quiet

   It has been awfully quiet around the blog for a while, but that does not mean that no crafting has been happening.  Around this time last year, I was in a knitting funk, but not this year.  I have many plans and many of them are right on schedule.  I surprise myself sometimes with how much knitting I can do when I have my mind in the right place rather than scattered about.  Since work has settled down a bit (very busy, but only working during "normal" business hours for the last few weeks), I have time to knit on a regular schedule and plenty of daylight hours to get things knit up... fantastic things.

   Like my Apirka Socks.  I CO on May 2nd and finished weaving in the last end on July 7th.  This was a big project, but I'm happy to say that I was able to finish it in a reasonable amount of time - in between many other projects of course.

   These socks were a relatively easy knit, but there was a bit of uncertainty (which always seems to slow me down) about how successful they would be.  There was no way that I would be able to get the same gauge as specified by the pattern, not that the pattern as written would have fit anyway...  So I improvised.  I knit a swatch and used a total of 5 different needle sizes to get them to fit properly.  I also had to re-chart the toe and heel so the foot of the socks would fit.  In the end, however, I love the finished pair and I'm pretty sure I've finally mastered Kitchener stitch.  Cuff-down socks are still not my favorite method, but being able to successfully graft stitches opens up quite a few doors to new-to-me sock designers.  

   Speaking of socks, I discovered a new yarn shop in my town and felt I had to bulk up my yarn stash a bit.  So I brought a few lovelies home with me.  Including this amazingly pink skein of Mal sock

and also two pretty skeins of Mal lace.

   I still have not explored shawl knitting in any real depth, but I expect this new addition to my stash will solve that.  

Now I'll go back to plotting another big project for the fall.

 

slowly growing or slow going?

  After buying a kit for the Aprika socks from the Cyber Monday sale at Knit picks, I finally worked up the nerve to cast on during May.  I'd hesitated because the reviews for the pattern were hot and cold... but mostly cold.  

   I knit my socks toe-up and have never completed a pair of stranded socks, so this project is a first for me in many ways.  The cuff and first couple of charts around the top of the sock seemed to drag on forever.

   But then I finally got to the good stuff.  My stitch count went way down after finishing the calf shaping and the main chart pattern is pretty addicting.

   Since the photo above, I've knit a few rounds of the foot chart.  But this pattern is starting to slow down for me.  I think it's mostly because I'm not thrilled about the afterthought heel method because I can no longer try the sock on as I go! /knitter problems  There's less of a safety net when you can't be sure of the fit on something so I think that I'm subconsciously trying to delay an inevitable fit-fail-frogging by hiding these at the bottom of my WIP pile.  I may knit to a good stopping point on the foot the knit the heels so I can go about my trying on every few inches like I do with a toe-up sock.  

it has been too long...

So here's a finish for you!

Pattern: Fancy Feet Anklets Kit, but I substituted a different lace pattern.

Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy Fingering

Colorway: Lilac

   It's been a busy summer for me so far, which isn't a bad thing, but sometimes it leaves me with not enough crafting time.  And unfortunately my writing obligations elsewhere have left me a bit out of sorts when it comes to blogging.  But limited crafting/blogging time does not mean that there is no crafting time to be had.  I have lots to show you!

   Besides finishing that quick pair of anklets in the photo above, I've recently dug out some old WIPs and cast on a few more.  Right now I think I'm feeling spread a bit too thin when it comes to projects, which means it's time for me to get some things off the needles.  But where to start?  

Here's just a list of some of the things I'm currently trying to get done to give you some idea:

1. Apirka Socks: these stranded socks are halfway done and I've committed to finishing them by the end of July - hopefully with some time to spare.  They are an easy enough knit, but I'm most motivated to work on them only once or twice a week and never on consecutive days.
2. Hue Shift Afghan:  I started another 25 square section (my second of four) and have given myself a one square per day (or better) deadline.  Which means I should be done with this section by June 25th.  
3. Spiral Mittens: Last month I experimented with Kool-aide dyeing and CO these mittens to use up a single skein of grape scented yarn. :)
4. Cameo Shawl: I just got back from visiting family in California and needed something portable and simple to knit on the plane.  SO. MUCH. GARTER. STITCH.
5. Cassidy: I'm still working on Cassidy.  Before leaving for CA, I managed to finish and block both fronts.  Now I'm being mocked by the single sleeve that needs to be knit and blocked before I can begin the seaming.
6. Cadence Socks: I CO to use some gorgeous yarn and knit about 3" but I will likely frog and go up a needle size.

