I started a hashtag!!

I did it. I started a hashtag. It's my first one. It is #knitmywardrobe2016

I have quite an ambitious list of things I want to accomplish in 2016. Specifically in my knitting favorites list, so I made a list. It's probably more than I can actually do and it doesn't account for gifts or last minute mittens and hats for my kids.

So, in no particular order, here is the list:

Sweaters:
1.Strokkur - started 12/15 and using Cascade 220 in charcoal gray, and 2 colors that I don't know the name of, a heathered olive and a heathered rust.
2. Campside Cardi by Alicia Plummer - Madeline Tosh DK in the Earl Gray colorway.
3. Antrorse - Quince & Co. Osprey in Peacoat
4. Grace by Jane Richmond - in Madeline Tosh in Modern Fair Isle
5. Anna Vest by Karen Templer -Cascade 220 in Shire

Socks:
My goal is at least 4 pair, but I would love to do more. I have a Yarnbox Socks subscription each month that I would like to attempt to keep up with, but so far I haven't liked the yarn and pattern together for my first 2 months.
Other sock patterns I want to do this year:
1. Iced Gingerbread by Sarah Stevens
2. Farmhouse Flats by Hey Lady Hey
3. Dale by A Homespun House
4. Blueberry Waffle Socks
5. Baby Socks by Socks Street for my daughter.
I want to make a pair of socks for my son too.

Head:
1. Tallorcen by Lucy Hague for my husband out of stash Swans Island
2. Baa-ble Hat - started 12/15 and using many leftovers from stash.
3. Showcase Headband by

Neck:
1. Bradway Shawl
2. Honeycomb Cowl Resurrection by   for my son out of Kollage Happiness worsted
3. Trellis Shawl by Annie Rowdan for my daughter out of Quince & Co.    in Petal
4. Rivulet Shawl by Tin Can Knits

Other:
1. Press Pot Cozy
2. Rocky by Tin Can Knits
3. Kangaroo
4. Cozy Memories Sock Yarn Blanket (will be a WIP for a long time)

Outside of knitting, I want to do a lot there as well.
1. I want to dye yarn for fun and then for my Etsy shop.
2. Get a pygmy goat or 2 and a mini sheep.
3. Grow things more efficiently in our garden and increase the size. (That will mean that this year we will have roughly 1800 sq ft of garden space.
4. Do more canning for the winter.
5. Read more.

Catching up

Happy New Year Knitters!
It's been such a long time since my last post. I have a few partial posts that I will update and then make live soon. I know the things I'm working on are different since my last post.
Life on the farm is wonderful, although quite busy. Our daughter is now one year old and busy as ever. My knitting time is not as much as I'd like, with barn chores, 2 young kids, housework, and homeschooling, but it's such a wonderful and full life that I'm so happy to call mine.

With that, I do have several projects going, as always. I just finished 2 kids sweaters, one for each of my children. For my son, I made another Wonderful Wallaby Wallaby. I've made 3 or 4 over the years and they are a favorite. I have a few custom changes I did on this one, per my son's request. This is knit in a Donegal Tweed in navy, with beautiful flecks of light blue and red, it was purchased in Ireland by my Dad over the summer. The pouch is done in a contrasting light blue from Bonners Ferry, Idaho. My son wanted it to be a kangaroo sweater, so the pouch is closed on both sides and only open on top, then I added ears to the top. The pink inside the ear is Quince &Co.
Next, is the Bonjour Chicken sweater for my daughter. I used Cascade 220 superwash, in a gray called Space needle and a purple called Majestic, I believe. I chose little wooden buttons from Joann Fabrics.

I am also making a pair of sparkling socks using Susan B. Anderson's How I Make My Socks pattern. The yarn is Western Sky Knits Twinkle Socks in Stained Glass. I might be in love with this yarn and colorway! It's absolutely gorgeous! I'm finished with the 1st sock and almost halfway done with the second. I would like to complete them this weekend. I looked very forward to participating  in the Christmas Eve cast on with Little Bobbins Podcast. She does a KAL starting socks on Christmas Eve. I cast on, but ended up frogging them because the combination of yarn and pattern was a bad choice.

