Stash reduction begins: 5 balls of Bernat Boa

5 balls of Bernat Boa have been officially removed from the stash and are now designated for gift wrapping purposes. What the hell was I thinking, buying that stuff? I tried to cast on for a scarf and got frustrated on the first row.

I've added a box to my sidebar, taking today's stash total and noting my goal for the upcoming year. Yes, I'm aiming to reduce my stash by 105 skeins of yarn by knitting it up, selling or just plain giving yarn away. The yarn purchase ban is also in effect, so in theory, if I knit up just 2 balls a week, I should be able to reach my goal with some room to spare.

Commute knitting for this week is comprised of a third Greenaway Glove (don't ask) with some awesome Alchemy Migration, and a Koolhaas hat for Christmas gifting. I need to make some time tonight to cast on for both of these projects.

Back in the saddle

I was somewhat boggled last week to download my Ravelry stash spreadsheet and see that I have 255 skeins of yarn in my possession.

EEEEEE.

I've instituted a complete yarn purchase ban until the end of 2009. (Heh. We know how well the last one went.) I've been playing around with the idea of posting a stash reduction goal for 2009, but really have no idea what the basis of my projection would be. Historical yarn consumption? Number of potential knitting hours per week multiplied by probable rate? Number of probable felting projects involving double and triple-stranding?

I'll have to think on this a bit more. And what would the reward be?? More yarn seems, um, counter-productive...

April roundup

You know what they say about pride, and how it goeth...

Due to circumstances far beyond my control, April should have been a wicked awesome month for getting some decent yardage on my projects, which is why added a little extra to my goals for the month. HA. I was so stressed out that I could barely manage to get through each day, let alone have the presence of mind to concentrate on a knitting project. I have knit and reknit the second sleeve of my Henley Perfected pullover an embarrassing number of times, and it's still not done. Yikes.

Finished projects
The Kaylee socks were mostly completed in March, so they almost don't even count as a finished object for April. And I did knit a tea cosy as well, in an attempt to shake off the bad knitting vibes.

Projects in process
I made no further progress on the Hedera sock this month--no commute knitting, you see. And I've got about a sleeve and a half done for Henley Perfected. I started a felted box, but the needle size was way off, so I had to rip it before I got any real progress, and I haven't revisited it since.

Stash knit down progress
20 metres to finish the Kaylee socks, about 400 metres on the pullover, and 140 metres on the tea cosy. 560 metres for April!

I hit a 20% off sale on 4 skeins of Cascade 220 in brown, and traded for 8 skeins of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Aran. I gave up on the yarn purchase ban, obviously, and I'm glad to have gotten enough yarn in both cases for garment-sized projects.

May goals
I really, really want to get this pullover done, so I'm limiting this month's goals to three:

1. Finish the Henley Perfected pullover!
2. Finish the Hedera socks.
3. Start and finish a felted box.

FO: Desperation Tea Cosy

I started the second sleeve of my Henley Perfected, and just as I was finishing the 60th row of stockinette, I realized that I hadn't switched to the larger needle when I was supposed to, some 55 rows back. Ugh. There's been a lot of knitting going on in the past few weeks, and very little of it has been retained.

So I figured I needed a small, quick project to refocus my mind and hopefully shake off the bout of bad knitting that's been plaguing me this month. Here's my aptly named Desperation Tea Cosy:



Project: Cashmere Tea Cozy, from Last Minute Knitted Gifts

Yarn: Elann Peruvian Highland Wool, grape, 1.4 skeins

Needle: 5.0 mm bamboo straight

It hasn't seen action yet, but I imagine it will function just fine as a tea cozy. It could easily do double duty as a beanie too; I stuck it on my head for fun, and aside from the dorkiness of the gathered ends, it fits very well!

