Feb Mid-Month Progress Report

OWL

Keep working on the Stained Glass Afghan - goal will be to have 20 blocks completed by February 28.
Not happening. Sadly the project is bothering my wrists too much.

I have five more squares done (total of ten now). And I'm hoping to start a couple more this month and maybe turn them in for yardage... we'll see.

BROOM

Cast on Chocolate Passion Cardigan with Knit Picks Brava in dark brown (need to find buttons!).  Get to 50% done by February 28.

This is still feasible... I've got the back done. The front two sides also includes the over-sized border...

... pictures will be along a little later.

CLASSES

Flying - Bunny Buddy Baby Blanket (half plushie, half baby blanket) DONE

Charms and Muggle Studies - Charity Brioche hat x 2 DONE (pics posted previously)

DADA - Brioche Scarf

Muggle Studies - February Cabled Square
Herbology - Dishcloth DONE - x 4

Divination - February cabled square - to be started

Quidditch
two baby hats - one cabled, one crocheted with an i-cord & flower DONE

So, current plans are to start the February Aran square tomorrow. Work on the Broom cabled sweater. And work one or two squares of the Windows Afghan - though I'll probably make them one at a time so that I can turn in any that I finish into a seventh class.

Fo's - forgot the washcloths

Totally forgot to post my washcloths I finished yesterday...

These were done by casting on 3 stitches and doing a KFB in front of the middle stitch and after the middle stitch every other row... until I get to the size I want and bind off. Simple & easy... great knitting for when other things are on the mind. I didn't love the yarn self-shading too much as it is quite 'pastel' ... but it definitely makes you think of spring and using these around the house to clean seems like a useful use for the yarn that I don't love.   I used Lily's Sugar n Cream yarn and would get right around two washcloths from each ball of yarn.

FO's

The Bunny Blanket Buddy is smaller than I expected...

Certainly more just a toy than a blanket, but definitely cuddly.  I used Bernat Baby Blanket yarn - the new form... which is much more like chenille, but machine washer & dryer friendly.  I bought two skeins since they are only about 80 yards each - yet I only used about half a skein for this.

I also finished hat #6 for charity:

This is baby sized... and I didn't care for the crown - they had you just K2Tog for as many rounds as it took to get to 8 stitches or less and then use a cable needle to feed the yarn through the remaining live stitches. The super sudden decreases without any regular rows between them just seems to dramatic a decrease.  But it's still a hat... :-)

I used some left over Knit Picks Brava Worsted and it turned out ok, not as soft as some others... so I'll probably wash this and see if that doesn't help it soften up.

More Hats!

These are hats # 4 & 5 - Adult-sized in my typical Brioche hat pattern. I needed some samples for the class I'm teaching at the end of the month, and these really are super-quick.

I was struggling to find super-bulky yarn... so the hat on the left is made with a couple of handfuls of left-over bits (blues and greys) of worsted, held triple. If I ran out with one ball, I just grabbed another. Super-bulky is faster and easier than dealing with three strands of yarn, but, it sure does feel good to use up some of the odds and ends basket yarn instead of always adding to it.

The hat on the left was made with Lion Brand's Jiffy-Thick & Quick - a nice, soft, super-bulky yarn. The cost is right for charity hats. The content is 100% acrylic (which is right for my allergies). The weight is nice, the yarn is great for showing stitch definition. BUT. It only comes in highly variegated colors. No solids. And really? Only about a half-dozen variegated color options at that.

Review? Highly sold on the yarn. Not high on the color options and this is not going to be a yarn I purchase much of in the future as a result.

My favorite for these WAS Lion Brand's Wool-ease Thick & Quick . But now that my allergies have worsened, I break out in hives if I work with that yarn. But, a shopping trip last night got me on the trail for another alternative. I'll do a review after I've used it, which might not be until March... but I'll let you know.

First FO in February

I finished the 4' alligator (officially). This was ALMOST done in December, but with one last yarn end to weave in.

Nine yr old added for scale!

February Planning

OWL

Keep working on the Stained Glass Afghan - goal will be to have 20 blocks completed by February 28.

BROOM

Cast on Chocolate Passion Cardigan with Knit Picks Brava in dark brown (need to find buttons!).  Get to 50% done by February 28.

CLASSES

Flying - Bunny Buddy Baby Blanket (half plushie, half baby blanket)
Charms - Charity Brioche hat
DADA - Brioche Scarf
Muggle Studies - February Cabled Square
Herbology - Dishcloth

Quidditch
two baby hats - one cabled, one crocheted with an i-cord & flower

January - End of Month Wrap Up

OWL
I'm at about 20% complete and wanted to be at around 25% complete (10 blocks). I still haven't finished the last five blocks. I plan on working on it again next weekend and hope to finish those five blocks to get me to 10 done. But I was hoping to have gotten half-way through the next five by this weekend, which isn't going to happen. I'm a little behind, but am hoping that I can make up the time during Feburary.

BROOM
Chocolate Passion Cardigan - I plan on casting this on this weekend.

