[Beer Knits Podcast] Now with Beer!

January 30, 2022

Beer Knits Show Notes

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SHOW NOTES

BUSINESS INQUIRIES

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VIDEO CREDITS

Music: DriftMaster by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

[FINISHED] Shawlography

January 26, 2022

I really can’t stop finishing projects, which would be great for busting my stash if I could stop buying more yarn (seriously, these indie dyers need to stop being so amazing at their jobs).

One of those amazing dyers is my girl Lauren from lolodidit. If you subscribe to Knitability (a Bakery Bears publication that I’m the editor of, NBD), then you’ll have read my interview with her last year, which was absolutely enchanting. I’ve been a big fan for years and used to drop entire (okay, maybe 30%) paychecks on her colorways, going so far as to make chunky hats for everyone I know with her bulky yarns one Christmas.

Anyway - and I promise these thoughts are connected - I was on the fence about joining 2021’s WestKnits MKAL, which is a Mystery Knit-A-Long where we get a “clue” (ie: new pattern section) every week for four weeks - and we have no idea what the finished product will look like. I never complete these shawls within the month because that’s usually right around when I start my Christmas knitting. Plus, this time around, I also did this little thing called “getting married” that required a bit of a time investment. So… I straight-up was going to skip this round and worry about it in the spring if it looked cool.

Until I saw Lauren’s kits. Oh. My. Stars. I knew I was in trouble even before I clicked the link in her email announcing the kits and might as well have just thrown money at my screen. But I mean… look at it and tell me it wasn’t worth it, right?

Also, I’m just saying, there are still Shawlography kits available on her website. Yup. Just saying.

Well, I finished the first section and a significant chunk of section two before the wedding, then picked it up here and there on our honeymoon because 18 hours in a car and endless hanging out at breweries will do that to you. But I didn’t finish it until earlier this week and honestly, that’s such a feat for me. I usually shove these things away come November to focus on other things and don’t pick them up again until it’s almost time for the next MKAL, but this time, I finished it within a quarter. I’m a superhero.

…if you ignore the fact some people finish each section in like a day, but whatever.

I really really really love this thing, despite having doubts. As Stephen West says in literally every tutorial video, “Just. Trust.” And I’m glad I did cuz those loops were throwing me for a - wait for it - loop and I wasn’t sure where this was headed.

I’m not sure what it is about WestKnits shawls specifically, but I’m a moth to a flame whenever a new one is released. In fact, I have another kit from Teal Torch Knits sitting around waiting for my job to stop asking me to do the jobbing and have time to knit all the things. They can feel tedious at some points, especially when you’re toward the end and a single row takes 45 minutes to knit across because there are 2,000 stitches on your needles… but oh, boy. Once those million-and-one ends are woven in and you go to take a picture, these shawls might as well be works of art and I can’t wait to sport mine for the rest of winter.

View On Ravelry

[FINISHED] Moon Catcher Hat by Dragon Hoard Yarn

January 24, 2022

It turns out that 2022 (or, at least, January of 2022) is destined for productivity, as evidenced by the fact I’ve got FOs rolling off my needles like chocolates from a conveyor belt.

My latest finished object is this Moon Catcher hat designed by Trysten from Dragon Hoard Yarn and sold as a kit. I bought it so I could a) wear it during our trip to Vermont over Valentine’s Day and b) knit it on the six-hour car ride, but I couldn’t wait to cast it on and, instead, wound up finishing the ribbing while we enjoyed drinks at a local brewery on Friday night. The rest of the pattern moved just as quickly and before I knew it, I was snapping the pompom on top and setting up a photoshoot before work today.

While I can’t speak highly enough of this pattern (and maybe that’s because I’ve been on a cabling kick lately), I legit can’t stop DROOLING over the yarn. It was so dreamy to knit with and I absolutely need to add more to my stash… without letting Scott see it because I think he’s ready to scream at my recent stash enhancements. Our bartender on Friday even loved the yarn so much that I talked up DHY and sent her to the website to buy her own.

I chose the Feyre Darling colorway because… reasons. ACOTAR has been one of my favorite book series for a few years now, and I’d already purchased Trysten’s Rhysand-themed Knit and Sip box for February, so I felt like I needed something for Feyre, too. I also loved the peachy-pink undertone and wanted something neutral so I could sport the hat with pretty much any coat. Suffice it to say, this hat spoke to me on many levels.

If you want to make your own, more kits are available in a rainbow of colorways, but make sure to grab them quickly because they sell out fast.

Project Info:

Pattern: Moon Catcher
Yarn: Adventure Aran by Dragon Hoard Yarn
Colorway: Feyre Darling

View My Project on Ravelry

2022 The Cozy Knitter Striped Advent Socks

[FINISHED] 2022 Advent Stripe Socks

January 19, 2022

Happy new year, friends, and welcome back to me trying to be a legitimate blogger. I swear, there was a time where I was good at pumping out this content, but I seem to have fallen off the wagon as work and life blew up into chaos. And, to be honest, there were a couple years where I wasn’t knitting much because my mental health was in the toilet while I slogged through some stuff - I’m glad that’s changed!

I know that, as a Gemini, this creative spurt is going to be short-lived, so I’m embracing it while I can and getting all the projects off my needles (and hooks). Unfortunately, I also keep buying supplies to put even more projects back on them.

But one of the projects I managed to get off my needles was my annual Cozy Knitter Advent Socks. If you’re unfamiliar, this self-striping yarn comes ready to knit with 24 stripes and is different every year. Ideally, you’d knit a stripe per day, but I never do because I’m usually bogged down with gift-making, so I got myself in the Christmas spirit by starting these the week before Christmas and finishing them a few days after.

With the standard end-of-year insanity that we all try to avoid, I knew I’d want a simple pattern that would be relaxing, but I was tired of the vanilla self-striping patterns I’d knit in recent years, so I took to Ravelry and found the Easy Pattern For Self Striping Socks by Frida Åberg. I barely had to read the pattern to memorize it and I was off.

I made a few changes, namely using the Fish Lips Kiss heel (so I didn’t have to worry about uneven striping) and an Umbrella Toe. And since I’d used green for last year’s contrast color, I decided to use red this year. Which means I’m quickly running out of options for coming years, lol.

These socks are so festive and make me happy and you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be making another pair in 2022.