End May/June Plans

I made great progress during the last week of May. I finished my Cassidy Cardigan and love it except for the excessively long sleeves. Then, I finished my Buttercup top out of Cotton Fleece from a recycled project. I knit the original during the winter Olympics in 2002. Then ripped it out and reknit it into a wrap cardigan last spring. It was too baggy, so I used the leftovers to start Buttercup and then had to rip out some of the wrap sweater to finish. The wrap sweater was then frogged back to the underarms and is being reknit (for the second time) to become the third (or is it fourth?) version of the sweater. On the upside, this yarn holds up to lots of reknitting. I'm hoping it will be a quick FO and #9 in my quest for 12 sweaters in 2009.

#10 will be a sweater out of some lovely Plucky Knitter 50% silk/50% merino fingering weight yarn in a Peacock color. Yum. It is nice to balance out the fine yarns with thicker yarns, and vice versa. I'll probably do #11 in either my Sundara FSM in a new shade from the Limited Edition color Music of the Night or my sock yarn LE Second Look. I'll be getting some Black over Violet soon too, which may not wait its turn in the queue.

Sweaters/big projects= 9 of 12 (#s for NaKniSweMoDo only):
1. Blue Brooks Farm Solo (EZ set in sleeve, v-neck sweater)-completed 1/12/09
2. Black Cascade 109 (SweaterBabe Vine Lace Cardigan)-completed 2/11/09
3. Plucky Knitter Merino Sock (top down u-neck)-completed 3/2/09
a. Blues Cascade 109 (Kiki Rug/Mason Dixon book)-completed 3/13/09
4. Ruby Port Sundara FSM (Henley Perfected Sweater)-completed 3/15/09
5. Savoir Faire Plucky Knitter MCN Sport (top down W. Bernard-style)-completed 4/20/09
6. Black Parade Smooshy Sock (Featherweight Cardigan)-completed 5/18/09
7. Tan Ella Rae Worsted (Cassidy cabled cardigan)-completed 5/25/09
8. Plum Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (Buttercup top)-completed 5/29/09
9. Plum Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (3rd try sweater)-started 5/30/09
10. Peacock Plucky Knitter fingering 50 silk/50 merino-swatched
. Grey Cascade 220
. Black Cascade 220
. Black Cascade 109 sweater #2
. LE Lady in Waiting Sundara Sport Merino (want to trade)
. LE Second Look Sundara Sock
. LE Music of the Night Sundara FSM
. Black over Violet Sundara FSM (arriving July)
. Handspun grey salish wool (or several options to choose from)
. Reassemble Drops Cardigan (steek & chop off the excess body width)
. Noro (recycled from vest-felted bag?)

For others projects=10 of 12
1. Tan Louet fingering (Jon socks)-completed 1/19/09
2. Tan Louet sport (Jon socks)-completed 2/27/09
3. Tan Louet sport (Mom socks)-completed 3/1/09
4. Velvet Grapes Malabrigo chunky (mom's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/16/09
5. Cuarzo Malabrigo worsted (mom's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/16/09
6. Tuareg Malabrigo worsted (Sam's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/2/09
7. Black Plucky Knitter MCN worsted (Jon hat)-completed 3/3/09
8. Black Walnut Pigeon Roof Studios sock (Jon socks)-completed 3/22/09
9. Cordovan Malabrigo (Jon socks)-completed 4/13/09
10. MadTosh Scarlet Sock (Joan's fruit loops socks)-completed 4/21/09
. Plucky Knitter Merino Sock Nessie (Jon socks)
. Knit Picks Essentials Kettle Dyed Black (Jon socks)
. MadTosh Worsted Silver Fox (hat?)

