WIP Wednesday - A Block Away

On the Needles
I actually have surprisingly few things on the needles, as I've managed to cast off a bunch of things this past week. I'm too eager to show them off to wait for Friday, so I'll "cheat" and post them early! :)

I have finally gotten the hang of crochet it seems. I've been playing around with it a bit, and this weekend managed to finish my two first proper crochet items :) However, it is more than a tiny bit confusing that not only are UK and US crochet terms not the same, but sometime the same term means two different things!!!! That will cause some frustration until I get the hang of it, I'm sure :-P

I'm getting pretty fast at doing the stitches themselves, but getting that first row done where I crochet into the chain? GAH! That's still giving me problems. I almost hope I'm doing it wrong, because I'm getting increasingly frustrated by how slow-moving it is, but probably it's just a matter of practise, practise, practise.

During the church luncheon Sunday I managed to finish this bracelet (pattern not on Ravelry yet). I can't really decide whether it's my 'type' or not, but it was a nice way to practise some of my new skills.


This next project, however, I am absolutely THRILLED by how it turned out! It's the Crochet Hook Case by Sally V. George, and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out :)
The badge fits it perfectly :)

I added a border and simplified the pocket, but otherwise it is exactly as written. At the time of making it, I hadn't yet decided I wanted to keep my DPNs there too, which is why it isn't quite tall enough, but it's close enough that I don't even mind. I absolutely love it, and may make another one for the rest of my DPNs :)


I haven't completely forsaken my knitting though. I finally cast off Sleeves, and it's currently blocking, waiting to dry so I can weave in the ends.
I love Martina Behm's patterns and didn't even mind knitting this twice! It was just as much fun the second time around. Now I just hope it fits! :-P Things tend to grow when blocking and then snap back into shape when thrown in the wash, so I always fear that it's a tad too big, but then it all comes out right after the first wash.


And finally, while I didn't finish the pair, I did at least manage to finish one September Sock ;) Hopefully I'll do better with my October Socks.
I do enjoy the pattern though, and think it suits the yarn nicely. I also realized that while a gusset/heel-flap heel fits me nicely, it takes FOREVER to execute, compared to the fish-lips-kiss heel! So I think I may just start to substitute that whenever possible.

YOP Week 13

Just a quick post today, as I haven't got a lot of progress done. In fact, I haven't touched the Little Pole at all for almost two weeks, as I got sidetracked by all sorts of other projects.

I did manage to finish the first September Sock though, so while not a complete pair as I'd hoped for, at least I got half way done instead of procrastinating completely as I'd feared. I ended up doing the heel as written and was once again reminded how very much easier the Fish-Lips-Kiss heel is!! But I'm thinking this might fit my foot better? Not sure, I'll have to pay more attention.

Progress
July Sock (Braided Swirl Socks)
Stashbuster #1 (Dragonfly Elfe)
August Sock (Vanilla Socks)
September Sock (My Little Cup of Tea)
October Sock
Stashbuster #2 (Little Pole)
November Sock
December Sock
Stashbuster #3
Stashbuster #4
(Stashbuster #5)
(Stashbuster #6)

WIP + FO

A day late and a day early, but since I never got around to posting my WIP Wednesday entry yesterday, I figured I might as well combine it with my FO Friday entry for tomorrow! :)

On the Needles
I've been attacked by startitis this past week, so my WIPs from last week have only seen very little progress (if any!) but instead I've cast on two new ones!!! You can never have too many WIPs, right? Of course right ;)

The Newborn Vertebra - I was going to wait a bit before casting this one on, but The Fat Squirrel started a Vertebrae KAL, so I figured now was as good a time as any! Knitting flat in a solid yarn is making it very obvious that my purling isn't nearly as consistent as my knitting though :-P I even tried going down a needle size for the purl stitches, but to no avail. Nothing to do but practise, I guess.

