FO Friday

Happy Friday! No, better than that: happy FO Friday! It's true, I have something to show...in fact, I have TWO somethings to show!

Yes, I am that good.

Insomnia gives me lots of late-night knitting time and I've been using it.

First up.......

Little Man wanted to help...

Pattern: Pine Forest Baby Blanket by Ingrid Aartun Bøe (links to my project page and the pattern page)
Time frame: started February 21, 2012; finished August 4, 2012
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Dublin (that's the green) and an unknown 100% acrylic that I picked up at Michael's (that's the pink)
Needles: US #9 (5.5 mm) 32" Addi Turbo circulars
Size: It's a baby blanket so I can make it whatever size I want...and no, I didn't measure but it's plenty big for a baby and will probably work into the early elementary school years...
Modifications: I used larger needles than the pattern called for and added an additional three pattern repeats on the horizontal (i.e., I added 21 stitches to make it wider)
Thoughts: This pattern was easily memorized and it had enough interest to keep me going. I don't know that I would make it again just because it took six months of work but I'm a slow knitter. It's a lovely pattern and then you make the Baby Sweater on Two Needles (by Elizabeth Zimmermann) and you'll have a little matching set :)

But wait, there's more!

Blurry but you get the idea...

Pattern: Simple Baby Cap #1 by Susan B. Anderson (links to my project page and the pattern page)
Time frame: started August 4, 2012; finished August 5, 2012
Yarn: Same as the blanket above...
Needles: US #7 (4.5 mm) Chai-Goo 16" circular and DPNs
Size: Newborn/0-6 month (see modifications)
Modifications: I CO for the newborn size knowing full well my gauge would be off because I used worsted instead of DK weight yarn...but I made the length according to the 0-6 month size. I also added stripes which are not in the original pattern but it works just fine.
Thoughts: Once you're going on this pattern, it's easy peasy (which is kind of the point). I only really had to pay attention when I changed colors and when I got to the crown decreases. I knit this in just a few hours while up late at night watching episodes of Futurama.

And now, more lovely photos (including some modeling by Little Man)...

The matching set

Mama, boys don't wear pink...well, okay, I know I'm cute in it though...

Mama, are you sure this hat isn't going to be too big? It fits me...

Yes, baby, I know the hat fits you...but that's pretty much stretched to it's maximum. Besides, I made you one and you were able to wear it when you were little and you can still wear it now. So hush.

For more FO Friday fun, visit Tami :)

Self-Imposed Year of Projects: Update #19

Happy Sunday, my dear loving minions readers.

I'm headed into my 19th week of my Self-Imposed Year of Projects. I think everyone else is somewhere in the mid-40s in terms of numbers of weeks but I started six months later than everyone else. So there.

Anyway, onward to the updates (and there are some updates!).

FINISHED OBJECTS
1. Claudia: started January 3, 2012; finished January 10, 2012
2. Mama's Simple Skyp Socks: started May 22, 2011; finished January 9, 2012
3. Little Man's Cobblestone Baby Blanket: started July 2010; finished February 2, 2012
4. Dalek Dishcloth: started February 6, 2012; finished February 8, 2012
5. Baby Traveling Vines Socks: started September 18, 2010; finished February 17, 2012
6. Snail Hat: started February 18, 2012; finished February 19, 2012
7. Lothlorien Hat: started January 25, 2012; finished March 5, 2012
8. Habitat Hat: started April 10, 2012; finished May 8, 2012

Did you notice?

There it is, in all it's blocking glory. My Habitat Hat. For my review about the pattern and yarn, see my FO Friday post.

I'm almost back on track for my 12 Hats in 2012 challenge. I just need to start a new hat for May.....

