All Purpose

So I got my stash enhancements last week.

Remember, I got the Louisa Harding Nautical Cotton in #09 (Forest).

Elann’s Callista in black.

And Elann’s Coto Canapone in Medici Purple, the purple is much darker when not in direct sunlight like the photo.

So that’s all making me very happy. The Nautical Cotton is a great color as well and I’m probably going to start with it and the Ribs and Lace Tank. I’m swatching for that now.

I’m also wrapping up my Charade‘s (hope to finish tonight so I don’t goose egg for June). And I’m ready to start my July socks, which will be the Slip Up Socks from Posh Yarn. I’ll be using that Koigu I got in June for these.

So many pretty yarns now, so little time.

No Comments | In: gifts, knitting, stash, work in progress | tags: 2008, gifts, socks, stash, work in progress, xmas, yarn, year of the sock. | #

Uh, so I have no idea why I would sign up for a stash busting thing on the one hand and then 1) comb through every inch of my stash to document MORE stash that I didn’t count, 2) go to HCW’s and buy yarn and 3) Even look at the Elann and Little Knits sites leading me to purchase 3 sweaters worth of yarn. True I got three sweaters worth of yarn for $100, which is pretty good, but damn it I’m not supposed to be spending any money.

*sigh*

I have been (mostly) careful about the yarn purchases I’ve made, trying only to get things that were unique and/or highly desired for a long time (oh black purl I love you) or were needed for xmas knitting. How that Noro slipped in last time I have no idea.

This time I feel like I’m justified because while most of the time I can tell myself “you don’t need it now, it will still be there in a month, or six”. However, my near past experience with Elann has already taught me if I am interested in one of their house yarns and I like a particular color that I might want to buy it then because in a week, when I’m “allowed” to spend the money the color I want might be gone. The Little Knits purchase was more like, this is a great deal and color and yarn so I should not pass it up. Is that making excuses? I guess it is a bit and I will be definitely NOT buying yarn the rest of the summer (except 1 ball of Kureyon in Long Beach if I make it to a yarn store there; and xmas sock yarn once a month) or the fall, or the winter. Seriously, I’m going to try.

But now let’s talk about what I ordered (such a poor example)…So from Little Knits I ordered a bag of Louisa Harding Nautical Cotton, it was $24. For a bag, I mean really how could I say no! I got the wonderful darker green (#09). I think this is going to be a Ribs and Lace Tank from IK Spring 2007.

From Elann I ordered 10 skeins of Callista in Black (8990) which I think is going to be a Josephine from IK Summer 2007.

I also got 10 skeins of Coto Canapone in Medici Purple (10) which I think is destined to become the Surplice Lace Top from
Nashua Handknits: North American Designer Collection No. 4 (Rav link).

So between that and deciding to repurpose my Louet Merlin for Aleita Shell and the Lush and Lacy Cardigan I think I have enough big projects to last me through the warm months, and then I have plenty of wools in the stash for some projects in the fall/winter. I really might be set for the year.

No Comments | In: knitting, stash | tags: future projects, knitting, money, socks, stash, yarn. | #

So I signed up for June’s Bustin’ that Stash (Rav link), and of course the minute I agree to 1) knit 1000 yards of stash AND 2) not add to my stash I suddenly find all this yarn I haven’t counted. Another 1421.5+ yards unaccounted for to be exact…sheesh.

Here are the things I “forgot” to put in Ravelry:

The yarn I got in Boston at Newbury Yarns, not tagged no yardage so really doesn’t count in that total even though it’s now in Ravelry.

4 balls of this that I swapped some yarn for…maybe swapping is bad.

I think I bought this to make some amigurumi animals, which I’d still like to do sometime.

Plus I had several 1-2 skein leftovers from various projects.

Ok, ok and I bought 4 skeins of yarn. Two skeins were a legit purchase for my next pair of xmas socks:

But then I saw this, which I have been coveting since I first saw it on Ravlery. There was only 1 skein left so I couldn’t leave it there:

And I decided to start my Noro Kureyon collection in anticipation of casting on for the Lizard Ridge blanket after I finish my other 2 blanket projects:

I think this project will be a great travel yarn project, so whenever I travel I will have a “souvenir” yarn to focus on and after many travels I’ll have a blanket. Pretty cool.

