an equation that works

School break + occupied kids (technology, board games, tv) = FINISHED KNITTING!

I should feel badly about the amount of screen time my kids have had this week during our March Break... but I don't.  I realize all the other 'parent of the year contenders' limit screen time, take their kids on outings to busy places like the zoo or the science centre, and plan for activities throughout the break to keep kids active.  I am not that parent.  We are watching movies and sports, playing on our tablets, playing on the X-box, and I am knitting.

As a result, I've finally finished my Bastille Cowl (Babycocktails pattern) that I started in January 2014.  It took a long time because I kept putting it aside, not because the pattern was difficult.  I love the finished scarf - it's soft and pretty and in my favourite colour.

I also finished the Mystery KAL shawl with Never Not Knitting - Four Seasons shawl.  It's heavy and warm, but very pretty.

I also knit a quick gift in an evening - a Cambrian Cowl  for a friend's birthday.

I still have four other WIPs in progress, but think I can finish my Paloma cardigan by the end of the week (just need more yarn to knit the button band, and some buttons).  Feels great to get things done!

yarn challenge - FO

I finished my project and can now post pictures as the contest is closed.  Tina at Soper Creek Yarn set up the entries in the window for voting and there are lots of unique projects.  I always knit something practical, something I can put in the gift bin when I get it back (or keep for myself).  Others knit (or crochet) all kinds of things:

My hat is at the front of the photo, with the intarsia chevrons.  Others knit toys, blankets, cowls, a shawl, and baby clothing. (photo from Soper Creek Yarn blog).

My hat was my first foray into intarsia, with sections of colour that use 'bobbins' or small amounts of yarn in each spot.  I've done lots of stranded colourwork - carrying the yarn behind when not in use - but never this method.

The hat is a pattern from Knitscene by Teresa Gregorio  called Northern Hat.  I love the back, with its textured pattern:

  I had difficulty with the chevrons.  Specifically, the colour changes happen mid-cable in some spots, which was a bit awkward.  My yarn has a high acrylic content (about 50%) so it was a bit slippery.  I think if I used a pure wool the stitches would have stuck together more and have been easier to change from colour to colour.

I

I do like the final product.  It's a really slouchy hat, lots of room up top.  I knew that from the photo in the magazine and like the look.  I think it will be a good spring hat, when it's cool enough for a hat but not quite cold enough for wool.

I'm not sure I'm ready for another intarsia project, but I'm glad I tried.  I did this also as part of a KAL with Tin Can Knits  - "New Tricks" - to learn a new skill.  May try another project with less fiddly sections for colour change.  Perhaps the Tin Can Knits Sweetness Cowl with a change mid-row.  Until then, onward with the rest of the WIPs.  Need to "get 'er done!".

In like a lion...

It's early March, a month that started with a snowstorm.  "In like a lion" also means "out like a lamb", I hope.  I'm planning ahead for spring time accessories and found the perfect book for patterns and inspiration:  Botanical Knits by Alana Dakos.  I'm just finishing her "Four Seasons" shawl (the MKAL project) and love the aesthetic of her designs.  I own Coastal Knits and love the designs from both Hannah Fetig and Alana in that book.

Botanical Knits has 4 sweaters and several accessory patterns.  I hope to knit almost all of them (except the socks - I don't knit socks).  I have yarn in my stash that I plan to use for the projects.  Think ahead a couple of months to May, when leaves are on the trees and the snow is gone!
First, sweaters:

Autumn Leaves - knit in a sport-weight alpaca blend, no yarn in my stash yet but I think this might be a good project for early fall next year

Buds and Bloom - a bulky weight sweater jacket, with unique pocket construction, no stashed yarn yet but I'll work on it!

Entangled - a raglan cardigan with pattern in the sleeve, may have yarn but I'll have to swatch with my Heaven's Hand Wool

It may be more appropriate for Twig and Willow, a close-fitting cardigan - the swatch will tell!

More on the accessories (there are 6) in another post!

marching into march

I have a plan for March - finish at least 2 projects in progress.  I finished my Yarn Challenge project (more to come in March after the contest ends), and am 10 rows away from finishing my MKAL Shawl for Never Not Knitting.  Pattern is called Four Seasons.  Mine is so close and yet so far from done...

I'm determined to finish my Seattle Cowl - my version of BabyCocktails' Bastille.  I started it 2 years ago and have been working away at it during my kids' sports practices and swimming lessons. Time to get into gear and get it done!

