Stashbustin’ #15 Update: Ombré Billow Blanket

Posted on June 17, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Stashbustin’ #15 update!!! My Ombre Billow Blanket is definitely coming along….

I’m on my second color change. I have completed Natural and Willow. Now I’m on to Cornmeal. This blanket just keeps growing and growing. I’ve had to add an extension cable to my Denise Interchangeables to accommodate all the stitches. This blanket has been living on my bedside table and has been my bedtime meditation knitting. The pattern is memorized now and just keeps going round and round and round.

This yarn is just SOOOO soft I can’t stop petting it. I can’t wait to see how it finishes up. The ombre is proving not to disappoint. But I admit I’ll be a little sad when it’s done because it’s a dream to work with. I love the thick/thin texture.

Happy Monday and Happy Knitting!!!

WIP Wednesday: Stashbustin’ #20

Posted on June 12, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I’ve been itching to make my first ever shawl. I had no less than 10 in my Ravelry queue…

Florelie by Katheryn C

Ridged Trianglar Shawl by Leslie Weber

Mara by Madelinetosh

Citron by Hillary Smith Callis

ZuZu’s Petals by Carina Spencer

Heartwarmer by Bley Hack

Lace Shawl by Sharon Miller

Cottonista Triangle Shawl by Franziska Collins

Great Divide Shawl by Michele Brown

Spiral Staircase Shawl by LizAnn Petch

And the winner was…….Spiral Staircase Shawl for my Stashbustin’ #20 project. I was attracted the hitchhiker look of the teeth and the simple garter body. I think baby steps were in order on my first shawl, lol. I made it through the first few teeth over the past weekend!

I’m using some leftover Berroco Vintage DK in deep red that I had from my Stockinette Shrug. I’m working on size 5 US metal circular needles. This has made for great TV knitting even if the needles are a bit slippery. I can’t decide if I’m going to stop at 15 teeth as the pattern is written or add a few extra. Just have to try it on when I get there!

What is your favorite shawl pattern?

Sweater 911

Posted on June 8, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I was sooo happy to finish my Shalom Cardigan (Stashbustin #18) that I snapped a few quick photos with my iPhone….

I was so happy and excited! It fit great and I had the perfect button for it….and then I found them! Did anyone notice the two glaring mistakes in my sweater above? Here is one of them….

I totally messed up the sweater edge/ribbing. I know exactly what I did, I was on a purl row and purled row all the way across…sigh. This happened in two obvious places. I didn’t even notice until I was ALL the way done and bound off and washed/blocked.

After much brainstorming (drinking a little wine) and consulting of the online tutorials and blogs, I have settled on a solution. I have lots of yarn left over. So I am going to cut a small length and with a tapestry needle sew over the stockinette stitch to create an artificial garter ridge. So that is my mission today is to fix these oops.

Wish me luck! I hope to have a success story to share with you later….fingers crossed!!

WIP Wednesday: Shalom Cardigan

Posted on June 5, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Stashbustin’ #18 update!

Here is a shot from the front…

And the back….

I’m almost done with my Shalom Cardigan! This was an extremely quick knit (once I started knitting monogamously on it). I’m at the end of the pattern (sans garter border) as it’s written. It’s still a bit short on me and I have yarn enough to keep going. So I think I am going to add at least one more increase pattern repeat if not two to get the length past my hips. Then it’s just the garter border, a good wash, block, and dry then viola! I’m done! This might even make FO Friday….fingers crossed!

What’s on your WIP list this week? Anything exciting?

Happy Knitting!

WIP Wednesday: Its Blanket Fever

Posted on May 29, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I’ve made fairly good progress on my Billow Blanket or Stashbustin’ #15. The yarn is a DREAM to work worth. It’s silky soft cottony goodness is just so luscious under my fingers. And the thick to thin texture is displayed nicely in the stockinette stitch.

I’m on my second color stripe (of six) and realizing this is going to be ONE BIG BLANKET. I’m not going to fuss over that right now. I’m just enjoying the pattern and the yarn and will see where the knitting leads me. This has been my go-to knitting on the couch at night while I watch TV or help the husband with college algebra.

