Down to The Wire

Well, 2011 is winding to a close and I finished my last pair of socks for the year.  Officially, if anyone is counting besides my anal self, I have finished 34 pairs in 2012!  I don't necessarily plan to improve that record next year, but I am full of anticipation about what 2012 will bring and have a couple pair lined up and ready to be cast on.

Meanwhile, I thought I would show off the last two finished.  I finished the Spiral Stashbuster Pair last week.  I neglected to show you what the yarn looked like before I started knitting them in the last "in-progress" post.  It's interesting to see how the individual colors look compared to the blend.  Also, as you might suspect from the date on the photo, this is some of the yarn left over from doing these.  They don't take much of each individual color.

 

Yarn for Scrappy Stripes

 Here is what the finished socks looked like:

Scrappy Stripes

A very fun knit.  This pattern will go into my "go to" binder.  As will the next one I finished.

Pattern: Thumbelina by Lisa Dykstra
Yarn: Paca-peds in Paccacino

Swirls in my Coffee

A very fast and fun knit.  My only complaint would be the "opposite" pooling effect that happened in the foot/gusset of the sock.  Not sure how to avoid this, but I might have to make it my mission to solve this problem since I have more similarly dyed yarn in my stash.  Otherwise, I love them.

Happiest of New Years and Happy Sock Knitting!

Nana

My Blue Period

***Notice: link and photo heavy post; please step away and have a cup of hot cocoa or  eggnog if this will further stress you, otherwise, enjoy!***

It happens.  In your wardrobe; in your décor; in your paintings; and inevitably in your yarn choices; you take a good look one day and realize that you have been making some very monochromatic color choices.  In the case of my knitting, the color is blue.  It seems like I have been only knitting with blue yarn lately.   This is not strictly the case, but blue has definitely been my power color recently. 

I have finished several blue things (in no particular order)

The Brooklyn Tweed Rock Island Shawl in Mountain Colors Winter Lace / Harmony Starlight

Mr. Greenjeans in Gedifra Extra Soft Merino / Navy

A couple of pattern notes on this... sizing runs a tad small due to cables.   I made the sleeves longer and closed the YO's on the raglan shaping.  I know it's hard to tell from the picture, but it really did turn out nicely.

Movember Socks in A Swell Yarn Shop Middy Duet Sock Yarn / Lagoon Splash

Escargot in Dream in Color Classy / Midnight Derby / Visual Purple / Some Summer Sky

This pattern was a delight!  I needed something small and fun to knit after finishing the cardigan and socks and fell in love with this as soon as the Knitty Bis was published.  It fit the bill perfectly and I may have picked up another skein of classy to knit another one that matches the mittens I wear most. 

I may have slipped in a few of other projects in random colors just for fun:

My November PSC Houdini Socks in Madelinetosh Fingering / Sweet Pea

A Christmas Cowl (Chunky Eyelet Cowl by Nancy Wyatt) in Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Chunky / Shiraz

As a general rule, I'm not much of a fan of chunky yarn, but this stuff is like catnip to me.  I just can't stop playing with it and loving on it.  I might have yet another skein tucked away for one more quickie project.  Which leads me to another Misti project I'm quiet proud of:

Jazz Age Scarf-let (my pattern pending testing, etc) in Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Chunky / Magic Flute 

I got an idea for this pattern and puttered around with it until I got it exactly the way my head wanted it.  This is a fun quick knit and I hope to have the pattern out on ravelry very soon.

The long suffering and taking-forever-to-knit Miss Marple Shawl is still on the needles lurking somewhere near the back burner.

I’ve also cast on for my last socks of the year:

My December personal sock club selection was Lizard Ridge Socks in The Alpaca Yarn Co Paca-peds / Paccacino but I didn’t particularly like the way the pattern was knitting up and I think the yarn is a little too soft to give it structure after being blocked.  I frogged those and am now happily knitting Thumbelina with the yarn.

