Stash Busting!

I have never really been one to go on a "yarn diet." I find that for me there is simply no good reason to try to curb the influx of wool into my house. It's what I like to do and there's no way to overdose on yarn, die from yarn, hurt others with my obsession with yarn, or harm myself with yarn. I don't ever buy enough to put me into debt and I am very clever about finding room for more of it (goodbye trunk space!). So ultimately, I usually just buy as much as I can whenever I can and have often inwardly scoffed at other knitters' attempts to curb their purchasing habits.

But, alas, all good things must come to an end. I went through my stash and found out a few irritating truths:
1) There is a lot of yarn in my house
Now this shouldn't be an irritating truth because obviously, I like yarn! I like knitting and yarn is like my soul string. It's what all my good feelings are made of! But, unfortunately, if I continue to buy  yarn without using up some of the yarn I already have, I will inevitably run out of room for yarn. And with us moving soon to a smaller place I really don't have a lot of room for yarn. So, it's either use it up or donate or get rid of it and seriously I bought (most of) this yarn because I loved it and wanted to use it.
2) The amount of yarn that I DON'T want is incredibly small
There is one bag of things I COULD donate. And it's a very small bag.
3) A lot of this yarn I have toted around for YEARS
The oldest yarn is the yarn I'm the most sick of seeing and I think it should go first. And by go I mean be knitted up.
4) I have some really nice yarn!
I have anzula, malabrigo, koigu, beautiful hand-dyed skeins from local spinners...why am I not knitting this stuff up?! Why do I instead rush off the the store to get a sweater's quantity of some cheapo acrylic for the umpteenth time?
5) That bag of teeny tiny little scraps
What in the heck am I supposed to make out of them?! I've been researching scrap afghans but honestly I don't really like how they look. I don't want to do a cozy memories or a log cabin type one, I hate weaving in ends, I don't want to crochet one even though it would be quicker, I guess they are just doomed to sit there on time out and think about what they have done.

 

Anyway

I did work on a hat from all stash. Be proud.

(Yes unapolgetic snapchat filter photos. Why wear makeup when I can just use snapchat!?)
This is the siksak hat It is a free pattern on Ravelry and it was perfect for a little bit of stash busting. I used most of a ball of Patons Classic Wool for the beige color. (Leftover from my fair isle cardigan I made a few years ago) and everything else was scraps of patons as well, except for the orange which had no ballband and was I think Ella Rae from a Tuesday Morning sale. This hat is excessively long, proof again that I really should do gauge for hats, but I actually quite like how it looks. I will definitely end up making another one out of different colors eventually. And honestly the turn up brim makes it SOOO warm and cozy. If ever I knit hats for the homeless this is the pattern for it! The brim, by the way, was also the most boring and horrible part to work on. ah, life.


So then I worked a little bit on my Must Have Cardigan, and worked a little bit on a boring pair of socks in progress, both of which I don't have pictures of because they are boring. (The socks are all black, and a vanilla pattern. For the husband. I'll share on completion) Then I went back to my stash for another quick little stash buster.

My daughter was in want of a cardigan. And I had a random ball of I'm really not sure that I had purchased just for the express purpose of making her a sweater. Only, I knew it was enough to make a sweater for her THEN, when she was 100% still inside my body. Now she is over a year, and I worried the ball wouldn't be enough. Surprise: it wasn't.

So I got a little fancy with the collar, pulling another ball of stash out and working up a little short row collar. Which looked funky of course, so I added the pockets.

I almost frogged it before I got the pockets on, but once I did I realized it was turning into something quite unlike I had expected and I suddenly decided that it needed embroidery. (I never embroider so this was quite unusual.)

Ahhh the little blanket stitch. I stayed up well past midnight wanting to get this done for Finished Object Friday. (I did!)

And finally a little daisy on each pocket.

The sweater- a frankenstein modge-podge of stash yarn and hopes - actually amazingly FIT my daughter (after I reached the underarms and started running out of yarn, I abandoned the regular pattern of decreases and just did whatever I could to conserve yarn and keep some semblance of sweater-shape so I was shocked it worked out ok) and looks stinkin' cute on her.

She, of course, pulled it off in a fit of rage after about 3 hours.


At any rate, I'm pretty impressed with how much I've worked from stash so far. There is so much yarn in my stash I'm sure there is plenty to knit without getting bored! As of now, I'm working on (aside from ongoing cardigan and socks) a very old project: a crochet baby blanket I started for Penelope but which now has no intended recipient.

