Progress

Well, over the past few months, I have been focusing most of my non-knitting time on my podcast, and less time over here on my regular blog.  Part of me feels that if I talk about something here, that means it'll be redundant to talk about it again on the podcast and vice versa.  The other part of me told that part to shush! and here I am.

On last week's episode, I laid out several mini-deadlines within a few of my WIPs to keep myself on track.  As of today, it's looking good so far!

Dark & Stormy sweater:

Knit with Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage (Short Skeins - 190 yds/skein instead of 200) in the Night Bloom colorway
US 7 needle

Short Term Goals: Finish bottom ribbing by this weekend. Finish sleeves by end of June.  Finish the rest of the sweater (collar/button band) by June 15th
Long Term Goal: Finish sweater by June 15th
Reality: Just finished binding off the ribbing before sitting down to the computer.

I may switch the sleeves and the collar order.  The pattern calls for working on the collar/button band next and the sleeves last. Initially, I was going to do the sleeves next since I knew those would be the challenge for me since they are the more boring parts.  However, after thinking about it, I am going to do the button band/collar first to see how much yarn I have left.  Reading through others' project pages on Ravelry, the button band and collar eat up a lot of yarn since they are so wide.  I still have plenty of yarn left, but I also want to have longer sleeves, so this way I'll be able to just divide the remaining yarn left and knit the sleeves from what is left.


Granny square blanket: (surprise for Carlos - good thing he's occupied with the Portugal/Netherlands game of the UEFA Championship and not looking at the computer so I can post the photo)
Crocheted with Knit Picks Wool of the Andes
G/4.00 crochet hook

Short Term Goal: At least 12 squares per week.  I was at 130 as of last Sunday
Long Term Goal: Finish squares by end of August
Long Term Goal: Finish seaming by September 25th
Reality: Completed 10 squares this week and the afternoon is still young - 140 complete, 112 more to go.


(and why, yes, that is an original NES hooked up to the TV)


Not too shabby if I do say so myself.  Deadline knitting/crocheting and I do not normally play well together.  That seems to be a general theme over the last several years.  Taking smaller bites appears to be working so far.  Let's see how long that lasts!  Happy knitting!

It's Me! Mario!!

Alert the authorities - Jen posted two days in a row! It's going to snow! Oh wait, it is already snowing. A perfect setting for some crafting. The husband is at work, so I figured it'd be a good time to dig out his hibernating Mario Blanket to get it back into the rotation. It's a surprise and I have the chart written out in code on graph paper so he couldn't figure it out. I've only worked on the little seaming I've done when he's not around or when he's in the other room playing video games. Here's my progress so far:



Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Worsted in Wonderland Heather, Red, Chestnut, Daffodil, Oyster Heather.
G/6 4.25mm Crochet Hook

Ideally, I'd like to finish by his birthday in May. I'll need lots of time to seam the 252 squares together, so I figure I should have the squares done by mid-April at the latest. That gives me 12 weeks to crochet 123 more squares. Totally do-able (so I say now...)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Quick update

I am still in the midst of exams, papers, and other exciting end of the year stuff, but I decided that I'd take a quick break to do a little update. Despite the tight deadlines for papers, etc I have been able to knit quite a bit, and it has helped me to keep my sanity. Unfortunately though, I do not have the camera up in Boston with me. That just means there will be a monsoon of pictures once I get back home (which is VERY soon :-D). For now here is an unillustrated list of what I have been up to:

Wednesday I cast on the May Day socks for the Sockamania Club KAL, turned the heel on Friday and am about 2" into the foot already. Very fun and fast socks to knit. I chose Cherry Tree Hill supersock in Blues/Greens and US 2 needles.

The Pink Ribbon Sock finally has a heel flap and as soon as finals are over I will turn the heel. The foot should go rather quickly since it is straight stockinette.

The Jaywalkers may have to be frogged. I turned the heel and am well into the foot. I tried them on last weekend while I was home and they are a bit tight. An increase in the needle size should be enough to do the trick to make them fit.

