Shawls and Wraps – Page 2 – Ms Lindz – My little corner of the internet

So Many Projects, Never Enough Time

Posted on April 20, 2011 by mslindz

The last few weeks have been a bit hectic. I spent the first week of April getting ready for a trip to DC (part work related, part fun), then I was in DC all last week, now I’m re-adjusting to being back at work AND getting ready for another trip in May. I still need to go through and upload pictures from my DC trip. I’ve spent a fair amount of time away from the computer while at home, so I just haven’t had time to get to it yet, but I’m hoping to share those soon! I had a fabulous day with Laura while I was in DC. We went to the zoo and yarn shopping. Cute animals and yarn – is there a more perfect day? 🙂

I did take some time to take pictures of all my WIPs yesterday and get them uploaded since I hadn’t photographed almost any in-progress pics of them yet. Here’s everything I’ve got on the needles right now.

Just before leaving to DC, I had a sudden moment of “omg must cast on something new for the trip!!” Suddenly the thought of all the stockinette and garter stitch projects I have going made me feel like I’d be totally bored with them and that I needed something more interesting to work on. I quickly looked through my stash, picked a pattern, and cast these on while Matt drove me to the airport. The yarn in Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Mediumweight in the Farmhouse colorway and the pattern is Maelstrom. I have knit this pattern before and found it to be quite enjoyable. Just enough patterning to keep it interesting and keep me from getting bored with it. I was able to get the first sock to where all the gusset decreases have been done.

Maelstrom #2

I only knit on this at the airport waiting for my flight to DC, on the plane to DC, on the bus to the hotel, on the bus back to the airport, at the airport waiting for my flight home, and on the plane home (and while stuck on the runway for about 45 mins). The rest of the time while taking the Metro pretty much everywhere I went, I brought my Perfect Day Yarns stripey sock with me to knit. I managed to get the first stripey sock done and get up to where I start the gusset increases on the second one! For some reason these socks seem to be taking me a long time and for no good reason other then they keep getting put on the back burner so I can work on other things. I love the yarn and the colors, so once I finish Elektra, I think I’ll focus on finishing these.

I did try a new-to-me cast off on these: Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off. I think it’s my new favorite! It is, like it’s called, surprisingly stretchy. I like the way it looks and it’s a lot easier then the typical sewn in bind off I have done. Definitely my new go-to for toe-up socks.

PDY Stripey Socks

Last post I mentioned that I was waiting for the beads to arrive so I could cast on Elektra. They on April 7th and I cast on for it right away. Yesterday I was 4 rows from finishing Section B when I realized I did two bead rows in a row, skipping an increase row. I had to frog 18 rows, 9 of which had beads. I’ve knit about half of those rows over again and I’m hoping to finish Section B today. I’ve got a week and a half to get it done and blocked. Hopefully I can get it done.

Elektra

Last post I also mentioned starting Rook. I did finish the first one, though it’s not finished in this photo.

Rook – almost finished

Slipped Hours has seen a fair amount of progress, especially this weekend while we were at a Cincinnati Reds game. I’m up to where I’m increasing from the waist shaping and on to the second skein of yarn. Not super interesting to look at right now, but it’s growing pretty quickly. Since I’m focusing all my knitting energy on Elektra, I’ve set this (and all other projects) to the side until it’s done.

Slipped Hours

Even with all these projects in the works and knowing I should focus on getting Elektra done, all I want to do is cast on more things! It sure didn’t help that I recently went through my queue to clear out things I’ll never knit, no longer interested in, or can’t remember why I even queued it in the first place. I came across so many things that made me go “… and I want to knit that and that and that… and OH THAT!” I’ve even got two projects set up on Ravelry for the next sweater and shawl I want to cast on.

L to R: Shibuya, Berroco Vintage DK, Rock Island, and SweetGeorgia Yarns CashSilk Lace

I saw Shibuya at Fibre Space (which you can get to pretty easily on the metro – only a few blocks to walk from the metro station to the shop) where they have a sample of it knit up in Berroco Vintage DK. I saw it and immediately fell in love with it. I needed to make one for myself! I bought the book, yarn, and needles for it on the spot. Normally I wouldn’t buy needles because I have a pretty big collection of them, but it seems that I only own one US 5 needle that is always in use, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have another and it meant I could swatch for it right away. At any rate, I’m itching to cast this on! Trying to hold out until I’ve got some other things (like Slipped Hours) off the needles first.

The other project I want to start soon is Rock Island. I’ve had this SweetGeorgia Yarns CashSilk Lace in my stash for a while and had it set aside for another shawl. I hadn’t cast on for the intended shawl because I really needed 1000 yards and I only had 800 yards. I was planning on just making it shorter then called for, but after a lot of debate, I knew I wanted to knit the whole thing, so this was waiting for the right project to come along. Well, it has! I love a lot of Jared Flood’s patterns and this is no exception. Once I get Elektra finished, I’ll be casting this on right away.

