Never Not Knitting Podcast

I am a bit excited today.  Yeah, it's Friday and whatnot, but this is even better.

My funny story about my Comedy of Errors Sweater, aka Napoli Sweater, is featured on Alana Dakos' podcast #68 of Never Not Knitting!

I have enjoyed Alana's podcast for a few years now. She started out as a frequent knitter talking about her own projects, knitting product reviews and injecting her own funny knitting stories. Then she started adding funny and interesting stories from her listeners from around the world. In the last few years she has branched out to running her own knitwear design company and has self published, with friend and co-author Hannah Fettig, the very popular Coastal Knits books. Alana has recently self-published a new children's book called "Annie and the Swiss Cheese Scarf"; it is an adorable story about a little girl and her effort to learn to knit.

Alana always puts together an entertaining podcast full of knitting stories and now my story, read by me, is being featured on this month's episode!  Check it out!

Have you ever heard your own voice on tape and been surprised at what you sound like to others?  Um, yeah! Kind of surreal.



So I have been very busy knitting up some Christmas gifts so I have not been posting much as I don't want to ruin the surprises. My previous hysteria over Christmas knitting has lessened. I am almost feeling Zen about the whole thing now. What will be will be, as such.

But I can show you one really cute thing that I have knit recently.

I'd like to introduce you to: Mr. Bunnyman Blankstare.
He doesn't say much.
pattern is: Snowball Buddies, by Susan Claudio Designs

I had no stuffing at home when it was time to fill this little guy's body and I found myself at a dollar store buying a full sized pillow and cutting it open at home for the filling. I needed a palm full of stuffing and now have enough stuffing for an army of these little guys.

Which, if I am not careful, will ruin my new found Zen-like calm and bring me right back to hysterical as I control myself from the idea that I can make 87 more of these before Christmas!

Early Evening Cardigan

I am in love with a cardigan.



Lady Marple Sweater, by Nadia Crétin-Léchenne 

Picture © Nadia Crétin-Léchenne

I started knitting this sweater for myself this weekend and I want to nothing else except knit it. This is an exceptionally brilliant pattern knit in one piece from the bottom up.  I am hoping that mine looks as cute and functional as the one pictured above by the author/designer. Mine will be a dark chocolate brown with robin's egg blue edging.

The best part of this sweater... I am knitting it with stashed yarn! I just need to make one sweater a month for the next XX months and I will have this whole stash-issue under control. (Let's stop with the crazy talk and just focus on knitting one sweater at a time.)

I am just under the arms with only a weekend's work. It is a "quick" knit but I have also done a lot of sitting around this weekend due to all the snow that arrived. A new sweater project is the perfect way to spend a snowbound weekend.

I am calling this my Early Evening cardigan because my kids and I watched all of the Twilight movies this weekend while I was knitting.

The Inevitable Binge after a Diet Declaration

Sigh. Yeah, that didn't last long.

I should know better, really, I should.  While I was at it I should have said I was on a eating diet too. Then I would have immediately made myself a container of brownies, ate 2 candy bars and called it day. It is the way I typically react to any sort of resolution without moderation. In a word... poorly.

I told my eldest daughter about my proposed yarn diet right after I wrote my last blog and she was all "Whoa, Mom, how are YOU going to do that for more than a year!"  I was a little hurt. I told her about determination and stick-to-it-ness and appreciating the things you have.  Blah blah blah. I should go buy her a new ipod or something because clearly I am teaching my children nothing here.

There is no after-school special being modelled on my life here, people.

I started well enough. I am a list maker. So I made a list of the projects in my queue where I already had the yarn. I made sub-lists of the projects that I would make for myself and those I would make for future gifts. I figured that this would go better if I had a plan. My plan was to knit with my stashed yarn and to stay away from my favourite on-line yarn shops until I had built up some momentum.

Then I found a new project that I absolutely loved on Ravelry! I wanted to make it in the same yarn as the original, because it was far more lovely than anything I have ever seen. But I wasn't allowing myself to shop on-line. I convinced myself that it wasn't really buying yarn if I acquired it from someone else's "will trade or sell" stash from Ravelry. I wasn't shopping. I was doing another knitter a favour by taking that unwanted gem off their hands! For money!

