FO "Friday": It's Bigger Than I Am

First things first, I'm aware it's not Friday. I meant to do this yesterday, but I have a 20-point 3-page paper due tomorrow and a 30-point 2-page paper due Monday so priorities sort of necessitated a re-sort. I'm actually only posting now because I've turned in the former paper and I thought I owed myself 30 minutes of not doing schoolwork for a change. Plus I'm super happy with my FO and needed to tell everyone about it.

Second. It's true. This thing is bigger than me. Granted, I'm not that big, but still. I knit a thing for myself to wear that is both longer and wider than my actual self. Yikes.

​SLXL

See. Bigger than I am. It's 90" long by 20" wide. I am probably 20-ish" wide at the widest point and 63" long.

For those who haven't been following along, this item is the Cocoon wrap by Anne Kuo Lukito. I knit it out of local Minnesota yarn that I'm very sure is not being made/sold anymore by a company called After the Sheep. It's 100% sport weight alpaca and it's soft and warm and cuddly as a wrap (it was formerly all these things as a sweater, but it's much happier being a wrap). Even though it wasn't cold in my house in the least after I finished weaving in the ends, I wrapped it around myself and then promptly declared I was never going to come out of it. Cocoon indeed.

Here are some photos of it so you can (hopefully) get a better idea of the stitch pattern. Sorry there aren't any photos of me wearing it, but by the time we got this all done it was dark outside and the inside lighting was horrible. I could model it now in the few hours of daylight we get up here during deep winter in the frozen north, but I'm not in the least presentable right now. I'll try to get a few on my project page and/or twitter and instagram in the next few weeks.

It's done and it's warm and it's snuggly and it's pretty and the lace blocked out wonderfully. Now if only I'd finished this while it was -10000 outside and not a perfectly reasonable 30F.

WIP Wednesday: Apparently 2016 is the year of the blue shawl/wrap

A few months ago (okay, so sometime this summer I started thinking about it, but it wasn't until fall that I started seriously thinking about it) I started thinking I should consider knitting a shawl. I'm still not sure what made me change my mind about not being a shawl knitter. I've gone to several classes about how to style shawls now and I'm still pretty convinced I'm going to look ridiculous, but I guess whatever. I didn't actually think the shawl thing would go anywhere (truthfully I still don't) since I don't even really wear the ready-made scarves/cowls that I've got (aside from winter stuff, though in the true cold I'm still finding myself reaching for a scarf), but many of my classmates in my graduate program would wrap themselves in huge (almost blanket-sized) wraps to keep warm in the overly air-conditioned buildings and I guess I got a little envy. And then I had 1200 yards of sport weight alpaca that had tried and failed at being a sweater, so the ginormous lace/drop-stitch wrap was born. 

And now...a true shawl.

I'd like to say that this came about because I was looking for something to do with the two skeins of blue (gradient) Kauni I bought at Shepherd's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival back in 2014, but really it came about because I was trying to find a pattern I could knit that was even marginally inspired by a "woman in history" for the Knerd Girl Knits 2016 Badass Women Craft Along and I ran into a Faroese shawl pattern called Queen of the Waves which then made me think about the north coast of Denmark which then made me think about Kauni (which, truth be told., I did hope to use up this year). And the rest is history. Or will be, as soon as it's something besides 5 rows of 380 stitches of garter stitch.

​​SMLXL

 

I have until the end of February to finish this. Others have knit it in a month. Those others were probably not simultaneously working 60% time while in 10 credits of graduate school on the internet and trying to also finish socks from a vintage knitting pattern that they still haven't dyed all the yarn for. No one ever said I didn't do things big.

Wish me luck.

FO Friday: It's Still Not the Thing I Wanted to Have Done

Hi all,

The blue wrap is still not done, but I have good faith that you will not see it again here until it's done. I have finished tinking back all the extra pattern repeats I wrote and hope to start the final edging piece tonight. It should be done soon. Then it has to block, which as I mentioned before has its own set of challenges.

So what is done? A project bag. It doesn't seem like much, and it isn't really, especially when you consider that I did all the cutting, sewing, and putting a drawstring in it last Wednesday and all I had to do was put on a snap and take photos, but it's what I've got. It's my first non-fandom-specific project bag, but it's out of some pretty geeky fabric anyway (which a friend made me a skirt out of!). I made this with the intention of it being the bag I offered up for the Prairie Girls Knit and Spin Legendprairie 2016 contest, and perhaps it will be, but I'm thinking I'll let the recipient choose their own bag at this point. Still, contest drawings were released today so I figured I'd better have something to show for it. It's now available in the shop if anyone loves it enough to buy it.

