All Purpose

So last week or maybe 2 weeks ago I mentioned being in a knitting frenzy or maybe just a stashing frenzy. I even said you could be the judge, but then I gave you nothing to base your judgement on. Sneaky of me, no?

So I’ve laid off the stash posts here because I started thinking they were probably really boring and my stash pics already clog up my Flickr to the point that I don’t think anyone looks at it anymore. So yeah, I didn’t want to alienate everyone. But I also think saying “hey look at all this stuff I traded, swapped, bought” (and folks it’s a lot of stuff) maybe made me a little uncomfortable because I might be out of control right now with the yarn. Maybe.

I don’t want to get all blow by blow here but here are some facts. As of June I had bought 11875 yards of yarn for the year. That’s some yarn. I think I’ve purchased almost another 10000 yards in the last 3 months, and I’ve got some stuff still in transit. On the other hand, I have projects lined up for every single thing in my stash (ie, not in transit) and I’ve managed to let go of some things I was really never going to knit. I also wore my Louet & Lacy cardigan for the first time in NYC last week (yay!) and can’t wait to knit some more cardigans.

So for those that care about such things here are some highlights of my recent acquisitions.

I have had my eyes opened to a whole new world of yarns in the past month, including the ever elusive Wollmeise.

I also discovered Squoosh Fiberarts

and Sanguine Gryphon (though no Bugga or Skinny Bugga yet)

and Sundara

and Pigeonroof Studios

and that’s just like half of it, but I won’t bore you. If you really love yarn porn check out my Flickr account.

I’m on a yarn budget. Starting in October. Really.

2 Comments | In: knitting, stash | | #

Hey, I’ve been knitting. Surprise! I have been in slump, it happens when the weather starts getting really hot. I didn’t finish a damn thing in April, knitting blahs. However, I did finish my Lush and Lacy Cardigan (rav link) in May.

I think it turned out pretty good, even if the pictures could use a little more focus.

So check out the Ravelry link for details. I think this might be my first really well done sweater. It fits, the seaming isn’t weird (well too weird), and it’s flattering on me. I will definitely wear it when the weather cools off, like in 6 months (ok really 4 months).

The Lace Ribbon Scarf (rav link) is coming along and will hopefully, probably, be the FO for the month of June.

I have almost finished the first Leyburn sock (rav link). Srsly, I have no idea why this is taking me so long. I think that the pattern is pretty easy, but does require some thinking so perhaps that’s why it’s not flying off the needles. I really hope I can finish these soon. I need them to be done so I can either take a real sock break or start something I like better.

I also started my Traveling Log Cabin blanket (rav link) with the Noro I got in New Orleans. I have 3 more balls of Noro already (some of my recent trips have not been Noro productive) so at least I can start getting an idea of the block size.

I finally admitted defeat on the Ribs and Lace Tank (rav link). I realized it would ruin the lace pattern to steek it so I frogged. The. Whole. Thing. So sad. I started again but am just not digging it right now.

I’m thinking of casting on a different summer project, one that might be faster and look better on me right now. I just got some Blue Sky Dyed Cotton (I know, we’ll talk about the stash later) in a nice Navy/Indigo color and I think I might make a Liesl with that. I’m also interested in doing a Hey Teach cardigan, but not sure about the yarn (stash or new, etc.). I’m mostly working on the scarf anyway and will probably push to finish that before I start anything new.

So yeah about the stash. I did cancel my sock club membership. It was fun, and I really like the yarn and colors and everything that I got. I was not as excited about it after the first couple of packages though so decided to take a break.

I have really managed to rack up some stash though. I think I last talked about this in March and yeah, I got more yarn. So now I’ve bought a total of, holy shit, 11875 yards this year. Plus when I was looking for my fabric stash (yeah, still haven’t found it) I found 2180 yards worth (2 bags) of Reynolds Lite Lopi that I got I have no idea when (or what for) so that also added. I’m totally trying to sell the Lite Lopi though. The numbers are growing, though at least with the exception of April (so far) I have managed to finish a project every month so far. So I guess it’s good.

Anyway, I’m knitting again. It might be slow going over the summer (I think it’s going to be a brutal one), but it’s going at least.

No Comments | In: finished object, gifts, knitting, ravelry, stash, work in progress | tags: 2009, cardigan, finished object, socks, work in progress. | #

The stash numbers to the right aren’t looking so great anymore. I have been staying in my budget, but I have still managed to add a lot of yarn to the stash so far this year. You see I got some good deals on destashes in January and February and then I bought some stuff for specific projects in March. Then I had this gift certificate from xmas for my LYS that I HAD to spend like now. I needed a pick me up what can I say. Then Webs had the exact yarn I wanted for a tank top on sale. I’ve racked up 8347 yards of new yarn so far this year (including sock club). That’s a lot. I need to ease up for a while.

