Knitting Report - 1/12/2020

I'm making pretty good progress on my Brioche Scarf.  It is currently 47 inches. Of course, it helped that I had to fly to Denver this week for work. The first color is all knit up, and the second is about half done.  I need to decide what my third (and final) color will be.

My next project will either be:

• Super Cat Hat or another version of a kitty hat for the "Part of Your World" badge
• Be Leaf Mug Rug for the "Mini-Mouse" badge
• Through the Woods Hood for the "Little Red" and "Winter Wear" badges
• For the Year-long KAL, I am planning on knitting dishcloths
• I've decided to pass on Q1 since there aren't any patterns that I really like.

The new Yarnathon Exclusive colorways were too much for me to resist. My yarn diet lasted 9 days, but I am hoping to get back on track now.  Since I mailed a ton of lotto tickets in on the 1st, my order was "free" and helped me reach Worsted Witch Cottage (2nd milestone).

Currently, I have earned 110 badge points and submitted for 40 more points.

ESK Yarnathon 2020

A new year means a new yarnathon at Eat.Sleep.Knit.  This year their theme is Once Upon a Yarn.  The teams are Lacy Lions (which I'm on), Triceraknots, Crocodyers, and Fiber Fawns.  The kitties added a new twist this year.  For anyone who wanted to change their team, they had to "pay" with 2 stars. Currently the Fiber Fawns are -15 stars for the team. It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the year.

As in past years, they have KALs (knit-a-longs), Booster Club badges and weekly puzzles to help people earn yardage.  I will be relying on these a lot since I hope to use mostly stash yarn this year. Last year was the first year I did not complete the yarnathon in quite a while. In fact, I cut my yarn purchases in half from the previous year.  Quite a few of this year's Exclusive Fairytale colors are calling to me though. On January 1st I mailed lotto tickets that had been accumulating.  Once that posts, I will have 2000 yards and $200 in credit.

Knit-a-Longs:

• The year-long KAL is a stitch sampler. I am glad that you can mix and match the size of the project you want to do each month, rather than making one huge project. Since they don't need to be seamed, I think I might actually be able to do this one.  Originally, I had thought about knitting a hat with a different stitch each month, but the projects have to be either squares or rectangles.  Erin had mentioned that we could make a project that could go in a picture frame to show off the stitches.  I like the idea of being able to display my knitting in my craft room or throughout the house.
  
• Q1 KAL:  My least favorite since you need to knit a pattern by Tiny Owl Knits. The patterns aren't something I normally would knit.  There is a pattern for knitting chair mats which I may do since our chairs don't have mats. Even better, the pattern is free!
  
• Q2 KAL: Knit a project with at least 20% silk or linen. I'm not a fan of linen, but I definitely have some silk yarn in my stash.  I don't have any projects in mind yet, but I think this one will be fun.
  
• Q3 KAL: Complete a shawl or scarf using beads.  I've wanted to knit something with beads since last year, so this will be a new-to-me knitting technique. I might make the Madrona Lace Scarf (Ravelry link).
  
• Q4 KAL: Knit a project from a book.  My knitting library is overflowing so I should be able to find something fairly easy for this as well.

I started my year off by casting on the Easy Brioche Scarf because I wanted to learn how to knit brioche.  There are two brioche methods:  one using yarnovers and the other knitting from the previous row. This one uses yarnovers and is super easy to memorize.  An extra bonus is that I used stash yarn!

ESK 2019 Yarnathon

As I predicted, my proposed knitting projects for 2019 has changed now that the Eat.Sleep.Knit 2019 Yarnathon KALs and badges have been posted.  This year the theme is Travel Around the 

World.  I am on Team Elephelt.  So much for my stashbusting this year, Day 1 I placed an order for several of this year's exclusive yarnathon colors. 

Q1 KAL requirement is to knit any pattern by designer Ambah O'Brien. I cast on the Mendia Hat using yarn I had in my stash. 

I had started the ribbing and had to take dog #1 out.  When I came back in, hubby told me dog #2 apparently didn't like how my knitting looked and made his own mark on it.

