I honestly don’t know when I last posted about which new projects were leaping onto my needles …  let’s just say it’s been too long?  For a while, I was purposefully holding off on new projects, because I had a weekend retreat planned with my knitting circle, and I wanted to cast on a whole bunch of projects AT the retreat. Because of the way my brain works, every time I work on a project (or touch a finished object) I can recall all the places I worked on it, with nearly photographic intensity.  Often I can hear any music or conversation or (let’s be honest) the TV show that I heard while I was working on the project.

Every once in a while this backfires — for example, I had a really hard time finishing the socks I was working on at the Emergency Vet’s office while Gromit was getting a stick surgically removed from the roof of his mouth.  Every time I touched them, I was instantly back in the chilly waiting room, sitting on a hard plastic chair and shivering, waiting to hear how Gromit was.  I can smell the antiseptic, not really covering up the faint odor of blood and other bodily fluids.

But, most of the time, my “mental souvenir” in the form of knitting projects is a boon! I think everyone in the group cast on at least one new project, for a total of 17 new WIPs!  Of these, seven were mine. Whee!

#1: Renaissance Spring

I’m using my handspun for this — I’m insanely pleased with this handspun, and it needed a special project! The highly textured and lacy Renaissance Shawl (by Anne-Lise Maigaard) is just the thing.  The pattern has optional beads, on which I am opting out, because the handspun is a little crazy color and doesn’t need any gilding. As of today, I’m about 25% done with this one.

#2: Twill Flower Cowl (was: Hat) — FINISHED!

Technically, this started life as a hat, but I was knitting a tad loose and the brim was clearly too large. Rather than rip and try again, I used the most excellent suggestion of Marilyn to just make it a cowl instead.  It turned out awesome — soft and squishy and just the right size.  I gave it to my friend Judy :).

#3: Sweet Spring

Some of us are doing Boo’s Sweet Dreams shawl as a casual KAL … I haven’t made much progress on it, because I was knitting like mad on a different Boo shawl … I’ll post about that on a future FO Friday. My KAL yarn is from Vogue Knitting Live … I totally love the bright green springy colorway.

#4: Rainbow House Socks — FINISHED!

I used a skein of self-striping DK yarn from White Birch to make some squishy house socks. They came out a tad large, but still totally wearable in slippers or boots.

#5: Impatien Mormorio

I paired a skein of brightly-colored “Impatiens” with a skein of leftover “Mist” to make a cheerful shawl … as of this writing, I’m about halfway through the two-tone garter-stitch body

#6: Willow Angst

My oh my, the pattern for these socks is high concept! And, alas, kind of painful to knit. And I’m starting to worry about fit. So, this WIP wins “most likely to be frogged,” but for now it is still on the needles.

#7: Bella Hornburg

A big fluffy skein of super-bulky yarn in bright yellow-green? I’m turning this one into a upsized Hornburg.  No slipped stitches, fewer stitches and fewer repeats … it’ll be done lickety-split.

 

I cast on two new projects this week.

The first is part of an impromptu KAL with my regular knit group — Kate showed me the pattern for Colubrida, and I admired it and thought about making it too, and then one thing led to another and now a bunch of us bought yarn at NEFF to make snake wraps!

I’m using two skeins of Stonehedge Fiber Mills Worsted in “berries”:

I’ve also started a “Through the Woods” hood with the yarn gifted to me by Skacel last year, after the end of The Fiber Factor competition:

Time to use some handspun! I had an underplied bright green skein of handspun yarn from quite some time ago.  I decided to run it through the wheel to ply it properly, and then took it up to Kate’s for a bath in some black dye.  It’s not superwash, so the black dye just toned down the Oscar the Grouch green a smidge.  Good enough for me!  I’m making a lacy cap out of it:

I bought some local-spun (is that a thing?) from Long Island Livestock at Stitches East — a gorgeous blue/grey alpaca blend.  I’m making a Starshower with it — this item starts out like a semi-circle top-down shawl, but joins into a cowl at some point. Interesting!

 

 

I bought two skeins of awesome DK self-striping purple-and-black yarn from White Birch at Stitches East.  My yarn looks like this on the skein …

Knit up, it looks more like this (from the dyer’s site):

I tried three different patterns out before settling on one that made me happy.  It is an entrelac pattern (my first time doing entrelac!) with cables, because you know I can’t do it the easy way.  I’m using Knitted Scarf Butterflies (by Svetlana Gordon).  So far so good — I may make it a cowl in the end, but for now my self-striping entrelac butterflies are destined for scarf-dom.

I picked up a second set of This Yarn is On Fire minis from Kate, along with two skeins of Polar Bare (just undyed yarn), because I want to make something amazing ….  Phoenix Wing!  I’ve completed the pattern through “Field 6” (of 36), but these are the little fields — it gets a lot bigger!

There is an “English” version of the pattern, but only the first page general instructions are actually translated.  The bulk of the pattern is written line-by-line using German knitting abbreviations.  The pattern includes a page of explanations, but it is like learning my knitting abbreviations all over again: Ma means CO, Ak means BO, b3vE means knit until three stitches before the end of the row, 2z is k2tog, etc.  I’m doing ok now, but it was a steep learning curve!  Not for the faint of heart.