CLASSES/Quidditch
I got a little closer to the crazy train than I wanted.

1. Penelope the Empathetic Monster - by Rebecca Danger DONE

2. Small baby blanket from Lion Brand DONE (though I messed up the dimensions.

3. A blanket square of some sort -DONE

4. A hat - DONE times 3

Not planned, but also completed
Beaded Ribbon
Necklace

Not turned in for the cup
Stitch Markers

So instead of four smaller projects, I completed 9 smaller projects - AND my OWL suffered for it. Hmmm... this is just proof, again, that getting excited about the smaller projects hurts me on the bigger projects. AND now? I've got two bigger projects to work on for next month. And, as I'm typing this I'm also looking at my plans for next week. Which is a bigger list. I need to get things to a manageable level.

Wooops - FO, but not a good FO

I finished the baby blanket. But it's going into the charity pile instead of going to my co-worker. I should know better by now that if it's a pattern I do, and it's log-cabin style? That something is going to go wrong.

This is not square, not rectangular, not diamond-shaped either... more trapazoid. sigh.

It's pretty though. I liked the colors and the play off of them. but the upper-right hand corner started off un-square... and it got worse with every row. Since I had two edges 'on the needles' at all times, it wasn't something that you could see until it was almost finished. By that point, I'd put 1200 yards of yarn in and spent three weeks on the project. But, it'll work for a charity gift.

If nothing else? I know my cat likes it.

Sticks n String - Second Day

I took three great classes.... first stitch markers...

I learned a couple of tricks to simplify the process and was quite pleased with the results!

Second - a crocheted necklace. This particular piece of amazing craft is unbelieveably simple. Combining ladder yarn with a large crochet hook and simple chaining and out comes something that you can take a LOT of pride in.

This picture is a little dark - but it's a combination of different shades of gold/bronze/silver black cords and is incredibly sparkly and cute!  I can't wait to make some more of these!

Third, a beaded pin. I haven't worked with beading and knitting before (a pre-sequined yarn doesn't really count). And I while I could have used a smaller needle to get this a little 'snugger' and I probably could have made it shorter as well - I still think it turned out pretty good.

I got to enjoy a great chair massage (very relaxing!) but sadly for some reason I seem a little stressed today - not sure what was up, but I felt on 'edge' all day... so the massage probably could have done better if I could have just relaxed a little more... but it was still amazing.

And I was one of the lucky ones to get a door prize. My prize was two skeins of purple yarns (link isn't working at this time, but hopefully will be up with a website soon)... and a skein of something that was merino blend and while gorgeous - it just didn't make sense for me to keep it with my wool allergies - so I swapped it with another door prize winner at my table to double my take of cotton yarn. They aren't my favorite colors - a bright-ish pastel green and pink. But, it's yarn I can use versus yarn I would have had to find a new home for - so I was thrilled to make the swap. She was thrilled to make the swap. That works for me!

Sticks N String - Friday night

Sticks & String is a local knitting retreat, and this is my third year attending.

I didn't get to stay long tonight as my youngest had a pool party. So I dropped him off at the party - ran in and knit a little while until the vendor fair opened... did a little shopping, and then raced back to the pool to pick the little guy up.

I found some GORGEOUS blue alpaca fiber (as if I actually knew how to spin - ha!), as well as two skeins of DK alpaca from C & M Acres.... lovely stuff. I keep collecting lots of shades of their alpaca - with some thought to using all natural alpaca from darkest to lightest in graduated colors to make either a shawl (which I'd probably never wear - sigh) or some sort of cardigan. My favorite bit is that every skein has the name of the alpaca who provided the fleece for the skein!

I found an amazing leather/metal handcrafted bracelet from Fishlips3 Beads & Blues (a local artist) - and if he's back tomorrow and I find any quiet time, I'm going to ask if he's the guy offering classes through the community education program I teach for, would love to chat about his classes as I was thinking I might want to try to take one. I was seriously tempted by a brown leather/copper bracelet.... but behaved myself and bought a red leather and silver bracelet for my daughter-in-law.

I also saw, but did not buy some 100% silk, beaded, laceweight jewel-tone blue and green yarn.... I don't enjoy working with laceweight yarns as it is.... but it was really pretty..... but it was also $50. Um. Yeah. Not in my price range after all.... but it sure was pretty.

AND then I custom-ordered two zipper pouches.... they'll have custom embroidery on them - the selling point was that I saw someone come back with a zombie one.... and I was sold. They didn't have anything that 'quite' hit my happy place... but she was taking custom orders - so I put in my order. I'll be back to post some pics and links when I get them. It might be a while, I told her to put my order on the back burner and fill the other orders she gets first. I'll be happy with them when I get them, even if waiting a little bit.

And then, there's also the Goodie Bag!!!!

First the bag itself - a simple, branded tote. Lion Brand bags were used last year as well, only last year they were enormous. I didn't think I liked them that big, but they actually came in useful for storing finished charity hats last year... but this size is a good size.

