WIP Wednesday - Two Sweaters

I made progress on one WIP this week... and started another. Oops. I made no progress on my Hello, Hello shawl or Spero hat. Maybe this week? We're having a Muppet Movie Marathon today, so I hope to get lots of knitting done.

Here is my Branches and Buds sweater Monday morning. Finished the branches and divided the body and sleeves on the weekend.

Stretched out, the branches lay flat.

Here's where I am at today. Started the second skein of the cream colour. Still have several inches to knit so it is a great movie marathon knit.

And I needed something that worked up quick, so I started an Owlet for my youngest on Sunday. Did the first 6 inches in less than 2 hours. I made him an Owlet when he was little and he was sad when I told him it was too small. He picked out the blue yarn for this one. I already have yellow buttons for Owl eyes. He'll receive this sweater for Christmas.

Today I finished the body. Need to make two little sleeves, join them to the body and then I get to knit the owls. He's 4, but I'm making him a size 5/6 hoping it will fit him for a few years.

Figured out I have yarn for at least 5 more sweaters/ cardigans in my stash that I want to knit up this year - two of them are Christmas presents. And I need to buy yarn for at least one more sweater that will be a Christmas present. Guess I should get back to the Muppets and knitting.

What have you been working on this week?

Friday Finishes - Yarn Edition

     I have several finishes from the past few weeks to share today. All but one are for me. And one of those might get frogged. Let's begin.

First, a picture of me wearing all the finished knits. 

     Here is the Astrid hat I mentioned on Wednesday (I'm making a cowl to match). I used leftover yarn from the cardigan I'm wearing - more information about that below. It's Cascade Venezia worsted in the Denim colourway.

Here's a picture of it flat. Great pattern. Easy to memorize. And stretchy.

     Crocheted cowl that I "designed" myself. I used the worsted skein of yarn I had bought from Turtlepurl Yarns earlier this year. It was the last one so I knew it was going to end up a hat or cowl. When I saw how wide the stripes were going to be I opted for this cowl. I used the same stitch pattern as the rainbow cat scarves but joined in the round after the first row. I crocheted until I ran out of yarn. I also love that the cowl still stands up after blocking.

      Stripey without being striped. Does that make sense? (Here is the same colourway, in sock weight, showing the stripes). I like that the colours dip into each other here. Pattern is simple; chain an even number of stitches. Make a single crochet in second chain from hook. Chain 1, skip next stitch, then single crochet in the next chain stitch, end with a single crochet. Chain 1 and turn. To join in the round I just chained one and then single crocheted in the chain 1 space at the other end, making sure not to twist. When I was finished, I used the yarn end to close up any space that remained. Second row you're making single crochet's in the Chain 1 spaces, and Chaining 1 over and skipping the single crochet's. Simple, if you know how to crochet, and great for watching TV. 

     This red scarf uses the same pattern as the cowl above. I guess when I find something I like, I use it over and over again.  This scarf will be donated. It is made out of two balls of Cascade Superwash 220, really red.

Wraps around a couple times with enough to tuck into a coat.

     And my last finish has been in all the other pictures, my Beacon Hill cardigan. Here it is with the original collar (the above pictures have a different collar). I followed the pattern and then decided the collar was big enough and didn't knit the last 20 rows. So, yeah, it was suppose to be even bigger. For me, it was just too big and too warm at the neck. My husband liked it and my daughter now admits she likes it better than what I have now, too. 

The back and sleeves are my favourite parts of this cardigan. There is a lot of collar there.

      I frogged  the collar and picked up the stitches 4 different times. I thought I was happy with this collar and reblocked the whole cardigan. But I'm still not happy. The buttons are too heavy (obviously that can change, and I am missing one at the bottom), and it forces me to have it done up all the time, or the button side hangs low. And I don't like how the collar sits at the back of my neck. I think I stretched it too much during blocking. I could block it again but... I'm not sure that is the answer.

      Back view with the latest collar. I've tried to wear it several times since I finished it and I never wear it more than a couple minutes. I feel like I'm constantly adjusting the collar so I take it off. I'm afraid this cardigan is doomed. I love the stitch pattern. And the yarn. But there's something about the cardigan that doesn't allow me to feel comfortable in it. I think I might have to frog it. I'm thinking a sweater to avoid buttons. Perhaps this Feathernest Raglan would be best? I must be crazy to even be thinking about frogging it and knitting a different sweater (and having to knit 2 more sleeves!) but I'm just not comfortable in it and don't want to wear it, as is.

Did you have any finishes this week? I'm almost done quilting the Cuzco Corners quilt, so I'm hoping to have that finished and ready to share next Friday.

