you know I have a keen love of Paton’s SelfStriping Sock Yarn!) So, for my very first InstaGiveAway, I’ve put together the following goodies:

How do you get a chance to win these wonderful knitter’s goodies?

• Follow me on Instagram (I’m iknit2purl2 there too!)
• Like the picture above on Instagram
• Repost that image and use the TAG #iknit2purl2

I will randomly pick a winner on Thursday March 5, 2015.  Good luck everyone!

Giveaway Details:

• Participants must be 18 years old or older to enter
• Participants must live in the US or Canada to enter
• (1) Winner will receive:
  • One (1) skein of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock Yarn in the colorway Lakeview (Approx. 430 yards/100g, 80% Superwash Merino Wool, 20% Nylon yarn)
  • One (1) skein of The Flying Kettle’s yarn in the colorway Oh Frabjous Day! (438 yards/100g, Superwash Yarn, 75% Merino Wool, 20% Nylon, 5% Stellina)
  • One (1) skein of The Sanguine Gryphon Little Traveller Sock  Yarn in the colorway Uljin (4 0z, 560 yards,100% superwash merino wool)
  • One (1) copy of Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmerman
• Entries for the giveaway will be accepted through midnight Thursday March 5, 2013.
• Winner must provide an email address to be contacted if he/she wins.  Email address will not be used for solicitation purposes. The yarn and book will be forfeited after 30 days if not claimed.
• A random number generator will be used to determine who wins

Good Luck! And thank you for reading my blog! Happy Knitting!

Hartwell Hat & Hartwell Scarf – New Patterns!!!

I’ve finally sat down and written the patterns for my Hartwell Hat and Scarf.  Knit with squishy Malabrigos Rios Yarn, this hat and infinity scarf will definitely keep you warm and toasty this frosty winter.  The diagonal rib pattern is easy to memorize and both knit up pretty quickly.  I love how the purple/blue variegated colorway, Lotus, shows off the pattern!

No need to be frozen this winter…You can find these patterns available for FREE on Ravelry until February 23, 2015 (here and here).  Happy Knitting!

Knitting With Marsala

Happy Valentine’s Day!

xoxo,
iKnit2Purl2

Juggling Act

Lately, I just want to knit all the things!  Currently on my needles are –

Socks #1 Stripe Socks – I’m knitting these…again! I’ve already knit socks in this popular Paton’s Kroy Sockyarn colorway two times (for my husband and son); this pair is for me! I’m trying Magic Loop for the first time. Overall, I think I prefer DPNs but I’ll try Magic Loop again to see if I feel like I can knit a little faster with this method.

Socks #2 – Valentine Socks I’m using yarn that I handdyed myself! The base is a superwash in a blend of merino/nylon/stellina. I love this sparkly yarn! I can’t wait to finish these and give them to DD! I’m almost at the toe decreases so I should be able to make it!

The Dude Sweater I started this a little while back but the Colorwork worked flat in a ribbed pattern kind of intimidated me. I’m trying again, incentivized to finish it before the end of March for my son.

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Boot Socks Knitting these for my daughter using KnitPicks Stroll yarn and my own design. I’ve used KnitPicks Palette before for colorwork but this is the first time using Stroll for colorwork. I like the superwash blend. Perfect for socks. Both KnitPicks Stroll and Palette are very reasonably priced. The reason that I’ve put tis project down: I’ve become rather spoiled by the almost instant gratification of knitting vanilla socks…Colorwork takes forever!!! Plus, these are “knee-high” length. I need to schedule in a few blocks of time to make a dent in these before winter has passed by!

Additionally, I just frogged almost a whole sock (again, I used a yarn that I handdyed myself but this time it’s selfstriping!) I love the yarn — a superwash merino/nylon blend but the sock was going to be way too big and I was in danger of not having enough yarn for both socks (a combination of too big and my initial effort at arranging the yarn for dyeing was a huge knotty mess and I lost some yarn in the process). Ugh!

So, it’s taking all of my resolve not to cast on something with this pretty yarn:

It’s Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Watercolor (80% Superwash Merino, 20% Nylon, 430 yards, 100g).  I can’t wait to knit with this yarn – it is sooo soft and squishy!!!

What have you been knitting lately? How many projects are you juggling? Share here!

All You Knit Is Love

There’s still time! You can knit your love a Valentine!  You probably even have the yarn in your stash! Check out some of these awesome patterns via Ravelry:

1 I HEART U by Dani Church
2 Love You Forever by Tanis Lavallee
3 Sweet Socks by Camille Chang  
4 Knit Your Love by Martina Behm
5 Monster for Your Love by Bernat Design Studio, 
6 Heart by Matilde Skar

Have you been knitting any Valentine’s Day Gifts?  What’s your favorite Valentine’s Day/Heart Pattern?  Share Here