...so I've been knitting instead of posting...

Since last we met-

Finished:

• Soy Silk Shawl for Mom (former UFO)
• Faux Russian Stole from 'A Gathering of Lace' in Baby Alpaca Silk (from stash yarn)
• Charlotte's Web in my own hand-dye (former UFO)
• Diamond Fantasy shawl in Koigu (former UFO)
• Calorimetry in Cascade 220 Tweed (from stash yarn)
• Irish Hiking Scarf in Cascade 220 Tweed (from stash yarn)
• Another dishcloth (or two)

In progress:

• Top down sweater in Malabrigo (uh, not from stash yarn - from vacation yarn)
• Wedgie scarf in Noro Kureyon (from stash yarn)
• Tangled Yoke cardigan in Aruacuania Nature Wool (from stash yarn)

Oh, and I'm quilting again - (from stash fabric...)

Retreat Report and Month-End Update

As if it wasn't enough to have a weekend devoted to friends, knitting, and relaxation - after a week of spring, we had SNOW for the retreat! Not enough to keep any one from getting there, but enough to cover the fields and keep me happy watching it fall outside the window while I sipped tea, ate homemade cookies, and knit. Good times.

March goals:

• FINISH FLAK!!!!!! DONE!


• Veste Everest from Interweave Knits in Cascade 220. DONE! (Actually finished today.)


• Probably something else, but not sure what at this point - started a sweater in double stranded Silky Wool

Veste Everest -

Cascade 220 - different gauge from pattern and modified to knit in the round and make longer. I like it but those all-over cables definitely add a few pounds. I don't seem to have a FLAK picture handy and its already been put away for the summer, so you'll have to use your imagination for that.

April Goals

• Finish Silky Wool sweater
• Soy shawl for Mom for mother's day
• Special project for possible knitty article
• Work on Einstein coat (UFO)

What's up

Dear Daughter and I leave this afternoon for a weekend knitting retreat with our knitting group. I've restarted (surprise!) the vest - it was coming out too large. Yes, I did swatch. I should just about get that finished at the retreat. FLAK is finished - can't believe I forgot to post about that earlier. I actually got to wear it before it got warm here. It is cold and rainy today - great knitting weather! The trip will include a visit to a yarn shop I have been wanting to see. I will try not to buy any yarn. We'll see.

Just finished going through all my knitting magazines and making index cards for each project I would seriously consider knitting. I'm really glad I did it because there were a lot of things I had completely forgotten about. Now when I'm looking for a new project, I can flip through my index cards which are sorted into categories instead of looking through stacks of magazines. I tossed any issues with no patterns I liked and no good articles. I suppose I should do the same with my books, but I tend to remember basically what patterns are in a book - with magazines I have no clue usually.

February Goal Check

February's goals:

• finish FLAK (sleeves need to be knit/reknit)
• felted box for Dad in his school colors (felt bag at the same time)
• Argosy from Winter '06 knitty for Mom
• Undecided sweater - either Equestrian Blazer, Celtic Cabled sweater (UFO), Cascade 128 Tweed sweater, or cabled sweater in Araucania Naturewool Chunky.

February's accomplishments:

• FLAK - sleeve 1 reknit, sleeve 2 about 2/3 done
• Felted box - DONE!
• Argosy - DONE!
• Cascade 128 sweater - DONE!
• Triple Mohair Triange UFO - FINISHED!
• Felted clogs - DONE!
• ZigZagBag - felted

Some pictures -

Argosy (top) pattern in knitty.com. Peruvian Collection Highland Silk, 2 balls of Celadon.

Triple Mohair Triangle - pattern from Fiddlesticks knitting. Called for 3 strands of lightweight mohair held together, I used a single strand of Jo Sharp Rare Comfort Kid Mohair in Swamp.

The plan for March:

• FINISH FLAK!!!!!!
• Veste Everest from Interweave Knits in Cascade 220.
• Probably something else, but not sure what at this point

Felting Day

Yesterday the box, clogs, and bag got felted.

I find felting a little scary. If things come out weird, you can't rip and redo (my favorite pastime, apparently.)

Here's a picture of the scarf and calorimetry I made for my friend in NYC. (I don't know what's up with the pictures - they are being put in weird places.)

With only a few days left in the month, I am on target except for the FLAK sleeve redo which may spill over into March. I did get the 128 sweater done though, so I am ahead of schedule on that. I wore it yesterday, which may be the last cold day and it has now been blocked and is drying. A couple of other extras also got done this month. It's almost time to firm up the plan for March! (It does seem to help to post my monthly goals, and it's fun when I get to check things off at the end of the month! I love checking things off of to-do lists.)

