Love Your Library - April's done

La Licorne socks.  They look better on, but modeling them myself wasn't an option.

I've picked May's book and the pattern from it.  I'll post about it next week when I've picked the yarn.

I've not been posting about books that I read (as opposed to those I use for knitting).  There are no unread books around here.  I've never been without a book from the time I learned to read.  I still haven't gotten over the magic of an e-reader.  As soon as I finish one book, with a couple of clicks I've got a new one.  The current one is Girls Like Us.  It's kind of a mixed up biography of Carole King, Carly Simon, and Joni Mitchell.  Get well soon, Joni!

Here's where to see how other folks are loving their libraries.

Browsing again

Slipped Stitch Studios makes project bags that have tempted me from time to time.  They also offer stitch markers.  I have tons of stitch markers.  I have more than I'd ever use even if I had several complex projects going at once.  I did sign up for a stitch marker club.  This one is clever:  you get a charm bracelet and the stitch markers are on little lobster claw hooks.  If you want to enjoy your stitch markers, clip them onto the bracelet.  I'm thinking of getting a package of hooks and converting some of my favorite unused markers.

Cape Gingham is a free sock pattern I spotted on Ravelry.  The pattern's gingham and really cute.  It takes sport weight yarn which will make it more of a winter house socks sort of thing for me.

Coexist.  I have the tshirt with this on it:

Can't all fandoms just get along?  They might with a mystery knitalong on Ravelry.  It's part of Sock Knitters Anonymous.  The clues will be available weekly in May.  It is a choose your own adventure pattern.  There will be different options based on different fandoms.  There are several size options.  The pattern isn't set to fit every possible pattern and size together.  One will need to do some adjusting here and there.  It sounds like fun to me.

I'm off to browse some more.  I need to pick out yarn for Coexist.  I also need to find a free or inexpensive knit charting program.  I intend to make that Whovian Mitten pattern a bit more user friendly.

WIP Wednesday 4/22/15

Socks:  nothing in progress.  I finished one pair last night.  I'm either going to do a new pair of Geek Socks or one of the Doctor Who companion sock patterns.  Or maybe something else.

Squares:  the last week of doing two mystery squares per week is done.  This is the latest of the Alice in Wonderland squares:

A bit of steaming will be required when this one's dry.  I'm still working on getting the stitches smooth and even.

Here is where to go to see more works in progress.

Finished Object Friday 4/17/15

Swiffer socks.  I made two of these to use with my Swiffer Wet-Jet.  They are both reversible.  The side with the loops grabs dust.  This is helped by using crappy Red Heart.  It generates static which attracts dust.  The flat side is used when wet mopping.  It beats the heck out of buying the commercial pads and they are reusuable.

My first and possibly only main project for this month's Time Traveler quests.  They are Souffle Girl socks:

WIP Wednesday 4/15/15

The stuff I have in progress has been alternating between socks and squares.  I frogged the current sock at the halfway point and am about to restart it.  Here are the squares:

The upper left is this week's mystery afghan square.  The others are for the Alice in Wonderland pillow.  They are coming out better than the first try, but not as good as I'd like them to be.  It's time for me to learn a different kind of purl.  The one I use doesn't match the knit very well.

See what other stitchers are up to at Stitch Along Wednesday.

Browsing

I'm working on a pair of socks that have embroidery on them.  I'm almost to the heel turn.  I've been advised that the embroidery should be done before moving on to the foot.  I don't know if I want to embroider right now.  Everything on tv that I want to watch is stuff I've already seen.  So I started poking around on Ravelry and found some interesting stuff.

You Can Do It blanket.  I don't know that I'd ever do this, but the pattern's free from Lion Brand.  You work the front and back seperately and sew them together.  The back has You Can Do It in big letters.  This is the front:

Self-picturing yarn.  It's the same principle as self-striping yarn, only you end up with little pictures.  Stitch gauge is absolutely critical in making it work.  This one' can be preordered from Artistic Yarns by Abi:

She's done some other picture designs, too.  I haven't ordered anything...yet.

Game of Thrones sock patterns.  I know.  If all the sock patterns I have were printed out and put end to end, they'd no doubt reach the moon.  Don't care.  There are three of them and they were all free.  The designer's Avalanche Designs.  The patterns are House Greyjoy, House Baratheon, and House Targaryen.  They're cable-y and pretty.

Randiriel Socks.  This is another free pattern.  It reminds me of Bavarian twisted stitch socks that I love.  The original pattern's in German, so maybe it is.  The pattern's also available in English.  It came out of a Ravelry group that has about a zillion members.  I don't want to check and see if more of the group's patterns are in English.  I could end up with a library of sock patterns that could reach Saturn's moons.

Wastl by General Hogbuffer.  Speaking of Bavarian twisted stitches, this is another free sock pattern.  If you enjoy patterns with non-traditional construction, look up the General on Ravelry.  This one's more on the normal side and it might make it onto the queue pretty soon.  

