Moving along well with the new plan

Did pretty well in May on the new plan to try and get down to no more than 1 WIP in each of those categories. The total WIP count has dropped to 18. I ripped out three - Mystery Stole 3, Aspen Glo Wrap and Finola. I decided the first and third just weren't me. The middle I'll probably start again narrower - I thought it was too narrow for a stole, but didn't think I had enough yarn to make it wider. But it was nice. I did carve out the time to graft together the Sunday Scarf. My first time grafting ribbing, so that was interesting.

I also started another Noro Striped Scarf for my trip to Geneva. I thought I would finish the Lacey Baktus before the trip ended if I took it. Of course, I had barely any time to knit, so wouldn't have finished the Lacey Baktus and only knit about 10 rows on the striped scarf. I'll admit I thought about ripping it out to make the count look better, but I'll need another easy project at some point.

Most of the month was spent focused on the Desert Sun shawl. I wish I'd made note of when exactly I picked it up again. This was from a mystery KAL in the summer of '06. I was following apace until the third clue, which I struggled with and eventually abandoned the project. When I picked it up again I worked through clue 4 pretty easy. I started the edging last Wednesday. There are 576 stitches around, and you eat up one of those for every 2 rows of the edging. Still, I'd hoped I might finish with the long weekend but no such luck. Currently, I'm 11/12's done, but I need to resist the urge to stay up and finish it as I have to get up at 3am for work for the first time in days. So anyway, here's the current list:

Baby - 0

Hat - 1
Bonkers Hat

Household - 1
Log Cabin afghan

Mittens - 2
Yummy Mittens
Twined Wristers

Novelty - 1
Mini Flag

Scarf - 5
Bronte
Angel Pearls
Unisex Scarf
Lacy Backtus
Noro Striped Scarf

Shawl or Wrap - 4
Leaf Lace Shawl
Desert Sun Shawl
Hanami
Gaia Shawl - still trying to decide whether or not to rip

Socks or other footwear - 2
Travelers Socks
Slippers for Her

Sweaters - 2
Flora
Philosopher's Wool cardigan - will be ripped as soon as I find it!

I have a couple projects to start soon - a pair of socks I promised a friend and a baby gift, but not until I finish Desert Sun!

Wow, I've been gone a while!

I'm not even going to try and explain. Very little knitting has happened though.

One thing I never got to the beginning of the year was my newest plan for trying to reduce the number of WIPs. For the most part I've been following it pretty close, except for a bad case of shawl startitis in February.

So here was the idea. I was only going to allow myself to have 1 WIP per project type. To the extent I currently had more than one, I was going to try and work those down. And only start something new when I had nothing in that category.

So, how do things look now?

Baby - 0

Hat - 1
Bonkers Hat

Household - 1
Log Cabin afghan

Mittens - 2
Yummy Mittens
Twined Wristers

Novelty - 1
Mini Flag

Scarf - 5
Bronte
Angel Pearls
Sunday Scarf - only need to graft the two halves!
Unisex Scarf
Lacy Backtus

Shawl or Wrap - 6
Leaf Lace Shawl
Desert Sun Shawl
Mystery Stole 3 - will be ripped soon
Hanami
Aspen Glo Wrap - may rip
Gaia Shawl - may rip

Socks or other footwear - 2
Travelers Socks
Slippers for Her

Sweaters - 3
Flora
Finola - will be ripped soon
Philosopher's Wool cardigan - will be ripped soon

So, currenly 21 WIPs, which, unfortunately, is 2 more than the beginning of the year. I'm also trying to focus on one project at home, currently Desert Sun (though I really should find time to graft that scarf!), and one traveling project, currently Lacey Baktus. The real problem with this plan is that there aren't a lot of things that are good traveling projects. So I may be starting something for that. Plus I promised to knit socks for a friend, and those will probably be started before the others in that category are finished.

2009 recap

I was reviewing my 2009 finished knitting projects yesterday, and I thought I'd share some observations.

