Off to a Good Cause

Since my Stash Busting 2010 effort has yielded several new hats and scarves without specific gifties in mind, I am sending them off to a better home. The hats are going to Hats for Homeless Teens.

The scarves are going to Save a Dog with Scarves program through the Colorado Rescue.

In other stash busting news, here are the two stash busting blanket squares I knit for May. The orange one is the Grand-Papa Square knit on US7 needles with a mystery wool yarn. A friend gave me the yarn a few years ago because she thought it was too rough. I really like it, wish I knew what is was. The green square is the Smocked Dishcloth pattern knit on US7 needles with Knit Picks Wool of the Andes.

Since I have been enjoying knitting the stash busting squares and need a new, small, in-the-car project, I have started a log cabin blanket. I am using Plymouth Boku yarn, recently purchased on sale at Webs and US5 needles.

Spring is finally on its way! The wetland bushes have new bright yellow and orange growths.

The snow is also finally melting, there are still large piles everywhere and walking in the woods is out of the question. But soon wild flowers will start appearing in the brown patches. Spokes is very happy; he loves when the ponds and the snow exist in unison. Our house is a muddy footprint disaster, carpet does not go well with mud-loving Newfoundlands.

More Snow and Vampires

I’m not sure why I find vampire novels so appealing. I read the Twilight series over a year ago. I found them rather disturbing especially because the books are targeted towards young teenagers. A friend and I then stumbled upon the Southern Vampire Mystery Series (Sookie Stackhouse Mystery Series). I found the series light and funny without the disturbing teenage control undertones that bothered me in Twilight. I just finished the recently released Dead in the Family, #10.

A fun read and inspiration for my newest knitting project: Vampire Bliss.

Since I have been doing so well with stash busting (there is now free room in my yarn bin), I am taking a break. I am also having sweater withdrawal and knitting is supposed to be fun.

I fell in love with this design right away, it is a wonderful summer knit suitable for air conditioned offices. The cable chart is a disaster, there were multiple mistakes. The chart (aka colored squares) is also difficult to read. I created my own chart by zooming into the pattern photo and drawing it on graph paper. I would highly recommend doing this to visualize the cable pattern. I e-mailed the author and the pattern author has since fixed the chart but it is still hard to read.

Some more snow photos because there may not be too many more storms this year, right? I love the contrast between the snow and the blue sky. I love high altitude Colorado.

Finished Project: Lotus (Stash Busting 2010)

Finished Project: Lotus (Stash Busting 2010)

Pattern: Laurel by Jared Flood

Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted Multi (1 skein in Watercolor) and Laines du Nord Royal Cashmere (about 0.75 skein in Salmon)

Needles: US3 for the ribbing, US7 for the hat body, and US4 for the lining

Duration: April 30, 2010 through May 3, 2010

Reflections: I liked a few of the patterns in the Classic Elite Pamphlet, though Laurel didn't really jump out at me until I tried to knit it with leftover KP Gloss HW; the gauge was way off and I didn't have enough yarn. But I fell in love with the pattern.

Initially, I didn’t think a variegated yarn would show off the cables well enough. But I really like the finished hat. I also fell in love with this yarn, it is very soft and the colors are vibrant but not so much to subdue the cables.

Unfortunately, the hat ended up much too large. I added a cashmere (left over from Pink Gables) liner in an attempt to tighten things up. The hat was still huge after the liner. I sewed a two inch tuck in the brim, very unprofessional I know but I didn’t want to start over.

I am very disappointed with how many errors are in the pattern. I hope Jared wasn't as careless with the remaining patterns in the series.

I think the final hat is a bit silly, but I think all slouchy hats are a little silly. Despite the silly factor, I have been wearing the hat everyday. Yes, a hat is required in mid-May at 11,400 feet. About 18 inches of snow fell last week.

New Backpack

Since the snow does not seem to be letting up in the mountains, we headed to Manitou Springs for a sunny day hike two weekends ago. Spokes got a new backpack and wanted to try it out.

He didn’t seem to notice the backpack at all.

We hiked Williams Canyon, near Cave of the Winds. It is a beautiful hike and one of my favorite Colorado Springs mountain bike rides. Unfortunately for Spokes, the trail contains the only cockleburs I have seen thriving in Colorado. We were pulling burs out for three days.

Finished Projects: Four Round Dishcloths (Stash Busting 2010)

Pattern: from memory but closely resembles Round Dishcloth by Amy Carpenter

Yarn: AllHemp6 and Classic Elite Bam Boo held together

Needles: US7

Reflections: Last year Webs accidently sent me this wonderful Bamboo yarn. Though I never really knew what I was going to do with it, the color is very bright, too bright and childish for a scarf. I have been keeping knit projects in the glove box. This was a perfect pattern because I could knit it in my sleep and doesn’t take up much space. I was hoping the bamboo would add enough softness to allow the dishcloths to be used as washcloths. I am testing one now, after two showers it is still very stiff but I like the exfoliating action of the ridges.

