Yes... I do still knit...

... and it is still my go-to craft while sitting and watching TV (I can't just sit and watch... my hands need to do something...). I just tend to forget to write about it. This time, though... well, it just feels right to give it some space here, because it is really an update on my little black bean experiment.

I have knit a cowl from my bean dyed yarn, and I love it! The pattern is Gris de lin by Berangere Cailliau.

I'm almost a bit sad that it's summer now and well... generally a bit too warm to wear a cowl. I did put it on for a quick picture, though.

I've got just under half a cake (about 45 g) of yarn left over... I'm thinking matching wristwarmers...

Another year over...

Time to look back and choose my favourite 2017 projects. I really enjoyed all the projects I finished this year (I probably wouldn't have finished them if I didn't), but two projects really stood out among all of them.

The first one must be my first ever fully stranded pair of socks. I knit them in Regia 4-ply and Lang Yarns Super Soxx on 2.5 mm needles. I just love these socks - I am in fact wearing them as I am writing this.

Irish Dream is a free pattern!


And then there was this cardigan... big, and colourful!  The yarn I used was Crelando Maike - lovely colours and wonderful to work with. The only slight drawback is that it is prone to pilling. Anyway, my favourite garment this summer (yes, I wore this in August... because just because the calendar says it's summer doesn't mean it feels like it). One day when I was walking trough town a woman asked me if I knit this myself... she seemed almost disappointed when I said yes - I think she had secretely hoped I could tell her where to buy one.

Another free pattern by the way... Just the right angle.

Bookmark Swap

This month I took part in a bookmark swap hosted by Natalie at Marigold's Loft. My swap partner was Cathy (nanacathydotcom) - and I must say it was a pleasure to swap with her.

Cathy made me a beautiful cross stitch bookmark - she designed it herself!

But the bookmark was not the only surprise I found in the box she had sent me. There also was a cute pincushion and some greeting cards.

I have thanked you before, Cathy - but just let me say thank you again!

And since a swap isn't a one-way thing, of course I made a bookmark for Cathy as well. My craft of choice for this was knitting, and I came up with this tulip design:

I added a little pincushion and a notebook...

...and sent everything over to Cathy, who received my letter just a couple of days later. I was happy to hear that she likes her swap gifts :) .

FO (Knitting): Mint Chutney and Quercus Prinus

And I knit... surprise, surprise... more socks!

First up: a pair that I decided to call Mint Chutney, because a) they are so very green and b) the pattern is called Corn Mint Leaves. I knit them for the October/November Free & Funny KAL in the HiyaHiya Patterns KAL group.

These socks feature an easy-to-remember lace pattern that knits up surprisingly quickly. There was a minor issue with the charted pattern when I knit it, but I was able to work around it, and the pattern has probably been updated by now. 

Oh, the yarn I used was Regia 4-ply... no experiments this time ;).

The second pair I finished was the October/November Mystery in the Solid Socks group. The pattern is Quercus Prinus (which I have now learned is the Latin for Chestnut Oak, a tree that is native to the eastern U.S. and that I had never heard about before... just goes to show that knitting socks can be a highly educative pastime) and available for free. The socks feature an interesting cable pattern and were a bit more challenging, but still very enjoyable to knit. 

The yarn I chose for these socks is Rico Design Superba Cotton Stretch (colour: Fuchsia). It's the first time ever I have used a wool-free yarn for socks - so I am counting this as an experiment. It knits up nicely with a very clear stitch definition, it's soft, and it seems to be stretchy enough for a cotton-rich yarn. I have worn the socks once, and so far, am happy enough - they are very comfortable to wear. Now I just need to see how they'll keep up with being worn and washed more often... 

FOs (Knitting): Socks... and a shawl... and fingerless mittens!

Still trying to catch up on the projects I finished in the last two months. Right, I'll try to make this quick. Todays topic: Knitting.

Socks

Did I mention I like knitting socks? Well, I do. And I have two more pairs to show. The first one is a pair I that I made as a swap gift - the theme of the swap was fairy tales. 

So how do these fit the theme, you might ask. The pattern is called Baba Yaga. Baba Yaga is an important figure in Slavic folklore (she is often reduced to being the Eastern European counterpart of the witch in Western European fairy tales, but does really have a lot more facets to her). She lives in a hut that stands on chicken legs... And that's where the sock pattern comes in: The patterning resembles chicken feet!



