WIP Smackdown

I've got too many projects on the needles. This happens from time to time. I have cast on too many things and am irritated that nothing is getting finished. Time to prioritize...

1. Tam for Small Child #1.
2. Barn-Raising Quilt squares for Doctors Without Borders quilt auction.
3. Mom's birthday neckwarmer and mittens. (Her birthday was December 26. Oops.)
4. THE SELBU MITTEN
5. Scarf for Project Spectrum North
6. Socks for Project Spectrum East

That will leave only the crazy sock yarn blanket and a pair of stockinette socks on the needles. I think that's what I need to limit myself to: the blanket, a pair of socks, and another project. Three is the perfect number.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Long post ahead, so settle in. (This is what happens when I don't blog for over a week.)

The Good
Lolly's Project Spectrum 4.0 began this month. Project Spectrum is a project-along (does not have to be knitting) in which the primary goal is to celebrate color. The theme of this cycle of Project Spectrum is the cardinal directions. Did you know that many cultures see a relationship between each direction on the compass rose—North, South, East, and West—and color, season, element, and natural material? For March and April, the designated direction for the project-along is North. Green, winter, earth, and stones/gems/rocks are the associated color, season, element, and natural material. Below is the inspiration for my first project.



The photo in the upper left corner is what my backyard looks like in late winter. Branches and leaves that fell last November were buried under the snow for months and now lie wet, waiting to be cleaned up. Among these are small signs of leafy green new life.

The photo in the lower left corner was taken at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior a few summers ago during my trip to the Upper Peninsula. The blue-green color in the rock is oxidized copper.

The yarns are Pagewood Farm Denali in Maple Leaf (upper right) and Navajo (lower right). I just love this yarn. I'm using it to make Joelle Hoverson's Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.



Another good thing is that progress has been made on my selbuvotter mitten.



Yeah, remember that? I went to mitten group on Monday and wunderinstructor Janeen taught me a new way to hold the yarn in my left hand. The trick is to keep my index finger low; I was holding it too high up off the needle, so my left hand and forearm were aching after only a few rounds. Not fun. No fun = no work on the selbu. But now I've gotten up past the first star in the pattern. One star to go, then I meet with Janeen again on Monday to finish the tip and do the thumb.

Progress has also been made on my sock yarn blankie.



This progress is primarily due to a new tradition we have going on at ThreadBear: Beer o'Clock. Well, really it's called the Memory Keeper Throw Group, but I like to call it Beer o'Clock. Those of us working on the blankie (and a few of us who are not) meet at ThreadBear on Friday evenings to swap yarn, knock out a few squares, partake in food and drink, and have some laughs. Good times.

The last good thing? New hair color. Needed a pick-me-up.



The Bad
Stash acquisition. Part of this has to do with several trips to ThreadBear for mitten group and Beer o'Clock. 'Nough said. I'm too embarrassed to say more.

I am still knitting with the yarn that hates me.

I have two projects that have to be finished. Literally, I am within 80% of them being done, but I just can't bring myself to finish them. Seven projects on the needles = too many.

I am losing my family's NCAA Basketball Tournament bracket competition. I fear that my bragging rights may be gone. Y'all need to rally for me.

The Ugly
Second day of spring in Michigan.



Scooter, however, could care less about ugly dead foliage and yard clean-up. For him, spring is about one thing and one thing only:

Reincarnation

This yarn hates me.

First it wanted to be this:


Then it wanted to be this:


And now it wants to be something else. It keeps reinventing itself, and every time it reinvents itself, the product just isn't quite right.

Michael Jackson. This yarn is Michael Jackson.

Longing

I want to cast on this and these and this and this and these and this. And of course, this.

But I really should finish these and these and this.

And I'm under obligation to knit these and these and this and a pair of matching mittens.

But... I get paid for this.

Oops Aplenty

Wow. I really blew it this week with the yarn purchases. Aside from the 220 I purchased for the vest, these all managed to come home with me this week.



