Weekend Update 8-21-11

Last weekend we tied the knot! It was a beautiful day. Lots of friends and family there to share in the fun.

We were married at his parents' house up in the mountains. We stayed at a hotel close by. The next morning we went to breakfast with friends who stayed at the same hotel. During the meal, I noticed on the placemat an ad for a yarn shop. Of course I had to stop there!


Frolicking Feet in Mandarin Lime 100% Superwash Merino and Miss Babs Yummy in Spring Tulip 100% Merino Wool.

After that we went back to his parents' to pick up all our stuff and my dog and we sat and hung out for a while. They get so many Hummers there!




There aren't any pictured but we got to see some males. We only get one female at a time at home ... and I'm pretty sure its the same bird, LOL!

I learned a few things recently. I'm pretty crafty, and I do well mixing colors. I have a lot of stash yarn ... I stop counting sock yarns when I get to 100. My house needs work, I need dental work ... I don't need to buy yarn. I have plenty and I don't need to hoard it until I find the "perfect" pattern and let yarn sit on the shelf while I purchase more. Plus if it really doesn't go witht the pattern I can just rip it and reclaim it.

You're all witnesses to this ... NO MORE YARN for the rest of the year. There are two exceptions. I told a friend I would knit her fingerless mitts and she wants alpaca. I don't have that in my stash. The other exception is I have my Rockin' Socks Club coupon for this year - so I get to use it and that may be a $150 purchase. OK there are three exceptions ... gift cards are free money. I can buy yarn with gift cards at any time.

War of WIPs Call to Arms #5

Want to join the war?? Check out the 2011 War of WIPs page.

In addition to finishing WIPs, there will be optional side quests to organize your knitting life! Check out the War of WIPs page for more information!

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Success! I've won a battle!!



Next Battles on the Horizon:

Celeano Shawl 9/30/11
Niantic Rose Shawl 9/30/11
Ribband 9/30/11
Coriolis Socks
Nugatory Socks
February Lady Sweater
Derek's Scarf
Reversible Cable Scarf
Saroyan
Icarus Shawl
Stenciling storage boxes
Hummingbird Cross Stitch

I also battled this yarn today. This was the In Dreams Mystery Shawl ... its no longer a mystery. I was having a lot of difficulty with this pattern. I still want to knit it and and want to do the beading this time around. The yarn I already used was in a pretty sorry state after ripping:



So I re-skeined it and washed it and left it to dry. Here it is back in shape with the rest of the supplies. This one I am not starting until I've finished all my WIPs!!




***Optional Side Quest August 14-28***
Organize your Knitting Needle Stash

Do you really know what sizes and how many of each you have in your stash? Do you give up trying to find the size you are looking for and just buy another set? Take this time and collect up all your needles and catalog them!

If you are a member of Ravelry you can do it there. You can jot it down in the notebook. You can make up a spreadsheet in Excel, whatever suits your fancy and is something that you will finish doing!!

Complete this for the post on 9/1/11 and you might just win a prize!!

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If you are joining the quest to defeat the WIPs, please join the Call to Arms here:

War of WIPs Call to Arms #4

Want to join the war?? Check out the 2011 War of WIPs page.

In addition to finishing WIPs, there will be optional side quests to organize your knitting life! Check out the War of WIPs page for more information!

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Ugh! I'm losing the battle this week. I haven't worked on any old WIPs. Here's why:

1. I wanted to knit up matching Butin earrings for my Butin Collar for this weekend.

2. I am knitting the West Mystery Shawl.

3. I am designing a beaded lace shawl. This should be done in September and then I'll be asking for test knitters. I do not recommend this is you have not knit lace and ask that if you want to do it you are familiar with lace knitting ... a test knitter is supposed to find any mistakes in the pattern, so it requires some experiece :o)

Next Battles on the Horizon:

Celeano Shawl 9/30/11*
Niantic Rose Shawl 9/30/11*
Ribband 9/30/11*
Coriolis Socks
Nugatory Socks
February Lady Sweater
Derek's Scarf
Reversible Cable Scarf
Saroyan
Icarus Shawl
Stenciling storage boxes
Hummingbird Cross Stitch

* I've added my beaded shawls to this list since they have a deadline, if I am teaching a class on beading at the October Knitters' Guild meeting, it would be nice to have some samples to show!

