Yarn Along

I'm sure you're hearing this everywhere, but it is COLD. Cold enough that I finally started working on mittens for myself. Every year in January "mittens for me" is at the top of my knitting to do list and I always push them aside for other things, usually requests from my children. Not this year, though. At the moment they are just 2 inches of a 1x1 cuff, but that will soon change.

I'm also slowly working on the second sock to match the one I showed last week. I haven't been knitting diligently on it as you can see from the lack of progress, but now that I'm into the stockinette it will go quickly- if I can find knitting time. Getting back to work and our regular homeschooling schedule this week meant saying goodbye to all that extra knitting time over the holiday break!


I'm reading on the kindle this week- Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon, the second in the Outlander series to go along with the Knitmore Girls' Outlander read along. The kindle has been such a fabulous change in my reading life this past year. I used to feel like I had to choose to read or knit in the evenings, and with the kindle I can knit while I read if I'm in simple stitch patterns like stockinette socks.

{What are you knitting and reading this week?}

2014 Fiber and Fabric Goals

Happy New Year! Sock #1 finished before midnight 12/31/2013; on to sock #2 in 2014. I'm also joining the Knitmore Girls in reading Outlander on my kindle.

{Join Ginny for more yarn along this week.}

I might be working on socks this week, but my brain is focused on the new year and goals for 2014! I love goals. I know so many people who can't stand them and feel intense pressure under a "deadline", but for me, goals are simply a way to keep my focus in the direction I want my year to go. For me, goals are a guideline, not a "must do", and I really like having a guide when I feel muddled.


For the last few years my goals have been mainly focused on knitting, but with adding spinning to my repertoire this year and renewing my relationship with my sewing machine, I decided to rename my goals to include all things fiber and fabric.


1. Finish 15 knits this year. It's not an upgrade from last year, but I think it's a goal I can reach. At least 2 more babies are expected in the family, and my own kids just keep growing, and then there are the new hats and mittens they want each year... I think I'll be fine with 15. :)


2. Learn to spin with more control. Right now I'm very much a beginner and can only spin my "default" yarn. Control is my spinning word of the year. I ordered some fiber recently specifically to work on spinning different diameters and to work on spinning woolen without feeling like I'm "wasting" the fiber.


3. Participate in the Ravellenic Games and in Tour de Fleece as I am able. As long as my left arm is cooperating I want to participate in these events- I love being part of a community with a larger goal like these events! The Ravellenic Games are in February and Tour de Fleece is in July. Need a team? Join Team Sasquatch, for fans of most all podcasts. I first found them through the Knitmore Girls, but anyone can join in. Now to pick a project for the Rav. Games.


4. Maybe actually write out a pattern or two this year? I'm working more and more out of my own head and it might be nice to put it out there and see if anything comes of it.


5. Make 75% of Ellie's spring/summer and fall/winter wardrobes by hand. Knitwear, sewing, whatever counts, but I want it to be by hand. The Kids Clothes Week community has really helped motivate me in my sewing, and this past KCW challenge I was able to get a little more comfortable with sewing knits. I'm hoping for the same type of progress through this year- the first KCW challenge of the year is in January and I'll be working on spring/summer type things for Elle.


6. Make more for the boys through this year, making at least 3 items for each of them. There are so many adorable girls items out there that it is all too easy for me to focus my kid-centered making on Ellie. Not this year.

What are your fiber-y goals for 2014?

2013 Knitting in Review

YAY for the 2013 Knitting Review! I shared my fiber goals for 2013 WAAAY back in January, and
thought I'd share my 2013 Knitting Goal successes (and failures) today. Before we get started, I wanted to note that having goals in place has really helped me to reach a little farther each year, even though I don't always officially check off each goal. I'm totally okay with missing a goal for pretty much any reason but laziness. A little progress forward is better than no progress in my book!


Below I've listed my original January goals are in black, and my December comments are in blue.



1. Finish 15 Knits this year. I'm trying to be a bit conservative here. I knit a lot of baby and kid things- between my own children and the niece/nephew total expanding from 6 to at least 9 this year that is about half of my knitting. I'm making a serious point of knitting for myself this year too, though. I was pregnant or postpartum all of 2012, so I didn't knit garments considering my wonky body shape(s) for the year.