So simple, yet so easily confused

I've been knitting away at the sleeve cap on my Henley Perfected, a few rows a day over the past week, and getting progressively concerned over the size of the cap. Self, I say, there is absolutely something wrong. This sleeve cap is nearly the length of the damn sleeve. I must have read and re-read those pattern instructions 14 or 15 times, and it was only on the last read-through that I actually got it right. I'm too irritated with myself to post what I read versus what is actually written; suffice it to say, I ripped back SIXTY ROWS tonight and reknit the sleeve cap.



I'm glad I've gotten all of this practice on the sleeve, because even though it's a very simple leaf lace pattern, I've still managed to royally screw it up in at least two places.

Cast on: Henley Perfected

I've been looking for a relatively loose pullover to wear over a camisole with jeans, and I think I've found it: Henley Perfected from the Winter 2007 edition of Interweave Knits.



I was reasonably sure that I would get gauge with the yarn and the needle, so I started with a sleeve. That way, I could measure after 3 or 4 inches of knitting, ensure that I was on the right track, and not spend any precious knitting time on a gauge swatch. Luckily my very small gamble has paid off; my unwashed gauge is spot on, and this is a superwash wool that shouldn't shrink or grow significantly.

The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in a semi-solid cranberry. I'm knitting the 39" size, which should give me about 2" of positive ease at the bust, and I'll have to make adjustments for a smaller waist and hip measurement.

Hopefully I can get it done before summer hits. I think this will be a good three-season garment, and it would be nice to be able to wear it a few times before the fall.

FO: Kaylee Blue

Project: Kaylee by Monkey Toes (pattern not currently available)

Yarn: Opal 6-ply, shades of blue

Needle: 2.25 mm (US size 1) 32" fixed circular

I knit 12 pattern repeats in total, and went with 12 rows of 2x2 ribbing for the cuff. On the first sock I bound off in the ribbing pattern, and the second sock was a sewn bind-off. I have trouble getting the first sock on, so the stretchier sewn bind-off is definitely the better choice for me.

These are super comfy socks with a bit of heft to them, and the lace provides some ventilation without sacrificing any warmth. I really like the pairing of the self-patterning yarn with the simple lace.

FO: Ms Marigold

Project: Ms Marigold, size 34

Yarn: 3.5 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed, rust colourway

Needle: 3.75 mm Denise circular, 3.25 mm bamboo circular, G crochet hook

Techniques: picking up and knitting a neckband, crochet edging.

Mods: Added two rows of increases for some very slight waist shaping. Went with just a simple single crochet around the armholes, which finishes the edge nicely without bringing too much attention to it.

Try on your garment with its intended outfit! When I just fitted the vest over a t-shirt, I was really disappointed with the width of the back; it looked too narrow, and the armholes looked weird no matter what kind of edging I attempted. However, when I tried the vest on over a white long-sleeved work blouse, I was very pleased with the result. Now I see that the back and armholes are constructed so that the fabric of the shirt doesn't bunch up underneath.

I haven't blocked it yet, but on review, I probably should have knit the 36" size. The fabric is pretty stretchy, but the V is a bit wider than I would like it to be.

I spent a week procrastinating on weaving in the ends and sewing up the bottom of the neckline. It took less than an hour to finish this thing. Duh.

The Silky Tweed is a great yarn to work with, but unfortunately it's been discontinued. I wouldn't mind knitting another one of these in a semi-solid wool to wear casually with a pair of jeans. An excellent project all around!

Cast on: Hedera

Aha, now here's a pattern that I can drop onto an index card and have no problem knitting on the train!



Hedera from the Spring 06 issue of Knitty is a simple 4-row repeat and produces a lovely lace sock that will excel in a semi-solid colourway, such as this Dream in Color Smooshy.

Instead of the twisted rib called for in the pattern, I started with 10 rows of the regular 1x1 rib.

Looky!

The swift is an early birthday present to me from me, thanks to my Elann credit (you know, the one where you spend a zillion dollars and they give you some fun money to spend so that you'll buy another zillion dollars worth of yarn, and get some more fun money, and the cycle never ends...). I love it! I've had the ball winder for a few years, but now, oh, the joy of having two lovely pieces working in tandem!

