Knit Something of the Month 2012 - Final Edition

 

I have completed my last Knit Something of the Month project for 2012.  I was originally working on the Fallberry mitts, but I wasn't loving the yarn with the pattern (more of a berries aren't this color of blue kind of thing than any fiber/knit stitch issues).  Then one day, I was wandering around Ravelry, and I came across the Oak Grove mitts and I knew they were perfect.  I cast on on December 23 and finished weaving in the ends on December 26.  I love the little oak leaves (which show up better in real life than in this photo - check out the pattern link to see better oak leaves), and I have no idea why berries aren't blue but oak leaves are.  They just are.

These complete 2012's Knit Something of the Month.  I technically did eleven projects because I shelved August since I was doing Something That I Can't Remember But Used to Be Ravelympics and the last project of Camp Loopy at the time.  Next year (can you believe it starts next week?) I will be knitting sweaters.  I've planned for two months for each sweater, but I'm going to allow myself to start earlier if I want to.  In other words, the first sweater will be started on January 1 and will be finished by February 28.  If I get it finished before February 28, I can either start the second sweater right then, or wait until March 1.  I actually matched yarn and patterns for seven sweaters this year, so if I knit faster than my original plan, I can knit more than six sweaters.  The past two years of Knit Something of the Month, I haven't allowed myself to cast on early, so this will be a little change.  Make sense?

Now I'm off to finish the Retreating Sweater before the end of the year.  Hopefully!

Knit Something of the Month

I've finished my first mitt of the December project (except the thumb) and cast on for the second.  The stitch pattern is essentially based on a rib which is why the first mitt looks so skinny - it's pulling in.  When it's on my arm it stretches side to side and isn't as long as it appears here.  This is one of the reasons I love trying things on as I go.  I can double check the fit and figure out if I need to adjust anything in the pattern to fit my particular body shape.  The only change I've made to this pattern is to work one additional repeat of the stitch pattern before beginning the thumb gusset.

In other news, I thought I'd give a Logan In The Car update.  He's doing really well and while there are still Squeaks of Great Distress, the drool is almost completely stopped.  I don't even bother with a towel anymore!  As for the squeaks, Logan has always squeaked as a form of communication and probably will always squeak.  It's just his thing.  We're pretty used to it at this point.

December Knit Something of the Month

 

This is the last Knit Something of the Month project for 2012!  I'm not sure how we're already in December - it doesn't seem like that long ago it was January.  For this month's project, I'm knitting a pair of Fallberry Mitts in Dream in Color's Smooshy With Cashmere (yum) in Dusky Aurora.  I'm doing the smallest size.  The stitch pattern is easy, the yarn is wonderful and I love the colors.  It's a little dark in the photo so next time I blog these, I'll try to get a more accurate picture of the color.

November Knit Something of the Month

 

I finished up my November Knit Something of the Month Mitts over the weekend also!  These are the Zombie Vixen Mitts (free pattern), done in Sanguine Gryphon's Skinny Bugga in Longhorned Beetle.  I knit them on size US 0's (2mm) to get 9 stitches per inch so they'd fit my hands.  Baggy mitts don't work well when you try to use your hands.  The only other change I made was to twist the stitches in the "sutures" in the cables (the little X's that join the two wiggly lines) to make them show up a little more against the background.  Otherwise, I think they're pretty much knit to the pattern.  Fun design and a fast knit!

I've just got December to go and then I've finished up 2012's Knit Something of the Month.  (August got skipped because I was working on Camp Loopy and Ravellenic Games projects that month.  I decided that was enough for that month.)  I am planning on doing sweaters next year, but I'll do one sweater every two months, instead of a sweater a month.  I haven't started pulling out stash yet to see how many sweater quantities I have, but I'll be doing that soon.  Honestly, I could probably do this for a couple of years without any new purchases.  I'm going to really try to do some stash busting with this!

Knit Something of the Month

New month, new project!  This is my November Knit Something of the Month project.  I started them on November 1, but I'm just now getting a chance to blog them.  The pattern is Zombie Vixens and the yarn is Sanguine Gryphon* Skinny Bugga in Longhorned Beetle.  I'm making them as the pattern is written, but I'm using a size 0 needle (2 mm) to get them small enough for the size of my hands.  As you can see (sort of, they aren't blocked and they're really trying to curl around themselves and hide), I've finished one mitt and I'm almost halfway through the second.  I always do thumbs last and together, right at the end.  This is a nice pattern with an interesting cable and of course these will work with my red cardigans I've been knitting.  Also, in the case of a real zombie invasion, it won't show blood splatter when I get busy with the cricket bat.  (Bonus points for knowing the cricket bat reference.  Note to self, buy cricket bat, maybe Amazon has them - Bingo!)

