Overdue Update

On April 9, 2019April 9, 2019 By FogKnitsIn cross stitch, FO Friday, Nephew, Shawl, Sweater6 Comments

Well, Heeeeeelllo!

It’s been a while. I’ve been busy. Work, eh? Takes up all the best hours of the day! Never fear though…there has still been knitting! No time to talk about knitting but still time for knitting! I’ve finished up a bunch of projects too!

Like my Striped Esjan! It’s awesome. I’m glad I finally made one! It’s inspired me to put more holes in my knitting for years now! The ends aren’t woven and it’s not blocked yet but that has not stopped me from wearing it. It’s an older WestKnits design. The big swiss cheese holes have always attracted me to this shawl. All the increases to create those holes resulted in nearly 1200 stitches in the final rows! The bind off took an entire day but I’m super stoked to have finished it. It’s fun to wear.

There’s also my latest nephew knit! Another sweater for the little man…it’s just a top down raglan with a few stripes for interest. Hopefully he’ll get plenty of cozy time from it!

The kid is growing like a weed so I had to knit this yarn up quick before he outgrew the 3 skeins I bought! The yarn is from Swan’s Island’s ecowash collection. Don’t be fooled by that convenient name, that also sounds like it might be better for the environment than superwash. This yarn, while listed as washable, is not machine dryable which, for me, negates the whole purpose of being washable. It behaves like superwash, in that it grows upon washing. So…poooooooooh. I should have read the label closer. As much as I dislike superwash, it’s the way to go for kids clothes.

It’s gonna be a while before I start the next nephew sweater. It’s going to be a Mini Sunset Highway for his first birthday. It’s going to be incredibly adorable. I can’t wait to see him wear it. But for now it’s on the backburner. I’m shelving all knitting until May. That sounds drastic but…

I’ve been accepted into another street fair, the Bayview Mercantile, April 28th, in San Francisco, at All Good Pizza in the Bayview neighborhood. Let’s face it, they had me at pizza! So, no knitting for the next couple weeks while I prep some new cross stitch hoops for the event!

Luckily, it’s kind of addictive and I’m not upset at this self-imposed ban on knitting. I have cross stitch ideas faster than I can stitch them so a month long cross stitch binge is just what I need! My crafty Mom is getting in on the action too..she sent me a big package full of hand dyed aida to stitch on! The colors are so fun! I especially love the rainbow stripes!

I love a good pop culture reference. I still have lots of song lyrics, movie quotes and of course, Game of Thrones quotes on the drawing board…I’m curious about what you’d like to see too! Leave your suggestions in the comments!

Stitches West & Beyond

On March 2, 2019March 2, 2019 By FogKnitsIn Casting On, FO Friday, Misc, WIP6 Comments

February has been a total whirlwind! I knew going back to work would happen quickly, when it did happen. I knew my creative time would take a hit but man, I forgot what a disaster everything else becomes too!

I used to laugh at the parade through my building on Saturday mornings. First thing…take out the garbage. Without fail, every Saturday morning, half the building takes out it’s trash. Then they all parade through the laundry room. Then it’s the parade to the grocery store. As you can imagine, it is with great reluctance that I re-join this parade. It’s all coming back to me though. I’ve usually gotta work a trip to the post office in there, too.

I’ve been forcing myself to knit at least a few stitches in the evenings. Slowly, I’m getting back into the swing of maximizing my time. I’ve finished a bunch of small instant gratification projects recently, hats and toys. I’ve got a new Dotted Rays shawl on the needles, too…but I’ve had no movement on my steeked sweater. It is still zipper-less.

grateful dead hat steal your face knit beanie sfetsy san francisco rainbow

And then Stitches happened! Phew! I’m nearly recovered. It was a good time and, I’m happy to report my ‘Carrying Coal to Newcastle’ approach worked.

I filled my bag with stash yarn from home, just as little reminder that I have plenty of great yarn and there’s no need to buy anymore. It totally worked! I did not buy yarn at Stitches! I did buy a couple trinkets…a Willie cool patch and a cute tin with a few little stitch markers. The flying alpaca-corn became the perfect zipper pull for my notions bag!

Check out this slideshow to see all my Stitches pictures. Without serious yarn shopping to do, I took a lot of pictures and looked at lots of samples. I doubt I even saw half the market floor though.

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And so, another Stitches is in the books. I’m looking forward to next year when, hopefully, I’ve lifted my self imposed ban on stash acquisitions. I’m super inspired and motivated to do lots of knitting in March!

Ready…Set…GO!

Zipper Installation Time

On February 20, 2019 By FogKnitsIn Sweater, WIP4 Comments

The knitting is done! Woohoo! I’ve also secured the steek, cut it and bought the zipper! I even wove the ends in! The only thing left to do is sew the zipper in! Naturally, this means I’m second guessing my design decisions.

As a pullover, this sweater fit perfect. I like pullovers with positive ease. Only problem…it’s a cardigan. I like my cardigans closer to zero ease.

My first thought was to re-steek the front panels to remove an inch from each side. That’s two more steeks though…why do twice the work, when I could just trim one front side and have an asymmetric look. Then I thought, why cut it again at all? What if I abandoned the zipper and went for a double breasted look?

