Happy New Year

Well, hello again.

We had a lovely holiday and did a lot of visiting. I'm very glad we made the trip even though I am not fond of traveling over the Christmas holiday.

I notice that my yarn usage was over 15,000 yards last year. I made a lot of sweaters. I'm also half way to 8,000 views. Still not too many people looking, but more than before I suppose.

There was much car knitting and I finished the knitting on the big multi-color project. Those ends took a few days to work in so the project was finished this year. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

I also got the TKGA rework finished and returned. I think I did better work, but we will see if it is good enough.

Once those were cleared, I made a little baby sweater. I'm still working oddballs and still like things to look planned rather than a bunch of ends stuck together. The idea was to go for a fade look, but I'm not sure it was really successful.

The balls seemed to all finish about a row or two apart so the stripes are more stripey than a fade should be.

I did like the stitch pattern. I will try again with another group of yarns. The button band is striped because I didn't have enough to make a single color button band. Way to use up those odd-balls!

I started a new project, but more on that next week.

End of Year

Well,

Apparently I'm feeling grumpy.

Here we are. Probably the last post of the year. I'm leaving Saturday to go visiting for the holidays. I have resented that in my entire family, I am the one that travels. I have been resisting recently, but this year there is a memorial service to attend, so off I go.

In preparing for the trip, I found myself between two tasks that I did not want to begin. Ugg. Then I remembered it was Tuesday and I knitblog on Tuesday. Yay. I can procrastinate a bit longer. Then, maybe I'll take a walk.

I've been tolerating a cold the last week. Wednesday was the worst - so stuffed up and not enough decongestants on the planet. It has been a bit better every day since, and I have become weirdly obsessed with sinus wash. So satisfying to feel that slippery yellow goo slide away down the sink. 

In the mean time, the multi-color seed stitch project is past the armholes. I know I did the math last week, but I continue to be anxious about making it to the end of the project.

Oh, and did I mention that I hate Freestyle by Dale of Norway?

Happy holidays and wishes for a successful new year.

Oddball Anxiety

This smooshy picture shows the current project about half way to the arm holes. It is going to be nice and large - 50". I have a friend in mind and he is about that size.

Working with oddballs is strangely exciting. Will I have enough? What to do if the green runs out? Or the pink?

I was worried about the smallest ball when I began the body ribbing. This is a larger size sweater and the colors seemed to be decreasing faster that I expected. So, I came up with a plan to deal wiht that anxiety. I weight the yarn before and after the first stripe. I did this a few times. Each stripe takes 3 grams of yarn. Each ball is at least 33 grams. Five repeats to the armhole, another three for the body.

No problem.

Sleeves

Yes, two of them complete now. I am casting on for the body while working through an Outlander binge.

I still need to get that TKGA package together. That would require concentration. Hmmmm.

In the mean time, I made a strange ball with some of the smaller oddballs. So it's an oddball ball.

First Look at Oddball Project.

I'm liking this new project.

The idea came from a Rowan pattern called ribbed check. Looking in the Barbara Walker books, the pattern is found in Volume 2 and called the color seeded pattern. In any event, it is effectively seed stitch but slip every fourth stitch when working the color bands.

Another great idea for an oddball project that does not look like an oddball at all.

Only downside is all the ends. I'm trying to work them in on the current sleeve as I go. This should reduce the weaving in process by about half.

So, this sleeve was done before I left on holiday. The other is about the half way mark.

Enjoy Thanksgiving. More progress next week. 

Felting Felted

I'm happy with the cat cave.

Now, I need a cat or cat person to send it to. I may donate it to the local shelter. If I were to make one of these again, I would adjust the pattern. It calls for increases/decreases every three rows. I think every other row may be better. I also would decrease the distance between the top/bottom and the entrance hole. The cylinder shape works OK, but some people find that it is a bit floppy.








Not so happy with the slippers.

They may take another few rides in the washing machine.




Oh, Swatchy is going on vacation for two weeks, so no updates until mid-month.

See ya.

Felting in the Future

The Snow Slipper V2 are completed. There is even a left and a right and they mostly match. I expect they will match better once felted. I prepared this time by preparing my oddballs in advance. This means I selected the yarns and used my kitchen scale and ball winder to divide them into approximately equal portions. Then, using the yarn doubled I worked the pattern until one ran out, spliced the next yarn in and continued on. I am quite pleased with this method of using up the oddballs.

I decided to put off felting until I finished this next felted project - the cat cave.

For the cat cave, I am using the Drops 0- 1381 pattern. I'm a bit anxious that it will work out as other knitters have had to add internal support. My previous experience with the snow slippers is that the extra hot cycle on the double strand worsted creates quite a firm, sturdy fabric.  

I just worked until the ball ran out. Earlier in the month, I did some cleaning and found an intarsia project that had been abandoned. Many colors on bobbins. I had wondered where all my bobbins had gone. They were hiding in a plastic bag with a project that I was no longer interested in completing. I cut them off and tossed them into the felted project box and used them on this cat cave for some random color pops.

While working through the yarns, I picked up one that seemed a bit off in texture. I did a burn test and found that it was acrylic.  I tossed it back in the general odd ball bin and tried to figure out where that was from. It later occurred to me that this was the last bit of yarn from my first adult knitting project way back in the 1980s. That vest is long gone, but it's oddball remains. 

I am on the last set of decreases and expect that both projects will go into the washer with some towels before the end of the week.

Then, I must pull out all the rework and notes for my TKGA submission and complete that and check the work again. 

Or, put it off and make some other oddball project. Maybe another toddler sweater.