And that's a wrap on Q1

We've (nearly) made it through the first quarter of 2014!  Woohoo!  In the time since I last typed at you, gentle readers, I'm pleased to report that I earned my 60 day cold sheeping badge:

(Thanks to K.K. Batts for designing the badge and allowing me to post it here.)

The first quarter challenges are ending, so time for the (mostly) final report.  Happily, I finished the moebius scarf I was working on for the Yarnathon "new-to-me" challenge.  Of the remaining projects, that was the most important because it was part of a team challenge.  By finishing, I've earned a 1000 yard credit for Team Octopurls.

The fun of a moebius is that it can be worn in different ways, so here are a few examples:

As I suspected, I did not finish the Precious Hoodie, but I made good progress:

While it would have been nice to get it finished during the challenge, I am not that concerned about getting it done.  I needed the push to use the yarn and get it started, but I love working on it and can't wait to wear it. "So it will not end up being one of my lingering WIPs," she bravely declared, publicly.

As for the Mad Dash, though I have--at the time of this writing--a little over twenty-four hours until the Dash is officially over (and I will do as much more as I am able in that time), as of now I have processed, by knitting, spinning, and weaving, 5,064 yards.  That's approximately 2.88 miles and over a mile more than my goal.  In addition to having a couple of good spinning days, I've learned that weaving really eats up yarn.

Speaking of weaving, though I was very good for a while about prioritizing my knitting challenges, eventually I could no longer bear it and had to go back to my weaving.  So I finished my weaving project:

Last but not least, I sort of fizzled out on the Shetland project.  It is not my favorite stuff to spin, so I'm not surprised I didn't get as far as I wanted.  But I made a dent.  Between what I did during the quarter and what I had previously spun, I'm right at 2.5 lbs finished, which is halfway.  I will continue to chip away at it throughout the next several months.  My hope is that I will have the yarn finished by the end of summer so that I can spend fall working on the coat and perhaps wear it next winter.

That's all for now--this one is a little short because it is almost midnight on Sunday and I need to work tomorrow.  Next post, I'll let you know what the second quarter of 2014 looks like.  So let's meet back here then.

We sleep, but the loom of life never stops...*

Spring is in the air, daylight savings is brutal, and time marches inexorably on.  Anyhoo...

Iknitarod

My guess last post was right on the money.  Sure enough, the Red Lantern slid into Nome on the evening of March 15th.**  I'm pleased to report that I finished up the Mink Cardigan with--no joke--around only forty minutes to spare.  I did not purchase the live Iditarod feed so I was not watching the race, but I was watching the message boards in the Iknitarod group on Ravelry and as I was finishing up seaming, people were posting, "The last mushers have left the final check point..."  "They're just ten miles outside of Nome now...." so I was weaving in the many, many stray ends as fast as my poor little fingers would allow.  Whew.  It's done, I love it, but several times during the knitting of it I found myself thinking, "Good grief, this hobby is EXHAUSTING."  (I really, really wanted to go off and play with my loom instead--I have no idea how I suddenly became so disciplined!)  So, without further ado, here are the photos:

Ravelry page.  Thankfully, I was able to talk it out of the hood, but it won on the pockets.  I tried to take photos of the pockets in the finished garment, but they came out looking a little bit too much as though Georgia O'Keefe became a photographer and had decided to stop being subtle.  But here are the pockets before they were sewn in--I basically made them as tiny hats:

A new path weaves back around...

As you know, I am in the process of making the transition from obsessed knitter to obsessed weaver.  So, of course, I have been joining weaving groups on Ravelry and Facebook to feed the urges.

As a side note, it appears that I am on trend--there seems to be a larger movement from knitting to weaving happening right now.  It may just be that I am looking for it, but we have handfuls of new folks joining the Rigid Heddle Weaving Group on Facebook every day.  And I see post after post from folks on Ravelry saying that they just learned to weave and just got/just ordered a loom and how they have fallen in love with weaving.  (The people who have been weaving for decades must be very amused, but are hopefully enjoying the growing focus on the craft.)

Anyway, I joined a weaving group on Ravelry and one of the moderators sent me an invite to another Ravelry weaving group, which I joined as well.  She and I began emailing back and forth and it turned out that she is also a spinner and lives one town over from me.  She ended up inviting me to join a local spinning group that I had no idea existed and I got to meet the group in person last weekend.  We spent a beautiful day at a member's lovely log cabin home, spinning for hours out in the sunshine (it got up to 80 degrees Fahrenheit that day), enjoying great company and a wonderful view.  I even got a gift---one of the members, because she knew I was coming, made me my very own group pendant***:

An added bonus was the chance to see not just one, but two charkhas in action.  I had heard of them, but had never seen one in person.  A charkha is a tool used to spin cotton.  It's difficult to describe, so here is a video.  Charkhas are associated with Gandhi and the Indian independence movement.****

Ack.  Has anyone else noticed that I have started the last few paragraphs in a row with the letter "A"?  There must be some kind of rule about that.*****

Speaking of weaving, I have managed to sneak some in.  I finished the scarf I was working on:

Ravelry page.  I also started another weaving project, but I have mostly resisted working on it in favor of finishing up my knitting challenges.  Here is a picture of it in progress:

And the rest...