There were several choices for December from SKA, one of them was stashbusters.  The pattern Stash  Buster Spiral Socks has been in my Queue for a while so this seemed like the appropriate option.  I started these using up some of my leftover sock yarn. (Bonus points if you recognize that green).  I have finished the first sock and started the second.  No promises on finishing by the end of the month/year, but they have been pretty quick so far. 

On the horizon, I have a few more design ideas I’ll be playing with next year.  I have my 2012 personal sock club packaged up and ready to go; and I am slowly refining what’s in my queue to better target projects/patterns/yarn that I have paired and are waiting only to be cast on. 

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, and if I don’t post again before then….a splendid 2012!

Happy Knitting,

Nana

PS …. The icing on my “Blue” cake?   I got this for Christmas :)

(Ford Edge / Dark Blue Pearl … or is that Purl?)

[I snatched this picture from the official website for the record. ]

Things are Progressing …Slowly

Here are a few of my older WIPs … before I get to the really exciting sock stuff :)

You maybe remember I’ve been working on a shawl since (February) forever… it got just a little bigger.  I’m actually almost to the halfway point where the triangle turns into a square with lots of decreases (maybe then I’ll feel like it’s progress)

I also cast on for the Lucia Tee, a knit-a-long at work, this should have been a quick project, but I might have allowed myself to become … distracted… (ooh, shiny new sock pattern)... so distracted in fact, that I don't have a current project photo of the progress.

 

Then, I cast on a new pair of stripey socks just to have something to carry in my bag for car knitting and other wait-knitting.  Just my usual two-x- two Noro-striped sock recipe using colors S95 and the leftover S150 from my stash of NKS leftovers.

Late Summer Stripeys

I'm debating whether to keep these or gift them to someone with a September birthday, (I'm really loving the pop of the fuschia heels and toes). 

And finally, these, a quick little pair of Iowa Hawkeye themed footies for a friend, that only need the toes grafted:

Hawkeye Shorties

 There are plenty more WIPs in my basket, I hope you will stay tuned. 

Sneak preview - guess what this is...

 Happy Knitting,

Nana

Actual Knitting Content

I really have been knitting; I’m just really lackadaisical about sharing my progress;

So in the interest of not driving readers crazy, I thought I’d try to do a little post every day this week about what I’ve been doing. 

Here are couple recent FO’s

My August personal sock club selection: Pumpkin Vine socks in a very non-pumpkin, eye popping turquoise:

Something Lacey Socks

Pattern: Pumpkin Vine Socks by Fern Pea

Yarn: Koigu KPPPM in color 2130 104(turquoise)

Size 2.25mm dpn  

I enjoyed this pattern, but it won’t make a repeat appearance in my knitting queue anytime soon.  It was frankly a little on the intense side.  The pattern is repetitive, but not easy to memorize so you really need to stick with the instructions; it is not charted because there is a changing stitch count (decreases in one row, increases in another) I wouldn’t recommend this to a newbie.  It makes a pretty sock, but is really bad for carrying around or social knitting.  I guess I’m a little bit of a glutton for punishment though, because my September selection is even more intense and very chart heavy.  (But it will be gorgeous if I survive the knitting part)

I also finished my August Mystery Socks:

Pattern: KLC August KAL as yet unnamed by the lovely Jen Hansen

Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock in Vancouver Violet
Needles: Size 0 magic loop

The next thing is a quick little cowl I whipped up out of this yummy Rabbit Ridge yarn that I got in Alaska.  There might eventually be a pair of fingerless mitts or mittens to match, but the leftover yarn is in my back burner project queue for now.  I give you the Forget-me-Not Cowl. 

Forget Me Not Cowl Un-blocked

I have since blocked it and it looks better than this pic, if I get a chance I will post a better picture. I doubt I will take the time to write up this pattern, but if somebody asks, I can give them a recipe.

