knitting

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Proof of knitting

May 9, 2012 in May 2012 | 2 comments

Smokehouse Cabled Vest (details on Ravelry)

Irish Hiking Scarf (again, details on Ravelry)

See, I’ve finished stuff!  I’ve been knitting.

And working.  The new job – even more amazing than I knew it would be.  I love it.  My hours are normal, save for a couple of long days last week – the rare exception rather than the rule.  I’ve “adjusted” to not being on call very quickly (in other words, I sleep more soundly knowing I don’t need to worry about the phone ringing and am not so compelled to grab my phone to check emails from staff at weird hours).  I’m doing very cool stuff and work with really cool people.  Its exhausting – lots to learn so I come home with that “my brain is full” feeling every night and collapse on the couch.  That’s a good thing though.  Much better than being exhausted from work stress like before.  I’m settling into a routine, getting into some meatier work and getting back to a new normal schedule.  All good.  Great, in fact.

Then there are the other things – the board meetings and events and family stuff and friends and teaching at Michael’s on occasion and then taking on even more (an appointment to the Community Development Commission in New Britain – sweet!).

In between, I knit.  I even finish stuff.  And it seems, on occasion these days, I even pop up here with a random post about it.

Then, I dig through the stash and start even more.  What’s one more little thing to work on?

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New Projects and Startitis

April 4, 2012 in April 2012 | 1 comment

After showing much restraint at the beginning of the year (following my push to finish a bunch of projects), I’ve been hit with a case of startitis.  Since I finished my Baktus, I’ve started 4 other projects.  There were the Sweet Fern Mitts – started and finished.  Those were for Foxfire’s latest knit-along.  I’m using the same excuse for starting this: Its an Irish Hiking Scarf, also in Foxfire’s Upland Wool and Alpaca, also for the knit along (there are prizes involved – anything for a chance to win more of Barb’s yummy yarn, right?).  I started that as soon as I finished with the Mitts.

Then there was the pair of socks that I started at the same time as the mitts – The pattern was Wedge from Cookie A’s Knit. Sock. Love.  It was a fun pattern to knit until I got really confused when I was tired and lost my place.  I figured it wasn’t meant to be, ripped it out and yesterday, started these: This is V Junkie from Alice Yu, in her book Socktupus (if you haven’t yet seen it, get your hands on it – its a great collection of patterns).  Its simple, fun and easy to memorize.  The yarn is BMFA Silkie Socks That Rock, which I love.  Its a perfect combination of yarn and pattern.

Between finishing one, starting and ripping out one and starting 2 others, you’d think I have enough to keep me entertained.  I do also have the Smokehouse Cabled Vest that I swore I’d finish in time for St. Patty’s Day (it got warm, I didn’t need a vest, I got distracted by all the other pretty things).  That still needs to be sewn together and the edgings knit.  I’ll get to that on Friday, when I’m home for the holiday.  Or, I could start something new – like the sweater I bought the yarn for in Harrisville (the Brooklyn Tweed one in Shelter) or whip up the slippers I still need (being April and all) or the bulky shawl that I also got yarn for in Harrisville or the Fiddlehead Mittens that I’ve been wanting to make for years or the cardigan in the MF 1824 Wool I got at Webs after Christmas or or or…

Or I could start what hit me yesterday and has me mildly obsessed – an afghan.  I could start an afghan.  A crocheted one.  The one that takes the 21 skeins of Valley Yarns Northampton in 7 pretty colors in my stash.  Why?  Because I was sitting in my lovely front porch yesterday, got a chill and decided I needed an afghan.  And not one of the afghans sitting steps away in my living room.  Not when the one I’ve been planning to make and have the yarn for would be perfect out there.

So yes, I could start an afghan.  In April.  One that’s knit in one piece.  One that will take a few months, at the very least.

There may be an inherent problem with this plan.   That may not stop me.

Of course, I may get distracted again tomorrow when I walk by the hutch with my stash and decide to start something else entirely…

No promises.

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Sweet Fern Mitts

April 2, 2012 in April 2012 | 1 comment

Quick post on a quick new FO – my Sweet Fern Mitts.  I started these on March 18 for Foxfire’s latest knit-along and finished them just 11 days later.  I love a quick, delightful little knit – so incredibly satisfying.  The yarn is Foxfire’s Upland Wool and Alpaca, the pattern is from the Knitter’s Book of Wool.  I tried out a pair of Knitter’s Pride Cubics dpn’s for these – loved them!  In fact, I loved the whole project.  They’re cozy and warm – I suspect I’ll wear these constantly come fall.

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Baktus

March 19, 2012 in March 2012 | No comments

My finished Baktus.  I did have enough yarn – I was left with about 1.5 yards – but only because I totally cheated at the end and started throwing in extra decreases.  After I took the picture and posted last week, I realized just how much my gauge had loosened up.  Oops!  The end looks a little different from the beginning but only a fellow knitter would notice – so no picking on me when you see me wearing this ;-)

The important details for this one are all on my Ravelry page.  I love how it turned out.  Its a perfect little something to tuck into a jacket and add a pop of color to an outfit.

