Tossing the Stash

I think I have another part-time job...

2012-01-23T09:04:00.000-08:00

I have so many design ideas that I've started scheduling time to work on them! That makes it like a job, right?

Right now this is being tested:

and I just released this cowl as a free pattern on Ravelry.

I cast on for the prototype of another design yesterday.

This is so much fun! I get to use my love of knitting, my math background, my commercial art class (for layouts and Ravelry pattern pages) and my editing skills. It's my dream job, even if I'll never make a lot of money doing it. It's a nice change from book keeping, housework, and laundry!

I lied...

2011-12-09T07:16:00.000-08:00

... about being done with shawls. In the spirit of finishing things up before the end of the year, I picked up a couple of hibernating projects and decided to publish the pattern as I have had several requests for it.

I knit the original in 2010 and got some positive feedback on Ravelry. A couple of months later, after finding some errors in the GARTER STITCH section (!!!) and a pulling accident involving our kitten, I decided to rip back and reknit since I also wanted to start the ruffle sooner. As I was working on it in the fuzzy alpaca yarn, I decided I should knit it first in a yarn more forgiving of being ripped back and cast on in the Rowan Feleted Tweed you see above. As I worked on it I decided to curve the ends a bit. I can't quite remember why (hot weather maybe?) but I put it aside with only about half of the ruffle left to knit. It took about 2 days to finish when I picked it up again the other day. I have a request out on Ravelry for some testers and hope to have the pattern available by the first of the year.

I haven't abandoned my Yarn of the Month scheme, but I am WAY behind! Last month's yarn was duly drawn and is in my queue. It may take me all of 2012 to get this year's drawings knit up! I have finished 7 of the projects and have the other 5 planned out for the most part. I don't think I will do this next year simply because I am so behind. Maybe in 2013! It's fun and I like starting with the yarn and finding the perfect project, but getting bitten by the designing bug has caused some severe setbacks for the plan!

One More Pattern Up...

2011-10-30T19:49:00.000-07:00

... and I think I'm done for awhile. This is my City Block Shawl.

October's yarn was drawn. November's will be drawn in a day or two. I do plan to keep working on my YOTM projects, but I am obviously a bit behind at this point! I have sweaters languishing on the needles too. Oh, and I cast on today for a bit of mindless knitting/instand(ish) gratification.

Westport Wrap is Up!

2011-09-18T08:23:00.000-07:00

and it's been cool enough here lately to wear it! Yay Fall!!!

Derailed Again

2011-09-03T06:37:00.000-07:00

Another pattern idea has messed with my schedule :) This was born of a desire to knit garter stitch stripes in a shawl that I would actually wear. The shape is an asymmetrical triangle and the stripes are random. I used leftovers from my other shawls I've knit this summer for both of these. The pattern is going out to testers today!

In YOTM news - my May yarn project is finally done!

My August yarn project has been cast on:

July's yarn is still untouched. It will be a cooler weather sweater anyway, so I doubt I'll get to it before the end of the month.

This is my September yarn - Yarn Chef Creme Brulee laceweight. Silk and merino. Yum. I may not cast on for this until early in 2012 because I am so far behind on other things I want to get done sooner. I have another idea for a pattern that I want to use this for too.

Yarn-of-the-Month Update

2011-08-01T11:07:00.001-07:00

August yarn is tosh merino light in Rosewood.
July yarn was Tosh Merino DK in Hearth.
Neither has been cast on. First I want to finish my May YOTM sweater. I am nearing the end of the body on that. Then there's sleeve island to look forward to...

I am muchly behind on my 12 sweaters for 2011, so I'm trying to concentrate on that. The Hearth TMDK will most likely be a Harvest Moon Cardigan and I'm thinking of striping the Rosewood tml with another color or 2 for a loose-gauge striped summer pullover. I am getting very interested in a couple of methods of top-down set-in sleeve sweater knitting. Sewing in sleeves is not my idea of a good time :)

Stella Luna is released into the wild!

2011-07-24T08:20:00.001-07:00

My second shawl pattern has been published on Ravelry!

This has been such an interesting summer in the shawl-knitting arena for me. First, the MadMay design contest inspired me to refine a shawl idea I'd had for awhile and my Litchfield Shawl was born. Then my yarn-of-the-month for June inspired me to pull out another idea I had awhile back leading to my Stella Luna pattern. I'm really glad I kept my old sketches!

It Worked!

2011-06-26T07:29:00.000-07:00

Currently working on #2 in one color.

How come everything I knit lately makes me buy more yarn? I had to buy a 2nd skein of my MC of this latest shawl, plus I started using some Sundara Fingering Meino Cashmere for another project and liked it so much that I ordered 3 more skeins. And I'm still buying tml. May and June have really increased the size of my stash....

The Designing Bug - I haz it...

2011-06-13T09:52:00.000-07:00

Here's the 2nd knit of my new pattern which is now up on Ravelry!

And here's the start of the 3rd go -

That yarn I drew for this month? I knew I wanted to pair it with another skein of Sundara Sock I have -

so I went browsing throught the gazillion 2-color shawl patterns I have faved on Ravelry. But you know what? I want to design something myself :) So I pulled out a sketch from I-don't-know-when of a shawl idea I had, thought about how to make it 2-color, drug out a bunch of stitch pattern books and shawl-construction ideas and got to work! No idea if it's going to work out - I've ripped and reknit the beginning about 10 times. And about 6" in I can tell that I should have done some things differently. So it hasn't been the smooth process that my Litchfield pattern was but that's okay. They can't all go that well! If it's a total flop, I'll rip it out. That's the cool thing about knitting, right?

May Madness

2011-05-31T03:56:00.000-07:00

The upside to yarn-buying sprees? They can be inspiring:

This is my new pattern! Inspired by (a very small portion of) the yarn I bought this month, MadMay on ravelry - http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/madelinetosh-lovers/1623993/1-25 and my Merrywood Afghan -

(This is one corner folded over a towel.) I am working on a reknit and have a lovely knitter helping me test the pattern before I release it. And I've already picked out colors for #3!

I finished another MadMay project -

And So Are You by Rose Beck in Northumbria tosh merino light. I'm working on the yarn I drew last month - more tml in Filigree - but this has been on hold while I worked on my new idea.

I have knit with nothing but tml this month! For June I drew this - I only have one skein of it left. It will have to wait awhile though. I really want to finish reknitting my design and get it 'published'!

Caught Up At Last!

2011-04-22T06:22:00.000-07:00

Knit from the yarn I drew for April -

I'm going to do something a little different for MadMay - the madelinetosh group on ravelry is having Madelinetosh May. There are bunches of knit-alongs that will be going on so I am only going to knit with madelinetosh yarn next month! That means I will be 'drawing' May's yarn from my tosh stash only. And I'm going to draw a few days early so I can swatch and be ready to go on May 1. I hope to finish at least 1 sweater and 1 shawl.

Back on Track

2011-04-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

YOTM project for February - I had the daunting task of winding this gorgeous skein up:

and turning it into this -

For March, I knit this in 3 days (in April!) -

and now I am working on April's project -

Also recently completed -

A hacky sack for Will -

and another test knit for Romi - her Sakaki shawl, most of the proceeds of which are going to help Japan/Doctors Without Borders -

I'm so glad the chiropractor was able to help me with the shoulder pain I was having - I'm basically pain free in my shoulder now! :)

(Yarn) Dieting is Hard...

2011-04-04T17:53:00.000-07:00

FOs first: Asterope - test knit #6 for Romi, and possibly my favorite of the bunch so far. Looks complicated, but I had less trouble than I had with the garter stitch shawls. I don't know what it is, but I have issues with garter stitch. Just ask the ladies I knit with. This is the reknit of Stacked in the yarn Knit Picks sent me -modeled by Mr. Jefferson. Good color for him I think.

Now the part where I fell off the yarn-diet wagon.

2 skeins of Creme Brulee because I loved knitting with it doubled when I made http://www.ravelry.com/projects/LAylor13/tongues-of-fire This color is 'Cinnamon Dust.'

Lace-weight cashmere - 'Temptress'.

Very aptly named. I had no intention of buying anything from Yarn Chef's latest update since I'd bought the Creme Brulee above in February and had her hold it until she shipped me a special order. Meet Plum Pudding -

A whole dye-lot of Mulligatawny. One of my favorite bases. Which is being discontinued. :(

So Katy (the Yarn Chef) is dyeing up batches for me every month in different colors based on a (long) list of requests. That means I'll have to knit up 2200 yards every month just to stay in the green IF I don't buy any other yarn. But I'll be happy when she runs out and I have a nice bin full of Mulligatawny.

I lucked out in the first quarter and had a couple of unexpected yarn sales push me (barely) into the green just before it ended. I'm starting quarter 2 in a very deep hole. But it's nice in here with all this lovely yarn :)

Yarn Support

2011-03-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

The yarn from Knit Picks for the sample of Stacked came today! A beautiful deep green. And they sent an extra ball!

Aargh - so much knitting to be done, so little time to do it!

My Jobs are Interfering with my Knitting...

2011-03-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

My to -do list is getting longer and longer and the FOs are few and far between.

Still working on February's YOTM, have yet to start March's YOTM.

In addition to having less time to knit, I've had some test knitting both for myself and for others that is taking up all my knitting time right now. By the end of the month I hope to finish my pattern that I'm testing and my 6th test knit for Romi. Hopefully next month I'll finish the YOTM projects for February, March, and April. I started a cardigan because need one, but it's warming up now so that may go into hibernation for the summer.

