Knitting for Winter; Beanies, Blankets & Future Projects

So begins another month of blogging, we're in November now which means Thanksgiving is just around the corner and soon enough Christmas. I'm already having to get out the knitted socks and long sleeve shirts for the colder weather but the temperature here keeps switching from hot to cold so I still have to keep the lighter clothing nearby, I swear the temperature can't make up it's mind half the time. It's a good thing I'm knitting some hats and socks though I think I'll need them as we trek further into fall season. Oh yeah! Apparently we in America turn back the clocks this coming weekend. I don't know why we're turning back the clocks so late compared to other countries, England turned their clocks back last week. So yeah don't forget to turn back your clocks by one hour on November the 6th.

Been working on quite a few cool projects this week such as my sock and hat. Speaking of my beanie, it's just about done!

I'm actually on the part where I start decreasing now so wish me luck, It shouldn't be too hard, all I'm going to be doing is knitting a select amount of stitches, then knitting two together to decrease. The amount I knit before knitting two together will shrink as I decrease, so I'll go from knitting 14 together to 13 and so on as I go around the hat. I was hoping to get it done for today's blog but there's no good in rushing this, I've put so much effort into this hat and if I rush it now it'll just get ruined. Plus I learned my lesson on rushing projects since the last big mistake I made. (Check out my round dishcloth blog for more info on that.)

Anyway my sock is still coming along well, it's taking a lot more rows then I thought it would. I want 7 inches exactly on my sock before I begin my heel flap.

I am currently on row 22 according to my counter but this isn't counting the rows I did for the ridge so actually the total rows I've done is 34. I'm actually writing every little detail down into my notebook, this will serve as my base (Not bass, mind you.) vanilla sock that I will customize to my liking on future sock projects. Hopefully I can finish these socks before it gets too cold so I can rock my own socks for the winter. My mum has been knitting me socks forever now and I love them a lot but there's just something awesome about being able to wear my own socks. My next pair of socks after these may or may not be for her so sssshhhh.... I don't know why I shushed because my mum obviously reads this.

Now I haven't mentioned anything about my blanket I'm making for Chrissie in a while but don't worry I'm still working on it, it's just one of those long term projects that I'm knitting on the side.

I do plan on casting it off by the end of the month though because it looks just about long enough for my little brother. I think he'll love this, it's really soft and I'm using some of his favorite colors.

Anyway that's about it on what I'm knitting, I'm currently brainstorming my next projects because my hat will be done soon and I crave my next challenge. I found a couple of awesome ideas from two Scandinavian Knitters/Designers who call themselves Arne & Carlos. My mum and I recently discovered them and I've been infatuated by their colorwork Christmas Ball designs.

I think their colorwork is awesome so I definitely want to knit some of these for the upcoming Christmas season. They also recently showed off how to make these knitted slippers and then felting them. I had no idea you could make slippers this way so it really surprised me. Anyway you can find all their work on their website http://arnecarlos.com/. 

I want to do some more colorwork projects and I do have the idea of making a bag case with a button for my 3DS to keep it safe. This idea actually comes from mum as she's done cases like this before, you'll see what I'm on about when I start working on it but I believe it'll be perfect for my 3DS to sit in and be protected. I have absolutely no case for it right now and I've had the machine half a year now. (I'll talk more about my 3DS in Friday's blog, this isn't my first 3DS and you'll see what I mean on Friday.)

I really love colorwork so I think I may of found my specialty in knitting, or at least something I want to pursue further. The only problem I have is keeping my yarn organized and switching the two yarns back and forth. I need to watch some tips and tricks to improve and speed up my colorwork knitting.

So before I end the blog off for the day I want to show off something really cool I found while driving home the other day, 

I found this really awesome 2004 Ford Thunderbird with a Platinum Silver paint coloring. Nothing really else to say on this but I've always loved Thunderbirds so this was an awesome find. Surprisingly I actually knew what model this was for once, my previous two cars I've shown off I've been kind of in the dark on but I actually know my stuff this time round.

Anyway that's about it for today's blog. Friday is going to be a pretty cool blog for parents shopping for Christmas so stay tuned on that. Hope everyone is enjoying their week so far, It's actually snowing already in certain parts of the world so we're already into the thick of the season. I don't know if we'll get snow this year or not, it's been on and off the past couple of years so who knows. So let's continue on with November and continue knitting. I know I'm doing a lot of knitting blogs, but I'm really into it so I have a lot to talk about on it. I will be doing more blogs on other topics to spread things out, I'm still learning how to blog properly. Don't forget to check me out on Ravelry as ZAKMan and follow me on Social Media!

See you on the next blog!