Last Time for 2013

As promised, I wanted to get just one more blog post in before the new year, and I'm really cutting it down to the wire!  We'll talk about what I want to accomplish in the new year and how I did stash wise in 2014... but since this is the last day for 2013, I need to tie up one final loose end.

Yeah... I finished the blanket.  I'm going into 2014 without any projects that need to be finished.  I'm pretty proud of myself!

Pattern: 3-D Argyle Blanket by Regina Fulton

Yarn: Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima in "Sky Blue"

Needle: US 6 (doh!  I didn't write down the crochet hook size!)

Notes: Great pattern.  This knit quickly and rather painlessly.  Even the crochet was really easy.  (I know!  Crochet and I have made our peace with one another I think.) The only thing I did was create a smaller crochet border around the whole thing.  I had every intention of crocheting the full border, but I found the edges ruffling and it took away from the simple elegance of the blanket, and so, I ripped it back and stuck to a simple finish.

   

I'm glad I took the time to find a yarn with lots of sheen.  Sadly the light hasn't been great for picture taking so you don't really see it here, but the pattern has subtle differences that you wouldn't catch unless you had a yarn that had a bit of shininess to it.

Overall I'm very happy with this pattern and am very pleased that I finished before baby decided to make it's appearance.  Tomorrow is this little guy's due date- so for now I bask in knowing that I'm ready for it!

Also, just because I had the time to actually do it- I've gotten a jump start on 2014 hats.  Normally I'm not the biggest fan of acrylic, but I'm actually quite liking how this baby yarn knits up.  Who knows, if I'm not completely sick of the colorway by the end of the year, I might attempt a nice and easy baby blanket for someone who needs to keep it really simple on the washing instructions.

 

And before I forget, I need to recap the Christmas "haul" and Boxing day shopping, MiL and my yearly attempt at boxing day shopping.

Christmas this year was lighter (but I'm just as greatful) on knitted items.  The Mostly Mittens is really there to continue to feed my obsessive mitten habit I seem to develop and the Pudding gift cards are always, ALWAYS appreciated.

The bigger (and not pictured) item from husband was a suggestion that we go, as a family, to Seattle so that I may attend Vogue Knitting Live (while he and my toddler explore the fun things to do in Seattle).  I. am. pumped.  I am pumped because I've always wanted to go to Seattle (I hear they have great yarn shops!)  I am pumped because I miss interacting with knitters and taking fun courses.  (So many to choose from!)  I am pumped because I'm going to meet Reebecki Supergirl who I've gotten to know through Twitter because she has a little girl 2 weeks younger than my little guy.  (Plus- a super cute newborn!)  There are so many reasons to be excited about this and I'm touched that my husband recognizes that knitting is an important part of my life and wants me to get to interact with that side of myself.

As if all of these gifts weren't enough, I also got to do my annual boxing day sale shopping with Mother in Law again this year.  (Last year we skipped due to a funeral, and I missed it!)  We had decided that we'd definately "hit" Pudding yarn this year and also stop to check out the further deals at Make 1 Yarn Studio.  (They're moving and don't want to pack)  At the last minute we panicked and also added The Loop and Gina Brown's to the list.  (What if there was a super deal and we missed it!  GAH!?  Cannot take the risk!)

We're remarkably more restrained that we've been in years past... I had a list of things I wanted to purchase, knowing that the first part of this year is going to be dedicated to baby blanket making again. 

 

I walked away with Diamond Luxury collections Supermerino Superwash, which will hopefully be cast on very soon as Umaro.  I also picked up two colors of Cascade 220 Sport to make some Dr. Who mittens for a friend.  I've been looking at my stash, (in preparation for a big stash update post), and I really need to whittle down what's in the sock yarn and wool parts of the stash in 2014.

So that should catch you up and tie up 2013 in a nice, neat little bow.  Happy New Year everyone!  Thanks for coming here to read what I have to say and being so supportive to vote on my little knitting polls!  2013 was an okay year, but I'm looking forward to bigger and better things in 2014.  Stay safe out there tonight!

No More Mysteries Part 2

Yesterday I revealed Christmas mystery #1.  Now it's time to tell you about #2 and #3.

My husband surprised us all this year with an early Christmas list- once I had gotten over that shock, I moved on to the next one.  On his list were knit mittens.  Well, they were the Paul Smith mittens for Movember.

