Serious Stash Enhancement!

I've mentioned before that I've never really had much of a stash when it comes to my yarn. I usually like to buy the yarn once I know what I want to knit. But the reason for that has usually been that Hobby Lobby and Michael's just don't have the kind of yarn I (or anyone for that matter) would want to stash!

Now that I've discovered my new LYS is not really that far from me I've gone a little crazy over the past couple of weeks (well, crazy for me, that is). Now, don't get me wrong, I still don't really want to have that big a stash (or did everyone with a big stash start off by saying that!!) but it is nice to just pick up a skein or two now and then - and have a project in mind for it. 

I blame those (wonderful) podcasters for 'enabling' me - Diane in particular!  She is just the sweetest knitter I've ever not met - LOL :-) She (and other podcasters) have mentioned a few times about the bags they have been buying for their projects. Truth be told, I've never put my projects in a bag, but I had to change that after seeing their bags.  And here's mine . . .

 My first bag from Lois at Knittings My Bag! You can find her shop on Etsy HERE. This is the small size and easily fits your sock projects or your shawls (while they're not too big). The picture is a little blurry because I didn't have the flash on.

Here it is closer and in focus (with the flash). I love it, it's full of little pockets inside. It will not be my last I can tell you. Lois has all kinds of different fabrics, I can't wait to order another one.

Here is the stash of yarn I've accumulated over the past couple of weeks. Some of this is from Knitpicks too. 

 I cast on for the Cedar Leaf Shawlette a couple of days ago with the Manos Silk Blend I bought last week (I actually bought an extra skein today at the yarn store incase I ran out).

and THIS . . .

is my first EVER skein of 100% CASHMERE :-)  

I am beyond excited to have this sweet skein, I've never bought 100% cashmere before and I'm dying to know what it feels like!! I have a Jared Flood cowl pattern in mind for it. THIS ONE to be exact. 

And I bought yarn to knit this . . .

This is the beautiful new design from Julie at Knitted Bliss. - Wildflower Tank.  And it's featured in the Spring Issue of IK. I'd been looking at some summer tanks to knit soon and when I saw this on Julie's blog, I knew it would be my next garment project! I couldn't get 100% silk at the LYS, so I've picked something else. I'll be swatching this weekend and will let you know if it will work and show you when I cast on.

So much yarn. . . . so little time to knit! (actually I get lots of time to knit, but I still want more time - shame we can't knit our sleep!!!).

Dahlia

Dahlia by Heather Zoppetti

Yarn: Manos Del Uruguay Serena

Needles: US 4

I enjoyed knitting this but think I could have gone down another needles size as the stitches were very loose on the needle. When this was blocked and finished, I first tried it on with a tank underneath, but it kept slipping off my shoulders. Then I put a long sleeve T on underneath and it felt much better. I'll still try to wear it with a tank or t-shirt (the t-shirt might help it from slipping) as it will be a nice cardi for the spring or cool summer evenings - ha ha, who am I kidding we NEVER get 'cool' summer evenings here in TX!!!

The Drifty Set

I finished the mittens that matched the Drifty hat and I love them (my ravelry link is HERE) :-) I loved this pattern the minute I saw it on one of Diane's Podcasts. I bought the hat and mittens pattern on Ravelry and knit the hat within a day. 

The mittens always take me longer, because I tend to put them to one side to do the thumbs later, then inevitably I cast on for something else and they get left in the wip basket for a while. Luckily these didn't stay there for very long. . . 

 I'm happy to say my daughter loved this set too. Hopefully we will get a few cold days before Spring really gets here, although it was 77 degrees one day earlier this week, so who knows - we may already have seen the last of winter here in TX!

I am seriously considering knitting a set for myself, but I may wait until we get colder weather again, probably much later this year. 

My Dahlia cardigan is blocked and finished AND I wore it for the first time last weekend for a trip to my LYS :-) More about that later.

Too busy to blog. . . . I like it ;-)

I'm so glad I decided that this year is going to be a ME year for knitting. I am having so much fun with it, not to mention that I am just loving watching the new video podcasts that I recently discovered, while I knit :-) I don't know how I didn't notice them sooner, some of the podcasters have been going for nearly 2 years, and others have only just started! Both are fun to watch. I am adding the podcasts that I like to follow in my sidebar, so it shows the date when they have uploaded a new video, which is usually once a week.