Cassidy NaKniSweMoDo #7
Buttercup NaKniSweMoDo #8

Mid May Report
I finished my Featherweight Sweater and it was a fast knit! I may make another light sweater out of lace weight in the future, or convert a similar pattern to sock yarn. Now back to my Cassidy sweater which keeps getting shelved. I need to figure out the front neck w/o the hood, so I'm doing the back before the other front (two sleeves are already done). Getting distracted and a bit bored, so now I have nothing else on the needles so that I can get a bit more done on it. The cabling and shaping is just complicated enough that I need to pay attention, but not enough to really drive me forward like other projects can. Periodic breaks seem to be a good approach for this one, which is sort of how I did the Lace Henley in February/March.

Sweaters/big projects= 7 of 12 (#s for NaKniSweMoDo only):
1. Blue Brooks Farm Solo (EZ set in sleeve, v-neck sweater)-completed 1/12/09
2. Black Cascade 109 (SweaterBabe Vine Lace Cardigan)-completed 2/11/09
3. Plucky Knitter Merino Sock (top down v-neck)-completed 3/2/09
a. Blues Cascade 109 (Kiki Rug/Mason Dixon book)-completed 3/13/09
4. Ruby Port Sundara FSM (Henley Perfected Sweater)-completed 3/15/09
5. Savoir Faire Plucky Knitter MCN Sport (top down W. Bernard-style)-completed 4/20/09
6. Black Parade Smooshy Sock (Featherweight Cardigan)-completed 5/18/09
7. Tan Ella Rae Worsted (Cassidy cabled cardigan)-started 4/10/09
. Grey Cascade 220
. Black Cascade 220
. AC Lady in Waiting Sundara Sport Merino (going to trade)
. AC Second Look Sundara Sock (may trade?)
. AC Tales of Wonder Sundara FSM (traded ASM Black Cherry for this)
. Black Cascade 109 sweater #2
. Handspun grey salish wool (or several options to choose from)
. Reassemble Drops Cardigan (steek & chop off the excess body width)
. Plum Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (recycled 500 yds-summer top?)
. Noro (recycled from vest-felted bag?)

For others projects=10 of 12
1. Tan Louet fingering (Jon socks)-completed 1/19/09
2. Tan Louet sport (Jon socks)-completed 2/27/09
3. Tan Louet sport (Mom socks)-completed 3/1/09
4. Velvet Grapes Malabrigo chunky (mom's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/16/09
5. Cuarzo Malabrigo worsted (mom's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/16/09
6. Tuareg Malabrigo worsted (Sam's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/2/09
7. Black Plucky Knitter MCN worsted (Jon hat)-completed 3/3/09
8. Black Walnut Pigeon Roof Studios sock (Jon socks)-completed 3/22/09
9. Cordovan Malabrigo (Jon socks)-completed 4/13/09
10. MadTosh Scarlet Sock (Joan's fruit loops socks)-completed 4/21/09
. Plucky Knitter Merino Sock Nessie (Jon socks)
. Knit Picks Essentials Kettle Dyed Black (Jon socks)
. MadTosh Worsted Silver Fox (hat?)

End April/May Plans

I finally got back into the swing of things and picked my nexted two projects. I ran out of yarn on the Plucky MCN Sport sweater, but finished it with shorter sleeves. I bought a pattern -Cassidy- and love being able to follow a pattern and not rewriting it. Coming up with patterns from scratch was getting tiring.

A recap: sweaters/big projects= 6 of 12; for others projects=10 of 12

Sweaters or big projects:
1. Blue Brooks Farm Solo (EZ set in sleeve, v-neck sweater)-completed 1/12/09
2. Black Cascade 109 (SweaterBabe Vine Lace Cardigan)-completed 2/11/09
3. Plucky Knitter Merino Sock (top down v-neck)-completed 3/2/09
4. Blues Cascade 109 Rug (Kiki/Mason Dixon book)-completed 3/13/09
5. Ruby Port Sundara FSM (Henley Perfected Sweater)-completed 3/15/09
6. Plucky Knitter MCN Sport Savoir Faire (top down W. Bernard-style)-completed 4/20/09
7. Tan Ella Rae (Cassidy cabled cardigan)-started 4/10/09
. Grey Cascade 220
. Black Cascade 220
. Smooshy Black Sock (Featherweight Cardigan)
. Artist Choice Lady in Waiting Sundara Sport Merino (going to trade)
. Second Look Sundara Sock
. Black Cherry Sundara ASM (or whatever I trade it for)
. Second black Cascade 109 sweater
. Reassemble Drops Cardigan (steek & chop off the excess body width)
. Handspun grey salish wool (or several options to choose from)