WORKS-IN-PROGRESS
1. Little Man's Giraffe: started May 11, 2011
2. Icarus Shawl: Started March 15, 2010
3. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit Socks: started January 23, 2012
4. Pine Forest Baby Blanket: started February 21, 2012
5. Hermione's Everyday Socks: started March 6, 2012
6. Sweet Girl's Hippo: started May 10, 2012

There isn't much going on with these, other than finishing the hat shown above. I'm on the "other side" of the pink with the blanket (translation: I'm back to green again) but I haven't worked on it much. I've got maybe five repeats in the last third. So...that means I have in the neighborhood of thirteen repeats plus the border. That's not too bad. I've also been avoiding trying on the Honey Badger socks like the plague...I don't want them to not fit and I'm going to be sad if I have to rip those out, too. Hermione's Everyday Socks have made it to the gusset decreases (well, of the first one). I'm doing a Double Gusset Heel instead of regular gussets. I threw a lifeline in before I started it in case it doesn't work out as well as I would like. If it doesn't work, perhaps a Gusset Heel is in order........or maybe just regular gussets. We'll see how it all goes. I wound up starting Sweet Girl's Hippo late Thursday night...and I'm just working through it little by little.

Anyway.......


PLANNED HATS
1. Hermione Hearts Ron
2. Ogre Babies!
3. NIN Hat
4. Brandon Ribbed Beanie
5. Godric's Hollow Hat
6. Raglan Hat
7. Bergen Street Tuque
8. Nolan
9. Simple Baby Cap #1
10. Candy Cane
11. Little Pumpkin

I'm trying to decide which hat I want to make next and I'm thinking of either the Simple Baby Cap #1 or Little Pumpkin. If I make Little Pumpkin, I should probably make two (one for Sweet Girl and one for her baby sister - to whom the aforementioned blanket will belong). I want something that's going to go more quickly than the Habitat Hat did because I'm a little behind...so smaller and not so fiddly is good. And the hats should go to Maryland with the rest of the box.

OTHER PLANNED PROJECTS
1. Freeport Vest
2. My Little Slug
3. Shaun (as in Shaun the Sheep)
4. Curly Snake
5. Penelope the Empathetic Monster
6. A new version of my Vanilla Socks, perhaps in a worsted weight...

I'm also trying to decide on a project for Ravelympics 2012. Or projects. I'm on TEAM TARDIS (yes, I'm a Doctor Who nerd, get over it). Part of me thinks I should just stick to something on the above lists but I'd like to tie Doctor Who in somehow. I'm thinking of adding Bigger on the Inside and then finding appropriate yarn, just for Ravelympics. I probably have something in my stash....maybe. I'll have to check. Or I could just order some yarn in the "right" color.

Any ideas?

Oh, totals....I almost forgot...

FOs: 8 projects
WIPs: 6 projects
Planned: 17 projects...maybe 18 projects....
TOTAL: 31 projects...maybe 32 projects...


There you have it. Update #19 of my Self-Imposed Year of Projects :)

FO Friday

Yes, I'm a pathological liar.



I actually finished something! It's about time, too. I was starting to think that I'd never finish anything and that all my WIPs were forever going to remain WIPs and that my plans were just never going to come to fruition (who knows, that could still happen).

Anyway, I have a lovely finished object for your viewing pleasure :)

On Monday night...well, Tuesday morning, actually........whatever. Anyway, I finished my Habitat Hat!

Look! It's a hat and it's blocking!

Pattern: Habitat by Jared Flood
Timeframe: started April 10, 2012; finished May 8, 2012
Yarn: Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Nest
Needles: US #7 16" circular, US #8 16" circular, US #7 DPNs (I couldn't find my #8s)
Size: Small size in stitches but I did the larger size in charts (which makes sense if you have the pattern)
Modifications: Just what I said in the "size" section. I CO the # of stitches for the small size but I followed the directions for the larger size. The result was that I got a hat that covered my ears but wasn't so wide that it would blow off during Wisconsin winters.


I'm glad to have this hat finished. Not because it's cold or anything but because I've been in a major knitting slump where projects just seem to go on and on forever and nothing ever seems to get finished. Prior to finishing this hat on Tuesday, I hadn't finished a project since March 5, 2012. It was getting old and I wanted to knit less and less as a result.

