I Feel Accomplished

I started this sweater in 2009!

It was for my nephew who just a baby. Now he's six and there is no way that future giant is going to fit into this thing. I need to find a new little one to gift it to but I am not going to let that stop me from being happy about completing a long, long term goal.

The pattern is the baby bog from Elizabeth Zimmerman.

It is not perfect (don't stare too hard at the stripes), but it is perfectly made with love and care. And I'm oh, so happy with that fancy gold zipper that I machine stitched in. Cute as can be!

You can read previous posts about this project using the links below.

Mountains of Unfinished Knitting

More of The Same

Back To The Knitting

A Good Start

I’m happy to say that my crafting life is off to a good start for 2013. Only Jared Flood can look at the shape below and think it’s going to make a good cardigan shape, but here it is.



I started this cardigan in April 2011. I wish I had finished it to wear during the fall but the construction on this is not the easiest process to go through….but very much worth it.



I love the banding and I love the finishing on the sleeves. I’m really impressed with the elegant simplicity of this piece. And considering how many shortcuts I took, it really is a foolproof design.



A couple of the changes I made from the pattern as written.

-I only used one size needle for the band and body. I didn’t want the band to draw up too much as I’ve seen with some cardigans. On a bigger body this is not always flattering.

-I pieced the pieces together as I finished them. the idea of knitting, blocking and then finding out one piece was a little short and trying to block it out was not my idea of fun. And I’m not fond of blocking on a piece like this anyway. Because it’s an open cardigan that is meant to drape without any body-hugging shaping, exact measurements are really not important.



One thing that I wish I had done was learn a more neat cast-on before starting this project. I’m tempted to pick up stitches and make an i-cord edge around the bottom. I’ll have to think on that a little as I’m enjoying wearing this too much to put it back on the needles.

Talk about a great start to the year! How is your new year shaping up so far?

I Know I Should Be Blogging

Instead I am knitting and watching movies on the computer.

I’m getting close on this cardigan.

Frog or Finish Friday-Schaeffer Scarf

I have learned to stay away from knitting shops when I am itching for a new project or when a trunk show is in town. Both of these led me to purchasing this yarn. This is a very beautiful and slightly expensive yarn from the Shaeffer Yarn Company. I went to the trunk show and was captivated with the yarn and stories of the ladies that each yarn is named for. I am a sucker for a good story! I was very happy with this particular yarn pick. It is Laurel in the Empress Wu Zhao color way. It came with this lovely pattern for a criss cross wrap but for some reason, I was in love with entrelac and decided to do the Lady Eleanor Entrelac Stole, which is a very lovely pattern itself.



See the date tag on the photo? 2007! I have this project on the needles for almost a full five years. That is atrocious! Back on topic...

The problem I find myself with now is that I have many, many scarves and wraps and frankly, I don’t need another one. So finishing this project really won’t yield me a usable product. So, I’m sad to say this project must be FROGGED!

I don’t yet know what this yarn will become. It’s color variation and shine make it a little difficult to choose a project, but I’ll be on the look out. As usual, I am open to suggestion!

Cooling Down

The weather is starting the change and you know what that means--I need to get moving on this cardigan that I am knitting!

Now that I’m in a place where the weather will be on the cold side, I’m excited to see how this sparks my knitting. I love hand knit items. They are just so special to me, so I will be adding more to my collection.

I have finished the band on the last piece of this cardigan and will now be knitting inches and inches and inches of stockinette stitch. Since I need to catch up on my reading challenge, I will be sitting and listening to some Audible selections while I get this finished.

To keep myself motivated, I’m going to post more knitting updates until I get this done. If you don’t hear about, please send me a little message. Don’t let me slack on this one.

I had to add an extra shot. Doesn’t it look luscious!

Hiya!

Hello my lovelies. Yes, I’m still here but productivity has not been my friend lately. I am in Kansas now. I’m not completely relocated, but I am here and working and trying to figure out what life will look like here until the future husband joins me next year.

I foolishly thought I would be one of those bloggers that would keep everything moving during the relocation, giving you all the details here and there. The summer heat waves and shaky WIFI kept me from getting much done. Now that I’m cooler and connected, it’s still taking some effort to get back up and moving.

Soon, my friends. Soon. In he meantime, I am trying to get back into the swing of things by working on the one knitting project that I brought with me.



This is the Jared Flood Inversion Cardigan and I am casting on the final piece. I have already stitched up and joined the first two pieces. Waiting until this thing was blocked just wasn’t in my DNA so I’m piecing and joining as I go. It really does look lovely and I can’t wait to wear it when the weather cools WAY DOWN.