But here's the even bigger mistake I made this week.



This is a ginormous Thermis. Ginormithermis? Anyway, the finished measurements are supposed to be 18 inches in circumference and 7.5 inches from top to bottom. Ginormithermis measures 23.5 inches in circumference and 9.25 inches from top to bottom. This is what I get for refusing to do a gauge swatch. I had a sneaking suspicion it was too big, and yet I sewed on the pretty buttons.


See? Pretty.

And then I tried on Ginormithermis and was dismayed when I didn't even have to unbutton it to get it over my head.

When I told Mom that I was going to have to reknit, she gently suggested I make something that she can button around her neck rather than pull on over her head. Back to Sarah Beckman's Mock-Cable Neckwarmer, I think.

Interjections Abound

Just two short things to say this evening...

YIPPEE!

I spy buttons, needles, and thread. A trip to the post office is on the agenda for tomorrow.

OOPS.

We really, really wanted to come home from the yarn shop so that we can become this vest. After all, it is Vestuary.

A Wee Bit o' Progress

It dawned on me today that the New Year isn't so new anymore. It's almost the end of February; the year is nearly one-sixth over. Wow. Where did it go? A lot of it got slept away, due to the neverending cough and accompanying fatigue. I'm still coughing, but very rarely now, and my energy is back. I won't say it's 100%, but it's mostly restored.

Despite the illness, I have made a wee bit o' progress when it comes to two of my three New Year's declarations.

First, regarding the declaration to reduce the stash, I have made moderate progress. Small Child 1's sweater is now off the needles and awaiting buttons (picture coming soon), as is Mom's Thermis.



Combined with the 520 yards worth of stashbusting I did in January, I think I'll be close to 1500 yards by the end of the month.

I've also cast on a new pair of socks for February and have joined The Great Sock Off group on Ravelry. This group and the Stash Knit Down group are keeping me motivated to knit from stash.


Hello. We are Dragonflies in Amber, and we are here to keep your feet warm.

Yarn acquisitions? Well, I did sign up for a three-month membership to Plucky Classics, a yarn club run by Michigan's own Plucky Knitter. I love, love, love her yarn, and I feel good about contributing to the Michigan economy. The January shipment was a skein of superwash merino fingering weight in a perfect pink colorway called Hey Cupcake. I don't have a photo (stash photography is on my list of things to do), but you can see it here. Even with the acquisition of this skein, I'm still down a few!

The only other new yarn to enter the house has been from the Blankie Mania group swaps that I have joined and helped run. My pile of five-gram balls, skeins, and "bow-ties" has grown significantly in the past couple of months. But this doesn't really count as stash, right?



Playing with the colors makes me happy. It's like having a box of crayons in yarn.





I knit a few squares. Just a few. Just to keep the mound down to a respectable level. You know, it sits on my coffee table, and after all, I would like to be able to see the TV from the couch.



I have also been working on my declaration to get healthier, particularly when it comes to eating local. Lots and lots of news on that front, but I'll have to come back and let you know about my discoveries soon. I'm out of energy for tonight! And aren't the Oscars on or something?

Remember Me?

Hello, blog readers. Do you need an introduction to remember me? I am the Lady of the Cough, She Who Cannot Get Rid of the Disease Within.

Really, I'm going on week four of this illness, have finished a round of antibiotics, and although I have more energy than I did a week ago, the cough won't go away.

A little mosaic of what I have been doing in my absence:


Top Left and Right—Chopping this up into five-gram bits for a swap; Bottom Left—Fixing this so Small Child 1 can get some use out of it before summer; Bottom Right—Working on fulfilling obligations on gift certificates I gave out at Christmastime.

A Knitter for Obama

I could have a job in the White House. Check this out.

Remember the Kevlar mittens? How about a Kevlar sweater vest for you, Mr. President? I'd even learn how to knit argyle for you, O.

If you're wondering what happened to the mittens...

Christmas Knitting in Review—Part Four

It seems only fitting that I finish the Christmas Knitting in Review series before Epiphany.

