Tag Archive | WIPs

Adding to my WIPs

My Pawsitive Vibes colorwork cowl is currently pinned out and drying after its bath. It does look better but I’m waiting for it to dry before I make my final call. But with that being my third finished object of the year, I decided it was time to cast on a few new things. Plus I was trying to resist the call of retail therapy by shopping my yarn stash. I’d ended my work day Friday feeling pretty good – I’d sent off a difficult article to my boss’s boss for review, and I thought it was pretty good. Then I made the mistake of checking email one last time before calling it a weekend, and they’d replied “Not sure this is what {head honcho} had in mind. Might be good to interview them.” Now, I know they weren’t saying the article was bad or poorly written, just that the angle I took wasn’t exactly the right one. But that’s how it feels anytime I get less than positive feedback on my pieces. So I let that get to me more than I should have and wanted the dopamine hit of buying pretty new yarn. I resisted though and now I’m ready for five new projects!

The teal in the back is for my second Turtle Dove II – did I tell you I ended up going back and lengthening the sleeves of my gray one? Much better! The MadTosh Wino Forever will be a crescent-shaped shawl, the pink will be shortie socks, the turquoise on the right will be a lace cowl, the purple variegated in the middle will be a hat, and then all the way on the right you can see I’ve already got something new on the needles. This is some yummy merino worsted from the Wooly Mammoth in Omaha, and it’s going to be a simple Inclination Cowl (non-Rav Link). I started that one yesterday in the car. There’s a new store near me called Bliss Books & Wine and yesterday was their grand opening, and it sounded like a fun thing to do. So far it’s more wine bar than bookstore – the book selection was very very small – but I’m guessing that will evolve as it’s open longer. Of course I had a glass of wine and bought a book but it was loud and crowded so I was happy to come home and knit and read.

Once I finished my colorwork cowl, I decided to read my new book and it was so good I already finished it! If you’re a Matthew Perry fan, I can highly recommend his autobiography. It”s not the happiest of stories but it was really interesting and well-written, and I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes tidbits of Friends.

Happy Sunday, friends.

WIP Wednesday

Feb8

I’m so close to another FO! I finished knitting the body of my Curiosity Cowl last night while binge watching Ginny & Georgia (omg that show is like Gilmore Girls on drugs and so addictive). Now I’ve just got 32” of I-cord to knit for the drawstring.

I really don’t know how I feel about this cowl. I got super bored knitting it, and I think the bamboo yarn is going to be super floppy, and sometimes I like the sort of fish scales vibe it’s got going on and sometimes I don’t. I do love the idea of the drawstring though, so maybe that will be the thing that tips it over into cool.

Hope you’re all enjoying your WIPs today!

It never fails

Jan21

I feel like I do this every year: I cast on ALL THE THINGS in January and I’m so excited about all the variety … and then I get toward the end of the month and feel like I’m not close to finishing anything because I’ve just been flitting about between all my different WIPs. Progress this month was also slowed because I got kind of obsessed with my sock yarn scrap blanket. I guess I shouldn’t say progress was slowed, because I made great progress on that blanket, and I do want it it to continue, but now I want to resume progress on my main WIPs.

This weekend I hope to be watching some tennis so simple projects will be the best. I think I’m going to focus on my Turtle Dove II (still in increase phase) and my Scottish Highlands Shawl. I didn’t realize how much garter stitch this one had because my eye was so entranced by the lace border, but I have at least one more garter section to get through before I get to that.

The birthday dinner with my mom last night was very nice. She seemed to have a wonderful time, loved the margarita and queso, and the company of course! I also treated myself a bit yesterday and bought tickets to see KT Tunstall, a Scottish rock musician I love. You’ve probably heard a couple of her songs – Black Horse & the Cherry Tree, or Suddenly I See, from The Devil Wears Prada? I’ve listened to her for years and can’t wait to see her live. The closest she’s coming is Des Moines, which is only about 2 1/2 hours away from me. But she’s from Scotland — who knows if she’ll ever come this close again?? I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t go. Life is short, friends — do the things that bring you joy! Live music does wonderful things for my heart and soul. Anyway, I’m not sure yet who will be my date. I’ve asked a friend but if she can’t come, the husband said he would. Even if the seat next to me is empty, I’ll be there!

