Look out 2018 here I come

Quilting took a back seat to knitting this year.  I didn't do a good job keeping track of what I wanted to do and what would be realistic.   What I do know for sure is that I only finished two lap quilts that I gifted to a new found first cousin and his wife.

I am most happy,really really happy,  that I used more yarn than I purchased.

Yarn in:  7818 yards
Yarn out:  20083

My goal for the new year is mindful purchases of yarn and fabric.  Look hard at yarn and fabric stashes before purchasing anything.  I know I can do this.

Happy New Year.

Beth

Down to the Wire

I love the last two weeks of the year, finishing up and getting ready for a new fresh beginning. In the past I have mentioned my obsession with lists.  Yes I even have a list of lists.  Crossing things off of a list makes me feel accomplished and organized.

I have been working on the Great American Aran Afghan for almost three years.  I am happy, no deliriously happy, to say it is DONE.

I also managed to finish a cable hat, Curragh, from Impeccable Knits.

Knitting with the Girls

There are several of us who enjoy dropping in at our LYS-Craftworks in Northborough once or twice a week for a few hours of knitting, chatting and Christmas cookies.

This afternoon I took a picture of our little group and for the first time wore a sweater I made for an Eat Sleep Knit challenge.

I am the second one in on the left wearing my Rosewood Sweater.  I was so excited how my sweater fit that I am swatching for another.

It was so nice taking a break from the holiday rush.

Silhouette Cameo vs Brother Scan n Cut

It is no secret that I love applique.  Needle turn is probably my first love but I enjoy using my embroidery machine.  

Sarah Vedeler is a beautiful designer and she is currently doing a 40 day series of tips and technics.  If you like machine embroidery, check out her series. 

Today she talked about Electronic Cutting Machines.  I have been considering buying one.  I have it narrowed down to Silhouette Cameo and the Brother Scan n Cut.  I will definitely use it to cut freezer paper templates and I would like to use it to cut fabric templates for use with my embroidery machine.  Does anyone have any advice for me?

This is a little quilt I made for Little Mr. C.

So hard to believe another year is coming to a close.  And there have been some major changes that I didn't know about this time last year.  We have down-sized to an apartment and are building an in-law apartment with one of our daughters.  I am looking at what is to come as a new adventure.

But there is still yarn and fabric that need to be transformed.


November

1. KPH Mystery KAL--in progress--done
2. GAAA begin finishing--in progress--still working on it
3. EQ university Applique Class
4. Tool Box Fingerless mitts for LYS KAL--done
5. Read:  Moonspinners
6. THANKSGIVING--survived

December

1. GAAA finish
2. Soccer hat for James
3. Curragh Hat
4. Wayside Crazy Quilt
5. Cast on Building with Lace
6. Frog Cape Cod Sweater
7. Read:  Death at La Fenice
   

This is the mystery cowl that our group at our LYS was knitting.  It is from Knit Purl Hunter.  I hope to have a few pictures of some other treasures.

Knitting Report

I love,love, love when I finish projects.  This month has been productive. 

 Three Holey Hats in Malabrigo Chunky are done and ready for holiday gifting.

I have struggled to be a sweater knitter.  Sweaters that fit me.  I have made lots of baby sweaters.  But we know babies don't complain about fit.  I purchased a class on Craftsy by Amy Herzog.  It has a little more ease than I would normally like but it fits.  I don't like sweaters or tops that are too tight and too short.  I can't wait to start another sweater. 

Knitting Report

I am happy to report that no new yarn came in.  (This is good news for me.)  And on top of that I managed to finish a four pony tail hats for a total of 400 yards. 

I don't often use chunky yarn but I enjoyed making these. 
I always get inspiration from Judy's blog.  She always finds some great patterns that I add to my list.

So far this year my numbers are:
Yarn in this week:  0
Yarn out this week:  400
Yarn in YTD: 8760
                                             Yarn out YTD:  7381

What is on your needles?

Knitting Report

I have been drooling over some yarn at my LYS.  And I was determined to make something with it.  I needed another project and more yarn like a zebra needs more stripes.  Michelle Hunter's new book Building with Lace kept jumping into my hands.  A perfect marriage the shawl from the book and Sandstorm.  But before I start, I must finish my Rosewood Sweater.  The back and front are done and I am about halfway through the first sleeve.

