Startitis

Well, since my last post, I finished a second Eco Cloud cowl, this time casting on 75 stitches, and a pair of fingerless mitts. Both are for me. Thank goodness this week has been Spring Break from School so I could do all these things!

These mitts are based on the Jacoby pattern, but I made the top part longer and added several rows to the thumb. This way, I can keep more of my fingers warm, but also can fold down the top if I need to use my fingers. Now, I need to finish a pair for R so we can wear them to Opening Night of the Oakland A's season tomorrow! (Baseball season has started -- Hooray!)

What you see below are my pair, and the one on the needles on the top left are for R. Mine were done on 60 stitches, and his are on 68 stitches. You can see how the striping pattern has changed, and how the addition of the thumb gusset changes it too. (Claudia Handpaints fingering weight in the A's colorway.)


But in addition to 2 pairs of fingerless gloves, I've got a major case of startitis! I've been a good girl and swatched to check gauge.

Girl Friday -- I've had this rosy peach Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd's Wool since Dec. 2009, and I've finally found a good pattern for it!



Cassidy -- working on this in Cascade Lana d'Oro, color 9923, an alpaca/wool blend that I've had for almost 3 years now (sorry no pics, yet).

Chad (Ravelry link) has been calling my name! You know how you've acquired quite a stash, but nothing matches the patterns you want to make, either in gauge or quantity or color or ... I've been wanting to make this for a while, but didn't have anything in stash with the quantity that I needed. I'd almost resigned myself to buying some Greenland, the called-for yarn in the pattern. But then, while I was hanging out at Purlescence, I noticed a skein of Dream in Color Classy in the Plum Paisley colorway. You may remember that almost 2 years ago, I bought 5 skeins and then found the perfect buttons for it. But subsequent dye lots of this yarn were very, very different. But this one was the same as my previous purchase. Buying one additional skein was the right decision and I'm loving the knitting of the waffle pattern for Chad!

And then, along came a pattern a couple nights ago from Debbi Stone, a Goddess Knitter from Blue Moon. Her Octavia lace shawl pattern just jumped at me and onto the needles. The lace pattern has violets in it and calls for about 350 yards of fingering weight yarn. In going through the stash of sock yarn, I pulled out a few that I thought might work. Asked the DH which one he thought would work best and he chose the semisolid Socks that Rock Lightweight in .... Vancouver Violet. Perfect match!


I'm still spinning the Abstract Fiber silk/merino on my KCL drop spindle, but Kelli and I decided that the colorway should really be called Brazilian Carnaval, not Poppies.

I've spun about half of the baby camel/silk from Stitches, and have also started some Ashland Bay merino top that will be plied together, half in Cranberry, and half in a yellower/deep gold blend.

And yesterday, I got a new wheel! She's a new-to-me Louet Victoria. Help, I need a name for her!


To make matters even more interesting, I've also started up on Twitter as @PurpleYarnQueen.

Like I said... Startitis!

Time flies when you're having fun... or Who Took My Year?

How did that happen? I blinked and it's almost the middle of January, and I haven't posted since September! Where does the time disappear to? Did someone else need it more than I did?

Okay, I need to recap what I've been doing (mostly for myself because I don't think anyone is left out there reading my rambling).

In my crafty life --

There has been knitting:

In October, I finished 3 hats for Shanti's Mom's Ships Project to put hats on the heads of sailors on her ship. Those are down the left side.

From next column clockwise: Fingerless gloves for The Dork, Bryony tank, Handspun Scrunchable Scarf for me, Striped scarf for Hubby, Purple socks for me, Hawthorne shawl (yes, it takes the entire width of our queen-size bed).

In progress now: a Pretty Thing cowl in cashmere!


Quilting:
Only one this year, but there are a couple more in the works that I can't show you yet. Remember I had bought some blue fabric back in 2008 for an ocean themed quilt? Well, I added to the fabric stash... and then this:

Blue batiks

became a quilt/playmat for Reuben Jeffrey James Miles
 

Spinning:

Ahhh, spinning! I've done more spinning in the last year than I've done in a looooong time, and that includes the Tour de Fleece. That's because I enrolled in SpinU, a 12-week intensive class at Purlescence taught by the incomparable Sandi. We did all kinds of spinning, from understanding the basics of worsted-style and getting our hands to do woolen-style spinning, to working with long- vs short-staple fibers, to various art-yarns. I've got a better understanding of my wheel and how to get it to do what I need.

