The road goes ever on and on...

Maybe I'll manage to post more than once every 18 months.

I have finished the degree I went back to school for- graduated in May. I had two classes to finish the program but will have the last of the paperwork finished in the next week and a half. About two months after that I will be eligible to sit for the credentialing exam! 

The first thing on my to do list is to find a job in the field, I had to leave the bakery a few months back-it became more important to be awake between 9am-3pm than 11pm-7am. 

As soon as I have employment in place, I plan to find space in my schedule to craft regularly. I haven't had the time to sew at all, and knitting has been limited to simple, portable projects. I have a cardigan that is half done and yarn ready for another. 

Salto Socks

These are the Salto socks I was knitting in my previous post. It took a year to knit them because I did not keep track of where I was in the pattern and had to rip back several times. I finally found a row counter in the Stash to Go app the linked specifically to this project. That helped tremendously when I only got to knit for the duration of travel time to and from campus. 

Me Made May 2016: The Pledge

I, 47stars77 of Instagram and yarnneedlesandthread.blogspot.com sign up as a participant of Me Made May 2016. I endeavor to wear a minimum of one me-made (sewn, refashioned, or knitted) garment every day during the duration of May. I also endeavor to not wear the same outfit more than two times during the month.

Furthermore I pledge, by month's end, to finish the top I'm knitting, refashion that one men's shirt that's been hanging out at the back of my closet, and sew one garment using fabric from my stash.


The above is my pledge for Me Made May 2016 hosted by 'So, Zo... What do you know?' link to sign-up post is here.

I have managed to wear a me-made item everyday for the month of May in the past, if you include socks and shawls. This year I am challenging myself to wear more of my me-made garments. And not fall into the trap of wearing the same outfit or two three and four times a month, this necessitates that I keep track of my outfits. I also need to update my spring/summer wardrobe so this will be a good time and forum with which to do that.

And now to fabric stash dive...

WIPWednesday: Jaywalker Edition

So, Jaywalkers. This is my first pair and it may not be my last. Yarn is Knitpicks Felici in the Time Traveller colorway, purchased during the Cyber Monday sale of 2014.

Size: It's complicated. Thanks to a childhood spent on foot and bike, I have calve muscles. This means my leg is a sock size larger than my foot. This makes knitting socks complicated, but so totally worth it.

For this pair, I decided to knit the 84st size for the leg and the 72st size for the foot. I cast on 72 stitches for the ribbing and increased to 84 during a plain round after the ribbing. Worked in pattern until just shy of seven inches. It worked almost perfectly to use yarn from other end of skein for heel flap- the heel flaps don't quite match, but zero wasted yarn and uninterrupted stripe pattern across top of foot is worth it. Sock on left is finished with gusset decreases, sock on right will follow shortly. The depth of the heel flap is closer to three inches than two and ha half-so there are more stitches to pick up and decrease, plus this is where I get rid of the extra stitches-my foot being narrower than my leg. After continuing gusset decreases stitches down to what is called for on the 72st size, I still had extra stitches in the instep pattern. Solution: On first pattern row do not kfb on left side of instep needles (two sts decreased). On next pattern row do not work kfb on right side of instep needle (additional two sts decreased). Sock now has correct number of stitches to follow pattern for 72st size.

Me Made May: first ten days

I intended to do a FO Friday post yesterday, but my camera cell phone is giving me grief so I don't have photos of my two most recent finished objects.

That also means I don't have pictures of my me-mades for Me Made May.  Sigh.

May 1: Black pants, wool gaberdine, wide legged. (It was cool enough to be comfortable)
May 2: Whit and black print open front long sleeve top, fabric was knitted-I sewed it, came up with the pattern myself.
May 3: Black boyfriend-shaped cardigan, wool, knitted.
May 4: Same cardigan, hand knit orange socks
May 5: Short sleeve green floral print blouse, knit blue scarf-shawl
May 6: Black slacks, stretch cotton poplin.
May 7: Cropped cardigan, knitted.
May 8: Black toggle closure top
May 9: Sewn knit top, hand knit shawl
May 10: Another pair of handknit socks

Thoughts so far:
I have quite a bit of black- not complaining, just stuff I made when I worked somewhere with a dresscode of black.