What projects are calling to you lately? I’m sure I’m not the only one that’s been bit by the startitis bug. 🙂

FO’s, Sweater Knitting, and Projects

Posted on April 4, 2011 by mslindz

I’ve been a bit behind in blogging and I can’t say I have any good reasons why. I’ve been lazy about taking pictures of my current projects and then when I have taken pictures, I forget to edit and upload them. I think I’ve also been side tracked with getting everything in order for two upcoming trips. Ah well. I’ve definitely been knitting despite not blogging about it!

Since I last posted, I’ve finished two projects. The first thing I finished was my third sweater for the year, Cassis.

Cassis – Front

Pattern: Cassis (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: February 26, 2011
Completed: March 27, 2011
Yarn: Knit Picks CotLin in Whisker, 10 skeins
Needles: US 6 bamboo circular and DPNs
Notes: I added waist shaping at the sides, did long sleeves instead of short sleeves, and shortened the length. Overall I’m still feeling a bit “meh” about this sweater, but it does make a nice, washable house sweater or sweater to keep at work for when it’s a bit chilly.

Cassis – Back

After I finished up Cassis, I focused on finishing High Road since I was already pretty close to being done. A day later I was binding off High Road and blocking it!

High Road

Pattern: High Road (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: March 14, 2011
Completed: March 28, 2011
Yarn: A Verb for Keeping Warm Metamorphosis in Pilgrim, 1 skein
Needles: US 5 Addi Lace circular
Notes: Knit as written, though my gauge may have been a little off (I honestly don’t check for shawls). Very interesting construction and the whole thing seemed to go pretty quickly with first knitting the middle section, then the middle to top, then the bottom ruffle. I enjoyed working with the yarn as well. Squishy and soft and such a pretty colorway!

High Road – Back

High Road – Full

With both of those projects off the needles, I only had my PDY stripey sock on the needles, which of course meant I needed to cast on more projects. 🙂

First thing I cast on was another sweater. After all, this is The Year of the Sweater for me with my goal of knitting 12 sweaters in 2011. With 3 under my belt, I think I’m doing pretty good and feeling like I can definitely make it. Even with other projects going on, I’ve stayed with my goal of a sweater a month and not casting on a new sweater until the one I’m working on is done. I’ve been itching to use the Vesper Quick Sock in Ivy League ever since my first attempt at Bel Air didn’t work out. After finishing Cassis, I was hesitant to try Bel Air again because of the collar. Turns out I don’t really like the collar on Cassis much and was afraid I wouldn’t like the one on Bel Air (in hindsight, I think it would be fine since it isn’t big like the one on Cassis, so Bel Air is still in my queue). After some swatching and pattern searching, I decided on Slipped Hours.

I downloaded the pattern and immediately noticed something. There is no schematic that comes with this pattern. Now, that may not be an issue for some knitters, but it is for me. When I first started knitting sweaters, I didn’t think a whole lot about the schematic or how the end product would actually fit my body. After I’d knit a few sweaters, I found a few things “wrong” with them – something was too long, too short, or just didn’t fit me well. This is when I learned to read the schematic and really pay attention to it when I knit a sweater so that I would be happier with the end result. I must admit, it has definitely helped. Most importantly, it helps me choose a size that will fit the way I want it to fit rather then going solely by the sizing stated in the pattern like I did those first few sweaters. This is the third sweater pattern in as many months that I’ve purchased that doesn’t have a schematic and I admit I was really irritated and disappointed that I paid for yet another pattern without a schematic. In my opinion (and those of other knitters I have asked), a sweater pattern that you pay for should come with a schematic. I swear, I’m not even that picky about it and if it were a free pattern, I wouldn’t even mention it not having a schematic (after all, it’s free). I don’t expect everyone to be a great artist (I know I’m not!) and I would totally accept something a designer drew in MS Paint with all the appropriate measurements of the finished garment. Just something that I can look at and go “Okay, if I picked ___ size it will be…”. I have never designed a sweater pattern and put it up for sale, but from what I know of sweater construction, designing, and pattern writing, a designer does do the math to figure out sizing and instructions. It seems reasonable that with all that math done for the sizing that it wouldn’t be much to add a small picture of a sweater with measurements for it since those are already known because of the pattern writing for various sizes, right? To me, it seems totally reasonable, but I digress.

With no schematic to look at so I could cast on right away, I took a few days to think it over, draw my own schematic, figure out how to add waist shaping, and figure out which size I wanted to knit. Ultimately I went with the largest size. I decided not to do reverse stockinette on the turned hem and just did regular stockinette on a smaller needle (pattern states to do it on the same needle you use for the body), did a purl row for the turn row, then switched to the needle that I got gauge for the body with. I’ve finished the hem and I’m into the waist decreases for the body.

