What's on the go? and where are we going?

 As per usual, I haven't posted in a while, and I have waaay too many WIPs on the go. Add to that enough planned future knits to insulate my whole house and you can imagine I feel a little bit overwhelmed by the need to knit faster sometimes.

So instead of apologizing for lack of posts, I'll just share a little of what I've been up to this week. And instead of thinking of all the future knitting I want to do, I'll just share what's prominent in my mind right now (no guarantee of course that it is what I'll actually cast on next, I'm easily distracted). Also a whole new 'InstaWorld' is calling me right now, and once you dip your toes in a little you'll understand why.

So this week, it is of course Westknits MKAL season, and like most years I'm keeping up.... so far. Here's Marshall looking stinking cute after I finished clue 1 and the bonus clue.

The yarn I am using for mine is local to Alberta, it is the fabulous Lily and Pine, her colours are always bright and cheery and perfect to knit with as we head into winter here. And my Rav page for the project is here.

Gnomes have been popping up around here as I slowly ease into my Christmas knitting. These are Never Not Gnoming by Imagined Landscapes, using some stash yarn leftover from knitting certain little boys Christmas Vests.... have I shared those here? Nope.... Here's a Rav Link.

I've started a new stitching project, this is the Original Dropcloth Sampler available on Etsy. And Speaking of stitching, I've gone down a all things sewing and stitching rabbit hole, triggered by my discovery of Bernadette Banner on YouTube. So thankyou YouTube Algorithms, it turns out you do know what I want to be watching. Anywho, that lead me to Costube, and historical sewing and Rachel Maksy and pretty much wanting to be her when I grow up. 

Long story short I added a new Instagram account to my life, you can now find me @turner_sr for homestead and life stuffs, @yarnlab for you know yarn, and @SaraSewsSometimes for my sewing/stitching endeavours. Also our dog Willow has one too @Willowtheflopdog. Here's a picture of her with my brother's cat Kimmi, who is most likely now our cat.

As for what I want to do next, in between keeping up with the MKAL, about 20 other WIPs, halloween costume sewing and 3 small boys.

The Milet Mittens by Ysolda Teague have been itching to be cast on for a while now. Especially urgent with the snow that has arrived the past two mornings. I've go a kit for these, and since colourwork practically knits itself you'd think they'd be done by now.

Cia of Cias Bod podcast on YouTube suggested that this month we should alter old knits to make them more wearable. And I've been meaning to lengthen my Soldotna since I cast it off.... sooo I should probably do that.

I've actually never ever worn it, something about being self conscious about my stomach and cropped sweaters don't jive for me. Speaking of which I should probably lengthen this one before the holidays as well too. (Julgran).

Anyways, that's just a little bit of what's going on in the yarn lab right now.

Let's try this again.

The rather beautiful home we have been occupying this past week and a half belongs to a family with a 5 year old boy.

So of course I decided I would knit him a hat.

I was inspired by the pile of hats the Yarn Harlot knit at Christmas this year.

Pattern is Tiny Lumberjack by Fiona Alice, available on Ravelry.

So I popped into our LYS (A Nest Of Needles in Blairmore, AB) and grabbed myself three skeins of Cascade 220 superwash.

Colours, I believe (as I tossed the ball bands straight away), are silver grey, aran and really red.

However, I had it in my head that I wanted to knit the Antler Hat (by Tin Can Knits) only Tiny Lumberjack style. Particularly because the Tiny Lumberjack is knit with sport weight and sized only for babies, whereas the Antler Hat, like all Tin Can Knits patterns is sized from newborn to adult.

So I picked the child size, cast on 84 stitches with the recommended 4mm needles and switched to 5mm needles after knitting the brim.

And poof, hat. Don't mind the crown decreases there, about half way through them I noticed I had gone off pattern so I just winged it. 

But two problems with this hat.

1) the fabric is knit at too loose of a gauge, cascade 220 superwash doesn't really like 5mm needles for hats, and after washing and blocking the whole hat is way too drapey. Plus the 1 by 1 rib brim is really opening up too much for my liking.

