Wednesday WIPs + a FO

I haven't accomplished much this past week, so you won't see a lot of progress from the last WIPs list.

WIPs (Works In Progress):

1. Moose Afghan (from Hell) - 75% done.  (no progress)
2. Long Cat Scarf - 50% done.  (no progress)
3. Skull Towel - 25% done.  (no progress...sensing a theme here?)
4. Ladies Top - 30% complete (no progress)
5. Semele - 20% complete (no progress)
6. La Vie de Bois Socks - about 25% done. Started these June 1st, so they are new to the list. The pattern is well written.  She gives you both the written instructions and a nice large, easy to read chart for my old eyes.  Loving knitting these!  Bonus, I am using yarn dyed by the designer!

Missing from the list:

    Sock Monkey Hat -  Finished!  But I didn't get a picture of it before I gave it to my sister to give to her granddaughter.  If I get a picture in the future, I will update with it.

So, what have you been working on?  Happy Creativity to you All!

Wednesday WIPs

For the past few months, I have been very lazy about my blogging.  I would like to give you are good reason for this, but really...I just haven't felt like it.  The blogging mojo has been AWOL and as a result, so have I.  Since I haven't found a way to remedy that, I decided that just forcing myself to type something in this space might redevelop the habit for me.  I don't know if it will work, but here we go.

I promise you that I have been working on projects.  Lots of projects have been completed but not many have been photographed.  I think that the photography issue may be part of my blogging block.  I am very frustrated with the quality or lack of quality in my photography, so I don't want to take pictures of what I have done.  If I don't have pictures to show you, then I don't want to blog about what I can't show you.  It is time to get past all that.

Works In Progress (WIPs):

1. Moose Afghan (from hell) - about 75% complete, but it is too hot to work on a king size afghan.
2. Long Cat Scarf - about 50% complete. It is double-knit and the technique is new for me :)
3. Skull Towel - about 25% complete.  This started out as a dishcloth, but it is going to be to big for that.
4. Sock Monkey Hat - I just cast on this one.  My sister requested it for her granddaughter.
5. Ladies Top - about 30% complete.  I haven't worked on it in a month
6. Semele - about 20% complete.  I haven't worked on it in a month or more.

I think that is all of them.  Check back on Friday when I will post picks of some recent FOs.  Until then, Happy Creativity to you all !

Part 2 of the Afterthough Heel Adventure

For the past 2 weeks I have been spending a lot of time in a VKH.  A VKH is a Virtual Knitting Hangout.  We meet in a hangout on google+ every day and I love it!  They inspire me, motivate me and cheer me and I hope I do the same for them.

In the VKH this past week we have had a Week of WIPs, to inspire us to clean up some of the WIPs that have been sitting around for way too long in our project bags, baskets and closets.  I completed FIVE!!!  It was such a great way for us to clean up WIPs that we decided to have a WIP weekend in our VKH on the first weekend of every month.

One of my WIPs that was completed this past week in my Nanner Socks.  This pattern is by Wendy Johnson and was inspired by the dancing bananas on Plurk.  The yarn is Ripe Nanners by thechickswithsticks.  Unfortunately her shop is inactive at the moment.  I started these socks back in 2008, but only got the toe on one sock done before I set them aside and ignored them.


When I picked them up this week, I had just completed the socks from the last post with the afterthought heel.  I decided that I would do a "true" afterthought heel on this pair.  The difference being that with the previous pair of socks, I inserted a waste yarn as I knit the sock so I could go back to remove the waste yarn, pick up the stitches and knit the heel very easily.  This time, I didn't use a waste yarn.  I just knit a tube and then went back to snip the yarn (yes, I cut my knitting!!!), pick up the stitches and knit the afterthought heel.  It was liberating and the resulting heel is wonderful.  I am so happy that I tried this and I need to give props to my VKH ladies who advised me, and insisted that I could do it!  Thank you so much!

Are you challenging yourself with your knitting?  Do you take any challenges with your crafts?  I am determined that this year I will challenge myself to knit, crochet, spin or whatever, outside my comfort zone.  It is so rewarding when it works and educational when I fail.  I promise that I will let you know about my failures too.  My next challenge is to knit a shawl.  I have crocheted shawls, but never knit one.  Check back to see how it goes.

Happy Creativity to you all!!!

