Surmount The Stash 2012 Year End Summary

In December of last year I signed up for a challenge issued by Revelations of a Delusional Knitter: Surmount the Stash 2012. I decided to approach my stash-busting goals in several ways:

 • inventory my stash and knit from it
 • limit stash enhancement and limit my spending to $50 per month
 • avoid buying any more needles or patterns; use the ones I have
 • finish projects on time to meet shipping deadlines

Dishcloth Cotton: I started 2012 with 1350 grams or so and ended with 456 grams. The dishcloth cotton stash is about a 1/3rd of what I had this time last year. Not bad when you consider I bought an additional 300 grams more through last year for specific colours.

Assorted DK Cotton: I have 504 grams in three different colours on hand mostly purchased for a summer top which I frogged. Now that I have a loom, I don't expect this will last very long :)

Baby Yarn: If I did a count last year, I can't find it. Suffice it to say I have 370 grams left; less than a third of what I started with. I'll have put my thinking cap on to use this up - it's a mixture of acrylic and superwash wool, with several colours weighing in at less than 20 grams each. Maybe a couple of hats and a striped toy or two?

Sock Yarn: By my count I started last year with 14 new 100 gram skeins and 1200 grams in sock yarn scraps (2600 grams total). This morning I find myself with 7 new 100 gram skeins, 7 new 50 gram skeins and 1130 grams in sock yarn scraps (2180 grams total). That's 20% less than last year. It doesn't sound like much progress, but last year I was given 10 skeins of sock yarn and I bought at least a half dozen more so I'm not disappointed. At least things are going in the right direction. Looks like I need to make some striped socks in the New Year to work through more of those scraps! AND STOP BUYING MORE!

There are assorted other types of yarn in my stash. I have enough worsted weight wool on hand to make a sweater. I have a shoebox full of assorted worsted weight acrylic scraps. I have two skeins of Handmaiden Sea Silk which are earmarked for a shawl for a coworker. And I have some DK acrylic yarn that I plan to make up into Christmas bags and stockings. I'll work through these as the spirit moves me ... but my primary focus is on the four yarn types above. Someday I'd like to just have sock yarn. Someday.

Did I limit my spending to $50/month? Nope, not even close. Just being mindful of what I was spending was a step in the right direction though. I'll try to improve on this next year.

Did I use the patterns and needles I already had? Mostly. I did buy one set of needles for some bulky cowls and neck warmers. As for the patterns, about 85% of what I knit was from patterns I already had and thanks to a Second Year of Projects, I've knit through almost three books :)

Did I finish projects on time for shipping deadlines? Well, there's still some secret Christmas knitting on my needles, so enough said.

That's a wrap! Let's see how I can do to Surmount the Stash in 2013!

Year of Projects 2: Shell Pattern Socks

too cold for lacy socks!

Folk Knitting in Estonia: Aino's Gloves • Anu's Christmas Gloves • Anu's Mittens • Anu's Stockings • Avo's Mittens • Ellen's Stockings • Helgi's Mittens • Hilja's Mittens • Ilmar's Socks • Juta's Stockings • Kalev's Mittens • Kristi's Mittens • Laila's Socks • Landra's Gloves • Liidia's Gloves • Liivi's Stockings • Maarja's Socks • Maimu's Mittens • Marko's Mittens • Meida's Mittens • Merike's Gloves • Rita's Stockings • Sander's Mittens • Tiit's Socks • Ulla's Gloves • Virve's Stockings

Knitting Vintage Socks: Gentleman's Shooting Stockings with Fluted Pattern (1887) • Gentleman's Sock in Railway Stitch (1889) • Gentleman's Socks with Lozenge Pattern (1895) • Bed Sock in Lemon Pattern Fancy Knit Stripe (1896) • Cycling or Golf Stockings with Fancy Cuff in Trellis Pattern (1897) • Heelless Sleeping Socks (1897) • Child's French Sock in Citron Pattern and Diaper Knitting (1898) • Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern (1899) • Gentleman's Half Hose in Ringwood Pattern (1899) • Gentleman's Sock for Evening Wear (1900) • Evening Stockings for a Young Lady (1900) • Fancy Silk Sock for a Child of 5 or 6 Years (1900) • Gentleman's Fancy Sock (1901) • Gentleman's Plain Winter Sock with Dutch Heel (1901) • Child's Sock in Miranda Pattern (1904) • Baby's Bootikin (1905)  •  Little Child's Sock (1907)  •  Ladies Useful Stockings (1913)  •  Ladies Silk Stockings with Clocks (1914)

Recalling my plan to deliver a pair of red socks on January 2nd for a coworker's birthday, ahead of Chinese New Year, I've been working on them monogamously for the last several days. The pattern is Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern. As I said last week these are knitting up really quickly - slightly more than a week from casting on the first sock to completing the gusset decreases into the foot of the second sock. I expect I'll finish the second sock by end of day tomorrow.

After that, there are a bunch of projects that merit my attention ... second Ringwood sock ... my secret and still incomplete Christmas knitting ... and fingerless gloves for Gavin. He asked me if I would knit them. He picked the pattern (this one). And he picked the yarn (this one with cashmere). He NEVER wants handknits so I'd better do them next. Wouldn't it be nice to get them done so that he can wear them this winter?

Yesterday Gavin and I met my sister and her husband downtown for lunch and a play. And I was happy to see that she was wearing the gloves I knit for her for Christmas. Isn't that nice to see? She says she really likes them and that they fit perfectly. She's definitely knitworthy!