The second pair is the result of the August / September Mystery KAL with the Solid Socks Ravelry group. They actually took me almost two months to complete (which was mostly due to me not being able to count...). Knitting them was a very interesting learning experience. I have knit quite a lot of socks since finished my first pair last November (yay, my first sock knitting anniversary is coming up soon) - but I had never started a sock at the heel before. But that is exactly what this pattern (The Troll's Cauldron) does!

The point that I was most concerned about while knitting them was the fit. The pattern (which, by the way is very well written) does indicate a couple of spots where you can adjust the length and width of your socks, but as I was completely unfamiliar with the construction, it was more guessing than knowing what I was doing on my part. In the end, I was more than surprised to find my socks are a perfect fit!

Shawl

I did finish my Mystery Blackberry Shawl! And I love it! It was four months in the making, my first project with lace weight yarn - and oh, it put up a good fight on the last couple of rows. When I came to the last ten rows or so I just grew impatient - I just wanted it to be finished. And as you will all know, impatience in knitting leads to mistakes. At one point I spotted a mistake some five rows back... right, some might say "misplaced yarn over five rows down - so what?". I tried that - but no, doesn't work for me. I know - no one else would ever notice. But I will - because I know. On the other hand, I absolutely did not want to rip out five whole rows... it took a while, it was incredibly fiddly, and I was close to giving up - but somehow I managed to fix it. Yeah, that happened about three times before I got to the second but last row... by that time I was running dangerously low on yarn. I was about half through the second but last row when suddenly the yarn became a terribly tangled mess. My only thought was - save that yarn, I don't want to start a new ball for the last three rows. It took at least an hour to untangle it. And if that wasn't enough I finally ran out of yarn half-way though bind-off and had to join a new ball after all! Had I known this, I would just have cut the tangled mess and joined new yarn right away - would have saved a lot of time...

Anyway, it's done, and I'm very pleased with how it came out. I wear it quite often with a teal or petrol coloured shirt - it really goes well with that range of colours.

Fingerless Mittens

One of my favourite projects of the last couple of weeks must be a pair of fingerless mittens - because I learned so many new techniques making them. The pattern is Maia Fingerless Mitts by Romi Hill. I purchased the pattern months ago, but had not gotten around to try it when the "Try something new" swap in the Beginner's KAL group came up. I had never used beads in knitting before, so that was something new... oh, and starting fingerless mitts from the top was new to me as well. Also learnt a way to make provisional cast ons using a crochet chain less fiddly by chaining straight onto a knitting needle.

Oh, and the yarn! I used Mirasol Sulka Legato - a merino, silk and alpaca blend - and I fell in love with that yarn from the moment I cast on. It felt so good in my hands. It was a real treat working with it, and I am already looking forward to using it again - hopefully soon.

New Pattern: Dolores Cup Cosy

Let me start with the story behind this pattern. In mid July I found and joined a group called HP Knitting and Crochet House Cup on ravelry. It just sounded like tons of fun. I managed to hand in one single piece of homework as a Not Quite First Year before the end of the term and was sure I would play the next term as NQFY. I applied to be sorted anyway, and - surprise, surprise - I got sorted into Ravenclaw. Yay!

Now, one part of the House Cup is Quidditch. The first task this term is to convince a certain professor D. Umbridge to let us play - which means we are to make things that dear Dolores would love. And this is where the cup cosy comes in. I am sure the old hag our esteemed Madame Umbridge would not want to miss her tea while watching a match. But we wouldn't want her to ruin her hideous good tea china in a mishap while accidentally cheering during the match, now, would we? On the other hand, we would not want her to hurt her claws delicate hands on a hot to-go cup, either - right? So she needs her own very special cup cosy. It is bow-shaped, and the first version I made is pink and purple - it looked so very much Umbridge that I even named the pattern after her.

These cosies are very easy and quick to make. I used about 20 m of super bulky yarn (16.5 m of the main colour and 3.5 m of the contrast colour). The only skills required are knit, purl and a bit of seaming (whip stitch or slip stitch). The pattern includes in-progress pictures.

Oh, and by the way, you can easily modify the pattern to make bracelets or headbands (I have included suggestions in the pattern, but have not yet got around to test them myself).

And last, but not least - the link to the free pattern: Dolores Cup Cosy.

