Y4: Self-Imposed Year of Projects - Update #36

Happy Sunday :) Last week was just filled with posts........I don't know that I'm going to have that many this week but, then again, we'll see how the week goes :)

Finished Objects (FOs):  
1. Elefante: started December 19, 2014; finished December 28, 2014  
2. Hat #1 - FoH: started December 31, 2014; finished January 1, 2015
3. Hat #2 - FoH: started January 1, 2015; finished January 4, 2015
4. Hat #3 - FoH: started January 7, 2015; finished January 10, 2015
5. Hat #4 - Stitch's Rock Hat: started January 16, 2015; finished January 24, 2015
6. Vanilla Fingerless Mitts: started January 23, 2015; finished February 3, 2015
7. Paradiddle Hat: started January 24, 2015; finished February 7, 2015
8. Stitch's Rock Collection (of Hats) - Variegated: started February 22, 2015; finished February 24, 2015
9. Sorin Fingerless Mitts: started March 8, 2015; finished March 31, 2015
10.Stitch's Rock Collection (of Hats) - Variegated: started February 27, 2015; finished April 1, 2015
11. Stitch's Rock Collection (of Hats) Pattern Test: started sometime in February, 2015; finished April 18, 2015
12. Sooooooooper Secret Pattern Writing (project #2): started sometime in February; finished April 15, 2015 -- full disclosure in October 2015
13. Sacrificial Goat #5: started May 29, 2015; finished June 4, 2015
14. Baby Hat: started June 4, 2015; finished June 6, 2015
15. Elvish Leaves Dishcloth: started June 10, 2015; finished June 12, 2015
16. Baby Hat: started June 19, 2015; finished June 27, 2015
17. Homework for Alana Dakos Class: started July 1, 2015; finished July 5, 2015
18. Traveling Socks: started December 23, 2014; finished July 28, 2015
19. Sacrificial Goat #6: started August 23, 2015; finished September 1, 2015
20. Petty Harbour Socks: started July 29, 2015; finished September 5, 2015

What's that, you ask? TWO finished objects this week?! Why, yes....yes, that would be TWO finished objects this week. I finished up the 6th Sacrificial Goat and my Petty Harbour Socks this past week. I've not taken good photographs yet of either FO but I expect that will be forthcoming, along with a FO Friday post...I hope. Like I said, we'll see how this week goes.

But, they're finished. Last week, the goat just needed stuffing and sewing. That didn't take me too long and I finished it up late Tuesday evening. The socks, on the other hand, needed most of the foot on downward to the toes. But, they're in DK weight so they went fast. I finished them up very early yesterday morning (as in 12:15am). They're currently still drying on the blockers and I may need to toss them in the dryer to shrink them up a teeny bit.


That means my WIP list looks like this...

Works-In-Progress (WIPs): - carried over from 2014...and maybe earlier...*shifty eyes*
1. Dragon's Egg Socks: started September 2, 2013
2. Pacific Shawl: started June 8, 2014
3. Snape's Stockings: started August 20, 2014
4. Wink: started January 5, 2015
5. Fire & Ice (Fire) Socks: started April 15, 2015
6. Little Man's Hat: started July 8, 2015

So.......I think we need to discuss something. See #1 on that list, my Dragon's Egg Socks? I think I need to get my butt going on those. I've had them on the needles for over TWO YEARS now and, quite frankly, that's just unacceptable (and quite unlike me). I'm on the second sock, the pattern isn't horrible, the charts aren't terribly difficult......but I just haven't worked on them. With that said, I can't always work from charts with small children around so I'm going to have to make a consorted effort to work on these while Stormageddon is otherwise occupied (napping, down for the night, etc.). Little Man will let me knit from charts so it's just keeping Stormageddon out of the way. Also, my Pacific Shawl and Snape's Stockings have both been on the needles for over a year. To be fair, I frogged my Pacific Shawl and basically started over so it's kind of like a new WIP. Snape's Stockings are on the second sock, as well.

My goal for right now is to work on these WIPs, though there are a couple projects that are calling me and I may have to start at least one or two. I've picked out a toy for Stormageddon, probably for Christmas if I can get going. I have Itty Bitty Toys by Susan B. Anderson (whom I adore) and I've made a couple projects from there. Little Man's Giraffe was the first project I started from that book but I also made Sweet Girl's Hippo (which I finished before the giraffe). For Stormageddon, I picked the Bunny pattern. I've even found some yarn in my stash in the correct quantity that will work (Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino....or maybe it's the Cashmerino Aran....).

But, aside from that, there's another project that I kind of just want to start RIGHT NOW! The other day, Stephen West tweeted about the release of his new pattern, Jag in Garter Stitch. Now, I've knit a couple of his patterns (some of his earlier ones) and I have a couple more in my Ravelry queue. They're clear, concise, and result in something I would wear (or that I would gift to others like my 14 year old nephew).......and then he broke out of his shell and started going very........eccentric. A lot of his more recent patterns just haven't called to me, though I find them extremely interesting to look at from a design point of view. But this one......I don't know why but this one just called to me. All I know is that the pattern jumped into my Ravelry queue, then I hit the "buy it now" button, my Paypal password was entered, and before my brain registered what my fingers were doing, I had the pattern downloaded and open on my laptop and I was picking out yarn from my stash.

