Eighth Year of Projects - Week 13

Welcome to another weekly update!! 

This week I managed to finish my Bicycle Race socks and they are gorgeous (if I must say so myself!).  I enjoyed this knit!

I also got some more work done on my Sockhead Slouch Hat and made some decent progress.  I finished off the brim and got some of the plain stockinette done.  I plan to work on this some more in the upcoming week when I need something mindless to knit.  Here is what it looks like now:

And I have some progress to show on my Rowe cardigan.  I am finally back to working on this.  I started figuring out what more needed doing on the back and discovered that I needed a whole four rows of shoulder shaping to finish it up...  If I had know that I likely would have finished the back ages ago!  Oh well.  The back is now complete and some of the stitches are sitting on a cable until it is time to finish. 

I also got going on the sleeves too.  I cast on the sleeves.  I decided to do them two at a time so that I can make sure my increasing and shaping matches and so that once I am done knitting them they are both complete - no issues with having to cast on the second sleeve and do it all over again!  Right now I have about 2.5 inches of the four needed for the cuffs.  Here is my progress:

And I uploaded Episode 2 of my podcast last night!!  Thanks for your support ♥  Here is the link to episode 2 (don't worry, this episode is only about a half hour - not as long as last week!):

See you next week!!

Eighth Year of Projects - Week 12

Back for another update!!

I was hoping that I would have finished my Bicycle Race socks by today, but I didn't quite make it.  I did make some serious progress, but not enough.  Maybe for next week!  My progress from the last time I posted is from the blue markers!  Here is where they are now:

I spent some time working on my Sockhead Slouch Hat and have made some great progress.  I am getting into the next color from the gradient and am excited to see what it looks like after a bit more is done on it.  I am also almost ready to switch to the plain stockinette portion.  I have maybe a half inch to an inch left to do of the ribbing.  Here is what it is looking like:

And I started a podcast yesterday!!  I have been mulling over doing this for some time now and finally took the plunge!  Come on over and take a look when you have a moment!  Like and subscribe if you enjoyed it!  I am hoping to post a new video every week (or every two weeks if life is too busy) and am aiming for something between 30-60 minutes.  It is mostly about knitting! Here is a link:

Eighth Year of Projects - Week 11

Here we are with another week flown past!!  This week has been busy at work and I am beginning to suspect that this is my new "normal"...  Oh well, the money is helpful in keeping me in the lifestyle I have become accustomed to!

This past week I have been monogamous and in being so I have finished my Flibbertigibbet socks!!  I love them!! 

And I am ready to cast on something new.  I have only three WIPs!! and they are each not good for travel and knitting away from home, so I need something mindless (and I don't feel for a pair of vanilla socks at the moment!).  So I have a skein of yarn that I played around with and dyed into a long, gradual gradient that I will be using to make myself a Sockhead Slouch Hat.  I plan to start with the darker and finish it at the crown with the lighter shade.  I plan to make the slouch as long as necessary to use up most of the yarn! 

This upcoming week I plan to work on my Sockhead hat when I am away from home (and have time to knit while away...) and I also plan to get some more work done on my other pair of cabled socks from Tour-de-Sock.  I worked a few rounds on those yesterday, but not enough to be able to see a difference from the last time I posted pictures.  

Eighth Year of Projects - Week 10

Hello!!  Back for another week.  This week was also busy with work and I did not accomplish as much knitting as I had hoped.  Oh well - at least I did get in some knitting time so that is good. 

I worked on my Flibbertigibbet socks this past week and am done one set of gusset decreases and about half way through the gusset on the second sock.  Maybe they will be finished for next week?  The next round of Tour de Sock began yesterday morning and I think I am going to pass on them - they are an unusual construction and I know I will not have time to devote to them to finish in ten or so days.  They are interesting looking so maybe I will try them at a later date - we shall see!  

Check back next Sunday and see if I finished anything!!

Eighth Year of Projects - Week 9

Back on track with my weekly updates!  This week has been busy since we are back at university and I have had classes to teach.  I did find some time in the evenings to cast on a new project (and no I have not finished my ongoing projects...)  The newest round in Tour de Sock begin on Monday and I like the pattern so I decided to cast it on.  I am finished the first leg and am about half way down the second leg.  I hope to have these done by the deadline of September 1st!  We shall see.