 

Also done (and really it was supposed to just be a thing I did for me because I needed it to knit socks for the KGK CAL), is a new yarn colourway. I needed a basic grey yarn to knit the body of socks (more explanation on that later), so I pulled a few skeins and dropped them in a dyepot with grey dye, not really intending anything to come of it. And then when I was skeining it yesterday I realised it was basically amazing and I immediately listed it in the shop. It's called "Lonely Mountain" after the dwarven home of Erebor in The Hobbit because the kettle-dyed grey reminded me of all the establishing shots of a lone mountain in the distance that you see in all the Hobbit films. It's not flashy or anything, but if you want a good grey yarn I think this colour is pretty fantastic.

 

Knitting Tools: Yarn Bowl

Although I know a lot of people really love yarn bowls and they're a popular thing to buy from artisans at yarn shows and on Etsy, I never particularly thought I had a utilitarian need for one. To be honest, I still don't. I mean, I'm using one right now and it's handy, but it's not like five minutes in I came to the revelation that this is the tool that's been missing from my life or anything. For one thing, my ball winder winds centre-pull balls, so generally speaking my yarn is able to remain relatively stationary. For another thing, as the only time I really ever think I might need something to keep my yarn ball stationary is when I'm out somewhere that's not my house and the yarn ball is rolling all over the floor, I don't particularly enjoy that yarn balls aren't really portable. So I'd have to use it at home on my couch. Where I mostly don't care if my yarn happens to travel about the room as I'm knitting anyway.

That said (and as you likely inferred from above) I now own a yarn bowl. A rather nice one at that. We had our holiday gift exchange with my inlaws last night and my father-in-law is a knitter who takes great pride in his LYS. Back in May, during the Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop, I made a point of meeting him there so he could show me around, and my mother-in-law tagged along as well. While we were there, MiL was looking at the yarn bowls, I recall, and she asked Jonas whether a yarn bowl was a thing I would use. I'm guessing he gave his usual non-committal answer, since I'm very convinced he didn't know the answer to that question as I've literally never mentioned a yarn bowl to him ever. Regardless...in my gifts yesterday was a wooden yarn bowl (it seems large to me, but I honestly don't know what sizes yarn bowls come in as I've never shopped for one). It's made for the shop by a (local?) artisan and it is rather pretty. I enjoy looking at it and I suppose it will look nice on an end table or the coffee table when it's not in use. And who knows, maybe after a few more weeks and a few poorly-wound balls of yarn I'll find out it's a tool that's been missing from my life all along. For now, I'm using it (I happened to have a ball I couldn't find the centre end of and am pulling from the outside, although it stays contained in its project bag, so it wasn't getting particularly adventurous or anything) and it's certainly nice to look at and a very nice thought.

WIP Wednesday: Giant Blue Wrap of Fuzziness

Hi again all! I know I haven't been around to show you what I'm actually crafting for a while (it's like I just nebulously mention the fact that I'm a crafter and then never offer up any proof), and truthfully although my brain desires me to continue updating you on my knitting, my time management often thwarts my best intentions. Moreso these days when things like school are looming over me ready to begin again. Where did my break go? (That's right...holidays with my family, re-re-locating back to Minneapolis, and mass chaos as I overhaul an apartment that now has WAY too much stuff in it, not just a standard amount of too much stuff.)

On to crafting. I intend to do a bit of a project bags FO parade for you at some point (though I do have a knitting FO for you this week), but for the WIP section you get...the first ever shawl/stole/wrap thing I've ever thought it might be a good idea to knit.

I took a breakout session class at Zombie Knitpocalypse 2015 last summer about shawl styling. I've never knit shawls, almost entirely because I don't actually know what I would do with one. I feel like I always look awkward with them and I don't even really wear the cowl/infinity loop neck decoration wraps that all the kids these days seem to be so into (although I now own two of them and on the occasions that I think about wearing them, I do enjoy them). But! In classes this summer (when the AC was on way too high, thank you School of Business) one of my classmates had this enormous rectangular scarf that she'd bought in France. It seemed to double as a blanket and a bit of a miniature cape thing. I mean, it was huge.

Fastforward to December. As I was contemplating my stash goals for 2016 and deciding to use the oldest yarns first, I saw that there was the remnant ball of sport weight blue alpaca that I'd once made into one of my long list of ill-fitting sweaters earlier on in my knitting career. The yarn wouldn't get gauge so I tried to do math (this is guaranteed to make things go wrong), plus it had a stitch pattern that pulled differently, plus the pattern was written for wool and this was all alpaca and the drape was wrong, etc. etc. etc. Add to it that at the time I had NO IDEA that alpaca was so much warmer than wool, so despite it's somewhat open weave and it being sport weight I was basically guaranteed to start sweating the second I put that sweater on indoors. So I did what any self-respecting knitter who had made a poor choice in yarn/project matching years ago when they didn't know better would do and I ripped it out.

I briefly considered just putting the yarn in the destash bin, but it's so soft and blue and was spun and dyed by a local artist who I don't think is selling anymore and it was some of the first nice yarn I got. So instead, I dove into Ravelry determined to find something to do with 1200 yards of sport weight handspun alpaca.