I ripped it out, got new needles, and started over. Now I make sure to put it away/zip up my project bag if I walk away from it.

To get the maximum stars for the KAL, I need to knit a minimum of 2001 yards.  My current plans are to knit the following:

1. Mendia Hat (stash yarn) - ~220 yards
2. Jacinta Shawl (stash yarn) - ~750 yards
3. Miso (stash yarn) - ~ 840 yards
4. ?

Happy Knitting!

Potential 2019 Knitting Projects

It's been a while since I've blogged.  We got a new puppy in March 2017 which required a lot of my attention & energy. After not posting for a while, it is easy to forget about.  I wanted to post a list of potential projects for 2019 so I could look back at the end of next year.  Of course, once the new Eat.Sleep.Knit Yarnathon badges/KAL are posted tomorrow, this list could change drastically.  

I'm going to concentrate on smaller projects which I am more likely to complete.  This year, ESK had a Zodiac badge which required you to complete 12 of the same type of knitting project. I was trying to knit 12 hats, but was successful in completing 7 hats.  I also want to concentrate on using single skeins of variegated yarn.

These are all Ravelry links:

1. Team Hat
2. Big Stretch Hat
3. Bealtaine Shawl (non-ESK yarn)
4. Mrs. Weasley's Kwik Knit Hat
5. Copy.Cat C.C. Beanie
6. Mrs. Skerret Scarf
7. It Takes a Guild Cardigan
8. Complete Wings pullover (need to complete sleeve & neckline)
9. Complete Timber cardigan (non-ESK; complete sleeves & neckline)
10. Complete Hitofude cardigan (at sleeves) 

Wishing you a happy, healthy and peaceful 2019!

On My Needles - 1/27/17

Oops, falling behind on blogging again. Since my last post, I completed a hat.  The pattern is The Way You Wear Your Hat and the yarn is Madelinetosh DK in Helen (an ESK exclusive colorway from 2015).

Since then I've started, ripped, re-started, ripped, repeat for My Cryptonite.

Originally I was planning on using these three colors for My Cryptonite, but there was too much contrast between the cream and the grey (in my opinion).  Rip.

After ordering a lighter grey, I cast on again but with a smaller needle. I didn't like how that was knitting so I ripped it again.  I went up a needle size but I'm knitting too tight at the beginning of the rows and it is curling.

There is an option to add a yarnover at the beginning of the row to make the edges more stretchy which I will try. This morning I ripped it out and cast on hopefully for the last time.

Visit Judy's blog to see what others have on their needles.

On the Needles - 12/30/16

I split for the sleeves on Timber.  I've knit 5.5 inches of the 13 inches for the body.  I'm hoping to get the rest of the body knit before the weekend is over, but hubby may have other plans.

Visit Judy's blog to see what others have on their needles.

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year!

2017 Knitting Plans

WIPs/UFO Knitting Projects

#1 - Carabe (sew on buttons)

#2 - Purple Baby Cardigan (sleeve #2 & buttonband)

#3 - Blue Sand Cardigan (buttonband & sleeves)

#4 - Heathered Cardigan

#5 - Hitofude (sleeves and body)

#6 - Blue Sand Cardigan (buttonband & sleeves)

#7 - Merewether (complete straps)

#8 - Timber (current project)


New Knitting Projects (in no particular order - all Ravelry Links)

1.  Hollygrove Scarf

2.  Hollygrove Hat

3.  The Way you Wear Your Hat

4.  Woodstack Mittens

5.  Tread Hat

6.  Brickless Shawl

7.  Breezy Skies Shawl

8.  Rays Cardigan

9.  Staring at the Stars Cardigan

10.  My Cryptonite Shawl

11.  Goldfinch Shawl

12. Hot Oatmeal Cowl

13.  Mendia Cowl

This is an ambitious list. I don't have any delusions that I will knit all of these in 2017, but I'm hoping that I can knock a bunch of them off my list.