I’m looking forward to a lazy weekend. The only thing I want to accomplish is go to the library to pick up a book for my book group (Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell. So not excited about this one but I’ll give it a shot.) and maybe wash my sheets. Other than that, it’ll be knitting and tennis all day long over here. Hope you all have the weekend you want, too!

Happy Saturday!

Weekend WIPs

Jan10

With my shawl done, I decided to sit down with my (analog) knitting journal and make an updated list of WIPs on my needles. I was pretty surprised to find that I only had three: the boy’s long gray sock, the Oxbow cardigan, and the scrappy sock yarn blanket. That’s not much at all, and there were some definite gaps in my knitting needs, so I felt justified in casting on a few new projects.

Of course I needed a fun sock for me, so I cast on a basic ribbed sock using my newest sock yarn from last week. And I wanted a delicate lace project in the mix, so I pulled out this gorgeous skein of Malabrigo Mora and cast on a Gris de lin cowl. It’s “100% pure mulberry silk” and I just recently wrote a piece for work about research being done with silkworms, which eat only the leaves of mulberry trees. Even the name, Mora, is connected, as the scientific name for the silkworm is Bombyx mori. It’s not often my work at a research institute overlaps with my knitting! And finally, I cast on the Mad Mini Wrap (Rav link) with the mini kit from Wonderland Yarns & Frabjous Fibers. It’s all garter stitch, knit until the yarn is gone, so that might be my favorite mindless knitting for a while.

The cowl was more of an adventure to get started. The pattern says to cast on 108 with size 4 needles. I chose 16″ circs, thinking that of course a cowl would be at least 16″ around. It was tight, so I knit the first round flat to loosen it up. Still too short for the circs, so I switched to 12″ circs. They were a better length but the metal tips were super slippery with the silk yarn. It was only then that I went and looked at project notes on Ravelry and discovered that the cowl is designed to only be around 14″ in diameter. (Yes, I would have known before if I had read my pattern more carefully. Whatever. Who designs a cowl to be so tiny?) Heck that! I’m not sure that would go around my head anyway. So I frogged, learning that of course the silk is quick to knot and tangle, and cast on again with more stitches. With any luck, that will be the only hiccup with that project. And now I’ve probably jinxed myself. Heck. Oh well. Happy Sunday, friends.

First FO, First Frog

Jan3

Though I’m not making any resolutions or picking out words or anything like that, I did start the new year wanting to assess the state of things in my life, and that included my WIPs. I didn’t carry over too many, six I think, but one was giving me grief. It was a Round and Round cowl in a skein of black and white Biscotte Yarns sock yarn that I’d cast on in March of last year. It was looking lovely but by January 1, I’d only used 40 of the 100 grams of yarn and I hated working on it. It was just so BORING. The same row over and over, all in black and white. It’s one of those things I know I’d probably wear a lot, if I could just make myself knit it! But rather than let the lovely yarn languish, I frogged the cowl and re-wound the yarn, and I’m hoping to find a better pattern for it, perhaps knit in a large shawl with a fun color?

Hidden in my WIPs was a little project I’d forgotten about, another drawer liner for a wooden pen cabinet I have. It was the last one and I wanted to get it in the drawer, so I made that a knitting focus this week. It’s a simple 9×12 rectangle with ribbed ridges to hold the pens, so it works up very quickly, and now it’s drying after its bath.

My other focus, and my main one now that the liner is done, is my Hope and Feathers shawl. Like most of my WIPs, it was begun a few months ago and then went into hibernation. I was a little over halfway done, and I think I can get it done by the end of the week. January almost always means a case of Finish-itis for me!

