Last of the 25 projects

I've knit 25 projects. That was the number needed to hit the goal of knit half of the yarn I have bought. Instead of drawing it out (I want to buy yarn today!) I am posting them together as a mass.

#22
A few weeks ago I taught a beginning knitting class. I wrote up a pattern for them that knit in the round and covered CO, K, M1, P, K2tog, and BO. I wasn't going to add it to the list but it did use half of a ball of Nashua Wooly Stripes so it's not in the stash any more.

#23
Arm Warmers. I love arm warmers. In the winter it's my arms and hands that get cold. A cotton tee shirt and wool arm warmers are all I need in most settings. Of course, in my home I wear arm warmers under my wool sweaters.
Lion Brand Sock Yarn bought in Ks when I lived in IL. It moved with me up to Chicago and then back to KS again. It is well traveled yarn. It was time to knit it out of the stash.
Sumi-e demands I stop taking photos of knitting and look to look at him.

#24
Zoom a swiffer cover. It's knit out of a ball of mystery cotton yarn. Just the everyday dishcloth yarn. I'm not sure how it got into my stash. I didn't buy it.
This tickled me the whole time I was knitting it. I have no idea of how well it works but it sure is fun to use. I could whip up a whole mess of these without tiring but I want to see if it works first. And I would have to buy dishcloth cotton. So moving on.

#25
Fern from Knitted Heirloom Lace II, knit in coned weaving cotton yarn. Cast on 9/11 when I was stranded in an airport in Dallas. Knitted in the hotel room and on the greyhound bus home. Only thing left to do was the bind off. It was my oldest UFO. That bind off took 4 hours. Lace does that. Now what to do with a doily?
Put it under something treasured.

Ribby Sweater

Project #21

I started this sweater thinking I would write and publish the pattern.
To bad it was a pain in the ass to knit. I think baby sweaters should be cute and easy since they grow so fast. I still like the look of the sweater so if I feel like knitting a second I now know more and think I could make it an easy knit. However, I am out of machine washable sport weight wool and I have other things I want to knit hanging over my head.
Pattern from my head. Yarn Henry's Attic Kono Superwash that I dyed at KAWS 2009. Wood buttons on cute plackets for easy dressing. It sure is pretty.

#19 and #20

#19
I love these mittens. I think I'm going to enter them in the fair on Monday.
Staghorn Mittens made from Elann Peruvian Sierra Aran in Atlantic Mist. I bought two balls to test the yarn and color. It's a winner. Full bodied, easy to knit, it's holding up well, and I love that the blue gray color is made entirely of purple and green fibers.

I had a cabled sweater in mind when I bought this yarn but I would love the chance to get a whole bunch of colors. So maybe a color work sweater instead, or also.

#20
A little knit from my basket. It only needed finishing and tons and tons of button sewed on.
Presto Chango knitted from Lion Cotton. The buttons are from the $1 button rack. I knit this sweater for the cost of just the buttons on most of my sweaters. It shows.

But it's still cute. The yarn will probably get pilly with washing but it will never wear out even after tons of trips through a hot dryer. I had thought to knit a whole bunch of the bibs fronts for easy changing and to make this a really cool gift but I don't know if I can stand the thought.

I went through a lot of work to knit this completely seamless. I think bulk yarns seamed on tiny little sweater are not a good idea. It was good practice for my mind and I now rock the Kitchener Stitch but I recommend following the pattern and seaming it. It was much more work than I was expecting.

#18

Project #18
Lucky 7 Hat made from handspun yarn, but not my handspun. I bought it from a friend's booth at a craft fair. It's dyed with walnuts and is just the right color to go with some black merino I have.
The zinnias are looking healthy. Sometimes they are not, it all depends on how often it rains since I don't think to water them like I should. They aren't as tough as my herbs. Or maybe they are tougher since every time I think they are 100% dead they pop back with one watering and bloom again. I think next year I'll grow big ones.

Jonsen

Today I went to my LYS for the book club. They had brought in Sally Goldenbaum to talk about her book Death By Cashmere. It was a nice talk. I came in late and got a seat in the back and the AC hum drowned out some of the good bits. I had my knitting and they provided chocolate so I was happy. Now I'll just have to read the book to find out what I missed.

After the talk I looked around the shop. Yes, I am there every Tuesday morning but at those times I make a point of not looking around the shop. So, I looked around the shop and noticed several new bamboo yarns. Now add that to the old bamboo yarns, along with the hemp and linen yarns I have always lusted after I have come to the conclusion that I am very likely buying something at the sale next weekend.

