What the HK is on Viki's Needles?

The last two weeks have been busy knitting weeks and I've got some new and finished projects to show you.

I finally (ok, it only took two months but it seemed longer) finished the Cradle Me baby blanket I was knitting in DK Lively in Sagebrush. I gave it a quick trip in the washer (on handwash) and dryer (on delicate) followed by hanging it up on my banister to finish drying. It turned out so soft and snuggly and I can't wait to give it to my friend for her baby. It was supposed to be a shower gift but the baby came very early and the shower was cancelled. So now I'm not sure when to give it to her. I've already given her several gifts and have other knits to give her for Christmas. Is it possible to give a new mother too many handknits? I hope not.



I also finished the first sock for the Mystery KAL. I'm using Piquant Lite in Cherry Fizz. The second sock is already at the gusset so it shouldn't be too much longer before I have a finished pair. The socks are super cute and the pattern has been a lot of fun. It's not too late to knit a pair and participate in the HK Knitalong on Ravelry.



The completion of the blanket called for a celebration and by celebration I mean it was time to cast on for something else. The choice was easy. I'm knitting the latest club pattern, Haystacks, in one of the latest club colours, Weathervane. Isn't it gorgeous? I'm delighted with how these socks are turning out and love knitting on them. These will be a great pair of fall socks.



Next time, I should have two finished pairs of socks to show you and who knows what else!

For now, I will leave you with a photo of a recent visitor to our house. The kids are very excited that we have frogs in the grass.

What the HK is on Your Needles? Vol. 16

Apparently, I'm not the only one who loves a good mystery, and there are some great ones out there to choose from. Socks tend to be a popular mystery choice, but recently Stephen West, a fabulous designer released a mystery shawl called Earth & Sky and several knitters chose to knit their mystery shawl in Hazel Knits.

I'm always hesitant about putting colours together (I don't have Wendee's colour sense) but these intrepid knitters prove it's easy to come up with beautiful and varied colour combinations that work. Even if you don't know where the design is going to take you.

Erica (ravname: ericaberry) knit her showstopping shawl in Artisan Sock in Beach Glass, Coveralls and Splish Splash. An excellent combination.



Tami (ravname: knitT) kicked her shawl up a notch and went for Entice in Splish Splash , Carnelian and Violeta. An eye-catching combination.



Caroline's (ravname: clcrawford66) stunning shawl is knit in Artisan Sock in Cloudy Day*, Starry Night* and Aurora Borealis. A little more traditional perhaps, but a combination I probably would have put together.



And Rachel (ravname: trtlgrl) knit her fabulous shawl in Artisan Sock in Laguna, Aquarius and Beach Glass. Another fantastic blue combination.



Apparently Wendee has a knack for coordinating blues.

What three colours would you put together?


club colours are indicated with *

What the HK is on Viki's Needles?

It's been a month since I've show you what's on my needles, so let's have a look.

Well, naturally, with the launch of the new KAL and the release of the first and second clues for the mystery sock (you can get more info here) I've cast on for a new pair of socks. You can see the result of clue #1 at the top of this post. I'm knitting my socks in HK's new Piquant Lite in Cherry Fizz.

And boy, oh boy, is this a good mystery. We don't know where Stephanie (verybusymonkey) is going to go next with this one. I've finished clue #2 on sock #1 and half of clue #2 on sock #2. Here's sock #1. Both sides!





What we don't know is if we are looking at the front and back, the back and front or the two sides. See? It's a mystery! Clue #3 will reveal more soon. In the meantime we are having fun with cables and bobbles and is that a paisley pattern emerging?

For me, one of the best things about knitting mystery socks, aside from the unknown and usually finishing two socks around the same time, is that you have to stop when the clue is over. You can't go on until the next clue is released and therefore you have to knit on a second project between the clues. You see, I tend to have many projects on the needles at once, but I usually only knit faithfully on one at a time. In this scenario, I would just be knitting on the socks, but I can't, so I have to knit on something else.

In this case, that something else is the baby blanket I am working on, Cradle Me but Anne Hanson, in HK DK Lively in Sagebrush. The blanket is turning out amazing and I am almost 75% done.



I expect both of these projects to be completed around the end of the month. I wonder what I will work on next? I'd better get planning.

What the HK is on your Needles? Vol. 15

The end of August brought with it the end of another successful Hazel Knits knitalong. This time we experimented with variegated yarns in an attempt to find patterns that play well with those sometimes difficult multicolours.

And find patterns, we did!

Here are some of my favourites in Artisan Sock.

Jen (ravname: jenmag) knit up a very interesting pair of Rock and Weave socks in an older club colour, It's a Wrap. The sideways knit cuff and buttons are definitiely a departure from standard sock making and certainly work well with a variegated yarn.



The sideways knit cuff seems to work so well that Christy (ravname: ChristyH) found another pattern using this technique. Christy knit this awesome pair of Pinata socks in another club colour, Autumn Bounty.



One pattern that almost always seems to work (as if by magic) with variegated yarns is the Monkey sock. I knit a pair of these myself for this KAL and so did Christine (ravname: louelivert). Check out her exciting Monkey socks knit in Alki Reflection.



Ravname: Faith chose to knit a pair of Lil Bit Socks in the seldom seen, but super fun, variegated colour, Purple Hazel. And they turned out great!



Chocolatier is a very subtle tone on tone variegated yarn that most people don't even realize is variegated at first. This delicious colourway looks very sophisticated in these classically cabled BFF socks knit by Hanna (ravname: Chanala).



Another great way to find success with a variegated yarn is to use a slip stitch pattern like Gail (ravname: GailG) did when she chose to knit these stunning Everyone Outta the Pool socks in Sailor's Delight, one of Wendee's original colours.



And finally, something a little different. When knit on a much smaller scale variegated yarns don't pool so much as they stripe. Keisha (ravname: KittenLion) took advantage of this fact when she designed this fun pair of Flip Flops using Olympic Rainforest. They look so cozy. Like Fall Flip Flops for those who aren't ready to give up their favourite summer shoes.



Once again, thanks to everyone for allowing me to share their projects.

Are you participating in our current KAL? Have you started the new mystery sock? The mystery is underway with clue #2 due in a couple of days. It's not too late to join in the fun. So far the pattern is turning out to be very fun and quite interesting. I wonder what will happen with the next clue?