Total finished - 23. One more than 2008. As much as I feel the knitting has really slacked off this year, it does appear I did more even beyond the one extra. 2008 was all small projects, and one (the christmas ornaments) wasn't even knitting.

2009 featured 3 large projects. Okay, so one, Toad's Aran, only involved the sewing up and adding a neck. But given how I abhor finishing (which is one reason for the mini projects), I feel rather proud of that one. The other two were large shawls that I knit start to finish this year.

It was also the year for repeat knitting - 2 pairs of Bella's mittens, 2 Striped scarves and 7 Darkside cowls. I've never been one to repeat a pattern before, so this is quite odd.

The last FO of 2008 and 2009 were both the same pattern - Striped scarves (so there have actually been 3 of those in quick succession).

So here's the actual list:

Arctic Diamonds Stole
Miniature Sweater Ornament
Pastel Bunny
7 Darkside Cowls (link is to the first)
Grace Kelly Scarf
Best Friend Scarf
Crystal Garden Scarf (first keeping up with a KAL!)
2 Bella's mittens (link to second)
Bactus scarf
Just Enough Ruffles scarf
Toad's Aran
Celtic Hearts Shawl
2 Noro Striped Scarves (link to second)
Concerto scarf
Naughty Reindeer hat

Christmas decorations

Well it has been forever since I posted anything here, but until I find time, enjoy these shop decorations I saw in Bern, Switzerland.

Second Finishing Day - Score!

Well I had a rather last-minute finishing day on Sunday. The 3-day weekend snuck up on me. I really had to work a lot over the weekend, but decided to set aside Sunday as a finishing day for anyone that might be in town. Suzy, Margarethe, Cindy and Melodye made it for a while.

But the big news was that I really got some work done and the long-overdue Robert the Bruce is now finished.

This sweater was started a long time ago as a test knit for Glenys Franks, affectionately known on knitting lists as Toad. Unfortunately she passed away before the pattern was published.

I made a really stupid mistake - joined the shoulders when one side of the front was about 8 rows short. It took me an amazingly long time to figure out the problem, and then I had to rip out the shoulders. Given Toad's passing, I lost my motivation to finish at that point.

It is a gorgeous design though, and deserved to be finished. The best part - it is one of the best-fitting sweaters I have ever made. Funny considering I just did the test knitting and figured I'd find someone it fit when it was done.

Anyway, whereever you are, thank you Toad for a wonderful sweater.

First Finishing Day

Well this will be a picture heavy post. Picture number 1 is Margarethe, wearing a large hank of (I believe I'm remembering this correctly) Mountain Colors wool. Like me, she's been traveling a lot the last year or so. Unlike me, she finds time to do a little exploring and yarn and stamp shopping in new locals. She said she had no idea what to do with this, but loved the color. We said, just wear it as a necklace, which then morphed into this position. We all decided that you could load it with needles, etc. and call it a knitter's bandoleer.

A common site throughout the day was Miss Baloo investigating everyone's bags. There were better shots I missed of her head down deep in a bag. I believe she's been mightily spoiled by Margarethe bringing a turkey sandwich to share (Miss Baloo gets as much of the meat as she wants, Margarethe is allowed the rest) the last few times she was here. In total disbelief that she would have forgotten this time, Miss Baloo seemed determined to find the hidden turkey sandwich.

Here we have Gayle (in green) working on a scrapbook of the trip she and Carl took over Father's Day weekend to a golf resort. She was aiming for her first scrapbook completed in the calendar year the trip was taken. She didn't finish, but got a lot done I think. Cindy (in blue to the right) worked on some cards for a card swap. Again, I don't think totally finished. And Margarethe spent most of the day winding her travel yarn purchases into balls using my big ball winder. That would have been more productive if I could just remember where my swift is!