I knew I didn't want another sweater, or, at least, I was only going to make another sweater that was specifically designed for alpaca yarn and was really truly going to complement the unique qualities of this yarn (and also use it all because I dislike having remnant balls more than I dislike many things). I didn't find anything, so I was on to shawls. That's right. Non-shawl knitter (dare I say anti-shawl-knitter) me was thinking that a shawl would be perfect for this yarn. Now. The thing is. It's cold in Minnesota. And being able to wrap a thing around my face/neck/head under my coat is truly a thing of bliss. That object being made from alpaca...had to be even better.

I tested out a few ideas (the one I really wanted was only available if you bought a full book of patterns and I wasn't THAT ready to commit to shawl knitting) and finally settled on a long rectangular lace wrap (it's not a shawl...it's a scarf!!!) that utilises a lace border and drop stitches to make an open design. It's called Cocoon and is a free pattern by Anne Kuo Lukito. The directions are slightly confusing, as you actually cast on provisionally in the middle and knit one way, then pick up and knit the other way and the directions don't really say that. Also, it's all charted, which is okay for me but I know may not be okay for some. Still, it's easy to follow and I really don't think it NEEDS to be knit centre out and then centre out if you don't want to. I've only done a little over half of the main body (less the edging) mostly because I'm using reclaimed yarn so I don't actually know what half my yarn is, so I'm trying to play a yarn balance game. It's giant, so I imagine you'll be seeing it again at least next week if not also the week after, but here it is as of now:

​​SML

 

And here's a sort of a closeup of the pattern detail. It's unblocked lace, so it still looks terrible, but hopefully you can get some idea.

Stash Confessional: Yarn Accountability 2016

Well...for those of you who were following along in 2015, you'll probably know that I failed pretty miserably at the lofty yarn stashing goals I set for myself. And then I just plain stopped keeping track. Much of the purchasing was enabled by Jonas, make no mistake, and I did give away somewhat ridiculous amounts of yarn to various charity groups, so I don't feel entirely bad about myself, but as I'm still a person with limited space and even more limited funding, I've put my foot down about purchasing (not just yarn...everything) in 2016. Between this and setting my goals a bit lower, hopefully 2017 will start with a more happy celebration of my 2016 successes instead of me still feeling like I own way more of everything than I really ought. Don't get me wrong, there's NO WAY AT ALL that I'm getting my stash down to even what I'd consider a reasonable size with just the amount of knitting/gifting I'm able to accomplish in one year, but I want to at least look back at 2016 and see that I didn't take in more than I removed.

I started 2015 with 55,081.4 yards/50308.7 metres of yarn. My goal was to end the year with 25308.7 metres of yarn, which I knew was basically ridiculous, but I also knew I needed to set the bar high if I was going to make it mean anything to myself. I did well the first month and actually donated around 4000 metres of yarn to the charity group at Yarn Harbour in Duluth, but things fell off pretty sharply after that. I did have another round of donating yarn in October when the lovely ladies of the KnerdGirl Knits Podcast were doing a charity drive as part of their year-long Bad Ass Women in STEM Craft Along (they're doing women in arts and humanities this year if you want in on the action. It's really low-key and super fun and features great prizes--some of them by yours truly.) So...how did I do? Well...

Here's where we're starting 2016 in terms of yarn stash. I think I got everything that I bought in 2015 and had not bothered to stash for one reason or another, but I fear I may still be missing some things. If that's the case I will, of course, update accordingly. There are still two Gilmore Girls yarn club skeins outstanding, so those will need to be added, but I don't remember what bases I ordered yet.

Here's where I'm starting the year in terms of yarn stash (yes...it's more than I started with last year despite knitting 11,461 yards into projects (granted a chunk of that was a REALLY LONG Doctor Who scarf), and donating/destashing around 19,000 yards:

Skeins of yarn: 230.67

Yards of yarn:  59,459.6

Metres of yarn: 54,369.6

Grams of yarn: 19, 054

This means my yarn acquisition in 2016 was around 26,000 yards. Which was basically the amount I wanted to get rid of. Yep.

With this year's resolutions being all about not acquiring things, I'm hoping I can make a significant dent. I did well last year with donating yarn, but this year the sale/trade yarn has been pretty pared down (because of all last year's donations), so even if I sold/donated all the things I'm willing to part with, I would only decrease the stash by 69.35 skeins/14,200.8 yards/12985.3 meters/4004 grams (roughly 20% of the total), which is an okay number, but not staggering.

Admittedly, my goal is to knit through all the yarn in my stash that's been there since pre-2014, which isn't really that much yarn if you only count the things that aren't in my trade/sell bin (around 6000 yards/5500 meters). Considering even in my light year of knitting this year due to school I managed 11,000 yds, I feel like this is an obtainable goal. If I also include the trade/sell bin (either by donating--although this is all stuff I like and would be willing to knit, so I'd rather either knit it or sell it--or by knitting it or destashing it) I would have to get rid of a further 8000 yards/7400 meters for a total of 14,000 yards/13,000 meters of destashing in 2016. I fully believe I can make it happen...tge trick will be trying to make sure that preference is given to the older yarns. I'm not going to completely adhere myself to that (if newer yarns need to be knit for a specific reason then why prohibit it?), but I'm going to try to look to those older yarns as I plan out projects and have leeway.