We are leaving for a little vacation in New Jersey meeting up with family for a few days.  That will give me lots of car knitting time--it is seven hours each way.

This week I managed to add more than 4000 yards of yarn.  Sixteen hundred yard I bought for the shawl but I was gifted about 2500 yards for a little contest we had at our LYS.  

I REALLY REALLY don't want to buy or win any more yarn this year.  I am determined to go Cold Sheep for the rest of the year.

Knitting Report

My computer has been cranky and not cooperating.  If it wasn't bad enough that my email provider stopped supporting it, it seems that my Windows 7 was waaaaay out of date.  So I bit the bullet and upgraded to Windows 10.  I did back up my files and documents just in case.  Everything went smoothly and I have managed to find most of my stuff.  Unfortunately my stash reports are "corrupted"  and I can't open them.  Enough complaining and onto other things.  I finished 2 Christmas Stockings this week--one for a grand puppy and one for Little Mr. Malcolm.

I love having finishes!!!!

Patterns In:  I only added 2 patterns:  Sporadic Stripes and Wheat Kernals Hat
Plans for the Week:  Continue working on Amy Herzog Pullover and  get back to Archtexture Shawl

Knitting Report

Patterns Added:  0
Projects Finished:  Mystery Hat and Leo's Christmas Stocking.. My  LYS is sponsoring a mystery knit.  There were 3 yarns and about 300 yards to create a project.  I never would have chosen these yarns and colors.

Projects I worked on:  Cast on Malcolm's' Christmas Stocking, Pullover V-Neck for Eat Sleep Knit KAL
Projects to Work on this Week:  Malcolm's Stocking, V-Neck Sweater, Great American Aran Afghan, Architexture Shawl

I was busy cleaning up my Ravelry account.  I need to organize my queue.  There are too many patterns.  And since my taste has changed,  I will delete things I know I will never make.

Knitting Report

Judy L is back with her knitting report.  I need this to keep accountable and I am thinking of doing something like this for quilting.  Since moving into the apartment, I have waaaaaaay to much yarn and fabric.  Considering the year is more than half over, I am excited that I have not added very much to my stash.  So for my first Knitting Report:

PATTERNS ADDED
Stroma by Susan Ashcroft

PROJECTS I WORKED ON
Leo's Christmas Stocking
A Family of Elementary Twist Hats

KNITTING PLANS FOR THE WEEK
Complete Leo's Christmas Stocking
Cast on Malcolm's Christmas Stocking
Mystery Hat for LYS
Pullover V-Neck for ESK 3 KAL

Yarn in this Week:  0 yards
Yarn out this Week:  580 yards in projects and 4404 yards gifted
Yarn in YTD:  4340 yards
Yarn out YTD:  7001 yards

On the needles and yarn Stash

The last box has been unpacked!!!!  I am beyond excited that life is getting back to normal.  Finding storage for my yarn and fabric has been daunting.  But I have managed to use a little stash.  As I was sorting through my yarn while unpacking,  I looked at each skein and asked myself, "Am I really, really going to use this yarn?"  If the answer was a flat out NO or I hesitated for more than 20 seconds, it went into a gift bag for a friend who has just taken up knitting.   I managed to reduce my stash by 4404 yards and it made my friend very happy.

I have a few finishes to share.  Meg, our youngest, requested hats for her two cherubs and her Sweetie.  She chose Elementary Twist and I loved knitting it.  It was all made from stash.  The to smaller hats on the right are both dark green.  Meg wanted a pom pom on her hat and the far left is navy blue for her Sweetie.

 

I FINALLY put the buttons on Adorable Ewe, Michele Hunter's KAL last Spring.

 



On the Needles

Life in our house has been crazy with a capital C.  We put our condo on the market and it sold in 10 days.  I am not complaining.  I know how lucky we are.  The big Guy and I will eventually move into an in-law apartment with DD#2.  But in the meantime we will be in an apartment.  When the realtor was helping prepare our place for sale, he ventured into my sewing room and with a bit of shock said, "O MY!!  This is a WORKINGING ROOM!!!  Tidying the room for showing was a major undertaking.  Fabric is tucked away in far too many plastic bins as well as enough yarn to knit for every one who lives in Alaska!  It has been humbling for me to see what I have accumulated.
I chose a simple knit to work on at night when I need a little down time from packing.  I am making Purl Soho's Open Air Shawl using Madelinetosh Dandelion in Whiskers.