I haven't had a chance to break out my warmer weather clothes. It's still kind of chilly in the upper mid-west.

My me-made items fall into the 'wardrobe staples' category.  So far it's all been items I wear in a regular basis. It makes sense, I keep my wardrobe small, so stuff stays basic to match everything else. Solid neutral colored pants, plain sewn tees, A small variety of casual long sleeve indoor-type jackets. Though I need more of these.

I'm planning a denim top-somewhere between a classic denim jacket and a blazer. I have a dark denim embroidered with bright spring colored flowers.

I've also been inspired to refashion many of my me mades. The black poplin pants could be  trimmed into a skinny-pant. Friday's sewn tee could be altered or taken in.

Recent Yarn acquisitions

Two weeks ago there was this fabulous event hosted by yarn stores, a shop hop. Seventeen local yarn shops got together and put on an event. There were custom dyed yarns and special patterns, beads to collect and food/money to donate. It's a blast.

Yarn Haul, Shop Hop 2014

From left to right: CoBaSi in cream (KnitN from the Heart), Taiyo Sock in blues (Darn Knit Anyway), Ultra Pima in cream (Amazing Threads), Wild Hare pinnacle sock in "More Sea than Otter", one of the special colors at Yarn Garage, and Sun Valley Fibers BFL DK in "Lake Skies", custom color at Twisted Loops.

And now that they are all together, I sense a theme of cream and blue.  The one from Yarn Garage is destined to be their featured pattern, a reworking of a Steven West design by one of the employees. Twisted Loops had a nice fingerless mitt pattern featuring the yarn, but on second thought, I might make Hands of Blue with this colorway, or something TARDIS inspired. Hmm, haven't quite decided yet. The Ultra Pima and CoBaSi are destined to complement/accent planned projects using yarn already in stash. The Noro Taiyo is probably going to become longitudinal. Not pictured is the Summer issue of Knitscene. I had to check it out, half the patterns came up in my Ravelry pattern highlights.

And then, today I made my way over to the market at Yarn Over (it wasn't far, really) and picked up this:

Only the one skein of yarn, but that's alright. It's from ModeKnit and the colorway is Lobelia. I think it's going to become a petite version of wingspan. The pattern came to my attention on Ravelry and when I saw it at a vendor booth, I figured, why not? The buttons are going on a cowl I'm almost done knitting - details and pictures at a later date. At the same booth I found a wooden belt buckle. I've been imagining a fun and semi-functional belt from fabric in the stash, and finding this was just the thing I needed to push my idea to reality.

I haven't done a whole lot of knitting the past week. I've been going over my wardrobe in preparation for MeMadeMay, and when I say 'going over' I mean mending and altering and occasionally eliminating. Though I really wish it would warm up a bit- highs in the mid to upper 60's instead of the 40's, please? Many of my me-mades are for warmer weather- I have some nice skirts and short sleeved blouses that I would love to pull out of the closet...

Checking in on New Year's Goals

Today is the first of April, which means that we are one quarter of the way done with the year.
On January first I made some goals about my crafting in 2014.

Goal one: Post twice a month.

Check! Sidebar on your right shows that I made three posts in January and two each for February and March.

Goal two: Sew something for entry in the MN state fair.

Um, I think I've determined that it will be a buttoned-downed blouse. I have the fabric, some pale pink striped seersucker and buttons to match. I even have the pattern picked out, though I have to alter this and redraft that, so really I'm going to be winging it. Though I have made the pattern before (hence the need for redrafting...) so I do know what needs to be different. Sigh, that should be my April sewing challenge.

Goal three: Crochet something for entry in the MN state fair.

Nothing to report on this one yet. I thought I had a project and craft materials, but have since re-thought and rescinded earlier decisions. Note to self: check crochet patterns on Ravelry, peruse crochet pattern libraries of family members.

Goal four: Knit 10 items off Ravelry queue.

