O is for Organization

O is for organization (or lack thereof!)  This is something I need to seriously work on!!  I will admit that my organizational skills are lacking and that I need to spend some time getting things of mine all tidy and organized (hmmm it might make things easier to find!!).  A case in point - here is a picture of the contents of my little case that holds most of my knitting needles and extra notions - it is sadly in need of a tidy-up!!

I have quite a few circular needles in several sizes and lengths and I have lots of double point needles in multiple sizes - all of these need to be organized somehow so that they are easy to access and use!  Then there are oodles of stitch markers that I should get all organized so that I can use more of them.  I have a few regulars that I use all the time and the others are neglected and not used - that is a bit of a shame!!  I hope to work out an organization plan this summer and plan to get this little box all put to rights!!  Wish me luck!!

February and March 2016 Finished Objects

I plan to continue the numbering from the previous month so that I have a total number of FOs at the end of 2016 without having to go back and count from each month.  Here is what I finished in January.  I meant to post this each month, but got behind...  Let's see if I can keep up the trend now and until 2016 is done!

February 2016 Finished Objects:
5) Hitchhiker - finished knitting February 9th 2016
6) Herding Cats Double Knit Mittens - finished knitting February 16th 2016 (I will link to the pattern page as soon as it is available - this is to my project page)
7) Herding Cats Stranded Mittens - finished knitting February 23rd 2016 (I will link to the pattern page as soon as it is available - this is to my project page)

March 2016 Finished Objects:
8) Sock Madness Round 1 Socks - finished knitting March 12th 2016
9) Into the Forest Socks - finished knitting March 18th 2016
10) Sock Madness Round 2 Socks - finished knitting March 26th 2016

N is for Notions

N is for notions - all those little extra things that are needed for knitting (or crocheting).  Here is what I feel are my essential knitting notions:

This includes a six inch wood ruler that doubles as a row marker, a retractable tape measure, stitch markers (both closed and ones that open - all stored in an ald Altoids type tin), scissors (mine happen to be bandage scissors that my husband bought when he was in nursing school many, many years ago), darning needles (happily in their needle nest - a little magnetic case), a pen and a pencil, and last lip balm (granted I may have a problem with lip balm - I have them everywhere!! I have at least five on the go at any given time - one my my computer, one on my bedside table, one in my purse, one on my desk at work, and one in my car).

What are your most needed notions??

M is for Madness (Sock Madness)

M is for Madness (Sock Madness).  Sock Madness is a speed sock knitting competition hosted on Ravelry.  With this competition you are placed into teams of people who are of similar skill and speed levels.  In each round there are a specific number of people that will advance to the next round.  For example in Round 2 the fastest 40 people on each team advanced to Round 3,  In round 3 the fastest 30 people advance.  This continues until there is one person on each team left and then in the final round the last person on each team competes with the fastest on each of the other teams.  The first one of all of the teams wins the whole competition.  Confused??  I have entered four times now (four years in a row) and have done OK but come nowhere near winning.

My first year was Sock Madness 7 in 2013 and I was eliminated in Round 5.  I was amazed I lasted that long!!

Completed socks in Sock Madness 7

My second year (Sock Madness 8) I was also eliminated in Round 5...  There were also some bonus rounds (non-competition) for us to knit as well.

Completed socks in Sock Madness 8

My third year (Sock Madness 9) I submitted a design that was selected to be used in the competition!!  I was eliminated in that round that year (haha).  I spent more time focusing on following the threads and helping out that I did not knit my own pair fast enough!  LOL

Completed socks in Sock Madness 9

And now we are mid way through Sock Madness 10!!  Round 3 is underway now and I have made it safely through this round and am ready for Round 4.  Here's hoping I make it into Round 5 again!  Maybe I will make it to Round 6 one year!  I doubt it, there are some lightening fast knitters in this competition. The final round each year frequently has someone finishing knitting an entire pair of socks is less than 24 hours (I don't think they sleep and I imagine there is smoke coming from their needles!)

Completed socks in Sock Madness 10

L is for Lace

L is for knit lace.  At it's simplest, lace is nothing more than adding intentional holes in your knitting.  Creating lace pieces is such a delight!!  Initially the knit piece looks like a crumply mess, but once it is blocked - magic!!  The lace opens up and becomes a beautiful thing!!

Here is an example of before and after blocking lace.  This is Haruni and was my first "fancy" lace shawl that I knit for myself.  I love it!!!

Before blocking

After blocking

And a close up because I love this design!!

K is for Knitting

K is for knitting!  I most certainly love knitting!  I learned the basics of knitting in my early teenage years from my grandmother, but I did not really spend much time with it until I has quite a few years older.  I picked it up again in my 20s or maybe early 30s and spent some time with it then, although I put it aside again.  I have picked it up again about ten years ago and there has been no looking back!  At one point in my life I spent far more time with crochet and now I spend far more time with knitting.  Now I almost exclusively knit with a few crochet breaks (although I still very much enjoy both!).  I have grown and developed my skills and comfort with all sorts of knitting techniques.  I have grown from basic knit and purl stitches (with uneven tension and slow speeds) to creating and designing my own knit patterns.  There are still some knitting techniques that I want to learn, but now I have no fear or worries about trying them!

J is for Joining Squares

J is for joining squares.  For some people sewing squares together is pure torture and is something that they dread doing.  For me I usually find it to be just fine and actually do not mind it at all.  It does depend on the type of square though.  I enjoy joining knit squares less than crochet squares, and I prefer joining crochet squares that were worked in the round over those made in rows.  Who though someone would have such preferences about joining squares??  So who loves joining squares and who hates it??