According to Ravelry, where I mostly get all of my projects entered, I finished 16 knits this year. I totally thought I'd fail this goal when I checked on my goal list in late November, but those 3 last minute Christmas hats brought me right up to the edge. I have a few more things on the needles at the moment that could potentially be cast off by tonight, but I'm going to go ahead and call this year's total at 15. I'll apologize in advance for a stretch of time in March-May that I apparently didn't photograph finished things because there are no photos on Ravelry, but I'll try to remedy that issue soon.

The 2013 Finished Knits are: 

Annis finished 1/3

Newborn Vertebrae finished 2/7

Another Vertebrae (12 mo.) finished 3/12

Little Scapulae finished 3/16

Looped Loop finished 5/15

Yearly Socks finished 6/11

Gradient Gray (Boneyard Shawl) finished 6/27

Taylor's February Sweater finished 8/1

A Little Hat finished 8/14

2013 Grey/Coral Socks finished 9/8

Little Mitts finished 11/1

Shapely Boyfriend Cardigan 11/14

Wurm finished 12/4

Grey Hat finished 12/7

Lacy Julian the 4th finished 12/8

Worsted Weight Socks finished 12/20

I'm heading into 2014 with 4 knits on the needles- 1 sweater for my 8yo son, 2 pairs of socks and 1 pair of mittens that just needs thumbs to be finished. 


2. Make at least 2 cardigans for myself. The cardigan queue is ridiculously long, I would wear them constantly... just need to get at it. (I cast on the Rocky Coast Cardigan in my annual post-Christmas bout of start-itis)


I did not finish this goal, but I did make it half way with one knit cardigan for myself- the Shapely Boyfriend Cardigan. It DID take me all year to do it (hance not beginning a second cardigan) because of my stubbornness about sleeves. It truly wasn't the pattern's fault and in fact, if I had just converted to magic loop instead of sticking with the weird relationship I have with DPNs the whole thing would have been over much much sooner. Lesson learned. Maybe.

3. Refuse to feel guilty when I hardly knit for several weeks in the spring and fall. All my time and energy goes into the garden and canning at those times, so I just need to go with it. I'm still producing quite a bit, just not things to wear.


Yep... I totally did this this year, and I'm so happy for the change! Garden season was garden season and when I knit sparingly I felt pretty good about it. In fact, Tour de Fleece happening in July was *awesome* timing for my fiber needs. I spent much of June at baseball with my boys, out in the garden and at the pool, and the Tour pulled me back into fiber things at the perfect time.


4. Make the annual pair of socks. I've come to terms with the fact that I probably won't ever be the knitter that churns out a pair a month. And that's okay. I'll settle for my 1-2 pairs per year.


I made 3 pair this year, and I have 2 more on the needles! So let's talk about this change a bit- I kept looking at socks with a pattern and felt like I really needed to make those socks to be a sock knitter. And then I came to a realization that I just wanted to knit socks. I used Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's sock recipe from one of her books and I went for it, just making plain socks. Liberating! I made 2 with her recipe and a pair of worsted weight socks this past month following Susan B. Anderson's pattern and voila! 3 pairs of socks added to my knitwear.


5. Experiment with some alternate knitting styles. I'm really interested in Irish Cottage Knitting, most especially since it's still a right hand guided style. Left hand just isn't an option for me- I'm a violinist by profession and adding any more repetitive motion in that arm would just lead to injury I can't afford to sustain.


I shared yesterday about some of the pain issues I'm having lately, and how my exploration into "alternative" knitting styles is deepening as I search for a way to continue knitting without causing further damage to my left arm. Some of this will depend on the findings of my doctors I'm sure, but for now knitting is a slow an sometimes no-go project.


6. Keep adding to my cast-on/bind-off repertoire. I mentioned in my last post that I learned a few new things as called for in patterns this year, but I want to continue to learn more in this area.


This is an ever growing area for me- I have a few reference books now that are helping me expand my knowledge base, and I've enjoyed learning some new methods this year!



7. Take a few knitting/fiber classes. I'm planning to take a spinning class at a yarn shop a little ways from here and I'm checking out a few Craftsy classes as possibilities too.


I've actually had the opportunity to take 4 classes this year- they added up more quickly than I thought they might!

I took a beginning spinning class back in February where I learned how to spin with a drop spindle and at a wheel. I went home with a spindle to practice, practice, practice. In November my husband surprised me with a sample spinning class and a wheel of my own!


