It's Growing!!!

Blueberry continues to grow. I've already reached the increases! I'm really loving the pattern this verigated yarn is creating, and the lace is still centered.

The Return of the Blueberry

I finished Hermione's second sock!  Yes I still haven't woven in the ends, but that bit won't take long. 

I've finally returned to Blueberry. It was painful, but I knew I wouldn'tlove this   sweater if the lace was off center so I ripped it out. I'm being very careful in the set up and  so far everything is looking good. 

Almost Done

I'm just about finished with the first purple cowl. Thankfully this weekend I finally started feeling better and was able to do some catch-up work on quilting. (I actually have two Farmer's Wife blocks to share on Friday and am half finished with the third step of my guild's mystery quilt. I'm not sharing that one until it's finished though.) All of this quilting meant that the purple cowl didn't get as much love as she needed. 

I'm still two inches away from the end, but my list of Christmas knitting has been focused a bit more so I'm not worried about this. I also had a really pleasant surprise in my e-mail yesterday. I found this great alpaca yarn at the renaissance festival last month and have been searching for the perfect pattern. Yesterday Sweater Babe sent me a link to this month's free pattern, the Deluxe Lace Cowl. I'll need to read the pattern a bit closer to see if I need more yarn, but I'm really excited to cast on the second purple cowl.

Lots of Knitting Time

Sorry for the disappearance. I'm not sure if I've been struck with allergies or a nasty cold, but either way it's really knocked me off my feet. Unfortunately the meds I take for my RA weaken my immune system so tiny bugs will leave me sick for days weeks. Since Iowa is heading into winter and cold season I'm sure this is only the first of many illnesses that will hit. If I disappear for a few postings here and there it's because I've been hit with another bug. Thank you in advance for your patience. I promise I will be back as soon as I can.

The one good thing about this bug is that I haven't had energy to do much more than go to work and lay on the couch. This weekend the couch and I were very close friends and I got a ton of knitting done in between my naps. I'm just about finished with the first of the 2014 Christmas presents. 

I'm really loving the Change of Heart cowl. I think that if I wasn't sick and falling asleep as soon as I finish supper I'd have finished this two weeks ago. I'd definitely recommend this pattern for a quick and easy Christmas present.

I'm joining up with SewCalGal's Handmade Christmas Challenge. In this day and age when time is so precious I believe that a handmade gift shows my loved ones that I love them enough to spend time making something just for them. This cowl may look simple, but in it is stitched hours of me thinking of the person who will receive it. It is also a tangible symbol of my love that she can hold close to her on days when she needs a little extra love.

Change of Heart Cowl

A few months ago I was listening to a podcast and found out that you can do an advance search on Ravelry for projects that use a certain weight of yarn and how many yards of the yarn you have. This has quickly become my favorite feature on Ravelry. I love being able to find the perfect pattern when I get a luxurious skein of yarn as a gift, or to start a project using yarn from my stash. I love Knitty so I'm sure I must have seen this pattern when it came out in August, but at the time I wasn't looking for a project that used a small amount of fingering yarn so it didn't catch my eye. Last Tuesday I wanted to cast on a Christmas present that night so I searched on Ravelry for a cowl using 400-500 yards of fingering yarn. I'm so glad that I found Change of Heart. 

I'm really surprised by how quickly this thing is flying off my needles. I normally am a fairly slow knitter, but I'm almost half done already. It's a fairly simple project, but I absolutely love the lace and cables that keep me wanting to do one more row to see the pattern grow. I definitely have to recommend this pattern if you're looking for a quick project that will make a great Christmas (or any other holiday) present.

Distractions

Blueberry's fronts are still on the needles, but I'm not really feeling guilty about it. When I started to dream about being a quilt designer I decided that knitting would be a hobby. I love knitting and yarn, but I don't wake up at 4 in the morning with a sweater that has to get out of my head before I can sleep. Last week the quilt design I've been working on for my guild's mystery quilt decided that it wanted out of my head. I've made several sketches of it on paper and EQ7 and have a pinterest board devoted to it, but there are some quilts that hit a point where the design decides it wants to become real. Last Monday I woke up at 4 and knew that I wasn't going to rest again until I had a quilt top. I managed to go to work and sleep, but by Saturday I had a finished quilt top. Sadly I can't share pictures until my guild has received all of the steps.