Slipped Hours

One of the trips coming up involves a formal dinner and I’ve cocktail dress dress I like, but it only has one shoulder strap. I’m a bit worried I might get chilly, so I figured I’d knit myself a shawl to go with it. Finally decided on yarn (Wollmeise sock yarn in Fuchsia) and decided to knit Elektra. I was on the fence about the beads, but decided they’d be a fun addition since I don’t often knit things with beads and I thought it would add a little sparkle to the shawl. I looked locally, but was unable to find anything to match the yarn that I liked, so I ordered from Fire Mountain Gems. Hopefully those will arrive this week and I can get started on the shawl soon.

Over the weekend I decided to cast on for another project. I suddenly had the urge to knit up this purple sock yarn that has tried and failed to be a project many times over. Immediately, I thought of the pattern Rook. I’ve been wanting to make these and this yarn was calling for me to knit it, so I cast on. I’ve got half of the first mitt finished and it fits great. I was a little worried about gauge since that had been an issue in previous projects when I’d used this yarn, but it seems to be spot on for this pattern. No pictures yet. Instead I’ll show you the yarn I’m using!

Big Mouth Yarns Buxom Sock in “You’re Turning Violet, Violet!”

Had a lovely (and busy) weekend and the weather was pretty nice out aside from the crazy winds we’ve had. This morning I woke up to it being 71 degrees outside and windy! Tomorrow I think the high is in the 50’s. Crazy spring time weather! Hehe 🙂

Completed Projects, Current Projects

Saroyan FO and Current Projects

Posted on March 18, 2011 by mslindz

It’s Friday and I have an FO to share! 🙂

This may be the fastest scarf I’ve ever knit. Three days and it was done! It was an enjoyable knit, too.

Pattern: Saroyan (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: March 11, 2011
Completed: March 13, 2011
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Rodecian, 2 skeins
Needles: US 9 bamboo circular
Notes: I initially did the entire increase section wrong. I did the increases every right side row of the pattern repeat, but it shouldn’t be done on rows 3 or 11. Oops. I ripped it out and started over on March 11. After I restarted it, I couldn’t put it down! I did change the part worked when you first cast on and before the first pattern repeat and the last part after the last pattern repeat and the cast off. I followed the notes here (Ravelry link). I did the decreases differently then written so that they better matched the increase section. I followed the notes here (Ravelry link). I have a total of 28 leaves – 6 for the increase section, 16 for the straight section, and 6 for the decrease section. I’m happy with how this project turned out!

Saroyan Worn as a Scarf

In addition to wearing it as a scarf, it could also be worn as a wrap!

Saroyan Worn as a Wrap

After finishing Saroyan, I started on High Road. I had a bit of trouble with it at first because I had a hard time keeping count of what row I was on, but I finally got smart and put a row counter on my work to help me keep track. The yarn, Metamorphasis from A Verb for Keeping Warm, is 70% merino, 30% silk blend and it’s very nice to work with. I like the colors and the fabric it’s making.

High Road

I’ve still been working away on Cassis. It hasn’t seen much progress this week. I managed to spill tea on the collar of it when I got to work one day, did my best to wash it out, then it took about a day and a half to dry out completely. You can still see some of the brown tea stain on it. It’s not too noticeable, but when I look at it, I definitely see it. Just like mistakes in your knitting – it’s probably not as noticeable to someone else as it is to me! Not sure what, if anything, I’ll do about it, so right now I’m just continuing on and not worrying about the stains.

I have a stripey sock I’ve been working on since December (often setting it aside for other projects). The yarn is Perfect Day Yarns self striping in the She Woos Me colorway. I like the colors and the yarn, but for some reason, stripey socks sometimes get sent to the back burner when other things are more interesting. They’re good to keep around for something portable and easy to pick up, though, so I pretty much always have some type of plain sock on the needles. Anyhow, I was finally at the point where I finished the heel on Wednesday.

PDY Stripey Sock

Then I tried it on and it was too tight. There weren’t enough stitches around and while it fit alright, the stitches were really stretched around the instep area of the sock. I knew it needed to be frogged and more stitches added. I frogged it completely and started over. The first time I had 60 stitches around, this time I have 66. So far it seems to be fitting, but then the other sock fit at this point, too. I’m just hoping it fits once I’ve done all the instep increases! Here’s where I’ve knit back to since frogging it.

PDY Stripey Sock

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny and warm day. Today is rather gloomy and rainy. This weekend is promising warmth and sun, though, and I’m looking forward to that! This winter seems like it’s been a long one. It’s nice to see warmer days here and there. Not much in way of plans this weekend. We’re going to see the new movie Paul with some friends tomorrow and I do hope we get out and enjoy the nice weather at some point. I’ve got Monday off and I’ll be hanging out with my mom for the day! Should be fun. 🙂

Have a good weekend everyone!