Small Child 1 attends school where a uniform is required. Her main school color is pine green. Since it's not so easy to find cardigans for little girls in this color, I decided to knit her a sweater. I picked this pattern. It was recommended by my LYS and is top down, which means no seaming. Whoo hoo!



Problem—The pattern is written in these sizes: 2-4, 6-8, and 10-12. Small Child 1 wears a size 5.

Hmmm.

Ravelry to the rescue! Leanne recommended knitting the pattern on a smaller needle. Smaller needle = smaller gauge = smaller sweater. Her sweaters turned out great!

And everything was going along smoothly until I got to the sleeves. I picked up the stitches that had been placed on scrap yarn. A little wonky, but that can be blocked out, right? And I started following the pattern.

BIG MISTAKE! Can you see where this is going?

Smaller needle size = smaller stitch gauge. Smaller stitch gauge = good. Smaller needle size = smaller row gauge. Smaller row gauge, when it comes to sleeves = bad.



I started decreasing according to the pattern, not thinking about the fact that a smaller gauge would result in more rows per inch. I had arrived at the number of stitches for the cuff about two inches up the forearm. I knew something wasn't right. But did I rip it back? Of course not. I kept going and finished that sleeve. And then I knit a second one exactly like it. Like the wonky stitches, I thought that I could just block it.

A few hours later I called the sister-in-law to talk to her about the cardi. I told her of my fear that the sleeves would be too tight. We decided that the best course of action would be to wait to finish the sweater until Small Child 1 had tried it on.


Yes, Sweet Pea, I know that your sweater still has strings on it. Why? Because your Auntie Kim is an IDIOT!

Just as feared, the forearms of the sleeves are too tight. If I could guarantee that Small Child 1 would not grow in the next year, I could probably get away with them. But she's gonna grow. We just know it. The only logical course of action is to fix the sleeves, decreasing based on the actual row gauge rather than the pattern instructions. I explained to Small Child 1 that I would bring the sweater home, fix it, and send it back to her through the mail so that she could wear it back to school in January.

And then I accidentally left the damned thing in DC.

NaKniMitMo

All the snow has melted. Really. Just as quickly as it came, it is gone, and believe me, the world was a much prettier place with all the snow. I wish it would snow, just enough to cover the grays and browns of a world that is asleep.

It's still cold, though. And my Christmas knitting is not finished. And I have some birthday knitting to do. And I still have not finished this project. Nor this project.

All of this leads to NaKniMitMo, or National Knitting Mittens Month. Carol of Mad for Knit started the movement, and not surprisingly, only a few days later a group was begun on Ravelry.

Mittens or fingerless mitts are acceptable for the KAL, and I will be knitting both. First up is a pair of mittens using Ann Budd's basic mitten pattern from The Knitter's Book of Handy Patterns. My gauge swatch:



The yarn is just lovely. It's Dream in Color Classy, and if you've never worked with it before, I highly recommend that you pick up a skein. Pricey but gorgeous.

I'm not going to make any promises or goals for the rest of NaKniMitMo, because we've seen what happens when I do that. Remember Socktoberfest? Suffice it to say, I have enough mittens to keep me busy for at least a month.

Favorite Things Friday—Blasted!

Mother Nature has totally blasted us with her wrath. Snow day! Snow day! Snow day! Do I have to tell you that one of my most favorite things in the world is a snow day? And thus we teachers begin winter break one day early here in Michigan. Ahhh... 17 straight days off. It's pretty glorious. It's even better because of my recent decision to hire the best plow man ever. Any time I come home to a plowed driveway, I want to marry the guy.

If you're from someplace warm and sunny, put on a sweater, because you might get cold just looking at these pictures.

A typical wintry day on my street, taken on November 30.


Today.


Snow is almost up to the threshold of my neighbor's door...

... and is higher than mine.

Here is what Scooter sees when he looks out the back door.