I looked at these for several minutes with my mouth agape.  The husband, while very supportive of my knitting habit, has firmly expressed his disinterest in receiving knitted items from me and others.  But here were mittens I could make.  WITH MY HANDS.  I actually called him once I received his list to shout in the phone "YOU DO KNOW I COULD MAKE YOU THESE!??"  He didn't really say much.  But I was armed with a plan.  I was going to knit these mittens.  These were the mittens that were going to change his feelings about knitted gifts.

Perhaps I should have just left well enough alone.  There were false starts.  There was half a mitten knit before I knew that the yarn was all wrong.  (Husband likes things in a very certain way and the way the stripes were occurring on this mitten, he would have not liked them.)  Armed with a new, better, and more even striping yarn, I began again.  I got reasonably far...

... but just couldn't convince myself that these were the mittens that were going to change his mind about me making him knitted items.  And so I abandoned all hope and stopped and let Christmas mystery #2 die.  I will show him the mittens and he can decided if I should proceed.  Let's just say, I'm not going to hold my breath.

Meanwhile... I began to feel really guilty that my sister and my dad were receiving knitted items from me for Christmas but not my mom.  (Dad got the socks I finished in January and featured in the Stampede.)  Mom had dropped a few, (maybe a little less than subtle) hints about wanting a pair of mittens after she saw what I had knit for my MiL.  Inspired by how well my sister's mittens were coming, Christmas mystery #3 was born.

Pattern: Elise Mitten by Johanne Landin
Yarn: Pink- Regia 4 fadig - 4ply (pilfered from MiL's stash!) Off White- Filatura Di Crosa Zarina
Needles: 3mm
Notes: My only complaint on this pattern is the chart.  It's amazing I'm not permanently cross eyed from this chart.  Its comes on one page and is minniscule and difficult to read.  Otherwise, the pattern itself is very straightforward to follow.

   

Mom, like my sister, was pleased as punch to open these on Christmas morning.  She knew about my sister's mittens, but nothing about mittens that were also in progress for her.  I know they match her off white coat- and I hope she likes the color of pink I chose.  (They HAD to be pink... that is HER color.)

   

And that solves all of our Christmas mysteries!  Thanks for your patience this December while I didn't have much to talk about or show you.  Like I promised- post-Christmas was going to be post heavy.  We still need to talk about the Christmas presents and tomorrow is our annual boxing day shopping extravaganza!  I still have more to tell you- but right now, I need to go to bed to be up and ready to throw elbows at the Pudding Yarns sale bin.  ;-)

No More Mysteries Part 1

MERRY CHRISTMAS BLOG READERS.  I hope your day made you feel as blessed as I feel tonight.  I have been right properly spoiled by my family today and yesterday and I couldn't possibly feel any more happy in my life.  That's all one can really ask for.

Well- I suppose you could also ask for me to reveal the mysterious knitting projects!  This post has to be split up into two posts, otherwise you are going to be picture heavy and load time is going to be slow.  I ask your patience as you'll have to wait to see surprise #2.

But first- before you see the surprise you need to meet 2 people.

This is my sister.  (pictured with my son this spring)

This is my sister's dog (Etta the Sheltie).

I can't put into words properly just how much my sister loves her dog.  My sister loves her dog to pieces and pieces and pieces.

So of course, for Christmas I made her these: (Christmas Mystery #1)

Pattern: I took motifs/charts from THREE patterns and used them to create this one-of-a-kind mitten which I charted out myself.

SHELTIE & PAW PRINTS: The Sheltiemitten by Brigitte Reiten (Ravelry Link Only)
SNOWFLAKES: First Snow Mittens by Aet Terasmaa (Rav link)
BONES: Dog Mittens by Jorid Linvik

Yarn: Black- Debbie Bliss Rialto 4 Ply White- Sublime Yarns Baby Cashmere Merino Silk 4 Ply (Purchased at Pudding Yarn in Calgary)
Needle Size: Crap.  I didn't write that down!
Notes: NOTE TO SELF.  When knitting words into projects one must remember to do it in mirror imaging.  (At least the way I knit.)  Halfway thru the first "Etta" I realized I had to re-chart it backwards.  It was a 6 row rip out.  Boo.  But TOTALLY worth it.  :-)  Also the yarns I used for these mittens made them feel SO. SOFT.  I would 100% use them for these kind of mittens again.

Once I got into the pattern design (which took a little while)- this pattern moved along pretty easily.

