Is it Time to Knit Yet?

Not much knitting

I have injured myself doing yard work, the injury being a major blister right where yarn hits my right hand when throwing so I haven't been knitting.  But I do have a progress shot of the Oregon Vest so here ya go!  I've been very busy since the weekend doing things like making new flowerbeds, constant weeding, planting trees, and even tearing down an old ugly fence!  My yard needs tons of work that I've either been just plain neglecting, or putting off because of money.  Now that we are doing a few things like buying a truckload of dirt and some nice trees, I'm getting super excited about trying to beautify the yard on the semi-cheap and making it a nicer place to hang out.  It's going to be a while before I'm satisfied though!  But it is fun (mostly) to work hard in lieu of exercise so I'm going to keep doing it until it gets too hot to even be outside.  I'm sure my neighbors are getting tired of me hammering and The Baby making noise right at 7:00 am, but such is life.  There are plenty of things my neighbors do to bug me, so I'm just reciprocating their 'efforts'!  Anyway, that's what I'm busy with so I won't have too many updates about knitting.  Bear with me please! 

Look what I've started

When I got my kit for the Oregon Vest I put it in the hallway on a shelf under a table.  I walked past it probably a million times, and then 3 days ago I walked past it and couldn't stop thinking about it.  So I did what any self-respecting knitter who has multiple projects going would do.  I got the box out, fondled the yarn, and then started winding up what I needed right away.  That was on Tuesday night.  Wednesday afternoon I had the entire bottom edge of ribbing done when I realized I had completely messed up and would have to frog.  UGH!  It really was a good thing I did because after re-knitting, I realized I had made more mistakes than I had originally thought.  Now all is good again, and I almost have leaves :D  This project is so fun, captivating andeasy to knit, I just cannot put it down!  Each time I finish a row or change colors I see all these little details and I love the colors blending together more and more.  I'm sure this one will get the most of my attention until it is done, which will be soon if I keep neglecting every thing else that needs to get done around here! 

Have a great weekend - you know what I'll be doing ;)

WIP Wednesday

Might as well, right?  So here is my newest Work in Progress.  I'm planning on it being a cropped cardigan for The Baby.  I just separated the body from the sleeves and joined the body.  I think I might have already screwed up though - I only used two stitches for the edge and I don't think that will be enough to put a zipper in.  Oh well, I'll figure something out.  The yarn is Cotanani, a wool/cotton blend from Mirasol yarns that I picked up Three Wishes.  Isn't it great?  I love how it looks kind of like faded denim.  It should be pretty cute when it is all done.

I also have some more handspun that qualifies as a WIP, since it is getting a wash and hasn't been whacked yet!  This is the stuff I was spinning in my last post.  It went very quickly!  It only took me about 2 hours to do the spinning and then less than an hour to ply.  Hopefully it doesn't look like it didn't take very long when it is done ;) 

That's it for today, I have a cute FO to show tomorrow and now I'm off to choose and prep some more fiber to spin!

Good and Bad

Let's start with the good.  I told you about the stranded sock I was knitting - well I frogged it because it was too small.  I wasn't in love with it either.  So I ripped back to the ribbing and started a new sock.  I'm now doing the Baby Cable Rib pattern found in Sensational Knitted Socks.  The yarn is what is good.  It is some self-dyed Knitpicks Bare that I did a while back.  I don't like the actual knitting of the yarn all that much, but look how pretty the dye job turned out!  I like it a lot :)  There is also more good.  Eva gave me a much needed nudge to get off the pot and start spinning again, so I did.  By the way, check out the pretty orange yarn that she made from some roving I sent her!  She did a fabulous job!  Anyway, I did get to spinning and here is where we move on to the bad.

I dyed this roving using some purple and chartreuse dyes.  I thought it might be pretty funky but still cool when I started in on it.  It soon turned funky, but very uncool.  This turned out to be some crazy weird yarn, don't you think?  I'm not sure if it is perhaps the fugliest yarn ever, or if it might just be okay knitted up.  It's okay if you think it is fugly, you can tell me.  I know!  If there was a 'You Spun What?!' blog, this would probably be a perfect candidate for a post.  Thankfully what I'm spinning now is much nicer, though it wouldn't be hard to top this yarn now would it?
   

I guess this is WIP Wednesday

My latest and greatest project on the needles is - you guessed it - socks!  I'm doing the Cables and Corrugations socks from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters book.  I've had to make some adjustments due to my cast on number.  I basically changed the cable chart to make the cables less stitches and the stitches in between less as well.  I also had to rip out the first sock when I faced the music and decided it really didn't fit.  Too bad that was after I was all done with it.  Anyway, these are pretty fun to knit, and since I'm using size 2.5 needles and Socks that Rock mediumweight yarn they are going very quickly.  I should be done with these by the end of the day!

