WiP Thursday

So I kind of missed yesterday. It was a busy SpaceCadet day. I took this pile

  That’s a black-and-white photo, folks. I can’t spoil the surprise!
Matched everything up with a “shiny” and dyers notes and got rid of this mountain.


The Yarn Alliance is on its way today!

Yes, this was Polar Vortex Week here in the East. The Hubster was out of town for the first half of the week, so I took a pic of our indoor/outdoor thermometer for him on Tuesday night. Just FYI, the clock is set to Daylight Time, and since it sits right next to a correctly-set clock that’s easier to see, I never bother to change it.


And, in other news, I was in a hurry yesterday, but I did snap a picture of my Leftie-in-Progress:


The color from last week is actually true. The above pic is way too blue. But you can see how much progress I’ve made! My main skein is looking a little thin, so we’ll just see where this thing ends up.

A New Year

So it’s January 1, and it’s been radio silence on the blog for quite a while.

I’d at least like to wrap up the projects that I finished in 2013, and then I’ll hopefully be back in the blogging groove! That’s a long list, and I’m chipping away at getting those posts in the bank.

But meanwhile, today is Wednesday. So let’s start off the year right, with a WiP Wednesday post!

My Swirl is still languishing in a corner. If I sat down and actually, y’know, worked on it, I’m pretty sure it could be finished in short order.

Instead, I’ve been working on a Leftie shawl, knit with a SpaceCadet Creations Leftie kit.


It had a false start when I decided that even though I was two leafs into a 1-5, 1-5 repeat (light to dark every time), it would be better if I went light-to-dark-to-light.

A Twitter-encouraged frogging of about two inches and a re-ordering of leaf colors, and I’m off to the races.


I wasted a perfectly good warp-the-loom day on Saturday, so I’m officially committing to my next weaving project. This really narrow warp will go on at my next opportunity, and will hopefully weave quickly.


It had better weave quickly. I have two tencel warps ready to roll waiting in line behind it!

WiP Wednesday

I am a complete failure as a hermit. Seriously. I‘d pay to just hide in my weaving room and ignore the world, but I couldn’t do it guilt-free.

The Color Affection for Sairy’s Mommy has been finished and sent on its way, and I’ve chipped away at my Swirl a little bit, but there’s no real progress, so no new picture.

 I’ve been doing a little bit of knitting. I volunteered to knit two cowls for a group on Ravelry. I started (and finished) the first one over the weekend.


It’s a Sherbrooke Cowl, which I’ve made once before. It needs a soak and some end-weaving, then it’ll get the full finished project treatment. Cowl #2 was started last night.


It’s a Darkside Cowl, and I’m one repeat in.

Stash yarn for both of these, which is awesome. And they’re quick. Yay!

The weaving is for a Christmas gift, so no pictures. Speaking of which, I’d better get back to work!

WiP Wednesday

Yeah, WiP Wednesday is a good place for me to get back into the habit of blogging, right? I have two projects currently on the needles right now. One is my Swirl, which is sooooo close to done


I’ve bound off for the center-neck and am still chugging along at full sleeve width. Should be zooming along soon, except my travel knitting has been getting the lion’s share of work


It’s a Color Affection I’m knitting for my friend Sairy. She knit one for herself a while ago and her mom loved it. Sairy has no interest in knitting another CA so I said I’d do it. She dyed the yarn and sent it to me ages ago. I finally started on Saturday night, and I’m moving right along!

Finally, I have some placemats on the loom that are close to finished, but I forgot to take a picture, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

WiP Wednesday

Oh yeah. The Blog. Right.

 I feel like the old Johnny Cash song “I’ve Been Everywhere” rather accurately describes my 2013 to this point. But now I can stay in one place for a little while. I have multiple finished projects to show you, but it’s Wednesday, so for now I shall show you my WiPs.

As has become custom, I started a pair of socks while at the Women’s College World Series.


I started it the first day I was in Oklahoma. And that was pretty much the last “normal” thing about the 2013 WCWS. What a strange week it was.