For others:
1. Tan Louet fingering (Jon socks)-completed 1/19/09
2. Tan Louet sport (Jon socks)-completed 2/27/09
3. Tan Louet sport (Mom socks)-completed 3/1/09
4. Velvet Grapes Malabrigo chunky (mom's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/16/09
5. Cuarzo Malabrigo worsted (mom's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/16/09
6. Tuareg Malabrigo worsted (Sam's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/2/09
7. Black Plucky Knitter MCN worsted (Jon hat)-completed 3/3/09
8. Black Walnut Pigeon Roof Studios sock (Jon socks)-completed 3/22/09
9. Cordovan Malabrigo (Jon socks)-completed 4/13/09
10. MadTosh Scarlet Sock (Joan's fruit loops socks)-completed 4/21/09
. Plucky Knitter Merino Sock Nessie (Jon socks)
. Knit Picks Essentials Kettle Dyed Black (Jon socks)
. MadTosh Worsted Silver Fox (hat?)

Smaller FO-
I worked on my Sundara Sock-Night Blossom Lace-Rib Socks in the Grand Canyon. Halfway done on those.
Plucky Sweater #6
Cordovan Socks for Jon #9
Scarlet MadTosh Socks for Joan #10
Sundara Sock and the Grand Canyon

End March/April Plans

Well, the second half of March was a weird one from the knitting perspective. I lost the wind in my sweater sails and decided to take a break. Nothing seemed to match up pattern/yarn wise and rather than commit to a yucky project I decided to work on a few smaller projects for me...with mixed results.

A recap: sweaters/big projects= 5 of 12, for others projects=8 of 12

Sweaters or big projects:
1. Blue Brooks Farm Solo (EZ set in sleeve, v-neck sweater)-completed 1/12/09
2. Black Cascade 109 (SweaterBabe Vine Lace Cardigan)-completed 2/11/09
3. Plucky Knitter Merino Sock (top down v-neck)-completed 3/2/09
4. Blues Cascade 109 Rug (Kiki/Mason Dixon book)-completed 3/13/09
5. Ruby Port Sundara FSM (Henley Perfected Sweater)-completed 3/15/09
6. Plucky Knitter MCN Sport Savoir Faire (top down W. Bernard-style)-started 4/1/09
. Grey Cascade 220
. Black Cascade 220
. Tan Ella Rae
. Artist Choice Sundara Sport Merino
. Second Look Sundara Sock
. Second black Cascade 109 sweater
. Reassemble Drops Cardigan (steek & chop off the excess body width)
. Handspun grey salish wool (or several options to choose from)

For others:
1. Tan Louet fingering (Jon socks)-completed 1/19/09
2. Tan Louet sport (Jon socks)-completed 2/27/09
3. Tan Louet sport (Mom socks)-completed 3/1/09
4. Velvet Grapes Malabrigo chunky (mom's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/16/09
5. Cuarzo Malabrigo worsted (mom's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/16/09
6. Tuareg Malabrigo worsted (Sam's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/2/09
7. Black Plucky Knitter MCN worsted (Jon hat)-completed 3/3/09
8. Black Walnut Pigeon Roof Studios sock (Jon socks)-completed 3/22/09
9. Cordovan Malabrigo (Jon socks)-started
. Plucky Knitter Merino Sock Nessie (Jon socks)