Love the colour though :)

Earlier this year, Rebekka asked me if I'd knit a scarf for Rosa. I'd been itching to knit another Hitchhiker anyway and figured I'd better cast on now so the winter wouldn't be half over before she could get it. Rosa's favourite colours are brown and pink (at least they were when I asked her last), so I figured this yarn would be perfect for her :) It's 100% merino and SO lovely soft! Right now I can't put it down... but right now I'm also at the really short tips, meaning it's awfully potato-chippy. It will slow down soon enough I'm sure.

Haven't completely abandoned my old projects though. Sleeves has seen quite a bit of progress, and I'm now almost half-way through the back, row-wise. Since these rows keep getting shorter and shorter, this means that I'm more than half-way stitch-wise, so hopefully another week or two and I'll be done! :)

And finally, my socks :) The yarn is still playing nice with the pattern, and I turned the heel on Saturday. Haven't touched it much since then, but it's coming along nicely. I no longer really believe I'll be able to finish by the end of the month though! But that's okay - the goal was more to knit 12 pairs of socks in a year than necessarily one a month. So I'm not worried... yet! ;)

Off the Needles
Part of the reason the socks haven't seen much progress is that I got so caught up in the cowl I started last week. Started Monday, finished Friday. I LOVED the yarn and how it knit up, so it was basically all I wanted to knit all week. And as it made for perfect travel-knitting, it was only too easy to substitute my poor rejected socks for this.

I'd say it was worth it though. Haven't actually worn it yet, as it only came off my blocking mat yesterday, but I love it! The colours are so amazingly beautiful :)

WIP Wednesday - Travel Knitting

On the Needles
4 active WIPs this week :) Some of them have seen more progress than others.

In order of cast-on date...
I finished the second sleeve of Martina Behm's "Sleeves", and have now joined for the back! I seem to remember the back being a lot faster than the sleeves, so hopefully K won't have to wait too much longer for it :) It's a nice and mindless knit, but has grown too large for travel knitting, which is why this hasn't seen too much progress.

Same goes for my "Little Pole". Only another 15 rows have been added since my last photo. However, those 15 rows means that I'm now halfway through the collar!

My "Indecisive Socks" of last week are finally cooperating :) The yarn is playing nice with the pattern ("My Cup of Tea") and I'm now further than I ever came with any of the two other patterns! I have one repeat left to go before starting the heel -- am currently trying to make up my mind whether to do the heel as written, or substitute the fish-lips-kiss heel once again.

Finally, I was in the mood for something completely different earlier this week. I bought this yarn in Washington D.C. - originally destined for socks. The more I thought about it, the less I wanted to hide such gorgeous yarn away in shoes though, so instead I ended up casting on for a cowl so I could show it off properly :) It's not as soft as I would like my cowls to be usually, because the yarn was meant for socks and so was spun rather tightly, but I'm absolutely loving the way it knits up, and since it's 100% merino, I'll just keep my fingers crossed that it softens nicely with blocking. This is my current go-to pattern as it's both portable and gorgeous :)


Stash Stories
I fell - or should I say dived - into the rabbit hole again earlier this week. I'd been telling myself that I had PLENTY of yarn after my US trip and the 50% off sale earlier this year, but this Monday I discovered another 50% off sale, and as I had recently discovered I have absolutely no worsted weight yarn yet a ton of worsted weight sweaters I want to knit, I figured I would just "go take a look". In my defense, I probably actually wouldn't have bought anything if they hadn't had any worsted left, but they did :D So I now have enough for a gorgous read sweater for myself :-)

(I may also have bought yarn for two other projects since I had my ATM card out anyway, but those don't count, I'm sure ;) )

Events / Challenges / KALs
The 2 Knit Lit Chick's Sweater KAL started this Monday, and the Knitmore Girls and the Knit Girllls have been inspired by Susan B. Anderson and are starting a #projectsweaterchest on September 21st. I kinda want to be part of both, so I'm holding out and haven't cast on my $5 in Paris yet, so I have something that will be eligible for both. Of course, with all this new yarn I bought, I may change my mind and knit something else entirely ;)