Once I got home, I started on a project I’d been wanting to take on since the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival in March. I worked in the SpaceCadet Creations booth, and wore one of the shop samples while working in the booth. I got so many compliments on that Lintilla that I decided to make my own!


Yes, I still love garter stitch. I’ll be garter stitching right along for quite a while, and yes! I’m happy about that!

WiP Wednesday

It was a busy day, but it’s still Wednesday, so you get a WiP post!

Last Friday, I needed a knitting project to take with me to my Friday night group. The “last in first out” policy was suggested, and since the last yarn I bought in Maryland was this…


I decided that Shawl That Jazz would be a good next project. I was off to the races! Most of my Sunday was spent knitting and watching sports, so I got a really good chunk of knitting done. And, believe it or not, I finished the entire 540-yard first skein last night.

One thing I learned the last time I knit this is that there’s no good way to get a good WiP shot of this shawl. So you get a picture of a big blob.


I’ll join the second skein as soon as I’m done typing at you (and posting), and I’ll be back off to the races.

Because of the high yardage of these skeins, I’ve been using my Strauch winder. It makes a more vertical cake, and I loved how the core looked on the Twisted. So I threw it in the light box and took a few pictures.


See? Very cool!

WiP Thursday

As usual these days, I’m a day late and a dollar short.

There hasn’t been a ton of free time, but here’s where it has gone:


My Love Actually cowl is marching right along. Got about four rows into the third set of hearts. I’m so ready for this to be finished!


I got my doubleweave blanket sleyed into the reed. Next step is threading heddles. If I’m lucky, I’ll get that done on Sunday.

And, because that cowl is starting to make me twitch, I’ve swatched for my Dublin Tee. Oops.

WiP Wednesday

Ahh, another super-busy stretch with the part-time job. My regular job has re-started too, so there has been very little free time. Zoom!

But, between all of the crazy, there has been a little crafting here and there. I’ve gotten a little bit done on my Love Actually cowl. It’s a little hard to tell, but I’m into the third row of hearts!


The Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival was last weekend, and my cowl got to hang out at the SpaceCadet Creations booth while I was hanging out with the Hubster for his birthday on Saturday. So I busted out my Nittany Lions scarf and did some work on it. I’d say I’m awfully close to halfway through the second skein of each color.


In other news, I’ve been preparing a warp for the loom. I’m lucky to have lots of great extended family, but my Aunt and Uncle in Pasadena, Calif., have been fantastic about letting me crash at their house whenever I visit the left coast. So I’m making them a doubleweave blanket!


A little over a week ago, I caught a destash of a warping mill at a really great price, and I’ve used this project to make friends with it.


The warp is wound, and when I have a little time I can get it on the loom and start weaving. There are two chains, here’s the blue/green chain…


And all four colors together…


If you remember my blog post from my Doubleweave Blanket Class two years ago, this blanket is going to be very similar to the tweedy-looking blanket that Hedy made in class. The cobalt (royal blue) color is going to be the weft. I hope I can get it done quickly and it’s a big hit!

WiP Wednesday

Well, hello there! Sorry I missed last week, I was off to California to run a great big softball tournament. I did virtually no knitting while I was gone (or since I've returned home!), but my Love Actually cowl is through the first repeat.


It should move fairly quickly from here, which is awesome. Then I’ll get back to my EZ slippers, and do a second pair for the Hubster. At least that’s the plan.

Since my return home, I’ve been busy with my part-time job working for SpaceCadet. I had a big pile of yarn to tag and twist. Since it’s for the Interstellar Yarn Alliance I can’t really show it to you, but here’s a little teaser:


I hear my taskmaster has another metric crap-ton of yarn waiting to twist and tag, so it’s a good thing I have lots of TiVo to catch up with. Maybe I’ll even get some knitting time in soon, and be able to start my next weaving project sooner than later.

Let’s face it. What I really need is Hermione’s time turner…

WiP Wednesday

OK! It’s been lots of simple knitting around here. When I’ve been watching the Pens or reading, it’s been my Harry Potter scarf. I’m into the second skein of each color and it’s moving right along.


