Eighth Year of Projects - Week 26

We have reached the half way point on our Year of Projects!!  I suspect it is time to revisit my list and see if I am anywhere near what I originally planned or if I have ventured way off track!  Maybe I will redo my list!

This has been quite a productive week!!

1.  I have finished the design I was working on last week and it is set for publication in the near future.  I am allowed to show pictures of the design before publication, but am not allowed ot share the pattern.  Here is what the finished socks look like:

2. I have caught up on my Advent Scarf again!  This includes progress from December 13th through December 22nd!  Only a few more days to go and we are all done with this.  Next week I should be able to show you the finished and blocked item!!   

3. I have picked up my Rowe Cardigan again and managed to get some work done on the two front panels.  This will be my focus project once I am done with my Advent scarf and Christmas knitting is done.  I would love to have this complete before 2019 arrives!  My progress is from the blue marker.

4.  I have one last minute cast on to report...  I decided to make a last minute Christmas gift.  It is the Boyfriend Hat and it is knitting up very quickly!  I have about four inches done and need about six before the decreasing.  I hope to finish it up today, but still have tomorrow as well!

I posted a new podcast yesterday where I talk about each of these four projects.

Until next week everyone!!  Have a very Merry Christmas (or whatever holiday you happen to celebrate) and I will see you again soon!

Eighth Year of Projects - Week 25

Welcome back to another week of my Eighth Year of Projects!!

This week I have focused on two projects: my Advent Scarf and a new design.

My Advent Scarf has seen some progress but I am falling behind schedule a little bit!  I have completed the clues to the end of December 12th.  I plan to get onto that again later today or tomorrow and will soon be caught up again!  Here is what it looks like now (my progress this week is from the orange marker and each of the other markers shows the end of each day's clue)

I have spent the past few days working on a design that will soon be published!  The deadline is today!  I need to finish up the knitting (almost done!), fine tune the written pattern, and get some pictures of the finished object!  Here is a (poor quality) picture for you to see - I'll be able to post better pictures later!

I won two lots on an online auction earlier this week!  I won an antique J. Farnham spinning wheel!!  It needs a bit of TLC but is is wonderful condition considering it's age (likely from the early to mid 1800s!)  and it should be up and running fairly easily (I hope). 

I also won a few other random items which include several vintage (maybe antique?) items.  I have posted a couple videos about everything I won if you want to go check it out!

And I have been keeping up with Vlogmas!  Please feel free to check out my playlist with all my vlogs.

I also have posted a new podcast - episode 14!!

Eighth Year of Projects - Week 24

We are almost half way through this round of our Year of Projects!! 

I have had a fairly productive week and have a finish to show off!!  I have finished my Vanilla Christmas socks!  I love them!!  I suspect I will be casting on another pair of Christmas socks soon, but have another project that needs to be finished up first!

I spent a fair bit of time this week knitting on my Advent Scarf and am keeping up with the clues nicely!  I have not done today's clue, but I will be knitting that now that I am home from church for the afternoon!  Here is what it looks like now (my progress from last week is from the first orange marker - the second is marking where I left off after I filmed my podcast a couple days ago):

I have also been working on a secret project.  It is for a publication that will be coming out in the near future and I need to have the sample done by next Sunday.  I am about half way done the knitting now and will be focusing on this and my Advent scarf during the upcoming week.  I'll post pictures of the knit once I am free to do so!

I have been keeping up with Vlogmas this past week and am loving it!!  Here is a link to the playlist with all the Vlogmas videos included.  I also updated my podcast and published Episode 13 yesterday!  I can't believe I have been doing this for 13 weeks already!!  Here is the latest episode:

I have not been keeping up with posting for the Holidailies...  Oh well, something had to give in this busy time of year! 

That is about all!  See you all next week!!

Holidailies 2018 Day 3

I am running really late today!! I left for work fairly early this morning and then had the first of several Christmas parties to go to this evening.  I will leave a quick note here for today though - even though it is getting closer to bedtime!

I am falling a bit behind on my Advent scarf...  I will catch up again tomorrow though.  I am almost done with the clue from yesterday and still have today's clue to work on.  I am too tired now to try working on it so I'll get back onto it tomorrow when I am more rested!

Here is my Day 2 of Vlogmas:

Eighth Year of Projects - Week 23

Welcome to my Eighth Year of Projects post for Week 23!  It is hard to believe we are almost half way through the year already!  And I think I have posted every week so far!

