Freshly Finished Friday #7

On February 20, 2015February 20, 2015 By hardknitlifeIn Free-For-All Friday, Fresh Off The Needles, Freshly Finished Friday3 Comments

Welcome to a link-up party for your Friday Finished Object posts! In an effort to connect everyone who creates and blogs about it here on the web, I thought providing a place to link up and share your freshly finished creations would be a great way to see what everyone is working on. Please feel free to share ANY of your finished crafty pursuits from knitting and crocheting to sewing and scrapbooking.

So I have been wanting to write for a few days but things have been hectic around here! I’ve been so lucky to spend some quality time with my husband and I’ve been subbing at school and playing volleyball! But I have been knitting…

This is Sam’s Man Scarf!!! The pictures are not the best since I’ve been missing my daylight window, but you get the picture 🙂 I used some Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in Brown held double with Claudia Handpaints Addiction in River Bank Grass. The effect is simply lovely. It’s a pretty heavy scarf since it’s like 6 feet long and alpaca! I used Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s One Row Handspun Scarf pattern. I love it and I hope that Sam will too. I’ve just got to get it in the mail.

I finished my first Curl!!! Caesious! Once again, a terrible picture, but I love it!! I have to block it and put the ends in, but it’s sooooooo squishy!! I can’t wait to wear it. I would use more exclamation points but I don’t want to overwhelm you guys. I figured that since I slacked last couple weeks without a finished object I could overwhelm you with two!

In a little more exciting news….

I started my Turia sweater. FINALLY! I’ll keep you updated.

To join in the fun, click the link up below to see all the others participating in a Freshly Finished Friday! It will take you away from this page, but don’t worry, you will always be able to find your way back. It’s especially helpful if the linked up blog has a link back here. Please add your specific blog post link and remember to link back here in your blog so we can all be connected 🙂

I can’t wait to see what everyone has finished up this week!!!

v’s & bumps,

Jenna

Freshly Finished Friday #6

On February 13, 2015February 13, 2015 By hardknitlifeIn Free-For-All Friday, Fresh Off The Needles, Freshly Finished Friday5 Comments

I’m so sorry this is a little later than usual 😦 I was recently invited to play volleyball in a few co-ed leagues. I played in high school and college so getting back on the court has been awesome!!!

In other news, I’m about 4 inches away from finishing Sam’s Cozy Man scarf!

I ended up having to buy more yarn of each color. I think my original “calculations” were off by about 100 yards maybe? Upon some careful consideration, I noticed that I made Sam’s scarf a bit wider than Jordan’s and I also used a larger needle size. Ah well. At least Knitorious, the yarn store, is only like 20 minutes away and they were super helpful.

***EDITED: Thank you to Alicia @ Woolen Diversions for letting me know the link-up was spanning the wrong dates 😦 It’s all fixed now and you should be able to add your links!***

v’s & bumps,

Jenna

Effort Part 1…

On February 9, 2015 By hardknitlifeIn Monday Musings4 Comments

As mentioned on last Friday’s post, I have not been able to really sit down and connect here since the previous week. I think partly because I was busy subbing for a few days and I was also busy getting my cover letter and resume together. With many of the private schools here expecting contracts to be returned this month, several openings have been popping up. Since I hadn’t even looked at my resume or cover letter since we moved to St. Louis in July, I thought I should shore it up before I sent it out. Needless to say, preparing to seriously start my job search (again!) definitely took over much of my free time.

Anyway, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been knitting. In fact, I’ve taken what little time to myself I’ve had this week and spent it knitting, not blogging or reading blogs or perusing Ravelry, just knitting. I even picked up Audible again to listen to some real books while I knit…if you consider Game of Thrones a real book 🙂 I’m counting it since it is a published piece that’s been edited unlike so many of the wonderful blogs I read and podcasts I listen to.

Mostly I’ve been knitting on my first Curl, Caesious, that I’d like to have finished by February 15th when the next KAL is supposed to launch in Hunter Hammersen’s Violently Domestic Ravelry group.

I’ve started the second ball of yarn. I was knitting on this between classes while I was subbing and ran out so I had to hand wind the ball. It’s not perfect, but it serves it’s purpose. It’s Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport in the Montrose coloway. The pictures are a little dark.

The second thing I really have been working on is the Man Scarf for my friend Sam. He’s coming to visit next weekend and wouldn’t it just be lovely if I were finished by then???