I'm also hoping to finish a few other things.  Trying not to have too many deadlines in mind, but also realize that I need to stop casting on and start casting off!

yarn challenge 2016

My LYS hosts a Yarn Challenge every year.  This is the 8th one, I participated in all but the 8th.  I am reminded each year of the projects I've made and the pleasure I have in seeing my work in the store window for a brief time!  I never win - usually it's something more unique or creative than what I manage to make - but the fun of joining in is the real prize.  Past projects:

A baby sweater in Mission Falls 1824

Legwarmers in Cascade 220

A striped Romi in Berroco Weekend (Berroco photo - mine was given away as it was not a good fit)

Hat and fingerless mitts in Cascade 220 Superwash Sport

Snoflinga hat in Briggs and Little Regal - red and white for the Vancouver Olympics

Tanager Shrug in Estelle Eco Andean DK

Of all of the projects, the shrug is the one that I wear most.  Most were gifts, planned for others from the start, but this one was knit for me.

This year's kit includes 3 colours of Diamond Luxury Tradition, a wool/acrylic/nylon blend.  I have a pattern picked, started last night, and am giving a new skill a try - intarsia.  I have until March 4 to get it done, so I'll have another entry in the shop window this year.

FO - 2x2

I finished a quick accessory this weekend and feel like I'm back on track mentally (if not with projects).  I set some unrealistic goals for January, but got a second item finished for my year-long KAL with Tin Can Knits.  Here's 2x2, a quick bulky cowl.  I've knit this once before in a goldenrod colour.  This one is a gift too:

Now back to the longer projects to try to get them done this week!

Keeping up - the downside of a KAL

I love joining KALs.  I like the sense of community, of following a group and seeing projects similar to mine.  I like joining to knit independent designer's patterns, to have a unique product at the end.  This month, I joined three:

Tin Can Knits - 12 patterns in 2016 - I finished one (albeit simple) coffee cup cozy so far, but have plans for hats and mittens soon to follow.  I hope to knit one per month, so I'm on track and feeling like I can manage one accessory per month.

Never Not Knitting - MKAL (Mystery KAL) - I'm about half way through my shawl.  It's a complex pattern - not difficult, but not easy tv knitting (sports - yes, Blacklist - no!).  I feel 'behind' on this one, as clue 4 has been released (the final clue) but I'm only on the second half of clue 2.  February 10th is the deadline to post if I want to qualify for a prize.  The prize is not really the motivator for me, but still, I would like to finish with the rest of the group.

Baby Cocktails - I'm knitting a cardigan as part of a Warm Winter Drinks January KAL.  I've had the pattern for a while and want to knit patterns I already have, when possible.  I am using a rather inexpensive yarn, as I had some left over from a frogged project.  It will be cozy and very wearable when done... but it seems far from finished as I've only done the two fronts and half the back.

Creating and deadlines are a complicated combination for me.  I need deadlines to stop me from casting on lots and finishing few - the 'start-itis' issue!  I also need to focus on knitting what I have, and finding projects that match my stash.

Hoping to get a lot knit this weekend, but also know that fine line between enjoyment and pressure.  When knitting feels like a chore instead of my creative outlet.  When the stress relief of knitting becomes stressful, I know it's time to 'let it go' - the deadline is arbitrary and the project will eventually get done!

A dollar is not a dollar...

I read a blog post at Soper Creek Yarn about the cost of doing business with our weak Canadian dollar.  Specifically, $1.00 Canadian is only 68 cents when spending in US dollars.  A $10 item now costs $14.00.  This transfers to all kinds of things, from yarn to food to clothing to books.  Cauliflower is $7.00 a head, and the Canadian price listed on books will continue to grow compared to the US price.

To me, this means I need to continue to look for opportunities to buy local.  In the grocery store this means I can buy apples and potatoes now, but need to leave lettuce and berries on the shelf.

In the yarn store this means looking at local yarn.  For my Mystery KAL shawl with Never Not Knitting I purchased Briggs and Little Regal, a worsted weight yarn milled in New Brunswick, Canada.

I will keep looking for yarn that is local, and support the local economy while continuing to focus on finding ways to bridge the gap between one dollar and the next.  Because not all dollars are equal.

Distracted by a Mystery

I popped on to my LYS' group page on Ravelry today and found a post suggesting we join in the KAL for Alana Dakos - Never Not Knitting.  I like to join in when my local store has a contest or activity to support the store and the knitting community so I bought the pattern and the yarn today to join in.

I have never knit a 'mystery' project before, where clues are given out a few at a time.  It's a shawl, like the background of the picture above.  I've chose a pastel coloured yarn, a new-ish colour for me.  It's Briggs and Little Regal, a yarn I've used before.

