October

I had no incoming yarn in October! I also had next to no outgoing yarn as the things I worked the most on aren't finished for one reason or another.



It's time to start focusing on any holiday gifts and/or WIPs that I want to finish by the end of the year. I have ten 2017 WIPs and there's still 30 from previous years - I haven't made much of a dent in my older WIPs this year. 80 FOs and only six of them were things I started before this year. I think my goal is to finish at least 20 more things this year and to have under 30 total WIPs. Two months, 20 things, sounds like a lot but I do have a lot of half + finished items, small holiday things, and a flight to and from India. If I can just keep from starting all of the available projects, I just might make it!

Apparition: Clue 3

This shawl really is cursed! I got a message from the bead seller saying that they can only get two more tubes of beads. I need four more (and ordered five more to get free shipping). They're going to refund the extra three tubes and I seem to have found more elsewhere, so hopefully I'll be able to finish the shawl.

I do like how the beads look against the yarn. I can keep going for now, but I have no idea when I'll be able to finish!

Interlude: Airplanes!

One of the children that I make holiday things for really, really, really likes airplanes. I was happy to oblige!

Pattern: Braided Fleece Blankets

Fabric: No-Sew Fleece Blanket kits from Jo-Ann's

Timeframe: December 22, 2016

Mods: Didn't measure it out perfectly, but I think it's fine!

Problems: None, unless you count the fact that I find the cutting to be a bit tedious.

Pattern: Save the Baby Whales! (Ravelry mine)

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Skyline Blue and White

Needles: US4/3.5mm & US6/4.0mm

Timeframe: July 13 - 31, 2016

Mods: Different colorwork chart

Problems: None! 

And with the leftover yarn, we have a matching pair of mittens and a hat! I should have used the last of the white to make a pompom, but oh well, it's cute anyway!

Pattern: Kids' Blue Ice Beanie! (Ravelry mine) and Guris simple children's mittens (Ravelry mine)

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Skyline Blue and White

Needles: US5/3.75mm & US7/4.5mm & US4/3.5mm

Timeframe: November 9 - 10 & December 17 - 23, 2016

Mods: Cuffs of mittens to match hat.

Problems: None!

Interlude: Nuvem

I have been slammed at work, with extra things to do at night and all my meetings cancelled, so I've had minimal knitting time. I'm still working on the -alongs, but they're just not growing that quickly!

For the past year, I've been knitting for others every so often through Ravelry's Will Work for Yarn group. In that group, people send you yarn to make them something, and also send you the equivalent yarn as compensation. The last project I've done through that group (probably the last I'll ever do) used a full skein of Wollmeise Lace-garn.

This is one mile of yarn. I made a shawl using a full mile of yarn.

It took a very, very long time.

Pattern: Nuvem (Ravelry mine)

Yarn: Wollmeise Lace-garn in We're Different (probably Mond im 7. Haus)

Needles: US4/3.5mm

Timeframe: May 1 - September 27, 2017

Mods: None!

Problems: None!

  

Now I have another skein of the same yarn, in a slightly different colorway, for myself. Another full mile of yarn - maybe another Nuvem?

Apparition: Clue 2

This time the purl patterned bits are much less visible in the photo, and still not great in real life. The pattern is transitioning to a beaded lace, so I'm going to keep going.

Hopefully it stays like that for the rest, I do enjoy how these beads look on the yarn!

Apparition: Clue 1

Unsurprisingly, the designer was right and this might not be the best yarn for this shawl.

There are little areas of purl stitches scattered in this clue and they aren't all that visible looking straight on. They are somewhat visible at an angle. I'll give it at least one more clue before I decide whether this was a good idea or if I'm going to hold off on knitting this one until I have a more appropriate yarn.

More -alongs? More -alongs!

I happened across a Boo Knits Halloween Mystery Knit A Long and, unsurprisingly, jumped right in! I had some yarn that might not show the pattern as well as intended, but it's what I had on hand and unmatched to any other project. I did have to get more beads as it calls for about 800 beads, but beads aren't (yet) a problematic part of my stash, so I'm not complaining!

This shawl may be doomed. First, I tried to go to a local bead shop, but they had no reasonable beads. The ones I did order, the lovely purple ones, are actually partially on back order. I'll get the other half in about a week or so. Also, I found when I was setting up this picture, the dye lots are not the same. The skeins are actually a bit light too, only 21 and 23 grams versus the expected 25, and 50 grams was a little on the light side to begin with. I'm hoping that the yarn both shows the texture well enough and lasts enough so I only need to use the white I have for the last row or two and bindoff. It should have the ethereal quality that the pattern says it's going for, but it might obscure the textured portions. I'm hoping it's a bit of texture and a bunch of beads and lace. Fingers crossed!

Lilliana: Clue 2

Another fairly quick clue down! Only ten? nine? more to go!

It's already getting huge. I am now worried that the final size will be larger than intended!

Lilliana: Clue 1

The first clue for Lilliana (Ravelry) was released on 9/29, and I believe there will be a clue every Friday thereafter for 11 weeks. The site doesn't seem to be too clear on the timeline. I finished the first clue quite quickly, though I'm sure the later clues will take much more time!

I love the flower in the center. It's just so happy so far!

There's still a long way to go, but it's a good start!

Me too, me too!

I am a joiner. As if you didn't already know. I have a knitting blog, like most of the other knitters did a few years ago. Many have moved on to Instagram or podcasts, but I like written blog posts.

I also join -alongs all. the. time. I may not always keep up or finish in a reasonable amount of time (she types while glancing at the unfinished Secret of the Stole that could be in elementary school it's been a UFO for so long...), but I do like to join and often finish what I start.