FO (mostly knitting): Fairy Doll

One of my favourite projects in the last couple of weeks was a fairy doll that I made for a fanasy themed angel package. I came up with the idea of making a fairy doll, but couldn't find a pattern that I really liked. I did find a pattern for a nice looking Halloween Witch Doll, though - and went from there. It turned out to be a good source to get the dimensions right, but I found myself heavily modifying the pattern right from the start.

The pattern calls for a sport weight yarn. I used a double strand of sock yarn to produce a fairly tight fabric on 3 mm needles. 

The doll is knit in the round, starting with the legs. Changes I made to the pattern include shaping the feet, trying to shape the waist a little (I could have done a little more shaping there), hand shaping (thumbs), modifying the shoulders and neck and completely changing the head (apart from the nose shaping). I have noted down all the changes on my project page. The result of all these changes was this:

Now, I had to give her a face, hair, wings and clothing. I went with the pattern for the face, and quite liked the result. I gave her slightly rosy cheeks using a red pencil. Until this point, the question of what colour her hair would be was still open - but once I saw the face, I knew she needed black hair. I gave her LOTS of hair - in retrospect I must say I could have given her a little less.

Then I crocheted a pair of golden wings. I found a cute wing pattern as part of this fairy pattern. It's in Spanish, but provides charts. I changed hdc to dc (except for the last row), and dc to tc (US terms).

Almost done, all the fairy needed now was a dress. I decided to make up my own pattern for the dress, and this is what I came up with:

Fairy Dress

Yarn: fingering weight yarn 

Needles: 3 mm (DPNs or circulars for magic loop)

Instructions:

Skirt
Cast on 40 in main colour, join in round (start/end of round will mark the back of the dress)

R1&2: knit
R3: increase 5 sts evenly around (using m1 increase)
Repeat R1-3 until there are 80 stitches on needle.

Lace edging
R1&2: knit
R3: (p2tog, yo, k1, yo, p2tog) around
R4: knit
Repeat rows 1-4 once more.

Purl one row.
Cast off (icelandic)


Body
Starting at the centre of the back of the dress, pick up and knit 40 sitches from cast on round, join in round.
Next 5 rounds: (k1tbl, p1) around.
cast off 10, knit 20 in established pattern, cast off 10

Change to main colour, work six rows of stockinette stitch over the 20 remaining stitches, then start decreasing:

Right side rows: k2, ssk, k to 4 before end of row, k2tog, k2
Wrong side rows: purl

Repeat until 10 stitches remain
k2, cast off 6, k2

Make 2 stitch icord straps in contrast colour (long enough to tie behind the neck).

Work away all ends, put it on the fairy and enjoy ;).

FO (Knitting): All Seasons Cardy.

One of the projects I finished just before I went on vacation was my daughter's All Seasons Cardy. The pattern (All Seasons Cardy by Kelly Brooker) is available in plenty of different sizes from 12 months to 6 years, and is also written for different yarn weights. I made a size 2 years in a light worsted weight yarn. 

The cardigan is a seamless design and worked from the yoke down. It knit up quickly, especially once I got to the lace section, which was simple and repetitive enough to work even while watching my daughter play in the garden. The hardest part for me was chosing the buttons. When I started working on the cardigan I thought the colour I had chosen would work best with simple wood buttons, but when I tried different wood buttons on the finished piece the just didn't look right. Then I found two light pink flower buttons in my stash - and they just looked perfect. I fortunately remembered where I had bought them and was able to get a third one.

As always, my daughter was very excited when I told her that her new cardigan was almost done. She watched me very closely when I soaked it and pinned it out on my blocking mats. Then she kept asking if it was dry yet... and I had to help her put it on right away when finally it was dry. 

I love how it turned out - the slightly puffed sleeves look really cute on my little girl. The size is perfect - it does fit quite well already, but it's still large enough so she won't grow out of it immediately. And it's really quite versatile. So far, she has worn it over simple T-shirts when it was a bit chilly in the morning - but it also looks great worn over long-sleeved shirts, so it'll be perfect for the coming autumn months too.

