Finally a few FO's

Since startitis set in around mid-February, I have very few FO's to show for myself (not surprising).  Strangely, this did not keep me from some serious shopping at Stitches West.

 First the FO's: a beanie in San Jose Sharks colors, a scarf in San Francisco 49ers colors  (sense a theme here?), and as of this morning, a Clockwork Shawlette.  The first two were knit from Lorna's Laces Worsted in special Bay Area Pro Team colorways (they also have the Golden State Warriors, the SF Giants, Oakland A's, and Oakland Raiders) and were just a fun break from more serious knitting.

Zino, Silk Garden Sock

 The Clockwork was knit from Plymouth Zino in browns and Noro Silk Garden (dominant colors were fuschia, violet, and mustard).  This came out more rustic looking than I anticipated, but it was a pleasant surprise.  The fit is great, by the way.










As for shopping, I managed to buy fewer sweaters-to-be than last year (2 fewer) and half as many accesssories-to-be.

My guard must have been down due to feeling smug because I have since bought 2 more sweaters-to-be.

Finally lost out to startitis

Amigurami Donut

Striped Beanie in Vintage

Since January 22nd, I have finished a few things.  There was a silly donut to go with the cupcake I made Kerry for her stocking.  I also finished the Phinney sweater (see 1/22 post for a yoke close-up) and a matching beanie from the leftovers.  Despite my fear of running out of yarn, I still have not knit a single stitch from the extra ball of teal I bought last fall when I was in panic mode.

By February 1st, I had completed 10 knitted and 1 crocheted project in 2012.  Six of those were started in 2011, so my WIP pile was whittled down a bit.  For a moment, I was feeling smug.

The WIP pile has since grown, and I am still a bit fidgety.  I have four new projects on the needles:  a Baby Wrap sweater (design by Churchmouse) in Koigu, a Spectra scarf (design by Stephen West) in Knit Picks Chroma and Stroll, a Mistake Stitch Rib scarf in Lorna's Laces Worsted (Miner -- think SF 49ers -- colorway), and a Central Park Hoodie in Classic Elite Waterlily.  The baby sweater is about 25% complete, the scarves are about 1/6 done, and the hoodie has been swatched and the ribbing is barely started.

Spectra Scarf

Central Park Hoodie in progress

Close up of Baby Wrap Sweater

49er Faithful Scarf

I have also found myself with more yarn than I started the year with (how did that happen?) and have been lusting over designs in new magazines, not to mention Ravelry postings.

Maybe I just need to cast on one more project to calm myself down...

Sometimes it's hard to focus on knitting

Last night our family dog passed away.  We were lucky that the entire family was able to gather on short notice to say good-bye, even though I doubt Rocky really knew what was happening.  We were also lucky that his system failure occurred so quickly that he didn't have a long painful end.

My husband and I went out to dinner on March 1, 1995 and came home with Rocky (totally shocked the babysitter).  An animal rescue group happened to be in a storefront near the restaurant, and a worker there convinced us to "just try taking him for a little walk on this leash".  We were instantly smitten with this little (~15 lb.) guy of indeterminate age and parentage and brought him home to be "Alex's dog".

We found out from the vet that he was at least one year old and was most likely a Sheltie/Jack Russell mix.  His fur and coloring were more Sheltie-like and his personality was pure Jack Russell.

Owning Rocky was like having a bright, inquisitive, mischievous, non-verbal three year old in the house for most of the 17 years we had him.  He was playful, affectionate, and everyone who knew him very well fell in love with him (including our vet and the staff at the kennel he went to when we were on vacation).  He slowed down quite a bit in his last year (and started to develop bald spots), but still enjoyed children and food.

This picture was taken less than a year ago, I think.  Pretty good looking for an old guy, wouldn't you say?

Rocky 1994(?)-2012

Something Old, Something New

Today I am wearing my brand-new, just-finished-last-night, Ribby Pink socks and a sweater I knit 16 years ago.  The second sock was finished in one day (no second sock syndrome), and I am happy with the result.