In other news, it is The Baby's last day of school today.  I can't believe we made it through the whole year!  It was pretty fun overall, but I am sure ready for a break.  We will be going back to the same school next year with the same teacher and I'm sure she'll have an even better time.  So we get to go see her graduate and have a potluck lunch.  I just need to stay on track so I don't mess up my progress in the weight loss department! 

Have a great day!

Work in Progress

I've been working on the Marina Piccola socks, not as quickly as I did my last pair, but here and there whenever I can.  I just finished the gusset decreases on the second sock which is going a lot smoother than the first.  Now that I have done the pattern repeat a few times it is a lot easier to not make mistakes.  I love how they are turning out and I think I picked the perfect color! 

I'm having an itch to buy more yarn.  Why?  I don't know, since I have plenty of yarn available to me right here in my home!  I guess it is time to go do some stash diving and rediscover all of the treasure that I do have. 

I swear I will get some pictures of finished scarves and a sweater today - yes I finally blocked the Seamless Hybrid!  I've been busy trying to keep to my new house cleaning schedule and driving around town to find a bike for The Baby :)  Stay tuned for pictures of FOs!

Knitting away

I've been knitting my heart out and I have lots to show for it, but today it's raining and there isn't any good light in my house so I'm waiting to take pictures.  I finished the Child's French Socks and they are blocking right now - I usually do not block socks but these ones seemed like they needed it.  I also think I've decided which socks to cast on next.  I bought this pattern when it came out, made one half-assed attempt at them and then quickly forgot about it.  So I will start them again in some pretty baby blue Socks that Rock.  Oh yeah - I pulled out my Seamless Hybrid yesterday and finished it off!  All it needed was a neckband and then some a lot of finishing work, but now it is done and just needs a washing and blocking.  Just in time for hot weather, woot!

Have a great weekend :)

The next sock in progress

This is the Child's French Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks.  I wasn't sure at first about it, but as I kept going with the pattern I fell more in love with it.  I think the yarn I chose was a good choice even though it is variegated a bit.  The pattern is pretty involved, trying to remember to switch the seed stitch every third row can be a little annoying when you actually don't remember.  But it is a fun knit, so fun that I've already finished the first sock and am already started on the second!  It makes it easy when The Baby is sick and I just want to hang around her and do nothing else ;) 

I expect to get a lot done on the second sock today, and so I'm already plotting my next sock. I'm thinking something else from Nancy Bush or maybe a stranded pattern from More Sensational Socks.  Guess you'll find out what I pick soon enough! 

Just Socks

Of the latest items to come off my needles is another pair of socks.  They are nothing special, just basic ribbed socks knit from the toe up with a short row heel and EZ's sewn bind off.  The yarn is a merino/tencel that I got from Scout's Swag a while back.  The colorway is Million Dollar Baby, I like it a lot.

I started another pair of socks right after finishing the ribbed socks.  I used the Decorative Ribbing stitch pattern from More Sensational Knitted Socks, and the yarn is Instant Gratification from Brooklyn Handspun in the Mysterioso colorway .  I really like how the socks turned out, I did 56 stitches on the leg and then 54 on the foot just to break up the large-ish stripes a little bit.  They also knit up quickly on size 2 needles, taking me 4 days!

So what am I knitting now?  Well I guess I am on a roll.  I've started the Child's French Sock (Ravelry link) from Knitting Vintage Socks, using some Ball and Skein sock yarn, I think the colorway is Rose or something like that.  It isn't too variegated and I think it is working out nicely.  I'm getting ready to start the heel on the first sock. 

That's all I've got for today, no Lace Ribbon Scarf yet as I'm procrastinating actually blocking it.  So have a good day :)

Proof that I still knit

I know I talk about knitting, but I never show it right?  So who really knows if I'm telling the truth?  Well today I give you proof!  This is the back half of the Halter Dress for The Baby.  The pattern is from the book Barefoot Knits, which is all about using Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece.  I'm using some Classic Elite Flash Print that I got a very long time ago.  It should be really cute when it's finally done.  I'm about halfway done with the front half, so it should be soon. 

The other picture is my Seamless Hybrid sweater, or what looks like just a plain old big, dark sweater.  I need a neckband, underarm sleeve stitches woven, and ends woven in, and of course blocking.  I'm using the same needle for the Halter Dress and I've decided to finish that one first. 

That's all I've got, I don't know how much knitting time I'll actually get this weekend though.  I'm heading off to my sister's house bright and early tomorrow so that she and her hubby can go off for an nice and quiet overnight stay at a B&B.  So me + The Baby + The Baby's cousin of the same age + 2 twin 1 year olds = me, possibly going absolutely crazy.  Just kidding sis!  I'm quite looking forward to it and I hope they have a wonderful time to themselves :)  See you next week!