I am well past my 6 month goal of not buying yarn. Or was it a 3 month goal? it's so long ago I can't remember what I was planning when I set the ticker. However, I am so far past it that setting it to a 12 month goal looks like a good idea. It doesn't feel like a good idea. It feels like I need new yarn and I need it now.

So can I hit my goal of half my stash in the next 7 days. Do I really care if I don't quite make it if I'm close?

Project #17

Noro Scarf. Yes, that Noro Scarf. The same scarf that everyone is knitting. Everyone is knitting it because it is just so much fun. I loved everything about it from the earthy texture of the yarn to the banding of the tweedy colors. I could knit many more of these.'

I did some modifications. I cast on 25 stitches and used Noro Silk Garden Light so I could knit my scarf from 2 balls instead of 4.

Oh, what Joey has to put up with for my knitting.

Finish Line

Today is the last day of the tour. I didn't get all of my goals met, especially since yesterday I went on a detour and spent a few hours spinning on a new project. However, I did spin everyday and tackled large chunks of even larger projects. Without something as concentrated as the tour de fleece they would have languished. As it is, all the projects are much closer to completion.
The last bobbin of 8oz of merino. Now to spin something to ply with it since I want it to be a sweater. I went stash diving and I think white alpaca will give it a nice frothy look.

Stash diving for spinning fibers was a bit worrysome. It's getting small. I had to take a deep breath and relize that even if the totes, baskets, and the fleeces stuffed up the chiminy are getting depleated I still have years worth of spinning on hand. I have 2 pounds of cotton. That is a few years of spinning right there.

Project 16
Cast on and all the knitting done in bars with classmates. It seems that other people scrapbook, I knit memory socks.
Stash buster mystery sock yarn that glitters.

Project 15

This one I pulled out of the started projects basket almost done. Most of the knitting was accomplished in April and all it needed was the sleeves.
I am very pleased with how this sweater turned out. I tried out new shaping on it. Instead of narrowing for the waist at the side seams that is so common on sweaters, I put in back darts while leaving the front to hang strait from the bust. This helps cover my tummy while still giving slim shape to the back. I'm going to shape more of my sweaters this way.

The pattern is Cavern and the yarn is Mission Falls from back before they shut down and then reopened. Is that important? Maybe not, but when they shut down my favorite yarn was going to be gone forever so I bought all I could. Even with a few sweaters worth on hand I worried about knitting it since I wouldn't have the yarn anymore. Sure, they are making more but I hear it's not the same. Not really.
I love the cute tie in front. It is just a crochet chain stitch. Now to find a better shirt to wear under it. I picked that one because the neck line shape echoes the sweater, but looking at it in the photos I don't like it. I'll try a collared shirt next.

Squeee

I am posting this from home! Yes, I finally have Internet after years of only using the school's connection.

Blog posts to follow. I'm behind on listing my projects.

Checking In

All the photos are still on the camera. There are now so many it feels overwhelming to deal with them, so I don't.

But I have been spinning every day. Let look at my goals.

Goals for Team Hopelessly Overcommitted:
silk for a handwoven scarf- good thing I checked in today I can't even think of what this is.
cotton for a bath towel- spinning and spinning and spinning and I still have many hours to go.
silk for a knitted lace shawl- working on it, but this is not a project that will be finished this year it is so big

Team All Spun Up
I have 5 bobbins and right now on each bobbin is a different fiber/project. My goal is get as many of the 5 all spun up so I can have my bobbins back. It’s making plying impossible.

Bobbin of soysilk- done. Actually all of the soy silk is done.
Bobbin of lama/angora is done, ok so all of the lama/angora is done.
Bobbin of wool is done.
Bobbin of cotton, see above
Bobbin 5 I'm not thinking about until cotton is done.

And I have 8oz of wool spun. That is half of a sweater. Now to spin the alpaca to ply with it.

Team All Spun Up

ok, ok, because I saw Needlefingers on Team All Spun Up I just joined that one too. Silly me, I set different goals for that one instead of just restating my Team Hopelessly Overcommitted goal. Truly overcominting myself. But those goals had no finish just a start and I felt like it was important that the Team All Spun Up goal need to be, well all spun up at the end.

Goals for Team Hopelessly Overcommitted:
silk for a handwoven scarf
cotton for a bath towel
silk for a knitted lace shawl

Team All Spun Up
I have 5 bobbins and right now on each bobbin is a different fiber/project. My goal is get as many of the 5 all spun up so I can have my bobbins back. It’s making plying impossible.