 

That’s all for today, stay tuned for the first installments of the WIP series…

Happy Knitting,

Nana

Into April

I finished the baby blanket:

 Pattern: Inside out Baby blanket

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash 

Size 7 needles (dpn & circular)

I then cast on for a couple of pair of socks…. 

Pair one: Working name is tidal pool duex... more later on this one

Pair two:  April PSC / Journey Cable Socks in Fireweed Dyeworks blue/green

But mostly I have been distracted by welcoming Iowa's newest residents…

If you missed any of the news reports or commentaries, the world seems to have discovered the anticipation of watching and waiting for eagles to hatch.  I have to admit that I was pretty drawn in last weekend and this past week.  I was fortunate to have tuned in just in time to see #3 breaking out of its shell.  It was pretty mesmerizing and a cool experience if I do say so myself.   I'm keeping the link on my favorites so I can peek every now and again to see what’s happening.  It’s fun to see the day to day changes in the eaglets, so this will probably go on until they “fledge” or leave the nest this fall. 

And I'm finally a member of the tribe of ‘smart phones’ … We’ve been eligible to upgrade our phones for about a year now, but put it off for a lot of reasons.  Last month we decided to get it over with… but had to be on a waiting list for about a week or so to get the new phones…. So far it seems to be worth the wait. There's a bit of a learning curve for this old gal, so  I’ve spent a lot of time learning and playing on this thing trying to get myself up to par.  I may even figure out how to post the blog from it one of these days. 

We’ve got a trip to see grandkids coming up,(This may or may not have involved some super-secret knitting that I can't post just yet) so I’m pretty excited about that.  Hopefully the long car ride will help me catch up on some neglected knitting projects.

Happy Knitting,

Nana

Really Random Thursday

Hobbling along

I broke my toe almost two weeks ago.  I can’t believe how stupid a thing this is to do.  (It was also pretty stupid how I did it, if you actually want to see a picture go here).  This is not an injury that lends itself to isolation and stabilization of the affected area. About all that can be done is “buddy taping” the affected toe to its neighbor and wearing a very unattractive over-sized “boot”.  

Da Boot

I’m not walking very long or far these days and it’s a very awkward process.  Also, when the temps dropped into the single digits last weekend, I was very thankful for hand-knit socks.  I ended up with two socks on my bad foot to keep my toes warm. 

Iowa Fashion

I was at the grocery store doing a little people watching the other day and I observed that there seem to be different fashion rules in Iowa.  For example, anything with a Hawkeye logo or a Cyclone logo is considered neutral and can be worn with just about anything.  The most recent sighting was of a young girl wearing a fuscia tutu over matching polka dot tights topped with a Hawkeye football jersey… and in some weird sense it worked.  The other rule is that there does not have to be snow on the ground to wear snow boots, although that is a moot point at the moment.  There is nothing wrong with wearing anything hand-knit, especially for outer wear, and there are no restrictions in matching style or color choices. I find this a good thing.  My favorite example was the guy I saw wearing a Dr. Who scarf with a Candy Corn hat.  This may apply to other “cold climate” locations as well, but I seem to be seeing it more here, than I did in my “sophisticated” Chicago Suburb.  

Knitting

I have been knitting.  Thanks in part to my recent lack of mobility and also due to our typical January weather.  I finished several projects since I last posted.   My Annis Shawl is done and turned out lovely:

Annis - Shadow Shawl

Pattern: Annis by Susanna IC (Knitty Spring& Summer 2010)

Yarn: Noro Kirameki color 158A

Size 8 needles

I liked it so much (and so did my bosses) that I will be using it as a project for an introductory lace class.  So of course I needed to knit another one (so I could use beads).  This is the Mini Version done in sock yarn:

Mini Annis Carnival Shawl

Pattern: Annis / w/mods suggested by Zuzusus from Ravelry beads replacing Nupps
 Yarn: Noro Silk Garden Sock Color S308
Size 8 Needles

I knit this over a weekend (the one where I broke my toe no less) and it made me thoroughly ashamed that it took over a month to do the first one!

