Lots of blankets

Welcome back, I know it's been a while since I've posted anything, and I honestly don't remember what I was working on last time, so this will be a general update. I did finish the hot pink socks and give them to their recipient. I'm not sure of the reaction though, but I think they went over well. Along that same vein, I started a pair of socks for my boyfriend, G. He has size 13 feet, but since I'm working them from the toe up I tried them on him, and they were a little big. So I will know next time to make them less than half an inch shorter than what I made them this time. I'm making them out of Lang yarns Jawoll Color Aktion, in the color 132.0372 (what an inspiring name). So in hindsight, while this was an excellent color, I should have made the toes and heels in a complimentary color, because they are just above the ankle, and I have run out of yarn. So what happened, was I was knitting along, and realized I would run out of yarn, so I went back to the yarn store, and the yarn has been discontinued. So you know what they did? They looked up in the computer who else had bought that exact same yarn and contacted them to see if they would be willing to sell me the rest. They found someone, and she agreed. So she brought in her skein, and I'm going to pay for part of whatever yarn she chooses to replace it. How cool is that? So the day has been saved, and the socks will be finished by the next time I see G. I am making two at a time toe up, using the same lace pattern that was in the Gridelin, because I thought it looked masculine, and not really like lace. I think the same basic pattern was used in the froot loop socks from Knitty, but I'm not entirely sure.

Speaking of Curls by Hunter Hammersen, I am making another one. This one is Janthine, and I'm making it out of Cascade Heritage Silk Prints. I'm not sure of the color name off the top of my head. It's going along fine, but the lace pattern is not nearly as intuitive as the Gridelin, so I am still working from the chart and using a sticky post-it note to mark my progress so I can sit it down and pick it up whenever I feel like. I'm not entirely happy with this color, because in the skein and wound up it looked like there would be a lot more lilac, and now that it's knitting up it's turning out to be much more variegated. My plan is to finish knitting it, and then overdye it with purple to even out the colors and make them all get along better. Not that they don't get along right now, it's just not what I was expecting.

And then there is my 3-in-1 sweater that I have been working on off and on for about 5 months. I hit a snag, because I tried to do the yoke decreases, but it ended up too shallow. So now I redid the math and have it where I just need to look at the pattern and figure out how to do the multiple layer look on the top, so it is in timeout until I have enough brainspace to look at it. I just started school again this week, so that is taking up most of my brain power (I despise college algebra, just in case any one is wondering).

Since I have stalled out on this sweater, I have been brainstorming other sweaters, and I have decided that I want to make a sweater (or two) that will feature my handspun. I am thinking about Tenney Park by Elizabeth Morrison. I think that I could do the entrelac front panel in handspun, and then have the rest of the sweater in Cascade 220. I think that that would be a really cute sweater. So I got some different braids, and am experimenting to see what would make an awesome yarn. I am planning on putting a gradient, and then two handpainted braids together to make a significant quantity of three ply that I could use as the center panel. So here is the first ply. It's done spinning, and I wound it off onto a tube to await plying.

Then my cousin is pregnant, and I wanted to make her a special baby blanket. So I got ten skeins of Dreambaby DK by Plymouth yarns, and am making a Walt Painted Chevron blanket. It's a free pattern on Ravelry, and I think it's turning out nice. I put in like a million stitch markers so I can keep track of the chevron points and so I don't have to continuously count out every single row. It's going much faster since I put the stitch markers in.

In addition to that baby blanket I am also making two others for Project Linus. One is a Corner-to-Corner throw, and then the other is an improvised knit log cabin. I think that they are both turning out quite nicely.

Other than that I am focusing on school. I also started volunteering at the library genealogy center, typing in names from old obituaries. It's about as interesting as it sounds.

New Projects

So, now into the juicy stuff, there are several projects that I have been taking up to fill up my time. But first, let's look at what I finished this morning, and a new blanket for Project Linus that I finished a few days ago.

This scarf was done with the honeycomb tunisian crochet stitch, with gradient yarn that I dyed myself, it was lopi wool from iceland. I think it turned out quite nicely. 

This is a green blanket with scrap yarn accents that I finished for Project Linus. The center square was double tunisian crochet stitch. The green triangles are single crochet with decreases to make the triangle shape, and the borders are all single crochet as well. I have an affinity for the single crochet triangles right now, don't ask me why, I just find them addicting.

In addition to crafting I have been reading quite a bit. I recently finished 2159 by Criag Borlase, it was an interesting read, giving the history of Christianity, and I thought it was intriguing. Currently I am reading Against Calvinism by Roger E. Olson and Mythologies by Roland Barthes. I am reading Against Calvinism because I am becoming more interested in the deeper theological perspectives than just the shallow interpretations that I have grown up with. I am reading Mythologies because it is a book in French, and I need to practice my French, and Spanish, because I am currently trying to learn Chinese, and currently have a vocabulary of about 60 words (which is not a whole lot, but you have to start somewhere, and I am pretty happy with that number). Anyways, I need to not lose my fluency in French and Spanish just because I have started a new language.

To learn Chinese I am mainly relying heavily on youtube videos. There is a test called the HSK that is an international test that ranks your ability in Chinese for non-native speakers. I have been watching flashcard videos to learn the words. I have been watching grammar and pronunciation videos to better give me a fuller picture of the language. I also purchased a textbook of Beginner's Chinese, but it has not been able to hold my attention as well as the videos (which, I'm not sure why, I think it's because the audio is missing and I'm still lacking in being able to picture and hear what the words sound like from the pinyin alone). I also downloaded several free smartphone apps that have flashcards that have been helping me with my vocabulary.

Tonight I have Spanish tutoring, so I need to figure out my lesson plan for that. Other than that, that's about all that I am doing. So, stay creative everyone!

Swaps, Designs, and Dyeing!!!!

First and foremost, I finished two adorable washcloths to send off in a "Hands that Do Dishes" on the "A Swap In Time" group on ravelry.


And they were received by the lovely moderator! Which was fun and exciting.

Next up, I did some dyeing, preparing fleece and anticipating the Tour de Fleece on Ravelry, I'm on the rookies team this year, as this will be the first year I will be participating.

I dyed it with koolaid, in a variety of pink, red and orange tones. It smelled awful, as if a very oily sheep was being bathed in fruit punch.

Now here comes the funny part, I want it to dry faster, so it is outside in the sweltering heat, sandwiched between two stacking patio chairs so they can be outside and hopefully dry faster.


It looks like my wool was very very baaaad, and got sent to wooly prison... oh noes!


And then last, but not least, I dyed some wool yarn that I got from a surprise box from etsy that was a really gross melon color... but now it is a happier pink and red mixture.

I am going to knit up a stole for the Project Yarnway, this month it is based on a book that you have read, and I just finished reading "The Grand Finale" by Janet Evanovich. It will be wavy with some type of scallop or fish or nautical theme, I haven't hashed it all out yet.

In other news... I am out of the hospital (yay, all around!) and will be following a slightly different course regarding my education. I will be hopefully going to get my CNA and then go to work. School is just too overwhelming to even think about right now. So, that is my life, not a lot going on, just taking things really slow and allowing my time to heal and get better, and of course, fiber fun!