From Craftsy I also took Sizing Knitwear Patterns and How to Say it: Pattern Writing for Knitters. I enjoyed both classes and learned a lot. I'm mostly interested in pattern sizing for my own information- I find I need to do a lot of math to get a good fit more myself out of a custom pattern since I have a longer torso and longer arms, and because of shaping sometimes it is not as simple as "knit it longer".


I think it has been a pretty successful knit year this year. I'm working on 2014's goals at the moment, and will be able to share those soon!

Yarn Along

How was your knitting week? I hope you got a little more time with your needles than I did this week. I kept up with a few rows each morning on the socks and made it to the toe decreases by Saturday. I went ahead and finished them on Sunday since they were so close- 2 at a time on separate DPN sets is my new favorite sock method. In fact, I'm ready to go ahead and cast on another pair but holding off til I finish my cardigan.

I wish I could say that the Shapely Boyfriend Cardigan is finished, but with this being my first week back to work for the school year, knitting time is being caught in little bits. I was getting time in with the socks in the morning over coffee, but after finishing those on Sunday I switched to knitting on the cardigan sleeve for a few minutes each morning. It hasn't added up to much yet, but maybe Saturday I can sit with the sleeve for the afternoon while the baby naps? We'll see. I might need to nap too at that point.


I started reading Gone Girl after several recommendations, but I'm having a hard time meshing with the writing style even though the story is interesting so far. I'm going to give it another couple of chapters, but if we're still not getting along at that point I'll go back to Ender's Game.

FO: Grey and Coral Socks

Project: Grey and Coral Socks 

Pattern: Vanilla socks, so a generic pattern customized to my somewhat oddly shaped foot. My favorite vanilla pattern is Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's, so that's the one I reference if I need anything, but otherwise I have this pattern memorized for my particular sizing issues.

Yarn: Regia Galaxy, colorway 1550

Needles: US size 1 DPNs

For: Myself. I will admit that I only knit socks with selfish ambition. I'll knit sweaters and cardigans and all sorts of things for other people, but socks are only knit if they will be going on my own two feet.



Cast On to Cast Off: May 28- September 8, 2013- Not too bad for socks knit by me. I haven't dubbed my past socks "annual" socks for nothing.

Notes: 64 stitches around and started with only a 1/2 inch of 2x2 ribbing at the top this time. Otherwise I knit them in my usual way.


Things I Learned:  Past socks have taken me upwards of 9-12 months to finish- partly because sock knitting tends to be my "in my purse in case I can get a round in here and there" knitting and not a main project at any one time and secondly because of Second Sock Syndrome (SSS). Now, I have never let a pair of socks completely sit without EVER finishing the 2nd sock, but I have totally been the knitter who finishes sock #1 and then doesn't cast on sock #2 until six months later (and by then has forgotten some of the details and the second sock turned out slightly different from sock #1). 

So I tried a little experiment this time around. I bought a second set of US1 DPNs and cast on both socks and then did each section of each sock in a row. So, ribbing on sock #1, then ribbing on sock #2, leg on sock #1 then leg on sock #2, etc. I wondered if that would help me mentally conquer SSS and skip that "I'm done but really only half way" deflated feeling after sock #1 is finished.

It totally worked for me, you guys. As I hit the toe decreases it made both toes go super fast because I knew that grafting the 32 total stitches on both sock really meant the ACTUAL end of the project, not just one sock.


Overall: Totally going with two at a time (on separate sets of DPNs) as my sock method from now on. Maybe I'll actually knit a third pair this year! (first pair of 2013 here.)

Conversation

We spent our lovely Saturday doing a little bit of what everyone wanted to do. We hit the farmer's market in the morning and picked up some wonderful peaches and really yummy blueberry and key lime jam. The boys also spent some of their hard earned cash on marshmallow shooters at one of the booths.


We made and ate all our meals together and got a head start on breakfasts for the week (banana muffins and some peach and blackberry crisp- perfect to add to our yogurt!). We made it to the pool before it rained, we had a family movie night, and I got to knit for all of Ellie's nap and most of the evening after dinner.


