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...

A Finished Sweater, With Cat Hair

After losing Tilly and Robin within a year of each other, I sure didn't think I'd be finding cat hair in my knitting any time soon. But the universe had other ideas. Over the winter, a white feral cat adopted us. I'd noticed her when we moved into our apartment last summer - I would see her hiding in the bushes or sunning herself in the grass when she thought no one was looking. I assumed she was someone's cat until I realized how skittish she was around humans, plus she had a tipped ear, which is a universal sign that a feral/stray cat has been spayed. Neighbors confirmed that she was a feral kitty (descended from several generations of feral cats, in fact), and that she has survived on her wits and whatever food various residents put out for her. We had some bitterly cold days over the winter, and I just felt so sorry for this poor kitty! I started offering her treats and slowly gained her trust. She didn't even want to come inside our apartment at first, much le...

Australian Superfine Merino Yarn Review & Giveaway

After more than ten years of knitting, I can still have new experiences - even with well-covered territory such as merino yarn! This recent merino experience actually took me by surprise: I've spun with it, I've dyed it, I've knit with it, and I've even crocheted with it...I was pretty sure I knew all there was to know about merino! Turns out, there are four different classifications of merino fiber, sorted by micron count range . At the bottom of the spectrum is Strong Merino , which ranges from 26-22.9 microns; above that is Fine Merino , which ranges from 20.1-23 microns; next up is Extra Fine Merino, which ranges from 20-15.6 microns; and at the very top of the heap is Superfine Merino Wool , with a micron range of 18.5-15.6. If you're into numbers and wondering how these four classes stack up against other fibers you may be familiar with, here are a few for comparison's sake: BFL (Blue-Faced Leicester) has a micron range of 24-28, Cashmere goat down ...

handmade by stefanie

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