The pattern was incredibly fiddly. I love how cables turn out and it's not that I mind doing them...but I'm terrible with chart reading and I had to keep checking the stitch key to make sure I didn't cross my cables the wrong way (I may have done a couple incorrectly here and there). I'm also a chicken about doing cables without cable needles. I'm not good at fixing mistakes so if one of those stitches decided to travel downwards, I would have frogged the whole thing and started over. However, I do love how this hat came out and it might be one that I make again.

The yarn, on the other hand, was very.......rustic. I don't know how else to explain it. It has the feel of handspun but the evenness that is commercially produced yarn. I kept finding little bits of debris in the yarn that had to be picked out (looked like hay, mostly). I wasn't sure about it, either. Shelter is kind of difficult to find around here and I won the skein at our last Knitters' Guild meeting of 2011 (Jared Flood was one of our speakers last year). With the modifications, I wasn't sure if I was going to have enough yarn. The pattern called for 120 yards of worsted weight. Shelter comes in skeins of 140 yards. As I started getting closer and closer to the top, I started having a minor panic attack because that yarn was running very low, very quickly and I was knitting faster and faster. When it was all said and done, I wound up having maybe 5 yards left...maybe. Talk about cutting it close. I do love how it turned out after blocking, by the way...

But, now that it's finished....well, I'm debating between trying to finish up the WIPs that I've had or if I want to start something new. Part of me wants to start something new immediately and part of me thinks I should spend some time finishing up at least one more WIP before I go starting something new. I'm kind of torn. The next closest-to-being-finished item is either my Pine Forest Baby Blanket or Little Man's Giraffe. Admittedly, the giraffe will probably take less time but it's more fiddly than the blanket. I have to make all the little "parts" and then sew them onto the toy. The big parts of the giraffe are done (head, body, and legs). All I have left to do are make the spots, tail, horns, and hair and attach all of them as well as the ears, which are finished, and then embroider the face. It honestly isn't hard...just fiddly. But, the blanket is on a schedule. I need that finished, washed, blocked, photographed, wrapped, and shipped off to Maryland before July 1st (so it has time to get there before the baby comes on July 9th - yes, she's having a scheduled c-section). So.........I think I should probably do the blanket first. Then there's my version of Hermione's Everyday Socks that I have going. I'm currently on the heel of the first sock. For some reason, my mind equates one sock with a finished object, even though the whole project is not actually finished. I keep wanting to work on those instead of either the blanket or the giraffe...

And then there's deciding what to make next. I'm thinking I should get a start on Sweet Girl's Hippo (I have all the yarn wound and ready to go; I even know where the pattern is located)...but there are so many tempting patterns in my Self-Imposed Year of Projects. Husband has also been kind of harping on me about the Hippo. Sweet Girl picked it out last summer and I haven't done it yet.......I should really probably do that.

Anyone have any thoughts about that?





The news on Husband's job front is this: we won't know anything until probably next Friday (May 18, 2012). They have interviewed two more candidates this week (and maybe into early next week) and then they need to decide. Husband did talk to the recruiter on Wednesday afternoon and they said that he could fit in very well, he's a little short on knowledge of software development and some terminology, and that he's very humble about his abilities. The recruiter told him that many of the people they interview from the Midwest wind up having this superiority complex when they get hired. They didn't see that with Husband. This is a good thing. The recruiter went on to say that everyone he's talked to about Husband has said they should hire him. So.....keep the job mojo coming!

Another week of waiting on pins and needles. *sigh*

Here are some recent photos of Little Man....he's had another haircut, too.

Ima grab the phone, Mama!

I run around with a drum on my head. Running around with drums on your head is cool.

Handspun mohair? Ima wear it like a scarf.

I do like my hat, Mama.....just not all the time when you want me to!

For more FO Friday fun, visit Tami's Blog :)

WIP Wednesday :)

Given that it's Wednesday morning, I feel that I should show y'all something that I've been doing. I mean, I've been saying that I've been working on this and that but I haven't actually shown you anything.

And that makes me feel guilty.

But only a little.