Life is keeping busy.  We have one more week of classes to go and then one week for final exams and then I am off until early January (I think we need to be back for an all day faculty development day on Thursday January 3rd and classes resume the following Monday).  I have my students writing their final exam on the Wednesday of finals week and plan to get the grading done up quickly and turned in.  My online class will have to turn in their final projects by the end of the day on Monday during finals week.  That allows me all day Tuesday for grading that before my other class writes on Wednesday.  If all goes according to plan I will have all my grades turned in before I go home on Wednesday!

Enough rambling about work related stuff - you are here for my weekly update aren't you??  I have made some progress on three WIPs.  I have spent some time working on my Vanilla Christmas socks and I have about an inch or two left to knit on the feet before it is time to begin the toe decreasing.  Maybe you will see a finished object next week!

I have made little progress on my Julenatt Mittens and I am falling farther behind...

I have spent most of my spare knitting time this past week working on my Advent 2018 Scarf.  I have been keeping up with this one so far mostly) and that makes me happy!  Here is my progress up to the middle of yesterday - I will finish yesterday and today later today (each marker indicates the end of a day):

I am also participating in Vlogmas where I am posting a vlog each and every day throughout the Advent season.  I may continue after the 25th, but we shall see!  Check out my Vlogmas 2018 playlist on YouTube to see my daily postings.  Here is Day 0 (posted on December 1st):

And Day 1 was posted earlier this morning:

I also posted my regular podcast yesterday:

And finally, I am participating in Holidailies where I will challenge myself to blog every day in December!  See you again soon!

Holidailies Day 1

Hello and welcome to Holidailies 2018!!  I am challenging myself to post each and every day throughout the month of December.  I am also participating in Vlogmas and will likely link several of the vlogs into the blogs...

My "theme" for the Holidailies will revolve around my knitting, vlogging, and my general activities throughout the days.  I have three Advent calendars that I will open each day until Christmas: a tea Advent calendar, a chocolate Advent calendar, and a sock yarn mini Advent calendar.

Here we go!!

NaBloPoMo 2018 Day 30

And we have made it through NaBloPoMo 2018!!  30 consecutive days of posting!  YAY!

I continue to keep up with my Advent Scarf. Here is my progress up to the end of today:

The next challenge I am making for myself in the month of December is two fold.

First I will be participating in Vlogmas 2018 where I will post a vlog each and every day from December 1st through December 25th.  I might continue until the end of December, but we shall see.  I will post a vlog on December 1st that will explain what my plans are.  I will film that today and will post it the morning of December 1st as Day 0.  On December 1st I will film all sorts of my activities and will post the video for Day 1 on the morning of December 2nd.  Hope this makes sense!

Second I will be participating in Holidailies 2018 where I will challenge myself to post a blog post each and every day in December!  Hopefully I will manage this as well, although December is lining up to be a busy month! 

Keep posted to see how I do on these challenges!

NaBloPoMo 2018 Day 29

Second last day of NaBloPoMo!!  I'm going to make it!

Yesterday I managed to continue to keep up with my Advent Scarf and have finished up Day 5 now (and am ready to work on Day 6 over a cup of tea!)  Here is the newest progress picture:

And I spent a bit of time working on my Vanilla Christmas socks last night.  They are getting closer to completion, but still have a little way to go, especially since I have large feet...

I hit my NaKnitMo goal yesterday!!  I have knit 51,286 stitches so far this month!  And I have two days left to go so I will have a few more stitches to add to the total!

It seems that my posts are getting shorter and shorter as the month progresses!  I suppose there is less to chat about when I am here every day!

NaBloPoMo 2018 Day 28

Only two more days after today left in my NaBloMoPo challenge!! I think I will make it this year!

Yesterday I managed to keep up with my Advent Scarf and finished Clue #4.  I'll work on Clue #5 this morning over my cup of tea before I head to work.  This evening we are at church so I will work on my Vanilla Christmas socks there.

And I finished the first cuff on my Julenatt Mittens.  The next clue came out this morning but I still have the previous clue to finish.  I suspect I may give these away as the cuff is a drop snug on my hand.  I don't have the right size needles to go up a size either. Oh well.  Here is what my cuff looks like:

NaBloPoMo 2018 Day 27

Hello everyone! Another day of working and trying to squeeze a bit of crafting in!

