Last time was the beginning of October, and I was ready to embark upon Repeat #7, with the remainder of Skein #2. I was using 21% more yarn for each Repeat and predicting a total of 11 Repeats.
In the midst of Repeat #7 and mid-October (10/15/23) I discovered a dropped stitch from several rounds back...
I captured it with a stitch marker, then fixed it when I reached the appropriate column.
The repair is a little tight but surprisingly doesn't look bad in this photo. I do think it will even a bit during blocking.
Also toward the end of Repeat #7 I printed out a second copy of the bulk of the pattern since my mark-ups were filling up the white space and I think I have at least a few more Repeats to go.
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Today is Christmas Eve, and I am finally getting to the point of finishing this post.
I finished Repeat #7 Thanksgiving Weekend (November 22).
Repeat #7 used 18g, which is 6% more than Repeat #6. I am still using skein #2.
As I mentioned in my plan last time, the first thing I did was move this project to two 60-inch circular needles.
The first needle was a bit grabby with the yarn, so I wiped down the second prior to using it and both are running smoothly, after the first couple of rounds.
I finally finished the first skein about 3/4 into the 5th Repeat.
It is interesting that Repeat #5 used the same weight of yarn as Repeat #4 (14g each). I can only assume that one of my weights was not measured accurately, since I have a habit of using my scale where ever I happen to be. I'm curious to see what happens in Repeat #6.
In thinking about it further, I suspect that the finish weight for Round #3 was incorrect, which means the delta that gave me 27% increase was also incorrect. This is a good reminder that each and every step matters when it comes to an accurate predictive analysis.
Finally more than a month later, and earlier this week, I finished Repeat #6. The yarn used was 21% more than Repeat #5 and I'm still in Skein #2.
The wrap is starting to show it's Kidney Bean shape, and is still on a pair of 60-inch needles.
If the 21% increase in yarn per Repeat continues, then I should be able to get 11 total repeats out of the yarn I have.
I am continuing to work on this project primarily during the mornings. Each Round is now taking more than 2 hours over several days, and each Repeat has 13 Rounds. Which means that my forecasted end date is continuing to move out. ;-) Currently I'm hoping to be complete in early March 2024.
Since last time, I tried to put this project on one circular needle, but it wasn't quite ready...
So I moved it to two of my longest US0s. These are 40 inches long...
This was a dedicated project until about the end of March 2023, when it started to get boring. So I did some work on other projects to give my mind something else to focus on.
This was also the point of leaving our temporary housing toward the end of the major portion of our remodel. It was in to the second part of the first pattern repeat and about 2.5 inches wide.
Working on it a little here and there for much of April, I am complete with the 2nd pattern repeat as of early May 2023. The project is about 4.5 inches wide, and I have used less than half of the first skein.
These are still the 40-inch needles...
This project then spent most of May and June resting, only picking it back up in early July 2023.
Since then I've been working with a less-is-more strategy. Generally I only work on it in the morning while I'm having coffee and catching up on the news from the previous day. Then spending any other available time working on something else.
Each round is currently taking about an hour and 15 minutes to complete, usually over two days. Each round also increases by at least 4 stitches.
As of this writing, in mid-August 2023, I have completed Repeat #4 and used most of the first skein.
Repeat #4 used 27% more yarn than Repeat #3. So assuming this rate stays constant, I should be able to complete 10 total Repeats. Which means that I am 40% complete if you count Repeats, but only ~15% complete if you count skeins used.... lol.
Each Repeat adds two inches to the width of the wrap.
I will continue to keep track of yarn usage since the yarn is discontinued, and I, therefore, only have what I have.
I have also filled out my two 40-inch circulars and will be moving this project to two 60-inch circulars next.
The Steeking class was my first-ever class at Yarn Fest... and the results are two cut tubes and a half-finished zipper bag. :-)
The profound part of the class for me was realizing that the entire thing won't fall apart once you start snipping.
In the photo below, the right side has been secured by needle felting and the left side has not been secured... this was quite a revelation!
There were about 10 people in the class, this is a pile of our partially finished bags.
Since I took a class, I was granted access to the market. I don't like that the market has an admission fee... especially since it's smaller than the others I've been too... and generally doesn't have my preferred, undyed, single breed, fibers.... but I do think it's important to support local yarn and fiber events whenever I can.
In this case, they had two events going on at the same time, in the same place... Yarn Fest and Stitch Fest, which was focused on Quilting.
I don't understand why, but there was more aisle space given to the quilting side of the ballroom. Which means that the yarn side was crowded and difficult to pass.
That being said, the Quilt Exhibit was interesting. I especially liked this one...
For the Yarn Fest portion, there was a lot of sock yarn... and by a lot, I mean almost everything was sock yarn. Which was fine, since that's what I decided my focus would be. ;-)
In the lobby was a community scarf, to which I added a few rows of stockinette. It's been a long while since I used straight needles. lol.
The one thing I was really looking for were Sock Blockers, but did not see any... as in none. It seems they were everywhere a few years ago. hmph.
I found a quiet space and a few minutes to work on my Sandbank prior to class starting.
AND... I finally achieved the life goal of wearing a pair of me-made, handknit socks to a Fiber Festival. Brown Socks for the Win!
According to Ravelry, I first saw this pattern in June 2017, nearly 6 years ago.