I mean I have 14 sweaters worth of yarn now, and I have yarn (with attached projects) for every season. I really should not need any new yarn for a while. Right?

I have finished two projects so far this month, but they were small (only subtracting about 383 yards from the stash).

I finished some more socks and a hat that I don’t have a picture of because it really ended up being a mistake, but I’ll wear it.

I also started 3, no four new projects. I started a Lace Ribbon Scarf, some Leyburn socks, a Lush and Lacy Cardigan and another attempt at a plain ribbed hat for M.

I also really want to try to finish my Ribs and Lace tank from last summer up this month. I ad a very unfortunate incident with it. See I twisted the work with I joined to work in the round and at first I was like “oh I can just fix that whenever”, because I’ve twisted socks before and been able to recover (I also always noticed after one round and fixed it right then). Then I tried fixing it and it just wouldn’t untwist. So then I thought “well when I get to the part where I start working flat I’ll be able to fix it”. Then I got there and the darn thing still wouldn’t untwist. Then I Googled it and realized, to my horror, that no, unless you untwist in the first few rounds you are pretty much screwed. Yep. Then I read this enlightening post from the Yarn Harlot and learned I could fix the problem without starting over, all I had to do was do a steek, untwist and seam. Ta ha. Right. So I put the whole thing on hold while I got up the courage to try the steek, and I’m almost ready. Almost.

No Comments | In: finished object, knitting, stash, work in progress | tags: 2009, finished object, harlot, knitting, stash, steek, work in progress. | #

So I’m behind here, again. I really am going to try harder. So let me start with a recap of my January and February knitting (yep it’s still mostly knitting around here, but look out).

In January I only finished 2 things:

socks

and a doomed sweater

In February I only finished a vest/cardigan thing that found a home elsewhere since it was too small for me. I’ll try to get a picture of that on it’s new owner.

I also bought some yarn. I got some Dream in Color Class in a destash.

it’s going to make a great February Lady Sweater, after I frog and reknit the Malabrigo one.

I also got some lovely Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere in a destash.

and it will make a great Mary Jane pullover I think.

Then I bought some Elann Nilo.

which is going to be the #12 Skirt by Norah Gaughan in the Knit.1 Spring/Summer 2008 issue.

Plus I got sock club yarn, I love the club btw!

So despite my slow knitting I have managed to finish a sweater each month so far, and my goal is to finish something every month. Stay tuned for a March update!

No Comments | In: finished object, knitting, stash | tags: 2009, cardigan, finished object, frogged, socks, yarn. | #

So I know the posting around here has been pretty sparse. I’ve been thinking about this blog and trying to figure out how to either maintain two blogs (one for crafty stuff, one for everything else) or how to better make this a blog about me and not just my knitting. So I’ll be working on that over the next month or so because I’m leaning towards changing the name of the blog, maybe freshening up the look too.

So even though this is not JUST a knitting blog I do want to spend some time recapping my knitting accomplishments from 2008. I had a really productive year. I finished 15 things in 2008, and of the things I started in 2008 I only have 4 WIPs left. I have a total of 3 UFOs (2 were started in 2008) and 5 WIPs (2 were started in 2008). That’s not bad. My biggest regret of 2008 is that I only finished one sweater. I would really like to increase that number this year.

I didn’t really decrease my stash in 2008, I actually grew it a little bit overall, but I’m ok with that. I ended up having a total of 30334.8 yards in my stash at the end of the year (yes I did go on kind of a binge at the end), with 25961.5 yards being the actual working stash (4373.3 yards are up for sale or trade). I have weeded out the things I don’t like as much and what I have left I either really like OR it’s a great standard yarn that is good to have on hand. I, of course, fantasy yarn shop still but since M and I are trying to pay off all our credit card debit this year (w00t) I will be living on a strict monthly allowance. So I’m making no promises not to buy yarn, I just have to live within my means.

So since sock clubs were such a big temptation in 2008 I finally joined one for 2009. I joined Three Irish Girls Sock Yarnista Club. It’s great because you can do month to month and you get a choice between two yarns every month plus a pattern and goodies. I’ll be getting my first package this week I think. So that’s awesome.

I learned a lot of new stuff in 2008. I learned sock knitting, magic loop, kitchner (or is it kitchener) stitch, figure 8 cast on, magic cast on and knitting sweaters in the round. I hope to continue this year and get more comfortable with adapting patterns to fit me, to be knit in the round (because that is just so awesome), and I’m kind of getting a lace bug.

