Category Archives: WIPs

Sleeve Proportions

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Another WIP that saw some decent progress during the trip to my parents. I packed Jellybean’s Mackenzie 5-ply sweater and finished one sleeve. The new short circular needle was just the trick to reduce laddering and make the sleeve zoom.

Except for one thing that didn’t occur to me until I was completely done with sleeve number one. IT’S HUGE!! I mean like completely and totally ginormous.

That’s my adult 34 year old hand sticking out the end of my 4 year old’s sweater. I had Jellybean slip this on as well. The length was bang on and the fit in the sleeve cap was nice….the rest of the sleeve was just ludicrous.

I sat patiently in the winter sunlight and put my needle back in just past the sleeve cap where the arm started and RIIIIIPPPED back a whole sleeve. Based on some fussing around when Jellybean was wearing this I need to reduce the stitch count by about 1/3 to just under 1/2 over the course of the arm.

My plan is to get some locking stitch markers, work out the number of decreases against the finished length that works on Jellybean and just taper the snot out of this puppy. Using the locking stitch markers as a guide to help me re-create what I did on the second sleeve. I don’t know if this is a pattern feature or problem. I am making the 7 year old sized pattern to fit my larger than average 4 year old. But these sleeves had 70+ stitches….that seems excessive for even a 7 year old!

This will need a tiny time out so I can pout before picking this back up again. The silver lining? With all the extra decreases I won’t have to work as many stitches this time and it should go faster!

Happy Knitting!!

This Might Be Insane

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I’m INSANELY close to finishing my Helping Hippos Vanilla Socks. And last weekend we spent some time at my parent’s house….which meant BABYSITTING! I’m also trying to up my daily step count for health initiative at work. So I decided to see if I could multitask!

I did managed to stay upright and add some decent leg length to my sock. Lots of people walk and knit, so why would a treadmill be different. Now, I don’t know that I would do this all the time as this particular treadmill is a little finicky. But it was an excellent use of my time on a cold winter morning when neither PB or Jellybean were glued to my hip.

What is the best thing you have ever multi-tasked while knitting??

More Conference Knitting

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A couple of weeks ago I attended another professional development conference. (If you haven’t figured it out I have to rack up a ton of CPE hours for my professional certifications each and every year.) This conference was held in a lovely event center that even had a good mother’s room for breastfeeding moms! But the topics weren’t exactly targeted towards this municipal governmental employee. And I was still fighting a terrible cough from the upper respiratory bug that went around my house.

So basically I was bored and miserable. Thank goodness I packed knitting!! I pulled my Mood Indigo sockhead slouch hat out because it was the easiest no-look auto pilot knitting I could lay my hands on. I added maybe 2.5 inches to the brim? This is a DK weight modification to the traditional sock weight sockhead slouch. I probably could have/should have gotten farther but I even had trouble concentrating on ribbing.

But progress is progress! I think I have roughly another inch to go and then it’s stockinette for days! I’m really liking how the colors are spreading out and almost striping? And the cashmere content in the yarn doesn’t hurt either. It’s just about the right kind of meditative knit!

Happy Knitting!!

Carrot Knitting

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At the moment within easy walking distance I have one adult sweater, one child sweater, a frogged shawl, a really close to be done pair of socks, a DK hat and the yarn to start another scrap blanket. I really could focus and finish the socks and child’s sweater soooo easily but my mojo for them isn’t there. All I REALLY want to knit right now is my memory blanket.

I finished the column I had started this summer. My blanket is now 13 squares wide by 11 rows long. It’s a nice one person lap blanket size now. I think I want to add two more columns in width and see how happy I am with that size. This for whatever reason has been balm for my tired mom soul that has battled pink eye, cold viruses, and rotovirus all since Christmas. It’s just so pretty and I love adding more and more color.

My knitter brain wants to clean up my WIP pile and have those FOs in my hot little hands. But my tired mom soul just can’t quite manage that, especially when she tells me to go to sleep at 8:30 pm right after the kids. I may make a deal with myself….knit on my WIPs for 30 min and then 30 mins on my blanket. Just to make my two halves happy. I mean a little carrot knitting didn’t hurt anyone right?

P.S. What you can’t see? I took this to work for a TWO HOUR long webex meeting and wove in all my ends. The back of this thing is pristine!

Happy Knitting!!