On Friday I went to the library and got "The Spymistress" by Jennifer Chiaverini. I've loved her Elm Creek Quilt books for years, but my library doesn't have very many of them. I was really excited to see that they finally got  this one. It has nothing to do with quilting (although there was a scene where two of the characters sewed pillowcases,) but I'm still loving it. "The Spymistress" tells the story of Elizabeth Van Lew who lived in Richmond, VA during the Civil War. A staunch Unionist she established a network of unionists who worked in Libby Prison, Jefferson Davis's house, and gathered information throughout the city. Although the book is fiction, I was really excited to learn that Elizabeth Van Lew and many of the other characters in the book are real people who really did operate a spy ring in Richmond during the Civil War. I keep finding myself saying that I'm going to quit reading after this last page and then reading 20 more. 

The last thing that has distracted me from my sweater this week are these flowers. I found a bundle of silk flowers when I was shopping and decided to bring a touch of fall into my home. I tore up my fingers trying to cut them with jewelry clippers and office scissors, but I smile every time I see them. I even had some extra flowers left over and was able to make a mini bouquet to put in our bathroom. I think my husband is still trying to figure that one out, but it makes me happy.

Slow Knitting

This week's progress has been slow. (I suppose that happens when a complicated bag takes over your attention.) I love that every little stitch adds up. There may not be much progress from last week, but the sweater has still grown. Knitting reminds me to keep at the harder things in life. It may not look like much right now, but every little bit adds up to make something beautiful. Sweaters definitely aren't instant gratification, but they're worth the time.

Double Trouble

One of the things I love about blogging is being able to see progress. For me knitting feels like a slow process. I love sitting in the morning with my coffee or at the end of a long day at work and relaxing while I play with my yarn. I focus on each stitch and row as it comes so I sometimes forget how much I've accomplished. I was about to write that this week has been busy so there's not much progress, but looking back at last week's posting I realized that my sweater has nearly doubled in size this week.

I'm so glad I chose to make both fronts at the same time. I messed up and repeated one of the rows. I didn't discover it until I'd knit three more rows. It's not a major mistake (if you look really closely at this picture you might see it,) but I know that if I was knitting one piece at a time I'd have frogged it. Since I knew the mistake was minor and was the same on both pieces I decided to leave it. I still love my DPNs so I probably won't use this method for socks, but I definitely see using it again for sweater fronts.

Two at a Time!

When I first started knitting socks I tried using the two at a time method. I'm not sure if I chose patterns beyond my skill level, used the wrong sized needle, or just didn't have the experience but my socks were terrible. They had huge ladders up the sides and were way too big. I fell in love with sock knitting after trying DPNs and swore off the two at a time method as not for me. I've decided to give this method another try for the fronts of Blueberry.

I was worried about my fronts matching perfectly and this method ensures that even my mistakes will line up. It's taking some extra concentration from keeping my yarn from twisting, but otherwise everything is going smoothly.

Out of the Black Hole

I can't believe that last week I was complaining about the never ending sweater and this week I'm 3" away from the end. I think last week I'd fallen into one of the knitting black holes where you knit and knit without it growing. Then one day you add one more row and discover your sweater has grown by 6 inches. I'm hoping to finish the back over the long weekend, but I know I have several quilting projects that will take priority. 

I'm debating whether I want to work on the front panels or if should be good and finish dad's Father's Day socks (yes I know Father's Day in the US was June 15th, but he likes me and doesn't wear wool socks in the summer.) 

This weekend I did cast on for the second sock. I got to go see my sister play oboe and english horn for the Cherokee Community Theater's performance of Les Miserables. We had to arrive at least half an hour early to pick up our tickets and it's an hour drive over there so I had some quality sock knitting time. I'm still in awe of how great everything was. I reserved tickets the week they went on sale so we got to sit in the front row right by my sister. I've seen my her perform in band concerts several times, but it's been a while since I've heard her by herself. I still remember the days of learning where she sounded like a dying duck, but that was almost 15 years ago. I couldn't believe how amazing she is. I've heard my dad say that my talent is with quilts and hers is with music and it is so true. Sorry for all the gushing, but I'm so proud of my baby sister and the amazing woman she's become. 

