August FO's and other such things...

This "no real set goals" thing really seems to have worked this month!

What have I knit?

• Matching socks for Miss J & Mr.S (2 pairs total)
• Creamsicle socks
• Finshed up the Bleue et Noir socks
• "Autumn is Coming" anklet-ish socks
• Evangeline
• the teal Barbie dress
• Finished one sock of my Whitewater Monkeys

And, I'll likely have another pair of socks done by Sunday. Oh - the coolest part of the pair I'm almost done? They're pair #12 for this year (and pair #7 of the 52 pair plunge II)! I will have actually finished one of my resolutions (to knit 12 pairs of socks this year)! I'm so excited about this - especially because it was starting to look like I might not make it for awhile! And here I am with plenty of time to spare!


I also came *thisclose* to finishing Mr.S' hat - in fact, I did finish it - but then discovered that I need to add 1-2" in length to it! I'll get back to that as soon as I finish the sock I'm on as there's no huge rush for it yet (need the socks for the chilly evenings/mornings, where the hat can't really be used yet).

Ok, so now it's time to move on to September...

I know that I didn't really set any *real* goals for August, and that really seemed to work well, but I feel that I need to get back to goals for September. Why? Have you looked at the calendar lately?! It's (almost) September, and I still have gift-knits that still need to be tended to!!!

So, for September, I'd ideally like to knit:

1. Finish Miss J's sweater (I've started it, but I want to write a separate post about it)
2. Finish my Whitewater Monkeys
3. Finish Mr.S' hat
4. DH's hat
5. Miss J's hat
6. My hat
7. The second pair of Evangeline mitts
8. Re-start Dad's socks

Doesn't seem too bad - now if only I can keep focused!

Procrastination?

Apparently, it's not for me this month. Seriously. I've been ridiculously productive with my knitting so far this month.

In no particular order:

Barbie Dress #1 (of 3)

Big Sister & Little Brother Patina Socks

Bleue & Noir

Evangeline

Isn't that crazy? I don't know what's gotten into me, but my knitting speed has picked up drastically! Those 2 pairs of socks? 4 days total to knit *both* pairs! I'm amazed, and I have to credit Magic Loop and Knit Picks circulars - they seem to have cut my knitting time drastically (for producing FOs that is).Oh, and it's not pictured, but I also finished sock 1 of the Creamsicle socks.

The best part of this knitting productivity? All of the above pictured projects (with the exception of Bleue & Noir) are Christmas gifts! Yay!

Out The Window... and Christmas Crafting!

It's not the end of the month, but I can tell you that this month's goals are out the window!

Sure I finished Mr.S' socks, started a pair of socks for myself, and I did knit one sock of Miss J's pair - but that's about all that I'm likely to get done off that list.

The Jaywalkers, Leyburns, and Creamsicles are all on hold - the reason? I snapped back into reality and took a good look at what I intend to have done for Christmas gifts this year. It's a lot, and I'm nowhere near where I wanted to be at this point in the game - especially seeing as I want to be done by the end of November so I'm not stressing in December!

What I have done:

• 4 washcloths (plus 3 others that ended up going of to other uses, so no longer count towards that total :/)
• A pair of Fetchings

What's left to be done:

• 3 (possibly 4) pairs of socks (knit)
• 2 kid-sized, and one Cabbage Patch sized sweater(s) (knit)
• 2 pairs of cabled fingerless mitts (knit)
• A few Barbie Dresses (knit)
• 4 hats (knit)
• 2 tote bags (sewn)
• 3 crayon rolls (sewn)
• 3 “I Spy” bags (sewn)
• At least one batch of melt pour soap (quick & easy!)
• 2 quilts (sewn)
• A robot toy (knit), and possibly one other knit toy (also knit)
• 2 more washcloths
  

Oh, and we also have friends who are expecting their first baby in December, so I'd like to be able to knit something for them as well!

Oh, and those 4 hats? They aren't really gifts - just things to keep the 4 of our heads warm in the cold weather... But they'll definitely need to be done by November 30th!!

I have broken down the projects, sorting them into months - and it looks like it should be manageable. I hope I can manage it anyways!

Anyways, by the end of August, I hope to have completed:

1. Dad's socks (Hareton)
2. The 2 pair of fingerless mitts (Evangeline and Fetching)
3. One of the 2 quilts (Miss J's)
4. One or two knit Barbie dresses

And by the end of September:

1. Miss J's sweater
2. 3 of the 4 hats
3. 2 washcloths
4. Miss J's socks
   

October:

1. "I spy" bags
2. Totes
3. Crayon Rolls
4. The remaining hat
5. Mr.S' socks
6. Mr.S' Quilt

And hopefully, for November:

1. Soap
2. Mr.S' sweater
3. Knit robot & the other knit toy (if there's time)
   
4. Cabbie sweater (this one may end up getting the Ax, depending on how everything else goes)

The sewing (except for Mr.S' quilt) and soapmaking, thankfully, won't take too much time, so I should have no problems getting those projects done - it's the knitting that has me slightly worried. Most of what I'm knitting this year is for the kids, so it'll be "stealth knitting", and most of it will have to be done when their in bed (especially Miss J's as she always asks me what I'm knitting, and if its for her!) - I think that's what's got me the most "concerned" (for lack of a better word). Ah well, I'm fairly confident that I can get it all done!

