Questions answered, and this week's projects

A couple of readers asked what pattern I used for the orange Cap Sleeve Top. It is called Cap Sleeve Top, by Robin Melanson, and can be found in "Nashua Handknits: Creative Focus Silk". There are a couple of other really cute patterns in the booklet that I want to try too. The Creative Focus Silk yarn was really nice to work with, but I would definitely suggest blunt tip needles instead of the pointy ones I used. I had to pay attention so I didn't split the yarn.

The two projects I am working on this week will be very close to being finished, if not actually finished, by the end of the week.

The Silky Wool Vest is such a quick knit, and it's fairly mindless so perfect for watching TV. I need a total of 16 inches after the division before casting off, and I managed to add 4 1/2 inches last night. Finding enough buttons in the right size and color might prove to be difficult though. I've already discovered that the fabric stores around me no longer carry the button loop tape I'm supposed to use (the kind used for all those teeny tiny pearl buttons down the back of wedding dresses), so I decided to skip that and just sew the buttons through both layers of knitting to finish the vest. Problem is I need about 28 teeny tiny buttons (about the size used for baby clothing) and I can't seem to find more than about 16 at the fabric stores. I may need to ask them if they can order them for me.



I got a bit disheartened last Fall with the Ravenna Satchel. I had a bit of a felting issue. Not too long ago, I decided to try using roving to needlefelt over the motifs on the intarsia piece to see if that would fill in all the icky parts.

So far, so good.



A close up photo of the area that I've done the needle felting on. I still need to go back over it again to make sure that any fuzzies at the edges get felted into the center, but I think it looks a heck of a lot better than before needle felting.



See?







Part of the felting problem I had is that the yarn I used, while gorgeous just knit up, left really long fuzzies that wound up felting themselves into portions of the project where they didn't belong. Although sometimes a tweedy look is what you're looking for, background color in blobs in the center of the flowers just wasn't cutting it for me.

I could not find roving in the exact colors I used, but I came fairly close on most of them, and will use the leftover yarn from knitting the project to do the outlining and other embellishments on the bag. So far the needlefelting is going pretty quickly. I might have to wait until this project gets another turn to get it all sewn together and add the handles and hardware, but at least some pretty good progress is happening to a Basket O Shame project :o)

Changing the plan of attack

Attack of the never ending (and ever growing) WIP list that is. While stuffing stash yarn into freezer bags for their "time out" in the freezer, I came across 2 more crochet projects that I forgot about and had to add them to the list. On top of that, I got a bit bored with Paul's sweater, and bought a kit from a friend who is doing some destashing, and cast that project on Saturday. Ugggggggg - at this rate, I'll never get to the bottom of that list!

At least I've discovered that whatever project the spreadsheet picks out for me keeps my attention for about a week before I get bored with it. And, sometimes bringing up a different project from the craftroom appeases my urge to start something new. (Quit laughing, I said sometimes.) For instance, Friday night I was really wanting to dig around in the stash for some yummy yarn and cast on something bright and shiny and new. Instead, I spied the Sipalu bag that I lost interest in last Fall, and decided to bring it up. Yesterday, when I put it away again, I had knit all but the top border and handles. Another weekend and the knitting will be done and it will be ready to block and line.

So, I've decided to change my plan of attack. Instead of making myself finish the project the spreadsheet picks out for me, I will let it pick 2 projects for me to work on for a week. Unless I am completely enchanted by a project, I won't work on the same thing 2 weeks in a row. I'm going to try very hard not to cast something new on until I've finished at least 2, but preferrably 3 projects from my current WIP list. Hopefully, this new tact will have me completing some projects and not casting on so many new ones.

I took a break from the knitting for awhile this weekend and finished up a dress I had cut out last weekend. I'm fairly pleased with it, and will make another. I will change the pattern some though. The photo did not in any way, shape, or form show the cartoon model's boobs sticking out. The neckline on this thing falls just below my nipples, so I had to wear a cami under it. Next time, I will raise the neckline and probably bring the shoulders in some so bra straps don't show.



