Lucy Bag Times Two

As my sister’s birthday is just around the corner I need to craft a quick gift for her so I have cast on a 2nd Lucy bag. I know I should really finish something first but her birthday is in a fortnights time (it really should not come as a shock but every year I leave gift making to the last minute) so I need to start something now.
For my sister’s Lucy bag I have decided to be a little more subtle with my colour choices and have gone for a ball of Paton’s Smoothie DK in a variegated colour way of cream / off white and pale green which I am going to team with four shades of Paton’s DK cotton. The surprising thing is that I am actually going to be using some stash yarn for this project as the pale green and raffia coloured cotton were purchased for my first Lucy bag, but I decided not to use them. Let’s hope I can manage to finish it by the 15th August (2010 that is!!!!). If not I guess I will either have to give it to her late or for Christmas.

Felting

Over the weekend I attended a felting class at my local arts centre and learnt how to make a seamless book for a sketch book or journal. It was made using un-dyed merino wool which I then had great fun dying although my fingers tips are now also a delightful shade of purple. During the lunch break I popped down to the ceramics studio to collect the pots I made during a 6 week beginners throwing course I attended in June & July.

Lucy Bag Progress

After a few false starts; due mainly to me creating my starting chain far too tightly and then too loosely, I am now making great progress on my Lucy bag and have got most of the bottom of the bag completed. I do however have to report that I decided that more colour was required and have purchased a few more ball of yarn to add to this project. I am also currently trying very hard to resist the urge to go and buy tonnes of DK cotton & acrylic in bright ‘Lucy’ colours. The urge to buy lots of bright coloured yarn and to cast-on (if that is the correct term) a whole bunch of crochet projects is strong, but I must resist as I already have far too many WIPs already not to mention that I really do not want to have to move into a bigger house just so accommodate my stash.

Oh Dear!!!!

I seem to have developed another obsession – crocheting. I am going to blame my friends over on Ravelry who have been producing gorgeous crocheted items. Through them I became away of Lucy, her gorgeous crocheted creations and her wonderful blog (Attic24). The way she puts together is unlike anything I would normally choose for myself but I am really drawn to the colours Lucy puts together. So after several days of looking I gave in and went on a quick shopping spree at lunchtime and came away with these:

Which I am hoping to be able to turn into a bag.

Oh Bother

I have done it again – started a couple of new projects (one knitting and one cross-stitching) rather than work on one of my many WIPs. The first project I started; completed about 2 dozen stitches on and then put away; was Summer Banner which is one of the projects that I have on my list to work on in July so starting it was not too bad but I should really have progressed one of my WIPs from the July project list first.

Then this morning while getting ready for the commute to work I realised that I did not have a project in my handbag for the train journey to work. So I grabbed a ball of sock yarn & some 2.5mm needles and have cast-on for a pair of basic ribbed socks. Oh well these will now be the project that I carry around in my handbag and I will try to not work on them at home.

Pattern: Basic Ribbed Socks by WiseHilda
Yarn: Regia Sock Monster
Started: 15th July 2010

This is a pattern that I have knitted up before and should be a relatively quick knit. Maybe I should put away all my WIPs and only work on 2 or 3 for the rest of the month.

June Report and July's Plan

In June I said I would work on each of the following WIPs for at least 2 hours.

1. Deirdre Shawl (knitting) - yes
2. Ishbel Shawl (knitting) - finished
3. Lime Vanilla Socks (knitting) - yes
4. Tapestry Ribbon Bag (knitting) - yes
5. Monthly Musings (cross-stitching) - yes (almost finished)
6. The Big Zipper (cross-stitching) -no
7. Their Song (cross-stitching) - yes
8. Needlecase (stitching) - yes
9. Stitch Marker Holder (stitching) - yes
10. Jelly Roll Bag (sewing) - no

Well the plan sort of worked; I managed to work on all of the WIPs with the exception of The Big Zipper and the Jelly Roll Bag. Ishbel has been completed and Monthly Musings just needs to be washed; ironed and have the buttons added.