Anyway, here's what I've been working on:
1. Mama's Vanilla Socks: (started December 6, 2011) - I've worked a couple rows of this but I'm still working on the leg portion. It's nothing fancy and I haven't photographed it.
2. Little Man's Giraffe: (started May 11, 2011) - I think once I get the blanket finished (mentioned below), I might pull this out and finish it. There really isn't a lot left...I just need to sit and finish. I'd like to finish this before I start working on Sweet Girl's Hippo (this takes you to the pattern page, not the one I've made)...the only reason I mention the Hippo is that they're from the same book.
3. Icarus Shawl: (started March 15, 2010) - I'm sad to say that this has been on the needles for two years. TWO years. I'm nowhere near finished with this. Part of me keeps thinking that I should frog it and release the yarn to a better home...but I really like the shawl and the yarn is very fitting for it. Anyone have any thoughts about this?
4. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit Socks: (started January 23, 2012) - I haven't worked on these. I had every intention of working on them this past Saturday at Knit-In but, silly me, I left the pattern in the car. Oops.
5. Pine Forest Baby Blanket: (started February 21, 2012) - This one has made some progress. I started out with six skeins of Knit Picks Swish Worsted in the Dublin colorway (for a total of 660 yds). Once I got going, I realized there was a possibility that I was going to have to either buy more and pray that they were in the same dyelot or I was going to have to find a contrasting color. And then Husband lost his job...so an order from Knit Picks was out of the question. On to a contrasting color, I guess.

Originally, I had thought of white but after some thought, I decided that might not be such a good idea on several levels (starting with the fact that it was for a baby who was going to do every manner of bodily function on it at least once, but probably several times, over the course of it's life). While I was working on this blanket and getting closer and closer to the end of the third skein, one of the ladies I was knitting with suggested that maybe I should use a pink for the contrast instead of white...but it would have to be the "right" kind of pink. Unfortunately, I don't own pink except for already mapped out projects (like the aforementioned Hippo)...so that meant a trip to the store. Because it's for a baby, it was going to have to be something that was either superwash wool or some other machine washable item. The Swish is 100% superwash merino.

I wound up choosing Loops & Threads Impeccable Solids in Soft Rose.

Impeccable Solids in Soft Rose

This photo is a bit......well, it's too dark, for one thing. But, there you have it. They come in 268 yards/skein. I only bought one because I figured that I'd only need about 220 or so to make the blanket look balanced (if that makes any sense?).

Anyway, I finished up the repeat I was doing and figured that I would be unable to make another full four-row repeat with what I had left of the third skein. So......I started with the pink.

The colors together

I don't think it looks too horrible...I mean, I'm not a fan of pink but it could be worse.

Extreme close-up!

Neither color is turning out correctly in these photos but it was the best I could do. Sorry.

What do you think about the color combination?

6. Hermione's Everyday Socks: (started March 6, 2012) - I spent a good portion of Saturday at Knit-In working on these. I wasn't exactly happy with my needles, however. They're metal so they're not snapping but they are warping like crazy and I can't have that either. So, after working on them on Saturday (and getting through the tedious 20 rounds of 1x1 ribbing), I switched to two circulars. I had purchased them for this purpose and I'm quite pleased with how things are going.

They're not as bright as this photograph is making them out to be but with the chocolate brown background, the only way they would show up at all was with the flash on...and then they turned out way too bright. *sigh* They are, however, very blue...there's a good hint of green (which is good since the color is called Emerald), but they really are more blue than green.

I'm probably going to do some alterations to this pattern because it calls for 18 four-row repeats (which is 72 rows)...plus the 20 rows of ribbing. I'm not sure I need socks that long. I'll probably do 12 or 14 repeats (either 48 or 56 rows)...maybe. Who knows. We'll see when I get that far. I may also alter how I do the gusset decreases. I'm toying with doing a double gusset heel or single gusset heel decrease on these. Or maybe I'll do a band heel. I haven't decided yet.

Anyway, those are my WIPs for this week. Aren't they lovely?



