An unseasonably cold and rainy week here for us, so I enjoyed working on several things, curled up with a cup of tea and a helper kitty on the couch most evenings.
- Spirea Shawl: I have worked through the 8 repeats as called for in the pattern but still have a half a ball of the MC left, so I’m continuing onward. I am pretty sure I can get through another half repeat and maybe more, but plan on just working this and weighing the yarn I have left to figure out where I need to stop. It just has a simple bind-off edge so it won’t take too much yardage to get it off the needles. I’m glad I kept up with the floral embroidery. They aren’t difficult to work and I like the effect, but they are a bit fussy and I don’t think I’d want to stitch all of them at once. Hoping to have this finished up this week.
- Plain vanilla/striped socks: I’m a bit farther along on sock 2 than this picture thanks to movie night last night where I got the heel turned. I’m really enjoying this color combo that came as a sock set from Hickory Lane in the Luster Dust main color. I should have these finished up this week as well.
- Mini hexagon blanket: I started joining hexis using an invisible sewn technique and figured out how to work the half hexis to fill in the row ends. The plan is to have straight sides on this with zigzag edges at top and bottom and I’ll finish this off with a simple crochet border. I have 90 minis completed. The blanket calls for 16 x 23 hexis, so I’ll need 368 total. I’m trying to work a few hexis a few times a week and will just keep going on this one. It’s worked in sockweight yarn so the mini hexis are small and it’ll be a WIP for a while.
No photos but I have finished the singles of my current handspun project and I’m working on getting those 4+ ounces plied up into a 2-ply yarn. I also hit the 60% finished mark on Winter’s Encounter. I’m continuing to focus on getting the sky stitched, alternating with some of the horse body when I need a break from the light colors of the sky.
As we head into the summer season here, I’ve got a few things planned to start over the next 3 months while continuing to work down my WIP basket of starts from January/February. I’ll be participating in The Crazy Sock Lady’s Summer Sock Camp 2023 again this year. Kay has scaled back the event so it’s basically a casual MAL to knit or crochet socks. I’ve got 3 pairs planned and we’ll see how far I get with those but pretty sure I can knit a pair a month and if I have time, I’ll add on something else. I’m also excited for the Tour de Fleece coming up in July this year. My husband struggles to find me birthday gifts for my July birthday, but one of my favorite dyers, Spun Right Round, put together a summer fiber box that will be here in June, in time for the Tour. Each day will have a mini skein worth of fiber to open and spin (kind of like an advent box), and that will be my spinning project for July, which I’m looking forward to.
Have a great week YOP’ers!
Knit One, Spin Too 
The little flowers on the shawl really make it pop. The sock colors do look great. I have one question……do you do full cross on your xs or do you do a tent stitch? Also, what count is your xs fabric? Oops, guess I had 2 questions lol.
I am using 25-count fabric. I do full x’s but I have lots of friends who prefer 1/2 cross/tent stitches. I just prefer the coverage with a single strand of floss and a full x. (You’d want to double the thread for half-stitches so there’s less fabric show-thru on 25-count. Less of an issue on 28-count and up, but I probably wouldn’t do full xs on those higher counts – it makes for a bulky fabric.)
Thank you!
Just love your shawl. Sooo pretty. The socks look fun. Love the contrast yarn. Looking forward to seeing the hexigon blanket. The fleece minis sound like the perfect birthday gift.
Thank you – I’m enjoying working on all of these right now. And yes! Can’t wait for July to come for the spinning fun.
I love those socks, they look cosy and fun. I’m getting excited about the Tour too. I have a specific box I want to work on so I suppose I’d better get my current project off the wheel!
That’s exactly where I am – I want to make sure I’ve got my wheel cleared off and ready to go for the Tour!
It all looks great! The invisible join for the hexis was the perfect choice. It’s going to be a great blanket!
Thank you! I like the minimalist look of that join with these little hexis.
I think a visible join would have been too overpowering.
The Spirea shawl is stunning with the embroidery. It truly takes it to another level. Love those socks…the yarn is awesome. Is there a pattern for the crocheted hexies? I love the colors you’ve used so far. Will that be the color scheme for the entire blanket?
Winter Encounter is really coming along and I love the matching needle minder.
Have a great week!
I’m mostly kind of using the Weekender Blanket by Cherry Heart (pattern on her website or via Ravelry). Using a sewn joining technique rather than attaching at the corners but otherwise the same. Yep – I’m going to stick with these dark reds, pinks and sand for the entire thing. Thanks for your kind comment!
Your projects are beautiful. I love the blanket from the hexies and the socks look like fun. The cross stitch project has me in awe. I haven’t done any cross stitch for years and definitely never did such a complex project.
Thank you! I love those full coverage x-stitch projects. I have done other small things in the past, which I also enjoy but those really detailed ones are my favorites (currently). 🙂
Your projects are beautiful. As always, I especially love your cross stitch – it continues to amaze me!
Thank you so much!