A little confession, my favorite day of the week is now Thursday! That's when Diane from Knitabulls uploads her new podcast, and I have to admit she is my most favorite to watch right now. I've never been one to have much of a stash, but oh my word, I want to buy just about everything she shows us each week - I guess that's why they call it 'enabling' :-)  One of the things she mentioned recently (and other podcasters have too) are the project bags from Lois at Knittings My Bag. Seems like every time Lois posts her bags they are bought up SUPER quick! I don't usually use project bags, but I want to now that I've seen everyone else using them! 

I could have bought one last week when Lois updated her Etsy shop but when I went to purchase one... I realized that my PayPal account didn't have any money in it, and I needed to transfer some from my bank. That usually takes a few days for the transaction to complete,  so I sent a PM to Lois and asked if she could hold the bag for me, or would she have any others pretty soon! By the end of that day all of Lois's bags had sold. I'm so glad I PM'd her though, because she sent me a message back saying she can custom make the bag for me when I was ready to order.  I've just noticed I missed another shop update today, and looks like ALL of the bags (except one) have already sold again. I have one on order, so I will have to be patient and hopefully I will get it in the next couple of weeks.

So, I have been knitting lots, and Dahlia is finally off the needles - yay :-) I have blocked it too but just haven't had a chance to take photos of me wearing it. I will share that next time. I also cast on for a quick knit this past week, which was Altounyan, by Lily Kate.

 I haven't taken any photos of me wearing this either, but I did snap a shot of it just after I cast off.Because I don't like wearing any wool around my neck (it's just too scratchy for me) I chose to knit this in a soft acrylic.

Pattern: Altounyan by Lily Kate

Yarn: Dark Horse Fantasy - pink

Needle size - US7

This was such an easy pattern, and I loved how it turned out. I've already worn it a few times too. I'll try to get some modeled shots soon. The pattern was a free gift from Lily to say thank you to everyone for supporting her this past year.

And speaking of 'freebies', well prizes really - I won this wonderful skein of Laughing Yaffle yarn from JosieKitten a few weeks ago. Thankfully it didn't take too long to get it in the mail from England. Along with it came some yummy English sweeties, that I hadn't had in years, 'Minstrels' - they're like M&M's on steroids ;-) but all chocolate coated, not different colors. Thank you again JK, I'm loving them both.

Here's a picture of the yarn. Not a very good picture I'm afraid, hopefully you'll get to see it better when I take a picture of the WIP I have now. Well, when I take a picture of it that is. 

I was thinking I'd use this yarn for socks, but then I decided to cast on for Magrathea after seeing Tina's FO on her podcast Knitting Blooms. She recently had a KAL for it, but that's over now, so I'll be knitting this one alone. Not that I mind at all. I loved the look of hers, and couldn't wait to cast on once I bought the pattern last weekend. I've only knit about 10 rows so far. It's patiently waiting for me as I finish up the Drifty mittens AND another cowl that I just started yesterday!!  No pics of the new cowl, but it's the La La Love You cowl. I'm joining in with Diane at Knitabulls for her February KAL :-) 

Yes, so much to knit.... so little time! 

Yarn Along - 1/25

Joining in with Ginny for Yarn Along this week. I'm almost finished with my Dahlia cardigan, I just have to knit one more sleeve which I'm already half way through. I have both sleeves still on the needles because I wasn't sure how much yarn I would have left! The first sleeve needs a few more rows of moss stitch (if I have enough yarn!). I'm hoping I'll finish it by the weekend and I can block it - I'm so excited!

As much as I want to finish Dahlia quickly I sometimes just need a break from knitting with the same yarn. I cast on for the Drifty mitten last night, actually late afternoon! And I finished it last night, all except the thumb!

I'm knitting with the same yarn again (Hobby Lobby's I Love This Wool), but using size 6 needles. It has turned out a perfect size for Kristen's hands. Usually mitts that I knit often turn out a little big. I'll probably try to finish Dahlia before I cast on for the second mitten.