For it to count as being 'off my queue' I had to have queued it before 2014. All are public links to my project pages on Ravelry.
First off: Snowflake, a SusannaIC pattern. Queued March 23, 2010.
Then Cats in the Hat, for sister. Squeaked into queue on December 24, 2013.
And Ringwood, my first pair of gloves, queued shortly after being published in Knitty: September 30, 2010.
Then another gift: Cabled Socks. This was my Ravellenic challenge. Queued December 15, 2013.
And most recently Gail, A lovely lace shawl, queued January 14, 2013.

I've also made a pair of socks for my mom that never entered the queue, it was a spur of the moment insomnia driven decision. These have yet to be photographed, but they do exist. Knitty pattern Fargyles, knit in some worsted weight acrylic that's been lingering in the stash.

Plus I cast on for the Heliopath Vest, though after perusing project pages, I think I will rip back and cast on the 38" size.

And just the other day I started a new pair of socks. I bloged about them in the last entry.

That means that five out of my eight projects started in 2014 came of my pre-2014 queue. Not bad for three months of knitting.

Goal five: Learn a new technique:

Well, I haven't gotten there yet. There was a brioche class at my LYS, but it filled up fast. I've been told they will offer it again, so I have that option. I could also take a craftsy class or read a book or watch a DVD, so I still have plenty of options.

In non-goal related craft news, the wonderful blogger at 'So Zo' is hosting Me Made May, again. I participated last year and am thinking about what I want my goal to be for this May. Hopefully it will inspire me and my wardrobe choices. Here's the link to the introduction and signup for this year's festivities. More on my wardrobe and handcrafted clothing later this month.

On a sunny Saturday Afternoon

I have a finished object to show off:

Gail post-blocking

The pattern is Gail, available free on Ravelry.  It's been in my queue for quite a while and when the yarn (Sockittome from Cherry Tree Hill) didn't prove suitable for socks, the shawl became plan B.

Modifications: I was running short on yarn at the end, so I omitted the stuff between the points by working the points in short rows.  I had six completed motifs along edge of shawl and was halfway through seventh when I worked rows one and two of edge chart.
Then I bound off two edge stitches. Knit next stitch, yo, work motif in pattern through decrease, turn.
Wrong side row: yo, purl to last two stitches, p2tog-through back loop.
Right side row: Slip first stitch purlwise, yo, work in motif pattern though decrease, turn.

Repeat last two rows until motif comes to point. With one stitch on working needle bind off as follows: yarn over, purl, pass first two stitches over purl stitch. yarn over, purl...until there is one stitch on needle before next motif. yo and work second motif as before.

I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this shawl, and see more in my future.

Last night I baked my first successful yeast bread in two weeks. (sorry no pictures) Last weekends loaves didn't have enough salt, so they rose to fast, over proofed and collapsed upon slicing. Two weekends ago I added to much sugar and then proceeded to over bake, so they had a dark crust and were on the dry side.

In other baking news I made Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Banana Bread that the employees at my LYS loved. It's good, but I need to alter the brown sugar-sugar ratio and increase the leavening agents to compensate for hazelnut flour. But I see potential.

In knitting developments, I determined that I should rip back my Heliopath Vest and knit the smaller size. Sigh.

I started a new pair of socks. The pattern is Wendy Johnson's Toe-Up Socks With a Difference (Rav link), knit with Malabrigo sock. However I am adding a lace motif up the instep. It's the owls from Ginny's Cardigan (Rav link again) (from Unofficial Harry Potter Knits, as is aforementioned Heliopath Vest). The colorway is Chocolate Armago which comes out kind of stripey when knit up in socks. And it's not just me, I just looked at sock projects on Ravelry. I'm not frogging these, I was just startled when I saw the stripes, that's all.

Miscellaneous Tuesdays

Um, it's March. And the weather feels like March. woot!

Sunday I watched the first episode of the Cosmos remake. I enjoyed it, but anything about space will peak my interest. I was a bit perturbed that the church was portrayed as negatively as it was, and I don't remember sensing that when watching Sagan's Cosmos.

There is no denying that the church has been involved in horrible atrocities. And there's no excuse, except to say that,frequently, those with power are threatened when new questions, ideas and opinions are raised. I just remember that Sagan was more diplomatic about the church's behavior towards the early astronomers.