I’ve also done a massive book purge, pulling out probably 100 books from my overflowing library that I will take to our local Half Price Books. These are all books that I’ve read and kept just because I liked them, and I decided that if I won’t reread them and don’t have a sentimental attachment to them, they need to find new homes. I think I will be glad I did this the next time we move, even if we do still have about five full bookcases. What can I say, we like books! Also related to books, I’m determined to start dedicating more time in my days to reading. I get so obsessed with knitting that I don’t want to put it down long enough to read! But I miss reading, and I have three full shelves of To-Be-Read books that I want to slowly clear out. I’ve read two already: The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis, and The Memory Shop by Ella Griffin. Both were marvelous. I highly recommend Fiona Davis’s books, especially if you like a little history in your fiction.

I hope the new year is treating you well so far!

Sock It To Me Monday

Nov16

The title is a little bit misleading: I have no sock to show you. I have no sock progress to show you, though my Tainted Love sock is growing and I’m halfway through the foot. Instead, I will share with you my sad sock story: my Christmas socks itch my feet!

I wore my newest WYS self-striping socks yesterday and by the time 5 pm came around, I couldn’t keep them on any longer, they just felt so itchy and prickly. And I have three pairs of WYS Christmas socks! Guys, I was so sad I immediately went to Etsy and bought this yarn from Two Sisters Yarn Co. I WILL have Christmas socks, by golly! Now I have to decide whether to gift them to someone else or keep them and just plan on wearing them for short durations.

In better news, I did finish a lingering WIP over the weekend. When my second Oxbow swatch did not give me the desired results, I was discouraged and needed a win, so I pulled out my ripple bralette that only needed straps and binged the last season of Schitt’s Creek while I finished it.

Though this mannequin is a smaller size than I am, I am happy to report that it does fit me. It’s not perfect: the body is about an inch too long and the straps maybe 1/2″ too long. But certainly wearable … assuming I can wear the wool against my skin. It’s Malabrigo, which I can easily wear as scarves and socks, so maybe it will be okay. Anybody have any magic wool wash suggestions to help make itchy things less itchy?

Frog or not?

Nov15

While my second Oxbow gauge swatch was drying after being blocked (I know! I did a proper gauge swatch!) I pulled out a lace cowl that I’ve had on the needles since mid-August. It is languishing, I must admit. It’s Malabrigo Arroyo in a beautiful purple/pink shade but it grows SO SLOWLY. I think I’m used to worsted and bulky cowls so this sport weight is taking much longer. Plus it’s lace, and it’s a 32-row repeat. And that presents another issue: last night I got to the bottom of the first page of the pattern and thought that was the end of the repeat, so I started again with row 1. I got three rounds in before I realized that I’d only done 24 rows of the 32-row lace pattern. Heck.

Now I’m not even sure I want to keep working on this project. I don’t want to frog back those rounds. I know the error won’t be noticeable when I’m wearing it, but the principle of the thing is annoying me. Plus, I never find myself eager to work on this project; it’s always “Okay, I guess I better do some more of that one.” That’s the biggest red flag, isn’t it? This just might not be the right combination of yarn and pattern. What do you think: frog or not?

WIP Wednesday: Ripple Bralette

Oct14

My Dissent Cowl is done and blocked, but I need to get proper photos before I share it. Once I finished that, I resisted the urge to cast on something new and instead pulled out a WIP, my Ripple Bralette. I’d gotten most of the body done so I finished the last half-inch of that, then slid the stitches onto waste yarn so I could try it on.

Good news: it fit! This is my second attempt at the bralette, and I didn’t check gauge, so I’m pretty pleased this is working out. I’ve got the right front done and just started the icord strap. I’ll need to try it on again to figure out how long I want the straps, but I can get a good bit of the strap done first.

Yesterday the puppers had an adventure: our neighbor’s dog came over for a play date! They keep their dogs on chains in the yarn, since they don’t have a fence, and the young dog loves our dogs and loves to dig. She started a hole under our fence a few weeks ago, and we told them about it and they filled it up. But ha, guess what? She did it again, and this time she did it deep enough to wiggle under. The first time, on Monday, she wasn’t over very long and the neighbors said they’d put her on the shorter lead. Yesterday, she pulled the stake out of the ground and came back. Thankfully, my dogs were friendly, and they all had a marvelous time running around. I think I might need to invite her back for a sanctioned play date!