You'd think after knitting for a good 4-ish hours for the day that there would be massive sleeve progress, wouldn't you? I mean normal people would see progress, but not me. No- I hit the dreaded "I'm doing all this knitting and it's just not growing like it should!" stage. Seriously I held up the cardigan and stared at it and stretched it and then went and put the silly thing on and really really really that sleeve was only to my elbow.


After all the children were into bed my husband asked what my plans were for the rest of the evening and I sort of just spilled my knitting woes all over him. He knows enough about knitting to
listen to me when I really need to vent, but not so much as to truly commiserate over the situation.


He very kindly told me he would happily let me continue knitting for the evening and get in some gaming time if I needed to keep working on this cardigan. What a generous offer, right?


Fine by me. I really felt like I needed to keep pressing forward because any moment I'd realize I'd actually knit an octopus sleeve and rip back to the proper length and the sleeve would pretty much be done.


I told him I felt like I needed to keep moving forward but if the frustration level with the sweater continued to rise I'd scrap my knitting plans and join him.


Then the conversation that brought everything back into perspective (as spouses are wont to do):


Me: I just feel like if I don't keep working on it tonight that the sweater will win. If I keep going I might have a chance to win this.

My darling husband: Honey, there is no winner in the sweater war. If anything there's a loser and I think we both know who that would be.

Loser of the sweater war.

Not me.

I finished the sleeve decreases on Saturday night and then the 2x2 ribbing on sleeve #1 on Sunday afternoon as well as starting the second sleeve. I realized briefly that I'm going to need my long Addi cable available for knitting the button band on this cardi, and recognized the fact that that particular cable is in the Cerus Scarf I cast on about 2 weeks ago. Looks like a little game of Needle Shuffle is coming my way.

Yarn Along: Sleeves

{Yarning Along with Ginny}

I decided on Sunday to focus really hard on the two cardigans currently in my In Progress basket. I'll need mine pretty soon, and Ellie will need hers. I need to be able to move on to other things too- all the mittens and hats and other fall projects are calling to me.

I've been slogging through sleeve number one on the Shapely Boyfriend Cardi. I semi-forgot that sweaters aren't as portable as my typical projects, so it hasn't been traipsing through the house and out the door with me like I usually do with my knits-in-progress. But I did spend the evening with it for the last two nights in a row and made dedicated progress. Dare I hope for both sleeves to be finished by next week? And maybe even a whole cardigan??? It so depends on keeping my focus. I'm taking the socks with us on a field trip for the boys tomorrow in case there is down time, but otherwise I'm planning my attention to be on the cardigan.

I have to say that I also remembered this sweater as bulkier than it is- I think because it was taking up so much room in my project basket (and mocking me from there) and as I laid it out for photos I found that I really really love the shape of it and it's going to be a great cardigan for me. I just need to stay focused and bully my way through the sleeves.

I had planned to start Ender's Game last week in preparation for the movie, but I got a library notice for a kindle book available. Since they only have a 21 day lending time frame I'm working on that one first: Enchanted by Alethea Kontis. I started it just last night, so not very far in but so far so good.

You'll Never Guess

This weekend we took a little runaway trip. A quick one before the full school year schedule starts up again and weekend runaways aren't possible. We still had to be back in time for baseball games on Sunday, but it was worth it.


I purposely brought knitting projects that just need to be finished since my in progress basket is so full and wouldn't it just make sense to bring the bulkiest thing in there so I'd come home to a half empty basket?

Mmmm-hmmm.

The long laid aside Shapely Boyfriend. It seems like an unlikely knit to take along, I knew I'd have a few hours to kill in the car both directions, and with the kids watching a movie as we drove, I might be able to actually knit.


I know I've told you before that I have problems with finishing sleeves, but in reading the directions again I was reminded that there was a specific problem with these sleeves, in that the directions weren't making sense to me and I didn't have the brain power way back when I originally reached the sleeves to just fix it myself. I tried a few different ways while on the trip and ended up putting the sweater aside after just a few rounds in favor of working on the grey and coral socks (which now have both socks decreased back to 64 stitches and are ready for knitting round and round).

Apparently my knitting brain is lazy these days.

But!

The sleeves...

They have begun.

Yarn Along: Sneak Sock Attack

{Yarning Along with Ginny}

You might remember that last week I was having a difficult time focusing on one project. I'm happy to say that I spent a little time finishing the hat for my niece, then the rest of my week on just ONE project. I know, you probably fainted just now, but I really did it.