   

And I couldn't be more happy with the results!

   

I think it's safe to say my sister LOVED this present.  I kept this on lock down secret.  I told no inside my family until at the last minute, I couldn't contain myself and told my mom, but she was sworn to secrecy.  I'd like to think my sister didn't see this coming and she was genuinely surprised and delighted by this.  I've given a lot of knitting gifts to people but I have to say, this is the first time someone was shocked by what was there for them.  She shared them all over her social media and immediately texted her friends to show them.  I know she loved them.  I've never made such a personalized gift before and I'm so happy they delighted her the way they did.

I don't have a picture of her with them.  Maybe I'll get one eventually but I don't think I'll forget the look on her face when she realized her dog was on her mittens for a long time.  Good warm fuzzy knitting memory to hold on to!

It's funny because I unsuccessfully attempted to knit her mittens a long time ago.  (Jog your memory here.)  At the time I was extremely frustrated and couldn't get a decent gauge.  In a way I'm glad these didn't work out because, after some time, the absolutely MOST PERFECT PAIR of mittens were made for my sister.  I had to be a better knitter in order to make them.  The pattern I was going to knit at the time is cute, but you can't beat the actual breed of dog on the mittens!  And so- I'm really glad (now) that they didn't work out.

And that solves our knitting mystery #1.  There's much more to tell you this Christmas, so stay tuned!

The Grinch Who Knit at Christmas

Every Knitter,
Down in Knitville
Liked Christmas a lot....

But the Grinch
(Who lived just south of Downtown Calgary)
Did not.

The Grinch hated Christmas!  The whole Christmas season!
Come to think of it, I think I might know a few of the reasons.
It might be the parties, there were too many to mention!
Or the fact that her Christmas Shopping was giving her great tension.
It could be the toddler, or the knitting she decided to pick,
Or it could be she woke up this morning with a sore throat feeling ick.

But,
Whatever the reason,
The toddler, the time, the shopping jitters
She stood there on Christmas, envying the knitters.
Staring down from her needles, with a sour grinchy frown
She could care less about Santa coming to town.
For every knitter but her seemed to be enjoying their knits
While the Grinch felt her projects giving her fits.

"They're knitting fun stockings!" she snarled with a sneer!
"They don't have to worry about Christmas being practically here!"
Then she growled with her Grinch fingers, nervously drumming
"I must find a way to keep Christmas from coming!"
For she knew...

All the knit girls and boys
Get to wake up bright and early and knit their fun project flings
While I'm still knitting the same mystery dull things!
Their time is in spades and it comes good and plenty
And I'm trouble, I need an extra hour or TWENTY.

And then the knitters get to pull nice yarns out of their stash
While I'm wondering if I can forgo sleep and not crash!
My yarn's running out on a project or two
And the stress of not enough yarn is making me feel blue.

AND THEN,
Those knitters do something I like least of all,
They add cool things to their Ravelry queues and I think "I CAN KNIT IT ALL!"
My thoughts about parties, shopping, baking, and toddlers diminish
And before you know it none of my projects for Christmas I'll finish.

The more the Grinch pondered this brutal season
She began to seriously question her ability to reason.
Why for 20 some days I've put up with this now!
I must stop Christmas from coming... BUT HOW?

........

Or maybe I'll just blog instead....

............
To recap: projects are still in progress but time is not my friend these days.  Keep sending Christmas knitting mojo- I need it!

Mystery Knitting Continues

Oh yes.  I maintain a knitting blog.  I forgot!

Well, not really, I've just been furiously knitting, trying to jam my Christmas knitting in and stay ahead of the curve.  I always seem to think I'm capable of impossible feats, and so, feeling rather high over the fact that one of the mystery projects is nearly complete, I added another one to the list.  As if time was just something I had in spades.  HAHAHAHAHA.

A 3rd mystery project is not all that of an exciting announcement here- as all of my knitting this Christmas seems to be shrouded in just that, mystery.  No pictures.  No proof, (unless you're following my on Ravelry and then, there's no mystery there!), just a promise that I'm not sitting at home twiddling my thumbs and in the down time- I am, in fact knitting.

I've had to adjust my projected finished timeline.  The blanket, which is just shy of one more round of the dreaded crochet is on hold.  Baby isn't due to January 1.  And, while I know babies sometimes make early appearances, I'm hoping this one holds on until after Dec 25, when all projects should be gifted and completed and I can once again return my attention to the blanket.

