Y5: Self-Imposed Year of Projects - Update #12

Hello and happy Sunday :)

I feel like this last week has been very chatty on my blog, which isn't a lie. I think the only days I didn't have posts were Monday and Saturday. Tuesday was a yarn review, Wednesday was my mid-month goals update, Thursday was a Stash Enhancement post, and Friday was FO Friday. Now we're back around to Sunday and it's time for my Year of Projects update.


FOs (Finished Objects)
1. Fire Socks: started April 15, 2015; finished January 6, 2016
2. Nottingham for Stormageddon: started January 12, 2016; finished January 14, 2016
3. Design proposal for Fire Socks: started January 13, 2016; finished January 18, 2016
4. Purple merino/silk spinning (singles): started toward the end of Tour de Fleece (July 4-26, 2015); finished January 29, 2016
5. Nottingham for Little Man: started January 17, 2016; finished February 1, 2016
6. Swirl Hat: started December 16. 2015; finished February 4, 2016
7. Swatch for Marly Bird class at Stitches West: started January 8, 2016; finished February 7, 2016 (no project page)
8. Fire Socks design (the actual pattern writing & photography part): started February 6, 2016; finished February 12, 2016 (I think it's going live in a few weeks; I'll let you know)
9. Mountains Beanie: started February 9, 2016; finished February 17, 2016
10. Rathmore: started February 25, 2016; finished March 4, 2016
11. Dragon's Egg Socks: started September 2, 2013; finished March 9, 2016
12. Creeper for Little Man: started March 4, 2016; finished March 10, 2016
13. Mother Bear Project #1: started February 22, 2016; finished March 12, 2016

Nothing new has been finished this week, which isn't a problem. I think with the flurry of finishes of the last couple weeks, this shouldn't come as a surprise. Or something...

Also, a little birdy (mainly, the editor) informed the little collective of designers when our publication preview will go live (this Friday, if all goes well) and when the patterns will go live (Saturday, April 2nd). So, I'll let you know next week :)


WIPs (Works-In-Progress) - carried over year-to-year
1. Snape's Stockings: started August 20, 2014
2. Wink: started January 5, 2015
3. Vanilla Latte Socks: started November 19, 2015
4. Ice Socks: started January 7, 2016
5. Pacific Waves: started March 9, 2016

And then there are my WIPs. To be fair, each and every one of these WIPs has made progress this week...though some would not consider rewriting a chart for the third time "progress." I still consider it progress because I think I've finally gotten to the point where I can just, you know, KNIT THE THING ALREADY!

Snape's Stockings are now past the heel flap & turn. I'm in the midst of gusset decreases but it's going more quickly, which is a total bonus. I might finish these by the end of the year. I have no desire to have another pair of socks going on longer than two years. So, hopefully long before August (which will be the 2 year mark for when I started these socks).

This is from earlier in the week. I'm past this point, even. But this is definitely the second sock. Woo for socks.

Wink......yes, you read that correctly.......WINK CAME OUT OF PSEUDO-HIBERATION! Admittedly, I've not worked on it a lot but it came out and I worked a pattern repeat for the section I'm working on, which equates to a little over an inch and a half.

I snapped this right when I finished the pattern repeat. What you're looking at, if you're not familiar with the pattern or top-down raglan shaping, is the back of the neck (the cabled section on top would go along the top, around my neck and it will eventually work it's way down the front of my body as the reverse stockinette gets bigger). The little columns of stockinette that you can see are the increase sections for the shoulders. It wasn't much but it got me back into it.

My Vanilla Latte Socks are just getting longer at this point. I've not bothered to photograph anything because it just looks like the leg of a sock.

And then there are the two designs I'm working on............my Ice Socks were going along so well. Really, they were. The ribbing was done, I was on my way with the pattern (actually, I had almost finished the first pattern repeat).......but the vision in my head was not coming to life. It looked fine on one side but the other side was wonky and pulling because of the stitch pattern versus the spiraling pattern and it was just...yeah, I wound up frogging it, rewriting the chart pattern (again - third time) with new changes, and I may or may not have restarted them again. ::sigh:: So disappointed in myself. Things were going so well. Third time's the charm, right?