So, to sum up, there is knitting going on but nothing to show for it!

Here's a picture of the pretty yarn I'm using for the Romi test-knit -

It's Merino Drip from Grey Drizzle Fiber Arts in Rusted. I loves it.

Oh, and some good news, my scarf pattern (Stacked) was accepted by Knit Picks for their Independent Designer Program. They're going to send me yarn to knit a sample for them to photograph. Something else for the to-do list.

And I've been buying yarn. Lots of yarn. Mostly madelinetosh but also Yarn Chef and now I want some more Merino Drip. Every yarn I knit with I want more of. I loved the doubled Creme Brulee stole from January's YOTM project so much that I ordered 2 more skeins of CB to make something else with. So much for stash reduction.

Out With a Whimper

2011-03-03T17:28:00.000-08:00

February was a blur.

Still working on YOTM#2. It got interrupted by a new pattern idea (the grey scarf above), something I wanted to finish and wear quickly (the grey scarf/shawl above), a test knit (the grey and green shawl), and some testing of a shawl I knit last year that I want to publish a pattern for. (The original was grey, the one I'm working on is grey-blue.) I've also cast on for a cardigan that I really need NOW (It's NOT grey.) I did draw the yarn for March - luckily it's 200 yards of madelinetosh Bulky (also not grey) which will hopefully knit up quickly. By the end of the month, I plan to finish YOTM#2, YOTM#3, the cardigan, the shawl pattern, and the reknitting of the edging of a sweater I made last year.

March yarn -

Out With a Bang

2011-01-31T06:53:00.000-08:00

January's YOTM project is DONE! I blocked it last night and got some shots this morning. I love it! Love love love love love it!

Crocheted a cowl too -

Didn't finish the other WIP that I was hoping to, but started something else -

Merino and cashmere. Yum.

Looking forward to finding out what my February project will be!

Mid-January Update

2011-01-22T17:58:00.000-08:00

A couple of FOs.

Red cardi for DD Star ornament -

And progress on January's YOTM project.

I really want to finish this and two other projects by the end of the month.

I can't wait to see what I draw for February!

January Mission

2011-01-02T07:32:00.000-08:00

Knit this - I swatched yesterday.

And then cast on. So far, so good!

End of Year Wrap Up

2010-12-31T07:32:00.000-08:00

A few final FOs - scarves for Christmas presents for my MIL -

My co-worker -

and my son -

I tallied up my output for 2010:

- 14 sweaters

- 18 shawls

- 1 afghan

- 1 tree skirt

- 15 other (scarves/hats/toys/bookmarks)

- 1 awesome needle case!

Total yards of stash reduction (in - out) was -29,407!

I'm anxious to get started with my yarn-of-the-month project tomorrow!

Whoops - November left while I wasn't looking

2010-12-03T11:33:00.000-08:00

Couple of sweaters to finish out the month. Both top-down. One a test knit for pipibird on ravelry and one a cowl-neck based on Barbara Walker's Top-Down Raglan. Details on my ravelry pages.

Christmas knitting currently underway.

Looking forward to starting my Yarn-of-the-month in January! I plan to 'draw' a stash yarn each month and knit with whatever it is. Here are my 'rules':

- 'drawing' takes place on the first

- eligible yarns are those listed in my ravelry stash but NOT those on the trade/sell page

- yarns destined to be afghans will not be included

- ideally I would finish before the next drawing, but I know things won't always work out that way. I will still draw the next yarn on the first though.

I think this will be fun - the downside to the knitting internet is the tendency to buy too much yarn, queue too many projects, and feel overwhelmed. This will cut the choices down to managable levels and I've made sure that I really want to knit with all the yarns in my stash! I think... maybe I'd better go take one more look.

Is November really almost half over?!

2010-11-12T18:07:00.000-08:00

This may be the coolest thing I've ever made!

Using up the fabric stash! And I've hand-quilted every day for the past 10 days! Not a lot, but at least it will eventually get done this way. I have 2 projects that are being hand-quilted. One is 11 years old, the other is 10. Once they are done, I may never hand-quilt again! But there is still quilting hand-work to be done - a couple of appliqué quilts and an English paper-pieced Tumbling Blocks.

Still more knitting than quilting around here - output in the past 30 days:

Currently working on a sweater for DD and getting ready to do a sweater test knit for http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/atelier Yarn is heading my way to knit DS a scarf and I need to make my dad another pair of fingerless mitts. He says they are great for his arthritic hands.

Fall Always Feels Like the Start of a New Year to Me

2010-10-06T05:10:00.000-07:00

Wrap up from September - 3 more FOs:

And a major face lift for my work room! Before: (pic from realtor's site just to show the wall color)And after! I put a folding canvas chair in front of the window until I can find/afford a nice one. And a nice standing light. I love how it came out! The color is called 'Dockside Haze' and is a blue-green grey. So much more cheerful - I used to hate being in that room, but now I love it. I bought the 2 tables at Lowe's and took out all the random tables and desks I had been using for sewing/cutting. I also got some foam panels that I covered with cotton batting for a 'Design Wall.' Now I can also get some quilts finished/made - tossing the fabric stash as well! Hopefully this month's update will include a pieced batik shower curtain that I've wanted to make ever since we moved here.

As far as Stashdown goes, I managed to finish in the green again by giving away a lot of yarn I know I'll never use! Last night I was browsing my yarn stash on ravelry - If I keep knitting at my current pace, I have enough stash to knit for the next 4-6 years without buying more. (That's IF I knit 12-16 sweaters and 5-10 shawls a year!) Starting next month, I'm going to try to limit yarn purchases to one per month (too late already for October :P) I don't need to be spending money on yarn - instead I'm going to try to tuck some away so Emma and I can go to NYC for her Spring Break.

And in the spirit of fresh starts, I'm going to start going to Yoga 2-3 times a week, walking/biking/hiking at least 5 times a week, doing some light work with weights after I walk/bike, and try to lose 5 pounds a month in October, November, and maybe December!

Summer's End

2010-09-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

LOVE!

I'm trying desperately to get back in the green by the end of the month/quarter - back to knitting!

Late update for July

2010-08-09T08:13:00.001-07:00

This is where I was when the month ended.

Here is my last July FO - it's Goodale in Bugga! in the Tulip Tree Beauty colorway.

I did lots of knitting on vacation, but it was on a small-gauge sweater so I'm still finishing it up. Here's my swatch -

Tosh Merino Light in Tern. Lovely yarn to work with - a single superwash merino fingering weight. Makes knitting a sweater on size 2.5 needles almost painless. The sweater is the Plain and Simple Pullover from Ravelry. Knit in the round with almost no sleeves and an awesome ribbed foldover collar. Can't wait to wear it this fall!

July is whizzing by...

2010-07-16T13:33:00.001-07:00

Stash out -

Stash in -

Oops.

There was actually more yarn out than that - I destashed 6519 yards.

I can't wait to knit with all this gorgeous stuff. It should keep me entertained for awhile. And hopefully away from dangerous websites.

Mid-Year Checkpoint and How I Got Into Knitting

2010-07-03T19:17:00.000-07:00

This was my reintroduction to knitting.

My kids were 7 and 9 (or maybe 6 and 8 - not sure if it was before or after their birthdays in May.) We spent a lot of time at the library. I was doing a lot of quilting at the time and not much reading, so I would browse the quilting books while the kids did their thing. Unfortunately - or fortunately - they didn't have many and I went through them pretty quickly. Then I started looking around at the other books in the same area. They didn't have many knitting books either, but they did have Barabara Walkers Learn to Knit Afghan book. I learned to knit as a child, but gave it up after a disaster involving scratchy aran weight yarn, a sweater pattern, and absolutely no clue about gauge.

I checked the book out, ordered some yarn, and so began my adventure with this awesome craft. Luckily I choose a very soft, beautiful yarn - Aurora 8 - mostly because it came in lots of colors and was washable. It was like knitting with clouds. As the squares became more and more difficult, I learned about increasing and decreasing, lace and colorwork, cables and twisted stitches. Oddly enough, I didn't make it to the short row square that was the basis for my Lizard Ridge pattern.

I wanted to make DD an afghan out of Kureyon to take to college. She loves Kureyon, and I thought if I used a bunch of different colors it would serve as her own personal color card. I started looking for a pattern but couldn't find anything that really made good use of the long color runs. I saw entrelac and mitered squares. but I wanted something different. I was flipping through my copy of Barbara's book (a gift from DH) and started looking at that short row block. I had some ideas about changing the color arrangement, came up with this on my first try!

I remember steaming it on the ironing board and thinking "I am onto something here!" My intention was to make a block every now and then as I came across new colorways, but next thing I know, I'm scouring the internet and yarn shops, snatching up skeins right and left, and knitting like a square a day! Needless to say, it was done way before she left for college, so it was her 16th birthday present instead!

Now for some more recent stuff -

More coasters for another knitting friend -

And I finished Maia - it's gorgeous. Wonderful pattern. Wonderful yarn.

Bigger and more pics on Ravelry. Uploading them here is kind of a pain :oP

In other news, I finished the second quarter in the green (i.e. more stash out than in) but will be in the red soon for this quarter - lots of yarn coming in. Hopefully I will get back in the green pretty quickly. I have 2 projects almost done and lots more knitting planned.

Copper Beech

2010-06-21T04:59:00.000-07:00

This plus these

plus Romi's Maia pattern that I'm test knitting =

I've knit with beads once before, but that only involved larger beads around the bottom edge of a shawl. This is much more extensive. The beads were at Michael's and they have a coppery pottery look to them that goes perfectly with this yarn - Sundara's Fingering Silky Merino in Adobe from her Santa Fe collection. I wish I could stay home all day and work on this!