So far today I have managed to finish the daily clue for the Advent Scarf and I will be spending some time later today working on my Julenatt Mittens.  I am hoping to finish the first two clues on at least one mitten before Clue #3 comes out tomorrow morning...  I am not sure if I will make it or not.  We are hoping to go watch the movie Ralph Breaks the Internet this evening so that will use up some of my knitting time.

Here is what my scarf looks like now at the end of day 4:

I also thought I should give you an update on my NoKnitMo challenge - my goal is to knit 50000 stitches in the month of November.  So far I have knit 46148 stitches.  It looks promising that I will hit my goal!!

Until tomorrow!

NaBloPoMo 2018 Day 26

Almost done with NaBloPoMo 2018!  4 more days to go! 

Today's entry is short and sweet and very late!  It was back to work today...  We were out the door fairly early and are finally back home almost 12 hours later.  Not much on the crafting front was accomplished today.  All my productivity from last week was not my "normal" - it was the benefit of having time off work where I could sit at home knitting to my heart's content!  But I am back to the real world again.  Yesterday I worked on my Vanilla Christmas socks and managed to add about 5 more rounds to both feet.  I also finished up the second clue on my Advent Scarf.  Here is what the scarf looks like before I started on Clue #3 this morning (and only completed three rows this morning - I will be knitting this evening for a while!)

Eighth Year of Projects - Week 22

Today is Week 22 of the Eighth Year of Projects, NaBloPoMo Day 25, and Day 11 of my self imposed WIP-it Down Week!  

I have had a very productive week!  I have worked on each and every WIP over the past eleven days of my WIP-it Down Week and I am sad that the week is nearly over (and that I need to go back to work on Monday).  Oh well, the Christmas break is not far off now!

My Sock Scrap-ghan looks the same as it did last week so I won't bother showing an update picture :)

I made progress on my Vanilla Christmas socks - I have finished the gusset decreasing and am moving down the foot now.  Here is where I am:

I made progress on my new sock design too.  I had the cuff done some time ago and now have added two repeats on the leg.  I am considering whether to add one more repeat or not.  I am leaning towards adding it...  Here is where I am now:

I worked on my Rowe Cardigan and have finished the ribbing on both the front pieces.  I am knitting these two at a time to make sure they are both nice and even.  Next up I need to get moving up the cable portion! 

And I worked on my Texture Time Shawl.  I am still a long way from being close to finished this.  I am not even half way done yet, but I am still enjoying the knit!

I also cast on two new projects this week.  I know - I was on a WIP-it Down mission, but...

New cast on number 1 - the Advent 2018 Scarf.  I knit the initial ribbing and the daily clues began to appear yesterday.  I am working on Day 2 right now.  here is a picture of what it looked like at the end of Day 1:  (the markers will show the end of each daily clue)

New cast on number 2 - the Julenatt Mittens (a Mystery Mitten KAL by Skeindeer Knits).  The first clue for these came out on November 21st and the second clue came out yesterday.  I am still working on Clue #1 on mitten #1.  Here is what they look like now:

And finally I posted my newest podcast early this morning.  

Over the next week I plan to try to keep up with my two new KALs.  I also have bought some fabric and I want to try to sew myself a couple of project bags!  Hopefully I will have those to show you next week!

Until then...  

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2018 - Day 10

Well today is the second last day of my WIP-it Down week...  I plan to spend the day working on a couple projects.  I finished the first clue on my Advent 2018 scarf (I had done the ribbing the other day and the regular clues began this morning).  Here is what the scarf looks like after today (each marker will show the end of each clue):

And next up is to work on my Julenatt Mittens.  I hope to get the cuffs done or to complete the second clue on one sock today. I have yet to decide if I am going to do one sock first or do them two at a time in tandem.  The second clue was released this morning and I have done 8 rounds on the first clue on the first sock.  Maybe I will catch up today! 

And I filmed and edited my podcast this morning - I will upload it later today once it finishes exporting to my hard drive. 

I plan to go and watch a movie with the hubby - and knit.  It is a rainy, dreary day here!  Until tomorrow!

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2018 - Day 9

Back for another day!  Yesterday we had a yummy Thanksgiving meal and had a wonderful, lazy day.  Not a very colorful meal, but tasty!

