Seventh Year of Projects - Week 27

Happy New Year everyone!!  I hope everyone had a nice 2017 and I wish everyone all the best for a wonderful 2018!!

I have a list of things to tackle in the new year!  I plan to finish up some things that should have been completed in 2017, but did not quite make it off the needles.

My list:
1) Block my Advent Scarf - the knitting is complete but the blocking needs doing

2) Finish my Advent Cowl

3) Finish my 2017 Temperature Scarf - I am complete to the end of December 13th...
4) Finish my December BAMKAL squares and assemble the afghan
5) Finish my December BAMCAL squares and assemble the afghan

I am hoping to get all of this crossed off the list by the end of January!

While travelling over the holidays I also cast on a pair of vanilla socks using some of my own hand dyed yarn. I am loving how it is knitting up!  I plan on getting back to those soon as well!

Happy New Year everyone!!  May 2018 be your best year yet!

Seventh Year of Projects - Week 26

Merry Christmas everyone!!  I think this might be the first week this year that I did not get my weekly update done on a Sunday but I am only one day off!

This past week I made some good progress on my Advent scarf.  I did not finish it on time but am working through the last few clues.  I have not made any progress on my Advent cowl though.  I'll get onto that soon.  While traveling I cast on a pair of vanilla socks and got one leg done.

I am doing this from my phone and don't know how to add picturrs...  that will have to be something I learn how to do!

Seventh Year of Projects - Week 25

Another week!  Can you believe we are almost half way through the year?  And even more amazing - can you believe I have posted every week do far this year?!  

I have spent some time this past week working on both of my Advent scarves and have made some progress.  

My Advent Cowl is complete up to the end of Day 13 - and I have reached the half way point!

My Advent Scarf is also seeing some love and I am up to half way through Day 6 - not quite half way but getting close!  This is not a very good picture - I'll be sure to get some better pictures once it is all finished and blocked!

Seventh Year of Projects - Week 24

Another week!  I have spent some time this past week working on both of my Advent scarves and have made some progress.

My Advent Cowl has seen some work since last week, although I am falling behind...  I have one round of Day 6 complete and have the clues up to Day 10 waiting for me to knit...  I hope to get some time to work on that this upcoming week!

My Advent scarf has also seen some love this week and I am almost ready to start Clue 5 of the 6 that have been released. It is all scrunchy and bunchy right now and will certainly need a serious blocking once it is done!  The widest part is the center and each clue (released every second day) adds a bit more to each side. 

I had planned on doing a Mystery Sock but I have not had time to even cast that on so I suspect I wont be keeping up with that!!  Two clues are already out.  I think I will take it with me when I go home for Christmas and will work on it then (once my two Advent scarves are complete - which should hopefully be by Christmas day!)

Until next week!!

WIP-it Wednesday

I have been busy trying to keep up with my Advent knitting and have made some decent progress (although I am falling a bit behind...)

I am caught up to the end of Day 5 on my Advent 2017 scarf.  I am enjoying this knit and I have expanded my colours a little bit.  I have added in a gray and some pink (one shade is in and one shade is left to join the party later).  Here is what it looks like up to the end of Day 5 (I'll work on Day 6 this evening):

I have also spent some time on my Advent Scarf too.  I am a bit behind with this one but will catch up over time.  This design began with the cable piece to the top.  Then the second clue involves picking up stitches along both sides of the first piece and working the clues once per side down the length of the scarf.  I am part way through the second clue (of three released so far):

I am still hoping to cast on the Mystery Socks but have not done so yet.  Maybe I will find some time on Thursday to cast on!  The second clue will be released on Friday so I would like to be done for then, but we shall see.

I hope everyone is staying warm and is enjoying this time leading up to the holidays!!

Seventh Year of Projects - Week 23

Week 23!!  I am amazed I have consistently posted every week for 23 weeks now!  WOW!!

I went a little overboard casting on new things the past few days, but I cannot resist an Advent knit or a mystery sock!

First up is the Advent Scarf 2017.  This is something that has become an annual tradition that I have participated in for four or five years now.  Each day a new clue is released from December 1st through December 24th.  Each day is four or five rounds of knitting.  I have the first two days complete and am part way through Day three.  This year we are creating a colour work cowl - I opted for the smaller one as I knew that my month was going to be busy!  Here are my colours (although I may add some along the way - we shall see as the month progresses!