There is nothing to do but stay inside and knit. I am working on some feather and fan washcloths for Grandma for Christmas. This is one Christmas knit that I can discuss and show you, since there's not a snowball's chance in hell that she will be reading this. I'm not sure she even really knows what the Internet is.



I have finished the blue one and am about halfway through the yellow. Then I can wash and block them to open up the lace.

After that, I'll be continuing my work on Project #3 and Project #4.

I'm also scrapping the worsted weight mitered square blanket after knitting three squares, and I'm in the mood to do something with all these crazy leftovers.



I just need a break from the Christmas knitting, so I may play hooky from it this evening and start a striped scarf à la Brooklyntweed, using the remnants instead of Noro. It'll be crazy and probably unwearable, but who cares?

Four more days to participate in my KnittiBlogoversary giveaway! Stay warm!

Hooky

Sort of. Really, really needed a mental health day.

Worked on Project #4. Hmm... I wonder who it's for?



I used my Aqua Shell Stitch Markers from Tink Is Twinkling.



Although I'd rather knit with wood, knitting with metal needles goes much faster. Boy, these needles are slick!



Other good things about today:

1. It was sunny. This is no small thing. Sun is hard to come by during the Michigan winters. Here's proof positive.
   
2. I did some much-needed grocery shopping.
3. I received the two balls of Rowan Denim I needed to finish Project #3. Thank you, Wanderlust. (Ironically, they were shipped from DC... they will be returning home in a few weeks when I visit Small Children for Christmas.)
4. I found out that I may get to have my whole family together for Christmas this year. This would be the best Christmas present ever. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
5. I made Grandma's chicken noodle soup. The secret is pickling spices!
   

In Which Knitting Finally Kicks My Butt

I don't know who these Norwegians think they are, but knitting shouldn't be this hard.

Throughout these past ten and a half months of my knitting life, whenever I've been about to embark upon learning a new technique, I thought it would be hard. At first I thought purling would be hard. Ha. Then I thought increasing and decreasing would be hard—I just couldn't wrap my head around the idea that you could add or take away stitches. Knitting in the round, knitting on DPNs, knitting socks, knitting cables... I thought they all would be hard, but after doing them for a few hours I realized that none of them are as hard as I thought they would be.

Then I took this Selbu class. Well, before I took this Selbu class, I took another stranded mitten class to knit these mittens, and it just didn't seem that hard. That is, until I got home and realized that I had been knitting Kevlar. Really. I know that there are no vital organs in one's hands, but if the U.S. military or Secret Service ever finds a need to protect their paws, they should just have me knit them some mittens. My mitten is knit so tightly I'm pretty sure it could stop a bullet. I can barely get my hand into it. Wunderinstructor Janeen says this is common among first-time stranded knitters and "these things can be blocked out."

Will she or won't she be able to get her hand into the mitten?



Only with a very firm tug.

Scooter in the background, wanting to attack an evil urban squirrel that is taunting him through the window.

Back to the Selbu mittens. They are harder because the yarn is finer. They are harder because the pattern is more intricate. The pattern I am working, from Terri Shea's Selbuvotter: Biography of a Knitting Tradition:



And of course, I'm still contending with using both hands to knit, holding one color in each hand. Have I mentioned before that I'm very, very right-handed? My left hand is good for two things: holding stuff and typing. That's about it. I tried to throw a piece of candy with my left hand to a student in Spanish class the other day, and it veered way off course. Kids and I had a good laugh over it. Soy muy, muy diestra.

But I was doing well in Selbu class yesterday. I had learned a new cast-on and learned how to turn a hem so that you can't see the cast-on. Look... pretty.



I had knitted a pretty, lacy cuff. The lace pulled in the hem to make it look scalloped. Look... pretty.



And I had started the hand. When I got to the stranded part, Janeen directed me to knit the mitten inside out. That way, the strands would be a little looser and the inside circumference would be a little longer, sort of how the outside circumference of a track is longer than its inside circumference. Kevlar problem solved, right?