Here is my progress on Flibbertigibbet:

I hope I have a finish to show you next week! 

Eighth Year of Projects - Week 8

Alrighty, I seem to be settling into a regular routine again!  It has been a busy week with all sorts of meetings and things before the semester starts up again.

I had a four hour online meeting earlier this week and managed to complete two pet snuggles while we all talked and went over things.

And I spent some time working on my Tour Socks.  The next pattern comes out tomorrow morning - I am not sure if I will cast it on or not - I will decide once I see the pattern!  I will likely not finish this pair in time to have this pair of needles free, but I do have plenty of needles!!  My progress since last week is from the blue stitch markers down.  I did not touch one sock and finished the leg on the second (plus a few rows into the gusset increases on the second one).  My progress picture shows both the front (blue marker mid way down the leg) and the back (blue marker at the bottom). This is a fun knit with cables and beads!

A little short and sweet this week.  I just wanted to be sure to get my post done this week!!  Take care everyone!  Catch you all next week!

Eighth Year of Projects - Weeks 6 & 7

I have been missing in action or the past two weeks and am posting this late!  This week I am settling back into my new normal routine so I will be back to my weekly posting!

Over the past two weeks we took a road trip to Manitoba (from Pennsylvania).  We covered 3285 miles!  It was a wonderful trip but I did very little knitting and lots of visiting with family and friends.  One goal we had was to go through a bunch of stuff in my Mom's house and to pack up a few things to bring back with us.  My Mom is fine, but she is wanting to start downsizing a bit and my sister and I were able to help her go through a bunch of stuff.  I brought back with me some amazing treasures!  The most loved thing is my great grandmother's spinning wheel!!  She brought it to Canada from Iceland with her in 1905.  I am not sure how old it is but it is certainly more than 100 years old.  She used it until her passing in 1958.  Since then it has been unused.  It has all it's parts and pieces and appears to be in working order although the band that goes around the wheel is not attached - it is there but needs to be put back in place.  It also needs a good cleaning.  This will be a winter project for me and I plan to learn to spin on this beauty!!  i will write up another post in the next few weeks with pictures and descriptions of everything I brought back with me, but for now here is a teaser picture of the spinning wheel:

In terms of knitting progress - I added three squares to my scrap-ghan and got started on my Tour de Sock Stage three socks.  I did not finish them during the time window and have not cast on the next stage yet.  I suspect I will continue with these cabled beauties and will get back on track with the next round.  The yarn is more red than it is appearing in this picture.

I am back at work with all sorts of meetings and pre-semester stuff going on.  Classes begin next week and I am not ready yet!!  Oh well...

Until next week!

Eighth Year of Projects - Week 5

Another week another finish!!  Don't expect this rate to continue!  The next round of Tour de Sock finishes up on Tuesday and I managed to finish my Odensjön Socks on Saturday!  I love the design but they are too small for my big feet.  I think I may give them to a co-worker for her birthday in August - I suspect she is knit worthy!  She did give me some raw fleece from her son's sheep (which I still have to work with!)  Here are the socks (there is a noticeable difference in the color of the yarn from one end to the other of the skein...):

It is a bit of a short post this week.  I basically spent all my spare time on my Tour socks!  I did do part of one little mitered square on my sock yarn scrap-ghan.  I plan to work on it a bit more this afternoon.

I'm not sure how much progress I will make over the next two weeks.  We are driving up to Manitoba (home) for a quick visit.  It will be four days of driving, a week visit, and four days driving back.  I am picking up some antiques from my Mom's place so we need our car to transport them!  I am bringing back a vase my grandmother painted back in the 1940s (or there abouts), an old Singer sewing machine in the original cabinet, and the best part - my great grandmother's spinning wheel (plus a bunch of things that go with it - a carder, a drum carder, bobbins, and some other stuff that I will investigate more).  I am not sure just how old the spinning wheel is, but Mom thinks she brought it to Canada from Iceland when she moved in the early 1900s (around 1905 if memory serves me right).  You can bet I will be posting pictures of all this goodness once I am back.  I hope to get the sewing machine and the spinning wheel functioning again!  The wheel likely has not been used since the 1950s and Mom said there is a little belt missing, but thinks the rest is good.  We shall see!!