   There's so much to do!  Funny how involved I can be in my "hobby" when my "job" is just as intense. Work hard, play hard...

   One thing I have been sort-of good at is keeping my stash acquisitions in check for the most part.  But I fell hard at my favorite LYS in CA.

Lets just say that it could have been worse and in my defense, my sock stash was getting dangerously low.

not dead!

   I am not dead.  I've just been exhausted, busy, and excited about new things!  I have a couple of finishes to catch you all up on over the next few days.  But in the meantime, here's what I'm currently working on.

Pattern: Fancy Feet Anklets base pattern, subbing a different lace pattern

Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy Fingering

Colorway: Lilac

   Just a simple pair of anklet socks, based on a pattern I have used many times in the past.  This time, however, I substituted another lace pattern in for one of the options provided by the pattern.  Yesterday morning I finished up the cuff and BO on the first sock and knit the toe of the second while enjoying a couple cups of coffee and watching the birds.  It was a fantastic weekend with fantastic weather!

   I've got big knitting plans for the summer which involve only my existing stash.  If all goes according to plan, three months of knitting projects will cost me around $11.00.  The cost being only for pattern purchases.

  My big project will be a pair of Apirka Socks.  I've had this Knit Picks kit for a while (since cyber monday maybe?) but have not had the nerve to attempt another pair of stranded socks.  The reviews on the pattern are not so hot, but the socks are gorgeous.  I'm prepared to do some tinkering with the pattern gauge to get a good fit.  So, these should be a challenge to say the least.

And I even swatched! In the round! Now I'm not anxious about this project. Well, anxious to CO, not anxious about knitting the pattern.

As for sweaters, I'm ready to cast on Uma in this Mirasol Sawya in black that I bought a while back.

   I'm also waiting for the release of Windswept from Tin Can Knits.  I think this blue T'ika would be fantastic knit up as an easy, casual pullover.  Hopefully the pattern is released soon, but not so soon that it distracts me from the projects above before they are finished.

   So here's hoping I can stay on track and on the sheep this summer.  

Weekly WIP Report 4.14.13

   This isn't exactly a weekly report; more like bi-monthly.  Things have been busy as ever the last couple of weeks in addition to me getting a cold and generally feeling like crap for the last several days (nothing a couple of lazy days and lots of knitting time couldn't fix).  I'm starting to feel a lot better.

   Here's what I accomplished.

   This was the update photo I was going to share with all of you on Thursday, but that didn't happen.  Since, Thursday however, Miriam has come a long way.  Here's what she looks like as of today.

   I managed to knit the sleeves and begin the raglan shaping.  It's a relief that my rows are getting shorter as I work my way up to the neckline, but I know that I'll have to knit the garter stitch neckline and that will be an ordeal.  I knit the sleeves two at a time.  Not my favorite method, but I knew it would be much easier to get them both done at the same time so I could move on to the exciting bits.  So far, I've used 6.5 balls of simply cotton sport.  I think I need to give my wrists a break before I attach the 7th ball.  Maybe I'll get started on seaming the sleeves up or get a start on the next chart of Santa's Village.   

   Now that the low temperatures are consistently above freezing for several days at a time, I've been wearing my cotton socks instead of my usual wool and boots combo.  So I thought I'd work another pair of anklet socks.  The pattern I'm using for the pair above is based on the Fancy Feet Anklets Kit from Knit Picks, but I sort of do my own thing until I get to the heel.  This particular lace pattern is not included in the kit.  I swapped in one from a stitch dictionary for something a bit different.

2013 first finish

   Well, technically only one of these socks was knit in 2013, but this pair is my first official finish of 2013!  These are my most basic vanilla socks.  Toe-up, cast on 28 stitches using turkish cast on, increase every other round to 60 stitches, Fleegle heel, 2x2 ribbed cuff, finish with Jenny's surprisingly stretchy bind off.  I've been hoarding two skeins of Knit Picks Imagination for too long.  The yarn would look amazing as a pretty lace patterned sock, but I was feeling a bit uninspired when I originally cast on, so vanilla it is.

Pattern: Vanilla Sock

Yarn: Knit Picks Imagination

Colorway: Looking Glass

   I wear a pair of hand knit socks almost everyday in the winter with my boots, so these will come in handy especially when it turns cold again over the weekend.

