A New Balance

Posted on by
14

As most of you have noticed….I’m a pretty voracious knitter. I have a perpetual case of “KNIT ALL THE THINGS” coupled with occasional start-itis. This bodes well for me as a blogger. But this can become at odds with the rest of my life.

Recently I have found my stress level too high and my health too low. It has gotten so bad I haven’t knit anything IN DAYS! I literally lost my knitting mojo along with my mojo for pretty much everything else. So in the efforts I’m looking for a new balance. I’m striving to find a dietary mix that better suits my body, I am trying to get my butt off the couch and moving a little more, and not put so much pressure on my knitting/blogging.

What does this mean for you dear readers? Well I might not be so diligent about posting every day. Never fear, my blog isn’t going anywhere and neither am I. I just need to take my speed down a notch or seven. So you will continue to see my original posts as I have them and I hope to give some shout outs on my ‘off’ days to some other awesome bloggers and posts for your viewing pleasure.

Thank you for your patience and I hope you stick around!

A Little Calorimetry in My Life

Posted on by
9

Happy Presidents Day!

I work at a financial institution which means I get the day off! So I say MORE KNITTING!! I have been petting the skein of hand spun superwash BFL I picked up awhile back.

And then it hit me, I had just shy of enough yards for a Calorimetry by Kathrn Shoendorf.

www.knitty.com-calorimetryside_medium

How can you not want to knit something like this when the author is this excited? (Photo credit to © Kathryn Schoendorf and the Calorimetry Rav page)

So off I go in search of my US 8 straight bamboo needles. I seriously haven’t used straights in AGES! But all my other 8s are tied up with baby sweaters so I gotta do what I gotta do! I’ll also need to make a couple of mods to the pattern length or width to make sure I have enough yarn but I’m a big girl I think I can handle it!

P.S. This will be 2014 Stashbustin’ #10 for those keeping track.

Happy Knitting!!

Instagram: Friend or Foe?

Posted on by
20

I had coffee with a knitting friend this past week and we have an lively discussion of the pros and cons of Instagram as it relates to knitting. I am firmly in the pro camp and she was firmly in the con camp. (Don’t worry we didn’t start jousting with our needles or anything and we are still friends)

My argument:

  • It helps grow and support the fiber arts community
  • I can learn about new techniques or constructions
  • I use it to publicize my blog
  • I get great pattern ideas and yarn ideas
  • It’s short and to the point and I can peruse quickly on hectic days

Her argument:

  • It encourages people who are not photographers to pretend to be said photographers
  • Photos are often so distorted you can tell what the project really looks like
  • It encourages short attention spans
  • It doesn’t have the long term viability like Ravelry and it will most likely die out like all social media platforms

Now I don’t want to start an internet firestorm because she has some good points and so do I. I told her I would pose the question to the blog-o-sphere and see what response we could get. We value all opinions of every shape, size, and color. All thoughts are welcome!

So, what are your thoughts on Instagram and Knitting?

A Plain Rye

Posted on by
13

I bit the bullet and joined the Socks with Sarah KAL over on Ravelry! There are some SERIOUSLY cool socks rocking over there!!

For my next KAL project I decided to take a twist on my last set of socks.

_MG_0352_medium2

 

Pattern: Rye by Tincanknits

Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted (100% merino and should make WARM socks!) in Squirrel Heather

Needles: US 4 and 5 dpns

Size: Large

Mods: I’m going to omit the garter ridges on the top of the foot and up the cuff. Don’t get me wrong they are gorgeous! I really like the fit of this sock and want a basic “vanilla” sock right now.

Have you ever modified a sock to fit your “flavor”?

2014 Stashbustin’ #12: Assisted Hatching

Posted on by
8

It’s WIP Wendesday!!!

Bolstered by yesterday’s gorgeous sweater and a ginormous case of start-itis, I cast on another baby sweater. Baby fever + start-itis = more WIPs than my husband can handle!

But how can you resist this? Assisted Hatching by Elizabeth Ditchburn Dew….

PB110001_medium2

(Photo credit to © kitchenerstitch and the Assisted Hatching Rav pg)

I’m really glad I have two sets of interchangeable needles, lol…..because I have already made good progress on this sweater!

_MG_0351_medium2

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Pagoda

Needles: US 8 circs (Denise Interchangeable)

Size: 0-3 months

Happy Knitting!!!

Stashbustin’ #11: Henry’s Sweater

Posted on by
12

After yesterday’s disappointment I had the itch to try a different baby sweater. And having recently pruned and tagged my Rav queue, I did some easy and organized searching to find….Henry’s Sweater

P1050813_medium2(Photo credit to © jennicole01 and the Henry’s Sweater Rav pg)

This is similar to the Sophisticate with the stockinette and shawl collar. But it has more overlap on the chest and those adorable 4 buttons laid out in a square. I couldn’t wait to get started!

_MG_0349_medium2

Yarn: Bernat Cottontots in Country Taupe (I think this yarn has been discontinued and it’s a shame because it’s a very soft cotton and easy to work with!)