2 WIPs and a Scrappy FO.

I have been having a wonderful time working on the Amiga. The pattern is very clear, including the instructions on how to join the motifs in the 6th round (no sewing together, yay!). I frequently get confused when trying to join motifs in some patterns, so I was glad that the instructions were so clear and easy. Now I need to pick up stitches to knit the ribbed neck.
I have done a little work on the Sasquatch Socks. They are huge and I am a little worried that they may actually be a little too big. I think I will have the apartment manager take home the first one for her husband to try on before I start the second sock. I like to make dishcloths to have on hand for last minute gifts, plus they make a great way to practice a new technique, but what to do with the little leftovers? I just make dishcloths for me. I don't care what they look like as long as they will get the job done, so I use multiple colors even if they don't "go" together. The one below is just garter stitch and uses 3 leftover balls of different colors. It was a mindless project while watching a television show that I was engrossed in, so I didn't have to look at what I was knitting.So, what do you do with your leftover kitchen cotton?

A WIP and a UFO

Woohoo! I completed 2 projects today. The first one is a pair of self striping socks that I started for the Ravelympics back in August of 2008 but never finished. They have made appearances a few times in my knitting bag when I thought I would be waiting for appointments and at family gatherings, but they are boring. The pattern is Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Sock Recipe (Ravelry Link) and the yarn is Paton's Kroy Sock in the Jacquards Tutti-Fruitti colorway. Endless miles of stockinette stitch, yawn. Now they are done, and I have proof. Ta Da!Magic loop was used, but I hadn't learned how to do 2 at a time back then. Silly me!The next project was just started on May 31st in anticipation of doing a lot of waiting at a medical appointment yesterday. I was correct in my assumption. I almost finished both mitts while there. So it was simple to finish them up today. The pattern is Lacy Fingerless Gloves (Raveled) by Christie Pruitt. They are crocheted in Red Heart Sport in the Aqua colorway and will go with a cowl I knit last winter. (Yes, the arm is a little pinkish. I got too much sun at a weekend BBQ.)I inserted some paper so that it would be easier to see the stitches. As always, I wish I was better at taking the pictures. The true color is somewhere between these 2 pictures.Finally, I received a wonderful little surprise in the mail from a fellow raveler in the RAK group (Random Acts of Kindness). I don't know if she would want to be identified, so I won't. She sent me a Ziploc with assorted buttons in it! I love it. I have already picked out some special buttons from the gift to use in future projects. Thank you for such a lovely and thoughtful gift!!!

Some knitting, finally!

Okay, I have dug out the camera and taken some pictures. Perhaps I should have warned you to sit down for that shocking news. I really haven't been knitting that much, or at least not that productively, since the holiday knitting ended. I have been rather fickle about projects, starting and then just frogging the whole thing to start something else. I have no interest in my WIPs at all.

I have finished two projects. The first is a pair of fingerless mitts for.....hold onto your whatevers ....ME! My hands get achy and cold while I knit and crochet, so I decided I need at least one pair of these handy mitts to help me be more comfortable. I may have accidentally discovered a new addiction. Watch out socks, here come the mitts! These are Mirror Twist Mitts designed by Rachel Maxson and made up in Schachenmayr Nomotta Regia Jacquard in the Farbe Partie colorway. The only changes I made to the pattern were to cast on 12 more stitches to accommodate my fat hands(the designer advises adding multiples of 6 stitches to enlarge) and I added matching ribbing to the thumbs.The next project was just easy fun. A cute Starfish Cloth designed by Sew-Funky and made up in Sugar & Cream cotton. Finally, I currently have on my needles a scarf that I am calling Cotton Candy Haze Scarf that I am working up in Berroco Classic Mohair on US size 10.5 needles. What have you been knitting or crocheting? Do you make things mostly for yourself or mostly for others? Do you go through phases in your knitting where, perhaps you only make socks, or only do lace or colorwork? Please share with me in the comments.

WIPs

I have been finishing up several of my WIPs recently and realized that as the number of projects that I have going diminishes, the more I want to start new projects. I really dislike having just one project at a time going.

Currently, I have just two projects left in progress: The 2008 ThreadTeds Challenge and my sister-in-laws afghan. (there are always squares to be made for the Hugs From The Heart afghans or Scarves From the Heart too, but they are always needed) The ThreadTeds project is nearing completion with only a day or two of work left. I am going to try to avoid starting new projects until I finish the afghan as it is long overdue.

Now I go to lie down as I am not feeling well today. Sorry.