This time, I didn't choose to join the Alonging, I have some friends getting married and I thought that a mandala-style blanket would be appropriate for their wedding gift. My husband was the one who chose the pattern that didn't even come out for about a month after we chose it, is a crochet-along (though not a mystery), and won't actually be finished until about a month after the wedding. They're having a destination wedding followed by a most excellent honeymoon so I'm not that fussed by the timing. It's also the reason for September's massive yarn increase, over three miles of yarn is in that box!

It will be absolutely glorious, even though you can't quite tell from my poorly-lit, slightly blurry picture of the palette. It's a more vibrant version of the original Lilliana (Ravelry) colorway, using heavier yarn so that it makes a larger beadspread-sized blanket rather than the throw that the original pattern calls for.

I hope they love it. I think I'm gonna love working on it!

Steotchalong 2017: Clue #6

Still stitching along!

I've got a custom ending I charted out that will be perfect for my home. What do we serve? Stay tuned to find out!

September Stash Count

I have a friend getting married. A friend who is close enough to merit an extra-special blanket. I had to buy yarn for that blanket. Past blankets have needed 2 - 3 miles of yarn and this one is not an exception!



I feel there is a definite trend this year. Amazingly, I finished a project that required a mile of yarn this month too! My job hasn't left a lot of time for knitting and has fewer meetings that allow for knitting than I anticipated. Hopefully my yarn acquisitions settle to the new level of yarn usage soon!

Steotchalong 2017: Clue #5

I worked on this clue in a rose garden in New Hampshire.

And in the forest. This piece is sure getting around!
 

Definitely letters this time, and I know what it's going to say!

Goodbye August

Yet again, so many things worked on, so few yards of yarn completed. I forgot to actually post my Stash Dash finish (I thought it ended later than it did!) but I hadn't quite hit the 5k finish line, even with a bunch of spinning from Tour de Fleece. That means that I actually knit much less than my average over the summer (or at least didn't finish all that much!) and that number is not going to get any better now that classes have started!



I did finish a few pairs of socks, but then I bought the last of the yarn needed for holiday sweaters for nieces and nephews. Time to start knitting all those holiday gifts! Quick, before the next yarn order arrives!

5D Giraffe, continued

Still going on the giraffe! I had enough of a fever to make me completely useless, so watched Grey's Anatomy and worked on the giraffe some more.

I still love it to pieces.

5D Giraffe

I love giraffes. I love making things. When I found a shiny 5D/Diamond Painting multicolor giraffe for $3.70 with free shipping on Amazon (here), this was a thing I needed. Deeply.

It shipped surprisingly quickly and came with everything needed to make a multicolored, shiny giraffe.

So much fun!

Steotchalong 2017: Clue #4

Over halfway done! I've been lagging a bit but I also managed to work on this clue while on the beach at a conference in Florida.

More letters!

How I Bead: Adding Beads to Knitting with Wire Tutorial

People have all sorts of different methods to put beads onto their knitting. There's the crochet hook method, get a tiny hook that will fit through the bead to hook it on, the Fleegle Beader, basically taking that crochet hook method and modifying it to make it easier to bead, using dental floss threaders, and my preferred way, using beading wire to slip the beads onto the stitches.

I like this method because it's cheap, it's easy, it attaches to your beading container, it allows you to count out the beads per row, and it's easy to fix if it breaks or gets a rough spot.

I get a strand of beading wire and attach it to the bead container, then bend the end into a hook.

I then put all the beads I need for a row onto the wire. That way I know I made a mistake somewhere if I run out or have beads left over at the end of the row.

To place the bead, I grab the loop of the stitch with the wire hook.

Then I close up the hook and slide the bead over it, down onto the stitch.

Once the bead is on the stitch, I put the stitch back onto the needle and keep going.

Simple, effective, and no difficulty getting a crochet hook into the bead or picking up the yarn!

Maybe this should be the Error Blog

I was about five rows from the end of this project, and the count was off.

Apparently, the instructions have a small change for the setup of the last two pattern repeats. That's fifteen rows, with beads, to rip back. Fifteen! With beads!!!

Tour de Sock 2017: Stage Three Oops

Apparently I cannot make a pair of socks without ripping something back or attempting sock surgery. I found I had added an extra cable cross at the base of a cabled section of the sock.

Onward!

Office Fish!

My office is windowless. It is my own and has a door that I can close, but no natural light. This means I should not have any actual plants or fish to liven it up, but I can make some yarn ones!

Pattern: No-Fuss Fish (Ravelry mine)

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Blaze and Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd's Wool Worsted in Great Lakes

Hook: USB/2.25mm

Timeframe: July 18 - 19, 2017

Mods: Taped the line to the lid instead of a button, got seashells instead of gravel because that's what they had!

Problems: None!

 

 

George the Fish even has his own plant! No water or sunlight necessary!

July Wrap-Up

I spun some yarn and of course didn't finish everything I wanted to (and bought a little bit more yarn...) so I'm slightly ahead on stash yardage. Again. Surprise, surprise.



It's also a new record high for the second month in a row! I did finish a surprising number of things this month, eight yarns spun and seven additional finished items. I've made it past the 3k finish line for Stash Dash!

We're in the final third and I'm still hoping to finish nearly all of those "quick and easy" WIPs I was planning in the beginning. So far I've only actually finished one of the four I thought I'd finish in May. Poor planning there - apparently I base my knitting goals with the assumptions that all I do is knit and all of the knitting time is when I'm in the zone, zooming along and making no mistakes or having yarn tangles. These assumptions have proven themselves invalid - just check half of the last four posts!