But! Most of all...I need to minimise yarn buying. As I've given myself a total of 12 purchases (of anything deemed non-essential/gift for others by Jonas, who has been appointed acquisitions commissioner) with Jonas setting the total dollar value allotted to each purchase, I think I can curb this stash before it REALLY gets too big for its space. Wish me luck though...Jonas is weak under pressure, now also has a yarn-buying habit, and is a horrible enabler if I use the word cute when talking about how much I like it.

New Website Y'all!

Hi all,

Fall semester has wrapped so I have a few weeks of time to check back in with you again. Lots has happened over the past months, but I won't take the time to recap them here. If you want to check my Ravelry projects to see what I've been up to, that's cool. If not, also cool.

For now, a quick check in to tell you the exciting news that over the last month I've put in some quality work in what little bits of spare time I could grab creating a new website. It combines the hand-dyed yarns and project bags from my two Etsy sites (girlwhocrafted and 223people) with (eventually) the posts you all see here on my blog. In the future it may also do other things, I have no idea. It was super easy to set up (unsolicited plug for Wix.com) and will hopefully allow me to better manage everything in one space and not pay fees to Etsy for listing and selling items.

For now, the blog posts will also remain on blogger and on Tumblr (until I can figure out a good way to re-direct to the new blog, which likely won't happen until I've got more time) and the two Etsy sites will also remain open for a while as I figure out a way to drive traffic to the new websites. For anyone following me on Twitter, links to new listings will all take you to the new website.

If any of you find any issues with any aspect of the site, please send me a message (there's a contact form on the site, or feel free to leave a comment here) and let me know and I'll see what I can do to fix it.

I'm going to try to resume my 3-days-a-week posting schedule for at least the month I have off school (no promises beyond then, although I'd like to keep it up). There's still crafting going on (LOTS  of project bags!) and I have all sorts of ambitions for the new year. Let's hope these ambitions go better than the last (more on that next week!)

Thanks for those of you who stuck with me through my hiatus and sporadic posting schedule. For those of you just finding the blog, I have ambitions to update regularly, but I'm currently working half-time while getting a masters degree while running a crafting business, so blogging is often the first thing to get pushed to the wayside. At any rate, thanks for being here.

WIP Wednesday: The Fifth Fourth Doctor Scarf (now with extra scarf!)

Hi all,

A person might think that since I've been on break from school for most of August, I would have found time to post. Not so! 9 hour work days so I can make some money and because I have no vacation and myriad weekend events sort of pre-empted all that. I still had time to buy yarn though...no worries there. Someday I'll round it all up from the two cities it's split between and take photographs of it and actually put it in Ravelry so that it officially exists. But today is not that day.

Today we're here to talk about the fifth scarf.

There are no blog entries about scarves 1 or 2 (although I did get to visit with scarf 2 in the wilds while working on scarf 5), but if you've been reading for a while you may remember the saga that was knitting both scarves 3 and 4 in a 2 month period and the colour issues that came up with scarf 4.
Well...this scarf is for the same recipient of 4, only with new and improved colours, more Shetland, and 1.75 times more scarf!!!!

The buyer is super great to work with and has commissioned me to make him another scarf even though I completely underdelivered on the first one I made him, and generally seems to think I'm pretty great to work with. So IDK, but I'll take it. Glad I'm doing something right despite feeling like I've screwed this up at every available opportunity. He bought all the yarn so he could make sure he was getting the colours he wanted (I don't fault him this at all), and he still wants a sport weight scarf so my good friends at Knit Picks aren't coming through with the colours I need in Wool of the Andes, so it's mostly not my beloved WoTA (although I still coo a bit at how much the green yarn sings off my needles when I get to it). It still has the mixed yarn source challenges of scarf 4, which I don't love since the edges aren't even, but will hopefully work themselves out in blocking at least a little bit. The biggest issue is that the Jamieson's Shetland is a DK and the rest of the yarn (Brown Sheep Nature Spun, Dalegarn Falk, and Knit Picks Wool of the Andes) are all sport weight, so the Jamieson's stitches are a lot tighter on the needles and the edges are a bit wider than the other yarns. Plus that yarn is still scratchy and grabby, which is ok if you drop a stitch, but doesn't let the stitches slide very well. Since I have the most of that yarn I'm knitting on metal needles instead of wood, which means the Brown Sheep slips a bit more. But I'm working it out. I just kind of still dread the Shetland sections. I know I should be one of those people that's like "oh, yay, super authentic Shetland wool!!", but I just don't like that yarn. The colours are right though, and it's not the most terrible thing, but if I had to choose yarn to knit with I don't think I would pick that.