Oh and I started a knitting journal! This was right before I FOUND my old one from high school which is hilarious.

I can't wait to share that with you all. I'm planning on making a video.

Happy knitting!

FO Friday: GAPtastic Cowl

I cast on for a quick and easy project on January 3rd. I had to get some yarn to make a commissioned Christmas Stocking, and it was the perfect excuse to shop the Joann yarn sale. I've never been much for novelty yarns, but I found these skeins of Deborah Norville Serenity Chunky with Sequins that just really struck me as the perfect yarn to make something for my step-daughter. Now, Christmas managed to sneak up on me this year but next year it won't! I cast on for the Gap-tastic cowl and was finished by January 5th.

I used 3 skeins, which was not enough for the full 15" but it still looks fine. I had to play a bit of yarn chicken at the end, but I think I did a pretty good guesstimation for how much yarn I would need to bind off!

It's sparkly and soft, and I really think she will like it.... of course, I have to wait a year to find out!

I didn't weave in the ends so that I wouldn't be tempted to give it to her early. Also, that way come Christmas I will feel like it's a new project. Also, I hate weaving in ends.

I did start the commissioned stocking too.

I'll share more soon.

Happy knitting!

FO: Penny's Oversize Sweater

So I finished up an adorable little sweater for my daughter the other day.

There is an adorable oversized poncho pattern called the Azel Pullover that has been incredibly popular lately. Again and again, adorable renditions of this little sweater have been produced and shared on "Knit & Chat," my favorite Facebook group. As much as I appreciate the look of the design, I am on a tight budget and don't buy patterns very often. As in, I have purchased 17 patterns on Ravelry and have been a member since early 2009. So really, not very often. I'm more likely to try to figure out how it is knit by the picture and attempt
 to replicate it myself. I liked the oversized look and large collar of the Azel Pullover, but didn't have a big selection of bulky yarn and wanted something a little more interesting to knit- thus this little sweater was born.

Using a cute cabled design from the little book Fabulous Knit Aran Stitches, called Framed Bobbles, I knit along and made basically a big rectangle with a cast off section for the neck. Fold that puppy in half, seam up to the armholes, pick up the turtleneck and BAM! Cute oversized sweater!

I did work some decreases after the initial neck bind off to give the neckline some shape. The only thing that kind of irritated me was that I didn't end the diamond at a point, but I knew that once I picked up for the neck you wouldn't really be able to tell.

Can you tell? Not really, huh.
My only real regret is that I didn't use Jeny's surprisingly stretchy bind off. I definitely will the next time I do a turtleneck. It fits her fine and everything, I just think she would have appreciated some extra stretch.

My Ravelry page gives a little info too.

"The Most Wonderful Time of the Year"

I hate Christmas.

There, I said it. Shock and awe, omigoodness. But it is true. I told my mom this year my true feelings on Christmas and she didn't believe me- I am a good actress, I suppose. She said, "But Ceci you are the one that always gets something for everyone!" It's true! I knit for loved ones, I bake cookies, I sing the songs, and I buy presents all year long so that on Chrsitmas something will be under that damned tree. That cursed, stupid tree, that doesn't belong in the effing house. It's an unpopular opinion, I know. But I hate the songs, I hate the season, I hate the shopping, the wrapping, the gifting, the baking, the smiling, the decorating, the hot cocoa, all of it. Says the girl who just knit 5 Christmas stockings and then trekked to the store to buy all the goodies to fill them all up. (I did get myself a few pairs of knitting needles to chuck into mine though so that was nice.)

But, what's important is that this- THIS- is the most wonderful time of the year. Now. The day before Christmas, when it is what it is and it's over soon, and your husband comes home at his usual time and you notice that it's still light outside which means the days are getting longer, and talk starts to drift away from Christmas plans and towards new year plans, and you know that Christmas is going to be over and the New Year is going to begin and everyone is going to make the same old resolutions to lose weight and be a better person.

I love making New Year's resolutions. I always make the same kind: Workout goals, and Knitting goals. For workouts, this blog doesn't care, but for knitting---- I have some tentative plans, and they all include the blogosphere. I want to blog more often, share more pictures, put more lame videos on youtube, knit more swatches for my Super Stitches Knitting project, finish more works in progress. I love New Years because it's full of hope. And you don't have to look at your failures until just about Christmas time next year. Haha

I'm making lists and dreams, and I'll share them all in due time.