The Dream in Color Smooshy has been caked up, as well as one skein of the Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Ultra. Winding from the swift makes for a much more compact yarn cake than winding it by hand.

Now I'm going to have to work on knitting faster so I get to play with the swift more often!

Cast on: Kaylee Blue

What a fun pattern! I cast on for Kaylee last night and finished the second pattern repeat at lunch today. I pretty much have to have the pattern printout in front of me when I knit it, though, so this one doesn't make for a very good commute knitting project.



I'm using a sport weight, 6-ply Opal yarn on a US size 1 needle. It's giving me a nice, sturdy fabric, and 56 stitches appears to be the perfect number.

FO: Daffodil Socks

The Daffodil socks are done!



Project: Basic toe-up sock.

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Multi, Daffodil colourway, probably 2/3 of a skein.

Needle: Knitpicks 32" fixed circular, size 0 (2 mm).

My basic toe-up sock goes like this: 24 stitch magic cast on, increase 4 stitches every other row to 64 stitches. 44 rows of stockinette, then 8 wraps on each side. 15 rows of stockinette on the ankle, then 10 rows of 2x2 ribbing, sewn bind off.

I have dorky duck feet: 8.5 inches in length, but a wacky 4 inches across at the widest part. These measurements give me a nice sock that are perfect for wearing at home.

Just a couple more minutes...

You get to this point, and even though you need to get dressed and put the laundry on and get more coffee and really, really THIS TIME put the knitting down and review that last bit about calculating the cost of capital...

March goals

March goals are:

1. Finish Ms. Marigold.
2. Finish the Daffodil socks.
3. Cast on for Elfine's Socks using Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Ultra.
4. Cast on for Kaylee using Opal.
5. Cast on for a felted log cabin blanket for the cats.
6. Determine the Christmas knitting list and allocate a project for each month - stashed yarn only.
7. Stick to the yarn purchase ban!

Fun fact: of the 27 kilometres of yarn currently in my stash, I purchased nearly 6 kilometres specifically for felting projects. What kind of insanity was I experiencing?

February roundup

What a month.

First, of course, I knit and then frogged the Foliage hat. That hurt. I've got some Rio de la Plata that will probably work a lot better, but I'm still stinging from the initial defeat.

In the midst of the crazy, I rediscovered my knitting mojo, in large part thanks to Ravelry and two swaps that I completed with fellow Rav members. Hurrah for worldwide knitting power! I received two skeins of Lorna's Laces, a yarn I've never used before, and started on a pair of simple stockinette ankle socks for train knitting. The first is complete!



This week, I received this awesome, gigantic skein of Zen Yarn Garden:



It's seriously huge. And in addition, my swapper sent me an adorable ball of Rowan Kidsilk Night in a pale pink called Ballerina:



Crazy, right? People are too kind.

The Secret Project was in fact a French Market bag, and has been gifted to M for her birthday. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the finished object. It felted super quickly in my front-load washer, and is a bit bigger than I had intended for it to be. I hope she likes it!

I swatched and cast on for Ms Marigold this week, and finished Part A in my first session. This is seriously addictive knitting. I even got up early one morning and knit for an hour so that I could make some progress before exam prep hits, um, now. I love this tweedy yarn; it feels wonderful, and it makes my stitches look nice and neat. I got to row 16 on the back section before I had to put it down:



I sort of fell down on my last two goals. I didn't cast on for Elfine because I'm waiting for another sock circular to show up in the mail. And I must admit that I got sucked in by Elann's Sneak Peek page for their 4-ply sock yarn, and ordered a couple of balls for myself along with the samplers that I got for M's birthday package. Does it mitigate my crime if I say I only spent $6 on myself? :)

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February stash knitdown totals: 200 metres on the French Market Bag, 100 metres on the Daffodil socks, 100 metres on the Foliage hat, 60 metres on Ms Marigold, 30 metres on a plain garter stitch dishcloth. 490 metres!