FO (Knitting): Rosie the Mouse

Just because it was such a fun little project: Meet Rosie the Mouse. The pattern (Toerag the Tubemouse) came up as a Mini-KAL in the beginner's KAL group I'm active in on ravelry. I decided to make one for my daughter - she had been so patient lately when she was watching me making toys for swaps and I kept on telling her I would make something for her soon. So this was perfect: I could use up some leftovers, it was quick, easy and  simply cute - and it turned out to be the perfect companion for the first toy I made for her more than a year ago:

The pattern calls for DK weight yarn - but since I couldn't find any mouse coloured DK in my stash I went with grey leftover sock yarn held double for the body. The body knit up quickly, and so did the tail, feet and ears, which I made from scraps of variegated pink/purple sock yarn. I did not hold the yarn double for those small parts, but noticed later that I probably should have done so for the feet. Rosie does have problems standing upright because her feet came out quite flappy - I think I'll try to reinforce them with duplicate stitch.

Anyway, she can stand up for a yummy apple:

The part that took the longest was to pluck up the courage to pick up a needle and embroider a face and a pair of front paws. To my own surprise it worked out fine this time, and I am really happy with the result - maybe I am slowly getting better at this kind of embellishment.

Oh, and did I mention that Helena LOVES her mouse? She couldn't wait for me to finish it when she found out what I was making and that it would actually be hers. She wanted to cuddle with it even before it was finished.

FO (Knitting): Two hats - Heather and Fern

I knit two hats last month. I know mid / end July with temperatures around 30° C is probably not the time most people think of  hats... BUT... Winter is coming... it's inevitable. So better be prepared.

To be honest, I have never really liked wearing hats until I started knitting... by now I've got plenty, and I'm still adding more. I like knitting hats - they are small enough projects to take and knit anywhere (a bit like socks), and they are quick projects. Well, I felt the need of some quick instant gratification projects and had those two gorgeous hat pattern in my queue...

The first hat I knit last month was Heather (pattern) - a really quick to knit hat with a lovely lace panel that gives the brim a nice shape and can be worn on either side. As suggested in the pattern I chose to use a fingering weight yarn (Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cornwall) and held it double. I love the feel of the fabric produced that way, and I'm sure it will keep my ears warm next winter.

Sword Fern (pattern) on the other hand is not your standard hat pattern. The construction is a little different and a little more challenging - and I loved knitting it. The only change I made to the pattern was twisting the knit stitches on the brim, just because I like the look of it. The hat is knit in fingering weight yarn (I used Lana Grossa Cool Wool Baby) and rather light and airy - and I am looking forward to wearing it often when autumn comes.

FO (Knitting): Toe-Up Christmas Tree Socks

When a challenge to knit a cuff-down pattern (HiyaHiya Christmas Tree Socks) came up in the HiyaHiya Patterns-KAL group I just couldn't resist. The real challenge in this was reversing the lace pattern. My first try looked like this:

I wasn't impressed. The holes were all in the right places, but the crispness of the "branches" had been lost completely. So I tried to do it differently on the second sock, and came up with this:

Now that's more like it! The branches are nicely defined - you can actually see the "trees"! I ribbed the first sock back to the end of the toe section and finished both socks with my new version of the reversed Christmas Tree pattern. I followed the heel instructions from Liat Gat's Basic Toe-Up Socks pattern, and the socks came out fitting really well.

I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge, and learned a lot from it. I think my reversed pattern looks really nice, even if it is not perfect (one of the other knitters came up with a slightly better solution using different double decreases). I think the best thing I got out of this project (apart from a beautiful pair of socks) is even more confidence to alter patterns... or even make my own sock designs... 

FO (Knitting): Caps of the Woodland Elf and her Baby

I was looking for two really quick projects for a parcel that I put together for the Fantasy Swap in the Geek and Nerd group while waiting for a last extra item to arrive when I came across two cute hat patterns - Elf Hat and Bellflower Elf Hat, both by Lusianne R.

I decided to make one of each - the lacy cap in adult size, the stockinette cap in newborn size - in matching colours (just reversing main and contrast). Since I wanted them to be woodland elf caps, I chose a lush green and a light brown with a slight green hue. 

The construction of these hats is different from what I usually do when knitting hats - making them a triangle shape cap. One of the fun features of this construction is that they kind of come with built-in ear flaps.

Both caps knit up very quickly. I guess the baby version I made will fit a newborn to maybe 3 month old baby - I don't have a newborn around, but  my daughter's doll has a head circumference of about 36 cm, and the cap fit nicely.