Needless to say I have fallen a behind on my reading goals for the year, but I am very much still committed to meeting that goal. More on that soon. For now, I am sending some productivity mojo your way and hope that it serves you well in the coming weeks/months.

Frog or Finish Friday-More Socks

I started these during my sock craze of 2008. Since they are both the same pattern, I decided to try to make a decision about them together. The are self-patterning Berroco sock yarn and I have to say I hate the pattern. These were really popular at the time and I had seen other socks knit in it and thought it looked good. The problem may be the toe up sock pattern that I chose.

Since I have no idea what pattern I used, these had but only one fate. It’s a shame considering the blue pair had the second sock half done.

I had a lot of fun sending these socks to Froggy heaven. I think they will become socks again at some point in the future. I think I would want these as anything else.



How are you knitters/crocheters out there doing with your unfinished projects?

Frog or Finish Friday-Blue Waves Socks

These socks were cast on in August of 2008. Looking at them now, I have to say that I am not happy with them.




I do like the lacy wave pattern of the cuff but I am not a fan of the top of the sock. I wish I had done a regular ribbed start. Also, the cuff is too short in general. I have learned over through the years that if my cuff is not long enough, my socks will end up in my shoes about 10 minutes after I start walking. DRIVES ME CRAZY!



And I’m not a fan of the heel that I chose for this sock. My recent darning practice tells me it won’t be long before a hole sprouts at the back of my foot. A reinforced heel is a must.

All this to say, this sock has been frogged and its yarn is in wait to become something new. I think I will definitely make them into socks. I just need to choose an appropriate pattern and construction.

Weekend Projects

I’m determined to get something done this weekend. Since there is no way I will finish the cardigan, I decided to cast on a hat. Using my laptop to surf the internet a little bit while listening to an audiobook. Trying to get my May reading off to a good start.

Frog or Finish Friday-Socks

When cleaning out my stash, I came face to face with my pile of unfinished knitting projects. Some of these have been on the needles for years. As part of my journey towards a simple life, I’m going to tackle each of them and determine once and for all if I will frog the current project or finish it. My goal is to tackle them a couple of weeks at a time so I can figure out what their next life will be (if they are frogged).

So, first up is a toe up sock that I started in February of 2008. I bought the yarn from a local dyer and I’m happy to say she no longer sells this. She changed her yarn base shortly after I bought this.



This is a very pretty yarn when skeined and it feels good to the touch, but I was not happy about the look of the yarn when knitting the sock. That was one of the reasons I never finished this sock. I think this yarn would be happier as a piece that can show off the striping nature of the yarn better. Also, I have no idea what pattern I was using to knit these.



So, I decided to frog it. I also decided to go ahead and wind this into a new ball as well as wind the remaining skein into a ball. During the process of ripping out the sock, the toe broke off. I took this is a one-off and decided to keep going. When re-balling the yarn, it broke yet again. I decided to stop for fear that I would end up with a ton of yarn pieces floating around. The yarn was not this fragile when originally knit and it has been protected from bugs so I’m not sure why it has become so fragile. This completely alters any plans I had for the yarn. If I’m going to have to spice constantly while trying to knit this up, I won’t get a good striping effect as desired.



So, I’m open to suggestions. I’m tempted to trash the ball that is falling apart, but I don’t want to be unnecessarily wasteful. What does this yarn want to be?

Darn!

After accomplishing the grand feat of cleaning and organizing my stash, I was ready to get back to knitting and crocheting. I do love my fiber crafts and I use them to keep me calm in the stressful times and there is nothing more stressful than unemployment and a slow job search. But before allowing myself to dive into the stash to pick out a new project or even allowing myself to pick up an in-process project, I had to revisit my growing pile of socks that need darning of some kind. Darn!



I took a darning class about 3 years ago at Stitches South and I had yet to actually use the skills that I had learned. And with the variety of fixes that need to be made, I’m probably going to put everything I learned to the test. I pulled out some gray wool to mend with. This yarn is felt-able, which is key to the process.The pink socks are the very first pair of socks that I knit and they have done nothing but get softer and warmer over time. I know it’s not really possible to get warmer, but cut my nostalgic heart a little slack. These are my favorites. The others are not as special when all is said and done, but I do love having hand knit socks and I’m not willing to sacrifice any of them--at least not yet.



