Year SEVEN: Self-Imposed Year of Projects - Update #26

Happy Sunday! By this point, you should all know why we're here. For many people, this week should mark the end of the 7th Year of Projects and the beginning of the 8th Year of Projects...but for me, we're at the halfway point :)


FOs (Finished Objects)
1. Adare: started 30 December 2017; finished 5 January 2018
2. Luck o' the Irish Cowl: started 31 December 2017; finished 14 January 2018
3. Rasta Scarf: started 19 January 2018; finished 10 February 2018
4. Rastarmulke (v2): started 10 February 2018; finished 10 February 2018
5. Gamer Bag: started 28 September 2017; frogged 16 February 2018
6. Oh, She Is a Bad Nut: started 11 August 2016; frogged 16 February 2018
7. Garter Stitch Baby Blanket: started 6 July 2017; finished 3 April 2018
8. Pattern submission: started 19 March 2018; finished 3 April 2018
9. Tiny Narwhal: started 5 April 2018; finished 6 April 2018
10. Tiny Narwhal: started 5 April 2018; finished 6 April 2018
11. Hat for Little Man: started 19 April 2018; finished 27 May 2018
12. River's Edge Fiber Arts Falkland Merino (wheel): started 19 May 2018; finished 2 June 2018
13. Smooth Operator Socks: started 13 October 2016; finished 12 June 2018

Nope. Nothing new to see here. Move along. Well, unless you're interested in seeing....a bunch of FOs. Then you can go visit this past Friday's post :)


WIPs (Works-in-Progress) These are carried over from the last Year of Projects....or longer.
1. Wink: started 5 January 2015
2. Stomping Grounds Collection: started 26 February 2017
3. Hat Design: started 20 March 2017
4. Unnamed Hat Design: started 14 August 2017
5. Shetland Neck Wool (support spindle): started 8 September 2017
6. Paradiddle Prototype: started 19 October 2017
7. Returning: started 14 January 2018
8. Frankensocks: started 1 March 2018
9. Faerie Mountain Fibers Crazy Batt (EEW Mini Spinner): started 13 April 2018
10. Granny Square Blanket (1): started 28 April 2018
11. Clapotis: started 29 June 2018

I feel like I did a good amount of knitting this week, even if it was only on four projects.

Earlier this week, I figured out I was a stitch off on my Returning Shawl. I had to do math to figure it out. I had 99 sts on one side of the center increase and 100 sts on the other. Turns out I was supposed to have 100. I could not see a dropped stitch, a missed YO, or a missed M1 on that side . What I suspect happened is that I dropped a YO and it only dropped a row or two at most because it's undetectable. So, I did a M1 in the early part of that side, called it good, and kept knitting on my merry merry. I also figured out that, at the time, I had 18 rows left to knit before I switched colors.....which means I should probably figure out which yarn I'm going to use for sure.

The hot contender right now is this one:

I was originally thinking of a blue one from Sundara Yarns but the main color was more greenish than I was originally thinking and the blue next to it just looks......wrong. Sooooo, off on a quest to find a new one. I need to put this one next to the dark brown (the other contrast color) and the green (main color) to see if they go together or not. If the brown and this one are too close, I may have to go back to the drawing board. But, right now, this is the thought I'm having.

In addition to the Returning Shawl, I also worked a bit on the Paradiddle Prototype Socks. I think I only have four pattern repeats to go before the heel flap/gusset. I haven't counted in awhile, though. I should maybe do that.

I also finished up the cuff on the FrankenSock and started the first color. I've been having to weigh my yarns as I go along, though, because of Stash Dash. Since I was using partial skeins, I didn't think to weigh anything so I'm weighing on the second sock so I can figure out what I used on the first one and maybe have an idea for Stash Dash.

And then you can see I started another project. I didn't mean to start my Clapotis two days early and I'm only like 16 rows into the pattern...and since it's knit on the bias, those rows are very short. I only have about 19 sts on the needles right now. I wound the yarn last week and this week I decided I needed to figure out which needles I wanted to use. I started out knitting the actual pattern with some Addi Turbos in US #5 and it wasn't giving me a fabric that I liked. So, I ripped it out, found some Addi Turbos in US #6 and restarted it. I liked the fabric I was getting but the needles were too blunt for me. So, I ripped it back out again, dug out some ChiaoGoo Red Lace needles in US #6 and started again. I had sharp enough needles and I was getting a fabric I liked. So, I got just into section 2 (the increase section) and stopped. I won't pick it up again until sometime today, at the earliest. I've earburned everyone in the thread that is doing the Clap-a-Long with me and we'll be on our way.


