Spring is here

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

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

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

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...

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

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!

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!