That was my slippery slope.

Last week I had occasion to go into my nearest big city and I just happened to find myself at my favourite LYS yarn and accidentally(?) found myself buying 3,271 yards of yarn. I bought all of this yarn like I had nothing else at home waiting to be knit and with the attitude that this amount of yarn was totally going to be all knit up before Christmas. It was just a few hats and 4 pairs of socks.

GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF WOMAN! AND STOP IT!

I was, and am, fooling no one. And it is best that I reboot the whole thing before I end up owning a yarn shop to spite myself. I am not going to beat myself up about this but I do need to smarten up and get ahold of this issue.

So I am going to revise my goals to be much more simple and reasonable.

THE YARN DIET RULZ  Project: YARN CONSUMPTION AND APPRECIATION

1. I am going to try to knit from my stash until October 31, 2013 December 31, 2012.
2. I am going to use stashed yarn for all projects from now until deadline.
3. I am in one yarn club right now (it ends November 2012) but that will be the only yarn coming in. Incoming club yarn will be added to the stash totals.
4. I will accept yarn or yarn club memberships as gifts. Hint, Hint. (Is it sad that I am already planning loopholes to my rules.) Those totals will be added to the stash.
5. I would like to have under 52,500 yards by deadline. (That is 11% consumption. Which admittedly may be a pretty high goal.)  I am going to see how much yardage I can use between now and then. No other goals.
6. Selling and trading yarn is allowed and will be documented accordingly. I am striking this because I know that I have no intention of selling or trading any yarn between now and the end of the year.
7. I will report monthly.

So as of November 1, 2012 my stats are as follows:
WIP: 4
Total Yardage: 61,588 yards

We'll see how this goes.  How many times do I need to remind myself... it's a process, knitter.

Yarn Diet. Yep, I'm Going Cold Sheep.

I need to get something off my chest.

Are you ready?

I have a pretty good yarn stash. But it is at risk of turning into a good yarn collection unless I do something about it... and soon.

I have bought a lot of yarn over the last year and have, at last count, 63 items in my Ravelry queue. I have, probably, enough yarn on hand to make at least 25 (UPDATE: 32 actually, if I count socks I had planned) of the items in the queue and more than a few more items that I haven't even found yet.

My "problem" is that I am so excited by certain projects that I rush out and by the yarn right away. I panic and start to worry that I can always do that project later but that I must buy the pattern and yarn RIGHT NOW before either gets discontinued/removed/lost/sold out etc. I generally tuck both the pattern and the yarn away quickly and promise to do "that project next".  But it never seems to happen that way. I suppose I am a total magpie and I am always attracted to the next shiny object.

picture courtesy of: www.planetpurl.com

And it is getting a little out of control. So I need to do something radical (well, for me)... I need to go on a yarn diet. I need to use the fabulous yarn that I have and get to work on the projects I have planned already.

So, a yarn diet it is. I figured that I had better do this publicly and put it out there of what I have and the rules. This will also serve as a reminder to myself to be appreciative of the yarn that I have in hand already.

THE YARN DIET RULZ:

1. I am going to try to knit from my stash until October 31, 2013.
2. I am going to use stashed yarn for all projects from now until deadline.
3. I am in one yarn club right now (it ends November 2012) but that will be the only yarn coming in. Incoming club yarn will be added to the stash totals.
4. I will accept yarn or yarn club memberships as gifts. Hint, Hint. (Is it sad that I am already planning loopholes to my rules.) Those totals will be added to the stash.
5. I would like to have under 52,500 yards by deadline. (That is 11% consumption. Which admittedly may be a pretty high goal.)
6. Selling and trading yarn is allowed and will be documented accordingly.
7. I will report monthly.

This is the whole stash.

This is the part of the stash that is accounted
 for planned projects.

