Knitting Update - June Update

This year, I resolved to do something fun. You can check out my knitting goals for 2014 here.

I thought March was a busy month, but April and May were even busier. So busy that I never even got around to sharing what I'd knit in April, so today you'll get a two-for-one  deal (even though the knitting is a little thin on the ground).

April

In April, I made three squares, finished the socks I was working on in March, and made a pair of ankle socks.


May

In May, I made three more squares, and half a sock. You can tell the weather is turning nice because I'm spending less time knitting!

Knitting Goals 2014: March Update

This year I resolved to do something fun. You can check out my knitting goals for 2014 here.

February was a busy month, and there were only 28 days to get it all done. I'm sorry to say, my knitting in February wasn't nearly as productive as it was in January, but there's still plenty of time to get back on track!

I made 10 full squares and an honest start at an eleventh, and the cuff of a sock that's destined to be ripped back and made into something else. I just wasn't that into it...

Anyways, since I did no knitting at all for the first three days of March, I'm off to knit myself silly to make up for all that lost time!

Knitting Goals 2014: February Update

This year I resolved to do something fun. You can check out my knitting goals for 2014 here.

So far, I've made three pairs of socks:

That's two Ice Gliders (my very first published design!) and one pair of Mermaid Scales.

And, I've knitted twelve, count 'em, twelve blanket squares for my king-size log cabin quilt.

February is a short month, so I'm already hard at work on this month's blanket squares and a new pair of socks. Check back in March to see how I did!

Knitting Goals for 2014

Normally, I don't exactly set knitting goals. Sometimes I decide I'd like to knit a sweater, and then I do. Wanting to wear that sweater for a particular event is definitely good motivation to finish the sweater, sure, but I've never made yearly knitting goals. 

Until now. 

Some of my goals are doable, and some of them are flat-out cray-cray, especially when you consider that I don't normally get to sit at home and knit all day, except on the weekends. But isn't that what goals are about? To plan on something realistic, and to plan on something you totally want to achieve but haven't yet.

So, without further ado, here are my knitting goals for 2014, in no particular order: 

• Knit 12 pairs of socks (at least a pair a month)
• Knit 3 sweaters
• Knit a blanket for a king-size bed out of leftover sock yarn
• Publish 6 knitting patterns

The one that is a stretch is the king-size blanket. I'm doing it all in garter stitch, making log-cabin squares that will be seamed together. It's a design challenge that involves harmonizing all the colors of every pair of socks I've ever knit. Based on the size of my squares, I figure I'll have to knit about 144 squares to cover the bed with some overhang. And all on size 2 needles. No biggie. 

But on the sock and knitting pattern design front, I've already hit the ground running. Two pairs finished, one pattern written, all before January is halfway through. 

The first pair of socks was all about improvising the cable pattern, then charting it.

The cables go from small, medium, to big, and undulate back and forth across the surface of the fabric.

The second pair was about pattern drafting. Writing the pattern, working out the kinks, and doing a test-knit.

I'm happy with both pairs of socks, and definitely thrilled to add to my sock drawer. And yes, those are my real feet modeling the socks in the snow.  It was cold, but totally part of the plan.

So, without further ado, here's the pattern! If you have any feedback, I'd love to hear it.

Ice Glider Sock Pattern

Italy was Cold! A Honeymoon Hat and Mittens

I know I've been going on and on about how much I love the Mediterranean climate - and I do! But after a couple of days in Italy, the weather turned chilly. Last week I shared the sweater I wore all over Italy. This week I'm sharing my hat and mittens!

When I bought the yarn for the sweater, I bought a lot extra. Just in case. And because it's my favorite yarn. And I wanted to fill a bathtub up with it, and just sleep there. Or knit with it all winter. Or both. 

Anyways, it's always better to have more yarn than not quite enough. These hat and mittens were great stashbusting projects, and easy plane knitting to boot. I made the hat from this pattern while on the plane to our wedding, blocked it in our hotel, then wore it all over Italy. Ravelry project page here.

