linen stitch

This cold, wintry weather just makes me feel like knitting. Plus, I got some new yarn for Christmas (thank you, Kathy & Eileen!) so I'm trying to finish up a few languishing projects and start on new ones! Both of these projects were knit with my purchases from Kentucky Wool Fest this year.

First up is a pair of Broken Linen Stitch socks (the socks aren't broken, that's just the name of the stitch pattern). The yarn is Good Juju by Deep Dyed Yarns in the colorway Nebula. This yarn looked so cool twisted up in a skein, and I love how it knit up into socks! This was my first time knitting a heel flap, and it wasn't nearly as difficult as I expected (although I did have to re-do the gusset a couple times to get the heel over my foot). This was also my first time making ankle socks. They are super comfortable and way quicker to knit than mid-calf socks. Project details on my Ravelry page.

I also knit what felt like a mile of (unbroken) linen stitch for this cowl. (It was only a quarter of a mile, actually.) I started out strong but it became a little monotonous towards the end. The yarn was in the mystery bag I picked up from Jessica's Creations at Wool Fest this year. It's a sock weight yarn in the colorway Sunny Days. Project details on my Ravelry page.

I wore the cowl the to zoo a couple weeks ago for the penguin parade, where the zookeepers lead penguins on a walk through the zoo. I didn't realize how much I looked like a penguin in my black coat and yellow scarf until I saw the pictures later. We had so much fun getting up close with the penguins! Plus, it was a good excuse to try out my new camera lens. The autofocus on my kit lens has died a slow death over the last year, so I finally bought a new lens. I've only taken a few pictures so far, but I'm having fun playing with my new toy!