One-Day Project: Silk Cowl

Jan22

I figured out the secret to getting that sense of accomplishment when you’re overwhelmed by your WIPs: start new, smaller projects that you can finish within a day! No, it doesn’t do any good for your WIPs, but at least you have FOs to show for your time. I made two of those over the long weekend. One was the set of mitts I shared in my last post. Then Sunday I went up to my stash to find some yarn to make a knitted mouse, and somehow came downstairs with some pretty pale purple silk instead.

The tag said it was 100g of worsted weight, so of course I cast on a project intended for DK. I don’t even know how. Whatever. It came out fine, except I ran out of yarn sooner than the pattern said I should.

I assumed it was my fault for choosing the wrong yarn, but when it was done, I weighed it, and it was NOT 100 grams. It was 54 grams, with only about 5 grams leftover. Well! That’s not cool. But it’s fine; it’s perfectly cozy and wearable and soft. The yarn was a present from when the husband when to India a few years ago, so I’m glad I can wear it and be thankful that he’s supportive of my yarn obsession!

The pattern is Side-Stepping Cowl and the yarn is SilkIndian Duke Silk.

And it’s done

Jan20

Yep, I cast on a new project yesterday, nine WIPs be darned! I had a set of size 7 DPNs to test out, and I thought I’d use them to make a hat. But they’re 5″ DPNs, so not quite long enough, plus I forgot how much I adore 16″ circular needles for hats. It just wasn’t working for me. So I frogged the three inches of hat and started over with a new yarn and a new pattern, and instead made a gift for a friend at work. She’s funny and friendly and often cold, so now she’ll have a way to keep her hands warm.

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The pattern is one of my favorites, 75 Yard Malabrigo Mitts, and I used a partial skein of Berroco Vintage from my stash. She’s a fan of Wonder Woman too, which is why she got red. These really do use just about 75 yards and they’re super fast to make, so they’re great stashbusters. I hope she’s pleased!

Today is more COLD, more snow, more tennis, all of which mean more knitting while snuggling with pups on the couch. I wonder if I can finish something else today!

Time to switch things up

Jan19

Monogamy is boring, guys. Seriously. I’ve been working on one project for the last week, at least, and I’m getting a little tired of it, especially since it’s not even done yet! It makes for good progress but not good blogging, really. This is my Boho Baby Blanket with Appalachian Baby Organic Cotton.

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According to the pattern, I’m a little past the halfway point, but according to the yarn I’m close to 3/4 done. No, I didn’t check my gauge. It’s a blanket, it’s all good. At this point it covers Jack pretty well, so that must mean it will soon be baby blanket sized. (Also, can I just say: my next couch will definitely be leather. The dog hair doesn’t stick to that!)

I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed by my nine WIPs and needed to counter that with some sense of accomplishment, and since the blanket is my only WIP with a deadline, it’s been my focus. I feel good about it now; I have plenty of time to get it finished. And that’s a good thing because I got some new needles in the mail today that I’m desperate to test, so despite having those nine WIPs that are looming over my head, I’m going to cast on a new project today. I know. It’s crazy. What can I say? Knitters are crazy. At least it will be a hat, so it’ll be a quick project.

Also, today is Jack’s birthday and he is five! I’m so glad we picked him out at the shelter four and a half years ago!

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He’s a good boy. I like him.

A few new goodies

Jan16

Hello. My name is Bonny and I am a yarn addict. It has been exactly four weeks since I purchased yarn. I’m still feeling strong and have only briefly been tempted by seductive skeins in photos on Instagram. It helps that we are making progress in getting our finances in shape so that we can do a very big home improvement project this year, and the pleasure of not feeling stressed about money is better than the pleasure of impulse-buying yarn. (Let’s hope that lasts. Knock on wood for me, will you?) However, I feel I must be honest and say that I did ORDER a new skein of yarn. I just didn’t technically pay for it, since I used some credit from returning a Christmas gift. And really, new yarn is even more fun when you don’t have to pay for it!

