Travel and progress

Last weekend was hectic and exciting between a visit from my best friend and a visit to the Asheville, North Carolina area for the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair. I have passed up the chance to go to SAFF the past two years, but this year I went and I am certainly glad I did!

I had the opportunity to meet some new people there, especially some dedicated farmers. I also ran into some people I know, including Liz (Carolina Knits). I spent a lot of time with the alpacas because they are the cutest, someone even brought a little baby! I wish I had taken the time to take more photos, but it was an overwhelming event!

I have been trying to finish some of my older WIPs lately, including my Nymphalidea, which is looking very nice. The colors are starting to grow on me, even though they are unconventional.

I have also been crocheting quite a bit, including starting on this Kitty Nest. I am hoping that it will be large enough for kitty to fit in, she is a very big kitty! I'm using some t-shirt yarn I made last month. I didn't think I would like the process, but it was quick and fun to do! 

You may recognize this yarn, it was a part of a blanket that is no more. I loved how it was looking, but I did not like how the resulting fabric felt, I doubted the ability of it to stay together over time. So I ripped it all out and went for the tried and true granny square style. So far it is looking very nice and I am happy with my decision.

What have you been working on? Have you changed your mind about a pattern recently?

Too many things to knit with so little time

I've been going through a challenging time in my life lately. It's been one of those inevitable periods where everything feels frustrating and difficult. I often reflect on how working with wool has provided me with the calm and focus I've needed to continue through several taxing life experiences. I've heard this sentiment from many other knitters and crocheters, that the simple rhythm of their work has helped them through loss, injury, and various other challenges. I find that fact incredibly inspiring, it connects us as a community in a profound way.

I feel as though each of my projects have been dragging on in a sense, I forget that they are each fairly large and ambitious. I've been fighting the temptation to cast on a hat for quick satisfaction.

Nymphalidea has been such a joy to work on, I've really been able to get into a comfortable rhythm with this project. The pattern is super easy to memorize and the construction is very different from the traditional shawl design. If you are like me and find shawls tedious, you'll probably find this pattern a nice change in pace. I'm not sure how I like the colors together yet.

Sock Art Forest and Malabrigo Sock (Candombe colorway)

Antique yarn blanket is reaching the point where one circular needle is not enough to contain it. I really wish I could convey the lovely smell of this yarn too, it is akin to the scent of an old book.

Antique wool yarn, unknown producer

Guston for the boyfriend is almost finished, I've knitted all of the body, except for the back of the yoke, and finished the sleeves (painfully knitted flat rather than in the round). I simply adore Rowan Pure Wool, you'll never find me knitting with any other 100% wool option again, it is a joy.

Rowan Pure Wool Worsted

Lastly, I want to share two things that have brightened my life recently:

The Irish film Frank, the trailer is not a fantastic representation of what this film has to offer, but I thought it was deep, creative, and easy to become immersed in. It is also definitely worth seeing in theaters.

If you haven't checked out maria_levine on Instagram yet, you must! She posts several times each day with gorgeous yarns and inspired cabled hats and gloves. She also has the sweetest kitties.

I hope you are all well and creating beautiful things every day!

What is up with this Fall thing anyway?

So, Fall has exploded in the US, it seems like a premature and immediate change. I'm not quite ready for Summer to be over, thank you very much! Also, in my mind, it cannot be Fall if it is still 85F outside every day.

So sorry for the mini rant, I'm just puzzled by culture sometimes.

I have way more WIPs going right now than I would like, to the point where they are causing me a little bit of anxiety. So, I'm enacting my tried and true method of dealing with most things in life:

Take it one step at a time. Simple.

This poor sweater is going to have to hibernate because I'm short about 50g to finish the neckline. How sad is that? I thought I would have enough yardage, but I forget how much yarn cabling eats up.
     Update! My mother has secured an additional skein because she's the best!

I have also been slowly working on a couple rows a day on this blanket. This is exactly the same as a scrap blanket I finished a few years ago (which I still love, it hangs out on my couch). The yarn is some of the antique yarn my mother brought me that I used for Narragansett, it will be super warm!

I'm so close to finishing some socks I'm knitting out of my very own handspun yarn! The fiber was from a beautiful braid that Lisa (Wickedly Artsy) sent me some time ago. I still can hardly believe that I spun this!

Anyone else battling some WIPs?

