FMM - Knitting Catch UpEasy Weight Loss

First things first - let me just say that finding these pictures was a challenge, considering I finished this hat in September and all pictures from 2016 are neatly in files that are on an external hard drive and are not easy to find, much less preview.  I love my new Mac Mini computer, but going back to my old pictures isn't simple.  I think these are the last bits I'll need, and now I can focus on my Mac photo folders - although they aren't as organized as I'd like.  I really need a friend who has a Mac to come sit with me and explain how to do what I think I should be able to do with them.  But until that happens, I'm muddling along, and without much in the way of photo collages, because so far I've only been able to do them on my phone, and I'll be honest - my eyes just don't see that well on that tiny of a screen.  One day I'll get it together...but today is not that day.

I made my mom a hat and a pair of socks for Christmas, and I'm glad I did, because they have had a very snowy winter in Oregon, and woolen handknits are surely helping to keep her warm.

Here's the hat:

Pattern is Cables and Twists Beanie, yarn is Madelinetosh DK, colorway is Coquette.

Modeling it - trying to look cool while it was easily 90 degrees that day.

This pattern was very well-written and the hat, while looking a bit complicated, was a really fun knit.  Plus the yarn is one of my favorites, and the color just made me happy to have in my hands. 

Here's the socks:

Pattern is my own basic vanilla sock, although I use the Fish Lips Kiss heel which is a million times easier than knitting a heel flap the old-school way.  Yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners Signature, colorway is Wood Pigeon.  Toe and heel yarn is Lang Jawoll Superwash Solids, colorway is purple.  

I really like starting the toes of my socks with a coordinating color - I think it gives the sock an extra POP of fun.

When knitting with a self-striping/patterning yarn, it's good to use a different color for the heel so you don't get a funky stripe on the heel.  Plus, POP of fun there, too!

I ended up with enough leftover from the sock yarn that I probably could make a hat with it - the only reason I haven't jumped on it is because sock yarn is so much finer than what I normally knit a hat with that I'd have to cast on probably twice as many stitches, and that seems like a lot of work.  Interesting what makes knitting enjoyable vs. tolerable to me - but that's the beauty of knitting for pleasure - you really do get to choose what you want to knit.

I'm sort of in the SQUIRREL! mode of knitting right now - I keep getting distracted by new ideas, which resulted in unearthing this pile of leftover sock yarn:

What are you supposed to do with all the leftovers?  

Here's a start:  mitered squares...which will become a throw blanket in about 10 years or so.

I saw this project on Ravelry and was intrigued - I like my sock yarn, but I'm not sure I'm a patchwork person - usually I like my colors to all coordinate together, and this will be stepping outside of my comfort zone, big time.  But at least I'd get to revisit all of my pretty yarn again, if I made something similar to this:

This could be interesting.  It will be the never ending project, what with all the socks I make.

Here's a peek at one last project that I'm working on - hopefully SQUIRREL! won't distract me too much, and I can get this one finished by next week's FMM:

I. LOVE. THIS. YARN.

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I can't let this post end without a picture of Paco - here's one where I actually was taking a picture of Henry, who was laying in my chair with his foot on the eye of the stuffed Mini bulldog nearby - I just thought it was funny...but then Paco had to run over and lay down directly in view of the camera.  He know's what's what:

Mom.  Mom.  Mommmm.  Don't look at Henry.  Look at meeeeeeee!

Have a great weekend!

from My Journey to Fit: A Fifty-Something's Weight Loss Journey http://ift.tt/2jEkZqR
easy weight loss tips,program & exercises for women FMM - Knitting Catch UpEasy Weight Loss