Yes, I am Knitting

May 28, 2021Leave a comment

Caladenia Shawl. Designed by Ambah O’Brien

This is one of my knitting accomplishments from this year. There are others but, I get behind when it comes to sharing photos and stories of the projects. This was from participating in another mystery knit-along. The final date to share photos to the forum is the 31st so I did at least get that accomplished yesterday.

I also started another MKAL with Imagined Landscapes titled Gnot Just Another Gnome. That didn’t last long. I knitted less than 2″ of Clue 1 and just quit.

My inability to resist these MKALs from my favorite designers has started to give me the feeling of working a job. I quit in July of 2016. The past two or three years have been a steady stream of KALs and MKALs where I feel stressed and pressured to finish them on time to enter to win the prizes.

So, what am I doing now? I’m finishing a cardigan that I designed myself using a schematic based on The Sweater Wheel from back in the 1960s. You dial your size, yarn weight, needle size and go from there. I’m finishing the seams, then will wash/dry it, add buttons and it’s done. I had a cone of multi-color space-dyed cotton yarn that I found that was already involved in another project that needed to be frogged. I love light weight cotton cardigans for summer.

Summer? It comes and goes here in the Mitten State. I think we’re shaped like a mitten for a reason.

Yes, there’s another KAL in the works. Laminarus Cardigan from Stolen Stitches, Carol Feller. Clue #1 arrived yesterday and I’m about to cast on.

At the same time, I’ve got a pair of socks going in the team colors of the Detroit Tigers. Why? I bought several skeins of this yarn a few years ago and had one left. When I finish my pair of socks I’ll use what’s left for a pair of baby socks for my new great-nephew. Yep! I’m a great-aunt now. Does that mean I’m old or what?

Almost Half Over Already

January 15, 2020Leave a comment

That would be January, that is. Look how fast it can sneak on by when we’re busy doing what we do. Remember, way back in the beginning I did mention that I have a tendency to fail to keep posting on any blog that I’ve created over time. I’m here. Really, I am.

That would be the result of the 2019 year-long KAL with Jimmy Beans Wool and Ambah O’Brien. There are a whole lot of these out there that all look just like mine. This is the Jimmy’s Choice color scheme. I want to make another one with my color choices including some yellows, greens, white, browns – you know – the colors if you’re imagining an actual sun shower.

That’s the Adventuresome Wrap, also by Ambah O’Brien. This was the Advent KAL from December, 2019. Each stripe represents the days before Christmas including a stripe for Christmas. I ran out of the gray gradient yarn so had to order more. Guess how much I actually needed to use. Half of the stripe for December 23rd and all of the stripe for Christmas Day. I thought I’d need more of the gold but didn’t so now I have another ball. This was Lion Brand Shawl in a Ball. Since I had leftovers of the gray I used it.

There’s more to share but why use them all up now? Since I’m probably getting close to using up my storage space here in my photo library I’m going to have to start pre-planning each post by finding the photos online then sharing them through their URL. All of these photos are also on my Flickr since I upload them there to move them over to Ravelry.

Back to my comfy chair and tonight’s knitting project. I’m also working on an Einstein Coat by Sally Melville. Oh, that reminds me. I finished another Sally Melville design a couple weeks ago. The Classic Shirt cardigan. I’ll share a photo soon.

I’ve also started my Carbeth by KDD (Kate Davies). I bought the Cascade 200 Superwash Sport over a year ago and finally decided it was time.

It’s that Make Nine in 2020 challenge that’s getting me motivated to finally knit those projects that I’ve purchased the yarn for.

Stay tuned.

Have You Been Patient?

December 23, 2019Leave a comment

You’ve been surfing the ‘net daily just waiting for me to post something, right? Sure you have.

Here I am. Yes, I have been here all along just knitting away. You know, it’s the knitting that keeps me from typing. Hmmm. If that were totally true then all that yarn wouldn’t keep arriving at my house. There isn’t a Yarn Fairy Godmother just sending it. There’s online shopping going on. Way too much online shopping. It’s crazy I tell you.

Day 19 — Adventuresome Wrap by Ambah O’Brien

This is mostly what has been keeping me busy over the past couple weeks. To be honest, since December 1st. Right now it’s on hold until more yarn arrives since I ran out of the silver. There’s enough of the gold left for one more day which is fine since there is only one more day of gold. There are two more days of silver. The last stripe is for Christmas Day. One of my thoughts was to knit Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in another color. A different ball of Shawl in a Ball with greens in it. I have one. There are greens and blues in it. It could still happen.

Other than knitting, what else have I been up to?

I’m trying to get organized for Stashdown 2020. There are two Ravelry forums that have lured me in. This should be fun. One forum is right in Ambah O’Brien’s group and the other is in Team Michigan. We are knitting from stash and sharing how many ounces, grams or yards of yarn we’re using up as the year progresses. We are allowed to buy more yarn during 2020. However, those purchases don’t count towards the Stashdown. We can only claim yarns that were purchased prior to 11:59 p.m. December 31, 2019. The great race begins :01 January 1, 2020 and ends 11:59 p.m. December 31, 2020. Oh, I feel the excitement already.

Do you?

KALs & Other Challenges aka Torments

December 1, 2018December 1, 2018Leave a comment

after kaleidescope.jpg

Ever feel like you’re going round and round and it’s all your own fault?

Just this morning I joined yet another knitting KAL as if the 2018 Temperature Blanket wasn’t enough. Then, I have to remember the 2018 Vogue Knitting challenges that I joined on Ravelry.

Did I explain the VK challenges yet? There’s the #18 in 2018 which is any project from any year that is #18 in the issue. I’m working on that one right now. I’m knitting #18 from 1988 which also covers the Any project from a year ending in 8. Then, there is the Then and Now. My Then was a cardigan from 1959 and I also finished another Then from 1988 and another from 1986, I think. I’ve got pretty much the entire challenge completed except the Now. I need to go through all four issues from this year and pick one. I’m thinking it better be an easy one at this point. To meet the requirements all I have to do is cast on and it doesn’t have to be finished by the end of December.

Then, there’s that Temperature Blanket. Yes, that’s a photo of my blanket up there. I was playing with photos for my Secrets of Better Photography course that I’m finishing. Lesson 12 was about editing photos and the assignment was to get creative if you wanted to. So, I did. Right now my blanket is on 7/18/18. I’m over halfway there. Many knitters are behind but, we don’t care. I do need to order more yellow which is for the days in the 70s, orange for the days in the 80s and some pink for the 90s. Who would have thought Michigan would have been consistently that warm. They did say on the news the other day that scientists are showing that we are averaging higher temps every year since 2013. I’m planning on a 2019 blanket to keep using this yarn so I’m thinking those higher-temp colors will be used again next year. Stay tuned for photos.

My latest KAL is from Ambah O’Brien and it’s the ADVENTurer Cowl or any of the Adventurer series patterns. I’m choosing the cowl since it’s a lot smaller than the wrap. I found a yarn to use in a short amount of time which was so surprising. I thought I’d be lost in my stash for days.

Requirement #1 is to cast on today on December 1st and stay tuned for updates from Ambah. Will do. Final photo posting can be any time before a date in February.