I can vaguely tell you what else is up.  Christmas mystery 1 is nearly complete and OH LORD am I proud of myself of that one.  I can't wait to show you pictures.  Christmas mystery 2 was begun and about 35% of the way complete when I confessed to myself that the recipient would hate it.  And so, I had to regroup, FROG, and move forward.  Hence the birth of Christmas mystery 3, which is about 45% underway and looking quite spiffy.  (Although the pattern is going to make me cross-eyed.)  Ravelry members can totally spoil themselves and see what I'm talking about on my page there, but until Dec 25, this place is going to continue being rather bland.  I apologize.  (But just think of the photos and post AFTER Christmas.  It will be glorious and thrilling don't you think?)

I spent an absolutely PERFECT morning this am, "Yarn Crawling" with some ladies from my knitting group.  Happiness is yarn shopping with other fanatics.  We hit all but one of the shops in town, (sorry Knitting Room you're just so far out!), and all of us walked away with a few treasures.  Mary and Robin- you should have hit Make 1 with us- the yarn selection was great and the 25% was SWOON worthy.  I walked away with this unbearably soft silky baby llama yarn that I'm going to selfishly make something for me out of. 

(What you don't understand here is just HOW soft this beige yarn is.  I get weak knee'd just thinking about it!)

Sale goes until Dec 31.... GO.  GO NOW.  (In fact part of me is seriously, SERIOUSLY debating buying more of this delightfully soft and swoony stuff and making a sweater for my sister too.  Because again, I seem to think time is something that grows on trees.)

Also, fair warning about 2014.  The baby announcements are coming in tidal wives... I have 3 blankets to knit before May.  Brace yourselves- there will be much activity on that front.  

I'm sorry the posts have been few and far between, mystery knitting is hard to talk about.  I'm not away permanently, just trying to keep some things a surprise.  Check me out after Christmas- I'm going to be post heavy- I promise!

Mysterious Obsession

I'm not sure if this is just a phenomena with me- or if other knitters experience this, but sometimes I get so excited about working on a project, I can't put it down.  Often this occurs at the detriment of other obligations.

This has happened to me in a big way.  There's a long list of things that I SHOULD be doing- all of which aren't being done because I am so excited about what I'm knitting at the moment.

I ended up getting the Argyle blanket off the needles earlier than I had planned.  (Remember, according to my schedule  I had to cast it off on Nov 15- I was well ahead of it.)  And so, without a blocking board to immediately advance to the next step, I decided to draw up my plans for the mystery project for Christmas.  Those plans came quicker than I had thought and soon enough I was casting on.

After I cast on, the blocking board showed up- but I could not tear myself away from the project.  I was a woman obsessed.  SO obsessed- that I can now report that I am nearly already half done!  I'm sorry that I cannot share photos here- it must remain a mystery until after it has been gifted for Christmas.  For those of you curious you can check out the mystery project on my Ravelry page, if you're a member. (Thankfully, the recipient is not.)

The problem with Mystery projects is that they make for really boring blog posts because I can't show you anything!  So, instead, I shall satiate you with a pic of my child who is now 2.  (2!!  HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!??)  (Another reason why blog posting has been less of a priority- sorry!)

Lest you worry that I will be wholly consumed by this project, I've made a deal with myself that this blob here:

needs to be put on the blocking board today before I can knit any more on the mystery project.  This blanket still has a Nov 30 deadline.  But I'm hoping that by setting boundaries with myself and forcing me to block before doing anything else, (blocking is necessary before I add the dreaded crochet border) I can satiate my need to knit the mystery project and also my personal goal of getting the blanket done before December.

I'm sorry that this has become a rather mysterious place for the next little while.  Again, Ravelry members can sneak a peek over there- but I'd like to surprise the intended recipient and I risk that person reading it here.  SO- enjoy the mystery.  (AND OH- think of the awesome "reveal" blog posts after Christmas!!)

Happy Belated Halloween!

Oops!  It's Nov 1.  Yesterday sort of got away from us over here as we were preparing for all manner of Halloween festivities.  I had intended to blog an update before the day was out, but I basically came home and became a sleep zombie.  I didn't realize Halloween was even more exhausting for parents!

The blanket has seen a lot of solid progress this week- I'm nearly completed repeat #7 of 9 repeats on the knitting part.  (The dreaded crochet is also a big piece here.)  Remember I set the goal to be finished the knitting portion by Nov 15?  I'm really hoping I can finish even earlier and stay ahead of my mini schedule for knitting for the rest of the year.