I delivered the baby sweaters last Monday and found out the babies were born the day before. Good timing, yes?

Crawling along

Some progress to report, but not much. First sleeve of 2nd attempt at the 3XChic (sorta) is done and I'm pretty happy with it. I really like Maggie Righetti's method of picking up stitches for the sleeves and knitting them down to the cuff, with short-row sleeve caps. Solves the annoying problem of sleeves not fitting into their spots smoothly when seaming, and the gaping holes you get when seamless knitting ala EZ. Once that sleeve was completed, I made myself finish the FLAK sleeve that was nearly done. Now I have 2 sweaters that are complete except for 1 sleeve. I expect to finish the 3XChic this month, the FLAK is doubtful. I have to rip out the first sleeve attempt and redo it to match the new one. I don't want to put it off because I want to be able to remember what I did this time, but I really am tired of working on that sweater! I guess I should get a picture of it with the 2 different sleeves - I'll put that on the to-do list for the weekend.

I started on the 2nd ball of yarn on Mom's Argosy, so that is halfway done. Haven't started Dad's felted box yet, but it should be a quick knit.

At least it has been cold enough here to wear some of my handknits!

I'm such an idiot

Seems like lately I do a lot of reknitting. Sometimes just part of the item, this past time, the entire sweater.

I knew I had gauge issues, but since I was making the 40" size and wanted a smaller sweater, I thought it would be okay. I kept checking as I knit, and it seemed okay, but once I got the front and back knit and used the 3-needle bind off to join them, it became obvious things were not going to work out. Unfortunately, I had already knit both sleeves, so they were wasted effort too. Since I had to reknit anyway, I decided to make the changes I had been thinking about as I knit. First, I added an inch of contrasting color to the hem of the body (and will do the same for the sleeves when I get there.) Second, I went up a needle size. Third, I knit the body in the round to the armholes, and then divided it. I shaped the top of the front and back as before, but kept the 2 extra stitches I had on each side on safety pins. Fourth, I kept the back of the neck stitches live instead of binding them off. Fifth, I'm knitting the sleeves from the top down after picking up the stitches. I'm working on the first sleeve now - using Maggie Righetti's method of making a sleeve cap swith short rows. It's looking pretty good so far. The good news is that I think I have enough yarn!

I've made a bit of progress on Argosy, and fringed about 1/3 of the Mohair shawl, but have been consumed by this latest sweater this week.

Warning...

...knitting from the stash may cause lusting after more of a particular yarn. I cast on 3XChic from knitty last night using Cascade 128 Tweed. Sleeve 1 is done and I'm about to cast on for sleeve 2. I LOVE THIS YARN! I went searching online this morning in case I need anther skein, but almost no one carries it and of course no one seems to have the color I'm using. I have some plain Cascade 128 which feels nice too, but I haven't knit with it yet. It is more widely available at least.

This is partially why my stash has gotten too big - when I fall in love with a yarn, it seems like it's usually one that is either discontinued or not widely available so I feel like I have to stock up on it. This happened with Araucania Nature Wool last fall, I have enough to knit 2 more sweaters in the Chunky and 5 more in the Worsted. And I'm still trolling eBay for more. It's a sickness, I tell you.

Anyway, I'll probably finish this sweater by next weekend. I need a break from obligatory knitting.

Weekend Update

Well, I needed a break from the FLAK sleeve, so I pulled out the Triple Mohair Triangle. Turns out I only had about 6 rows left to knit - I don't remember why I put it in time out. It's soaking at the moment. Once it's dry I have to add fringe, then it will be a FO. I have about 3 more inches on FLAK sleeve #1, then I have to rip out the other sleeve and totally reknit it. Ugh. I don't know if I will be able to tough it out and finish FLAK up this month. I want to, while I remember exactly what I did on the sleeve, but I am really tired of it. I'm making good progress on Argosy, I may bring that in from the car to work on tonight. (Usually it's my sitting-and-waiting-for-the-kid(s) project.)

Ahead of schedule

January's projects are DONE!



Baby sweaters DONE!
Iraq hat DONE!
Husband sweater DONE!
Partial redo of orange tweed sweater DONE!
Finish felted bag DONE! (but not felted yet)
Friend's scarf DONE! PLUS I made her a matching Calorimetry




Revised February to-do list:

• finish FLAK (sleeves need to be knit/reknit)
• felted box for Dad in his school colors (felt bag at the same time)
• Argosy from Winter '06 knitty for Mom
• Undecided sweater - either Equestrian Blazer, Celtic Cabled sweater (UFO), Cascade 128 Tweed sweater, or cabled sweater in Araucania Naturewool Chunky. May not finish, but should make a good start.

