All Purpose

So when I was shopping for gift yarn last week I saw this beautiful sock yarn on Etsy and decided to order it. I thought I’d make socks for my step mom or someone else (since socks might be the present de l’annee for xmas this year), but I got it yesterday and I totally want this yarn for myself. I rationalize this by telling myself I also got 2 more sock yarns that are also very yummy that I am totally making into gifts so 2 for gifts 1 for me is not so bad.

The picture is not the best, it was cloudy yesterday. I’ll try again today when I get home.

I also got some more Manos in Bramble yesterday (a Ravelry purchase I mentioned before) so I think I need like 6 more skeins before I can try a basic bottom up (or top down-haven’t decided) cardigan with it. That’s fine, I think I’m going to try to trade for the rest of the yarn as well because I mean for this cardi to be a comfy home/weekend type garment so I’m not worried about the dye lots being exact, etc. Besides it’s edging toward spring here so I should try doing this project in the fall maybe so I can wear it Fall/Winter 2008.

So speaking of the weather…it was in the 80′s this weekend, but now it’s cold again. It’ll get warm again by Wednesday and then cold Thursday. Yes, it’s spring in Austin so we get weather changes of 20+ degrees at least once a week. Me and my allergies and my head hate this time of year.

But what I was thinking was wouldn’t it be cool to have my Ovaltine finished enough to wear by Thursday since the high is only supposed to be in the 50′s and it’s supposed to be really cold (uh, that’s 30′s for us) on Friday morning. I think that is a good goal, I’m not too sure how realistic it is, but I’m going to try for it anyway.

I managed to get the neck issue sorted out, the shoulders reseamed, the collar done and the buttonband done and attached last night. I estimate I have about 4 hours of work left on the sweater (not including another blocking). I have the buttonhole band, the 2 cuffs and the waistband (which I’m modifying so it won’t be such a pain in the ass) and the rest of the seaming and the buttons (which I just ordered today- but I can wear it without buttons). I could totally finish that by Thursday.

It would be nice to finish the sweater because it would free me to finish the hat (another 2-3 hours work) and my socks (2-3 days, not sure how many hours) and maybe even Ella’s blanket and perhaps swatch for the $1.50 Cardigan. That would be so awesome and would help with the March to the Finish (rav link) thing I’m trying to do (ok I guess I’ve signed up for). So must finish sweater.

2 Comments | In: knitting, stash, work in progress | tags: blanket, finishing, hat, march, socks, stash, sweater, work in progress, yarn. | #

So, I’m catching back up on the Sweater Workshop sweater (aka Ovaltine). I’m almost done with the 2nd front piece. I’ll be adding pics later today. Woot. I won’t be able to do my sleeves until the yarn reinforcements come though so they better hurry since I think I need them soon.

I’m trying real hard to restrain myself from starting a new project. I want to start some socks….big time. Maybe I should just start them. I mean I have yarn for 2 pairs now I think so I need to break my sock cherry. The problem is that the lady who is doing my SW (Sweater Workshop) at HCW’s said if I really want to learn I could start coming to the Thursday night knitting class (a free for all) and she’d teach me. I would love to because I sat in with them last week to make up my missed SW class and they are a very fun bunch, and I think I might start doing the Thursday thing AFTER I finish the SW. I’d love to be able to afford to pay for the Thursday thing now, and really $40/month is not bad. But I need to get control of myself with the spending. I did exempt my running class and the SW from my goal though, and I’m going to have to drop my running class. The other negative is the fact that it means missing Lost, but I guess we could catch up later. I’m babbling.

I’m also fighting, sometimes successfully sometimes not, the urge to buy/trade yarn on Ravelry. I did sell some yarn last week though (go me). I found 4 skeins of Manos Wool in Bramble for sale so I’m thinking about doing that and using the other 2 skeins I have with it to make a cardi instead of another stinking scarf. I have like 5 scarves hanging by my front door right now. I don’t need another scarf. I really want to try out the Manos though so I don’t want to put the yarn up for swap either. So hard.

No Comments | In: knitting, ravelry, stash, work in progress | tags: knitting, manos, money, socks, stash, sweater, yarn. | #

Ok, sorry for the lapse (for the like 2 people who might read this). I’m all better now and back on track.

So I finished the hat, finally! It turned out pretty good. I could’ve made it a little longer still, but it turned out nice and it’s very cozy. I do have big hair right now so maybe if I cut my hair it wouldn’t creep up so much…anyway, I’m happy with it.