I'm trying to be really good and really focused on staying on schedule, so, oddly enough, that's all the knitting that's been happening around here.  JUST THE BLANKET.  I don't think I've been this "committed" to a project in a long time.  (Watch... next week I'll be telling you about how unfaithful I've been to the schedule and how many distractions I've cast on!)

Progress would have probably been even more further along if we didn't have Halloween to distract us.  This year was the first year my little guy was really able to participate in the whole "Halloween" thing.  We noticed early on he liked the idea of having a pumpkin, but not so much a Jack-o-lantern.  And so, to keep our pumpkin from being "no scary"- I carved one of his favorite characters into it.  

 

(I love that you can't really appreciate detail or how a pumpkin looks until you light it up!)

Parker was even less enthused about costumes.  When we first got his Cookie Monster costume he was pretty stoked about it.  But- when it came time to actually put it on, he would have none of it.  We had 3 Halloween parties to attend.  One we went to, but he wouldn't wear the hat, the other he wouldn't wear any of the costume and the 3rd, on actual Halloween, we didn't even get to, because he was SO. UNHAPPY. ABOUT. HALLOWEEN.

I really thought the day was ruined.  He'd spent most of the day in tears and I was so tired from it, I was ready to dissolve into tears myself.  My husband and I also had costumes and we had planned a family photo- so we really wanted him to wear the costume, even if it was only for a few minutes.  Thankfully, once the other Trick-or-Treaters started coming by, he got a little bit excited.  He loved to hand out candy and see the other kids in costume.  Not only did we get our family photo- but he did a little trick or treating himself and he LOVED it.  (He was also adorable and people would melt upon seeing him.)  Halloween was saved!!

The costumes took up a little bit of "knitting time" but I think it was worth it- we look like a bunch of Sesame Street super fans!  Now that that's out of the way, I need to dive back into the knitting without distractions.  I also need to keep working on a "YARN CRAWL" for my knitting group that we're planning this November.  Nothing is worse for your "yarn diet" than a yarn crawl- but I think it'll be fun!

Hope your Halloween was as cute as ours!

Charity and Other Distractions

My turn on a WCOBB blanket came up this past week and it sort of got me distracted.

"Tuxedo Junction" is done- and below is my 6" section in black and white mosaic.  (Each section is a black and white mosaic pattern.)

I had to stash dive in the acrylic stash to get the yarn out for this- and it just set me off on charity distractions.  I would REALLY... REALLY like to get my acrylic stash  down to nuthin'.  Like nuthin' nuthin'.  I'm actually pretty close.  Diving in the stash gave me a chance to survey what else was down there and lo and behold I a) signed up for another blanket, b) started my own blanket ("Seasonal" themed)

and c) got inspired to knit an entire WCOBB blanket myself.  (Because you know, I apparently think I have spare time.... HAHAHAHA)

THEN- I got inspired to knit a mysterious Christmas project for someone- but I'm not going to be spoiling that here.  Ravelry members can see what I end up doing once that gets going- but there won't be much discussion or pictures until that has been gifted.  It's another mystery project!

And then- ANOTHER inspiration for ANOTHER mystery project for Christmas fell into my lap and I fell down the pattern search rabbit hole over on Ravelry.

All of this means to say simply, I didn't work on what I'm actually SUPPOSED to be working on right now.  God I get distracted easily.

I've had to start doing a little knitting "goal setting" in order to get me through and knit all the things I want to knit.

1) I must get the entire knitting portion (not the rather substantial crochet border) of the argyle blanket by Nov 15.

2) I can then switch between pattern design, and cast on for Mystery Project #1 and crochet border done on the blanket by Nov. 30.

3) Mystery Project #1 must be in blocking pins by Dec 10.  (I cannot believe I'm already thinking about Dec!)

4) Mystery Project #2 must be blocking by Dec 22.

5) Charity blanket done by me can begin as soon as other projects are finished.

This doesn't include the other blanket I signed up for, but I can usually turn those around in a day or 2, so I think it shouldn't throw too much of a wrench into my planning.

So stay tuned- it's about to get a whole lot more interesting around here while I try and keep myself on track.  Hopefully it means a few more FO's to brag about soon!