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Friday Feelings

Sep25

I have zero FOs this Friday. Not really any that are very close either, though if I have some solid knitting time this weekend, I might get through one of them. I’ve been focusing on a shawl with some new review yarn (early review: it’s scrummy, as Mary Berry would say). It’s aran weight so you’d think it would go quickly, but my brain has been tired at night the last couple of weeks. It’s a good thing, though: I’ve been doing more writing/ content creation stuff at work, and even though it’s taxing my brain, it’s so good. It’s so much more fulfilling than just doing social media stuff. So cross your fingers that this trend carries on!

Anyway, shawl. It’s also a black yarn, and I am old so my eyes need good light for black yarn, especially when it comes to lace. Last night I was zooming along but lost track of which row I was on, and I just didn’t want to deal with trying to read my stitches in black yarn at 9 pm. That’s my goal for today, because I’m on the home stretch with this one and I’d like to be done soon!

You might think I’d like to be done so I can return to current WIPs. Maybe. Or maybe I want to cast on something with some new Malabrigo Rasta??

A cowl with this would be fast! And perfect for the fall weather that’s looming. But yes, I’d also go back to WIPs. I’d like to finish Tubbs so I can move on to new sock yarn. I always have new sock yarn calling my name. And I’ll also spend some time on my new LEGO set. I’ve embraced LEGOs as therapy for when I’m feeling anxious or stressed and I have a big new set waiting for me!

Honestly, I struggle with buying these, as much as I love them. I abhor what JKR has said about trans people, and I worry about doing anything that might support her or make other people think I support the views she espouses. But I have so much love for the HP world itself, the movies are serious comfort movies for me, and I have a lot of great memories with my kids that involve the HP world. So I am conflicted, seriously conflicted. I was talking about it at dinner the other day, and the boy had a great suggestion: donate to a trans rights organization as well.

Today I googled “trans rights charities” and donated to GLSEN: “GLSEN believes that every student has the right to a safe, supportive, and LGBTQ-inclusive K-12 education. We are a national network of educators, students, and local GLSEN Chapters working to make this right a reality.”

They’re both small actions in the grand scheme of things, but I do like the balance I feel with the donation.

That’s my weekend sorted: knitting and LEGOs! Fine, and a few chores too. Anyone doing anything fun this weekend?

WIP Wednesday: Mini Shawl

Aug26

Despite my best efforts to the contrary, apparently I am still a monogamous knitter. I know, I cast on about seventy-five new projects last week, and yet the only one I’ve spent much time with is my Hundred Acre Shawl. I really think it’s because I’m using the mini skeins and just keep wanting to get to the next color. This yarn is from Molly Girl Yarn, and I think the color set is called Jazz.

1E038BF1-18DA-4905-BDF8-DACBD2D36BB1_1_201_a I just started color four of five and it still seems a bit … mini? I’m really hoping it blocks out to a wearable length. If it does, this is a pretty good pattern for minis, because the small size is marked by percentages. Since I have five skeins, I just marked the rows at 20% increments. But when I got to that first 20%, I still had some color A left, so I did a baby fade with alternating two rows of A and B. That meant I had even more of Color B left at 40%, and so on. Basically, it means that if I want to use as much of the last color (the pink) as possible, I’ll probably be adding in a few extra rows, which will mean guesstimating how many rows I can add without running out of yarn. We’ll see what happens. This shawl is very much a “what the heck” shawl. It’s full of mistakes and shrugs and “eh, it’ll be fine” moments. And I’ll never notice once it’s blocked and around my neck!

Today is National Dog Day. I have a few of those, as you know. Grace was up and barking at 5:10 am, wanting to celebrate early. But despite that, and all the worries and annoyances and messiness they bring, I’m pretty happy to have them in my life.

Happy Wednesday, friends.