I've been working on the Project Linus blanket when I can and am almost at the halfway point.

Carlos had given me his Borders rewards card and a 30% off coupon that was good for this weekend. Yesterday I went to hopefully pick up one or two of the books on my Amazon Wish List. I wrote down my top 5 titles, all of which were there last weekend when we went, none of which were still there yesterday. How sad! I did end up picking up One Skein Wonders, which was still on my list, just not in the top 5. Which is still OK because Amazon has most of them on sale with free shipping to boot, so it probably would be cheaper to buy from there anyway. I also picked up the HUGE Leisure Arts book Now You're Knitting from the bargain books section. It has 165 project patterns and 99 stitch patterns. None of the sweaters are really my style, but there are quite a few blanket patterns that piqued my interest -- well worth the $8.

Quick Update

The end of the semester is quickly approaching, which means knitting time has been limited severely. I am hoping to catch up during the long weekend. Monday is the Boston Marathon and I was thinking about having a little knitting marathon of my own during that time. If the weather isn't as terrible as they predict, I might even venture out to catch some of it in person. We shall see.

As for what I am working on, I have my 4 Socks a Season KAL socks, which are the Pink Ribbon Socks knit with Lorna's Laces Pink Flamingo. This pattern is probably more suited for a solid or slightly variegated yarn, but I love the way that it is coming out so far:



In the last week, I made progress on the Project Linus blanket. This is my "I don't have to pay close attention" project that I pick up if I'm on the phone (yay for hands-free ear piece) or watching TV. It is knit in garter stitch on a diagonal, with a YO toward the beginning of each row, creating a decorative eyelet border as well as increasing the size.



Also, I have my Jaywalkers OTN, but I have not worked on them much in the last couple weeks. They will definitely move to the rotation this weekend.

And as if that weren't enough I have a couple other projects that I'm working on, but they are going to be gifts and I do not want to ruin the surprise.

Jaywalkers

I cast on the Jaywalkers on Monday using US1 DPNs and Cherry Tree Hill supersock in "brights". So far the sock is knitting up fast and going well. The superwash merino is very soft and I love working with it!

Take a look!

Yarn Diet

Okay, I am jumping on the yarn diet bandwagon that I have been hearing so much about on the forums and podcasts. With exceptions for 2 projects that I already began planning, I will not be purchasing anymore yarn for the time being. On the side bar, I've even added a count "up" since I last purchased yarn. Yes folks, I bought more yarn yesterday... sad, but true. Well sad for my wallet. Happy for me. As a student, I keep to a pretty tight budget and I have yet to over-extend myself, but I feel that in the past couple months I've gone a little yarn-crazy and it's time to slow down a bit.

I think this realization especially hit today when I was updating my Excel sheet with my new purchases. Looking through it, I noticed yarn that I completely forgot I had. Most of my yarn is back at my parents' house, so it's literally "out of sight, out of mind."

In my WIP's news, I am 1/2 done with the second mitten of the pair for my cousin; I have less than 2 inches to go before shaping the toe of the second sock of my first pair; I am 4/5 done with the top-secret project; and I haven't picked up Carlos's lime green hat yet this weekend. I think that will be moving up in the rotation tomorrow.

Friday I started knitting a pair of Jaywalkers with the CTH I picked up from Windsor Button on Wednesday; however, after about an inch of the ribbed cuff I dropped a stitch and became very impatient trying to remedy the relatively simple mistake. Needless to say, I frogged it. Then when I tried to re-cast on I somehow miscounted or dropped a stitch again. Too frustrated to start for a third time, I rolled up the yarn, zipped up the ziploc bag it is in, and put it away until I finish one or more of the above projects. I think it was a sign from the knitting powers-that-be that I had too many OTN's and not enough FO's for the year (case in point, see the graphic to the right). And they are correct. I should have listened when I spent hours untangling the CTH after a debacle trying to wind it... But that is another story for another day.