Smaller FO-
-I made an Ishbel scarf out of Zen Yarn Garden Serenity (MCN base) yarn. Whoa, did that yarn bleed! I am actually sending it back to resteam/set the dye.
-I also knit up an awesome hat (rinsessa-pipo) from Ulla-a Finnish knitting online mag. It is Plucky Knitter MCN Worsted. Love it dearly.
-I knit up Pointsettia from Knitty in the scraps of my Sundara FSM Ruby Port. Love that base so much!
=Three red/burgundy projects in a row! Pretty funny, but I love that color and I have a pair of mittens that needed a hat/scarf combo for years. If the scarf can get set, it will be lovely. Ishbel is a great & fun pattern.
-Made a pair of purple socks from Tess's Twinkle Toes and a Nancy Buch (Vintage Socks) pattern/Silk Socks for a 5 or 6 year old. Very pretty, but the yarn showed quite a bit of wear after the first wearing. :(




My Kiki rug is still sitting in the corner in a time out. I really need to give it one more run in the washer to felt the edges. Also a bit disappointing! Oh well, so goes life sometimes.

April goals:
-make the next sweater
-finish Jon's socks in Cordovan and start the Nessie ones.
-figure out an Aran to make with my grey Cascade 220 and do some swatching.
-get Kiki felted and sew down the edges.

Mid March Update

Hooray for finishing what you start! I completed a few big projects and really am happy with the results. I'm glad to have the Henley done. It was a lot of calculating and figuring, which wasn't very relaxing. I was concerned it wouldn't fit and that would be a shame considering the cost of the yarn and its beautiful hand-dyed loveliness. Technically I still need to sew down the sides of the rug, but that is not a big deal. I'm calling it done :)

Here's the updated stats: Sweaters: 5, Others: 7

Sweaters or big projects:
1. Blue Brooks Farm Solo (EZ set in sleeve, v-neck sweater)-completed 1/12/09
2. Black Cascade 109 (SweaterBabe Vine Lace Cardigan)-completed 2/11/09
3. Plucky Knitter Merino Sock (top down v-neck)-completed 3/2/09
4. Blues Cascade 109 Rug (Kiki/Mason Dixon book)-completed 3/13/09
5. Ruby Port Sundara FSM (Henley Perfected Sweater)-completed 3/15/09
. Grey Cascade 220
. Black Cascade 220
. Tan Ella Rae
. Artist Choice Sundara Sport Merino
. Second Look Sundara Sock
. Second black Cascade 109 sweater
. Reassemble Drops Cardigan (steek & chop off the excess body width)
. Handspun grey salish wool (or several options to choose from)
. Plucky Knitter MCN Sport Savoir Faire

For others:
1. Tan Louet fingering (Jon socks)-completed 1/19/09
2. Tan Louet sport (Jon socks)-completed 2/27/09
3. Tan Louet sport (Mom socks)-completed 3/1/09
4. Velvet Grapes Malabrigo chunky (mom's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/16/09
5. Cuarzo Malabrigo worsted (mom's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/16/09
6. Tuareg Malabrigo worsted (Sam's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/2/09
7. Black Plucky Knitter MCN worsted (Jon hat)-completed 3/3/09
8. Black Walnut Pigeon Roof Studios sock (Jon socks)-current project 30%
. Cordovan Malabrigo (Jon socks)
. Plucky Knitter Merino Sock Nessie (Jon socks)

FO gallery:

End of February Report/March Plans

Still working away on my 3rd sweater, the Henley Perfected in Sundara fingering silky merino. I started my 4th sweater, a top-down U-neck pullover in Plucky Knitter Sock yarn. Both are pretty far along. I shouldn't have two sweaters going at the same time, but I really want to finish my Plucky one before the Knit-In in two weeks, so I jumped in before #3 was done. Lesson learned for the future.

I did finish 2 pairs of socks: one pair of Louet Sport for Jon and one for my mom. I had to buy a second skein anyway, and just lucked out to have enough to make a shorter pair of Whitbys from Knitting Around.