Thankful

This Thanksgiving I have a lot to be thankful for.  (Knit wise... I'd be here all day if I had to list what I was thankful for in my "regular" life.)

I am thankful that the Mystery Mittens are no longer a mystery.

Pattern: Lotus Mittens by Heather Desserud (Ravelry download)
Yarns: Red: Madeline Tosh, Tosh Merino Light (in Tart) Black: Patons North America Kroy Socks 4 Ply (in Black)
Needle: US 3
Notes: I can finally, FINALLY say that I'm beginning to knit stranded mittens at a looser gauge.  My only complaint on these mittens is where the thumb joins.  (On the inside of the hand so you wouldn't exactly see it...)  I don't find the join clean, it doesn't seem to follow in with the pattern.  Just a tiny gripe though- otherwise this is a lovely pattern.

   

Mother in Law looks kinda thankful too huh?  (And yes- this was done PRIOR to snow flakes!)

(She helped pick out the red yarn so we'd get a really nice match to her coat... but she never knew what she was getting until she had them in hand.)

I'm thankful that the new blanket seems like a quick knit so far.

While the pattern does require some attention, it's actually pretty easy to knit and it knits up nice and speedy!  I'm hoping to have this one off the needles in November.  Baby is due Jan 1, but it would be great to be able to have it ready to go if that little bambino shows up early.

And, because I couldn't resist- I'm thankful for this little boy- who is happy (mostly) and charming and hardly a baby anymore!  (I'm also thankful that he takes EXCELLENT naps! {see how I related it to knitting there??})

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The Adventures of Productive Girl!

*When we last left our hero, Productive Girl was distracted, desperately trying to achieve some kind of normal admist the chaos of moving back in after a major home renno.  Productive Girl was productive in unpacking her house but had little to no time to devote to her favorite past time, knitting.  Projects were going un-knit and Productive girl was feeling a little like she was never NOT going to be unpacking/moving back in to a house again.

Thankfully our heroine's house is beginning to look more like a house and less like a construction zone.  So much so that Productive Girl has been able to log in some real progress this week on her Mystery Mitten.  {There was a touch and go moment last week where it looked like it might snow and make me a LIAR out of my commitment to get these done before the first snow- but thankfully it didn't snow and I'm still on "target" to finishing prior to flakes.}

Oh NO!  It looks like the evil Super-Villian, the PROCRASTINATOR! (Muhahahahahaha), may be trying to throw our hero off course... it appears Productive Girl is going to run out of black yarn prior to the finish of the thumbs.

Our Productive Girl is trying not to hyperventilate over this set back- and plans to hit Michaels for more black fingering weight yarn, (where dye-lots didn't seem to matter last time she ran out of this yarn) and get these mittens finished.  Also, Productive Girl wants me to mention that her MiL has found her the BEST. MITTENS. EVER (for someone NOT Productive Girl) and Productive girl cannot start these in good conscience until she gets the Mystery Mittens done and a good jump on the blanket.

Productive Girl has also fallen into some other distractions this week that are slowing her progress on the Argyle Blanket.  Productive Girl conquered her "Mount Everest" in baking and successfully made French Macarons.

{I MADE THESE!  WITH MY HANDS!  And ok... my oven too.  BUT O!M!G! I am so stinkin' proud of myself for making these!!  It is physically impossible for me to talk about making these and not use exclamation! points!  !!!!!!!)

Productive Girl also devoted an afternoon/evening of valued knitting time to unpacking/hanging the Crystals on her Chandelier.  While it was a total time SUCK- look how pretty!  (JUST LOOK HOW PRETTY- I love this light SOOOO much.)

It's good to see you get some stuff done Productive Girl!  Keep fighting on!  Stay Productive!

Slowly Getting Back to Normal

Hello?   Anyone there?  Is thing still on?

I'm back.  Back in my house and moved in enough to actually think about knitting again.  The less said about the chaos of the last two weeks is probably better.  I'm in.  The house isn't perfect yet- we're living through a lot of "trades people" visits, but the point is I'm home.   If I get the longing to go roll around in my stash naked- I could.  In theory.  Not that that has actually EVER happened, but should the desire arise- I can do it.  (Probably best to do it when the tradespeople AREN'T here, but I digress.)

There has been a bit of knitting here and there- mostly to maintain sanity- but it's been light, so there isn't a tonne to report on.