And then the yarn - due to my wool allergies, they were kind enough to provide 50% cotton/50% acrylic - and it's a nice yarn!  Plus the cutest mug and zippered pouch.

The pouch is from Darn It! Sew What? -- which is the vendor I ordered my pouches from!

And then look at all this other loot!

Blanket square

Finished the cable-licious square for Herbology.  I'll be making several of these in shades of blue and/or white.  Hoping for a nice blanket when it's all said and done.

This was the January square from the Woolen Collectibles pattern set. I'm not a huge fan of bobbles (to have and even less so to make) but I went ahead and decided to try it anyway and try to step outside my comfort zone.

I think it turned out pretty cute.

It's a full 14" x 14" which should work out with the 12 months turning out about the same size. But to make a blanket I will probably make more than 12 squares - so some of the other squares will have to get adapted to end up this big.

January mid-month Progress post

FO's:

1. My failed Potions OWL cardigan - DONE - and worn on a regular basis ever since!

2. Penelope the Empathetic Monster - by Rebecca Danger for the 600 Monsters charity - DONE - just waiting to send off in the mail, should be able to get it sent off this week yet.

3.  Hat #1 - I caved to the Muse when I saw the Angry Birds Hat pattern - and it makes a terrific mascot for a quidditch team. - not planned, DONE - set aside for charity donation this fall - NOTE: since this was intended for charity, it turns out it's a very good thing that I made this as a small hat... as both my 9 yr old son and my 5 yr old grandson have both REALLY wanted to steal it. They didn't ask me to make one for them, but they are definitely jealous that someone else is getting it.

4. Hat #2 - Flying. After I posted my ideas for Quidditch and found out there were bonus points to be had in Quidditch if you tie your project to Flying option 3 (create a quidditch uniform) AND bonus points to be had in Flying if you also do Quidditch... AND a dear pride-mate was ALSO doing an Angry Birds hat, well, whipping out a quick, simple hat sure seems like a really good tie in for some extra points! - not planned, DONE - set aside for charity donation this fall.

5. Hat #3 - Basic 2-color Brioche hat for charity - will be turning this into Potions along with my Slytherin beast-quest team mate as we banish the beast that is colorwork - DONE - set aside for charity donation this fall.

Only 47 more hats for charity to do for 2013!


WIPS:

OWL - the Stained Glass Windows Afghan - 10% done. I have 5 squares finished (and am eternally grateful that while they seemed to want to curl and pucker while I was making them - that they smoothed out pretty well when they were squared off and finished). I do have some concerns that they aren't as 'squared' off as I would like - but I'm thinking that I'm just being too picky. I have 5 more squares started and should have them about half-finished by the end of this week. My goal is to make 5 complete squares every two weeks... which gets me 25 squares by the end of 10 weeks and leaves two weeks for seaming and bordering.

Each finished square is approximately 9" x 9".

Classes -

DADA - 25% done on blanket #2 of 13  on a small baby blanket from from Cascade Cherub in DK - two shades of blue + white. Using the Lion Brand Log Cabin Pocket Blankie pattern (link requires registration/log in). It's turning out cute, but the initial corner isn't looking very squared off. But I'm hoping blocking will help. Plus when I seam the pocket over the top, you won't see the initial square at all except from the back of the blanket.  I am loving the light-ness of the yarn and how nice the fabric is turning out. The baby is due this spring and I think it's going to make a great summer blanket. It seems like it's taking forever, but it really is going well. I just need to get more time to work on it - and I will have time this next two weeks, so I'm hoping to finish before the end of the month.

This is about 20" x 20".

Herbology - 33% done on my blanket square - I am using the January square which includes a ton of bobbles which made me hesitate. But I'm liking them a lot better than when I made a baby hat COVERED with the darn things. Still not my favorite thing in the world to make or to have them on a blanket, but it does bring textural interest. This is at the 1/3rd point after just starting it this last Sunday, so it should be easily finished before the end of the month.

When finished, I believe this will be about 12" x 12".

TO DO:

BROOM - Chocolate Passion Cardigan, won't get my starting whistle to start this until the last week of the month. But I've got the yarn and the needles and I am ready to cast on when the whistle blows. Since I'm not making any other sweaters this term, I'm kind of itching to get started.

Yet Another Hat - FO

I finished the next hat - a simple baby hat using my 'standard' Brioche two-color pattern, but with  plain ribbing on the bottom section.  This will be going to winter clothing drives next fall.

I used leftovers from my Brown sweater that I have almost-finished and just waiting for a WIP the first date.

Upcoming classes

Two classes scheduled to start within the next two months.

Knitting 101 - Learn basic knitting skills by getting started with needle and yarn sizes, slip knots, casting on, knitting, purling, casting off, fringe, and trims.

Brioche Stitch Hat & Scarf - These hats and scarves are worked flat on large needles with bulky yarn, and are warm and stylish, yet quick to make! The brioche stitch creates a fabric that is warm and lofty. Students should be able to cast-on, perform the knit stitch.

