New Yarn!

I had something of a knitter's nightmare earlier this week.  I had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of my skeins of Cascade Eco+ for a few days.  I worked late into the night and ran to the door to check for my package... of course it had been delivered. (I had been refreshing the USPS page on my phone for most of the day.)  I get it inside and start looking it over--all is sorta well but more on that later.. I wind the first gigantic skein.  I start making a gauge swatch; I don't have a particular pattern in mind yet, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to get ahead of the game.  Then I realize I don't have the right needles to make any of the patterns swirling in my mental queue! :(  

Sadly enough, the website I ordered from sent me the wrong item.  The right item being a needle sizer for all those random needles that have somehow managed to hack off their info so perhaps I do have the right needles and just don't know it yet... 

I have a lot of needles. I mean, a lot. But for whatever reason, I have somehow managed to avoid getting needles within the odd space between worsted (what I like to call "regular"--size 8's) and mega huge (I even have a pair of size 17's, that I feel haven't been used once?).  Anyway, so now I am on a mission to find a pair of size 10 needles that I can somehow have delivered in the next day or two since our schedules are jam packed and a trip to the store seems unlikely.  I am not too upset as this gives me the extra time needed to finish my neglected repeats of Edie, of which I have two left. (=18 rows) For what it is worth, I like the Cascade a lot more than I thought I would and the color seems to be a nice compliment to my skin tone. 

All is not sad with the my internet buying though, as a few weeks ago I received another package from Quince and Co.  I ordered a few skeins of Chickadee in the Chantrelle colorway.  I was quite surprised when it arrived.. I actually liked it a lot more than I anticipated! I think I mentioned before that this yarn is spoken for---I have a plan to make  leg warmers to go with my winter boots.  I have yet to pick a pattern but I have been searching some stitchionaries.  This yarn is perfect for showing off stitch definition, I don't think I can be held back by the same ol' patterns I fawn over on Ravelry.  I am dreaming up something new, so more on that later.

Finished: Spring Beret

A while back I knit up a Spring Beret in Blue Sky Cotton for a far off friend.  I won't lie, I was sad to see the hat go. The yarn and the fit made it one of my favorites.  I promised myself when I slipped the box into the mail that I would make another for myself and the Quince and Co Osprey yarn I just received was calling my name... I knit this quick hat in a few hours, while watching Felicity on Netflix.

I hardly ever repeat patterns but my need for this hat is a clear testament to the design by Natalie Larson.  Now I'm just awaiting the perfect weather to wear it. 

September Progress

It seems somehow September has gotten away from me.  I looked up and noticed we are now approaching the end of the month with rapid speed. So silly how I have to maintain this thing called a "job" that really just gets in the way of my want and need to knit.  I have been feeling so tired lately I have been having a hard time wanting to pick up the dubious pages of my pattern though my private knitting time has grown exponentially lately.  Every few days I groan and pick up my Edie shawl, mainly out of guilt (and the helpless desire to someday wear it with a nice pea coat in the snow).  With temperatures still peaking in the 90's it seems like an impossible dream but I have a feeling by this time next month (or the next, god forbid) I will be rotating my hand knits to make sure they all get a just and complete wearing. 

I haven't set a goal for Edie really, but I hope if I can gain some steam that I should be finished sometime in October (fingers crossed). Because I have a terrible urge to knit myself a few sweaters before late December/January.  I have settled on two patterns and selected the yarn, if only I can convince myself that it isn't that selfish to order, swatch and perhaps, cast on before I finish Phillip's Cobblestone Pullover, whom I recently resurrected from a far off tote bin.  I pulled it from the bag and it was as if it let out an audible sigh of relief... or more likely an angry complaint.  I knit a few rows on the thing (so I don't feel bad anymore), and it brought back a vague memory of not being so bad.  I think it will become my accompanying project on those long days at work when I have just a few minutes between shifts, or when maybe I just need to turn my brain off from all the neediness of my job.  As long as I can squeeze in Edie, my two sweaters and Phillip's Cobblestone before December(-ish) I will be happy. 

In all fairness, even though my knitting time has turned into self imposed lazy time, I have still been growing my stash--of course! I recently ordered two skeins of Quince and Co Chickadee in Chantrelle for a pair of legwarmers yet to be determined and some Quince Osprey in the mustard-y color of Honey for a hat.  Because I am so taken with Quince yarn lately,  those skeins will most certainly stay stashed away for that "perfect" project that almost never comes... ahem, the two year old Madelinetosh Vintage stored away that has been frogged too many times to count. We will see as I have been drooling over a pair of Anthropologie boots and I have a feeling a pair of lace legwarmers in Chantrelle will be the perfect accessory.  

Finished: Creature Comforts

I  finished my Creature Comforts Cardigan after a 10-day stockinette stitch marathon! 

I should admit that I had serious reservations about this pattern.  I consulted the Fit to Flatter group on Rav, I looked at every project page, I researched every possible lead I could on whether the final result would work for me.  The construction is very simple but quite like that of a shrug and I worried that the shape would not look "right" on my body type.  I eventually came to the sorta logical argument that I just had to make it. Screw whether I liked the finished piece, I wanted it. 

(It's a good thing I came to that feeling...) When I finished it, I liked it. I was surprised at how small it was, but I thought I could wear it... should my laundry be undone and maybe if I were without  other garments at my disposal.  So I decided I would block the piece despite hearing some haunting things about the color bleeding... I never had any issue with color bleeding, but I did find  that this yarn seriously lost its shape somewhere in the process. I have decided I will try to reverse the horror I inflicted upon my new sweater by maybe washing in warm water with a quick run in the dryer; I can only hope it will go back to the sorta liked piece of yesterday. 

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!