Sigh...I have expensive taste

I discovered (or was made aware of) this blog called The Latest Wrinkle after meeting the blogger who had come into my store for an event.  I love clothes but I usually don't have the funds to dress the way I wish I could.

So enter the lastest entry from The Latest Wrinkle regarding the TIBI skirt and the 3 ways you can wear it and I fall in love with the TIBI skirt.  Of course I have to go see where this skirt is available.and unfortunately, I cannot afford it but I am now on the look out for a midi skirt in the same type of style.

Year of Projects: Week 7

I finally have a finished project! A sock project!  So that means I can finally use this:

And show off my socks!

The Spock Socks are done. They just need to be laundered but that'll have to wait until later. I'm still basking in the "I have a new pair of socks" feeling.

And with a newly finished pair of socks, I have more yarn to add to the Blankie. As much as I'd like to immediately add the Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label to the Blankie, I know myself; once I put on one, I won't stop. Then I'll bemoan the fact that I'm not finishing my other projects. I just need to learn some self control and patience.

I could have also picked up on the Shapely Boyfriend Cardigan but decided against it. I'm still at the ribbing and I have about 5 more rounds to go however it is such a good project to work on when people want I have a conversation with you at a knitting circle. This is what generally occurs at the knitting circle so in saving my more mindless knitting for then.

I went looking for the Tiberius Socks that I had started not long after Spock socks. For the life of me, I could not find it. I saw the bag I had housed it in a few days before but it was like it sprouted legs and in the middle of the night, it decided to take a leisurely stroll off of my bed and never came back.

Not much worried other than the fact I had the perfect colour for "Command Gold" inside of there. I went to a box I had with 50g balls of sock yarn from Knit Picks and pulled out Dandelion in Stroll. At the very least, it was not as bright as my Sunshine Tanis yarn that by name alone sounds too bright to be used for socks named after Capt. James T. Kirk.

See how bright this colourway is? The Sunshine skein is even brighter.  The Tiberius socks are coming out nicely. In actually really liking the pattern and I was shocked with the progress I had made in less than a day. By the time I had gone to bed on the first night, I had almost finished the 24 rows of the setup and now, I'm half way through the leg chart already.  I think these may end up being a quick knit pair.  I am enjoying the process way too much.

Last Monday I received the patterns for August and September. I don't know how much I am really feeling them. I may just spend some of the time finishing up WIPs and maybe attempt anklet versions instead. Who knows? Maybe my opinion will change once I start knitting them.

I actually started looking through my stash, trying to decide what yarn I was going to use for the Tree of Life socks by Janel Laidman only to realize the next day that I have the Firebrand socks on my list, which requires a lot more yarn...I may be making my first change on the list.  The Tree of Life socks were the socks that attracted me to the book in the first place so I don't think I'll be feeling guilty about changing the pattern.  Perhaps I can get some suggestions as to what to use (for socks that probably won't be attempted until next year).

The 2 right squares have the same skeins of yarn but it's different ends of it.  The dark colour is Kohl in Muscadine by Springtree Road.  The contrast skein in the top left is Foliage in Stroll by Knit Picks; bottom right is Goldstone in Muscadine by Springtree Road and the right side is a skein that I dyed myself from Acme Fibres.

Year of Projects Update

1 down and 25 more to go

My Spock socks are done!

I had already started at the toes last night but I think that at 2:30 in the morning, it was safe to put the socks aside and go to bed.

I went to pick up the Tiberius socks a couple of hours later, only to find that I could not find it. I have no idea where it is. So I went to my stash, pulled out 2 balls of Knit Picks Stroll in Dandelion and started again. It's not like I had knit the other sock that far anyways.

It's not the "Commander" yellow (circa TOS) I was looking forward to using but the other yellow I have is called Sunshine; the name alone tells you that it's too bright for socks referring to Capt. James T. Kirk.

It was a good day, I think

I did a lot today. I knit, I cooked and I went on a long walk.

I made a good amount of progress on the Spock socks. I've made it past the gusset and I'm working my way down the foot. I'm going to continue working on it after I finish this update. I feel like I'm on a roll and I want to strike while the iron is hot, so to speak.