New Technique - Three Needle Bind off

I finished one of my cousin's mittens the other day and learned the three-needle bind off to close off the top of the mitten. This is my sixth or seventh pair of mittens and I have always decreased the top and then I would thread the tail through the remaining stitches to draw closed that way. I must say that I really like the way the three needle bind-off looks on the finished mitten. Take a look:





It may also have to do with the difference in the way that the top was decreased as well. The pattern I had used in the past decreased something like: "K4 K2tog" all the way around for 4 rounds and then "K2 K2tog" for two more rounds, etc. The decrease for these mittens was something like this (I do not have my pattern in front of me so this is all from memory): K1, K2tog, K(x number of stitches), K1, SSK, K1, K2tog, K(x number of stitches), K1, SSK. The first way creates a rounded top whereas the second method creates a more angled look. Compare with my other recent mittens in a prior post here.

I used my trusty Knitting Answer book with me to help me with the three needle bind-off, but if you'd like a video demonstration, be sure to check out Knittinghelp.com. To do this for the mitten, I turned the mitten inside out so that the right sides were facing.

Knitting Realization and Stash Management

Even though I had plenty of time this weekend, I have had a hard time finishing these projects. I think it may have something to do with the fact that until Easter, the only yarn I have with me here in Boston is the yarn for my blue socks, the gift, my cousin's mittens, and Carlos's lime green hat. As you can see from my new progress bars, I am not too far from completing each of these four projects. In reality, I am probably closer to finishing than I represented, but due to my dislike of weaving in the ends, sewing seams, and basically any tedious finishing technique, I have left a greater percentage toward those tasks. Anyway, once those few projects are finished, I have no other yarn here with me and will be greatly tempted to buy more. So if I drag out these projects, I can have something to knit for the next 17 days without spending more money on yarn.

It's taken a great deal of discipline, but I am trying really hard to keep my yarn-buying to a minimum. Every time I mention I want to buy something, Carlos asks me "Do you want it? Do you need it? Do you love it?" and if I can answer all three in the affirmative, then I should buy it. If even one answer is a "no", then I shouldn't buy it. When it comes to yarn, I can always answer the want it and love it with a resounding YES! But the need it question - that's a bit iffy, especially if I have comparable yarn already in my collection.

Particularly sock yarn. I have several sock patterns bookmarked, including the ever-popular Jaywalkers by Grumperina, these winding cable socks from Interweave Knits, and many others. I don't have the yarn here to do these projects. I do, however, have several skeins/hanks/balls of yarn for these projects at home in Connecticut and do not need to buy more.

Okay, so I am a bad blogger... No pictures just yet. Saturday and Sunday I did not have a chance to photograph my knitting - But I did organize and inventory my yarn stash!. So I figured I'd bring the camera with me back to Boston. Of course when I opened the bag, I realized that I did not have the USB cord to transfer the pictures to the computer. I did take a bunch, but unless they are magic jpegs that can teleport their way from the memory card to my hard drive, my blog will have to be boring for another week until I go home on March 1. Yet another thing to add to the list of things Jen has forgotten this week. (that's a whole other story - I won't bore you with the details...)

In knitting news, I've turned the heel on my first sock and am about an inch and a half into the foot. So far so good. While decreasing the gusset I ran into a few issues. Usually when I knit on DPN's I carry one stitch from the previous needle to the next one as to prevent any "ladders" or gaps between the end stitches on the needles. This pattern specifies the number of stitches for each DPN and I kept getting ladders and a few times I dropped stitches. After a few rounds of getting frustrated, I decided to do things my way. I marked off the beginning of the round with one color marker and used other colors to mark off the end of each needle. Now I can carry the stitches around and still keep track -- the first 13 sts after the beginning marker are "needle 1"; the next 33 are "needle 2" and the last 14 are needle 3. As long as I know which sts are which, does it really matter if they are physically on one needle? Didn't think so. I know this sounds a little confusing. If I had a cord for my camera I could show you a picture...

I promise to be boring no more!

Ladies and gents, your wait is almost over. The batteries for the digital camera are charging and by tomorrow morning I will be able to capture my wonderful knitting creations to post here for the world to see.

