TYoSK 2018

2018 is The Year of Selfish Knitting for me.  Almost all the socks I previously made for myself have either given up the ghost entirely, or taken up seemingly  permanent residence in the darning box.   Replacements must be made.  WIPs must be finished. 

OFF MY NEEDLES: 

Goth Kitty socks

These were started on November 23, 2017 and finished December 26th. They are cuff-down (tubular cast on) with a German short row heel and knit in Knit Picks Felici in the Goth Kitty colorway.  

Punch Bug socks

Started Dec 25, finished Jan 30th.  The yarn is Knit Picks Felici in the Punch Bug colorway. They were knit toe-up with a German short row heel; one sock has a tubular bindoff, the other Icelandic.  I prefer the Icelandic - it's much easier to do, and I like the way it looks.  Icelandic will probably be my go-to bindoff for toe-up socks. 

Owl socks

Started November 2012, finished February 2018, and knit in Zen Yarn Garden's Harmony Semi-solid in the Tumeric colorway, these socks are based on a modified Owlie Socks pattern by Julie Elswick Suchomel.   I used Miyuki-6 MY-1427 Silver Lined Violet beads for the eyes.  

FO Parade Part II

Some more Finished Objects

OFF MY SPINDLES/WHEELS:

Top Left:  about 416 yds of a semi-worsted fractal spun 2ply, wheel spun and ply, 100% Targhee from Sheep Spot in the Ignite colorway.  Finished 5 Oct 2015. 

Top Right:  also a semi-worsted fractal 2ply of about 441 yds. Wheel spun and ply. Shetland fiber in the Gerbera colorway from Spunky Eclectic. Finished 23 Oct 2015. 

Bottom Left:   Moon Shadows colorway from Spirit Trail Fiberworks is a deep stash fiber. I bought it when I first started spinning but held off spinning until I was ready. Fiber is a 50/30/20 Merino/Silk/Angora blend. Wheel spun supported longdraw and chain plied into about 189 yds.  Finished 26 Dec 2015

Bottom Right:   A small sample skein I also spun on 26 Dec from a Jacob fleece I'm prepping.   Wheel spun supported longdraw from hand carded rolags for approximately 25yds of 2ply gradient. 

FO Parade

OFF MY NEEDLES:

Top Left: Whimsical Socks finished 17 Feb 2016. The Simple SKYP Socks pattern knit in Miss Bab's Cosmic base in Whimsical colorway. I used 2.25mm (US1) needles as I do for all my socks done in fingering weight yarn.

Top Right: Confetti socks finished 28 Jan 2016 are vanilla socks (my pattern) in Knit Picks Hawthorne in Confetti Speckle colorway. 

Bottom Left: Coffee Shop socks finished 2 Jan 2016 are my vanilla socks with a basic K3 P1 rib, and were knit in Knit Picks Stroll in the Coffee Shop colorway.

Bottom Right:  Glacier colorway from Knit Picks Felici self-striping yarn line was used for these vanilla socks finished on 20 Dec 2015.

I also knit fingerless mitts for myself in the Winding Way Mitts pattern by Cheryl Beckerich out of my Mother of Dragons colorway Handspun (Merino, cashmere, silk). I finished on 14 Jan 2016.

And I finished another block (#13) for the Log Cabin blanket.  This one was an experiment in using up small amounts of yarn leftovers from previous blocks. I call it the 4-in-1 block. It needs a little tweaking but overall I'm pleased. 

July Summer fun

If it's Summer, it must be time for Stash Dash, and if it's July, it must be Tour de Fleece time!  

This year for the TdF I'm just spinning with no big goals or plans. I'm currently spindle spinning this Masham bump from Spunky Eclectic in the Verdigris colorway.  

 

And I've finished a few others too.  Like this one: BFL in the Gumball colorway that I started in Dec. I chain plied and got about 188 yds of DK weight yarn. 

I also finished this one, a Cheviot called Golden Fields from Spunky Eclectic. 

All three of these are included in my Stash Dash total, as is a pair of sock

My last two skeins of the Corriedale/Polypay fleece

March knitting

OFF MY NEEDLES 

The  Rainbow socks are finished. These are my basic cuff down sock with a Strong Heel knit in Knit Picks' Felici yarn in the Rainbow colorway. 

I also finished these cuff down vanilla socks in Knit Picks Hawthorne yarn in Ladd's Addition colorway  my first time knitting with this yarn and I liked it. It will be interesting to see how well they hold up in use. 

And last but not least are two more pair of baby socks, one in Kroy Socks blue-brown marl, and the other Monster socks from yarn scraps I had with me. 

Tis The Season...

...for frantic finishing of knitting and spinning WIPs.

OFF MY NEEDLES:

The blue socks I started on Aug 9th out of Schachenmayr Regia Racing Color were finished on Dec 2nd.  They are a men's size 9 with nine inch legs, and are my eighth pair of socks this year.

ON MY NEEDLES:

On my needles are the usual assortment of socks in progress and holiday gifts.   Also, have a few gauge swatches going for the three or four sweaters I have planned to knit for Project Sweater Chest.   I'll be casting on for the BFL Delight and Pagoda sweaters when I get back home in a few weeks.   

ON MY WHEELS/SPINDLES:

Back in August I revisited my Promise spinning which I first started in summer of 2012.  I'm spinning this from the fold and will chain ply.  Promise is a 50/50 blend of SoySilk and Wool from Tempted.  My August/September spinning on this was done on my Barebones spindle.  However, the bulk of spinning was done the end of November on my wheel, but it hasn't been plied yet. 

OFF MY WHEELS/SPINDLES:

I spun approximately half of a four ounce braid of superwash BFL in the Maple colorway for the Howarts at Ravelry Deputy Headmistress Interhouse Unity challenge back in August.   The fiber is from Sweet Georgia and I used my Barebones spindle.   