I started contemplating what colours to use for the Tree of Life socks, which won't be started for months; but hey looking through the stash is fun. So here are the options so far:

The two on the right are the same skein, just different ends. Keep in mind that this is all subject to change. Besides, after I took the pictures, I remembered some Knit Picks Stroll sock yarn that I have in 50g balls that aren't out on display. I'll do comparison shots with those later.

I cooked chicken. Before I even started to season it, I decided I wanted a stew. I looked up the recipe online, drooled over it and wished I had the ingredients. So it was just a regular oven baked chicken with rice and callaloo.

After dinner, my aunt, cousin B1 and I went walking. It wasn't until I got home, had a shower and relaxed a bit that I looked up how far we walked.

6.6 km! That's over 4 miles to the Americans.

Year of Projects: Week 4

This was a Spock sock/Blankie week.

I believe I made a lot of progress on the Spock sock until an incident occurred over the weekend which made me stop. I knew I wouldn't be able to concentrate enough to do the socks so I moved onto the Blankie.  Good thing I travelled with 2 projects.

I added 3.5 squares and it's coming along nicely. I actually received many compliments from people at my church when they saw me working on it yesterday. 

It still feels like a Blankie type of week so I can't say if the Spock socks will be done by this time next week. I do think I can manage to put in some work on it during the knitting circles this week.

Not quite off topic but isn't this a beautiful shade of blue?

I guess this week will be a short update.

Moving right along...

It may not look like a lot to some people but I feel like I've done significant work in the Spock socks. I have under one pattern repeat before I start the heel flap and then not much further to go (turn heel, gusset, foot and toe - all of which can go pretty quickly). It's also amazing how much the colour changes depending on where I take the picture.

Off to continue watching Charmed on Netflix :)

I hope I can keep this up

I think I had a productive day. Did some school stuff, listened to a podcast and then downloaded Netflix in my phone and spent a good part of the evening watching Green Lantern (would have preferred Ryan Reynolds as the Flash) and Charmed (I love that show!).

I was actually knitting while watching these programs. That is progress! Now it's on to catching up on soaps while knitting.

Year of Projects: Week 3

The "photo-shoot" is finally done. What did I learn from this experience? Check out my bags of WIPs. I really need to finish some more projects before I start with anything else.

(Neatly put together)

(The hidden explosion of projects)

The Bex

Started October 1, 2012.  I had to battle with this yarn; not while knitting but when trying to wind the skein into a cake.  I ended up with so much yarn barf that I looked at it in disgust and left for New Jersey to visit family.  Those 2 balls you see is what I have remaining.  I hope it's enough to finish the 2nd sock.

The Stitch Surfer:

Started on November 30, 2012.  The only reason I stopped was because I had never finished a toe up sock before and was not grasping how to bind off.  Suffice it to say, it's doesn't make it past my foot, much less my leg.  T suggested that I just unpick the bind off and redo it...talk about a "duh" moment.

The Dark Isle:

Started March 17, 2013.  I specifically dyed the yarn for these socks...well not all of it, just the gradient yarn.  I think it turned out pretty good.  I just have to find the time (and get my 2US needles free again) to finish them.  I don't think it will take too long.

Forget Hermione! These are for me

Started April 12, 2013.  I started these as a dye challenge.  It was supposed to be dye and knit a project in a month.  I was doing so well! And then I broke not 1 but 2 of my DPNs.  I started going on the circular needles and I was not enjoying the process.  I lovingly bagged up the project and said "forget it" until I could get some DPNs.  Now I have them (as seen in the above picture) and I don't have the time right now.  I want them done by the fall so I can wear them.

Basically Perfect Baby Socks

Started May 21, 2013.  This should have been a quick project.  I finished the first sock within a couple days and the other one is still on the needles (the 2US needles that I need to get free to do the Dark Isle socks).  I can get it done but I think it's the boredom of stockinette (and laziness) that keeps me from doing it.

Shapely Boyfriend Cardigan

Started April 2, 2013.  I had been making good progress on this cardigan.  I am at the waist shaping and I want to continue however the call of the Cookie Socks is a bit stronger. I was hoping to have this done in for the fall but I think I'm going to have to be a bit more realistic on the time constraints.

Anklet #1

Started May 30, 2013.  I'm pretty certain these will be cute when finished.  I already started decreasing for the toe.  I'll like to have the mismatched pair finished soon mostly due to the fact that I don't like the yarn that is being used for the cuff, heel and toe.

Tiberius

Started June 18, 2013. Love the look of these socks but there's not rush on these ones.  That's pretty much it for now.  How much writing is expected for ribbing?

...fascinating

Started June 10, 2013.  Yes!  I finished the first sock and I'm just past the ribbing on the second sock.  I want these done ASAP.  I want a new pair to wear, despite the fact I have barely worn the Pirouette and Tulip socks that I finished less than 2 months ago.  They are so squishy and soft and pretty :D  By the way, I am a convert to Tanis yarn now that I've finally knitted with 1 of my 3 skeins.

Blankie

Started July 13, 2012.  Wow! It's been just over a year and look at how big it's gotten! As of the time of typing this update, there is 107.5 squares and by the time I finish this knitting year, I want to be at 250 squares.  Note: I am so short that even when standing on a chair, I still couldn't get the entire thing in one picture.

Now onto the forgotten projects.

Slide Socks

You can already see that one of the socks is off the needles.  I was trying to do these socks 2 at a time and I was not successful.  I will make these socks out of this yarn but I think I'm going to try winding them into balls and working on each sock seperately.

Anisette Cardigan

As I have mentioned before, the back is utter perfection...but I just don't think I really want the cardigan out of this yarn and it would be nice if the sleeves were the correct size.  I'd rather just toss out the whole thing and make it again from a different kind of yarn.  Nothing wrong with the pattern.  It's lovely but I'm just not liking this project.  I just want to know what I can do with this yarn.

Great inspiration

I took today as my laundry day. It's 2 weeks worth of clothing for 2 week long trips. This means I was finally able to wash the Tulips and the Pirouette socks.

By washing the socks and hanging them out to dry on the line, I finally got to really feel them. They feel so nice! I was more worried about the Tulips more than anything. This was the first time I have ever washed any yarn that I have dyed.  From what I can see, I didn't loose any colour. This gives me great hope that I was doing it right :)

This whole "washing of the socks" also is a great way to nudge me back to finishing my socks.

The Spock socks have been picked back up. I may just finish the pair before going on to the Tiberius socks.

Turned the heel! You know what that means

I made it to the heel flap last night on the Spock socks and now that I've put my work down for the night, I'm working my way down the gusset. Happy progress is being made :)

Once I finish this sock, I think the first sock of the Tiberius will be my next thing to work on. I still hope to finish the one anklet while I'm in Omaha. It's not like I have far to go; just a few more rows before the toe decreases start. It's kinda hard to measure the sock on my foot whilst driving.

Come-a-Long Blog Update

While I didn't do as much knitting as I would like to have done this week, I did do quite a bit.

I started and restarted a new set of socks, Spock Socks, which was mentioned on the last update.  They're coming along nicely but not as quickly as I had hoped.  I just didn't feel as much of an urge to knit and if I forced it, it just wouldn't be fun and it would go the way of the Ernie Socks which were given away.  I have no intention of giving away these socks.

After looking through the Cookie Sock Club group of Ravelry, I saw some other participants doing the Tiberius.  I am really wanting to cast on for those. Someone suggested just doing them both at the same time.  Both the Spock Socks and the Tiberius Socks use the same sized needles.  While I do have a set of circular needles in the size required, I have been preferring DPNs a lot.  I managed to find a set of metal needles I didn't even remember I had.  I'm going to try out the Tiberius on that and see if it will work for me.  If not, I've got the circulars as a back up and I hope to have some pictures to show for it next week, other than the needles and the yarn.

The end of the Come-a-Long Blog year is coming up and when July hits, another year will start again, under the name Year of Projects (because that name is much easier to remember for me).  Also, I have joined another year long set of projects called The 26 Pair Plunge.  It's a sock knitting challenge.  It's really 52 but they give an option for 26 so I'm taking that instead, especially since I've never even managed to do 12 pairs in a year, much less 52.  Both the Year of Projects and 26 Pair Plunge can work very well together.

The list as of yet for the 26 Pair Plunge is as follows:

• August, October and December Sock Club Socks 2013 (6) 
• February, April and June Sock Club Socks 2014 (6)
• WIP socks that are half way done [Dark Isle, Stitch Surfer, Bex, Baby Socks] (4)
• Anklet Sock Stash (7)
• Tree of Life or Firebird by Janel Laidman (1)
• Socks that strike my fancy (2)

I still have to decide what additional projects other my current WIPs to add to the list for the Year of Projects but I expect the list to be up by the July 7th post.

Despite the fact that I no longer have my old Paintshop Pro, I came up with a couple of banners; one for the Year of Projects and one for 26 Pair Plunge:

Projects Completed for 2013:

Newton Socks | Ernie Socks | Pirouette Socks | Tulip Socks

WIPs:

Dark Isle Socks | Stitch Surfer | Hermione's Whatever-whatevers | Shapely Boyfriend Cardigan | Blankie | Bex | Anklet #1 | Baby Socks | ...fascinating (the Spock Socks)

Come-a-long Update

The Tulips have finally been finished. It was my only...no one of the only - projects I worked on in the past week. They are slouchy in the leg because I should have gone for a smaller size but I don't care.  They'll be like my Monkey socks which are great for wearing around the house.  What makes me prouder is that I dyed the yarn all by myself (and I have no notes as to how I did it in the first place so I can't repeat the process).  

I made a joke about all I would have to do to make me feel more accomplished was to raise the sheet and spin the yarn from it's wool.  Someone thought I actually spun the the yarn.  I am definitely not at that point yet.

The other project I was working on was the Anklet.  And I don't have enough yarn to make it to the toe.  Therefore I am going to have to go to the ball that the cuff and heel came from, take off mini balls of yarn (because whoever donated the ball to the library knitting circle and then to me seemed to cut randomly into the ball and I can make little balls around 2g a pop) and do part of the foot as well.  I don't think I'm looking forward to repeating that for the second foot.

Once the Tulips were done, I immediately casted on for a new pair of socks for the Sock Club.  I am doing the Spock Socks, in a science officer blue (because that is the only colour that make sense).

I'm still trying to decide between to balls of yarn for a Command yellow for the other pair for the month called the Tiberius (obviously in reference to Capt. James. T. Kirk).  

This on is a Knitpicks Stroll Tonal in Golden Glow.

This one will require more work as in an overdye. This one is from Tanis Fiber Arts, Blue Label in Buttercup.

Suggestions?

Projects Completed for 2013:

Newton Socks | Ernie Socks | Pirouette Socks | Tulip Socks

WIPs:

 Dark Isle Socks | Stitch Surfer | Hermione's Whatever-whatevers | Shapely Boyfriend Cardigan | Blankie | Bex | Anklet #1 | Baby Socks | ...fascinating (the Spock Socks)

This is why you should really read the pattern before casting on

I decided to start the Spock socks late yesterday. I am loving the Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label that I'm using in Cobalt (blue=science officer). I made excellent progress too. I finished the setup row and did 4 rows of the leg. It looks so pretty.

I pack up the socks so I can go to bed. As I was shuffling through the pattern, I happened to catch a sentence in the setup that I missed before.

I was supposed to do ribbing for 1". Smacked my head against a soft surface, put everything away and went to my bed.

So I will be undoing all the progress that I made and restarting; this time WITH the 1" of ribbing.

Later on in the day...
I ripped it all back and casted on again with the appropriate ribbing this time.  Now I'm half way through the setup chart.  I don't think it's going to make me feel like I'm making progress until I make it back into the leg chart.

I mentioned it on Ravelry, in the Cookie Sock Club group earlier on this morning and someone made me feel just that little bit better.  At least I noticed it early on as opposed to when I was much farther on the leg.  Also noticed a lot of other clubbers are doing the colours for their socks to match the uniform as well.  I have already decided against using the Blood Orange coloured yarn (as pretty as it is) because in the original series, the red shirts were always the first to go.  I think I'll save the yarn for a non-Star Trek related sock  If it was the Picard sock or something, it would be a totally different story.

On a more personal yarn note so to speak, maybe it's because I feel like I'm going through some kind of withdrawl, especially in the form of funds, I believe I am going to have to sell some of my yarn in my stash.  Perhaps I can get enough to get a set of needles I wanted or to pay off for another one that I ordered that may or may not be arriving around August or September.  Tonight I'm going to be going through what I have that I am willing to part with, that's still in a decent condition and try to price it before putting it up on the Ravelry ISO/Sale boards