In other knitting news, this past Tuesday before the "big storm" hit New England, I picked up some sock yarn and itty bitty needles so I could venture into the world of socks! Yay! So far it has been going extremely well. I only ripped it out once (knock on wood) and that was the first attempt and about 10 stitches into the first row. The smaller gauge yarn and tiny needles have taken time to get used to. I probably should have bought the shorter double-pointed, but out of force of habit and because of my sheer excitement, I wasn't thinking and bought my usual 7" bamboo DPNs. Ah well, I've gotten used to them, so it's not too terrible. Of all the things that knitting has taught me over the last 17 months, patience, persistence, and adaptation have been the three most important.

Also, I have joined the Knitter's Review Forum. I highly recommend it or something similar for anyone who knits - from beginner to the most advanced. Sharing your ideas and experiences with fellow knitters is an invaluable intangible tool to add to your knitting bag; not only can you help others, but more importantly you might learn a thing or two!

Although, I must confess... if I had spent half as much time knitting as I have spent at the computer this week, I might have had at least one of the 6 or 7 projects done that I have on my needles... Maybe that revelation is a sign that I should stop posting and get back to my knitting a bit before bedtime. Good night all!

I dropped a stitch or two...

Well, I did not have as much time to update my blog over the Christmas break. In fact, I had NO time to do it. Working, the holidays, spending time with my family, hanging out with Carlos, learning my new computer, and relaxing took up most of my time while I was home. I did, however, finish Carlos's mittens in time to give them to him on Christmas Day. He loved them, although they ended up being a little too big. :-( I made them from a pattern that was for a Men's medium, but I guess his hands are smaller than that. I also started and finished a pair of mittens for my little brother. These are bright orange and blue -- NY Mets colors. And winter has FINALLY arrived so everyone can enjoy their newly knitted goods.

I arrived back in Boston January 7th and in that time I've started three different projects. One of them is a long term project and the other two are scarves and shouldn't take too much longer. One of the scarves involves a rather complicated cable pattern, so it's taken me a little longer than expected. When I go home for Presidents' Day weekend, I'll be sure to try and take pictures of all my projects to share. Until then, it's back to my knitting and my studying.

Christmas Time is here

Since Christmas is one week away, I thought I'd link a few cute Christmas-y projects. I wish I had the time (and yarn) to complete some of them, but alas, I still have a bunch of projects to finish if I want them to be Christmas gifts in a week.

Knitted Santa Mittens - very cute children's gloves with a Santa face. Just FYI, there is music on this site, so if you're at work or in class, make sure your volume is turned down so you don't get caught...

Santa Mittens - these are red gloves with a white cuff. They look very warm and soft! Also check out the site for links to the matching hat and gloves. Note - this site is Lion Brand Yarn's pattern site and you may have to register with the site to view the pattern; but don't worry - it's FREE!

Free Knitting Pattern Central's listing of Christmas patterns -- there are TONS!

If only I didn't have a final exam and paper due Wednesday and then work starting on Thursday -- I'd spend the whole rest of the week knitting! Enjoy

One down, one to go!

I finished one of the mittens that I will be putting in Carlos's stocking for Christmas! :-) If I had a digital camera here, I'd post a picture, but I suppose you'll have to wait until I go home next week. How knows, maybe by then I'll have them both done and you'll get to see a pair! Not that the mittens are anything spectacular -- just your basic stockinette stitch mitten in lime green. Yes, I said lime green. Last year I had made Carlos a multi-colored scarf with shades of bright blues and greens (one strand of yarn that is multi-colored - you know what I'm talking about, right?). And now he wanted mittens in the lime green color that is in the scarf. He did make a comment today that I should hurry up and finish them because he really needs them in this balmy 50 degree weather we've been having in the Northeast. I told him that I made a deal with Mother Nature to hold off on the cold until they were finished ;-)

And on a different note, don't think that this multiple postings per day will last long. Keep in mind that right now my blog is a novelty and I'm just starting out.