January Knitting Goals Progress

So dear readers, it's been awhile. I have been meaning to pop in and blog and it just never happened. I've been thinking about this alot and that I will have a goal of blogging at least once a week. While I haven't been blogging, there has been plenty of knitting going on. I even managed to make most of my knitting goals for January too.

The first goal was to knit myself a hat. Finally did that:

It was made using my Malabrigo leftovers from the Ruffles scarf. Oh, so yummy and soft. The hat pattern is the Amanda Hat of Sleepy Eyes Knitting. This hat went very quickly and I had just enough Malabrigo leftover to knit the hat. Good way to use up leftovers!

Second goal was to finish up M2's candycorn socks. Done! They have been washed and blocked and given to M2. And they have already been worn a couple of times, so it appears the socks are a success.

These socks were made from  Red Rocks Fiber Works , hand-dyed by my friend Mary Kay. Very nice base sock yarn. I am scared for M2 blowing out a heel, but of well. There is plenty of wool for socks in my house.

Third goal was to continue to make progress on my vest project, the Back To School U Neck Vest. I did pretty good with progress for January.

Actually this picture is not the most accurate of progress. The vest is now completed. I finished the picking up the stitches around the neck and armholes just earlier today. I hope to block it early this week and wear it soon.

I also ripped and reknit the neck for the Ribby Pulli. It has been completed and blocked, but I have yet to wear it. Once I finished the sweater, it took about a week to get around to the blocking. However, the weather in Denver has not been cooperating for me to have a photo shoot or even wear it. The weather the past week has been mid-to-high 50s into the 60 degree temps. Sorry I wasn't willing to wear wool to get a photo op! :-)

I hope to have some FO photo pics by next week of the Ribby Pulli and the Back to School U NeckVest.

Talk to you soon!

January Knitting Goals/December Knitting Goals Wrap-Up

In December, I  postulated what I expected to complete that month. Those results were semi-satisfactory. 50% of my goals were accomplished.

As mentioned in the previous post , I completed the Sister scarf, as well as the Good Luck cowl. The Ribby Pulli sweater is still going strong. I worked on the yoke, but realized that apparently my row gauge was different than the pattern called for. After I completed my decreases, I still had 4 inches of knitting to do, for the sweater to fit correctly. Once done, then I had to pick up a zillion stitches around the neck for 2x2 ribbing. However, I did not pay attention to the amount of stitches I was supposed to pick up. With Bonne Marie's  patterns, I should already know that she is very thorough. I just picked up stitches and didn't count the number that I had. I'm sure I had far too many. When I finished the neck, I was so happy that I wove in the ends, my first mistake, and tried it on Big disappointment, as the neck is too floppy, which makes the sweater not wearable.

Darn it all, but I'm sure once I get the rip the neck and redo, I'll be on the right path. This sweater really does not want to be completed. Or rather, I guess I get the pleasure of knitting with Silky Wool a bit longer.

I never even made it to working on a hat at all. I really need to get on it. It's been pretty cold here lately, so you would think I would be motivated. Lately, I've been in a mood of casting on. Startitis has been going around in these parts.

Knitting goals for January:

1. In the spirit of keeping warm, I should knit myself a hat. Hopefully with leftovers from my Malabrigo Ruffles scarf.

2. Finish M2's candy corn socks. I'm on the second sock and have finished turning the heel and picked up the stitches. I've finished the increases and just straight knitting on the foot. Hopefully I should be able to finish them this month. I'm ready to cast on a pair of socks for me.

3. Continue to make progress on my new vest project.

4. Cast on for a second Ruffles scarf.

December Knitting Goals

Yes, it is that time again. I do find that having knitting goals helps to keep me more focused, as opposed to just knitting willy-nilly and casting on for tons of projects.

1) To finish the Ribby Pulli- should be doable. I'm fairly close .

