ELEVENTH Self-Imposed Year of Projects: Look! The groundhog is coming up to sniff the air and tell us about our spring! (Update #11)

I hear it's Sunday! And I might actually get this done on the correct day for once. Or not. We'll see how things pan out. 

FOs (Finished Objects)

Not yet. Someday.....probably. Maybe?

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. Vanilla Socks: started 9 August 2020
11. Sand Drift Blanket: started 17 January 2021
12. Vanilla Socks: started 12 December 2021
13. Dishcloth: started 25 February 2022

We had kind of a busy week around here. Sort of. Monday was a snow day and Little Man was home sick on Tuesday, and both kids were home sick on Friday. And I was down with a migraine on Friday. ::sigh:: My week was kind of.....punctuated. I did try to work on the dishcloth on Thursday while we watched the latest episode of Picard but it was too heavy of an episode and I put the knitting down. 

I think the only other knitting I did was last night, when I worked a bit on the Vanilla Socks (#12 on the list)....unfortunately, I was falling asleep and I for sure thought Puppy was going to sit on my WIP and get a needle stuck in his butt or something. Thankfully, that didn't happen...but it could have because he was being needy and wanting to sit on my friend and I. Silly dog. 

But that's it for knitting.....though stash enhancement did happen. The Madison Knitters' Guild had their annual Knit In this weekend and the aforementioned friend and I went yesterday to the marketplace. I came home with some goodies.....but I haven't spent time actually taking stock of what came home. I know I picked up a gradient of minis from Leading Men Fiber Arts, a hand-cranked sock that needs heels, toes, and cuffs from Sun Valley Fibers (and at least one skein of yarn from her, as well), a couple project bags (because I really, really, really need project bags /sarcasm), some spinning fiber that is a bright green. Yeah, I bought stuff. I'll get around to showing it off at some point but not yet. 

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. Park Slope (fingering weight - Mountain Fibers Crazyfoot in Shamrock)
2. Flax (worsted weight - Misty Alpaca in the Harry Potter colors)
3. Musselburgh (any weight - likely DK or worsted)*
4. 3 Color Cashmere Cowl (fingering weight, 3 colors)
5. Gradient Band Cowl (fingering weight - Safronie Fairy Tales gradient and a solid)*
6. Fine Tune (fingering weight - uses minis so maybe a rainbow type one with the Canon Hand Dyes?)
7. Stashbusting Helix Hats (worsted weight - bits and bobs of worsted)
8. Lakeline Tank (Aran weight - I have yarn for this somewhere...like I bought it specifically for this but I can't remember what it is)
9. Hüj Tüb (laceweight - maybe that 100% lace cashmere I've had forever?)
10. Undone (bulky - maybe the reclaimed Freeport Vest yarn?)

 

Children's Items/Knitting for others
1. Flax for Little Man (worsted weight - likely Baah Yarns Shasta in London Blue)
2. Honey Badger: (worsted weight - black & white acrylic I have banging around the stash)*
3. The Mandolorian (sport weight - need grey, white, and green...which I might have)*
4. Zelda Beanie (worsted weight - black or grey and yellow, which I'm sure I have)
5. Wasabi for Mr. K (worsted weight - Cascade 220 in Moss Agate if possible)
6. Bugle for Miss E (worsted weight - multicolor; htNEVELE in Reverie if possible)
7. Bonbon for Miss C (worsted weight - Cascade 220 in Vinci if possible)
8. Baby Bear for Mr. T (fingering weight - anything will work)
9. Pig for Earle & Duane (worsted weight - need pink, of course...maybe a good use for the one skein of Molly Ringwald I have?)