Current Projects

Projects In Progress

Posted on February 17, 2011 by mslindz

Has it really been almost two weeks since I’ve updated on my projects? This month has been going by pretty quickly!

Since the last time I posted, I’ve been working away on Seneca and I’m even further then this picture from last week shows. I’ve finished the second sleeve, joined both sleeves to the body, and have just started the first chart on the yoke.

Seneca

Yes, the sleeve is a bit lighter in color then the body is, but it’s not too noticeable when you see the whole sweater together. After taking the above picture and realizing how it looked lighter then the body, I had a brief moment of panic and wanted to frog the whole thing, start over and alternate skeins. Thankfully that was only for a brief moment. After giving it more consideration, I decided I could live with it. Seeing the whole thing together now, I’m glad I made that choice. The color difference is just one of those things you run into with hand dyed yarns like the MadelineTosh DK I’m using. It’s such a pretty yarn, though, and one I would definitely use again.

I have knit maybe 2 rows on the Textured Shawl since I mentioned it last, but here’s an updated picture of my progress. I’m about halfway through the first skein of yarn.

Textured Shawl

After I had the minor freak out about the sweater color issue, I had to put it aside and think about what to do. Nothing currently on the needles was calling to me to work on while Seneca sat in the corner. I was feeling rather “meh” about everything I had in progress, but had a strong urge to cast on something new, so last weekend I started Wurm (Ravelry link). I’d been wanting to knit this for a while and I also wanted to use up the rest of this Brooks Farm Solo Silk I had in the stash. I cast on and within a day and a half I had a lot of progress. I haven’t worked on it much since I cast on for it on Feb. 11th, but it sits on my desk at home and I’ve been working a row or two here and there.

Wurm

I’ve been working primarily on Seneca after deciding to keep going with it. Didn’t take long to finish the second sleeve, but now that I’m on the yoke, it’s a little slow going with all those stitches on the needle. It’s also not that portable anymore considering it’s size, so I’ve been alternating between Seneca and Matt’s Camo Socks. The socks are coming along. I finally finished the gusset and heel turn of the second sock, picked up the stitches along the gusset and have started the decreases. Getting to that point made me excited to get them done. Since I have a 3 day weekend coming up, I think I’ll focus on those so I have an FO to share soon! 🙂

Happy knitting all!

Completed Projects, Current Projects

Juneberry Triangle FO and Project Updates

Posted on January 28, 2011 by mslindz

Hey, it’s another FO Friday! This edition brings you a finished Juneberry Triangle.

Once I got to the edging on Juneberry the 2nd, I didn’t want to put it down! Wasn’t long before it was finished. Last weekend I finished it and blocked it. I the yarn blocked out nicely. It’s drapes wonderfully and the finished shawl is pretty big, maybe slightly bigger then the first Juneberry Triangle I knit.

Juneberry Triangle

Pattern: Juneberry Triangle, the 2nd (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: January 5, 2011
Completed: January 22, 2011
Yarn: Brooks Farm Solo Silk, 1.15 skeins (approx 460 yards)
Needles: US 7 bamboo circular
Notes: I did make one mod (the same one I did on my first Juneberry Triangle, which I didn’t mention on that FO post). When you start the border, it tells you to repeat the first two rows twice more. I only repeated once more. Repeating twice more then knitting the next two rows didn’t line up right to the existing garter edge on the shawl (because you’re working 4 stitches total before starting the pattern and the garter edge is only 3). When you reach the end you only work the garter edge picking up 3 stitches from the shawl (the 3 border stitches from the shawl), so I think this may be an error in the pattern. Even if it’s not, it makes the two edges match rather the the start of it having an extra garter ridge.

Juneberry Triangle – Full

Juneberry Triangle – Back

Since I finished Juneberry the 2nd, I went back to working on Watershed. You start by knitting the bottom band, then knitting the points on each edge, then you start the body. I’m up to the armholes now, but I’ve decided to change from what the pattern says to do. The pattern directs you to knit the two front and the back pieces separately until you’ve completed 2.5 repeats of the pattern (for the size I’m working). This creates the bottom part of the armhole on each side. Clear as mud? It’s kind of hard to describe, but it would basically look like this when you move on to the next part. Please excuse my lack of detail. I’m not very good at drawing things. The little squiggles at the top represent the stitches that would be live on your needle.

Drawing of the Armholes on Watershed

Then you cast on the arm stitches and join the fronts and back together. Once you’re finished, you pick up the stitches between the fronts and back that you put on waste yarn, then pick up stitches along each side where you knit those 2.5 pattern repeats, and around where you cast on stitches for the top part of the arm. Work one row, then bind off. Seems like a lot of work and ends to weave in!