Husband should be back soon from his trip to San Francisco. He's been gone since Saturday afternoon. His face-to-face interview was Monday morning. He *should* hear something later today. I asked how his interview went and he said it was okay...the manager is hard to read. I don't know what that means. Part of me really wants him to get this job.......and then there's the part of me that doesn't want to spend the next two months packing up the house. I'm not averse to moving across the country or starting a life in a completely new place but I'm not crazy about packing up the house.

I'll try to keep you all updated :)

And, for your viewing pleasure: Little Man wearing my Snail Hat.

Look at all my teeth!

Do you like my mama's hat?

For more WIP Wednesday fun, visit Tami's blog.

Self-Imposed Year of Projects: Update #10

Here we are again..........Sunday morning. And, as a typical Sunday would entail, we have another Self-Imposed Year of Projects update. This is my 10th update. Yes, kids, we've been doing this for 10 weeks now. We're 20% of the way through...

Let's see how things are going, shall we?

Finished Objects (hoooooray, these are done and off my precious needles!)
1. Claudia Hat: started January 3, 2012; finished January 10, 2012
2. Mama's Simple Skyp Socks: started May 22, 2011; finished January 19, 2012
3. Little Man's Cobblestone Baby Blanket: started July 2010; finished February 2, 2012
4. Dalek Dishcloth: started February 6, 2012; finished February 8, 2012
5. Baby Traveling Vines Socks: started September 18, 2011; finished February 17, 2012
6. Snail Hat: started February 18, 2012; finished February 19, 2012
7. Lothlorien Hat: started January 23, 2012; finished March 5, 2012 - I did have a question about this hat: how on Earth did I photograph it while it was on top of my head, from the top? Well.....I have an iPhone and it has this neat little feature where you can sort of "flip" the camera around so that it operates like a mirror on the actual screen. So, I did that and held my phone up over my head. The result was the hat on top of my head.

WIPs (I want my precious needles!)
1. Mama's Vanilla Socks: started December 6, 2011 - just hanging out in a project bag...
2. Little Man's Giraffe: started May 11, 2011 - the yarn, partial project, and the book containing the pattern are all in one spot! Hey, it's not much but it's progress...
3. Icarus Shawl: started March 15, 2010 - let's not talk about this one...
4. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit Socks: started January 23, 2012 - I had every intention of working on these yesterday but I kind of forgot the pattern in the car...and I was working on other things.
5. Pine Forest Baby Blanket: started February 21, 2012 - I'm nearing the end of the 3rd skein of yarn and it's looking like I'm going to have to do something about the middle. We now know that Sweet Girl is having a "little sister" (which is what she's been telling us since December) so the suggestion was made that I should make the middle stripe pink or purple. Personally, I'm leaning more toward purple but that's because it's more "me"...but this isn't for me...it's for Sweet Girl's new baby sister (due in July)...but I suppose if I could find the right shade of pink, it might work. Thoughts? Ideas? The original is Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Dublin. I'm thinking that the Swish Worsted in Amethyst Heather would be the best choice...the pinks don't look quite right for it. Or white. White is always good.
6. Hermione's Everyday Socks: started March 6, 2012 - I spent a good chunk of yesterday at Knit-In working on these...I'm doing the actual pattern now, as opposed to the 20 rows of 1x1 ribbing that these start out with.

Planned Hats (I have plans? Really?)
1. Odessa
2. Hermione Hearts Ron
3. Habitat - I have pulled out my skein of Shelter for this (but I haven't wound it)
4. Ogre Babies!
5. NIN Hat
6. Pup Tent
7. Godric's Hollow Hat
8. Brandon Ribbed Beanie
9. Raglan Hat
10. Bergen Street Tuque
11. Nolan
12. London Beanie
13. Grumpus
14. Simple Baby Cap #1
15. Candy Cane
16. Little Pumpkin

Other Planned Items (because, really, hats aren't all I do!)
1. Freeport Vest
2. Hippo - I have pulled out the two skeins of Shalimar and wound them into center-pull balls (but I need to find the inner strand because the pattern calls for two strands held together)
3. My Little Slug (need to purchase)
4. Brooke Baby Afghan
5. Mossy Jacket

So, drum roll please........the totals stand thusly:

Finished Objects: 7 projects
WIPs: 6 projects
Planned Projects: 21 projects

TOTAL: 34 projects

I think I'm making some good progress...