2) the size, well let's just say it barely fits my 20 month olds, and would be way too small for a 5 year old.

So let's try this again.

This time I'll knit the brim on 3.5mm and the hat on 4.5mm, and I've cast on 106 rather than 84. I'll do a couple extra repeats of the cables as well.

And the first hat, well plenty of people around me keep having babies, it'll make it's way to warm a tiny head some time soon.

Today I'm 30, and maybe I'm finally learning a thing or two

Well it's the big 30 for me. And to be honest, I'm not sure I feel all that different. I think I really aged out of my 20s back when we found out we were expecting twins.

But today I did make one decision already, influence by my older and supposedly wiser self.

I did not cast on my So Faded Sweater.

Here's my beautiful fade of Hedgehog Fibres Sock yarn, in Typewriter, Boombox, Oracle and Graphite. I have it with me here in Crowsnest Pass (that's where we've been for all of February by the way), all caked up and with the intention of casting it on as a birthday present.

I learnt lessons from my Tegna, and knit a pair of swatches.

Decided on a tighter than recommended gauge on a 3.5 mm needle and did all the math I need to knit the size that will fit me. Heck I even measured myself rather than go with the size I am in my head.

Problem is, it's all written down on the printed out pattern... which I currently can't quite find (I'm fairly certain I packed it).

I almost cast it on anyways.

But I realized my 3.5 mm tips are currently knitting this project.

My Hearthstone by Ysolda Teague.

And I just have way too many WIPs on the needles right now (20, which is where I am supposed to draw the limit).

And so I made a mature choice, guided by age and wisdom, and decided to knit on this instead.

A long running sweater design project that is some number of inches away from the hem (I just can't seem to find my measuring tape.... maybe as a 30 year old I will be more organized than I was in my twenties? one can hope!)

WIP list

I have been keeping an ongoing list of my current WIPs in my knitting journal. With the vauge goal of 1) keeping them under one page's worth and 2) finishing 2018 with none of them (my word for 2018 is follow through, two words I know but its the point that counts).

Through Renne Anne (Confessions of a Yarn Addict) I found my way over to a Ravelry Group called A Year of Projects, and although it is not July 1, I figure I'd hop in now anyways, starting my year with the Calendar year.

So if you look up in the Header Bar/Tabs Bar, you'll see a new page for WIPs. All current ones. As in these are the one's I haven't forgotten about and are not hidden in a box in the basement (yep when we moved to Medicine Hat in June 2016, I packed up a box of languishing WIPs, so far only one thing has been rescued from it, although still not finished).

There are currently 19.... and I might be swatching for number 20 right now. Which is (with Yarn as my witness) where I'm going to cap that list.

Because even tho I swore I wouldn't cast on something new until I cast one more off. I caked up some yarn Friday night and cast one on.

Happy Knitting!

Blogmas2017 Day 02: I will not fail on the second day

Last year (2016) for the Tour De Fleece, I boldly thought that with month old twins sure I'd manage 10 minutes of spinning a day. I think I lasted 1 day!

It's 10 PM, and I swear I will not fail on day two of my Blogmas2017, because that would be way to typical of me.

So here we go.

Mini Advent KAL proceeds along, there are my squares for days 1 and two. Day one is the Cyborg’s Craft Room, Assockilate in Stellar, and Day 2 is Tosh Merino Light in Candlewick.

David's Tea yesterday was Let it Snow, and it was so delicious I rushed out today to pick up some more. And then ordered even more online since our shop only had the pre-filled 100g tins. Also for 2 more days, David's has 20% off 200g and 40% off 300g. Perfect time to stock up on your favourite Christmas Teas (santa's secret) so you don't have to ration them quite as thin next Autumn.

Today's tea was Chocolate Macaron, one that I actually have in my own personal stash, and very nice.

The Prairie Dye Studio Calendar is really setting the bar high for days 1 (project bag) and 2. Today was a six pack of beautiful 20 gram mini's in her Unconventional Christmas theme. They are just crying out to be used in some sort of amazing colourwork project.

