WIP Wednesday: Hitchhiker, nemesis socks, and a cowl for my MiL

I have more projects than usual on the needles right now, and I'll share the main three today.

I've been really digging the Hitchhiker pattern, but was stressed about the fact that I don't have 500+ yards of any one sock yarn...it only means I'll have a shorter piece, so I eventually bit the bullet and cast on. I'm using the 'Whale Watching' yarn that I got in Juneau that's been burning a whole in my stash for 2 months. Love. It. Love the way it's knitting up, love the flecks of silver, love the pointy points in the pattern. Overall, huge success. My pal Mel is also knitting this right now (in a gorgeous deep green), and she has nicknamed hers "dragon tail". Not to be outdone, I've named mine "stegosaurus tail".  I love dinosaurs, the points look like plates...why not? (Also, pretty sure a dinosaur would destroy a dragon in a street fight).

My nemesis socks. Seriously. I rue the day that I picked up this yarn and couldn't put it down. Because that's how it was - ask anybody that was there. I was all torn about it, like 'oh, I don't want to spend the money' but also all like 'gosh, I've always wanted a nice pair of pink striped socks'...so I bought it. And I hate it. It's not the color, I really do love the color. It's the fact that it's not plied. And this is my first attempt at 2-at-a-time socks, and the two strands just keep trying to grab each other and hold on. Ensue tangling, swearing, and throwing of project. I had intended to rip it out, but then I realized I was already halfway through the heel flap, so I really need to just finish. But for the record: hate.

And my MiL's cowl. This is surprisingly fun to knit. I say surprisingly because I traditionally like patterns that I can knit while not paying attention. This one requires a moderate amount of attentiveness, but I've got it under control. She picked out the yarn and approved the pattern...I really hope the finished product is perfect!

WIP: Stripe Study Shawl

My latest obsession, er work in progress, is the Stripe Study Shawl. I needed a good knit for my Alaska trip and my friend Mel suggested this one. SUCH a good suggestion! It's involved enough to not be boring, but not so much that I need to concentrate much. Very social! I'm about halfway there and really looking forward to finishing!

WIP Wednesday: the Bella Mittens

Love. Love the way the yarn feels, love the way the color turned out, love the way the mittens feel. Love it all! They are still (clearly) a work in progress, but I am really in love with this pattern.

Photo credit to Meg, and shout-out to my Vampires! shirt :)

WIP Wednesday: Déjà vu

How many times will my honey cowl be featured as my WIP before I actually finish it? Shortly after my last post, I realized that, 1 - I had twisted the stitches when I joined in the round, and 2 - I had dropped a stitch and the person who helped me pick it up, did it wrong. The twist made me mad, but I could have handled it. The dropped stitch mishap? No.


So I swore off the entire project. Ripped it out, put the yarn back on the shelf and started looking for a new project. But I kept seeing people with their finished honey cowl...on Ravelry, in magazines, and amongst my friends. So I decided to begin again, and I'm super glad that I did. I'm right at halfway done, and the pattern is now mindless. Great TV/meetup project. I hope that the next time I'm posting about it, it'll be finished and blocked. Fingers crossed.

Side note: I've changed my mind a thousand times on whether I'm a fan of this colorway (I'd like it with more blue). My friend Melanie said it looks like a mermaid's tail and I've loved it ever since!

WIP Wednesday: the sweater

My first sweater is coming along nicely. I've just cast-on the final two pieces - the sleeves! To everyone who suggested knitting the sleeves simultaneously - THANK YOU - YOU ARE ALL GENIUSES! I was really on a roll with the project and I've just hit a wall, as evidenced by the fact that I haven't touched it in over a month. If I weren't knitting the sleeves at the same time, I might never finish it. Plus, they will be completely identical this way. Or at least they have a greater chance of being identical this way.

Making a sweater was one of my 2011 goals and since I'm not doing too hot on the others, I really need to pull through on this one. Fingers crossed!

WIP Wed...wait, Monday: Everyday Wrap

I'm working on the Everyday Wrap in Noro Taiyo. I saw the pattern and picked up the yarn during the Autumn 2011 Yarn Crawl. The project is a bit stalled because I need to confer with my friend Meg about the alterations that I'd like to make, but overall I'm pretty excited. Noro is always a favorite. I wish I could knit with it every single day. I guess I could if I knitted the Everyday Wrap every day. Chuckle, chuckle.