My hat, on the other hand, has not hit any knitting snags but it's not looking how I imagined. Story of my life, apparently. Don't get me wrong: it's going to be a totally cute hat but there are things I'm going to change when I make it again (because yes, I'm going to make it again to fix what I'm not thrilled with in this prototype - screw swatching, I go full-scale!). It's a toddler sized hat so I'm not too fussed because, let's be honest, Stormageddon needs hats.


Moving along.....


Children's Items
1. George's Vest (for Stormageddon - probably the largest size; YOTH Little Brother from Stitches)
2. House Hat (one each for Stormageddon and Little Man - worsted, two contrasting colors)
3. Mirkwood (for Stormageddon - bulky; solid or semi-solid)
4. Smaug (for Little Man - worsted; solid or semi-solid)
5. Arthur the Alien (for Little Man - worsted; any colors)
6. Holiday Countdown Stockings (for the family - Aran/worsted; four colors)

Items for ME (selfish knitting, FTW!!)
1. Vanillaish Socks (using one of my Harry Potter Yarns)
2. Paradiddle Socks (using a solid or semi-solid sock yarn)
3. Hermione Hearts Ron (sport weight; solid or semi-solid - Plucky Primo in Petunia?)
4. Hermione Hearts Ron Fingerless Mitts (sport weight; solid or semi-solid - Plucky Primo in Petunia?)
5. Classic Silk Mayfaire Camisole (Miss Babs from Stitches Midwest)
6. Stormont (worsted; solid or semi-solid)
7. Sockhead Hat (sock; any colors)
8. Moab Shawl (sock; any colors) *need pattern*
9. Prowl (DK; solid or semi-solid) *need pattern*

Secret Sock Club Bags - Pick a bag at random; do pattern with yarn
1. Scotch & Soda Scarf (using Briar Rose Fibers Wistful, leftover from my Icarus Shawl)
2. CashSilk Fern Scarf (using ONline Supersocke 100)
3. Jabberwonky (using KP Felici in Abracadabra)
4. If You Know Where To Go (using KP Felici in Green Veggies)
5. Gardener's Socks (using Malabrigo Sock in Indiacita)

Stranded Knitting
1. University of Wisconsin Ski Hat
2. University of Wisconsin Christmas Stocking
3. University of Wisconsin Button Beanie
4. Xanadu Snowflake Cowl

Christmas/Charity Bin
1. 198 yds. of Heaven (worsted; any colors)
2. Phillip and Mr. Grum (sock yarn; any colors)
3. Comfort Food (Aran; solid)
4. Fine Fella (worsted; solid or semi-solid)
5. November Leaves (Shelter from stash) *need pattern*
6. Skinner Hat (sock; solid or semi-solid) *need pattern*
7. The Shoemaker's Hat (bulky; solid or semi-solid) *need pattern*
8. Roll Out The Barrels (cotton; any colors)
9. Sweeny Todd Scarf (worsted; any colors)
10. Bridal Shower Lace Cloth (cotton; any colors)
11. The Snowmen Cometh (worsted; any colors)
12. Sunburst Dishcloth (cotton; any colors)
13. Starfish Cloth (cotton; any colors)
14. Seamless Circular Cloth (cotton; any colors)
15. Tombreck (Aran/worsted; solid or semi-solid)
16. Premie Spiral Hat (for hospital donations - sport or DK; any colors)

Designs
1. Ice Socks (knit prototype and pattern for submission)
2. Susan's Hat (make proper - photos, pattern, etc.; knit new prototype from Babs K2 from Stitches)
3. Little Man's Baby Blanket (make proper - photos, pattern, etc.)
4. Paradiddle Socks (knit prototype - see "Items for ME")
5. Pacific Waves Hat (knit prototype, pattern for submission? self-publish?)