Here is even better progress on Aunt Martha’s Prayer Blanket (I need to assign this a Stashbustin’ number as I’m using Carron Simply Soft from my stash). This easy pattern is a dream to memorize and I can seamlessly move between the two blankets as it doesn’t matter what row or stitch count I’m on. This blanket is smaller yarn and needles and knitting at a finer gauge. I’m finding the neat even stitches to be very soothing. This project lives in my travel bag I take to work for lunches and breaks. The one jarring note is the color change…

This is a horrible iPhone photo I took last night. But it give you the idea. I started with a dusty pink color and transitioned to a bright pink. In skein form the colors looked much better in this order but now that they are in knit form they look very different. I simply cannot decide if it bothers me. On one hand it’s very kooky just like Aunt Martha. On the other hand it’s NOTHING like me and I’m the one stuck staring at it as I knit. I still have a light baby pink that I’m planning to finish the outside with. Maybe that will make it better?

I’m very far along and would hate to frog it. And I know sometimes my OCD gets the better of me at times like this. Decisions….decisions

Happy Knitting

Dealing With Tragedy

Posted on May 27, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I have been thinking about writing this post for several days. By now everyone has seen the awful destruction in Moore, OK. I have a very dear 78 year old great aunt that lived smack dab in the middle of Moore.

I got the phone call last Monday while I was at the gym from my father that her house had been hit but we didn’t know where she was or how she was. I flew home and switched on the news. At that point I couldn’t even imagine how she could survive that destruction. So I started knitting. I pulled three skeins of Carron Simply Soft in shades of pink and cast on another Constant Baby Blanket. I had the pattern memorized from my Stashbustin’ #15 project.

And so I knit and worried. After five long hours we learned that her neighbors had pulled her and her yorkie from the rubble of her home. Her home was literally at ground zero and was hit by the middle of the funnel. Her home is flat and she had no less than five cars on or in her house. She was taken to a hospital and treated for lacerations and shock.

But she was going to be ok. Thanks to the amazing 15 minute warning she had time to take cover in a closet. (Fifteen minutes is amazing in tornado time for those who don’t live in the Midwest). There is absolutely no reason other than the grace of God that she is still with us.

I’m terribly afraid of tornados. I have been far to close to far too many. And I struggled to reconcile my fear, grief for the loss of life, and joy that Aunt Martha and Hallie (the yorkie) were ok. So I’m just going to keep praying and knitting. This blanket has moved to the front of my projects and I have named it Aunt Martha’s Prayer Blanket. I hope to finish it and send to her in her new home, wherever that turns out to be. She lost so many keepsakes and antiques. My relatives helped her salvage what they could and managed to save her a few truckloads of items.

Stitch by stitch I will knit all the love and prayer I can into this blanket for her. It calms my fears and hopefully will give her some comfort. She has survived so much in her life that I hope I have her strength one day.

The darkest pink is in the middle and will fade to a light pink. It may seem dark in the beginning but with love and support it will get better.

Sorry for the sappy post but I needed to write it down to help me process it. I now return you to regularly scheduled knitting posts!!!

Happy Knitting!

Stashbustin’ #18: Shalom Cardigan

Posted on May 25, 2013 by atangledyarn84

When I was organizing my craft space vi found five hanks of some Berroco Vintage Chunky in purple. I made my last two sweaters, Mud Season #1 and Mud Season #2, from this yarn. I love this yarn! It’s wool blend that’s soft but yet easy care. It knits up beautifully and who doesn’t love chunky projects?

I have settled on my next stash buster: Shalom Cardigan by Meghan McFarlane!

(Photo from Meghan’s Ravelry page)

I’m terribly excited! And thanks to the tips on the pattern page I’m going to alter this a bit to fit my bust size by simply making the garter border a few stitches bigger. I’ve also been a good girl and swatches for gauge.

I had to go down to 10 1/2 US needles to get gauge on my unblocked swatch. I’m probably not going to wash or block this swatch as I didn’t get any difference in my last two Vintage Chunky swatches. And I’m out of Soak and need a trip to a yarn store, lol.

It’s a three day weekend for me thanks to Memorial Day. I’m hoping to give this sweater some attention this weekend. But I have several other WIPs and a test knit for a new pattern by a fellow blogger. I’m also excited about this test knit, it’s completely adorable!!! And the hubs and I have several projects in our new house. Not to mention I might need to make a trip to the yarn store…hehehe. I’m sure I can get it all done right?

Happy Knitting!!

Conceding the Battle, But Not The War

Posted on May 23, 2013 by atangledyarn84

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:

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

Posted on May 22, 2013 by atangledyarn84

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.

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.

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

Posted on May 18, 2013 by atangledyarn84

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?

My Tangled Yarn Knitting Adventures

Ramblings from an obsessed knitter

Category Archives: WIPs