Melodye also spent most of her visit winding yarn into balls. Though I think here she was still trying to put together her new winder from Knit Picks. Melodye came with Lydia and Lydia's granddaughter Riley Brooke (not sure I spelled that right), but somehow I missed getting a picture of them. I could swear I took at least one, but they weren't in the camera.

Last, Suzy, who I think was the only person who actually knit that day, though again I don't think finished anything. Though part of that was she ended up being the last person to leave and I distracted her at the end by introducing her to one of my favorite tv shows, Rescue Me.

And what did I do? Well I sewed the sleeves onto Robert the Bruce. Since that day I've sewed one underarm seam. So the other underarm seam, the side seams, knit on a collar and sew in ends and that could be done. I'd really love that to happen before sweater weather this year!!!!

So did anyone finish anything? Only if you count some of those skeins that were wound into balls. On the other hand, I anyway really enjoyed the day and hope my friends did also. I was surprised how many hadn't been in the house since I put in the new floors over a year ago!

So, how are those resolutions coming

In a word, not so good.

Let's look back at my March 2nd I Actually Sorta Made Resolutions post. It seems that putting it down in writing threw the brakes on the whole process. I've only repeated items that I've made progress on, and added Ravelry links.

So heading directly to the group 1 resolutions:

March - Cait's Bella's Mittens

April - Oops!

May - Oops!

June - a child’s toy Hello, why am I cranking out more cowls for Christmas this month!

And on to the group 2 resolutions:

3 mittens - Well 1 down, see above.

1 shawl - And now we come to the source of the problem!

I spent most of April and May obsessed with a Secret Shawl KAL. I've joined these in the past and faltered time and again (I think every time). But this one enthralled me and I'm thrilled with my finished shawl. Thanks Vicki!

Finishing Days

Well first, wow, it has been even longer than I thought since I've posted. But I have a few ideas, so maybe I'll start churning a few out.

First idea - encouraging finishing. I've been slowly whittling down my list of WIPs, but not fast enough. Then I read the Finish-It-Friday on Creative Organizing.

And I started thinking (often dangerous).

My friend Gayle has hosted the occasional finishing day, and I've often used it to focus on finishing something. So then I thought, "well Friday doesn't work for me (pesky day job), but maybe I could set aside a day myself every month, or maybe every other month, and just do it myself.

And then I thought, well why not let my friends stop by if they want.

So here's the deal. The first "finish-it" day is July 25th. If you know me, feel free to stop by, with a couple "rules."

1) Please don't show up before 10am (just in case I manage to sleep later than I normally do.

2) Please plan on leaving by 8pm (since I tend to crash early - see those early wake-ups above).

3) I'm not going to go out of my way to make a food spread (since I think that might cut in to the frequency of me doing this), but feel free to bring a lunch, or we could think about getting some take-out around that time. Or something.

4) Maybe give me a head's up if you know you're definitely coming , but don't let a last-minute decision stop you from coming!

5) You're not required to knit or spin, just finish some project. For those of you with potentially messy projects (like stamping), please bring something to protect my table. I got rid of stuff like that when I gave up stamping.

Sound like a plan?

Be Careful What You Complain About

I travel a fair amount for work and often get a "you're so lucky" reaction. I tend to grumble. I rarely have time before or after a trip to extend my stay and do a little sightseeing. I'm often working even longer hours than if I was at home. And then there is the discomfort that plane travel has become.

To the left is the view from my hotel window on a recent trip to Long Beach, California. I had run back to the room during the lunch break at the conference to participate on a call with my office. I was walking around the room and noticed for the first time what a nice view I had (I had arrived via the more working areas of the harbor and hadn't been in the room in daylight before this). Anyway, I couldn't resist taking a picture to prove my grumbling point - good weather, good location, who has time to enjoy it!

So I think God decided to call my bluff. My next trip was to Detroit, Michigan. Don't get me wrong, I know there are nice areas and interesting things to see if I had time, but not a beach! Plus, as a topper, to the right is the view out the plane window as we landed.