July's Project List

1. Deirdre Shawl (knitting)
2. Rainbow Cable Socks (knitting)
3. Lime Vanilla Socks (knitting)
4. Tapestry Ribbon Bag (knitting)
5. Charity Knitting (knitting)
6. Monthly Musings (cross-stitching)
7. The Big Zipper (cross-stitching)
8. Summer Banner (cross-stitching)
9. Their Song (cross-stitching)
10. Needlecase (stitching)
11. Stitch Marker Holder (stitching)
12. Jelly Roll Bag (sewing)

The plan is to spend a minimum of 2 hours on each of the above projects; if a miracle occurs and I actually manage to finish a project I might allow myself to add in a replacement project. The only other thing that I plan to do is to wash Monthly Musings and the tiny sampler which I finished the stitching on in June & add the buttons.

Ishbel Completed

The past weekend was spent in the company of 13 stitching friends in the Derbyshire countryside. While away in between all the gossiping; giggling and eating I did manage to get some knitting and stitching done. I finished my Ishbel shawl; finished the stitching on Monthly Musings (it is now being washed then once dry & ironed I will put the buttons on and it will be completed); made progress on my Ribbon bag (one of the 4 balls of yarn has now been used up) and started & finished a small stitching project; which is also being washed.

Pattern: Ishbel by Ysolda Teague

Yarn: Wendy Happy in Virgo

Started: 25th April 2010

Finished: 12th June 2010

I think I will definately be knitting another of these as once I had got the hang of the pattern it was a really enjoyable knit. I think the next one I do will be the larger size and maybe in a lace weight yarn.

New Addiction

Last night was the first night of a 3d felting class that I am taking at the local arts centre and I already think I might be addicted. I have never done any felting before, although I have cast-on for a knitted felt bag, but even after a single 2 hour class I think I might be addicted. When I got home last night instead of doing the sensible thing and going to bed I spent several hours looking at supplies; project ideas etc. and then went to bed to dream of felting. I am going to try and not buy too much in way of felting stash until I have finished at least a few projects. But have allowed myself a trip to the bookstore during my lunch hour where I purchased a felting book; I nearly purchased several but managed to limit myself to just one. For the time being I am going to try and limit my wet felting experiments to the class as I really need to make progress on some knitting, stitching and sewing projects (and I am not even thinking about my beading supplies & WIPs).

Best Laid Plans

As always seems to happen to me as soon as I decide on a new plan to tackle my of WIPs and my stash mountain something comes along to put paid to them. This time the need for change came a lot sooner than expected and from an unusual source. Last night my mother called (not in itself an unusual occurrence) asking if I would mind doing some knitting for her. My mother very very rarely asks me for anything and usually is the first one to encourage me to reduce the amount of knitting stuff that I have lying around the house. A charity that her church supports which provides aid to street children in South America have been offered some space in a shipping crate so need lots of hats; scarves & mittens for children up to the age of 5 years. They also want to send out cot blankets. So I am going to be adding Charity Knitting as an 11th project in my rotation.

WIP Overload

Following my knitting stash organising I decided to make a start on organising the pile of knitting WIPs and the stitching & sewing WIPs & stash. Well quite quickly I decided to stop as I became rather overwhelmed with the amount of projects I have part down and also with the amount of stuff I have lying around untouched. Instead I have decided to pack everything away in boxes and to start a rotation of sorts. I am throwing out my monthly goals and the new plan is to select a maximum of 10 WIPs to work on each month (everything else will stay packed away). I then have to spend a minimum of 2 hours on each project. If I manage to get 2 hours done on each WIP I will then reward myself by starting a new small / quick project. If I manage to finish a project I will add in another WIP, if I manage to finish more than one project I will reward myself by starting a new project.

This months WIPs are going to be:

1. Deirdre Shawl (knitting)
2. Ishbel Shawl (knitting)
3. Lime Vanilla Socks (knitting)
4. Tapestry Ribbon Bag (knitting)
5. Monthly Musings (cross-stitching)
6. The Big Zipper (cross-stitching)
7. Their Song (cross-stitching)
8. Needlecase (stitching)
9. Stitch Marker Holder (stitching)
10. Jelly Roll Bag (sewing)

Tonight I think I am going to work on either the Lime Vanilla Socks or the Deirdre Shawl.

