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?

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

Crochet Scrap Project - Mystery no more?

Last Wednesday, I spoke a little about this seemingly never-ending WIP.  Basically, I had leftovers of Araucania Itata Multy in five different colorways and thought it was a great opportunity to do something special with those matching scraps.

I bought five different skeins of this in a closeout sale at Webs about five years ago, when I just started getting seriously addicted to knitting.  I loved the sheen of the yarn and the gorgeous colorways.  I'm not crazy about Araucania as a yarn producer, largely because all the other experiences I've had with their yarns have been very disappointing.  But I've loved every chance I've had to work with Itata Multy, which I talk about more in this past post --> Speaking of Yarn - Araucania Itata Multy

So, for about a year I've been slowly crocheting my scrap skeins into little granny circles.  Recently I came to the end of the scraps and decided it was finally time to work these into something interesting.

Both Sarah (Sezza Knits) and Lisa (Wickedly Artsy) cleverly recommended that I make these into a cushion cover.  Every day, I tackled a row, adding the edges...

And now I'm learning how to join granny squares, which is a very satisfying process.

Now, I just have to sort out the sewing aspect of this project, which will probably require a trip to the fabric store! 

Sunshine Rug

A little while ago, I finished this sunny rug.

The pattern was dreamt up along the way, using what I lovingly call my larger crochet hook (that's right guys, I now own two crochet hooks!).

The yarn is Cascade Yarns Sierra in gold (colorway: 443) and a green (unknown colorway), which is 80% cotton and 20% merino.  It is a nice blend to work with, although I think it is discontinued now.

I probably knit this yarn up into three garments (remember this one?), hating and frogging each one.  I generally have this issue with cotton or bamboo yarns even when blended with wool, it is just so difficult to get them to fit with most projects I try.

But the color made me so happy!  So I decided, why not crochet it into a pretty rug?  Now this seemingly doomed yarn sits in my stash no longer.

Surprise, surprise, kitty loves it too!

Work-In-Progress Wednesday - #17

Thank you all for your warm welcome back into the blogging world, I'm so excited to be joining you all again!

I have an embarrassingly long backlog of WIPs right now, but we've all been there, right?  So, I'll show you the three that I'm putting real time into right now.

knitting

Narragansett/ This sweater was a recent travel project, all I have to do after that trip is the other sleeve.  The yarn is a mystery wool that my mother uncovered recently on one of her adventures, I'll tell you that story in the near future.

Swirling Gauntlets/ I just needed more cables in my life, we all know that feeling right?  Also, this is some more super special yarn gifted to me by my best friend, Rebecca.

Rowan Felted Tweed dk

crochet

Sock Scrap Blanket/ I've been slowly working on this for about a year, it all started with me having a whole bunch of sock yarn scraps of the same yarn and wanting to do, something, anything, with them.  I'm still not sure what I'll end up stitching these into, any ideas?

Araucania Itata Multy

Anyone else suffering from an intense desire to knit all the sweaters?

Business trips are

It's been a little while since I've said hello, predictably life has become even more busy than I could ever imagine and I haven't been able to keep up with my favorite people!

I have been reading posts when I have a spare moment, and I'm obviously not the only person who has been busy.  I've been seeing so many inspirational finished projects and Audry has finished her book of patterns (which is even more amazing than I ever could have envisioned).

I'm currently on my way to Boston for a business trip.  It is a stressful time for a trip, I'm having to leave my experiments in the hands of someone else for a few days.  But it does give me some time to check in!

I've been knitting, spinning, and crocheting for at least a few moments every day, it's what keeps me sane after all.

My favorite project to work on is currently my scrap yarn granny blanket, I'm definitely getting better at crochet.

I've been knitting with some soft alpaca handspun.  This is going to be a warm hat for a friend. 

Mostly my life has been consumed with work.  My project is massive and I have a lot of responsibilities, but I'm constantly learning new skills and it is honestly a dream come true.  If you are at all interested in my work, we just had a press conference and reporters descended on the labs.  I was excited to get to show off my new microscope (which has lasers, I'll have you know) to several film crews. '

Fox News - Wake Forest teaming with feds to test for chemical warfare antidotes

I hope you are all well, I hope to be around more now that things have slowed down a little bit.

After work collapse

Surely you've experienced those days when you get home after a long day of work and nothing feels better than collapsing on the couch.

This has been happening a lot to me lately.  It could be because working at the institute surrounded by so many brillant people and the high expectations expected of students there is making me work towards a whole new level of efficiency and training me to be more adaptable.  I have to the realization that I am moving away from simply being a molecular biologist to more of a biomedical engineer.  I've found my dream job.