But, because the scarf now requires a larger project bag, I needed a smaller project for last week’s trips to the theater. Last week started with a field trip with my former co-workers at Bloomin Yarns. When we visited Wexford Dry Goods, there was a really cool dishcloth they had in many colors. So I decided to give it a try!


It’s great for short stretches of knitting, and I’m happy with how it looks. There won’t be a ton of knitting time over the next two weeks, but we’ll see what happens!

WiP Wednesday: Re-entry

Back from Florida and trying to catch up. I managed to take a picture of my scarf last Wednesday, on the pool deck at my Dad’s house. Woo 4.5 stripes!


And here it is this morning. Yay 10+ stripes!

I
n other news, I got a big hunk of slipper knitting done before I left on my trip. It wasn’t trip-appropriate knitting, so it stayed home. Hopefully I can finish my pair this weekend. The first slipper is waiting for its exterior second sole, the second slipper is ready for decreases. Zoom!


Of course, the scarf is too big for travel, the slippers are too complicated, so I’ll have a new tiny project to entertain me during intermission at the theater tonight. Lots of littles happening around here, plus planning for sewing stuff. Oh, and two finished project posts coming right up!

WiP Thursday: Sunshine

I’ve been in Florida since Sunday. First it was three-plus days in Bradenton with the Hubster, now I’m finishing my first full day in Vero Beach with my Dad and Aunt Suzie.

I didn’t want to bring any of my other in-progress projects on this trip. I wanted simple. Period. Of course, I also needed something simple for the theater last Wednesday when the Hubster and I went to see Les Mis (stage show, NOT the movie!), so I cast on a Harry Potter scarf.


This is leftovers from my Nittany Lions doubleweave blanket from two summers ago, and the scarf will have the same recipient. Now you will excuse me while I go back to my book. There is sunshine to chase tomorrow, pictures to take, and Roaming Tigger escapades to document. I’ll be back!

WiP Wednesday

So. The Hubster’s slippers officially last two winters. Period. Right around the holidays, holes appeared in the heels of his latest pair of Fuzzy Feet. So he needs something else.

We have a front-loading washing machine, and that makes it tough to do the fine-adjustment felting necessary for a pair of slippers that fits. And since his slippers wear out on the soles, I decided to try a new plan of attack.

Of course, the Hubster wears a men’s 11.5 wide, which means that pretty much any slipper pattern that’s out there won’t fit his Hobbit Feet without some adjustments.

I picked Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Add-A-Booties because they are re-sole-able. So I’m getting a pair first for my women’s US 8.5 feet so I can figure out how this pattern works before I adjust it for Bigfoot. The first slipper got to the sole decreases last night.


I’ll finish with the Eco Wool sole, then pick up and knit a Wool Ease second sole for durability. I figure the wool insole will felt a little and the acrylic-heavy outer sole will help these things last longer.


And, if they don’t, I can just add another sole! Expect to see this slipper get finished and three more parade through the blog. It’s a good thing they’re pretty quick!

WiP Wednesday: Hogwarts Express

So. I’ve had the yarn and beads (yes, beads!) for Hogwarts Express hanging around for several months. I got the pattern for Christmas from an awesome friend, and a couple other online friends wanted to start too.

 On January 1, I started knitting again. For the first time since my Mom died on August 12. (I'd been doing some crochet and lots of sewing and weaving. But no knitting.)

 Last Wednesday, my progress on the Hogwarts Express looked like this


And this morning, it looked like this

 

 

How about a close-up of those owls? 

 

Yep. Express is about right. I may have it done by the weekend! (maybe. Knitting time will be very scarce the rest of this week)

I’m already planning what I’ll take with me on an upcoming Florida trip at the end of the month, and I’m sure I’ll get back to my previously-in-progress projects soon.