Stash Busting Time

Well I have finally gotten around to organising my considerable yarn stash. All the yarn has been sorted by type & weight. A large suitcase jammed full of winter yarn & acrylic has been shipped off to my parents for storage and the rest has been put away in crates and a chest. I have even gone so far as to put about 2/3rd onto my Ravelry pages, I might get around to adding the remainder at some stage or may just add it as I knit it. Now that I have all the yarn organised I really need to get a lot of it knitted into something rather than just have it taking up space. It does seem that a side affect of having organised my yarn is the uncontrollable urge to cast-on dozens of projects as there were some forgotten gems among the stash. Along side the gems there are a few (make that several) yarns which I am not sure why I purchased them or what I will ever knit with them but I can not bring myself to throw them away.

The first project I have cast on is:

Pattern: Jessie Ribbon Bag from Rowan Felted Collection
Yarn: Rowan Tapestry in colour 174
Cast-on: 02-June-2010

I have slightly deviated from the pattern by knitting the first 3 rows (and I will knit the last 3) as I do not like the way the bag appears to roll at the top even after felting in the pictures I have seen of this bag. Also in the dye-lot I have cast-on with I only have 4 balls while the pattern calls for 5. I have another 10 balls in the same colour way from a different dye-lot. As the bag is constructed from one large knitted panel my plan is to knit till I have used up 2 balls then if I think it is going to be too short I will use a ball from the other dye-lot then use up the two remaining balls from the dye-lot I have cast on with. There does not seem to be much visible difference between the dye-lots and I think it will be even less noticeable once the knitting has been felted.

As this is a very easy (read potentially boring) project my plan is to try and knit at least 6 rows every day till it is done. If I don’t knit at least a little bit on it each day I can see myself getting so far then putting it away for a long time although, at the moment, I am excited to get it in the washing machine & try out felting for the first time. Hopefully I will not get diverted from my plan to knit through my stash by any new yarn purchases or by starting too many projects. The next thing I am going to organise is my pile of knitting WIPs and maybe create a rotation (with slots for new starts of course) in order to try and actually finish some projects.

May Report and June Goals

May Report

Well as predicted I made virtually no progress on my May goals only managing to complete one goal (knit a pair of socks) although I have made a start on organising my knitting stash. So June's goals are going to be a repeat of May's with the exception being that I have decided that I am far to behind on the KA KAL that I have absolutely no chance of catching up so I have dropped out.

April Goals

Stitching
1. Finish Monthly Musings
2. Make progress on The Big Zipper
3. Finish Knitting Goddess Needle Holder
4. Finish Knitting Goddess Stitch Marker Holder
5. Start one small project from stash
Knitting
1. Finish Mae's yellow cardigan
2. Make progress on lace long sleeved cardigan
3. Make progress on cabled jacket
4. Finish Ishbel Shawl
5. Cast-0n and finish a project using yarn from stash
Other
1. Organise my knitting; beading; stitching and sewing stash
2. Finish at least one quilting /patchwork / sewing project
3. Decorate my bathroom

Sunny Saturday

I have woken up to brilliant sunshine which matches my mood. Work has been super busy for the last few weeks which has meant long working hours and working at the weekends. Thankfully though we managed to get what needed doing done this past week so for the foreseeable future I am back to just working a 40 hour week. My crafting (and housework) has been somewhat neglected while work has been taking most of my waking hours so I am rather behind on achieving Mays goals but hopefully this weekend I will be able to make some good progress. First thing I am going to do is make a start on my de-cluttering and organising.

A Pair

Pattern: Basic Ribbed Socks by WiseHilda
Yarn: Opal Magic

Started: 1st May 2010
Finished: 15th May 2010

I think I must just have set a record; I have managed to start and complete a pair of socks within a few weeks. Normally when knitting socks I seem to finish the first one then take a break of several months before even starting the second one. I am really pleased with how these have turned out and rather like the mis-matched look. As usual I have a lot of yarn left from the 100gram ball I started with so may well be knitting a pair of trainer socks from the same yarn.

As predicted work is rather frantically busy; which means that I am having to work longer than normal hours and including working at the weekends. This means that I am feeling very tired and stressed out plus my crafting time has been severally reduced. In order to cheer myself up I have decided that I need to start some new projects and so last night cast on a new triangular scarf using a couple of balls of Regia Design Line Kaffe Fascet yarn in the Molten Earth colour way from my stash.

Pattern: Goddess Shawl by the Knitting Goddess
Yarn: Regia Design Line in Mirage Earth
Started: 12th May 2010
WIP

Although this is a great project to have cast-on given my current mood and very tired state, as it is relatively simple but with enough to keep me interested I think I might have to cast-on something else in a more cheerful colour. So I am off to go and have a look through my stash and see what grabs me.