I have mentioned that I am working on the "new to me" project for the Yarnathon and the Precious Hoodie, but I have not previously taken any progress photos of them, so here they are:

New-to-me moebius scarf

Precious Hoodie

My plan is to finish up the moebius scarf and then get as much as I can done on the Precious Hoodie.  I don't expect to finish the Hoodie or the big Shetland spinning project by their deadlines, but we'll see where I end up.  With respect to the Mad Dash, I am currently at 2,079 yards, not counting some in progress spinning and the in progress weaving that cannot yet be measured.  If I can manage a couple of good spinning days, I think I will make my goal of 3,000 by the end of the month.

That's all for now.  Until we meet again, may the patterns of your days be woven brightly!



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*The full quote is: "We sleep, but the loom of life never stops, and the pattern which was weaving when the sun went down is weaving when it comes up in the morning."  Henry Ward Beecher

**The Red Lantern is the musher that comes in last in the Iditarod (the finish line is in Nome, AK).

***The "pendant" is actually a diz, which is a tool used in fiber preparation to make combed top for spinning as explained on this webpage.  You can also use a diz to create roving from a carded fiber preparation as described here.

****http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinning_wheel#Charkha

*****Fans of the ABC Family show, "Pretty Little Liars," should not read anything into this.

Oh, what a tangled web...

I had a professor in college who, on the very first day of class in any given semester, would start by saying, "All right, people, we have a lot to cover," and immediately launch into his lecture and wouldn't stop until the last five minutes of class when he would finally take roll (for the first and last time) just to make sure everyone who was enrolled had actually made it.  This is how I feel about this post--we have a lot to cover, people!

Cold Sheeping Status Report: The Scary Math

Still going strong on cold sheeping--I survived the very large marketplace at Stitches West without buying any yarn or fiber.  One of the things that helped was the progress I've made in the virtual organizing of my yarn stash.  Ravelry has wonderful organizational tools that allow you to track your yarn and fiber stashes, and they even have a mechanism that allows you to download your data to an Excel spreadsheet.  What that means is you can use the calculation tools in Excel to get some big picture information about your stash.

Well, I recently updated my stash entries in accordance with my goals for this year.  I have not accounted for everything yet, but I've recorded a good portion.  And I downloaded my data to Excel.  And I calculated how many yards of yarn I have entered so far.  And here it is...over the (many) years that I have been knitting and crocheting, I have collected over 130 miles of yarn.  That is just yarn, and (as I mentioned) that is not even all of it.

Let's assume I can process (i.e., knit, crochet, whatever) an average of a mile of yarn a month--not sure that I actually can do that, but let's assume it for the sake of discussion.  That means that it would take me over 10 years to process the yarn I have.  Now, let's remember that I am also a spinner.  And I can spin about a mile a month.  So while I am subtracting a mile a month in knitting, crocheting, etc., I am adding approximately a mile a month in new yarn that I am spinning.

I think you see the point.  Taking the time to make these sorts of calculations really helps to remove the temptation to buy any more yarn or fiber, no matter how neat, pretty, shiny, soft, unique, special or rare it may be.*

Stitches West Report

Moving beyond the marketplace, Stitches West was a wonderful experience.  Since I was not really there to shop, I focused on learning this year and had the opportunity to take four really great classes.

Rigid Heddle Weaving

Recently I've been getting the strange urge to take up weaving.  I call it a strange urge because weaving NEVER interested me.  I mean, you make rectangles.  What is interesting about that?**  Or so I thought.  But I have noticed a lot of spinners are also weavers.  And I have found that from time to time certain yarns in my stash, handspun or otherwise, have whispered to me that, yeah, sure I could knit with them if I insist, but they really would prefer to be woven and if I had any kind of sense I would see that they were right.***  So when the class registration for Stitches opened up last September, I decided to listen to my whispering stash and signed up for a six-hour class entitled "Learn to Use the Rigid Heddle Loom and Use Up Your Stash" with Deborah Jarchow. I mean, really, how could I resist?

