little bit of crazy leaking out

What the heck was I thinking?  Great idea, so much fun at the time, felt hung over the entire next day.  I think I’m getting to old . . .

I arrived just after 6pm, found a corner, cast on for my third Steppe Sweater (pdf) and got down to the business of knitting.   There were 20+ knitters, coffee, tea, and lots of food.  What a great combination!

While we knitted TMK blogged, so you can see the details here. (Did you know TMK is thinking of getting chickens?  Isn’t that great!  I almost had her convinced getting a duck to eat the slugs would be a great idea, but I think Ryan nixed that idea.  BTW, ducks lay eggs too, and they’re great for baking.)

The later (or earlier) it got them fewer of us there were.  I finally gave up at 4:30am, Jessica and I walked out at the same time.  When you have to think about how to do garter stitch you know it’s time to throw in the towel.  This is as far I made it on the Steppe Sweater . . .

. . . the body up to the armholes, one side of the front, and 1/2 of the other side of the front. For a size 10-13yrs, I figure that’s not to shabby for one night’s knitting.

I slept until about 11, but, as I mentioned brfore, felt hung over for the rest of the day.  Ugh!  Never again.  Well, maybe never.

April was a good month for Dulaan Project knitting; hats and socks seem to have been the prefered projects.

• 1 dishcloth  
• Moss Grid Hand Towel
• 10 hats for Dulaan
• 10 Magic 28 socks (2 pair + 6)  (and below)
• Avalanche Vest (see below soon)

It wasn’t the best month for the fiber/yarn stash, between the Knitting Expo and the Cascade Yarns Warehouse sale, maybe it’s best we just don’t talk about it.

Magic 28: socks 7-10

    

    

Avalanche Vest

(photo soon)

pattern:  Avalanche Vest (pdf)
yarn:  Brown Sheep Burley Spun Lotus Pink (from stash)
notes:  Quick knit, great pattern.

. . . and it has been all about the charity knitting (and joining more KALs, I am a sucker fot the KALs).

First, I joined the Charmed Knits KAL and knit these Slytherin hats.

All three are knit from the House Hat Pattern at the Charmed Knits KAL blog.  I really enjoyed knitting the 2 beanies, the double decreases are neat and make the hats just a little different from the average beanie.  The beret, I have to say, wasn’t my favorite.  It was quick enough to knit, I just wasn’t thrilled the finished product.  This is totally a personal preference, I like a flatter top on a beret.

Which lead to knitting more hats for the Dulaan Project.

The top five hats are from some skeins of Kid ‘n Ewe from my stash.  The yarn was originally purchased to knit a sweater for my daughter, but I didn’t knit it, and she grew.  Darn kids.  No real pattern just a basic hat.

The bottom two hats were knit from some Brown Sheep Burley Spun, also from stash, using the Avalanche Hat pattern(pdf).  The bottom hat is just a variation on the pattern. 

Then I joined Norma’s Magic 28 KAL, and knit up some socks for Dulaan.  I see this KAL as an excuse to use up some of my sock yarn stash.  I doubled the yarn and it works perfectly. 

    
Pairs 1 and 2 were knitted from discontinued Knit Picks sock yarn I bought a year or so ago ~ Paper Dolls and Daffodil.  I am able to get a pair from one skein (220yds) of yarn.

    
Socks 5 and 6 were knitted from Knit Picks Pansey.  The first sock I knit double stranded without matching the colors, the second I did match the colors.  I have another skein and will knit up matching socks from it.

I’ve started keeping a Magic 28 sock by the computer, so I can work on one while surfing blogs, and I keep one in my purse for knitting emergencies.

February FOs:

• Dulaan Cardigan (not sure if this is going to get ripped, so no picture, but for now it is a FO)
• Steppe Sweater
• 2 dishcloths - MDBB and 4 Corner
• 7 hats for Dulaan  (4 here & 3 below)
• Steppe Sweater 2 (see below)
• KPS socks for Bubba

Well, not a bad month overall.  Knit up lots more than I bought, by almost 30 skeins!  Woohoo, watch that stash disappear!  Okay so 10 of that was Baby Ull I sold to a friend, but still . . .

pattern: Steppe Sweater(pdf)
yarn: Avalanch Yarn
cast on:  Feb 17th  cast off:  Feb 24th
notes:  Knit as written, except for doing intarsia in the placket. 

pattern:  In a Flap Hat (hats on left)
yarn: Elann Peruvian Highland Chunky (small blue/gray hat)
          Kraemer Yarns Mauch Chunky (gray/red hat)
pattern:  Avalanch Hat Pattern (pdf) (hat on right)
yarn: Elann Peruvian Highland Chunky
cast on/off:  February sometime

  

I have been knitting, but the kids were home on mid-winter break last week so I didn’t really have time to blog.  Or, maybe, I just didn’t make time would be more accurate.