Chugging along with the blanket, square number 8 is underway:

Disaster strikes on the Sweater Workshop sweater. You know I read yarnharlot‘s blog and she often talks about not mocking the knitting gods. I laugh at these posts because they are well written and funny, but damn she has a point. So I was getting all smug last weekend about being way ahead of the game with the sweater. I had the back and 2 sides of the front done and I was well underway with the sleeves. Then it happened. I decided to block the pieces I’d finished and in a fit of complete laziness and utter stupidity I put the pieces in the washing machine. Hey, in my defense, I tried to felt some stuff in there before and it never worked since it’s a front-loading energy saver. AND I did run it on cold/gentle cycle. It was total carnage. I ruined my finished pieces. They are all felted and shrunk and ALL the weaving in came undone. A total nightmare. Pictures of the horror to come soon. *sigh*

So I reordered some more yarn (that really hurt), and started again with the back. I’m over the initial trauma I guess, though the cost of having to buy more of that pricey yarn is smarting a bit. I’ll post some pics later…

In stash news…

Yeah, I know I am supposed to not be buying things. But I rationalized that if I paid cash for something I’d be allowed. I know. But here’s what I’ve got…

More sock yarn:

More just everyday wool:

And the extra balls of Rowan Biggy Print, which I don’t really have a pic of. Really that’s not too bad. I need to exert more self control. I did get very tempted by some Mountain Colors Mountain Goat in some beautiful colorway, but I did not go back and get it. I was good.

And one last thing…in honor of having discovered Stash and Burn. I knit through 1744.5 yards of yarn in January, but only 1261 yards were truly from my stash. The rest was ordered for the project they went into.

No Comments | In: fever, finished object, knitting, stash, work in progress | tags: finished object, hat, socks, stash, stash burning, sweater, work in progress, yardage, yarn. | #

Ok, no pics right now (I’ll add them later I guess), but here’s what’s going on around these knitting parts.

I started my sweater workshop at HCW’s. There are 8 of us in the class and it seems like it will be pretty good. I realized in class that I am bad at knitting math because when the teacher was trying to explain to me about gauge and needles, etc I just did not get it. Later when I was mulling over my DPN purchase at the front I did finally get it, but now I’ve forgotten again. So does that make me old? Senile? Absent-minded librarian?

Anyway, the workshop is going to be good even though it’s straining my wallet a little right now. I think it will be worth it in the end. I have managed to do all my “homework” already. I knit the entire back of my sweater (not as impressive as it sounds since the needles are BIG and the yarn is super bulky) and did my swatch for buttonhole practice.

Let’s see I also got mad fever to knit a hat (probably because it was so freakin cold last week) and when I saw Malabrigo + hats on Ravlery, well that sealed the deal. So I totally cast on and completed a hat over the weekend only to discover that yes swatching is important. I almost always have to knit 1 needle size down for gauge so why I thought this would not be the case for a hat, I don’t know. I frogged and restarted last night, should be able to finish tonight I hope since it’s getting cold again.

We got new furniture (yippee!) and I have this Noro Kureyon that I have been trying to find a use for, so I made 2 coasters last night. It’s really true that energy efficient front loading washers are not made for felting, but oh well they still turned out pretty well. So my reasoning on this was that the Noro is nice and multi-colored so it’ll go with everything and wool is a wicking fiber. Plus I really hate those particle board coasters because when drinking cold drinks (ie, beer) they stick to your glass. So I think wool coasters are the way to go for the entire house.

I so have sock fever. I am not sure if I’m just attracted to the yarn (there is some gorgeous sock yarn out there) or what, but I really want to give these a try. I accidentally bought 2 skeins of Mountain Colors (made near where I used to live in Montana!) last week and had them balled (so of course I can’t return them now) so I need to make some socks with them I think. I cannot for the life of me find a pattern that freakin makes sense though. I see HCW’s has a sock class in March, I might take it if my wallet has recovered from the sweater workshop, but I don’t know if I can wait that long to learn about socks.

2 Comments | In: fever, finished object, knitting, ravelry, stash, work in progress | tags: coasters, finished object, hat, ravelry, socks, stash, sweater, wool, work in progress. | #

Here’s number three:

I am a wee bit behind on the xmas crochet. I need to finish scarf 4 today and I haven’t started it yet. Good times. I have a vision of myself at like 10 pm tonight (it may not seem late to you, but for me it’s the time to be getting into bed) furiously crocheting while baking bread and trying to create and burn a gift DVD of my wedding for my dad and stepmom. We’re going to their house tomorrow for a little xmas celebration since we won’t be with them on xmas this year, but in the holy land of malls: Dallas.

I did also get some nice things for myself in the mail yesterday. Check it:

Some lovely Malabrigo yarn in Velvet Grapes and the Fern Wrap Sweater pattern from Glampyre Knits. Do you think the sweater will work with the Malabrigo? Ravelry, I need you please hurry!

Not the best pic, but it’s Tilli Tomas Pure and Simple in Moroccan Blue. Oh how I wish I had bought enough to make the Fern Wrap in this, but alas I could not afford it. Maybe next time.

I also popped by my LYS yesterday to get some more Patagonia (scarf #4) and I signed up for a Sweater Workshop that starts in January. Yippee! I’m hoping to really take my knitting to the next level and actually learn how to finish properly.

No Comments | In: crochet, finished object | tags: crochet, finished object, malabrigo, patagonia, queue, scarf, stash, tilli tomas, yarn. | #