Half A HD

I feel like I might be coming down with a bad case of startitis; so in order to try and stop myself starting dozen of things on Sunday I cast on a pair of simple ribbed socks with a ball of yarn which has been languising in my stash for far too long. This afternoon I managed to finish the first sock and have cast on the second; hope to get most of the knitting on the second sock finished this evening while watching the election results.

Since it would be really difficult to match-up the socks 100%; especially given the one row of pink after the heel on the first sock, I have decided to just go with the flow and started the second sock about were I finished the first so will end up with mis-matched socks.

And finally I have gotten around to blocking my Flames scarf.

Warm & Cosy Flames

Started: 11 Jan 2010

Finished: 24th April 2010

Pattern: Winter Flame by Juliet Romeo Juliet

Yarn: The Knitting Goddess 4ply Sock Yarn in Warm & Cosy colourway

The pattern is a free one I found on Ravelry and I am not sure if it available anywhere else.

April Report and May Goals

My goals for April were:

Stitching

1. Finish Monthly Musings; No progress
2. Make progress on The Big Zipper; No progress
3. Finish Knitting Goddess Needle Holder; stiching finished just needs making up
4. Start & finish Knitting Goddess Stitch Marker Holder; started

Knitting

1. Finish red marble short sleeved jumper; Yes finished and has been worn
2. Finish Mae's yellow cardigan; have made a little progress
3. Make progress on lace long sleeved cardigan; not even picked this project up
4. Make progress on cabled jacket: as with the lace caridgan
5. Finish Blur Easy Lace Scarf; finished
6. Finish Flames scarf; finished the knitting and is currently being blocked
7. Make progress on at least on project for the Knitter's Anonymous Knit Along; Yes Ishbel has been cast-on and is now at the lace section

Other

1. Organise my knitting; beading; stitching and sewing stash; Not done
2. Finish at least one quilting /patchwork / sewing project; No
3. Decorate my bathroom; No
4. Make at least 4 posts to this blog; Yes

So in all I managed to finish 5 of the 15 goals I set myself and made a small amount of progress towards completing a few others. I did also manage to finish one pair of socks which have been a WIP since last November and I gave away the left over yarn to a friend in my knitting group who is making a sock blanket.

May is going to be very busy work wise so I am going to try and be a little less ambitious in my goal setting while still giving myself plenty of choice of things to do otherwise I will just end up doing something not on the list.

Stitching

1. Finish Monthly Musings
2. Make progress on The Big Zipper
3. Finish Knitting Goddess Needle Holder
4. Finish Knitting Goddess Stitch Marker Holder
5. Start one small project from stash

Knitting

1. Finish Mae's yellow cardigan
2. Make progress on lace long sleeved cardigan
3. Make progress on cabled jacket
4. Finish Ishbel Shawl
5. Cast-on 2nd project for the KA KAL
6. Cast-0n and finish a pair of socks using yarn from stash

Other

1. Organise my knitting; beading; stitching and sewing stash
2. Finish at least one quilting /patchwork / sewing project
3. Decorate my bathroom
   

Train Journeys and Crafting

Pattern: Peekaboo Socks by Tracie Dawkins

Yarn: Rico Designs Superba Print 4-ply (less than 0.5 of 10gram ball used)

Started: 28th November 2009

Finished: 30th April 2010

Each morning I have a 20 minute train journey into the office which is a perfect time do a little bit of crafting as I can not sit doing nothing for even 5 minutes. But I have discovered that I have to have just the right project with me. I do not like knitting on straight needles as there is always the risk of hitting those sitting around me so knitting projects have to be either on short dpns or circulars. Additionally knitting patterns have to have short rows as I do not like stopping mid-row; and an easy to remember pattern as juggling my knitting, my handbag, my laptop plus a knitting pattern is not always practicable on a busy commuter train. Stitching on the train is also out as there are too many items to juggle with. Having finished my flames scarf and got Ishbel to the start of the lace section I needed another project for the train this week so picked up a long neglected WIP, Peekaboo socks. The first sock in this pair was cast-on sometime in 2009 as I had planned to make several pairs of socks as Christmas gifts but never got around to completing them in time. But this week I have managed to complete the second sock.