However, I will be tuning in for next Sunday's broadcast. Cosmos, cocoa and yarn (string theory??).

I have been working on a cross stitch piece: a carrot. It's part of a trio of vegetables. I stitched the eggplant already, the bell pepper will be the last one. I've also started two knitting projects: a vest and a shawl. More on those tomorrow.

What I need ASAP is a pair of long sleeping pants. That will be my weekend project. I've got royal blue flannel with white scissors printed on. My brother will also get a new pair, maybe one size larger than the last. He's been gaining weight, and its a good thing-at his last doctors appointment he came up weighing just above underweight for his height! I'm going to celebrate by baking cookies.

And now back to your regularly scheduled Tuesday...

WIP Wednesday: Ravellenic Edition

It's well into the winter Olympic games and I haven't posted about my participation in the Ravelry organized Ravellenic games that run parallel to the Olympics.

I'm a member of team South Paws, and have been working hard on a pair of socks as my main project.
It's a DROPS pattern that my sister picked off Ravelry. The yarn is Glacier Bay from Pagewood Farms that I picked up at my lys. The socks are for her, but I love both yarn and pattern, so I may have to make this pattern again, and pick up another skein of yarn for a different sock pattern, or a shawl, I'm not picky...

I'm almost finished with my Ringwood gloves, I've been done with the knitting, but have yet to weave in ends, block, and sew on buttons (buttons ytbd). The goal is to have them done before closing ceremonies on Sunday, for another category in the Ravellenic games.

I've also finished a swatch for the Heliopath Vest from Interweave's special edition: Harry Potter Knits. I picked up enough Wool of the Andes at the Knit Picks big sale to make the vest.
Ta-da!

In baking related developments, I've tweaked my banana bread recipe in hopes of a ribbon at the Minnesota State Fair this summer. I did well last year- somewhere between 6th and 25th. The first batches were well received, and I'm positive about the changes.

FO Friday

I've finished several things, but have only had time to get a picture of one: Cats in the Hat (Ravelry link)


I used Noro silk garden sock for the main color and some leftover gray wool/bamboo/nylon blend in a fingering weight.

It's a lovely straight forward pattern, and my sister will love it. It's my first attempt at a non-geometric stranded knitting pattern, and I was able to make it work. I twisted the strands so there wasn't a float longer than four stitches. I was able to block the hat so its a bit slouchy, which she'll like.

I just have to remember to ask for it back to enter in the state fair this August, but I don't think she will be using it much then...

Work in Progress Wednesday

I started a project yesterday: Ringwood Gloves , from Knitty. I admired the pattern immediately, and decided that this pattern would be my first pair of gloves.

I'm using Knitpicks City Tweed DK in brocade, to match a hat I made years ago. The yarn is mice and soft, though it seems a little on the thin side for a DK weight yarn. I ended up going down to size four needles and hope that the yarn fills a bit after a soak and a block. With a 7.5in knuckle circumference, I took a chance with the medium size (8in), and hoped that the thinner nature of the yarn and the small needle selection would bring down the size that half inch. Assuming the yarn doesn't grow, it worked.



I cast on yesterday morning. These work up surprisingly fast. Cast on stitches for the medium size, bit I'm working pattern repeats for the small size.

To help with finger sizing, I started the ring finger before decreasing on the pinky. You can see this in the photo, I have the pinky on a cable needle (no stitch holders in my bag o'supplies) and I've done about six rows of the ring finger when I tried the glove on for a final fit. The join between pinky and ring finger sat where I wanted it to and I had the length I needed for the pinky, so the ring finger stitches went on hold while I finished the pinky. I will do this for the remaining fingers as well.

Happy New Year

So, a new year. I've never been one for resolutions, but there are things I want to do this year, and if I post them publicly, maybe that will give me the kick in the rear that I sometimes need.