I totally discovered knitting podcasts in 2008 and now I have a list of regular listens which keep me inspired to keep knitting and to blog more. I have added a list of my regulars in the sidebar.

No Comments | In: crochet, finished object, knitting, stash, work in progress | tags: 2008, finished object, work in progress, yarn. | #

So since it’s been so long I have several project updates and a lot of stash enhancement to report…at least I have photos to make it more fun.

Pattern: Clapotis by Kate Gilbert
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace in Vaa colorway
Needles: US 8 (straight)
Notes: My first Clap, I liked the pattern. It was simple and the effect is very nice and looks fancy, but isn’t really. I think the lace made a nice substitute. I wish I’d had the time/patience to use both full skeins of lace. I could have made it slightly wider and longer, but it turned out pretty good as is. I was totally sick of it by the time I finished, I think if I didn’t have decreases at the end (so I was knitting progressively faster) I would have been really cranky. But that’s just me. I totally plan on making one of these for myself using some Dream in Color Baby I got a couple of months ago.

Pattern: Thuja
Yarn: Cascade 220 in a charcoal gray
Needles: US 5 (1 29″ circular for Magic Loop)
Notes: Easy peasy pattern that knits up super fast when you use worsted weight. I hope the socks fit M, we’ll see I guess. My only issue with this was that the circular I used was I think 29″ and it wasn’t really long enough to do Magic Loop, so when I did the first sock I had some slight laddering, but it seems fine now that it’s done.

So that’s it for what I finished. I also started another pair of socks (Hedera) and while I love the yarn, the pattern has been a pain in the ass. But it looks great so I can’t complain too much. Hope to finish these by end of the month, but who knows.

And I’m still chugging away on the tank, but of course I haven’t picked it up since I’ve been back. I hope to finish it in November so I start my very own February Lady Sweater in Malabrigo, yum.

So now to the stash enhancement. I did ok on the trip. I spent more than I budgeted, but I didn’t go totally bananas overboard either. Here’s what I got…

In Ketchican I got these:

Kureyon for a travel blanket. I’ll collect single skeins of Noro Kureyon as I travel and them incorporate them into a blanket, probably a log cabin or Lizard Ridge. The color for this one totally reminded me of the rain forest hike we took in Ketchican.

Pink Carrot Creations is a lady from Ketchican who drives a truck part time. I have no idea what I’ll do with this…

The yarn is from Maryland, but I thought the colors were great so had to have it.

In Juneau I got this:

More Kureyon for the blankie, the colors are very Juneau.

In Skagway I got this:

Gorgeous Raven Frog Fiber Arts yarn (Elegante), it’s half silk half merino I think. The colors perfectly capture Skagway.

That’s it. I did buy one more skien of yarn in Skagway (Rabbit Ridge yarn), but it’s a gift for a friend it doesn’t count.

No Comments | In: finished object, gifts, knitting, stash, work in progress | tags: alaska, clapotis, finished object, hedera, juneau, ketchican, knitting, scarf, skagway, socks, stash, thuja, work in progress, yarn. | #

I got some yarn. I know, shocking.

I got something for the August xmas socks.

Fleece Artist Sea Wool in Lily Pond

Then I got some great indie dyed (or indie dyer, or indy??) yarn in a RAOK (random act of kindness) which is going to be perfect for another pair of xmas socks.

Wooly Wonka Fibers 100% Merino Sock yarn in Country Garden

Then I went to Long Beach and the yarn store I went to didn’t have any Noro Kureyon so I grabbed this instead, but I’m rethinking this purchase. In hindsite I see that should have just gotten the buttons and maybe looked for a book I’ve been wanting. You might see this up for sale soon, but we’ll see.

Lorna’s Laces Shepard Sock Multi in Mineshaft

I got this for another special gift for a mystery person. So gorgeous.

Malabrigo Lace in Vaa

And finally, I sold some stash and replaced with something I’ve been coveting for a while:

Dream in Color Smooshy in Dusky Aurora

So I’ve pretty much only got 1 xmas yarn purchase left to make (unless I make guy knitted gifts), but I’ve got 5 pairs of socks to knit still.

No Comments | In: knitting, stash | tags: dic, gifts, malabrigo, sea wool, shepard sock, smooshy, socks, stash, xmas, yarn. | #

So I got all my July stash enhancements (aka, project yarn) now so I can share them.

First, I traded my Araucania Nature Cotton (in purple) for sock yarn (enough for 3 socks).

