Finished: The Stash Busting Edition.

Finished a pair of legwarmers this week made with Berroco Vintage in a fantastic brown colorway, Chana Dal. I have made leg warmers before and find that I hardly ever wear them. I tend to think they are practical, but with my lack of fall/winter boots (hint to my husband) I find that I wear them a lot less than I would like to. Anyhow, what a better way to welcome the cooler weather than with a pair of these?! (And a mega cute--though unamused--cat.)

Yesterday I finished up a Star Crossed Beret with left over Malabrigo Worsted in the Frank Orche colorway... this was the yarn I bought before our vacation in June. I only had one skein and had a rough time trying to figure out what to use it for. I searched through my Ravelry queue and decided it was finally time to make the (maybe?) internet's most popular cabled hat. I won't lie, there were many bumps along the way.... You can anticipate many foiled rows and stitches when speed knitting but overall the result is pretty comfy and now I will have another yellow hat... can't really have too many. Unfortunately I found photographing this color to be an epic defeat. The color is more on the mustard end of the spectrum but many of the photos make the shade look like a yellow crayon. (Alex is still very interested.)

So, two projects in one week and not a single dime spent on yarn... I suppose that is the nice part of collecting: knowing that when you are dieting there will always be something to tempt you? I can see my dear Phillip's eyes rolling as I type this. In full disclosure my yarn diet was due to the fact that my LYS had a huge sale yesterday and somehow I have found some way to cram 13 more balls of yarn into my tiny storage space. I suppose I used 2 skeins, and needed to adopt a few more to take its place?

(Purchased yesterday were 10 balls of Louisa Harding Albero in black for my Creature Comforts Cardi, and 3 balls of Rowan Felted Tweed for my Guernsey Wrap, which was one of the selected "make me" projects from my poll a few months ago.)

I am on a serious knitting streak as my KAL with Vanessa is starting this Monday and I have taken it upon myself to begin my Beekeepers Quilt. ((There are about a zillion things I could say about this quilt pattern! Tiny Owl Knits (who also produced the pattern for the above legwarmers) has always been on the top of my list for wonderful, and creative pieces, but this blanket is going to be amazing! With each puff taking me somewhere around 30-60 minutes I anticipate I will have a 5x7 blanket in about a year. (Too much excitement, so I am restraining myself from !!!'s) My puffs are currently at the depressing count of two, but I am thinking it will be a wonderful project for those down times when maybe my inspiration is lacking.))

Also in September I will be working on another KAL for the drop dead gorgeous/kill me now/that is beautiful Haruni Shawl. This pattern has been haunting me for at least two years. I have been going back and forth about whether or not I actually had the skill to complete it.. I discussed it with some Rav friends and they have assured me that with their help, it will be a breeze (I guess we'll see?). I haven't decided on yarn for that just yet but I am very seriously considering Madelinetosh Merino Light... Now I just have to convince Phillip that I need to make one. For me, it feels like a culmination of many years of staying up late, pouring over books and youtube videos, ripping out projects, crying, cursing, and the realization that I am finally a very "serious" Knitter.

My latest knitting queue looks a little like this:

Edie Shawl (KAL)

Haruni (KAL)

Beekeepers Quilt (ongoing)

Creature Comforts Cardi

Guernsey Wrap

Marian Cowl

Lida Shawl

Georgia Vest

Orchids and Fairy Lights

Happy knitting!

Finished: Imogen

Ten days ago I embarked on my Imogen cowl with some left over stash Madelinetosh Pashmina. It was a long road with some bumps along the way, but I am happy to say I am finally finished and the end result is to die for. The pattern is really well written, but the stitch pattern repeats are on both the right and wrong side which makes the project a little less mindless than I usually prefer. Somewhere at the beginning, I thought it looked "off" (bad words if you ask me), so I went down a needle size and restarted. This is something I almost never do. I always trust in the pattern and my knitting skill but I am really glad I did. Something about the lace being a little tighter helps all those ssk's be a little more visible than my first version. I won't lie, somewhere before my skein was over, I started dreading it, getting bored, restless, just dying for something new, but I am in love with the end result.