Second is the Chrismukkah scarf.  I dyed my own yarn for this and am thinking I will likely give it to my Mom for Christmas.  It has a lot of cabley goodness and will have clues released every other day (roughly) throughout Advent.  I have completed Clue #1 and have started Clue #2.  Clue #3 has also been released...  I am falling behind, but hope to catch up soon!

And third is a pair of Mystery Socks.  I have my yarn set aside and have freed up two pair of needles so I can knit these in tandem, but I have not had the time to cast them on yet.  Hopefully on Tuesday!

It has been a busy weekend and I am just now finding time to upload my post for today (at about 10:30pm)  I plan to take and post some progress pictures before next Sunday rolls around!

NaBloPoMo 2017 Day 30!!

Today is the final day of NaBloPoMo and I have managed to post each and every day this month!  I have amazed myself by doing this!  It has been a great experience and one I look forward to doing again next November!

Yesterday I finished one of my mystery socks and today I need to finish the second sock.  Today I also need to dye some yarn to have ready for casting on one of the mystery Advent scarves!  I think I have decided on a nice green shade and once it is complete I will give it to my Mom for a Christmas gift.  She loves green!  And I also need to pick out yarn for the second Advent scarf I plan to knit along with.  I already have the yarn for the December Mystery Socks chosen :)

Here is where my mystery socks are at now:

NaBloPoMo 2017 Day 29

Today is NaBloPoMo Day 29!!  Only one more day to post and I will have posted every day in November!  I am so impressed with myself!  Last year I missed two days so I have done better this year!  

Yesterday I spent my spare time working on my Mystery Socks and I am getting closer to having them all done!!  I suspect I will be able to finish them tonight or tomorrow!  Here is what they look like now:

After work today I need to get onto dying some yarn for one of the mystery Advent scarves I will be casting on Friday.  This way the yarn should be nice and dry and ready to cast on Friday morning!  I am excited to start some new projects!  I have been quite disciplined this past month or so and have only worked on WIPs without caving in to the temptation to cast on something new!  Well on Friday I am going to blow that out of the water by casting on three new things!

NaBloPoMo 2017 Day 28

Today is NaBloPoMo Day 28!!  Only two more days to post and I will have posted every day in November!  I am impressed with myself!

Yesterday I finished my Coffee Cantata Socks and am so happy to be able to cross them off my WIP list!  They were on my needles for far too long.  I am not happy with the finished product though.  I did not really enjoy the knit.  I wish I had used a different yarn - this one was not well suited to the pattern...  The pattern itself is lovely!  Here they are:

Today I am working form home.  The university is closed today because of a water main break.  They need to shut off the water and heat to get it fixed up today.  So I plan to spend my day alternating between doing some school stuff (I have a conference call training thing from noon to 1:30) and knitting on my mystery socks.  I got a few rounds done on that last night and hope to make some good progress today.  I am planning on adding those to the Finished Object pile this week!  I will be casting on some new things on Friday so I need to get some things off the needles!

Until tomorrow!

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2017 - Wrap Up

Today is NaBloPoMo Day 27 and my self-imposed WIP-it Down Week is over.  I have to go back to work today and my crafting time will be reduced again.  I think I had a very successful WIP-it Down Week!  I managed to get some work done on all my WIPs with the exception of one.  I finished one charity afghan and brought two project very close to completion.  My happiest accomplishment is in nearly finishing my Coffee Cantata Socks!  These have been languishing for such a long time and they are almost done now.  I had hoped to finish them yesterday but didn't quite make it - I am part way through the toe.  It will become a finished object after I get home from work this afternoon!!  Once I am finished my Coffee Cantata Socks I will get back to the Mystery Socks.  Those are also getting close to completion!  I imagine I might have those done by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest!

Here is where my Coffee Cantata Socks are at now (SO close!!):

So a summary of my WIPs and where they are at now:
1) Temperature Scarf - all caught up on rows and only a few ends to tuck in
2) Coffee Cantata Socks - so close to being done!
3) Mystery Socks - getting closer - I am on the foot of each sock now
4) Find Your Fade - shook the dust off this and got some work done on it
5) Sock Scrap-ghan - added some squares here
6) BAMKAL - I am all caught up now!  Only two squares to knit (and then 7 to block) and assembly.
7) BAMCAL - Got one afghan made, caught up on my squares, and ready to assemble the second afghan once the December squares are released (and made)

Seventh Year of Projects - Week 22

Today is Week 22 of the Seventh Year of Projects, NaBloPoMo Day 26, and Day 11 of my self imposed WIP-it Down Week!  This is the last day of my self imposed WIP-it Down week since I am back to work tomorrow morning and I had left this day to be a free day to choose whatever I wanted to work on.  I think I will work on my Coffee Cantata Socks today in hopes that I can finish them off!  That would be wonderful!  I have only one foot to finish and this is done!  Cross your fingers that you see a finished object tomorrow!

