WIP Wednesday: Oops.

I have found myself in a place where I have tons of projects started and I need to be more disciplined about finishing a project before starting another. I followed through with a recent "pact" I made with D: finish 4 active/stash projects before starting a new one. I will continue in this pattern until all of my active projects have either been complete or frogged.

I bought several skeins of Koigu KPPPM on sale a couple months ago. These Tadpole Socks seemed to be a perfect match, and I must have started them not long after I purchased the yarn.

I picked these up on Saturday and continued where I had started months ago.

This pattern is easy to remember, so I quickly flew through a few pattern repeats and began the heel flap.

 

It is at this point that I usually try on my socks, to make sure things are fitting right.

 

I couldn't get it on past my heel.

 

I had started the sock many months ago...on the wrong size needles.

 

 

Needless to say I was frustrated. Another half-completed item that I have to rip out. But I love the yarn and wanted the socks to be for me, not someone considerably smaller.

 

So today the yarn is back to this ball, and I will try it again soon.

 

 

I'm looking forward to what everyone has on their needles today.

 

I will be joining Ginny & Tami today as soon as their WIP Wed pages are up!

 

Later!

 

M

 

 

Is it still Monday?

The weather is getting to me.

A few days of cold & rainy I can do.

We've had been teased with two or three really nice spring days in April, followed by 5-7 days of cold, cold temps and rain. Minnesotans are a tough people. I like to think I am a tough person. I've weathered through my 35 mile commute to work in several 12-14 inch snowstorms this past winter season while colleagues that live much closer have called in. It doesn't scare me.

But I've HAD IT. I'm done. I'm ready for Spring, and if it doesn't happen soon I'm going to need a padded room. (With lots of yarn)

This morning we have sleet, snow, and ICY cold rain. Bonechiller of a day.

Big Daddy made a big pot of home made chicken soup last Sunday. Loaded with my favorite noodles. It helped. I even brought some to work with me yesterday for lunch. Napping was not an option afterward :(

I finished these Mom's Cabled Mitts last Saturday thinking I wouldn't need then until the fall.

 

Wrong!

 

Even after a treat from Target, a pretty Spring color on my nails, squishy Berrocco Abode yarn, I'm still not convinced I will remain sane until Spring arrives in JUNE!

Grrr.....

 

 They look all shrively before you put them on. Like panty hose.



My Target treat. Pretty lavender nail polish. Mmmm....

 I even still have then on at my desk this morning.

Perhaps my venting is over for the day.

Perhaps not.

Only time will tell. That and some RumChada.

Have a warm & fuzzy day!

Later!

M

FO Friday: Opposites Attract Socks

When I first saw these Barking Dog pairings I melted, I KNEW I had to order some.

My knitting buddy gifted me these two skeins, Tristan & Isolde, a few months ago and I couldn't wait to cast them on.

I like to think I'm pretty good a matching a colorway with an appropriate pattern, or no pattern at all. Bound and determined to use every single inch of these skeins, I dove into knitting two different socks, both from the toe up.

I quickly learned that I despise am not fond of knitting socks from the toe up. We all have our preferences. Mine is the cuff down method I can knit in my sleep.

The first sock flew off my needles in a frenzy of hurryupIcantwaittoweartheseawesomesocks!

Whew. That was exhausting.

Then I got stuck.

Was I really brave enough to knit two socks...in what is really two colorways..in two different patterns?

Yep.

The second sock sat for a bit, waiting for me to muster up the courage.

And off I went into the lunacy of knitting two socks that don't match, but kinda look like they go together.

Aaaaand, done!

The second sock (green) is most definitely my favorite. I have half a mind to rip out the first (shorter, UGH) sock, and knit the same Socks on a Plane pattern.

The other half of my mind says eat your Dove Dark Chocolate Bunny and shut up.

The Easter Bunny knows me so well. This poor fella never had a chance.

Hoping you all had a Blessed Easter.

I will be joining Tami today.      

Later!

M

Wip Wednesday: Well Sort Of

I have a May birthday.

Lily of the Valley are the flower of my birth month.

We had a HUGE patch of them on our previous property that I miss dearly in the spring. So quiet, gentle, and peaceful.

I bought these two skeins of Simpliworsted by Hikoo last year at Amazing Threads on a whim.

I have dreams of winter white mittens with a Lily of the Valley pattern up the back.

Something similar to this, this, or this. How hard can it be?

I have a standard mitten pattern that fits my hand perfectly. I just need to decide which pattern will work best with the number of stitches I have, without looking too busy. I want something simple and elegant.

Any suggestions?

Looking forward to peeking at everyone's WIP's today. I will be linking up with Ginny & Tami today.

Later!

M

FO Friday: Grasshopper Girasole

Wow.

Sometimes I even surprise myself.

I finished this Girasole Circular Shawl about a week ago (maybe longer?), but just soaked it and set it out last night.

This puppy is HUGE, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!

Its hard to see the green apple color in these pictures because of the drab blocking towels underneath. :(

My favorite is this sunflower piece in the center.

I wasn't too jazzed about the purl-looking, knit-on edging, but it was simple, quick, and easy to remember. When you have to knit 6 rows just to bind off 3 stitches, and you have 630+ stitches...you want something that's easy to remember. Yes, that means there's 210+ points on the edging. Yikes.

I decided not to block it with pins because I don't have enough...pins...or patience.

I'm an instant gratification kind of girl.

This is why I never...finish...anything.

So, I'm hoping this is dry so that I can bring it with me on our trip out of town for Easter. I packed other things to wear to Mass, but would like to snuggle under this beauty at some point.