1. Post twice a month. At minimum. I craft plenty, I just need to be more dilligent about sharing it.
2. Sew one item worthy of entering at the MN State Fair. Bonus if it's displayed, double bonus if there's a ribbon on it.
3. Crochet one item worthy of entering the MN State Fair. Bonus if it's displayed, double bonus if there's a ribbon on it.
4. Knit 10 items off my Ravelry queue.
5. Learn a new technique or two. I have my eye on brioche knitting for starters. Maybe expand my embroidery skills?

The drop-off deadline for the fair is mid-August, so I better get planning and crafting.  I haven't made goals about knitting items at the fair, that's a given. I'm thinking a shawl (or two) and a pair of color work mittens for starters. Will try for a pair of socks as well. Again- note the mid-August deadline.

My yarn stash is at a comfortable level. I have enough to get started with goal number four. I could probably accomplish that entirely from my stash, but don't want to limit myself that much yet.

I even have an idea for my next post: The immediate family has gotten/will get a new hat/headband Pictures and stories to come!

Stitch counts!!

Well, I've been keeping busy with my 1667 stitches a day.

Nov   1: 2016
Nov   2: 2280
Nov   3: 1684
Nov   4: 1848
Nov   5:   704
Nov   6:   201
Nov   7: 1542
Nov   8:   905
Nov   9:   704
Nov 10:   704
Nov 11: 1872
Nov 12: 2112
Nov 13: 2542
Nov 14: 3065
Nov 15: 1204

Total:   23382

That's 23,382 stitches for the first half of the month, only 1,618 stitches short of half done. That averages out to 1558.8 stitches a day, not bad!! What this doesn't account for is that I grafted the toe of my second sock. Wove in ends on the sock and on a pair of leg-warmers. I have yet to sew buttons on the leg warmers, but I have them picked out.

I also stitched some decorative lengths of I-cord for a pair of mitts. That is what brought down the stitch counts after the first week. I have yet to attach the I-cord to the mitts.

Yesterday I bound-off on a cowl I started on Halloween. It's a lovely pattern, Planet X Bandit, available free on Ravelry. (I can't access the site at the moment to provide a link.) I still need to weave in the ends and soak/block it, but I have high hopes it will become a winter weather staple.

Pictures will come in future posts.

NaKniSweMo- without the Swe!

There is a group on Ravelry that that hosts an event every November -along side NaNoWriMo. The goal is to knit a sweater (approximately 50,000 stitches) during the month of November: NaKniSweMo.

The theory goes that if you can write a 50,000 word novel in a month by breaking it down into 1667 words a day, you can do the same thing with a sweater. Knit an adult sized sweater in worsted weight yarn doing 1667 stitches a day.

I have competed in years past, without finishing on time. I enjoyed it- but this year I have a really really bad case of knitting ADD. I have half a dozen projects in various states of completion-or lack of, to be specific. Plus I want to cast on a pair of socks for mom, and complete them before it gets too cold.

So I'm going to attempt 1667 stitches a day for the month of November. It's about 30-50% more than what I estimate I normally do in a day. So it will be a challenge, but I'm looking forward to it.

Stitch count from Nov. 1: 2016 sts on the second of a pair of leg warmers. (My own design)

So far today I've done 1680sts on the legwarmer and about 600 on the heel of a sock.

I also finished grafting the toe of the first sock- and have decided that short row toes are not to my liking. Size 0- needles are too small to do that many short tows that close together and too many stitched to graft at the end of it. I'm using the yarn-over style of short rows, so that may have some bearing on the tediousness of it all.

WIP Wednesday

Today's WIP comes to you on behalf of Sweeterin's Blog Hop.

This WIP has been through many phases. It started ten years ago with the purchase of yarn. Caron Wintinuk-cheap acrylic that was on clearance at the time, but it was my first major yarn purchase and I was getting ready to be a poor college student... I got skeins in navy blue, variegated denim blue, cream and off-white.

Then came the design phase. I had enough to knit a blanket, so I figured find a stitch pattern that was simple, but enough to keep my attention for the span of blanket knitting. I chose a feather & fan pattern, and modified it. I call it garter feather and fan.

Row 1: Knit

Row 2: k1, (k2tog twice, yo k4 four times k2tog twice) to last stitch, k1

Rows 3-4: Knit

To make the most of the yarn I decided to do wide stripes. When I mean wide stripes- I meant I knit as much of the skein as possible.  The cream and off-white clashed when I knit them in large blocks, but didn't look bad when knit in two-row stripes. So color stripes went as thus:

Chunk1: (Two rows of cream

two rows of off-white) repeat four rows in feather pattern

Chunk 2: Variegated denim

Chunk 3: Navy

Chunk 4: Variegated denim

Chunk 5: (Two rows of creamtwo rows of off-white) repeat four rows in feather pattern

Repeat chunks two through five.

Ak! A blue striped ghost!

I had enough yarn to do four repeats of "chunk" pattern. However after the third repeat it, the blanket was almost six feet long. So I bound off and wove in the ends. My roommates were awed. That was fall of 2006.  

After years of use, the blanket has stretched wider, making it less long. Shrinkage plus excess yarn still in the stash were major factors in my attempt to lengthen the blanket and de-stash. So in the fall of  2011 I un-did the bind off (and scoffed at how poorly I wove in ends) and put the blanket back on the needles. After one skein (variegated), I got tired of the project and put it back in storage.

When the idea of a WIP themed blog hop came up on Ravelry, I jumped at the chance to take one of my projects out of deep storage. I had to rip back most of the most 'recently' knit skein because I inserted an extra knit row, but since then I have been plowing through it-despite the unseasonably warm temps.

The most recently knitted is on the right, after a washing and use, it will open up like the rest of the blanket (see the cream part).

State Fair Success!!

I live in Minnesota.
I love living in Minnesota. 
One of my favorite things about Minnesota is the State Fair.
One of the best places at the state fair is the creative activities building. That is where they display the crafted goods of Minnesota residents.
This year I submitted items to be judged and (fingers crossed) displayed at the fair.

 

I'm really proud of these mittens. A tubular cast on, jogless stripes, and two-tone thumb treatment. Plus I took the time to weave n ends neatly. Handsome Mittens, originally from Interweave Knits Fall 2008. Thumb design is mine- altered from pattern.

First Place Mittens!!

The pink ribbon is fourth place

 Wonderful winter sweater. The pattern is Freyja Sweater from Interweave Knits fall 2009, but available as part of a free e-book in the Knitting Daily community. I knit this almost three years ago, so this was the last chance I had to submit it to the fair, and I'm glad I did.

First item I identified after entering the building!

 My first cookiea socks! Sunshine from her first book Sock Innovation (Amazon link). I'm now a cookiea fan. No ribbon, but because of the bright color, they were easily spotted from just inside the entrance!

traveling woman shawl (Rav link). Lovely pattern, My yarn choice may not have been the best for the pattern, but I enjoyed making it and seeing it displayed!

Tucked in a corner of the main knitting display case

Take two!

So you know how socks come in pairs right??

Well the trickiest part about knitting socks is getting the second to look like the first.  I'm currently working on Riff, from the deep fall 2010 edition of Knitty. (I love knitty by the way...)

I finished the first sock last week, and promptly cast on for the second- to avoid second sock syndrome. I picked up the pace for the second sock, because the first took way too long to knit and so that I can be done with them. Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful pattern and I like knitting socks, but I'm itching to cast on something new, and I promised myself that I would finish a project before starting a new one.

The problems began when I had to start increasing for the gusset. The sock is worked toe up, so it's fairly early in the construction that gusset increases happen.  When knitting the first sock, I failed to note on which pattern row I started the gusset increases. After a close inspection, I was able to guess where the increases should start, or so I thought. Upon coming to the end of the gusset increases and getting ready to turn the heel and work the heel flap, I noticed that the second sock didn't match the first. The instructions state to 'Make a note of which Chart row you’ve just worked.' Well, my mental note (subject to error!) stated that I had just finished the last row of the foot chart. On the second sock, I was two rows from the end of the chart.

All is well, at least with the second sock I was able to get the instep and heel patterns to match exactly, the first sock was off by a row- which still has me confused... I have finished the heel flap and will now proceed to the leg.

Pictures will come at a later date, it's entirely to hot to consider modeling a wool sock.