WIP Wednesday: KAL progress, a new project & the Sweater Knitting Show!

When you're participating in two KALs, the thing to do is start a new project, right? That's what I thought! Over the weekend, I was had the uncontrollable urge to start an entrelac cowl with some of my handspun yarn from Spinzilla. It's been a while since I've made an entrelac project, so I re-watched several lessons from Gwen Bortner's Entrelac Craftsy class to refresh my memory for each step. I decided to use the Cloudlover Polwarth (which is two dyed colorways inspired by The Nightmare Before Christmas), though I might not have enough to finish the cowl - I might end up knitting the next tier in the alpaca/silk handspun before finishing off with more of the Cloudlover handspun.

Despite this distraction, I made some great progress on my Baah KAL sock - the first sock is finished and I'm already working on sock #2! I had to take the cats to the vet yesterday and managed to work through two repeats of the leg; my goal is to be completely finished by the end of this weekend, which may or may not be a reasonable goal.

I did get a little behind on my 30 Day Sweater, unfortunately - on Monday night, I finished the body and picked up stitches around the armhole for the first sleeve, but I should have already been working on the sleeve by then. In fact, today I should be finishing up the this first sleeve, but that is going to be a tall order since I have to work, sleep, and eat. It's times like this that I wish I were a knitting robot.

You might not be able to tell from the photo, but everything about knitting this sweater design (Uma by Bonne Marie Burns) is interesting, construction-wise. For example, the sleeve caps use short-row shaping before joining in the round to work the arm. It's something I always wondered if it would work, and now I know that it does!

As I mentioned on Monday, I was a live guest on the Sweater Knitting Show yesterday, and talked about my sweater progress, my favorite Knitter's Pride needles, and knitting in general. If you missed the live show, you can watch the archived episode below (you can also click here to watch all of the past episodes, all of which have great guests and lots of useful information).

Thanks for joining me this week! For more WIP Wednesday inspiration, visit the Tami's Amis Blog!

Overdyeing A Finished Knit

Even after just a few years of knitting or crocheting, you're bound to have some finished projects lying around that never get worn or used. After 10+ years of crafting, I have more than just "some" or "a few"....and with my ongoing quest to declutter my house this year, I've become obsessed with going through these forlorn projects and making some Big Decisions. Sometimes, they are perfectly fine and just need a new and loving home. Other projects may have not turned out quite right: there might have been some mistakes in the knitting that I thought I could live with, or the yarn was gorgeous but not well-matched to the pattern, or my taste has drastically changed since I finished making the project...in any case, why on earth did I keep knitting?! Who knows, but I don't feel good about gifting anything that falls into this category to someone else. These projects have been relegated to the "frog pile" (or should I say, frog pond?), to b

Easy DIY: Beaded Vintage Snowflake Ornament Kits from Solid Oak Inc.

I was really excited to step outside of my comfort zone and try something new as part of my "Christmas in July" theme this month. The kind folks at Solid Oak Inc offered me a chance to review one of their Nostalgic Christmas beaded crystal ornament kits I couldn't resist. My tree is already full of ornaments I've inherited or been gifted from other family members and friends, so these pretty crystal beaded ornaments will fit right in I think! I was super impressed with this compact little kit , which includes everything needed to create three gorgeous vintage-style ornaments - just add a pair of round nose pliers (I found mine on Amazon for less than ten bucks). The instructions had some fabulous tips for newbies like me; for example, it recommended sorting the beads and laying them out in order on a towel or beading mat to prevent them from rolling away. That may seem obvious, but I was totally ready to start beading on my kitchen table without a

What If I Didn't Add Heels?

Last weekend, I finished the first sock with my Waterlilies yarn , and just for yuks, I tried it on even though it was basically just a tube sock. Much to my surprise, it fit really well, even without a heel. Who knew? So, that got me thinking: what if I just didn't add the heels? I never thought a tube sock would actually fit nicely, but I genuinely like the fit, so...why spend time to add the heels? As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.... Let's say I decide not to add heels once the second sock is done - there will still be placeholder yarn for the afterthought heels, as you can see above, so should I leave it in and just weave in the ends? Or should I remove it, put the live stitches back on needles and at least graft them together using more of the Waterlilies yarn? I plan on mulling all of this over as I knit the second sock, and I'd love to hear your opinions of what you think would look best (or if you think this whole "n

handmade by stefanie

Search This Blog