Category: Works in Progress (WIPs)

Studio Sunday

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I finally did it. I finally exceeded my yarn to storage tub ratio. This means one of the other tubs will need to be emptied, and I’m leaning toward the fabric tub.

I’m making decent progress on the Hitofude Cardigan. I think I’ll be mostly monogamous until it’s finished. It’s exactly the kind of pattern I like: repetitive, intuitive, but enough stitch pattern to hold my interest.

Although let’s be honest, I really enjoy a good stockinette project.

I signed up for the Shave’em to Save’em initiative. It will be a while before I start as I am on a spending fast, but I’m hoping to pick up some yarn from an Ohio farm.

I mended the neckline of Bob’s Gansey. It looks pretty good.

My new-to-me sewing machine is THE BOMB! Who needs a serger when you’ve got zig zags like that?

I’m not sure what to do today other than reorganizing. I think I’d like to start some PJs and start on the Bramen Cowl assignment.

I hope you’re having a good weekend full of craft magic!

Much Drive, Little Knit

Posted on Posted in field trips, sweaters, Works in Progress (WIPs)Tagged , , , , 4 Comments

The boys and I left Oklahoma a day early to trek east to see the Heavener Runestone.

My oldest especially wanted to see it. It was a beautiful spot, and while there have been some questions about its authenticity, I do believe it is possible that Vikings could have come to this location via the route suggested. I wish they would excavate the cave site because I think it could be enlightening. Regardless, we had a lot of fun!

We stayed over at a bed and breakfast in Mount Vernon, Missouri. On the way through St Louis we stopped at a wonderful fair trade store – Zee Bee Market – and the store manager got a great pic of us!

I’ve had plenty of time to knit as the boys have shared driving duty with me, but this is all I’ve managed.

And that was the best pic I could manage of the knitting on my lap in the car. Still, it won’t be long until I’m on sleeve island!

WIPs

Posted on Posted in shawls and haps, sweaters, Works in Progress (WIPs)Tagged , 7 Comments

One of my goals this trip was to get my projects cast on. Starting a new project takes extra time and attention, and it’s my least favorite part so I avoid it. Here are all my knitting WIPs.

Hitofude Cardi

The Oa

Staghorn Sweater

These sweaters are all in a good place to pick up and carry on knitting.

Celtic Myths Shawl – I started the edging.

Midnight Merino Raglan – this has been the easiest to work on and I will probably knit this on the trip home.

I inherited a new machine. It was my Grandmother’s last machine before she passed away. This is timely since my machine is having tension issues.

Blogging from the Road

Posted on Posted in fiber love, field trips, sweaters, Works in Progress (WIPs)Tagged , 3 Comments

Hi from the road! I’m knitting in the back seat and wanted to share the beautiful texture of this yarn. This is the Midnight Merino Raglan I haven’t worked on in a while, but this is great car knitting. I’m glad the stitches are plain so they can show off the texture.

I made it to the knotwork on Celtic Myths, but that’s too fussy for the car.

Slapdash Saturday

Posted on Posted in design, scarves and cowls, sewing, sweaters, what makes me tick, Works in Progress (WIPs)Tagged , , 5 Comments

I ripped back several inches of the Ohio Star Cowl. As you can see here, my short rows were too steep.

It looks like a sleeve! I will reknit it, decreasing into a more shallow point at the bottom front. Here is a better look at the textured star, which I hope will block out nicely.

And here you can see my math scribbles on a corner of knitters graph paper because I forgot my journal.

Today I started sewing again!

Okay, no actual sewing, but some pattern cutting. I hope to get started tomorrow. I have plenty of fabric to match my plaids, but my goal here is a folksy mismatching of plaid, on the pockets at least.

I also decided I love my red Targhee sweater too much to not be able to throw it on over jeans- with no shirt underneath because it is super soft- which means it needs a handspan of length added to the bottom to cover my hips. I spent a good deal of my time ripping out stitches.

I stopped before ripping out all the ribbing because it was lunch time. I’ll finish tomorrow.

Here’s my swatch for one of the Warm Hands contest designs. I’ve decided to forget about the contest since it may not be happening, and I promised myself I didn’t have to put anything out there this year if I didn’t feel like it. And I’m not feeling like it. Ostrich Sleeves will have to wait.

Today I realized why I cram so much creativity in on the weekend. When I was working as a store manager, I used that part of my brain every day on photography and social media. Now that part of my brain doesn’t get much exercise during the work week, so I’m hitting it hard on the weekend.

After studio time it was Date Saturday. Bob and I went out for Mexican food, saw Green Book, and picked up Ethiopian food to take home for dinner. We ate out twice today! How decadent.

Thursday

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I have been exhausted all week. I don’t know if I’m coming down with something, but other than working, all I really want to do is sleep.

I am still working on this Ohio Star Cowl which may be better suited to a giraffe once I finally get the short rows done on the front. I really want to finish it!