I also need to catch up on a few days worth of rows on my Temperature Scarf.  I neglected it for the past few days.  I need to do 6 days worth of rows (so a total of 12 rounds at 80 stitches per round).  I'll get that done first and then spend the rest of the day on my socks.

Yesterday I managed to get a fair bit of work done on my Find Your Fade Shawl.  I figured out where I left off and managed to add a goodly amount to it.  I finished off the garter section of the third color and it is ready for the lace section of that color next.  Here is what it looks like now:

This week coming up I am not sure what my crafting plans are.  My Thanksgiving break is over and it is back to work so that will cut into my crafting time.  I am hoping to get a few things off my WIP list.  I think I will focus on getting a few things off the needles this up coming week.  I will finish my Coffee Cantata socks if I don't finish them today and then I will move onto my Mystery Socks.  Those are also getting closer to completion.  The main reason I want to get a few finishes this week is because I have been drawn into three new projects which each begin on December 1st.  Two are mystery Advent scarves - both will release clues over the Advent season - one daily and the other every second day - and the third project is another mystery sock pattern.  That one will release clues four times over the month of December.  All three of these projects should be completed by the end of December.   

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2017 - Day 10

Today is NaBloPoMo Day 25 and Day 10 of my self imposed WIP-it Down Week.

I had a change of plans yesterday.  I had thought to sew together my BAMKAL squares, but I decided to hold off on and I will wait until the last squares are made.  I did however make the one extra I needed.  

I also finished the BAMCAL square that I had in progress from the day before.  I really like this square - the design and the color!  Bonus is that it is a fairly quick and easy square!

And we went out and did some Black Friday shopping.  By the time we ventured out in the late afternoon the crowds were mostly cleared out.  I had the most luck at Goodwill of all places!  Someone must have cleared out some of their paper crafting supplies because I found a few nice things that came home with me!  We went to Hobby Lobby but nothing I wanted was on sale so I left empty handed!  That might be a first for me!  But I was eyeing up a paper pack that I thought was on sale but was not.  I have a 40% off coupon so I may go back this afternoon and buy it.  I also want to go buy a pack of Tombow markers at Michaels but I am still mulling that over.  I'm not sure if I would rather stay home and relax or go out shopping...

The other Black Friday sale I hit up was Amazon and I ordered myself a new FitBit.  I had the old Charge and the strap gave out (after I had it replaced once before over a year before).  So I bought myself the newer Charge 2.  It was on sale for $99 (instead of $149).  I miss my old one so thought I should upgrade and get the newer model.  It should be here on Tuesday!

On the schedule for today is my Find Your Fade Shawl.  I have not worked on this for a while and it is due for some love!  I need to figure out where I left off and make sure my stitch count is on - when I last worked on it I thought I had my count off a bit - I'll get that figured out today and get back to working on this!  Here is where I am at the beginning of the day:

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2017 - Day 9

Today is NaBloPoMo Day 24 and Day 9 of my self imposed WIP-it Down Week.  I had a pretty productive day yesterday considering it was Thanksgiving and the hubby was home (although he slept a good part of the day since he works a midnight shift).

I finished the border on my first BAMCAL afghan!  It still needs a run through the washer and dryer to "block" it.  I am relatively happy with this afghan.  I don't love a few of the squares, but overall it is nice and will be loved by someone once I donate it.  Here is a close up of the simple border:

I also stitched together three four square blocks as well.  Now these are ready to sew in with the other twelve inch squares once I complete the rest of the November and December squares.  And I also got some work done on the remaining November squares!  I finished the four six inch squares (and sewed them together!).  Here is a picture of the four blocks (the top right one is the one I completed yesterday and the other three are the ones I joined together).

And I decided on an alternate for the Main November square that I was not happy with.  This one is a square I made for the 2011 BAMCAL and I like the look (and ease of making) it so decided that was the one I wanted to substitute in.  I got a start on it last night but was getting too sleepy to finish it.  This is as far as I got:

On the schedule for today is to work on sewing together my BAMKAL squares.  I don't think this will take all day and if I finish early I think I will go back to either my MOCKs or my Coffee Cantata socks.  Both are closer to completion and I would like to get them both done.  Since the Coffee Cantata socks are closer I suspect I will focus on those!  First off though I want to finish my substitute BAMCAL square!  It should not take too long (I hope), then I will move on to the BAMKAL square blocking (for those last few) and joining (of those squares already blocked).

