FO Friday :)

Happy Friday! I've had another little flurry of finishes that I need to discuss. Or blather on about. Take your pick.....

Messed Up Moss (link to Project Page)

Pattern: Messed Up Moss by Renee Anne (yes, that's me!)

Time Frame: started January 4, 2017; finished May17, 2017

Yarn: Loops & Threads Woolzee in Crimson (~1.5 skeins; ~110 yds)


Needles: US #10.5 (6.5 mm)

Size: To fit Little Man


Modification(s): None. As I'm in the process of making this into a more cohesive pattern, I needed to reknit it so I can figure out yardage and sizing. So, the scarf is about 60" long and used about 110 yds of bulky yarn so I can adjust and estimate from there.


Thoughts: There's no reason other than laziness for the amount of time it took me to knit this scarf. It's bulky yarn on big needles and the pattern is easy to memorize. I hope I don't have to make it again for awhile, though :)

Vanilla Socks (link to Project Page)

Pattern: None but there are elements of the Vanilla Latte socks and I used the Double Gusset Heel Decreases and the Modified Eye of Partridge heel flap....


Time Frame: started March 30, 2017; finished June 8, 2017


Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug in Teals (more than 318 yds...but I'm not sure how much exactly)

Needles: US #1 (2.25 mm)


Size: 64 sts - to fit me :)

Modification(s): There's not really a pattern so there aren't any modifications to be had.

Thoughts: I learned a valuable lesson with these socks: longer than usual socks + less skein yardage = I needed to break into the second skein (which I luckily already had). I usually have a good sized min-skein leftover when I knit socks so I thought I'd chance making them a bit longer...neglecting to account for the yarn I was using having almost 100 yds less than a "normal" skein of sock yarn. Oops. Luckily, I had a second skein of this yarn. I now have enough left for ankle socks (I think).

Stormageddon's Vest (link to Project Page)

Pattern: George's Vest by Crystal Erb Junkins


Time Frame: started October 17, 2017; finished June 9, 2017

Yarn: YOTH Little Brother in Caviar (less than 435 yds)

Needles: US #4 (3.5 mm); US #6 (4 mm) and US J (6 mm) crochet hook


Size: 4t-6t


Modification(s): I left the buttons off the front. I may still add them but I don't think they're needed and they serve no functional purpose.

Thoughts: This is a well written and well thought out pattern. The only thing I really was not a fan of: the single crochet around the neckband. I thought it should have had an inch or so of the twisted ribbing like the armholes and the bottom ribbing. Also, it was a pain in the ass for me to do. I wound up having to go to a J hook because the first two times I did it, it wound up not being able to fit over Stormageddon's head. I know I have tension issues with crochet but it shouldn't have been that bad! Clearly I have more issues than I thought. I made the largest size on purpose and it should fit Stormageddon in the fall/winter. It's a bit long on him right now. Little Man said he looked like he was wearing a dress....oops. He'll grow. The pattern is "unavailable" but if you go to the wayback machine, you can find it (and I think the link on the pattern page takes you to the archived version). Aside from that, I don't know if it's because of the yarn used in the original, but I feel like I didn't need even close to the same amount of yarn. The yarn used comes in 385 yds/skein and for the largest size, you need two skeins...so I'm guessing you just barely get into the second skein because I used less than one skein of the yarn I had (which comes in 435 yd skeins). So, I have a bunch of extra yarn (oh darn).




Anyway, that's all I have for FO Friday :) I should be back tomorrow with my latest stash enhancements. And then again on Sunday for my Year of Projects update :)

Messed Up Moss: a scarf pattern (republished from February 14, 2009)

This was originally published by me in my Livejournal account on February 14, 2009. Because I plan to delete said account, I need to move it to a new location or let it be lost forever. So.....copied directly from my Livejournal (changes will be in italics afterwards).....

MESSED UP MOSS: February 14, 2009

I've been playing with my knitting again. After I finished a hat (The Cool Girl's Guide to Knitting, page 77: "The Beanie Hat"), I had a bunch of yarn left over from the project. I did it differently than I did the first and second one I did. This means I had a bunch of oatmeal yarn left over...and some green. So, I decided to make a matching scarf. Sort of.

I was looking at a book of mine, Super Stitches Knitting (by Karen Hemingway) and I came across the standard Moss Stitch (K1, P1, etc.). Well, I decided to mess with it a bit, using what I know about how stitches react to each other.

My Messed Up Moss pattern is:

CO 11 stitches

Row 1 & Row 2: Purl every stitch
Row 3/odd rows: K2 P1 K1 P1 K1 P1 K1 P1 K2
Row 4/even rows: P4 K1 P1 K1 P4

At the end, repeat Row 1 and BO last row.

Simple enough, right?


Oh, and not that it matters, but I'm using Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick and #10.5 needles.

This may require more messing about if you're planning to use smaller needles and/or thinner yarn. Or not. Whatever.

So, the pattern itself should look something more like this:

Pattern stitch

Row 1: K2, *P1, K1* (3 times), P1, K2

Row 2: P4, K1, P1, K1, P4

CO 11 stitches (I prefer long-tail but use whatever CO method you like best)

Purl 2 rows at the beginning before starting the pattern stitch.

Repeat pattern stitch rows 1 & 2 to desired length; purl 2 rows at the end and BO. 

I recommend bulky yarn and somewhat larger needle (use whatever needle the yarn calls for). This scarf doesn't tend to curl into itself much so blocking isn't really needed. I also added stripes, obviously. You don't have to do that.