The scarf is half done, in 3 pieces. I learned this AM that I cannot seam it together until I block it because otherwise it will block weird, so I spent 20 minutes whip stitching and then un-whip stitching this morning, but, you know, lessons learned. I've decided to weave in ends every time I finish a part (in the case of the duplicate part I'll just do it at the halfway point) and it's far less frustrating than doing it all together.

Scarf piece 1

Scarf piece 2

Scarf piece 3

The scarf so far (not seamed)

So...I have half a scarf. And I still don't mind doing it, but I'll admit that I'm ready to be done. I have so much lovely yarn in my stash waiting for me and I feel bad that I keep acquiring and not actually reducing...plus I've learned that there really are only so many hours a day you can knit this thing. So for the first time I'm not JUST working on the scarf. Instead I'm in never-ending swatch land with some delightful single-ply silk merino that I've had around forever, but that's not worth talking about now. For now, scarf is priority, I have a number of colours/rows to knit per day goal, and when I accomplish that I can do other things. It seems to be working alright.

WIP: Still working on this sweater

But it's getting done faster than it really ought to be. I'm knitting too much, is what's happening. I figured out that I can knit this while reading journal articles (at least, ones where I don't have to take notes or highlight things). Not so much for school because I have to deeply interact with those, but while I'm doing less in-depth reading of articles for the lit review I'm completing for work, I totally knit this sweater. Plus I spent more time than I really should have knitting this weekend. Plus I'm giving myself at least one episode of my re-watch of new Doctor Who each night to knit.

The problem, really, is the knitting while working. I'm really starting to feel it in my right arm and I've got the tiniest bit of a nerve pinch making my fingers occasionally tingly. Will that make me stop? Sadly, no. I keep thinking...but I'm almost done and then I can wear this for class!!!!! So, as I sit here writing a blog post with tingly right fingertips, I have just wound what will (I think) be the final ball of yarn for this project. Really, I need an intervention, but I live alone, so one isn't coming. I'm going to the chiropractor tomorrow and then all will be set right.

Here's the progress I've made in a week. It's a bit shameful considering how little time I actually have. Most of it was done over the weekend or while reading for work.

 

Not the best photo, I realise, but the back and the sides had been on the towel blocking (I thought blocking as I went along would expedite seaming. Which it will. I could technically start now.) so I just left it all there. Plus there's next to no decent natural light in this apt. Which keeps the temperatures down, but is terrible for photographing anything.

As a reminder, the yarn is Berocco Fiora and the sweater is Louise by Amy Christoffers from the Fiora book that came with the yarn.

If you recall, last week I was here.  This is basically knitting at my normal really fast sweater creation rate where I have a real job but not any extra work after it and can just knit post work every day. I suppose maybe now that I can knit while reading it ends up being an equivalent amount of time, but I feel like I'm spending too much time knitting for the amount of work I have to do. It's the multitasking thing. I'll get used to it. Or I won't.

 So...back is done. Sides are done. I'm working on sleeve 1 (about halfway done). I have to attend a public meeting tonight for class and I'm debating whether or not to bring this sleeve with me to work on during it (and while I'm waiting an hour after class to head over there) or if I should bring the second bomb pop sock because it won't require any attention at all. At this point, I'm really comfortable with this pattern, but I fear I'll get to the part where I have to shape the cap. I wouldn't really care, but some of my classmates are coming to the meeting with me and I should probably make it look more like I'm paying attention than I would if I were there (nevermind that no matter what, my attention level will be the same). I can tell you one thing...there is no way I'm going to a public meeting on transportation for an hour plus without SOMETHING to knit.

Yarn Swap: Doctor Who (received)

My delightful (Pond-themed!!!!!) swap package arrived last week from knitika. I love it when packages come on Wednesdays, since Wednesdays (at least right now) are the WORST day of classes in my whole week and I’m always exhausted and sometimes angry at everything when I get home and the packages give me such a lift. This was no exception. I was hoping the whole way home that I’d have a box waiting at my door, and then I did!

The contents came wrapped in such beautiful paper that I didn’t want to open them (okay…that’s a lie, I totally still wanted to open them). Each has a quote to go with it, and it turned out that they were all perfectly themed. I SO envy the creativity in wrapping this!



First…

(I got to this part and said…OMG I KNOW WHAT THIS IS!!!!! because I LOVE the packaging this stuff ships in almost as much as I love the product)

Digital Nails in the Pandorica colourway. I had to resist just putting it on my nails immediately.



Next…

It’s a tablet cover out of the amazing Exploding TARDIS fabric that I love SO MUCH.

And...

My tablet totally fits! I cannot wait to take it to class with me tomorrow. I was SO about to break down and just order a tablet cover because the reality of me having time to make one was quickly becoming an illusion.

Then…

I have heard such great things about this book and I cannot wait to read it. I’m slating it for first thing in August once school wraps for the summer!

