Big fat FAIL in Blogging 101

Ugh.

I'm back to work.

Enough said.

I got behind on knitting and blogging. But never fear! I have som FO's to show you and I am back on the knitting track!

First up, my BKF and I finally exchanged our secret projects! This is what I made for her darling 3 year old.

I also finally (finally!) did something with some LollyTree yarn I had. I've tried to knit htis up 3 seperate time and finally have something to show for it.

I also knit these up for the little man, they took for effing ever! The cable was insane. i loath cables but for some reason I torture myself with them on a regular basis.

This sweater for Matt is a ongoing WIP, I hoped to get it done by this curling season but I can't see that happening. We will see.

On top of all this I have another pair of longies OTN and two pairs of socks! Oi!

Caught Up...Again

I have finally caught up, I finalized a whole wack of projects that I had been working on.

First up the Rider Hoodie, It is a kids size 13/14 customized to fit my xs sized BFF

"Eunice" - part of my Knit Through Sock Innovation challenge

Comfy DK Socks, I haven't taken a FO picture yet though.

Little Miss Who test knit, this pattern is adorable and there are so many fantastic options. I did the owl cable sleeve and plan to add a pocket as well.

The beginning of Project Kitchen

I've also started a long term project. I have so many scarps of wool form knitting soakers for the kidlettes. I've decided to use those scraps to make a huge afghan of gaudiness. It will be fantastic and hopefully enormous! I'm banking on it taking me a few years of knitting a patch here and there and eventually sewing them all together.

I'm going crazy

I'm suffering from some sort of knitter's discontent or something.

I have been seriously lacking on posting pictures because it seems as though I have made zero progress on anything.

I am having a hard time picking a project and finishing it. I literally just picked up a dish towel I am working on, knit one row, set it down and picked up the owl sweater, like I just can't get comfortable working on any one thing.

I'm going to have to restrict myself again, get these few things out of the way so I don't feel so bogged down by everything.

New rule: only 2 projects on the go at any one time.

At this rate I'm going to have to writemyself a rule book.

Needed a brainless knit

So I cast on a dish cloth this morning!

I finally finished the Rider Hoodie

This was it pre pocket attachment

and here it is folded up and set aside until I can get to washing and blocking it, I will take final pictures once I'm done.

And I am test knitting a sweater for my BKF Keltie, this is it so far, Riso was so thrilled ot try it on, and has demanded matching socks.

I'm also working on a top secret project for the secret knitting exchange I am doing with Keltie, it has extracted much brain power from me, hence the dishcloth today.Here it is is...

Just kidding! It's a secret, silly!

I dyed this weekend!

I wish I could dye all the time, I love when I dye.

Okay, okay, enough of that. It's early, it sounded funnier in my brain.

I love dyeing yarn. Actually, I dont love dyeing the yarn but I love the preparation, the picking out of colors, mixing up different shade and planning what I will do.

You need to use vinegar to dye yarn and I HATE the smell of vinegar. I don't like getting dye on my fingers, or splashed in my face so that later The Mister tells me my nose is a funny shade of yellow. I hate the smell of vinegar.

I love the results, I love seeing how different yarns pick up different shades of color, and how different the yarn looks in the end from how I pictured it in the beginning.

Did I mention I hate the smell of vinegar? 

And so, I don't do it very often, but when I do I always think 'I should dye yarn more often.' 

This will be a Little MIss Who for Ris eventually. I'm testing the pattern for Keltie, my BKF (Best Knitting Friend)

This is why I have been so quiet

I've been waiting on needles so I can finish some socks, I've been working on another pair of socks, and I've been feverishly knitting away at this...

Defeat

I seriously tried to love using double pointed needles, I tried to pay homage to socks by using the most original method. But I'm so slow with dpns and I am a sucker for instant gratification.

I chew hard candy, I break huge jawbreakers into pieces so I can eat them faster and my nail polish is always smudged because I can't wait for it to dry.

It is only natural that I choose the method of knitting that is easier and faster for me. And so I succumb to defeat. I've retired my dpns and cast on my next sock with circulars. I will knit via the magic loop method from this point forward.

This blog is becoming a bit boring

What with all the socks. 

Another FO. 

Started the sweater...

Got it out of my system, worked until i joined in the round and then picked up the sock again. Happily knitting away on Glynis for now. And tinkering away on the Mr. Pitts Socks for the Mrs when i need brainless knitting.