This pattern was the first thing I ever knit. For years I only knit round dishcloths. Hundreds and hundreds of round dishcloths, I am in no way exaggerating. I have no idea why I never branched out into other knit goods during this time; but the experience did make me a fast, efficient knitter.

April Stash Busting

April was a very effective stash busting month. So effective, I am going to take it easy in May. Here are some the objects I finished in April, more to follow as I take pictures.

Finished Project: Figure Eight Scarf

Pattern: None

Yarn: Cascade Yarns Tuscany

Needles: US17

Duration: April 22, 2010 to April 22, 2010

Reflections: I acquired this super bulky yarn from a yarn store grab bag a few years ago. Wanting to get it out of the stash bin I made failed cast on attempts at mittens and several hats before I settled on a scarf/cowl.

It is a little strange but I have seen similar works on Ravelry. I have no idea who to give it to. I am not a scarf person.

I cast on 18 stitches on US17 needles and knit until the yarn was gone. Since it was too short to be a scarf, I twisted it twice and sewed it together. The whole process took less than 30 minutes.

Finished Project: Big and Little Hat

Pattern:Roughly based on His and Her Hats from the Purl Bee; the little hat is just a 3x3 cable

Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss HW

Needles: US8

Duration: April 20, 2010 through April 21, 2010

Reflections: I had about one ball of Gloss HW left over from my Vivian sweater. After some false starts, I decided to knit something simple. For the adult hat, I knit a six row 3x3 rib, I also decreased differently than the pattern (a spiral decrease in the opposite direction as the hat’s spirals). My decrease ended up strange on the right side, so I just flipped the hat inside out.

These hats do not have a home yet. I found a local place which accepts baby hat donations. I may knit up some more little hats soon. But I am looking for a cause that accepts adult hats and scarves, anyone know of a place?

My Stash Busting Blanket Squares:

I didn't like the recommended April Square, so I jumped ahead to May's and knit the "additional filler" square. The orange yarn is Ironstone Yarn's Herb Garden held double; the blue square is Plymouth Encore.

Finished Project: Pink Hots (Stash Busting 2010)

Finished Project: Pink Hots (Stash Busting 2010)

Pattern: Multnomah by Kate Flagg

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Sockittome

Needles: US3

Duration: April 10^th through April 14^th

Modifications: Added additional repeat

Reflections: I enjoyed knitting this shawlette much more than the mind numbing Citron. I even kind of like it, though it has already been sent away as a thank you present. I enjoyed the sock yarn which was purchased years ago with all intentions of knitting socks. I lost interest in socks shortly after meticulously dividing the yarn into two balls. While knitting, I fell in love with the smooshy yarn; I look forward to using it again in a sweater.

Spokes also seems to like the shawl. He was more interested in my attempt to photograph myself than he usually is. My revenge:

The only spring showers April has yielded so far are of the snowy variety. Since ground has yet to appear, what will happen to the May flowers? Maybe summer will be canceled? The weather forecast seems to think so.

Spring in the Mountains

The lack of un-snowy ground forced me to set up Dave’s birthday present in the dining room. It took up the entire space, I can stand up in the tent! Too bad it is only a 3-season.

Visitor and Finished Project: Citron (Stash Busting 2010)

Finished Project: Citron (Stash Busting 2010)

Pattern: Citron from Kitty Winter 2009

Yarn: Knit Picks-Shimmer (alpaca/silk lace)

Needles: US4

Duration: March 12, 2010 through March 20, 2010

Modification: Six repeat section instead of five

Reflections: Shawlettes have always struck me as a silly thing to knit; I am not a scarf person. I dislike wearing scarves and dislike making them. I thought knitting a shawlette would be more enjoyable because the increases and decreases add interest. I was also struck by how popular Citron was during the holiday season. I had some left over lace yarn from Cold Sherry, so why not?

The pattern was written well enough and easy to follow but was a misery to knit. I do not want to see stockingknit stitch for a while. I think my needle/yarn combination didn’t add to my knitting pleasure. When knitting Cold Sherry, wooden needles were miserable, I switched to metal and the stole knit up quickly. Metal needles with this mindless project were too slippery.

I caught this furry guy staring at me last night.

March and April have been incredibly snowy; I celebrated the snow (and tax season) with a new pair of Telemark skis. I almost wish spring wasn’t just around the corner.