Although I have been casting on new projects regularly, I have been finishing some of them. This one was knit up in record time. 6 days from cast on to worn to work. I also wore it when I met my friend at our LYS to buy that kit from her, and while there wound up selling the last pattern book for this top to one customer, and the yarn to knit it to another. I absolutely adore this top. It's not too casual to wear to work, but casual enough to be paired with jeans and tennies for the weekend.






That kit I purchased? If you read Vogue Knitting, you may remember the Koigu jacket from the anniversary issue. 'A' bought it, then let it sit for over a year. Her hubby really wanted her to sell it and pay off some of the credit card lol. I started it while sitting at the LYS with her for some knitting and socializing time. Worked on it a bit Saturday night, but it is somewhat fiddly with all those little triangles. Not bored with the project by any stretch, but 37 skeins of Koigu in my bedroom along with the other 6 or 7 projects I had once again dragged upstairs was a bit much. The spreadsheet did not pick this project for me to work on this week, so I put it away to await its turn.



Friday night I finished up the felted pond turtle I started in September or October. Another project off the WIP list! She turned out rather cute once I needlefelted some outlining on her shell.



A photo of side 2 of the Sipalu bag. Already picked up all the stitches for the top border band, so when the spreadsheet picks this out, it will be all ready for some fair isle goodness.



No photos of this week's projects yet, but in a few days I will post some. The spreadsheet picked out the Silky Wool Vest and Ravenna Satchel 1.

Wish me luck!!

April Wrap Up, May Wind Up

April was a pretty productive month for me. I finished 5 projects, 4 of which were Basket O' Shame projects! Never mind that I started several new projects lol.

I got a little carried away and had about 6 projects out of the craft room to work on, but this past weekend I rectified that. I now have only 3 projects available to work on while I watch TV.

One of the 3 that made its way back to the craft room is Salvia. I did make some progress on it, and it will be the next projects I work on when I finish something.



I pulled out the Pond Turtle that I started last year and have finished all except the final piece. Pretty sure I'll have this one finished up this week.



Progress has been made on Paul's Islander pullover too. This is one of those projects that just doesn't photograph well indoors with flash. Hopefully we'll have some sunshine this weekend so I can get better photos of the beautiful color of this yarn.



Confession time: I was a bad girl and cast on a new project. I saw this top in my LYS' window and couldn't resist buying the pattern and yarn for it. In my defense, I did wait a full week before giving in to the temptation of starting it. I cast on Friday night and last night I started on the 4th of 5 balls of yarn. This thing is practically knitting itself!!



I'm down to 20 projects on the needles now. Still sounds ridiculous, and I'd like to be under 10 by the end of the year. As long as I can resist all those tempting new projects that are begging to be cast on I just might make my goal.

Basket O' Shame Projects	Non Basket O' Shame Projects
Flying Carpet Socks	Yesterday Once More
Mermaid Jacket	Filet Dragon Throw
Merging Colors Bolero	Emily's Gloves
Felted Pond Turtle	Jenn's Gloves
Sipalu Bag	Rose Wrap Shell
Moorish Stripe Socks	Sweetie Pie Cami
Roped Shell	Santa Fe Shawl
Mary Tudor Cardigan	Bellydance Halter
Lace Knee Highs	Solo
Asymetrical Jacket	Sackboy
Ravenna Satchel 1	Salvia
Ravenna Satchel 2	Silky Wool Vest
Islander Pullover	Cap Sleeve Top
Zarah Pullover
Bamboo Socks
Scheherazade Shawl

Kitten update: Mama cat must have gotten spooked because she moved her little brood elsewhere. We've seen her a couple of times roaming around the neighborhood, but no sign of the little ones yet. I'm still going to try to catch them and take them to a shelter if I see them. Last thing we need is 6 more strays running around!

Awwwwwww

Look what Paul found in our garage yesterday. Aren't they cute?



