A Perfect Beach Baktus

The baktus turned out so nice. I finished it in time to take to the beach. Lisa gave me the idea to put the beads on the ends and I love that! 

I knit this with Noro Taiyo Sock Yarn, color S8 B and Squoosh Fiberart Silky Sock, color - beachcomber. The silky sock gives it the most fabulous feel and the Noro makes the colors drift in and out. What happiness. I bought my beads at Hobby Lobby. Isn't that fun!

Both of the yarns were intended for socks but one day I was thinking of knitting my favorite baktus and I thought how beautiful these two sock yarns would be if I knit them at the same time using a US 9. You can see the results. I'm so glad I tried the experiment. Now I'm wondering what else do I have in my stash that I can combine. What a great stash buster. The baktus is my favorite scarf, I don't like plain scarfs after making a baktus, this is way too pretty. 

Daffodils in My Garden

Daffodils always make me feel happy. They are like rays of sunshine in the early spring. You can never have enough of them in the garden. 

The Quest for the Perfect Sock Yarn

In the past I have loved knitting with 100% merino sock yarn but have been very disappointed when they wore out too quickly. Some people have suggested I reinforce them with some type of added nylon. I have not tried that yet.

 Regia is nice because it wears well and after several washings they are soft enough. My Happy Feet socks were 90 merino and 10 nylon and seemed to fit the bill of soft and springy with wearability. I don't like to hand wash my socks so I need yarn I can put in the washer.

I continue to try sock yarns searching for perfect combinations of merino and nylon. If the merino amount is under 90 or maybe 80 the yarn becomes more like string and is hard on my hands. It doesn't have that bounce as you knit it. The socks are not springy and you end up with a floppy sort of sock and tired hands.

The sock I am knitting now is from Squoosh Fiberarts and is called Merino Cashmere Sock. It is 80% Merino, 10% Cashmere and 10% Nylon. I am hoping this will be a nice blend.

Do you have any favorite sock yarns that you can recommend to me? It has to be lovely and soft, springy and washable. I would love to hear about it. I'll let you know if this one turns out to be a favorite. 

Saved by Jennifer and Square Needles!!

After a long time of struggling to get my gauge smaller and knitting on size 0 needles for my socks Jennifer suggested I try square needles. She said they usually changed her gauge by one needle size. Since my hands are sore from knitting with size 0 I decided to give it a try. The first sock is knit halfway down with regular 0 needles and then I switched to the square size one's after the heel flap. I couldn't tell any difference when I changed. Now I can use square one's to knit socks with and they are so much easier on my hands.

I have never liked the top ribbing on my socks because it is too wide. So I started my second sock with square 0's. You can see what a difference it has made compared to the first sock that I did with the regular size 0. I did cast on 8 less stitches because the first sock seems a bit big but I do think the ribbing is so much better. After the ribbing I will switch to the square 1's.

If you knit loose try square needles. If you order the circulars needles I would order them with the firm wire not the floppy one. My needles are made by Kollage Yarns.

Thank you Jennifer!!!!!!!!! You are the best!

Beach Colors

It seems I can't get past beach colors this time of year. I'm pretending March is here and picking colors like gray and turquoise.

My socks are Lorna's Lace- Soulmate color 1311. The Baktus is Noro Taiyo Sock Yarn, Color S8 and Squoosh Fibersarts - Silky Sock -Beachcomber.
After two shawls I wanted a mindless knit.

The chickadee is building a nest and the little store on the corner has ferns for sale. I'm not falling for the ferns. I learned that lesson a long time ago but it is fun to see them hanging out on hooks, swaying in the breeze. Ferns, ahh!

Color Affection Shawl

This shawl is so hard to photograph. It is turquoise blue with shades of lime green. I think it will be wonderful for the beach because it is bigger than most patterns, warm but also light.

The yarns (in order) are-
 Mountain Colors- Harmony Mist
Lorna's Lace 209 Beverly
and Sweet Georgia, Saltwater.
I used a US #9 to get the gauge the pattern called for and I bound off with a #10.

Yea, spring is just around the corner!!!

Favorite Spinner

One of my very favorite people on etsy hasn't been spinning in a while so when she popped back up I quickly ordered this skein of wool. I love how she packaged it. Sigh!!! Her blog is no more and I miss it so much. This was a special bit of happiness.