Progress on my Little Boxy is keeping a-pace, I just three-needle bound off one shoulder seem and will do the other as soon as I post this.

Oh and I managed to get a Podcast video up, it only took all of last night and today, technical issues and what nots.

Anyhow, hope your Christmas knitting is moving along swimmingly. See you all tomorrow for day 03!

Gift knitting progress report, I might be a little insane

I like to do Christmas knitting. A fair bit of it actually. And last year I didn't mail my box of gift knits to Ontario until well after Christmas (I blame 6 month old twins, moving twice in December for Kev's work, once to a house with no dishwasher, and Kev working literally around the clock in the ICU). This year, however, I am determined to be on time for Christmas, and so I started well in advance.

So far I have finished:

1 shawl. 1 pair of socks, 1 cowl, 3 hats, and 4 pairs of mitts.

I have on my to do list still:

1 baby, two toddler, 1 child, and 1 adult sweaters.

2 toddler vests.

3 dog sweaters.

1 shawl.

1 scarf.

1 pair of mitts.

1 colour work hat.

1 pair of socks.

Oh and the rest of my thesis to finish before Christmas.

Clearly some of the things on that list are going to have to go. But it's still December, and I am still optimistic (ridiculously so) and ambitious (overly). But I am spurred on by the fact that some of those items are already underway, and others will be knit with bulky weight yarn (which practically knits itself).

Yesterday I cast on that child's sweater. I swatched for it way back when.

It's the Little Boxy by Joji Locatelli (pattern page, project page), and it's stockinette knit flat. Borring knitting, so I have set myself a 4 inches a day goal, to force my way through this project. So here's hoping this sweater manifests itself quickly.

Grand Shawl Plans for November

It's another month gone by, and the boys are 17 months old today! They are of course celebrating this milestone by being fussy teethers who don't want to nap.

I am celebrating by lining up four shawl WIPs that need to make their way over to the FO pile ASAP.

1) Westknits MKAL 2017, Speckle and Pop

This one is on it's second last row, something that has been determined by that wee little ball of my main colour 1. And while that should mean it'll be a quick finish, you should know I have something like 820 stitches to bind off with a multi coloured icord.... so you know. Fun.

2) The Traveller

This is a shawl I've been planning for years, I have three beautiful skeins of natural coloured BFL handspun, in about a DK weight, that I knew needed to be a rustic shawl. Babbles Traveling Yarns is having an Outlander KAL, and well it was time to get a move on on this one. I'm just about done the first section... although I may need to spin some more of the oatmeal colour.

3) My homespun Marled Magic

This one hasn't even been on needles for the last month, just the stitches on holders, waiting for me to spin up some more yarn. I've got the next skein ready to go so time to put it back on needles. Well maybe after I finish my other Westknit.

4) My Starting Point (ironically my finishing point as well)

Just keep knitting, just keep knitting, just keep knitting, knitting, knitting.

Planning and Evolving a Homespun Marled Magic WestKnit

Stephen West is a knitting god.

Ok, that goes without saying. And over the past few years, I've knit a few of them. And dream knit a few more.

That Exploration Station on the right is one I am particularly proud of. I hand spun that bad boy. And sure I dyed the yarn in shades that more resemble hubba bubba bubble gum than anything else, but I still love it in all it's squishy goodness.

That's why when Stephen announced his spring mystery knit along, I knew I wanted to spin for this project. (Plus I had literally just finished my Building Blocks shawl, and I didn't have the time or stamina to keep up with a mystery knit. Planning to spin for it gave me a good excuse to wait until after).

When I found out it was going to be a marled project, I had a good idea of what I wanted to do.

WestKnits Marled Magic Spring 2017 MKAL

The concept was clear, I would spin singles, hold them double while I knit and let them do the colour changing magic for me! And right away I had an idea of what kind of fibre I wanted to spin.

These are Odd Balls, by Stitch Together Studio.

Although when I bought two bags of them, they were called scatter bits. And they are fabulous little 1-2g balls of merino pencil roving in hand dyed goodness.

