Y4: Self-Imposed Year of Projects - Update #4

Hello and happy Sunday! Let's get cracking, shall we?

 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: started January 16, 2015; finished January 24, 2015

I finished up a hat last night. Originally, it was sort of based off the Family of Hats recipe/pattern I had...except that I used a stitch count that wasn't part of it...which means I basically stopped following a pattern other than the stitch pattern I found via Pinterest. I have to work a couple things out and then I may wind up writing it for several sizes. We'll see how things go. For now, I've finished this one.

 Works-In-Progress (WIPs): - carried over from 2014...and maybe earlier...
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. Traveling Socks: started December 23, 2014  
5. Wink: started January 5, 2015  
6. Vanilla Fingerless Mitts: started January 23, 2015 
7. Paradiddle Hat: started January 24, 2015

I spent some time on a few projects this past week...I was a bit on the bouncy side with projects. This is a bit strange as I didn't do much knitting from last Sunday-Wednesday. The only knitting I did between those days was while we were playing "Tourist" with my sister-in-law on Monday...and it was on my Traveling Socks. I wasn't driving so I could knit in the car :) So, I've made some progress on the leg of the first of those socks. As soon as I finish up my next color, I'll be getting around to the heel flap. Woo. Heel flap! 

Oh, and a few rounds of Snape's Stockings made it into a couple nights but there's not much going on with those right now; I'm just decreasing for the gussets. I don't think I knit more than a handful of rounds on it all week...hardly worth mentioning other than I did it :)

And you'll notice I started two new projects. No? Go look, they're right there. So, you may or may not have heard about this story (go ahead and click on the link - it'll take you to a news station's website in southern Wisconsin - it's a legit website as it was one of my local news stations before we moved to California). The really short version is that Nicia has Noonan Syndrome and turned 16 this weekend. Her mother wanted her to have a birthday she would never forget so she had her friends on Facebook spread the word to send this girl birthday love...and it spread like wildfire. She's received cards from all over the country, including one from President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle. Not only cards but packages and donations to her favorite charities (Noonan Syndrome Foundation, by the way)...and before I had time to register what I was doing, I was asking about any tactile issues or allergies and would she like fingerless mitts or a hat or mittens or something like that (hey, it's cold in Wisconsin in the winter!). And I'm making her some fingerless mitts. Unfortunately, life got in the way and they're not done but they seem to be going fairly quickly. I did let her mom know that it would probably be late but that should be fine. So, I'm making fingerless mitts for someone I've never met. And it's not that I'm a totally selfish knitter...but I'm picky and choosy about the people I knit for. And I chose to knit for her. 

But that's the first of the "new" projects. The other is another hat for the NICU, based on an idea that popped in my head for socks. I felt like diddling a new pattern...so there's that. It's just started so there's nothing interesting to say yet :)

And no, I've not restarted Wink yet. But, progress has been made because we got the printer ink refilled at Costco so I was able to print the pattern, which is lovely and will make my life so much easier for this project. 


Anyway, moving along...


Children's Items
1. George's Vest (for Stormageddon - sock/fingering)
2. Nottingham (for Little Man - worsted)
3. Nottingham (for Stormageddon - worsted)
4. Alvin (for Little Man - worsted)
5. Alvin (for Stormageddon - worsted)
6. Harry Potter Blanket (for The Family - worsted) - from various Harry Potter inspired square blocks
7. Albert the Absent-Minded (for Stormageddon - any weight)  *need pattern*
8. Mirkwood (for Stormageddon - bulky)
9. Smaug (for Little Man - worsted)
10. Dandy Sir Cephalopod (for Little Man - any)  *need pattern*
11. Moe the Mustache Monster (for...someone - worsted)

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)
4. Ginny's Cardigan (DK)

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)

Because I love Husband
1. The Dude

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

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.

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



Even though I have seven (!) projects going right now, my mind is still wandering toward what I want to knit next. I think I have a case of Startitis again. Or perhaps the last case never quite went away. Or perhaps it's because I know Stitches West is coming up in a few weeks and I want all the things. Or because I've been perusing the Vogue Knitting Live Pasadena classes (which is in April). I'll think of something...


In "real life" events, not much has changed other than I'm able to feed Stormageddon baby food. We've started with the Gerber rice cereal, which he seems to like...but in small quantities. He's not quite sure what to do with the spoon yet. He's a bit more interested in chewing it rather than eating off it, which I expected. Poor boy is teething but he's not really cranky from it. He's just chewing on anything he can get into his mouth and drooling. He's also tall enough to reach the floor in the jumper so I don't have to put the box under him anymore. He seems to like that, too...but again, small doses. 

Little Man is beyond excited at the prospect of going to school in the fall. I've filled out the paperwork to have him transferred to a different elementary school within the district. In a couple weeks I have to do the regular registration (yeah, they do the transfer paperwork first...weird). We're still hoping to get him into one of the Montessori preschools (which feed into the Montessori charter schools in the district), specifically the one that is just a couple blocks away from us but, you know, either one would be fine. He doesn't quite understand that he won't be going until August but he's excited and that's always good. 

Other than that, not much else is happening around here. Oh, except for the crack in my windshield. I'm not too thrilled about that but we only have a $100 deductible for glass repair/replacement and it probably won't make our insurance go up like crazy...but still, HUGE crack. ::sigh::

Anyway, I hope you're all having a lovely week and weekend and so on and so forth...