Right. Last night I came home from class and had a few more rows to knit as homework. I thought, "Let's see if the mitten is too hard to get over my hand." I turned it right side out, pulled it over my hand, and PERFECT! It's snug, but it's stretchy, so I didn't have to ease my hand in with a shoehorn like I do with the other mitten.

And that's when I noticed that something is rotten in state of Norway. Very, very rotten.

See the center of the chevron pattern of the cuff?



See the center stitch of the hand pattern?



DO YOU SEE THAT THEY DO NOT LINE UP?

The picture of the mittens in the Selbuvotter book, knit as they should be.



Do you think I might have noticed the not-lining-up part sooner had the mitten not been turned inside out while I was knitting it?

Does anyone know how to say "D'oh!" in Norwegian?

Favorite Things Friday—Neckwarmer

'Tis the season to cover your neck. From vampires roaming around this All Hallows' Eve? No, from the cold, silly!

I love Sarah Beckman's Mock-Cable Neckwarmer. It's a seriously underrated pattern—only ten projects on Ravelry, two of which are mine. I love it because it can be knit in just a few hours. I love it because it creates a squooshy neckwarmer without a lot of bulk. I love it because it LOOKS cabled, but isn't. And I love it because the pattern is easily memorized.

My two in-progress neckwarmers, just waiting for their buttons...





I think that the pattern looks better in a solid, because you can see the stitches so much better.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Conflicted

It seems, well, just plain wrong to be knitting this...



... when this is going to happen in just a few hours. But Russian baby's hat is coming along quite nicely.

Colors of hat = blue and gold. Gold, I say. NOT MAIZE!

For some game day fun, click here.

On the banks of the Red Cedar... there's a team that's known to all...

Irons in the Fire

I've done it again. Too many irons in the fire. A rundown of my current WIPs and where they stand...

I went to my mitten class today and learned stranded knitting. Not so bad with bulky weight yarn. Holding the second color in my left hand is still a little fiddly, but I'm quite proud of myself. I'm sure it'll be more difficult when I use a finer yarn for my Selbu class in a couple of weeks, but overall I'm pretty happy with how easy it was. I was really worried that I'd have a lot of trouble using my left hand.

Today in class I finished the cuff and the thumb gusset of the first mitten.



Janeen is a great teacher. She even brought us a "happy bag," a present to open when we got frustrated and needed a break. I didn't even need to open mine, so I opened it at the end. A pair of scissors, which is great because mine always disappear. I swear Scooter takes them and hides them.

Anyway, thanks to all of you who voted in my poll! As you can see, I stuck with the original colors.

A pair of fingerless mitts is well underway for a certain someone. I'm sure she can figure out who she is if she reads my blog. The button kinda sorta gives it away.


These two neckwarmers need to be finished... weaving in of ends, sewing on of buttons, washing and blocking. That sort of thing.


I started this little Yoda toy almost a week ago and haven't touched it since. (The picture below is from the pattern. I have about 2/3 of the head done and that's it.)


My Pundit Babies have also lay dormant since I started them. Hopefully I'll have my little boy and girl donkeys done by the election. I wanted to have them done sooner, to ride them around on my dashboard these past few weeks.


I participated in a swap to get some more sock yarns for my blanket.


And I'm organizing a similar one for worsted weight yarns.

I've been summoned by the staff at my school (actually, I volunteered) to knit a toddler-sized beanie in our school's colors. Our principal is adopting a little guy from Russia, and he needs some Panther gear. I need to swatch for that tonight!

Finally... I abandoned the idea of knitting the pair of Spey Valley socks for Socktoberfest. They were supposed to have been for my brother's birthday, which was Friday. Sorry, Joel. Maybe next year. On another note, it's freezing in my house and I would like to knit a pair of socks for myself. It's going to have to wait until I knock a few of the above projects off, though.

Newly acquired stash is tempting me, calling my name, saying "Cast me on! Make something out of me!"





All right. Enough blogging. I'd better get knitting.