The adult version is more of a loose fit, which I find very appropriate for this kind of cap. I modified the pattern on the last repeat though, because I felt the hat was wide enough, but was still lacking length. So I omitted one yarnover on each of the "edge leaves", and didn't do any increases on the brim.

To be honest - I want one of those caps for myself now...

FO (Knitting): Green Monkey Socks

My green Monkey Socks are finally done! Finished them about a week ago, but just haven't gotten around to share a picture here - little one keeping me busy during the day, working on my WIPs in the evening... I sometimes wish there were more than 24 hours in a day.

I absolutely enjoyed making these socks. As I've mentioned before, the lace pattern was pretty easy to remember - perfect for knitting while watching soccer on TV (I didn't plan this, but - yes - I am following the world cup). Oh, and I so hope the yarn (Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cotton Stretch) will prove to be hard-wearing enough for everyday socks - I just love the feel and look of it!

Knit WIPs again...

Mystery Blackberry Shawl

Yes, still working on the Mystery Shawl. I have completed the first three clues out of five, took a break from it to finish some swap projects (again...) and hope to pick it up again soon to start the next clue.

I am at a point now where I feel I can't more than four rows at a time before I need to change back to a project that takes less focus. Knitting lace with lace weight yarn is just so much more challenging knitting lace with sock weight yarn...

Green Monkey Socks 

Socks again! This pattern (Monkey by Cookie A) was one of the options for the sock KAL in the Beginner's KAL group, and I loved the look of it. The lace pattern is easy to remember and knits up quickly.

I had been wanting to try a "cooler" sock yarn for a while and went with a wool / cotton blend for these socks. I'm very happy with how that yarn is working up - it's got a great stitch definition and does indeed feel a lot more summery than standard sock wool. I'll have to see how it will hold up with washing and wearing, but I so far love that yarn.

Dream Socks (Solid Socks June / July Mystery)

Uhm, yeah - more socks! Once again I just couldn't resist the Solid Socks Mystery. Oh, and it's such a lovely pattern this month - so glad I joined! Last clue was released last week, and I'm looking forward to finishing these.

All Seasons Cardigan

I haven't made any clothing for my little girl in a while - but have had the All Seasons Cardy by Kelly Brooker queued for quite some time. What I love about the pattern is that it is written for lots of different sizes, but also for a couple of different yarn weights. I had some nice dark red yarn lying around; bought it a while back with a different pattern in mind, but have since lost interest in that particular pattern - so I decided to use it for the All Seasons Cardy instead.

I still have a couple of inches to knit for the lace section, but it's working up quickly, and I think my daughter will be able to wear it soon.


Harvest Cardigan

I have actually made some progress on the cardigan I am knitting for myself. I'm ready to start the garter border now - and then I "only" need to knit the sleeves. Yay! Maybe it will be ready (and wearable) when autumn comes...

FO (knitting): Tequila Sunrise Socks

With my Shadowboxing Socks done, and the start of the Solid Socks Mystery still a couple of days away at the end of May, I felt I needed another quick pair of socks on my needles. Vanilla Latte Socks had been in my queue for a while, and I had that very cheery looking striping yarn in my stash. It seemed a perfect match - and I have not regretted my choice of pattern and yarn. 

The socks knit up quick enough, but still took me ten days to complete because... well... as usual I was working on multiple projects at the same time. I chose a twisted stitch ribbing for the cuff and a slip stitch ribbing for the heel flap. And - oh - I love that colour way... although it turned my Vanilla Latte into Tequila Sunrise...

Funny thing is - these are actually not the colours I would usually go for, and I'm not sure why I bought that yarn in the first place - guess it must have been a miserable, grey and rainy day... but hey! I couldn't be happier now. It's almost a pity that the last couple of days have been so hot - so I haven't had a chance to really wear my new socks yet (except for two minutes to take a picture).

FO: Shadowboxing Socks and Crochet Dragon

Just want to show you the last two projects I finished in May.

Shadowboxing

The first one are my HiyaHiya Shadowboxing Socks. I absolutely enjoyed knitting these. The lace pattern is really easy to remember, making these socks a nice relaxing knit. Only thing I modified was the heel flap - I used a slip stitch ribbing rather than the regular 1x1 ribbing the pattern called for. 

Here be dragons...
My last May project was a little dragon I crocheted for a swap. I actually finished it a good two weeks ago, but didn't want to post pictures before the parcel had arrived.