FO: Woven Dishcloths

Pattern: It's just plain weave (aka tabby) where each weft thread crosses the warp alternating over and under to form a simple criss-cross pattern.

Yarn: The warp is a natural colour dishcloth cotton that I bought as millends from the Spinrite Factory Outlet sale - probably a factory second of Bernat Handicrafter cotton. For the weft I used more of the same with stripes of leftover Bernat Handicrafter cotton in White, Country Red, Terra Firma Ombre and Indigo.

Comments: Dressing the loom with the warp threads is time-consuming so I decided to warp up several feet, weave it from start to finish and then cut apart the final woven fabric into a few squarish cloths. Right now I'm using a warping peg as shown in this video, but DH has agreed to make me a warping board as soon as I draw up the plans. That might make things easier :)

Because I'm new to weaving I decided I should aim simply for a balanced weave and work at my tension to achieve neat selvedge edges. Looks to me like the natural cotton is thinner than the coloured cottons because my weave looks balanced when I'm using the same yarn for warp and weft but the balance is off at the stripes. My selvedges still need a lot of work.

Cutting the fabric into smaller squares was nerve-wracking. I did three things to hem each end. I hem-stitched on the loom using the dishcloth cotton according to this video. That would probably be sufficient if I were leaving a fringe. I cut the cloths apart between two weft threads (aka picks), used my sewing machine to zigzag those edges, then rolled to form a hem and straight stitched on the machine to finish them.

My resulting hems are pretty chunky. Well you can imagine, as they are essentially three thicknesses of dishcloth cotton. I googled to gather more ideas about hemming. One suggestion was to run one pick of a bulky thread through where you want your fold and then pull it out to leave a gap which will fold quite readily. Another suggestion was to use a much thinner thread for the weft at the hem area - even as thin as sewing thread - to create a much thinner fabric in this area for less bulky hems. I plan to give both suggestions a try on my next project.

You may have also noticed that red sock in the first photo. The first sock is done, but as the second is still on the needles it doesn't really count as a finished object does it? One more thing in that photo? Our first snow! The neighbourhood kids are thrilled that they finally got some tobogganing weather!  It's Friday, so why not spend some time at Tami's Amis to see what everyone else has finished?!

Year of Projects 2: Ringwood and Shell Socks

Folk Knitting in Estonia: Aino's Gloves • Anu's Christmas Gloves • Anu's Mittens • Anu's Stockings • Avo's Mittens • Ellen's Stockings • Helgi's Mittens • Hilja's Mittens • Ilmar's Socks • Juta's Stockings • Kalev's Mittens • Kristi's Mittens • Laila's Socks • Landra's Gloves • Liidia's Gloves • Liivi's Stockings • Maarja's Socks • Maimu's Mittens • Marko's Mittens • Meida's Mittens • Merike's Gloves • Rita's Stockings • Sander's Mittens • Tiit's Socks • Ulla's Gloves • Virve's Stockings

Knitting Vintage Socks: Gentleman's Shooting Stockings with Fluted Pattern (1887) • Gentleman's Sock in Railway Stitch (1889) • Gentleman's Socks with Lozenge Pattern (1895) • Bed Sock in Lemon Pattern Fancy Knit Stripe (1896) • Cycling or Golf Stockings with Fancy Cuff in Trellis Pattern (1897) • Heelless Sleeping Socks (1897) • Child's French Sock in Citron Pattern and Diaper Knitting (1898) • Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern (1899) • Gentleman's Half Hose in Ringwood Pattern (1899) • Gentleman's Sock for Evening Wear (1900) • Evening Stockings for a Young Lady (1900) • Fancy Silk Sock for a Child of 5 or 6 Years (1900) • Gentleman's Fancy Sock (1901) • Gentleman's Plain Winter Sock with Dutch Heel (1901) • Child's Sock in Miranda Pattern (1904) • Baby's Bootikin (1905)  •  Little Child's Sock (1907)  •  Ladies Useful Stockings (1913)  •  Ladies Silk Stockings with Clocks (1914)

After finishing my Heelless Sleeping Socks last week I turned my attention to finishing the first of my Ringwood patterned socks. Two things were pushing me to finish that first sock. Firstly, worry about whether I would run out of yarn. And, two, a need for those needles to complete some knits with looming deadlines. I'm happy to report that sock one weighs 48 grams, leaving me with 53 grams for sock two. Phew, that was close.

Rather than cast on the second sock, I thought I'd better get a move on with these red socks. The plan is to deliver them on January 2nd in time for a coworker's birthday and ahead of Chinese New Year. That's not a lot of time to start and finish a pair of socks, but with time off work and hours of holiday travel time (aka knitting time) ahead, I'm confident I can do it. The pattern is Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern and it's knitting up very quickly. The pattern strikes me as very similar to other shell pattern socks like Tidal Wave Socks and Pomatomous Socks. And after a couple of times through the pattern repeat, it's easily memorized and quite intuitive.

Can you believe it's Christmas already? Hardly seems possible that November and December went by so quickly! Whatever you celebrate I hope it's all happy and merry! I'll be back with my next Year of Projects update just ahead of the New Year.

Finished Object Friday

Pattern: Heelless Sleeping Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush

Yarn: unknown self-patterning yarn from the Wabi Sabi sale bin with On Your Toes stripes in cream.

Modifications: My usual wedge toe.