 I chose it to try a colour close to the Pantone colours of the year, Rose Quartz and Serenity (pale pink and pale greyish-blue):

We'll see how it goes, this mystery project!

first FO - cozy for the commute

Monday I go back to work, just in time for a HIGH of -14 degrees Celsius on the thermometer.  I travel with a cup of coffee and knit myself a cup cozy.  It's project #1 for my "12 in 2016 Tin Can Knits KAL".

Fast and easy, and used up a bit of stashed dk weight yarn.  On to the next!

12 in 2016 - getting ahead of the holiday curve

Now is the time to think about goals for 2016.  I don't make resolutions (I overthink my life on a daily basis, I don't need January 1st for that!), but I do make some goals to strive for as I look ahead to what worked and what didn't this past year.  Every year I get to December and wish I had stockpiled gifts.... so I'm going to try to do that this year.  I've decided to focus on accessories and have joined a "12 in 2016" KAL with the designers at Tin Can Knits.

They posted several patterns as 'gifts' this month in a "12 Days of Christmas" fashion, giving away a pattern a day for 12 days.  I queued almost all (I don't knit socks), and will knit them throughout the year.  In no particular order:

Main Street - coffee cup sleeves (one for me, one to gift)
Sweetness - a 2-colour cowl I'll knit with black and white yarn from my stash
Antler Mitts - bulky mittens that are adorable (I knit the Antler hat this year, may do another)
Paved - boot cuffs that are adorable and may be mine instead of a gift
Lowlands - a simple hat that will be a good 'teacher gift' perhaps
Sitka Spruce - a hat and mitts set
Honeycomb - super cute fingerless mitts
Gather - hat and cowl set that I'll knit with Arroyo yarn from my stash
Clayoquot Toque - a colour-work hat that I'll knit with yarn from my stash
Gothic Lace Cowl - a lace cowl in worsted/aran weight yarn, with buttons
Loch - a sport-weight hat and mitts set - I'll likely just knit the hat with some Rastita in my stash
Hipster - a basic hat with some slouch
Northward - a bulky cabled hat
2x2 - bulky cabled cowl (I knit one this year, it's fast and easy, with buttons!)
Bon Bon Toque - cabled hat

My other goal is to deplete the stash this year.  This is a goal I've set before but I'm determined to do it this year.  A few yarns I'll use for the projects above:

Malabrigo Arroyo

Malabrigo Rastita

Madelinetosh tosh dk

Lett-Lopi

I have lots planned, but hope for a year with lots of knitting time ahead!

finishing

I have many WIPs that must get finished.  Mentally, I don't do well with things that are incomplete.  I like 'works in progress' at times, or the idea that there may not be a 'finish line'.  I run for the joy of running, exercise because I feel good, eat well because I like to feel healthy - not to get to a size or number on a scale.  I am happy to abandon books I don't like (life's too short to read boring books), or read parts of books that can be picked up and put down.

In my knitting this year, I want to finish what I've started.  I say this often, but am committed to getting things done.  I have a few projects that have lingered for a variety of reasons:  set aside to finish gifts, set aside to join a KAL, or set aside for something different.  Now, I want to finish all the things I've started so I can focus on knitting things I really want to knit (info on my plans to come soon...).  To get finished:

Bastille  - a cowl that I've been working on for more than a year

Long waistcoat (vest) - this is knitting up quickly, and will get a lot of wear over leggings with boots this winter

Mosaic sweater - the back and sleeves are done (solid brown ribbing) so I just have the front to go.  I'm enjoying the mosaic pattern, and think this will fit well.  

I've been able to knit a lot over the holidays, so I am hopeful that all will be done very soon.  I need layers - looks like winter weather is finally arriving this week!

time

It's December 23, two days until Christmas.  Gifts were finished on time, so the time pressure has been relieved for now.  I knit a capelet for my mom from Vogue Holiday 2015 using yarn with a thread of sparkle.  It's cozy, but will layer well over a casual outfit on a cruise ship (for an upcoming trip).   Not modeled, but may get a shot on the recipient in a couple of days:

Other hats and cowls made it into the hands of friends and teachers, so I'm now able to go back to projects started but not finished.  My knitting has been interrupted though, as I teach my two kids how to knit.  Young grade-school boys are not as patient as one would hope.  They've mastered garter stitch and have knit a scarf, a hat (I did the crown shaping and seaming), and a cowl.  Both want to knit more, but also realize it's a slow process.  Bulky yarn helps!  It's fun watching them master a skill, enjoy a hobby, and have something to do in the rainy days leading up to Christmas this year.  Maybe next year, they'll contribute to the gift pile!