ELEVENTH Self-Imposed Year of Projects - Memorial Day Weekend mucked it all up! (Update #22)

 Happy Tuesday! Yes, I know. But with the long weekend and a few other things, everything was mucked up. I'm totally blaming Memorial Day Weekend but really, it was a bunch of things at once. 

Let's get going!

FOs (Finished Objects)

Nope. Almost but not yet. 

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
14. Mixed BFL (Annie): started 18 March 2022
15. Lakeline Tank: started 18 March 2022
16. Baby Blanket: started 22 April 2022

Most of the week.....no knitting or crafting of any kind. We were still dealing with the after-effects of having the sickies. 

But, over the weekend? Yeah, I did some knitting over the weekend. 

We went up to the North Woods to a cabin on a lake north of Minocqua, Wisconsin that friends of ours own. So there were six of us and two dogs, which was fine. I brought a few projects along, as one does. I didn't work on anything until Saturday. 

It had been rainy for most of the day so my friend and I went to a couple yarn stores in the area, which was delightful. After dinner, we watched Willow, which I had never seen (don't judge!) and I brought out the knitting. I worked on both Vanilla Socks (#10 and #12), which are also both second socks. I don't know that I can say I made a ton of progress but I worked on both of them. 

On Sunday, on our drive home, I pulled out the Herbivore shawl. I did a quick measure and I'm almost to the point where I can do the last three rows and bind off. I'm trying to use up as much of the yarn as I can. I'm hoping for very little in the leftover department. I'm hoping I can get through 7 rows, which is a pattern repeat and the 3 "finishing" rows....I think I'll have enough. I may throw a lifeline in, just to be sure....but I should probably figure out which row I'm on first. 

But that's it, I swear!

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. Hüj Tüb (laceweight - maybe that 100% lace cashmere I've had forever?)
9. 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

 

 

The week started out much like it had ended the week before: sickies in the house. That peanut butter recall is a big deal. We got really sick and it was not a fun time. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to go on our weekend trip, even Friday morning (the day we were supposed to leave). Little Man was back in school but I kept Stormageddon out until Wednesday, because he was still pretty miserable. 

We left for the North Woods on Friday after the boys got home from school. I spent most of the day getting everything packed up and doing laundry. I even took a small nap! Our drive up was....well, nothing to write home about. We got caught in some road construction, but that's not anything unusual in Wisconsin this time of year. It took about 4 hours to get up there, including a drive-thru stop at KFC (Little Man wanted Burger King but the line was long so we did KFC instead). 

We had a fire and sat by the lake that night. It was always a good time, watching Nature's TV (and yes, that's a wooden high chair in the fire). The boys went for a quick toodle around the lake, as well.

 

 

Saturday was kind of a flop for most of the day. It was raining and generally icky. My friend and I went to a couple yarn stores while the boys putzed around the cabin. They wound up going fishing on the lake in a downpour. We, of course, had no raingear...so the boys improvised.

Turns out my boys love fishing. They each caught something like 6-8 fish (and Husband and our friend). Nothing was quite big enough for eating but in a few weeks, they will be...and I'm sure we'll be back. 

Because of the rain and the lack of large enough fish, we wound up doing a seafood buffet at the local casino for dinner. Yes, there's a casino about 15 minutes away with a buffet...so we had dinner there. By the time we were done, it had dried out enough that we made a fire and s'mores. And the boys went fishing off the pier. And each caught something (which we threw back).

I think they're going to want to go fishing all the time. Which is fine...but I don't bait hooks or any of that. They can go with Uncle and call it good (he will love taking them). 

We came home on Sunday, after a quick breakfast. We got caught in some rain but that was fine. We also took the Merrimac Ferry, which is something I had never done.

It's one of the last cable ferries still in operation in the country. It's also a tourist attraction. So, we took the ferry across the Wisconsin River. 

After we got home Husband mowed, I checked on my bees, and that was that. I spent most of yesterday morning/early afternoon in the garden. We tacked down the black fabric, did some fence work, and I got the tomato plants in the ground (because that absolutely needed to happen). We also went to Little Man's friend's house for Memorial Day foodstuffs and the boys played (they have two boys, as well) so it worked out. I was exhausted, though, because it was hot yesterday. 

I'm going out again today to do some seed planting and tack down more of the black fabric, which shouldn't be as bad because it's not going to be as hot. 

So, hopefully next weekend I'll post on time but don't count on it. I hope you had a lovely week and weekend and so on and so forth.