Category: WIP

WIP Wednesday

On By FogKnitsIn Casting On, cross stitch, WIP3 Comments

My funemployment craftcation is rolling along nicely.  No chance of boredom setting in here.

I recently finished yet another cross stitch hoop and a little fob thingy, maybe it’ll be a luggage tag.  I always feel weird about monograms.  I did it anyhow.  Sometimes you feel like a nut…    I’m pleased with the results.

I’m quite chuffed with the latest bit of knitting as well.  My textures are all playing nicely with my colors.  One would almost think I planned it that way.  Almost!  It’s great advocacy for the planning department, actually.

I try to plan.  It’s so boring though.  Remember this?

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I planned my “next” sweater, way back in March.   I have the pattern.  I picked out the yarn.  The yarn the pattern calls for, no less.  I decided on my colors.  I was good to go.

That sweater is still not on the needles, though.   No, instead, I’m staring this pile down.

 

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The well-planned but never-executed Lopi sweater, the brioche shawl I want to frog and enough yarn for only 80% of a sweater I want to knit.  Two hot messes or a plan that just needs basic execution.  I still don’t wanna do it.

Following a plan sounds like torture.  UGH.

I really want to get a sweater on the needles though.  It’s a real quandary.  I have a feeling I’m going to make a hot mess decision.  I’ll keep you posted! :)

 

Me Made May

On By FogKnitsIn Shawl, Sweater, WIP4 Comments

Now that the month is nearly over, let’s talk about ‘Me Made May’.

The idea is to encourage people to wear their handmade wardrobes proudly.  Turns out, I’m good in that department. I live in a place that is sweater weather, year round.  I haven’t bought, or really, even worn any jackets, hoodies, fleece or other miscellaneous outerwear in a decade.  I like wearing sweaters.  I wear my sweaters constantly.  I love the sweaters I’ve made.  I am definitely not deficient in wearing my handmade wardrobe proudly.

 

I did get me thinking about the usefulness of my knitting though.  What would it look like if I were to sort all my knits into two piles, the pile I wear and the pile I don’t?  I couldn’t bring myself to start a project of that magnitude but I did take stock of my sweater collection.

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I’m happy to say, most of them fall into the useful category.  Even novelty pieces like the Bill Murray sweater and the Cassette Tape vest, while gimmicks, do get worn out of the house.  So, the moral of the story is…knit more sweaters.

Which brings me to my weekend dilemma.

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The Askews Me? shawl.  It’s a beauty but it’s not going to be a useful garment.  It’s going to be huge and bulky.  That’s the stuff that falls into the never worn pile.  Even if I trim the size back, there’s no way around the bulk of it.  I like looking at the pretty colors.  I love the brioche squishiness it’s got going on.  I don’t even mind knitting it.  I’m just a bit hung up on this question of usefulness, at the moment.

I’m stuck on the idea of frogging it?!?  Fortunately, I had a small moment of clarity.  I realized I was talking crazy talk and I put it away.  Getting it out of sight was a good first step.

Step two:  distract myself with new USEFUL knitting.
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Aaaahhhhhh!  That’s so much better!  This is yarn I’ve been sitting on for years.  I’m not sure why I’ve put this project off for so long.  It’s MadelineTosh Pashmina, in colors Deep and Cosmic Wonder Dust.  The pattern is the WestKnits’ Batad.  I love the two Batads I’ve already got.  It’s a no brainer!  This is destined for greatness.

I’m still kind of thinking about that frogging though?!?!  I’m not sure.  How do you decide when to frog?

 

WIP Wednesday

On By FogKnitsIn Cowl, Shawl, WIP11 Comments

I’ve been on a cast on kick recently.  My goal is to cast on some easy knitting, something I can work on in a dark movie theater.  I’ve been failing miserable but at least that means I’ve got interesting knitting on the needles!

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I showed you my baby blanket progress yesterday.  It’s super fun to knit.  I’m loving the progress.  Here’s an alternate view…

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The beauty of this project…it’s worked in the round.  I’m essentially knitting a big tube.  This is a view of the seam, aka the spot I plan to cut open.  This is such a brilliant idea.  I love it!  Once I’ve cut it open, it will lay flat and these plain stockinette bits will be unraveled into fringe.   And, as the icing on the cake, I’m not purling at all!  To get those purl ridges, I’m simply turning the piece inside out and working those stitches as knits!  Yay for all knits!

Sadly, this next project, has entire rows of purls. The HORROR!

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It’s been tough but I’m managing.  Mostly because the yarn is so incredible!  This is the qiviut I was recently gifted.  It’s going to be a simple feather and fan cowl.  This yarn is absolutely wasted if it’s not next to skin.  With June Gloom right around the corner, timing could not be more perfect!

I’m making progress on my Askews Me shawl as well.  It’s slow going though.  I’ll miss the June Gloom but with a bit of luck, it’ll be ready for Fogust.  Here at FogKnits, we really love Fogust.

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I’m just about to add my first stripe!  Assuming I don’t get distracted by another cast on, which is highly likely.  I’ve been looking at this neutral palate for weeks.  I think it’s time for a Black Panther wrap!

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Happy Friday!