I'll likely use part of my December "Me Time" knitting for the baby knits, but I don't have a problem with that :) Besides, the mom-to-be's favorite colour is the same as mine - green! So I should really be able to enjoy that knitting quite a bit :)

Hmm...Looks like I may fall slightly short of my 12 pair (socks) goal for '08...I hope not!

I'm back!

And well, I actually have been for about a week - but I've been too busy to post before now!

Other than moving, this is what I've been up to:

1. Finished Mr.S' socks
2. Started Miss J's socks (and finished one)
3. Started another pair of socks

I like how Mr.S' socks turned out, and I'm really liking Miss J's (can you believe that's *not* a self striping yarn? Pretty cool if you ask me!), but I'm not sure how much I'm liking my new socks - especially since I ended up ripping the entire heel out by mistake (it was only supposed to be 2 rows of the heel turn, but the *entire heel flap* ended up biting the dust).

One thing I'm now noticing - I'm getting tired of socks! Don't get me wrong, I love knitting them - but it seems that all it's been lately is socks and washcloths! I need something else to shake things up a bit! Perhaps something in a worsted weight - maybe in lace weight... I'm not sure! All I know is that I need something new in the mix!

June Progress and July Goals

So, tomorrow is my last full day with internet until July 7th (because of the move), so I thought I'd go ahead and post now while I have a bit of time to relax before getting back to packing up the last little bits!

So, as a recap, my June goals were:

1. Finish at least one of the Leyburn Socks
2. Finish at least one of the Jaywalkers
   
3. Start the Mystery Shawl
   
4. Finish Mr.S' Caterpillar wash cloth

And I managed:

1. No. Short-row heel kicked my butt. However, I did manage to find some mods on Ravelry that should solve that problem (with a non-short-row-heel). I'll work on these again when my head isn't spinning anymore.
2. Yep! Then I had to rip out the kitchenered toes, and ended up pulling out half of the toe. I'll finish the toe on that one once I finish the second one (which I do happen to have OTN right now ;) )
3. Yeah. I tried. I don't know that circular shawls are my thing. I'm going to wait to see some finished products before deciding to go back to it or not. I *did* start it though!
4. Finito! It didn't turn out as clearly as I would hoped it would on the dark green, but I think Mr. S will love it all the same!

I also went and started another pair of socks, this time for Mr.S. Here is sock #1 (#2 is currently 1/4th of the way done - should be completely finished by the next time I get to post):

I also finished another plain 'ol washcloth this month (it can be seen here on Ravelry), and started a patterned one. Not bad progress this month I suppose.

Anyways, for July I would like to:

1. Finish Mr.S' socks
2. Start Miss J's socks
3. Finish the Jaywalkers
4. Conquer the heel on the Leyburns - hopefully finish the first sock and start on the second one.
5. Knit MIL's Christmas gift
6. Knit another 1-2 washcloths

And on the non-knitting (but maybe with some yarn thrown in) part, I should also:

1. Track down the polybead thingers I need for 3 Christmas gift projects
2. Track down fabric for 2 of the 3 projects mentioned above
3. Buy yarn for my sister's Christmas gift

Well, that's all for now folks! See you after our move!

Crazy for Sock Yarn...

I've noticed lately, that all I've been buying is sock yarn (except for two purchases). Over May and June, I acquired enough to make 6 pairs of socks!

First, I had an order from The Yarn and Fiber Company (somewhat of a favorite, thanks to their free shipping - no min. purchase & includes Canada!):

Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Caribou Creek

and



Dream in Color Smooshy in November Muse

Then I discovered the wonderfulness that is ThankEwe!:

Superwash Sock in Lollipop

and

Superwash Sock in Cherry Wood

And then, of course, are my Yarn Pirate shipments:

Merino/Tencel in Patina

and

June's Shipment, which has yet to arrive. I have, however, sneaked a peek at spoilers. From what I've seen, it's not really to my taste, but the base (BFL) is something that I've been anxious to try, so I may just knit it up anyways (likely a pair of plain stockinette socks - that or socks for the kids).


As for non-sock yarn, I bought some lovely lace weight from handpaintedyarn.com, which had been intended for Goddess Knits' Anniversary Shawl, but then I thought about the likelyhood of myself ever using a circular shawl, and changed my mind. Well, that's not really the entire reason! The new Knitty came out, and I fell in love with Seascape, and think that this gorgeous stuff was destined for it:

What do you think?

The things I've learned (so far) this month...

I honestly feel like I'm not getting *anything* done with knitting this month! I've been running into problems with my socks, which has had me ripping out far more work than usual, and it's starting to drive me a bit crazy!

Alas, I have learned some things:

1. Do not attempt to kitchener when in a rush. The results will be fugly, and you will have to rip it out.
2. Do not attempt to rip out above mentioned kitchener stitches during OR after consuming alcoholic beverages. It also, will not be pretty - in fact, you will likely end up ripping out more (i.e - half a toe or worse) than you would have had to if you just would have waited .
3. Put down your knitting before you get so mad as to rip out half a sock (I, luckily, knew this one already, and did follow it, or I would have no more Leyburn socks)
   
4. Sometimes - just sometimes, you might need to ask someone for help in learning/figuring out a technique (I think I need to do this, in regards to short-row heels. They don't like me.)
5. Buying yarn when you're stressed really *does* help you feel better. But...
   
6. Sometimes, just sometimes, buying yarn is somewhat stress inducing.
7. Sometimes, the cure to everything, is knitting something for someone who is little, cute, and thinks you are the most awesome person ever.
8. Magic Loop is awesome. I need more circs in sock sizes.

That's all for now...