Sign ups through LearnWEST

Though don't wait to long to sign up for the Knitting 101, as these classes fill up quickly.

Two FO's - charity hats

The first is an ultra cute baby hat - pattern from The Summer Opossum. I used stash worsted weight yarn in red, white, black and yellow. A little fiber fill for the nose. The 'feathers' at the top aren't stuffed with anything except the yarn tails - but still feel are small enough in circumference to feel soft, squishy but still stand up well.

And then, a simple little worsted weight cap - about toddler child sized that's a nice coordinate for the angry birds. Red with a fairly simple white stripe.. I knit 1 white, slipped red for the first stripe round. Then knit two rows white. Then on the first red row, I slipped one white and knit 1 red stitch through to the end. Simple, straight forward and quick to knit.

These are both charity hats - #1 and #2 of the year - only 48 more to do for 2013.

January 2013 Planning Post

My OWL was approved! My OWL was approved!!!! I'm both really, really excited and really, really scared all at the same time. I'm now doubting my ability to get it done... but I'm going to give it a good college try.

OWL
My First blanket to start in 2013 (of the 13 blankets in 2013) is the Stained Glass Windows Afghan.  Stunning, really. I'm using Knit Picks Brava Worsted yarn in BRIGHT shades of the rainbow with the black edging (because really, you do need to use black for leading a stained glass window).  I'm making it 5 x 5 squares, so it'll come out a bit 'bigger' approximately 60" x 60". Plenty big to curl up under. 

Plus it's a perfect Potions project, with all that color?!

BROOM
I am planning on proposing to make the Chocolate Passion Cardigan for my BROOM - Order of the Phoenix Mission. (which won't be able to be started until the end of the month) I am also using Knit Picks Brava Worsted yarn in brown as I really do look the dark, rich color from the pattern pictures. This has a very interesting construction and I'm looking forward to trying it. It also has some fun cable details and I do love me some nice, thick cables.

I'm planning to propose it under the infiltrate Hogwarts by posing as an OWL student. Since I've failed my Herbology OWL and this pattern is just under Herbology requirements, I'm certain this should fly.

CLASSES
I am going to work really hard at not over-doing my class participation this term. I am NOT jumping on the Crazy train. I am not jumping on the crazy train. I am not jumping on the crazy train. (I will be repeating this to myself often, don't mind me... just trying to get a little less cup-crazy).

1. Penelope the Empathetic Monster - by Rebecca Danger for the 600 Monsters project using stash leftover acrylic. They (and I) are aware that Sandy Hook is currently turning away contributions that they cannot manage. I think the whole world wanted to reach out and ease their burden simultaneously. This whole project was originally planned such as to hold off and provide the toys a little bit later after the flood wore off. They're still thinking that might apply, but if it's still too much at that time, they are planning on monsters going to children affected by violence anyway. Which is a wonderful opportunity to give a child a hug who needs it, even if it's from a distance.

I am planning on using Care of Magical Creatures to turn in this project under the option of - to provide strength.

2. Small baby blanket from Lion Brand I am planning to use some yarn I purchased at my LYS - Hill Vintage & Knits from Cascade Cherub in Aran (I think). In shades of Blue and Cream. This should be blanket #2 of 13 started this year.

Still have to decide which class this fits into at this point.

3. A blanket square of some sort - probably a heavily cabled one from O-Wool. They have a 12 month afghan project with a square per month. And January's month looks as good to me as any. This will be part of blanket #3 of 13 started this year - though unless I can figure out how to make more than one square a month, I might have some issues getting a blanket with only 12 squares.

I was thinking this would be an excellent fit for the Herbology prompt craft an item that is excessive in fussy details.

4. A hat (maybe only one, maybe more if I find myself needing more portable projects. This will be the one in my bag that I carry with me. I'm using stash yarn and making my Brioche watch cap (in the round) using worsted weight yarn. This is hat #1 of the 50 I'm attempting to make this year.

One of the yarns is variegated - so it should be a good fit for - Potions - Craft with a variegated or self-striping yarn.

I've looked at the Quidditch prompts and while I might participate, I might not. Nothing stands out right now as an 'ooooh - I need to do x'. I thought about post-poning working on my Monster to include it in the Mascot challenge, but I've already put off starting the monster for a week and while I'm glad I did, I'm also really glad not to wait even two more days. I thought about doing a second monster in new colors for Quidditch, but don't really feel the NEED to do so. And since I'm trying to avoid the crazy train, I think I'll save the participation in Quidditch for when I feel the NEED to do so (or, well, as soon as I can figure out a place to put a charity hat - lol).

2013 First FO of the year

I WIPd the First with my Cardigan that I was trying to make last fall...  Here's the ravelry project link with details (open to non-Ravelry users).

It's the Velvet Morning Cardigan made with Knit Picks Shine Worsted that was custom dyed at Yarntopiatreasures.com.  Beautiful colors, beautiful pattern.

I did A LOT of mods.