I have also started a sweater called Strokkur using Cascade 220 in charcoal gray and I'm wondering if my contrasting colors should be changed.

I have yarn set aside and wound for the Bradway shawl, but I haven't cast on yet. That will be done in some cream alpaca from a little farm in Michigan, in my hometown.

I just started the Baa ble hat in some leftover yarns, including Madeline Tosh vintage, malabrigo rios, Spud and Chloe, and Hikoo Simply worsted.

 

I am making my 2016 list of things I would like to knit. The next post will be a list of that with the yarn I'm going to use. Please join me in knitting some beautiful things and using the hashtag #knitmywardrobe2016. I will be tagging all of my projects with that this year. I am hoping to blog more regularly and show my WIPs more often.

 

Also in the works this year, I am reading some very interesting books about knitting and dyeing yarn. I hope to begin dyeing yarn for my shop very soon. I will do a separate post on the books.

Until next  time...

Happy New Year! 

Trying to knit with 2 kids

I'm coming out of the holiday and new baby fog...well, sort of. I took a short hiatus from writing as my due date drew near so I could focus on my family and the last few weeks of my pregnancy. I finished some knitting projects, frogged a few, and worked on some that I'm still slowly wading through.

The end of the year was a busy one for us: new baby, parents and in laws visiting, holidays, and we bought a new house and moved in time for Christmas. Needless to say, my knitting took a back seat some of the time, not that I mind.

Now, with school back for the remainder of the year, my oldest heads off to his school and the baby and I head to run errands or go to the local coffee shop and knit. More often than not, we end up knitting. I'm finally figuring out how to balance my time better and give everyone the attention they need and want while still having some time for my stitches. 

So, with my resolutions in mind, I have my 2 pair of socks on the needles. My progress at this point, is one sock of each pair is halfway complete. 

Currently on the needles:

1.Socks On A Plane socks in Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock in Berry Tart. (Update: I decided to frog these because I want to knit them on a smaller needle)

2. A Nice Ribbed Sock by Glenna C. In Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in Malachite. (Update: finished!)

3. The Twigs and Willows Cardigan from Botanical Knits by Alana Dakos. I'm using Madeline Tosh Vintage in Begonia Leaf. (Update: in hibernation again)

4. I just started a project from a club I'm in. It's a pattern called Loslassen by Shannon Cook using The Neighborhood Fiber Company Studio Sock in Fells Point color way. (In hibernation)
5. A cowl for my Mom called the Cassu Cowl is also in progress using The Neighborhood Fiber Company Studio Worsted in a beautiful charcoal color and I can't remember the name. (Update: in again time out!)

To be updated later as I progress. I hope to complete a few pair of socks this year for #operatio sockdrawer. I also hope to complete a few sweaters this year. Some will be for the kids, so those should go a bit faster.

just keep knitting....

Distractions

See the problem with distractions is....oh look! Yarn!

I seem to have my hand in too many projects. I'm not on any deadline really, just my own made up "wishful thinking" timeline. I may or may not finish projects by my deadlines I make up, but I'm not worried anymore. I used to rush myself while I knitted, hoping to finish as many projects as quickly as I could. While I always have enjoyed and loved the process of knitting, it was always the starting something new, picking a pattern, choosing yarn, beginning the process that really drove me. I enjoy that part immensely, but with two kids, I have less time to knit. I love every minute I get, but I'm taking my time. 

That said, I will hopefully reach my year end goals for this year, but I'm not stressing about it. It also means I've been letting my etsy shop sit a little bit. I was hoping I'd have a few small custom orders coming in on a more regular basis, but I am also enjoying that I can spend more time with my family and our new little farm and less time working on things for my shop.

Oh, did I get distracted? Yes. 

So I have far too many projects in the needles and several in queue and ready to go. Patterns and yarns are picked out and set together. It's time to step back, take a look, finish a few, then get back on track!