WIP Wednesday

     Made progress on several projects this week. I started a couple new ones but almost done an old one. Several WIP's got ignored last week but hope to get back to them this week.

     Has anyone else found it harder to find the time and energy to craft with the kids back in school? I'm definitely out of the house and doing more this month, than I did all summer. Guess that is what happens when you say yes to volunteering at your kid's school. I should circle September 23rd on the calendar. That will be the first day that I will have a couple hours to myself, all the kids will be at school/preschool. It will be great. Already trying to decide what I will do that day. Yoga? Quilt? Knit and watch a movie? Read? Sleep-in? I can hardly wait.

Anyway, here's some of what I did this week.

     The quilt I pulled fabrics for last week, is coming together. Fabrics are all cut and piecing has started. Time to pause and iron before moving onto the next step. These will become a Spin Cycle quilt.

     And my Beacon Hill cardigan is almost finished. Two sleeves. Two button bands. Just working on the collar. Think I will have to go to the store this weekend to find some buttons. 

Cast on and knit the cuff of some Nosbonsing socks. 

      Started a Flower Garden shawl. Think this is the third time I have started this shawl and have always frogged it. Loving the colour of the yarn this time with the pattern.

     I need to finish these up as Jen announced her Mystery KAL today. It starts October 7th. Need to decide what stash I will use and get it ready.

What have you been working on this week?

WIP Wednesday - Some Quilts and a Knit

I have a few WIP's to share this week. 

     I'm not even sure when I started this quilt. Either last year or the beginning of this one.This will be a snowman wall hanging,  - just keep reading to find out more. I had almost 2 rows quilted before I set it aside for months. I finished it yesterday. (Found it - started it last December.)

Close-up of all those pebbles. I'm considering them snowballs for this quilt.

      And the whole inspiration for this quilt came after I bought a set of carrot noses and black buttons to make snowmen. Originally, I had enough buttons to give every snowman a carrot nose and two eyes. But I think the bigger ones need smiles, so I need to buy more buttons. Above they are just placed, not sewn on yet.

I got 6 carrot noses sewn on yesterday. This might take me a few weeks to finish.

The second sleeve of my Beacon Hill cardigan is coming along. 

Pulled fabrics for another quilt yesterday. Hope to iron and cut them today.

      I put a charity quilt under the needle yesterday, too. It's nice to do some free-motion stippling after making all those little snowballs. This is the 2 inch quilt top I finished earlier this year. Hope to get several charity quilts finished before the end of the year. 

What have you been working on this week?

WIP Wednesday

It's WIP Wednesday, time to show what progress I've made the past week.

I finished the first sleeve on my Beacon Hill cardigan. Perfect length.

Back view. Love the body length as well.

     Obviously, I still have a lot of work to do. I started the second sleeve this morning but I still need to do the button bands and the collar. When I try it on, I love it, but it's been hard to keep myself motivated to keep knitting it. There are a ton of other things I would love to be knitting right now so when I do finish this cardigan, I'll be casting on about 20 things.

This shawl has grown a bit this week, too. 

     And here's a fun, little crochet WIP. These are the first 5 of 22 snowflakes that will be stitched onto a fabric background in the shape of a tree. 

What have you been crafting this week?

2 Finishes for Friday!

      I am very happy to share two finishes today. I've been stopping myself from casting on four new projects to take their place. 

      Here is the Andi cardigan for my daughter before blocking. Buttons were from my stash. I needed 7 but I only had 6 that matched, so we decided on a black one for the top. Might change that someday. Here is my ravelry project page for the cardigan.

      After going through the washer and the dryer, the lace has opened a bit and everything shrunk a little for a better fit. The yarn is 100% cotton so I expect some stretch as she wears it. And we both agree her decision to use the same yarn for the buttonbands and sleeves was a good one. I still have some of each yarn colour left. I'm thinking she needs a striped hat.

The back. Perfect length.

Close-up of the lace and ribbing. 

      It's nice to finish all three Camp Loopy projects again this year. It's also a finish for Very Shannon's Summer Sweater KAL.

      My second finish this week was the neon socks. I thought about gifting them to my sister but I think I'm going to keep them. 

This is closer to their true colour. Neons are surprisingly hard to photograph.

      Now I have to get back to finishing up a few more WIP's so I can cast on a sweater for my older son, another sweater for me and a few pairs of socks. Did you have any finishes this week?

WIP Wednesday

     Mixing it up today, WIP's that don't include the Andi cardigan. I have a couple knitting projects and I spent some time quilting yesterday so there's some quilty WIP's this week, too.

      First, a couple inches of the first sleeve of my Beacon Hill cardigan. I hadn't left myself any notes about where I was in the pattern so I took a guess and started knitting. Then had to rip out 8 rows. Leaving myself notes this time. It would be nice to have this ready by the time the weather cools.