• Converted to top-down, contiguous sleeve (though the button band was knit separately and seamed)
• The only seaming was the button band
• Skipped out on the button holes since I probably wouldn't button it even if I had buttons
• I never did flippin figure out how on earth her repeat lines in the chart would EVER work math-wise; so I did the repeats however I felt moved to do them (but then tried to stick to the style as a section would repeat later in other rows).

These pictures are the best that I've gotten so far (for true to color). I'd love to get some shots with it on, but didn't have anyone to help me do them and trying to do cell phone pictures by propping up the phone? Not high on the success rate.

I just love the style of the colorwork with the variegated yarn. I realize that it makes the design harder to see, but I love, love, love that it's all just 'color' and a hint of pattern instead of a strong pattern. I'm wearing it to work today and getting tons of compliments and can't wait to share it with knitters. Too much to love.

I've also finished to the point of a final end to weave in two more bigger projects. But the intent is to finish one in February and a second one in March so I can keep WIPing the First.

Alex's Mario Hat

It's been bitter cold the last couple of days... and my little boy's last hat is just a little too small for him. He's been wearing some old ear muffs of mine, but I couldn't bear to let him go Christmas shopping with his big brother this weekend with a girl's ear muffs nor without any hat. And I had that Mario hat finished early... and he's big on Christmas gifts, but not as big on hand-knit clothing for Christmas. I figured he'd appreciate it more if it wasn't under the tree.

He was pretty happy about it (although it is just-a-bit too big). He's wearing it with the little Mario front and center (because that's his favorite in the hat). He's also wearing it cuffed up so it fits just a bit better.

He got a ton of compliments on it when he was out with big brother. Then he and I did our shopping together and he got even more compliments. He wasn't paying any attention when the cashier at the grocery store complimented him. So I stepped in and said, I'll take the compliment since I'd made the hat. She got really excited and couldn't believe it and told the other cashiers and the men working the bagging to take a look at the amazing hat.

Alex has been on and off the knit-worthy list lately, so I'm thrilled he likes his hat. And it's always nice to get good compliments on something you've made. I tend not to get many compliments, but the Mario hat was definitely a big win.

Red Heart, with Love

So, my latest FO, a scarf that is a Christmas gift.... was made with Red Heart with Love yarn.  It was presented to me as an alternative to the yarn-that-is-not-to-be-named.

The other yarn runs around $3.65 for about 350 yards.
The Red Heart yarn is around $5.00 for about 370 yards.

The other yarn comes in almost a hundred colors.
The Red Heart yarn comes in about a dozen colors.

The other yarn is softer, and has a better all-over-evenness to the yarn that isn't BAD in Red Heart, but isn't quite as good quality-wise. If I ranked the first yarn as an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10 in quality; this one is closer to a 7.

But, it is a good 'almost' alternative. And it would be better if they came out with more colors. When it boils down to all else? The limited color options is probably the biggest detriment to me.

I absolutely LOVE that it's made in the US and for the price difference, I'm ok with the barely higher price if it's going towards American workers.

Now, most Red Heart yarns soften with the wash. So, I'm hoping a trip through the washer and dryer will help take this scarf to the next level of softness.

All-in-all? I will use it again... but it probably will be when I need something I can go and pick up quickly (as opposed to ordering on-line or special ordering through an LYS) and when the color matters very little.

Last Christmas gift on my list

Over a month ago, I wanted to make something for my future daughter-in-law. I wanted to make a scarf or cowl... and I ran out of time during the cup term. But, with a favorite color of red, the next thing was to find a pattern. I wanted something somewhat traditional - and couldn't find a pattern that felt mindless enough, or quite just-right. So, I landed back to an oldie - the mock cable scarf. I found the stitch pattern AGES ago and have made a couple of scarves with it. I included the pattern I used for this particular scarf on my ravelry project notes here.

This scarf took 370 yards of Red Heart, with Love yarn. It's a little narrow, but nice and long. A good 5" wide by 70" long.

Here's a close up to the mock cable stitch pattern:

The reverse side looks a little like uneven ribbing.

There is no cabling involved, the 'slant' and the part that looks like it's crossed over? Is a stitch that gets slipped then passed over a couple of stitches. This ends up with a decrease, but on the next row, you add a stitch for each spot where you'd decreased. This results in the little 'dot' which is the yarn over above the slant that helps with the 'look of' a cable.  I found that I could do about 6" an hour, so that makes this a super-fast knit.

FO - Mario Hat

This hat is a Christmas gift for my 9 yr old, DS-addicted son.  I started it last month, but didn't get to the duplicate stitching for it until this month.

Side 1:

Side 2:

Snowmen on parade

So, the angel has been shown before.

As has the red-hatted snowman.

And the mochimochi snowman on the far right.

But this is the first time you've seen the other seven snowmen.

I made all of the white bodies, first - and started skipping a few rows and a few increases to get them just a hair smaller. It took about 30 minutes-ish each to make the bodies. I used the-yarn-that-is-not-to-be-named that had a little sparkle in it... and stuffed it with some wool fiber that I'm working at eliminating out of the house to try to remove some of the allergens in my home.