 

I’ve been working on a couple big projects this summer … which naturally means I haven’t cast on as many projects as I usually do.  My WIP pile was getting bloated, so I’ve been trying to do a “cast off two = cast on one” thing … with some success.  In any case, here are the new things since last we chatted:

Spring Fever Wrap: I’m improvising a bias-knit leafy wrap for some self-striping (prismatic) handspun that I made. If I like how it turns out, it may become a pattern. We’ll see!

Clue for Fennick Socks: This is for a M-KAL … I frogged the companion shawl after 1.5 clues done, but I think I’ll keep plugging on the socks. The yarn is a “Wild Child” skein of Iachos from A Hundred Ravens.

Dandelion Stripes: This is a “love at first sight” pattern — I knew I had to make it!  Then Hub Mills got some of Madelinetosh’s new “Dandelion” in … it is a match made in heaven.  I luuuuuurrrrrve this cardi, and I know I’ll be living in it soon.  The body is done, I’ve finished all the ribbing, so it is just sleeves and buttons and loose ends and done!  I’m using some Very Special Buttons from Robert Gilmore on etsy.  (Really, go check out his shop — great stuff!)

Touched by Maine-Made Alpaca: This is a M-KAL by a favorite designer, perfect for some “Kickstarter” yarn I have in my stash. I was knitting along swimmingly when the cable on my #6 signatures snapped off, right at the base of the needle. Sob. Signature is being awesome about replacing the needle, but until it arrives … I’ll make no more progress on this project. Sigh.

Last but not least, I’ve also cast on for two designer-y projects — I’m re-knitting Evolution in Rylie for an October KAL (for The Fiber Factor), and I’m making a striking colorblock stole in Soft Linen for Classic Elite.

Ok … so I did actually finish a few things.  And I ripped out one project that wasn’t behaving.  But, I also bought a new #5 needle so I could cast on ALL THE THINGS.

Here’s what I’ve started in the last week or so …

A crochet shawl using  Llyr (Lord Darby’s Missing Locket):

 

A quick bulky cowl using my Blue Moon handspun:

 

A trilobite hat using some Ella Rae

 

A lace shawl using my gradient set from Miss Babs:

 

A cabled cape in Fresh From the Cauldron:

 

 

And, last but not least, the fifth (and final!) pair of socks that I owe my mom, in Claudia Hand-Painted:

 

 

It’s been a while since I posted!  There hasn’t been much new for me — mostly recovering from the road trip to Atlanta for Stitches South, then working hard on finishing up some new design prototypes.

SPEAKING of Stitches South … we had an absolutely delightful time meeting lots of knitters and crocheters and sending them home with lots of Kate’s gorgeous yarns.  We ate at Waffle House every morning, and at Ruby Tuesday’s every night. The drive down and back was super fun and super exhausting … the highlight for me was seeing lots of wildlife at dusk on Skyline Drive.

In between hawking yarn from A Hundred Ravens, we took turns checking out the marketplace.  I had a few specific things I was looking for … and I’m pleased to say I found them all!  Would you like to see???

Let’s begin with the not-exactly yarn stuff:

On my new spinning stool (yay!), you can see a notions bag, antique brass Victorian buttons, a glass sheep pin, a Waffle House giant Christmas mug, a new bead for my Pandora-style necklace (orange and yellow like a Georgia Peach), and some unrefined pure Shea butter (good for skin, doesn’t rub off on yarn).

The sheep pin is just SO CHARMING I can hardly stand it:

The brass buttons are un-used, authentic Victorian … each has its own little scene, but I lie the ducks best:

The notions bag is actually three nested bags — a gift for Jane, who made me a bunch of perfect stitch markers to give away in the Flywheel M-KAL:

 

There were several Trindle dealers at the show, and I found one (Gale’s Art) that had tiny Trindle shafts, and fossilized coral spheres.  It is so light and spins so well!  I bought some terrifically silky  Chocolate Alpaca/Silk top in my favorite colors — it has EXTREMELY long fibers that allow for extra-skinny spun singles. I played with my new toy at the show — couldn’t keep my hands off it.

 

On to the yarn!  My biggest purchase was six skeins of Fresh From the Cauldron Opilio, destined for a cabled cape.

From Miss Babs, I got a 7-skein gradient set of Yummy Toes and a Yowza in “Gal Noir.”

From the Buffalo Wool Company, a single skein of Sexy.  I bought it to make a pattern on display … and lucky me, I even had needles to cast on AT STITCHES.  That’s right, I brought my US6 signatures along, just on the off chance I’d have the perfect project to cast on, and I did! 🙂  So there’s some actual “Cast On Monday” for you.

Last but most definitely not least, please meet my new yarn bag from Namaste….

 

I owe a big thank-you to Kate for encouraging me to check out the sale bags at the Namaste booth — between the markdown and the vendor discount, I got this bag at an unreal price. And I love it! So there.