My January Self-Imposed sock club socks were the Journey Cable socks:  

A walk on the beach

I started these in some of the yarn I got on my trip to AK but unfortunately the yardage was a little bit short which was very disappointing because the yarn was lovely and the pattern really worked well in that yarn, but I dug through my stash and found a nice substitute which I think also did the pattern justice.  I love this pattern and will probably repeat it in the future.

I worked up a hat for charity.  

Spiral Striped Hat

 I’ve been a little slacking in that department, so I’m going to try to do a few more charity projects here and there as I get time.  I wanted to try the spiral stripe technique and this seemed like a pretty good project for doing so. As I suspected this is one of those techniques that just made me go “duh” once I got going.  Sometimes all it takes is motivation.

 I also cast on for a pair of bonus socks since I like to have a project to carry around with me for times when I can squeeze in a little knitting.  These are just simple anklets to wear to the gym when I can go again:

sweet sweat socks

Pattern: my own basic sock

Yarn: Panda Cotton

Size 2.25mm dpn

I joined JenHanson’s KAL for the Carefree Shawl.  Go ahead and pop over to her site and see some of her designs.  She is an up-and-coming designer and indie dyer.   I am enjoying this project so far.  I also love how she has her blog set up.  If I can figure out how, I think I might try her page style (if that's okay with her). 

Carefree begins

I’ve got a few other projects on the needles, but there isn’t much to say about them at the moment.  I’ve had a bit of cast-on-itis and I’ve been trying to counter it by sticking with what I’m already working on and swatching for upcoming things.  It doesn’t completely work, but it helps.

Designers

Speaking of designers, Lucy Neatby released some new designs this week; I’m highly amused by this bag.  I’ve also been following several on twitter who have been posting and tweeting about new books and patterns getting ready to be released.  It’s fun seeing all of the lovely new designs.  (The downside is it causes cast-on-itis).  I’ve also enjoyed the stories coming out of the recent Vogue Knitting Live gathering. 

Cats

The cats are enjoying our new location because they have maximum sunlight for several more hours a day.  Each of them has established a priority spot based on the potential for sun absorption.  They then rotate to different spots throughout the day giving them many hours of sun soaked sleep.   Additionally, since we got new furniture which includes a large ottoman*, DH and I can now sit together on the sectional and each have a cat stretched out on our legs when our feet are propped up on the ottoman.  Real family time; I’d take a picture if I could, but that would require someone getting up to get the camera, thereby disturbing the cats, and well, you know….

That’s it for this week.

Happy Knitting,

Nana

* the cause of my broken toe, you can guess what happened :)

Glancing Back, Moving Ahead

Since the weather was so uncooperative last week, I never really got a chance to show off these:

Scarborough Fair Socks by Melanie Gibbons

Yarn: Knitivity Down Home Art Yarns sock in Italian Ice - Grape

Size 2.25 DPN

Or these:

Finished 10:35pm Dec, 31 2010

Tropical Stripe Socks

Pattern: Basic sock (Top Down) with a 2, 1, 1, 1 stripe sequence

Yarn: Noro Kuryeon Sock in colors S180 (MC) and S149 (CC)

Size 2.25 DPN

I decided halfway through the Scarborough Fair socks that I needed a simpler pattern for carrying around because although the pattern on Scarborough Fair is not difficult to memorize, the stitches are fiddly and I need to have the chart out more often than not to stay on track so it wasn’t very good for public knitting.  The first socks I knit in Jan 2010 were the Noro Stripey socks that I love, so I decided that the last pair for 2010 should also be Noro Stripeys and keeping in my experimental mode with stripes I changed up the stripe sequence just enough to keep them interesting.  I finished the Scarborough Fair socks on the 27th and even though I only had a portion of one leg done on the Stripey socks, I decided I would kick it into high gear so these would actually be finished in 2010.  I made it with hours to spare and I love the way these socks turned out.  (I also have enough yarn leftover for another pair sometime this year.)  In case anyone is wondering, I did futz with the yarn a wee bit to get the color sequences to match.  I didn’t have to try too terribly hard due to a happy little coincidence; the (inevitable) knot 