I'll try to post while I am away, but I really don't think I will have much knitting time even though I will be taking along what I need to cast on the next socks for the Tour (which will be released on Tuesday evening).  I will be doing most of the driving - we prefer it that way :)

Eighth Year of Projects - Week 4

Hello everyone!!  Back for another weekly update on my projects!  I had a pretty productive week!

First I finished my Plan A Socks for Stage 1 of Tour de Sock.  I did finish them in time to qualify for a point!  I am not really that competitive in this competition and never expect to win anything, but it is nice to get a few points!  I was quite disappointed with my yarn choice for this pattern.  It does not show off the pattern at all.  I have two more 50 gram skeins of this in blue and four in shades of brown.  I suspect I will just do simple vanilla socks with the rest of the yarn.  Here is what my finished socks look like (the stitch markers are showing the end of each repeat) and a close up of the stitch detail:

And Stage 2 - Odensjon Socks - began on Wednesday.  I am really enjoying this pattern!  But I am finding something interesting with the yarn.  I am using some Madelinetosh twist light that I bought somewhere quite some time ago and there is a clear difference in the color from one end of the skein to the other.  I caked up the skein and am knitting from the middle and the outside at the same time (I like to knit my socks two at a time in tandem).  The middle is more of a light blue/gray and the outside is clearly quite a lot lighter a shade of gray.  Weird!!  Either this skein is one long super gradual gradient or there was a fair bit more color at one end.  Oh well.  Maybe this Tour will be my one with some kind of "issue" with every yarn choice I make :)  Anyway, I managed to get to the end of both heel turns before I hit the hay last night.  Today I will move on to the gussets and the feet.  I suspect I will have these done by next week's update!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!!  Take care and I'll see you next Sunday!

Eighth Year of Projects - Week 3

Back for another week!  I have not made as much visible progress as last week, but I have been busy with work stuff...  I did spend all of my knitting time on my Plan A socks - the Stage One pattern for Tour de Sock.  I am about half to two thirds of the way through the gusset decreases (two thirds through one and about half done the second sock).  The Stage Two pattern will be out at noon (1pm in my time zone) on Wednesday so I am hoping to have these bound off by then so I can get a point for finishing within the allowed competition time frame. 

Here is what the socks look like right now - my yarn choice is not the best match for this pretty design...  I am hoping it shows up a bit better once it is all finished and on my feet! 

On Sunday afternoon we went to a nearby reservoir and plopped our lawn chairs down in a shady spot and just sat and enjoyed nature - it was lovely!!  Lots of people out on kayaks enjoying the nice weather.

Until next week everyone!! 

Eighth Year of Projects - Week 2

Hello everyone!!  It has been a fun, busy week here.  I have a finish and a new cast on!!  And I remembered one more pattern that I want to add to my list for 2018-19.

I finished my Miriam socks!  I really like these ones!  I enjoy color work and especially enjoy when the simple strip pattern!  It seems so easy to get into a rhythm when the colors change so evenly!  Here is what they look like all done up:

And the Stage 1 pattern for Tour de Sock 2018 (Plan A) came out yesterday so I decided on my yarn and got them cast on!  The hints for this design said to go wild with colorful yarn so I had narrowed down my choices to several of my different variegated yarns.  I can never really choose a yarn and commit to it before I see the pattern - my choice often changes once I see the actual pattern!  Anyway, I cast on and did a bit of knitting!  I managed to finish both cuffs and got a start on the first leg.  I hope to get quite  lot done on this during the upcoming week!

I also worked on some pet snuggles this past week - they make for extra simple TV knitting (I mean crocheting!).  I have two finished and a third has been started.  Here are the two that are finished (except for the ends that need to be tucked in):

And I remembered one more project that I wanted to include in my list of projects to make this year.  It is the Sockhead hat design.  I am looking forward to knitting this one up - it seems like a nice, easy knit and I can use up one of my pretty skeins of sock yarn for it!!  Which yarn - who knows yet!!

Well that's my progress this first week of YoP 18-19!!  Off to see what others have done!  Until next week!