It will be Christmas before we know it...

2010-06-14T13:17:00.001-07:00

Finished things so far this month:

Coasters for one of my knitting friends -

My 3rd Melody shawl - which took forever 'cause it lived in my purse.

My Flourish shawl in Sundara ASM - Viridescent -

And a summer shawl in Color-Changing Cotton -

I have made a few purchases lately, but I'm still well in the green so far this quarter.

Have not cast on for that lightweight cardi yet. Currently working on an old UFO and a new grey alpaca shawl. Within the next week I should be able to start my next test knit for Romi. Check it out on her blog - it's gorgeous! http://rosemarygoround.blogspot.com/2010/06/7-small-shawls-t-205-days-and-counting.html

May Update

2010-05-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

Lots of Finished Objects this month!

A baby blanket that has been languishing for a year -

A test-knit shawl - Merope -

Tweedy Textured Shawl in that yummy Knit Picks City Tweed DK I mentioned last month -

A small shawl in gorgeous Madelinetosh DK in the Amber Trinket colorway -

Brandywine -

A bag that had been languishing for 2 years -

and my Ribbed Pullover -

Details (patterns/yarn) are on my ravelry pages.

Only down a bit over 6K yards now. (I went to the Sedalia Fiber Festival - need I say more?)

Currently working on a cotton shawl and still planning to cast on for a lightweight summer cardigan in that pretty Bee Pollen Yarn Chef Buttercream.

End of April Update

2010-05-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

Wandering the Moor in Yarn Chef Mulligatawny - Midnight Showers

Citron in Knit Picks Shadow - Sunset

Abalone in Yarn Chef Daube - Storm Goddess

Still working on that green raglan.

Have gotten a good start on my Bramblewine shawl.

Destashed a bunch of yarn. Bought some more Yarn Chef and Madelinetosh and Knit Picks City Tweed DK which I've been eager to try.

Next sweater will be some sort of drapey summer laceweight cardigan in this -

Still pondering the next shawl.

Down 7,000 yard so far this quarter.

Mid-April Update

2010-04-18T17:52:00.000-07:00

My finished afghan! This was fun - I really enjoyed playing with color combinations. Too bad I had to pack it away for warm weather already, but it will be a treat to pull out next fall.

Abalone is also done, but I don't have good pictures yet. I'm about 1/3 way through with a simple ribbed raglan in this yarn -

I am in the process of casting off my Citron. 540 stitches take awhile. I have my yarn wound and my pattern printed for Wandering the Moor. I'm using a pretty dark blue fingering from Yarn Chef. (I seem to be on a Yarn Chef kick lately.)

I am well in the green for stashdown* this quarter so far, even when taking into account the yarn I ordered today - more Yarn Chef! I sold a sweater's worth of cotton yarn, gave a skein of Aran Silky Merino for a contest prize, and gave away a Philosopher's Wool sweater kit. That's on top of finishing an afghan and a sweater.

*stashdown is a joint effort by a group of confessed yarn snobs on ravelry to reduce the size of our stashes! We've realized that we really don't need enough yarn for 50 sweaters, 100 shawls, 100 pairs of socks, etc. Personally, I'm trying to make sure a lot more goes out (via finished projects, sales, and gifts) than comes in until I get my stash to a less overwhelming size. Right now it fills up 12 bins and a drawer. I think about 1/3 of that would be more reasonable.

Spring is here

2010-03-31T08:57:00.000-07:00

I did get the afghan seamed. It is blocking on my bed at the moment. Still have a bunch of ends to weave in so it won't technically be done until tomorrow (or whenever I finish those ends.)

I did cast on for Abalone. Am about 1/3 done.

Still plugging along on Citron. Only one section left before the ruffled edging, but the rows are getting longer and longer.

Melody III is hanging out in the purse and getting a bit knit on it every now and then.

When I finish Citron, I plan to cast on for Brandywine in Yarn Chef's Mulligatawny in the Bramblebush colorway, or Wandering the Moor in Yarn Chef's Mulligatawny in the Midnight Showers colorway. When I finish Abalone, I think I'll do the Vine Bolero I was thinking about last time. The yarn (Sundara's Aran Silky Merino) is the same base as the Yarn Chef Daube I'm knitting with now. I'm trying to keep myself down to one shawl and one sweater plus the ever-present purse Melody.

In the first quarter of Stashdown, I knit/sold/gave away 2.6 times as much yarn as I bought. I'm okay with that. I was actually able to free up a few yarn storage containers. I need to keep that ratio for the rest of the year to get the stash down to a managable, less guilt-inducing level.

April plans -

- finish Merrywood II

- finish Citron

- finish Abalone

- start and finish another shawl

- start and finish another sweater

Mid-March Update

2010-03-17T07:18:00.000-07:00

Best Winter Ever is over looks like. But after 3 snowfalls over 10" and snow still around until about a week ago (and almost continuously since the first snowfall in mid-December) I'm actually looking forward to spring this year.

In knitting news:

Finally finished my constantly morphing tee. I kept changing my mind about what I wanted to make with this yarn, but never ripped out what I'd already done. I can't believe it turned out this well!

The yarn is Yarn Chef's Cider sport weight in Log Cabin. Love it.

And all my afghan blocks are done - here are the last 3:

I may or may not seam them together before the end of the month. We'll see.

Right now I'm trying to finish my Citron shawl and then I want to knit another sweater or two before it gets too warm. I have lots of shawls queued to work on this spring/summer when it's just too hot to have a sweater on your lap. I have 19 patterns and yarns matched up on my ravelery project page (status: hibernating) but have yet to decide which is next. If I want to knit something I can wear before next fall, that leaves Abalone, Loppem II, Raindance, Vine Bolero, Green Gable, Pas de Valse, and a raglan I will make up as I go.

Thinking out loud...

Abalone - a short-sleeved open-front cardi. Yarn: Yarn Chef Daube (50/50 wool/silk worsted single) in a pretty blue green (I think - it's not here yet.)

Loppem II - loved the first one so much I want to knit it again. Yarn: Dream in Color Classy in Chinatown Apple. It may be too soon to make this again though.

Raindance - a short-sleeved tee with a keyhold back. Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed in a blue-grey.

Vine Bolero - lacey cardigan. Yarn - Sundara Aran Silky Merino (same yarn as YC Daube) in a gorgeous green.

Green Gable - a simple tee with a lacey bodice. Yarn - Sundara Sport Merino in an awesome brown/turquoise combination.

Pas de Valse - a loose, swingy cardigan knit at a fine gauge. Yarn - Yarn Chef Mulligatawny in either a pale terracotta or a medium blue.

Raglan - I want to make a ribbed raglan in a pretty green Yarn Chef Cafe au Lait.

Abalone would be quick and wearable. I did just finish Loppem #1. Felted Tweed is probably a bit too wooly to wear by the time I finished it. Vine Bolero would also be quick and wearable, but I'm not sure I want to make another green cardi right now. Green Gable would be good. Pas de Valse would be a bit of a slog. Maybe I should save that for trip knitting. The raglan would have long sleeves, so maybe that should wait 'til fall.

That leaves Abalone, Vine Bolero, or Green Gable. Right now I'm thinking Abalone. I could wear that up through May probably.

Thanks for helping me decide! ;o)

February Update

2010-02-28T20:16:00.000-08:00

My not-quite-finished ravelympics project - I was hoping to complete 17 afghan squares, but only finished 15.5 due to injury. Earlier this month I finished my Loppem in Sundara Worsted. My current favorite sweater!

Goals set/accomplished for the month:

- Loppem in Sundara Worsted - DONE! (see pic above)

- Citron in Shadow - started but set aside for ravelympics

- 19 (what was I thinking?!) afghan squares - 16.5 completed. (15.5 during ravelympics plus one made beforehand)

I don't feel like setting goals for March. I will knit whatever I want to knit. Gosh.

In February I did manage to knit/destash 8682 yards and only acquired 3021, so that's a Stashwin!

End of January Update

2010-01-31T17:42:00.001-08:00

Coraline in Araucania Naturewool Sante Fe Shawl in Sundara Fingering Silky Merino

Not-so-warm version of Einstein coat in Noro Kureyon

Melody shawl #2 in Sundara Fingering Silky Merino

And you will notice these pictures show that I accomplished all of my January goals!

I bought very little yarn this month and sold a lot so I am down over 14,000 yards so far this year!

February goals:

- Loppem in Sundara Worsted (cast on today)

- Citron shawl in KnitPicks Shadow

- Knit 19 afghan squares in the Ravelympics

Resolutions...

2010-01-11T18:54:00.000-08:00

FOs so far this year:
Tree skirt (yeah, I know, who starts a tree skirt on 12/30?)

Crocheted bookmark for a knitting friend:

Ribbed pullover:

RESOLUTIONS:

Finish 12 sweaters from stash
Finish 6 shawls from stash
Buy yarn with PayPal balance only
Decrease the size of my stash
Dye some yarn this year
Figure out the Christmas knitting a little earlier this year!

To facilitate all this, I have joined several groups on Ravelry: IntSweMoDo2010 (knit 12 sweaters in 2010), 10 shawls in 2010 (actually a subgroup knitting 5 from stash), and a stashbusting group in the Yarn Snobs.

I downloaded my rav stash to excel and totalled up my yardage - I have several years worth of stash at my current knitting rate. I'd like to reduce it by about half. That's gonna be a lot of work.