In other random things going on, the Madison Knitters' Guild had their annual Knit-In yesterday at the Bishop O'Connor Center (which is also where we hold our monthly meetings). There were lovely vendors (and I visited every single one - I'm not saying I purchased something at every single one, but I made a point to visit) and, I'm told, lovely classes. I didn't take any classes. I wasn't sure I'd be able to as I wasn't sure if I'd have Little Man with me or not. Turns out that I was able to have a few hours to myself, thanks to my friend Sherri. She watched Little Man for me for a few hours so I could have time to myself. She has two kids of her own and her oldest adores Little Man (and vice verse) so it worked out quite well. I spent a good portion of time knitting on my Hermione's Everyday Socks and my Pine Forest Baby Blanket...but mostly on the socks.

On the "Husband finding a job" front, he has left for San Francisco, by way of Chicago. He had an early flight this morning and rather than drive down at 2am, he left yesterday afternoon (after we had dinner and such). He's flying out this morning to San Francisco and he'll be flying back to Chicago on Tuesday. He won't get in until late Tuesday night, though, so he's going to stay overnight in Chicago again and come home Wednesday. So, I'm on my own for a few days. The company is partially reimbursing him for flights and hotels and are paying for his travel from the airport to the hotel to the interview and back again. I hope things go well. Considering that he's had four or five phone interviews with this place and they're flying him out, I'm pretty sure he'll be offered a job.

While Husband is gone, I'm having the local Buy & Sell shop come and buy some of my grandparents' antiques from me (and Bob knows I have plenty of those!). That's tomorrow morning. Tuesday morning, I'm taking Little Man to one of the local daycares for a tour and spiel about the place. If Husband gets this job, Little Man is going into daycare for a couple months so I can pack up the house mostly uninterrupted. I don't want to do it but I know I can't pack the house with him here. I think that's all that's going on...

Anyway, photos of Little Man from Sherri (from yesterday)...

I really have no idea why Sherri put him in the washing machine but he didn't seem to mind it...it's not like he could climb in himself (yet).

Apparently wood chips are yummy...

Wearing a hat that isn't mine...oh well.

Ohhhh...tetherball.

Sitting on the bridge

Auntie! You wore me out...I sleepy now...

By the time I went to pick Little Man up, he had been playing at the park for almost three hours, had eaten a couple times, and loved every minute of it. And then he crashed at Sherri's...

I hope you all have lovely, lovely weeks ahead of you :)

Brief 203: WIP Wednesday...except it's not. Just sayin'.

First of all, mark your calendars! The Third Annual Knitting & Crochet Blog Week is coming up, April 23rd-April 29th, 2012.

I fully plan to participate again this year.......pending no major hospital visits with Little Man (and I think that can be avoided this year). Even last year, while we were in the hospital with Little Man, I managed to fully participate :)

So, now that's out of the way...

Anyway, it's Wednesday and that would normally mean a WIP Wednesday but I really have nothing to show. I started work on another baby blanket and I'm hoping that this one goes significantly faster than Little Man's ever did. I'm a couple inches into it so I'm thinking it'll be faster...but we'll see.

Oh, I should probably share what this blanket is all about, right?
Pattern: Pine Forest Baby Blanket by Ingrid Aartun Bø.
Needles: US #9 32" Addi Turbos
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Dublin (so far; I may add another yarn and make a stripped blanket)
Size: Baby
Modifications: I'm using a larger needle than called for in the pattern, I CO an extra three repeats of the Gull Lace pattern (which is a total of 21 stitches), and I'm considering doing three repeats of the Gull Lace pattern (12 rows) followed by the same number of rows in stockinette...just for something different. If I don't like how it looks, I won't do it, though...

Anyway, since I'm still only in the very early stages, there's nothing to really show for this...except for going to look at the color on the yarn link above :)

So, that's all I know about right now. I hope you're all having a lovely Wednesday :)