I finished reading Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese last week for our book club, so before I start our next monthly read (which is Girl in Translation) I thought I would pick up the Harry Potter book again. I started the 5th book weeks ago and am not even half way through it. I'd like to get it read so I can watch the movie. I haven't seen the 5th, 6th and 7th movie yet, but I want to read the books first.

FO's!

Yay, I have Fo's! My first for 2012. I have been knitting up a storm this week. Got my pink socks finished. I realized that the reason they were turning out big was because they were meant to wear over socks! Duh. I am thinking of getting some of that puffy paint stuff to put on the bottom of them to make them non-slip.

 Pattern: Double Knit Over Socks by Ray Reid

Yarn: King Cole Splash DK

Needles: US 4

 

I saw this pattern this week on a podcast I was watching (it was an older podcast from Diane at Knitabulls). I am rather addicted to her podcasts right now and keep watching old ones while I wait for her new weekly ones! I would quite happily watch all of them from last year but for some reason they don't show up on my ipad, and that is what I use to watch, while I'm sitting with my feet up knitting!

The pattern is called Drifty It's from the Red Collection by Mandy Powers. I don't like anything with fairisle or intarsia in it because I hate knitting it. . . . or so I thought! I loved the look of this hat so much I wanted to give it a try. What a pleasant surprise to discover that actually fairisle is much easier to knit than intarsia! I discovered something new too. All the time I was knitting intarsia it was so slow going because you had to cross the yarn over, but with fairisle you don't have to actually twist the yarn as you knit. I'm sure most of you all know this already. It makes knitting something like this so much faster than I expected.

  

I started this yesterday and finished it off this morning! I would have finished it last night but my neighbor came over for a glass of wine so I put it down. But oh my gosh, I just LOVE it, and I am so proud of myself for trying something I thought I didn't like (and finding out I actually do like it)! I didn't have any bulky yarn for it but I thought if I knit the largest size and use worsted weight wool it might turn out the right size for Kristen - and it did :-)  I want to order the Lambs Pride Bulky yarn to knit this for me now too, AND make us both a pair of mittens to match. The only sad part is we won't probably wear these until next winter, it already feels like spring here in TX with temps in the 70's this week!!!!

Pattern: Drifty

 Yarn: Hobby Lobby's I Love this Wool!

Needles: size US 8 

I'm making good progress on my Dahlia cardigan, although I do have to rip one of the sleeves out. I didn't realize I had to start the decreases so soon, so it ended up too long and not decreased enough. I thought it might look ok like that, but it doesn't, and considering the price of this yarn, I know I need to frog it and do it right. I'm on the second sleeve right now and once that is knit (correctly) I'll frog the other one and re-do it.

Yarn Along - 1

 I thought I'd join in with Ginny's Yarn Along this week. The two things I've been doing most since Christmas is knitting and reading :-)  I'm now in two book clubs, my main (real) one, and a 'virtual' online one with some friends.

This week I'm reading Cutting For Stone with my 'real' club, we'll be discussing it at our first monthly meeting on January 19th. I have to say, this is not my kind of read at all, so I'm not really enjoying it, but still plugging away at it . . . it's over 600 pages long!!! I'm also reading a Thomas Kinkaide novel with my online club and I'm really enjoying that one (more my kind of read).

As I mentioned in my last post, I cast on for a pair of socks so I had something small to knit while working on Wray and Dahlia. I'm using THIS pattern on Ravelry, they are called Double Knit Oversocks. Even though I've gone down two needle sizes (the pattern calls for us6 and I'm using us4 dpn's) I still feel like it's a little loose! I know, I know, I should check gauge, and honestly this is the LAST TIME I don't! I really will check my gauge with everything I knit from now on out - promise!

I've come to the conclusion that I have tiny feet - well not tiny in length, I'm a size 7-7/12, but the width of my foot seems very small, either that or I just knit really loose. All of the socks I've ever knit have felt loose and could, in my opinion, be a little smaller for a better/snugger fit.

Still, one sock finished, the key now is to cast on straight away for the second sock or I will be dealing with SSS (second sock syndrome) and will end up with yet another 'lone sock'! Yes I have others sitting in baskets waiting for it's partner!

I'm waiting for a package from Knitpicks this week, I ordered a 16" needle so I can knit the sleeves of Dahlia, doing them on the dpn's is slow going and I keep getting 'ladders'! I'm hoping I can knit them on the 16" for the most part before the decreases start? I've also ordered some sock yarn from them, in cream. I've wanted to knit these socks for ages. . . 

