More Clapotises

After the five Clapotis for my committee members, you'd think I might be done with the pattern. However, I had two more people deserving of a Clapotis for their help throughout my graduate career, so I made another two!

Pattern: Clapotis (Ravelry mine 2)

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft Paints in Spring Brook and Red Heart Soft in Plummy

Needles: US8/5.0 mm

Timeframe: August 6 - October 16, 2016 and April 16 - 28, 2017

Mods: None!

Problems: None!

I did end up going into the fourth skein for the last few rows of the purple one. Oh well, it's done, and the way our weather's been going, should still be wearable before summer hits!

Final (for now?) Clapotis, in the final stretch

At this point, I think it's pretty clear that when I find patterns that I like, I make them. Multiples of them. Especially when they're good gifts.

I'm into the decreases. I'm hoping to not break into the fourth skein I have (so I can return it to JoAnn Fabrics) but I'm pretty sure I'll need it for the last few rows. I did weight the two final skeins and I used one that was 122 vs. 118 grams, so maybe it'll last me. Either way, I should have an answer tomorrow!

About those mystery-alongs

I like them. A lot. I also finish them sometimes too, especially cross stitches. But it seems I've got a backlong going, and I apparently brought most of them with me.

Last year's Steotchalong is still languishing at clue 2. It doesn't look very different and has traveled with me. Again.

I also have the most recent mystery knitalong project, something that is only a month and a half past the official end of the -along. It's onto the edging now, only 72 repeats of a 16-row pattern to go! Sigh

I also have two of the Elemental MKAL series with me, and technically yarn to start the next one if I were to somehow knit through miles and miles of yarn. Fire is one of the few MKALs I've ripped out after I've started, not sure if I'll ever make that one to complete the set or just skip it. I have with me Earth:

and Philosopher's Stone, the designer's choice for the fifth element:

One is much further along than the other. I have a few more in-progress, no-longer-a-mystery-along projects at home too. I haven't yet finished any of the Elemental MKALs and there's another one where the mystery was spoiled early because the designer allows her testers to share full pictures of the whole thing once the first clue is released. I was looking through to see how other Clue #1s were looking and saw the full shawls - I was very disappointed and decided I won't do any more MKALs with that designer. I still haven't decided if I'm going to finish it or find something I like better for that yarn. The mystery is half the fun!

Rewards are Important

I'm in Indiana, finishing up some job-related things, closing on my house, trying to finish the library books I still have, and of course, knitting. Since I drove, I packed even more extra yarn than I might normally take, and I want to finish approximately six things while I'm away.

Six sounds like a lot. It kind of is. I've already finished one, the pink towel from last post. Another is a shawl that just needs its edging, one a small-ish cross stitch that is barely started, there's a crocheted table runner that's about 1/3 done, and then there's two projects I have yet to start, a bookmark I'm hoping to get from the leftover shawl yarn and (yet another) Clapotis. The Clapotis is already over halfway complete, the edging over 1/3 complete, and I've added a few inches to the table runner. I also have two pairs of socks and three more shawl WIPs with me. So of course, I want to start the fresh shawl. I haven't given in yet, but it is sitting out as reward knitting once I finish everything but the table runner.

Much better than a carrot!

Towels!

I crocheted a toilet paper holder to match the shower curtain in my bathroom. It turned out to be less matchy than intended.

Pattern: Toilet Tissue Cover (Ravelry mine)

Yarn: Lily Sugar 'n Cream in Hot Blue and Hot Pink

Hook: USI steel hook/5.5 mm

Timeframe: December 15, 2016

Mods: Made the flower and ruffle blue, added an extra increase row and two body rows to fit the extra-large rolls I have.

Problems: None!

I had enough yarn left for two mirror-image towels. One was the sixth March finish, the other was finished in April. Now the toilet paper holder and the towels live in the downstairs half-bathroom, where they add a burst of color for guests and don't clash with anything because there's nothing else in there!

Pattern: Dish Towels (Ravelry mine 2)

Yarn: Lily Sugar 'n Cream in Hot Blue and Hot Pink

Needles: US6/4.0mm

Timeframe:March 16 - April 15, 2017

Mods: 12 fewer stitches on the pink one, crochet cast-on, first row after the stripes knit rather than in pattern.

Problems: Ran out of the blue on the second one as noted in an earlier post.

Stripes!

I'm working on some towels to use up all my kitchen cotton. I cut it a little too close on the second towel:

Oops. It's pretty fixable though. Since it was two rows of each color, I didn't cut the yarn, preferring to carry it up the side of the stripe. I could cut the yarn and join it to finish the row, but that would create more ends and make an obvious step change from one color to the next. Instead, I slipped the unworked blue stitches to the other needle:

I then worked the row as normal, tying the blue off when I got to where it was:

I wove the end of the blue yarn in using the overcast method as I went along. I hate weaving in ends.

It's obviously not the same as using the same blue yarn for the entire row, but it's not all that noticeable either.

The Latest Thujas

I swear, I will be knitting this pattern in my sleep and after I'm dead. 

Pattern: Thuja from Knitty (Ravelry mine 2 3 4 5)

Yarn: Solid: Malabrigo Rios in Glazed Carrot, Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Rose Heather and Blue Mist, Mirrored: Premier Yarns Deborah Norville Everyday in Wild Blue and Fluorescent Yellow

Needles: US6/4.0mm

Timeframe: August 26, 2016 - April 4, 2017, 21, 10, 3, 18, and 40 days per pair.