On a side note, I ordered and received a kitchen scale so I could weigh my yarn and make my life glamorous like all the other famous knitters out there. As a test and since I’m not quite ready to tackle the Technicolor Socks (snoozing since before Christmas) I decided I’d weigh the yarn for Sam’s scarf to determine if I’d have enough for the length I wanted. Mostly I was concerned about the Ultra Alpaca Fine I have in brown since I only had 433 yards and I have 3 skeins of the Claudia Hand Paint totaling 525 yards. I weighed the ball I had left of the brown and had 1.75 ounces or EXACTLY half of the ball left. I held up the scarf next to my husband’s completed one and realized I’m not even to the halfway point so there’s no way I’d have enough to finish the scarf 😦

I did marinate on this information for about 5 days. I went through the thought of ripping out what I’d already completed so I could make it skinnier and therefore get more length out of the scarf using the yarn I had, but Sam wanted his scarf wider than Jordan’s and Sam is taller than Jordan so I couldn’t sacrifice the length…obviously I only had one choice!! A trip to Knitorious and I only walked out with the yarn I needed.

Yes, I’ll take a pat on the back for that one! Wish me great knitting speed 🙂

Until next time!

v’s & bumps!

Jenna

Running Behind

On January 28, 2015 By hardknitlifeIn Love Your Library, WIP Wednesday5 Comments

Technically, I’m not really behind on anything except maybe housework and reading my blog roll. It’s funny how just taking a few weekend trips really racks up the backlog on those two things!

But I have made some progress on my Squishy Socks.

They are coming right along. I’m knitting just the basic sock pattern from a Paton’s book using some Regia Adventure 6-ply on US size 2 needles. I have had a few little snags…like when I started my toe decreases too soon because I really want to wear them!! Just a little ripping back and I’m back to knitting the foot a little longer.

And my first Curl from Hunter Hammersen’s new book.

It’s Caesious. I’m using Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport. It’s 100% Merino in the Montrose colorway. I picked it up back in December when I was visiting Louisiana for my brother’s graduation. I love the colors, a grayish blue, almost cornflower blue, a light brown and a springy yellow. I love how it is growing so quickly and I don’t have to count! Yahoo!! And it means I’m Loving my Library 🙂

Last project getting some love is this Manly Scarf for my friend Sam.

A moment of confession: You haven’t seen this yet, mostly because I’m a little embarrassed I bought yarn for this after the new year. Let me justify. After our fist trip to Memphis for my birthday, my husband’s friend Sam admired my husband’s Cozy Warm Man scarf I finished for him back in October. He was saying just how much he would love to have one so I had to make him one. I’m using some Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in a dark brown held with some Claudia Hand Painted Yarns Addiction in the River Bank Grass green colorway on US size 7. And technically I didn’t buy the yarn, my husband did 🙂

Linking up with some great people:
Emily for Love Your Library
Tammy for her Stitch Along Wednesday
Ginny for Yarn Along
Nicole for Keep Calm Craft On
iknead2knit’s Whatcha Workin’ On Wednesday

See you again soon!!

v’s & bumps,

Jenna

Truthfully, it’s not Tuesday

On October 8, 2014 By hardknitlifeIn WIP Wednesday10 Comments

What’s new. I’m a day late and a dollar short.

You know another cliche could apply here. The best laid plans of mice and men…

I could go on.

So let’s be real. I can’t really contain myself. I planned not to cast on anything new until I finished 4, yes FOUR projects on my WIP list, but I did. I cast on an Array Cowl for my (hopefully-future-sister-in-law) Lyndsay. I love the colors. And I couldn’t take my curse socks to the game last night and risk a loss! (I took them to 2 games before and the Cards lost both) So I spent last night at the game casting on the 320 stitches and get going on this awesome project.

I’m using Malabrigo Rios in Teal Feather and Liquidambar. I was hoping the Liquidambar wouldn’t be too muted. I have a skein of Arco Iris on hand just in case I get a few more inches in and don’t like it.

I’ve also been working on my (cursed) socks. If you remember, I started these on those tiny 9-inch US 0 needles. I really tried with those. Truly I did. But every time I would knit on them for longer than 5 minutes, my hands would ache! I initially thought it was the stitch pattern I was using, passing a yarn over over 2 stitches can cause a little stress on the hands doing the knitting.

So I switched to some delicious Knitter’s Pride Karbonz DPNs. They are so smooth and wonderful it almost makes me forget how much I don’t love working on DPNs. I digress. The only problem is I like doing socks 2 at a time so I don’t get second sock syndrome and things end up being the same size like the length of the cuff or the heel or the toe or whatever. If I only work on 1 sock at a time, who can guarantee that they will be the same?? I may pick up another set of these, but they were a little pricey. I’ll knit a few more inches and see if I’m really, really in love with them enough to buy another set. Or maybe I can just do one sock at a time. It seems to work for the Yarn Harlot 🙂

How cute is this project bag? I found it in my stash and thought it would be a fun new home for the cursed socks.

Also, I’m not really breaking the rules too bad in terms of starting a new project since I did finish something…what you ask???