Knitting through Sock Innovation

In an effort to improve my sock knitting skills I have created a challenge for myself. I am going to knit through Sock Innovation by cookie a., front to back, no exceptions.

I started my challenge a few weeks ago, but I only had self stripping yarn on hand and the first sock is a very patterned sock. The self striping yarn ate up the pattern pretty badly. I was a trooper and pushed through the first sock, until I realized I had been forgetting a step in the pattern the entire time so the pattern was not lining up. FAIL.

I frogged and was going to wait and see if I get what I think I might get for my birthday (Tanis Fiber Arts sock yarn) but then we made a trip to the city...and the Mister needed to stop at a fishing tackle shop...and I didn't want to go. So, I went to Micheal's, the craft store, with the intent of buying yarn for a sweater I promised to make a friend last year. (it was already agreed upon so this doesn't count as breaking my yarn diet resolution, right?). I was perusing the yarn, feeling, touching, caressing...lets face it, I was molesting the yarn. And then I noticed some reasonably priced sock yarn in some uber nice solid colors...and I justified that one challenge sort of trumps the other, and as long as I promise the yarn gods that I will use this yarn to knit through my book challenge, it is allowed. Right?

SO now I'm faced with my least favorite issue. I have two different socks on the needles. The self striping yarn being made into some Mr. Pitts socks for the Mrs.

And Glynis being knit with Sock-Ease in Green Apple

And I am itching to start the sweater I have been promising to knit for almost 2 years.

What to do...start the sweater? finish the Pitt socks before starting the sweater? Finish both pairs of sock before starting the sweater? Hmmm.

"that ain't my baby" slippers

Wonderfully Warm Welly Walking Socks!

The thing I love most about knitting these puppies is it only takes me about 3-4 hours per sock. Makes them the perfect weekend knitting project.

Fruit Punch

I'm still here

I'm still here, knitting away. It was a hectic weekend that started with a bunch of great company and ended in a fence and a bunch of empties. Needless to say, not much knitting was done, but I made up for it today, I finished the rainbow socks, cast on another pair, and this evening I'm going to cast on a new and improved version of the Wonderfully Warm Welly Walking Socks.

The New York Cardigan

Sorry for the pooptastic photos. The lighting is never right while The Mister is home. I will get better photographs someday...someday. 

 

Mindless

After knitting the Hemlock ring blanket and the New York Cardigan (which I have to fix because i pulled the mattress stitch too tight!!!) I am in l.o.v.e. with simple mindless knitting.

Shorties take me four hours to knit, I'm almost done the second pair on my list of things to knit. The rainbow socks aren't quite quick, but they are mindless and I'm keeping them around for times when i need a break from "need to do knitting", the socks and I spent an hour on the deck this afternoon basking in the sun. We had a great time.

I also knit myself a fantastic pair of Grandma's knitted slippers. A serious must knit if you have cold feet and a bunch of scrap wool hanging around. They are knit with two strands of yarn, so they are super scrappy, you might call hem ugly but I think they are delish! So comfy and they look like a rainbow and a clown had some super hot sex one night, and then the rainbow called the clown and was like, "dude, i"m pregnant!" and the clown was all, "That ain't my baby, I cant get rainbows pregnant!" and then when he baby was born they went on Maury Povich and Maury was all "Clown, you are the father!"

The Offspring:

I did it! I did it! I did it! Ya! !Lo hicimos!

Things I've started/not finished that I must finish before casting on one more thing:

• New York Cardigan
• Matt's socks
• Ipad cover
• Riso's tunic (may frog this as it is not working out as planned) frogged

I will get pictures up of the cardigan as soon as it is done blocking.

Matt's socks:

They are a little bunchy in the ankle, next time I will decrease the length of the heel flap or add a few decreases just before the ankle.

An I've already cast on for my very own pair of socks and am just about to go re-wind the yarn I'm using to make Dex some summer woolies!

I'm done it!

That's all! Pics to come.

All this time I thought nobody cared...

Because I haven't gotten one comment.

And then...

A friend mentioned to me that she couldn't comment on my post...

So I checked...

And


I had comments disabled.

So, I'm going to go bang my head on the wall for a while.

See you next post.

And please, comment. I love comments.