As for my knit-along, Vanessa and I have decided to work the Edie Shawl, another pattern by Quince & Co. I am dying to get started and spent the better part of a day fawning over and winding my Quince Chickadee yarn. Just can't wait to get my hands on it.

Happy knitting!

Progress & Planning

Since I finished Pogona, I have been working on putting together my queue for next-up projects. With a knit-along that is scheduled to begin with a Ravelry friend in the coming weeks, I have been having a hard time deciding what comes first and what can wait until we aren't all boiling with this summer weather. I am one of the few knitters I know who doesn't like having too many works in progress going at once.

I recently cast on Imogen Cowl by Carrie Bostick Hoge. The lace pattern matched with superb Quince and Co. styling made this jump up in my queue. I began working with some Madelinetosh Pashmina but after a few repeats, I am not so sure the combination really works. I never thought I would ever say I didn't want to work with Madtosh but for whatever reason the two aren't matching up with my ideas. I think I will likely seek out some Ella Rae Lace Merino and start over, but for now the remnants are sitting idly in my drawer waiting their fate along with not only my Stripe Study Shawl in Rowan Felted Tweed but my Different Lines which I started with Bergere Alpaga. For whatever reason my mind can't process the w&t concept and they look "all wrong". I know it is a hurdle I will pass soon enough but I just can't wait for the day when both are done and I can say I have jumped on the Veera Välimäki band wagon.

For our KAL, we have decided to knit Snow Drops and Snap Peas. The circular shawl has been in my favorites for some time and I am really excited to get moving with some support along the way. I am not sure of my yarn choice just yet, but I imagine it will likely be Malabrigo Sock as I loved the drape of Pogona and can find it in such a variety of stunning colors. At this point, I am betting to be browsing all the yarn websites until late in the night before making my final selection. Nothing is better than the anticipation of such a difficult and productive project!

As for my late summer/early fall prospective projects, I am currently swooning over:

Marian Cowl

Some Cloudy Day

Golden Wheat Cardigan

Steamside

Alaria

and because I have a bird loving husband who supports my yarn habit, a Birdwing just for him.

Happy Knits!

Finished: Pogona

Because I am on a serious Stephen West streak, I decided to knit up Pogona a few days ago. I had always admired how the fabric draped and had some really lovely Malabrigo sock just for it.

I have a massive amount of notes on my project page on Rav so I will keep this short (visit me there if you need more information). I really do love the finished product but unfortunately my knitting ADD got to me. I finished a few inches before the pattern said to (oh well, I am short..?!) and because eventually each row was taking me somewhere around 15 minutes, I forced myself to sit down, watch endless episodes of Mad Men, and just finish. The result is really lovely, the drape is divine, the color perfect, but overall this was a serious snooze fest.

Finished: Dolinar

I recently decided to get over my "hatred" of cables... I know it sounds harsh, but for some reason I always found them really uncomfortable in pattern. I love the idea and the look of them but hardly ever wanted to muck up my knitting with a third needle and a fussy pattern. Anyway, earlier this week I decided to get over my avoidance and work on Dolinar, a pattern by Stephen West. I used 1.3 skeins of Malabrigo Worsted in Polar Morn colorway. I should warn that the yarn had a lot of pink tones, which sort of shocked me, but since it's for me, I am thrilled.

Within 24 hours I was finished and had a comfy, cabled cowl for the anticipated fall and winter. Somehow I was able to work with 100% wool in this terrible heat, so I have a good feeling about this one.

Next up is the Stripe Study Shawl, in Rowan Felted Tweed and Pogona in Malabrigo Sock.. Yum!

Summer knitting.. or not.

It has been a tremendous amount of time since my last post so here goes the update: I took a majority of early summer off from my knitting and am beginning to pick up speed again, right where I left off. Because of my new job I have plenty of time to scour the internet and fall in love with new things I am dying to try--Quince & Co yarn for one!... (But I won't mention how said job means my knitting budget has been cut some because who needs the first note to be a sour one?) so it seems like a daily task to keep myself from hitting "order" buttons all over the web.

