Creativity check and finished projects, mid-July 2021

My creativity is rather steady, these days. I feel excited about several projects, and it's been satisfying to finish a few projects recently (see below). I've done a little sewing and a lot of knitting, with plans for more of both.

Knitting

Sock knitting! Of course! I don't know if its the camaraderie of summer sock camp, or if I am just really in the mood to knit socks, but they are certainly my project of choice right now. Portable, small, and the progress is so easily visualized.

Finished

A pair of striped socks for Nicholas. I love this yarn and the bright primary colors. These were my first pair of socks for Summer Sock Camp. I knit them with essentially the same numbers  and formula as these grey marled socks for Nicholas. He loves them, per usual. Can always count on Nicholas for hand knitted sock enthusiasm.

I also finished a pair of Cyril socks for me in a special yarn (a cashmere blend) that I've had in stash for awhile. I love the colors in these and this pattern fits like a dream every time. I knit these very quickly, and really, truly enjoyed the yarn and pattern combination.

I have also finished my Color Craze shawl, and I'll include a few (unblocked) photos of it here, with a full post to come with more details on my process, yarn choices, etc., as well as post-blocking photos. But in short, I love it!

Works in progress:

Another pair of socks for Nicholas, this time in a navy subtle gradient yarn (details on my ravelry page). As this point, I've knit several pairs of socks for Nicholas in this yarn. It's affordable, hard-wearing, and some of their sock-weights are slightly heavier, allowing me to use a US 1 needle, which makes the knitting process faster for a large men's sock. I had planned to use the leftovers to knit a little pair of socks for Cooper (I told him about it and he's so excited), but a pair of socks for Nicholas uses up nearly a full two skeins of Paton's Kroy, so I'll find another yarn for his socks. Cooper says knitting and even asked for me to knit the other day ("knit, mama"), ha!

My Lodge Sweater. I had set this aside for awhile, after splitting for the sleeves and then ripping back once I realized it was too short. I've (obviously) been in a sock knitting phase, as well. But I actually have worked on it some in the last week, and I love this combination of yarn and needles and pattern.

Upcoming knitting projects:

• A tiny chicken for Cooper. So random, but I saw one on a knitting podcast and it was so cute, and Cooper can now bawk like a chicken and flap his arms (so cute). I picked up some cotton during a sale at my LYS, and I figured that would be perfect. I'm not much for fiddly projects, but it's so small, I don't mind trying this.
• Socks for Cooper, knit from some yarn from stash (TBD)
• a very early start on some Christmas gift knitting (won't go into details)
• a sweater for Cooper, thinking this hooded cardigan, this stockinette cardigan, or this textured cardigan
• more socks, for sure

Sewing

I sewed another project bag, fabric picked up on a whim from Hobby Lobby. It's nearly identical to my previous burnt orange project bag (I love that one so much, I wanted to make a second). This one is also quilted, however, since I quilted along the ticking stripes, the quilting is barely visible. The tan accent fabric is leftover linen, and the lining is the same striped fabric. My goal was to make a project bag that looks well, nice in any of the rooms in our home, like it's part of the decor, when it's inevitably left out.

I'm not currently working on any sewing projects, but I would love to make some Quilt As You Go (QAYG) coasters, as well as a few apparel items. I tend to sew in bursts, staying up late, and working on projects until they are done, since I don't have a dedicated sewing space and it requires quite the setup, between cutting, pressing, sewing, etc. I did organize my fabric stash and that made me want to sew more scrappy projects. Stay tuned if that results in anything.

And for now, those are the projects on-the-go, in mind, and just finished. I love hearing what others are making, always feel free to share your makes or creative thoughts with me, as well.