Viva La Vacation!!!

Posted on May 11, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Today marks the beginning of 10 days of freedom from the big kid job!!! I have to take five consecutive business days once a year and since we have the new house I couldn’t think of a better time. I have a mini vacation to-do list:

1. Visit my best friend who also just bought a new house and is expecting her first baby later this year

2. Visit my college friends who had a baby 2 months ago and whom I have not yet visited (I’m a terrible friend)

3. Start Stashbustin #15 and work at least two color stripes

4. Finish my Snug baby sweater (Stashbustin’ #16)

5. Finish my Mud Season #2 sweater (Stashbustin’ #17)

6. Walk 2 miles a day with the puppies

7. Get back to my regular Mon/Wed/Sat classes at the Gym….I really miss my fitness ladies

8. Start the set up of my craft room….my very own craft room!!! (I don’t have all the necessary storage devices as we are bit tight in our budget and can’t afford them yet. But I need to do some cleaning and sorting before I get to putting away anyway)

I may or may not get all this done….but I like having goals that stretch me. Wish me luck!!!

FO Friday: Mud Season

Posted on May 10, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Stashbustin’ #14 is complete!!

I finished this in no time!! Ten days start to finish. It really helped mitigate my stress of late, lol.

I mentioned a few of my pattern alterations in my WIP Wednesday post. I really like this pattern. It was easy to follow and well constructed. It’s a bit snug…but that’s probably more due to my poor eating of late and not the pattern. I would definitely wear a tank or long sleeve tee underneath.

It still needs a good soak and blocking. But I haven’t unpacked far enough to find my Soak or blocking mats yet. I hope to get that done this weekend and take some photos of it on. It’s so pretty and soft I can’t wait! Neither could Chloe evidently…

I used four and a 1/3 skeins of yarn. I have 2 2/3 left and I have had Snug by Hinke in my queue for awhile. Me thinks my chocolate leftovers are going to make a Snug for my Stashbustin’ #16. I plan to cast on tonight!

I also may or may not have already cast on anotherone in the Vintage Chunky in teal for my Stashbustin’ #17….

Oh WIP-itis thy are a cruel mistress!!

Finally Stashbustin’ #15!!

Posted on May 9, 2013 by atangledyarn84

A decision has been made on Stashbustin’ #15!!!

My Billow is destined to be…..drum roll please…….Constant Baby Blanket!! Many many thanks to all the wonderful suggestions from blog land!!!

(Photos from Knitersland Ravelry page)

This would be my first project worked from the center out and I’m excited. I am probably going to work the initial portions on two sets of 16″ circulars versus the prescribed DPNs. I have not yet mastered DPNs and don’t have them in the correct size. I do however have the necessary circs.

I also may not use the seed stitch sections shown in the second photo above. I think I want the stockinette sections to continue to the garter border. I really want the texture of the thick/think Billow to shine. But I’ll have to see what happens after I start working with the yarn. Who knows?

I’m really excited about the ombre effect of this yarn. I will start with the lightest color in the middle, knit until I run out, and then switch colors. So as the blanket grows the “stripes” will get thinner and thinner to the darkest outer edge. What do you guys think?

I’m super excited to start this project this weekend. I still have TONS to do around the new house but there is ALWAYS time for knitting. Never mind my WIP basket has four projects in it, lol.

Happy Knitting!!!

WIP Wednesday: Mud Season

Posted on May 8, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Update on Stashbustin’ #14

Between knitting at the theater and being home sick Monday I have made very good progress on my Mud Saeson.

I deviated from the pattern a bit. The benefits of top down construction is being able to try it on. I tried it on before I started the 2×2 rib. Good thing too!! I realized the increases in the pattern weren’t enough to cover my Scandinavian hips and it was going to short on my torso.

So I added some extra increases. I worked four rounds stockinette, one increase round, four rounds stockinette, one increase round, and finally one last stockinette round before starting the ribbing. I also did a smidge more than the two inches of ribbing to get it to fall where I wanted on my hips/butt. It’s going to look fantastic with a long tank underneath now!

I just need to do the sleeves and then pick up and knit the neckline. I might not feel up to unpacking boxes with my cold…but I definitely can knit!

Happy Knitting!

Just Keep Swimming!

Posted on May 7, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I still feel like dog doo, but slightly less so this morning. I’m headed in to work. Here goes nothing! Green tea, honey, lemon, and DayQuil will be my best friends today.

I didn’t do squat yesterday but sleep, drink fluids, and knit a few rows on my Mud Season.

The pups took turns helping…

Just gotta follow Dory’s advice and just keep swimming!