As of today my counts are as follows:

WIP: 4

Total yardage: 58,419 yards

Items in Stash: 91

A pre-Christmas panic attack



Breathe deep. Keep calm.

I CAN see the calendar.

Head between your knees.

I do know that it is only early October. 

Bring paper bag to face.

I can't seem to get Christmas off my mind right now. And I may be getting a little panicky about it.

Go to your happy place.

 

It seems ridiculously early but Christmas is front and centre in my brain right now. And the really odd thing is that I have sooooo many other favourite holidays that come first! (Halloween, Black Friday, Yarn Sale day etc.)

 

My recent panic attacks might have to do with a list that I made for myself of potential Christmas gift ideas for friends and family members. I make one every year. Typically this list includes things to buy for my loved ones.  But this one is a little different than in previous years. This one has a list of only knitted items next to each name.

 

It started simple, with my immediate family: my husband and my kids. That's 4 people right there and they all want sweaters!  I add my parents, my in-laws and I am feeling a little light headed now. Then I add my sister, her husband and their two sons that are both over 6 feet tall and my sister in law. Bubbles of hysterical laughter escape as I frantically look back and forth between my list and the calendar.

 

From here it snowballs... badly. I add our best friends,  my counsin's kids, a good friend with a benchmark birthday and my grandparents. I have drool frothing at my lips when I start thinking that I could pound out  6, maybe 8, of these really cute little stuffed apples for teacher gifts.

From Knit Simple, Holiday 2012

I need to go through my stash!

I need to get to the yarn store!

I need a sharp rap to the head... because it would take a fleet of about 5 professional knitters working full-time between now and Christmas to make this list happen! It's so ridiculous that I should be laughing about it instead of hyperventilating.

 

I do know that I can't possibly make something for everyone in my family between now and Christmas. So I wonder why I am spending time worrying about this. This may have been doable, maybe,  if I had started in January- of last year- and had budgeted a couple of small projects a month. But even then I doubt it.

 

Seriously, it is a really big list.

 

This might have something to do with the fact that I have finished more projects this year than I have in the previous 4 years combined. I think that I have recently jumped a skill level which has allowed me to hit a groove. As a result I have churned out some really nice projects this year. I have made a combination of small and big items.  I think this recent productivity has made me insane cocky.

 

Each month I review the newest knitting magazines and on-line patterns and the list gets a little bit longer. And I find myself saying "Oh, that lace scarf would be so nice for my sister-in-law. I think I have the necessary 1500 yards of lace weight in my stash!"  Or I remember that my friend has always hinted that he'd like a pair of warm cabled mitts and LOOK at that pattern, right there for the very same!

Flint Cabled Mittens,
Brooklyn Tweed, in Shelter

 

Never mind the trouble I get while on Ravelry. I currently have 62 items in my queue and those are only the items for me.

 

So why am I torturing myself?  It is simple really. As much as I am a process knitter I really like to make handmade gifts. I like being able to show someone that I care about them enough to have spent tens of hours making something just for them.

 

I am trying to understand this better but just because I can make something doesn't mean that I should. Not every gifts needs to be handmade. Something that I think is beautiful may not look the same to another. And not everyone values a handmade gift. This is a lesson that I have learned the hard way. Some people really do like store gifts better. Or cash. This is okay.

 

A gift, when given, should be more about the person receiving and less about the hang ups of the giver.

 

My rational brain knows that I should calmly put down my list and walk away. I should pick the few items that I can reasonably accomplish between now and Christmas and focus on those.

 

That sounds like a great idea but my knitting brain is still in panic mode.

Owls, Afterthoughts, Stripes and Other Concerns

I finished the most adorable sweater this week. I haven't blocked it yet or finished with the buttons and adornment (we'll call this 99% finished) but I cannot resist showing you now. This sweater will be Christmas gift and I could not be more pleased in how it turned out. Yeah me! I feel like my knitting mojo might be back.



Owlet sweater, size 2 years

Owls!