This past weekend we had a 4 day family reunion and I knew some of that time would be a great opportunity for knitting progress. I went back and forth about what to take and ultimately settled on the grey and coral socks I started back in May on our trip. I got through a portion of the leg of sock #1 on that trip and then set the socks aside in favor of a few other projects, but thought it would be a good "brainless" knit while chatting.

I'm knitting these socks two at a time on 2 sets of DPNs, working one section at a time, so I knit the leg on sock #1 then the leg of sock #2, the heel flap of sock #1 then the heel flap of sock #2, etc. During the reunion I finished the leg of sock #1 then made it through the leg of sock #2 and I worked on the heel flaps and turns yesterday. Once I get them each decreased back to 64 stitches I'll probably let these socks rest for a bit as I finish other projects. I'll come back to these as I need more "brainless" knitting.

I'm very close to the end of Chosen by Ted Dekker on the Kindle. I'm not sure that I'll continue the series though. It's focused to a younger reading level than I had originally thought. I'm going to re-read Ender's Game next in preparation for the movie coming out in November. It is probably obvious to you if you're a regular reader that Ender's Game is a favorite book of both mine and my husband's as our oldest son is named after the title character. The movie has been the topic of many conversations at our house lately, as we both are hopeful that they will take good care of the story and not ruin it adding to it or changing the sequence of events.

What are you reading and knitting lately?

FO: February Baby Sweater and Hat

Project: A Little Set for Taylor (A Little Hat and February Baby Sweater)

Pattern: February Baby Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmermann

Yarn: Cascade 220

Needles: US 7 for the hat, US 8 for the cardigan

For: my niece, Taylor

Notes: I have knit the February Baby Sweater a few times before (I think this is #4) and it's still one of my favorite knits. It's a simple pattern with simple lace that is easily memorized but looks a lot more complex than it actually is. I knit it a little longer than called for, so that it will really fit her this fall/winter- that's why she looks like she's swimming in it right now!

For the hat, I cast on in a multiple of 7, knit a few rows of 1x1 rib and then used the gull lace pattern from the February Baby Sweater to knit the lacework until it seemed tall enough, then decreased to finish the hat. My detailed notes are on Ravelry. 

Things I Learned: I'm getting less nervous about experimenting with shapes and a lot more willing to "off-road" within a pattern and then rip back if it doesn't work. I ripped back the hat a little bit when I was unhappy with the way the original decreases were working, but it helped me decide what to do with it ultimately.

Overall: A+. I'm really happy with the way it worked out, and that stretchy lace hat will stretch with her as she grows this winter. Ellie was even able to wear it and she's 13 months older than Taylor, so it might even last Taylor into winter 2014. 

Holiday Knitting

Yep. I'm thinking about the holidays already. Fall baseball season started last week, I go back to my regular work schedule in September and all the usual school year activities start up, then before I know it it will be Thanksgiving and about 1 second later Christmas will be here... so before all of that gets moving I'm picking patterns so that I can order yarn if necessary and then have the time to make the actual knitting happen.

Plans:

Plans are tricky things. I tend to overplan at this point and then whittle down as December first draws nigh. I also like to plan for things I know the kids will need this winter- like I know Ellie needs a hat and mittens, and Ezra picked out yarn from Nerd Girl Yarns specifically for mittens for him (because this kid seriously wears his mittens out every year. I *just* knit some last Christmas and repaired them. I'm going to repair them again and still knit him another pair.)


My boys have both requested a sweater for this winter. They keep growing, and Ezra has this very inconvenient way of keeping up with his brother in size so I rarely get to pass hand knits down from Ender to Ez even though there are 2 years between them. I'm considering Soledad and Alec and I'm also kind of thinking up an idea of my own. Ack! That sounds like it will take way more mental space than I have available right now. Maybe I'll start it and see if it goes anywhere and if it doesn't by a certain date I'll frog and move to a pattern that allows me to download and go.


I'm thinking about maybe knitting some little food for Ellie to play with with her baby dolls and maybe a little blanket for a dolly because only one of her 2 dollies currently has a blanket.


And if I want to REALLY shock the boys I'd finish their closet monsters that I started and stopped and started and stopped about a year ago... No promises on that one though.


Obviously, my plan is still taking shape. Are you looking toward the holidays yet? What are you planning to make?