And…

I admit that I had NO IDEA what this might be. It was a little bit the best surprise that ever happened! I thought it might be cookies. It was WAY BETTER than cookies.


It’s an Exploding TARDIS poster. Which will go so very nicely with the Van Gogh prints I bought for my temp apartment. I’m going to head out and get it a frame this weekend and I already have the exact perfect spot!

Also…

Nerd Girl Yarns in the “Sunflowers” colourway on the sport weight base. I just…I love this yarn. I love it so much. I need to find the exact right thing for it to grow up to be.

AND!…



HAND KNIT THINGS MADE FROM BROOKLYN TWEED SHELTER. Which is totally as amazing feeling as I hoped it would be (and they smell great!). The colours are so pretty and I love them and I’m a little sad it’s July because I wanted to put these mittens on and not take them off. I tried to take a photo of me with the mittens, but it turns out it’s really hard to take a picture of mittens while you’re wearing mittens because you refuse to remove the mittens. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!

Finally…

Tea from knitika’s local tea shop (which I’m delighted she managed to turn into still being Pond-related!). I just finished 2 teas and am in dire need of a coffee intervention, so this will be just the incentive I need to switch back to tea!

Here’s the whole delightful, delicious, delectable, perfect, Pond-y package!

I adore everything and I feel so incredibly spoiled. Knitika did such a great job!!!!!!

WIP Wednesday: I meant to have this sweater done a month ago

Granted, in order to have this sweater done a month ago I would have had to start it a month ago. Instead I was working through more (hopefully) lucrative ventures and knitting up samples in yarns I've dyed. So I suppose that's worth doing. Then there were those yarn swap things...

Though, TBH, even if I had started this in time, I'm still not sure it would be done. It's only recently that I've come into some knitting time.

Enough of that! On to the talking about knitting.

This week's (and last week's and probably next week's and maybe even the week after that's) WIP is a summer sweater, "Louise" by Amy Christoffers from the Berocco Fiora book. All of this came to me as a door prize from Minnesota Knitters' Guild Yarnover. I have nine skeins of this yarn and a book full of patterns and the fibre content is 40% cotton, 30% viscose, 15% alpaca, 10% nylon, and 5% wool in a DK weight, so I thought this would make a good sweater for air-conditioned classrooms. (It turns out, however, that these classrooms are not so much air-conditioned as set to "freezer" and "Siberia", so I'm pretty sure I could roll in in a full wool/alpaca worsted weight sweater and be perfectly comfortable even though it is July.) Regardless, I think I'll still get some wear out of this sweater in the early fall and, of course, next summer. And if I happen to get this done before August 7 (I'm on track for now, but you never know these days) then I'll have it for summer classes, too.

Here's where I am for now:

The back is done, the pocket lining is done, and the left front is started. I've had more time recently, but I'm also going weirdly polygamous in my knitting (thanks to podcast KALs) so...we'll see.

Thoughts on this yarn: It's nice. It's soft because of all the fibre contents, but sturdy. It's a tiny bit splitty, but not that bad. Although I've never found cotton to be particularly hard on my hands, this one definitely isn't. I didn't get gauge for the sweater on the needle size suggested (well, I got row gauge but not stitch gauge...which like...it's written for this yarn, so IDK what that's about), so I went down a size (so now my row gauge is wrong AND my stitch gauge is still wrong) and then I just did the math that allows me to knit the size XS wide to get the size S I need and I just have to keep track of my row gauge. It's working out.

About this pattern: I get that it's in a pattern book for the yarn and there's limited space, but holy wow is this hard to follow. There's one chart. It's 15 stitches by 42 rows. For the whole sweater. Which is fine, because as you see above the pattern repeats, but the chart makes you read R-L on RS rows and L-R on WS rows which I know some people find confusing. Worse than that, the sweater is shaped with increases and decreases which mean you have to re-think the chart and how it all lines up on your own. Then, now that I've moved to the front...you don't have the right number of stitches. The chart has 2 stitches border on the RS, then a repeat of 8, then 5 border stitches on WS. This works for the back, but on the front I had to cast on 44 stitches and turn 5 of them into a button band, which left me with 39 stitches...which isn't a multiple of 8 if you take off the 2 stitches on RS or the 5 stitches on the WS, so I guess it's now 44-5 button band stitches and then including the 7 border stitches to get 32, but the pattern is VERY NOT CLEAR about that and I wish it would be.

Also, I read the part about how to attach the pocket lining and I'm super confused. So, we'll see about that when I get there.

I'm smart and can logic this out, but it's somewhat annoying and means I *really* have to think about knitting this, which is not always what I want to do.

Yarn Dyeing: Women's World Cup,What? What?

Okay, okay. Behind as always. But I promise you I CREATED these yarns in a timely fashion, I'm just really bad about getting them in a condition where I can share them with other people.

