Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2013: Day 1!

I’ve been waffling back and forth about whether I could do KCBW this year, especially because I’m writing finals right now. I’ve decided to just give it a go- you’ll all just have to forgive me if my posts go up a bit late… you can blame Virgil or Napoleon for taking up so much of my time.

I’ve got some pretty exciting things planned for this week, despite my indecision. There might be a free pattern… maybe even tomorrow. And maybe some fun giveaways in there as well. You’ll just have to check back and see!

Today is House Cup day. I had no problem at all choosing my house. As soon as I read the description for the house of Bee, I knew that was the one I belonged in!

The House of Bee: Bees are busy and industrious, but can flit from one interesting project to the next as bright and shiny things capture their interest.

Anyone who knows me will know that I always have multiple projects on the go, and I can be pretty bad about finishing larger projects. I remember was I was kid, I never finished anything. It drove my mom crazy. I still have small bouts of “cast on all the things!” but I have gotten better at finishing at least some of those things (thank goodness).

I thought it might be kind of embarrassing fun to revisit some of my current WIPs, active or otherwise:

(Clockwise from top left):
Miette (January 2013)
Winding Way Socks (April 2013)
Oslo-Anorak (May 2012)
Que Sera (December 2011)
Saartje’s Booties (January 2012)
Colourful Blanket of Craziness (February 2013)
PEI Lace Scarf (September 2011)
Branching Out (October 2009)

That’s everything for day 1… I’ll be posting something extra special for the project day tomorrow, so be sure to check back then!

New to my blog for KCBW? Find out About Me or visit me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Ravelry! Thanks for stopping by today- please leave me a comment and say hi!

Winding Way Socks

I’ve been having some knitter’s block lately. I’ve been designing lots of my own stuff but I just haven’t wanted to knit other peoples’ patterns. I knew I was going to want a portable project for my trip home at the end of this week, so I was starting to get a bit worried. I never ever want to be left without a project, especially on a trip… what would I do with myself?! Fortunately, Emily and Alexa of Tin Can Knits, for whom I’ve tested before, are working on their new collection, Handmade in the UK, and had these lovely socks up for testing. I knew exactly what yarn I wanted to use and was so excited to be chosen as a tester since the socks were such a hit.

The pattern hasn’t yet been released but the working name is Winding Way Socks. There is a lace panel on the leg and foot. I’m using Cascade Heritage Paints in the colourway 9825 Isle of Skye. I love these so far… they are perfect. (Rav link).

What are your cures for knitters’ block?

I’ll be linking up with KCCO, Yarn-Along, and WIP Wednesday as usual!

Finally

Before I headed home for reading week last week, I heard that Romni Wools was having a Valentine’s Day sale. I have never been in a place with more yarn than Romni, so, armed with the remainder of my Christmas money, I set out to take a look. I only bought 3 things while I was there, which, if you’ve ever been to Romni, you will know is pretty impressive.

I bought 2 balls of Diamond Luxury Collection Merino Bamboo, which is so soft. There were so many colours to choose from, and they were 4.50$ each (minus the Valentine’s discount). I got one ball each in silver grey and Caribbean. I can’t wait to knit these up… I think these two colours would look gorgeous as a colourwork hat. (Rav link).

I also picked up a skein of Aslan Trends Santa Fe. It’s only 180 yards of fingering weight yarn, so I’m not sure what I’ll do with it, but the colourway (1324- earth seasons) was just too pretty to leave this last skein behind. I’m thinking maybe this will become some fingerless gloves, but I haven’t yet found the perfect pattern. (Rav link).

I have also finished the first of my Business Casual socks! I’m into the leg of the second sock and it seems to be going a bit quicker than the first. I’m not sure why these seem to be taking so long. I enjoy working on them, they just seem to knit up very slowly. (Rav link).

I’m spending the weekend with some friends but I will be back Monday (perhaps with finished socks?). Have a great weekend!

All Kinds of Crazy

I thought I would give you a break from hearing about my Business Casual socks and instead show you how my Colourful Blanket of Craziness has been coming along! I’ve finished 62 squares now, and I love how it looks so far. I’ve decided that this is the perfect project for someone whose stuff is spread out between multiple houses (like me!) because I don’t have to bring any yarn when I travel between school and home. I have lots of worsted weight scraps in both places, so I only need to bring the blanket and work from my respective stashes. Perfect!

I think I need to have another end-weaving in party, though- the ends are getting a bit out of hand!

(Rav link)

In completely unrelated (but very cute!) news, we got a puppy! This means that we have three dogs, which is pretty much crazy. His name is Sherman, he is a 10 week old Shetland Sheepdog, and he is adorable! I can’t even fathom how much bigger he will be in April when I’m back home.

More on my week at home in the next few days. I hope you all had a lovely weekend.

Liking up with KCCO, Yarn Along, and WIP Wednesdays as usual.

Tangles

When I cast on for the Business Casual KAL, as you might recall, I was really excited about using my new swift and ball winder to wind a lovely skein of Cascade Heritage Sock. Long story short, after knitting the leg of my first sock, the ball got really tangled and pulling from the centre just kept revealing more knots. Since I’m at home and not at school (where my ball winder is), I’ve spent the past two evenings detangling and rewinding my yarn by hand. I’m not entirely sure what I did- all of the balls I had wound before were fine.

Fortunately, I’ve finished the untangling and rewinding… back to knitting! I’m done the heal and I’ve moved onto the foot. These socks are lovely but are coming along very slowly. I sense there will probably be some second sock syndrome when it comes time to cast on the next one! I’m hoping to cast off the first in the next few days. We’ll see. (Rav link)

Linking up with KCCO, Yarn-Along, and WIP Wednesdays as usual!