WiP Wednesday

The last week was lots of finishing. Finished Color Affection. Finished my bagstopper to the point where I ran out of yarn. I know I have leftovers around here somewhere. I’ll finish that bag when I find them. But, that freed up my needles for a new project:


It’s my second Swirl sweater. This one is Shades of Gray in the now-discontinued Cascade Rustic. It’s an interesting wool-linen blend. So far my biggest issue has been some underspun sections and the fact that it’s throwing a pretty good amount of lint.

There has also been some weaving time, but it wasn’t picture-worthy since it looks the same, just with more fabric on the front beam. Bo-ring!

WiP Thursday

Oh, hai! Yeah, I haven’t made time to blog lately. Life is boring, yadda yadda. I have finished both pairs of socks, but need to weave in ends and take pictures. Two Mondays ago, I worked a benefit golf tournament, so I went to the well and took my usual golf tournament project. A bagstopper.


I had a few more inches of the lace pattern finished, but then I got nervous about running out of yarn. I ripped back, halved the height of the base, decreased by a few stitches and got going again. I finally made it to my Wednesday knit night yesterday, so I got a good chunk done. I’m probably about back to where I was when I frogged back.

And, in other news, Color Affection is rapidly approaching bind-off. The navy Zen Yarn Garden I’m using for the border is wonderful, so I’m considering just going until I run out of yarn. We’ll see how I feel about that when I pick it up next, probably after I finish the bagstopper.


I haven’t made time for weaving, which makes me grumpy. Maybe if I found Hermione’s time turner, I’d be able to finish half of what I want to do. It’s a start, right?

WiP Wednesday

So last week got busy, then there was TNNA and I just didn’t manage to blog. Sorry! But, that means I have three different projects to show you today! So here’s where my Bigfoot Socks were a week ago:

After tons of time walking the floor at TNNA for a day and a half, much progress was made. Here’s how they looked this morning!


The first sock isn’t finished because I need the Hubster to try it on and see where it is falling on his leg. I have plenty of yarn to knit tall(ish) socks for him, but I don’t want to go too high and get stuck in mysterious calf shaping without the wearer around to try on the socks.


Of course, last Friday at knit night, I didn’t really want to work on the Hubster’s socks, but I had another long-languishing pair hanging around. So I picked up I.B. Footsie once again!



That’s the second sock and it is back in the round. Should be quick progress from here on out. I hope.

In other news, I got a little weaving done last week, which makes me really happy. It’s a table runner for a friend, and based on the twill sampler I did at Beginning Weaving Week at The Mannings two summers ago.



It’s quick progress when I have time to sit at my loom and weave. Here’s hoping I have more of that in the near future!

WiP Wednesday

So my poor I.B. Footsie sock is dying of neglect. Why? Shortly after purchasing my shiny awesome Signature needle, I cast on for a Color Affection/Affliction/Infection shawl. It’s kind of perfect mindless or multitasking knitting (reading! I love my e-reader!), so it’s been getting my knitting time.


I like it, and I’m going to keep going. But I’ve definitely come to the conclusion that I should probably have thought about my yarn choices a little more. The blue and purple are both pretty much the same value, and don’t contrast as much as I’d like.


Do you see it? How about now?


And yeah, if I’d really thought about it and not been in such a hurry to pick yarn before I went to Maryland, I would have caught it.


Yeah. Don’t be like me. Take your time picking your yarns for Color Affection. THEN you can enjoy the hell out of knitting it. You’re welcome.

WiP Wednesday

Another week, another sock photo. Slow progress this week since the Hubster was nice enough to share the cold her brought home next week. I need to keep resting up so I’m ready for Maryland this weekend. Oh, yeah. The sock!



Two more repeats and I’m ready for the heel flap. Huzzah! And now, I need a nap if I’m going to manage to go to knit night long enough to hear about a friend’s trip to Sock Camp. So excited for her, and I can’t wait to hear all about it!

WiP Wednesday

It’s been a busy week, but I’ve scratched out some knitting time here and there. The I.B. Footsie socks are getting faster, which is awesome. I’m enjoying both the pattern and my Signature DPNs!


More writing on the horizon, and I’m plotting my next sweater. Might be another Swirl, might be a regular ‘ol cardigan. We shall see.