OMGLSGWTFBBQ Lists:

Children's Items
1. Stuffed toy for my Devil Niece (so-called because her initials are TAZ)
2. Undetermined hat for Stormageddon
3. Mittens for Stormageddon
4. Oliver for Stormageddon (worsted weight - Stunning String Studio from Stitches West 2018)
5. Lancelot for Little Man (worsted weight - green Plymouth Encore)
6. Dandy Sir Cephalopod (worsted weight - Red Creek blue, probably for #1 on this list)

Items for ME (selfish knitting FTW!)
1. Brickless (worsted - Miss Babs Yowza in "Celebration") *
2. Honey Badger (fingering - BMFA STR L - one of the ones from Carrie)
3. Park Slope (fingering - Mountain Fibers Crazyfoot)
4. Maya's Shawl (bulky - Plucky Silk Merino Aran)
5. Companion Mitts (fingering - BMFA STR orange from Carrie) *
6. Forest Cardi (worsted - Baah Shasta in "London Blue" and....something....)
7. Flax (worsted - Cascade 220 in "Royal Blue" or Misti Alpaca Harry Potter color)
8. Jag in Garter Stitch (fingering - KP Palette grey and Artfibers Carezza)
9. Reichenbach (fingering - AVFKW Slick or BMFA STR-M in "Vintage")
10. Sockhead (fingering - Madelinetosh Merino Light)
11. Moab (fingering - Wollmeise in "Lavender")
12. Pumpkin Pie (DK - Kangaroo Dyer orange)
13. Age of Brass & Steam (DK - Berroco Comfort DK)
14. Anne's Sweater (sport - Artfibers something)
15. Moyen Age (fingering - Vice special order either grey or green)
16. Clapotis (calls for Aran weight but I think I'm going to use this)

Random Things
1. Pop Blanket (worsted - may need to order some yarn for this)
2. University of Wisconsin Ski Hat kit
3. University of Wisconsin Christmas Stocking kit
4. University of Wisconsin Button Beanie kit
5. Xandu Snowflake Cowl (fingering - two contrasting colors)

Designs
1. Susan's Hat *started* - need new prototype & write pattern
2. Little Man's Baby Blanket *started* - write pattern
3. Paradiddle Socks  *started* - need prototype & write pattern
4. Pacific Waves Hat *started* - need another prototype & write pattern
5. Fall in San Francisco *started* - need another prototype & write pattern
6. Stormageddon's Baby Blanket - need prototype & write pattern
7. Cabled pullover (grey look-alike sweater - Old Navy hooded sweater with cable) - need sketch,
grading, swatch, prototype, & write pattern
8. Christmas stocking for Little Man - need charts, prototype, & write pattern (maybe)
9. Christmas stocking for Stormageddon - need charts, prototype, & write pattern (maybe)
10. Christmas stocking for Husband - need charts, prototype, & write pattern (maybe)
11. Stomping Grounds collection *started* - need everything: charts, prototypes, swatches, etc.

Spinning
1. AVFKW Merino Silk
2.  Abstract Fiber Merino Tencel
3. Allons-Y Fiber Arts 18.5 Micron Merino
4. Allons-Y Fiber Arts Merino, Trilobal Nylon, Silk
5. Alpaca (from Lambtown 2014)
6. Ambrosia & Bliss Rambouillet Top
7. Anne's Fiber Expressions
8. Ashland Bay Fiber Merino Top
9. BMFA Handpainted Roving
10. Bramble Wool Farm Shetland Wool

Dyeing
1. Malabrigo Nube (fiber)
2. Gaia (worsted)
3. Euro Sock 6-ply
4. Whatever else I find in the bag...I have a bag...or maybe a couple of bags....