In other news, I also documented some of my older projects (ponchos!) and I’ve made some progress on Charade:

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

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 realized yesterday while I was working that even though my stepmom has been battling cancer for almost 2 years I have not made her anything. WTF? I don’t really understand how I didn’t think of this before (ok last year with the wedding it makes sense, but when she first started chemo in 2006?). I guess the diagnosis came very quickly and she did chemo really fast and then everything was ok for a while and by the time they found more tumors I was engaged and trying to plan a wedding.

In any case, she is starting yet another course of chemo (an old school kind I hear) in a couple of weeks and I’m going to see her beforehand next weekend, so I decided it would be nice to present her with some comfort items when I see her next weekend. I am going to make her the Amelia Earhart Earflap hat and a couple of pairs of socks. I looked around for some yarn ideas and found that most people say you should give something machine washable. So hard. So after backing and forthing over it I decided since these are gifts I could buy yarn for them. I went to HCW’s after work and found some great sock yarn that proclaims to be machine wash (gentle/cold).

But finding something for her hat was harder. I did end up picking up some Berroco Comfort, but while it is soft I don’t really like that it’s all non-natural fibers. I found a couple of other possibilities though, but wasn’t crazy about the colors they had, and I was just dithering because I wasn’t sure how well the allegedly machine washable stuff will really hold up, then again it’s not expensive (2 skeins/balls) so I could always make her the hat again if it fell apart. Will dad be doing the laundry? So freakin hard to make a decision.

Anyway, I got home and decided that I wanted to knit her something really great and I began doubting the Berroco purchase. I decided instead to start a hat using my last skein of Malabrigo worsted because it’s so soft I just want her to have it, even if dad ends up machine washing it and ruining it. But I’d still like to make her 1-2 more hats in a more practical, yet natural fiber, and since it’s already hit 90 and will be in the 70-80′s this weekend I wanted to do make the next hat in a lighter yarn, maybe try some bamboo. I’d also like to avoid cotton unless it’s organic since we all suspect that her exposure to cotton pesticides (cotton farming is basically what she grew up around) might be a BIG reason she has cancer. Plus, since the hat covers her whole head I wonder about colors.

So anyway, I bought yarn (about $50 worth) + 3 old Interweave Knits that I was missing. I think when I go for my Sweater Workshop on Sunday I’ll return the Berroco and get a different yarn or if I can find something online I might order it online. The Berroco was cheap (I think $3/ball) so really returning it is silly, but I need to get in the habit of returning thing I know I won’t use.

In other news, I finished the sleeves for my sweater on Wednesday night and ripped back the bad right front so it’s ready to fix. No more progress on my sock or Ella’s blanket, and I think that’ll be on hold until I finish the sweater and L’s gifts.

2 Comments | In: gifts, knitting, stash, work in progress | tags: cancer, chemo, cotton, farming, gift knitting, gifts, hat, knitting, natural fibers v. synthetic, pesticides. | #

Ok, so I looked and I feel a little less bad about having to repurchase the Ovaltine yarn. I realized after looking at my PayPal account today that I actually paid for more than half the new yarn with the $ I got from selling off some of my stash yarn. So that’s good.

I had planned on using that money to pay for the 4 skeins of Manos that I’m buying off a fellow Ravelry-er (uh, how do you say that, Raveler?). So that’s bad. So I decided to closely evaluate my yarn haves vs. my desires and I put some more yarn up for sale/swap. Hopefully to offset the Manos purchase AND to allow me to purchase yarn for some projects I want to work on after I finish Ovaltine.

I didn’t get a damn thing done knitting-wise yesterday but since M. is out of town and it’s Thursday (thank you CSI) I will totally get my 2nd front piece done and maybe start the sleeves tonight. Or I may finish the front of Ovaltine and start a sock. Or I could do Ovaltine and work on the blanket. I’m dizzy with the possibilities. Just me, the dog, the couch and the tv, and the best thing (well not that it’s the best thing that my hubby is out of town on v-day) is that even if tv sucks I have ALL the Stash and Burn podcasts waiting to be caught up on. So I’m set for tonight. Just need to figure out dinner since our fridge is not working.

No Comments | In: fever, knitting, stash, work in progress | tags: csi, money, socks, sweater, tv, 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. | #