WIP Promise

Right now, I have a bunch of WIPs on tap, and I have made a promise to myself to complete at least ONE of them by the end of this month.  When you see them, and see what needs to be done to finish each one, you will probably laugh your ass off when you get to a particular one.

Let's get started with pictures I took 10 days ago (proof of what a slacker I am).

Jolly Roger Shawl:



I cast on for this on September 19, on Talk Like a Pirate Day.  I've done a handful more rows since that (I can really only manage one a night between dinner and bedtime).  I would have loved to have had this for Halloween, but I would need much more time to work on it.  Since there is NO WAY IN HELL it can't be done by the end of October, I'm hoping to at least be done by Thanksgiving.  Twenty-six and a half rows to go!!!!!!

Sleep Knitting Socks:



I cast on for these on September 10, because I needed something to knit on my commute that wasn't too taxing, and also to take on the trails with me when we hike.   I also managed to used my project as a prop for my catches on the trail:





(Disclaimer: if anyone is going to wank at me for having photos of a snake on my blog, just hit the back button right fucking now, because I don't give a shit about your phobias.  It's a goddamn photo of a harmless garter snake, for fuck's sake.)

Hopefully I'll have these done very, very soon.  If not by the end of this month, the beginning of November.

I'm Picking Out a Thermis:



Originally started on January 15.  STOP LAUGHING.  I had finished it pretty quickly, wore it a few times, and it was FUCKING HUGE and flopped around so it sat in a drawer since around March, waiting to be frogged.  I don't remember when I re-knit it, but I re-knit it and right now all it needs is to have the ends woven in and have buttons sewn on.  Sounds simple, but I've been too lazy to go all the way up to the third floor to get my sewing needles and rummage through my hatbox of thread to find the one that matches the buttons.  Okay, you can laugh now.

I'm hoping to do this last piddling bit by the end of October.

Lilah's Blanket:



Started on April 5, I finished the knitting part of it some time in August and just have to finish sewing the ruffle onto the blanket for my stepgranddaughter, who was born July 30.

I'm the worst go-go ever.

Thankfully, she has two other blankets that nicer people than I made for her.  They are crocheted, though.

I'm hoping to have this done by Thanksgiving.

Love Bytes:



Started January 6, I finished the first mitten in about 3 weeks (thanks to shitty weather and the first season of TREME).  I'm a decent way through the second mitten (it looks as though I have already put aside stitches for the thumb -- yes, it has been that long that I don't remember), but haven't picked these up in months.  I should have these done by the winter, if not the end of the year.

I'm only allowed to cast on something else IF I finish the socks (a/k/a my commuting project, and yes, I just almost wrote "cocks" because I am that LSG), and that new project has to also be a project I can do on my commute, AND I can only work on that project while commuting, being a passenger on a car, or otherwise somewhere where I require a small, easily transported project (i.e. on the trail).

That's it for now!

Belated FOs Post

Folks, I've been remiss in posting some of my FOs. I actually took these photos and uploaded them the same day I made my last post; however, two blog posts in the same day bugs the tiny bit of me that is anal-retentive, and I also didn't want to put my FOs in with my Rhinebeck post because they wouldn't fit in there. Again, a tiny bit of me that is anal-retentive (if you saw my housekeeping you would surely see that that bit is not only tiny, it's microscopic. I would say that I'm anal-expulsive, but that's just gross).

Getting that out of the way, here are my fabulous (and still in the to-be-handwashed-pile-since-that-very-day) Socks That Go To Eleven:





This yarn was FUN! It's superwash wool from an Etsy seller called Sharing, who sells really lovely yarns and project bags. This colorway is called "Neon Lights". I used the Chevron pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks, and size 1 needles.

Here's a little something I came up with on my own (well, sorta):



I used a houndstooth stitch pattern from an old stitch dictionary book put out by Spinnerin. I was too lazy (yes, I was too lazy, and will be the first to admit it!) to figure out how to convert the stitch pattern to knitting in the round, so the houndstooth part is knitted flat, but the ribbed parts are knitted in the round -- I cast on provisionally so I could pick up the stitches for the cuffs. I had to sew up the seam, of course. I may try to improve on this idea by converting the pattern to the round, and maybe make them fit a little more snugly, especially around the fingers.

It was a stash buster project -- I had a tiny bit of that cornflower blue yarn leftover from some blanket squares I made, and the red was leftover from one of the pairs of alligator mittens I made 3 or 4 years ago. At the time I started these mitts, I didn't know if the yarn was Cascade 220 or Lion Brand Wool-Ease, but I think now that it is Cascade 220, meaning I can't put these in the washer. Crap. The cornflower blue is washable, probably some kind of acrylic.

Speaking of stash busters and blanket squares:



These are some of the squares I knit up for the Pine Street Inn Knit-a-Thon on November 8. I've knit 12 in all, all of them machine-washable. The Pine Street Inn is a local homeless shelter/assistance program, and the blanket squares are knit to raise funds to help the Inn place homeless people into permanent housing. Several knitters will meet up on November 8 to sew the squares together to make blankets as "housewarming presents" for every person going into his or her new, permanent home. I'm not completely whoring for donations here, but if you want to, my pledge page is here.

Luciano says, "Oh no you di'nt!"



I have a few other projects on the needles. My Swallowtail Shawl hasn't changed much since you last saw it. Shit, that was right after Ken died. I was reluctant to work on it with Luciano around, and it is in a safe place but has a thin layer of cat hair on the top. I really need to work on that soon.

My Lacy Waves Sweater is under the couch. Remember back in June when I had a fit over it and threw it across the room? I started to work on it again, and decided that I just don't love it enough to finish it. Attempting to frog it, with all of the bound-off stitches along the neckline and sleeves, caused it to get off my lap and fly across the room again, so for now, it lives in the box that the yarn came in.

I started a pair of socks for Mike with some of the yarn I purchased at Rhinebeck. That link will just take you to my Ravelry page for them, and the only photo is a photo of the orange yarn I got at Rhinebeck. It's the "Sam" pattern from Cookie A's book "Sock Innovation". It's a slow-going pattern, but it's really interesting with the moving cable and all.

I've been working on a secret project for Mike. It's not a secret from him, but it's a secret from everybody else because it's using intarsia and I've been askeered to say I was doing it in case I mess it up and frog it. Hopefully it's at the point now that I can talk about it. I often have grand plans for things that I want to make, but I don't want to be one of those people who always talks about all these GREAT things she is going to do and how COOL it will be, only to have it never happen. I'm sure y'all know exactly the sort of person I'm talking about. I don't want to be one of those, although I think I in generally come clean when I've fucked up. I hope I do. After all, it's only yarn, it's only projects, and I'm only human.

In the "only human" department, I certain haven't spun in quite a while. Oopsie. I started spinning some gorgeous blue stuff months ago, but I don't think I have a photo. I know I have spun since we got Luciano, because I was surprised at how well-behave he was with my wheel. Since then, he has run around with blue fiber hanging from his mouth -- he pulled the end off my spinning. All fibery things need to be locked up from him, as well as all needles and plastic bags (since both he and Ellie will chew on them). Cats. . . what a concept.

Hopefully soon I'll have some good WIP (and maybe FO) photos for you!