I made the mittens from this pattern - slightly altered to fit my preferences, and was done halfway to Italy.

 I'm so glad I decided to make them fingerless instead of making real mittens - I took thousands of photos, so it was great to have my fingers free. And it was really just cold enough that I needed something to keep my fingers from getting chilly, but not cold enough for full-on mittens. Ravelry project page here.

If you were wondering, I also knit the scarves, way back in the day! Ravelry project pages here and here.

Italy was Cold! A Wedding and Honeymoon Sweater

I can go on and on about how much I loved Italy's climate (and I do here), but after our first few days in Rome, Italy turned cold. We'd checked the weather forecasts and tried to pack light, so I figured this sweater would be plenty to keep me warm. 

The pattern is Aidez, made with Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande, it's a pretty warm sweater, and it was warm enough most days - but I also paired it with a hat, scarf and fingerless mittens on colder days.

The cables were actually pretty easy to do. There's not as much going on as it looks like, so once I got into a rhythm it all sailed along pretty nicely. I finished all the pieces and steam blocked them before we left for our wedding, then seamed it in stolen moments between dinners, luncheons, and the like. It was easy and quick to seam, and was ready to wear for our rehearsal dinner!

As you can see above, the fronts are pretty open, which is usually how I like my cardigans. I shortened the sleeves and body since I'm short and have short arms. The sleeves hit just below my wrists, and the body of the sweater hits just below the fullest part of my hips.

The softness of the yarn makes it such a joy to knit, and also makes it a bit fuzzy, but it is still so warm and soft!

Ravelry project page here.

Swiftly

If you're a knitter, then you've probably sat for hours trying to untangle a mess of yarn. Maybe it was the last bits of a center-pull ball of yarn, or maybe it was a big old tangly hank that you forgot to have wound at the store. I've done it - at home, at the airport, nearly anywhere I knit, I've sat trying to untangle some fiddly yarn. On those occasions, I wish for a yarn swift and ball winder to make my life a little easier. Yet, I've never quite gotten around to purchasing one, and I'll show you why.

All you need is two chairs - placed back to back. Then just loop your hank of yarn over them like you see in the picture, and get winding! True, you don't get that great spinning action that a swift has, but unless you're knitting a million miles an hour, this will save a pretty penny, save some storage space, and still helps get the job done - with a lot fewer tangles!

Knockoff a Knockoff

Sweater season is in full swing. Last summer I washed all of my sweaters, scarves, mittens, hats, blankets - anything handknit or hand-wash only - I washed it, and blocked it, photographed it to update my Ravelry page, and carefully folded it and put it away.

As I was doing that, I found quite a few of my sweaters had holes in them. Not from moths, just from wear. As I wasn't particularly interested in repairing them (they were store-bought and of mediocre quality), I donated them to Goodwill.

Of course, now my sweater collection seems a little slim.

I ordered some yarn way back when I finished Ivy, and it turned out to be much finer and in a much different color than I thought. I've written a pattern for it, but nothing seems to be working out quite like I thought it would. Back to the drawing board.

Round and Round and Round and Round

Busy bee, busybody, busy, busy, busy. I'm not sure why I can't sit still, but I am constantly going round and round, and round and round. The ideas go around in my head, and then there are things that absolutely must get done right. this. minute. 

Like this. I saw something in a yarn store, and decided I had to make it. What's more, I decided that I had to spin the yarn myself. Now, I haven't picked up my spindle in a couple of years, and I've never actually spun enough yarn to make something real before. But by golly, I was going to do it this time!

The fiber is Blue-Faced-Leicester, and very soft. I spun medium weight, then plied two strands together. The result was nice and bulky, fluffy, and springy.

It turned out there wasn't enough yarn to make what I was thinking of in the first place, so I made a luscious cowl instead.

I can't say I'm looking forward to winter, but this might just help take the bite out!