An unstated goal is to spin a sweaters worth of yarn too. But that falls under such an extreme level of warping space and time that I am embarrassed to say in a public thread that I am thinking of doing that too. So instead I will say it here on my public blog.

Tour De Fleece

I just joined Team Hopelessly Overcommitted on ravelry as an excuse to get the projects done that I have spinning around in my head since coming back from Midwest. I'll post more when the photos are ready.

I am also walking to Rivendell this summer. I am already at 32 miles and I am 4 miles passed Black Rider Stopping Place.

The other two ran quickly to the left and down into a little hollow not far from the road. There they lay flat. Frodo hesitated for a second: curiosity or some other feeling was struggling with his desire to hide. The sound of hoofs drew nearer. Just in time he threw himself down in a patch of long grass behind a tree that overshadowed the road. Then he lifted his head and peered cautiously above one of the great roots.

A Little Note to Myself

Whenever I go to the weaving conference I always forget three things.

1. Bathrobe: it's because I don't own one, but I need one to walk to the dorm showers. Getting back into denim while damp is very distressing. Points if it's handwoven. Extra points if the yarn is hand spun.

2. Clock: the stress of over sleeping and missing my class has me at the mess hall at 5:45am. It doesn't open until 7:15.

4. Fan: luckily I didn't need it this time although there was a scare. Then it occurred to me that every fan I own was bought around midnight at a drugstore while at the weaving convention. Next time just bring the fan.

About the AC scare, when we moved into the dorms it wasn't working. It was fixed but it was much too much. My locked thermostat was set to 50F and my room was 65F the whole 5 days. I don't believe that cold makes people sick but a constantly running AC unit might. I am not doing so great today.

It appears that I am not too bright. After suffering for 2 days the woman across the hall told me she had stuffed her dirty laundry and all her shopping into the vents. That helped a whole bunch when I did it too.

My bed had real wool blankets. I seem to be the only person that thinks real wool blankets provided by a dorm is cool, even at a weaving and spinning convention.

#14 Pure Cardigan

I've been putting off this post because I want to give this baby sweater the description it deserves. However, I am on my way to Midwest this week and it's now-or-never so this is the short and dirty version.

This is the Pure Cardigan from Weekend Knitting. I used Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy in two colors from the 75% sale bin since there wasn't enough of any one color to do anything.

The color blocks are my own but they are strongly influenced by the same sweater on display at The Studio where that knitter had run out of yarn too. Or just wanted to spice it up a bit, I am unclear about that.

The rustic wood buttons are just right for the hemp/cotton yarn. I also enjoyed the big and intentionally messy whip stitch I used to sew it together. I think it adds to the ragamuffin charm of the piece.

While I know several women that want this sweater, and some of them are even expecting, this one falls under the too sweet to give away. It will now have to marinate in the baby sweater stash for a few years before I can gift it.

Elizabeth Came to Tea

I was at the library and there on the shelf right with the knitting books was this DVD set. Yes, that is Elizabeth Zimmermann herself. In celebration of finally getting to invite her into my living room for tea I abandoned the cabled baby sweater and started an EPS sweater. I cast on thinking it would be a ski sweater but waffle and it maybe a Cousin Nalgar. I won't have to choose until I reach the chest. I have it listed as a Nalgar on Ravelry so we will see.

It's being knit out of Briggs and Little wool. I love that wool. So crunchy and rustic and it knits up fast. Because it's a strong wool and not baby soft I am knitting an oversized sweater to keep me warn next winter over many layers of clothes. I am taken with the way the heathered yarn in sage green moves from silver to black and back to silver again. I also enjoy how this yarn wears a grove in my finger after only a few hours of knitting.

Project #13 is finished. A nice set of plain ribbed socks. More yarn I dyed at KAWS. I am very pleased with how they came out. Everything from the bright mottled colors to the way the thick yarn (Henry's Attic Kona) holds a strong rib and so fast to knit.

Project #12

Rain, rain, and more rain, but between the showers I have been walking 3 to 4 miles a day for a few days now.

It's crazy how much my hip hurts after the second mile but I walk anyway. Joey likes it, I like it too. We see fields of wildflowers, grazing deer, and exotic birds, well woodpeckers at least.

The trail is along a creek so there are waterfalls and rapids and with each rain it tries to jump the bank.