On the Needles - 12/16/16

It's been a while since my last post.  I lost my knitting mojo but it's now back. I still don't have as much knitting time as I did a couple years ago, but I'm slowly chugging away when I can.

On December 7, I started Timber which is from the newly published knitting book Within by Jane Richmond and Shannon Cook.  I am using Berroco Tuscan Tweed in the colorway Cornflower (#9022). The yarn is delightful and won't be my last. My only con is that the skeins are only 120 yards.

Amy

On the Needles - 2/19/16

My Carson Throw has grown.  I am about to start row 122. I transferred my stitches to my new 47 inch cable.  Hard to believe all of these stitches had been squeezed onto a 24 inch cable before.

Hitofude Update - I unzipped my provisional cast on for the first sleeve but haven't started the bind off for the underseam yet.

Visit Judy's blog to see what others have on their needles.

On the Needles - 2/12/16

Hitofude hasn't changed since last week. I'll probably work on it tomorrow since I'll have some quiet time to pay attention to what I'm doing.

Last Friday afternoon I cast on for the Carson Throw (Ravelry link). I ended up knitting the colors in the order of my picture. By Sunday night I had surpassed February's KAL goal of 70 rows. It took me two tries to knit the cast on, but then I was on cruise control. Originally when the KAL was announced, I wasn't that interested in knitting this, but I'm glad I decided to do it because it's been a relaxing and fun knit so far.

76 rows completed

My week was very hectic so by the time I got home from work, I really didn't feel like knitting. Plus, I think I'm coming down with something. So today I decided to take a little "off" time and managed to knit half of row 92. This is an increase row, and I had to stop because I couldn't fit any more stitches on my cable. I have a longer cable ordered but it won't get here until next week, so Carson is on hold until my new needle gets here.

91 -1/2 rows completed

I am knitting mine in Cascade Superwash 220 - Color 1 - 1914 Alaska Sky, Color 2 - 892 Space Needle, Color 3 - Baby Denim, Color 4 - 1944 West Point Blue Heather, Color 5 - 904 Colonial Blue Heather, Color 6 ("Pop" stripe) - 821 Daffodil

Visit Judy's blog to see what others have on their needles.

On the Needles - 2/5/16

The sleeve is ready to be seamed together, but I have to wait until I have some quiet time. I've never taken a provisional chain apart before, and it sounds like a lot of people dropped stitches at this part of the pattern.

I'm also hoping to cast on for the Carson Throw KAL this weekend. below are the colors that I chose for my blanket. I think I may take out the darker grey (second color) and start with yellow and then go to the light grey and blues. What do you think - keep the dark grey in or start with yellow????

Visit Judy's blog to see what others have on their needles.

On the Needles - 1/29/16

Some progress has been made on Hitofude this week. There are 8 repeats knit, and 6 more to go for the sleeve section.

Visit Judy's blog to see what others have on their needles.

On the Needles - 1/22/16

I started my Hitofude last weekend because with my work schedule, I don't know how much knitting I'll be doing during the week. Two of 14 repeats have been completed for the arms.  The yarn I'm using is Madelinetosh (big surprise right) Pashmina in the colorway Dahlia.  The pink yarn is my provisional cast on and will be removed later.

Visit Judy's blog to see what others have on their needles.

On the Needles - 1/8/2016

Happy New Year!  On January 1, I cast on the Spiral Cowl for the ESK Yarnathon KAL. Yesterday I completed it and earned several badges for the ESK Yarnathon.  The yarn is Madelinetosh Merino/Silk DK in Heartbeat. This was my first time knitting with this base, and I absolutely LOVED it. There definitely will be more projects using this yarn in my future.

Last night I cast on the Collina Hat which was published earlier this week. Last year I knit a Collina Scarf, and I had one skein left of the yarn I used so this will be a nice set now.  Sorry, no picture of that just yet.

Visit Judy's blog to see what others have on their needles.

