Skip to main content

WIP Wednesday: Spinzilla is Over, Get Back to the Knitting

I was spinning furiously Sunday evening before Spinzilla drew to a close at midnight and managed to spin nearly all of the fibers I had earmarked for the event (only a half-pound of dyed merino remained unspun). I was hoping to double my usual 3,000-ish yardage of the past few years, but managed to only add about 1k to the usual yardage, finishing at 4034.

IMG_3138


I probably could have gotten that last bit of fiber spun up if I hadn't taken an ill-fated excursion to Windy Knitty in Andersonville on the same day as the Chicago Marathon (a journey that requires two bus lines, or a bus and a train, if you prefer). Though the event was in the morning and I wasn't trying to take mass transit til the afternoon, the effects of many main streets in Chicago being shut down for the runners could be felt, even at 3pm that same afternoon. Honestly, I'd done ok until the final leg, when the bus I was waiting for wasn't slated to show up for 30 minutes (with an immediate follower - how helpful).

I decided to walk a few blocks to see if a "phantom bus" materialized, as sometimes they show up IRL without being detected by the iffy CTA bus tracker technology. That didn't happen, but I did find myself near a bar with some very good beers on draft, and I treated myself to one while knitting a few rows and checking on the progress of what must have been the slowest moving bus in existence. It did eventually show up, and I got on it and eventually arrived home, a little wiser (lesson learned: just don't leave the house on marathon day unless you're actually running in it).

ript> Though my afternoon was totally a bust for spinning, I did have a few things to show for the effort: first, the return of one of my favorite pattern samples, the Like the Tides Cowl:

IMG_3144


It uses two skeins of the beautiful sport weight gradient yarn from Freia Fiber Arts and the pattern is available here.

Second, I got a big bag of some rather nice yarn which was on sale because Windy Knitty is closing its doors at the end of the month:

IMG_3127


I do love a good sale, but not under those circumstances, of course. It was some seriously bittersweet yarn shopping (The Cure's "Pictures of You" was playing for almost the entire time I was there, I kid you not) and I will be sad to see them go.

Now it's time to get back to knitting, I suppose. My office project, aka the garter project I inherited from my grandmother, is coming down the home stretch because I keep it by my desk to work on while I'm in meetings - I've added the fourth and final skein:

IMG_3143

Also this week, I took off for the sleeves on my cardigan, and it's starting to look like a sweater now!

IMG_3150

That's it for this week, though I will finally have an FO to share with you this Friday. See you then!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

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