January goals:
- Finish Coraline
- Finish Einstein
- Finish Sante Fe shawl
- Finish Melody II

17 Miles

2009-12-31T15:00:00.000-08:00

That's how much yarn I knit up this year. 10 sweaters, 10 hats, 7 Christmas ornaments, 6 wraps/shawls, 6 pairs of mitts, 4 dishcloths, 3 scarves, 3 cowls, 2 pairs of felted clogs, 2 afghans, some legwarmers, a felted tote, a Christmas stocking, and a cup cozy.

This month's finished objects: (details on my ravelry projects page)

Christmas ornaments - all for gifts except the red one.

'Incognito' for my son:

Dad's wrap:

Fernando's hat:

Claudia hat:

' Fetching' mitts for my MIL:

Owl cup cozy for DD:

Edited to add - ha ha! I totaled it up and I actually knit/got rid of 274 yards more than I acquired!

STASHFAIL!

2009-11-30T20:15:00.001-08:00

I won this adorable Sheepy Bank in a ravelry contest - I was runner up in yardage knit in October.

This month, in addition to the yardage-knit contest, I am participating in Stashdown. The goal of Stashdown is to knit/sell/give away more yarn than you acquire. As of the end of November, I am in the hole about 1800 yards. It would be worse except that you get to count all the yardage for a project when it's finished. The downside is that you can't count any yardage for a project until it's all the way done. Seamed. Ends woven in. Buttons sewn on. I bought an embarassing amount of yarn in November. It was bad enough that I am now really motivated to quit buying yarn!

A few more finished objects:

Christmas stocking for DD's dorm -

A cardigan for DH for Christmas -

and a felted tote -

Details are on my ravelry project pages.

Hopefully by Christmas eve I will have a few more gifts knitted! In January I plan to finish some UFOs, and then in February I want to knit 2 sweaters for me!

Mid-month Update

2009-11-13T20:25:00.000-08:00

I have some finished objects I want to share 'cause I love them so much!

First, Slanting Gretel from the Fall 2009 Interweave Knits in Sundara Sport Merino (Leaves of Grass LE colorway) -

This is a cardigan I made for my beautiful daughter - Sedum variation in Knit Picks Swish Bulky (Fedora colorway) -

Felted slippers for the same gorgeous girl (in her college colors) - Fiber Trends Felted Clogs in Cascade 220 -

I've also ordered yarn I'm afraid, but it's gorgeous and I can't wait for it to get here! Four skeins of Sundara Worsted Merino in Nuances of Nature (green) and 2 skeins of Madelinetosh Pashima in Tart (red). I also bought one lonely skein of Kureyon at half price when I was in a LYS last week. Not too bad. (So far.)

Much better, thanks!

2009-11-01T10:31:00.000-08:00

I knit a lot this month!

Charity hats:
Felicity/Toasty sets for DD and her BFF:

Plus more mitts for Dad, an earflap hat for DS, a cardigan for DD that needs buttons and finishing touches, a surprise for her that I can't tell you about, clogs for DD that need felting, and I'm almost done with a tote that will also need felting.

Only 3 stash enhancements, 2 of which have yet to arrive. This is Sundara Sport Merino in Leaves of Grass which is being made into a Slanting Gretel already.

The other purchases were 2 skeins of Sundara FSM in Granite Falls which won't arrive for a couple of months, and the last installment of the Sante Fe FSM, all of which is due to arrive Monday.

Total yards knit in October: 3464

Total yards destashed in October: 2920

Total yards bought in October: 2625

For a net loss this month of 3759 yards! (Not double the yards bought, but way better than the past few months!) The only October goal I failed to meet was finishing that tote, but I am really close on that one - got held up trying to find the mesh to reinforce the bottom.

November Goals:
-Finish Coraline
-Finish Slipped Hours
-Finish Slanting Gretel

I still have some knitting I want to get done by Christmas - Stan's cardigan and some mitts for his mother, and maybe a wrap for my mom, but I may not work on them until December. I did a lot of obligatory knitting in October and now I want to work on some fun stuff!

End of September Update

2009-10-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

Well, the stash photos insist on being first -
Sundara FSM in Sun the Painter: Sundara FSM in Serengeti:

Yarn Chef Creme Brulee in Fossil:

Finished objects -

Ingenue Slippers:

Cowl:

Blackberries scarf:

Alpaca scarf:

Melody Shawl:

Meandering Vines Wrap:

A couple of these have been languishing for awhile, so it was good to get them done.

I did manage to knit/destash more than I bought this month. Not twice as much, but still a decent amount considering how hard I hit the Knit Picks Lace sale. I will do better in October!

Christmas knitting is on my mind, and there is quite a bit planned. Some sweaters, some vests, some mitts, hats, cowls, wraps, a bit of everything.

October knitting goals:

Finish Celtic tote
Start Coraline
Knit Dad's mitts I promised on Father's Day
Get 1/3 of my Christmas knitting done
Plod along on my Slipped Hours and Melody II (or III)

Major Fail....

2009-08-31T19:39:00.000-07:00

Boy did I ever fall off the yarn diet wagon this month. More about that later. First, the good news!

Featherweight:

Aestlight:

College afghan:
Once again, I have an excuse for my indiscretions this month. Yarn Chef finally had an update. How am I supposed to resist beauty such as this?

This was bought in a moment of weakness - won't it make a lovely laceweight cardigan?

In retrospect, this I could have done without. I succumbed to the temptation of ordering some sight unseen FSM from Sundara at a small discount. After ordering, I had a sinking feeling that I would end up with another skein of Caramel Apple (I already have 3, and no one is looking for any, so it is basically un-tradeable.) Guess what? That's exactly what I got. Major suckage. But a lovely fellow raveler came to my rescue and traded me a skein of Pale Sky over Sugared Violet that she had not had any success in destashing:

Even after casting on a project using double yarn and knitting furiously, I still ended up buying about 1000 yards more than I knit this month. Bad knitter. I will try to do better next month. At least Yarn Chef shouldn't be having any more updates....

Done!

2009-08-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

Started sewing August 3 - finished quilting this morning:It has some warts, but I'm happy with it! Emma wouldn't feel like her mom had made it if I didn't have a few bone-headed mistakes in it.

I ended up using the walking foot and doing straight-line quilting in the sashing and border and then used a zigzag stitch to stitch over the seams between the t-shirt pieces. (I was afraid the seams would get all bunched up when it was washed.)

I used a grey batik for the back instead of the planned flannel. Made the quilting easier.

Emma and Smudge are breaking it in -

(she doesn't know it's done yet... I put it over her while she was sleeping!)

College quilt in progress...

2009-08-05T20:01:00.003-07:00

The top is done!

It's bits and pieces of DD's t-shirts since preschool.

Summer Update

2009-08-01T08:18:00.000-07:00

First, addenda to the stash management rules:

1. Swapped for yarn does not count, even if you are swapping 480 yards of silk/cashmere for 1500 yards of silk/merino.

2. Vacation (souvenier) yarn does not count. Be it emergency yarn to make mitts to enable knitting on a boat, Silk Garden bought for just-in-case crochet project for flying, or 3 skeins of yummy Dream in Color Classy in a long-coveted colorway. (I like to buy my DiC in person, so I have to take advantage, ya know?)

With those new rules in mind, I bought 700 yards in July and knit 1692. :o)

Finished this month:

Whisper -

which I wore all over London on our trip!

And Whale Watch mitts which I made in one day, making up the pattern as I went along!

July Goals:
1. Finish Whisper - Done!
2. Finish Melody - Nope.
3. Start/finish Featherlight - Started but not finished.

August Goals:
1. Finish Aestlight
2. Finish College afghan for DD
3. Finish Featherweight

I'm not listing Melody because I've decided to always have a Melody on the needles for my mindless knitting.

2009 is halfway over...

2009-06-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

Wow.

June goals vs. what was actually accomplished:

1. Finish Amelia. DONE!!!
2. Finish Apres Surf. DONE!!!
3. Finish Blackberries. I think I did about 10 rows...
4. Finish Seafoam raglan. DONE!!!
5. Finish college afghan. Didn't touch it...
6. Cast on for Whisper cardigan. Finish it. About halfway finished.
7. Start Featherweight cardigan. Nope. But I have wound 1.1 of the 3 skeins needed and bought the pattern.

The good news? As of last night, I had knit 1900 yards this month and only bought 900.

Finished objects -

Amelia (for DD), Apres Surf and Simple Seafoam (both for me)

Stash enhancement-

Lagoon Jade Sapphire Silk/Cashmere 2-ply and Endearing Sundara FSM:

July Goals: (We will be traveling most of the month, so let's keep those projects portable!)

1. Finish Whisper

2. Finish Melody

3. Start/finish Featherlight

I may come up with some souvenier yarn that needs to be knit right away, so I won't add anything else right now. I'm really looking forward to pulling stash yarn slips out of a jar and knitting whatever I get, but so far, there's been too much must-knit-right-now stuff in the queue. Maybe once I finish the College Afghan and Blackberries. But I'm also eager to get to some of the stuff in my ravelry queue. I've obviously got to knit faster.

Reality Check

2009-05-29T12:42:00.000-07:00

But first - here's the Travel Shawl that I finished last month -I like it and have used it several times on chilly days. I think it will travel very well.