 I spun and plied the second half on my Sidekick wheel Oct 28-Nov 4th.  I finished with about 306 yards of 2ply yarn that looks like this:

The BFL Delight yarn I started spinning during Spinzilla in October I finished in November.  Total yardage of 2ply yarn is 2,537, which I'm hoping will be enough for a sweater.  All the fiber for this yarn is  Bluefaced Leister from either Crown Mountain Farms (white plus the Novalis and Bacchus colorways) or Miss Babs (Dark Secrets colorway). 

 

Fly-By Month

Wow! I can't believe how quickly April went. Seems like it just started last week and already it's May.

OFF MY NEEDLES:

I finished adding the feet to a pair of OD (Olive Drab) socks for Socks For Soldiers. The fourteen inch legs were knit on a Circular Sock Machine by Marolyn. Team knitting the socks this way saves hand knitters like me a good deal of time and effort (and seriously - fourteen inches of ribbing is mind numbingly tedious so I really appreciate the CSM knit legs).

I also finished my second tan regulation beanie for Socks For Soldiers. Both hats, two pair of regulation socks and two pair of leisure socks were sent out to Kim early in the month.

For my next box of hats and socks for Kim I've completed a leisure hat and started a regulation hat and a pair of leisure men's socks. Here's the finished leisure hat:





I expect I'll have Bob's Socks and the May Day project finished within the first week of May, and then I'm hoping to have the Charlotte Bronte Shawl, the Owlie Socks and some more SFS hats and socks done by the end of May. I'm participating in this year's 5k Stash Dash this Summer so I'll be waiting until Stash Dash started to finish a bunch of knitting and spinning WIPs. Yay for stash busting!

And We're Off....

To a good start for the new year. New projects were started, old ones finished, and decisions made for direction a new year of crafting will go.

ON MY NEEDLES:

January first was the start of a month long sock knit-along in Hufflepuff House in the Hogwarts at Ravelry group (yes, I'm a Hufflepuff and proud of it!). There are no prizes for participating in The Great Hufflepuff Sock Fest, just Badges and a feeling of accomplishment, both of which I love.

I cast on two pair of socks. The first pair is a cuff down afterthought/forethought heel sock in Biscotti & Cie's self striping Felix base yarn in the Monsieur X colorway. I've the first sock (minus the heel) done and am almost halfway through the leg of the second sock since this picture was taken.



The second pair was cast on, frogged and re-cast on. It will be toe-up socks with Fleegle's no flap heel (a first time for me) pattern, and will incorporate the Hermione sock stitch pattern on leg and instep. The yarn is Panda Cotton, a holiday gift from a friend.




2014 GOALS:

This year I will be concentrating on charity knitting and finishing UFOs/WIPs, and also pattern writing. I will also try not to buy anymore yarn until the fourth quarter (and then only as gifts for others). Ideally, I'd like to go an entire year without any stash enhancement, yarn or fiber. For spinning, I will try to spin through as much of my fleece and fiber stash as possible, with an eye towards selling some of it (either handspun yarn or hand processed fiber). An adventure for sure.

I have lots of UFOs/WIPs on my needles that don't seem to be getting anywhere. So the plan is to concentrate on one a month (more than one if they're small like hats or socks). So far, January is a hat and a pair of socks; February will be the Hexipuff Baby Blanket; March, the Charlotte Bronte shawl. The schedule will be reevaluated every quarter as projects get added to or removed from the UFO/WIP list.

The two charities I will concentrate on are first Socks For Soldiers and then Bundles of Joy. Both have been sorely neglected over the last couple of years.


OFF MY NEEDLES:

My first Finished Object of the year is the other Holiday Stocking. I guess technically it's a Re-Finished Object since I frogged the original finished stocking back to the heel beginning and redid the heel and toe. I'm still not entirely satisfied with the toe but it looks a lot better than it did, and frankly, I'm sick of it.

On the Road....WV, I Am In You

 
 
  On My Needles/Hooks:
 
 

Hexipuffed like crazy on the train ride down to West Virginia or at least it seemed that way. A two hour delay in D.C. while they put my train together (don't ask) helped the illusion. Apparently though, I really only make one (or less) an hour. These are the seven I made on the road. There are a few more I made that night.

 

I started the Cauchy socks back in June but ran into a snag when I couldn't decide which heel I wanted to use: the pattern heel, afterthought, sweet tomato, or something else. I brought them with me on vacation and I'm pleased to say progress has been made. I went with a square heel. This is first sock progress.

On My Spindles/Wheel:
  
  

The first half (about two ounces worth) of the BFL from Crown Mountain Farms in the Rise of the Phoenix colorway is done. Spindle spun and plied, I got about 150 yds of 3ply (chain) yarn with a wpi in the 22-27 range. I'm hoping to get enough to make a Rivendell cowl, and I think I should have just enough. Pic taken before twist set.

Fiber Prep

The second half of "Mo", a Finn-Dorset-Targhee cross fleece, is washed and I've begun prepping the fleece to spin. I'm hand combing then drum carding. The plan is to spin woolen and 3ply as the first half was done. The only difference will be I'm probably going to wheel spin instead of spindle spin. Probably. Then again... By the time I get back from vacation and can work on it again I might change my mind.

Off My Spindles/Wheel:
  

The little Corriedale/Polypay sample is done. I started with 8.5 ounces raw fleece and after it was washed had 5.5 ounces. I hand carded the fleece and instead of dizzying off the combs, I pulled it off in tufts and spun it semi-worsted from that. It's my version of "cloud" prep. Worked surprisingly well. Picture taken before twist set. Ended up with approximately 350 yds of laceweight/light fingering 2ply yarn.