The hats were made in about 15 minutes each yesterday. The scarves were converted to Icords and took about 10 minutes each.

Then it took me a little under an hour to seam the bits together, tack down the scarves and add french knot eyes.

These turned out pretty cute, were fast and easy to make and I love them. I might had made more angels, but "a" didn't like it as well as the snowmen and since most of these are going to school to be gifts for his teachers, I figured he could dictate it. He's getting the mochimochi snowman for his ornament this year. That leaves an angel which will probably go to future daughter-in-law and three snowmen for myself, my eldest and my new grandson.

Woot! One more set of Christmas knitting OFF THE NEEDLES!

Which leaves  me with a hat and a scarf for Christmas knitting. I can deal with that and not feel overwhelmed.

Next Years big projects - blankets and making them affordable

While I'm looking at my big projects for next year... I'm also looking at affordable yarn buying options AS WELL AS keeping an eye toward working with buying yarn from a dear friend who just opened up a new LYS in town.

She's been kind enough to offer to special order for me 'big' orders as well as offering a discount on big orders... and I'd love to do my shopping there all the time... but let's face it. Her wool collection has to be larger than her non-wool offerings for sale - that's just common sense. But she is trying to make sure she offers me options as well (which is VERY kind and considerate). So I do want to repay her kindness.

Generally speaking, if she's going to order yarn for me (in bulk) she'll have to get on average 10 skeins of yarn for each color ordered.

So, first out of the gate, one of the blankets I'm planning to make next year only needs 2 skeins of 5 colors and 7 skeins of a 6th color. If she already had in stock the colors I needed, I wouldn't feel bad asking her to order the sixth color in a larger batch for me. BUT she doesn't. I'm looking for rainbow-color-bright with black as the sixth color. I don't think it's fair for me to ask her to order five other colors if I'm only going to want 2 of the 10 skeins from each package as then she has to have someone else around who is going to want to make something in your face BRIGHT.

But, another project I'm thinking about making requires 15-18 skeins of the same color. THAT one I think I should order through her - she'll get to sell most of the order immediately and I wouldn't worry as much about the few skeins I wasn't using being sold as I will be picking a much more muted/in style tone of color.

But let's look at pricing (not including tax - simplify my math).

At the LYS - I can get about 250 yards/skein for $5.40 - but my LYS owner now hopes someone else wants to make a rainbow in your face BRIGHT blanket
At Knitpicks - I can get about 220 yards/skein for $3.00.
At the hobby shop - I can get about 350 yards/skein for $5.00.

For the 6-color blanket - I need about 400 yards for each of the first five colors and 1700 yards for the sixth color.

Knitpicks - 17 skeins - $51.00
Hobby Shop - $75.00 (2 less skeins for the sixth color)

In this scenario - Knitpicks is going to get my order because I can't get away with only one skein of the hobby shop yarn - I'd have to buy two to get 400 yards; which ends up costing me more in the end.

For the 1-color blanket - I need about 3600 yards.
At the LYS - if I order 16 skeins (to ensure enough yarn) $86.40
At Knitpicks - 18 skeins - $54.00
At hobby shop - $60.00

In this scenario - I'm still tempted to buy yarn at the LYS. Yes, I could save about $30 at knitpicks, but the LYS yarn is EVERY bit as nice, if not a bit nicer to work with AND I get to figure that a good portion of that difference is money that is staying in my local economy.

AND yes, I'm fully aware I can buy blankets cheaper at Walmart. This isn't about the end result blanket. It's about finding ways to invest in my hobby, make something beautiful and not go broke while doing it.

First December FO's

The mochimochi snowman was super cute, but man - it was kind of a pain to work with. Very fiddly at least in the beginning.

I found a couple of free Ravelry patterns and these aren't as tiny, but are still seriously cute.

First my snowman:  Rav link - Snowman Ornament

He's about 3" tall and uses leftover scraps. I used a little of my initial homespun yarn (very poorly done) - which is a great use for it since I won't ever turn it into something I can use.



Next my angel: Rav link - Quick and Easy Ornament

Also right about 3" tall and using left over scraps along with a little gold crochet thread. Also using a little handspun wool for stuffing for the head.

Per "a" he likes the snowman best, so I plan on making about six of them for him to take to school and hand out to his teachers, aids, and the nurse. Then I will make five more for myself and my immediate members of my family. It's a family tradition that's 25 years old this year to make home-made ornaments and share them with loved ones.

I figure now that I have the pattern sorted and the idea, I'll probably work on them a bit assembly style. Hope to have the first six done before too long so he can get them distributed.

December Planning

THERE WILL BE NO PLAN -!!!

But I do have the following on the needles that will get picked up and worked on as the mood strikes!

• OWL sweater - colorwork cardigan with about 10 hours remaining
• Brown Sweater (started in October) - about 40 hours remaining
• Mario Hat - duplicate stitching remaining - about 4 hours
• Teddy Bear - 90% of him remaining - about 8 hours of work

So, I wouldn't mind finishing the last two of those. But the first two will get finished to the last end woven in and trimmed - so that I can turn them in for future WIPtheFirsts.

