Yarn Along:: The first of the New Year!

~ Books and Yarn; it's a beautiful thing. Joining Ginny for this weeks Yarn Along…

On the needles right now is my first attempt at fingerless mitts/gloves. The pattern I eventually settled on is called Siren Sleeves. I had a bumpy beginning with this project which resulted in my choosing a different pattern. I'm liking it much better than the first I had chosen; with the biggest redeeming component of the new pattern being that it has you working on only 3 dpns at a time rather than the first pattern's 4. Fagging away on a project implementing 5 sharp sticks at once is a bit much for me regardless of how much I love the process of knitting. Though, I also think the Siren Sleeves pattern, with it's subtile garter stitch at the beginning and end with stockinette stitch in between,  shows off the beautiful yarn I'm working with better as well. I'm using SunshineYarns' Snape colorway in Merino Sport. 

As for what I'm reading/listening to right now, I am enjoying The Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter (Hillarious!) on the NOOK Tablet we received as a family Christmas gift. For our family read-aloud we are almost done with The Invention of Hugo Cabret (the children are really enjoying this picture-heavy, mysterious tale set in 1930's Paris). And while I knit (or, unfortunately is more often the case, wash dishes)  I have been listening to Wuthering Heights on Audible. I had forgotten just how detestable the characters are in this novel. Ick. 

Before I end this post I'm going to brag a little about a few projects I finished over the holidays. The first is my To Eyre Shawl pictured below. I posted about it originally here. This project took me longer than I had expected it would. All those short rows used to shape it added up, but I am very pleased with the finished results. It hangs so that the soft ruffles are midway across my back and halfway down my arm. Now I just need to find the right pin for it.

 

And here are my first socks! I am especially proud of these. I feel like I've finally arrived as a knitter, lol! I followed Silver's Sock Class online tutorial. As a newbie knitter this was an exhilarating adventure for me. It has been my long term goal from the moment I decided to teach myself to knit (over a year ago) that I would make socks by this last Christmas. Well, here they are! I used Sunshine Yarns' Cherry blossom colorway in Classic Sock weight. They are SO soft, SO comfy, and SO beautiful. I'm definitely hooked. I'm already dreaming of the next pair I'm going to create. :)

 Happy yarning, friends!