Year of Projects - Week 17

It's been a while since I did a WIP-post - not because I haven't been knitting, but I keep forgetting to take photos! And a knitting post without photos is slightly dull.

So this will be a joint YoP / WIP post so I can finally update you on all the things I've been working on lately. I'm sure you can't wait! Right? Of course right ;)

September Sock: I've turned the heel of the second sock and am now working on the gusset. Once that is done, the rest shouldn't take long at all, so it's starting to look like I may actually finish this by the end of the month! Of course, that would be more impressive if the month was September still...

October Sock: But fortunately I'm not doing too badly on the second October sock either! So it's actually looking good all around :) When knitting the first sock I discovered that I'd be playing a much more serious game of yarn chicken than first anticipated though! My socks usually weigh around 30g each, but with this one I'd already used 22g when finishing up the heel! So it's more of a ankle sock than I'd anticipated at first. Must be heavier yarn than I'm used to. Never mind - fortunately I don't mind ankle socks :)

But with a bit of luck and a bit of effort I should be able to finish these by the end of the month too! :) Or very early November anyway.

Little Pole hasn't seen that much progress. I would have liked to have finished the body by now, but I got sidetracked by other projects. It is what it is. I should still have plenty of time to finish in time for Christmas :)

Newborn Vertebrae: One of the things that have sidetracked me is the vertebrae KAL hosted by The Fat Squirrel. I'd wanted to knit one for my niece-to-be anyway, so it seemed the perfect opportunity. The KAL ends by the end of October, so I made sure to finish the knitting this weekend. Still needs to be blocked though.

Herbert the Snail: Another distraction is the fact that I finally feel accomplished enough at crochet to tackle one of Stacey's amazing animals! I bought her book, Crocheted Softies almost two years ago, because I knew that I just HAD to learn how to crochet and make some of these! I'd especially fallen in love with "Milton the Slowpoke Snail", so of course I had to start with that one. I would have finished already if it wasn't for the fact that I couldn't find any safety-eyes, so I had to put it on hold for a bit until I figured out what to use instead.

The name comes from a childrens' song we used to sing in church about "Herbert, the very slow snail" :)

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

WIP Wednesday - It's all about the socks!

On the Needles
The second "My Cup of Tea" sock is finally taking off. I'm 4 rows away from the heel and know from experience that once that's done, the foot will feel like it takes no time at all.

However, the heel-flap-gusset heel does not qualify as mindless knitting for me yet - I still have to check the pattern constantly - so when I needed some easy knitting last Monday, I decided to just go ahead and cast on for my October Socks even though the September Socks weren't done. After all it IS October already! ;)
These are the Sunset Scales Socks by Melissa Goodale - I picked them specifically as they looked like they'd be good for variegated yarn... this was before I bought the book you'll see below, or I might have chosen differently ;) Anyway, I'm just over halfway through the foot already, and enjoy the way it knits up :) I'm knitting these toe-up, as I may end up having to play a tiny game of yarn chicken, and it's easier to shorten the cuff this way ;)

(Love the kiwi stitch-marker. Saw it at a yarn shop last week and knew I had to have it :) )

Off the Needles
I finished my third pair of the Magic Slippers Saturday. They're such quick knits, and I've pretty much learned the pattern off by heart. Each slipper takes me between 3-4 hours to knit. I gave them to my niece yesterday, and fortunately she was absolutely delighted :) They're a tad big, but that just means she'll be able to wear them for longer :)

My cousin and his wife had a boy not too long ago, and I finally get to see him on Saturday! When they had their first child I knit her name for her as a present, so of course I have to do the same for this one. I've only managed the first initial so far, but it took me two years to finish the letters for their daughter, so I'm not going to feel bad about only having the 'P' ready for Saturday ;)

Between the Pages
Got two new knitting books for my birthday :)
75 Birds, Butterflies & Little Beasts was a gift from my parents-in-law :)
Knitting Socks With Handpainted Yarn I bought myself with money Morfar gave me. With all the colourful sock yarn I have in my stash by now, I thought this was the perfect book for me! I even got it at 10% off, as it turned out they only had the display copy left!

Stash Stories
Last year at around this time, I biked past this absolutely GORGEOUS tree, splendid in its fall colours. I immediately stopped and took a photo of it, all the while giggling a bit to myself that the VERY first thought on my mind was "I want yarn in this colourway!!!"
Well, last week I found it... and of course had to buy it!
It's not exactly right. This yarn is variegated instead of a gradient, and I'm actually not sure what it'll look like all knit up (will have to swatch before deciding on a pattern... it might be good for the leaves in Leftie though), but I still had to get it :)

WIP Wednesday - Second Sock

On the Needles
I haven't been knitting as much this past week as usual... mostly because I found two awesome books I had to disappear into, and I couldn't read fast enough while knitting to satisfy me, so knitting was put to the wayside for a bit. Almost like old days ;)

So very little progress on very few projects.

I've just finished the cuff for my second September Sock (am about 8 rows into the first pattern repeat). I always tend to procrastinate when it comes to casting on the second sock, but once it's actually on the needles I usually do okay, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm also considering casting on the first October Sock before I finish this one, just to give me some variation ;)

The 12 pairs of socks for 2014 is starting to look a bit iffy at this point, but I'm not about to give up yet! I know I can do it - it's all a matter of priorities!

My Princess Hitchhiker is up to 23 tips now! Each row is starting to take quite a bit longer now, and I still have another 19 tips to go! Glad I started early, so I have plenty of time before Christmas.


Finally I have cast on something new :-P But for some weird reason the photo I took of this never got saved on my iPhone?! Odd. Anyway, apparently I have absolutely NO willpower when it comes to knitting stuff for my nieces and nephews... so when my sister told me that her daughter kept stealing her magic slippers (so called because they look SO weird off the foot, but great on it), and wanted a pair of her own, I knew I had to make them. Especially as I see Isabella again next week - it would be cool if I could have them done already. Each slipper takes me about 3-4 hours to knit, so it's an achievable goal.

... and once they are done, I HAVE to get back to knitting her "Little Pole" :)