Warm and Cozy

It's March Madness which (for many knitters) also means Sock Madness on Ravelry, so I have been knitting nearly non-stop for weeks...breathing, eating, sleeping and dreaming about sock knitting!  So when it was time to make this week's Stamp Simply project, is it any surprise that it's also about knitting?!  Although it uses some of dies and sentiments from Stamp Simply, it is definitely something a little different and I'm grateful to Sharon that she allowed me to stray quite a bit far from "stamping center" for this one!  My hope is that it will inspire you to think a little more broadly about ways to use your stamps and that you'll enjoy the way your crafts/hobbies might intersect in the process.  

One of my dear card-making friends recently sent me a wonderful box full of gorgeous yarn.  She's having wrist pain and therefore has decided to take a rest from knitting.  After I'd posted a photo of my Sock Madness socks on FaceBook, she blessed me with a gift of some of the skeins from her stash (a huge box!) and I immediately put one set of sock yarn to good use.  I want her to know how grateful I am for her generous gift!  I'll share a photo of my socks so far after telling you more about this week's card.

To me, this designer paper print (Craft Consortium Watercolours designer paper pad) looks a lot like knitted or woven stitches.  I decided to go a step further and knit a tiny scarf using some baker's twine.  It was a little bit of a challenge to knit with because of its cotton content and high twist but I was pleased with the way it turned out.  I used a pair of US 1 double-pointed needles (cast on 6 stitches, knitted in stockinette stitch, slipping the first stitch of every row) and once it seemed long enough I transferred it to a pair of toothpick "needles."  

 

I had planned to glue a pretty bead onto the end of each toothpick to make them look a little more like actual knitting needles but the centers of the beads that I have were too small for the size of these large cocktail toothpicks.  

But doesn't this sentiment from our Boho Pumpkins set work just perfectly for this card/occasion?!  

Here's the inside, stamped with a thank you in a lovely combination of fonts from another of our sets, Delightful Dahlias.  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Boho Pumpkins
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Delightful Dahlias
• Craft Consortium Watercolors 6x6
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Circles SM
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Circles LG
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Fishtail Sentiment Banners
• Divine Twine Baker's Twine - 240 Yard Spool - Aqua
• distress oxide inks
• cocktail toothpick "knitting needles" 
• a button from stash

Hopefully Winter is on its last huzzah for this year, but that doesn't mean that I'm ready to put my wool away!  I spin and knit pretty much year round.  

Sock Madness is a game for knitters (hosted online on Ravelry) that works more or less like musical chairs...there are fewer spots on the team than there are players and the available slots decrease in number as the players advance to the next round.  The patterns are usually unusual and quite challenging, with intriguing construction and unfamiliar techniques that really stretch a knitter's skills.    

Here are a few progress shots of my sock for Round 2.  This pattern is named Chattahoochee by Shuyi Wu.  

It's knitted flat in a chevron stitch from self-striping yarn, then folded so that the chevrons align and can be stitched into a tube.  The process of changing from flat to round is really quite magical and mesmerizing to see.     

In this photo the cuff is toward the bottom left.  The heel/sole stitches will be picked up and knitted along the remaining edges (both sides of the "L" at the top right) and then knitting the toe (at the top) will be the final step.  

You can tell I still have a good way to go to finish this one, and then of course, I'll have to knit its mate, but it is a lot of fun and always an incredible learning experience.  I am a relatively slow knitter and require frequent rests to avoid repetitive motion stess/strain, so we shall see if I can manage to make it into Round 3. 

Thanks Melissa, for this fun Neapolitan self-striping yarn and its coordinating hot pink mini-skein, and for all of the other beautiful yarn that you sent!  I really hope I can do it justice although I'm sure it will take me years to knit through it all!  xo

Thank you everyone for your indulgence for today's project!