I Actually Sorta Made Resolutions This Year

I joined two Ravelry groups and made related plans in each of them. My problem is I never have time to keep up with groups there, but I really would like to do these. So I figured I'd also list things here to help me keep track.

The first group was the Christmas 2009 Monthly Make-Ahead. I like the idea of this since many of the monthly themes were things I'd be making for Christmas anyway, and the others, well, who can't use an extra thing for a present at some point! So this is the list. I've put Ravelry links when I've finished things and ideas in italics. For this one I'm only counting things finished in the appropriate month.

January - Ornament (or two) for tree or house Sweater Ornament

February - Scarf or Shawl Number 1 Orange Cowl and Grace Kelly Scarf

March - Gloves (with or without fingers), mittens, or socks (yes, this is a make a pair month!) - YoYo Mittens for ? (maybe me!)

April - Hat Number 1 or a tea cozy - Reindeer Love for John

May - open - crafter’s choice - gnomes, anyone?

June - a child’s toy

July - iPod, cell phone, or coffee cup cozies

August - Dishcloths/ washcloths/dishtowels and/or felted soap

September - Charity Gift project

October - Scarf or Shawl Number 2

November - Hat Number 2 - Weeweechu Christmas Tree for Fr. Tim

December – UFO’s from the above, felted soap, or felted slippers - Oomingmacks for ?

other hats - Fish Hat for Kathleen

The second group was the Ravelry Queue Challenge of 2009. At some point last year I deleted everything in my queue that I didn't already have yarn for (well I fav'd them instead). Despite that my queue had 177 items in it! But this had the added benefit of knitting from stash. So these were my goals, based on categories I had organized the queue in:

2 baby

1 hat

2 jewelry (bead soup bracelet)

3 mittens

1 scarf Orange Cowl, Grace Kelly Scarf and Best Friend Scarf

1 shawl

AND, for the last I added the idea of not increasing the current number of WIPs.

For that I am going down - I started with 20 and now I have 18!

Hmmm, that's a big pile of yarn!

Well I received my tax refund and did just what the government wants - I went on a buying binge!

Actually, in some ways it's not as bad as it looks. I've started keeping a wish list (rather than just buying things when the urge strikes) and most of that actually came off that wish list. So it was a conscious decision to treat myself.

And, quite honestly a lot of it is for planned Christmas knitting.

Then again, the Mr. Foster and Aguona Laptop kits from Knit Picks aren't in there and those really were just acting on impulse. Though in the first case it sounds like its a good thing since the kit is apparently sold out, hence the Ravelry link.

What do you knit when brain-dead?

Well the big work project made one of its milestones last Friday, which meant I could work a little less this weekend. So I decided to post, but about what? I mean I've been leaving the house about 4:30 am and returning most commonly about 8:30 pm on the last train. Though there was the night it broke down and I was even later. And believe me, I doubt you'd be interested in the work project.

This little bunny was a gift for a friend's birthday earlier this month. In large part because the knitting is "knit a garter stitch square" which was almost beyond my abilities of late! In fact, the sewing up almost stumped me, but it helped to take a deep breath and actually read the directions rather than glancing briefly at the pictures and deciding I knew what to do!

The other square is a close-up of a Darkside Cowl I did after the wee bunny. Not too difficult - a tube and once the stitch pattern was set up it was easy enough to follow without the pattern. BUT, this was my first Malabrigo, which really is as yummy as I've heard people say. With a lot of relatives in New England that appreciate warm things I see more of these in my future.

I'm also taken with how stretchy this stitch pattern is. Given my fat feet I think I'm going to have to give socks in this pattern a try, once I can use brain space for something other than work.

Talk Me Off the Ledge

Okay, so I saw Nicky Epstein's Limited Edition Scarf and loved it. I mean, what's not to like - sheep, chartreuse.... And then I made the mistake of going to the website, and unfortunately its not sold out. And I've been trying to declutter, but I want one!!!!