I knit the final hat of the Pink Hat project.  I officially feel confident to say that I don't have enough pink yarn to get me through one more hat.  The final tally gets me to 18 hats for charity.  I'm pretty pleased with myself about that.

With the pink yarn gone, and a large part of my acrylic stash busted down, (GO ME), I actually procured some new yarn for the 2014 hat project.  (Which may begin in 2013 if I find myself just needing to knit a quick hat instead of something more complicated.)

 

This is one giant ball of yarn.  I'm probably going to HATE this colorway when all the hats are said and done, but I thought I'd try a new challenge.  This time I can knit any pattern I want- they can be the same or not- but I need to knit this ball down to nothing before the end of 2014.  (It feels weird and EARLY to be thinking that far ahead on this, but honestly- I didn't think I'd actually finish the pink project as early as I did.)

Move in day had many surprises, but the most pleasant one of all was my yarn from the Loopy Ewe showing up in my mailbox, the perfect "Welcome Home" present.

I wound the first ball, so eager was I get going on the project, that I realized I hadn't photographed the yarn until after!  Whoops!  It took me longer to actually sit down and swatch the Argyle blanket but as of today I've cast on the project and am ready to see where this yarn is going to take me.

The pattern is somewhat "involved", meaning it's going to be something that I have to pay attention to rather closely to avoid errors.  Hopefully it'll be a quick and painless knit.  It seems like a great project to "restart" my knitting mojo on a regular basis again.

The mitten is at a standstill.  I've knit about 8 rows on it since move in day.  The act of paying attention to this chart has been a little more than I can take surrounded by chaos.  And so, it's going to sit for a little while until things calm down for me here.  (But not to worry- I would like to get these done BEFORE the first snowfall... hoping of course that's not until AT LEAST Nov 1.  Work with me here weather!)

So- that's where we're at.  It doesn't look like much, but it IS something and it's a slow start to a more regular schedule.  (Hopefully that means a more regular blog schedule again.)  It feels good to be home- but it will feel better once everything is finished.

Glad you stuck around- I'm happy to be back!  (Fall feels so empty without knitting in your hands... how do Non-Knitters live like that!?)

Calm Before the Storm

Three. More. Sleeps.  We move home in three more days.  I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am.  I can probably shock you a little though- I'm so excited about getting home that I've been unable to concentrate on knitting!

We are in the "calm before the storm" phase of things.  We're planning the move- but we aren't ready to actually do anything yet.  And so, I'm just sort of frantically passing the time until I move back into my space and make it mine again.  In my brain I'm planning where I'll put things and where things will go in their new spaces... and I can't do much else.  (Sleep included...)  Until then, sadly, this blog and my knitting progress will suffer.  Brace yourself, September could be a little slow on blog posts- but not to worry, I have EVERY INTENTION of coming back once we're settled back in and I can pick up my needles without the "I really should unpack that box" guilt.

There has been progress these last couple of days.  2 more pink hats have appeared.  (The easiest thing to concentrate on right now- hats!)

I'm so close to having these yarns used up!

I can safely say I've used up all of the light pink yarn, but I think I can still get in ONE MORE hat with what remains, if I wait until I can get access to my white leftover yarn at home.  So there will be one more hat, bringing this year's total up to 18 hats.  Not too shabby.  (I'm trying to think of what I'll do next year... and I have an idea... but that's another story for another day.)

I have also made progress on the mystery mitten- getting one off the needles (a sneak peek at the palm- because that's not what we're really all curious to see here) and casting #2 on.

I'm trying to motivate myself to sit down, even after I finish this post and just focus on getting the cuff finished and mitten started.  It would be REALLY nice to get to the thumb before the big move... but I'll have to keep you posted on that one!

I also, after many agonizing emails to my poor suffering MiL, chose a yarn for the argyle blanket.  I was unable to find the color I wanted in a local shop in town (I went to 3!) and so I ordered Ultra Pima from Cascade from the Loopy Ewe and will begin that project just as soon as the yarn arrives.  (And my house is in a reasonably finished state...)  The leaves are starting to change colors and I find myself really inspired to knit blankets again.  (This is my curse.)

Wish us luck on Thursday- I'm really ready to go home!

The People Have Spoken

Thank you all for your votes!  I always find the input of others so valuable- and this time I really think we've chosen a winner here.

The 3D Argyle Blanket will be next up on the needles- I just need to get a yarn that has enough sheen.  I'd really like to shop locally for my yarn this time, although if I can't find "sheen-y" enough, I'll default to Knit Picks "Shine" which is very "sheen-y".  Hopefully I can squeeze in a LYS run next week.

