This Week's Challenges

knit...

Still working away on my Kennedy sweater.  I finished the body quickly because I love the cabled design so much!  Now I'm slogging through the sleeves, knitting them two-at-a-time definitely helps!

spin...

Halfway done with the singles for my Black Jacob 3-ply.  My favorite aspects of this fiber are the smell and the natural color of it.  I think I'll be buying more next time I visit New England!

career...

Thursday I have a graduate school milestone that I have been preparing to face for the last couple of months.  If all goes well and I pass I'll be an official PhD candidate and be able to continue my studies.  I'm nervous and even a little panicky, but stolen moments with fiber and nutritious, homecooked meals prepared by my boyfriend are keeping me sane.

How do you motivate yourself during challenging periods in your life?

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

Friendly KAL

Recently I have been knitting a pattern along with a dear friend.  I've known Rebecca for many years, we bonded over terrorizing our homeschool group when we were little (we were unstoppable troublemakers).  

We remained close even after I moved away to "somewhere over the rainbow" and she is one of those special friends that even if I don't see her for years, the second I meet up with her again it is like we were never apart.

When she suggested that we knit the Artemisia sweater together, I immediately agreed (she has excellent taste obviously).  I've found the pattern a little bit challenging and so I'm quite a ways behind where she is, but it is a beautiful pattern and I cannot wait to finish it.

I'm knitting it with Plymouth Yarn Worsted Merino Superwash Solids, one of my absolute favorite yarns, that I picked out during my latest Webs adventure.  It always produces the most comfortable garments.

We have grand plans to each wear our sweaters the next time we see each other.  Hopefully I can finish it by then!

Work-in-progress Wednesday - #15

This WIP Wednesday brought to you by....the sun!

That's right!  The sun has finally decided to return to the triad area of North Carolina!

So, I'm more energized and halfway decent photographs are now possible!

Knitting:

I attempted further work on my poor self-designed sweater...this did not go well.  I'm still struggling with the shoulder/neckline shaping.  At this point I'm positive that the key to shaping in this case is short rows.

I have also cast on a new project, one I've been dreaming of for a while now.  These will be a lovely pair of Belle Epoque socks (sorry for lack of project photo right now, the hospital frowns upon the use of bandwidth for frivolous things so I am blogging from my phone today). ***Sorry for the confusion here, I'm perfectly fine, I work at the hospital because I'm a student at the medical school. Sorry!

Next I have the start of part of a BFF cowl that I'm knitting with the talented (and fellow scientist) Ashley from Misty Mountain Designs/Geoknitology.  This is part of a KAL with Evelyn from Project: Stash, you all should find a buddy and participate too, it's a great way to connect with other knitters!

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.

The lovely Miranda Hat

I had been having to knit away on this project in absolute secrecy because it was a test knit for the super amazing Evelyn of Project: Stash.  Let me tell you, it was difficult having to keep this project a secret because I enjoyed every second of it.  Also, I learned that knitting an awesome project gets even better when knitting to help a friend.

Here it is, the Miranda Hat:

This was a super quick knit for me, partially because I enjoyed it so much and partially due to the simple construction.  The pattern is very easy to follow (I would recommend it to beginners ready to leap into the world of decreases, circulars, and dpns) and the stitch pattern can be memorized quickly.

I used left over Cascade 220 Superwash from the colorwork sweater of doom.  I really love this yarn, it comes in so many great colors, is superwash, and knits up so nicely!  So, I was able to have the satisfaction of using up scraps as well!

Evelyn was kind enough to make the Miranda Hat a free pattern, but in addition, she has also organized a charity KAL to go along with it!  I will be proudly participating (you can find me and others on the corresponding Ravelry group).  To reward those knitting for an excellent cause (providing people with warm hats), there will also be prizes!

I would like to commit to knitting at least four additional hats for this cause (see my progress in the side bar) and I hope that you will join us in what will be a fantastic KAL!

Also a note to Blogger users, I recently discovered why my photos have been uploading all grainy looking lately.  Apparently, a lot of the time (although not all the time) Blogger will really, really compress images uploaded. One way around this is to upload them on Picasa Web Albums then access them through the upload menu in the post editor.

Wholehearted Shawl

I finished my Wholehearted Shawl this weekend, which makes me a little sad.  I really enjoyed working on this project and I guess that part of me wanted for it to go on forever.  Now I understand why so many people cast on another for Evelyn's KAL (she just finished hers too, take a look!), it is such a fun pattern and knits up really quickly.

I could sing my praises for Araucania Itata Multy all day if you let me, the range of amazing colors this yarn comes in is simply fantastic and it makes great socks.  I chose these two colors because they were the one's in my stash and because frankly, I love the contrast between the pinks and oranges and the charcoal gray.

As a proud red-headed individual (technically I'm a daywalker, not a ginger, according to South Park standards), I think it looks great with my hair color.  I also like to wear shawls as scarves, I think they are more functional that way.

Also in the background of this photo note my TV and Xbox hidden under a blanket of dust and scattered papers from my frantic attempts at studying for one of the most difficult final exams I have ever had.  Needless to say, this semester cannot end fast enough.

Anyways, I've really enjoyed this project and I would highly recommend the Wholehearted pattern although there are a few mistakes in there that might confuse someone who has never knitted a shawl before.  The edging was probably the best part, I definitely want to use that style of bind off again in the future.

Many other talented people knitted this pattern alongside me in this KAL and I would recommend you take a look on the pattern page, what a collection of beautiful shawls!

Wholehearted Shawl KAL

The wonderful Evelyn of Project: Stash recently started a KAL featuring the Wholehearted Shawl pattern.  The KAL ends at the end of May, and until then the proceeds from the pattern sales will be donated to the author's daughter who is rebuilding after a horrible house fire.  

Evelyn kindly donated the pattern to me and I had the perfect yarn for it, so of course I had to join my first ever KAL.  It is really neat to think that there are a bunch of other knitters out there working on the same project! 

This is a very simple, but a seriously fun pattern to knit.  It is perfect for me right now because I can knit it without having to really pay attention.  I also think that I will very likely wear it frequently (well, when it gets cool outside again...)

I'm also really enjoying working with the yarn, Araucania Itata Multy, which I have raved about extensively in the past.  Lucky me having two colors that work so well together stashed away!

If you are looking for a quick, fun project, I would highly recommend this pattern, then you could also join me for the KAL!

I'm making great progress on this and should be able to easily make the deadline if I don't get too sidetracked in the meantime. 

Work-in-progress Wednesday - #5

I've been pretty busy between classes, finishing my thesis (why is proofreading so much more difficult than writing the thing in the first place?), and preparing for Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2012, which starts next week!

But, I've still been working along on my huge pile of WIPs, all the while wondering how this situation got so out of control with socks, three sweaters, the scrap blanket, and some sort of spinning project of course.

Good news on the scrap blanket front, I'm slowly but surely wrangling my huge pile of scraps:

I'm very glad that I have a project that is totally mindless, with just stockinette stitch all the way around and adding a new color every once in a while.  But this project is also now too big for me to carry around now which means I won't be able to work on it as much.

I've also been finishing up this alpaca that I mentioned a little while ago.  I'm almost done with the plying stage and it is looking amazing!

As I have mentioned, I am drowning in WIPs right the moment, but that certainly won't stop me from starting a new one as a part of my first ever KAL, which the lovely Evelyn from Project: Stash is holding.  The shawl pattern is amazingly beautiful and the pattern is also being sold for a good cause, for more information please check out Evelyn's post.

I think I may have settled on the yarn that I will use, some prettiness that has been hiding out in my stash for a while now.  More on that later...

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