I dyed up some merino roving that I had in my stash in a solid black and thought I would be set..... more or less.

And rather than spin them randomly, I separated them out according to colour. You can see more of my thought process for this project in this Tour de Fleece video.

But when I was at Olds Fibre Week, I got it in my head I would need at least one more braid to combine into this project. And picked up one by Flock Fibre Studios in their Princess Tiger Cub colourway.

Here it is marled with the black on the first section of the shawl. It was at this point I decided I needed more. Luckily I was headed into the Stash reopening this past weekend, and while I was there I found the perfect Tin Roof Fibre Studio braid, and settled on my final palette.

While I spun up all of my minis, I decided to only work with the Purple through Yellow section of the colour wheel they made up.

And yesterday, as soon as all my minis were weighed and measured, I dove into section 2 of the shawl.

Sooo pink and fantastical! Tomorrow I'll share the maths I'm using to marl this section and maximally utilize my minis. This is the Yarn Lab after all, and how could I resist some knitting maths?

Oh and as for the rest of the minis from this colour wheel? I have an idea for them already!

Colour pops in a Squiggle Wiggle What?! but that's a homespun westknit project for a future date!

Ripped, Knit and crochet.

I was knitting the Snowmelt Shawl by Helen Stewart of Curious Handmade. I ripped it out.

I just wasn't feeling the peach yarn (which I dyed myself). In theory it looked good with the other two (purple is Republik of Wool and Blue is Francophile Knits), and by in theory I mean in skein form. But half way through the knit I just knew I hated it and it needed to go to the frog pond.

So I'll probably cast that one back on eventually... since it is a FO I would really like to have, I mean I don't have any semi-circular shawls yet. And really that is reason enough for me.

I cast on the Twisted Soul socks, for the Sockmatician's Twisted Stitches knit along. These are a mystery knit pattern, heavily cabled. I won't share any more pictures until all the clues are out. I'll be pleasantly surprised if I manage to finish these bad boys before the end of the month.

These Caron Cakes are a project with a deadline. I actually added a fifth to that pile, just in case. They are quickly becoming a chevron crochet blanket for a bridal shower on the 17th. I'd say I'm about half way there.

So that's what I have pictures of... actual WIPs, well I think I'm upwards of 7 right now. So that's fun.

What have you been working on?

Yarn in Hawaii

I just got home from a solo trip to Hawaii... to enjoy some sunshine, hiking and personal time and a yoga festival. And of course, being an addict like myself, some yarn.

So I have to admit, I did a fair amount of beach knitting. Working on my Painted Desert Lace Shawl. In fact it's my very first shall and the colours of this yarn, in the candle light colourway, are just beautiful. I can't wait to decide what to do with the other two skeins of it I bought.

I also checked out the two local yarn shops on the island, Yarn Story in Honolulu, and Aloha Yarn in Kaneohe. Of course I bought some souvenir yarn at both shops, which I'll show off in a separate post. But one of the things I bought was 50 grams of Schoppel Wolle, 100% merino, pencil roving in the parrot colourway.

Which I promptly got to spinning, in my tent, on my new handmade spindle, while watching the waves crash on the beach in front of me.

And it turned out beautiful, I can't wait to finish it, and knit with it. I don't have much, so I'm thinking it would look great in little stained glass windows outlined in black. So inspiring!

And speaking of inspiring, I saw this beautiful giant dream catcher at one of the vendor tents at Wanderlust, and I simply must make one for myself!

I didn't just create while I was away, I also recycled. I found this blue cotton sweater marked down to just a couple dollars at the Forever 21 in Waikiki, and decided to unravel it. I've got a project involving over dying some of the yarn in mind for it.

I of course always bring books with me on vacation, this time I ventured into the world of knitting novels, and read My life in Stiches by Rachael Herron,  and All Wound Up by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. I picked up both books in the mark down section at Chapters just before I left. Something about Stephanie...AKA the Yarn Harlot....it's so inspiring to see a fellow Canadian making her life as a Knitting-Writer!

Overall the trip was amazing, and I swear I didn't have my knitting in my hands all the time.