If this sweater wasn't so pretty I would totally put it on the list of unmentionables

How is that for a title?

It is taking me f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to knit the panels for this sweater. I have a 1 repeat a day goal. I'm doing better than my goal, but only because I am obsessed with getting this thing finished!

Only 9 more repeats left. Blegh!

Must resist!

I'm sticking to it! This is going to be impossible. I seriously have a problem people!

I was so tempted to start a new project yesterday that I had to do something yarn related to occupy my mind.  I organized my entire yarn stash, and now that I see what I have, I have added to my no new project resolution.

In an effort to decrease my worsted/bulky stash in order to increase my sock yarn stash I have resolved the following:

I, Andrea, will not start another project unless it will make use of the yarn I currently have in my stash.  I will follow this resolution until December 31, 2012.

Eek, now I really have to do it because, you know, all 2 of my followers (one of them being myself) has read this! 

Loose Ends

I am suffering lately from an affliction  I like to call "knitter's ADD."

This is a condition characterized by a knitter's inability to focus on the task at hand. The knitter, already having 3 or more projects on the go, can not help but search Ravelry for new and more fabulous patterns and has the undeniable urge to cast on every.single.thing he or she sees.

And so I've decided to hold myself accountable via my blog in order to get a handle on the things I've got going and thus tie up some very loose ends.

Things I've started/not finished that I must finish before casting on one more thing:

• New York Cardigan
• Matt's socks
• Ipad cover
• Riso's tunic (may frog this as it is not working out as planned)

Things I am itching to start, but will resist:

•  Matching puppy sweaters 
• My rainbow socks
• 2 pairs of shorties for Dex

 Oh! And I have an updated pictured of the New York Cardigan, this thing is going to be purdy!

And the finished Hemlock Balnket, I knit it for my Grandma. It is in her possession and she loves it! Thank goodness!

 

The inevitable

I got distracted knitting the hemlock. It's done, and my sweater sits. I've started back up on it tonight because the Hemlock is blocking! This thing took eons to knit! It was fine at first, but eventually you get to the point where you have like 500 stitches on your needles, and the bind off is torturous! But it is so worth it, the blanket is beautiful!

Oh, and I started my first sock! Well, technically its my third sock. The first 2 are sitting in the yarnoir, with only the toes completed.

Monday

I have been seriously motivated to work on The New York Cardigan. I spent all my weekend knitting on it. I got one sleeve don, the other sleeve almost done, and then I got bored knitting the sleeves so last night I started working on the lace pattern on the back.

I'm feeling my motivation slowly fading though, and last night I suddenly had a great idea to knit a lap shawl/blanket for a very special somebody. I found the nicest pattern on ravelry, and started the search for yarn but, I am on a self proclaimed yarn diet (harder for me to stick to than an actual diet).

Sooooo, instead of buying the perfect yarn, I'm dying it! I have a whole bunch of natural colored super yummy soft wool that is just sitting in the yarnoir. I wanted a really nice light beige color and so I used what i had on hand...a pot of coffee and a jug of vinegar. Saves me having to pull out all my stuff for using acid dyes (not safe to use in your regular pots).

Life is getting away on me!

Do you ever get a second to look around your house and then wish you hadn't? My goodness this month has gotten away on me. I had two busy ass weekends in a row and my house is suffering for it. Hopefully this week/weekend I can get caught up and will be able to get a few project finished up as well.

I did finish up the cardigan and poppy hat for a friends new little girl:

Excuse the wonkiness, it was my first time working with cotton, and cotton does not block well! I cant get those darn edges to lay flat!

I also finished the little man's pants! He's already worn them quite a few times, you can probably tell that by all the fuzz and food on them!

And I finally frogged the Goodale and started a New York Cardigan, progress is much quicker and I think the style will suit me much better.

The Super Simple Reglan Pull Over

Boy Version - Size 6-12 months

Girl Version - Size 3T

Also, I'm working on a Springtime in Hollis. It's a gift for a friend's new baby! It's my first time knitting with cotton, this colorway is just adorable!

Bad/Good news, I've made no further progress on The Goodale, I've recently been working out in an effort to make some much needed changes to my lifestyle, and it's working...but I was knitting a size up from what i needed, and now the next size down is a size up from what I need. So all that work needs to be undone and restarted. I'm not complaining about losing girth, I am however, complaining about knitting this flippin thing again!