Yarn Splurge

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I was a bad bad girl on my birthday. I hit the “Going Out of Business” sale at my LYS like a Kansas tornado. I couldn’t pass up the 30% discount on the entire store stock. I snatched two sweaters worth of worsted weight, three single skeins of DK weight, some sock yarn, and finally some yummy tweed for a cowl or hat.

Wanna see?

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Berroco Vintage in teal

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Berroco Vintage in oatmeal

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Berroco Vintage DK in pink

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Berroco Vintage DK in purple

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Berroco Vintage DK in black

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Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet in burgundy

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Knit One Crochet Two Brae Tweed in green

Now to head over to my Ravelry queue to find some perfect patterns…..

Happy Knitting!

WIP Wednesday: Stashbusting Gloves

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I feel like shouting….”Once more into the breach!!!”

Are these gloves starting to look familiar? Well guess what, they should be! These are some Simple Fingerless Mitts (take three) or my Stashbustin’ #42 project.

P.S. sorry for the bad lighting….it’s getting so dark so early it’s hard to get good pics!

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I wanted to make another gift pair and do a little odds and ends stashbusting. I had some Berroco Vintage DK in orange from my first two pair of gloves and some Berroco Vintage worsted in yellow from my Brick Sweater.  They colors looked good together so off I went.

I weighed each remaining lot of yarn and divided in half. One half for each glove. I worked the orange (dk) in 2×2 rib until I ran out. Then I proceeded on with the pattern in the yellow (worsted) until I ran out of yarn. I wasn’t able to fully complete the 2×2 rib at the top, or really at all. So the mitt curls a bit…ok a lot. I’m going to give this first mitt a bath and a block to see if it solves the curl. Otherwise I’ll rip back and correct it. Then of course….knit the matching mate to go with.

Honest opinion time….do you guys think this glove works?

Only a few more weeks till Xmas…..

Happy Birthday to Me!!

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Today is the first day of my last year of my 20s. I’m officially 29….

I have the day off work so I slept in. I have had a wonderful fall inspired latte with homemade waffles. I’m going to knit on something totally selfish today. I’m going to eat birthday cake before my dinner. And I’m going to make the husband drive me to the yarn store 45 minutes away because it’s my birthday (yay!) and because it’s going out of business (boo!).

I hope they some stock left and it’s still discounted, fingers crossed!

Happy Knitting!!!

 

Stashbustin’ Stat Update

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This year is almost up!!! I can’t believe how fast it’s gone and Christmas is right around the corner. My Mom and I had a wonderful day this past weekend selling at the craft fair.  And boy howdy, are we tired! Being a knitting masochist, I have another craft fair yet to come before Christmas! I need to get back to my needles to “restock” my wares!

So today, instead of a object orientated post I’d like to share my “progress” this year on stash busting.

  • I have 42 Stashbustin’ projects in 2013 (not counting special request and craft fair wares)
  • I have completed 31 projects, frogged 2 projects, four projects are in hibernation, and I have five current WIPs.
  • I have knit approximately 8.56 miles and have another 1.88 miles on the needles
  • I have donated 1 mile of yarn to charity
  • And despite my best efforts…..added 8.94 miles of yarn back to my stash

Now I am still in the black as far as yarn in/yarn out. But I bought a lot of yarn this year. Some was for specific projects and special orders. Others was just because I could. I did get rid of some of my less than tasty bits of yarn and replaced it with better and higher quality fiber.

My stashbustin’ efforts may slow down a bit as we march towards 12/31, as I do last minute holiday gifts and restocking my craft wares. But I think I have made solid progress this year! I am still debating if I do another year of stashbustin’ in 2014 or some other method of measurement. I’m leaning towards another year of stashbusting just so I can see if I can beat my previous years levels…

Any thoughts?

Finally FO Friday: Fingerless Mitts (take two)

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This Friday really is a FO Friday! I completed Stashbustin’ #40 or my second pair of finger less mitts.

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I used the wonderfully simple pattern Simple Fingerless Mitts by Tink’s Knits. A perfect pattern match to my current dpn skill level. I used about half a skein of Berroco Vintage DK (135.4 yards or 47 grams for those of you who like hard numbers)

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While I dearly love the color and ease of construction. I don’t like the stockinette section at the wrist. It bunches an doesn’t flex and stay fit to my wrists like my first pair. But that is by no means a dig at the author or pattern, more just a personal preference. And the mod to tailor this to me is SUPER easy to work in to the pattern. Going forward all my gloves will be ribbed right up to the bottom of the thumb gusset.

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This pair is definitely one for my gift pile. I think I have a recipient in mind for them already….

As for my next pair, I think I am going to gather up my Berroco scraps from both these two pair gloves (I still have 20 yards of orange left) and my Brick sweater and attempt a mixed color combination. If my idea works I’ll have another pair for the gift pile!

I have to switch gears, like right now….I have a craft fair to set up tonight! My momma is going to do it with me and we have lots of goodies to sell tomorrow!!!

Happy Friday and Happy Knitting to All!!!

Oops!!

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My Socktober Socks are looking good!

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Only one problem…I have size 10 wide feet. I have big lady feet, since I was like 12. I’ve simply learned to deal. I managed to adapt the pattern to fit said size 10 feet. However, I failed to calculate correct yardage on the project….oops! I only have enough yarn for a single tall sock or a regular sock with a partial toe section of hte second.

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Lessons learned….patience tested….I’m finishing this as a single tall sock and moving on. It is a great learning experience and I shall keep this as a sample sock. And by the grace of god my next attempt shall yield an actual pair!!

Happy Knitting!

WIP Wednesday: Sleeves

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My Nutmeg sweater or Stashbustin’ #37 is getting sleeves!!

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I was swimming along the body section and noticed my yarn quickly disappearing. I decided to pause on the body and work the sleeves (oh the joy of interchangeable needles!) lest I run out of yarn.

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I’m one sleeve down and quickly dispensing with the second. They are quite lovely and are giving me the tight fit I was missing on my Brick sweater. I am finding once again that I have to cut out a few pattern repeats on the sleeves to fit my shortish arms. I also opted for garter ribbed sleeve cuffs.

Now, when I’m done I will then work the remaining body either to my desired length or until I run out of yarn, lol. And I’m definitely going to use the garter ribs for the hem. I think it looks very sharp!

Happy Knitting!

Inspiration

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After this past weekend’s funk…I needed some inspiration or maybe just a good pick me up.

Fall has been relatively good to us in Kansas this year (knock on wood). And this has let me get lots of walks in with my four legged children, including last night (2.5 miles…woot!). We walk all over the neighborhood, but I find myself drawn to one street in particular. Here’s why…

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This tree is so vibrant and beautiful that photos literally do not do it justice!

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I so badly want to knit a sweater in this color or maybe just roll around on yarn this shade, either way lol!!

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I’m in love….

What inspires you during fall?