I’m concerned that working it as written would make the armholes too deep for me and I was thinking about lengthening the sleeves a little more then the pattern calls for, so instead of doing all that, I’m going to work the whole thing 2.5 more repeats, put the same number of stitches on waste yarn for the under part of the sleeve, then cast on more stitches then it calls for to do the sleeves (the amount it tells you, plus what would be picked up on each side). I started doing the separate bits last night because I couldn’t figure out what was going on, despite reading ahead in the pattern, then when I finished the right front I realized what was going on and I didn’t think it would work for what I wanted to do. So, I ripped back and I’m now to where I cast on stitches for the armhole.

Watershed – Front

Watershed – Back

Remember that Summer Flies Shawl I started back at the beginning of the year? After not picking it back up for well over a week, I decided to frog it. The written instructions were just not working for me and I dreaded having to work from them. I like the finished shawl a great deal, however it just wasn’t appealing to me right now, so I decided to frog it and try the pattern some other time with a different yarn. Last night I cast on Textured Shawl (Ravelry link) with the same yarn – Malabrigo Worsted in Rodecian and size US 9 needles. (You can see pictures of it on Flicker here and here.) Since it’s more of a recipe then a pattern with specific instructions, I’ve looked over notes from others on how they started and worked theirs. I’m sure I’ll have a lot of notes on it when I’m finished, but so far it’s a pretty easy knit!

Textured Shawl & My New Project Bag

If you notice in the picture above, I have an awesome cupcake project bag in the background. I recently bought it from the Piddleloop Sewing Team. It’s one of the large box bags and came with a matching zippered pouch. It’s really well made, arrived super quick, and I love it! I have a feeling I’ll add more to my project bag collection soon enough. 🙂

Tonight we’re going to a hockey game with some friends. Should be fun and I’ll be bringing my knitting to the game, of course. This weekend our only plans are to get a new garbage disposal installed tomorrow (so long as it arrives – we ordered it on Amazon for less the Lowe’s was selling it for). Wednesday, I found that it was leaking right before running the dishwasher. Our sink has been mostly out of commission since then, so I’ll be happy to have it working again. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Completed Projects, Current Projects

Honeycomb Cowl and Juneberry the 2nd

Posted on January 20, 2011 by mslindz

Last week I spotted this honeycomb stitch in a pattern and had some other ideas for it, but since I lacked the yarn needed for a large project, I tried it out on this cowl. Not sure I’m too fond of the ribbing as it tends to extend out when worn and I’d probably change that if I were to knit it again, but the cowl turned out very squishy, soft and warm.

Honeycomb Cowl

Pattern: Honeycomb Cowl (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: January 13, 2011
Completed: January 14, 2011
Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky, 1 skein in the Butter colorway
Needles: US 10.5 bamboo circular
Notes: See my Ravelry page for more details on what I did. This was my own design that I threw together, but since I’m not 100% happy with it, I think I’ll tweek it some before writing it up properly. Used up an entire skein, with no leftovers! Malabrigo chunky makes as nice of a cowl as it does a scarf and I like the stitch pattern.

I still have plans to use the stitch pattern on something else in the future, but I need to get yarn for it first and I’m still debating on what I want to use for this project I have in mind. More on that at a later time!

After my Bel Air sweater fail, I swatched to figure out what sweater to knit next. Swatches didn’t meet gauge, so I swatched more. Finally settled on Watershed and it’s making slow progress since I started it earlier this week since I’ve been consumed with finishing Juneberry the 2nd.

Last weekend being a 3 day weekend with only dinner plans on Saturday and Sunday, I spent a LOT of time knitting. I was waiting for swatches to dry, so I spent that knitting time working on Juneberry. By Monday I had finished chart B, C, D, and started on the edging! I’m nearly halfway through the edging now and I’m hoping to get it finished this weekend so I can focus more on sweaters I want to knit.

Juneberry the 2nd

Juneberry the 2nd Edging

One exciting (at least for me) thing I’ve done on the blog is finally get a Completed Projects page up. I’d been meaning to do that since I converted over to a self hosted blog from TypePad. It’s not exactly where I want it to be yet, but it’s getting there. Currently the only year missing is 2010 because I typed it up and left it on another computer. Hopefully I’ll get that up tomorrow. I’d like to add photos on the pages as well, though I’m not sure how I want to do that just yet. Updating everything made me realize that there’s a lot of things I didn’t photograph or didn’t blog! I think I’ve been a lot better about that in the last year or so, but it still surprised me how many smaller items were never blogged.

Snow is falling and piling up faster as the day goes on. If you have snow where you are, stay safe out there if you must go out! Thankfully I’m tucked safely inside the house for the rest of the night. 🙂

Current Projects

New Year, New Projects

Posted on January 10, 2011 by mslindz

Since the new year started, there’s been no shortage of new projects or knitting for me!

Along with the 12 sweaters, I joined Year of Stash Socks. I figured it would help me with my stash reduction goals since the majority of my stash is sock yarns. For the month of January, I decided on a plain vanilla sock. I was having trouble picking yarn at first, then figured this would be a good time to knit Matt a pair of socks out of the Camo yarn I got from Jessica. He likes ankle socks, so I think I should be able to finish them up this month. I’m through the heel and on to the foot of the first sock.