I spent my spare time getting a goodly amount of knitting done on my Texture Time Shawl and made some decent progress.  I am still a long way from done, but am still happily knitting away at it.  Here is what I did yesterday (progress is from the blue marker):

This morning we have been out already and went to visit a friend who is in the hospital.  Hopefully she will be going home tomorrow!  The we went to Walmart and I stocked up on some fabric to try to sew myself a couple projects bags.  Here is the loot I bought: 

I plan to work on the bags tomorrow.  This afternoon and evening I think I will either continue with my Texture Time Shawl or I will work on my Rowe Cardigan.  I am leaning towards my Shawl...  Check back tomorrow to see what I decided on!

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2018 - Day 8

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the United States who happen to be reading this today!  I plan to spend my day cooking (nothing too strenuous!), eating, and knitting!  Sounds like a good day to me!

Yesterday I worked on my Vanilla Christmas Socks and added ten more rounds to both feet.  Slowly making some progress! 

And I cast on the Julenatt Mittens by Skeindeer Knits (her current mystery mitten pattern).  Clue #1 came out yesterday and I got a little bit done on that (only eight rounds on the first mitten).  This clue has us doing the cuff and I like the way it is looking!  Here is the little bit I have done (it is so small that I need to hold on to it to photograph the poor thing!):

Today I plan to work on my Texture Time Shawl.  I am hoping to finish Clue #3 on the first half of the shawl today - we shall see if I manage that!

Hubby and I are spending a quiet Thanksgiving Day together.  We got ourselves a small turkey (8 pounds) and I'll get that into the oven a bit later.  We also plan on having corn, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. It won't be very colorful, but it will be delicious!! 

Until tomorrow my friends ♥

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2018 - Day 7

Here we are back for another day on my self-imposed WIP-it Down Week! 

Yesterday I got a goodly amount done, plus we went out and did some shopping too.  I finished the ribbing section on the two front panels of my Rowe Cardigan.  Here is what it looks like now:

And I cast on the ribbing portion of my Advent 2018 Scarf.  I think my hand dyed yarn will work out just fine!  I am excited for the new clues to begin coming out every day later this week!  Here is what the ribbing looks like:

We also went out and did some shopping yesterday.  I found a few things - a couple knitting books, some little Christmas decoration things (lights - which will probably make an appearance in my next podcast), and a laminator (found this at my local Goodwill for $4 - I have no sheets for it so I will have to wait to test it out!)

I am not 100% sure what today holds!  I am thinking I may do some sewing and work on a project bag - I just need to decide on what pattern to try!  I suspect it will be a drawstring bag with a boxed bottom.  And the first clue for Skeindeer's Mystery Mittens (Julenatt) came out earlier this morning.  I imagine I will cast those on today as well.  The second clue comes out on the weekend.  I think I may be missing the point of my WIP-it Down Week!!  hehe  Here is my yarn selection for the mystery mittens:

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2018 - Day 6

Welcome to another day of my self imposed WIP-it Down Week! 

Yesterday I managed to get a goodly amount done on my new sock design!  I am nearly finished the leg!  I am contemplating where the best round is to transition into the heel flap and I may have another 4 rounds to go before I am ready for that.  I'll mull it over until it is time to pick up the socks again for their second day during WIP-it Down Week!  Anyway, here is what it looks like now:

Today I plan to work on the two front pieces on my Rowe Cardigan.  I may also cast on and do the ribbing on my Advent 2018 scarf but I will see.  If I finish the ribbing early then I will get moving on the scarf and will come back to the Rowe Cardigan after I have finished the ribbing. Or at least that is my plan so far this morning!  The hubby and I may run out to do a bit of shopping today also.  If we do that it will eat into my knitting time...  What a tough life :)

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2018 - Day 5

Back for another WIP-it Down day!  Today I am going to spend all my knitting time working on my sock design.  When I last worked on this I left off after four rounds beyond the cuff - so basically not much was done...  Here is a picture of where I was at the beginning of the day - here is hoping for a decent amount of progress!

Yesterday I got a good amount of work done on my Vanilla Christmas socks.  I picked up all the gusset stitches on both socks and managed to get all the way to the end of all the gusset decreases before I turned in for the day.  Not to continue along the feet, although with a size ten foot that takes a little while...  Here is what the socks look like now:

Until tomorrow everyone!!  I think tomorrow has my Rowe Cardigan as my project of the day!  Looking forward to working on the two front panels!