Category Archives: WIPs

Conceding the Battle, But Not The War

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Stashbustin’ #15 is kicking my rear end. I can’t tell you how many times I have started and then frogged!

It’s a very straight forward pattern worked from the center out. But I dislike using dpns, so I opted to try magic loop at first. Oh my golly was it hard to keep track of where you were! Two attempts at this and I went fishing for my dpns…and after some trial and error on picking up dpns after a long time I got this:

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Pretty right? Only to realize that I was reading the pattern wrong! Grumble grumble grumble curse grumble grumble….

So I’m off to frog this again and start over. I will not let this blanket beat me!!

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!!!

WIP Wednesday: Snug

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Stashbustin’ #16 is almost complete!

I bound off the last edge last night as I was catching up on my DVR. I had to pull in a lamp this dark yarn really started to play with my eyes as I was trying to pick up and finish the crochet edge, lol. However, I love love love using the leftovers of my Berroco Vintage Chunky from my Mud Season. I haven’t found a yarn that Berroco makes that I haven’t liked yet. And it didn’t hurt that this project was chunky yarn on my big needles, lol.

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I didn’t exactly follow the directions to a tee….not that they weren’t very well written! Hinke did a great job of spelling things out and including lots of links to tutorials. I just kinda took her directions as suggestions, lol. I used a knitted on cast on instead of the crochet on waste yarn. I also cast off in pattern instead of a sewn method. I also accounted for three buttons instead of two. And finally I crocheted all the way from the left bottom corner, around the hood, and down to the right bottom corner.

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I still need to find the right buttons for this project. But I’m not in a rush. I think this little sweater is going to stay with me. It’s the partner to my Mud Season and hopefully I can bundle up a little one in this when the hubs and I decide to have kids.  And then mommy and baby can match. That means the buttons have to be special. Next up for this sweater is a good bath and blocking!!

Happy Knitting!!!

Vacation Update #2

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It’s Saturday morning and I have two days left….sigh. Sad to see it go so fast. But at least I made good progress on my list!

1. Visit my best friend who also just bought a new house and is expecting her first baby later this year. Had an amazing day with my bestie and her house is GORGEOUS. P.S. she loved the blanket.

2. Visit my college friends who had a baby 2 months ago and whom I have not yet visited (I’m a terrible friend) Baby S was adorable and I got to feed him his nighttime bottle 🙂

3. Start Stashbustin #15 and work at least two color stripes. This project is started but barely. I want to enjoy this one so I’m taking my time.

4. Finish my Snug baby sweater (Stashbustin’ #16). I have about 12 inches of work done but I got a couple of commission peices this week that had to take priority.

5. Finish my Mud Season #2 sweater (Stashbustin’ #17) Done and posted here!

6. Walk 2 miles a day with the puppies. We walked a little over a mile every other day. I’m calling this one a win.

7. Get back to my regular Mon/Wed/Sat classes at the Gym….I really miss my fitness ladies. I managed Monday, Wednesday, AND Saturday, woot!

8. Start the set up of my craft room….my very own craft room!!! Done see blog post here!

I’m a bit OCD and like lists. They keep me focused and organized. Not to mention help me get a TON done. Do you prefer lists or to fly by the seat of your pants?

Vacation Update

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On I’m on day four of vacation and thought I’d share an update of my “to-do” list:

1. Visit my best friend who also just bought a new house and is expecting her first baby later this year. Headed to see them tonight!

2. Visit my college friends who had a baby 2 months ago and whom I have not yet visited (I’m a terrible friend) Headed to spend today with her as soon as I get done blogging!! I’m super pumped but I have an hour and half drive in front of me….

3. Start Stashbustin #15 and work at least two color stripes. Not started yet.

4. Finish my Snug baby sweater (Stashbustin’ #16). Project is cast on but I only have 2 inches of completed work.

5. Finish my Mud Season #2 sweater (Stashbustin’ #17) Project is already off the needles, washed, and blocking as we speak!! So excited. This Mud Season turned out way better than the first. I should have photos by the end of the week 🙂

6. Walk 2 miles a day with the puppies. I figured out pretty quickly that the pups are not ready for 2 miles a day. So far now we are alternating walking 1 to 1/2 miles on even days and going to the local park for free play on the odd days. I’ll whip the pups into shape in no time! I have an app on my iPhone that is really helping me keep track of my workouts.

7. Get back to my regular Mon/Wed/Sat classes at the Gym….I really miss my fitness ladies. I did half a class on Saturday and the whole class on Monday. Don’t quite have my stamina back but it feels nice to be working out again.

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) This is a big project and I’m still formulating a plan. To show you what I’m dealing with…I’ll show you photos of the “before”. Not all the boxes pictured are craft stuff. This room kinda became the dumping ground as we setup the rest of the house.

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I have my work cut out for me. But that’s a project for Wednesday or Thursday. I’m off to spend the day with my best friend from high school.

Happy Tuesday.

Finally Stashbustin’ #15!!

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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!!!

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(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

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Update on Stashbustin’ #14

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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!

Stashbustin’ #15…what to do?

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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.

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(Photo from Tina Laiho Rav page)

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

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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!!

Stress Knitting and Falling

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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!

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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!

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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!!

Stashbustin’ #14: Mud Season

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Introducing Stashbustin’ #14, Mud Season by Elizabeth Smith!!

I pulled my Berroco Vintage Chunky from stash and started to swatch.

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Here is swatch A. I used the prescribed US 10 needles and did NOT get gauge…

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Ugh! I was shooting for 3.5 sts and 5 rows in 1″. I actually got 5 sts and 7 rows. So to the frog pond it went. I went down to US 9s.

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And tah dah! I get really damn close to gauge. I got 4 sts by 5 rows per 1″. I need to knit just a smudge tighter than normal on 9s. I need to give this swatch a bath and see how it does after a good blocking.

But I discovered something as I was working this swatch….I don’t like this colorway for this project. I’m a very pale woman and this is a very bright blue hue. This blue wants to be a shawl or cowl. Something that pops against my black peacoat or grey turtleneck. So I pinned a note about my swatch and gauge to the yarn and back to the tub it went.

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I may or may not have hopped on Webs and ordered enough skeins of the Chocolate colorway in Vintage Chunky…..sssh don’t tell my husband that I’m breaking my stashbustin’ project a bit.

Happy Knitting!

WIP Wednesday: Stylish Square Blanket

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Stashbustin’ #13update!!

I love bulky yarn in big needles. I feel like these projects practically fly off my needles. Just the knitting mojo I needed lately. I’m almost through my fifth hank. I will most definitely need to use six, but I have seven just in case.

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This Knit Picks Biggo is so super soft and squishy. The golden color way has really buoyed my mood this past week when it’s been pretty bleak outside. And Susan’s pattern is as beautiful as it is simple. Right yarn, right project, and right mood!

I almost guarantee this project to be done by the weekend! Stay tuned…

Happy Knitting!