*Sanguine Gryphon no longer exists because it split into two different businesses:  Verdant Gryphon and Cephalopod Yarns.  I'm not sure if this colorway is still available.

October Knit Something of the Month

 

Mommy finished blocking her Vlad shawl yesterday!  It's a very nice size for me.  Do you see how the center spine of the shawl lines up with my spine?  I think this shawl should be mine, at least until I have to get up and walk around.  Or chase the Max kitty.  I don't think it will chase the Max kitty very well.  Mommy says she needs it back so she can finish weaving in the ends (I don't mind the ends hanging out, I might eat them later and then they won't have to be woven in).  Maybe I'll just take a nap in it for a bit and she'll forget to take it back.  I think since it's November now, she'll need to start her November Knit Something of the Month project, so maybe she'll forget about this one.  I'll put it in my toy basket after my nap...

Put a Stake in it, Vlad's done!

 

I finished up Vlad over the weekend!  I've still got to weave in the ends and block it, so right now it looks like a shriveled, sad, lumpy thing.  I do have a decent amount of yarn left, but I'm happy with the size as it is.  Or as it will be after it's blocked!

In an only-slightly-related-note, in the past Mickael has had an Impala for work (his job supplies a car for him) and we called it Vlad.  I  know, that's pretty bad, but it always made us giggle.

October Knit Something of the Month

I've been working on my Vlad and I'm ready to start the edging now!  I ended up working two extra repeats of the Body Chart, and I think I've probably got yarn to keep going for another repeat or two but the shawl is going to be plenty big as it is.  I've found that if shawls get too big, they're harder to wear (or at least they take too much "management" to wear and often, I just don't feel like fooling around with it), so I tend to grab my medium or small shawls more often.  I know it just looks like a red blob right now, but that's what they all look like unblocked, right?

We had a bit of a setback yesterday on Logan's morning ride to school.  The euphonium fell on him.  Somehow it didn't get in the car quite right and when I turned, it fell on the puppy.  He's fine, but from the squeaking (Logan squeaks like an R2D2 unit) you'd have thought he was being beaten to death by ducks.  He managed to survive and this morning went off without a hitch.  He's still drooling, but he's lifting his head and nose up more and more and when Caleb gets out of the car, he stands up to look around.  I think curiosity is a good thing and might help with the anxiety issues.  Maybe by the time Caleb graduates from High School, Logan will be relaxed in the car!

Finished Photos, Finally

 

I realized earlier this week that I hadn't blocked my September Knit Something of the Month, Cladonia.  Here it is, all blocked and finished, with our favorite model.  This is the Cladonia pattern, knit as written, with Socks That Rock Lightweight in Maia and The Loopy Solids Series in Navy.  I chose the Navy to pair with the Maia because there isn't any navy in the Maia, but all the colors work with navy.  I'm really happy with how this turned out and I think it will be a good shawl to wear this Fall.  Today is actually cool enough to need a little wrap!  Have a great weekend!

October Knit Something of the Month

 

I've been working along on my Vlad.  According to the pattern, I'm ready to start the edging, but I have almost 200 yards more than the pattern calls for, so I'm going to work an extra repeat or two of the main pattern before I start the edging.

I really have nothing more to add here.  I think I'm going to need more caffeine today because I'm sitting here, staring off into space, doing absolutely nothing.  It's going to be a long day if the caffeine doesn't help!

Vlad

 

Vlad is big enough to see the pattern now!  At least if you see it in person.  Don't worry - you can see it when I finish it and it's all blocked!  The pattern is pretty quick to memorize and the yarn is just yummy.  I really love this base.  I used this same yarn base (different color) for last August's Knit Something of the Month in the Little Leaves pattern.  It's just a great yarn, feels great, knits up nicely and drapes nicely when you wear it.  This is the last of it that I have in the stash so I might have to do something about that.  (Just in case I haven't mentioned this, it's Woolen Rabbit Kashmir.)

October Knit Something of the Month

It's October so there's a new Knit Something of the Month project!  This month I am knitting Vlad (fitting for October, no?) in a yarn I overdyed.  The yarn is The Woolen Rabbit Kashmir and I think the original color was Oh Ruby.  It turned out to be a red with orange/brown undertones though and I just can't wear reds that lean that direction (I have cool undertones in my skin).  I overdyed it with a magenta red (cool red) and that swung it just enough to my side of the spectrum that I can wear it!  The yarn base is lovely and the original dyeing was beautiful, just not something I could wear.  I've got more yardage than the pattern calls for so I'll be working a few extra repeats before I start the edging.