Socks for Matt

I’ve started on my first sweater of the year as well! I had been wanting to make a sweater out of Vesper Quick Sock in “Ivy League” that I had. This was a club colorway and I collected three other skeins that people were destashing to go with the one I received to have enough for a sweater. My first attempt at making this a sweater failed to be come the striped Jumper Cardigan. I do love this color by itself, though, so I set it aside for something else. When I saw this pattern, I knew I had to use this yarn! The first sweater I’m working on this year is Bel Air. The back is moving along pretty quickly, though it is a little slow going on US 3’s!

Bel Air (Back)

This next pattern may look a little familiar from my last blog post. Yep, another Juneberry Triangle! I couldn’t resist it. A bunch of folks on Twitter were talking about a KAL and well… I caved. I love the pattern so much and had already been thinking about knitting another, so I joined in. I’m using Brooks Farm Solo Silk for this one. The color may also look familiar! It’s leftover from my Cottage Garden Sweater (which was later felted and unwearable). I was going to try and destash this yarn, then decided to keep it so I could have something out of this very lovely yarn.

Juneberry Triangle #2

I have one other project that I started, but haven’t finished, from last year. I started this the last week of December after seeing Sarah’s finished one. The pattern and yarn are from The Loopy Ewe Sock Club last year. Initially I wasn’t in love with the yarn or either of the patterns, but like a lot of yarns and patterns, one day I suddenly must have it. The pattern is A Little Jazz and the yarn is Fiesta Yarns Baby Boom in Spring Chill. Now that I’ve made it to the ruffle part, the rows take a long time to get through. I’ve made this my TV knitting since it doesn’t require much attention. Come to think of it, three of my four current projects don’t require much attention! Sometimes that’s not a bad thing. 😉

A Little Jazz

January seems to be the month of “Start ALL the Things” for me. I started another shawl, but I’ve set it aside to work on the projects above. I started this when I was trying to resist the call of another Juneberry Triangle, but you can see how well that worked! This is the Summer Flies Shawl (free pattern, but not charted) out of Malabirgo Worsted in the color Rodecian. This was a gift from Alita and I thought it would make a nice shawl after seeing a few knit up in Malabrigo on Ravelry. I did use a different needle size after looking at the notes from those who knit this with Malabrigo. I went with a US 10.5 to give it a little looser fabric which should make it drape a little more. So far I like the result!

Summer Flies Shawl

Hope the new year is treating you well so far and you’re off to a good start with your own knitting goals! 🙂

Completed Projects, Knit Ramblings

Juneberry Triangle FO and 2011 Goals

Posted on January 7, 2011 by mslindz

Happy 2011 everyone! 🙂 It hardly feels like a new year to me and nothing feels that different, though I suppose that’s what happens as you get older. I hope everyone’s new year is off to a good start and that if you’re the type that makes goals or resolutions that you’re doing well with them.

My Juneberry Triangle took a few days to dry after I blocked it, but now that it’s all dry, I love it even more then I did pre-blocking. It’s VERY warm, which is something to keep in mind with this yarn. I think it’s great for anything you’d wear when it’s cold out. It also has a lovely drape and halo to it. I’ll definitely be working with this yarn more in the future and already thinking of things I’d like to make with it. I present to you my last FO of 2010!

Juneberry Triangle

Pattern: Juneberry Triangle (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: December 13, 2010
Completed: December 31, 2010
Yarn: Great Northern Yarns 70% Mink/30% Cashmere DK weight, just over 2 skeins in natural
Needles: US 7 bamboo circular
Notes: No changes made to the pattern, knit as written. As with all shawls I’ve knit, I didn’t bother to check gauge, which may be why I ran short on yarn. This was a great knit and well written pattern (as always from Jared Flood). It even helped me get over my hatred of bobbles! I think they look really nice in this shawl and I won’t be put off by knitting a pattern that has them in the future.

Juneberry Triangle

Juneberry Triangle – Pattern Detail

Juneberry Triangle – Edge Detail

Since the last week of December, I’ve been contemplating what I’d like to accomplish in 2011. I’ve seen various people joining things like Self Imposed Sock Clubs (or this one that isn’t limited to just socks), Year of Stash Socks, 11 Shawls in 2011, and various “Knit from stash!” type groups. I thought a lot about what I really enjoyed knitting last year and what I’d like to knit in the coming year. Throughout 2010, I ended up focusing more on sweaters then I expected and even enhanced my stash with many sweater quantities of yarn, which I haven’t done in previous years. Much to my surprise, I find myself wanting to knit more sweaters then anything else! In 2010, I feel like I got a much better idea of sweaters I like and don’t like. Sweaters I know I’d wear and ones I wouldn’t. I learned a lot about fit and gauge and adjusting patterns to fit me better. All things I didn’t have a good grasp on previously.