These socks are now on their way to a friend of mine who is having a rough time at the moment as I thought they might cheer her up a little bit.

Knitting - Progress Being Made.

I have finished the knitting on the Flames scarf and the scarf is currently being blocked. Work has been progressing, slowly, on the cardigan that I am knitting for my niece.

I have worked out why I am not moving faster on this – I hate the edging it looks (well will) look great but is a pain to do. As my niece is coming to stay at the weekend I have set myself the task of at least getting the main parts completed; I currently have the back & right front completed so finishing the sleeves and left front should be do-able in 3 days.

As a reward for finishing a couple of projects I cast on my first project for the Knitters Anonymous KAL on Ravelry which I am participating in. My chosen project is Ishbel by Ysolda which I am knitting in Wendy Happy 4-ply yarn in the Virgo colourway. This is a pattern which I have been admiring for a long time but have never gotten the courage to start before now. It is my first attempt at a triangular shawl and I already know that it will not be my last. After a false start because I did not like the yarn I had initially chosen it is now knitting up very fast and I think if I did not get distracted by other things could easily be finished within a week of starting.

Pattern: Ishbel by Ysolda
Yarn: Wendy Happy in Virgo
Started: 25th April 2010

Another Finish

I seem to be on a role at the moment and have managed to complete the short sleeved jumper I had been knitting for myself; if I had worked on it consistently it would have been a quick project but at usual I kept getting distracted by other projects. I have also very nearly finished the Flames scarf and once I have done so I think I will reward myself for having managed to complete 3 projects by casting on a new one. Over on Ravelry I have joined a group called Knitters Annoymous which is currently holding a 3 month KAL; the idea is that during April, May and June we each knit a baby item, a pair of socks, a pair of gloves and a shawl or wrap. But the twist is that the chosen pattern for each item has to start with 4 adjoining letters of the alphabet. My starting point is going to be an Ishbel shawl; once that is completed I shall decide on my other 3 patterns.

Pattern: Sider Leaflet No 9067

Yarn: James Brett Marble Chunky

Finished: 20-April-2010

Progress to Report

Easy Blur Scarf

Started: ????

Completed: 12 April 2010

Pattern One Row Lace Scarf by Turvid

Yarn: Sirdar Blur (from my stash)

Progress has been made!! I have managed to finish my blur scarf; it was knit from one ball of Sirdar Blur yarn using a free pattern I found on Ravelry called One Row Lace Scarf. The pattern is really simple yet effective and is just the right sort of project for taking with me on the train journey to / from work. The scarf was not made with any one in mind but will be added to the basket in which I keep hand crafted items which will one day be gifted to either a friend or family member. Finishing this scarf means that there is one less ball of yarn in my stash and 5 gifts in my basket.

As well as completing the blur scarf I have also made progress with the Flames scarf; WIP picture below and almost completed the sleeveless jumper which I am knitting for myself in James Brett Marble chunky. Tonight I hope to complete the jumper so that I can wear it when I go to knitting club on Saturday.

Warm & Cosy Flames
Started: 11 Jan 2010
WIP
Pattern: Winter Flame by Juliet Romeo Juliet
Yarn: The Knitting Goddess 4ply Sock Yarn in Warm & Cosy colourway

April

I can not believe how fast this year is going and I don't seem to have made much progress with all my crafting other than to start lots more projects and to buy lots more stash. So in an attempt to get more focus I have decided to set myself some goals.

In no particular order in April I would like to:

Stitching

1. Finish Monthly Musings
2. Make progress on The Big Zipper
3. Finish Knitting Goddess Needle Holder
4. Start & finish Knitting Goddess Stitch Marker Holder

Knitting

1. Finish red marble short sleeved jumper
2. Finish Mae's yellow cardigan
3. Make progress on lace long sleeved cardigan
4. Make progress on cabled jacket
5. Finish Blur Easy Lace Scarf
6. Finish Flames scarf
7. Make progress on at least on project for the Knitter's Anonymous Knit Along

Other

1. Organise my knitting; beading; stitching and sewing stash
2. Finish at least one quilting /patchwork / sewing project
3. Decorate my bathroom
4. Make at least 4 (not including this one) posts to this blog

Having made the list it looks rather long so I would be pleased to at complete at least half of them this month; the remaining goals can be carried over into May.