Year the TENTH: Self-Imposed Year of Projects - And there was a ton of yarn I didn't buy! (Update #3)

Happy Sunday! Today's installment of my Self-Imposed Year of Projects is brought to you by $150 worth of yarn I did not buy but I somehow acquired....you'll have to read to find out how that happened!

FOs (Finished Objects)

Nope. Nothing here yet. I'll get something here eventually...

WIPs (Works-in-Progress) *these are carried over year after year, as needed*
1. Wink: started 5 January 2015
2. Shetland Neck Wool (support spindle): started 8 September 2017
3. Returning: started 14 January 2018
4. Faerie Mountain Fibers Crazy Batt (EEW Mini): started 13 April 2018
5. Granny Square Blanket: started 28 April 2018
6. UW Ski Hat: started 11 July 2018
7. Purl & Loop Weaving Project: started 28 August 2018
8. Herbivore: started 15 November 2018
9. Linen Stitch Scarf: started 2 June 2020
10. Greenwood Fiberworks Dark BFL (Viktor): started 28 June 2020
11. Vanilla Socks: started 9 August 2020
12. Minecraft Socks: started 12 August 2020

This week was spent working on this and that. I pulled out the Minecraft Socks for Little Man and tried them on both my feet and his feet. His feet are still a little smaller than mine so I'm going to make them my size and then when he outgrows them, I'll get them back (if he hasn't destroyed them, which is always a possibility with my children). I'm working on the toe decrease on the first sock, which is a good sign. It's been my "Stormageddon's meetings" knitting. 

In addition to that, I worked on the heel flap of the Vanilla Socks, though I've still not finished. It's not like they're difficult or anything...but it's dark yarn and apparently my eyes are getting older? I always scoffed at that but now that it's happening, I'm kind of sad. I have so much black and dark yarns that I want to work with. I'm going to have to get an ott light or something. I don't know. 

And then there was the massive amounts of yarn I wound this week. Either last Sunday or maybe on Monday, I got a text from a friend of mine that lives a couple blocks away. She's a knitter and she had ordered a blanket kit from Purl Soho, which she's done before (ordered from them). She asked if they would wind her yarn but it didn't come wound, though it always has before. I offered to do it, thinking it was probably worsted and maybe five skeins. Nope. It was fingering weight, ten skeins (it was supposed to be twelve but they were out of two of the colors)...but the yarn was so so delightful to wind. No twists or turns that involved hand winding. I mean, it was seriously like working with butter. It was so so so nice to wind. If I didn't have a closet full of yarn, I would consider ordering a couple of the skeins for myself. 

So, I wound those ten skeins of yarn and it took maybe an hour or so. I was expecting a mess at some point so I told her four hours, just in case. Anyway, I got those wound and then I was thinking, "hmmm, I have the swift and ball winder out...maybe I should just wind some more yarn" and I had some Stunning String Legacy Worsted pulled out for a sweater for Stormageddon and a skein of Madelinetosh Tosh Light for something and I had my cowl kit yarn pulled out....so I wound those. The Tosh Light and the six skeins of Legacy Worsted were done on the ball winder but the cowl kit has minis that don't lend well to the ball winder so I hand wound those (but I definitely used the swift). 

Oh, it gets better. 

The yarn went back to my friend and the next day I got a text from her and she was like, "Oh my God, come get this yarn, I hate it, I can't do this, I have screwed up this pattern and I have to use four strands at once and it's like knitting with embroidery floss, you have to come get it, I am so so mad!" 

Uh, yeah! I'm not going to say no to that yarn. It was gorgeous! The pattern is worked with the yarn held double and then you're also using two colors because it's a slip stitch pattern and she was getting all tangled and mad. She actually just threw the bag of yarn at me, needles and all, when I got to her house. I got everything untangled, rewound into the balls (and a couple smaller balls where she had cut the yarn when she was mad), and I told her I'd make the blanket for her. That way, she's not out the money and she doesn't have to stress about it. And then I think I'm going to suggest an alternative yarn to use that is worsted weight so she can make one herself! Or not. We'll see how mad I get at this pattern. 

My first step is to find my Twofer bag from Erin Lane Bags. Then I can at least separate the two colors I'll be using. I have the needles already because they were in the bag she threw at me, the yarn is wound, she gave me the pattern....all I need to do is start. I haven't yet because I need to find the bag but soon, I think I can swing that. 

But there's also the other yarn I wound. I think the Legacy Worsted is going to be a Flax for Stormageddon instead of the Oliver sweater I had on my list below (and I've since changed). I'm already planning on making it big so he can grow into it. I'm also going to make one for Little Man, again, big so he can grow into it. And maybe I'll get around to mine. Or not. Maybe I should finish Wink first. 

Anyway, moving along...