The two pair above were easy to fix. Using a darning egg and a lot of patience, they are mended and back in rotation. The holes on the pink socks are clearly products of wear as I have lovingly worn these socks for years. That other pair is a mystery to me. I just finished these socks a few months ago. As a matter of fact, I blogged their finishing here. I doubt I was able to wear these three times before a hole sprouted on the side of the foot. The side! I am going to completely blame this on the yarn and not on my construction abilities. That’s the version of the story that I’m sticking to, you will not change my mind.



Now, this sock is a little different. The hole itself is easy enough to fix, but there is a problem. I machine wash all of my socks. This is not a problem for most of the sock yarns on the market so don’t let this keep you from machine washing your own. But, please make sure you are careful with what you washed your socks with. This pair inadvertently got washed with a really fuzzy set of bath towels that I absolutely hate. That fuzz has worked its way into the lacy pattern of the sock and made the cuff section of the sock incredibly stiff. The result is that I would have to stretch the sock entirely too much to get it over my foot, hence the making of the hole. Really, I should probably find another use for these socks--I thought about making them into fingerless gloves but they are such cute socks. Needless to say, I have not made a decision and these will need to go back into consideration for the day when I am a more skilled knitter. The instructor of the darning class I attended would cut the entire cuff section off and knit a new one, but I am not that dedicated to these socks.And then what yarn would I use?



These Noro socks are just as much a mystery to me. Those are actually holes, but areas where the yarn is so thin that it’s easy to be poked through so the area is stretching out. Again, I am not a skilled enough darner to fix these as the yarn is so thin and the areas curving around the toe. It almost seems like poking through the darning yarn will do more damage than good. I’ll have to think on these a little more as well.

So, my darning adventures only led me to getting two pairs off socks back into rotation, but I will consider that good enough to free me into more yarn crafts. In the meantime, I would love to hear from you knitters out there on how you would repair/remake the socks that I am not brave enough to tackle yet. Thoughts?

Sick Day #2

I’m on the mend, but by no means 100%. I’m still trying not to talk so I can continue to heal and not go backwards. I’m still working on the agenda from yesterday, but I have pulled out my bag of unfinished projects to work on something else while I continue to read through all the posts in my RSS reader. I know RSS reading wasn’t on the list of things to do, but I’m going to do it anyway!

Hope you all are being productive today, whether you are at work or home.

Ta-ta!

Sick Day Part 2

The last load of laundry is in the washer and the socks are done!!!!! yay!

Now, it’s time to work on those lists. I do feel rather productive.

I still can’t talk and my fiancé is taking this as his chance. His time is coming though. Just wait till my voice comes back…

just wait!

Sick Day

For the past few years, my allergies/sinuses bother me enough that I sneeze and cough to the point of loosing my voice. This happens once or twice a year, but this time is different. This is the first time this year I’ve lost my voice and unlike any time before, I have lost it COMPLETELY! Usually, I’m just very hoarse and I can still have a squeaky conversation. Right now, one word and I am at the point of choking. I took the day off so I would not be tempted to talk and I have asked everyone not to call me.

But, I’m determined to be at least a little productive while I’m home. My list for today…

        ❑        Finish the socks! I just have the toe on sock #2 to go.

        ❑        Make my 2012 focus list! I’ve got a lot going on next year…wedding, husband, new business?

        ❑        Laundry

        ❑        Packing Plan

        ❑        Assignment Reflections--when I walk away from this assignment, I want to leave something behind

So, just to show how serious I am…

The laundry and the sock are making progress!

Just In Time

I’m playing with Fire so I’m not being productive right now. But I did work on the socks a little today. I’ll be ready to decrease for the toes soon.

The Thanksgiving break has begun for me. Yay…more tomorrow.

Knitting Update

I’m making progress. I’m a little tired so I won’t finish this tonight…maybe tomorrow.

I’m very happy that this went so quickly. The final Harry Potter movie and a marathon of the older ones got me through. Still watching Harry tonight.

November Knitting Project

My grandmother got her shrug in the mail yesterday and she loves it. So, now that I’ve got one crochet project off the hook, I feel the need to get at least one knitting project off the needles. In looking at my Ravelry account, it seems I only have two knitting projects in progress (we’ll ignore the seven that I have put in time out--hibernation for all you Ravelry users)--A fair aisle blanket and a pair of socks. Needles to say I’m going to go for the socks.

I have had these socks on the needles since July 2010, over a year! When I first learned how to knit socks, I went crazy with it, with the goal of having enough socks that I could wear nothing but hand knit socks. Well, that’s a good goal until you become burned out and your existing socks sprout holes. Darning is a separate project that I need to tackle. But, back to these socks.