Comments: On Wednesday I thought there might be enough self-patterning yarn to finish the toe of the second sock to match the first. WRONG. I ended up ripping back the toe of the first sock and re-knitting that toe in mostly cream colour. Then using the recovered coloured yarn to add a similar but not matching final stripe to the second sock. I don't think the mismatch is too startling, do you? 

My friend Shirley picked this pattern and has been repeatedly begging me to knit them for her. I can't stand tube socks myself - with my pointy heels and high arches that's just too much fabric bunching up at the ankle. But Shirley insists that tube socks fit her better than anything else. So to each their own.

The leg of the sock was almost entirely purled, the pattern is created by columns of single knit stitches that shift left every four rows. The more I thought about this, the more sensible it seemed to me as it would leave the inside of the sock as mainly knit stitches, which would be comfortable against one's sole no matter how the sock was arranged on the foot. Often with Nancy Bush patterns it's just best to knit as written rather than start second guessing so that's what I did.

That's one more Christmas present done, so I'm pleased about that. And then after reviewing my list I felt badly that there was nothing hand-knit for my brother-in-law. I had tentatively planned to knit Henry for him, but I never decided upon a suitable yarn and it just didn't get done. Instead I decided to knit up a washcloth using the Chinese Waves pattern. I've done this pattern before; the result is a nicely textured thick cloth, perfect to pair up with this handmade Sweetgrass soap. And I know for a fact he'll like that. Seems to me we've discussed how much we both love the smell of sweetgrass.

Happy holidays, merry Christmas or cheers to whatever you celebrate :) And presuming the Mayans got it wrong, see you on the other side! It's not just the end of the world, it's also finished object Friday over at Tami's Amis, so please take a few minutes to have a look at all the great work that's been done! 

Work-in-Progress Wednesday

It's the last WIP Wednesday before the big day and Christmas workshop activities are in full gear.

My first priority is to finish the second Heelless Sleeping Sock. I'm planning Christmas drinks with Shirley tomorrow or Friday evening and hope to gift these then. The fact that there's about half a sock plus a toe still to knit, and not much coloured yarn left is somewhat disquieting but I'm trying not to think about it. After all, there's always more yardage in those little balls than you'd think, right? RIGHT? There just HAS to be!

The super secret Christmas knitting project is not done and the shipping deadline for that has passed. No choice but to wrap and send the store-bought portion ahead with a little note of my intentions to follow up with handmade portion in the New Year. With luck I can still finish and mail before the end of December.

At the same time I've been matching up dishcloths with handmade soaps in little Christmas bundles for those on my list who get just a little something and not a full-blown present. They're awfully cute little gifts once tissue and bows are added. Makes me with I'd been a bit more industrious on the dishcloth front through the year :)

And finally, in anticipation of wrapping up all things Christmas in the next few days I've got this skein of red sock yarn ready. Another tradition is a pair of red socks ahead of Chinese New Year for a friend with whom I share an upcoming birthday. The colourway is "Here Comes Trouble" and, wonders never cease, I think my iPhone did a good job capturing the actual colour. It is unabashed, take-no-prisoners, here-comes-trouble RED. Almost a shame to think of putting on shoes!

Got a minute or two? Be sure to check out the links at Tami's Amis to see how industrious all the other elves are being :)

Year of Projects: Heelless Sleeping Socks 02

Folk Knitting in Estonia: Aino's Gloves • Anu's Christmas Gloves • Anu's Mittens • Anu's Stockings • Avo's Mittens • Ellen's Stockings • Helgi's Mittens • Hilja's Mittens • Ilmar's Socks • Juta's Stockings • Kalev's Mittens • Kristi's Mittens • Laila's Socks • Landra's Gloves • Liidia's Gloves • Liivi's Stockings • Maarja's Socks • Maimu's Mittens • Marko's Mittens • Meida's Mittens • Merike's Gloves • Rita's Stockings • Sander's Mittens • Tiit's Socks • Ulla's Gloves • Virve's Stockings

Knitting Vintage Socks: Gentleman's Shooting Stockings with Fluted Pattern (1887) • Gentleman's Sock in Railway Stitch (1889) • Gentleman's Socks with Lozenge Pattern (1895) • Bed Sock in Lemon Pattern Fancy Knit Stripe (1896) • Cycling or Golf Stockings with Fancy Cuff in Trellis Pattern (1897) • Heelless Sleeping Socks (1897) • Child's French Sock in Citron Pattern and Diaper Knitting (1898) • Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern (1899) • Gentleman's Half Hose in Ringwood Pattern (1899) • Gentleman's Sock for Evening Wear (1900) • Evening Stockings for a Young Lady (1900) • Fancy Silk Sock for a Child of 5 or 6 Years (1900) • Gentleman's Fancy Sock (1901) • Gentleman's Plain Winter Sock with Dutch Heel (1901) • Child's Sock in Miranda Pattern (1904) • Baby's Bootikin (1905)  •  Little Child's Sock (1907)  •  Ladies Useful Stockings (1913)  •  Ladies Silk Stockings with Clocks (1914)

Seems like switching horses - switching from the book Folk Knitting in Estonia to the book Knitting Vintage Socks - was just the thing I needed to give my Year of Projects a second wind. With things so busy before Christmas, the simpler patterns from the second book are perfectly suited to my time and attention right now.