2) Finish my sister's scarf. I finally cast on for the black scarf of doom for my sister, as a replacement for the scarf my sister lost last year. I'm about halfway through, so I really should get crackin' on this thing. I sort of hit a lull, but it's about time this scarf accompanied me to work again for my lunchtime knitting breaks. I'm using the Tipsy Rib scarf pattern (pdf) by Flint Knits and I love how it's working up. I gave my sister a choice of patterns and the Tipsy Rib was my favorite and she picked it as her scarf-to-be.

3)  Finish the Good Luck Cowl . Should be very do-able.

4) Possibly knit a hat out of the leftovers from fingering weight yarn I used to knit the cowl.

With Christmas coming, I don't think I will tax myself with too many goals for December.

Happy knitting all.

FO Backlog & May Goals

Whew, the second term of school is winding down. Tomorrow is the last class for two weeks, when I start again. Happy, happy, joy, joy.

Besides school, work has been keeping me crazy busy. The days when I used to read blogs and surf them in between doing some work, hmm, yeah, don't even have that kind of time at the new(ish) job anymore. Which is good, because the job is hugely rewarding and satisfying. But the backlog of blog reading, hard to catch up on, that's for sure. Sporadically you see me drop in an leave a comment. Often I'm reading, but not as much time to comment on everyone.

I have been doing some knitting, although there was a period for almost two weeks where multiple days passed with no knitting, except for Friday Night Knitting group.

Just to let you know, this post will be a long one, so sit down with your cup of coffee and get settled in.

I've got a backlog of FOs and I decided to put them all in one post b/c I didn't want to keep up a FO parade before I could even get to current knitting.

As part of my April goals, where I wanted to knit 3 dishcloths, I did manage to eke two. The first is the Blissful Moss Rib Cloth pattern using Peaches & Creme in the Green Apple colorway. Pretty easy pattern and I loved the colorway as I knit it up. I just wanted more of it. I also enjoyed this pattern. Very easy and simple and I know I will use it again.



The next FO to be displayed is the Seabreeze Kitchen Towel(alert, pdf download)by Kraemer Yarns. I used Peaches & Creme in the Seabreeze colorway, hence the name, and it calls for Kraemer's Tatamy Tweed, an acrylic and cotton yarn. I haven't yet used the yarn, but now I know I will be buying some for future towels. The yardage is great and the price very economical. I am sure I will knit this pattern again, although I may just use the stitch pattern and make a dishtowel that doesn't have the button. The button is cute, but not very functional for my use, but I do like the stitch pattern and would like it as a full size dishtowel to hang on the refrigerator.



Next up is the Sideways Garter Stitch Scarf from Alison of the Blue Blog. It's a ridiculously easy pattern and it took no time for me to finish. I knit this scarf out of leftover yarns and I still have plenty leftover too. I'm thinking of knitting the Yarn Harlot's Traveler's Life Afghan, pattern/recipe from the Casts Off book by YH. I used Araucania Nature Wool in 3 colors and the leftover Cascade 220 from my Ariann sweater. I finally finished the fringe on this scarf and I do like it. I've actually thought about making myself a striped hat to semi-match. It doesn't bother me to be matchy matchy, so I will probably do this.



Lastly, the Jaybird hoodie has finally been finished. I've knit this pattern before. This time it was for a bigger child. It is from Knitting Pure and Simple, Children's Tunic #232. I knit this for my friend's 1 year old son, who is pretty big for his size. I gifted the sweater on Friday and his mother was very excited. I hope to have a picture of him in it soon. And I even sewed on the button on the sweater, finally!



Finally made it through the fo backlog. In the past week, I've really gotten my knitting mojo back. I also noticed it came back as I started reading again. Weird how that happens. I was starting to get burnt out from school and felt like I needed a break. Once I started reading for fun, my stress levels reduced again.

Because this is getting so long, I'm going to quickly list my May knitting goals.

1. Knit three dishcloths. Hopefully I can manage this goal. I'm trying to knit down the dishcloth cotton stash.

2. Finish the Caribou Cherub Thujas. I'm actually pretty close with finishing this pair of socks, but it looks like the first sock is a bit short. I'll have to go back and rip out the toe and reknit a bit longer.