Open Projects

During the school year life can get a bit crazy and it can be hard to find any creative time in my schedule. I work and we homeschool, and the boys have their "after school" activities in the evenings. Then there are the daily needs of the household and cleaning and cooking and spending time with my husband... and try as we might to protect our time and keep from being busy for busy-ness' sake, we sometimes find that our collective time is gone in a flash.


I don't know about you, but I literally get a bit twitchy if I go too many days in a row without making anything. Seriously, knitting or spinning for just 5 or 10 minutes before bed can provide a big dose of stress relief for me if I have a particularly busy week. The thing is, I don't always have the mental space to deal with more complex projects so I've found that I need a few projects going at a time so that I can knit every day, but not totally screw stuff up just because I'm tired (and if I'm messing up the easy stuff then I take it as a sign to put the needles down and just go to bed).

{Project Basket. Rule: if it fits in the basket it's not "too many projects".}

For instance, I pretty much always have a pair of vanilla socks on the needles in a little project bag ready to take with me at a moment's notice. I don't need a pattern for these socks and I can easily pick them up and knit 1 round or a few inches without much thought. They are perfect "on-the-go" knitting. I also frequently take socks into the music studio with me so that if I have a student unexpectedly cancel or come a few minutes late I might sneak a row or 10 in in the middle of the workday.


I don't knit a lot of lace in a year, but I do try to knit some as I'm able. It challenges me to pay attention, follow the chart, maybe learn a new technique... and that helps me grow as a knitter. My lace projects tend to take a long time- not because they are super difficult, but because I don't often have long stretches of time to really work at them.


Most everything else I knit is a product of either filling a need, like the cardigan I'm knitting for Ellie or the Shapely Boyfriend cardigan for myself (that I really will finish!), or serving as a gift for someone. I'm not at all bothered by having so many things technically on the needles at once. Whenever I get overwhelmed or it seems like there are a lot of "open" projects on my Ravelry page I go on a finishing spree and set a limit for myself of how much must be finished before I'm allowed to cast on something else.


For example, at the moment I have 6 open projects. The Shapely Boyfriend cardigan hasn't been worked on in awhile. I'll admit to passive aggressively leaving it in my WIP basket and secretly hoping that I'll pick it up one day to find that the knitting elves have finally arrived and knit the sleeves for me. But it's starting to stay cool out unseasonably early this year (we are usually blazing around 90-100 F through August and September, but this year have been mostly in the 80s) and I'm finding myself in need of more cardigans. So as soon as I finish Ellie's cardigan and the hat for my niece, I'll pick up that cardigan and finish those blasted sleeves.[Edit: I wrote most of this post last night before knitting- I thought I'd let you know that I finished that little baby hat right up during a few episodes of Big Bang Theory. Now to resist the urge to cast on mittens.]


The thing is, in the middle of finishing those things I'm also likely to cast on for a pair of mittens or two and probably another cardigan for my little girl in another size or two up so I can stay ahead of her crazy growth. I know the boys each need another sweater for this winter since they grew again too, and at some point I should make some mittens for myself, right? After all the pairs I've knit for others, surely one pair should stay with me...


It's really the children's fault that I have so many projects going at once. That's what it comes down to.

Yarn Along: Fickle

{Yarning Along with Ginny}

This week I:

Finished the lace work on the little purple hat for my niece. 

Finished the "Upper Edge" for the Kernel scarf and started the "Lower Edge".

Added about 2 inches to the leg of one of my grey and coral vanilla socks.

Cast on for Cerus and completed one very long row.

Put a little more time into one of the sleeves for Ellie's cardigan.

It all adds up to a lot of stitches and a ton of progress, but not a very flattering picture. The lace work all looks like a pile of yarn (as lace tends to look before it's finished and blocked) and there is no discernable progress on the socks, Cerus or Ellie's cardigan to anyone other than me. If I could have focused myself into one thing I'm sure I'd have an awesome photo for you.

Our local schools are back in session this week so it hit me on Monday that it is almost fall and Ellie will need mittens and a hat and I was hoping for mittens myself, and a good warm scarf (hence the Cerus). The boys both need hats, and I'm sure they'll request scarves since theirs are a couple years old.