I finally found some ziplocs that are the perfect size for a sweater's worth of yarn. Consequently I've started zipping up the stash. Consequently it's become apparent to me just how much yarn I have. OMG. New rule for the stash management plan starting June 1 - I must knit twice as much as I buy. This is ridiculous. (I know I should just stop buying yarn - I've tried that. It doesn't work. When I cave, and it will happen, it's NOT pretty.)

So how has May gone so far? Let's check those goals:

1. Continue to work on Apres Surf. Finishing would be nice. But lace on 3's is slow going. Plus there's a hood. Still plugging away. I've worked on this a LOT this month.

2. Finish the Blackberries scarf already! Geez. I worked on it. A little.

3. Pull out my mostly finished top-down raglan in Seafoam Comfy. Work on it. Do a few rows count?

4. I really should finish up the afghan that's supposed to go to college with DD. It's out of the box at least.

5. Start Amelia. Doing great on this one - body is done to the 'pits, sleeve 1 is done, sleeve 2 is well underway.

And on the stash management front - I've knit over 1300 yards and bought 1000. That puts me down about 300 yards for the last 3 months.

While we're here, lets put June's knitting goals out there:

1. Finish Amelia.

2. Finish Apres Surf.

3. Finish Blackberries. (Don't laugh!)

4. Finish Seafoam raglan.

5. Finish college afghan.

6. Cast on for Whisper cardigan. Finish it.

7. Start Featherweight cardigan.

Oh yeah, that 1000 yards I bought this month?

Sundara FSM in Canadian Wilderness.

Mother's Day Gifts

2009-05-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

Stumbled across this pattern on Ravelry Friday night. After much head-scratching, grumbling, eye-straining, and back-hunching, I have 2 crocheted bookmarks for Mother's Day gifts. Yep, pulled out my handy-dandy Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework circa 1979 and taught myself how to crochet. I had done croched edgings before (using the same handy-dandy book) but that was it.

What's funny (and telling) about this experience is that I dipped into my long-neglected stash of perle cotton that I'd bought for hand-quilting years ago, thinking "hooray! A use for this stuff that's been languishing!" Then, after finishing the first one and using about 80% of a ball, I got online and ordered about 15 more balls! (Hey, Joann.com had them on sale for $1.60!) And I didn't even enjoy making the darn things. They're beautiful and DD wants one, and I'll probably make a couple more, but I already have about 20 balls! There is something wrong with me. (In my defense, the ones I had already were mostly boring solids, most of the ones I ordered were cool variegated ones that make awesome bookmarks. [I saw some on ravelry.])

April is Kaput

2009-05-06T12:25:00.001-07:00

And I didn't do so great on my knitting plan, except that I did knit 80 yards more than I bought! Turns out that about 75% of my knitting was done on the go or in 5 minute snatches, which is not condusive to most lace projects, which is all I had on the needles. I did finish the Yarn Chef cowl in April and have already finished the Travel Shawl this month.

It's been very grey here for the past few days, so I have no pictures yet of the Travel Shawl.

Stash enhancement:

Madelinetosh Tosh Worsted in Turquoise - not quite as turquoise as I'd expected, but I think I still like it.

I also have some Yarn Chef goodies that should be here tomorrow. Two skeins of Mulligatawny and one of Souffle.

I've started a wishlist of Yarn I Want -
Tanis Green Label in Olive, Moss, Garnet, Sand, Amber (I'm not sure she's doing Olive anymore though...)
Dream in Color Classy/Smooshy in Shiny Moss, Purple Rain, Chinatown Apple, Cocoa Kiss, Gothic Rose, November Muse, Strange Harvest
MadTosh Worsted in Dahlia, Fjord, Kale, Logwood, Moss, Norway Spruce, Olivia, Oxblood, Rose, Sequoia, Silver Fox, Wash
Malabrigo Lace
Yarn Chef Chiffon
Sundara Worsted or Sport in sweater quantity
Apparently I only want to knit with hand-dyed yarn anymore.

Here's another attempt at predicting what I will be knitting this month (I don't know why I'm bothering with this!)
1. Continue to work on Apres Surf. Finishing would be nice. But lace on 3's is slow going. Plus there's a hood.
2. Finish the Blackberries scarf already! Geez.
3. Pull out my mostly finished top-down raglan in Seafoam Comfy. Work on it.
4. I really should finish up the afghan that's supposed to go to college with DD.
5. Start Amelia.

Previously on Tossing the Stash...

2009-04-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

Former plan:

March
finish Blackberry scarf - put on back burner for now as it wasn't done in time for gifting
finish Ribbed Hoodie - put on other back burner for now as it needs reknitting from armpits up and I can't deal with a heavy wool sweater right now anyway
sweater from one of my Sundara FSMs for Knitalong - still chugging along, but not finished as planned
start Yarn Chef project for Knitalong - did, but have decided I don't like the pairing of the Picholine Cafe au Lait and Wakame, so I cast on for another YC project last night

April
finish Yarn Chef project - this will happen
Random Small Project - I think the new YC project qualifies
Amelia - still planning to start it this month

May
Random Bigger Project - reknitting Picholine as a top-down raglan?
more that I will decide later - let's wrap up that Blackberries scarf, shall we?

So March went bust, although I did manage to knit 1520 yards more than I bought, but April seems to be on schedule so far. I do hope to finish Apres Surf this month also. I'll decide what I want to do in May at the end of this month.

Here's the new Yarn Chef project:

A zigzag lace rib cowl in Brickworks Mulligatawny. This color is yummy. It makes me happy :o)

Stash Management Plan

2009-03-26T05:24:00.000-07:00

Using Ravelry's handy-dandy download of stash into Excel, and knowing I average around 30 yards knit per day, I figured out that it will take me 12 years to knit up my stash. Although it's kind of a relief to find out I haven't (hopefully) reached SABLE ("Stash Accumulated Beyond Life Expectancy") status, it occurs to me that I do need to try to keep the outflow slightly higher than the inflow. With this in mind, and using that cool knit-o-meter feature, I am resolving to knit more yardage than I acquire every month. I can bank deficits just in case there's a big purchase I want to make. (For instance, 3 skeins of Sundara's Fingering Silky Merino would be 1500 yards, meaning I'd have to average >50 yards a day to buy a sweater's worth.) This also gives me incentive to keep my knit yardage up since it won't 'go to waste' if I don't use it that month. There needs to be a penalty for non-compliance.... how about NO yarn can be bought the following month?*

To make it interesting, I'm going to use my job-jar approach whenever I can. Depending on what else is on my needles in a given month, I'll draw from my big project and/or small project stash jars and knit with whatever yarn comes up. Ravelry will make finding a suitable project for the chosen yarn easy, and it will be fun to revisit yarns I feel in love with once upon a time.

Some progress to report - I finished the first sleeve of my Sand and Surf hoodie:

Words can't express how much I love this yarn and this colorway. Cool oceany aqua and warm sandy taupe.

* Yarn bought in Sundara's sweater subscription is exempt from this. 1500 yards of this showed up this week. Technically it was bought before I started this.

Reboot

2009-03-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to get myself together this month. I'm not waiting until the 31st to redo my goals, 'cause I know already I'm not coming anywhere close to achieving them.

I did finish my Dad's mitts last month. Check. (And the shoulder did stop hurting.)

Haven't touched the Blackberry scarf since it became obvious it wouldn't be done in time for my friend's 50th birthday. I gave her this instead:

I got the body (sans hood) done on my hoodie, but the shoulders are too narrow. It will have to be ripped back to nearly the armholes and reknit. Can't get psyched for that right now with spring almost on us, so that is in hibernation until fall.

I got started on my Après Surf Hoodie in my Alpine Algae Sundara FSM -

LOVE this color! Very beachy. Aqua and taupe. Will I be done by 3/31? What do you think...

I will accomplish one of my goals for this month - I just had to start my Yarn Chef project -

Did. Wakame tunic from Interweave Knits Summer '08 in Yarn Chef's Café au Lait in Picholine. ("Little olive(s)" I believe.) This color is the devil to capture. I love this yarn. I hope I'm 25% done 'cause my yarn's 25% gone.

I still have 10 days to work, and there's a knitting retreat in there. So knitting will be done. I may start Amelia ahead of schedule to have a project to work on when I'm not up to lace.

The Weatherman was Right

2009-03-02T10:17:00.000-08:00

10 inches baby.

IT'S SNOWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-01T14:32:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite things about this house is watching snow fall in the woods while sitting inside drinking tea and knitting. We've only had a couple of small snowfalls since moving here about 14 months ago. This one could be as much as 10 inches! Yay!

Now I'm gonna go brew a cup of tea, and sit here and knit -

Okay. A Plan. For the next couple of months anyway.

2009-02-25T13:34:00.000-08:00

This month - finish Dad's mitts. Let shoulder stop hurting :(

March

finish Blackberry scarf

finish Ribbed Hoodie

sweater from one of my Sundara FSMs for Knitalong

start Yarn Chef project for Knitalong

April

finish Yarn Chef project

Random Small Project

Amelia

May

Random Bigger Project

more that I will decide later

The Blackberry Scarf - Adia in Sundara Sock, Night Blossom

Ribbed Hoodie in Cascade 220 Café and Japanese Maple held together

The Yarn Chef yarn I think I will use for the knitalong (subject to change of course) - Café au Lait in Picholine

The Sundara I think I want to use isn't here yet - Fingering Silky Merino in Alpine Algae (blue-green and brown I think...)

The Amelia will be out of this - Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label in Stormy (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5523290)

I'm going to have two yarn jars to draw the Random Projects from - one for small projects, one for bigger ones. The list of yarn I have for big projects (>500 yds) is 93 items long. The list of yarn for small projects is 23 long. I think that's weird. And expensive.