Shortly after realizing that I’ve suddenly found myself to be a Sweater Knitter, I remembered seeing a group at the beginning of 2010 that had a goal of knitting a sweater a month. Of course at the time I thought this was a crazy idea and didn’t think that I’d ever be wanting to join that sort of group. Sweaters? Really? 12 in a YEAR?!? In my mind I was firmly Not A Sweater Knitter like that. Yeah, I’d knit sweaters, but felt eh about sweaters in general. Funny how things change in a year!

I’ve decided to challenge myself with sweaters in 2011 and I’ve joined the ranks of the International Sweater-a-Month Dodecathon. Yep, really! My goal is to knit up the 9 sweaters worth of yarn that I have in my stash, then buy whatever I need/want to finish off the last 3. My hope is that I’ll have 12 sweaters by the end of the year and I think this is a totally achievable goal for me. Some are fingering or DK weight sweaters (actually most of the sweaters in my stash are), but there’s a few worsted and aran weight sweaters I have planned as well. Shrugs, tops, and sweaters all count, so I do plan on at least 2 shrugs and one tank top in mind, though the rest will likely be pullovers or cardigans. Aside from 3 patterns, I’m leaving things pretty open as to what I’ll knit. My mind changes far too much to set everything right away and this gives me some flexibility for when I see a pattern that I Must. Knit. NOW!

Joining IntSweMoDo2011 fits along with something else I’d like to work on this year: knitting primarily from stash. I’d been thinking about this on and off for some time, but it wasn’t until seeing Michelle’s blog post about stashbusting in 2011 that I really wanted to commit to it. Currently, including all WIPs, I have 65,2904 yards (59,702.6 meters) of yarn. Less then I expected, but still more then I’d like to have. While I love my stash, it sometimes makes me feel a little limited. I’d like to have a smaller stash and learn to buy more for a specific project then “Oh I bet I can make something with (insert random yarn I’m thinking about buying without a project in mind here)!” That just leaves me with a lot of yarn I’m not interested in or don’t know what to do with. Besides, I change my mind far too often about what I want to knit for me to have a stash of yarns that I will “make something with” and never being able to find that something! This doesn’t mean “no yarn buying in 2011.” It does mean that I will need to be more aware of what I do choose to buy and stick with only buying things I want for specific projects.

Those are the two things I will be working on this year. I’m sure I’ll knit more socks, shawls, hats and whatever else strikes my fancy. And spinning! There will definitely be more spinning this year, though I don’t have any specific goals for that. Something has to break up all that sweater knitting after all! 😉

Do you have any knitting/crochet/spinning/crafty plans/goals/resolutions for 2011? I’d love to hear what you’re planning for this year!

Completed Projects, Knit Ramblings, Life

Two FO’s and 2010 Year End Wrap Up

Posted on December 31, 2010 by mslindz

This New Year’s Eve definitely hasn’t gone as expected, but I think that it’s turning out to be a good one anyhow! We originally had plans to go hang out with Matt’s friend just outside of Louisville, KY. He had been having some issues with the network at his work which ultimately lead to a part being shipped early this afternoon, arriving this evening, and currently being installed so that everything is up and running by Monday. I’m bummed that we aren’t able to make it, but Matt is a rock star at his job and has to play Super IT Guy instead. Just life how life goes sometimes!

Much to my surprise, I was able to get two more projects done just before the end of the year.

The first thing I finished was the Picot Edge Hat. I saw this on Grmperina’s blog earlier this week and knew immediately I needed to make it. I’ve been trying to figure out just the right project for this yarn and I finally found it!

Picot Edge Hat

Pattern: Picot Edge Hat (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: December 28, 2010
Completed: December 31, 2010
Yarn: Squoosh Fiber Arts Merinio Cashmere Sport, colorway Seaside, approx 3/4 of a skein
Needles: US 4 bamboo circular and DPNs
Notes: No modifications. Followed the pattern for the medium size, though I think my gauge was a bit off. Love the way it fits and it comes over my ears and is just what I need for winter.

Picot Edge Hat – Side

Craig, who runs Great Northern Yarns, was kind enough to offer to send me a skein of the mink/cashmere DK yarn that I need. I thanked him repeatedly, but I am just so blown away by his kind offer! The fiber community is such a great one and I’m so happy that I get to be a part of it. 🙂

The yarn arrived today and in a short amount of time I had my Juneberry Triangle finished! I didn’t think I’d get this one done before the end of the year. I’m glad I was able to, though. It’s officially off the needles and currently blocking. I’m waiting to do the full FO post once it’s dry and I have more pictures of it, but here’s a little peek!

Juneberry Triangle

It’s that time of year again! Time to recap the projects I’ve completed this year. I have less projects then I did last year, but last year I had a month off work after having surgery to do all the knitting I wanted and I did smaller projects last year compared to this year.