Christmas knitting that I haven't started yet and will probably do this month... though if I don't there won't be anyone applying any guilt (best and only type of Christmas knitting I will do).

• Christmas ornaments for my family and Alex's teachers at school
• Red scarf for my future daughter-in-law

Since it'll be the new year around the corner.... there is also one last WIP that hasn't gotten a mention all year.... the hibernating project, the dreaded alligator. About 20 hours of knitting remains on him. And it's down to the nit-picky little bits. Not much to do, but it's all down to somewhat fiddly and fussy. But he's been hibernating for about 18 months and I would like to finish him. If I can get him to within 99% of done, he can be an AWESOME WIPtheFirst in the future.

I will pick out a blanket project, order yarn and knit a swatch for the New Year at some point this month. 

November EOM Progress

ARRRGGG! Again, I didn't manage to finish my OWL.

The Hat Time Trial followed by the enui that followed it, cost me. I knew it was going to be close and the OWL was the only thing I worked on for the full last week of November (sadly this includes housework, so, um, yeah - now I get to clean house today - lol!).  By Friday at noon, all I had left was the button-less button band. Approx. 93" of 22 stitches of K2, P2 Ribbing. I did 3" during my 30 minutes of lunch, getting me to 38". Which left me with 57". At 3" in 30 minutes, or 6" in 1 hour.... that would be 9-ish hours of knitting left... plus seaming and weaving in the final ends - so approx. 10 hours. I was only going to have 8 hours left before HPKCHC end of term.

SO CLOSE. SO DARN CLOSE.

But, if I wasn't going to finish, I wasn't going to stay up all night trying to finish.

So, instead... I tried to tackle some of my other class ideas.

COMPLETED:
1 mochimochi snowman

This took a LOT longer than I anticipated and I had a lot of trouble with it. I didn't have any fingering weight white yarn to use - so I used sport, but same size needles recommended (even though I'm a loose knitter -with the idea larger yarn would compensate).  It's certainly cute. And my son claimed it 2 seconds after I finished it. But I will most certainly NOT be making more like this. I might end up trying to see how big they end up with worsted weight yarn on size 3... but if it's as fiddly to start as this is? I probably will come up with a different ornament to make for my son's teachers at school.

Previously posted:
41 hats
2 cowls

ON THE NEEDLES:

My so-close OWL
This is a shot of the body being blocked pre ends woven....

Here's a close up on the colorwork, for a night shot, it's actually somewhat true to the color.











The Mario Hat (hat is finished, just none of the duplicate stitching yet):

And lastly, one little leg (all alone) of a teddy bear:

I also had my TKGA Master Knitter Level 1 hat to start... but it was 10:30 pm, I was tired... and that is NOT the time to try to start a master knitter project.

I may sigh and whine about what I didn't finish. But, honestly? I got a TON done this month. I just need to remember that being a single mom working two jobs? No matter how cupper-crazy I may be, I have boundaries and it's ok. Because... lookie what I did get done!  Seriously? I have a lot to be proud of, you know?

So, my plan for December is to rest and recharge! There will be knitting. And there will be FO's posted. But they will be whatever they will be based on motivation and moments. And no official plan.

Reviewing my 2012 goals for the year

Here were my original goals:

• 12 sweaters/tops - for me - in 2012
• 40 hats for homeless charity
• two baby blankets for Project Linus by April 1st
• whatever else comes my way through Dumbledore's Yarny

So, how did I do? 

• I finished EXACTLY 12 sweaters / tops for me.

I started 2 that I didn't get finished, one is SOOOO close (the colorful cardigan that was my OWL this term). But I just realized it needs 10 hours of work. I have 8 hours between work ending and the end of term at 2:00 AM CST tonight.

I will probably get it down to the last end to weave in (and probably wear it that way - lol) and weave in the final end for WIPFirst in January.

The second one is the brown one I got about 33% done in October. I'll probably pick it back up after my Christmas knitting is finished and it can be a WIPFirst in February.

I also knit a dog sweater and a kid sweater... so all-in-all, not too shabby.

• I finished EXACTLY 90 hats for Homeless/charity knitting

Woot! I figured that with the extra effort to do more sweaters I wouldn't have time for lots of hats (my goal last year was 100, and I knit 101 because I'm not good at counting, apparently).

Technically, I would have stopped at 40 if it weren't for the mega-Quidditch point options this term... and technically, if I had stopped at fewer hats, I probably would have finished my OWL sweater. so, yikes. But, in the end, there were a TON more points form the hats than the 13th sweater - even if it was an OWL.

• two baby blankets for Project Linus by April 1st

I actually finished four baby blankets. Sadly, the only Project Linus drop-off place in the area was no longer affiliated with that project. But they still went to a good charity and they are still now available for keeping babies warm.

• whatever else comes my way through Dumbledore's Yarny

They never put any more challenges out for this... so technically, I got all of the challenges met (lol).