They're the Lingerie Socks from Knitty.com You can see them on Ravelry HERE. The picture is linked to the Knitty site. Not sure if I'll make them or pick a different pattern, I'm also wanting to try toe-up remember!

It's ME Time :-)

This past week I've been knocked down with allergies, really BAD allergies, Cedar Fever to be exact!!! I've had a sore throat, itchy ears, headaches, no energy, stuffy nose, and now the pressure in my head is so bad I can hardly hear :-(  I haven't been to the gym in over a week (again) and I'm feeling pretty sorry for myself. I finally called my ENT Dr this morning, can't get an appointment to see him until Friday! but thankfully he called in a prescription for antibiotics and steroids to help me until then.

Suffice to say, feeling so 'out of sorts' this week, I've been having a lot of down time. Wanna know what I've discovered? Knitting Podcasts!!! VIDEO knitting podcasts to be exact (cos I need the visual). I'm sure I'm way behind the times and you've probably all been listening (or watching) podcasts for years, but I've never really bothered - until now. I have an Ipad an I like sitting on the sofa knitting and watching the podcast while I knit. It's like having a friend there chatting to me, about the one thing I'm passionate about.  

Two of my favs so far are Tina from Blooming Knitter, her podcasts are called 'Knitting Blooms' and you can find her group on Ravelry HERE.  The other one I like is Tammy 'The Proverbial Knitter'. Her Ravelry group is HERE.

So, it's 2012, and it's time to knit for me. And guess what?, I don't know what to knit! Well that's not really true, right now I have Wray and Dahlia on the needles that I cast on last year. 

This is as far as I've gotten with Wray, I just divided for the armholes. The ribbing is slow going, but I just love this Lily Kate design and can't wait to wear it!

My Dahlia cardigan is a bit further along than even this photo shows. I've actually picked up one sleeve and am nearly finished it, I've just started the pattern at the cuff. I have vowed not to start any large projects until both of these items are off my needles - please hold me accountable! I am allowing myself one small item along with these two larger ones. The only problem is I don't have much in my stash and therefore I don't know what that small item should be.

Tonight I decided to cast on for a simple pair of socks. I haven't taken pictures today so that will be something I'll share next time. I hope to blog a lot more often on here this year AND visit my knitting friends blogs much more too.  I also would like to treat myself to some NICE yarn (read 'not acrylic', and not from Hobby Lobby or Michael's!) but I'd rather I buy it when I know what project I have in mind for it.

A couple of other goals I have for this year (cos I don't call them resolutions, we all know they just get broken!) is to 1) organize my 'stash', the little that I do have, and 2) try and knit a pair of 'toe-up' socks! I seriously have never tried this, and I've been told it's much easier to do and helps the sock fit a lot better too! Is that true? Do you knit 'toe-up'? What do you think?

Well anyway, that's what I'm up to here. Off to read some blogs now. If you pop in to read me, please say hi, I love your comments and will always return the visit.

Happy New Year - 2012

Wow, here we are at the start of a new year! I haven't blogged here since November, simply because I haven't been knitting much since November!!!  I got so busy planning Christmas I didn't even finish all of my Christmas knitting. I was just 4 items short. I did pack up everything else I had knitted and shipped them off to my family in England, but sadly they didn't receive the package until just after Christmas.  Oh well,they at least got them and hopefully at some point I will see pictures of them in their knitted attire :-)

 

As I have mentioned (on a few occasions now), 2012 is gonna be a ME year. I am solely knitting for Me, Moi, pointing finger at self!!!  BUT, before I do that, I have 2 hats to finish knitting then I can send the last 4 gifts home. 

First thing I will be knitting (or finishing) is my Dahlia cardigan. After that I want to work on Wray that I also cast on last year!  Once those two items are knit I will allow myself to browse and pick what I want to knit next. I think I might alternate from a small project to a large one, but it might just depend on how I feel.

I do look forward to blogging more about my knitting here, and visiting more blogs to see what you all have on the needles too.  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. We had a ton of fun. If you'd like to see pictures you can visit my daily blog HERE.