Little Knitting

I've been feeling a bit, um, underwhelmed by a couple of the projects I've got on the needles. They're not bad projects and I know that I'll finish them eventually but they didn't exactly inspire me to knit. What I have been wanting to knit are baby and toddler clothes. My stash has been a nice source of creativity since the big re-organization so I dug in and found some baby cashmerino I bought to knit the Little One a cardigan so I cast on and am loving it. It's the Playful Stripes Cardigan by Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting (she also has a podcast) and it's the perfect blend of simple and fun. The baby cashmerino is incredibly soft and springy and I'm progressing quickly enough that my interest isn't lost.

Special thanks to Rose who gifted me the pattern; it's exactly what I need to get inspired again!

Aphrodite (Shawl #7)

Last weekend I finished up my Aphrodite shawl. This thing was totally time consuming and I knew that if I didn't focus and finish then it would be a long-hibernating WIP. I'm totally pleased with the result. My yarn was definitely on the cobweb side which was a bit of a pain but the blend was wonderful and the final result is quite pretty.

Pattern: Aphrodite by Sivia Harding
Yarn: Colorful Yarns Heavenly Lace in Turquoise
Needle: US #3 Addi Lace & size 12 crochet hook
Beads: size 8/0 silver lined transparent dark aquamarine, approx. 13 grams
Mods: My yarn was tiny enough that I followed the instructions for the large size and got a medium-ish size shawl with about 540 yards (the skein I bought was 600 yards).

It Continues....

Startitis continues to plague me despite the great stash reorganization. Sunday night I came home, dug out my bag of Malabrigo Twist, and cast on for the Central Park Hoodie. The CPH is 3600+ strong on Ravelry and I'm eager to add mine to the number. I've told myself the real reason for starting this is that everything else I've got on the needles is sock weight yarn but really it was just a whim; a sudden, undeniable urge to knit with one of the softest and squishiest yarns I've ever encountered. I've already got one sleeve done and it is a thing of squooshy yarn beauty. At least the yarn was easy to find after that organizing stint of last week.

Stash Attack

This week I decided to reorganize my stash. I pulled it out. All of it. Every little bag and box and bin got emptied out on my living room floor and with the "help" of the Little One it got sorted and restashed. Little One helped by climbing into an empty bin and reading her books for a while. I, on the other hand, spent a great deal of time figuring out what was actually in Ravelry and trying to catalog what wasn't in Ravelry. Tiring. Miracle of miracles the stash still fits in it's designated space(s) which consists of a cedar chest and a space bag under my bed. The picture is the sock yarn portion of my stash which is also the bulk of my stash. Whoever said that sock yarn doesn't count was lying because it takes up the same dang space as other yarn. My strategy for reorganizing is this: gather it all together, dump it all out, sort by size, detangle, destash, restash. Granted, my stash is smallish for a 5-year knitter and yarn shop pusher but I like it at about this size. Next up on the agenda is the Great Needle Inventory. Eek.

Fall Twist Collective

The Fall Twist Collective is so freaking amazing! It made my heart skip a beat and then pound away like I'd run a seven-minute mile. Amazing! I've been starting things like crazy in order to stave off a fear of losing my knitting mojo and seeing this issue really inspired me to a) finish the things on my needles so I can b) start something(s) new from this issue. But what? What would you cast on first?

Vespergyle

My startitis continues in the form of mittens. I dug into my stash and came up with some Knit Picks Palette from ages and ages ago and cast on these mittens, er, this mitten. I'm just about ready to start the decreases at the top of the hand. The pattern (Vespergyle Mittens) looks great but takes quite a bit of concentration and I can't seem to hit a rhythm between the pattern reading and the knitting. This is a free pattern and has been languishing in my queue for maybe two years? Since I declared a self-imposed yarn buying hiatus I've been really digging into my stash and my Ravelry queue and working up "old" projects. It makes me feel good about my stash and my awesome taste in patterns! Really! Maybe it just took a few years of honest stash acquirement to have a nice selection to match with my patterns. Maybe. But it really is fun to dig in there and use some of what I have with patterns that got passed up for newer, more exciting projects.

Smoking Needles

Things have been flying on and off my knitting needles at such a rapid pace I need some kind of cool Western cowgirl name. You know, quick on the draw like Sharon Stone in The Quick and the Dead.(did you know Sam Raimi directed that?!) Three finished projects this week have me feeling quite smug. Knitmeter tells me that I'm inching close to 16k yards knit this year. Boy howdy! That is a lot of knitting.

I pulled out the first Japanese knitting book I ever bought - Favorite Aran Knits - and whipped up a couple of hats. Top left is #5 cap knit in Dream in Color Classy in Blue Lagoon. This was a
partial skein left over from the Little One's February Baby Sweater. I still have 69 yards left of the skein. After digging through the stash a little I found an almost full skein of Malabrigo Worsted in Azul Profundo which is my very very favorite Malabrigo color. I cast on #1 Cap and knit away. I don't know why I don't knit with Malabrigo more often since it's like butter in my hands. It's incredibly soft and has great stitch definition. Those cables just POP on the reverse stockinette background.

I also finished up my Brandywine Shawl. This is shawl #6 for me this year. It's a pretty little thing and it was fun and easy to knit. All of the action happens up front with the first chart and then
it's just the border with acres of garter stitch in between. This thing practically flew off my size 6 lace needles. Really. As in 4 days flew off my needles. I finally cast on a more complicated project that has beads and multiple lace charts and even GASP counting! Oh my.