Of course stage 2 of my recharge time is working with yarn.  If I have the energy, I work on the more complex sweater pattern I wrote about last post.

If I'm more exhausted than usual I succumb to my obsession with knitting my whole stash, which lately has been simple crocheting:

This is destined to become the first of a set of placemats (this is special yarn, I want to put it on display)

This is going to be part of the most comfy kitty bed ever and help me use up even more scraps (I have no idea where they all come from!) 

...because this kitty isn't spoiled enough as it is.  

I have no idea why she gets a gray tummy during the summer, it is probably because she is "part fancy cat" as my mother would say.

Crochet scrap rug

As you can see, I've finished my crochet scrap rug!  It was a fantastic project for when I wanted to keep busy but didn't want to think about it too much, I seem to have a lot of those kinds of projects lately...

I wasn't completely happy with how it turned out after blocking (yes, I actually blocked this, please be proud of me).  Even after some determined pinning, and repinning after kitty noticed it, it still curls a little at the edges.

But it still does it's intended job as a soft surface to step onto getting out of bed.

This mat was crocheted completely out of scrap DK yarn with fiber types ranging from merino wool to soy/cotton (the mustard yellow).  There is even some yarn I dyed myself, the bright blue and the red/orange/yellow superwash wool.

I honestly have no idea what size hook I used, all I know is that it is the only hook I have, an outcast in my crafting corner.

As predicted, kitty enjoys using this as a sled or as a comfortable place to sit while obsessively watching birds through the window.

Returning to life - wait, I have a life?

I've successfully survived my second semester of graduate school, although I've never been this busy before.  Needless to say I've missed you all!

I ended up finding funding to continue my studies, I'm very excited to report that I'll be working with a group of researchers that are printing functional human organs.  Pretty much my dream come true!

These last few weeks I've been gradually working on one project, quite possibly the most horrifically ugly project ever.

The story behind it is that one morning I woke up, put my feet on the floor, and decided that I really wanted a soft mat to step onto to start the day right.  Isn't it wonderful that as crafters, we can make just about anything we can imagine?

Knit just didn't seem sturdy enough for floor mat material, especially with the force of destruction that is my kitty around (she will see a kitty-sized sled).  So I decided to attempt crocheting again, and after some initial confusion about moving on to the next row, I got the hang of it.

This is all scrap yarn (where does it all come from?!), but I think I'll have to buy yarn for the edging.

And now I bring you creepy kitty...who suddenly gets interested in something, I have no idea what.

I've begged her to never make that expression again, it is just too disturbing, like she is plotting a truly horrible death for me.

Work-in-progress Wednesday - #16

Whew, first work-in-progress wednesday in a while!  I'm so excited to share some wonderful progress with you this week!

Knitting:
I was able to make a little progress on Winifred during my flight home.  I'm at the slow stockinette stage right now, but I'm finding it oh so soothing to knit.  I simply cannot wait to wear this sweater!

Crochet:
I've been slowly amassing granny squares made out of scrap yarn.  It is so satisfying to watch the bag of leftover yarn dwindle and my pile of colorful squares grow larger!

Spinning:
This fiber I've been spinning has a special story, one that I will share with you sometime in the future.  Obviously I've missed spinning because this project is coming together very quickly.

I hope that you are all having a great Wednesday and I hope that you also join in for WIP Wednesday with Tami's Amis.

New skill - Granny Squares

I've mentioned in the past that I have been frequently frustrated with my inability to learn how to crochet.  I was able to do basic cast ons and stitches (lovely crocheters, please don't be offended if I use the wrong terminology, I'm in uncharted territory here!), but never could do anything beyond that.

For some reason my mental yardstick for being able to crochet at a basic level has always been the granny square.  Over the Thanksgiving break I needed something new to work on, so I sorted through my yarn scraps and pulled up one tutorial after another until I figured it out.

Needless to say, I found it addictive, especially because I was able to use up scraps (many of you know that this is my thing).  Oh how fun it is!  Now, I'm aware the the color combinations are not the most attractive, but I don't really care because they are both square and crochet!

Now I'm not super accomplished like Robin, she isn't restricted to squares, in fact, she can make just about any shape!  Her experiments are so pretty and creative that they are works of art.

I'm also enjoying learning this new needle craft at the same time as my friend Sue.  She definitely is a few steps ahead of me though having learned multiple stitches and good technique.

I would eventually like to make a colorful scrap blanket because I've always wanted to have a granny square blanket.  Although it is definitely not going to be as organized as Heather's, she's got the power of Excel on her side!

It was such a joy to finally tackle this challenge and now I've been able to bring that energy to my many WIPs that are waiting to be finished.  I think that I will always be a knitter, but I definitely enjoy the process of crochet and appreciate all that is possible with it.