Last week I cast on Heelless Sleeping Socks for a friend who has been dropping some not-so-subtle hints that she wants these socks. And what this sock proves is that it takes all kinds. With my high arches and pointy heels, this sock doesn't fit me whatsoever. But my friend insists that heeled socks never fit her and tube socks are so much more comfortable. Well okay then. The cuff and the toe are from mystery yarn plucked from the sale bin at Wabi Sabi. Through the leg section I striped in some plain cream coloured yarn as the 50 grams of mystery yarn wasn't going to be nearly enough to complete the pair. I used Russian joins to switch yarns; the colours match so well that the joins are about invisible. It also means no ends to weave in :)

And because I simply had to see how the gorgeous blues and greens of this "Hey Paula" colourway were going to knit up, I cast on another pair of socks. The pattern is Gentleman's Half Hose in Ringwood pattern. Based on pictures from other Raveler's projects it looked like a pattern that would play nicely with a really busy yarn. So far, so good!  It's dangerous for me to try these sock on though - the more I knit, the more I try, the more I think I'd better just keep these for me! I'm sorry to say, I haven't even got any excuses for why I cast these on... it's not Christmas knitting, there's lots of stuff I should be doing instead, but I just can't seem to help myself. Blame the yarn!

Year of Projects: Heelless Sleeping Socks 01

Folk Knitting in Estonia: Aino's Gloves • Anu's Christmas Gloves • Anu's Mittens • Anu's Stockings • Avo's Mittens • Ellen's Stockings • Helgi's Mittens • Hilja's Mittens • Ilmar's Socks • Juta's Stockings • Kalev's Mittens • Kristi's Mittens • Laila's Socks • Landra's Gloves • Liidia's Gloves • Liivi's Stockings • Maarja's Socks • Maimu's Mittens • Marko's Mittens • Meida's Mittens • Merike's Gloves • Rita's Stockings • Sander's Mittens • Tiit's Socks • Ulla's Gloves • Virve's Stockings

Knitting Vintage Socks: Gentleman's Shooting Stockings with Fluted Pattern (1887) • Gentleman's Sock in Railway Stitch (1889) • Gentleman's Socks with Lozenge Pattern (1895) • Bed Sock in Lemon Pattern Fancy Knit Stripe (1896) • Cycling or Golf Stockings with Fancy Cuff in Trellis Pattern (1897) • Heelless Sleeping Socks (1897) • Child's French Sock in Citron Pattern and Diaper Knitting (1898) • Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern (1899) • Gentleman's Half Hose in Ringwood Pattern (1899) • Gentleman's Sock for Evening Wear (1900) • Evening Stockings for a Young Lady (1900) • Fancy Silk Sock for a Child of 5 or 6 Years (1900) • Gentleman's Fancy Sock (1901) • Gentleman's Plain Winter Sock with Dutch Heel (1901) • Child's Sock in Miranda Pattern (1904) • Baby's Bootikin (1905)  •  Little Child's Sock (1907)  •  Ladies Useful Stockings (1913)  •  Ladies Silk Stockings with Clocks (1914)

I've come to the conclusion that I'm mittened-out. I just can't bring myself to cast on another pair. It's possible I'm also sick of Estonian Knitting - no offence meant to the Estonian people. Instead I find myself knitting socks. So to that end, I've added the book Knitting Vintage Socks to my Year of Projects with the idea that I can pick and choose between the two books for the next six months.

There are three patterns from Knitting Vintage Socks that I've already knit; I likely won't duplicate them. Last week I finished Gentleman's Fancy Socks. My Railway Stitch socks were knit in November 2010. And we have go all the way back to May 2010 to find the Fancy Silk Socks.

Yesterday I cast on Heelless Sleeping Socks for a friend who has been hankering over tube socks for a while now. I've made a good start, in fact, I'm far enough now to see that I definitely haven't enough yarn to finish them. The yarn is mystery yarn that I picked up from the sale bin at Wabi Sabi in Ottawa. There's just 50 grams so it's not really a surprise that there's not enough. No problem though, I have a complementary yarn that I can stripe in to make this work. Tonight I'll be ripping back to the cuff and putting plan B into action.

Finished Object Friday

Pattern: Gentleman's Fancy Sock

Yarn: Wandering Cat Alley Cat BFL in their Badlands colourway

Modifications: I shortened each leg by one repeat; it's long enough as is. And I switched to my usual wedge toe.

Comments: All that ribbing makes for a very stretchy and comfy sock. I'll definitely knit this pattern again. I knit the French heel as written - plain stockinette with a single purl column up the centre back of the heel - however I think I'll switch to a reinforced heel when I do them again. Hopefully the recipient doesn't go through the heel!

The colour pooled a bit on the feet but in real life it's more muted than in the picture. For whatever reason, the photo seems to have intensified the colours and emphasized the pooling. The BFL yarn is lovely soft. It certainly is going to compete with MCN for my yarn buying dollars.

It's Friday so check the links at Tami's Amis see what everyone else has finished. I've been very absent around the blogs for the last couple of weeks, but now that my brother's book is launched I'm hoping to get back on schedule. More about his book here and here.

Christmas knitting and a give-away

With the beginning of December arriving this weekend, it really is crunch time for Christmas knitting. So I couldn't be more pleased that this pair of socks is almost knitting itself. The pattern is Gentleman's Fancy Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks. You've seen the yarn before - it's Alley Cat BFL in a colourway called "Badlands". Several Ravelers warned in their notes that they needed slightly more than a skein so this yarn was the perfect choice as I have one skein plus almost 15gr leftover from my Archer socks. That should do it!

The pattern is simply K2P2 rib (and P2K2) rib which shifts back and forth between bands of stockinette. The result is very deeply textured and REALLY stretchy. It's going to fit beautifully! As you can imagine it's also very mindless knitting that's working up very quickly. That's awesome  - looks like I can finish up this pair before the end of next week.