Mods: None for the solid colors, contrasting cuff, toe, and short-row heel for the two-color ones.

Problems: None. Love this pattern so, so, so much!

These are numbers 32 - 36 according to Ravelry, and I'm pretty sure there's a pair or two that I didn't photograph so never posted.

And none of them are for me. My last pair for myself bit the dust this winter. Now if I had only thought of that last month when I had $18 in Loopy Ewe credits, I would have gotten a lovely skein of Rios for a pair for me.

Baby Set!

In March, I finally finished that baby blanket that I was so sure would be done in February!

Pattern: Chevron Baby Blanket (Ravelry, mine)

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Black, Fuchsia, White, Grey Heather, and Charcoal Heather

Needles: US9/5.5mm

Timeframe: February 1 - March 10, 2017

Mods: None, though I should have done a crochet cast on to make it match the bindoff.

Problems: I ran out of yarn. Twice. The final charcoal and pink stripes are a bit short, but that's fine, at least it used up the yarn!

It matches the baby booties and hat that I did finish in February. I think this set is going in the box for me. I love it so, so much!

Green Itineris

Another green March finish. This one was a commission. It was also started last year and got 1200 yards out of my stash.

Pattern: Itineris (Ravelry, mine)

Yarn: Hedgehog Fibers Skinny Singles in Potluck and Pine

Needles: US6/4.0mm

Timeframe: November 16, 2016 - March 15, 2017

Mods: Added another repeat to the body and proportionally more stitches to the border.

Problems: The yarn didn't love the knitted-on border, it started to get fuzzy as it was shifted along the needles, but I think it should be fine in the long term.

It turned out huge! I blocked it on my California King bed, and it took up just about the entire diagonal half!

I didn't use up quite as much yarn as I'd hoped, but it would not have gotten another body repeat plus proportional edging. I could probably have increased the edging so it was no longer in the same proportions as the original, but didn't think of that until I was far enough along that I didn't want to stress the edging row again. If I were to do it again, I would have added another two stripes to the body and then done the edging to make it look more like the pattern. Having the edging bump up against the body pattern makes it appear as though it's not the same six stripes of white like the rest of the shawl.

Some March FOs

I finished six things in March. Three were remnants from February Frenzy. Three of them were very green indeed. Two were even sparkly!

Pattern: Resist Hat (Ravelry, mine 2)

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft Party in Spring Sparkle and Caron Simply Soft in Black and Pistachio

Needles: US7/4.5mm

Timeframe: February 21 - March 31, 2017

Mods: Shorter first hat, second hat has one fewer repeat and is much shorter.

Problems: The first hat was huge. I even knit two inches less than recommended, and it's a generous hat in height and circumference. I tried to knit a better-fitting hat with the remainder, but it turned out too small and I ran out of the green so needed to stripe in some pistachio to make it work. 

The smaller one is far too small, so it's gone off to another home.

On the subject of a lovely green cabled sock

The yarn apparently did not agree that it would like to become a lovely cabled sock.

The cables are in fact lovely, but the gauge is far too tight. The yarn is really on the lighter side of light fingering, far too thin for this pattern to fit.

Maybe it just wants to be a ball of yarn.

On the subject of frogging

This green yarn is just testing me now. I decided it would be lovely as a cabled sock. While that may be true, the cuff does not set up the cables quite right as it's written.

Riiiiiiiiiiiip.

On the subject of mystery -alongs

I joined another this year. This one was for a beaded sock.

The beads weren't lined, so didn't show up against the yarn like I had hoped. I also only got this far before all of the clues were out. I didn't love the final product.

Apparently, this year I am working on when to give up.

Wasn't feeling it

I'm a sucker for mystery -alongs. Cross stitch, knitting, crochet, I love 'em. Usually I'm a fan, but every so often they just don't work out. Like this one:

About this point, four and a half clues in, I decided I preferred the back as the right side for the eyelets. Since this is a garter stitch scarf/shawl, it almost wasn't a problem. There is just that one section of elongated stitches.

So I ripped back and re-knit that section. Much better. Then this happened:

I don't generally wind my yarn and it's not usually a problem. This time, I got to wind most of the skein by hand. I wasn't loving the scarf/shawl and the yarn was obviously less than perfectly cooperative. I should have started with bigger needles, but if I went back now, I wasn't going to go on.

This is about halfway through the 9th clue of 10. That ball of yarn is still pretty big. It's 62.5 grams. That was the last straw. I didn't love how it was turning out and had far too much left in the skein to finish it off for the gift pile.

Now what?

March

I'd hoped to finish a couple of high-yardage WIPs this month. I did get a couple done, a baby blanket and a shawl, but didn't really finish much else.



Working off of the smaller stash, I added a skein from the larger stash for a project I JUST HAD TO cast on but decreased about a mile overall.



Looking at the stash as a whole (I gotta fix those labels!), I went down over a mile this month. I'm still up overall, but almost three miles have left the stash this year. That's a bit less than my general goal/average, over a mile per month.



Project-wise, the numbers are looking decent. The queue continues to go down for the most part, going back up when I've realized I can get another hat out of the available yarn or frogging something that just isn't working. My WIP numbers are still fairly high, ranging from 22 (3/1) to 18 (3/31).

Sure would be a shame if I agreed to knit a shawl from Wollmeise Lace-Garn (1 mile in a skein!) with equivalent payment yarn plus a colorwork sweater in the Will Work for Yarn Ravelry group....(oops)