Interesting, but not tempting enough to add to the library were a Star Wars doubleknit scarf, a crocheted crown, a sweater with spinning wheels around the yoke, and a whole bunch of elaborate crocheted squares.

Stash Enhancement Saturday 4/11

This is why the previous post was titled I Do Not Need More Yarn.

It's the yarn for my Arts and Crafts blanket.  The yarn that I packed back up in the box it came in so I wouldn't drop everything and start it.

I also got a couple of balls of alpaca yarn for a small project.  After finishing the project, I found some yarn that I could've used for it.  Why a ball of alpaca yarn ended up in a bin of scratchy Red Heart is a mystery. I think a bit of yarn reorganizing might be in order.

I do not need more yarn

*(I do not need more yarn).  Repeat from * until you get it through your head that you do not need more yarn.

So I'm on Ravelry, adding the yarn I got today to my stash.  It's for the Arts and Crafts blanket.  I took a look at my queue, and this project immediately is put into hibernation at the bottom of the queue.

I started looking at what my Friends are up to.  I spot several skeins of yarn that are sooooo nice.  I do not need more yarn.  I do not need that pretty lavender with the matching Eiffel Tower project bag.  I have two colors of that Eiffel Tower fabric already and a bag made out of the pink.  Silly girl!

I also do not need more projects, but that's a bit more under control.  I am not doing the -a-long part of the Geek-a-long (button to your left).  I am collecting the patterns and having the button helps me get to where they are.  Yes, I did make a donation to their charity first, even though you don't have it.  It was only right to do so.  I may do this one in the future.

WIP Wednesday

I'm keeping up with the mystery squares.  Only two more weeks and I'll only have to do one square per week until the KAL finishes.

Souffle Girl socks are for a Doctor Who quest.  I'm a little bit into the second sock.

I needed a break, so I started in on the tea cosy.  I'm waiting for a backordered ball of yarn to arrive so I can finish it.

Go see what other people are doing at Stitch Along Wednesday.

Organized madness

I'm taking a minute to untangle my crazy queue.  If I put it here, I can find it again.

• Mystery afghan squares-keep up
• Alice in Wonderland pillow, Frieda bag, alternate with something that isn't a square
• Tea Cosy, Guatemala bag, finish
• Colorwork socks, pick yarn, start in May
• Coexist Socks, Hitchhiker box bag, start in May
• Oswin shawl, Jessalu Who bag, due 6/30, April portion done.
• Name of the Doctor scarf, Tardis bag, enter in Pandorica for the month you think you can finish it
• Pond Socks, Monty Python bag, save for  Who event
• Spoilers Socks, Llama bag, save for Who event
• Arts and Crafts blanket-project in hibernation until you finish most of this list
• Nepal Mystery Shawl, do later
• Cat Hoodie, do later
• Mollie Makes flowerpot covers, do later

Stash Enhancement Saturday

Nothing too exciting, just a Knit Picks order:

All of it is for a tea cosy except for the lower right.  That's going to be part of my mystery afghan.

The oddly good news is that one of the colors is backordered.  I can't be tempted into starting this pattern ahead of all the other stuff if I don't have all of the yarn for it.

I've got another pattern that I want to order yarn to make.  I got a message back from the designer saying that my payment went through and I could download it.  There were no instructions for downloading, no button, no link, no anything.  It's been nearly a week and no response to my email asking for how to download it.  I am not happy.  This was probably the most I've paid for a downloadable pattern ever and I'm not willing to just forget about it.  Grrrrr.

FO Friday

I've started several things this week, but this is all that is done:

It's a Dalek and a Dalek egg.

WIP and almost in progress Wednesday

Work that's actually in progress is going well.  I'm keeping up with the mystery afghan squares.  The Name of the Doctor scarf sat untouched for months at 45% done.  I picked it up and it's past 75% now:

I found a bunch of projects that I want to do and have them all stuffed in project bags.  The timing on this leaves a lot to be desired.  I have a bunch of Doctor Who quests to do starting today.  No, it isn't an April Fools joke.  It'll be clear from this list exactly who the April Fool is.  Note to self:  italics means optional.

Quest 1, something to help The Doctor-pick pattern-due 4/30

Quest 2, Souffle Girl socks, Cookie 2011 bag-due 4/30

Quest 3, stop Vespiforms-due 4/30

Quest 4, help The Doctor and UNIT-due 4/30

Egg patterns, two or three-due 4/30

Li Licorne socks, Paris cafe bag-try to do by 4/30

Oswin shawl, Jessalu Who bag, due 6/30

Name of the Doctor scarf, Tardis bag, enter in Pandorica for the month you think you can finish it

Mystery afghan squares-try to keep up

Arts and Crafts blanket-get download instructions

Alice in Wonderland pillow, dragon bag, do later

Tea Cosy, Guatemala bag, do later

Pond Socks, Monty Python bag, do later

Spoilers Socks, Llama bag, do later

Mariners Geek Socks, Mary Englebreit bag, do later