In other news, I believe I've mentioned Logan's feelings about riding in cars before, but just to recap, Logan hates riding in cars.  He doesn't get truly motion sick, but he gets so anxious that he drools non stop and if the car ride is long enough, he'll throw up.  I've tried working with him in the car, but life gets in the way of the time I need to spend with him there and we've never really gotten very far with it.  Last Friday I decided to start bringing him on Caleb's morning drop off.  It's only 10-15 minutes long, and it happens five days a week.  I'm hoping the sheer repetition of it will cut the anxiety.  I've been rolling down the back windows in hopes that the smells will distract him a bit from whatever is going through his head.  We've only just started this but I'm hoping that eventually he'll realize that he's not going to die, get separated from us, or end up in another country.*  He isn't completely shutting down (we have captain's seats in the back and he just goes between them, facing the rear of the car, and lies down) and he is keeping his head up and you can see he's somewhat paying attention to what's going on around him, so that's good, but we've still got a long way to go.  This morning, when it was getting close to time to take Caleb, Logan put himself in his crate.

*I think Logan's travel issues might come from when he came to be part of our family.  He's from Canada and he was 5 months old when we got him (so old enough to remember stuff for more than 5 minutes).  I don't know if I've ever told this story, so if I have, ignore it and go about your day.  Logan was supposed to fly to us on a direct flight from Toronto to Dallas on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  This was Thanksgiving 2010.  On Monday, the day before, Logan had his first ever car ride to the breeder's vet to get his International Health Certificate.  (For those of you unfamiliar with dogs/breeders, it's very common for breeders to vaccinate puppies themselves and not take pups to the vet's office - safer for the puppies and cheaper for the breeder as well - I don't know how many times I've taken Caleb to the pediatrician for a Well Baby checkup and a week or so later we're back with him being sick.)  On Tuesday, the breeder drove him to the Toronto airport to send him to us.  Unfortunately, that was the Thanksgiving that TSA had a bunch of new regulations (remember the "Don't touch my junk" - these shipping regulations were connected with increased "security" at the airports) and when she had booked his flight with the airline, they hadn't told her she'd need to jump through some additional hoops to do this.  This breeder has been shipping dogs all over the world for 40+ years - this wasn't her first rodeo!  So she took Logan back home with her.  The next day (Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, the busiest travel day in the US) she loaded him up in the car, drove him across the border to Buffalo, NY and he got on a plane there.  Fortunately, they made it though the border crossing an hour or so before that tightened up security-wise or they would have gotten held up and he could have missed his flight.  Unfortunately, he didn't have a direct flight from Buffalo to Dallas - he had to fly through Newark, NJ.  Finally, that night we picked him up at DFW where he was exhausted and wobbly but glad to be out of the crate.  He didn't even care that a complete stranger opened his crate and reached in to put a collar and leash on him.  Of course, that stranger was me and he's totally become a Momma's boy over the last two years, but after all that, I think he has a pretty good excuse for not liking to travel much.

I'm Back!

 

Things should be back to normal around here now - or as normal as they ever are!  I'll show you what I was working on towards the end of the year.  In the meantime, I finished my Cladonia shawl!  This was my Knit Something of the Month project for September and it clearly needs a good blocking, but the knitting is all done.

This was a great pattern - the stripes were easy and made great TV knitting and they ended just at the point where I was getting tired of them.  Then the lace required just enough concentration that I didn't notice how long the rows were.  The picot bind off took a while, but being easily amused, I couldn't stop looking at the color changes.  (The yarns I used were Loopy Solids Series in Navy and Socks That Rock Lightweight in Maia.)

Have a great weekend!  I feel like spinning this weekend!

Onto the Lace!

I've just gotten started with the lace section of Cladonia, my Knit Something of the Month project for September!  As you can see, the lace is in the navy and then I'll do the picot edging at the end in the multicolored yarn.  I feel like this is moving along pretty quickly and these first few rows of the lace that I did last night really flew along.

Today is drizzly and cool so it's definitely inspiring me for warm, snuggly knitting.  I keep finding myself wanting to cast on something new, but I know that if I have too many things on the needles, nothing will get done.  I'm trying to be good and work on what I have going (which is really plenty to work on), but there's yarn in my stash all matched with great patterns that are crying out to be knit up.  Maybe if I really work hard on my WIP's over the weekend I can start something new next week?  I'll give it a try and see how long I can ignore the siren call of New Projects!  Have a great weekend!