Spinning
1. Spin approximately 4 oz of either a grey wool or white merino to ply with the purple silk/merino listed in the FO section above.
2. Finish up the remaining Asshole Blue Corriedale that I found in Stormageddon's room awhile ago (don't even get me started on this one!)
3. Start something new...or something different....or, just something :)

In today's edition of The Real World: San Francisco Mateo.......um, what's been going on this week? Oh, I remember: Husband was home all week with what turned out to be strep throat. Luckily, no one else in the house got it (not that we didn't all have colds otherwise). It made for an interesting week. Little Man also had a doctor appointment this week, specifically to see an audiologist. He's been having trouble with his right ear for several months so we had a formal full hearing evaluation for both ears. His left ear is fine, both pressure-wise and his actual hearing. His right ear is....not fine. The pressure is normal but his actual hearing is not so good. They suspect that it's the fluid behind his ear drum that's causing the problem. There's no infection or anything like that but it's almost like he's hearing underwater for his right ear. So, we go to his pediatrician tomorrow afternoon and I suspect she's going to refer us to a pediatric ENT, which is fine as long as they don't mention surgery. I really don't want to put him through that, if we can avoid it. 

Stormageddon has been exploring in the backyard this week. So far, he's not as interested in dog poop as Little Man once was, which is helpful. He does like playing with sticks and is fond of our lemon tree and Puppy's water dish. He comes inside covered in dirt and mud and general "outside" gunk. But dear Lord, do not bring him in if he's not ready. He'll scream like a banshee and bang on the sliding glass door to go back outside. ::sigh::

Here are some photos from this week. I was much better about taking photos this week!

I took Husband to the doctor on Tuesday. Stormageddon demanded my keys in the waiting room. They're still his favorite "we're out and about" toy. 

Little Man was in front of Stormageddon, trying to tell him how to drive his little car. Stormageddon was fine on his own but Little Man wanted to be helpful. In other words: this was them behaving themselves while playing together for a hot minute. 

Stormageddon is not a fan of waiting rooms in doctor's offices. So, he took to climbing on the chairs while waiting for Little Man to be finished with the audiologist. ::sigh::

This is my cool little dude on St. Patrick's Day. He's wearing one of our friends' sunglasses because he just looked so cool in them. I took a few photos on St. Patrick's Day, apparently :)

Little Man had swimming lessons and we spent some time making goofy faces before he got in the water. 

Also, I had a breakthrough with Little Man and his PITA eating habits: he tried corned beef & cabbage without complaining. He didn't like any of it in that state (corned beef, cabbage, carrots, & potatoes) but he tried it, he didn't have a little tantrum about it, and it was awesome. I'm a little sad he didn't like anything but I'm so proud that he tried. That's kind of a big deal for him. 

We also made some new friends this week. 

This one was outside of our house earlier this week. Just a little bitty shell-less snail (i.e., a slug). We saw it one morning as we were leaving for school and by the time Stormageddon and I got home from dropping Little Man off, it was gone.

This one Little Man found on a fence post on Friday morning on our way to school. Just another little bitty slug. He was fascinated and I think if we hadn't been going to school, he would have asked to take it home. We don't have any place to carry one with the stroller we have so that would have been a bit, fat, "NOPE." 

And then there's this....

Twice this week, while walking back from school (Wednesday and Friday), this sweet little girl cuddled up to us and started following us home. As you can see, she does have a collar and tags and such but she wouldn't hold still long enough to look at the actual tag. I snapped these photos on Friday and posted them on our neighborhood's Facebook group. Turns out her name is Sally and she's an indoor/outdoor kitty, very friendly, chipped, fixed, and eats like a little piggy (even though she's a skinny mini). The place where she sauntered up to us was her house, which is only a few blocks from ours. She was very sweet and the boys loved her. 

In addition to that, I had coffee with a few of the mom's from Little Man's class (and one dad) this week, we went to the park on Friday after picking Little Man up from school, and I (successfully) made French Onion Soup. I also made corned beef & cabbage but that isn't difficult and I don't follow a recipe. 

Other than that, the week has been pretty uneventful. It doesn't look like next week is going to be all that eventful either. I do plan to have a stash enhancement update, probably mid-week, as I got my order from Corgi Hill Farms on Friday afternoon...but that's about all I have planned for now. And "planned" probably isn't the best term. More like, "let's see what happens" and call it good :)

I hope you're all having a lovely weekend!