Happy Wednesday!

Silence.

The silence as I write this post is almost unnerving. A sudden allergy flare-up has me awake at 2:00am waiting for some anti-histamine to take effect, and the house is eerily quiet at this hour on a Monday. Since I live in a residence with 14 other girls, silence is rare, but tonight, even the heater, the fridge, those little creaks and noises are all silent.

It is a little unusual, but it is calming and it is lovely. A perfect time to write.

I’ve been working on 2 knitting projects lately. Well, I guess I’ve been working on 3 but the third is a new design that I’m still working on. It’ll probably be released in a few months along with some other new patterns.

I have been working on my Business Casual Socks (Rav link) for the KAL, albeit a bit slowly. I have been keeping this project in my bag and working on it in those in-between moments over the course of my day. This means that they’ve been progressing a bit more slowly than I had anticipated but I’ll be taking the train home on Friday for reading week, which will give me a solid two and a half hours of knitting time. I’m almost done the three pattern repeats for the leg (I’m knitting the smaller size), and then I’ll be set to turn the heel. Maybe I can finish the first sock on the train.

I’ve also continued to add little mitered squares to my Colourful Blanket of Craziness (Rav link)… These are so addictive! Like I said in my last post, each square takes under 2 yards of worsted weight yarn and about 5 minutes. I can’t wait to get home so that I can raid my stash for worsted weight scraps there!

I’ve also been dutifully weaving in the ends as I go… It’s a bit tedious now but I think it will be worth it. I can just imagine the anger that future me would feel towards past me if I left those hundreds of ends to weave in all at once.

At this point, I think I’m pretty happy with the width of the blanket, so it’s time to start building more rows on top of the first two. I can always adjust the width later, though, if I change my mind. My current square count is 26!

I’ll be linking up with KCCO, Yarn-Along, and WIP Wednesdays.

Happy Tuesday!

Happy February.

I can’t believe that it’s February already… one month of 2013 done. I’ve only got 8 weeks of class until my exams begin, and then I’ll be done first year, done 25% of my degree. It’s strange to think about, especially since I haven’t a clue what I want to do after!

But there is time. Time to figure it out. And time to knit.

Which is how I finished my second Honey Cowl yesterday. I’ve been wearing it all day and it’s nice and soft after going through the wash. I love the colour and how it fits! (Rav link).

I had a bunch of yarn left after finishing the cowl (which only took 152 yards. What?) so I cast on a hat to match. What else was I supposed to do, finish one of my WIPs? Nope, that would make too much sense! I’m making Wurm with the leftover Craft Smart Yarn. I’m loving this pattern so far, especially the double-knit brim- so cosy! (Rav link)

I hope you are all enjoying your first day of February and that you also have time. Time to figure it out, but most importantly, time to knit.

Linking up today with Pinworthy Projects and FO Fridays.

WIP: Grey Honey Cowl

You might remember the last Honey Cowl I made back in the fall. I loved the pattern and the finished cowl, so when I saw Heather’s Grey version, I knew I had to make a smaller grey one as well!

The yarn is an acrylic that I’ve never used before, it’s called Craft Smart (I’m pretty sure it’s the Michael’s store brand). I had a gift card and it was on sale for less than 3$, so I figured it was worth trying out. So far, it’s actually been softer than I expected. Not as plasticky as Red Heart.

(See it on Ravelry here!)

I’ll be linking up with KCCO, Yarn-Along, and WIP Wednesdays. Have a great day!

WIPs and stitch markers

I finished my socks a few days ago (photos to come!) and immediately cast on another project… what else is a knitter to do when it’s -15 degrees and snowing?

This yarn is Red Heart Super Saver in Soft White- I usually hate plasticky acrylics like this, especially for larger projects, but I had a gift card for Michaels and at 700+ yards for 5$, I figured I would give this a try. I really hope it softens up when I wash it, because right now it’s pretty terrible.

I’m making Miette, which is a free pattern for a cropped cardi with a lace detail around the edge. I’m also ready to divide out for the sleeves and body. I’m loving how it’s turning out so far!

(Rav link)

My sister O made me these stitch markers for Christmas… aren’t they gorgeous?

I’ll be linking up with Yarn-Along, KCCO, and WIP Wednesdays. Have a great day!

Just Keep Knitting…

I’ve finished most of the Christmas knitting I had planned, but I’ve just been adding more and more things to my list as I go! I’ve finished a bunch of projects over the past few days, and I’m working on getting photos of them all- that post will probably go up tomorrow or Friday. In the meantime, I have one FO completely finished (and wrapped after this photo was taken, actually)! This is the Turn a Square hat. It was originally going to be for D but it turned out bigger than I anticipated so I think I’ll give it to my Grampa instead. (Rav link).

I went for a visit to my LYS in my hometown while I’m here, and (of course) I couldn’t leave without buying some yarn. I really loved the colour of this Super by Briggs and Little- it’s actually a deep forest green, not as blue as the photos show. (Rav link).

As promised, more info on the cookies from the last post! I dipped them in melted chocolate and they look very pretty. The recipe is from here. I liked them but they weren’t really what I expected from shortbreads; they didn’t really melt in your mouth and they tasted a bit more like sugar cookies. Oh well, they still tasted fine!

Finally, a WIP to share for today. This hat is actually a replacement hat for my sister. I made her this hat a few years ago and she lost it recently. For Christmas she requested a replacement. I think the yarn might even been leftovers from the lost hat! (Rav link).

I’ll be linking up with KCCO, Yarn-Along, and WIP Wednesday. I hope you are all having a wonderful day!