Maybe we can have some private time together in the car... 

Have a great weekend Friends, and have a Happy Easter! He is Risen!

Later!

M

WIP Wednesday: Simple Lines Shawl

I've read a couple blogs this morning before posting and it seems to be the week of the rip-out/frog.

I too, once AGAIN!, have had to rip something back to make it right.

I picked up my Simple Lines Shawl last Saurday morning if only to knit a few rows before starting our taxes, (Yes, I am a fantastic procrastinator.) only to find a couple holes (what the...?) and I missed and entire row of reverse stitich.

So.

I yanked out the needle and fed it back through underneath the row with the holes. Obviously watching The Desolation of Smaug with LittleC while knitting was NOT the brightest idea I've ever had.

Now back on track, I'm on the second to last repeat of the rige sections, then the lacy edging awaits!

Hopefully I can handle this without further event.

One more casualty of my weekend was this poor little froggy stitch marker. D made me a set of these after a trip to the bead store in Middleton last year. I broke two more last night...Gah!

Joining Ginny & Tami today and looking forward to seeing what everyone has going on!.

Later!

M

FO Firday: Kersti Lintilla

This is yet another find in my Mom's stash. It took me a while to decide what to make with FIVE skeins of KPPPM Kersti in this yummy orange color. This color and vibrancy   is really outside of my Mom's comfort zone. I'm not sure what possessed her to buy it, but I fell in squishy love immediately.

I started this Lintilla shawl by Martina Behm over a year ago. So long ago that I would have to check the date stamp on the first photos I took. This was item #1 of my Finishing Pact with D.

 

I got bored pretty quickly. Not the fault of the designer, very normal for me. I'm a great starter, I suck at finishing things. I found this half finished in a box downstairs and the color drew me in once again.

 

I plugged away, the ruffle sections adding up quickly. Per the pattern directions, I needed to begin the final ruffled edge when there was approximately 25% of yarn left. In retrospect, I began this final push having less than 20% in my ball of yarn. This is just how I do things sometimes. Many call it creativity, I just call it doing things half-assed. That's how I roll.

 

As you can see, I was exactly ONE RUFFLE SHORT. Dang. 

I was not about to frog back three days worth of knitting for something I could ad lib, and live with the final product.

 

As the terrible selfie shows, I wore it to work Wednesday. It was a little too warm in our building so I took it off before lunch but I love how soft, squishy and warm it is! I also love the length. I am constantly shifting, standing up, sitting down, going up and down stairs, leaning into and over file cabinets, etc. the length allows me to have the tails trail behind with plenty of shawl in front to show off and keep me warm.

I am joining Tami again today for FO Friday and looking forward to everyone's progress this week!

Later! 

M

WIP Wednesday: Simple Lines Shawl

My kids gave me two skeins of this DELICIOUS Becoming Art yarn last year for my Birthday. I looked for a shawl design that had a little bit of stitch work to keep me interested, but mainly knit stitiches to show off the pops of color in this colorway (New Moon).

I started the shawl not long after the yarn came in the mail. Something else must have stolen my focus because I found this unfinished project last week while looking for projects to finish. My Knitting Buddy and I made pact: Finish 4 projects before starting another. This is #3 for me, so I'll have a couple FO Friday items lined up to share soon.

I love the pops of bright yellow, tangerine, and hot pink.

Ans the yarn is soooo squishy soft.

We bought The Golden Child (our 16 year old son) some wheels a couple weeks ago. This investment has given my husband the opportunity to take advantage of certain priviledges (pulling rank!) in order to get chores done around the house.

Such as: instead of hounding The Golden Child for weeks to crush the aluminum cans in tha garage, Big Daddy just dumps them all out in his new car's parking spot.

Problem solved.




I will be linking up with Ginny & Tami today. I am once again looking forward to an update on everyone's projects!

Later!
M

FO Friday: Cafe en Paris

I am so stinking tired of this winter I could just scream.

My 35 mile commute wasn't too bad this morning. Its people with cars that are not made for Midwest Winters that make me crazy. i.e. If you have to drive 20 MPH...please do us all a favor and just stay home.

Back deck. This was green and almost dry yesterday morning. There's another 7-8 inches of snow on top of this, but it was dark when I left home this morning. We are expecting another 3-4 inches before lunch today. Grrr...

This is the front yard last Saturday. We bought the Golden Child some new wheels. The snow was almost gone! Spots of green grass were everywhere!

My coffee dribble shawl is done!

I wore it to work on Tuesday, but neglected to take any photos.

This is my new favorite lace pattern, "Lattice".

I also like the rows of knit stitches in between the pattern sections. Difinitive.

I need more blocking squares. This shawl could be blocked so much more agressivley and be soooo much larger. As blocked it measures 62 X 31.

 But I love it, love it, love it.

Will be linking up with Tami today. Excited to see what everyone has finished this week!

Later,

M

WIP Wednesday: Opposites Attract Socks

After struggling through a pattern and knitting style I wasn't quite comfortable with, I found one I cannot put down. The first of my Opposites Attract socks truthfully felt like a chore. While I love the finished sock, the toe up method has proven to be uncomfortable to me. I started my second sock in Socks on a Plane by Laura Linneman and couldn't be happier. The 6 stitch cable is a little bit of interest while the colors of the yarn are allowed to float through the solid body of the sock. What a great match.

I love close up photos of knitted items.

Especially a neat & tidy toe.

My Mothers Day coffee mug has turned into my new yarn bowl.

Sweet little cables make my heart sing.
 

I'm joining Jinny, Tami & KCCO today. I can't wait to see what everyone else has on their needles this week!

Later!

M