Insert Fun Never-Ending Sweater Blog Title Here

I hate coming up with blog titles. It feels like there are so many people out there who just whip up these funny titles that suck you in. (Okay so they probably they spend several hours thinking about it while working on other projects, but I'm still not one of them.) Even without a great title my sweater is looking really good this week. As of last night I have three more inches to go before I start decreases for the arms and neck.

I love the lace detail running up the center of the back. It's so simple, but adds the perfect bit to this sweater. Not sure why my camera is acting up this morning, but this detail also gives a better idea of the true colors of my sweater. 

I'm using KnitPicks Stroll Tonal in Blue Yonder and Anne's Cardigan also from KnitPicks. For full details please check out my ravelry project page here.

Sneaky Blueberry

The Father's Day socks are progressing very slowly. Not sure why these socks this sock is taking so long. I was informed yesterday that Father's Day this year falls on June 15th. For some reason I had it in my head that I had until the 21st. (Not that a week will make that much difference.) It might be time to start looking for an alternative gift and throw these in the box of Christmas presents. 

If you're wondering what that blue little ribbon of ribbing is, that is blueberry. I have my pattern for these socks on my ipod and was listening to it in the kitchen this weekend. I was feeling lazy and didn't want to go get my ipod so I cast on for blueberry. I had toyed with the idea of knitting blueberry in one piece, but I realized I'd be stuck with the paper pattern and wouldn't be able to read it on my ipod. When I pulled what I thought was enough yarn to cast on the 250 some stitches for the whole piece and only had enough yarn for the 120ish stitches for the back my decision was made.

Finding Balance

I've done a lot better this week at finding balance. I've chosen one time of the day that I play the video game and the rest of the time I focus on things like knitting, reading, and quilting. I'm not done with the 6 round increase section, but I have finished 7 of the 12 rounds. I knew when I set the goal of 72 rounds in a week it was a bit lofty so I'm still very happy with the progress made this week.

Blueberry Progress

Still haven't made a choice on the moose buttons. Instead I've been focusing most of my creative time on Blueberry. (Okay so there was a quilt that kind of exploded onto the radar and has eaten up a lot of work time, but yarn has been hoarding my time lately so it's only fair that fabric gets a bit of revenge attention.)

I'm struggling to get a picture that accurately shows this yarn color. These are the best I can get right now, but they still aren't totally accurate. The yarn is more of a warm pacific blue than the blue showing up in pictures. I'll keep trying to get the perfect color shot so don't be surprised if the yarn looks different from week to week.

I'm almost to the sleeve cap. I think in the next day or two I'll finish the first sleeve and start the second one. I'm still using tiny needles, but everything is fitting accurately so I'm guessing gauge is just being weird this time. I've been surprised by how fast this is going. It's really no different than making a big sock. 

Introducing Blueberry

It would seem that the saga of the moose buttons should be over. Today they finally found their way to my mailbox. Unfortunately I didn't realize what a difference 1/8" would make. The pattern calls for 3/4" buttons. I figured the moose were 5/8" so it should be close enough. I think if they were 7/8" it would be fine, but I find myself questioning if they're too small for this sweater. Equally frustrating the flower buttons I ordered for Blueberry (more on that in a moment) are 3/4" and feel too bulky. It looks like the flowers might work for the green sweater and I have time to find something daintier for Blueberry. Really there's no deadline for the green sweater so I have time to think about whether I want to use the moose, the flowers, or search for something different. I had trouble getting decent pictures, but the one on the left gives you an idea of size and the picture on the right gives a close-up of the flower and moose buttons.

 

In happier news I've finally cast on Anne's Cardigan. I tend to give my sweaters working names (i.e. Purple Monster, Brown Blob, and Green Sweater.) Most of them get named when I shout something out in frustration. I've decided to start this sweater on a more positive note and so it's been named Blueberry. I always start out loving my projects and then get bored or run into problems. I remember how excited I was when I started the green sweater. I'd spend several months working on an oatmeal colored sweater with a basic cable. I loved the rich forest green and all of those fun cables. By the end the thing seemed dull and a bit fiddly. (Give me the right buttons, a good blocking, and a couple weeks and I'm sure I'll be in love again. It really is a beautiful sweater.) 