P.S. The question is not do you, but how much do you love the solemn, artsy Pug in the background?

Ravelry Update and my WIP

I was inspired by the number of my knitting friends that keep their projects list current in Ravelry...so much so that I spent a few hours bringing mine current. Well, almost current. I still have a few outstanding items that need to be photographed, but you can see most of my work here.

If you're not a Ravelry person, you can check my Flickr Photostream.

My current project of focus is the Madeline Tosh Honey Cowl. I have a long way to go, and my goal is to have it ready to wear for my library association banquet on December 1st. I'd say there's a 50% chance of that happening.

WIP Wednesday: first sweater

One of my goals for the year was to knit a sweater for myself. I've been knitting long enough to take on a bigger project, and I'm a little bored with the same-old. I toiled over which pattern to use (way more than I'm willing to admit), but I knew that if I wasn't excited about it, if I was *too* bored to death with it, that I'd never finish it.

The Raglan (asymmetrical) Cardi from Knit Simple won, hands down! To make the deal a little sweeter, two of my (incredibly talented) knitting friends agreed to do make the sweater as well - knit-a-long style! My yarn? The very affordable Encore Tweed, in grey.

So far, I'm totally loving it. AND I think I'm on pace to finish it by the end of the year, but secretly (I guess now it's a little less of a secret), I hope to have it ready to wear on Thanksgiving. I would cross my fingers right now, but it's clear that I need them freed up for knitting.

WIP Wednesday: the Abitita shawl

I started a shawl with color-changing cotton (yarn and pattern available at Yarn Tree Studio in Raleigh). The shawl is meant to be a gift for Jose's Abitita, and as I started knitting (pulling yarn from the inside) and the color was really dark for the first third of the shawl, I started having my doubts. Taking a leap of faith, I pulled the whole thing out (I was on row 52 of 114).


I started over, pulling yarn from the outside, and I it's like a breath of fresh air. Definitely the right decision! Now I'm pretty much back to where I started.

P.S. If you know Abitita, do not ruin her Christmas surprise :)

the house: a work in progress...

I love our house. I really, really do. But sometimes the projects overwhelm me. The part that most stresses me is the front yard. Well, also the backyard, but honestly, the backyard is SO bad that I don't even consider it a project. I consider it a lost cause.

We've been handling projects one at a time, and I've been taking photos the whole way, but I think I've been waiting to do an "all done" post before sharing them. Well, if I'm honest with myself - really honest - then I know the "all done" post won't happen for quite some time. Maybe a decade or so (if ever).

So here's an angle of the house from the right - Winter of 2009, just after we bought the place:


And here's that same angle in the Spring of 2011. Notice that the shutters are gone and the entire house has been painted. Jose and I did all of the painting ourselves.


Here's a front view of the house, Winter 2009, pre-paint:


And the view in Spring 2011:


From these shots you probably get the idea that the previous homeowner LOVED to plant things. The problem is that they never really maintained it, and now it's a little out of control. Also, these angles don't do justice to the height and amount of vinca and ivy that are growing a little out of control. I keep reminding myself that it's just one day at a time, one season at a time, one project at a time, but I just want to do it all. Now. In the meantime, I'm open to any and all suggestions, tips, and tricks from all of my creative and green-thumbed pals!

moratorium

i've imposed a yarn moratorium on myself. my stash is so out of control that it hurts. i continue to see beautiful yarn that i want, but i just have to force myself not to buy it. i'm hoping that this will force me to knit up all (or at least most) of what i have right now.

i went through the process of adding my entire stash to ravelry, you should check it out. i've got some ideas for projects and patterns, but i'm definitely taking suggestions!

i just finished the sock class at great yarns in raleigh...it was fantastic! the pattern we used was one that our instructor wrote...it still blows my mind that someone wrote a sock pattern. the first one was easy enough, but i did have someone coaching me the whole way. we'll see if sock #2 goes as well.

other projects in my queue include a malabrigo hat and scarf set, my ongoing collinette mohair broken rib stitch scarf and a patons felted purse pattern.

i don't have a picture of the sock yet, but here are the others...

the malabrigo hat and scarf set:


the collinette broken rib stitch:


the patons bag (made with noro yarn):