Y5: Self-Imposed Year of Projects - Update #10

Happy March! Happy Sunday! Happy happy happy :) Let's get going on this week's 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

I finished Rathmore on Friday afternoon. The ends have been woven in, I've been wearing it around the house, but it does need a good wash & block session. Since I've not blocked it, there are no "good" photos yet. Soon, I hope...



WIPs (Works-In-Progress) - carried over year-to-year
1. Dragon's Egg Socks: started September 2, 2013
2. Snape's Stockings: started August 20, 2014
3. Wink: started January 5, 2015
4. Vanilla Latte Socks: started November 19, 2015
5. Ice Socks: started January 7, 2016
6. Mother Bear Project #1: started February 22, 2016
7. Creeper for Little Man: started March 4, 2016

With Rathmore off the needles, I've been trying to work on other things...but since I just finished Rathmore on Friday, I've not worked on much else. The Mother Bear Project is close to being finished...I've got arms, sewing, stuffing, and a teensy bit of legs left to finish...oh, and the face. I'm debating whether I'll make a scarf or a skirt or something like that for the bear. I have enough yarn so this wouldn't be a big stretch or anything.

My other projects......well...........maybe we just shouldn't talk about those right now. I may or may not have started another project within an hour of weaving in the last end on Rathmore.

Okay, let's not lie. I totally started another project. It's going to be small...like really small, actually. It's a Creeper for Little Man. Don't know what a Creeper is? Well, I'm not really sure I get it either. I know it's from Minecraft, which Little Man plays on the iPad. That's about all I know about it. The original that Shelly made was a bit bigger than mine, which is perfectly fine. It just shows how all knitters are different. We're both using DK weight and US #3 needles...but mine is smaller. Well, maybe I shouldn't say that yet but it seems like it's a bit smaller than hers. We'll find out. I'm using yarn I bought at Stitches specifically for this project. I expect I'm going to have quite a bit leftover, which is fine because I have a couple hats in mind (nothing special - just little hats for the NICU/hospital).

And I may or may not have dragged out my oldest WIP on Friday night and gotten halfway through the heel flap......shhhhh! I might actually finish them this year!


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")

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 :)


Moving right along into "real life" or some semblance thereof......

This little monkey hit 18 months this past week!

He has not had his 18 month appointment yet (it happens this week) but I do know that he's hanging around 24.5 lbs......and I only know that because I had him to the doctor on Thursday afternoon. Why did I have him to the doctor? Well.........::sigh:: He snuck behind me when I was getting the mail and started diddling with the door crack and I didn't know he was back there. I went to shut the door like I normally do and, well, you can guess what happened. So, a trip to the doctor happened. We're pretty sure his little finger is not broken but even if it is broken, we could splint it or tape it...but he'd have that off in a hot minute. Also, he's probably not going to hold still for an x-ray. So, I took him in, his pediatrician is aware of what happened, and when he goes in next week for his appointment, she's going to check him out again. I feel horrible, even though he's been perfectly fine.

Part of this last week was spent with one of Husband's best friends (and not his wife, who is one of my college roommates). He flew in on Thursday night and went back home this past Wednesday morning. The boys (meaning Husband, his friend, and Little Man) did some sightseeing around San Francisco including the Painted Ladies, which is right across the street from Alamo Square, Golden Gate Bridge (of course), the Embarcadero (including Red's Java House and Fisherman's Wharf), and they tried to see Muir Woods but it didn't happen. They got there before 9am and there were cars six deep looking for parking spots. So, no Muir Woods. Oh well. While he was here, they made beer (which is done fermenting and needs to go in a keg at some point), we took him to House of Prime Rib, and we just lazed about, generally.

The Craisins were for Stormageddon

That's from House of Prime....soooo good. Yorkshire pudding, prime rib, creamed corn, and a baked potato.....and this was after a most excellent salad.

It means that I wasn't taking many photos this past week. This one was taken by Husband, actually. We had a bottle brush tree in our yard that attracts hummingbirds, which is fine....but it also means my allergies go bonkers, we have a lot of wasps that like that tree.....and it needed to go away. So, our realtor friend came over and cut it down. We're having the stump removed probably later this week but we'll see what happens. The boys were fascinated. Weirdos.

We also did some baby gate removal in the house. Specifically, we removed the gate that went from between the living room and Stormageddon's bedroom. It means he has access to some more of his toys. He found this little gem (available here from Tupperware) and in addition to the shapes that were supposed to go in, he was also shoving Duplos into it. Little Man sorted it out later but he was quite proud of himself for figuring out he could put the Duplos in there. Silly children.

And then this happened.

I don't know what his need was at that time but we were cuddling in the chair and he just pulled up his feet and started sucking on his toes. One of my friends asked me how he could possibly be that flexible...and, if truth be told, I can still get my feet to my mouth without issue (not that I want to, but I can). To be fair, he may not have been felling all that well and his feet were convenient for comfort. I don't know. He's a bit of an odd duck sometimes.

Other than that, not a whole lot has been happening around here. El Niño is back and we're being inundated with rain this week. Soccer was cancelled yesterday for Little Man due to the rain and wind. Our trip to and from school on Friday wasn't exactly fun, either, with the rain that decided to come down in droves. The "rainy" season around here is from late October-mid January so we're well out of it...so this rain that we're getting is a direct result of El Niño. It just means we can do things like have a fire and clean the kitchen. Or something. Maybe that's what we did yesterday. It was needed.

I hope you've all been having a lovely week/end :) I may or may not be back for a mid-week Stash Enhancement post (my Indie Yarn Carnival club stuff came the other day so I have a new project bag and a squishy skein of lovely yarny goodness). We shall see how the week plays out. I could be back for FO Friday for Rathmore...if I can get my act together and get it washed & blocked soon so it's dry and we have a photo shoot. Again, we shall see....

Have a lovely day!