On By FogKnitsIn Stash Enhancement, WIP7 Comments

Look Familiar?  Not much has changed.  Things have been meandering along this week.  I tried to generate some excitement last week but it didn’t work.

The baby sweater I cast on is sitting untouched in the corner.  I’m not sure the stripes I chose are a good idea, maybe I should just stick with the color blocking?  I still haven’t cast on a Local Yarn Shawl.  My colors aren’t quite right.  I need to dive a bit deeper into the stash.  Just a lot of meh going on.

May the Fourth inspired me to pull R2-D2 out of his corner.  And while, he’s gotten lots of love this week, it’s not entirely obvious, thanks to the effect of white stitches on a very pale blue background.  It doesn’t help that cross stitch makes knitting seem fast and efficient when done by hand.

Even my beloved Dotted Rays is stuck in a pit of ennui (<-that’s how bad it is, it’s turned French?!?).  Progress is being made, and it’s going to be awesome.  I’m ready for it to be done though.  It’s grown to very cumbersome, shlanket proportions.

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It WILL be done soon and I’m going to love wearing it.  Even that ‘purple’ stripe that is totally skewing pink is going to be great.  The whole thing is terrific.  Terrific is not exciting though.

And then, just when I thought all hope was lost, that moment when vacuuming seemed like a better idea than crafting…the mailman showed up!  Phew!  It was a close call.  The mailman arrived just in time.  He brought me a package from my Mom, a sort of reverse Mother’s Day package!  It’s an especially good one…

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Not one but TWO skeins of Magical Tundra Qiviut!  For those not in the know about this stuff, it’s the epitome of luxury fiber.  An incredibly soft, incredibly warm, incredibly lofty fiber from the arctic musk ox!  I always visit the musk ox booth at Stitches to pet the skeins but I’ve never brought any home with me.  This is Excitement (<- capital E!)

And, it turns out, fancy musk ox yarn, isn’t even the most exciting part of this package. Mom also sent 1000 yards of her own hand dyed amazingness!

Yes, FriYAY can officially commence now.  I love all of these colors!  I can’t wait to wind and swatch all afternoon!  Turns out I wasn’t meandering or bored all week.  I was just waiting for the right moment to get excited!  Patience is, indeed, a virtue. Wooooooo!

Happy Friday!  Hope you’ve all got excitement on your needles too!

 

 

 

Back in the SF groove

On By FogKnitsIn FO Friday, Hat, Shawl, Sweater, WIP, Yarn3 Comments

Took a few days but things are just about back to normal around here.  Re-entry is always harsh after vacation but it took me a few extra days.  It was really nice being in New Mexico where the population density is zero.  Coming back to the crowds of San Francisco has made me cranky.  It’s like I forgot how to suppress the urge to slap people while saying ‘get it together, idiot’.   So, it was a rough weekend but, I’ve got it under control now.  Getting back to the knitting routine was imperative!

I knit in public, on several buses and even managed a few FOs. The purple hat is just a basic beanie with a little garter ridge relief kind of design.  Something for the gift box because invariably when a random birthday arrives, everyone’s favorite color is purple, yes?

I put the sleeves on my nephew’s first sweater.  He’s due in July, so he doesn’t even need them.  They were really just a few rows of formality.  I washed it and got ready to block it.  Definitely didn’t need all the blocking mats for this wee sweater.  It’s so tiny!  They call this size 0-3 months.  If it fits him on day 1, I’ll be amazed!

My current WIP is the other dotted rays.   Of the two, this one is definitely my favorite.  I knew it wouldn’t languish, alone, in a corner, after vacation and it hasn’t.  It’s been growing at a rapid pace since I got back.

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So, with all that progress, it’s definitely time to cast on something new.  Here’s my pile of vacation yarn…

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The first thing I grabbed to wind was the Dream in Color.  I got Jilly & Smooshy both with Cashmere.  Obviously.  With Cashmere is always the answer.

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I wanted to cast on the Local Yarn Shawl from Local Yarn Store Day but I don’t think I’ve got the right colors.  At least not right here.  I’ve totally got the right colors somewhere…I just need to get the yarn out and spread it all around.  Any excuse, right?

Any excuse!!

 

WIP Wednesday

On By FogKnitsIn Shawl, WIP7 Comments

It’s Wednesday and I have progress!  There’s not much of a story here, but that’s kind of a story itself.  It’s my favorite kind of knitting, miles of nothing but knit.  Perfectly relaxing, stress reducing,  stash busting, striped, garter stitch.

 

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AAAAAaaaaaaahhhh.  yes.  I’m loving the dueling Dotted Rays.

They’re keeping pace with each other pretty well.  AND, I’m keeping up with the end weaving.  I can’t wait to see how they turn out.  At this point, each shawl has grown so large that it’s mostly relegated to a large crumpled pile until it comes off the needles, revealing it’s true beauty.  At least that’s the way I’m hoping it goes…

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I’ve made a couple questionable decisions in the pink/red/orange/purple stripes.  It’s completely possible to balance it out down the line though, so I’m putting faith in the process.  I’m not expecting to be unhappy at the end.  I’m sure it’ll work out.  It always does, after all.