Knitting a hoodie

Friday, October 24, 2008

Here I am, trying to finish the second hoodie. The one with red and pink yarns.

Meanwhile I tend to do anything else but knit.
I got a sudden craving for a Jansson's Temptation casserole. But I don't have cream or anchovies.

I am on a mini vacation trying to finish my knitting WIPs for the grand kids, and then continue on with my own Kimono Jacket, that is waiting patiently on top of my hoodie yarn pile.
I'm on the hood part on the last hoodie, but my mind keeps wandering every this way and that.

There are too many things in my mind that knitting has become secondary.

I finished the hoodie, finally, and then I heard that our granddaughter really likes the yellow halter top I made for her in 2007. Now she likes pink. Guess what, I started one in Lily cotton yarn on Friday night. My intention was to continue with that yarn and decorate with some other colors.
However, the yarn is more peachy than pink, and I am somewhat crazy about that sort of thing, the color is not perfect, and it bothered me to a great deal. I am sure, Valen would like the halter top, no matter what color.

On Saturday morning I was getting ready for my babysitting event later in the afternoon.
I had the halter top start, design by Margaret Hubert, and three crochet books for toddlers.
I decided to go and visit my long-time yarn store friend, who has a small store
in the eastern part of our city. I have been going there for years. If I want Patons Grace,
or other good quality, not too expensive cotton yarn, I will go there.



This time I wanted pink Patons Grace. Sure enough, she had it, and then I got some
red to improvise the pink.

Needless to say, my hook for Grace was not in the right size, it was for the yarn I had
in my nice black, leather Jordana Paige bag. There I went again, at the hook section.
I found Aero, and Prym hooks and took one of each that might be good for my pink yarn.

On my way towards my son's home, I decided that my DIL needed socks for a birthday
gift, so I stopped at Zellers nearby. Went straight to the yarn section, where else? Haha.
I had almost given up, when I saw this beautiful charcoal colored yarn on the top shelf.

It was Bernat's Alpaca yarn, so soft that I had to feel it over and over again. There was
winter white skein of the same yarn, only one ball, and it looked with its big whitish
eyes at me, and begged me to make a date with that handsome charcoal skein.

Romantic as I am, I complied with that suggestion. Of course, then I needed needles.
Why, oh why they still sell needles in four-sets. I had to get two.
There was a nice surprise at the cash, the yarn was less than the sign on the shelf
had indicated. The needles were more expensive than the sign had said, or what
I thought it had said, but my total was still less than what I had calculated in my head.
I was never good in math at school, by this time of my life, I might have learned
a little bit more.

My babysitting subject, hehe, my grandson was sleeping, and I got into my knitting,
never mind the halter top. The birthday gift had to be done in a few days.

I got to the heel part, and happily did the decreases. Something looked really funny
in that area. I kept counting stitches, and counting decreases, but the bottom of
the heel was still strange looking. Finally my brain cells started receiving the smart
juices and I realized that I had not done that funny short row decrease thingy. (it's "turning
heel flap") It was time to frog. Fortunately the yarn is thick and I didn't lose any
stitches. The sock is now waiting for me to do the flap turning, but I had to find
a sock book that has the same amount of stitches as I do. The book I have for that
is "Not just Socks" by Sandi Rosner. I have made a few big socks, and the pattern
in that book is perfect.

I am not experienced sock knitter. I have done lots of cuffs, but not so
many heels. (in other words, lots of sock starts)

After frogging some of the sock, I put it aside, and started another halter top, the first one can
wait, since I had nice new yarn now. I crocheted quite a few rows, and fortunately it works up
quite fast, so I can get those two halter tops done in plenty of time before our SIL comes to visit.

It's Sunday morning, and I should be either knitting, or getting ready for some milk shopping, or doing laundry, or go to Purple Purl to visit the girls, but the way my mind works this day might
be anything but any of those ideas.

We'll see.

Mood for IC

I am on an Irish Crochet kick right now. Joined the group in Ravelry this morning, and
waiting for our next CAL project at our Yahoo group.

My head is spinning with a desire just to crochet little Irish motifs, and let my hook go.

On the back burner I have several items, do you want a list? My latest whim was a stole,
from www.Knitty.com, it's a KAL project, called Juno Regina. I've started it with a yarn that
I bought at my "normal" LYS, meaning that the yarn is not from Romni. Someone had ordered it and then didn't want it, and in comes Pirk, who absolutely fell in love with the yarn,
and it's lavender, wow, something has gone wrong with my brain, but I like the color.

How long is this spell lasting, who knows?

I also made some pink motifs for Prudence's Pink Project, and need to send them to her.

These are my WIPs, in no particular order:

Central Park Hoodie
Rogue Hoodie
FreeForm Sweater
Merino/Cashmere Sweater
Socks for Hubby
FreeForm scrumbles for a summer top
Juno Regina
Joyella (this one is coming along quite nicely)

the list goes on and on ....

I give up, now I am depressed. I need to do some Freeform Irish Crochet at lunch
to get my spirits up.

Bad case of Startitis Syndrome

Good Monday Morning.

That is a picture of the most recent WIPs. I am not quite sure if I should be happy about this or should I weep. In any event, this is how my mind works these days: jumping from one object to another. I don't think this is very healthy for my hands, knitting so much. However, I am obsessed now.