I think I was going to write a post about this, but it got OBE

in that skein of Noro (S180) was almost perfectly placed to divide it into two cakes of almost equal weight with not too much pulling out to get to the same starting point in the color sequence. The brown was harder to judge and so I did end up with different starting points.  They are not a perfect match, but that's okay. Heck, I think I would be both too hard on my self and too hard on the yarn if I expected a perfect match using any Noro yarn.

So those are the final two projects that I completed in 2010.  

Oh, and speaking of happy little coincidences, I was pleasantly surprised by this the other day:

1500 Yards of Golden Sunrise in Dura Lace

Ray, of Knitivity, had a little drawing back in December  for customers who ordered yarn during a certain week.  I needed to order a skein to match one I already had for an upcoming project and didn’t really think about the timing of my order in regards to the drawing.  I hadn’t been very active on line in December and subsequently missed the note on his website that I was the winner of the drawing, so imagine my surprise when I got this skein of yarn in the mail!  I do order quite a bit from him because I really like Ray’s yarn. I would highly recommend it if you’ve ever thought about adopting an indy-dyer to support.   

Moving on to 2011; I set up a few personal challenges for myself (rather than actual goals). 

I am continuing in the Sock A Month Knit-a-long and have set up another year’s worth of personal sock club bags to keep me knitting from stash and patterns I have accumulated.  I started my first installment on Monday and am pretty happy with the mix of yarn and pattern so far, but afraid the yardage could be a bit short, though.  If I can get by with making shorter cuffs I will, but if I end up needing to switch yarn, I’ll do that because I really do like the pattern so far.  The pattern is Journey Cable Socks which I bought some time ago and never got around to knitting.  The yarn is Rabbit Ridge Designs, one of the yarns I brought back from my trip to Alaska in 2009.  (See a trend here?)  Here’s a peek at what it looks like so far:

I'm actually quite a bit farther now

I am going to try to knit four shawl patterns (one a quarter?) that I’ve had in my queue forever.  I haven’t matched yarn for all 4 yet, and I’m cheating a little by counting the Annis that I started last month as one of the four.  There’s still not much progress there by the way, but I can show this:

I'll be happy when I get past the nupps

I’ve got sweater quantity in my stash for at least two sweaters.  Patterns not determined on both yet.

I have a couple patterns I love that I’d like to do up for my Granddaughter (not that I need an excuse to knit for her).

I would like to get on with it and actually complete my Level I of the Master Knitter’s course.  (Still working on that motivation).

I’d also like to do a little more charity knitting again and maybe a little more designing this year. 

Really, that’s quite a lot to have on my plate, but hey, that’s why they are challenges rather than goals… no pressure, just an organized way to keep my knitting going in a productive direction… and to try to use up yarn I already have.  

So I hope you'll drop by from time to time to see how I'm doing on my 2011 challenges.  

Happy Knitting,

Little Things

I try not to set too many knitting goals for December.  The season is already stress-filled (even if you opt out of most of the consumerism like I try to do) and I find no joy in knitting against a deadline.  I know my limits for knitting Christmas gifts during November and December so most of my gift knitting has been fun little things.  Since it’s already been mailed/ received and modeled, I can show you the hat I knit for my Granddaughter.  I call it the Li’l Penny.  It’s a scaled down version of my Santa Bang-y hat (pattern now in PDF assuming the linky works).  (To your right =>).  Here’s what it looks like next to the original:

 

and here is my sweet Sylvia modeling it.