This is KnitPicks Hawthorne Fingering in Turkish Delight and it will become socks. I’m tempted to use some leftover bits of variegated yarns for heel/toe accents. I haven’t used this yarn before, so I’m eager to see how it knits up. (side note: did you know you can buy some KnitPicks yarns on Amazon?? Craziness!)

I also ordered another size 6 needle, since that’s the size I use for almost all of my shawls, and I’d rather buy a new needle than finish a shawl WIP. Makes sense, right? I chose a 32″ ChaioGoo fixed circular, mostly because it was cheaper than the Addi Turbos. And since I’m talking about knitting accessories, let me show off my other recent acquisitions!

I finally got my pocket scale, which I’ve been wanting for ages! I haven’t needed it yet, but it goes with me in my knitting bag and I know it will come in handy one day. And I also got a wall hanging to display all my enamel pins! I kept thinking I’d figure out how to make one, since they’re so simple, but I just don’t like sewing enough, so I was tickled to get the gift. It holds most of my pins and hangs in my bedroom so I can easily pick a pin to wear in the morning. As much as I love having pins on my project bags, I’ve now lost two that way, and I’d rather keep them safe by wearing them myself.

Did you get any fantastic knitting gadgets for Christmas?

Meager progress

Jan16

Well. Here it is Tuesday and I haven’t posted since Thursday, and in between those days were two lovely snowed-in days, and you’d think I’d have a ton of knitting to show you.

I don’t.

I worked on my Boho Blanket but it looks about the same so there’s no point in showing another photo. I worked on my Wave shawl and the yarn is still gorgeous, but again, not enough progress to warrant a new photo. So this is all I have to show you today.

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Since I had three first socks done, I spent part of Saturday casting on three second socks. That way they’d be ready to go and I’d have no excuse not to work on them. That’s the theory anyway.

So I guess maybe that was plenty of knitting for the last five days? I don’t know. All I know is I better start finishing some projects soon!

Two socks done

Jan10

I had a few hours of waiting time today, and the best thing to do during waiting time is knit. And since I had two socks almost done, finishing them seemed perfect. So I have a complete 80s sock:

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This yarn is Show Me Yarn Bootheel in the color Hit Me With Your Best Shot.

And I have a complete Guildhall Yard sock:

+ldyup7rrvwqnbnj4hjpva Isn’t that lace panel stunning? I swear, I’m so in awe of knitting designers who can create such pretty things! This one is from Jem and Under the Olive Tree Knits, and it was a test knit so I’ll have to let you know when it’s live.

Now, do I cast on second socks, or work on one of my other WIPs?? Hm….

A new blanket

Jan8

Along with all the smaller, quicker projects on my needles, I have one more ambitious project: a blanket. Now, it’s a baby blanket, so it’s smaller and hopefully quicker, but still, there’s a reason I don’t make very many blankets. (They take me forever because I get bored. Or I get bored because they take forever. Chicken or egg?) But this one is a review project, and a gift, so I have extra motivation to complete it. I’m making the Boho Baby Blanket by Appalachian Baby Design in Indigo and Silver. It has sixteen pattern repeats, so I did some math and determined that I just need to do two repeats per week to finish on time. And I am right on track!

I usually work on this on the weekend, so that I also have time for my selfish knitting, and I’ve memorized the pattern so that the knitting has sped up. It’s a pretty pattern, and I think the baby’s mom will appreciate it, but I don’t think blankets will ever be my favorite thing to knit!

And then there were three

Jan6

People, that is. The girl left yesterday to go back to college. With her here for a whole month, we’d gotten used to her being around again, so it was like pulling off a bandaid. But not as bad as the first time around, and it helps that she was happy to be going back. I’m glad she loves college; I just wish paying for it was simpler/easier/less stressful.

Anyway, we kept ourselves busy after she left by taking down the Christmas tree and having a movie night, and I of course had some knitting therapy, and now there are three…socks on my needles! I’ve still got the second Gossip sock to make, and I’ve been cruising along on my Show Me Yarn 80s sock. Just a foot left on that one!

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Plus I cast on a third sock, this one a test knit for Under the Olive Tree Knits. It’s called Guildhall Yard and features a beautiful lace pattern down the front of the leg, but I’ve only gotten the cuff done so far. I’m hoping to reach the lace today.