What an amazing feat! I'm truly proud of this project. Still have top sew up and embroider the snowmen stocking, but otherwise complete.

The Approaching Deadline...

December is such a busy time. It's a busy time for everyone, but especially for crafters. As a knitter, I find myself relying on my skills throughout the year: "Oh, come Christmas I'll have a bunch of gifts already and then I can make some for x y and z. It'll be so easy!" Note to self: NOTHING IS AS EASY AS YOU THINK IT IS.

In October I told myself to order some stocking yarn and patterns because "There's plenty of time before Christmas." Here it is December 20th and my final stocking isn't even half way done!

But it's fine, it will definitely be done by Christmas eve. It really only takes a day to knit most of a stocking. The rest of the time is spent avoiding weaving in ends, seaming and embroidering. And with practically 4 days, there is really plenty of time.

Doesn't the set look pretty? I can't wait to take a picture of them in front of the fireplace! And of course I can't wait to stuff them full of goodies for Christmas morning.

Speaking of Christmas morning, though, there is more on my needles than stockings.
I'm working on:

1) Slippers for my dad
2) A hat for my brother
3) A toy bird for one niece
4) A birdhouse for the other niece (she asked for this. What kid wants a birdhouse?!)
5) Fingerless gloves for my sister

and by "working on" I actually mean I've only cast on the slippers but I still have hopes that somehow I will warp the space-time continuum and finish all 5 of these projects and still have time to like, shower and eat food and go to work.

I have hopes!
Thank you for passing through my blog during this busy busy season. I appreciate it.

Happy knitting!

Some things I have on the go...

 I've been getting a lot of knitting done. I guess that's just the sort of thing that happens when you ask to go part time at work and school is on hold until next semester and Christmas is nearing. My  personal and fun project (the Must Have Cardigan) is put on hold. I've knit both sleeves and some of the back, but since it's selfish knitting it must wait for Christmas even though I am cold and could use a sweater.

It's so gorgeous. Even though it's made of acrylic I love it. I'm glad I will be able to wash it without worry, and that it will probably wear well through the years. I hope it ends up being very wearable and casual, and that its color will render it very useful in my wardrobe. I am very selfish- I had entertained the idea of finishing it and giving it to my mom instead, but the hours that went into it have included much of me spreading the fabric out and touching the cables longingly. Definitely mine.

While going back and forth between the sweater project and my husband's stocking, I was pretty confident about getting all 4 stockings done by Christmas because I swore to myself I wouldn't go crazy this year. "Only my sister gets a knitted present this year. Nobody else." My sister has rheumatoid arthritis and always receives a simple pair of fingerless gloves, which she makes a big deal of and always appreciates. Fingerless gloves are an easy gift and it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet, and I had PLENTY of time, right?

Enter my niece, and this simple message I received on Facebook:

Indeed I did make her those socks 5 years ago. I actually made something for everyone that year, and those who loved their knitted gifts I have continued to knit for and those who didn't seem to care for them have gotten store bought gifts in recent years. I remembered her fawning over her socks, and also remembered every year writing out my list of who would get a gift and often scrawling "socks" next to her name. But as often happens, I run out of time and funds and this past year we didn't even do a gift exchange in my family... and so she never got another pair.

Until now! These are made with Patons Kroy FX. They aren't identical, but neither was her last pair. This pair was worked on 60 stitches and size 1's whereas the last was 64 and size 2's. As a result they are quite tight... I'm kind of worried they won't fit her as well actually, but this close to Christmas there are no do-overs.

Now, my sister has quite a few kids and if I'm going to knit for the one niece I kind of have to make something for the other. So I dug through the closet, and found the cursed phentex slipper I blogged about back in July.

The second slipper is now about half way done, and after that I can finally get my sister's fingerless gloves worked up. And come to think of it, my brother needs a hat... so Christmas knitting is taking priority. I did finish my husband's stocking though.

My daughter's is up to the chart... of course, it's been up to the chart for a few days now. In fact I might be suddenly realizing my family needs gifts just to escape knitting yet more intarsia charts...
I am trying really hard to ignore the stocking project altogether even though that little voice inside me keeps nudging, "Only x days left until Christmas...."

Anyway, the baby has woken from her nap, and my husband and I have a dinner to attend: Our two year wedding anniversary is on the 13th and his parent's wedding anniversary is tomorrow so we are meeting tonight for prime rib and good company.

Happy knitting!