The Owlet sweater was so easy to knit and finished so well. It was knit with fairly big needles too so it seemed to knit up quickly. I really like how the simple cable repeats really look like little owls. The pattern calls for two buttons to be added to each owl, total 32 buttons. But I think that is going to be too much. I have been searching around on Ravelry for ideas on how other knitter have finished the sweater. There are lots of choices- people are so creative. I know how I want to finish it I just need to purchase a few minor notions first. Don't worry I will post the final finished project.

I bought this pattern in adult sizes too and keep wondering if I could pull off a sweater with a parliament of owls on the yoke. I think the adult version is a more fitted sweater too. I'll  have to give this some more thought.

I have finished the body of one of Olivia's birthday socks. Her birthday is next weekend and it is unlikely that I can get them both finished that quickly but I'll try. I am trying something different with her socks. I am making hers with an afterthought heel. I have never tried that before but have read good things about this heel making process. We'll see how this works out.



The blue line will become a heel...
if I ever find the courage to rip it out.



I did end up starting a project for myself. I tried to pick something easy that I could pick up and put down. I picked the Sonia's Shawl pattern.  However, I neglected to factor in how addictive stripes are to knit. "Just one more row" becomes "just one more stripe" and then "just one more repeat". And next thing I know it is midnight and I can barely keep my eyes open.

The navy yarn is Hand Maiden, Cashba Sock yarn (gorgeous!)
the colourful yarn is Kauni Wool 8/2 Effektgarn

 The Cashba yarn is so soft and lovely to knit with. The Kauni is a fingering weight wool with very long colour repeats in rainbow colours. I bought it special for a project just like this.  I may love the colours of the Kauni but it feels like I am knitting with gardening twine.  I had a striping shawl in mind but knew that I needed something very soft  to pair with the very coarse wool.

I am hoping that the finished product will still be soft and warm. I am also hoping that the Kauni soften with washing and wearing. I don't mind scratchy yarn against the skin so I am sure it will be fine. Aren't those famous last words? I guess all I can say right now is : to be continued...

So you can see what I have on the needle:

Olivia's birthday socks  (October) - 50% done

Stripy shawl for me. ~10% done

Queen of Diamonds Scarf- on-going- self made scarf pattern.

Not Yet on the needles but will be very very soon:

Finn's birthday sweater- I have swatched and have a most excellent plan. Finn approves. I will hopefully cast on this week.

FROGGED:

Mystery Xmas gift #2- I ripped it without remorse.

Concerns of the Week

I finished G's birthday socks and I am excited to report that they match. Each other. Really.  I  enjoyed knitting these and they seemed to go pretty quick. Nothing like little feet, eh?

 

I am tending to keep a sock project on the needles right now so that I can take a small project with me where ever I go. I knit an entire heel flap and the heel turn in a meeting last week. It was a really long meeting!

Happy Birthday G!

 I am also contemplating casting on a sweater for myself. I am trying to wait until after I have finished a few more of these small projects but I may not be able to wait.   Of course,  the sweater is not the one in my queue below but one of many that I have ready and tucked away. I am really enjoying knitting smaller projects right now- like baby sweaters. They make me feel like a super fast knitter.

What's on my needles right now: 

Above from top
 1)Baby Owlet Sweater,
in Cascade 220 Heathers
2) Olivia's socks. SweetGeorgia Yarns
Tough Love Sock, in Spring Garden
It doesn't look like it yet but I do have a plan.

•  Baby sweater for sister-in-law's friend- Christmas 2012
• Olivia's birthday socks  (October)
• Mystery Xmas gift #2- I am still leaning towards ripping this project out. Still pending...
• Queen of Diamonds Scarf- on-going- self made scarf pattern.

My queue:

• Finn's birthday sweater (December) - This idea is coming together. I just need to do a little more planning.
• Baby sweater for friend due March 2013
• Baby sweater for family 2013
• Mystery Xmas gift #1- part 3?
• Phoenix Rising Vergennes Sweater #2- this will be my second try at this sweater. I gave the first one to my sister. The first looked really good and I loved the yarn but I was unhappy with the final size. I have already swatched and I am ready to cast on!