Ribby Pinky Socks

I knit a lot (65-75 finished projects in a typical year), so it is unusual when I can remember many details of a particular project from the distant past.  This one was special, though.  I was less than a month from Justin's due date, sick of being pregnant, and had already knit him a mound of clothing.  I decided to knit something to wear after he was born.  Since he was due in February, I decided on a Valentines theme and knit a pink sweater with hearts all over it.  The pattern is called Pansy, and it comes from an Annabel Fox magazine called Summertime (published in 1995).  The pattern called for Rowan Cotton Chenille, but I used a Cascade 220-like yarn (no longer have the labels) that I bought from the sale bin on one of my pilgrimages to Straw Into Gold.  Looking at the sweater today, I think the design has aged pretty well.

Pansy Sweater

Pansy Sweater

Detail of Heart

Now I am back to working on the sleeves for Phinney.  At this rate (hope I don't jinx it), I may finish 10 items this month and half or more will be 2011 WIPs.

Phinney's Yoke

Sleeves in Progress

Just in time to start attacking the projects that I ordered online this week...

Now what...

I have finished sock number one from this week's start.  The design is from The Little Box of Socks and is called Shadow Rib.  The yarn is some well-aged Regia Color 4-ply in a mix of pinks and reds with a bit of gray, orange and brown thrown in.  I have used this pattern successfully in the past, and this first sock fits well and will look even better after blocking (some of the rib wales are a bit wonky).

Ribby Pinky Sock

My big question for this afternoon is should I knit sock number two or finish the Phinney sweater first.

The other knitting option, of course, is to start yet another project.  After all, I just found out that my pregnant friend has scheduled her C-section for next Wednesday (the baby was due about Valentines, but may pop out before Wednesday from the way she looks), and I haven't yet cast on my gift.

Better stop blogging for now...

Knitter, know thyself

First, pictures of what I've finished since my last post.

Lacy Rib Socks

Silk Garden Stripe Scarf

Brushed Suri Mitts

Close-up of Purple Passion scarf

January being a startitis month, I have interspersed my completions of last year's WIPs with small new projects.  So far, I have finished seven projects, four of which were started in 2011, the rest done entirely this year.

I've found for these "satisfy startitis" projects, it helps if they use less than 200 yards of yarn.  The Lamb's Pride Hurricane hat and the Brushed Suri Alpaca mitts fell into this category; they were both finished before I got the itch to try something new AND I had renewed energy to go back and tackle another of the nagging WIPs.

The Purple Passion scarf (a gift for my MIL, who loves bright colors and sparkly yarns) at ~330 yards was just a tad too long.  By the time I worked in the ends I was sick of the scarf and dying to try another new project (instead of finishing -- only two half-sleeves left! -- my Phinney sweater, the next WIP in the queue).

What did I cast on?

Socks...which means I might be able to finish one sock before feeling the need to move on.

Good Start to the New Year

By the end of the 2nd, I had finished off two WIPs hanging over from 2011, the scarf for my nephew and a hurricane hat from leftovers.  Both came out well, I think.

Tweedy Cashmere Scarf

Hurricane Hat in Manos and Vintage

I met with a group of knitting friends (Carol, Sylvia, and Jocelyn, plus new-to-me knitters Helen and Sue) over coffee at Panera in Campbell Tuesday morning.  I cast on another hurricane hat, this time in Lamb's Pride left over from the blanket I knit for my brother and his wife.  I finished the rib and 1/3 of the pre-decrease section of the cap by the time we left (2 hours later).  The finished hat is below.  It is actually a slightly brighter green than it appears.

Hurricane Hat in Lamb's Pride

At our meeting, we talked about winnowing down our stashes this year, and also about Uncommon Threads sale that started that day.  

I went to Uncommon Threads in the afternoon and bought enough Classic Elite Waterlily in a nice raspberry to knit a Central Park Hoodie, a project I've had my eye on for some time.

So much for stash reduction...

I'm now trying to finish another WIP holdover, a Noro stripe scarf in two shades of Silk Garden (#252 and 268); 268 is the pastel version of 252.  It feels like a good companion piece to the scarf I knit in Kureyon (#258 and 259) in December.

I think I will try to finish my Phinney sweater next (body is complete including neckband, both sleeves are half done), and then move on to a new project.

Noro Strip Scarf in Silk Garden

Noro Stripe Scarf in Kureyon