It’s Jordan’s scarf!! I finished it on Friday the 3rd…just 2 days late 🙂 Sis is standing guard. I love the way this turned out! It’s definitely long enough to wrap around comfortably or double and pull the ends through. I am hoping that with a cold winter it will get a lot of wear. I still need to block it.

I also went by the library here and got a card. Something about fall makes me want to read too! I picked up Quiet Dell by Jayne Anne Phillips. I’m only a few pages in and enjoying it.

That’s really all that is being “actively” worked on. Mostly in the last few days. Except I worked on Whispers. And tonight is my class at Knitorious for the Catkin shawl. I did do an inch or so of the first chart, so that’s growing. Plus I need to finish up the Twist vest so I can wear it to Vogue Knitting Live!! That is only 15 days away!!!!!!!

I feel like I have knitting project attention deficit disorder. It doesn’t help that I am knee-deep in blog posts to catch up on reading and podcasts to catch up listening to! If I’m not careful, the sheer number can overwhelm me!! I do love knowing what is going on out there in the knitting world and it does keep me inspired to keep knitting.

Anyone else get a little behind/overwhelmed by all the wonderful blogs out there about knitting???

v’s & bumps,

Jenna

Linking up with Tami, Nicole, and Ginny.

WIPs on WIPs on WIPs…

On October 1, 2014 By hardknitlifeIn WIP Wednesday10 Comments

You guessed it! It’s WIP Wednesday. I was worried I wouldn’t have time to do this post because it’s my husband’s 30th birthday!! But I have been wanting to show what I’ve been working on.

First up:

Since it is Jordan’s 30th birthday, I thought I would try to finish up this scarf for him. I started it back in the spring sometime. It’s made out of Mountain Colors Twizzle in the Harmony Softrock colorway. I’ve used up 1 skein and am a good ways into the second skein, which I bought simply for emergencies…emergency averted 🙂 I’m using Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s One Row Handspun Scarf pattern. I keep having him try it on so it’s long enough. I have about 9 more inches to go 🙂

You may be asking yourself what this is and why this is the first time you are seeing it. Well, a few weeks ago I saw this pattern for a “fried egg” potholder. At the time, we were trying to buy rugs for our apartment which has all hardwood floors. Lightbulb! I could make a cool rug for the kitchen that looked like a giant fried egg! I used a full-size yellow bed sheet, then 1 queen-size white bed sheet. That wasn’t enough so I bought a king-size. I blew through that. Man, does crochet eat up some yarn! So I bought 2 more king-size bed sheets to cut into strips to finish this thing up. I totally love it and it is really squishy!

This should look vaguely familiar. It should also look relatively stagnant. It’s the Whispers top I’ve been “working” on. We’ll say working is a loose term here. Mostly it gets shuttled from one place to another for me to knit a round or two on. The stockinette has become boring. But I want to finish it so I can wear it in Chicago at Vogue Knitting Live!

This should also look vaguely familiar and also stagnant. It’s the back of the Twist Vest. I did a “provisional cast-off” to hold the stitches at the neck and I should be picking up around this to make the sides, armholes, and collar. Instead, it’s been languishing. I think it’s like the Whispers top in that I’m close to switching to another ball of yarn on both projects and I just haven’t picked them back up. I know there is such a thing as “Second Sock Syndrome”…is there a “Starting a Second Ball of Yarn Syndrome” as well???

And there is this lovely, soft, fuzzy beauty. It’s the HPKY Bias Shawl I started knitting. I’m ignoring a portion of the pattern about only doing a certain number of rows alternating the 2 colors and I did more so I could use up more of the yarn and make a bigger shawl. I hope it is big enough to wrap around my shoulders. I will be sorely disappointed otherwise.

Finally, here is my Catkin shawl. I’m at the place to start Chart 1 and I had to place markers to mark the quadrants and the chart repeats. I placed said markers only to encounter I have 4 stitches too many. Knowing that to solve this problem will require some brain power, it has been hibernating for about a week. I have been working on brainless things, like the scarf for my husband, instead of sitting down to do a little problem solving. I think I’m just going to “place” those extra stitches where I am supposed to do increases on the first row instead of ripping back or doing any sort of decreases. I just need to determine the right place for those and do it.

Finally, looking out over my landscape of WIPs, I’m feeling like I should be knitting instead of typing! I am also realizing that several of my projects are in a similar place…about halfway. I am not completely sure what my hesitation is. I do enjoy working on them, but I think I would enjoy them as finished pieces more than I like working on them. I also want to start a few new pieces and I’m going to Chicago for the Vogue Knitting show which is sure to be filled with inspiration. All I know is I better get knittin!

v’s & bumps,

Jenna

Linking up with Tami & Nicole.
You should head over to their pages to see other blogs where people are participating in Tami’s WIP Wednesday & Nicole’s Keep Calm & Craft On.