I know the right answer to this situation is to buckle down on a few things (namely Kernel and Ellie's cardigan) and then jump into fall knitting, but I just can't seem to focus my attention I really want to cast on EVERYTHING in sight and I'm trying so very hard to resist. Next week I'll either have a ton of progress on specific projects to share with you, or I'll have 14 million new projects started and look like a crazy person.


I just started reading Chosen by Ted Dekker last night, and the boys and I started reading the first Boxcar Children book together yesterday. I also have Catherine, Called Birdy from the library since it was one of the chapter books I wanted to consider reading with the boys in connection with our history study this year, but I can't get into it. If I don't enjoy the first chapter or two, I'm pretty sure it's not a book I'll be able to get the boys into.

Yarn Along: A Little Hat

{Knit Along with Ginny}

Knitting has been slow this week. There's a long story I'd rather not tell, but the short version is that I bruised my left hand in stellar fashion and while I can use it when I need to, it's still really sore. It's a good thing I'm out of the music studio for this month for a scheduled break.


I knit a little purple February Baby Sweater for my newest niece not long ago and it's been sitting finished for a bit, just waiting for a little hat to join it. I finally cast the hat on in the last day or two using the lace pattern from the February Baby Sweater. It doesn't look like much yet, but I'll be able to finish it in the next chunk of time I get and hopefully have a finished set to show next week.

{This has proven to be a difficult color for me to photograph. Any tricks for purples?}

I'm also still working on the Doctor Who Kernel and Ellie's Cardigan, but just not making much progress because of this pesky hand.


I finished the last bit of Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and now I'm hunting for a quick read or two since I've read some bigger things in the last few months. My brain needs something a little lighter. I looked around on my library's website for a long time last night trying to hunt down a new book, but nothing sounded great. Perhaps I'll find something while looking around during the yarn along.

Yarn Along

{Yarning Along with Ginny}

I finally got a chance to sit down in peace and quiet for an hour or so and get a decent start on my Doctor Who Kernel this week. Those opportunities come around so much less frequently these days so I really have to take advantage when they turn up. I made it through almost all of the "Upper Edge" and I have about 4 more rows before I put it onto scrap yarn and set it aside while I start the "Lower Edge" and knit the whole scarf. 

I knit this pattern sans beads back in 2010 as a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law, and after her passing in 2011 my father-in-law passed it back to me. At that point it was the most difficult thing I had ever knit and I was quite frustrated with it and almost gave up at several points. I took a long break from lace afterwards because the experience had been so difficult (even though I conquered the scarf and made it to the end without killing anyone or ripping it to shreds). That being said, it was also the most beautiful piece I had ever knit at that point and I truly felt afterwards that I could accomplish just about anything after finishing that scarf.

This time around I am learning to add the beads and I have found the pattern to go quickly and quite easily. I'm much better at reading charts now, the lace repeats make complete sense (even when I can only work on a row or two at a time), and I can read back through my previous knitting to find my place easily. 

I'm reading Spinning in the Old Way by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts and trying to sort out the difference between woolen and worsted spinning. I'm not sure I an actually try woolen spinning on the spindle yet, but I'm hoping to at least wrap my head around the idea.

Yarn Along: Re-do

{Yarning Along with Ginny}

Tour de Fleece finished this past Sunday, so I've reclaimed a little bit of my knitting time. I'm still trying to decide what to make with the yarn I made during the tour. It's about 300 yards of a light fingering weight that is a little uneven. I'm open to suggestions!

I made it the tiniest bit into the beginning of my Doctor Who Kernel the other day while waiting for my boys- all of 5 rows I believe. I'll really be able to get going on it as soon as Ellie's Stripey Cardigan is complete. 

And speaking of the cardigan... I have redone the edge of this cardigan 3 times. I did it without thinking the first time and kept it stockinette. As soon as I bound off I realized what I'd done and how the curling would never go away, so I immediately ripped it back and went with garter stitch. That didn't look quite right either so I went back and did a 1x1 ribbing. It's still not right, but I'm not settled on what to do so I decided to leave it for now and move on to the sleeves while I think on that bottom edge. 

I'm still reading Ready Player One in little bits when I get some time, but most of my attention is going to The Spinner's Book of Yarn Designs by Sarah Anderson while I figure out some spinning technique.

