YOP Update - Ch-Ch-Ch Changes

I made a big decision today.  I decided to buy yarn for that Veera Valimaki sweater vest from her Color Wheel Knits book that I mentioned in my previous post.  My plan after writing that post was to wait since I have other projects in the wings that use yarn I already have, but then I found yarn on sale.  Yes, I used the age old "but it was on sale" excuse for purchasing more yarn.  I have been scouring yarn websites for the right sport weight yarn that suited the project as well as my pocket book.  My search concluded with the decision to purchase Malabrigo Arroyo sport weight yarn in the Prussian Blue colorway.  It is a slightly variegated dark blue, has good drape and would be under $100.  My only worry was that Malabrigo pills, like a lot.  Since the yarn wasn't going anywhere I thought I could wait - right?  Wrong, I then went to the Knit Picks website searching under "sale" and "sport weight".  What I came up with was the lovely Hawthorne Sport Multi in the Irvington colorway.  It's comprised of super wash highland wool and nylon - much more durable than a merino yarn such as the Malabrigo.  The colorway is a bit of a brighter blue, but still has that superwash shine and drape and the best part is it would only cost about $50 to knit my beloved vest.  Alas, the sale only went to July 28th so I felt I had to purchase now.  I've reset my yarn counter to begin again in the yarn buying freeze.  I made it 70 days this time, not a lot, but double my last attempt.  Maybe next time I can double it again.

Because of this desire to knit this sweater vest, a friend having a baby, and a few changes in Christmas gifts I did some trimming and adding to my YOP list which now reads as follows:

Baby:

Baby Surprise Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmerman

Garter Ear Flap Hat by Purl Soho

Cowls and Scarves:

Classic Cowl by Purl Soho knit in handspun  Finished 7/6/15

Dudester Scarf by Jana Pihota 

Dryad by Jared Flood

For the Home:

Sock Yarn Braided Rug by Martha Lazar

My Oluffa Doorstop by Lucinda Guy

Cozy Coasters by Joelle Hoverson

Hot Out of the Oven Set by Knit Picks Design Team  (making the square pads) Finished 7/25/15

Out of the Frying Pan by Amy E. Anderson  Finished 7/18/15

Socks:

Simply Elegant Cable Socks by Judy Alexander

Taylor's Orange Toe Up Socks by Jasmyn Cunningham

Sweaters and Vests:

Ground by Veera Valimaki

Glen Moir Vest by Luise O'Neill 

White Russian by Thea Colman

Glenfiddich by Annamária Ötvös

Tops:

Astonish Top by Katy Banks 

Jordan by Wendy Bernard

Mittens and Gloves:

Connnectivity Gloves by Mari Chiba

Nordic Mittens by Beth Brown-Reinsel

Double Knit Mittens by Sue Hedgecock

Felted Mittens by Joan Sheridan

Hats:

A Family Tam by Beth Brown-Reinsel

I added 2 baby items for a pregnant friend, some felted mittens for my mom and another friend for Christmas and my sweater vest.  What got cut was a couple of pairs of socks, the sweater I was going to knit for my mother (yes, I downgraded her to mittens for this year) and a cowl.  It's hard to admit that time has it's limits and I simply cannot knit everything I want as quickly as I'd like.  So, while I was hoping to fit absolutely everything in some projects had to be cut to make it a viable list.  

I did finish one item on my list this week.  In my felting frenzy I knit, felted and trimmed 12 potholders.  Yup, that's 6 pairs or as I like to think of it 6 Christmas gifts done - yay! (these potholders also brought me to the 5K Stashdash finish line!) My rug alas, did not get finished as I really needed a break from cranking out all that I-cord, but I will get back to it this coming week.  Currently though, I have a Baby Surprise Sweater on the needles which I'm hoping to finish this week along with a matching garter stitch hat.  I'm using some grey angora yarn along with a pale yellow raw silk yarn that's paired with a strand of Malabrigo lace.  It's gender neutral since she doesn't know the sex of the baby and of yarn I already own - isn't that the best!  I'm loving the look of the stripes.  It's like a little muted bumblebee.  I feel a bit bad that neither sweater or hat are machine washable, but am making up for that by including a wool wash with the gift.  Ok, this is becoming a bit of a long post so I'll be leaving you now.  Have a great week!

Check out the other Year of Projects posts here.

A Felting Frenzy

It's been Christmas in July for me this week as I am busily knitting and felting hot pads to give as gifts this holiday season.  I loved how my oven mitts turned out so it got me to thinking what else could I felt.  Then I ran across this pattern realizing I could get a pair of pads from each skein and thought "Perfect"!  It would be lovely to give everyone a pair of the mitts, but I don't have enough yarn to make a pair for each of my friends (or at least a good looking matching pair.)

The pattern is very simple where you cast on what amounts to the outside edge and knit decreasing towards the center.  I did make a couple of changes though.  I knit them on US 11 needles instead of US 13's as I don't have any that size and wanted to get started right away.  For the hanging loop I knit 18 rows of I-cord instead of the 12 the pattern states, and I'm glad I did as I think it would have been way too small a loop to be useful otherwise.  For felting, I threw them in my washing machine with soap and hot water agitating for about 30 minutes.  Then I let the wash cycle complete rinsing out the soap and wringing out all the excess water.  I tugged them into shape and laid them flat to dry.  

The yarn I used (Lamb's Pride ,held double, and Burly Spun) comes out pretty fuzzy from the mohair content so I do some judicious trimming with my scissors.  It's pretty quick to do and not much of a hassle.  The yarn felts so nice and thick I think it's worth the extra effort.  Since, I did knit them on smaller needles their finished size is a bit smaller at 7 1/2 inches rather than the 8, but still a good size for handling hot pots and pans. 

I've got three pairs done with only 2 to still knit so I couldn't be happier with how quickly it's all going.  I'm knitting a couple of odd ducks too with no matching pair to give away as thank you gifts when needed.  I'm just having so much fun using up all this yarn!  

On a side note, I purchased this lovely book of patterns by Veera Valimaki called Color Wheel Knits and really, really, really want to knit the vest called "Ground".  It looks very wearable with what I actually wear - jeans and t-shirts.  Not like all those sweater patterns you see modeled with that perfect shirt, you know the one you don't own and aren't likely too and would probably not wear because it's not comfy and needs to be dry cleaned?  So, I think I would get a ton of use out of it.  The only hiccup in this scenario is I don't have any sport weight yarn that the pattern calls for.  Meaning I would have to purchase some yarn.  Now I've gone about 67 days (as of writing this post) without buying yarn and am proud of myself as the last time I think I only made it around 30 days.  Thus, I am torn on what to do.  Should I just say no and keep knitting from my stash or do I knit what would be a very useful sweater for myself?  My husband said I should go ahead and purchase the Prussian Blue Malabrigo yarn, but I still don't know.  I feel I should wait some, but then I also like to "ride" these waves of excitement as I can get so much accomplished if I do.  Any thoughts?

Joining in with Nicole for Keep Calm Craft On and Ginny for Yarn Along.