Writing this post has made feel as though there is some normalcy in my life.

Yarnathon Update

I know I have mentioned my love affair with all things Eat Sleep Knit.  This year I am on team Taffy Giraffe.  It is time to work on a few badges for my team (Tower).  You buy yarn and earn points.  Points earn prizes.  Even though I am on a yarn diet of sorts,  I knew I wanted to purchase some birthday yarn.  All but one of these skeins has a planned project.

 

One of the badges, Patty Cake, earns precious points for "caking" or winding hanks into tidy little yarn cakes of wooly loveliness.

 

As you can see I had a productive afternoon but not all of the skeins were cooperative with the swift and winder.  There were some no so lovely tangled messes that had me working from both ends on 3 of the skeins.  That was the only not fun part of today.



On the Needles

I finished Adorable Ewe and I am just waiting for the buttons.  I used Madelinetosh Vintage in Posy that was in my stash. 


And on my needles is Architexture Shawl  in Mrs. Crosby's Train Case in French Chambray.

I am off to Judy's blog to see what others are working on.

  

 

I don't know where the month of April went but it is gone, gone, gone.  Our family is going through some difficult times with medical issues as well as a move for the Big Guy and me.  I am adjusting to the move and have been crazy busy getting the house ready.  We had an open house yesterday.  Not sure if anything will come of it.  But now that I can wrap my head around the move,  I want everything to move along.  As you can see I have been anything but productive this month.  I decided to cut way back with my expectations for May.  On a positive note I finished Knit Purl Hunter's Adorable Ewe KAL.  I am just waiting for the buttons to come in!

April

1. Patchwork Times UFO Challenge for April is #1 Home Tweet Home
2. Knit Purl Hunter Adorable Ewe KAL--done except for buttons
3. Continue Architexture Shawl
4. Work on Little Mr. M's Umbrella Critters Quilt
5. Label Jelly Roll quilt
6. Label George's quilt
7. Read:  In the Woods

May

1. Patchwork Times Challenge for May is #11--Aunt Grace's Garden Party
2. Architexture Shawl
3. Book:  In the Woods

Stash Report

Kind of a busy week.  I purchased fabric for self-binding baby blankets and two pillowcases at the request of my youngest.  So far this year I have only purchased fabric for this project!! 


Fabric in this week:  11.5 yards
Fabric out this week:  11.5 yards
Fabric in YTD:  11.5 yards
Fabric out YTD:  11.5 yards

I just needed to see a little progress in print.

 These are for little Mr. C when he moves to his big boy bed.

These are for Little Mr. M who is a now 2 months old.







My yarn progress is another story.  When the New Year arrived, I got caught up with participating in KAL's and de-stashing.  My good intentions has gotten me stressed out with trying to keep up.  I have a new resolution to slow down and enjoy the process and not focus so much on the outcome. 

Yarn in this week:  0 yards
Yarn out this week:  257 yards
Yarn in YTD:  850 yards
Yarn out YTD:  1737 yards

Qwist hat finished.



This is Sophisticated Traveler about half way done.

Finally a Finish

I don't think I have ever had such a difficult time with an easy pattern.   But I love everything about this hat--the pattern, the yarn, the color, the little cable detail up one of the sides.  There are matching mitts but I don't think I have enough yarn left to make them. 


Qwist Hat



On the Needles

Did you ever have any of THOSE projects that drove you crazy.  I actually have two going on at the same time.
This is the 4th restart of my Qwist Hat.  It is not difficult!!  My excuse is that I have a lot on my mind with a family medical issue.  I try knitting when I need a little distraction.  But I think I should stick with stockinet stich with no increases or decreases.


4th Cast On

Making a little progress.

Another project I have been fretting over for more than two years is the Great American Aran Afghan.  It started out as a class at a LYS.  We were going to do one block a month for 24 months.  I have completed 23 blocks but will only use 20.  None of the blocks are the same size even with blocking.  It was a frustrating project.  I thought I was a decent knitter but this project has undermined my confidence.  I am trying a crocheted edge to bring the blocks closer to size of the largest.  This project is not for the faint of heart.