I haven't accumulated much yarn in the last few months other than a few skeins of Malabrigo which I picked up before our summer excursion last month. Unfortunately, I can't say this summer's road trip/knitting has gone any better than last year: At a lovely shop called Edla's Yarns I picked up some Classic Elite yarn that I don't remember much about. On our long car ride home (something like 10 hours) I decided to begin a lace hat, which at the time was pretty intricate for my skills (Ahem, I have come a long way...). Anyway, I fussed and screamed and had a few mental breakdowns before the pattern became clear. My poor yarn was rustled after being frogged a thousand times and by the time I actually got the pattern, I realized I didn't have enough yarn to actually finish. The dead remains of the hat sat in my bag for a really long time before I decided to throw the entire thing in the trash (blasphemy, I know!) without even bothering to frog or salvage it.

On this trip, I couldn't even get past the first few rows. I would cast on, only to determine I couldn't count, or twisted my stitches. At the time I was furious, thinking I had lost my "mojo" but somewhere along the way I had forgotten that I was losing to the k1, d2 (knit 1, drink 2) curse. I guess I decided somewhere between our two cabins to just let it be. Let the yarn gather dust and just d2 instead --which ended up being quite fun minus the yarn infused mental breakdown... I recommend it highly.

As for my knitting endeavors now that I am home and back on my turf: I have recently decided to work on some patterns to sell on Ravelry. I imagine it will take a few weeks to get some test knits done and work on building the patterns in Photoshop but I should be up and running soon. I am also getting ready to order some Jacquard dyes to custom dye yarn, if only I can cut the picture in my head of my white kitchen being splattered with permanent dyes thanks to my devilish cats. And as always, I am building a serious knitting queue of favorites which should be somewhere in progress in the next few months.

My recent to die-die-die for list:

Spectra- ugh. Steven West kills me.

Cecily's Shawl- I have a serious crush on this woman. Her patterns are so whimsical; it is hard not to love her.

Milanese Lace Topper

Dejeuner Bag

Creature Comforts Cardi

Thinking with my hands

I am afraid I have not been knitting nearly as much as I would like. After I visited my doctor and was told I should have hand surgery, I sort of wondered whether I should put the needles down to avoid any additional aggravation on my poor hand. It is not that the "injury" (i.e. cysts) forced my mind into a spiral of hatred for my passion, but I began to think about all the ways I used (and must) use my hands in order to function, and immediately, I thought it would be better if I avoided any sort of strenuous activity, like getting my knit on, which usually lasts for hours and days.

I have now gone without knitting for over a month and while I can't say it has been torturous hell, I have been experiencing signs of withdrawl as I urgently feel a strange wave of boredom come over me as I sit to watch television, as I may sometimes sit on the bus and when I am searching our home for something to do. Luckily I have been quite busy with our move into a new place, and various other little projects but as I sit here and begin to realize that I normally take the spring and summer off from yarn endeavors, I am feeling quite lonely and like a terrible mate to all of my lovely fiber. It may be months before I begin to plan or before I scour the internet for a project and something about that makes me feel off. I guess through all of this I have realized what a huge piece of meditation I get from knitting, the repeating in my head, the slow progression of the pattern. Somewhere along the way I forgot that that is what knitting is about... not just the finished product.

I am hoping that with this break will come a new appreciation for my knitting, that I will come to understand that every project is about something important. That each new challenge will teach me about myself. That every planned piece for someone I love should be finished to the best of my ability and that these hand crafted gems should be cherished forever. I am not sure how much longer I can go without my friend... I imagine I will begin digging in my stash for something soon enough but I love what this break has taught me about myself and the hobby that sometimes starts to get muddled in all the excitement.

On my drool list lays:

Santa Rosa, a new, unpublished pattern... Racer back tank. Love, Love, Love.

Urth, another wonderful project by Norah Gaughan

Stockinette Stitch Shrug, a shrug shown in black... yay!

Sweet Robin Wristees, another lovely project from Tiny Owl Knits that uses intarsia in the best way possible.