3. Start a Barn Raising square. All of my friends are doing it, why shouldn't I? Heehee.

4. Pick up either the Hanami stole or the Enchanting Juno stole. Or perhaps start something new? :-)

It's getting late and this post is going on forever. Suffice it to say, I don't have many goals for May. See ya soon.

April Goals revisited

In a follow-up to April's goals, let's see how I fared for April.

1) Finish the Everyday Tweed sweater. Done

2) Finish Jaybird hoodie. Yep! Even finally got that button added. Sweet.




3.Add fringe to sideways garter stitch scarf. Now that puppy is done. It's been patiently waiting for over a month.



4 & 5) April, sadly, has not been the month of socks. I finished the first sock of M's pair, but I have hardly touched my Cherub Thujas. I really do want them done. Must focus on this for May. No pictures, sorry.

6) My goal for knitting many dish cloths, well, three for this month, was not quite met. But I did knit one dish cloth, and a handknit kitchen towel (with a button tab closure), which used up 2 skeins of dishcloth cotton.






I'll cover all the specifications of the FOs in a post, soon to follow. The April goals were quite challenging and even though they weren't all met, I'm pretty happy with myself for staying focused on my goals. Now to see what May will bring. :-)

April Goals

Hmm, there were no March goals. It just seemed like life was way too busy to make any challenging goals for myself for this month.

For April, I will try to push myself a little bit, but not too much. School is still busy, but good.

1) Finish Everday Tweed. I'd like to see this done and perhaps get a wear or two out of it.

2) Finish the Jaybird hoodie. Actually all the ends are woven in, just need to sew a final button on it and call it good.



3)Add fringe to sideways garter stitch scarf.

4)Finish Caribou Cherub Thujas. I finally picked them back up again and have been working on them, slowly. They are knit on size 3s, so they go a bit faster than regular sock yarn.



5) Knit at least 3 dish cloths. We're getting low on the dishcloth supply. Actually we have dishcloths, but the Sugar 'N Cream and Peaches 'N Cream cotton yarns are not colorfast. Some of them are worn out and it's time for new ones.

6) Finish the 1st sock of M's pair.

I guess that's about it. I'm tempted to list more, but I don't know if that's a good idea or not. Hee.

Looking Back - February Goals

Things have been so busy. I have to apologize for not getting back to many of you on your comments on my last post. It is quite a relief and thrill to be done and have the diploma at hand and resting atop my fireplace mantel.

I finished my first Master's level class this week and of course, there was a paper with it. Uikes, the school work never stops.

On to February's goals. I'm gonna make this post short and sweet, as it's late and I'd like to post today tonite, erm, morning, whatevs.


1. I was to finish the Jaybird hoodie. No such luck. Actually the knitting is all done, but I have yet to weave in the few ends and sew on the button. I should get that done this weekend or next weekend

2. Finish the second Mary Kay sock. That is done, yay! I have a pair of socks, with ends woven in and the whole nine. Whee! This is yarn dyed by Mary Kay with her yarn, colorway Grasshopper. I'm happy these are done.




3. Working on Thujas. Well, I wove in the ends on the first sock. That's about it. Cast on for the second sock, but haven't been too interested in casting on the second one right this moment. Oh well, there's always this month.



4. The goal is to finish both sleeves for the Everyday Tweed sweater. It is done, but I forgot to take any pictures. Hopefully soon.


Well, although those were my goals, I also finished a couple other items. I knit a facecloth for my Special Swap partner. This go round was a spa theme. In addition to the package, I knit her a face cloth out of Mission Falls 1824 Cotton. I don't know if I would want to knit a garment out of it, but definitely nice for something small. Or perhaps a garment for a little one? I dunno, but nice stuff to work with.




And lastly, Maryse spearheaded an effort to knit squares for Elisa's dad, who's currently residing in a VA hospital with no familiar items of his own. I read a lot of various concerns that befell knitters and I always want to make something or do something, but circumstances don't always allow it. Sometimes time is a factor and I just don't get to doing those things, but somehow I made the time for this and I felt better for it and I hope when the afghan is completed, it gives Elisa's dad a lot of comfort and love, while he recovers.