I have sent the Wildfoote off to another knitter as a random act of kindness (RAOK), I feel lucky to be able to buy sock yarn every month for my xmas socks and I know that not everyone has that luxury now or ever so I wanted to share the sock wealth.

Then I got some lovely Araucania Ranco Multy (or Multi) from a fellow Raveler:

I originally bought this as xmas sock yarn for one of my unscheduled gifts (ie, not on the knitting calendar so no fixed date for yarn purchase), but then I got the Tofutsies in that trade so I’m going to use it instead. So I think the Ranco will be for either a scarf or some other type of gift since the colors aren’t me.

Then I got this lovely, lovely Lamb’s Pride Superwash Bulky in Japanese Plum for myself. I’m making the City Shawl with it (pics soon).

I have one last skein that I got for my sister’s xmas socks, but haven’t gotten the pic loaded yet. Next time.

No Comments | In: knitting, ravelry, stash | tags: gifts, ravelry, scarf, socks, stash, trade, yarn. | #

So. I finally totally finished Ella’s blanket. I’m very disappointed in how this project turned out. It’s a little sad because I put so much into that project and I basically didn’t really think the use of cotton + wool together through. I also got lazy at the end and threw the blanket in the wash (cold water, gentle cycle, low spin) but it kinda roughed up the wool and it didn’t help the cotton shrink back. So I feel like this is a failed project. My sister wants me to give it to Ella anyway though because she’ll like the textures, so I guess I will. I also have that crochet blanket I will finish soon that I can give her, but that feel so…I dunno I guess because it’s acrylic I’m a little embarrassed by it, but hey I got plenty of acrylic blankets in my closet from both my grandmother and one of my great-grandmothers so I guess it’s not the end of the world.

So, I did some work on that acrylic, aka striped, blanket and I’m not sure now if I can really finish it this month. My neck is killing me lately and I’m trying some new techniques for knitting/crocheting, but I’m slow right now. I also think I have more to finish than I originally thought. I guess we’ll see.

I’m rocking along on the Koigu socks, and should finish one this week so those shouldn’t be a problem. Since I think I’ll finish these pretty quickly I’m thinking of doing a Calorimetry for my sister for our Alaska trip and a scarf for my Mom. I just got some pretty Araucania Ranco Multy from a Ravelry purchase (for socks, but then got a better yarn in a swap) that would probably make a good Lace Ribbon Scarf. I think I’ll use some leftover sock yarn to make the Calorimetry.

I also got some Fleece Artist Sea Wool for socks (I have 2 pairs of socks that don’t really fit into my knitting schedule so I’m buying yarn as I can for those two and will knit when I have time).

I also traded my Araucania Nature Cotton in purple for 4 skeins of sock yarn. I know. I got a skein of Tofutsies, a skein of Regia Color 4-ply and 2 skeins of Wildfoote from Brown Sheep. The Tofutsies is for a pair of xmas socks and the rest are just for the stash for now.

I also ordered 2 skeins of Lamb’s Pride Superwash Bulky so I can do a City Shawl for myself for the Alaska trip, my last personal yarn splurge (besides the Noro I’ve budgeted) until December.

I’ll be getting all this stuff this week and I’ll post pics soon.

No Comments | In: crochet, finished object, gifts, knitting, ravelry, stash, work in progress | tags: blanket, gifts, ravelry, socks, stash, xmas, yarn. | #

So I did manage to finish one thing in June (w00t).

I give you my Charade socks

Pattern: Charade by Sandra Park
Yarn: Claudia Handpainted Yarns Fingering in Plumlicious
Needles: US 1 40″ circulars (Magic Loop)
Notes: These took me forever to get started, which is why it took me about 2.5 months to actually finish them. I kept making mistakes when casting on and doing the first bits of the first sock. Once I got going though they went pretty fast and the pattern is easy to follow. The yarn was nice. It was a little splitty, but not horribly so. I think the colors are nice and it definitely pools a lot less than everything else I’ve used so far. So thumb’s up on the Claudia’s Handpainted Fingering. These are destined to be a xmas gift for someone.

So other than that nothing done. I did get VERY close to finishing Ella’s blanket. I have about 5 inches of the last piece of trim and then seaming the trim on and I’m done! I will definitely finish that in the next week (I hope). I am also aiming to complete that striped crochet blanket this month as well (it would knock 4840 yards out of the stash!) as well as a pair of xmas socks. I am also swatching for the the Ribs and Lace Tank and really hope to get cracking on that.

No Comments | In: crochet, finished object, gifts, knitting, stash, work in progress | tags: blanket, finished object, gifts, planned projects, socks, stash, tank, work in progress, xmas. | #