He was rummaging around trying to get the lawnmower out, when he heard a commotion. He saw a cat scurry across the garage and hide behind some boxes stored in there. Then he saw the kittens and called me out to see them. Their eyes are still closed so they aren't very old. So adorable. Mama is a feral cat living in our neighborhood. When I came out to the garage to see, she took off across the street and I was hoping she'd come back if we stayed away. We got her some food and left it out in the garage then left them all alone. We didn't see her all day yesterday, but this morning Paul saw her. She's been in the garage all day today with her little ones. As long as all we do is peer at them through the window and not make any quick moves, she tolerates us. Once the kittens are old enough, we'll take them to a local shelter that won't put them down, and see if we can't trap Mama and have her neutered. There are several feral cats in our neighborhood. Looks like I'm going to be a crazy cat lady like my mom lol.



This afternoon I finished up sackboy. I think I'm going to knit him a hat too, but that will have to wait for another day. Now I only have 2 of the newly cast on projects left on the needles.



Last night I pulled out the Silky Wool Vest and finished the first of three balls of yarn. This shouldn't take too much longer to finish since it's a cropped vest. Hopefully by the end of the month.



I'm only a couple rows shy of finishing the bodice of the Yesterday Once More top. Tomorrow night at my crochet group I'll begin the pleated bottom border.



This afternoon while Paul and I watched a couple of movies I worked on the felted Pond Turtle I started for myself last summer. Ran out of yarn .... ugggggg. Since It's felted I'm not too worried about the dye lots matching perfectly, so a trip to JoAnn's to get another ball of Bernat felting wool is in order sometime this week.

Squee!!!

I have a lot to squee about today. Everyone "squee!" with me!

Squee!!!!

Look what I got in the mail. My SP pal, Knitting Ladybug (the one I was spoiling), sent me such a sweet and thoughtful gift. She knit me socks! Soft, beautiful, stripy, merino and bamboo socks! And, she sent me the Knit Kit. It has 7 different tools that knitter's need (and usually run off without when they need them most lol). This went straight into the bag that goes with me to my weekly group right after the photo was taken. The socks will be worn tomorrow! Thanks Debbie! I love them :o)



Also squee! worthy is the fact I finished 2 more of my BOS projects this weekend. The Moorish Stripe Socks are now tucked into a padded envelope and will be off in the post to their recipient tomorrow. I hope he likes them!



And, I also finished the Roped Shell. Wove in the last of the ends last night after my weekly crochet group meeting. I changed the pattern a bit to raise the neckline and add more fabric on the shoulder to hide bra straps. I am really happy with how this turned out. I made it using GGH 100% silk and it is so soft and luxurious. Can't wait to wear it!



Sackboy is almost done. Tomorrow night I will knit the head, then Thursday will start the seaming and finishing.



The handy dandy spreadsheet chose the Islander Pullover for me to work on next. This poor sweater was started a year ago for Paul, then after only 4 rows of the ribbing were completed it was shoved in the bottom of a knitting bag and has just now seen the light of day again. The sad thing is I don't think I bought enough yarn for this, so I will need to order more and do the knit 2 rows with each dye lot thing ..... ugggggg.

WIP Status

Friday night I finished up the Flying Carpet Socks. Now I don't feel so guilty about casting on that Silky Wool Vest. Of course, as you'll see later in this post, I still have plenty to feel guilty about lol.



The current state of my WIP list looks like this. I've finished 5 of the projects that were OTN at the beginning of the year, and have 2 more that should be finished in the next couple of days.