Year of Projects - Week 11

Looks like I finally found a pattern to suit my sock yarn :) If you didn't see my WIP post, my yarn had become very belligerent and decided that Hermione's Everyday Socks was just FAR too boring, so that wouldn't work either. Wednesday morning I finally cast on for My Little Cup of Tea and have now come further than I did with any of the others! So I'll take that as a good sign :)

The Little Pole is still behaving nicely. Have had absolutely no problems with that one, dear thing. I'm still slightly concerned whether I'll have enough yarn, but if worst comes to worst I have some suitable white I can use to pad the sleeves. But more likely than not I'll have plenty, and this is just me being a worrywart as always ;)
(Progress photo from Wednesday, I've added about 15 rows since then).

Progress
July Sock (Braided Swirl Socks)
Stashbuster #1 (Dragonfly Elfe)
August Sock (Vanilla Socks)
September Sock (My Little Cup of Tea)
October Sock
Stashbuster #2 (Little Pole)
November Sock
December Sock
Stashbuster #3
Stashbuster #4
(Stashbuster #5)
(Stashbuster #6)

WIP Wednesday - On and Off the Needles

On the Needles
I recently started my September Socks, but the yarn is giving me a great deal of trouble. I started out by casting on for the Caretta Caretta socks from "Socktopus"...
But about 13 rounds into the pattern, the yarn started telling me that it really wanted to be Hermione's Everyday Socks instead. I know that you should always listen to the yarn, and so I ripped back and cast on HES instead...
... only for the yarn to go "Oooh :( This is just glorified vanilla socks! That's boring!" (and I kinda agree - I think this pattern would be a lot better for a much more colourful yarn).
So now I've ripped back again, and have cast on for My Cup of Tea Socks HOPING that third time's the charm, and I'll actually be motivated to finish these socks!

... It's not all wasted though - I did realize that I like the twisted rib a LOT better than a plain 1-1 rib - it looks heaps more polished.

Fortunately my other project is behaving a lot better. I cast on for the Little Pole less than two weeks ago and am loving it!
You knit the square back first, and then do a provisional cast on and knit the collar together with the square as you go along. Such a fun construction, and I love the way the yarn fits the pattern :) At this rate I'll finish LONG before Christmas ;)


Off the Needles
I finally finished my Terra Linda Cardigan! I'm not entirely sure whether I'm thrilled or disappointed though.. It grew so much during blocking, and now has a completely different (although not necessarily bad) fit compared to prior to blocking.

This is the cardigan that I made for a friend of mine. I'll be seeing her on Saturday and just hope that she'll like it.

But if this one might be too big, I fear that my other project might be too small! I'll admit to being rather proud of this project though, as I knit it with my own handspun! I'd been thinking that it would make the perfect hat for my niece-to-be (due right after Christmas), so I found a suitable pattern, cast on, and 2 hours later, this was the result!

It looks awfully small to me though, but perhaps that's just because I keep forgetting how tiny newborns actually are! I only used up 80% of the yarn though, so if it's totally off, I should be able to make it bigger.

And if not, at least it fits Peanut perfectly ;)


A Review
Netgalley kindly sent me "Great Little Gifts to Knit" by Jean Moss to review. You can read my review here (link to Goodreads).

Year of Projects - Week 10

I started my second stashbuster project this week! My sister had mentioned that my oldest niece needed a new cardigan, so I asked her (my sister) if she thought she (my niece) would like one as a Christmas present. Turns out that she'd love one and didn't even mind knowing in advance what she'd be getting. So I sent off 5-6 patterns of cardigans I'd like to knit, so she could choose, and fortunately she chose my favourite! :)

I cast on last Monday, and haven't been able to put it down since! It's SUCH a fun knit! At this speed I'll finish way before Christmas ;)
The pattern is "Little Pole" by Joji Locatelli - I'm knitting it up in Katia Tobago, 100% cotton. I was uncertain about the colours at first, but now I love them! Hope my niece does too :)