   Vanilla socks were an easy enough WIP to pick up to finish, but I've also been making some progress on my Hue Shift afghan.  It seems that I'm in the mood for mindless knitting lately.  Sometimes I need something complicated on the needles to keep me interested so I can sit down long enough to knit a few stitches and sometimes I'm more inclined to sit and knit for hours without realizing I'm doing anything with my hands at all.  I think I'll be taking advantage of the later type moments to get some easy (boring?) knitting done while I can.  

final FO of 2012

   Just wove in the ends on what is my final knitting finish of 2012.  These little socks were a quick and portable project I picked to test out my first pair of Knit Picks nickel plated circulars and I can now say that I'm a convert.    

Pattern: Wednesday, Knit Picks Fancy Feet Anklet Kit

Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy Fingering

Colorway: Planetarium

I've been feeling under the weather and think I'll celebrate tonight by picking up a WIP and having a personal Netflix marathon.  It just started snowing in the last hour, and I think this celebration plan is perfect.  Happy and safe New Year everyone!  

weekly WIP report

   One of these weeks I'll actually get to posting my weekly WIP report on time... but for now, I have a couple of things to show you.

   After finishing up Santa's House, I managed to put a few stitches into my April Cottage.  There is still a lot left to do, but any progress is progress.

Pattern: April Cottage, Country Cottage Needleworks

Fabric: 35 count Lambswool Linen, Wichelt (2 over 2)

Floss: DMC as charted

The color palette for this cottage is amazing!  So spring-like.  I can't wait to get a few more cottages stitched on this piece.


   At the Knit Picks Cyber Monday sale, in addition to all the yarn, I ordered a 40" inch US 1 nickel plated fixed circ which happened to fall into my cart on an earlier window shopping excursion sometime in the couple of months before the sale.  I tried to resist casting on something new before finishing another WIP or two, but I needed something portable to take with me on the plane.  After digging through my stash I pulled out some Knit Picks comfy fingering weight and cast on a quick anklet sock with my new needles.

   WHY did no one tell me how amazing the KP nickel plated circs are?  Clearly I live under a rock.  I have a few sets of Addis around and the KP circs are awesome.  The slippery finish is similar, except the KPs don't tarnish like my Addis do and the cable is of course amazing... all for about 1/3 the price.  Anyway, the point is that these anklets are a combination of perfect yarn, perfect needles, and an easy to remember and fun stitch pattern.  I took this photo yesterday morning, but after my flights yesterday the first sock and the toe of the second is already done.  Good thing I brought a second ball of comfy just in case.

Pattern: Wednesday Sock, Knit Picks Fancy Feet Anklets Kit

Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy Fingering

Colorway: Planetarium

   I'm going to try to use the last days of December to get myself organized and ready to go for the projects I want to tackle in the new year.  This includes documenting my stash down knitting plans and hopefully avoiding yarn purchases.  I also have a couple of new cross stitching projects on my mind that I need to get supplies for.   

   

weekly WIP report

   So many things have been happening around here and elsewhere while traveling lately!  I've made some progress on a few things and even a FO to tell you about, but I'll save that for another time (it's still drying).  Several things have been on the needles (or needle in some cases) over the last week.  Keep in mind that I was gone for 5 days and only brought one WIP with me.

   While I was gone, I did some more knitting on my On Hold socks.  But don't get too excited; by "some knitting" I mean I finished two pattern repeats.

Pattern: On-Hold Socks, by Wendy D. Johnson

Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Sock

Colorway: Persia

Unfortunately, my luggage was left in Denver on my return trip, so I didn't get this WIP back in my possession until late Friday night otherwise this sock would have been finished! (just kidding)

   When I returned home I was ecstatic to finally get Santa's House in the mail!  So I immediately had to put a few stitches in my fabric.

Pattern: Santa's House, Country Cottage Needleworks

Fabric: 32 count Amber Linen by Wichelt worked over 2

Floss: DMC and Crescent Colors as called for in the pattern

   But by far the biggest project of the week was logging my Cyber Monday order from Knit Picks into my Ravelry stash.  Opening the box was a bit magical...

But then I quickly realized that I just added 8.5 lbs of yarn to my stash!  After pulling it all out, cataloging, and photographing it all there's a good argument that I'll need to cold sheep (no yarn purchases) through 2013.

There's enough for four sweaters/tops and at least three pairs of socks up there.  After attempting to pack it all away, I'm left with over stuffed storage containers and full bags of yarn that are escaping their allocated space on my limited shelf space.  I definitely need to work on stashing down or whittling down the amount of yarn I have on hand.  In any case, I'll have lots of knitting to keep me busy in the coming year.