I'm ready for spring. I absolutely love this color (Knit Picks stroll tonal in Blue Yonder.) It reminds me of the warm blue that returns to the sky in the spring. The pattern is pretty easy so I'm hoping to finish Blueberry in time to wear her this spring. My workplace tends to over use the air conditioner so I'm sure this lightweight sweater will get lots of use. The one thing I see as a potential problem is the needle size. The pattern calls for US5, but after doing a swatch I needed US2 to get gauge. I decided to knit a sleeve as bigger test, and so far the size 2 needles are creating the right size sleeve. Normally I'm spot on with gauge so having to go down three needle sizes is nerve wracking. (I'm using the suggested yarn from the pattern and it looks like most of the ravelry people got gauge with the needles called for, but a common complaint is that the sweater is too big. Not really sure what's going on.)

I've also been working on my second orange sock. I took this with me to my quilt guild meeting last night and had so much fun with the meeting I forgot to pay attention to how long my sock was getting. I was so annoyed to get home and realize I'd knit half an inch more than I did for the first leg. At least it was a pretty fast frog and I'm back on track now.

Stash Building

The moose are still wandering the wild. According to the tracking page they're circling Iowa (since last Wednesday they've been spotted in Kansas, Illinois, Minnesota, and South Dakota.) Thankfully the yarn I ordered during Knit Picks' sock yarn sale didn't have anything with legs in the package and took a more direct route to my door. I'm not quite sure if it's a good sign that I was bragging to my husband about resisting a yarn sale and he asked why. Since my husband is such a great enabler I took that to be a sign that I needed to order more yarn immediately. (If you're interested, the sale is going on until March 24.) Of course I couldn't pass up the free shipping Knit Picks offers on orders over $50 so there was a lot of yarn that got squished into the box. 

First up I got two skeins of yummy Stroll Hand painted in Hayride and Lullaby. I was a little surprised by the Hayride. The picture on their website shows much darker greens and shades of rusty orange and burgundy. The yarn that I got has much lighter greens and pinks and purples. It's still beautiful yarn, but I think it will become a pair of socks for me rather than my husband. One of my favorite sock pattern books is Sock Club Knitting. I think I'm going to use the blue yarn to make the Ariel Socks from this book. 

I've heard rumors that Knit Picks is discontinuing the Felici yarn line. I'm really hoping they're just discontinuing this year's colors and new colors are coming in soon. Either way while I was sick I discovered that my comfort knitting is a basic vanilla sock. The self stripping pattern in Felici makes it the perfect yarn for vanilla socks. I ordered three pairs in more masculine colors so I can make some more "guy" socks for my husband. (Colors are Maple Leaves, Shamrock, and Lighthouse.)

Of course I had to order some Felici for myself. (I chose Spring Mix and Splash.) I even found this awesome pattern on Ravelry for toe-up knee high socks so I can use all of this delicious yarn.

I also remembered that I've started a tradition of socks for Father's Day so I ordered something in case I decide to make dad another pair of socks. It's hard to tell from the picture, but there's little flecks of blue mixed in with the black. I'm thinking this would be a good yarn for the Yarn Harlot's Old Joe pattern. 

*Disclaimer: Knit Picks did not sponsor any part of this post.

I love their products and can't help but to talk about what I love. 

Sweaters are Not Books

When I was little I would hit a point in a book where I knew I would be up until it was done. The Harry Potter books were the worst. I would usually hit that point with somewhere between 100 and 200 pages left. Those were some really late nights. Even now I find myself staying up late occasionally when I find a really good book. Unfortunately that is not the case with the green sweater. I'm trying to focus, but it's really hard. I think at least once a night my husband is reminding me that I need to knit. Currently I just need to cast off the back, knit the other back shoulder, and bind the shoulders together. Then of course I need to knit the collar and sew in the sleeves and collar, and sew on the buttons. 

The buttons have their own story going on. I posted a couple of weeks ago that I found these really cute moose buttons on Knit Picks website. Knit Picks was great and had everything shipped very quickly. Unfortunately I'm not sure it's a good idea to release moose into the wild and not expect them to wander. (For those not familiar with Knit Picks US shipping policy they ship using smart post. FedEx takes the package to the nearest post office and the post office takes it those last few blocks to my door.) The moose appeared to be following a logical course from the warehouse in Ohio to the post office in Boyden and there they sat. Our postal carrier doesn't seem to like Smart Post so it usually takes a few days before he decides to put it on the truck. It doesn't pay to complain because then it will just be longer that he holds your moose hostage so I did my best to be patient. A week later and there are still no moose buttons. Late last night my husband checked the tracking page and my moose have decided to go for another trip. For some reason they've gone from Boyden back to Kansas City. We have had some winter weather lately. (The Tuesday they supposedly arrived in Boyden we had a fairly bad snow storm.) My husband and I are wondering if something got scanned wrong and the moose have been wandering the country for the past week. I'm interested to hear the stories they have to tell when they finally arrive, but I've heard rumor that what happens in the box stays in the box. At least they were sent out with some flowers for the blue sweater so I know my moose won't get hungry.