Second neon sock is coming along. 

       Inspired by my sister's pictures, I joined in on the Patchwork Olympics. Lucky for me, I already had 4.5 and 2.5 inch squares cut so I was able to spend a lot of time sewing yesterday. I might have enough to make 2 quilt tops. You can find more info here.

       And I've been experimenting with an easier way to make a wedding ring quilt. Inspired by this pattern at the Moda Bakeshop, I came up with the above quilt. I used a curved ruler I bought years ago with a wedding ring quilt guide. I made one quilt with it and it's been sitting on my shelf ever since. Nice to find another use for it.

     The raw edges of the curves are exposed. I'm thinking next time I'll iron down the edge before sewing it on the background. I wish I had more of the above fabric to make it bigger. I plan on experimenting with the technique a bit. I've always wanted a wedding ring quilt for my bed but the thought of piecing a bunch of little pieces doesn't appeal to me and I've struggled to sew curves that look good. This might be a way to make one a little bit easier. We'll see.

We've Got Sleeves!

      A late Monday post to update my progress on the Andi cardigan. I finished the second sleeve this morning, took some pictures and finally found some time after supper, to write this quick blog post. It seems Olympics and potty training the little guy really eat up my blogging time. Good thing both Olympics and potty training are going well so I don't mind.

       When my daughter picked the colours seafoam and dusty rose for the sleeves, I had my doubts. Even seeing all the colours in person, I wasn't so sure. But once I started knitting the sleeves, I liked them. She decided to stick to the pattern and have 3/4 length sleeves.

      I got her to laugh about something here and got a good shot. There's enough of the green and pink yarn leftover that she has requested that I knit the buttonbands those colours. Collar will be gray. Should be interesting. I did block it this afternoon, as the pattern suggested, so it should be easier to pick up the stitches. However, it might take forever to dry. To keep me busy, I took my Beacon Hill cardigan out of hibernation. We'll see if I can keep my sleeve mojo going. 

What are you crafting while watching Olympics? 

WIP Wednesday

I have two WIP's to share this week.

      I finished the body of the Andi cardigan for my daughter. I made the smallest size even though she measures between it and the next size up (there's a 5 inch difference between sizes). My gauge is a little off so that helps. The body ended up longer than it was suppose to be but my daughter is happy with the length. And if I was making it for myself, I'd want it this length as well. The original has the bottom meet the top of the hips, while mine goes to the bottom of her butt. Now I get to start the sleeves. 

      And I finally cast on the second neon sock. It's fun to knit while watching Olympics. If it wasn't for the Andi cardigan, I'd be at the heel.

       What are you working on this week? I'm starting to get the quilting itch again but I think I need the weather to cool down a bit first.

WIP Wednesday

       Only 1 WIP to share this week (but I have 2 finishes to share on Friday!). August 1st was the beginning of Very Shannon's Summer Sweater KAL and the last month of Camp Loopy. Lucky for me, I'm knitting a cardigan for Camp Loopy so I can do both. 

     I'm knitting the Andi cardigan, designed by Kristen TenDyke. My daughter, Calliope, helped picked the colours (Dusk, Seafoam and Dusty Rose) and wind the yarn. It's nice to be knitting with worsted weight yarn after knitting a scarf with fingering weight yarn last month.  

      I've knit over 7 inches and am enjoying the lace and ribbing pattern. I think I even have the pattern memorized. Its been a such a fun knit that I haven't been able to work on anything else.

End of the Summer Sweater KAL

Shannon extended the end of the SSKAL from September 24th to October 8th. I was able to get a bit more done on the two projects I have left but wasn't able to complete them. You can see the sweater I finished for myself, here and the sweater for the Little Guy, here. 

Below is my progress on the two remaining projects.

This is the left front of the Dundurn cardigan for my mom. I am done the waist decreases, have worked evenly and am now ready to start the bust increases. This goes quickly when I work on it. I probably would have had this done except I took a couple evenings off to make a gift for a friend's niece - I'll share it here on Saturday.

When the SSKAL started (at the end of July) I had one sleeve done and was about half way done the back. Now I have two sleeves, the back is complete and the left front started. I think that's good progress on a project that has taken me too long. I started this at the end of last July and I think this is the longest I've ever worked on a sweater. I wanted to have this complete for Monday since my mom is visiting for Canadian Thanksgiving, but I don't see that happening. 

I finished the body of the Sun Rose sweater for myself. Sorry for the terrible picture. I couldn't get a picture that wasn't blurry.

The bottom is curled up in the first picture but it has a row of eyelets and some garter stitch.

I love the colours in this sweater. Now I just need to do the sleeves and it will be done.