Mystery Knitalong (KAL)

I had never done one before, and probably won't again.  This was a painfully boring knit.  I might wear it on St. Paddy's Day.

Works in Progress

I have a bunch of irons in the stove right now, but no actual finished products.  Here's a sneak peek at something that will be coming down the line at some point.  I am deliberately vague on that ETA because the pattern has gotten a bit boring and I have to take a break.  So far I am ~450 yards into this project, the Ostrich Plumes Stole, from the book Knitting 24/7.  The concept for all projects is to keep them simple enough to pick up and put down while you carry on with your life.  A good idea it is, but a project this large needs something more to make it interesting.  You may remember this yarn from a previous post, it is my handspun "Kentucky Bluegrass."

Got my Mojo Working

After that pain in the ass yarn I worried that I had lost my touch.  Not so.  Here is 240 yards of BFL/silk, sport weight, 2ply mojo.

Socks for Bev

I have quite a bit of trouble with second sock syndrome (SSS), the inability to soldier on and complete the mate once sock number one has been knitted.  Only very special people receive two sock gifts from me.  Bev* is the current record holder, with two pair.  

*Bev is my mom. 

Pain in the Butt Yarn

I like to experiment with new skills, in spinning as in life.  This trait caused me to try spinning with a woolen/long draw from pseudo rolags.  I had seen several descriptions, on the cover of Spin Off magazine and at my friend Brandi's blog.  I took apart my niddy noddy and used the center dowel to roll up literally hundreds of rolags assembly line style with an efficiency that would have made old man Ford jealous. 

Then I started to spin.  I got the hang of the long draw after watching some youtube videos and lots of practice.  I am used to the short draw with small hand movements and this method made my arm hurt.  I am also used to changing to a different project after a week or so, but I had two massive bags of fiber to get through and fatigue set in.  When I realized I was no longer having fun, I declared it time to ply and move on.  This is 430 yards of a rather chunky 2 ply yarn (at least Aran, probably bigger) spun from wool/alpaca mill ends from Brown Sheep.  The woolen draw definitely lowered the grist and produced a softer, fluffier product, but I'm going back to worsted/short draw.

Bunny Nuggets

No blog posts for a month?!!?  Work was extremely busy for a few weeks, in a pretty stressful yet productive kind of way.  That left me at the end of the day with little energy and absolutely no brain power.  But I must still knit.  As a result, I have been obsessively and compulsively knitting bunny nuggets.  Find the pattern here and start your own descent into madness today.  They are quick (about an hour) and easy.  I have the pattern memorized.  Scrap yarn works like a dream.

Strangely enough, I only photographed this first one.  The rest have been going with me to work and finding their way into the offices of my colleagues.  No need to share online if they are making the rounds IRL, right?  (Plus they were all born at night under sub-optimal photographic conditions.)  I estimate at least 45 have infiltrated my floor at this point.  Only the most grizzled old oil men have been able to resist so far...

More Wearable

Except now it's back to >90 degree weather on a daily basis...