The pattern is Crosshatch Lace by Charlene Schurch from More Sensational Knitted Socks. The yarn is Lion Brand Sock-Ease in the Rock Candy colorway. I’ll try to get better pictures to show off the color when I finish them. I originally stopped working on these when I kept messing up the start to the second sock. It’s not a difficult pattern, but apparently my brain was in a difficult place. Let’s see if I have better luck this time.

Winding Down

I’m blessed enough to have the week off from work. The entire week is a holiday for the company I am on assignment with and since they have the holiday, I have the holiday. How great is that. I’m spending time this week finishing up a lot of things that have followed me through the year. Today, I finally made it through all the posts in my RSS reader and I completed a few knitting and crochet projects, although those haven’t necessarily been following me all year.



My mother and I have been doing a lot of similar craft projects this year. She is currently crocheting towels and suggested I try this pattern from the makers of Peaches and Cream. Of course I made it in Sugar and Cream. It’s a great pattern and I will do more of them as I have tons and tons of cotton left.




I redid the mobeus scarf and I am very happy with the outcome this time. I knit it on size 8 needles. I think I’m using a 40” Addi. I don’t know how many stitches I cast on. I cast on enough to join the work in the round without stretching. It’s probably a little longer than it needs to be but it wraps around my head 3 times so it’s perfect for blocking out the wind coming off the river on my walk to work. I’m actually blocking this so I will take more pictures after it is dry.



Right now I am trying to figure out my planner/journal needs for the new year. The Life Tracker system from DayRunner that I adopted last year has been discontinued so I am looking at other solutions that will allow me to continue using the binder from the Life Tracker system. I picked up a BlueSky planner from Target today along with some post-it notes that will help me to keep everything organized. We’ll see how long this lasts as I am notorious for changing planners often throughout the year. I’m also trying to make sure the planner/journal system works well for planning the wedding (must get started on planning the wedding!).

How are you all doing on finishing out the year?

Good Morning

My fiance just left for work so I decided to get a quick post in before going back to sleep. The weekend has been great so far. I hope you all can say the same. We had dinner last night with friends at the National Harbor at a restaurant called Ketchup. I won’t link the restaurant because I don’t recommend it at all. The food was decent but the service was horrible. Don’t waste your time. And if you plan to spend any time at the National Harbor, go early and plan to stay long. The wait at every restaurant was at least 3 hours. Ketchup was about an hour and a half. Possibly more if the bad service kicks in as it did with us.

I think I’m going to do some more crocheting today. I tried to do a little knitting last week and it completely failed. I attempted to do a Mobeus scarf. I did the mobeus cast on and started with 300 stitches on size 6 needles.



Things went well in the knitting. I even took it off the needles a few rows in to make sure it would be long enough. When I finished, I hated it. It started curling immediately and only got worse. It completely curled in on itself and it would take too much blocking to make it worth keeping. And it was too short. It made a cowl that was too long and a scarf that was too short.

I will re-do this with a few changes. I will knit on bigger needles for a looser stitch. I think I’ll go up to a size 8 needle. I’ll go up to 400 stitches. I bought a cone of this yarn but only brought a little of it up to Virginia with me. I think I’ll just put all of the yarn I brought with me into it for a nice and full scarf.

Knitting this scarf in one piece is definitely the way to go. The traditional method of knitting 6 to 8 feet of fabric and stitching together gets so boring. Knitting it in the spiral is much more interesting. I found directions for this cast on through YouTube. Love YouTube.

Happy Sunday all. I’m off to bed now since there is nothing on TV at 5 in the morning.

Hello Again

Since I found myself in the mood to really tackle a little knitting, I decided to say Hello Again to some of the projects I have had laying around needing some attention. The first is the baby blanket I wrote about yesterday. Unfortunately, as soon as I posted that entry and bound off the body of the blanket, I discovered I don’t have enough yarn to do the intended binding. I’m not sure what to do about that for the moment so I have put that little project aside.

I pulled out this little sock square that I’m working on out of left over bits of sock yarn. I think I’m going to try and make it blanket size but I may get bored and make a pillow. We shall see. In the meantime, I have added a few more rows to this neglected little project.

I FINALLY (YES, FINALLY) felted this little bag that I have had knitted for 9 months now. It’s just been floating around waiting to be felted. On the last trip home to Chattanooga, I made sure to bring it back with me and last night it took a go in the washing machine. I love the result and for now, it will live on my desk in the city to hold the things that will get me through Nanowrimo 2010.

I feel like I’m fall cleaning.