So, this should keep me hopping for awhile. I will at least do a status update/regrouping post near the end of each month.

Oops...

2009-02-22T15:17:00.000-08:00

I didn't realize anyone read this (other than my daughter!) much less commented on it, so when I was flipping back through my posts and saw a comment here and there I felt bad that I hadn't responded! I didn't even know if there was a way to be notified of comments, but I've fixed that so hopefully I will find out about them in a timely manner now.

I guess I won't get rid of this blog, although I doubt I'll post too often. I may do another goal list for 2009 (a little late, but whatever) as that was a big help in keeping me motivated the first year I did it. I don't want to duplicate what I do on Ravelry, so that's still the best place to see what I'm working on. I will try to keep the cool knitting meter I found on Malgorzata's blog up-to-date.

I do have a comment to make about my stash - I am mortified that I am teetering on the brink of having a 2nd page of stash (list view) on Ravelry! And that's not really all of my yarn - I haven't entered the odd skein here or there (except for Sundara) unless it's lace weight. So most of my stash items = a sweater or a shawl. (FYI - one list page on Rav = 100 items.) I am going to try to use keeping my stash to one page as incentive to cut back on buying yarn. (Which pretty much means I have to use up a stash item before I can buy anything else! Ack!) I'm learning to use Excel in a computer class I'm taking and I've downloaded my stash into a spreadsheet - pretty cool! I keep thinking it would be fun to have all my stashed yarn listed on little strips of paper that I put in a jar. When I want to start something new, I would draw a slip our and have to use whatever yarn was on it. This would not mean I couldn't also have other things on the needle, but that I'd always have one project on the needles from the Stash Jar. Maybe that will be part of my goal list. We'll see. I think I need to go knit now.

The Process

2009-02-06T16:51:00.000-08:00

1. Hmmm....

2. oooohh - this looks So Cool!

3. I wonder if it can be done...

Yes! But needs some tweaking...

4. Little tweak

think I'm ready to knit a whole block...

5. BIG tweak (this was hard!)

6. Plays with colors/tweaks some more

7. Plays with more colors/tweaks some more/tests directions

8. Plays with border idea

9. I think I've got it! I'll use the Good Stuff this time!

The maths -

The finished product!

New Pattern!

2008-12-16T18:18:00.000-08:00

The strangest thing has happened! I've been hit by a couple of pattern ideas like a one-two punch! I'm still working on one, but am in the processing of trying to get the other up on Ravelry as a cheap (but not free) download.

It's a double-knit scarf made with Kureyon or Silk Garden and it is so cool! Look -

My favorite is the Silk Garden one - it feels so cushy and soft and I love the colors.

It was so cool to get inspired again (what is it with me and Noro anyway?) but between knitting as fast as I can, exams, Christmas, and the usual rat race, I feel like I'm being pulled in 50 different directions.

Superfluous?

2008-08-12T20:55:00.001-07:00

Well, it seems that Ravelry has taken over the job of keeping me on-task with my knitting. This blog is redundant given that all the project info is in my ravelry notebook. I'm not quite ready to delete it, but I don't see any future posts. I need to read back through and see if I need to save anything.

Becky - she is done!

2008-06-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

I had to wait a week for 16 inch size 3 needles to finish the armholes. They finally came today and I finished it up this afternoon. Haven't washed/blocked yet. I'm a little nervous about the ends staying put. I left long tails that I won't clip until after the bath.

This is my second straight pattern converted to knitting in the round. So easy that I just don't get why the pattern wasn't written that way to begin with.

Here's a list of what I'd like to get knit this summer -

Picovoli in Hempathy or Silky Wool
Tomato in Knitpicks Comfy
Martine in Knitpicks CotLin
Finish Birds Nest shawl
Finish Heartland shawl
Finish Shoulder shawl

I'm also working on a modified BYOB from the summer issue of knitty. I had Cotton Ease leftover from my Yoga Hoodie, Cache Coeur, and Salt Peanuts, so I'm using them to make a knitting bag. Since it won't be for groceries, I'm leaving the mesh part out. I'm using the leftover cotton ease in big stripes to minimize ends needing to be woven in.

I need to swatch the lovely Knitpicks Comfy I hope to use for my Tomato -

More FOs

2008-05-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

Salt Peanuts from an old Interweave Knits. I used Cotton-Ease (again) and knit it in one piece to the armholes. After using short rows and a 3-needle bind off on the shoulders I knit the sleeves from the top down. Only seaming required was joining the collar at the back and sewing it down. Using a ribbon to tie it as the pattern calls for makes the collar want to roll, so I tried a pin and that seemed to work.

This is anther Lizard Ridge dishcloth for a knitting friend's birthday -

And this is my favorite of the ones I've knit so far -

I also did a solid one -

This is what I've been working on since Sunday - it's hand-dyed alpaca from Rivanna River Farms -

The colors are not showing up well - pretty aquas and soooooooooo soft! I showed great restraint at the Sedalia Fiber Festival as this was my only purchase!

New Pattern! (sorta)

2008-05-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

I said I'd probably never publish another pattern, but I'm not sure this counts anyway since it's basically the same one with different yarn and a couple of rows of garter stitch. I've put it on Ravely as a free download. My Ravelry username is LAylor13, or you can search for "Lizard Ridge Dishcloth." I have not been able to get a really good shot of this particular one - the colors look washed out no matter where I take the picture, and now that it's been in use for a few months, it's all faded anyway -

Pedicure Socks and Cache Coeur

2008-05-16T18:56:00.001-07:00

I think she (DD) likes them. Doesn't make me want to knit socks though.

Finally done and I wore it today. DD wants to borrow it, so I guess that's a compliment.

After all that tedious edging, the bind off was too tight and I had to REDO THE WHOLE OUTSIDE EDGE!!! I couldn't use dpns like I did on the second underarm (which worked great btw) but since there were soooo many stitches packed on they didn't get all crossed up on the cable like before. Plus I used my Harmony interchangeables instead of my Addi Natura's and they are smoother so the stitches moved along more easily. I bound off with bigger needles and it came out much better. I didn't make the ties, but decided I did want a front closure of some sort and found a pretty silver dogwood blossom pin that belonged to my grandmother that's perfect. The color in this picture has a strange purple cast - the actual color is more like the progress shot a few posts ago.

I started yet another project in Cotton Ease - (I really should have washed something to see if it holds up. Hope there are no nasty surprises on laundry day) Salt Peanuts from Interweave Knits Spring 2004. This one is heavily modified. I knit the body in one piece to the underarms which was easy to figure out - I just took out the selvedge stitches and combined all the instructions. When I divided for the fronts and back at the armholes things got hairy. Someone on Ravelry said "Holy complicated shaping Batman!" I couldn't have said it better myself. Migraine inducing, and I'm not sure I got it exactly right. There was some vagueness in a spot or two that I may or may not have interpreted correctly and may or may not have done the same way on both fronts. I tried it on after doing a 3-needle bind off for the shoulders and it seems to be okay. (Small rant: why would a pattern chock full of short rows NOT use them for the shoulders? No biggie to figure out myself but I did find it odd.) I've picked the stitches up for sleeve #1 and am using Barbara Walker's method to knit the sleeve cap from the top down (more short rows.) I had to redo it once - my gauge is a bit tighter when only knitting (no purling) so I had to go up a needle size to keep it from being a bit snug.

I've also made one Christmas present mug cozy from leftover gold Aurora 8. Picture to come eventually.

Hmmm, after my recent rip-fest, I'm not sure what's left on my to-do list for this year. Let's see!

Shawl-collared vest COMPLETE
Fix DH's sweater DONE
Finish Tangled Yoke DONE
Toggles on CPH (will wait 'til fall)
Finish Malabrigo sweater FROGGED
Finish Silky Wool sweater FROGGED
Finish Cotton Patiné top FROGGED
Bird's Nest shawl (UFO - 33% completed) (will work on this summer)
Heartland shawl (UFO - maybe 15% completed) (ditto)
Lamb's Pride cardigan FROGGED
Einstein coat (UFO - about 60% completed) (will pick up in the fall)
Celtic Knot FROGGED

That's 8 UFO's/projects dealt with since the first of the year. I'm not positive I will finish the shawls or the Einstein this year, but I do plan to make some progress anyway.

No regrets so far about the ripping out. I think it has freed me up to knit some stuff that I can wear right now. As soon as I finish Salt Peanuts, I have a ginormous skein of Sugar 'n Cream in a pretty cinnamon shade to make a summer top with. I really like 'Becky' in Debbie Bliss Summer Essentials which I'm going to try to find at the LYS tomorrow after Yoga class. Gotta love Ravelry - I never would have found that pattern otherwise.

I finally got around to 'registering' as a designer on Ravelry. I have a tiny little pattern I plan to put on as a free download as soon as it get it all polished up.

More frogging and a new project that's already done!

2008-04-28T11:29:00.000-07:00

I frogged the Silky Wool sweater and tossed the cotton patiné top. I tried the Silky Wool sweater on and wasn't happy enough with what was already knit to keep on. The cotton patiné top I would have worn if I'd been able to knit the sleeves, but I really didn't like it as a sleeveless top. I didn't frog it because of the fading.

One pedicure sock is done, I'll post pictures when I finish the other one - I'm about 1/2 way through now. The Cache Coeur is being edged. Which is very tedious. And involves picking up lots of stitches. And doing this cool 4-wrap stitch which is a complete pain to slide along the circular cable up to the needle to be knit. I literally spent hours coaxing the stitches along for one side edging. I think when I get the energy up to tackle the next side I will use a bunch of dpns to do the wrapped stitches. This may take awhile...