Eighth Year of Projects - Week 1

I am back for another Year of Projects!!  Last year was my best year - in terms of posting almost every week!  I did not stick to my list as well as I could have, but I did manage to create a lot!  I used up quite a bit of stash and finished several WIPs that I had hanging around the apartment.  This upcoming year I plan to have just as much fun as last year!  I also am setting a goal to complete at least 12 projects over the year.  I should be able to meet this goal!

Ongoing works in progress:
1) Lambs and Chickens and Bunnies, Oh My! - cast on April 23rd 2017 (one sock complete although I am suspecting I may leave this as a single sock and will likely never finish the second sock...  Maybe I should make myself a collection of single socks as an art display?)

2) Sock Scrap-ghan - cast on July 24th 2014 (time to keep moving with this one!!  I currently have 101 squares complete!  Many of you may recognize that this is another long term project that slid through YOP7 without much love)

3) Rowe Cardigan - I cast this on early in 2018 and am very close to having the back complete now.  I need to get back to working on this one as I would like to have it ready to wear this upcoming winter!!

4) Miriam Socks (Tour-de-Sock 2018 Warm-Up pattern)

New plans for using stash include:

1) Stole of Many Minis - I'll use my sock leftovers for this one and will need to find a dark contrasting color as well (hopefully stash!) 
2) 198 Yards of Heaven - use Cascade yarn (this has been on my YoP list several years now - maybe this year I will get it done!!
3) Like a Cloud - use Misti Alpaca (and the lace weight I ordered the other day...)
4) Vertices Unite - use some of my existing sock yarn stash for this one - I have plenty!
5) Pet Snuggles - I plan to continue making these over the next year.  My goal is 12 (or one a month).  This is a great way to use up my old acrylics!

Plus I know I will find all sorts of fun things and fun KALs to join along during the year!  I will be participating in Tour de Sock (again) and Sock Madness (again) so those two will generate several sock projects!  I also suspect I will be drawn to some mystery KALs along the way!  

My goal for this year is to complete 24 projects!  Let's see if I can keep up the same pace as last year!

Seventh Year of Projects - Week 51 & 52

I missed posting last week since I was away traveling and had really spotty internet access at all the hotels we were at (or so it seemed).  While away I did almost zero crafting.  I managed to add less than one inch to my Miriam socks!  We got home on Friday late afternoon and on Saturday I spent some nice quality time with my yarn and needles and managed to get some serious progress made! I am ready for the heel turn on one sock and about a third of the way along the heel on the second.  The markers show where I was last time I posted.  I hope to get these finished in the upcoming week!  Here is where I am now:

I can't believe the Seventh Year of Projects is all done!!  I am so amazed that I kept up and posted nearly every week for the past year!!  I think I missed only two (or maybe three) weeks!  I am excited to begin the Eighth Year of Projects!!  I need to get going on creating a list for next year (and likely won't follow it anyway if my past participation is any indication!).

I want to recap what my plans had been for YOP7 and see what I actually accomplished.  I will post an update on that during the week.

Seventh Year of Projects - Week 50

So close to the end of the year!!  I am amazed!

I am away at a conference this week and likely won't get much knitting done.  This past week I have only had a bit of time to do some knitting but have made some progress on my socks.  Here is what they look like now:

Time to go shower and head out to the transit station so I can get tot he conference!  Until next week!

Seventh Year of Projects - Week 49

We are getting so close to the end of the Seventh Year of Projects!!  I am thrilled at how well I have kept up this year!  And I am getting excited for next year!

This past week I finished my Vanilla Socks.

I spent some time on my new design but I am sorry to say you will have to wait some time to see what I am working on.  I promise to show it off once I can!

I worked up a few pet snuggles - 5 to be exact.  The top three were done in May and the bottom two were done in June.  These crochet up pretty quickly and are a nice change of pace (and work my hands differently) from knitting!  I have a couple ends to weave in yet but that won't take much time at all.

And I broke down and cast on something new...  I signed up for Tour-de-Sock again this year and they released the Warm Up pattern on Friday.  I like it and decided to give it a go!  So far I have one and a half cuffs done.  Once the cuffs are done the color work begins!  I am using a darker burgundy to go along with this pink speckled!

I suspect this upcoming week will have me focusing on my Tour socks and my secret design.  Come back next week and see my progress