On the Needles - 12/4/15

I have earned all of my ESK Yarnathon badges, so now I can get back to knitting whatever I want. Progress is being made on my Maya hat. I have half of a repeat to knit and then I can start the decreases. Once I complete this hat, I am going to work on finishing up some of the half finished projects.

The pattern is Maya (Ravelry link) and it also has instructions for a cowl.  The yarn is Yarn Love - Anne Shirley (discontinued) in Bolivian Chili. The photo makes the color look bright red, but it's more red-orange.

I'll be joining Judy next year with knitting the stash!  (At least that's my current plan.)

Visit Judy's blog to see what others have on their needles.

On the Needles - 11/20/15

I completed my multi-colored cowl last week which fulfilled my requirements for the ESK My Little Pony and ROY G BIV badges.

Now I am furiously working to complete the last 10 hexipuffs for the Hexipuffologist badge. I have 20 completed as of this morning. They're not difficult to knit, just time consuming. Then I will only have one more badge to complete - create and attach a pom pom which shouldn't take much time at all. My goal is to complete these last two badges before the end of the month.

Visit Judy's blog to see what others have on their needles.

On the Needles - 10/30/15

It's been a while since I've posted.  I lost my knitting mojo for a while, but it's back and I've finished several things.  All of my Loopy Academy Sophomore Year - Semester 1 projects have been completed. The links go to my Ravelry project pages if you want to know more about the pattern or yarn.

Adama Cowl - Textured Assignment

Cold Snap - Cables Assignment

Independence Pillow - Pillow Assignment

I've also been working on trying to complete the ESK Q4 badges. I have six more to go.

Twilight Jacob's hat that he wore at LaPush beach - Movie Badge

Currently I'm working on the Hexipuff badge. I need to knit 30 of these. I had originally said I wasn't going to do this but I'm getting close to completing all of the other badges so I figured it would be a crime to not earn the next level prize because I didn't complete one badge. I'm using up leftover yarn from other projects.

I also finally received my Madelinetosh Unicorn Tails yarn and have cast on a cowl for the My Little Pony and ROYGBIV badges. It's not very far along so I don't have a picture yet.

Visit Judy's blog to see what others have on their needles.

Off & On the Needles - 9/18/15

Another week with a finish. The crochet scarf is done. I think it turned out pretty good for just learning crochet. The designer even asked if she could feature my picture on her pattern page.

Right after completing the scarf, I cast on for the first Loopy Ewe school assignment - a pillow. Two of the three pieces are done. I should be able to complete the last piece this weekend and maybe even get it seamed together.  I need to find some buttons for it too. The pattern is Independent Pillow. The yarn is Cascade 128 Aran in Melon. This is my first time knitting with the Aran weight. It won't be my last. I'm not an orange person, but I love this color!

Have you heard about the Scoreboard KAL? You choose your favorite football team's colors, whether it be college, high school or NFL. You knit a scarf and the pattern is based on the score of the game for the entire season. Check out the link above to learn more. At the end of the season you'll have a unique scarf. I'm thinking of doing it. My local yarn shop is doing it and has been emailing the results each week.

Visit Judy's blog to see what others have on their needles.

Off & On the Needles - 9/11/15

I completed the daffodil socks last week.

To earn the ESK "Happy Hooker" badge, I need to complete a crochet project. I watched several crochet You Tube videos and tried to figure it out, but it just looked like a mess. So I went back to Ravelry to see if there was another project I could try. I found a tutorial on how to crochet a hot pad (Ravelry link) using the Tunisian crochet method. Now this I "got". It's currently 26 inches. I'm using the leftover Cascade 220 yarn from the baby blanket I knit earlier this year.

I will only have one more badge to earn after the Happy Hooker and that is Special Delivery.  Since it's my birthday month, I will earn that one in the near future also.

Visit Judy's blog to see what others have on their needles.

On the Needles - 9/4/15

Sock #2 has been started. Shortly after casting on one of my cables broke, so I had to wait to get a new one. Now I'm back to chugging away at it. The gusset is almost done and then it's on to the heel. The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the Daffodil colorway.

Visit Judy's blog to see what others have on their needles.