I did buy more yarn, it fit my exceptions rules though. Rowanspun Aran in Caviar to knit the Equestrian Blazer in. I saw knittingspaz's EB knit in this and found the yarn in a color I adore on eBay. I want to knit that next, but may wait until next month since I will still be able to wear it when it's a bit closer to spring. The Araucania or Cascade 128 sweaters won't be wearable for long this year, so I should make one of them first.

Oops

Bought 2 skeins of Araucania at more than half price. But it's a color I really love and will probably buy more of if I come across it. Distressing lack of willpower, that. I should stop checking out eBay.

The orange tweed sweater is redone and blocked. The baby sweaters are nestled in their box, waiting to be wrapped and delivered. The bag is waiting to be felted. The friend scarf is about 3/4 finished. My original January to-do list had a felted lunch bag which has been shelved for now - DD says she doesn't really need it, so it can wait. I guess it was replaced with that impulsive Calorimetry.

I've gone through all my old Interweave Knits and made index cards for each pattern I want to knit. I will eventually go through my other knitting magazines and do the same thing. It's amazing what you can forget about. I pulled about half a dozen things I want to knit sooner rather than later, including a vest pattern that may be Vest #1. It will be a lot easier to pull out all the cards with sweater patterns I want to knit than to look through every single magazine and when I am looking for something to knit. To be thorough I should go through pattern leaflets and books also. This could take years.

.. or maybe I'll post pictures on Monday...

Baby kimono
Calorimetry
Iraq hat
Husband's sweater

The second baby sweater is still waiting to be seamed. You can't tell in the picture, but the first one is in Pistachio (page green) Aurora 8. The second one is in Blue Topaz (pale blue) Aurora 8. Calorimetry is in Moss Aurora 8, with a little cable action thrown in. I only cast on 92 stitches for this one. The Iraq hat is in black Aurora 8 (I swear, it's just a coincidence that I knit so many things at once out of Aurora 8.) The husband sweater is EZ's seamless saddle shoulder sweater in Cascade 220 Lichen. I finished reknitting the top of my orange tweed sweater today. I need to graft the underarms and then it will be done (again.)

That means I have over a week to finish my friend's scarf (once the yarn arrives,) seam the baby sweater, graft the orange tweed sweater's underarms, and finish the bag to felt and I will have accomplished my January goals. I may get a head start on February today because knitting the bag is my mindless knitting and that's not what I feel like doing this afternoon. I've received the vest book I ordered, and while nothing much grabs me, I think it will help me in designing my own. I also found Ann Budd's Grand Plan Vest Chart in an old Interweave Knits which should be helpful. I know the vest is a March project, but I never said I couldn't start early! Besides, I have a lot of research to do before I pick up the needles for that project.

Finished, finished, finished, finished, and nearly finished

Finished: Baby sweater. Opted for crocheted chains for the ties.
Finished: Iraq hat.
Finished: Calorimetry in stash yarn (in one day!)
Finished: Husband's sweater.
Nearly finished: Baby sweater #2.

Film at 11. Or tomorrow. Or maybe Sunday.

Potential new project - the cover sweater of the new KnitScene. I have some Lamb's Pride Bulky stashed that would be perfect. Should be a fairly quick knit, but would still cause some project bumping. If it's fairly mindless knitting, it could go into the mindless knitting queue after the bag and the Friend's scarf.

My LYS owner recommended Classic Knitted Vests by Nancy Wiseman, but she had no copies left, so I found one on eBay. I bought Folk Vests with my Christmas present gift certificate, so between the two, I should at least have a starting point for the vests I want to knit. I suspect I will end up designing my own, but probably after knitting at least one from a pattern so I have a better idea of the construction. I know they seem simple - no sleeves! But the armhole has to be finished in some way and the size (of the armhole) must be right. What I really want is a one-piece construction cabled vest that buttons or zips or fastens in some way rather than going over the head. I think an Elsebeth Lavold book I bought recently may also have a vest in it, plus I've always wanted to make her Cul-de-Sac in Knitters. (At least two of the yarns in my stash were bought with that vest in mind.)

The rows are getting shorter!