 

On the Needles

I have been participating in Eat Sleep Knits (ESK) Yarnathon.  I am a Taffy Giraffe.  I wrote about it in this post.  I didn't need a 4th cast on but one of the tips broke on my circular needle!!!  In the overall scheme of things, needle breakage in the middle of the row is no big deal.  The past few months have been stressful with one of my DD receiving a cancer diagnosis.  Surgery was two weeks ago and she is doing amazingly well.  I have been her Mom-Nurse since surgery and enjoyed every minute of it.

 Picture #1 shows the broken needle.  Since I was in the car knitting (while the Big Guy was driving) I kept it carefully on my lap so as not to disturb the stitches.  Fortunately I had another pair of #4 circulars at home.

I had a few hours of knitting last night and made some progress on my Qwist Hat.  I love the little cable detail on the right side of the picture.

 

So life is looking up.  DD is recovering well and has a bright future ahead of her.  I am finally making progress on my Yarnathon project and I love it.

Stash Report

There hasn't been much movement in either my fabric or yarn stash.  While I am busy at my sewing machine, I don't have anything to show for it but next week will be a different story.

Nothing finished on the knitting front but I did do some major frogging.  My LYS asked me to do a KAL late Spring or early Summer.  I will be doing Architexture in Mrs Crosby's Train Case in French Chambray.  I hope to cast on this week even though I am trying to catch up with a few challenges.

Yarn in this week:  850 yards
Yarn out this week:  0 yards
Yarn in YTD:  850 yards
Yarn out YTD:  1480 yards

On My Needles

I want to participate in Eat Sleep Knit's (ESK) Yarnathon this year.  I wasn't very active last year.  This year I am on team Taffy Giraffe.  For the first quarter we can make any Melanie Berg pattern.  I chose the Qwist hat and hopefully Qwist mitts.  Other projects using ESK yarn may qualify for other badges. 

So the first time I came up short on my long tale cast on:

This will qualify me for the badge "The Big Short"

My next cast on I had more than enough yarn and made it a little further than the second picture.

The pattern is not difficult at all and is very pretty.  While trying to do this lovely project, I have been taking care of DD #2 who had major surgery this week.  Until I get into the rhythm of the pattern I cannot multi-task with this project.  Miss K went home today with her hubby and kids.  I will go out to their place Tues until the end of the week.  Hopefully I will be in a groove with the pattern.  I am not looking forward to a 4th cast on.

3rd CO for Qwist Hat
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Judy's UFO Challenge 2017

In this post I listed 12 quilting UFO's I wanted to work on and hopefully complete this year.  Each project has a number and each month Judy lets us know which project to work on.  January was #3--Revolutionary Flare.  I managed to get it basted and started machine quilting in the ditch.  I still have quite a bit of quilting do but I will keep plugging along until it is done.

 

February's project is #9 which is Leftover Jelly Roll

My #12 is Labels for  finished quilts which I still intend to work on.  But I am going to change that to a Floral Jelly Roll quilt that I found and want finished.

17ufosin2017

One of the 17 in 2017 UFO challenges I found is Pomegranate and Chintz.  I love wing this blog and decided to join in.  I am trying very, very hard to finish my UFO's and limit my fabric and yarn purchases.  I managed 3 finishes for January.
Never-Ending Scarf:  I purchased the yarn in 2012. 

 Not only is it finished but it is my first Christmas present for 2017.

I have fallen in love with Julie Williams' Little Cotton Rabbits.  I hope this is the first of many little critters.








Wee Baby Blocks blanket was finished just in time for a our grandson's arrival.

I also managed to baste and start quilting Revolutionary Flare.



 I hope February will be as productive as January.  I am hoping to finish quilting Revolutionary Flare.

On the Needles

I have been absent from the blogging world for a few weeks for a very good reason.  We have a new grandson who lives in VA.  Little Mr. M joined our family 2 weeks ago.  The Big Guy and I drove from MA to VA for some serious baby holding time.  It was heavenly.  While in the car I was able to apply a binding to a quilt and work on my Sophisticated Traveler.  The color of the yarns used are more grey than the photo.



 

 

Before we left on our road trip, I finished the Never ending scarf.  I purchased the yarn from the Loopy Ewe in 2012.  It had always been intended for this project