Survival….sort of

Posted on May 6, 2013 by atangledyarn84

All theater performances are done, moving is complete (still have all the boxes to put away), and I have successfully caught some sort of sinus infection.

I feel like dog doody. I did the last two performances with a probable fever and a definite runny nose. I had to call sick into work this morning and I’m currently stationed in my bed with toilet paper for Kleenex and some OJ.

My posts might be a bit sparse this week. But I made it, sort of…

Thanks for all the support last week 🙂

Stashbustin’ #15…what to do?

Posted on May 4, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I finally settled on a couple of patterns for my Billow yarn. I got several of the same suggestion from my last post about what to make with this yarn. And that was to find a new pattern I had never used. So to Ravelry I went!

Through the recommendation of a fellow blogger, I checked out the Constant Square Baby Blanket by Tina Laiho.

(Photo from Tina Laiho Rav page)

An ombre pattern caught my eye as i was roaming in Ravelry, the Ombré tank!

It’s so pretty! I’d have to do some swatching and figuring to make sure I get the right outcome with substituting billow for the pattern suggested yarn. But a cotton tank for summer does have a certain appeal…

Any thoughts from the blog world on these two options? Am I crazy??

For now I must go and load all my worldly possessions into a truck and get to moving!!

FO Friday: Stylish Square Blanket

Posted on May 3, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Stashbustin’ #13 is complete!!

Please excuse the unwashed and unblocked photos. I finished this just in time to pack it in a box for our move. I LOVE Knit Picks Biggo, it’s soft and wooly but easy to care for. Big yarn on big needles always make this yarn fly by.

The golden color also helped me feel a little more spring like as it has snowed yet again in Kansas. It’s May now….we should be sweating our butts off!

This was a very elegant design with easy to follow instructions. I made one change, I worked a total of six rows and five columns instead of the recommended five and five. I had enough yarn so I just kept going. It was a stashbustin’ project after all!! My Rav notes are here.

I’m off to prepare for another theater performance and put my big girl undies and try hard pants on for our big move tomorrow! Wish me luck!!

Happy Knitting!

Stress Knitting and Falling

Posted on May 2, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I received a comment from another blogger, Knitigating Circumstances, about learning how to fall properly. Now we were speaking in context of learning to deal with errors and fixes in knitting. But I found it that it was very appropriate in my current circumstances, especially after my insanity rant yesterday. (Sorry about that btw)

My life is literally crazy right now and there is not a darn thing I can do to change it. I just need to let go and fall properly. The best way I know how to deal with stress is to knit. So this week I cast on my Mud Season sweater. The yarn is some lovely Berroco vintage chunky in Chocolate!

This is my Stashbustin #14 project. But I’m not sure it’s fair to call it that anymore as I swapped out my original real stash yarn in teal and purchased new the chocolate instead…but I’m not in the mood to be picky at this point.

However crazy my job, my house, or my theater stuff gets….I can always knit. It’s calming and familiar. And I get a pretty cool FO when I’m done provided I don’t knit at such a tight gauge that only an elf can wear the clothes. So here I am, attempting to fall properly….right into my knitting!

This is an old photo by now as I have already passed the divide for arms and working on the waist decreases. This pattern is fun, right at my skill level, and most of all beautiful. I knit pretty dsrn fast when stressed, lol. Just what I need!

Happy Knitting and may your week be going better than mine!!

Insanity

Posted on May 1, 2013 by atangledyarn84

All bets are off this week….

First, my show opens tonight for invited dress rehearsal. We are not in very good shape….one of the main characters cannot remember his lines or seem to stay in character. And the show runs almost 45 minutes longer than it should, not good. Oh and the director quit due to fighting amongst the board of directors. I have never been in a show that was in such a state right before we have an audience. We have five performances to get through between now and Sunday.

Second, my day job is crazy right now and I’m feeling a bit over utilized and taken advantage of. And it’s the beginning/end of month and is absolutely my busiest time. I need a vacation….but due to scheduling conflicts I can’t have time off when I want.

Thirdly, our landlord in our current rental house double booked this house. She promised it to the new renters May 1st and we didn’t plan on moving until May 11th. Totally her fault but see the problem? She is going to make it right with the new renters but we are trying to meet in the middle and trying to get ourselves out by this Sunday.

So in the next 5-6 days I have to do five live theater performances, pack the rest of our house. close out the books for month end at my job, and move into our new home. I am literally sick to my stomach right now. My whole life is shoved in boxes and I don’t even know where some of my knitting is….I really hope I survive this…

Hope to see you guys on the other side!!

My Tangled Yarn Knitting Adventures

Ramblings from an obsessed knitter

Monthly Archives: May 2013