Mad Color Geek Tour

My first stop on the Tour is Firefly's Serenity Valley:

You don't have to be a Browncoat to appreciate a BFL/silk blend!

UFO month was semi-successful. I got several things done that had been gathering dust for a loooong time. I've got a quilt that needs the quilting part finished. I've got an afghan that's 1/3 complete. Anything else has either been tossed out or is sitting in maybe I'll frog it pile. The thing that came clear to me is that I need to start things and finish them before picking up something else. It's knitter's ADD. Among the things I've started in the last month and fully intend to finish are two (unrelated) mittens, a sweater, and a sock. Probably two socks. I'm starting Wooly Wormhead hat KAL tomorrow. Still I'm petting this Shiny skein and wondering what I could make with it. Hopeless.

UFO Update

I knew I'd probably stall on the UFOs before the month was out and that's pretty much happened. I did completely re-sole my Killer Rabbit slippers, so that's something. I finished one pair of this month's Cookie A sock club socks. I've got 10" of a cardigan body complete. I told myself I could take a break every time I used up a ball of yarn for the sweater. That didn't last. I put it down and started the second pair of Cookie A socks. The yarn's scratchy and a bit stiff, but it shows off the lacy pattern nicely. I hope washing will soften it.

I've not bought any more yarn since the blue stuff a few days ago. Fabric's another story. Spoonflower is having a 2 for 1 fat quarter sale through Halloween. There were some Doctor Who themed fabrics I hadn't seen before, so I gave in and got four. I know I'll use them eventually so it wasn't that indulgent.

The latest distraction

I got a new Knit Picks catalog the other day. For a change, the only thing I was tempted by was a free pattern. It's just the right size for a gift card and it can be used as a Christmas ornament.

I made it using the square DPNs from Kollage. They're supposed to be easier on your hands and result in more even stitches. They are recommended for people who knit tight. I'm definitely not one of those people. The tips are extremely pointy and sharp. My cats will come up while I'm knitting and try to scratch their faces on my needles. I had to be careful for that not to happen while I was using these needles or I would've ended up at the emergency vet. Other than the pointiness, they were okay. I think I'll have to try them on a larger project before deciding whether I like them or not.

The latest indulgence

My name is Paula and I'm addicted to buying sock yarn. When I saw the cover of this Entertainment Weekly, I loved something about the color combination. I said to myself, this would make a really pretty sock yarn.

It's a week or two later. I'm on Twitter and the proprietor of Black Trillium Yarns tweets a discount code to her followers. It can't hurt to look, can it?

A skein of this is on the way.

I didn't see the pictures together until I previewed this post. What a match!

Back to the UFOs

This is Betty Boo. She's been in the queue for 3 or 4 years.

Not at Rhinebeck...

...so I had to go shopping online. That's my excuse. Paradise Fibers is having a 15% off sale on those square Kollage needles I've been wanting to try. That's my other excuse. I have no excuse for the skein of Madelinetosh sock yarn that I bought with it.

My lack of discipline has extended itself to my works in progress. When I found out that those last two pair of Cookie A socks don't have to be done until mid-December, I dropped them like they were hot. (groan) I picked up the sweater I started a couple of days ago. It starts with this psycho ribbing where you do a right twist then a left twist. I can do the right twist without a cable needle but not the left twist. Three hundred and sixty tiny little twisted stitches. I'm not doing three inches of this. Two is plenty. I think I'm about three rows away from being done. Arrrrrgh!

P.S. If you're on Twitter, follow KnittingRyanG for some giggles. Ryan's your imaginary boyfriend that's super supportive of all fiber activities. Since you can't be at Rhinebeck, he's invented a fun event called Ryanbeck. People are starting to play along and it is funny.

Drop everything and knit socks

UFO October has been interrupted. Cookie A is giving away a membership in next year's sock club. You get an entry in the drawing for each pair of this year's socks you do plus one for each cookie recipe you try. The cookies are out because a) I don't need to be eating cookies and b) the oven wants replacing and it's not going to happen right away. I've got all but the two newest patterns done so I'm dropping everything and knitting them.

The chances of winning are probably not on my side, but there's no harm in trying. I was going to knit them anyway, so what the heck.

Double Dose of Companions

The second and third shipments from the Ladies of Who club arrived today. These are two of my favorites. It might've been sponsored by the letter S.