 

Utilitarian/Household Items
1. On-Trend Chair Socks (worsted weight bits and bobs) - I have a lot of chairs that could use these
2. Garter Chevron Blanket (KP Mighty Stitch - may need to get some more black or white)
3. Diagonal Knit Dishcloths (cotton of some sort, possibly a cotton/bamboo blend, depending on use)
4. Reusable Produce Bag (cotton or acrylic of some sort - worsted)
5. Harry Potter Blanket (worsted weight - based on several dishcloth patterns to make blocks)
6. Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth (cotton or a cotton/bamboo blend, again based on use)
7. Pop Blanket (worsted weight - a little of this and that?)
8. Holiday Countdown Stockings (worsted weight - various colors)

 

Spinning:
1. Wonderland Dyeworks BFL in Stream Bed
2. Wonderland Dyeworks BFL in Winter Night
3. Timber Ridge Farm Alpaca Roving
4. Ashland Bay Fiber 100% Merino Top in English Garden
5. Anne's Fiber Expressions Elynenium

 

Dyeing:
1. Sock Blanks (I think I have 5 left)
2. Random worsted/sport skeins (I have maybe 2-3 left)
3. Anything else I find along the way (I don't think there's anything else, but maybe?)

 

Other Fibery Endeavors:
1. Stash Fit
2. Create a project bag inventory
3. Update library inventory (on Ravelry)
4. Update stash inventory (on Ravelry) and reorganize yarn
5. Stitch markers: make kits and individual for Etsy shop
6. Destash as necessary/needed

 

 

We might be heading into proper spring around here. It's supposed to be in the 50s all week (with maybe a day or two of upper 40s with rain). I might be sticking my nose out to sniff at the world. Maybe. 

Regardless, with spring coming and the time change overnight, I'm starting to feel a bit more like myself, which means I'm going to try to get some things done that I've been neglecting around here. Today, I was working in our master closet. When we first arrived, without the majority of our stuff, the closet shelves became a place to put things that needed to go to other places that weren't here yet (the safe, jewelry boxes, the cord bins, etc.) and it was kind of a hot mess. Now that everything is here, I've been unpacking here and there, trying to focus on rooms as opposed to the boxes, which has led to a few boxes here and there that have been left sitting. One had my jewelry boxes and photographs. In order to put them away, I needed to clear out the closet shelves. So, I've been working on that today. The downside is that now I have more stuff to put elsewhere. ::sigh:: It's kind of a neverending cycle.

With the boys being intermittently sick, we've been trying to keep things pretty low-key around here. There have been movies and snuggles. I also had parent-teacher conferences with both boys' teachers on Thursday. And a visit to two book fairs (one at each school). The boys have several new books to look through and read (and they've both read through a few already). The good news is that they're fitting in well, both doing well socially....but Little Man was recommended for summer school. He's not behind but they think he could benefit with some extra math, just to keep him going. So, that's likely to happen this summer. If I'm going to take one, I'm going to take both, though, so I'll have to sign Stormageddon up as well. 

I wound up going to Ikea this week. I came home with four of the regular sized Billy bookcases (31" across), one of the narrower ones (15" across), four more cubes for downstairs, a chair for me to spin in, and a little pillow for said chair. Oh, and a little side table, which will likely be where I put my EEW Mini wheel to spin on. And other things. If I ever get that room set up....::sigh::

Puppy has been kind of a lazy butt this week...I mean, let's be honest, he's always lazy but usually he's on the couch or the chair but this was a rare time I caught him using his actual bed. I don't know what his issue is with it but he hardly ever uses it. He just seems to like chairs and couches better. Oh well.

Lastly, Little Man got a guitar this week. It's a 3/4 size, fairly inexpensive, and if he sticks with it, we can get him a full-size one as he gets older/bigger. Apparently they started playing them at school and he seems to like it. We'll see how it goes. We also ordered Stormageddon a ukulele but it hasn't arrived yet. I guess I had better start looking for teachers. 

But really, that's about all that's happening right now. We stocked up at Costco today because gas prices are going up and it's about 40 miles round trip. So, hopefully we won't need to go for awhile. We're getting to the point where I don't need to be going here and there so often during the day, so I may have time to knit again! And then we all laughed!

Anyway, I hope you've had a lovely week and weekend!