Knitting Rules

Lately it seems as though every time I think about blogging, something more important comes up. I finally have a little bit of time, and a question. My question is: Do you have any 'rules' about your knitting? I do. I have two, actually. The first one is easy: Don't pick a project wildly beyond your knitting capabilities. Work your skills up to the project before starting it.
The second rule is somewhat more complicated, as it has exceptions. On the surface, it seems quite simple and straightforward: Never have more than one knitting project at a time. Easy, right? The complications come with the exceptions: Dishcloths or other small no-more-than-two-sessions projects are allowed. Taking time off from one project to knit a gift is allowed. Taking two projects on vacation is a good idea, in case one of them doesn't quite go the way you'd hoped.

And that's where I ran into trouble. I went on vacation in August. I thought that it would be a good idea to have two projects. So I cast on a knit a few rounds of two separate projects. Somehow that started things spiraling out of control and I now have three four knitting projects going. One is a gift, so that doesn't really count, right? That still leaves me with three WIP's, though.


The first two pictures are the projects I took on vacation. The top picture is of Cat Bordhi's Spring Thaw Socks. (Knitter's Magazine Summer 2008) I haven't worked on the socks since the day I cast on.
The second picture is "Cabled Wristlets" by Silka Burgoyne. (Creative Knitting November 2008) I worked on these the first day of vacation. Haven't touched them since.
The third picture is of a vintage stocking that I started. The pattern was downloaded from Vintage Purls. I have no idea why I started it, especially since I already had two projects going. I have no idea why I bought the yarn, either, since I'm not supposed to be buying yarn until I use some up.

This brings us to the fourth project. All I can show you is the yarn - it's a gift, and I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for the recipient.

Million dollar question of the day: What project should I go back to after I finish knitting the present?

Goodies #2 + Randomness

I promised to show you more goodies, and here they are! Remember the 300 hat project? Colleen at Rabies on My Shoe collected hats from people on the East Coast. She also had some prizes to give away, and I was one of the randomly chosen numbers!!

Here's a picture of what I got:

Lotion, tea, and the prettiest yarn ever! Isn't it scrumptious?!

I haven't decided on a pattern for it yet, so if anyone has one of those 'Oooh, I know the perfect pattern for that' moments, leave a comment for me.

On to Randomness. My friend Sarah tagged me for this. Here are the rules: The rules are: Link to the person who tagged you, list the rules, write six random things about yourself, tag six-ish people by leaving comments on their blogs and let the person who tagged you know that you've written the post.

1. I drive a standard car. Every time I get into an automatic, I think something's wrong with it. (i.e. the clutch is missing, there's no shifter...)
2. My favorite colors are any shade of purple, and pale yellow.
3. Since graduating from high school four years ago, I've been studying geometry, literature, and a few of the great courses from The Teaching Company.
4. I'm teaching the little boy I babysit how to do a running stitch.
5. My favorite animals are seals.
6. I love Sci-Fi movies and series. Right now my favorite is Doctor Who. 

I can't decide who to tag, so if you want to be tagged, leave a comment and consider yourself tagged.

~Sarah

Goodies

I recently was given some goodies, and thought I 'd share them with everyone.
These two were given to me by the lady I babysit for. They are both stamped cross stitches, which are not my favorite, but I think I can stitch them at some point in the future.
The family tree is awesome - I've always wanted to do one but never had the inclination, or motivation to design one. The other is Psalm 23. It has a pastoral scene at the bottom done in crewel work, which I've also always wanted to try.











The rest of the goodies are from my sister who isn't as enthusiastic about crafts as she used to be. Thanks sis!

This is a dogwood flower cross stitch. She started it for our bathroom , but didn't finish it. It should be a quick stitch and good to take in my purse.

An extra hoop is always handy, and this kitty pattern will be perfect for the 'Kitty Korner' in my room.

Although I have a strong dislike of stamped cross stitch, I seem to be acquiring them at an alarming rate! However, I have a certain weakness for butterflies, and when there's the option to stitch in hues of purple...well, I just had to take it.


Now on to the knitting stuff! A book of knitting patterns and a pair of knitting needles, and yarn. The blue is Homespun and there a are 2 skeins. I'm going to make another triangle shawl with it. I have a pattern in mind for the purple (I think it's Caron's One Pound, but don't quote me on that) but have yet to look it up and see if it will work.

I have more goodies to show, but that's for another post.I hope you enjoyed this peek at my newly acquired projects!
~Sarah

About That Kitty.....