Yarn Along

{Yarning Along with Ginny}

I'm still mostly spinning this week since this is the last week of the tour and I'd *love* to finish plying all my singles before the tour is over, but I did work on finishing the body of Ellie's cardigan this week too. I'm ready to start the garter border and then move on to the sleeves.

I decided against striping the whole body. I used Excel to try out different striping patterns visually to see what I'd like and this is the pattern I settled on, knowing that if it didn't look so great in the actual knitting I'd just rip back. I'm pleased with how it has turned out, but now I have to decide whether to leave the sleeves plain or to add striping of some kind there.

I did cast on for the Kernel with the yarn I shared last week, but that is literally all I've done- not even one row has been knit. I don't remember what came up, but I know it was a child of mine and I just haven't gotten back to Kernel to move on. I decided to go ahead and knit the upper edging first then leave it on scrap yarn to start the lower edging so that I can knit to the end of the yarn (or nearly) without having to worry about saving enough yarn for the other edging.

I'm reading The Spinner's Book of Yarn Designs by Sarah Anderson in little bits at night and learning so much with every reading. I already know I'm going to have to read it again- there is so much information for a newbie like myself to take in!

Yarn Along: Stripes

{Yarning Along with Ginny}

My knitting is a little slow this week. I've mostly been spinning with my crafting time, eager to keep up with Tour de Fleece and also to finish up spinning the singles for this particular fiber so that I can practice my plying and then move on to my Nerd Girl Yarns fiber.

I did make a little bit of progress on Ellie's cardigan for fall, and made some final decisions about the stripes after experimenting with different striping patterns in excel. I'm always nervous about picking colors to go with each other for colorwork, so while it may not be a very big deal for some, I'm proud of myself for knitting outside of my usual color comfort zone. I tend to knit monochromatically if I'm going to knit with color, or to pair a single color with either black or white.

Am I the only one with colorwork issues? I'm totally good when awesome colors are all paired for me, I'm a little nervous about making those pairings myself.

I acquired some beads for the Knitmore Girls' "summer of lace and beads" KAL. The yarn and pattern are ready and now that I have the beads I just have to cast on. I haven't knit with beads before, but have been assured it's simple. There are only 36 beads to include in Kernel, so it will be a good intro for me. One more item crossed off on my list of fiber-y things to learn!


I just started reading Ready Player One. I can't read while I spin yet, so reading time has been minimized for the length of the tour!

Yarn Along: Little Cardigan

{Yarning Along with Ginny}

I finished knitting the gray shawl I was working on last week and I moved on to working on another little cardigan for Ellie that she can wear this fall, and maybe even next spring depending on how fast this little girl grows.

I'm almost through the yoke and then I have to really plan how I want the striping to work. I'm have a general idea of what I want, but sometimes my mental plans don't work out as well as I think in reality. Feel free to suggest striping plans in comments. I'm planning thin stripes emphasizing the purple over the blue and leaning toward the simple side of things.

Truthfully I'm not knitting very much over the past week because most of my crafting time is going into spinning for Tour de Fleece, but I still want to make progress on this cardigan around my TdF participation. My aim has been to spin for at least 15 minutes a day and I've gotten close to an hour each day so far.

It took a little longer than I had anticipated to finish Game of Thrones so I'm just in the first chapter or so of Ready Player One. Maybe I'll find a little more reading time this week!

FO: Gradient Gray

Project: 

Gradient Gray

Pattern:

The Boneyard Shawl by Stephen West

Yarn:

Wolle's Yarn Creations, 100 grams of cotton. Colorway: Coal

Needles:

Size US 6 circulars, bind off with a US 8

For:

Myself

Cast On to Cast Off:

about 2 weeks (June 12-27)

Notes:

I love this shawl- it is deceptively simple but high impact. I have had this yarn for over a year but couldn't find the right pattern. I'm glad I didn't try to force a match sooner- this yarn and pattern compliment each other beautifully.

Things I Learned:

I really really love the M1R and M1L increases. I have used these increases on one or two projects before, but this time around having to use them on every right side row I found myself admiring the beautiful way the increase fits in with the surrounding stitches. It's a wonderful choice and I'm not really sure why more patterns don't use these increases. I'm sure I'll find myself using these often in patterns that ask you to increase generically.

Overall:

Wonderful! I'm planning to make another larger one in the future since it was such a lovely knit. 

Now off to give it a good blocking.