My favorite spinning was the laceweight cashmere/silk and camel/silk blends in the upper left photo. (I loved working with the good stuff!) And, The Dork Boy says he's getting me a high-speed flyer whorl for my spinning wheel so I can more easily spin the finer stuff.

In other crafty things, my sister-in-law made this embroidery for her mother (my MIL):

Lovely!















School has been busy and we're heading into what I call "research season" starting with the 3rd graders this week. We're also involved with accreditation reports for the Western Association of Schools & Colleges (WASC), and I'm heading a committee. Add to that supervising a part-time librarian (who used to be my boss - she's semi-retired), and I'm sometimes silly busy.

In the home improvement area, we've had 2 fences go down in a windstorm before Christmas. The backyard was quickly repaired by our neighbors who propped it up. The side fence, which we knew was a problem, will be replaced probably in the spring when it's warmer. There also have been washing machine problems, a replacement water heater (tankless!), a new-to-us TV, and some reorganization and destashing of stuff. Another run to Goodwill needs to happen soon.

The holidays came and went too quickly. I blinked and the time between Halloween and the New Year whizzed by.

Other than that, I'm looking forward to Stitches West, which will be in just a few weeks. Hmmm, what can I make before then...?

Whew! I guess I was pretty busy, wasn't I?

Oh dear -- another month gone!

So, this month has zoomed by, much quicker than anticipated. Of course, being sick for 2 weeks will make the time go quickly. Actually I was really only sick for a couple days. The aftermath asthma has kicked my butt for the rest of the time. Lack of oxygen will do that. Love my inhaler and cough meds! Luckily (or unluckily) this past week was vacation from school, and I didn't have anything planned!

But there has been lots of knitting over the last month! This is the back of my Minimalist Cardigan. The fronts and back are finished and I'm working on sleeve one. I'd like to get this done in time for Stitches West in a couple weeks.

There is also a Secret Blanket, which (shame on me) still isn't quite done, so no photos. These 2 are part of the 3 projects I designated for this month's #UFOSmackdown 2010. The 3rd project was finished right at the beginning of the month - Hubby Socks. They're in the laundry right now, so I'll photograph them later.

And then there are the other projects... Here is the first Fine Cabled Mitt that is destined for The Hubby. Only have about an inch to go on the hand and the thumb to finish.

Since the mitt isn't quite "knit in the dark" material, and I was going to see the new Cirque du Soleil show "Ovo" last week, I cast on a vanilla 3x1 rib sock to carry in my purse. Through a doctor appointment for me, a visit to urgent care with Mari and the show (fabulous and recommended), all on Thursday, I'm up to the gusset increases. This is Rabbitworks Fibre Studio Toe Jam sock yarn in Black Orchid. Love, love, love how the fabric is working up! (And she'll be at Stitches West, so I can get some more...)

And then I promised myself that there would be no Knitting Olympics or Ravelympics knitting this time around, due to the timing of the other projects that need doing. But then I was watching the opening ceremonies and before I knew it, Spanish Dancer had appeared on the needles. I loved how the yarn (Ellen's Half-pint farm's merino silk blend) patterned when it was wound. I'm about 2 inches into the garter portion right now. (No, Kathy -- must work on blanket....!)

In the "other creative stuff" category, I decorated this mailbox (found at Target) with some rub-ons that I had. Destined for my secret pal at school, I stuffed it with some other gifts, including chocolate, and I think it turned out adorably! Will have to keep this gift in mind for others...

Remember this scarf (Ravelry link)? I gave it to my hairdresser as a Valentine's Day gift and he was so excited by it that he immediately put it on and declared that he was going to wear it all day! Isn't he cute?!

 

Another creative thing happening is by The Dork! He liked the horizontal rib scarf (from One More Skein) so much that he wanted to cast one on, but in a chunky weight. He's using Rowan Colourscape in the Storm colorway and doing a great job with it. 

And one last picture for you -- last month I ripped out 4 different projects that were never going to be finished, a twin-bed sized blanket, a shrug, a vest and a shawl. The yarn for the 2 larger projects are gone, out of the stash, out of my life...good riddance!

I really should go and get something done today besides sit on the couch and knit. Oh, but I guess I have - I've written a blog post...

Fun stuff

A super quick post before I head to bed.

