Scrappy socks, Madeline Tosh Trunk Show Haul and Crochet Classes!

The sun was creating crazy shadows in the apartment this morning so these scrappy sock photos look especially artsy.  I used some of my Kindred Red leftovers from the Comfort Fade Cardi I recently finished.

  

These socks remind me of funfetti cake.  They were 99.9% completed while chillin' at the playground and around the neighborhood with Xena over the past few weeks.

 

I used the classic Atelier sock pattern which I literally have memorized at this point!

On Saturday we hosted a Madeline Tosh trunk show at Atelier.  
 

Prior to entering my workplace I repeated the hopeless mantra, "You do not need anymore yarn," to myself over and over.  Needless to say, it didn't work.  I couldn't resist these OOAK color explosions.

Also, I've been working really hard on Etsy lately so I didn't feel very bad about treating myself, especially when I get everything discounted anyway.  Speaking of work, I am finally realizing a professional dream of mine that I've had for a very long time.  Beginning this June, I will be teaching crochet classes at Atelier on Thursday nights!  This is the schedule below.  Class size is limited to a maximum of 4 already vaccinated students, age 10+.  I'm scheduled to receive my 2nd dose of the Pfizer vaccination in mid-May.  Matt, Xena and I will be returning to our regularly scheduled travelling around the stamp show circuit this summer so I will have subs for all of the classes that conflict with our travel.

I am all about encouraging anyone and everyone to crochet.  According to my stats, a lot more people are reading my blog lately and if anyone is reading this in the Bay Area and wants one on one classes, feel free to get at me.  Perhaps we can work something out.

The Softest Socks EVAR

We sell this really extraordinary yarn at work by Tanglewood that is 100% cashmere.  Each hank is hand-dyed, handspun and OOAK.

Everyone uses it for shawls and cowls but I am obsessed with socks, so I digress.  In our latest shipment, we received some one-off colorways that were much brighter than what we normally get.  The colorway I used for these socks is called Port of Seattle and if you can't tell by the photo above of how well this colorway represents the Pacific Coast, then you might be colorblind.

 

I used a size 0 needle with 40" cable for magic loop.  I cast on 56 stitches and worked in 1x1 twisted ribbed for 10 rows.  I worked 8" of stockinette for the leg.  Then I knit a traditional heel flap (decreasing to 16 stitches wide) and picked up 12 stitches on each side for the gusset.  I worked the decreases on the toe until I had 16 stitches remaining.

 

I feel like some constant themes throughout the pandemic have been self-care, slowing down and enjoying the simple things in life.  For me, that means knitting a simple pair of the softest house socks.

While I do plan to wear these to work at least once to prove that I made them, I specifically knit them for indoor use only.  These are the type of socks you put on after a long hot bath, while snuggling under the covers with a good book and a cup of tea.

Knit Comfort Fade Cardigan by Andrea Mowry

 As mentioned in my previous post, a few weeks ago I decided to participate in the #comfortknitwithuskal and I cast on the following DK weight SWM yarns for my Comfort Fade Cardi:

Color A - HHF Phoenix

Color B - Kindred Red - celadon in cinders

Color C - Kindred Red - peach sky

Color D - Kindred Red - metropolis

Unfortunately, because of work and other commitments, I didn't have a chance to join in on any of the zoom calls related to this project.  Nor did I even have time to knit a gauge swatch, not that it matters because I felt so strongly about the yarn that I picked and how I wanted to fade it that I doubt a swatch could've changed my mind.  

                

I am a Syracuse Orange fan and after living in RVA for many years, also a UVA sympathizer.  Whether it's subliminal fan obsession or not, blue and orange have always been favorite colors and my favorite color combination.

 

So the colors in this cardi are a marriage of many of my favorite shades and tones.  They compliment my dark skin and hair.  For those who are unaware, most of this pattern is knit inside out.  I even knit the sleeves entirely WS out.

 

Based on my chest measurements, aka giant mom boobs, I knit the medium size of this pattern, the 4th largest size; I wanted a little more coverage than the smaller sizes offered by the pattern.  I used the needles called for in the pattern.  I forgot to use Jenny's super stretchy bind off on the ribbed hem but I used it throughout the rest of the cardi.

 

The only modification I made was on the sleeves.  I continued with color D until it measured 4" - until the 8th, final row (a total of 6 decreases).  Then I abruptly decreased on the next 3 consecutive rows to get down to the 42 stitches needed.  If I had actually knit the 13 decreases called for in the pattern, the sleeves would've been down to my knees!  They're already so long that the cuffs need to be rolled; which is fine because it's a pleasing contrast.

Knitting this cardigan marks another milestone in my development as a knitter.  Years ago, I had erroneously just assumed that knitting something like this would be far too tedious or complex and now that I've done it, I realize just how simple it is.  The lesson I've learned and continue to be remind of, is not to doubt myself, to trust in my ability to learn and continue to embrace new challenges.  Don't avoid projects, just do it!

I enjoyed knitting this cardigan so much that I already dove into my stash to select some yarn to knit another in cooler colors.