But that said, ten of my charity hats were for Click for babies. There were two Animal Rescue cat blankets taken to a shelter. There were three scarves and three cowls made for a winter clothing drive for the homeless.

So, while I might not have been able to stick to the letter of the goal, I sure did stick with the meaning behind it.

I will probably do a couple more charity projects for Christmas presents, but there won't be much more added to my achievements for 2012. And I'm ok with that. I've felt a bit mojo-less post-Hat Trials earlier this month and I'm going to try to take it pretty easy on the knitting front starting tomorrow. (Tonight, I'm hoping to squeeze out one more small project and a couple of partials for some last minute points.)

Cleaning out stash

My wool allergies have gotten a LOT worse.

So, about a year ago I got rid of a ton of lower-quality 100% wool balls by shipping off a box to a random number drawing from asking folks if they wanted it within the Gryffindor house. Some of it got used for an OWL - how awesome is that?

But some of the nicer, expensive yarns I didn't feel comfortable gifting quite the same way. And I had thought about donating them as prizes in Gryffindor... but wasn't sure about that. So, instead, I listed them on Ravelry in Stash to be traded/sold.  They've been sitting there for a good year. It's not like there's a lot of yarn there... just one or two balls of different quality/type/etc. Some of them I did use to trade for the last Cleaning Wars prizes; and a couple of more are slated to go in teh next Cleaning Wars prizes sometime next month.

But what surprised me is that I've actually sold two of them, like within a week of each other.

It's not a lot of money - just $8. But hey. It's $8. AND I get to get rid of more wool from my house. How cool is that?!

My goal for next year is to eliminate all wool from the house as lately? Literally picking up the skein and moving it to another place with wool? Makes me break out in hives. It's got to be eliminated. So, I figure in January I'll decide what's decent enough to contribute as a prize. What's not will probably get thrown into a 'grab bag'... and I'll probably pick someone from my pride to send it as a random act of kindness.

Cyber Monday Yarn Shopping

Quite a few online stores are having cyber Monday sales today. Quite a lot of them are offering 25% off or 30% off or even 40% off.

But so far? The deal that I couldn't resist?

Knitpicks.com

Select yarn and tools are 50% off. And their prices are usually very reasonable to start with.

I had at one point two sweaters-worth quantity of yarn in my shopping cart. But only one of the yarns was at 50% off. So, I ended up deciding to move the non-sale priced yarn into my wish list instead.

So what did I get? I got enough sport-weight baby alpaca in a Heathered Indigo to make a sweater. Easily $150 worth of yarn (bought elsewhere); worth $100 at Knitpicks not on sale;  for $49.50.

FO's - Julee's cowl

A co-worker had bought one of the charity hats originally intended for the homeless shelter... she plucked it right out of the donation box. I tried convincing her otherwise, but she insisted. I agreed for the sole reason that I could take the money to buy mittens/gloves for children for the donation box with the proceeds.

BUT THEN she proceeded to declare that she needed a matching cowl. sigh. I hate making things on 'command'. And it's for charity... which means more gloves and mittens... which should be a good thing. But, it didn't help much.

This should have taken only about two to three hours to make, max. It took about ten. It got frogged at least four times. But I finally finished it yesterday.

It doesn't help that it's made with Wool Ease Thick and Quick... which is a wool blend. Which I'm now pretty allergic to. I'd been able to work with it before; but after the Hat Time Trials a couple of weeks ago... not so much any more. Now, it's triggering my allergies to even pick up wool, let alone knit with it. (but it had to match - she said - sigh).

This cowl was knit with me taking my benedryl each time I picked it up to work on it.

November - mid-month Progress post

Ugh. Definite lack of mojo going on around here. This past week has been disappointing.

But here goes.

I posted last week that I exceeded my goal of 30 charity hats and managed 40 instead.

My OWL?  I'm onto the sleeves!  I still have a ton of work to do and not nearly enough time.

FO:

Ancient Runes - Changed my mind to do an infinity COWL with my corn yarn.

A new project I cast on for History of Magic - in honor of the booby... A bulky weight cowl for a co-worker who bought a charity-intended hat and wanted a matching cowl. I used the proceeds of the sale for mittens and gloves for the clothing drive.  And of course, because it has to match - it's in a wool-blend which means I can only work on it for a little while at a time. AND of course, because it's a paid order - it's not going well and I've had to frog it multiple times - and need to frog it again... sigh.

Not started yet:

Muggle Studies - assignment is to craft something inspired by games - a Mario hat for my 9 yr old son.

Headmistress Challenge - create swatches on the knook.

Charms - craft something to reflect a favorite season - a handful of mochimochi snowmen

Potions - that stubborn old TKGA Master Knitters hat that I keep procrastinating working on.

Flying - craft something inspired by a flyer - teddy bear....

Yeah. sad, I know. I knew that I'd have trouble making everything I wanted this month... but I didn't expect so much trouble with knitting mojo after that hat time trials.