I started and finished a mug cozy in a day.

Can anyone say "Christmas presents"?

And, here's a better picture of the back of the Yoga Hoodie -

Completed: 1 Started: 2 Frogged: 1

2008-04-21T19:32:00.000-07:00

The Yoga Hoodie is done - I love it! Here's a shot before blocking -

I cast on for some Pedicure Socks from knitty and the Cache Coeur from Weekend Knits.

Ravelry is really getting my knitting organized! It's so nice to have all the things I want to knit stored in one place, plus a stash inventory and a list of other peoples' projects to check for tips, problems, yarn substitutions, etc. (That's how I decided to knit the Yoga Hoodie with the Cotton Ease in my stash.) At first I was putting everything I wanted to knit into my queue which got huge fast. Then I decided to only put things in my queue that I expect to knit in the (fairly) near future. The rest are listed as favorite patterns. I've also enjoyed clicking on the yarn tab to see what others have made with yarns I have and how they liked them. I haven't participated much in the forums yet, although I do have several areas I keep up with.

The Malabrigo sweater is no more. Rather than just ripping back to the armholes I decided to rip it all the way out and return the yarn to the stash. Not sure right now what I want to knit with it.

Time to check on the goals for this year again:

Shawl-collared vest COMPLETE
Fix DH's sweater DONE
Finish Tangled Yoke DONE
Toggles on CPH
Finish Malabrigo sweater FROGGED
Finish Silky Wool sweater (UFO - needs sleeves)
Finish Cotton Patiné top (UFO - seam and knit edging for armholes)
Bird's Nest shawl (UFO - 33% completed)
Heartland shawl (UFO - maybe 15% completed)
Lamb's Pride cardigan FROGGED
Einstein coat (UFO - about 60% completed)
Celtic Knot FROGGED

So I've dealt with half of my list - either by finishing or frogging. Hopefully I'll get 5-8 done this spring and summer and finish up the Einstein and CPH this fall.

New project alert!

2008-04-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

I actually cast on for this a little over a week ago. It's the Olive Branch Yoga Hoodie from WEBS. I've never knit a sweater from the top down before, and I'm loving it! The hood is done, but not seamed yet, the sleeves are done, and last night I started on the lower body. Can't wait to get to the cable in the center back. I hope to have it done to wear to my knitting group next week.

I finished the back panel of the Not-so-warm Einstein and put it away for the season. It's not good to knit with a big old pile of wool in your lap this time of year! The other day I pulled the warm-weather projects out of the bin -

Silky wool swearter - 2 strands knit as one - 1 of rust, 1 of brown. Just needs sleeves.

Bird's Nest Shawl. One third done. Two strands of KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud.

Heartland Shawl. Henry's Attic Monty 3/9.

There's one other project I forgot to photograph - a cabled sweater in Cotton Patiné that has had a traumatic childhood. I knit all the pieces, but the sleeves faded (not sure why - I don't think they were in the sun...) so much that they don't look like the same yarn. The current plan is to leave the sleeves off and make it into a sleeveless top. We'll see. It may end up in the trash.

Frog Day

2008-04-06T20:52:00.001-07:00

I ripped out the Shoulder Scarf to be restarted - there was a small strange place that bothered me and I couldn't seem to straighten it out so I'm starting over. I hadn't got far, so no big deal. I also made the decision and ripped the Lamb's Pride Cardigan and am in the process of ripping the Celtic Knot sweater. It came to me that if I don't pick a project back up when the season rolls around again, there's a reason. Both of these were heavily modified patterns and I can't remember exactly what I was thinking or doing, even though I did keep (pithy) notes. I've probably progressed enough since setting them aside that I wouldn't do them the same way now. Sometimes you just need to retain the lessons learned and move on. The Malabrigo sweater is next. I don't think it will be as hard to rip that as it was to rip out all those lovely cables. That takes 2 more projects off my to-do list for the year! I think April is spring cleaning month in one Ravelry group I'm in - UFOs. Knit ‘em, rip ‘em, or toss ‘em!

Finished Objects!

2008-04-04T07:40:00.001-07:00

The Tangled Yoke and Rib Warmer are both done!

I used grosgrain ribbon on the Tangled Yoke button flap to make the buttons more likely to stay on and not damage the knitting. It could really use ribbon on the buttonhole side, but I'm not sure I'll be able to psych myself up for all the measuring and sewing involved. It's a bit snug on me, which would be fine if the buttons would stay closed, but it looks better on DD.

I ended up using an odd skein of Silk Garden to edge the rib warmer instead of my Einstein Kureyon. The pattern called for 5 inches of kniting under each arm before turning to go up the fronts. I thought that sounded like too much and only knit 4 inches, but I wish I'd knit only about 2 'cause the arm holes are a little big. I wasn't sure what effect decreasing rows there would have on the whole entity, never having seen one of these in the flesh before. I figured this would be a test run. I've ordered a leaflet from Schoolhouse Press with other options. I have to say that I do like this versions method of doing the back in one piece (not being a fan of seaming in general and seaming garter in particular!)

And I've started something new - the Anne Shoulder Scarf only in Smooshy instead of Anne. Love the color - it's called Good Luck Jade. This was souvenier yarn - from Island Knits in Pawley's Island, SC. Spring break was good knitting/reading/watching movie weather.

A little stash enhancement -

Donegal Tweed from Orchardside and Araucania Naturewool from Yarnela (eBay.) Probably the tweed for a vest - no idea on the Araucania. It may be my favorite yarn ever and I am hoarding it. I have eggplant, brick, tan, blue-green, and a few odd skeins of light blue and brown. I want more.

Re-evaluating 3 months in

2008-03-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

Original goals for this year:

Shawl-collared vest (new) COMPLETE
Fix DH's sweater (needs to be lengthened) DONE
Finish Tangled Yoke (needs buttons and underarm seams) Underarms done
Toggles on CPH
Finish (???) Malabrigo sweater (UFO - just needs sleeves and neckband)
Finish Silky Wool sweater (UFO - I think it just needs sleeves)
Finish Cotton Patine top (UFO - seam and knit edging for armholes)
Bird's Nest shawl (UFO - maybe 25% completed)
Heartland shawl (UFO - maybe 15% completed)
Lamb's Pride cardigan (finish or rip - needs sleeves, seaming)
Einstein coat (UFO - about 20% completed) Now over half-way done
Celtic Knot (UFO - about 30% complete)

I guess that's not too bad for less than 3 months work. I have started another project - a version of Elizabeth Zimmerman's Rib Warmer Vest that was in an old issue of Knitters Magazine. I'm nearly halfway done with that. I was wearing the Shawl-collared vest so much I figured I must need another vest! I'm using some Bartlett 2-ply I got on eBay years ago. It's a pretty Bronze color. It's been hanging out in the work basket with the Noro Einstein coat and they look so nice together that I may use some of that Noro for the i-cord edging.

I've modified the Einstein design by knitting the body in one piece for a few inches to avoid having batwing sleeves. I'm pretty much flying by the seat of my pants with this one, making it up as I go along. As you can tell from my past history, I'm not put off by the idea of ripping it out if it doesn't work.

Speaking of ripping out - I'm leaning that way on the Malabrigo sweater. I love the yarn and the sweater is just not living up to expectations. Someone at my knitting group was telling me of a way to alternate yarns when knitting in the round. I may start over trying that. I've pulled out the Celtic knot pullover and Lamb's Pride cabled cardigan, but no decisions yet on their fates.

Progress Report

2008-02-23T19:29:00.000-08:00

I've finished the modifcation to Husband's sweater to make it longer. No pictures - it looks the same as before - just longer ;o)

That's 2 down, 10 to go. I don't know if I'll be able to tackle the seaming of the Tangled Yoke in the next week - it's looking pretty hectic and I need to be able to slow down and concentrate. I'm thinking this will be the plan when I do get around to it:

Seam underarms
Block
Darn in ends
Sew grosgrain ribbon on button placket
Sew buttons
Wear it!

Still wearing the vest everyday. I've gotten lots of compliments on it.

I have to decide if I'm going to frog the Malabrigo sweater before I knit any more on the sleeves. Need to slow down and concentrate for that too. My best bet at this point is probably to pick up the Not-so-warm Einstein. Everything else just takes too much thinking for my poor overloaded brain.

What did I wear before I finished this vest?

2008-02-20T15:29:00.000-08:00

I finished the knitting except for the button tabs a few days ago, and started wearing it as soon as it dried after blocking. I got the buttons and tabs on two days ago. It's very warm and comfortable to wear, although I do need to wear it with a turtleneck, which is okay since I can't stand to have my neck exposed in cold weather anyway. While I was working on it, my fingers did get better, but that may have been partially due to the warm weather we were having. Now it's cold again, I'm done with the vest, and my fingers are starting to split :o( Maybe I should fondle one of the remaining skeins twice a day?

I've ripped out the ribbing on Husband's sweater and knit most of the additional stockinette. I inadvertently picked up 6's instead of 7's and didn't realize it until I noticed a definite ridge where I started knitting again. By then I'd knit too much to rip out, so I'm hoping that blocking will disguise the ridge and that the tighter gauge will work okay since DH's hips are smaller than his tummy!

I've decided to use some grosgrain ribbon on the buttonband of the Tangled Yoke cardigan. I really hate sewing buttons on knit garments, and I'm hoping the ribbon will help make the job easier and more durable.