I knit both squares following Lucia's basketweave scarf. I just knit the squares. One with the original pattern and the second with the variation. They were quick and fun and were easy to complete in an afternoon.





And that's it for me now. I'll be back by the week's end with my March goals. I'd like to get them up a little sooner than the middle of the month this time.

February Goals

Now you might be thinking, what is Wanda thinking? Posting her goals when more than half the month has already passed?

Well, I'm definitely a bit behind with keeping up with blogs and my own blogging. I still wanted to post my goals because it helps me to keep with them and what I wanted to focus on. Going back to school has definitely cut into my knitting time (even though many of you seem to think I get a lot of knitting done), so some of my knitting projects just won't be that complex right now.



1. Finish the Jaybird hoodie. Shouldn't be too difficult as I'm very close now.




2. Finish the second Mary Kay sock.




3. Working on the pair of Wool in the Woods Cherub Thujas for me. Yes, another pair of Thujas. But sometimes a pattern is just right and why mess with perfection?!





4. Finish the sleeves on Everyday Tweed. This pattern is another top-down raglan (you know, my fave) and one sleeve is done, now on to the second. Should be doable by the end of the month, I hope.


By the end of March, I want to have the sleeves done on Ribby Pulli too. It may take me forever to get that one done, but at least if I get over my sleeve phobia, I'll have all the sleeves that I was avoiding done on my sweaters, yay! I'm halfway through them now.






I also wanted to thank everyone for their comments on my last post. Please don't worry that I won't keep knitting socks with Opal. I love Opal sock yarn and this one example of aberrant behavior will not keep from it. Opal has been very good to my handknit socks and I'm not sure what happened with that yarn, but honestly I had so many feelings of self-doubt and wondering if I would finish the paper and get it done, that I'm ok letting all those old, negative feelings disappear into the trash and move on. Out of all of the socks that I've knit, this is the first pair I've ever had that happen and you know, I'm always knitting socks for myself, so I figure one pair of socks that I didn't particularly like can bite the dust. I just knit them partly because I felt I should, since the yarn had been sitting in my stash for so long. Perhaps i shouldn't force myself to knit things I don't like? Just food for thought.

That's all for this time . . .

October Review

Remember, those October knitting goals?

As I was telling Chris in email a few minutes ago, was that as soon as I posted my goals for the month, I almost immediately lost interest in my goals and cast on for a new sweater. Haha, so much for goals, huh?

But all was not lost. I've done pretty well, considering.

1)Finish the Farrow Rib Scarf. check




2. Finish the first of the Tofutsies socks for the shop sample. double check

3) Start a new pair socks. check




4) Get to the armholes of Ariann. done and one sleeve done too




5)Start the Corrugator scarf, erm, not so much. I was a bit scarfed out after the one for my BIL, but I will start soon.

6)Some test knitting for anne Oops, didn't mention that one



7) Casting on for Ribby Pulli (scoop neck version) in Silky Wool


Overall,a great month for goals. Next, November's goals.

October Knitting Goals

With a nod to Polly, I've decided to start a list of my knitting goals for the month. I find with most things if I have a list, it helps me to prioritize what I'd like to work on, even if I don't get it all done.

1) I'm going to be go out on a limb here, to finish theFarrow Rib scarf I'm working on for M's brother, also known as the BIL scarf. What Farrow Rib Scarf you ask? Well, it's this one I started around the first of September, you know, back when I was taking that blog break? Yeah, thought that would jog your memory.

2)to finish at least a sock from the Tofutsies that I'm working with, which is really irking me, but it's best to get it all done now.

3)Start a new pair of socks, in honor of Socktoberfest, although it's doubtful they will be finished during the month of October

4)Get to the armholes of
Ariann. This sweater I am knitting out of Cascade 220 in a lovely heathered purple, that I adore knitting with.

5)Start the Corrugator Scarf with some of my stashed Colinette Jitterbug.

Thanks to everyone for the helpful information in the last post. I am exploring several for more information and tips. You guys always come through!!