Wednesday Works In Progress

knit...
Kennedy... I cast this sweater on because I really wanted to join the Summer Sweater KAL with Very Shannon.  The KAL is going until September, so I think I can pull it off!  The pattern is Kennedy by Anniken Allis and I've just reached the cabling section, I always find that exciting!

Plymouth Yarn Worsted Merino Superwash

spin...
Black Jacob Handspun... I have been dying to start a new spinning project, it has been months since I've spun anything at all!  The only fiber I had available was some leftover black jacob wool that I used to make some handspun socks for my mother a few years ago.  I love working with this fiber, it's always a simple joy.

100% black jacob wool

crochet...
Sock Scrap Blanket... I'm still making excellent progress on the cushion cover.  I'm also learning that learning to join crochet squares is particularly challenging with black, fingering weight yarn.

Araucania Itata Multy

Cuddly Scrap Blanket

I had such a great time reading all the comments from last post.  You all are such wonderfully creative people and I hope that you all get a chance to have your own creative retreats soon!

I've been hard at work finishing my scrap blanket and am I ever happy with it!  There is something so satisfying about knitting something so substantial and using up a large bag of yarn scraps that was taking up space.

I'm aware that it desperately needs a good blocking to be the right shape, but I just don't have the space in my dorm room to do so right now.

Once I finished binding off I was very surprised to see how huge it had turned out considering how compact it had been on the circular needles.  I took this as a chance to practice my very basic crochet skills and try and get more comfortable with working with a hook, it worked out pretty well.

I also really enjoyed working with so many types of yarn, I've definitely rediscovered some favorites.  For example, I'm dying to work with Knit Picks Simply Cotton again, it is heavenly!

Some of you asked about the pattern, I totally improvised this pattern by just starting with 4 stitches and knitting in a round, increasing evenly by four stitches each round.  Super easy and fun!

Also some people have been asking about the quilt that was featured in the background of last post, it was a scrap quilt made by my great-grandmother, I treasure it immensely.

All through this project I envisioned how wonderful it will be to cuddle under this blanket in my new apartment this winter!

I also wanted to take some time to thank all of my wonderful blogging friends for cheering me on these last few months.  Writing a thesis and working towards a degree has not been easy and your support has been amazing!  Thank you so much!

Pretty Pink Alpaca!

A little while ago I was the lucky winner of a giveaway over at Sara's lovely blog.  Imagine my glee when I found that I had received a beautiful braid of soft, shiny alpaca.  I want to thank her again for being such a fantastic blogging buddy!

As I wrote in a previous post, I enjoyed every moment I spent spinning this fiber and it certainly was worth it in the end:

- Finished: April 26, 2012
- Fiber: 100% alpaca (Gaia's Colours Fibre Arts)
- Spindle: Schacht 3" Hi-Lo drop spindle (2.2 oz.)
- Other Information: 1 skein, 3-ply, ~160 yards, 4 oz., DK weight

Now that I'm finished spinning this lovely fluffiness, I'm not sure what my future plans for it should be. Any ideas?

Also on a more serious note, scrap blanket has declared war on my ability to study for finals.  The current battle is being fought on my desk, and as you can see, the blanket is gaining precious ground...

Scrap Solutions

A few months ago, I started working on a knitted, patchwork blanket as a way of using up my huge bag of scraps left over from old projects.

I wasn't following any sort of pattern, I just knitted up a bunch of seed stitch squares in vaguely similar sizes.  Eventually, I got tired of knitting them and also realized the vast amount of seaming that was going to have to take place later on.

So, I stuffed everything back into the bag and tried to ignore the problem.

Look at them all, silently judging (this is only a small percentage of the population):

So, I started clicking around on one of my favorite Ravelry boards, Scrap Happy! and eventually came up with an idea for a blanket that would not involve seaming and would allow me to knit it in the round.

May I present the start of quite possibly the ugliest blanket to ever exist:

It will be crazy (possibly even wacky), but it is already so much more fun to knit and much more efficient than the last idea.  Basically I'm just knitting in the round, increasing evenly by four stitches every round.  I'm also having fun revisiting some yarns that I had used on past projects (Love: Berroco Palace and Knit Picks Andean Silk, Hate: Berroco Lustra).

This is definitely giving me the boost I need right now by allowing me to use up scraps, knit mindlessly, and to take a break from some projects that are really annoying me right now.

How do you use up your scraps? Or do you not have any? (I'm not sure how that is possible, but someone once told me that she never has any yarn left over from past projects).