FO Friday: FINISH ALL THE THINGS!

Happy Friday! Apparently it was time to FINISH ALL THE THINGS!

Okay, I didn't really finish all the things but I finished a few things and they deserve a proper FO Friday :)

First up, without proper photos because I've been sick and, let's face it, I'm kinda lazy about it, too...

Rathmore (link to Project Page)

Pattern: Rathmore by Irishgirlieknits (Carrie Sullivan)

Time Frame: started February 25, 2016; finished March 4, 2016

Yarn: Anzula's For Better or Worsted in Juniper (green) and Hippo (grey) - I played yarn chicken with the green and I won, and I maybe used a half-skein of the grey

Needles: US #8 (5 mm) 24" circular (Knit Picks interchangeables, specifically)

Size: Whatever size it came out

Modification(s): None

Thoughts: I don't know how it happened, but this hardly seemed to take any time at all. I don't know if it was because I was switching from socks on tiny needles to big fat worsted yarn on super huge needles (yes, I'm being sarcastic but it's still a pretty big switch)...or the pattern or what. I honestly don't know. But this pattern just flew off the needles. Unfortunately, this project took for.ev.er to dry. It's been so damp here with the rain and the ick that we've had over last weekend and earlier this week that it just did not want to dry quickly. If you post-stalk me on Ravelry, you can probably find a photo of me wearing it before I washed it. And now it's too warm to wear it. ::sigh:: But, it's a lovely project!

Mother Bear Project (link to Project Page)

Pattern: Mother Bear Project Teddy Bear by Amy Berman

Time Frame: started February 22, 2016; finished March 12, 2016

Yarn: Unknown but if I had to guess, I'd say Red Heart Super Saver or something along those lines. It was definitely acrylic and had that "you know I'm acrylic" feeling to it.

Needles: US #7 (4.5 mm) straights

Size: Whatever size it came out

Modification(s): There are a few different ways to "modify" this project. For instance, I did the "bear" parts all in garter stitch but the rest in stockinette. There are so many combinations you could do, including making skirts, headbands, scarves, ties, etc. 

Thoughts: The Mother Bear Project is a charity organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that sends bears to children dealing with HIV/AIDS in emerging/developing nations, mostly in Africa but they've also been sent to Haiti and Cambodia, among others. I picked up a full kit at Stitches West containing the yarn, needles, pattern, and information about the charity. The nice thing is that you now have the pattern and can make more and more and more and send them to Minnesota for distribution. I plan to make more. They don't take that long, honestly, and there are so many different things you can do with them. I saw several in the booth at Stitches West that were super heroes, full changes of clothes, accessories, big, small, all different colors, and so on. 

And lastly, the Pièce de Rèsistance......

Dragon's Egg Socks (link to Project Page)

Pattern: Dragon's Egg Socks by Anne Podlesak from Unofficial Harry Potter Knits

Time Frame: started September 2, 2013; finished March 9, 2016 (yes, that's 2 years, 7 months, 1 week)

Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Heathers in Aurora Heathers, less than 2 skeins (probably around 1.5-1.75 skeins)

Needles: US #1 (2.25 mm) circulars - two long circulars for socks on two circulars 

Size: Small (72 sts)

Modification(s): Oh the modifications....okay, I didn't do anything too screwy with these socks but there were some modifications. The original pattern calls for two or three pattern repeats of the "broom & lightening" section before starting the heel flap (I can't remember off the top of my head but the photo on the pattern page shows two). If I had done that, I would have run out of yarn and I would have wound up with ill-fitting almost-knee-high socks. So, I did only one pattern repeat of that section before moving onto the heel flap. I changed the heel flap to the modified Eye of Partridge that you can find in Hermione's Everyday Socks, as well as most of my other socks. I did the double gusset heel decrease; again, what I usually do with my socks. And then I was forced to make some modifications to the instep of the sock, due to sizing problems. See, in theory, I should have been able to get three pattern repeats on the foot before starting the toe decreases. Yeah, that just didn't happen. I got to about the middle of the repeat (just a little before, actually) and found I was in the place where I normally start my toe decreases, which is usually a few rounds before most people due to wanting a tighter fit on my foot and uneven amounts of stitches and so on. Sooooo......I started my toe decreases on the outside panels and kept the middle panel going in pattern. 

You can probably see it best in the above photo. The two side panels switch to stockinette just after the cable in the middle section happens, which is where I started my toe decreases. The middle panel keeps going until I finish the repeat. Then I finished out my toe decreases as I normally would. 

I also had an unintentional modification to the second sock. I apparently am incapable of reading charts and instead of doing a P1tbl, I did a K1tbl. The symbols for P1tbl and K1tbl have only one teensy little difference and unless I have the chart up to my face, I was going to miss it.....guess who missed it for almost the entirety of the second sock? Oops. You can't really tell so I obviously wasn't fussed enough to fix it. 

Oops. 

Thoughts: Two and a half years for a pair of socks is.....well, it's insane. Any normal person would have frogged them. It's not like they were overly difficult or anything like that but I just kept putting them off for whatever reason (usually due to having to read charts with small children around). The socks are lovely, the pattern is lovely, but I am never making these socks again. Ever. 

Have some more photos of the socks......they're hard to photograph because the yarn is such a dark green and details are hard to see. 

Toe pic!

I hope you're having a lovely Friday! I've been very chatty this week :)