Sooooooo..........there's all that. But, I need to get some of those WIPs out of the way!


In my "OMGLSGWTFBBQ, crazy lady?!" lists...

Children's Items
1. George's Vest (for Stormageddon - sock/fingering; solid or semi-solid)
2. Nottingham (for Little Man - worsted; solid or semi-solid)
3. Nottingham (for Stormageddon - worsted; solid or semi-solid)
4. Harry Potter Blanket (for The Family - worsted; solid) - from various Harry Potter inspired square blocks
5. Albert the Absent-Minded (for Stormageddon - any weight; self-stripe, variegated, solid, or semi-solid)  *need pattern*
6. Mirkwood (for Stormageddon - bulky; solid or semi-solid)
7. Smaug (for Little Man - worsted; solid or semi-solid)
8. Dandy Sir Cephalopod (for Little Man - any weight; self-stripe, variegated, solid, or semi-solid)  *need pattern*
9. Moe the Mustache Monster (for Stormageddon - worsted; self-stripe, variegated, solid, or semi-solid)
10. Another Goat (for Little Man - worsted in white/cream, and brown)

Items for Me (Selfish Knitting, FTW!)
1. Vanilla Socks (using one of my Harry Potter yarns)
2. Drip Drip Drop Socks (using either a solid or semi-solid sock yarn that I haven't decided on yet)
3. Hermione Hearts Ron (sport; solid or semi-solid)
4. Ginny's Cardigan (DK; solid or semi-solid)

Secret Sock Club Bags (Pick a bag at "random")
1. Scotch and Soda Scarf (using Briar Rose Fibers Wistful - leftover from my Icarus Shawl)
2. CashSilk Fern Scarf (using a skein of Online Supersocke 100)
3. Jabberwonky (using KP Felici in Abracadabra)
4. If You Know Where To Go (in KP Felici in Green Veggies)
5. Gardener's Socks (using Malabrigo Sock)
6. Paradiddle Socks - my own design (using Malabrigo Sock)

New Techniques (one of the following stranded/multi-yarn kits)
1. University of Wisconsin Ski Hat
2. University of Wisconsin Christmas Stocking
3. University of Wisconsin Button Beanie

Because I love Husband and/or My Children
1. Sacrificial Goat #7 (for Little Man)
2. Sacrificial Goat #8 (for Stormageddon)

Christmas Presents
I have absolutely no idea what's going to end up here, if anything. I suspect something will end up here and I might pull it from other lists but we shall see. Maybe I won't do any Christmas knitting. Maybe all I'll wind up doing is Christmas knitting. I suppose this is a wait-and-see section :)

Designs
1. Susan's Hat
2. Traveling Vines Socks
3. Little Man's Baby Blanket
4. Paradiddle Socks (see Secret Sock Club Bag section)
5. Paradiddle Collection of Hats



Let's just keep moving on :)



Outside of knitting, in "The Real World: San Francisco," Stormageddon had his first birthday. We opened presents the day before (because Husband was working late on his birthday)...and the day of, because the box from my bestie didn't come until late the day before. He had his cupcake on his birthday, and he loved it, of course (who doesn't love cupcakes?!).

We were doing FaceTime with my in-laws so Stormageddon is looking at Husband's phone while I took photos with mine. The cupcake came from a lovely shop in Oakland called James & the Giant Cupcake (which is, coincidently, right next to A Verb for Keeping Warm).

Big boy on his birthday!

Lunch at Fletch's Hot Dogs

Stormageddon has also discovered windows. Or, more accurately, the fact that he can stand up and lean against the windows.

Forget fingerprint art.....I get tongue art!

After Stormageddon's foray into licking the sliding glass door, I decided it would be a good idea to clean them. However, we had years of fingerprints and dog nose prints on the windows (front and back) so I had to do some scrubbing to clean them. They were really bad.

And then this happened.....yeah, that's Little Man in his Ultron Halloween costume. He absolutely LOVES Halloween and we brought out the Halloween decorations on Friday afternoon, put a couple out, and he lost his mind! He wanted to do all the Halloween decorations. So.....we did. The sticky things are on the windows, the little witches and skeletons are in the tree, the wreath is over the outdoor light...........and now he has his Halloween costume. Well, one of them, anyway. He can't wear this one to school so he's getting a secondary one (probably a penguin) that he can wear to school.

Yes, I understand that it's the first week in September. That doesn't mean much to him. We've tried explaining that Halloween is still almost two months off. Doesn't matter. He has his costume, the decorations are up. HALLOWEEN IS COMING!


In other random events, my car is in Oakland getting fixed (hence being at the cupcake shop and the yarn store). It should be done by Tuesday or Wednesday (I'm thinking probably Wednesday). In the meantime, I've had a rental. I don't like the rental but it serves it's purpose. I'm driving a Ford Edge, which is a crossover SUV type thing. It's bigger than my car but my car drives better, even though it's got 60,000+ more miles on it. I also hate the rental car seat I'm using for Stormageddon. If ours wasn't such a pain in the butt to get in and out of there, I would have just used ours. ::sigh:: Soon enough, I'll have my car back.



Anyway, I hope you're having a lovely weekend and, if you're in the US at least, a happy Labor Day weekend :)