Big decision. I’m totally undecided. And this weekend is Stitches West, which means no time for such focused work. I’ve got plenty of time to sleep on it. In the meantime, I’m still wearing it…shawl pins work just fine on sweaters too!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

On February 6, 2019February 6, 2019 By FogKnitsIn FO Friday, Hat5 Comments

As it happens every year, not only is today Mom’s birthday, it’s also the FogKnits Blog 4th Anniversary! I’m still quite pleased that I thought about this overlap in the beginning. I’ve always got an FO post for the blog-iversary. It’s another project with a flower. If there’s one thing Mom likes it’s hats with flowers!

This was a fun one! The yarn is Noro’s Rainbow Roll…aka a thick, fluffy, pencil roving. It can be delicate and break easily so it’s not for everyone but I really love this yarn!

The pattern is Cameron’s Cap. It’s been one of my favorites for years. It’s a bottom up hat with a few quick short rows added to create the little ear flaps! Perfect for winter!

The flower is a common embroidery flower. I’m sure someone out there has a name for it but it ain’t me, babe! I’m really pleased with it though. And because it’s pencil roving, it’s not heavy or burdensome on the hat. That’s always a concern when attaching a big flower.

If I had more time, I’d share a retrospective of hats with flowers or maybe give you some blog stats. Instead you get pics of science shit. I got right back into it on day one! Turns out it’s like riding a bike…

And with that, I’m out the door for work. Those electrons won’t manipulate themselves! Happy Hump Day and Happy Birthday Mom!

The Race is ON!

On February 1, 2019February 1, 2019 By FogKnitsIn Sweater, WIP6 Comments

It’s official! I start my new job on Monday.

There’s so much to do between now and then, including finish my sweater! I’m making really good progress. The sleeves are done. Lucky for me, my favorite sleeves are half to 3/4 length. Just a few more inches on the body and the knitting will be done!

That’s not the end though. There’s still a ton of work to be done after the knitting. Securing & cutting the steek, installing the zipper and then designing & stitching my RBG inspired dissent collar. No chance this will all be done by Monday but I think it can be ready in time for Stitches. It’s not for a couple weeks yet but it’ll be here in the blink of an eye! (My resolve to not buy yarn is still holding strong too!)

Happy Friday! Anybody else excited for work Monday morning?? lol! Have a great weekend, Knitters!

Must.Knit.Faster.

On January 25, 2019 By FogKnitsIn Sweater, WIP9 Comments

The race is on. I feel my unemployment coming to an end very soon. I started the week with no job opportunities and now, I have two. Things are looking good on the job front! Of course, this brings a whole new urgency to my knitting! Can I finish this before I start a new job?

The good news is…I’m well passed the sleeve divide and into the body. It’s smooth sailing all the way down to the hem from here. It’s nothing but stockinette in the round. I love this bit. It’s the part of knitting I love the most. The autopilot part!

The business of steeking, adding a zipper and duplicate stitching the final details will take some time though. Either way, I think I’ll have a new sweater in time for Stitches. I’m crossing my fingers!

I’ve also finished an Etsy update because who knows when I’ll have time for that again! I had fun doing a couple snarky Valentine’s day hoops. I mean, what’s the point of having a significant other if you can’t share a little snark?

And of course, now that we’re having a clear spell, I’m making sure to get out and visit my favorite sit and knit for a spell spots while I still can.

I even met a reporter from our local NPR station to record an interview about The Palace of Fine Arts! I’ll definitely share when it’s been broadcast. It was the kind of fun thing I definitely don’t have time for once the job starts up! I’ll definitely be making the most of my weekend! Happy Friday!

2019 Stash Flash

On January 18, 2019 By FogKnitsIn Stash Enhancement, Yarn17 Comments

It’s time for the annual stash flash! It’s part of my continuing effort to remind myself, I don’t need to buy yarn this year!

I started with last year’s photo, taken about this time in January and redacted everything I used up during the year. I’m afraid I didn’t do so well. There is plenty of great stuff left in last year’s pile. Clearly, I’m not running out yarn anytime soon.

The stash definitely grew in 2018. I started with just the new additions. They’re pretty manageable. Yarns my Mom dyed. Yarns from Vogue Knitting Live. Yarns from Stitches. Yarns from my southwest trip. Lopi gifted from a friend. I definitely had a particular color palate in mind.

And then, shit got real. I added my deep stash to the pile.

Everything is now stacked 3+ deep. It’s a bit deceptive but trust me, it’s plenty of yarn for the year.

Someone tell Marie Kondo not to worry her pretty little head about it though. I checked…every single skein sparks joy. That trend continues. This all amazing yarn. Some of this years best additions are a sweater quantity of Swans Island Sport and an awesome gradient speckle kit from Neighborhood Fiber Company.

Of course, all this old stuff is still pretty amazing too. Quince, YOTH, Road to China lite…all untouched since last year. And of course, my lopi stash…I’ve got a lopi sweater on the needles, so at least some of it’s finally getting some love.

This year, I’m serious about it all…cold sheeping and some serious stash busting! I want to put a serious dent in these photos!

So far so good, I went into a yarn shop yesterday and came out with no new yarn. It’s totally possible!

First up, a new sweater and finishing off the current shawl in progress! 3 Day weekend + Rain…I’ve got no excuses!! Happy Friday Gang! Hope you all get some good stashbusting in this weekend!