So my totals are:
2 of 12 sweaters and 6 of 12 for others

Sweaters or big projects:
1. Blue Brooks Farm Solo (EZ set in sleeve, v-neck sweater)-completed 1/12/09
2. Black Cascade 109 (SweaterBabe Vine Lace Cardigan)-completed 2/11/09
3. Ruby Port Sundara FSM (Henley Perfected Sweater)-current project 60%
4. Plucky Knitter Merino Sock (top down v-neck)-current project 85%
5. Grey Cascade 220
6. Black Cascade 220
7. Tan Ella Rae
8. Artist Choice Sundara Sport Merino
9. Second Look Sundara Sock
10. Blues Cascade 109 Rug (Kiki/Mason Dixon book)
eta:
11. Second black Cascade 109 sweater
12. Reassemble Drops Cardigan (steek & chop off the excess body width)
13. Handspun grey salish wool (or several options to choose from)

For others:
1. Tan Louet fingering (Jon socks)-completed 1/19/09
2. Tan Louet sport (Jon socks)-completed 2/27/09
3. Tan Louet sport (Mom socks)-completed 3/1/09
4. Velvet Grapes Malabrigo chunky (mom's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/16/09
5. Cuarzo Malabrigo worsted (mom's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/16/09
6. Tuareg Malabrigo worsted (Sam's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/2/09
7. Black Plucky Knitter MCN worsted (Jon hat)
8. Cordovan Malabrigo (Jon socks)
9. Black Walnut Pigeon Roof Studios sock (Jon socks)

Goals for March:
-finish sweaters 3 &4: Nessie is for Plucky Nature KAL, Henley is for Selfish KAL.
-make Jon's hat for Plucky Nature KAL
-start a pair of socks for myself using my Stitches yarn (Tess). If done with those, then start a pair for Jon.

Goals for Stitches:
I'm trying to use up my Stitches yarn within one year so that I can go again this fall. If I'm not done with it, then I can't go. I also want to be done with 8 of my sweaters by then. Also, if not done, then I can't go.

FO from the month:
Jon's

Mom's

NaKniSweMoDo--Sort of

After nearly 8 months since my last post, I've decided to dust off the old blog. Many people in the knitting world are participating in NaKniSweMoDo, which is basically a group trying to knit 12 adult size sweaters in 2009. At first I thought that sounded insane. However, I realized that it could be done and decided to make up my own version of it. I'm going to try to post my monthly goals and progress as I work through the year. Hopefully.

My version started off with doing a "Six of one, half dozen of the other" plan. I wanted to knit 6 sweaters and make 6 pairs of socks for other people. At the time, I only had about 6 sweaters worth of yarn, but that has changed slightly. So, here's my planning:

Sweaters or big projects:
1. Blue Brooks Farm Solo (EZ set in sleeve, v-neck sweater)-completed 1/12/09
2. Black Cascade 109 (SweaterBabe Vine Lace Cardigan)-completed 2/11/09
3. Ruby Port Sundara FSM (Henley Perfected Sweater)-current project
4. Plucky Knitter Merino Sock (top down v-neck)
5. Grey Cascade 220
6. Black Cascade 220
7. Tan Ella Rae
8. Artist Choice Sundara Sport Merino
9. Second Look Sundara Sock
10. Blues Cascade 109 Rug (Kiki/Mason Dixon book)
eta:
11. Second black Cascade 109 sweater
12. Reassemble Drops Cardigan (steek & chop off the excess body width)

For others:
1. Tan Louet fingering (Jon socks)-completed 1/19/09
2. Tan Louet sport (Jon socks)-current project
3. Cordovan Malabrigo (Jon socks)
4. Black Walnut Pigeon Roof Studios sock (Jon socks)
5. Black Plucky Knitter MCN worsted (Jon hat)
6. Velvet Grapes Malabrigo chunky (mom's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/16/09
7. Cuarzo Malabrigo worsted (mom's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/16/09
8. Tuareg Malabrigo worsted (Sam's unoriginal hat)-completed 1/2/09

There are lots of socks skeins piling up that could make a sweater, if I wanted to do a Tempest (from Knitty). Or I could make some socks for my mom, Anyway that is the status, as of today.

Here's a few FO pics: