Year of Projects: Week 16

Another week has passed.  I wanted to have another FO (and believe me, I was trying) and I did it!  I finished my Earth & Night Sky Shawl and I love it.

 Thank you to cousin B1 for modelling it for me.

I loved it so much, that I'm giving it away for a good cause.

Yesterday was my mother's 60th birthday and she went all out on a schindig.  It turned out really nice.  She had me going to stores to pick things up (like her rose gold Guess watch that was still at the store), lighters and taking trips to Downtown Toronto.  Not to mention physically making things for the party.

This is when the good cause came up.  I'm giving the shawl to my mother for her birthday.  I still have to block it so it will be bigger.  That's the part I am trying to work out but I will find a way.

Otherwise this week, I worked on the Flip Top mittens.  I was trying to have it finished for this update, but as I said before, there was no time but I have made good progress on it.  It should be finished this week, or at least the mitten part.  There's also the thumb plus opening the mittens up to make them convertible.

I spent a good amount of this week visiting different LYS's around me.  I managed to make it to 3 locations; The Purple Purl, Romni Wools and Handknit Yarn Studio.  I made it to the weekend with 3 new skeins of wool plus a set of fixed circular needles; all for two shawls by Stephen West.

I've decided that these two yarns will work well for the Daybreak Shawl (that's Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label in Chris Grey and Turtlepurl Yarns Stripped Turtle Toes in Dream Room).  This one will be the next project, once I finish at least one more WIP.

The Pagewood Farm Glacier Glacier Bay in Cape Cod Cranberry and Anzula Squishy in Maple, is set aside for the Chadwick (which I have not purchased as of yet because I can't decide if I should buy the book or just the pattern,).

Forgot to mention that I finally got a picture of my brother RJ with his new hat and scarf.  His mother hid it well from him to the point that on the night of his birthday, he still didn't have his gift.  The next morning at church, he gave me running hug wearing his hat and scarf that he refused to take off almost the entire day.

Yes, he's learning to play the bass since the drums and the piano are not enough for him.

My youngest brother Nathaniel has now put in a request for a scarf for his birthday.  Not necessarily a hat but he does want a scarf.  The kid barely ever asks for anything so I can't really say no to him.  Time to go and look up another pattern or something of the sort to make with acrylic yarns in the colour of Reese's Pieces...I may just have some more Brava yarn in a bulky weight though...oh the possibilities.

YEAR OF PROJECTS / 26 PAIR PLUNGE

Year of Projects: Week 15

Guess what?  I can finally use this again!

I finally finished the Ladder to the Sky Socks and I still have a good amount of the yarn left over.  I'll weigh it tomorrow and see what can be done with the remains.  I'm feeling a quick stint on the Blankie is in order.

So that's one FO.  I have another one as well for this week.  I finished the birthday gifts for my brother RJ.  I don't have a picture of him wearing them yet since I kinda threw it in the car after he got out of it without his knowledge and I think his mother hid it even further in the car so he doesn't open it until his birthday on Friday.

So that's two FO's (and three in the last 2 weeks).  I have been working diligently on the Earth and Sky Shawl and I am still loving it.  I was debating on Friday what size to do.  I finally decided on the small and that means I have just a few more rows to do and then block the darn thing.  I have never blocked anything other than socks and that's rare as it is.  It should be finished this week.

I am still loving the colour choice and as much as I say I want to make another once, I want to do another Stephen West shawl pattern soon.  I think I had Chadwick next on my list.  I just have to actually acquire the pattern and I'm sure I have enough yarn in my stash, starting with the new skein I got for the sock club.  I've already determined it's not going towards socks.

YEAR OF PROJECTS/26 PAIR PLUNGE

Not a concern

I have been a good little knitter and finished my brother's birthday gift with a week and a half to spare. Hopefully I'll be able to give it to him on the day. My mom think the hat is to big. I think his head is large and will grow into it. I guess I won't know until he puts it on his head.

I worked on the Earth & Sky shawl on and off today. At the very least, I can complete the small size quite soon but I am pretty certain that I'll be doing at least a medium.

I'm working on the second repeat where I have to use the Miss Babs Inkwell colourway and I'm wanting another skein. I don't know if I'll have enough left over at the end to make something sock related. I'm going to look and see if I can get another skein, especially since it's an exclusive colourway to the Cookie Sock Club.

The thought of this makes me want to go back to sock knitting. Also the fact that I have a bunch of handknit socks that need to be washed. That'll be a job for the morning.

And with that, I think the shawl will be put down for a couple of days and a pair of socks will be the next project. Surprisingly though, I'm not that excited about the new shipment for the sock club...well I am excited for the yarn itself but I am not ready to start a new pair of socks. I think I want to finish up what I have.

Year of Projects: Week 14

I have had a very productive week.  I still didn't finish the test socks for Ladder to the Sky but I did accomplish a lot of things.

I was at my dad's house last week Sunday and my brother RJ reminded me about the scarf I had promised him from so long ago.  He even offered to pay me money from his piggy bank if I would make him a scarf sooner.  I couldn't take the money from a 12-year old boy.  Besides, he couldn't open it and it was already on the needles.  But I can say that my brother RJ will be able to get his scarf before his birthday and it is finished!

It just has a couple of ends to weave in and a creative way to give it over.  Almost immediately, I started on the matching hat, the Irish Hiking Hat.  I just have one more cable repeat before I start on the decreases.  It's a pretty easy knit.  It has a good chance of being finished this week.

Now to the next project.  I have to start from the beginning of this little dilemma.  I borrowed a set of Harmony Tips from the Knitting Circle on Tuesday.  I have never used them before and it was available in the size I would need for the Earth & Sky Scarf, that I would not be starting for a good couple of months due to the other projects I have to finish first.  I brought four skeins plus one caked yarn to the Circle as well to get some opinions as to what colour yarn I was going to use.  Judy, a fellow knitter and crocheter chose Tanis Fibre Arts Blue Label in Charcoal, Cascade Yarns Heritage Silk in a Teal colour and Springtree Road Muscadine in Dark Aoife.  They are beautiful together and reminded me of a dragonfly.  I went home with the tips and my yarn selection and like a good little knitter, I picked up the Irish Hiking Hat, and continued to work on it.

The next day, after a long day of walking around Downtown Toronto, I came home, looked at a ball of dish cloth cotton and I could swear I could see the Harmony Tips calling me saying "You want to use me!"  The next thing I know, I'm clearing the dresser in my room and setting up my swift and started to cake the Tanis Charcoal and the STR Dark Aoife.  Before I went to bed, the Earth & Sky Shawl was well on it's way.

Believe me, there was determination to do it to.  I have never had to start a project 4 times, but I did it for this one.  First time, I didn't understand how the colour order would work and I started with the wrong colour.  Ripped it out to start again.  The second time, I had the colours all in the proper place. I was supposed to do a garter stitch section.  I did stockinette.  Ripped it out and started again.  Third time, I did start with the correct colour but mixed up the order.  After that, I realized that the Cascade Teal yarn was having issues with me.  I kept getting huge clumps of yarn because somehow, both ends of the yarn ended up in the middle and would both come out in tangled mess.  As much as I love that Teal colour, the patience with that yarn was at an end.  I grabbed my Miss Babs Cosmic Hand Painted Sock yarn in Inkwell I got for the last shipment from the Cookie Sock Club and put it on the swift.  I ripped the entire project back out and started again.

I could not be happier with the progress that I'm making.  I learned a lot from the process and for anyone else who is doing this shawl, from the beginning, just do 2 separate balls of yarn for colour A & B.  It'll make your life so much easier for Section 2.  I'm still debating on the size since it does come in Small, Medium and Large.  If anyone has done this pattern before, let me know what size you did and how it fit.