Hand spun yarn dyed at the KAWS dye day. Knit up in a few hours of chatting with friends at Knitting. Pattern made up as I went along. I am pleased with how they turned out.

Fast Cars and Slow Knits

So on Saturday (last Saturday, not yesterday) I went to a Corvette Rally and watched some autocross racing.

The starting line.

I just love the skyline in the background. What a great place to live. The drive out to the event was fantastic with rolling hills, light green fields, dark green trees, and a sky so big it takes one breath away.

Someone can't wait to grow up and drive fast like his uncle.

And my knitting; Cast onto the size 3 needles I freeded up. Anybody surprised? I'm not. A child’s cabled sweater knit out of Cotton Fleece. The pattern is Nanna from Best of Lopi. This is not a simple knit and requires concentration. Oh, it's easy enough but it is not simple.

Mopping up the knitting mess

Last semester was a little rough and the week built in intensity until it cumulated Thursday night at 10pm when I was released for my weekend. When I got home late Thursday night I had a problem unwinding enough to sleep. As in I did not sleep on Thursday nights. Instead I turned on the TV and while Scrubs played in the background I cast on a new project. With Joey beside me in the chair I knitted until I was calm enough to sleep. Some days that was as the sun came up. Those projects got a little more knitting time Saturday night when I watched Legend of the Seeker and then CSI Miami, and again Sunday morning while I listened to This American Life. After that my week was in full force again and the project got tossed into a basket.

This basket.

Yes, these are the projects all started on a Thursday night with little thought of gauge, needles, wear ability, or anything. I just needed to knit to calm my mind and to make me tired. Or rather to make me sleepy since I was always exhausted.

I decided it was time to tackle the basket when I found I couldn't start any new projects from the lack of free needles.

This pile is just fine and the ones that are almost done. I can get these needles back with just some concentrated effort. Also they are the needles I want most. So this is the pile I need to be picking my summer knitting from.

This pile has problems. I ran out of yarn, I no longer like the project, or something is horibly wrong.Better. I now have some #3 neeldes again and my sock needles too. And some unhappy projects are once again happy yarn.

The problem pile now looks like this. 3 knits are worth saving and just need mistakes ripped out and fixed. Much better and the basket is now 5 projects lighter. I forgot to count how many are in there. It's better not to know.

Project 11

The zina's are growing well.

Bella Mittens inspired by the Twilight movie. I have neither read the book or seen the movie but when I saw the pattern I had to make them.

I pulled out 8oz of yarn spun from Spinderella fiber. I love her fiber for spinning tweed yarns. That is yarn I spun back when I was new to spinning bulky. This yarn has sat for years since it is not the lofty bulky knitting yarn we are used to. No, this yarn is so dense that it is really only suitable for knitting a yurt. I wanted to knit a vest from it but mittens seemed a better choice.

Joey's paw for size.

I think I have enough yarn left to knit a matching hat.

Senior Show

I've been quiet lately. It's been extra rough, with more than the average amount of unpleasantness this spring but I don't want to talk about it and you for sure don't want to hear about it. However, writing posts that are all sugar and cream feels false so I have kept away.

But many fantastic things have happened too and they need their time.

My Senior Show* was well attended and I had many friends come to wish me well. That means so much to me. My knitting friends brought me flowers. Aren't they spectacular?

While the flowers were already so much more than I was expecting I also received cards and a gift card to my LYS. With it I bought my first Noro. I love it. While showcasing gifts lets move back in time to my Birthday. I got a coat worth of yarn and a wheat free baking cookbook. All much appreciated. Thank You all. You mean so much to me.

*Senior Show should mean that I am all graduated with a degree and everything. But the school computer blocked me so I can't log on and check my grades and my degree still hasn't come in the mail...hmmmm.....

Taking a break

Taking a break from schoolwork for a show.

It's My Birthday

I'm turning 35 tomorrow. I've had friends say turning 28 or 30 hurt and made them feel old. I never felt like that. I still don't feel old. But turning 35 does hurt. It breaks my heart. So much is lost and gone. So much that will never be.

2 more weeks and I graduate to start a new chapter of my life. I hope it's a good one. Everyone is invited to the party, the senior show. It's on the 7th. See you there.

Happy Birthday Joey

Today Joey is 12.

#10 finished. Sock with Dutch heel and French toe knitted out of OnLine striping yarn with contrasting stash yarn for heels and toes.
pretty
Joey toes snuck in the photo with my toes. He is sneaky like that.