WIP Wednesday: Resisting Temptation (For Now)

I honestly thought I would come back from last month's trip to Germany with a finished project or two, but as usual, I greatly overestimated how much time I would spend knitting while I was away. You'd think a 9 hour plane ride (one way) would be productive, but that certainly wasn't the case for me, unfortunately! I have since finished the projects I took to Germany, and now I have just two projects in play, both of which are blue:

The crochet project on the top is the Calm Cowl in Artyarns Merino Cloud that I started on the flight back to the US. I haven't logged much crocheting time since arriving home, but it has grown a little since last week. The other project pictured above is actually an IOU from the holidays, a pair of striped socks to commemorate the Royals 2015 season for Tyler (each color will represent a win or loss at an away or home game). The 2016 season opener is just a week away this past Sunday, so I figured I better get my butt in gear!

Though I've done pretty well avoiding the siren call of new projects, over the weekend I broke into the miniskeins of Finkhof Wolle that I was gifted in Germany.

I thought it would be fun to knit a tiny triangular shawl swatch, inspired by a 5 Shawls in 5 Days challenge I spotted on Instagram recently...I can't seem to remember to look up what this challenge entails, but I've seen a lot of people posting photos of their sample swatches. I like the yarn - it was a nice rustic yarn that wasn't scratchy - just had a little oomph to it. Each one is actually a little different in terms of fiber makeup (so I saved the tags to attach to each stripe later when it dries). The yarn was also nice and sticky, which makes it easy to weave in ends and/or save a dropped stitch, a quality that can really come in handy! Also, everything seemed to soften up considerably after blocking, so I am curious to feel the sample after it is completely dried.

That's it for this week, thanks for stopping by!

Comments

App Review & Giveaway: Stash 2 Go

The developers for a paid Ravelry app for iPad and iPhone called Stash 2 Go contacted me earlier this year to see if I was interested in writing a review or their app on their blog. While I don't own an iPad or iPhone, I was able to gift a download to a knitting friend who had an iPad and was willing to let me play around with it for the purposes of this review! This is the first time I've ever accessed Ravelry via an app (on my Android phone, I typically use the m.ravelry.com site), and I found most of it to be easy to use. Some of the features weren’t intuitive to me at first, but once I got the hang of the idiosyncracies, it was smooth sailing. Stash 2 Go makes the most of API functions Ravelry has opened up to developers (there are still several areas which have yet to be completed in the Ravelry programming interface, so developers can only implement what is available through www.ravelry.com/api ). Most of the app's functionality allows the user to view the ...

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 ...

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...

handmade by stefanie

Search This Blog