The picture contains following projects:

-Jaywalker socks with Tofutsie yarn, just started
-Jaywalker socks with brown shaded Super Soxx yarn
-Joyella sweater with Novita 7 Veljesta yarn, pattern from Berroco book, number 266
-The Baby Surprise Jacket with variegated blues and solid blue ww yarn
-Gloves with red and grey yarns, plus one finger with yellow yarn which doesn't show in the picture.
-And finally, the blue sock in the middle is my Campanula sock, I have both socks in the same state. All I have to do is spend one night and finish them both.

One day I will finish these projects, because at this very moment all of them are my favourites.

The Charcoal jacket is not in the picture because it's in my knitting bag, and I forgot about it. The hot pink cable socks are in a plastic container with all my sock yarns. I have been sorting some of my stash, and some of the WIPs ended up in with yarns. On purpose. If I don't see all the WIPs I don't feel quite as bad, as I feel looking at the projects that are in clear view.

I think I need to talk to someone about this "startitis" (remember, this is the word that my friend, Sherri, uses.

Life of a WIPaholic

It seems to me that I have not done anything else lately but started new projects.
That one is a baby blanket, started today, while sitting in the market place. It is very annoying that the people across ours are selling, ahem, yarns, too. I bought the baby yarn from them. I am not very happy that I have temptations staring at me, when I am trying to avoid yarn buying binges.

I made a baby hat before I started the blanket.

The blue baby hat was one of the earlier WIPs, which I finished as soon as I got home this afternoon.

When I was on my way to the market, I passed the Walkers for the cure.
It was good to see all the women and men walking and I felt a touch of being part of the project. I am knitting the Campanula for the cure socks, which was designed by a lady who is participating in this weekend walk.

Unfortunately the yarn I started with, the pink one, was a little bit too heavy for the stitch gauge, and I had to dig into my stash to find another yarn. I found a royal blue yarn that just smiled at me with excitement. The picture is of the start, at the point where I am now working on the heel.

I also have a sweater, for me, on the go, plus several other socks, almost done.

I am not too happy with my way of starting new projects, but I am way too restless these days to pay attention to just one project.

Spider Web

I am building a spider web with my UFOs. I started...what, you have a problem with this?

I really don't know what has possessed me with these starts. Yesterday I started, or was it day before? an Aran cardigan for me. Last night I knitted a few rows, but was busy looking for some yarn for a baby blanket, that I wanted to finish. It was a UFO, or to make me feel better, a WIP. I finished all the yarn I had at home, for that blanket. I wanted to go to the office to get some more. I keep some yarns at work, just in case I want to do something different at lunch time, something other than what I have in my knitting/crocheting bag.

Where was I? I was looking for some yarn last night. I found some WIPs: Desert poncho start with Lion Brand Suede, FreeForm summer top, FreeForm spring top, FreeForm tote bag, FreeForm something, ziplog bags full of scrumbles, ziplog bags full of magic ball material. Oh, and my other eye glasses that I need to keep in my purse, in case the ones I am now wearing fall apart, because they are frameless and kept together with special screws. I already have been twice to get them tightened, because you need a special tool for special screws.

I got distracted there for a second. I found some other stuff, but I don't want to sit here all day listing things that are either UFOs or WIPs. What's the difference? UFO is something that could be frogged, or could bring tears, or is going to be forgotten for ever, for the next or the next generation to think "what the heck is this?". WIP is an item that is sitting on the dining table, or stuck in the tote bag that goes everywhere with you, or is in the round hat box in the corner of the dining room. I work best at the dining table. WIP is also an item that can be taken for trips, or is in the handbag when you go to a party, and the party is unbelievably boring, so you go and sit in the bathroom, on the ledge of the bathtub (not on the toilet, unless the seat is closed, which isn't always the case, because some persons never close the lid. So, that is one WIP, one other could be a small project, that fits in your jacket pocket. Since I don't smoke any more, I still want to go for a five minute break. SOMETIMES I put the small project in my pocket, sit in the car and crochet for five or ten minutes.

The pocket system is a must, because I have to walk by several people in the office, to go out, and I don't need any necessary comments about knitting/crocheting at work time, so I hide my stuff. When I was smoking, it was clearly known that I go for a smoke, I didn't have to hide anything. It wasn't ok to go, but I did it, and nobody stopped me. I stopped on May 1st, 2005.

I still don't know what I was going to say about my projects for today. I have, in my bag, a blanket start, another blanket start, a baby sweater start, an Aran cardigan start, some unfinished paisleys, and unfinished knitted squares for the next knitting meeting.

I think I do some work now. I came early to work this morning.

List of things to do

These are WIP items:

1. Stole for my sister
2. Cabled vest for hubby
3. Pink Dress for Ella
4. Scarf/lapghan whichever makes nicer logo for Johnny
5. Poncho for Ella
6. FF Coat for the show
7. FF vest for the show
8. Scrumble for FF group challenge

These are Items to make before Christmas:

1. Sweater for Valen (actually for May, 2006)
2. Shawl for Stefi (actually for April, 2006)
3. Knitted/Crocheted hat for Bill
4. Knitted/Crocheted scarf for Bill
5. Snowflakes for the office gang
6. more to come as I remember what I am supposed to make and to whom

So Far I have made:

1. Shawl for Janet
2. Shawl, which is going to look like poncho, for Sarah
3. Blanket for Ella
4. Poncho for Amy
5. Stole for Mrs. Woooo
6. Socks for me?

I think I have to do something about being so lazy at nights.