Easy Knitting

November 2014:

Pretty soon, we will be holding our new baby in all of her hand knits and I'm sure I will be sad to see how quickly she will grow out of everything. I know my knitting time will be less than it is now, so I am trying to finish up a few more things and set my project list up for things that are "mindless knitting." These are things that don't require very much brain function for me, lots of garter or stockinette, very little row counting, chart reading, and lacework. These are perfect projects for social knitting groups as well as sleep deprived Moms who need something easy to be able to pick up and put down without the fear of forgetting what I'm doing.

These items will be posted and listed soon. Stay tuned.....

Resolutions

My knitting resolutions or goals for 2015 are to become a proficient sock knitter and make a couple of sweaters.

To begin this, I pulled my Socks on A Plane out if hibernation. I had put them on holders a few months ago when I lost my place at the heel turn. One of my lovely friends in my knitting group frogged my worked back and got me where I needed to be while I nursed my sweet baby. The socks are in a gorgeous hot pink and purple self striping yarn by Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock called Berry Tart. I'm halfway through one and hoping to finish them soon. I'm knitting those on two sets of circulars, which is a newer technique for me.

To compare techniques, I started another pair of socks using the magic loop method. I'm not sure which I will like better or which will be faster, but I will be paying attention to that as I knit. This second pair is a simple ribbed sock done in Hazel knits Artisan Sock in Malachite, a beautiful, dark green color. 

Also on the list is to FINALLY finish my Twigs and Willows cardigan from the Botanical Knits book by Alana Dakos. I'm using Madeline Tosh Vintage yarn in Begonia Leaf. I only have the sleeves and

Button band left, so hopefully those will go quickly in worsted weight yarn.

I have some yarn in my stash from frogging another cardigan I made a few years ago. It's a charcoal Cascade 220 and I also have some of the same yarn in hot pink and a similar worsted weight yarn by Mountain... In green. I'm thinking of purchasing some cream wool and using the combination to make the Hiro pullover. It has some gorgeous color work, but I am not very good at stranding, since I've only done it twice. I plan to practice on a baby hat first, then dive into that pullover this spring. 

My plan for sweaters is to complete at least 2 sweaters for me, one for my mom, and one for my son, as well as start on one for my husband, all by the end of the year. 

My plan for socks is to complete at least 2 pair for myself this year and one for each of my kids. If I can do that, I will make my husband a pair for Christmas.

I better get knitting!

Knitting Storm

I've just been knitting up a storm! When I look back at the amount of projects I've completed over the last 6 months, I'm shocked at how quickly things have flown off the needles! What a sense of accomplishment. Not much has been made for my Etsy shop, but I'm hoping I can knock out a few items before the holiday shopping truly begins!

Recently finished ones:
1. I completed the Dinosaur Wallaby for my son. It's not my favorite project because I have loved making the wallaby in the past, but I made a few changes that were not well thought out. I made the arms slimmer and did not do the increases as usual at the cuff. when I joined the sleeves to the body, this created an odd join that I don't love the look of. My son also requested that I leave the hood off. This adjustment then required some creative stitch counting and decreasing for the neckline. I think I frogged the neckline about 5 times and remade it. I finally have it so that it looks ok and will easily fit over his head.

2. I also finished a second pair of the Footies that I made. I did this second pair also in Malabrigo Rios and these are in my hospital bag to take with me for when the baby comes.

3. I've been making a few small Christmas ornaments as gifts, but also to sell in my Etsy shop. (www.etsy.com/shop/SeraCraft)

4. My mittens are almost complete, but the second one has been a real trouble maker and she has been put in a time out, with only the thumb to finish.

5. Baby Mittens for the newborn stage were ridiculously fast and are so tiny, I can hardly believe they will fit! 

6. My Pine Tree Place cowl is also done and it has moved to the front of my scarf wardrobe, since its perfect for fall, easy to wear, and matches me coat. It has become a quick favorite.

I should be finished with a sweater soon and I'm working on organizing my winter projects now. I will be looking forward to posting some new ones!