Stripy, Stripy Goodness

 

I'm still striping on my Cladonia!  The stripes are great TV knitting because you don't really have to pay attention that much.  I do love the way the multi colored yarn is working with the navy blue and it's fun to see how the colors change across the row.  (Yes, I am easily amused, why do you ask?)  The weather changed here over the weekend and it actually cooled off a little bit.  We're only supposed to be in the low 90's over the next couple of weeks for highs and we actually have a few days where we stay in the 80's.  This of course makes me think of Fall knitting, warm snuggly sweaters, and finishing up an afghan or two.  It's not actually cool enough to wear these things yet, but I did wear jeans the other day, for the first time in months.  I'm hoping for an actual Fall and Winter this year!

September Knit Something of the Month

I skipped my Knit Something of the Month in August because of the Ravellenic Games and the last project of Camp Loopy, but now I'm back with September!  This is the start of Cladonia done in Socks That Rock Lightweight in Maia and The Loopy Ewe Solid Series in Navy.  The lace section will be in Navy with the picot edging in Maia.  There actually isn't any navy in the Maia, but I decided that all the colors in Maia would work with Navy, so that's what I chose to go with it.  I don't wear a lot of navy but I do have a little bit and I don't have a navy blue shawl so I thought it was time to do something about it.  This should also work with anything (but black) that I pair with jeans and I live in jeans when the weather cools off.  Fun start to the shawl and now that I've got a handle on the stripes and what happens where, this section should be good TV knitting.

Catching Up

 

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...oh, wait, that's not right.  Last month, before the Ravellenic Games and Camp Loopy Project 3 took over the blog, I finished up my July Knit Something of the Month project.  I never showed it to you all blocked and being worn by Logan the Magnificent* though, so we'll do that today.  This is And So Are You, knit in Wollmeise Neptune Dark.  It's one of those small shawls that wears a little more like a scarf - with this shape, you could totally wrap it around your neck (as Logan shows here) and tuck it inside a coat or jacket for winter.  Of course, it can also be worn as a shawl too.  Easy and fast, I loved the stitch pattern and the little pleated ruffle.  Great pattern!

*Don't you think Logan nailed the dreamy stare into the distance so popular among catalog models?

A Finishing and A New Beginning

I've finished my July Knit Something of the Month!  This was And So Are You (this name makes so much more sense in the context of the entire ebook than it does on a stand alone pattern - it's part of the Be Mine ebook), knit in my Wollmeise from last year's Camp Loopy.  This was a fun pattern with just enough going on to keep my interest, but perfect for TV knitting.  I've got to weave in ends and give it a light blocking, then Logan can model it for you next week, but I'm counting it finished now!

Today is the beginning of the Olympics, which for Olympic junkies like myself, is pretty huge.  I've already reserved the biggest TV in the house for Opening Ceremonies tonight (it's the TV with the PS3 - reservations are essential).  This also means that today is the beginning of the Ravellenic Games - where we push our knitting skills to the limits in honor of the athletes and their achievements.  Cast on is at whatever your local time is when the Opening Ceremonies begin in London (that's 3:00 PM here in the DFW metroplex).  I love the idea of thousands of knitters casting on at the same time, all across the globe.  All the projects have to be completed by midnight local time on August 12, the day of Closing Ceremonies.

I will be participating this year and I will be making the Wrought Iron Cardigan in Madelinetosh Vintage in Norway Spruce.  I've got to do a gauge swatch this morning (swatching is considered training) and then I'll be ready to go this afternoon!

GO TEAM USA!

Keep on Knitting, Keep on Knitting

I'm starting the ruffle edge on my July Knit Something of the Month Project!  I didn't try to get a picture of the whole thing since it's just packed together on my needles, but I thought I'd show you a detail shot of the stitch texture.  I think this design would look great in a heavier weight of yarn for a Winter shawl/scarf (it's one of those long, more narrow things that are wider than a scarf but not as wide as a stole, that you can wear either way).  Even though I've got until the end of the month on this, I'm trying to get this finished before Friday so I don't have to worry about it during the Ravellenic Games.  I've got fewer than 15 rows and a bind off to go.  I'm not sure how much blocking this will need since there isn't any lace in this project.

Getting There

 

Work is continuing on my July Project of the Month.  I've got two more repeats before I start the edging ruffle.  The last repeat took about two hours to do, so I'd say I've got four or five more hours before I start ruffling.  It's still a nice, repetitive stitch pattern as long as I count correctly.  Ever notice how hard it is sometimes to count correctly?  And I'm not talking about long stretches, I'm talking five and under here!