Unfortunately, I'm no Yarn Harlot, so its unlikely that this blog entry will cause my readers (I believe there are two of you!) to run out and buy them all up before I can. So please, talk me off the ledge!

Long Time, No Posting!

Well I had kinda made a promise to myself to break this blog drought on New Year's Day, which obviously went really well. The fact is, work has gotten crazy busy, and will continue this way at least through January. So I wouldn't expect posting to step up anytime soon.

But I thought I'd post a few pictures. The first is my last FO of 2008. Yes, I succumb to the craze for the Noro Striped Scarf (link to my Ravelry project page). If you've read any blogs in the last year you've probably heard of this! Usually they're done in Noro Silk Garden, but mine is done with Noro Cash Island. I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of Noro. I get that the colors are pretty, but never really liked the texture and there are a lot of pretty yarns out there! Then Webs had this yarn 1/2 price (I think the colors are discontinued) and I thought, "hey, it has cashmere in it, how rough can it be?" So I gave it a try, and let me say, I really see the allure of this pattern. Its a lot of fun.

The other picture is my New Year's Eve dinner, Harissa Spaghettini. Though in my case it would more accurately be Harissa Pappardalle. I've been wanting to try this recipe for a while, and let me tell you, I should have done it sooner. I used some sprouted wheat pappardelle from Trader Joe's and it was everything I was in the mood for - earthy, spicy and comforting. And beautiful, which is why I took my first picture of dinner ever!

So as I said, work is going to continue crazy for a while, so I'm not sure how frequently I'll be getting back here. I'm hoping it will ease up a little after the end of January anyway.

October-itis

So like I said, in October I had a bad case of startitis. I started the following eight projects (all Ravelry links):

1. Backyard Leaves Scarf
2. Monteagle Bag
3. Earflap Devil Hat
4. Big Bulky Socks
5. Sunday Scarf
6. AspenGlo Wrap
7. Puff Daddy Scarflet
8. Gathered Scarf

Luckily, I apparently had an almost equally severe case of finishitis.  I finished four of the above (2, 3, 4, and 7), finished two projects started earlier, and ripped one.

First, I finally got around to felting and adding a tassel to the Fez for Penuche.  The picture is there to the left, but I included the Ravelry link for more info.  Especially since I know those of you with cats are thinking "oh, that cat looks so happy I should make one for my own cat."

Second, I finished the September Sockdown socks I posted about previously.

Last, I ripped out a pair of socks.  The stitch pattern made the sock torque, and despite lots of "don't worry, its not a problem when wearing them posts on Ravelry I decided I just wasn't enjoying the actual knitting and was uneasy.  So that's the yarn I'm using on #8 above.

So last, just to humiliate my cat a little more, here's a picture of her being forced to model the Puff Daddy. Which, by the way if a very quick fun knit and I already have the yarn for two more lined up.

Finally, I finished something!

Well if Blogger doesn't update the date, you'll be able to tell that I actually started this post 13 days ago.

I won't change the title, even though back then all I did was title this and add that picture you see. Which was my first FO in a while and I thought "phew, finally I can post about actual knitting, rather than just acquiring yarn!" Those was for the Sock Knitter's Anonymous group on Ravelry's September challenge - Orange. I think they are, don't you?

I'll get back with a better recap later, but there have been a few new starts this month, but also more finishing! And of course a little more acquiring. Including breaking my "no more clubs" vow for the Shakespeare in Lace Club. I mean really, could I have been expected to resist that????

And then today a friend and I went on a hunt for the yarn for Puff Daddy (look at the October 27th post, since I think that will take you to all of October). We didn't find anything suitable over our lunch hour, but then came back to an ad email for a shop with the specified yarn 15% off. It seemed like a sign!

Where I've Been in the US of A

Mary's US View

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

Again, I'm only including places where I actually did something more than drove through (even if I spent a night), which explains the Oregon and Indiana holes (and the later I drove through a lot when I lived in Wisconsin!). Looking at this, I seem to treat the US a bit like a grocery store - only going around the edges.