Finished Object #1 for UFO Smackdown 2010

Fingerless mitts (Ravelry link - based on Jacoby)
Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks Kona Superwash sock yarn in color Evergreen
US size 1 needles
Approx. 186 yards
Started Dec. 29, 2009
Finished Jan. 12, 2010

The second mitt took 2 days to knit. Of course, that was over the weekend with nothing else to do but knit!


Now I can justify casting on one of the two sweaters I'm itching to work on: Minimalist Cardigan or Cece.

Here's a funny one for you:

Can't read it too well? Try this: 

And yes, it belongs to The Dork. A friend of his got it for him as a combo Christmas/birthday gift. Those of you that know him know that it's a perfect shirt!

(Funny, that zombie unicorn sort of looks like something Bill Peet might have drawn.)

Odds and Ends...

Wrap-up of projects:

The Dork's homework project (a Shinto shrine) that he and his class partner decided to make out of Legos:
Side view. The roof wasn't quite right because they didn't quite have all the pieces they wanted.

(And yes, that is a stormtrooper on the roof!)


Bird's eye view, including interior








Front










From the other side












Dork placed 3rd (tied) in a saber competition. He's the one on the right, and he's giving me the "don't take my picture, Mom" look.



As a reward, we ate at Joe's Cable Car Restaurant (mmm, patty melt and onion rings).



I've finished my fingerless mitts (and have been commissioned for 3 more pairs by members of my family).






New Stuff:
Started a Scrunchable Scarf in Mirasol K'acha as a mindless project to take to the theater when we saw the Reduced Shakespeare Company in "The complete works of William Shakespeare (abridged)". Fun yarn (not purple!), fun pattern, even more fun show!


I've started (and restarted, and restarted) a baby blanket that needs to be gifted by Dec. 16th. Nothing that I've tried has really resonated with me and I'm getting bored after only 2-3 inches. I may give up on the dk weight yarn I'm using and find enough worsted-weight and just crochet a fast giant granny square to get it over with! The older brother got a giant granny square blanket from me 3 years ago. Or I'm intrigued with the thought of knitting random stripes...

I'm thankful that I have enough yarn in stash that I can change my mind.
I'm thankful that my family is healthy and happy.
I'm thankful that I'm happily employed and that my husband is too.
I'm thankful that we have a happy, well-adjusted Dork Teen.
I'm thankful that I have great friends that I can laugh and cry with.
I'm thankful that we have a roof over our heads.
I'm thankful that we have enough food to eat and clothing to wear.
I'm thankful that we have a producing vegetable garden and access to fresh local produce.
I'm thankful that we have access to this fabulous communication and research system called The Internet.
I'm thankful that I have enough brains (usually) to solve minor house repair issues (the kitchen faucet this time) by searching the Internet for information.

I'm thankful that I can contribute to other people's fund-raising efforts. Stacie is raising money for the Lymphoma Research Foundation through her Etsy shop. I sent over a scarf for her to sell (and I'm looking for a couple other ones that I know I have around here somewhere...). You must see her Incredibly Soft Vibrating Scarf!

And with that, I'm thankful that we have options for our Thanksgiving meal this year. It will only be the 3 of us and an out-of-commission oven. We were smart enough to realize that we don't have to heat the entire smoked turkey at once, so I carved the turkey when it arrived home Tuesday. We have a small convection oven that we've been using, but there was no way to get even a smallish turkey into it! The bonus: getting to eat leftovers before we've even had Thanksgiving dinner!

Hope your Thanksgiving is a joyful one for you!

Sigh!

Last Monday was so cold in the morning when I left for work that I scraped ice off my car windows. The thermometer read 40°F. My hands were so cold that I did what any good knitter does - cast on some gloves right after I got home. The left one is done (sans thumb ribbing) and was super easy. It's the Mitt Envy pattern from Weezalana. Nicely written, the pattern was easy to follow, cable pattern was intuitive. There are mirror image instructions for the right mitt. I'm using Handmaiden Casbah (yummy cashmere-blend) in a beautiful rich purple that refuses to photograph nicely.

So I started the right one. This is the point at which my brain says "I know what I'm doing. I don't have to read all the instructions through because the cable rows are the same."

Yeah, they are the same - but I managed to miss one crucial part. Here's a picture of the two mitts next to each other.

Can you spot the mistake?


Can you see it now? It wasn't the cable pattern that I goofed on. I missed the "K8" part after the cable and BEFORE the gusset increases.

Now to rip out 21 rows...sigh!