I found the pattern in a magazine (Simply Häkeln Spezial Amigurumi Vol. 1), and I knew I had to make that dragon at one point. Then the D'Clutter Swap in the Geek & Nerd Swap group came up, my partner loved dragons, and I figured it was the perfect time to use up all that green cotton yarn that had been sitting in my stash for months. As it always is with amigurumi, I loved making all the individual parts, even the tiny bit of embroidery for the face... but sewing it all together... oh, that's the part I don't like. And it seems to take ages... mainly because I don't like it and work on other projects between sewing on limbs. But it's so worth it in the end. Because... well, just look at that cute little dragon...

FO: Knubbelinchen

A couple of weeks ago I came across this cute doll pattern (Knubbelchen)  and knew I had to make one for my little girl. This month the Beginner's KAL group on ravelry included it in their suggested patterns for the monthly KAL - the KAL theme being stash busting. So I had my excuse for casting on rightaway in spite of all the projects I've got going on anyway. I had lots of leftovers of brightly coloured cotton yarn and decided to go with those... it would be a very colourful doll. Also, I decided to knit the girly version with the skirt.

The pattern is very well written, and it's a quick and enjoyable knit. But by far the best thing about making this little doll was to see Helena's happy face when I gave it to her a couple of days ago. She had seen me working on it and got really excited when I told her that I was making it for her.

WIPs - Old and new...

Blackberry Mystery Shawl

I have so fallen behind on this mystery! The last clue (number 5) is out, and I just started clue 3... To my excuse, I have been focussing on swap projects lately (which have to stay secret a while longer). Anyway, I am greatly enjoying the shawl pattern, but it's something I can only work on when my little girl is asleep, so it will be a couple of weeks before this will be finished.

Oh, and this is what the pattern looked like after the second clue (only one section of the shawl shown):

I love how it's turning out so far


Sock Yarn Blanket

I made four more squares for the blanket so far - so I've got five in total now. Just after I had finished the last of these squares I noticed that I had forgotten to give them a slip stitch edging. Oh well, it will make picking up stitches for the second row of squares a bit fiddly, but other than that I should be fine. I'll try to remember the slipped stitches for my next couple of squares...

Shadowboxing Socks

Started another pair of socks. Joined one of this month's HiyaHiya sock KALs again. This is the easiest HiyaHiya pattern I've knit so far, and it doesn't have cables for a change. I love the simplicity of this pattern!

I am now in the middle of the foot - the picture shows the socks right after finishing the gusset shaping.

Pattern: Archaeopteryx Felted Messenger Bag

A couple of months ago I took part in an endangered & extinct species themed swap with the Geek & Nerd Swap group on ravelry. I couldn't get the idea of knitting a bag with an Archaeopteryx fossil on it out of my head... But for some reason, knitting patterns for Archaeopteryx bags seem to be hard to find (and for some reason my husband was surprised to find me surprised at that discovery...) - so I decided to come up with my own design.

I wanted a nice size messenger style bag, sturdy enough to hold a book or two, I had recently discovered the fun in knit-felting, and I figured the easiest way to get that fossil on the bag would be duplicate stitching it on. So with all those parameters decided, I started calculating stitch and row counts to get the size of bag I wanted, taking into account about 30% of shrinkage in the felting process, charted the fossil design, knit, knit, and knit again, seamed, duplicate stitched and tried to keep calm while the bag was felting in my washing machine. This is what I ended up with:

I couldn't have been happier with the result!

As I've mentioned, I made this for a swap, so I knew I wouldn't keep the bag - but I wanted to be able to make another one for myself one fine day (that hopefully comes soon), so I took lots of notes. Now, I finally decided to turn those notes into something like a pattern. It's available for free on ravelry: Archaeoptery Bag pattern.

FOs: New Oaklet Shawl and Blue Mystery Socks

New Oaklet Shawl

I finally blocked my shawl. I must say that blocking has transformed it from something that looked... yeah, nice... to an absolutely beautiful accessory.

It's grown into a good size shawl now- about 1,5 m from tip to tip - and the fabric turned out nicely drapey, just as I expected.

Here's a close-up of the lace pattern - it reminds me of tiny butterflies.

Blue Mystery Socks

I also finished my socks for the Solid Socks Mystery KAL. I love these socks - they are so pretty! The pattern runs through to the toes - I've never done that before. They are also a very nice fit. I'm looking forward to wearing them a lot.