So... most of the excuses for U.S.ians to be patriotic have come and gone for this year, but LBR, you're totally not going to get around to actually knitting with stuff you buy now for at least a year anyway, right? Besides... these aren't strictly U.S. themed in the strictest sense (because I'm not U.S.ian in the strictest sense), but rather they're football based (by which I mean soccer... which I should probably start saying in regards to these yarns since they're #Mercian).

Let's start over from the beginning.

Last summer, the mostly-not-terrible-anymore U.S. Men's National Team shocked the world by getting out of their group in the FIFA Men's World Cup. I cared less about that than about the fact that their away jerseys were pretty cool and looked like the ever patriotic U.S. children's summer treat, the bomb pop. In celebration, I dyed some yarn... because, you know, that's what I do.

That's right... I dyed this yarn pretty much last summer and it's been sitting around waiting for me to do a thing with it ever since. I finally got around to it in anticipation of this summer's myriad of Hooray #MURICA events (even though neither U.S. team is wearing these jerseys anymore). If it helps though, think of them as Netherlands' flag-inspired. Or France... Bastille days is soon, yeah? Or just knit them next year.

Here it is... my first ever "self striping" yarn. Bomb Pop!

Second, but really most important and relevant... this year's U.S.A. World Cup yarn.

In case you missed it (I did, I was in a car driving across this ginormous country), the U.S. Women's National Team (who have always been superior to the Men's team) won the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and earned themselves their third star. They are the first country to win three Women's World Cups. And I'll be damned if they didn't do it in the coolest effen jerseys ever created by anyone.

In preparation (and because, let's face it, gradients are THE THING in yarn right now) and in celebration and in pretty much just basic badassery, I created a dark blue - light blue gradient yarn that celebrates this team and all their accomplishment and what they're doing for the sport and also this freaking badass jersey (I now own a U.S. Soccer thing. Actually KNOWING a dude on the U.S. Soccer team couldn't get me to buy a jersey, but the badassery of this gradient jersey sure did), I did what I do and made a yarn. You can buy it on Etsy as single skeins or you can let me know how much you want total and I can make you a gradient kit. It's called, because it has to be, Third Star.

Pretty sweet, right? I made a gradient, y'all!

Hope you enjoy them. Tell your friends!

Stash Confessional: Zombie Knitpocalypse 2015 (or, OOPS, FANDOM YARNS)

Let's pretend I told you about all the things I've been working on and finishing and giving and receiving for the past month (plus) and just skip to the more recent past. Grad school, it turns out, leaves me with just about enough free time to knit, but not at all enough free time to talk about knitting on the internet.

Suffice to say, my crafting productivity has slowed WAAAY down (but I did manage to fulfill my duties for the two swaps I needed to take care of and dye some yarn...all of which I will try to tell you about) and (as of the last two weekends) my yarn acquisition has sped way up. Which is all a nice way of saying that I completely fail at my "own less yarn" resolution and at this point there's probably no coming back from it unless I sell half my stash.

But enough of that. Let's talk about the knitting retreat I attended in Rochester, MN the last weekend in June: Zombie Knitpocalypse 2015.

For those of you unfamiliar with this event, it's run as part of the Stockinette Zombies videocast, which I highly recommend, and is basically a 200 person hangout for a weekend with super fun events and knitting in a super fun city. People come from all over the US (and the world) and there are informal classes, some swaps, many many prize drawings, a fashion show, a wine and yarn bus, and a 5k run/walk. And a whole lot of just hanging out and knitting and making friends. It's all pretty awesome, if you ask me.

I made many new friends and finished an entire (very tall) sock over the weekend. I also bought a lot of yarn (though not as much as I thought I did...but it was still a significant monetary expenditure, which I think is my bigger concern right now). Interestingly, all of my yarn purchasing was Jonas-enabled. He'd driven down from Minneapolis to visit for the weekend and joined me for the public market after I'd cruised the private market on my own and restricted myself to only purchasing things for swaps. Then Jonas came and I came home with three skeins from Dreams in Fibre and a Gilmore Girls yarn club. So there's that. Admittedly, Jonas also bought yarn, and he doesn't even know how to knit yet, so I guess his problem translates to all of us.

Here's the haul:

Sun Valley Fibers 80/20 Merino Nylon High Twist in the "Hangin With Friends" colourway. This came as part of my retreat goodie bag, so it was free and also it's really pretty.

Because I can never not buy yarn from Alisha Goes Around when I see her at an event AND I can never not buy yarn with bison in it... Alisha Goes Around Tracks (of bison) fingering. I'm not sure what the colourway is, but it's a brownish-purple and blue variegation that's super pretty.

And then...first up in the DAMN YOU FANDOMS section of my purchasing:

Dreams in Fiber Donegal Tweed Aran in the je suis Prest colourway inspired by Outlander. I liked it enough when it was in a sock yarn and then Jonas had to go and find the tweed and then it was all over. Because Scottish themed yarn in a tweed.

Same as above, only in the Lallybroch colourway.