Needles: US 8s (Knits Picks Options Interchangeable)

Size: 3-6 months

Mods: None yet but I love the pattern so far!

Happy Knitting!

Sometimes It Just Doesn’t Work Out

Posted on by
11

I finished my Simple Baby Pullover this week…..but something went terribly wonky. My sweater is huge!

_MG_0344_medium2

 

Pattern: A Simple Baby Pullover by Erica Kempf

Yarn: Nature’s Choice Organic Cotton in Pistachio

Needles: US 8

Size: 0-3 months (But this didn’t turn out)

_MG_0346_medium2

 

Now, before you ask, I didn’t swatch for gauge. But this is a yarn and needle size I use a lot so I was comfortable skipping that step. Now I don’t know if I should have done that or if something in the pattern is wonky. The pattern is the same for all sizes in the beginning when you are working the yoke section. The larger sizes get more raglan increases than the smaller sizes. And of course the lengths are different.

I should have come out with a 17 1/2 in chest. I came up with a whopping 22 inches (1-2 yr size). Then the pattern wanted me to work to a total sweater length of 8 inches. Well with my width that would have made this sweater a baby midriff, lol! So I worked to a total of 11 inches to match the 1-2 size that my chest measurement came out to.

I should have only used 1 or so skeins of yarn. But I consumed 2 full skeins! That translates to 206 yard or 170 grams. I had plenty enough yarn so it wasn’t a huge deal.

_MG_0347_medium2

 

It’s a pretty FO, but I was disappointed. Not sure if I did something wrong or the pattern needs to be adjusted for yarn/guage? I noticed on Ravelry (after the fact) that there were a lot mods in other’s projects. But at least 121 other people have worked this sweater so it can’t be all bad!

My verdict? It’s a nice sweater but not a pattern I would knit again. I have some others in my queue that need testing….(rubbing her hands like a disney villian)…..

Happy Knitting!

Is It Really A Blog If No One Reads It?

Posted on by
12

My husband recently dipped his toe into the blogging world. He is a LIFELONG gamer to the core and has made a lot of gamer friends, especially in college. And one of our friends from college called Phil up the other day and asked him to contribute to this great space called Project Nerd. A great space for all things geeky! (Seriously check it out…but don’t blame me if you fall down the rabbit hole!)

The hubby reviewed Battlefield 4 that had come out for the PS4. He worked diligently on it, got it approved by the powers that be at Project Nerd, and it went live last week. I remember sitting next to him on the couch after it went live, he turned to me and asked “what if you no one reads it?” The question struck me as silly because it was a very well written post! (You can find it here if you were curious) Not to mention he is guest blogging on a very well trafficked site and writing about a very popular game. Of course it will be read!

But it brought to mind several posts I have seen on WordPress on the hundreds of knitting blogs I obsessively troll, ahem, I mean read. I see all kinds of bloggers post about how they want to increase their traffic and get more visits to their blog. Now, I had no clue how to blog when I started. I just wanted a place to keep all my knitting adventures and maybe get some feedback/advice/sympathy. I am an organizer and cataloger. I have a strong need to chronicle and archive things. So I started typing my adventures and quickly realized what posts got more hits than others (short posts, good detail, good photos). And organically I began to find my “tone” or “voice” as my high school English teach used to say.  And then I was hooked….

So back to my question, is it still a blog if no one reads it? OF COURSE IT IS! Keep blogging, keep crafting, keep expressing yourself! Get out on the blog-o-sphere and find blogs you love, comment on posts, follow other bloggers, and make friends. That is the fastest way to build a blog. And really if you think about it, its not just building a blog its building a community! A place to share the lovely handiwork you have slaved over to other like minded people who can truly appreciate what you have accomplished!

Keep writing about what you love…and the followers will come….passion breeds excitement!

Happy Knitting (and blogging)

FO Friday: Rye Socks

Posted on by
12

Confession time: I love thick yarn on large needles. I am totally in love with the instant gratification of a quick project. They just fill me with knitterly glee! On Wednesday, I had one finished Rye Sock…..well now the set is done!

_MG_0342_medium2

Pattern: Rye by Tin Can Knits

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Yellow (I ended up using 211 yards or 113 grams of worsted weight yarn. Less than one skein of Simply Soft!)

Needles: US 4 and 5 dpns

Size: Large

Mods: I didn’t knit all the toe decreases as written in the pattern. I left out a few to create more room for my toes. It came out kind of square but very comfy!

_MG_0340_medium2

I may or may not have accidentally made one cuff longer than the other. It is only about 1/2 inch so I’m not going to worry about it! I also had marked improvement on my kitchener stitch! Look at the right sock (first attempt) and left sock (second attempt) pictured above, much improved!

And now that I have conquered this pattern I’m going to knit some different colors/versions in wool! This set was just a test using acrylic to see if I liked the fit.

Don’t forget to swing over to Knitting Sarah and follow #sockswithsarah on social media and Ravelry. There are some really cool things happening over there! At enrollment is open for this KAL, so join why don’t you??

Happy Knitting!