In the most recent December (2022) an image of this project kept popping into my head. So I had started looking for it in my queue and list of favorites. It took a while to find because the image I had was of my intended version, not the published version. lol.
Then, a couple of weeks later, on NYEE, I saw a note from the publisher of Knitty Magazine that said Shibui Knits was discontinuing their yarn brand. So I went straight to their website, looked around and happened to find the exact color and weight that I had in mind for this project.
It's a Merino+Silk blend, with 40% being Silk. So the result should have lovely drape.
So I bought the pattern, printed it out, promptly made the notes of the modifications I wanted to make, and ordered the yarn.... and THAT is how easily my actual queue/active project list gets too long. This project had been percolating in the background for nearly 6 years and then came together in about 10 minutes on New Year's Eve Eve 2022.
The yarn arrived as our remodel was starting. So I set it aside in the tiny office of our temporary housing, thinking I would get started within a few weeks.
In early-February, I decided to wind the first ball and swatch the project.... but since my winding tools were packed away, I improvised with my knees...
Gauge is not important for this wrap, so my swatch is just a few rows to ensure I was getting the fabric I wanted...
I am using the same US0 needles as the Clown Fish Socks and I ordered a couple of longer ones for the later stages and set everything aside again.
Since I want a generous scarf/wrap when complete, and am using US0... or 30% smaller than the prescribed US3 needle, I thought I would aim to cast on 30% more stitches than the pattern called for, but ultimately just pulled out a length of yarn and cast on until I ran out of tail, using Judy's Magic Cast on, which is essentially, my preferred Long Tail Cast on, but using two needles.
I ended up casting on 422 stitches while watching the Live Broadcast of the Flyball Competition at Crufts.
It doesn't look like much on these tiny needles. lol.
Over the rest of the weekend, I set up for the end increases and knit a couple of rounds, using my 16-inch circulars... I'm definitely going to need the longer needles sooner than I expected.
This project is being worked from the center-out, which I think this will be an interesting effect.
I have a long way to go, so you'll likely see a lot of it here over the next several months. ;-)
It had no specific purpose in 2012, but I kept coming back to it, so it came home with me. I figured it might make a nice wrap... and here we are, 10 years later... using US5 needles.
This pattern is improvised, but took inspiration from the Rill Scarf I recently ripped out and the Forever Wingspan of a few years ago.
This project consumed my fiber-attention for about 6 weeks.
My Ravelry queue and favorites list are full of projects that include lace... but I've stated (at least) a few times that I'm not a fan of making lace. However, I do want to be competent. So I keep trying it. Hence, Copperbranch.
The last time I posted about this project (October 2020), the body of the wrap was finished and it was time to embark upon the lace portion.
I then took my unplanned hiatus, and only started working on this project again a few weeks ago.
I have several other projects stalled for various reasons and we are preparing to move house (and farm), so I have packed all of my in-process/stalled projects except for this one.
That's one way to make me work on lace, right? lol
So far, I've only spent 5-10 minutes per session and am now 4 rows into the lace portion.
Yes, blazing speed, I know. (sarcasm)
Of course, I do have two spinning projects still available... but not getting much attention right now.
I decided to tink back a few rows, since 42% of the total yarn is required for the edging/lace portion. This way I am being conservative, since I do not have a third skein of this yarn.
I now have a lifeline in place, 25 sections, and 3 stitches on each end for a total of 406 stitches. 106g have been knit and 87g remain, leaving ~55% of the total yarn. Lace is next.
I don't have a lot in the way of dyed yarn.... certainly not much in anything that resembles purple. However, my Brother and SIL have provided me with a two purple yarns from their travels. :-)
The most recent is an alpaca they found while on a trip to Peru a few years ago.
This is a hand-spindled, 4-ply, baby alpaca that I've been saving for just the right project.
Given that 2020 has been.... well... 2020, and our upcoming election is the most consequential in my lifetime, I felt the emPower People Project was something I wanted to get behind.
I got close to having to play yarn-chicken, which I don't enjoy. So I opted to make the last few rows in Pussy Hat Pink.
This is a very simple knit and easy to increase or decrease the size.
Election Day is November 3rd.... just 3 weeks away. Please ensure you are well-informed and have a plan to vote.
I have finished knitting my New Normal Scarf... This installment adds 25 years and covers 1994 to 2018.
The last colors were retired as follows:
Cloud in 1996
Creme Brulee in 2000
Conch in 2008
Papaya in 2012
Victorian in 2013
Firecracker in 2014
Garnet in 2017
Hollyberry in 2018
The major milestone hit is that Amazon Prime began in 2005.
It's quite interesting to see temperature data depicted this way... and you can see the rate of change is increasing. The completed scarf covers 1880 - 2019. 140 years of the global average annual temperature is represented.
The near-white colors are the closest to the baseline average, calculated over 1950-1980. The blues are cooler than the baseline and the reds are warmer than the baseline.
I bound off the scarf using the Icelandic Technique. I like this edge and think it goes well with the long-tail cast on edge.
My husband and I returned to Colorado in 2009 to live a simpler life.
Right now the goal of simple means we are busy. Busy fixing up our farm, raising Alpacas and Tibetan Mastiffs, racing wheelchairs, building flying objects, Alpacamundo, and Colorado Tibetan Mastiffs.
This blog is about these and the other things going on in my head. I hope you find it interesting, useful and inspiring.