The bad news is… Kate Davies had to put the Knitting Season Club on hold due to health reasons. I’m not sure where that leaves the design contest.

The good news is… my first Ottobre arrived! There are a few things I would like to make, but that means I would have to buy fabric! That wouldn’t be so bad, but I already have sewing projects lined up.

I recently read this article which has me wondering why I always want to turn my hobbies into a job. Granted, when I was home with kids making and teaching and selling my wares at craft fairs, that line of reasoning made sense. But now I have a job, a good job I love, and I seem to be good at it. So why don’t I just let my hobbies be hobbies and enjoy them? I don’t have to justify or monetize them, do I?

Sunday Studio Time

Posted on Posted in design, scarves and cowls, sweaters, Works in Progress (WIPs)Tagged , , , , 5 Comments

I was good and completed my swatch for The Oa on the smaller sized needle. I haven’t steamed it yet. I also threw in a row of the green for color C to see how it would show up and I’m really glad I did, because it doesn’t! Show up that is. I also tried some knit 2 of A and C before binding off, just to be sure. Someone who has more experience with colorwork probably would have seen this coming. It’s ok, though. I ordered two balls of black and I’m sure that will work.

This week’s Knitting Season assignment was to write every day with the prompt, “Remember when I…” So I wrote about the time I dyed this silk top blue, spun it into yarn, and knit it into this tam. It’s a little beat up now. I wore it and so did some of the kids, which made me happy. It inspires me. I think I might like to save up and get a spinning wheel again.

I also spent some time working on this design for a colorwork Ohio Star Cowl and beanie.

And the original Ohio Star Bandandit is almost done, but I ran out of yarn! I ordered another 2 ounce hank and am looking forward to blocking it and wearing it. I want to knit another one with more texture work in The Fibre Co Arranmore Light in St. Claire, the bobbly tam yarn.

So it has been a productive week. I guess I am slowly but surely getting closer to reaching my goals.

People ask me how I do all of this on top of a full time job and my very part time work with Haven Herbs, and I can say with certainty it’s because Bob does all of the shopping, cooking, and cleaning. And he does it because he likes it. I do my own laundry and dishes, and clean the bathroom sometimes, but that’s really it. So shout out to Bob! ❤️ Also, I only have one kid still in school and he is super low key. ❤️

And I’m a much happier person when I am knitting. ❤️

ETA: I cut a steeeeeeek!

Nailed it!

Posted on Posted in shawls and haps, sweaters, Works in Progress (WIPs)Tagged , , 7 Comments

Hit the gauge smack on for The Oa and I love these colors! Now I’m supposed to knit it again in a smaller needle size, and I suppose I should do as I’m told, but you know I want to cast on the sweater now.

I am still making good progress on Celtic Myths. It won’t be long before it’s cabled knotwork time!

It’s Saturday and I don’t have to work and I might knit on the couch in my pjs all day.

ETA: My first version of this post was a little snarky. I felt bad about it so I deleted all that nonsense, but if you subscribe to my posts via email you get the original, unfiltered for snark version. Bob calls this “the real Alissa” and saves these posts for posterity.

It was just me grumbling about Instagram fatigue and how I should have artfully strewn flower petals in my knitting photos.

Cogs are Turning Again!

Posted on Posted in design, sweaters, Works in Progress (WIPs)Tagged , , , 4 Comments

My new year got derailed by the stomach flu. But I am feeling myself again, and am back at my Knitting Season journal.

I set myself a number of goals for 2019. They include knits to make by other designers, knits to design myself, and a list of challenges.

Look at these cute and tidy pages.

Number one on the challenges list is to salvage yarn from a garment and reknit it into something new. I had imagined finding something at the thrift store, but talking about my magenta Le Smoking made the cogs start turning in the old noggin.

I really like the new Weel Riggit design that we received as part of the Knitting Season Club, but I’m not in a place to purchase a large amount of yarn right now, and I already have two sweaters ready to cast on waiting in the wings.

Then I realized the magenta Le Smoking is knit from aran weight yarn, some old Fingerlakes Soft Wool 3Ply.

Then I started looking around for something I could knit with it in the lice pattern. I don’t have to follow the pattern explicitly. (She uses four colors.) I can just be inspired and make my own pattern with two colors.

Then I realized I was looking at a multi yarn with magenta in it.

Then I realized I have an old wool sweater Bob’s Mom gave to me that has a little magenta in it!

What do you think? There is definitely some mohair in this yarn, but I think that might give the lice stitches a nice halo.

There might also be some acrylic in this, but I gave it the burn test, and it all burned and smelled like hair. So if there is any acrylic, it isn’t much. I guess that glisten could be the mohair.

I took the depiller to it to make it easier to pull out. Does anyone remember/still have one of these? Mine is from when I was still living with my Mom, so it’s from the 1980s!

Also, I might have gotten over treating my journal like it is precious. This is my Ohio Star Cowl design in progress. (Write, knit, rewrite, rip out, reknit.)

Wow, I blogged twice today!