Where I've Been in the Big Old World

Mary's World View

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

I suspect that this is more than a lot of people, but all I see when I look at it is all the places I've never been! I only include places I've actually spend time. Not for example, Germany, where I transfer planes on almost every trip to Europe but never visited. And I actually feel a little bad about that! When I went Argentina and Brazil a couple years ago it occurred to me that I'd been to 4 of 7 continents, so I'd really like to go to all of them at this point!

Trying to Get a Grip on Things

Okay, so I was right, I didn't do any better in August in either stash reduction or WIP reduction.

The WIP count stayed exactly the same - nothing finished, but nothing started either.

The stash count, well that went up by 4365 yards. Guess it never really recovered from finding over 5000 yards in the unopened mail that week!

This month won't do well for stash either I suspect. First, even though I was finally seeing the end for so many of my clubs I joined two more! The first was The Color Coop. I linked to it since you can still join. I'm familiar with a couple of the dyers, and intrigued by the idea of seeing how the different dyers will interpret the same inspiration. You rotate through the six dyers, plus you have the chance to buy from the ones you don't get in any shipment. Anyone think I won't be tempted to do that at least once? The second is the Wollmeise sock club. I couldn't resisted entering the lottery for that one, and of course the fates said I should join!

Second, a lot of clubs are shipping this month - Year of Lace, I Wool Dye for You, Seven Deadly S[p]ins, A Change of Seasons Lace, Webs Skein of the Month, No Two Snowflakes Laceweight, and the first Wollmeise.

Third, I was tempted by the The Knitter's Review into purchasing a couple skeins of yarn from Sunday Knits.

On the other hand, I do have hope for the WIP count even though I started something new. I've reached the point with the old WIPs that nothing is portable. Since I was trying hard not to start anything new, it meant I was wasting my largest chunk of knitting time - my commute. Plus I think it was leading me to resenting the other knitting and not working on it at home.

So I decided to try and follow along with Socknitters Anonymous Sockdown on Ravelry. I'll allow myself to start a new project for this, which will give me something to do on the train, and hopefully break the other malaise. As you can see, I've gone with the "orange" challenge for this month!

Oh, and this reminds me. I theoretically finished the Arctic Diamonds Stole during the Olympics. (Another Ravelry link, but you should really join if you haven't already!) I knit enough that I could have been done. But I decided that I had enough yarn to lengthen it, and really wanted it longer than the 48" the pattern specified.

So how does starting something new translate into hope that I'll reduce the WIP list? I'm hosting a finishing day for my friends on the 27th. Felting the Cat Fez, sewing up the Aran sweater, and finishing the stole are all on my list. These days tend to be good for motivating some finishing so I'm hopeful.

August is not looking better at this point!

Well work in general has been a bit of a bear of late. And the stress does seem to be making me do stupid things like slamming my hand in the car door last Sunday. By now that's pretty much better. I really got lucky I think having the main spot be between two knuckles. Given how swollen it was most of the week, I had to think what it would have been like if I hit a knuckle directly!

But the stress causing self-injury continues. Monday I'm opening a plastic bottle of tea and there is a sharp place at the mold seam on the bottle. My mind registers dimly registers the pain, but I keep opening the bottle and in the process slice up the side of my thumb.

And the work stress kicks up a notch last week, which means I never get home before 8pm any night, and I get up at 4am because of my long commute. Except for the day I get up at 3am because I have to be in earlier than normal. And what does my cat Baloo do while I'm in the shower that morning -

DIARRHEA RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF MY BED!

I think she was taking all my mumbling about my crappy life too literally!

This past weekend I did find time to go through the pile of mail. A lot of yarn was in there! I've added 5412 yards to the stash so far this month! Luckily, the only club that I'm still expect is Webs Skein of the Month, and even if they send laceweight how much worse can it get. But I think its a good thing I did get back to knitting last weekend, but I'm really going to have to kick it up a notch to even come close to breaking even!