Mackenzie Sleeves

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I am working PB’s Mackenzie 5-ply on US 5 needles. And I also need small circumference US 5 needles for my Northeasterly blanket. So I may have had to procure some nine inch circular in US 5. Luckily, Chia Goo has my back and my needles arrived toot suite.

I secured the body the best I could and started sleeve number one. There are *almost* too many stitches for the nine inch circ and I need to watch stitches falling off when I put this back in the bag. But I like the fact that I’m not getting the ladders I tend to have when I work on DPNs. I’ve completed the first decrease section and now it’s straight knitting for 10 inches of sleeves. So here’s hoping I don’t get slogged down on sleeve island!

Bonus feature? I can’t start my blanket until I finish the sleeves. So talk about motivating factors!

Happy Knitting!!

That Niggling Feeling

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I’d like to think I’m a pretty good knitter. But mom brain and sleep deprivation on are real things. I cast on my Christmas Eve cast on and merrily knit along. Isn’t the yarn pretty?

I had this niggling feeling that this shawl was turning into a funny shape. It was getting very wide very fast. But I kept knitting anyway trying to see if I could finish the first mini. Well I stopped and actually re-read the pattern. I missed ONE SMALL TINY DIRECTION for the end of the right side row. One solitary K2tog that makes a HUGE difference.

So this whole tiny shawl is headed to the frog pond. The yarn is cashmere based so I don’t mind working again with it. And Jellybean really really likes helping me frog things. He thinks its soooo cool to watch the stitches come out. I just feel like a little silly for not being able to follow what is super simple directions. Oh well, at least I listened to my inner knitter before this go to much farther!

Happy Knitting!!

Checking Fit

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After three days of some pretty monogamous sweater knitting I have a good jump on my Charlotte Winter. I thought it would be a great idea to check the fit before I got too much farther.

I really think it’s not too bad! I mean the bottom is still bunched up on needles. But the yoke fits nicely and there is not too much ease in the armpits that I can tell so far. And it should button nicely.

Not to mention the color work turned out pretty spiffy! I think I may pause on the body and work the sleeves to maximize yarn usage. I don’t think I’m going to run out but I may want to lengthen the body if I have enough yarn. Plus turning the sleeves might be easier without a fully body of bulky sweater weighing me down.

I’m torn between working on this sweater and finishing PB’s sweater. Both are kind of ready for sleeve island. It’s kind of a toss up, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Charlotte Winter Progress Day Three

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I managed to squeeze in a third day’s worth of knitting over my Christmas vacation. On Day three I managed to finish the raglan, separate for sleeves and start the body with A-line shaping.

Given my post baby #2 enhanced waste line I opted for an a-line shape to provide better coverage for the back 40. I think at this point I have used two full balls of the grey yarn and starting the third. I have six total. And I haven’t slipped this one to check fit either.

Here is a gratuitous shot of car knitting in my new favorite pajama leggings. It was a bright and cold trip home from Christmas with snoozing dogs and babies in the back. A pretty darn good trip except for the PB had a blow out in her car seat in the last 5 min of the drive. I think she just wanted to give me a belated Christmas present, lol.

Happy Knitting!

Charlotte Winter Sweater Progress Day Two

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My Charlotte Winter was my Christmas vacation progress. I seized the opportunity of grandparent and auntie baby sitting time to see how far I could knit on a bulky sweater project.

Here is my Day Two progress:

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I managed to complete all the garter ridge stripes and I’m finishing the raglan increases. It’s getting to be a lot of stitches on the needles at this point.  But man it was nice to have some soothing garter stitches to watch my kids play and catch up on some Christmas movies.

I did take some time here to bury some of the ends for the color changes in the yoke. I didn’t trim them because I want to block them first. But it really helped to make this project less messy and more manageable. I have one more day’s worth of progress to show you before I had to go back to real life.

Happy Knitting!!

Even Medical Professionals Craft

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The germs continue in this house. I guess that’s what we get for having two kids in daycare plus working in germy offices during cold and flu season.  I took my knitting with me to visit an urgent care clinic. And guess what? My physician was a crafter!

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She spotted my knitting and correctly identified it as socks (my second Helping Hippo Socks)! Turns out she crochets and we swapped crafting stories as she did my exam. Turns out we are all just fighting an upper respiratory virus and it just has to run its course with fluids and rest. But oy vey….so much coughing in my house right now!

Happy Knitting and stay well my friends!