...you know, the Sleepy Kitty Draft Dodger? Yeah, that one. Did anyone notice anything ...interesting...about the yarn I chose? Not exactly colors you'd see on a cat. So, my kitty has become a caterpillar, because caterpillars can be fun colors like purple and blue. What was I thinking when I bought that yarn?? Obviously not about cats. Anyway, a caterpillar sort of goes with my theme of butterflies, since they turn into butterflies. I'm nearly done and will try to post some pictures tomorrow. Or later tonight, if all goes well. ~Sarah

Tatting Gone Awry

Last week was interesting. My Dad had an encounter with a deer on Sunday night, and I was stressed out and the chauffeur for my parents.
On Tuesday evening Mom and I had our craft night with a friend and I finished a tatted design for one of my balls. I thought. For some reason it wouldn't lay flat. My Mom looked at it, and although she doesn't know much about tatting, she found the mistake. Turns out the problem was an error in the pattern. That stymied my creative drive for a while. I will (eventually) try the pattern again - and fix the error.
Does anyone know what to do with lumpy tatting??

On Friday Mom and I did errands and stopped at AC Moore. They had all their yarn 25% off. I bought two more skeins of Patons Classic Merino Wool in Rosewood and Natural Mix to make more coasters. I also bought some wool felt to try felting with a different texture; I used wool roving previously.




I forgot to mention in my last post that I made my very first Etsy purchase! As I continued working on my shawl, my stitch markers were giving me some trouble; they were almost too small for my needles. I remembered seeing some neat ones on Etsy, so I went eshopping. I found these and decided as long as I was purchasing from the seller I might as well buy some yarn, too. When I saw this skein I immediately thought of a pattern I'd seen in Creative Knitting. As is typical of myself, I didn't think to check the yarn weight before ordering. However, the March issue arrived today and has the perfect felted purse pattern. I even have enough yarn and it's the right weight!


Tomorrow: my belated Weekly Goal List.
~Sarah
PS - The marker in the middle came with the yarn. The rest were part of a set.

Yarn Stash(es)

Is it possible for a yarn stash to be too big? Most of my yarn is for 'designated projects' but once I finish those projects I'm going to have a lot of leftover yarn... Here are some photos of my yarn stash/collection - whatever you want to call it.

This is my afghan stash for the Queen of Hearts afghan from the book 100 Afghan Squares to Knit.
So far I have 6 skeins of Vanna's choice (pictured here) and I'm considering adding some other textures; I have a few leftover skeins of Caron's Simply Soft yarn in my 'leftovers' stash.


This is my 'Sock Yarn Stash'. Since I don't have a bigger basket, I've concluded that I have one skein and one ball too many. ;) The yarn is Lion Brand Wool-Ease worsted weight and destined for socks from this book. I couldn't afford to buy Philosopher's Wool, and Wool-Ease looked like a good alternative.
I really really really really don't like knitting with Fun Fur. So I found a crochet pattern. And I really really don't like crocheting anything other than Granny Squares.
But the pattern for this Sleepy Kitty Draft Dodger was so cute, and a draft dodger seems like such a good idea...

Moving on...


The purple yarn on the right is for a shawl pattern I got off Lion Yarn's website. The yarn on the left was for another shawl, but I decided that the yarn wouldn't show off the design very well. So if I like the way the purple shawl comes out I may use it for that. They are both Homespun yarns. The yarn on the top right is my yarn for practice socks from this book. The bag is just there because it's cute. I got it from House-Mouse designs.

This is my Granny Square Afghan project. I have 70-some odd squares and have not gotten very far. I'm having trouble with the white round for some reason. I have 2 other colors not pictured, and will probably run out of several before I finish. The yarn is Caron's simply soft.


This is my basket of yarn 'leftovers'. All the yarns are from previous projects, or bought at a garage sale.


So there you have it. My entire yarn collection/stash/pending projects. Whatever.


Happy Thanksgiving, and happy yarn collecting!
~Sarah

Craft Store Visit

Mom and I did errands today, and we stopped at A.C. Moore. They were having a big sale, and I had a gift card, so I picked up a few items. Scrapbooking is not one of my hobbies, but I wanted to put together a photo album of my gardens over the past year. I found this album 40% off, and there should be enough room for a lot of photos.


I also bought two more skeins of Vanna's Choice yarn. It's destined for an afghan from this book. That brings me up to 6 skeins. The number of colors is amazing the the hues are absolutely beautiful.

I also bought a frame for a cross stitch project - more on that another time. Since everything was on sale and I had a gift card I ended up not spending any of my own money and still have $1.55 left on the gift card. Hmmm....maybe I can get a few skeins of DMC Floss. ;)

Happy Stitching!
~Sarah

Knitting Project

My current knitting project is a poncho for my sister. So far I have finished the back and am approximately halfway done with the front. The pattern is Fashion Note J17-0724 from Red Heart. The yarn is Bernat's Soft Bouclé and the color is Misty Shades. I've worked with Bernat's yarn before; once as trim on a dog sweater, and once with one of their baby yarns. Each time I've resolved to never work with nubby yarns ever again. Despite my resolve I always seem to buy more nubby yarn.


My Craft Goals for this week are:

1. Complete 16 rows on poncho
2. Figure out how to knit faster and not make mistakes ;)
   
3. Start another tatted ornament cover
4. Cut out fabric for 2 Christmas presents that must remain anonymous for the time being.