And we may have to check out some Black Friday sales - after hubby is home from work and after he gets some sleep.  I suspect we will head out shopping later in the afternoon.

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2017 - Day 8

Today is NaBloPoMo Day 23 and Day 8 of my self imposed WIP-it Down Week. Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!!  I hope you have an amazing day.

I spent the majority of the day yesterday working on my MOCKs.  The final clue was released overnight and I found it when I crawled out of bed in the morning.  I managed to get a lot done on it today and am very happy with my progress!  Both gusset decreases are complete and I am moving down the foot on the first sock.  Here is what they look like now:

Today I plan to work on BAMCAL stuff.  First up I need to finish a few more rounds on the border of the first afghan so that I can call it DONE.  My original plan was to work on assembling the second BAMCAL afghan and I think I may hold off on that for a bit until all the squares are complete - that way I can make sure there is a nice balance of squares and colors.  I will join up all of the 6 inch squares into their larger part (I made four of each 6 inch square so I can simply join them to make extra 12 inch squares to fit with the rest of the 12 inch squares).  Once I have those 6 inchers attached to each other I will move on to working on the last of the November squares.  All of this is assuming I have time to do all of this.

We are not travelling for Thanksgiving nor are we having anyone over.  Hubby will be working the midnight shift so he will be snoozing a good part of the day.  I am cooking a small Thanksgiving type meal for us - roasting a chicken and making potatoes, stuffing, and some sort of veggie (likely corn) and also an apple crisp for dessert. 

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2017 - Day 7

Today is NaBloPoMo Day 22 and Day 7 of my self imposed WIP-it Down Week. 

Yesterday I worked on my BAMCAL squares and managed to have some success in finishing up a bit.  I was really challenged by the main square and I surrendered.  I was not enjoying working on it and decided that I did not want to fight with it any longer.  I will find something else to make that I will include in the next afghan.  

The November Alternate square was a quicker, easier square.  I enjoyed working on it!  Here it is:

And I got the first round of the border done on the afghan I stitched together the other day.  I need to decide what else I want to do for the border - a couple more rounds of single crochet in white? Or maybe one round in blue and another in white?  The one round I have finished is white.  I'll decide later.  I think I will add this to my list for tomorrow.  I would love to finish it!

Today the final clue for the Mystery Sock pattern was released ( I found the update when I got out of bed in the morning) and I will be happily knitting away on that as much as possible!  I really don't think I will be able to finish both of the socks today, but I will give it the old college try and see how far I can get!  

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2017 - Day 6

Today is NaBloPoMo Day 21 and Day 6 of my self imposed WIP-it Down Week.  I am amazed to be on the final third of the NaBloPoMo challenge I set for myself!  After today - only 9 more posts to go!  And I am about half way through my WIP-it Down Week!

Yesterday I spent my time working on my first BAMCAL afghan.  This one will be 4x4 twelve inch squares in size.  I think it will make a nice small afghan for some charity.  I suspect I may donate to Project Linus again.  I am happy to say that I managed to get all of the first afghan sewn together.  All that is left to do now is add a border!  I may put that on my schedule sometime before the Thanksgiving break is over since I know I can turn this into a FO quite easily now!  Here is a picture of what it looks like now:

It needs the border and then it will need a run through the wash to even out the squares (rough blocking with acrylic yarn!)  I am not 100% happy with all the squares, but I really want to stay true to the spirit of the Block a Month Crochet Along group.  I will admit that this year they selected several squares that were very challenging and it was not completely up my alley this time around.  The first time I did this in 2011 the squares were simpler and I think I enjoyed myself more with the challenge.  Maybe I'll wait another six years before I do another challenge!

Today the plan is to work on the three BAMCAL November squares that I have waiting for me.  Only the November and December squares to go and this year is in the bag!  

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2017 - Day 5

Today is NaBloPoMo Day 20 and Day 5 of my self imposed WIP-it Down Week.

I spent my spare time on Sunday working on my sock yarn Scrap-Ghan and managed to knit up 6 squares bringing me to a total of 101 squares so far!  Slowly I am making progress on this blanket!  I have quite a long way to go, but I did make some progress yesterday!  I really should do a few squares on this every week so that I can eventually finish it up!

