WIP Wednesday

On June 6, 2018June 6, 2018 By FogKnitsIn Casting On, cross stitch, WIP3 Comments

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

Bought this as a kit

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?

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.

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! :)

Movie Review: Rams (Hrútar)

On March 25, 2018March 25, 2018 By FogKnitsIn Misc1 Comment

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If you like Iceland, this movie is for you! It’s currently on Netflix and it’s won a whooping 31 awards & garnered 14 more nominations. Thank you IMDb.

I’ll admit, I thought it was a documentary when I started it. Turns out, it’s not. It’s the story of two brothers coming together to save their adjacent farms after decades of not speaking. It runs the full emotional gamut. It’s heartwarming, funny and incredibly sad, all at once.

And that’s before I even mention the sweaters! The sweaters are inspiring. I want them all. I’m still not sure how I bought so much Lopi and have yet to make myself a traditional lopapeysa.

While it’s a work of fiction, with a script and actors, I can’t help but think it’s inspired by some real life accounts. I spent time on several farms when I was in Iceland. The film took me back to those days, instantly. They certainly didn’t film on a ‘set’. I doubt there was much set dressing. They just went to a farm.

The Icelandic countryside was beautifully shot. Did they even think about it and plan that or does it happen because it’s such an amazing place? Either way, I appreciated it. I’m a big fan of movies where the location is a character.

This is undeniably an Icelandic story.

All the little things add up. There’s a scene out on a road, near a one lane bridge. Many bridges in Iceland are only 1 lane, with no shoulder. There is room for only one vehicle. You have to look ahead and check for clearance before crossing. When you drive across the first one, it’s a bit odd. By the end of the day’s drive, you’ve done it 6 or 8 times and it’s old hat. Just another piece of Iceland that makes it so unique.

One caveat though, it’s subtitled, so put down the knitting to watch. Still, I highly recommend it. If you’ve got Netflix, it’s worth your time!

Happy Sunday!!

WIP Wednesday: Sweater Progress

On March 7, 2018March 7, 2018 By FogKnitsIn Sweater, WIP10 Comments

As I organized the WIPs this morning, I realized my sweater body had reached completion! Wooohooo!

I measured it against my current favorite sweater…the length is good. I even went a few extra rows before I did the bind off.

It’s gonna be soooooo good and it’s super close now! The sleeves should be a snap…stockinette in the round? Yeah…I got that.

I picked out my next sweater today, too…The Saltwater Bay Cardigan. It’s the latest Knitty Surprise, knit in Lopi! No problems finding that in my stash…

Spontaneous Stash Enhancement

On April 9, 2017July 30, 2017 By FogKnitsIn Stash Enhancement, Sweater, Yarn5 Comments

Ever set out for the vet’s office to pick up cat meds but somehow wind up in an a yarn store buying armfuls of rainbows? No? Me either…until yesterday, that is!

Don’t worry, the cat still got his meds. I’m not sure there’s a cure for this though:

After that, I decided to continue along the scenic route to my next destination. That happened to be the coast highway, which happened to take me two blocks from a yarn store. I told myself I’d stop if parking was available. Quaint coastal town, Saturday afternoon with big surf and almost no rain? I knew for sure, I was just wasting my time cruising down Main St.

Except this happened!!!

Clearly, Elizabeth Zimmerman’s ghost was watching over me and knew, this is exactly what I needed! There was rock star parking and a lovely rack of Noro’s Rainbow Rolls just inside the door!

I’ve had my eye on this yarn since Noro released it 18 months ago. This was the first time I’ve come across it in a shop! It’s an unspun pencil roving. Which, it turns out, is some of the best icelandic yarn, Plutolopi.

Which, I happened to stock up on, during my Icelandic Adventure.

I’ve used some of it to make this sweater:

This was my first steeked sweater. It’s okay. I still wear it. It has some warts though. I was never happy with the hook and eyes closures. And the crochet edge wobbles a bit. I never got the tension quite right. It’s amazing how one little detail can fuck up all that amazing knitting. Oh well. I still wear it. I just wish it was more polished. So…

I’ve been dreaming of a striped Plutolopi sweater ever since. I had plenty of colors, I certainly didn’t NEED any Noro. I only (lowercase) needed it. It’s gonna be amazing! I can’t wait!! There will be no buyer’s remorse today…or any day there’s a Rainbow Roll involved!!

I should probably finish my other pencil roving sweater first. It’s literally at the bottom of the pile, it’s been so long since I touched it.

Size 13 needles…once I excavate it from the pile, it should go quick. in theory.

Sooooo much yarn, so little time! It makes me miss my first apartment in San Francisco. There was a giant claw foot tub! I’d love to pile my stash in a claw foot tub…you know, just for fun. Yeah…you know!

The point is: a renewed sense of urgency has struck my sweater knitting elbow…maybe I’ll have a sweater update for you soon!

Work in Progress Wednesday!

On February 22, 2017February 22, 2017 By FogKnitsIn Sweater, WIP6 Comments

Now, with actual progress!!

Last you saw, I had hastily steeked my sweater, decided I didn’t like it and then cut it into even more pieces! This weekend I set about to replace the circular yoke that was the deal breaker.

The plan was to replace the bottom up circular yoke with a top down raglan and graft the pieces together in the middle. Sounded easy enough, yes?

As far as design choices, it took me a while but this is what I settled on. Ultimately, it’s for the best. I was throwing the kitchen sink at this sweater, at the risk of being too busy. At least now it’s got one cohesive idea. There’s still a lot going on with those stripes but less than before, and that’s a good thing!

Ta-DA! It looks like a sweater and I didn’t want to take it off once I put it on. That’s the true sweater test for me. It finally fits right!!

Now, about that button band…