Did I mention I want EVERYTHING in her shop. Because I want EVERYTHING in her shop.

Dreams in Fiber Merino/Nylon Superwash Sock in the "Merlin" colourway. It both looks like the actual bird the merlin and is accurate to the stupid terrible awful BBC show that owned my Friday nights for four years. It's also blue and brown. I HAVE A PROBLEM!!!

Gilmore Girls club from Spartickes Dyes is not pictured (because I don't have it) but coming soon. I think maybe you can still sign up for a bit longer (the form is still open), but signups are closing soon. I'll try to post the yarns as they arrive so you can see them.

I also won a bunch of mini skeins from Quaere fibres and five non-matching quarter skeins from Squoosh Fibre Arts, but I didn't picture them. I'm honestly not sure what to do with them. I don't really use minis.

In short, I have acquired a lot of yarn. Which would be perhaps okay had I not fallen headfirst into the Steven Be sale this past weekend as well. So... yep... no time for knitting, no money for daily life... tons of new yarns.

It keeps, right?

WIP Wednesday: Socks and Hats

Well... part of a sock and one hat. Still, I know it's a bit weird to see me with more than one WIP. It happens on occasion.

The sock is yarn that I dyed inspired by one of my favourite football teams (Real Madrid) and their amazing pink/black/white kits they've been wearing all season. They were (until today...) competing for a second straight European championship, and I dyed the yarn while watching them beat their in-town rivals and cast on the sock during their match last Wednesday then knit some more rows on it today. They lost, but I'll still wear my socks proudly.

The colourway is "Real Fans Wear Pink" and the base is my superwash sock base, which is 75% Superwash wool and 25% nylon in a fingering weight.

The sock pattern is from Socks a la Carte by Jonelle Raffino and Katherine Cade. It's a pretty cool book that gives you a bunch of different cuff options, a bunch of different leg options, and a bunch of different foot/toe/heel options that you can combine together to make your own unique socks and hopefully will inspire you to design your own. There's even a cool flip book part in the back that lets you see how the cuff/leg/foot combo you choose will look together.

Since Real means "Royal" and the Real Madrid logo has a crown in it, I went with the top that looks a bit like a crown. Since they're one of the most high profile teams in the world, I chose the cuff called "eyes on you" since I thought it was only appropriate. I still haven't decided on a foot/toe/heel, but I'll let you know when I get there.

Second...return of the stochastic hat. I first posted about this two weeks ago and then subsequently finished the hat. However! It was way too small even for my tiny head, so I knew it wouldn't fit a regular-sized adult. I left it alone, figuring I'd finished what I needed to for the challenge, but over the weekend I found myself project-less and having just completed another Turn-A-Square to use up some acrylic I bought for a different project (more on that when I talk FOs), I ripped back and re-started this hat. This time I changed some things.

For one thing, I'd run out of the red yarn when I got to the crown shaping, so all of a sudden there was a hard grey line against the red. It didn't look as bad as I thought it would, but it still wasn't what I wanted. For another I knew I needed to be sure to control the floats. So, what I did was rip back to where I'd joined the ribbing together, then knit 10 rows straight in grey before jumping in to the stochastic pattern at row 11. I've now knit 11-25 in the stochastic pattern and will begin the crown decreases in straight red. Hopefully I have enough. I'm playing yarn chicken right now. I'm hoping to wrap up the crown decreases tonight or tomorrow.

FO Friday: Do Not Speak to Me of Dragon Fire Socks

I know I said I was hoping to have these done by last Friday so I could show them off, but (1) it takes a longer time to knit the feet portion of socks than I think it does and (2) I was taking a class at the local fibre festival that specifically said I needed a project to knit and it occurred to me that if I finished the second sock on Friday night then I wouldn't have anything to knit during class, so I stopped working on them and swatched for the hat I posted about on Wednesday instead.

Anyway, they're done now. I wore them the other day and I LOVE them. They fit so incredibly well and were absolutely lovely to have on my feet all day. Fantastic pattern. I highly recommend it.

 

It remains difficult to take a picture of my own feet, but I tried to give you a sense of the chain mail cable pattern on the front, the unique foot detail that's actually a really cool alternative gusset placement, and the leaf detail on the back of the leg. 

They look complicated, but the patterns are all super easy to memorize and they knit up really fast. The yarn does hide the pattern more than I wanted it  to, but it striped up in a fortuitous way and I feel like you can see the pattern well enough.I'll probably knit another pair with a more solid yarn sometime because it's such a great pattern, but I'm happier with these socks than any of the other handful of socks I've knit.

To recap:

Pattern: Do Not Speak to Me of Dragon Fire by KnottyKnerd (I was test knitting, but will link the pattern as soon as it becomes available.)

Yarn: My own custom dye that I made just to knit these socks "Elvenking", but is now available in my Etsy store.

My review... buy this pattern as soon as it's available. These socks are awesome. (And the yarn's not so bad either!)