Now, about that second picture ... With the addition of a loom it's clear that I have too many craft projects. Time to sort'em out and give some away! This lot features a cross stitch pattern called Gathering Place (Leaflet 91) from the Stoney Creek Collection by Leisure Arts with backyard birds like cardinals, chickadees, a woodpecker, blue jays, finches and wrens gathered around a feeder in a snowy pine tree. Along with the pattern I'm including three lengths of cotton cross stitch fabric and an assortment of DMC embroidery floss. I'm guessing much of the floss was purchased for this pattern so you'd be off to the races. Please leave a comment on this post if you're interested. Next Wednesday I'll draw one name and contact that person to arrange posting the lot to them.

Year of Projects: Merike's Gloves

Folk Knitting in Estonia: Aino's Gloves • Anu's Christmas Gloves • Anu's Mittens • Anu's Stockings • Avo's Mittens • Ellen's Stockings • Helgi's Mittens • Hilja's Mittens • Ilmar's Socks • Juta's Stockings • Kalev's Mittens • Kristi's Mittens • Laila's Socks • Landra's Gloves • Liidia's Gloves • Liivi's Stockings • Maarja's Socks • Maimu's Mittens • Marko's Mittens • Meida's Mittens • Merike's Gloves • Rita's Stockings • Sander's Mittens • Tiit's Socks • Ulla's Gloves • Virve's Stockings

On Friday I posted my finished picture for Helgi's Mittens. Despite a false start and new yarn choices, all's well that ends well. There was one more project finished by Friday, but I've saved that post for today. Finally, here are Merike's Gloves finished. I cast these on in mid-September so they've been on the needles for almost two months; that's an awfully long time for me. As you can imagine I'm pretty happy to have them done.

Following the suggestions of other Ravelers in their project notes I thinned each finger by a couple of stitches to make them less "sausage-y". It was the right thing to do because now they fit beautifully. I also lengthened the distance from the end of the cuff to the beginning of the thumb gusset by a handful of rows, which was totally unnecessary. Now my cuff is longer than it needed to be, but that's still okay. I love the way one section of the vikkel stitch patterns travels up each finger and thumb - the pattern is really well thought out!

For yarn I used Loopy Ewe Solid Series. It's okay but the yarn is not as soft and smooth as I'd like and it was quite annoyingly splitty to work with. I'm hoping that the gloves will soften up with a soak in Eucalan. Fingers crossed. The great thing about the Loopy Ewe Solid Series Yarn is the wide range of solid colours but it won't be my first choice otherwise.

At some point in the coming week I'll be casting on for Sander's Mittens. I've picked up some really bright colours of superwash baby wool from my stash, so it'll be a test of my nerves. These colours are really outside my comfort zone, which probably explains why they remain in my stash. Over the next few weeks, though, I do expect that work on my Year of Projects will slow. Christmas is coming and that's a whole different set of priorities.

Finished Object Friday

Pattern: Helgi's Mittens

Yarn: Shepherd Baby Wool 4 ply (Blue) and Sandnes Garn Lanett (Purple)

Modifications: I worked the cuff as K1P1 rib, instead of K1tblP1 rib as written entirely due to inattention. After realizing my mistake on the first mitt I decided to duplicate it on the second. As well, I made my cuff longer than the traditional short Estonian cuff that was directed.

Comments: The colour choices were determined by what was available in my stash; they seemed pretty iffy when I started but now that the mitts are done I'm happy with them. In matching yarns to projects I'm trying to use baby or fingering weight wools without nylon content for mittens and gloves, with a view to leaving the others for socks. 

The baby yarns are beautifully soft making for some very comfy mitts, and the stranding from the all-over colourwork makes them thick and warm. I briefly considered skipping the colourwork on the thumb and working it in solid blue to match the cuff, but then abandoned that idea. Anyone from a cold climate knows that the thumbs are the first to get cold!

It's Friday so check the links at Tami's Amis to see what everyone else has finished. I've got one more finished object waiting in the wings, but you'll have to wait for Sunday for that! To all my American friends, I hope you are enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

learning new tricks

As soon as I knew for sure that I was getting a rigid heddle loom I ordered this book "Weaving Made Easy". My plan was to work through the book project by project in order to learn how to use the loom. Unfortunately due to shipping delays the book didn't arrive until several days after the loom - time enough for me to warp it up and crank something out. And I briefly thought that maybe the book had been a waste of money.

Now that my first project is off the loom I've had a chance to examine it more closely. Can you see the mistakes in the second photo? See those two floats where my weft didn't travel correctly between the warp threads? There are at least a half dozen of these throughout the woven fabric. I was a bit ticked that I hadn't been more careful ... that is, until I found the "Troubleshooting" chapter in the book and the step-by-step instructions on how to fix exactly this. Now it looks like the book was a very wise investment indeed. There are several more tips in this chapter that I'll be putting to good use.

My finished project is 58" x 10.25" after hemstitching each end on the loom and then making a fringe with overhand knots. The fabric is too stiff to make a scarf out of it. And it's a bit narrow for placemats. It could serve as a table runner but I don't have a table that needs a runner. The yarn is a wool/acrylic blend so it's not really suitable for kitchen cloths or pot holders. I am thinking about cutting it into four equal lengths and then practising some hemming techniques. Or maybe cutting pieces and sewing them into bags. Any other suggestions?