I have conveniently decided to ignore stash enhancements for the purposes of the knitdown. Heh.

Taking a moment from exam prep

A few months ago, I picked up a bunch of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed at a closeout sale. I have enough skeins in a lovely rust colour to make this deep V-neck sleeveless tank, but swatched in the dark brown because I'm always wary of yardage. Here's the washed and dried swatch:



I got gauge exactly: 20 stitches and 28 rows on 3.75 mm needles. I'm a little concerned, though, after reading reviews of the yarn that indicate that it will stretch with wear, and that it doesn't have much memory. The plan is to knit for the 34" bust and adjust for a shorter torso.

Casting on for this will be my reward tonight after studying for the next 5 hours and then going for my scheduled 7-mile run. Yay!

Stash busting part deux: the damage

Mmmm. Sock yarn.

I now fully understand the allure of socks. It's the ultimate one skein project! I picked up some of this lovely green Dream in Color Smooshy. I love it when the name of the yarn totally fits the feel. It's onomatopoeia for touch! This yarn really is the epitome of smooshy:



I've been fascinated by the variegated colourways offered by Cherry Tree Hill, so I tossed some of the Jewels into my basket as well:



And of course, one must support local artists. Here's some Indigo Moon in the enchanting Northern Steppe:



The store had Lorna's Laces on sale, so I got some sportweight yarn in Manzanite for a pair of socks:



You'd think I'd be done at this point. After all, I now have enough sock yarn to last me until the end of the year. Uh, no. I took a deep breath and picked up 8 skeins of the Shepherd Sport in Cranberry so that I would have more than enough for Henley Perfected:



So, yeah. I also bought the Spring 2008 Interweave Knits and Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters. I may have to step up my output rate...

There's a surprising amount of random knitting time even in my day

Last week I rediscovered the therapeutic value of knitting. In the midst of an insane week that involved a midterm assignment, a quiz and some work wackiness, I still managed to stick to my running schedule, keep up with my readings, and eat some halfway decent meals. I'm finding that as long as I stick to a defined daily task list, I don't feel too overwhelmed and I can justify some knitting relaxation time dispersed throughout the day.

I have pretty small feet, so it only took about an hour and a half of train time to get through the majority of the foot of my Daffodil sock:



I took the majority of the weekend off to give my eyes a rest from the computer, so quite a bit of work was done on the Secret Project:



There are about ten metres left in the third skein, and a tiny bit of the fourth will probably be needed to get this project off the needles.

And my little helper demanded an action shot for his portfolio:



That's an unfelted Kitty Pi bed that was intended for Molly, but it was claimed by Fox and I haven't had the heart to take it away from him.

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February's stash reduction progress: 200 metres. The frogging of the Foliage hat technically hits me with a net addition to the stash, since the 100 metres I had knitted on the project in January is thrown back into the stash. I find that idea way too depressing, however, so I'm counting frogged projects as a net zero--no credit for additional knitting, no penalty for frogging.

So pretty

I love getting packages in the mail. Looky!



I swapped some Kureyon for two skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Multi in this bright, happy-making variegated colourway. CM has helpfully commented that it looks like a mashup of Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. He has also agreed that "Daffodil" is probably a more marketable name than "Sesame Street Vomit."

This is a basic 24-stitch magic cast on, 4 stitch increase every second row to 64 stitches. I think I'm just going to knit a straight stockinette with a short-row heel and maybe a picot edging. With the Monkey socks I learned that I prefer anklets to longer socks, so I can probably eke a pair of socks out of a single skein.

Ouch

Yeah, I got to the bind off, and couldn't lie to myself any longer. This is a great project, but this yarn is the complete opposite of right for it. I have a gigantic flat doily.

Back to the frog pond it goes. Ugh. On the plus side, it was a super stressful week, and I really needed the process knitting to keep my blood pressure down.