A hat from Nana!

 she's already experimenting with her sense of style

Pattern: Santa Bang-y

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino 100 White / 700 Red

Size 4 needles

And I knit her a Teddy Bear complete with removable skirt:

This is a pattern that I have used for years, I used to knit these for fun years and years ago and the pattern has evolved as my knitting skills have improved. I only use the written pattern as a guide these days. It's great for using up leftover odds and ends.

Then, I used some of the leftover white and some blue (Marine) Trendsetter Merino VI to whip up these for my nephews.

 Pattern: Improvised

 Size 3 dpn

I also whipped up a hat and fingerless mitts for my Niece

Pattern: Zig Zag Beanie by Dawn Leeseman / Mitts improvised

Yarn: Rowan Kid Classic / Lavender

Size 8 needles

I also knit a couple of fun ornaments that doubled as gift tags: 

Pattern: Tee-Tiny Raglan 

Yarn: Assorted scraps of fingering

Needles:  Size 2.5 mm (I think)

Then I finished another pair of socks:

Fall Stripeys

Pattern: Basic Sock pattern; Eye of partridge heel / 2 row alternating color stripes

Yarn: Mini Mochi in Neptune and Mocha

Needles: 2.25 mm dpn

I showed you the cowl in a previous post and since I fell in love with the yarn I used for my cowl, I decided I HAD to have a pair of matching mittens …

Pattern: Improvised (I’m writing it up, but my notes are partially illegible so it will be a bit)

Yarn: Misti Alpaca Chunky Hand Paint in CP21/Winter Queen

Size 9 dpn

For the easily impressed, I want to note that most of the projects above (excluding socks) are one or two evening projects and easily accomplished while watching TV.  And I knit fast.

 I also started another pair of socks… the last of my 2010 Personal / Self-imposed Sock Club:

Scarborough Fair Socks

I’ll provide the full details when these are finished. These are a bit fiddly so they are slower going, but I hope to finish them in December.  (HOPE)

And to round out the year, I started one more shawl.  I cast on for Annis with some of this, (color 158) but I’m only 9 rows in so there’s not much to show yet. 

So that's what I've been up to lately since the last two projects I posted.  I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and as I do, look forward to what 2011 brings. 

Happy Knitting

blessings, 

Nana

Who Moved My Calendar?

December has arrived and I am nearly caught up on some of my knitting goals.  The end is in sight for the Pi Shawl.  It is still a hopeless looking blob, but I hope to free it from the needles soon and hopefully it will be much more photogenic when it can be spread out and properly blocked. 

Instead of going out and joining the consumer fray last Friday, I cast on and knit this quick little cowl.  This was one of the projects for the Friday Night Knitting Club at my LYS.  We got a shipment of the Misti Alpaca Chunky in a couple days before that and I fell hard for this yarn in this colorway.  When I saw the cowl pattern, I asked about doing a substitution and it worked out quite nicely in my opinion.  A second skein may have come home with me Friday night to work up some matching mittens.  (I’ll keep you posted!)

Pattern: Chunky Eyelet Cowl by Nancy Wyatt

Yarn: Misti Alpaca Chunky in Winter Queen

Size 10 needles

(About 3 hours of knitting time, including 10 frogged rows)

Pattern Mods: Knit 8 rounds between eyelet sets.

I also finished my Watershed.

This pattern was a lovely knit and I’m only sorry I let it sit as often as I did instead of getting it done more quickly because I can’t wait for it to be done blocking and wear it. This picture is sort of bleah, so I'll have to get a better modeled shot and post it later.

Pattern: Watershed by Amy Swenson

Yarn: Dream in Color Classy in Midnight Derby

Needles: Size 8

Cast on: Nov 1^st Finished Nov 27. 

I also finished one each of the two pairs of socks I’ve been working:

And cast on for each of their mates…

I also finished one of the Christmas gift knitting projects I was working on and will be starting the next one shortly. 

Saucey is not impressed:

Happy Knitting!

Nana