Year of Projects: Helgi's Mitts 03

Folk Knitting in Estonia: Aino's Gloves • Anu's Christmas Gloves • Anu's Mittens • Anu's Stockings • Avo's Mittens • Ellen's Stockings • Helgi's Mittens • Hilja's Mittens • Ilmar's Socks • Juta's Stockings • Kalev's Mittens • Kristi's Mittens • Laila's Socks • Landra's Gloves • Liidia's Gloves • Liivi's Stockings • Maarja's Socks • Maimu's Mittens • Marko's Mittens • Meida's Mittens • Merike's Gloves • Rita's Stockings • Sander's Mittens • Tiit's Socks • Ulla's Gloves • Virve's Stockings

Today's the last day of my vacation :( I've done lots over the last seven days but, as usual, my to-do list was longer than I could manage. I had hoped to have Helgi's Mittens done today but I've come up a bit short. I considered delaying this post to finish the top shaping and start a thumb but that seemed a little silly.

I am sure that I will finish the mitts today and then get restarted on Merike's Gloves. After finishing the third of my dishcloth cotton shelf-liners last night, I'm feeling pretty motivated to finish things up. The fact that Christmas is just over a month away is another big motivator. The presents for family in Europe are done - I'll post them this week. The presents for family in Ottawa are also done - I dropped them off last week. Next up? Presents for family in New Brunswick. Looks like the next couple of weeks better be spent on secret Christmas knitting!

How about you? Are you feeling under pressure too?

it's a start

Thanks to Jane Patrick's DVD "Weaving on a Rigid Heddle Loom" I've managed to warp the loom and get started with weaving. Probably I should have waited until my birthday - the loom is a birthday gift after all - but waiting is not my strong suit.

I don't have a warping peg yet but Gavin says he'll put one together for me from an old broomstick and wood scraps in the garage. That'll be a big help. This afternoon I set a wine bottle on the floor about five feet past the loom and used that. It wasn't entirely ideal. I pulled it over TWICE and had to untangle all the loops and repeg them. AND my resulting warp was somewhat uneven.

Right now I have one stick shuttle but that's not enough either ... especially not if I'm going to weave stripes and plaid. Hopefully there are some more wood scraps in the garage that can be made into additional shuttles.

Enough complaining ... it's amazing to me that after an hour or so of weaving I can already see dramatic improvement in my edges. Even Gavin was impressed. Fennel green weft next for eight picks. See? I'm getting the lingo down too!

a field trip

Since I had to head downtown today for an appointment with the eye doctor, I figured I may as well check out a new yarn store that's a 15 minute walk from the doctor's office. It's called EweKnit and it's situated in the main floor of an old house in Mirvish Village. I'm so glad I did because it's lovely.

The rooms are very bright, spacious and everywhere you look ... gorgeous yarn. It was almost overwhelming, especially when faced with an entire wall of Koigu! Wow! Alongside the Malabrigo and Misty Alpaca hang skeins of Sweet Georgia yarns, and my goodness are there some beautiful colourways! If I could have settled for just one or two, some of that would definitely have fallen into my shopping basket, but in the end I just couldn't decide. Spoiled for choice.

Instead I stuck to plan and picked up 5 skeins of a DK weight yarn - Berroco Vintage, a reasonably inexpensive wool/acrylic blend. Tomorrow I'm picking up a new-to-me Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom and I wanted yarn with enough wool content to be stretchy and forgiving for my first attempts, but not expensive in case the first attempts are disastrous. The loom is an early birthday present, with thanks to Gavin. Over the last few days I've been watching YouTube videos to prepare but I'm so not prepared. I've ordered the book Weaving Made Easy  - it got the best all round reviews from what I could see. My plan is to warp something up and see what happens. Wish me luck.

Now if only I could figure out some way to make it to knit nights at EweKnit. The atmosphere of the shop is so charming and relaxing ... I really can't wait to go back.

Year of Projects: Helgi's Mittens 02

Folk Knitting in Estonia: Aino's Gloves • Anu's Christmas Gloves • Anu's Mittens • Anu's Stockings • Avo's Mittens • Ellen's Stockings • Helgi's Mittens • Hilja's Mittens • Ilmar's Socks • Juta's Stockings • Kalev's Mittens • Kristi's Mittens • Laila's Socks • Landra's Gloves • Liidia's Gloves • Liivi's Stockings • Maarja's Socks • Maimu's Mittens • Marko's Mittens • Meida's Mittens • Merike's Gloves • Rita's Stockings • Sander's Mittens • Tiit's Socks • Ulla's Gloves • Virve's Stockings

I'm finally getting somewhere with Helgi's Mittens. The first mitten is mostly done; it's just awaiting its thumb. Thanks to a day spent babysitting, I finally had an opportunity to knit for a few hours. Tomorrow I'm taking the car in for a service, and Tuesday I'm taking the train downtown for an eye doctor appointment, so there'll be several more hours of knitting time in the not so distant future. I'm hoping to finish these up by the end of the week. They're going to need a vigorous blocking though - the top shaping looks particularly bumpy.

After the first pattern repeat I was iffy about the colour combination but on Wednesday readers left lots of positive feedback in their comments. Buoyed by that I carried on and now I'm glad I did. There sure isn't much contrast but the pattern is clear enough. And when I step back to look at the first mitt "Groovy Baby" à la Austin Powers pops into my head.

