In the Garden

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.