Next question- GREY or BLUE?  (Vote in the comments this time!)

While I was patiently waiting your voting results, I've been knitting a few bits and bobs here, biding my time before the next big project.

Mother in Law's mystery mittens are moving along nicely.  They're still a surprise- but I can give you a sneak peek on mitten #1.

I also knit 2 more pink hats for the hat total, that brings us to 15 hats now and I can probably get at least one more, possibly 2 in the yarn remains.  (Although I may need to bring in some white to get that last hat- so will have to wait until the stash and I are reunited.)

I managed to also volunteer and quickly knit up a section for the WCOBB charity blankets.  These spooky bats seem to compliment the "Halloween" theme this blanket has.  I'm still waiting on 1 more blanket to show up, but I understand that's been delayed until further notice, so I will just happily knit on other things in the mean time.  (Hopefully it doesn't show up while we're trying to move home in 2 weeks!)

And, I forgot last time to show you the 2 finished hats I had for my dentist.  He had a little GIRL- so he got the purply-pink one and I kept the blue one for the next baby I hear is a boy.

Busy fingers around here.  I'm trying to make the most of my time because in 2 weeks, as I mentioned, we're scheduled to move home and the amount of unpacking and organizing to be done is staggering.  And, quite frankly, it's going to hold up the knitting progress a fair bit.  (Brace yourselves, Sept might be a light month on blog posts.)  Cross your fingers for us- we're really pumped to get back to our "normal" lives.

Thanks again for voting!!

Baby Blues

Well... it's official!  Baby cookin' in my friend's belly is a little BOY and I've set to work trying to decide what I'm going to knit for her expected little guy.  (Coming around New Years!!)  I need to get started on this project now in order to be done before Christmas.  And so I spent my "nap time" on Ravelry looking at all the baby blanket options and narrowed it down to my favorites.  As usual, I'm undecided and so I turn to YOU, dear blog readers, to help me choose.

Here's what I've narrowed it down to.... (None of these pictures are mine- I've taken them from Ravelry posted by other users.... I hope I'm not committing a blog sin by doing that.)

1) 3D Argyle Blanket : I've had this sitting in on my "favorites" list over at Ravelry for a looooooooooong time.  I love the look of the blanket and, bonus, it should be a reasonably easy knit.  (Famous last words...)  The key here is to buy the right yarn, that will have enough sheen to highlight the changes in the stitch enough to really show off the argyle.

2) For a Bonny Babe: This is a classic looking baby blanket.  The cabling shouldn't be too troublesome and there's a lot of seed stitch in there that this blanket will need little to no blocking.

3) Star Light, Star Bright: Another blanket that has been in my favorites for awhile.  I worry here that the pattern could be too feminine (scalloped border) and so I'd probably "dumb" the border down to make it less "girlie".


4) Alphabet Blanket:  I saw this blanket ages and ages ago and bought the book, so enamored was I with it.  And then I saw the COPIOUS charts that accompanied the pattern and chickened out.  Now I'm less frightened of the pattern and am seriously considering knitting it up.  Am I insane?

  

5) Dishcloth Farm/Zoo/Circus Animal Blanket: This would be similar in style to the "Baby Beef" blanket I knit a long time ago.  Except I would use the same pattern author (her stuff is so cute!) and knit various animals based on the theme I go with.  By using the same author, the patterns should all be around the same size and will make the 'figuring it out' portion of this blanket less challenging.  This has the potential to be REALLY cute... but it also requires the most from my brain power.

SO.... what would you choose to knit?  HELP ME DECIDE!  Vote now!  (Voting closes by Wed Aug 28th at 12:00 pm)

And lest you think you're being used just for opinions these days- behold- ACTUAL KNITTING CONTENT.

The Mystery mitten has seen some progress... although sorry- it still remains a mystery.  (The 3rd time was apparently the charm!)

And I knit another hat to work on that pink stash!

I'm expecting another charity blanket to show up today, and one (HOPEFULLY) next week.  (The blanket is delayed and I'm worried it's going to show up just as we're moving back into our house and then I'm going to hold it up.)  After that I'm going to take a charity blanket break for awhile and start focusing on my mittens and whatever blanket we decide I'm going to knit.

Looking forward, as usual, to see where your votes will lie!