First, Deborah is awesome.  If you ever have the opportunity to take a class with her, I definitely recommend it.****  Second, yes, weaving is limited by the shape of the loom.  As I understand it, you do not really increase or decrease stitches as you do in knitting or crochet to shape your project as you go.*****  So, if you have a rectangular loom, you will make rectangles.  But oh, the magic that occurs within those rectangles!  Because the beauty and joy of weaving is the ability to play with color and texture on a different scale than with knitting or crocheting, and the ability to really highlight the yarn.  And yes, you can do very intricate and complicated patterns in weaving, but the simplest of weaves can be a transformative experience depending on the yarn.  I finally have ideas for the various specialty yarns I've collected over the years that I had to have but haven't been able to figure out how to use.

Because the class was six hours long, we all had time to make our very own simple scarves.  Here's the one I made using my handspun:

And as you can probably tell from the pro-weaving rant above, yes, I did run out and immediately buy a loom, using some Christmas and birthday gift money I had been saving up (thanks Mom and Dad!).  Here is a scarf I'm making right now, in progress:

Double Knitting in Color

At Stitches they offer "market classes."  These are quick little one-hour classes in little fabric partitioned "rooms" behind the market place.  They are an opportunity to get a jump start on a new skill with the help of a suffering but infinitely patient instructor who has to shout over the other five instructors who are also in their fabric rooms trying to be heard.  It's fun :).  During the lunch break for the weaving class, I took the double knitting market class.  Double knitting is a technique for knitting a reversible pattern on the front and back of a piece simultaneously.  (It sounds much harder than it actually is.)  Here are pictures of what we learned (front and back):

Beyond Intermediate Crochet

I have been crocheting twice as long as I have been knitting, but I haven't pursued learning advanced techniques in crochet in the same way as I have with knitting, so I signed up for this three-hour class with the "Crochet Dude," Drew Emborsky.******  It was also a very good class.  Unfortunately, I don't have good pictures to show you--I used variegated yarn for my swatches so the stitches don't really show up well.  But we learned all sorts of interesting techniques such as using post stitches to create stretchy ribbing and crocheted cables, adding beads, making lightweight bobbles, and, the most "life-changing" thing, how to make foundation stitches as you go.  In other words (apologies to non-crocheters, the following probably won't make any sense), instead of making a chain the length of your project and crocheting into the chain stitches, you can actually make a crochet stitch, add an extra loop and then crochet into that loop so that you are building the width of your project as you are crocheting your first row of stitches.  The effect is that you end up with a very stretchy cast-on edge that ends up being just as loose as your bind-off edge.  If that was Greek to you, just take my word for it that it is AWESOME.

Mosaic Knitting

This was another market class.  Mosaic knitting is a two-color colorwork technique, popularized by Barbara G. Walker (the same Ms. Walker who authored the stitch pattern book I have previously mentioned) in which only one color of yarn is worked in a given row, while the stitches in the other color are simply slipped and not worked in that row.  Even though you are only working one color at a time, you can create some very intricate patterns.  Here is a picture of the mosaic coffee cup holder we made in class (well, it's supposed to be a coffee cup holder, but my cup will have to be very wide!):

Ravellenic Round Up

The Ravellenic Games are over and you are probably wondering how I did.  Well, I didn't get it all done, which is what I suspected would happen.  Part of the fun of the Games is setting impossible goals so that if you accomplish them, you feel AMAZING, and if you don't quite make it, at least you have the satisfaction of knowing you really went for it.

In addition to the cardigans from the last post, I finished seaming the Thunderstorm Swirl:

Ravelry page:  Thunderstorm Swirl.  The modification due to running out of yarn worked just fine--in fact, the next time I make a Swirl, I'll make the same modification on purpose.*******

I completed the Aerial Unwind:

Before:

After:

Ravelry page: Unwound Swirl.  I have to admit, it was a little heartbreaking to unravel all of that knitting, but it had to be done.  It may take me a little while to figure out a new project special enough for this yarn though.

I also spun up a skein of the baby camel/silk to complete the Flying Camel Spin:

Ravelry page:  Ravellenic Camel/Silk.  I love the color and shine of it.  It reminds me of the Muga silk.