Today the plan is to work on assembling the first (of two) BAMCAL afghans.  I need to lay out all the squares and decide on a pleasing arrangement.  Then we shall see how much I manage to get sewn together!!  I plan to donate this blanket to some charity once it (and others) are all done. 

Seventh Year of Projects - Week 21

Today is Week 21 of the Seventh Year of Projects, NaBloPoMo Day 19, and Day 4 of my self imposed WIP-it Down Week!

I had a good day yesterday and was successful in tucking in ALL the loose tails on my Temperature scarf!  It took most of the day (off and on) but I am happy to be completely caught up on that.  Now I need to try to keep up with the tails for the next six or so weeks until the end of the year!

The remains of the tails!

Today I plan to spend some quality time with my Sock Yarn Scrap-Ghan.  This poor blankie has been in progress for a long time now (I actually cast it on in July 2014!) and has not seen any love or attention is recent months.  It is time to shake the dust off it and see how many squares I can add!  I currently have 95 squares made - long way to go to finish this blankie - even if I make it a lap-ghan size (which I think I may do).  It currently measures 30 inches by 32 1/2 inches.  Each square is roughly 2 1/4 inches.

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2017 - Day 3

Today is NaBloPoMo Day 18 and Day 3 of my self imposed WIP-it Down Week.

Yesterday I spent all my crafting time on my Coffee Cantata Socks and I got a goodly amount done!  I now have a HO (half finished object).  One sock is complete and the second is ready for the foot to be knit.  It turned out I only needed to do rounds 34 though 54 and that gave me enough length for my foot.  My row gauge is wonky on these socks!  They are big and I am not really 100% happy with them.  I think it might be partly my yarn choice and partly a gauge issue.  They are too long in the leg and I can't pull them up my fat leg.  They are too loose in the heel as well, but the foot is a good length...  I suspect I will fold down the leg and wear them around the house.  Oh well, they are almost done now and I will be so happy to see the end of them!  Here is what they look like now:

On the schedule for today is to catch up on tucking in many, many tails on my Temperature scarf.  I also need to catch up on a couple days (4 days actually) worth of rows.  I have not tucked in tails since late June - OYE!  I don't actually think this will take a huge amount of time but we shall see though.  If I finish the tails with time to spare I think I will go back to my Coffee Cantata socks since those are getting closer to completion!

Here is a picture of all the tails waiting to be taken care of:

Holy Smokes - there are a LOT of tails to tuck in!!

Tomorrow morning I will show you a progress picture to show you what I accomplished during the day.

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2017 - Day 2

Today is NaBloPoMo Day 17 and Day 2 of my self imposed WIP-it Down Week.

Yesterday I finished up the third clue from the November MOCK.  The heel flaps and heel turns are now complete and I have to wait until Wednesday to get the final clue!  Here is what it looks like now:

And since I finished the third clue before the day was over I moved on to my Coffee Cantata socks.  Here is what they look like before I began working on them again this morning:

On the schedule for today are my Coffee Cantata socks.  I have completed both sets of gusset decreases now and am finally on the very last page of the charts!  Rows 34 through 72 are ready to be done - or maybe less than row 72 - I'll move onto the toe once the foot is long enough!  I hope to make some major progress on these things!  They have been WIPs for far too long!

Tomorrow morning I will show you a progress picture to show you what I accomplished during the day.  Check back to see how much closer to completion these Coffee Cantata socks are!!

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2017 - Day 1

Today is NaBloPoMo Day 16 and Day 1 of my self imposed WIP-it Down Week.

Yesterday I finished the November Alternate BAMKAL square.  Only two more squares to go and this year is complete.  At the end of the year I will have 24 squares (2 per month).  I think I will make one more random square so that the finished blanket is 5x5 squares in size.  I think that will make a nice small blanket that I can donate somewhere.   One of the days during WIP-it Down I plan to begin sewing the first 22 squares together!

The plan for today is to continue working on the November MOCK .  Clue #3 was released yesterday and I am ready to work on it today.  It is a relatively quick clue (only involves knitting the heel flaps and heel turns) so I suspect I will be done in plenty of time today to work on something else.  I think I will get moving on my Coffee Cantata socks - they are on my schedule for tomorrow so I might as well get a head start on them!

Here is where I am at the beginning of Thursday - WIP-it Down Day 1:

November MOCK end of Clue #2

Coffee Cantata - one gusset complete, one partial gusset

Tomorrow morning I will show you a progress picture to show you what I accomplished during the day.