Project breakdown for 2010:

– Eight pairs of socks
– Seven sweaters (which includes the baby sweater I knit)
– Six hats
– Five shawls
– Three scarves
– Two pairs of fingerless gloves
– One iPhone cober
– One chicken bag
– One toy alien
– One pair of baby booties
– One tree

Projects Completed in 2010

Overall, I’m happy with the projects I’ve completed this year. Less then last year, but last year I had a whole month of recovery after having surgery that I spent knitting. I knit more sweaters and more shawls, but less socks. The things I like to work on are always changing and I notice it most when I do this review each year!

I had a few goals for this year. I have to make a confession… I kinda forgot about those completely! I met my goal of knitting five shawls this year, just barely. I decided I didn’t want to knit Little Birds, so I didn’t meet that goal. I didn’t get around to the exercising goal until late in the year (around September), so there’s another miss. Eat Clean diet was a miss as well (life, it gets in the way!). I think my goal of “knitting with more luxury fibers” was a bit lofty, but I think I did alright there with my sea silk shawl, my mink cashmere shawl, and my Bugga sweater. I’m sure I could have met some of these better had I not forgot about them. I guess I just wasn’t as committed as I thought I was!

For the new year I have some knitting specific goals and some other ones, but I’ll share that in the new year. 🙂

2010 has been pretty good overall. There were a few down spots, like my dear beta fish, Fred, passing away (who I had for 5 years and was a surprisingly attentive, playful and a fish with his own personality), but life is pretty good. I know that some of my friends have had a rough year and I hope that 2011 brings better things for everyone.

Happy New Year!! May the new year be great for all! 🙂

Completed Projects, Current Projects

Little Christmas Tree Decorated, Juneberry Woes

Posted on December 27, 2010 by mslindz

Hope everyone’s weekend was good and all the holiday gatherings and things weren’t too stressful. We had a good Christmas. My family came over for a while, we opened gifts, and we had a nice lunch. After that, we went with Matt’s dad and brother to see Tron in IMAX 3D. We both thought it was really good and I was surprised the 3D part of it didn’t bother me at all. I did take some Dramamine right before going (though you’re supposed to take in an hour before), but I think it was less like Avatar was with all the fast movement and in your face 3D scenes. Good weekend over all, I think. 🙂

Over the weekend I put the finishing touches on the little tree I shared last time. Ended up not decorating it much, but I’m pleased with how it turned out!

Little Christmas Tree

Pattern: Wooly Tree Tutorial (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: December 12, 2010
Completed: December 13, 2010
Yarn: Red Heart Soft Yarn in Guacamole, approx 1/3 of a skein
Needles: 4.0 mm (G) hook
Notes: I initially did the leaves every round, but when I realized I was going to run out of yarn and that I read the pattern wrong, I did the leaves every other row . I was going to decorate it with tiny ornaments. I searched and came up empty on tiny ornaments that I liked, so I decided to just put the star I found on top and call it done. Maybe next Christmas I’ll find some tiny ornaments that I like for it!

The sad news part of this weekend and this post has to do with the Juneberry Triangle I’ve been working on non-stop since I started it. I was doing quite well with the edging. Here it is just before I hit the halfway point of the edging.

Juneberry – Edging

It was looking like I’d have enough yarn, but I knew I might be cutting it close. I got to this point when I realized the fate of my shawl.

Juneberry – Uh oh…

Yep. Ran out of yarn. I have 8 rows left to finish the shawl and I have run out of yarn. 😦 No way am I going to rip out all that edging to rip back a row or two from the last rows before the edging to have enough yarn to finish it, though I will admit the thought did cross my mind. I really don’t want to buy a whole new skein of yarn just for the few yards I need to finish this shawl. (The yarn I’m using is Great Northern Yarns 70% Mink/30% Cashmere DK in Natural.)

In hopes that I don’t have to go that route, I’ve posted on Ravelry a few places and PM’d a few folks with partial skeins listed in their stash to see if someone would be able to help me out. I did get someone who may have some left after finishing a project and another who will check when they get home tonight, so I’m hopeful that I’ll get the little bit I need to finish this project. I was really hoping I’d be able to finish this before 2011, but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards. Ah well. That’s what happens when you know you’re going to be cutting it close!

Since this won’t be in my “FO’s of 2010” after all, I’ll be working on getting my project recap for 2010 done sometime this week and hopefully posted before the end of the year. While I wait on a resolution to finishing Juneberry, I’ll be working along on my pink and purple striped sock.

To those that are snowed in today, stay safe and don’t go out if you don’t have to! To those only wishing they had a snow day from work (like me, but only a little since I wouldn’t be looking forward to the digging out after), hope your Monday’s been a good one. 🙂

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	stitchingmystressawa… on Stashing Down and Other G…
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