Experimenting  with some potential new yarn bases. Still steaming hot in their dye bath. Each one takes the color so differently - I can't wait to see these beauties all dry and ready for knitting!

(dyed in Jam Session)

Playing with pencil roving. 

US#13 and US#11 needles

This is not for the faint of heart or tight knitter. But it is, so much fun. And fast!

Have you ever knit with pencil roving? If so, did you enjoy it? Please share!

Back Road Scarf

Our good friend, Andrea Rangel, is at it again!

This time Andrea has a fantastic scarf pattern, the Back Road Scarf, in the new Knitscene Accessories 2013 issue which just hit news stands this week.

Back Road is a textured scarf knit in DK Lively with a crocheted border in three colours of Artisan Sock. The sample used in the magazine was knit in Shanny Pants with Sassafras, Nekkid and Lichen.

In celebration of the pattern release, Wendee has put together a few colour combinations and is listing these kits on the Hazel Knits website (pattern not included in the kit). The kits include three skeins of DK Lively and three quarter skeins of Artisan Sock. You can find more information on the website. There are so many great colour combinations - so we just gave a tickler. If you have some ideas of your own, we can make substitutions.

Andrea has also written up a nice blog post of her own with the details of this project. 

The Back Road Scarf would be the perfect project for our current Knitalong on Ravelry featuring designs by Andrea. Check out the thread on Ravelry for more information. With more than a month left, there is still plenty of time to cast on.

Congratulations on another gorgeous pattern, Andrea! We can't wait to see what you knit up next.

What the HK is on Viki's Needles?

Oh boy! I have lots of wonderful knits to show you today. Including a secret knit I've mentioned in the past that is finally ready to be revealed.

First, I finally finished my Old Joe socks that I was knitting as part of the Tribute KAL on Ravelry. They are in the club colour Sedge in Artisan Sock. They turned out beautifully, but if I did them again I would make the leg a little shorter. I prefer my socks mid-to-low calf.

And once one KAL is completed, naturally another one begins. If you haven't heard yet, the current HK Ravelry KAL features patterns by HK friend and talented designer, Andrea Rangel. Check out the KAL and join in the fun.

For this KAL, I am knitting a pair of Hex Socks in The Red Carpet in Artisan Sock. These are adorable anklet socks. I'm really looking forward to giving this style of sock a try. Hopefully I won't find this leg too short!

I've also cast on a secret test knit. I can't say more about this now, but you can see my progress so far in Splish Splash and Sassafras in Artisan Sock. More about this soon!

And I was finally able to finish and release my newest pattern, Willowmere. With twisted ribs and an afterthought thumb, this mitten is knit in Artisan Sock in the colour Posy and requires only 250-270 yards. If you are interested you can check out Willowmere on Ravelry.

And just for fun, I've cast on a second pair of Willowmere. This pair is in Indigo in Artisan Sock.

In case you don't think things like mittens can benefit from blocking, check out the picture below. The mitten on the top hasn't been blocked yet, the mitten on the bottom has. I can definitely see the difference. Blocking isn't just for lace!

In addition to my KAL project and the test knit, I'm currently working on a tutorial for afterthought thumbs that I hope to post here soon. It shouldn't take too long to bang out a pair of anklets, right?