I've also cast on for my September sock (finally ;) ), but am having second thoughts already...
I was really, really keen to get started on one of the patterns from "Socktopus", and yesterday finally decided which pattern to start off with. So I found some suitable yarn, and cast on for a beadless version of the Caretta Caretta
But 13 rounds into the first repeat, the yarn started telling me that it really wants to become Hermione's Everyday Socks instead, and now that's all I can see when I pick it up to knit more! I don't have enough yarn for both, so a decision must be made... rip back or continue on? Or - in other words - listen to the yarn, or stay with my first choice? I have a feeling it's a bad idea not to listen to the yarn, but I do have a stubborn streak... ;)

Progress
July Sock (Braided Swirl Socks)
Stashbuster #1 (Dragonfly Elfe)
August Sock (Vanilla Socks)
September Sock?
October Sock
Stashbuster #2
November Sock
December Sock
Stashbuster #3
Stashbuster #4
(Stashbuster #5)
(Stashbuster #6)

FO Fridays - Homespun Hat

Though I just have a small project to show off today, it's a project I'm extra proud of, because I knit it with my own handspun! I'd been thinking that it would make the perfect hat for my niece-to-be (due right after Christmas), so I found a suitable pattern, cast on, and 2 hours later, this was the result!
It looks awfully small to me though, but perhaps that's just because I keep forgetting how tiny newborns actually are! I only used up 80% of the yarn though, so if it's totally off, I should be able to make it bigger.

And if not, at least it fits Peanut perfectly ;)

WIP Wednesday - Another Sweater?

On the Needles
Only two active things on the needles this week, but I'm meeting up with my friend tomorrow, so hopefully the Terra Linda cardigan will see some action again soon :)

Instead I've been working on Sleeves for another friend of mine. It's the perfect travel knitting, so I bought it along for our trip to Jutland last weekend. Unfortunately, in the end I ended up driving about half the way there, so I didn't get quite as much done on it as I had hoped, but I'd guess I'm about half way through the second sleeve now.

Of course it doesn't help that I also cast on something new ;-) My sister had mentioned that my oldest niece needed a cardigan, and after making sure that it would be alright with niece, I decided to make her one for Christmas :) I had some appropriate yarn, and sent off 5-6 patterns for them to choose between. Fortunately niece picked my favourite :) so I couldn't help myself, but had to cast on right away. This is the Little Pole by Joji Locatelli, and it has a really unusual construction which is why it looks so odd right now ;) The red yarn is a provisional cast on... I've never been able to make it work in the past, so I'm ever so slightly interested in seeing whether I actually managed to get it right this time! That's a while off still though. The yarn is discontinued so I'd better have enough! ;)


Between the Pages
At the start of the year I joined a Childhood Favourites Challenge, but stuff happened, and I got side-tracked. Yesterday I decided to pick it up again, and decided to (re-)kick it off with my favourite Nancy Drew book. I haven't read this in 20+ years, so I hope it can pass the test of time :)


Stash Stories
My LYS still has a 50% sale, and despite the fact that I really don't need any more yarn, I went past the other day. I needed some 4mm Knitpro tips, and told myself I'd be good and not buy any yarn! And I didn't... but since they had sold out of 4mm tips, it was perfectly logical to purchase the entire Spectra set, right?
These are plastic rather than wooden but the tips are nice and sharp, so I think they'll be awesome for lace :)


Events / Challenges / KALs
Several podcasts (Knitmore Girls and 2 Knit Lit Chicks for sure... possibly also Must Stash?) have announced a Sweater KAL for the autumn (starting September 15th). I'm very tempted... I know I already have 3 sweater-type-projects on the needles, but two of them will soon be done, and it would be a nice motivation to get moving on my Stashbuster projects for the Year of Projects KAL. Besides, I've been wanting to knit another $5 in Paris for quite awhile, and the last one took me just 10 days to knit, so... Like I said, tempting!