Y4: Self-Imposed Year of Projects - Update #23

Hello and happy Sunday! Husband is out of town until tomorrow so I've been flying solo with the boys since Thursday (which is also why I'm probably writing this a couple days ahead and working on it when I have a moment here and there).

Sooooo.....let's get going :)

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

I finished up the Sacrificial Goat that I had started the previous week. He even had his FO Friday post this past Friday. I was so on the ball this week.....or something. Whatever. There's not much else to say about the goat that I didn't say on Friday. Husband will get him upon his return tomorrow night...I think. I should really check when I'm supposed to pick him up.

I also started and finished a baby hat this week. I was just going to make another version of my Stitch's Rock hat but....funny thing.....the PDF is on my laptop and I only had my iPad (late night knitting - laptop is in the living room, iPad is right next to me). So, I figured that because it was my pattern I would be able to get a copy of the PDF onto my iPad through Ravelry. Nope. So, I had no access to my PDF and needed to find another (free) pattern to use. I picked one out (and you can find it on the project page), mostly for the stitch count. I didn't actually read the pattern decreases or anything. In fact, if I had done that, I wouldn't have chosen the pattern at all. One of the things that bothers me in patterns is when decreases aren't even and this pattern basically said: repeat this decrease around and then when you have extra stitches at the end, just knit them. That kind of drives me nuts unless the yarn is something like Lion Brand Homespun (which is so....furry....that you can't see the decreases anyway). So, I wound up rewriting decreases for the pattern (which you can find on my project page). It worked out just fine. The yarn I used was "gifted" to me in the last Claudio Sanchez swap. It's a discontinued worsted acrylic from Bernat. As far as acrylic yarn goes, this isn't the worst I've ever worked with...it's not great but it's not totally awful. However, as I only had the one skein and I don't really have any other similar acrylic in my stash, I can't really make something large that *might* take more than one skein...so, small items.

Anyway, moving along.....


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. Traveling Socks: started December 23, 2014
5. Wink: started January 5, 2015
6. Fire & Ice (Fire) Socks: started April 15, 2015


I started two new projects this week (one isn't listed because it's just a dishcloth and the other is listed in the FO section, for obvious reasons). I worked a little on the dishcloth here and there. I actually had one going and then I discovered that I needed the needle I was using for the baby hat (the US #8 16" circular).....so, I frogged a dishcloth and started a new one on the US #5 needle I used on the hat brim. It's fine as I don't plan on needing it for a little while.

I've also worked a couple rounds on my Traveling Socks. It's growing, albeit very slowly...but any positive progress is still progress.


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. Alvin (for Little Man - worsted; solid or semi-solid)
5. Alvin (for Stormageddon - worsted; solid or semi-solid)
6. Harry Potter Blanket (for The Family - worsted; solid) - from various Harry Potter inspired square blocks
7. Albert the Absent-Minded (for Stormageddon - any weight; self-stripe, variegated, solid, or semi-solid)  *need pattern*
8. Mirkwood (for Stormageddon - bulky; solid or semi-solid)
9. Smaug (for Little Man - worsted; solid or semi-solid)
10. Dandy Sir Cephalopod (for Little Man - any weight; self-stripe, variegated, solid, or semi-solid)  *need pattern*
11. Moe the Mustache Monster (for...someone - worsted; self-stripe, variegated, solid, or semi-solid)

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)

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. 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



And the Startitis is still strong, even though I've started new things recently. ::sigh::


In "real life," not much has been happening outside of flying solo since Thursday morning. I'm trying to keep us doing things so that we don't get bored at home and start ripping each other's hair out. This is difficult as taking a small break for myself is almost impossible. Seriously, peeing by myself has been a luxury these past few days. Stormageddon usually cries if I'm gone for too long, especially if he's in a place he doesn't want to be (like the jumper or the pack-n-play). Little Man, luckily, is pretty self-reliant...but he has his moments, as well.

Thursday was a pretty average day. We dropped Husband off at the airport, went out for breakfast, ran some errands, and then we did things around the house. Okay, I did things around the house (laundry, anyone?). On Friday, we went across the Bay to visit friends. Yesterday, we did a few things about the house, then I took the boys out for time at one of the parks in town.

Also, this had to happen:

I had to put the baby gate up in front of the screen door because Stormageddon has been climbing up onto his knees and I didn't want him to fall through the screen and off the step. So...that happened....

.........which is good because then the above happened last night. Someone figured out how to pull himself up onto his feet. I had to drop the crib down last night. ::sigh::

This one, however, is much more difficult to photograph. He's less than cooperative most of the time. Silly boy. He was busy watching videos on my iPad yesterday morning and couldn't be bothered for five seconds for a decent, looking-at-the-camera photo.

Oh, and pre-bath baby selfie...

Let's see......how about a video (if it works). I took the boys to Baskin Robins yesterday for an afternoon treat.

It appears that the chocolate ice cream was a HUGE hit. Now that he's kind of figured out how spoons and solid foods work, he's very interested in anything that can go in his mouth.

Case in point.......also, I'm not 100% positive that the above video is SFW so, you know, exercise caution when watching it.


Anyway, I suppose that's quite enough to be getting on with. So, I hope you're all having a lovely Sunday and weekend and so on and so forth :)