***Optional Side Quest August 14-28***
Organize your Knitting Needle Stash

Do you really know what sizes and how many of each you have in your stash? Do you give up trying to find the size you are looking for and just buy another set? Take this time and collect up all your needles and catalog them!

If you are a member of Ravelry you can do it there. You can jot it down in the notebook. You can make up a spreadsheet in Excel, whatever suits your fancy and is something that you will finish doing!!

Complete this for the post on 9/1/11 and you might just win a prize!!

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If you are joining the quest to defeat the WIPs, please join the Call to Arms here:

FO: Butin Collar & Earrings

Pattern: Butin Collar & Butin Earrings
Yarn: Panda Silk by Crystal Palace Yarns
Needles: US 2 DPNs

Each project was completed in a few hours time, the earrings probably less than an hour. Both were wet blocked after finishing to shape a little bit.

Awesome patterns! Lots of fun, would make great gifts and take such little time to finish. These are part of the Adorn Collection which is a knitted Jewelry collection by Laura Nelkin - one pattern per month is published for a total of 10 designs.

Weekend Update 8-7-11

Whew the weekend is over already! I finished the Butin Collar and made matching earrings, pretty sure I'll be wearing them for the big day next Saturday. All that was left for the collar was to sew on the clasp ... where is that blue thread I know I had for sewing buttons on a baby sweater?!?! Not in the sewing box (but there's plenty of other colors of thread in there) ... not in the drawer with all the needles and buttons, etc. Finally after looking through the closet and every bit of craft stuff for about an hour I somehow remember recalling it in the coffee table drawer ...


Because that's a great place for a random spool of thread, right?!?!


The earrings are blocking and boy did they need it. I knit the second way tighter than the first. I think they'll match up fine once blocked.

I also couldn't find my darning needles ... they are in a Chibi ... I've had it in the same spot for the last 5 years ... its completely MIA ... and no it wasn't in the coffee table, I looked :o) Luckily I found some random spare needle in a notions box to sew on the clasp.

I will be posting the War of WIPs post this week, but may not be contributing any updated photos. We leave Friday for our wedding and will be away for a few days. I'm not sure I'll have time to post anything new between now and then so I am preparing the post ahead, please link if you are participating and I'll check out your posts when I get back.

Is anyone still interested in the Bead-A-Long?? It seems to have lost steam and doesn't have the participation that I anticipated. I was thinking of discontinuing the a-long for lack of participation. Let me know your thoughts.

Speaking of beading, I am loving it! Especially after the completion of the Butin Collar and earrings!

Even more interesting, when I went to search for the link to the pattern ... my own image came up in google, LOL!!



I started the West Knits Mystery Knit A Long and completed clue one. I think this is the first mystery along that I'm actually on time with. Usually I hear about them really late and am forever behind on the clues. I stumbled upon it through Ravelry and snatched at the chance. I haven't knit any of his work, but was always interested in how he uses color and texture. This should be an interesting knit!


While I was preparing this photo I got an email that clue 2 is available!! Whoo hoo!

War of WIPs Call to Arms #3

Want to join the war?? Check out the 2011 War of WIPs page.

In addition to finishing WIPs, there will be optional side quests to organize your knitting life! Check out the War of WIPs page for more information!

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I can see victory soon in this skirmish! Only 7 more rows to go on the Bat Shawl edging!! These are long rows, with 300+ stitches ... I don't even know the actual stitch count ... I don't want to.

Next to conquest:

Coriolis Socks
Nugatory Socks
February Lady Sweater
Derek's Scarf
Reversible Cable Scarf
Saroyan
Icarus Shawl
Stenciling storage boxes
Hummingbird Cross Stitch

How are your battles going?

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If you are joining the quest to defeat the WIPs, please join the Call to Arms here:

WIP Wednesday 8-3-11

Check out other WIP Wednesday Blogs by clicking the link above!

I'm still working on many, many things, but unfortunately the batteries in the camera died and I have to get to the store to get more. But I did snag a pic or two off my phone.


Bat shawl is almost complete, only several more rows.


I wound off what was done and started the next half.