Things that did not make it across the finish line:

• Mink Cardigan.  I think if the Mink Cardigan had stayed the plain Jane cardigan originally envisioned, I would have been able to get everything done.  I started working on it immediately after I finished the Lacy Cardigan, but after I had spent a whole week working on just half of the cabled trim, I knew that I was in danger of derailing all of my Ravellenic hopes.  I realized there was no way, even if I worked exclusively on the Mink Cardigan, that I would finish it in time.  So I put it down and finished the projects I knew I could complete.  Nonetheless, I did make a lot of progress:

• Grand Plage Cardigan.  After I stopped working on the Mink Cardigan, I picked this one up and started a sleeve.  It is not turning out very well.  I picked up too many stitches around the armhole so the sleeve is puckering:

To be honest, I have become generally unhappy with this project as a whole.  I love the main yarn color, but that is about it.  I have been having sizing issues with the pattern that I've tried to ignore/fix as I have been going, but I'm not thrilled with the solutions.  For example, the armholes were HUGE -- they originally came all the way down to my waist.  So to make the sleeves a reasonable size, I had to sew up the sides, which created seams in a garment that is supposed to be mostly seamless, and left a large amount of fabric on the insides of the cardigan:

It's a fix of sorts, but between not being happy with the sleeve progress, not really being happy with the seams, and also not liking the yarn I used as a trim (it's floppier than the main fabric and not matching well), I think it's time to give up on this one.  I know what I want the finished product to look like and I think I will do a better job of getting there if I design the pattern myself.  So we'll call this a learning experience and start over.



Iknitarod

The Iknitarod (yes, you guessed it, a knit (or whatever) along with the Iditarod) has started.  The end date is undetermined--we need to finish our projects by the time the last musher crosses the finish line, which is usually about two weeks.  Fortunately, the Iknitarod moderators have included a WIP category this year.  So, all things considered, I've decided to use the Mink Cardigan as my Iknitarod project to keep the momentum going.  (Otherwise, we might still be talking about it two years from now.)


It's March--Time to Get Real

March is here.  The last month in the first quarter of 2014.  So, for all of the projects that I haven't been worried about because "I have until the end of March, no problem," it is time to face the piper.  Here is the list of projects that need to be finished by the end of this month:

• Big Shetland spinning project
• Precious hoodie
• Q1-new-to-me project for the Yarnathon (I started a moebius scarf--the new-to-me technique will be an applied I-cord trim.  More on this and pictures in a later post.)

Additionally, the Mink Cardigan will need to be completed even earlier, most likely by March 15th (or maybe...St. Patrick's Day??  Will that forever haunt me as a deadline?)   I will also need to have spun and/or processed 3,000 yards by the end of the month for the Mad Dash, but if I complete the above, that will take care of the Dash.  It's a daunting list, but I say shoot for the moon and keep on keepin' on.

Random News

On February 28th, Ravelry hit 4 million members.  The team that makes Ravelry happen put together a fun little page with different Ravelry statistics.

Fin

Whew, are we all caught up?  I certainly hope so.  If I've left anything out, we'll have to get to it next time--my loom is calling me.  Wait---did I say "loom?"  Of course I meant the Mink Cardigan.  Yeah, that's the ticket.  I'm running off to work on the Mink Cardigan.  Right this minute.  Here I go.

     

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*I imagine to non-knitters, these calculations sound horrifying.  But I can assure you that a very large number of knitters would be nodding their heads and saying, "Yep, that sounds about right."  Also, to add a little perspective, it can take around 1 to 1 1/2 miles of yarn to knit a cardigan.  (The Thunderstorm Swirl is just over 1 mile's worth of yarn.  The black lightweight cardigan is 1.25 miles.)
**Says the person who spent many years of her crocheting and knitting life just making squares (blankets) and rectangles (scarves).
***The Muga silk has been particularly insisting that it wants to be woven.
****She travels all over the country teaching weaving at different fiber arts conferences and brings her own looms for students to use in class so you don't have to own one to learn: Deborah Jarchow's 2014 Class Schedule
*****Though I am not necessarily convinced that you CAN'T.  I will have to do some studying...
******http://drewemborsky.com/
*******On a fun note, I wore the Thunderstorm Swirl to Stitches (part of the fun of Stitches is that everyone wears their handknit creations so the entire weekend is like being at a fashion show).  The teacher for the mosaic knitting market class had just taught a Swirl making workshop at her local yarn shop and was so tickled that I was wearing a Swirl that she made me stand up and show it off to the class.

It's getting a little crazy up in here...

Oh good grief, there is another event to tell you about.  The Mad Dash is starting!  The Dash (as I like to call it) is hosted by the Stash Knit Down Group on Ravelry.  The goal is to process (i.e., knit, crochet, spin, or weave) 12,000 yards of yarn, either individually or as part of a team, between February 15th and March 31st.  I have been assigned to Team Mad Hatters (because, while I may not always have all of my marbles, I'm not mad enough to think I can do 12,000 yards on my own!) and I have pledged to contribute at least 3,000 yards (approx. 1.7 miles) to the effort.  The great thing about the Dash is that it does not require any specific project, it is purely about the yardage.  Therefore, it overlaps with all of the other events I'm participating in.  Thank goodness.  

Speaking of events, I owe you all an update on my Ravellenic progress.  But before we do that, I have other news...I have earned my 30-day cold sheeping badge!

(The image was designed by, and is used with the kind permission of, K.K. Batts.)

While we're obviously not in ticker tape parade territory, I am quite proud of this accomplishment.  (Sadly, it was much harder than you might think.)  In this past month, I have definitely learned more about my yarn spending habits, what emotional triggers drive me to want new yarn to make it all better, and where I run into trouble with substitute shopping.  (For example, I went on a bit of a button buying binge after a particularly challenging week at work.  While I did truly need buttons, let us just say that now I truly don't need any more for a while.)  All in all, I feel that I'm starting to have a better and more satisfying relationship with my craft, particularly as I continue to focus on my WIPs and see them one by one moving toward completion.  As much as I have loved knitting to this point, I am pleasantly surprised to find my enjoyment of it deepening still further.  Who could have guessed?  So I think we can say that, so far, the cold sheeping/stash appreciation experiment is a success. 

Okay, now for the update.  I promised you finished objects and here they are:

The buttons on the black cardigan make me deliriously happy.  Here is a close up of one:

In addition to the above, I've finished the knitting part of the Thunderstorm Swirl.  It still needs to be seamed.  I actually ran out of the super-special hand-painted commercial yarn I was using (I was maybe 20 yards short.  Aaarrrrrgh!) so I ended up modifying the pattern.  I won't know whether or not the changes will work until I finish seaming, but that just makes it that much more exciting, right? 

I have also finished the sleeves on the Mink Cardigan, which is great of course, but I'm finding that it is turning into quite the high maintenance project.  First, as previously mentioned, it suggested to me that it might want to have pockets.  Sure, why not? I thought.  Pockets will be great.  Then it told me in no uncertain terms that it needed a wide cabled trim along the front pieces and the collar.  Okay, I said.  If you insist.  Now that it knows I am a push over, it is starting to mumble about needing a hood, too.  I'm trying to explain to it that we are on a deadline and there are other cardigans that need attention.  I even put it on time out while I moved on to the Thunderstorm Swirl.  But I am only fooling myself.  We all know that if it wants a hood, it's going to get a hood.  Meanwhile, the Ravellenic countdown clock is mocking me.  Seven and a half days left to sew up the Swirl, finish two more cardigans, spin the camel/silk fiber, and get that other Swirl frogged.  Thank goodness it is a three-day weekend!

All right, time for me to get back to work.  Next weekend is the Stitches West fiber arts convention in Santa Clara.*  I've signed up for four classes to learn new skills for using up that stash, so I look forward to giving you a full report.  Have a great week!


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*http://www.knittinguniverse.com/WEST

WIP Dancing As Fast As I Can

Yesterday marked the start of the 2014 Ravellenic Games.  The Ravellenic Games are a very large* international KAL occurring every couple of years with absolutely no affiliation with a certain other large international event that occurs every couple of years.**  Unlike that other event, the Ravellenic Games are not a competition, but rather are an opportunity to challenge yourself while enjoying the online companionship of other like-minded fiber enthusiasts.  We participate in teams (I am a proud member of Team Stashdown 2014) and can enter any of a number of events based on a specific activity or theme.  Everyone who completes an event receives a "medal," i.e., a badge to place on their Ravelry project page.

This year, my main event is "WIP Dancing."  WIP Dancing encompasses any project that was started prior to the beginning of the Games that is finished during the Games.  My plan is to finish all five of the cardigans mentioned in my January 24, 2014 post before the Games end on February 23rd.  If that does not sound ambitious enough, I also have two other Events on my list: 

1.  Aerial Unwind

The goal of the Aerial Unwind is to frog an abandoned project.  Sometimes when a project is not working out and is not salvageable, we knitters go into denial and leave the project on the needles indefinitely rather than frogging it and reclaiming the yarn for a more noble (or at least more successful) purpose.   Those of us in that boat find motivation and encouragement in the Aerial Unwind.

Here is my Aerial Unwind entry:

It was my first attempt at making a Swirl.  Much like the story about the Precious, I was using handspun, kept running out of yarn and having to spin more, and then found out after trying on Swirls that I was making an unflattering shape for me.  My hesitation in frogging it is that it is made from three different yarns that were alternated, so the potential for tangling is rather great.  In fact, when I announced it as an Aerial Unwind entry on Ravelry, I received multiple messages of sympathy for the daunting task ahead.  Regardless, it must be done as the particular handspun yarn I used is very special to me and absolutely must be used for something else.

2.  Flying Camel Spin

The Flying Camel Spin is simply the event for spinners.  Any spun yarn started and completed during the Games qualifies.  While my original intention was to simply focus on my knitting for the Games, when I saw the name of the event, I couldn't resist.  Why?  Because I have the perfect fiber for it (which will serve as my featured stash item):

How could someone with a pound of 50% baby camel/50% silk in their stash not enter this event?  I mean really.  I don't have to spin the whole pound to medal, just one skein.  So, depending on how things go with the WIP Dancing, I think it is doable. 

While I'm not ready to report on my WIP Dancing progress, let us just say for now that things are looking good.  Loyal readers who have expressed a strong desire to see more finished projects may find themselves a little happier with me over the next week or so ;).  With that, back to knitting!





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*At last count, there were 7,232 participants
**Here is some background in this article and this one.

So much knitting, so little time

Wow, so January happened.  How about that?  Maybe I shouldn't have blinked.

One of the things I love about the fiber arts community, and the Ravelry community in particular, is that we know how to keep ourselves busy with fiber stuff.  Things are really hopping this first quarter 2014.  I've mentioned the Spin A LOT (aka "Spin something big") challenge (I'm down to 3 lbs. of Shetland left!), which is hosted by the Spin Your Stash Ravelry group, as well as the "New-to-You" knit-along ("KAL") for the ESK Yarnathon.  This weekend marks the beginning of a KAL I've been really looking forward to, hosted by the Cold Sheep and Friends Ravelry group.  It's called "Shrine of the Precious," and the challenge is to pick that precious item from your stash that you have avoided using because it is so special that it must only be used for that phenomenal, perfect, transcendent project that you haven't quite thought of yet, but are sure you will think of someday (but once you think of it you probably still won't make it because you're sure you'll mess it up).  Yep, that's the one.  And it provides a perfect segue into the still unnamed segment* in which I feature an item from my stash...

Meet the Precious

There are definitely a few candidates in the stash pile, but hands down the one that rises to the top is my handspun yak/merino/silk yarn.

Yak has become extremely popular in the fiber arts community because it is almost as fine as cashmere, but usually a lot less expensive.  This particular yak blend, which came from Ashland Bay, is a dream to spin.  Sometimes when you are dealing with blends of different fibers it can be challenging to spin smoothly, but this stuff is like butter.  Early last year, when I was in the beginnings of my Swirl obsession, I decided I would use this yarn to make a Swirl.  Well...I thought spinning it was wonderful, but knitting with it?  Best Yarn Ever.  The Swirl ultimately did not work out.  I had spun a bunch of the yarn, but Swirls are yarn eaters and I ran out of already spun yarn.  I still had some fiber, so I tried spinning up more yarn, but it came out at a different gauge and when I added it to the Swirl in progress, it was way too bulky.  The Swirl was turning into a complete mess.  Also, in the interim, I had the opportunity to try on a few different styles of Swirls (they are various shapes) and discovered that the pattern I had picked was not particularly flattering on me.  So I decided to frog the Swirl (and went on to make other Swirls in other shapes with other fibers).  Anyway, of course, I decided to get more of the yak fiber blend because I was clearly enjoying it so much.  And I discovered a horrible thing:  Ashland Bay discontinued the fiber blend!  Yes, they still do a yak/silk blend and a yak/merino blend, but no more perfectly blended, life changing, yak/merino/silk blend.  Waaaaaaaaaaaa!  I bought up as much as I could still find lingering in various vendors' stocks, but it was not enough.  It could never be enough....

Obviously, I would never be able to use this yarn without the help of a support group.  Yarn is not meant to remain balled up in the stash, metaphorically guarded by barbed wire fencing and vicious dogs.  Yarn is meant to be converted into finished objects that are used and treasured.  So, with the virtual hand holding of my cold sheeping friends, I have bravely decided this yarn will be transformed into a hoodie so I can wear it all the time and it will feel like my favorite yarn is giving me a hug.

The Shrine of the Precious challenge runs through March 31st, so expect progress reports as things, well, progress.

Checking In

If you were paying close attention, you realized that participating in the Shrine of the Precious challenge means I need to cast on yet another new project, so, speaking of progress--perhaps we do indeed need to speak a bit about progress!

Since I last typed at you, the modified Grand Plage Cardigan has been moving right along:
.

 

It will have two buttons in the front.  I've placed locking stitch markers to show where they will be.  And it will have long sleeves.  As you know my history with sleeves, now is the time to place your bets as to when this will actually be finished.  (But don't tell me your guesses, you might hurt my feelings, lol.  If you say "by St. Patrick's Day," I will know you are picking on me.) 

I have also made progress on the Mink Cardigan. 

It is not yet sewn together, but is temporarily held together by locking stitch markers for trying on/photographing purposes.  It will also have long sleeves, and it has told me that it now wants side pockets.  Sometimes you just have to give the garment what it wants.

So, we are pretty much in a situation where most of my cardigan WIPs need sleeves to move forward.  It's going to be a fun month.  I am not discouraged!

WIPs cont.:  Roll in the Tanks

Lest you become too impressed by my cardigan progress, I give you the next installment of the WIP Parade--tanks/sleeveless tops in progress.  I do not yet have Ravelry pages up for these as they are way way down on the priority list as compared to the cardigans, but I expect they will get more of my attention as we get closer to spring.

This one is furthest along:

This is the completed back.  The front will have a V-neck.  The yarn is a merino/silk/cashmere blend.**  The yarn is so fine that I am holding it double to make this top and it is still pretty lightweight.

This is the beginning of the back of a tank:

I primarily started this one because I wanted to try out the stitch pattern (found in Barbara G. Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns) but wanted to do something more than a swatch. Here is a close up of the stitch pattern, which is a mock cable combined with a twisted rib:

The yarn is made from 85% recycled cotton and 15% recycled cashmere.  Once the tank is finished, it will be wonderful to wear in summer.

Here is another beginning of a back:

I started this to try out the yarn.  It is a merino wool blend that includes milk protein, among other things.  I have milk protein fiber, but haven't actually tried spinning it yet.  Because the yarn is from a blend, I cannot really tell what properties the milk protein adds to the mix, but the yarn is nice and soft.  It is also thick, so this will definitely be a top for cooler weather.

I think that's it for now---I've got a hoodie to cast on.  Until next time...***

                        
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*"Stash Dive"?  "The Treasure Chest"?  "Yarn and/or Fiber of the Week"?  "Stash Flash"?  Maybe I need to have a naming contest.
**Most of the yarns I am using in my WIPs (including this one) are commercial yarns, i.e., not spun by me.  You may correctly assume that if a yarn in question is my handspun, I will most certainly tell you. 
*** ...when hopefully there will be some sleeve progress to show off??

WIPs II: When Cardigans Attack

As I think about the things I want to share with you, gentle readers of this slowly evolving blog, I'm beginning to see snippets of ideas for regular features.  Obviously, the WIPs are an ongoing theme.  I think it also might be fun to feature an item from my stash in each post.  That way, you can see what sorts of things are coming down the pike, and even amuse yourselves by guessing when I might use a certain item or what it may become.  And since I mentioned to you last post that I was planning a dismount from my cold sheep to make a little purchase, why don't we start there? 

This Week's Stash Peek*

A little background:  Last year I fell victim to discovered a wonderful little yarn company, MinkYarn.com, specifically because of this.  Craig is the proprietor of MinkYarn.com and is a lovely fellow whose customer service is impeccable.  He even includes a handwritten card in almost every purchase.  Long story short, I bought some of the yarn to try and fell in love.  Ultimately, I ended up with at least seven SQs** of Craig's various yarns, which contributed to my decision to cold sheep this year.  However, just as I was making the decision that I did not need any more yarn, Craig announced that he was developing a BRAND NEW YARN*** that was 90% mink and 10% silk and blooms**** more than any yarn he'd ever ever made.  I tried to convince myself that I could live without it, but had to admit that if I didn't buy some, I would be sad.  (Especially since there is no guarantee that he will continue to stock it after this batch is gone.)

So here it is, "Courchevel" mink/silk yarn in Jet Black and Loganberry:

I have many things to knit before I get to these, as you are about to see, but hopefully they will pop up again sooner rather than later.



WIPs 

Continuing with the WIP Parade, let's look at cardigans in progress.  I have been obsessed with cardigans lately, so there is a lot to talk about.

These are in order by those I am most motivated to finish to least:

Grande Plage Cardigan:  Started just a couple of weeks ago, I originally cast this on as my first quarter project for Team Octopurls in the Eat Sleep Knit 2014 Yarnathon.  It would take me too long to explain the Yarnathon, so just go read about it here or here and then come back.  While normally you can only participate in the Yarnathon by buying yarn, this year the store has set up various challenges to allow those of us who are cold sheeping or are otherwise on yarn diets to earn yards and help our teams.  The first quarter challenge is to make something exclusively out of Eat Sleep Knit yarn using a technique that is new to you.  This is my first cardigan constructed from the top down and would have been perfect, but I realized as I was working on it that I want to trim it with black and the black yarn I will be using was not purchased from ESK.  (I have black yarn from ESK, but it is the wrong type of fiber for this project.)  I decided it was more important to make the cardigan I want to wear than to force it to fit the challenge.  Fortunately, I have plenty of other yarn from ESK (I was a Yarnathon finisher last year, which in large part is why I am cold sheeping this year), and I have until the end of March to complete a qualifying project, so I'll figure something out.  But I digress.  Here is the cardigan:

Here is the Ravelry page:  Grande Plage Cardigan (original pattern by Claudia Geiger).  The finished cardigan will be heavily modified from the original pattern, which you can see here.  I used the pattern to learn the top down construction, but I don't plan to change colors at the waist or use the lace portion of the pattern (too similar to the green lacy cardigan featured in my first post).  Currently, this is the project that is getting the most attention because I love the color and can't wait to finish it up and wear it (assuming it fits!).  I even have the perfect jewelry picked out for it.

Mink Cardigan:  This is my second cardigan in mink (the first being the black Swirl pictured in my January 4, 2014 post).  As you now know, it won't be my last.  This is actually tied with the Grand Plage Cardigan for project I most want to finish first.

Ravelry page: Mink Cardigan.  As you can see, this one is constructed in pieces.  It is another one of my "design on the needles" experiments, so I can't wait to finish it up to see if it looks anything like what I am picturing in my head.  Also, because it is a solid neutral color, I should get a lot of wear out of it.

Light Cardigan:  You can almost say that this cardigan was the result of my general stubbornness.  You see, I hate to be told that I can't do something.  Especially if the implication is that I can't do it because it is beyond my skill/patience/etc.  So, back in 2012 when I mentioned to my knitting group that I wanted to make an adult-sized cardigan out of lace weight yarn and they essentially laughed at the suggestion, well, let's just say this cardigan was inevitable.*****

Ravelry page: Light Cardigan.  This is another of my improvised designs.  It was hibernating for quite some time because I was once again foiled by sleeves.  This picture was taken in February 2013.  From time to time I pick it up and work on it.  The other day, I measured it and was thrilled and/or embarrassed to discover that I only have about four inches left on the second sleeve.  So, obviously, I am working on the Grande Plage Cardigan and the Mink Cardigan instead.  I think my hesitation is that I'm not convinced the sleeves will fit once I finish knitting them and sew the seams, so I'm expecting to have to rip them out and redo them.  But I really just need to finish those last four inches and see.  It is made from a wool/silk blend so even though it is light weight, it is still relatively warm.  When it is finally finished, it will make a nice fall sweater.

Thunderstorm Swirl:  This is the previously mentioned third Swirl that I am working on.

Ravelry page:  Thunderstorm Swirl.  The name comes from the colorway of the yarn I am using.  I started this in July 2013 and was working on it steadily until I got distracted.  It is another one I pick up and chip away at from time to time.  I think it will be gorgeous when it is finished, which hopefully will be soon. 

Not pictured:  That green cardigan.  Yeah, yeah, talk to the hand.  All joking aside, I think this is another case where I'm a little worried that the sleeve I knit is going to end up being too small and I'll have to start again.  What I really need to do is block the sleeve to its full size to see whether it works or not.  I'm sure once I do that, I will be motivated to start the second sleeve (or re-knit the first sleeve) and finally get this thing finished.

Odds and Ends

At the request of one of my most loyal readers, a little note about the Knitting Meter on the right hand side of this blog:  I have adopted the practice of one of my cold sheeping support groups to not add yardage to a meter until the item in question is complete.  As a result, while I can add to the Spinning Meter each time I finish a skein of yarn, the Knitting Meter will stay at zero until I finish one of my current projects.  So, though technically between the first two cardigans listed above I have knit at least 1300 yards so far this month, none of it counts until I actually complete a cardigan (the knitting portion at least--I don't feel obligated to wait until all the ends are woven in and the buttons are on).  If you are wondering why it looks as though I haven't done any knitting this year (as of the date of this post), that's why.

I have been down with the flu the past couple of weeks and haven't been up to spinning, so I have nothing to report on the Shetland project.  Fortunately, I am on the mend and expect to get back to it this week.

That's all for now.  I'll be typing at ya soon.  


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*Yes, yes, the name of the feature needs work.
**sweater quantities
***I'm pretending this was an astounding announcement that fully and understandably justified leaping off the sheep, but the truth is that Craig introduces a brand new yarn practically every other month.  (Unfortunately, they are all wonderful.)
****For those not familiar with the term "bloom" as it applies to yarn, think of the fuzziness of angora.  That's blooming. 
*****I have a nearly finished bathrobe that came about for a very similar (i.e., identical) reason.  One day I will take a picture of it.