Tag Archives: WIP

Snow Knitting

Posted on by
5

I am still plowing through my Sherwood Forest Wrap. And also the roads in Kansas could use a plow as well. It wasn’t that bad according to my husband but I was glad to have my knitting to focus on.

I never heard back from the designer about the pattern error. So I’m just kind of using the pattern as a loose suggestion and making up my own thing to maximize yarn usage. All my sections are equal sized where the pattern has them staggered in a fashion. This might come back to haunt me later.

I am just so addicted to how this gradient is coming out. This is one of those projects I just can’t put down! I should start weighing my yarn to see when I need to start the end but for now I’ll just keep knitting…

Happy Knitting!!

Mammograms and Knitting

Posted on by
3

My Sherwood Forest Wrap recently traveled with me to my annual mammogram (Side note: ladies, make sure you go get yours squished…it saves lives.) I got a clean bill of health and some Lorna Doone cookies to boot. And I was pleasantly surprised at the conversations I had while waiting.

Not only was the receptionist intrigued by my knitting but so a woman in queue to check out.  The siren call of beautiful yarn is strong! Turned out she was a crocheter, recently retired and expressed interest about learning to kni. So I chatted about the LYS just a stone’s throw from the clinic and the classes I had seen in their newsletter.

I’m finished with the first stockinette and lace sections. Now I’m set to repeat those two over and over until I get near to the end of my yarn. I love watching the colors develop. Based on my yarn consumption per repeat section I am going to have to do some math and add some rows to modify the pattern. If I don’t I won’t get through all the colors and have a ton of yarn leftover. I want to use as much of the gradient by KnitCircus as possible. I might be risking yarn chicken but it will be worth it!!

Happy Knitting!!

Let’s Helix This Thing

Posted on by
3

My Weekender is joined in the round! I flew through the first hem like it was nothing. And then it took me a day or so to power up enough for the second tubular cast on for the back hem. But I managed quite nicely and have the whole project joined in the round.

My next new challenge is to use helical knitting to alternate my hand dyed skeins. This is my first go at it and I’m interested to see how managing the yarn cakes will go. I used a single skein to knit my ribbing because honestly I didn’t have the brain space to alternate while knitting flat and absolutely no one would notice if I had or hadn’t. I have markers in for the center front and center back slipped stitch detail.

I’m knitting the 48.5 inch bust sweater for roughly 4-5 inches of positive ease. Which is less than the pattern calls for but as I’m more average size than most knitting models I don’t want something so baggy that it will make me look bigger than I actually am.

I also would like to note that I have not gauge swatched either. I am going to gamble on this one because it’s an over sized sweater anyway and I hope to be able to block it a little either way if needed. Surely this will end in disaster but I’m doing it anyway!

WIP Wednesday: Sherwood Forest Wrap

Posted on by
4

My Sherwood Forest Wrap has come to live in my purse. It’s kind of an odd purse project as it takes a very long time to work a single row but yet here I am. After an initial thrust of travel knitting progress this project is only getting a repeat or two every now and then.

But I guess that all adds up, I did manage to complete the first garter and stockinette sections. And I’m establishing the first lace section. With so much work bunched up on the needles I have to be careful to mind all the yarn overs and to remember the garter edges. But so far so good!

P.S. I have not heard back from the designer about the error on her paid for pattern. So that is less than encouraging but I will try to contact her again.

Happy Knitting!!

One Last Stripe

Posted on by
4

I am getting SOOOO close to the end of my Zen Yarn Garden Baby Blanket. I only have one stripe and the bind off to go!

The last stripe is blue and I have almost a full ball to do it. I will certainly have leftovers and I have a small ball of grey and tiny ball of red left as well. My brain is thinking old school tassels on each of the points of the chevrons? Maybe not the most practical for a baby but would use up the last of yarn and give this piece a vintage feel.

I guess I could always add them and take them off later? Thoughts?

A Well Traveled Hat

Posted on by
8

My Four Seasons hat was very well traveled during my recent birthday trip to Portland.  This is where my hat started at 6 am at the Kansas City Airport. The terminal was shockingly busy for such an early Saturday morning. But based on overheard conversations, a TON of people were headed to Mexican resorts to escape the impending arctic blast.

I only knit on this hat while on modes of transportation during my trip. And by Monday morning when I boarded my flight it looked like this. (I also treated myself to a Mimosa to cap off a wonderful weekend. It wasn’t the greatest I’ve ever had but it felt decadent to do while traveling without the fam.)

And this last photo is brought to you by the KCI airport bathroom. I literally bound off the top of the hat while we were taxiing to our gate. The gentleman seated next to me complimented me on finishing so quickly. I think I earned some bonus points with him because I had asked him if my knitting would bother him  during the flight. He nicely told me it would not so he earned some good karma points in my book as well.

It’s a good thing this was done. It was 18 degrees with a feels like temperature of 9 degrees. I literally wore this out of the airport and all the way to my car….ends hanging out and all! It was perfection!

I’m going to drop this hat into a nice Eucalan bath and hope to have some non bathroom selfie FO pictures later this week. Happy knitting!!

P.S. My shirt says “I run on Caffiene, Wine and Bad Words”. I got a few chuckles from fellow passengers during my travels.

Crazy Orange

Posted on by
4

Jellybean needed to blow off some steam the other day so I took him for a post school trip to Skyzone. He got 60 minutes of literally bouncing off the walls and I got to sit and knit where my project matched the landscape, lol.

I had one other mom ask me what I was knitting. I gladly obliged and told her about my project. I even told her she got bonus points for knowing it was knitting! I’m still plugging away at the brim of my Four Seasons Hat. I am not aiming for any particular length or measurement. Just knitting until it looks good and then I’ll start the main body. Nothing super scientific as this is just my purse/zen project.

See you guys tomorrow with something extra cool!

A Present for My Eyes

Posted on by
5

My mother is amazing at a lot of things. And shopping for a bargain is one of her most finely honed skills. She was in Joanns with some quilting friends and spied an Ottlite in the clearance section. This is a RARE occurance and she was intrigued. She asked an associate and they told her it was a old “design” that they were told to clearance because a new appearance/look was coming in. So she got a CRAZY good deal on this light and presented it to me for my birthday.

I decided to put it to good use weaving in the ends on my Dark Side Vanilla socks last night. I just plugged it in next to the couch and went to work! My 35 year old eyes LOVED it. It was so easy to see the dark colors and catch the purl ridges. I may never be able to go back to regular light. I might have hugged my mother extra hard for this one!

Happy Knitting!!

Knitting In The Wild

Posted on by
2

Jellybean was due for his semi annual dental cleaning and he CRUSHED it. I was so proud of him because he did the x-rays, cleaning and exam like a big ole brave kid. I managed to sit quietly in the corner and knit on my sock. The dentist was duly impressed with both Jellybean’s performance and my sock knitting.

I finished the last two rows of the cuff and cranked out ten or twelve rows of the first heels on my Dark Side Vanilla socks. Current me was very grateful that past me inserted those needles and cut the work apart so it was ready to go!

Thank goodness for purse knitting!!

First Fire

Posted on by
4

Kansas has seemed to skip fall and go straight into winter. We had snow on Halloween for Pete’s sake! I batted my eyelashes at my husband and last night he built a fire for me. My house is chaotic and messy but the kids are asleep and I have knitting and a mesmerizing fire.

I worked on the cuffs to the Dark Side vanilla socks that I separated the other day. Nothing too exciting, just good solid progress on a very meditative project. I even inserted the needles for the first heel so it would be ready and waiting after the second cuff.

Happy Knitting!!