The sleeves and body of Husband's sweater have been joined, and I'm well into the decreases. Hope to have it done over the next 2 or 3 days. Still procrastinating about the ties on the baby sweater, but Daughter hasn't finished her baby sweater yet, so I'm in no big hurry (yet.) I got the yarn I need to finish the Iraq hat, so hopefully that will be done soon.

Went to the LYS to pick up that yarn and spend a gift certificate. I've been wanting to make some vests, so I got Cheryl Oberle's Folk Vests. I see several I'd like to make, but I also want to design one myself. I think I will have to make a couple from patterns first to get the hang of it.

Sort of fell off the wagon already as far as the yarn diet goes, but there were extenuating circumstances. I needed one skein of Cascade 220 to finish my felted bag, and it's just crazy to pay $5 to ship one $6.60 skein of yarn, so I ordered 4 other colors I've been wanting to see. (I wish you could get a Cascade 220 color card!) Also, Husband had a potentially major health scare that ended up being not-so-bad (but still scary) so I guess I bought yarn for stress management! At least it was under $40. Cheaper than therapy.

One sleeve down...

... on Husband's sweater, 7" to go on the second. I think I am going to do I-cord ties on the baby sweater instead of ribbons, but haven't felt like tackling that yet. Daughter may have stalled out on her baby sweater - I don't think she's worked on it for a few days now. Those babies aren't going to wait for her.

Turns out that Mom can't knit with mohair - it makes her hands break out. So I guess a mohair wrap would not be a good birthday present. I have no other ideas at the moment - it may be that I won't be knitting her present this year.

The last of my pre-January 1 yarn purchases arrived today. Some nice brown and white light worsted from eBay. That will be it unless something really cheap turns up! It's odd how we get so excited about a yarn, buy it, then toss it in the stash and keep buying more. I think it's necessary to have a stash to work from, I just feel like mine needs to be smaller. Right, I'd best get to work.

The Plan

Here's my plan for the next few months: [subject to change without notice ;o) ]

January:

• Baby sweater(s) (WIP)
• Husband sweater (WIP)
• Partial redo of orange tweed sweater
• Finish felted bag (UFO)
• Friend's scarf (NEW)
• Lunch bag (NEW)

February:

• FLAK (UFO)
• Celtic cabled sweater (UFO)
• Triple Mohair Triangle (UFO) for Mom?
• Felted box for Dad

March:

• 128 Tweed sweater (NEW)
• Vest I (NEW)

April:

• Vest II (NEW)
• Einstein Coat (UFO)

May:

• Kureyon sweater (NEW)

June:

• Bird's Nest Shawl (UFO)
• Learn to Knit Afghan (UFO)

July:

• Diamond Fantasy Shawl (UFO)
• Charlotte III (UFO)

That will take care of my current UFOs and WIPs. Probably too ambitious, but it gives me something to shoot for! (Working on UFOs doesn't make much of a dent in the stash, but I'll be able to cast on for several projects once they're all done.)

The baby sweater is done except for the ties. Daughter is about 1/3 of the way through the second one. LYS did not have any more of the yarn for the Iraq cap, so that's on hold until she gets it in. It's not on the list because I will finish it asap and it won't take but an hour or two. Both sleeves have been cast on for Husband sweater and are currently about 6 inches long. I'm knitting EZ's seamless saddle shoulder sweater.

My exceptions

I see that others attempting to knit from the stash this year are allowing themselves exceptions. I don't knit socks, so I won't have the "sock yarn doesn't count" exemption, I'm not going to any sheep and wool festivals, so I won't have the "festival yarn doesn't count" exemption, and I don't spin, so I won't have the "fleece, etc doesn't count" exemption. My exemption will be one of my top 10 yarns at a ridiculously low price. My top 10:

1. Cascade 220 - any of the heathers or tweeds specifically
2. Cascade 128
3. Araucania Nature Wool (Worsted or Chunky)
4. Artful Yarns Jazz (discontinued)
5. Jo Sharp Silkroad (tweed or not, any weight)
6. Rowan Tweed (any)
7. Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool and Silky Tweed
8. Malabrigo
9. Noro Kureyon
10. New Tweed

I could happily knit with nothing but these 10 yarns. Yes, I like wool, yes I like tweed. My definition of a ridiculously low price? Anything half price or below.

Progress report: Baby sweater #1 should be completed tonight, except for the ties. (I need to buy ribbon for them.) Daughter insists that she will knit baby sweater #2. I'll give her a week to get a good start, then I'm at least going to help her out. I've knit about 4 inches on the first sleeve of Husband's sweater. I should get the yarn I need to finish the Iraq hat tomorrow, and have that done by tomorrow night.