OMGLSGWTFBBQ

Design WIPs:
1. Messed Up Moss: started March 2009 - write pattern as PDF (iterations: first, second)
2. Susan's Hat: started 31 August 2010 - need new prototypes & write the pattern (iterations: first, second, third, mini, fifth, sixth)
3. Little Man's Baby Blanket: started July 2010 - need new prototype & write pattern (iteration: here)
4. Chunky Scarf: started 6 October 2012 - need new prototype & write pattern (iteration: here)
5. Pacific Waves Hat: started 9 March 2016 - need new prototype & write the pattern (iterations: first, second, third)
6. Fall in San Francisco: started 18 September 2016 - need new prototype & write pattern (iterations: first, second)
7. Stomping Grounds Collection: started 26 February 2017 - need prototypes & write patterns
8. Unnamed Hat Design: started 14 August 2017 - need various weight yarn prototypes & write pattern (iterations: first, second)
9. Paradiddle Socks: started 19 October 2017 - write pattern (iteration: here)

 

Design Ideas:
1. Christmas Stocking for Husband
2. Christmas Stocking for Little Man
3. Christmas Stocking for Stormageddon
4. Baby Blanket
5. Stomping Grounds Collection

 

Items for ME (Selfish Knitting FTW!):
1. Rose's Wrist Warmers (DK weight - using Aran instead; hand-dyed Malabrigo Twist?)
2. Perianth (fingering weight - Knitcircus Trampoline in The Whole Enchilada)
3. Stranger Things Hat (worsted - Malabrigo Rios in Archangel)
4. Autopilot (worsted weight - Sincere Sheep Cormo Worsted or htNEVELE Worsted in Reveire)
5. Fine Tune (fingering weight - uses minis so maybe a rainbow type one with the Canon Hand Dyes?)*
6. Flax (worsted weight - Misty Alpaca in the Harry Potter colors)
7. Park Slope (fingering weight - Mountain Fibers Crazyfoot in Shamrock)
8. Undone (bulky - maybe the reclaimed yarn from the Freeport Vest?)
9. Socks (fingering weight - Bob knows I have enough so I should use it - maybe with the CSM)
10. Sockhead (fingering weight - I have tons...pick something!)
11. Age of Brass & Steam (Handspun purple/white barber pole)
12. Radiate Shawl (fingering weight - Artfibers Carezza maybe?)
13. El Panal Cowl (Kit from Greenwood Fiberworks)

Children's Items
1. Flax for Stormageddon (Stunning String Legacy Worsted)
2. Honey Badger: (worsted weight - black & white acrylic I have banging around the stash)*
3. Mittens for Stormageddon (worsted weight probably)
4. Boo-yah! for Stormageddon (Creatively Dyed leftover sock yarn in Dark)
5. Maybe a Flax for Little Man...maybe...

 

Utilitarian/Household Items
1. Garter Chevron Blanket (KP Mighty Stitch - may need to get some more black or white)
2. Diagonal Knit Dishcloths (cotton of some sort)
3. Reusable Produce Bag (cotton or acrylic of some sort - worsted)
4. Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth (cotton or maybe bamboo, depending on the use)

Spinning:

1. Wonderland Dyeworks BFL

2. Mixed BFL

3. Allons-Y Fiber Arts Merino, Trilobal Nylon, Silk

4. Alpaca (from Lambtown 2014)

5. Fiberlady.com 100% Bamboo 

Dyeing:

1. Sock Blanks
2. Skeins of sock yarn
3. Random worsted/sport skeins

4. Anything else I find along the way

Other Fibery Endeavors:

1. Create project bag inventory

2. Update library inventory (on Ravelry) *in progress*

3. Update stash inventory (on Ravelry) *needs to be redone*

4. Stitch markers: kits and individual

5. Destash as necessary (it's always necessary)

6. Stash Fit

 

 

 

And now we've hit life in California. It's been unusually warm here for January. Usually it's in the mid-50s and maybe in the low-60s (Fahrenheit), cloudy, rainy, etc. This week it's been in the upper-60s and maybe low-70s. Let's put it this way: yesterday, the boys put on their swimming stuff and played in the sprinklers and with the hose in the backyard. I wish I were joking. 

Also, you can see our orange tree in the background. It's full of ripe oranges. Our lemon tree is, as well. Husband used to bring in an Ikea bag (those big blue ones) filled with oranges & lemons to the office. We don't have that since he's working from home....so I guess I need to eat more oranges? Oh darn. I'm not complaining other than I have to go out and pick them and wash them and find a place to store them. I think I'm going to have to ship some to the Midwest, as well.

Aside from that, not a lot has been happening. The boys are back to their school schedules, Husband is back to work, and that's just how things are rolling. They have off from school tomorrow for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. To be honest, even though we just got back from the winter break, I feel like we could all use this break. I don't know that we have any other ones until March. ::sigh::

Oh, and we had an earthquake last night, just after 8pm. It wasn't anything major. There was a 4.5 that hit about 65 miles southwest of us. Actually, to be fair, there were five earthquakes in about a half hour, ranging from maybe a 1.2 to the 4.5. We only felt the 4.5 and it was a rolling one, which means our bed shook a little and that was about it. The boys didn't even notice. There was one in the northeast Bay Area a few days ago and we felt nothing, though it was significantly closer. Earthquakes are weird. I'm not a fan. I can handle tornadoes and blizzards and super cold weather. They are somewhat predictable. Earthquakes are not predictable. I don't like that. 

Apparently I didn't take any other photos this week (and really, Husband took that photo and I snagged it). It was just one of those weeks, I guess. 

I hope you had a lovely week and weekend! Maybe I'll take photos of the lovely yarn I wound (unlikely) or start another project (likely). And then she laughed and laughed...