I'm really not happy with the patterns the variegation is making in the Malabrigo sweater. It looks better on the reverse side, so I guess I will wear it that way unless I decide to rip it out. It's hard to alternate skeins to avoid that issue when you're knitting in the round!

Nearly done

2008-02-17T06:51:00.000-08:00

The shawl-collared vest just needs buttons and tabs. Now I have 3 sweaters to sew buttons on and 2 that need tabs. At least I finally found buttons for the Tangled Yoke cardigan, so once I get the buttons for the vest I can have a finishing party.

Started taking the ribbing off of Husband's sweater - pretty tedious. The old ribbing was an inch and a half. He wants it 3 inches longer so I think I'll knit 2 1/2 more inches of stockinette and then 2 inch ribbing.

The color of this yarn (Cascade 220 in Lichen) does not photograph well - it's a really lovely green with heathery bits of other colors. I'll try to get a picture outside once I get the reknitting done.

Progress report

2008-02-12T03:53:00.000-08:00

Moving right along on the vest - the body is complete and one armhole and shoulder are done. Just the other armhole/shoulder and then the shawl collar left (which I understand takes forever.) My finger tips are in better shape, but I don't know if it's the lanolin-rich yarn or the warm weather we've been having. I bought 2 different sets of buttons to try out for the Tangled Yoke, and dug up instructions for lenghthening DH's sweater by ripping out the cast on at the waist which should be a lot quicker than rekniting from the armholes up. I also knit a few rows on the sleeve of the Malabrigo sweater when I needed some mindless knitting and the vest was at a point that required too much attention.

I hope I can make it to our knit group tonight. I haven't been in ages because of scheduling conflicts. I think we will have some new people that found out about us on Ravelry.

2008 Knitting Goals

2008-01-18T17:30:00.000-08:00

Shawl-collared vest (new)
Fix DH's sweater (needs to be lengthened)
Finish Tangled Yoke (needs buttons and underarm seams)
Toggles on CPH
Finish Malabrigo sweater (UFO - just needs sleeves and neckband)
Finish Silky Wool sweater (UFO - I think it just needs sleeves)
Finish Cotton Patine top (UFO - seam and knit edging for armholes)
Bird's Nest shawl (UFO - maybe 25% completed)
Heartland shawl (UFO - maybe 15% completed)
Lamb's Pride cardigan (finish or rip - needs sleeves, seaming)
Einstein coat (UFO - about 20% completed)
Celtic Knot (UFO - about 30% complete)

I'm sure other things will slip in there as well, but I'd really like to clean out the UFOs. I find it hard to remember exactly what I was doing when I let them marinate too long. I should take better notes, but this is supposed to be fun, not a job, right?

I did finish 45 items last year. 5 sweaters, 1 vest, 5 shawls, 1 hat, 4 Calorimetrys/ies?, 1 felted bag (that morphed into a cat mat,) 5 scarves, 6 Itty Bitty bears, 2 pairs of felted clogs, 1 pair fulled socks, 1 felted box, and 13 dishcloths. Surely I can manage the 12 items listed this year.

The shawl-collared vest I started 2 days ago is in "Handknitting with Meg Swansen" and I'm using 3-ply wool from the MacAusland Woolen Mill on PEI. It has lots of lanolin and I'm hoping it will help heal my sore, dry fingertips.

The husband sweater was much worn last winter, but he would like it a bit longer, so I will rip back to where I joined the sleeves and add a bit, then reknit the top. No big deal, and a lot easier than knitting a whole new sweater.

I should've finished the Tangled Yoke a couple of months ago, but I'm having trouble finding buttons and I'm putting off seaming the underarms.

The Central Park Hoodie is technically a finished object and was worn quite a bit last year, but I think I would prefer being able to close it, so have found toggles and just need to decide how I want to proceed. I will be doing loops of some sort, possibly like those in the shawl-collared vest pattern.

The rest are just UFOs that have been sitting too long. One or two may end up being ripped out rather than finished. More details as I get to them. The plan is to tackle the list from the top down, but I reserve the right to change the order or to jump around, working some here and some there. Whatever it takes to keep me moving through the list. There are lots of new projects clamoring to be knit, but I think 10 works-in-progress is plenty.

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

2007-09-13T18:34:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-01T12:58:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

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

2007-02-28T07:43:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-26T07:29:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-16T06:29:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-11T15:02:00.000-08:00

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...

2007-02-04T12:26:00.000-08:00

...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

2007-02-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-29T10:53:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-27T05:22:00.000-08:00

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...

2007-01-22T12:03:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-19T05:51:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-01-12T18:45:00.000-08:00

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...

2007-01-06T19:54:00.000-08:00

... 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

2007-01-04T13:43:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-02T13:23:00.000-08:00

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:

Cascade 220 - any of the heathers or tweeds specifically
Cascade 128
Araucania Nature Wool (Worsted or Chunky)
Artful Yarns Jazz (discontinued)
Jo Sharp Silkroad (tweed or not, any weight)
Rowan Tweed (any)
Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool and Silky Tweed
Malabrigo
Noro Kureyon
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.

Some progress and some temptation

2006-12-31T18:26:00.000-08:00

I have the husband's sweater done to the armholes. I still have to knit the sleeves and then join everything together. I've done all I can on the hat to be sent to Iraq - DD ran out of yarn on hers and had to use part of my ball to finish, then I knit as much as I could on mine. Will have to go get another on Wednesday. My brother and SIL gave me a gift certificate for the LYS, so I'm debating whether to get yarn or books and other things.

I've started the first baby sweater - from stash yarn! My oldest stash yarn, to be exact. When I first picked knitting up again about 5 years ago, it was because of Barbara Walker's Learn to Knit Afghan book. I completed about half of the squares and lost interest, but I still have some unused yarn. I want to put together the squares I did make, but don't plan to make any more. That leaves me with a bunch of Aurora 8 in 6 different colors to use. Not enough of any one color for a sweater, but I think I can use it up on hats, scarves, mitts, and that new Calorimetry pattern on knitty. I just made one in Classic Elite's Waterlily, which feels a lot like Aurora 8. The two colors I'm using for the babies are Pistachio and Blue Topaz - pale yellow green and pale blue. The Iraq hat is in Aurora 8 also - I'd forgotten what a pleasure it is to knit with. I think that's part of the reason I fell in love with knitting this time around. If I'd picked up some cheap, scratchy yarn for that afghan, I wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much.

The WIPs and UFOs

2006-12-30T06:30:00.000-08:00

Currently working on or planning to pick up asap:

Sweater for the Husband
Felted bag
FLAK sweater
Partial redo of Orange Tweed sweater

Must knits:

Cap to be sent to LYS owner's son's unit in Iraq - asap
2 baby sweaters - asap
Friend's scarf - asap
Felted lunch bag for daughter
Felted box for Dad's birthday - March 2
Something for Mom - March 4

UFOs that can wait:

Bird's Nest Shawl
Diamond Fantasy Shawl
Charlotte's Web III (needs border)
Einstein Coat
Learn-to-Knit Afghan
Celtic Cable Sweater
Mohair Wrap

Plan of attack:

Cap to be sent to Iraq (should be quick)
Finish Husband's sweater (It was supposed to be a Christmas present after all)
Baby sweaters (she's due soon!)
Friend's scarf (it would be nice if she could wear it this Winter...)

This will have to be reevaluated as the parent birthdays approach. I may try to work the lunch bag in as my mindless project. Once these are done, I will prioritize the rest.

Last Gasp

2006-12-29T11:48:00.000-08:00

Had to make a quick trip to the LYS to get one more skein of Lamb's Pride Bulky to finish the felted boxes for my brother and his wife. Naturally my daughter and I had to check out the sale items. She talked me into buying some discontinued Classic Elite Wings - 11 skeins in Woodland Green. ("It's not January yet!") Hopefully it will be enough for a shortened Viking Turid. Several items also got added to the to-be-knit-soon list: the shop owner gave both of us a skein of Aurora 8 to knit hats for her son's unit in Iraq, and we ran into my daughter's babysitter from years ago - she's expecting twins very soon! I think I can manage a couple of baby sweaters from the stash.

So, I have this last felted box, my husband's sweater, a hat, 2 baby sweaters, and a scarf for a friend (she bought the yarn) in my must-do pile. Then I can attack the UFOs and the stash. I'll work on a UFO list for next time. No way I'm listing the stash. It would be too demoralizing - I want to pretend I am going to make a sizable dent in it this year. I reserve the right to unload some stuff on eBay if I decide I'm never going to get around to knitting it.

A New Year's Resolution?

2006-12-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

Do I dare? Can I be trusted? I want to resolve to knit solely from the stash for 2007. I have too much yarn. Lovely yarn that I bought because I wanted to knit it. Not quite S.A.B.L.E., but getting there. Once the UFOs are down to a reasonable amount and I'm casting about for a new project, with nothing I specific that I want to knit, I thought I might write down the stash yarns on scraps of paper, put them in a hat, and knit up whatever I pull out. (I may decide to leave the bulky and aran weight yarns out of the Spring and Summer drawings, and the lace weights out of the Fall and Winter ones.) If I can do it, I could reward myself with enough Silk Garden to do that Garterlac throw I've been coveting. Sounds like a plan, but I still don't know if I can be trusted. There is that trip to Orchardside coming up in March. I may have to plan an exception for that. I really hate to make resolutions and not keep them. If I post it on the internet, maybe I will be shamed into submission.