My parents took the kids for a sleepover on Thursday so I was able to go to the Thursday morning knitting group at VYT.  It was nice to see the gals again, it’s been months since I have been able to attend.  After knitting group I got my nails filled (boy, did they need it) and while wondering what to do after that I drove past the hair stylist’s.  The hair was getting way to long, many days I had been reduced to the twist and clip method of hair styling . . . so chic.  Ended up having 8″ of hair cut off and it’s still down past my chin. 

I drove home, went in the house, realized hubby was going to be working late, kids were with the g’parent and the yarn shop was open late on Thursdays.  Back into the car and back to VYT for some more knitting with a few of my favorite knitters; Amy, Brad and Ellen.  If I start hanging out there any more they are going to put me to work . . . hmm, employee yarn discount. 

While at VYT (all day) I did happen to find one or two things to bring home with me.  First, some Cascade 220 in a bright spring green for a cardigan for Bug.  I’m planning on doing my first steek (eek), an EZ seamless yoke cardigan with some colorwork in spring colors. 

Second, sock yarn, very cute sock yarn.  Do I really need more sock yarn?  Apparently, the answer is:  yes, I do. 

The last thing I brought home is The Yarn Girls Guide to Knits for Older Kids.   I love this book!  I really like the fact that each pattern is shown knit up in “boy colors” and “girl colors”.   Also, following the Yarn Girl tradition, these patterns are knit up at bulky gauges, this means fast knitting folks.  There are many sweaters I want to knit from this book, mostly for my kids but a couple of the patterns would be great for use with the Avalanche Yarn for Dulaan.

Friday I went with the folks and the kiddos to the zoo.  It was nice but I was exhausted by the time we left.  Bubba can be quite a handful, even when the adult child ratio is 3:2.   While surfing blogs I happened across Pat’s blog and saw her yarn inventory.  I had been going through my stash looking for yarn for several patterns in my new book, gee, wouldn’t an inventory be handy. 

I mentioned this idea, of making a yarn inventory, to some of the Saturday morning knitters.  The idea was met with raised eyebrows and wide eyes.  Saturday evening and Sunday morning I sorted and recorded and set up a spreadsheet.  I’m thinking not actually knowing what was hiding in my stash would have been a better idea.  Also, adding up the yardage and converting it to miles was a really bad idea.  Trust me, I know of what I speak.

Iconfirmed that I have to much sock yarn.  I have to many small amounts of yarn, one or two balls of this and that.  I am getting rid of a few things, a friend of mine wanted my Baby Ull for knitting baby things.  I originally bought it for some stranded knitting that I never got around to starting, so it’s hers.  I also matched up some patterns with some of the stash. 

I finished knitting up another Steppe Sweater(pdf) for Dulaan, I’ll post pics as soon as I finish weaving in the last of the ends.  Last night I cast on these socks while watching Texas Chainsaw Massacre: the Beginning.  Now, I like a good slasher movie as much as the next person, but this one was just over the top, so lots of knitting got done.  I finished them this morning.  Nothing like knitting kids socks with dk wt yarn, they just fly off the needles.

pattern: Knitting Pure & Simple Easy Children’s Socks
yarn: Plymouth Encore DK
needles: Clover Bamboo US4
cast on: February 24th  cast off: February 25th 

Now I just need to figure out what to start on next; sweater for me, sweater for one of the kids, socks for me, socks for kids, more Dulaan knitting . . . the possibilities are endless, but I did wind this up today. . .

or here is another view . . .

Blue Moon Fiber Arts
Socks That Rock Heavyweight
Highway 30

pattern: none - basic 2×2 ribbed hat
yarn: Cascade Pastaza
notes: With the yarn doubled these hats were super quick to knit, each one took an evening.  Each one used up most of a skein of yarn, great for using up those single skeins of yarn sitting in the stash. 

The green hat is knit the same as above, but from Kraemer Yarns Mauch Chunky.

The helmet:
pattern: Q&E Helmet, Patons Kids Hip Hop
yarn: Plymouth Encore
notes: Quick and easy to knit, pattern is written for flat knitting, but, it’s a hat, I knit it in the round.  I don’t think I will knit it again, though the pattern is perfectly serviceable, instead I think I will use Tammy’s In a Flap Cap.

pattern: Steppe Sweater(pdf)
yarn: Avalanch Yarn
cast on:  Feb 5th  cast off:  Feb 8th
notes:  Knit as written, except for doing intarsia in the placket.  I’ll be knitting up more of these, quick and warm.

    

The Tomten is finished at last.

 

pattern:  Tomten by Elizabeth Zimmermann
yarn:  Dulaan Avalanche Yarn 
cast on:  December ‘06   cast off:  January 31st
notes:  Bubba isn’t frowning, he’s saying cheese, sort of.  This is one warm/heavy jacket and I forgot how much yarn garter stitch eats up.  I prolly could have used less buttons, but I didn’t want it to gap in the cold Mongolian winters.