Other Fibery Endeavors
1. Stitch markers
2. Vintage patterns into Rav database
3. Inventory of books & loose patterns (update)
4. Inventory of PDF patterns (update)
5. Update yarn inventory (make sure it's up-to-date)/destash
6. Inventory project bags (Erin Lane, I'm looking at you)


It occurs to me that Tour de Fleece starts this Saturday. So, while I was cleaning my corner this week, I pulled out some fiber to spin. I think my first spin is going to be the white unknown wool from a sheep named Mary Ann. It was the white fiber I used for Maker Faire at Little Man's school in April. I weighed it out and I have just over 200 g of fiber to spin (just over 7 oz). So, if I'm lucky, I should wind up with about 600 yds of DK weight when I'm finished. It depends on how it spins. It's going to be a rustic handspun, I know that. If I spin it a little thicker, I'll probably wind up with about 450ish yds of worsted. We'll see what it wants to do. I also plan to finish up my Crazy Batt from Farie Mountain Fibers, on the electric spinner. That honestly shouldn't take all that long.

I'm not going to lie, though: TdF is going to mess with my knitting...because I'm going to be spinning. ::sigh::



In real life, it's been......well, we've had a busy week. It was the first full week of summer vacation. Husband has been working a lot this week so the boys and I have been trying to stay entertained without going broke in the process.

On Sunday, I took the boys out for lunch and ice cream. Or, rather, Little Man and I had ice cream. Stormageddon didn't want anything to do with it. Weirdo.

Tuesday, I took the boys to the zoo. I should have known better. We went in shorts and t-shirts because it was 68F at our house when we left. When we got to the zoo in San Francisco, which is right alongside the ocean, it was 56F. The boys were a bit chilly. I was fine but they were cold. Once we were moving around, they were okay but the first few minutes, they were not happy about their lack of sweatshirts.

We managed to catch the Red Panda talk right away. They have three red pandas. Two are females, both around 13 or 14, and then this guy is a 5 year old male. He was busy doing somersaults. They don't do them in the wild but they do in captivity. He was busy running around and showing off. The females were just hanging in their spots, watching him act a fool.

They have a USDA Containment Facility at the zoo for the bugs. Basically, one door opens, you go into the foyer, wait for the first door to close, and then you can open the second door and enter the facility. The boys are hit or miss about the bugs. Sometimes they love it, other times not so much. Stormageddon didn't like the cockroaches but he seemed to like the spiders. Little Man just liked looking at all the bugs.

After that, we went to the petting zoo, which is really mostly farm animals. They have a horse, a couple donkeys, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks....and because the goats are free-roaming, you have to make sure you don't have paper sticking out from pockets or a purse. They'll eat it. I also have to remind the boys not to chase the chickens.

However, those who do not listen, must feel. Little Man went up to the rooster. The rooster didn't like it and gave him a bite. I don't think he's going to be walking up to any roosters again.

This is one of the many goats that roams in the area. This particular one is a bit of an attention hog. Loves pets and will come back and nudge you for more. 

Recently shaved alpacas :) They look so skinny without all their hair. 

Of course there are things to climb on, as well. Stormageddon needed some help onto the donkey but he figured out the saddle all on his own. 

I just like the meerkats. There were only a couple out at the time. This guy was particularly photogenic.

We spent some time in the play area just around noon. Stormageddon didn't want to go, but what kid wants to leave the playground? We weren't even halfway through the zoo but we came across the playground first. Oh well.

I took the boys on the train that goes around the zoo. We stopped in the South American Rain Forest & Aviary building first. Stormageddon does not like reptiles, it seems. He didn't want to see Oliver, the anaconda, or any of the frogs. He did like the one sloth we found. And the ducks. He backed away from everything else.

The boys wanted to see the penguins and flamingos before we left, which was fine. The flamingos smell, though. Or maybe it's just where I was standing. Either way, not pleasant. 

The photos of a successful trip: both boys fell asleep on the way home. 

The rest of the week was spent trying not to melt in the heat. The boys keep messing with the hose in the backyard and made a giant mudhole, which our not-foster Pibble likes to play in. ::sigh:: 

Thankfully, Puppy doesn't really go for the mud puddles (if he did, he wouldn't be allowed in our bed). He does like to cuddle with Little Man, though.

By the time yesterday rolled around, I needed a break from my monkeys. Luckily, we had a mom's night out planned for Saturday anyway. There were only six of us and we went to House of Prime Rib in San Francisco. It was a much-needed night out. And dessert. 

And here we are, on Sunday again. We're heading up to Santa Rosa today, just for the day, and Husband is taking this week off from work (woo-hoo!). So, that's exciting and all. 

I hope you had a lovely week and weekend :)