Sally Sparrow. Colorway is "It's Happy for Deep People". It's about equal parts of red, orange, and dark blue with gold Stellina throughout. This should be really interesting to knit with.

Sarah Jane Smith. Colorway is "My Sarah Jane". In real life the color's a little bit lighter. It reminds me of her car, a Nissan Figaro, which I want.

Vest is done

I tried steaming it, but there's no way around washing and blocking.

December Mittens are done, too.

Next will probably be sewing projects.

Ten Eleven Twelve

That's today's date. I'm easily amused.

I visited one of my Local Yarn Stores the other day. I ended up spending more than I intended but I did have a coupon. It was more than I intended minus 10% so that's one good thing.

I neglected to bring my reading glasses with me. This is a mistake I'll be unlikely to repeat. I picked up a couple of balls of pretty pink/lavender/green yarn in a wool-silk blend. I didn't note the price until I got home. Yikes! I picked out a shawlette pattern based on the yardage I bought. This turned out to be a mistake, too. At least it wasn't my mistake. According to the pattern, I should've had more than enough to finish. I ended up 15 rows short. That's 15 of the longest rows. I think I'll frog it and make the hat I was considering in the first place.

The other purchase was yarn to redo the back of a vest (one of the UFOs). I brought some yarn back from Ireland a long time ago. There was enough to do the front of a vest. I knit the back with yarn that I've been pretending was a close enough match. It isn't close enough so I'm doing it over. I looked at every green yarn in the entire store. I told myself all I had to do was match the color. As long as the yarn wasn't bulky or thicker, I'd find a way to work with it. I found one yarn that matched. Of course it was bulky, but I think I can make it work.

FiBirthday

Here's the big pile of birthday goodies I got for myself:

Some are actually yarn club yarns and a couple of things were ordered ages ago. I saved them all so I'd have fun things to open today.

UFO Musings

I'm in no mood to work on the quilt or the two projects that need to be hand-felted. There are several embroidery projects, but they are going to the back of the queue to be done after the quilt. I need my big magnifying lamp set up to do them and it'll be more practical to do them all at once.

Three more projects need supplies to finish them. Tomorrow I'll shop for them.

That leaves the sheep sweater (in deep hibernation), the Tardis afghan, and the mittens kit. I'm one thumb from being halfway through the kit. The current plan is to alternate between the afghan, mittens, and the other projects. We'll see how long this plan lasts.

Sweatshirt sheep

I worked on one UFO and decided I didn't want to finish it. The next two were embellished sweatshirts and I finished them both. This one came out better than the other did:

Quilt Up

I did this as part of a quilt-along a couple of years ago. Today I sewed a sleeve on the back for a mounting stick and stuck it up on a wall.

Make Do and Mend

I finished the knitting on this a while back. It didn't come out to a standard pillow size, so I had to make my own pillow form.

Per usual, the colors aren't showing up right. Navy blue, wine, and olive are the real shades.

I'm starting to see why I have so many UFOs. Many of them have one thing wrong with them but I like the rest so I don't want to toss them out. Will I do the tiny piece or cross-stitch or finish quilting a small quilt? Will I hand-felt the bunny slippers or repair the Monty Python killer bunny slippers? Stay tuned.

Secret Projects

Secret projects are done. They both look a little like this and are more blue than the picture:

Day 3 of UFO month: repaired holes in each of my Feet Eater slippers.

CPH and day 2

This is a quick shot of my Central Park Hoodie.

Today I went through the bag of UFOs. I think there's a bag, a bucket, and a shelf dedicated to things that need finishing or want starting. I decided I didn't want to do a project that involved dyeing a tshirt. The elements of that project have been put in other places.

Secret project #1 is complete. The knitting part is complete to be more accurate. Secret project #2 has been started. I think I'll go block secret project #1.

Central Park Hoodie

My Central Park Hoodie is completely done. All it needed was for the zipper to be sewn in and I did it. It'll be great when it gets colder and I'm avoiding turning on the heat.

Six Sock September turned into Five. The last pair, Wanderlust, are still damp but I took their picture anyway. They came from the first issue of The Sock Report. If I hiked, they'd be perfect. The heels and toes are done double-thick.

I knew I'd be casting on something new and not already queued before the month was out. I didn't think it would be this soon. I've got two secret projects that jumped to the top of the queue. They are both fairly quick and I'm making them with stash yarn. I can't say any more because there's an outside chance the recipient might come by here.