Basket O' Shame Projects Flying Carpet Socks Mermaid Jacket Merging Colors Bolero Felted Pond Turtle Sipalu Bag Moorish Stripe Socks Roped Shell Mary Tudor Cardigan Lace Knee Highs Asymetrical Jacket Ravenna Satchel 1 Ravenna Satchel 2 Islander Pullover Zarah Pullover Bamboo Socks Scheherazade Shawl

Non Basket O' Shame Projects Yesterday Once More Filet Dragon Throw Emily's Gloves Jenn's Gloves Rose Wrap Shell Sweetie Pie Cami Santa Fe Shawl Bellydance Halter Solo Sackboy Salvia Silky Wool Vest

According to my self imposed rules, I should only have 2 newly cast on projects (one of which is now complete). But, I was a bad bad knitter and cast on 2 additional projects *sigh*. Kris plays Little Big Planet and I couldn't resist casting on Sackboy. Luckily it is a smallish project and should be finished in record time. I didn't feel too bad about casting that on, even though I haven't finished the Silky Wool Vest, since I was almost finished with another WIP. I do feel a twinge of guilt about casting on Salvia though. Rowan yarn is an evil temptress indeed. I am limiting my time working on this project until I get a couple more of the BOS projects finished.

I am currently finishing up the toe on the Moorish Stripe Socks. Then they will be shipped off to my stepdad.



The Roped Shell is also almost complete. Last night when I took photos she looked like this.



This morning she is complete with the exception of the I-cord bind off on the arm openings and the cabled neckband.

The beaded purse is getting some attention too. Progress seems awfully slow compared to the knitting, but I've increased my speed to about 3 rows per 30 minutes. The problem is I can only work on this about 30 minutes at a time. It's just too hard on the eyes!



I mentioned Salvia earlier in the post. It is a shortsleeved cotton cardigan with intarsia flowers on it from the latest Rowan magazine. I took Friday off work as comp time last week and made a trip to my LYS to look at shawl pins for the Merging Colors Bolero. While there, I spied yarn in the perfect colors for Salvia, a soft grey and beautiful blue. I have absolutely no willpower whatsoever, so you know I bought it and cast on as soon as I got home. I only allowed myself to complete several rows of the colorwork pattern before setting it aside and pulling out the projects I was supposed to be working on.



I think I'm going to sift through the list of WIPs and find one fairly close to being complete to work on next. Salvia shouldn't have been cast on until I had 8 finished, and when the socks and shell are done that will make 7. Why do I do this to myself? My WIP list never seems to have fewer than 20 projects on it!

Bugs!

Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh I have a bug infestation! Carpet beetles!! Ewwwwwwwwww

I discovered the problem yesterday when I pulled out one of my Basket 'O Shame projects to work on. I noticed a small hole in it when I began knitting. It looked like the yarn had been snipped and one of the stitches had unraveled. Repairing it was a pretty simple matter. Then I noticed another hole, and a couple of spots that looked like the yarn had been snagged. Upon closer inspection, I found a couple of the telltale shed skins of the larvae.

I've never been very careful with my stash or the projects I am working on. The stash is stored in plastic drawer containers, but not put in ziploc bags first. The projects I've started are kept in the various knitting bags I've collected over the years. I've learned my lesson! Multitudes of freezer bags were purchased today and a good portion of the stash now resides in them.

So far I haven't found any further signs of infestation in the craftroom, but I found a couple of the adult little buggers wandering elsewhere in the house. I can't tell you how creeped out I am right now.

The infested project is in the freezer right now, along with as much of the stash as I could fit in there with it. It is going to take me for freaking ever to freeze it all just to be on the safe side. I use that freezer for um foodstuffs. Never again will I let yarn sit in my craftroom until it has been properly frozen in its freezer bag.

At least there's some good news on the knitting front. I finished the Merging Colors Bolero Friday night. I just need to find something nice to use as a closure and it's ready to wear. I love how this turned out and can't wait to wear it to work.



I worked some this week on the beaded purse. I wish this photographed better. Maybe when I have nice sunlight outside and don't have to use the flash I can get better pictures. My speed has gotten better, but even at one row every 20 minutes or so, this is going to take a long long time to complete.



Since the Asymetrical Jacket has a bug problem at the moment, I let the spreadsheet pick out a new main project. I had forgotten how much I liked knitting the Roped Shell. Not sure why this wound up sitting in the bottom of a knitting bag, but it's got center stage again, and should be finished up fairly quickly. No sleeves and minimal shaping make for a fast project.



Wish me luck in my quest to rid my house of the disgusting carpet beetles!