The second of Merike's Gloves is still in time-out, but I'm starting to feel little twinges of motivation. I expect I'll have the stitches off scrap yarn and back on needles by the end of the week as well. I'd dearly love to promise to finish these for next week's update but maybe that's too optimistic. I'm a terrible one for underestimating what's involved in things. Is that common amongst hand crafters? Maybe. If you ever sit down to calculate the number of stitches in a pair of socks or a shawl it does make you wonder why we do it, doesn't it?

Care to knit a square?

Care to knit a square? That's the question that Kelli Ann posed in a Ravelry forum ...

J’aimerais demander à mes amis qui savent tricoter, de fabriquer ensemble une couverture en laine. Le patron ne demande que la base du tricot (tricot à 5 aiguilles en rond, point à l’endroit, augmentations dans les coins) et une petite quantité de laine à chaussettes belle et douce… Ensemble, nous pouvons assembles nos carrées en un ‘patchwork’ qui peut être mis en vitrine et fera l’objet d’un tirage au profit de la Société Canadienne du Cancer.

I’d like to ask my knitting friends to help me make a blanket, one that requires a basic knowledge of knitting (technique with 5 needles, with increases) and a small amount of soft, quality sock yarn. Together, we can sew up our separate squares and produce a lovely ‘patchwork’ that can be displayed here in town and raffled off to benefit the Canadian Cancer Society.

I've knit three squares. The first was knit with MCN from Zarzuela's Fibers. I've named this square Hurricane Sandy, because I was knitting while watching tracking the storm through TV coverage, and because of the swirling blues. The second was knit from 100% Merino from Shelridge Farms. This square is named "Through the dark Spruce" a take-off of the name of an award-winning Canadian novel because of the forest-y colours. For the final square, "Easter Parade", I tried out the pattern with some self patterning sock yarn.

The square is from the book Knitalong and to be honest I wasn't too sure about the pattern when I started these. The square begins by casting on 12 sts and then increasing from there but that leaves a noticeable hole. Fortunately that hole is easily closed when weaving in the first yarn tail. The outside edges of the square curl but that will resolve itself once the squares are assembled into the blanket. The centre of the square puffs out a bit after knitting but the square flattened out quite readily with blocking. I thought I'd better wash and block these just to make sure all the dyes were colourfast; wouldn't it be a nightmare if one of them ran and ruined an entire assembled quilt?!

Mostly I'm glad they're done; they'll be in the mail tomorrow. Lately things have been several notches past hectic and I've been feeling a lot of pressure. My focus over the coming days and weeks is to finish the things I've already started and get to work on the things I've already committed to. Well, that and to say "no" to every new project - no matter how tempting - from now until Christmas. Wish me luck; this is not something I've ever succeeded at before.

Work-in-Progress Wednesday

After a disastrous weekend of ripping out everything I knit, a couple of simple squares looked like the safest thing to attempt.  A few weeks ago I committed to knitting a couple of squares for a Barn Raising Quilt to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society. It's a very easy pattern, and with very little effort I've knit the first in a variegated blue and made a good start on the second. If you're interested in the KAL there's more information here.

And after ripping out my first attempt at Helgi's Mitts, I've made a new start now using periwinkle blue for the main colour and royal purple for the contrast colour. The resulting pattern in the knitted fabric is much more subtle than it would be if knit in black and white as suggested by the pattern, but I prefer it. Besides, I'm determined to knit from stash yarns (and preferably from superwash baby yarn) so my colour choices are limited by what I have on hand. What do you think? Are the colours okay? Because if these don't work, the next plan would see white paired with the periwinkle blue.

There are a couple more wips scattered around my dining room. After ripping back on Saturday, Merike's Gloves remain in time-out until I feel a little less defeated by them. My third dishcloth cotton shelf liner is also awaiting my attention; I'll get back to that once I clean up some of these other projects.

It's Wednesday, so you know what to do! Go, check out all the links at Tami's Amis.

Year of Projects: Helgi's Mitts 01

Folk Knitting in Estonia: Aino's Gloves • Anu's Christmas Gloves • Anu's Mittens • Anu's Stockings • Avo's Mittens • Ellen's Stockings • Helgi's Mittens • Hilja's Mittens • Ilmar's Socks • Juta's Stockings • Kalev's Mittens • Kristi's Mittens • Laila's Socks • Landra's Gloves • Liidia's Gloves • Liivi's Stockings • Maarja's Socks • Maimu's Mittens • Marko's Mittens • Meida's Mittens • Merike's Gloves • Rita's Stockings • Sander's Mittens • Tiit's Socks • Ulla's Gloves • Virve's Stockings

I hoped to show you a finished pic of Merike's Gloves but when I laid the right glove along side the left to compare the length of the index fingers I saw a mistake three fingers and several rows back. RIP!

With the gloves in time-out I then hoped to show you a good start on Helgi's Mittens. But my choice of yarns is no good - the variegated yarn is getting lost in the solid purple and the pattern is disappearing. RIP!

I'm almost afraid to try anything else today. Thank goodness Juta's Stockings were knit without incident. (The finished object post is here, if you missed it.) My plan for the rest of the evening is to put all knitting aside, grab my eReader and curl up in bed. Tomorrow is another day.

Don't get me wrong; aside from these knitting fails today was a very good day. Nancy and I went to a Fall Fibres show put on by the Guelph Guild of Handweavers and Spinners. Really enjoyable! Big thanks to Brenda Franklin for her very thorough demonstration of weaving with a rigid heddle loom and another lady who demonstrated bobbin lace techniques to us.