Now that I’ve finished this one project, I’ve cast on 2 more, with plans for another 2.

More on my startitis later this week…

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{in}famous last words

March 14, 2012 in March 2012 | 2 comments

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I have enough yarn to finish.

Right?

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End of Winter Push

March 7, 2012 in March 2012, Uncategorized | No comments

It seems that the winter-that-wasn’t is nearing its end.  Signs of spring are popping up here and there – reports of robins (I’ve yet to see any), a hint of green in the grass and the big one – temps predicted in the 60s on Thursday.  Yes, its just one day but a sign that spring is around the corner if there ever was one.

As I so often do this time of year, I have a project on the needles that I intended to wear this winter – my Smokehouse Cabled Vest.  Its going to be a great winter knit – soft and squishy and warm on a chilly day.  I started it in January, with every intention of it being a fairly quick knit, giving me plenty of time to wear it this season.  Life intervened…

So here I am, with spring starting to push its way through and a project that I’m in a hurry to finish.  Time for the annual end of winter knitting push (which, incidentally, coincides nicely with the busiest time of year at work).  I’ve got the rest of the front (just 3 repeats of 16 rows, with decreases every 4th row), seaming and edgings to go.  In the grand scheme of things, not a lot of knitting.

Its a lovely shade of teal – green enough for St. Paddy’s Day in my book (and hard to capture with my iPhone camera, if much more green than blue).  There’s the goal – finish it by the 16th and wear it by the 17th.  10 days and counting…

Think I can do it?

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Progress

February 13, 2012 in February 2012 | No comments

One very relaxed weekend makes for lots of progress on the knitting, spinning and reading fronts.  I spent Saturday at home, curled up in my jammies, resting and hoping to keep a cold from setting in (so far, so good).  I finished a book – Knit One, Pearl One and started another – Maine.  Two very different reads and each wonderful in their own right.

I spun a bit:still in love with it…

I knitted like crazy on my Smokehouse Cabled Vest:I finally got to the armhole shaping.  Try as I might this weekend, I didn’t quite make it to finishing the back – about 4 more inches to go.

I did a few repeats on my lovely and mindless Baktus:The real progress on my Baktus came on this:Notice how a third of the ball is wrapped around the middle?  That was one massive tangle in my center pull ball.  I knew it was in there somewhere but happily denied until I absolutely had to deal with it.  Of course, it came at 9:45 Sunday night, when I was planning to go to bed the second Desperate Housewives was over (and yes, in one post, I’ve admitted to reading knit lit and watching DH – stopping judging! ;-) )  A solid hour later, I had it all untangled and wound neatly onto the ball again without taking scissors to it.  Incredibly satisfying, even if its not the kind of progress I had hoped to make.

Onward – happy Monday!

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ECF – New Project Edition

February 3, 2012 in February 2012 | 2 comments

My new obsession – a simple Baktus scarf in merino/silk handspun.  I love the way the colors are flowing one to the next and the soft, drapey hand of the yarn.  No wonder I can’t seem to put it down.

Happy Friday!

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FO Friday – Double Heelix

January 27, 2012 in January 2011 | 3 comments

Finished, ends woven in and tried on for fit (my gauge was loose but I managed to make up for it by making them a hair short so they stretched lengthwise and fit fine).

I have a little ritual when I finish a project.  I put extra yarn (none in this case) and needles away.  I always print copies of online patterns on card stock when I’m using them so that I have a nice durable copy and when I’m done, I file them in a notebook for possible future use.  I very happily filed all 12 (14?  who knows) pages of this one in the recycling bin this morning, never, ever to be seen again.  It felt good.

Now that these are done, I’ve wound up this lovely handspun and plan to start a Baktus with it this afternoon: There’s a sweater to be started too and another pair of socks.  Time to go stash diving…

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Upward Spiral

January 23, 2012 in January 2012 | 2 comments

I have become fixated on one project – finishing my Double Heelix socks.  Once I got through the 2nd heel-from-hell, the knitting has been simple and blissfully mindless.  Its the kind of thing that is perfect for knitting with friends, in front of the TV (especially a nail biter of a playoff game) and when I have no more than 2 minutes to squeak in a little me time.  The closer I get to finishing them, the more I want to work on them.  And so, I’ve knit on nothing else for the last week.  As I write this, I’m ever so close to the end – ready to start the 2×2 ribbing on the second cuff which gets knitted until the yarn runs out or it matches the length of the first one.  Just a few more inches and they’re finally done.  Until then, all other projects – or starts of projects – stay cast aside.

  I just can’t wait for them to finally be done…

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