First Finish of the Marathon

So my marathon of finishes has been interrupted by an unplanned illness. I don't think things will get finished in time to meet my original goal of two weeks, but I'm still chipping away at the pile. I will admit I make a horrible patient. I hate sitting still even when I don't have the energy to do anything. I've been able to focus most of my restlessness into a basic sock (I'll share that on Wednesday.) These gloves were past the complicated cables so I've also been working on them off and on this week.

I started these gloves in December, but have mostly been focusing on my green sweater so they've taken a while to finish. I think if these were my only project they'd finish really fast and will be a great pattern to keep in my repertoire for gift knitting. The pattern is Fingerless Gloves from Lion Brand Yarn. I used Imagination from KnitPicks (sadly they don't make this yarn anymore.) I still have a ball and a little left from these gloves so I'm thinking about making a matching cowl. It's such a beautiful yarn I don't want any of it to go to waste.

Special thanks to my husband for doing today's photography. 

It's really hard to take pictures of your own hands.

Almost done

The green sweater is getting extremely close to being done. I've finished both fronts and just have the back and collar left. I even made a choice on buttons and should be getting them in the mail soon. I'm not sure where to find buttons on the KnitPicks website without doing a search, but when you do a product search there are 8 pages of buttons! I found some cute Scottish Thistle buttons but couldn't justify twenty dollars for buttons when there were 8 pages of options. I ended up going with the moose buttons. I think they'll look really good with the sweater.

I'm hoping I can get this sweater finished in the next week or so. Once it's done I have plans to cast on for Anne's Cardigan. I really want to alter the pattern and knit it as a single piece to the arms like I did on the green sweater. This would mean I wouldn't have to mess with any seams, but I'm not sure how to alter knitting patterns. Do I just knit across the charts and act like they're all combined, or do knitwear designers add a stitch or two at the edges to leave room for seams? These are probably crazy questions considering the sweater I'm just about to finish, but I've never altered knit patterns. Quilt patterns I see as loose suggestions of what to do, but knitting feels like I'm doomed to fail if I go off pattern. I know this is ridiculous and lots of knitters alter patterns all the time, but it still is very scary to contemplate. 

Focusing on the Finish Line

Last week I was happily working along on the green sweater when I saw another blogger posting about the Ravellenic Games. Immediately I wanted to set greeny aside and cast on a new sweater with the lofty hopes of finishing it in two weeks. My husband knows me very well and knows that at the end of the two weeks I'd have another WIP and would be upset with myself for not meeting the impossible goal. He gently reminded me that I have several projects on the verge of being done and questioned if this really was the best time to start a new sweater. As usual he was right and inspired me to set my own goal. In the next two weeks I will focus on finishing everything that is close to being finished. It won't count towards any competitions, but it's still a good goal.

Writer's Block is still patiently waiting for binding. I also got two tops back from my quilter so now there are three quilts that need binding and labels.

In addition to finishing the green sweater I also need to finish the button band on the brown blob (I ordered more yarn when I ordered buttons for greeny.) I need to finish sewing the ribbon onto the steeked part of the purple monster and add buttons. (I also might need to find a solution to loosening the wrists. The color work on the cuffs have made it so that the sleeves aren't comfortable.) The last thing on the list of things to be finished are my fingerless gloves.

These aren't all of my WIPs. (You'll notice the mystery quilt is no where to be seen.) These are just the projects that are one or two steps away from being finished. Last summer my husband helped me wind up my yarn mountain. The light blue yarn in the mountain is going into the fingerless gloves, the yellow yarn became Omelet (I should probably add a photo shoot of Omelet to my list of things to do in the next two weeks.) The brown yarn became a hat I made for my husband for Christmas, which leave the blue yarn at the base of the mountain. When I finish with this list I get to cast the blue yarn on for Anne's Cardigan.