Surmount The Stash November Update

Some months it's hard to evaluate my progress to Surmount the Stash. This month I didn't get as much done as I'd hoped, but there is some progress.

Monthly budget of $50 for all knitting related expenses: In October I scooped up 2 balls of red acrylic DK from the clearance room at Mary Maxim for a whopping $1.99 each. Including tax, my total spending was under $5.

A week ago I came across a post on Ravelry about a KAL to make a Barn Raising Quilt for the Canadian Cancer Society. The pattern is not available online, and I wasn't sure I wanted to splash out for the book but I quickly realized that the book was available from the library. That made me feel very thrifty :)

Manage my WIPs: My Smitten Advent calendar is finally done and I'm busy scouting little surprises to fill each of the 24 little stockings. It's pretty fun. I also knit two pairs of socks, I'm a quarter of the way through my secret Christmas knitting, and I'm hoping to show a finished pair of gloves for my Year of Projects post on Sunday. Two years ago I knit a shelf liner for a friend from dishcloth cotton and had planned to knit two more. This morning I can report that the second is done, and the third is well underway.

Plan projects to work through my inventory of yarns in my Stash: I started the year with 1350 grams of dishcloth cotton and by the end of next week that total should be down to about 350 grams. That's about 75% of that stash knit!  I have some ideas about a new dishcloth design so a portion of the remaining yarn will go to that.

In the next few weeks I also plan to make two squares for the KAL - there are a couple of sock yarns whose variegation have defied all my pattern choices so I think they'll be perfect for this. And once that's done - and once my secret Christmas knitting is done - it's socks and Year of Projects knitting for the rest of the year. Sounds like I can still make inroads into the fingering weight stash!

Finished Object Friday

Pattern: Juta's Stockings

Yarn: Sydney Sock with Nylon from Studio June Yarns

Modifications: None. (I know, pretty amazing eh?)

Comments: The sock yarn was given to me by Jill at Studio June Yarn as a 'thank you" for designing some Ravelry ads for her. The colourway is unnamed on the label, but it makes me think of summer skies streaked with the thinnest cirrus clouds.

This yarn is beautifully smooth yielding perfect stitch definition which is very satisfying for a simple sock like this. Other than lace panels on the side of the legs and the top of the foot it's a vanilla sock pattern, but the result is quite elegant I think. It's another winning sock pattern from Nancy Bush!

It's Friday so check the links at Tami's Amis. Why not see what everyone else has finished? It's also Socktoberfest, so chances are these socks are in some good company!

Work-in-Progress Wednesday

My friend's birthday is fast approaching, and it seems to me that now's the time to finish these shelf liners I started for her more than two years ago. I planned to make three, but only finished one and started a second. Look how wrinkled they are from being scrunched up in a bag in the cupboard for so many months! Once I finish them they'll definitely need some steam blocking.

The pattern is based on this Montague table runner which I have adjusted to make longer and narrower. There's also an intentional jog in the seed stitch borders at the beginning and end of each liner where the framing of the cupboard narrows the otherwise open shelf space.

I'm knitting in dishcloth cotton; after attending a tent sale at the Spinrite Factory Outlet I find myself with a ton of it. This is a great way to make some headway through that part of my stash. isn't it. It's also a practical choice for a shelf liner I think - machine washable, can be bleached if needed, absorbent and not linty. Also, the worsted weight cotton makes a thick cushion for glasses and dinnerware.

The only downside is the tedium ... it's like knitting three matching scarves. I guess that explains why it's been on the needles for what seems like forever. Well that stops right now. I'm going to try to knit monogamously on these shelf liners until they're done. Wish me luck ... or patience and self-discipline, more likely.

Of course it's Work-in-Progress Wednesday so I'm linking up with the gang at Tami's Amis. Why not have a look to see what everyone else has been up to?

Year of Projects 2: Juta's Stockings 01 and Merike's Gloves 05

Folk Knitting in Estonia: Aino's Gloves • Anu's Christmas Gloves • Anu's Mittens • Anu's Stockings • Avo's Mittens • Ellen's Stockings • Helgi's Mittens • Hilja's Mittens • Ilmar's Socks • Juta's Stockings • Kalev's Mittens • Kristi's Mittens • Laila's Socks • Landra's Gloves • Liidia's Gloves • Liivi's Stockings • Maarja's Socks • Maimu's Mittens • Marko's Mittens • Meida's Mittens • Merike's Gloves • Rita's Stockings • Sander's Mittens • Tiit's Socks • Ulla's Gloves • Virve's Stockings

Finally I can show you some progress on my second of Merike's Gloves! I've knit the cuff of the right glove and started the thumb gusset. In the pattern the right is worked as the left with the shapings reversed. I'd prefer if full written instructions were provided for both gloves, but they're not, so I guess I'll have to keep my thinking cap on. It does slow me down a bit, because I don't want to start a shaping section unless I'm certain to have time to finish it.

At the same time I've cast on Juta's Stockings. The yarn is a lovely subtle tonal in summer sky blues from Studio June Yarn. Because the pattern is so simple - mostly stockinette with a simple column of lace on each side of the leg and the top of the foot - I can readily pick it up and put it down without losing track of the pattern. Easy, peasy; the first sock is already off the needles.

Having a second project on the needles helps make me feel like I'm making better progress on my list of projects. At least now I have something more to post about in my weekly updates. As well, making visible progress on one project makes me less impatient with the slow pace of progress on the other. So that's the plan going forward. Besides, the Christmas gift pile still needs several more pairs of socks.