   The reality check I received after taking a good look at my overstuffed yarn storage bins led me to start working on some WIPs that will quickly open up some room in those bins.  I worked a quick stash busting project that I'll show you later (once it's finished drying) and pulled out another WIP using super bulky yarn.

This is another Cat Mat that I reverse engineered from photos of a pattern in a book that I don't have access to.  Last night I finished up the first ball of yarn and will keep knitting until I run out of yarn.

   I'm hoping I'll make a lot more progress on some of these projects before the holidays.

an almost weekly WIP report

   I've been a bit disorganized for the last couple of weeks and it seems like there isn't enough time to finish anything lately.  This week has been super busy at work and now that it's finally calmed down my schedule is about to be tipped over again.  So before I get on a plane for more traveling tomorrow I thought I'd give an update on the limited amount of crafting I've gotten done lately.

   I'm still anxiously waiting to get my first Santa's Village chart in the mail.  I'm crossing my fingers that it gets here today.  In the meantime I pulled all of my floss for the April cottage and even managed to put a few stitches in.  There's not much to look at yet, but I love the color palette for this cottage.  So appropriate for a spring cottage!

Pattern: Country Cottage Needleworks, April Cottage

Floss: DMV and Crescent Colors as called for in the pattern

   I've also managed to get a bit more of the seaming done for Peterborough.  I now have one sleeve sewed in!

   Slowly but surely, this cardigan is coming together.  I'm sewing it up at my dining table which doesn't have the best lighting and it's really not the most comfortable place to sit for more than an hour or so.  So this is slowly getting finished.  I will actually be able to wear it this year.

   Most of the knitting I've been doing this week has been on my Hue Shift Afghan.  I got three blocks done, which I really should have been able to finish in one night but... life.  

   I've got 10 blocks completed so far.  That's 1/10 of the blocks needed for the entire afghan (100 total).  This is definitely a long term project, but it's really fun to see the different color combinations develop.  I hate to say it, but I'm already behind on weaving in the ends as I go.  So I will need to catch up on those soon so that I don't doom the entire project to hibernating status.  

   And finally, over Thanksgiving I managed to start a new pair of socks.  I ended up ripping out my start on Almondine socks and started fresh with a new toe-up pattern.  This really isn't a new (to me) pattern because I've already knit a pair using this pattern, but it's a really pretty pattern that I think will look amazing in the Malabrigo Sock yarn that I've been hoarding for some time.  It's a bit sad to show this, but over the 6 days that I spent in California over Thanksgiving I managed to knit one toe.  

   That's it! That's all I managed to do over the entire holiday!  Good news is that I'm packing this pair of socks to go with me tomorrow, so hopefully by this time next week I've at least turned the first heel.  

   In other news, Cyber Monday was not good for my stash down goals.  It's beginning to look like 2013 needs to be a cold sheep year.  No unnecessary yarn purchases!

weekly WIP report

   This week was surprisingly productive considering the amount of work I've got going on.  The semester is nearly over and it's good to get a little boost when dealing with stress with some visible progress on the things I can control... my WIPs.

   Early in the week I got a few more squares on my Hue Shift afghan completed.

   It will be good to get into more of the brighter colors.  I purposely started with one of the darker colored segments to get those out of the way.

   I also managed to spend a few hours restitching my January Cottage.

   Now that the bulk of the cottage is finished, there really isn't a whole lot left to complete before I can move on to the April Cottage.

   The biggest news of the week is that the knitting on Peterborough is finished!  Now comes all of the seaming and weaving in the ends.

   I'm a little embarrassed to say that the last of the final sleeve took less than two evenings to finish knitting, soak, and block.

   My sleeves are still pinned out and are nearly dry, but you can see that in the meantime I got a start on weaving in ends and seaming the shoulders and back of the neck together. 

  

   I love using Mirasol yarns, but the one downside is that the skeins are so short.  I believe I used about 16 skeins to finish the knitting on this and that makes for a whole lot of ends to weave in.  Hopefully I can break up the seaming into chunks so I don't get too burned out on this.  I doubt I'll get it finished before I leave for the Thanksgiving holiday, but the good news is that it should be finished when it's still cold enough out to wear it!

Oh, and after finishing up knitting Peterborough, I managed to cast off a sock.  Now to find the motivation to start the second.