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Her sample was done in a solid color, and when I went to my sock yarn stash to choose my yarn, I discovered that apparently I don’t really like solid color socks; my stash is full of striped and variegated yarns. But I had two balls of this KnitPicks Stroll in Razzleberry. I’d ordered it to have on hand for accent colors in heels and toes, but it will be lovely in this lace pattern. I need to have the first sock done by the end of the month, so it will take priority over the other socks for now.

We’re having unseasonably warm weather right now, so the pups and I might spend some time outside again today!

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Happy Sunday, friends!

Knitting in the new year

Jan3

When I sat down to think about my knitting for the new year, I had two options. 1: I could focus on my five current WIPs, which include one review project with a deadline. Or 2: I could cast on new project(s)! I really thought I was going to focus on the current ones, that adding more to the mix would just be overwhelming. But then I was sitting in my craft room and I started playing with my pretty yarn and before I knew it, I was winding four skeins of yarn. By the end of the day on January 1st, I had three new projects on my needles. (The fourth is a paid pattern so I’m waiting until payday to start that one.)

First up is a basic ribbed beanie which will get a beautiful furry purple pompom. But I’ve got nine inches of ribbing to knit, so this will be a good carry-around project. Yarn is Jasper from Primrose Yarn Co. in the color Mischief Managed, and the pattern is Standing Rock Hat.

Then I had to cast on a sock with my amazing 80s yarn from Show Me Yarn, called Hit Me With Your Best Shot. OMG I love this so much, and I love that the stripes are different widths and that they change so often. This is crazy addictive. I kind of made up a pattern, with a 1×1 ribbed cuff and a 3×1 ribbed leg.

Finally, this is my favorite of the three, even as much as I love the new sock. This yarn is Manos del Uruguay Alegria (I told you I love their yarn) and the color is Locura Fluo. It is STUNNING. I chose a lacy shawl pattern called Wave and it’s also very addictive. It alternates between lace and garter stripes so it hasn’t gotten boring yet.

Now, it will be interesting to see if/when I can make myself go back to my old WIPs! Who else has cast on new projects already?

Inked

Jan2

I closed out 2018 with a bang, by doing something I’ve been wanting to do for years: I got a tattoo on New Year’s Eve! What better time to do something that’s both scary and exciting??

I first started thinking about one after my dad died, almost seven years ago now. I wanted a small eagle on the inside of my left wrist as a memorial to him, since he loved eagles. But I never found an image that seemed perfect, or maybe it just wasn’t the right tattoo. I kept thinking of things that I will always be passionate about, and I kept coming back to my dogs. Yet it’s still related to my dad because it’s thanks to him that I’m the dog mom I am today. When he was sick, we adopted his dog. Samson was a huge, gorgeous red husky mix, and he was pretty close to the perfect dog: he didn’t bark much, was gentle with everyone he met, he was good on walks, and he never got in trouble. I loved Sam, but mostly I loved that he was a connection to Dad, especially after Dad passed.

At least that’s what I thought. But after Samson died, just a couple years after Dad, I found that I missed his company a lot. I missed seeing his face at the door when I came home. I missed his big, warm body at my feet. I missed the comfort I got from petting him. I missed having a dog. So after six months with no pets, we brought Jack home, and I fell head over heels in love with him. His exuberance made me laugh, his heavy warmth comforted me, and his soft, thick fur absorbed many tears as I went through a long period of grief and depression. He is selfless and generous and loyal and such a damn good dog, and I love that almost all dogs are the exact same way. Grace came home ten months after Jack, and Duncan arrived about a year and a half later, and here I am with three big mutts that make my life complete. And none of that would have happened without my dad, and Samson. I look at this image on my arm, and I think of my dogs. I think of Samson, and Dad, and I smile.

Why?? Why is she like this?

P.S. No, it didn’t really hurt. It was uncomfortable but not painful. The dentist is worse for me than this was. The girl went with me because she’s been the most encouraging about it. And yes, I LOVE it and have no regrets whatsoever!

P.P.S. Shelter dogs are amazing! Adopt, don’t shop!