The estimation game

OK friends I have come up with a crazy game to play with myself to hopefully help me get some of those WIPs off the needs. Here is my plan: I am going to estimate how many days of knitting it will take to finish each of my WIPs. I will try to pick something that is a bit challenging but (hopefully) reasonable. For each WIP that I finish within the allotted amount of time I can spend $15 on yarn. That is a potential of $165 I would allow myself to splurge!

The rules:

1) I must knit some each day. If I don't knit one day one of my projects will still have to take a strike.

2) Each day will be allocated to one project. If I knit on more than one project I will have to choose which one takes the day.

3) Any new cast-ons (with the one exception I will explain later) will not count. If I waste days playing with new projects I may have to give up getting some new yarn.

4) Finished means completely finished. As in off the needles, blocked, seamed, buttons applied, etc. Ready to be worn/used.

5) No money can be spent on yarn, needles, notions, ect. until this challenge is over, i.e. all the days have been used up.

My predictions:

1) First spinning attempt. I bought a drop spindle and some Targhee wool at sock summit last August and started spinning away. I actually got to the point where my spinning was pretty even but then I got distracted with school and didn't pick it up for 11 months. Now I am at it again and am getting somewhat even results... For a first attempt I'm pretty happy. Anyway, about 1 oz. of the 3.8 oz braid was used in my thrummed mittens. The rest is on it's way to becoming yarn. According to my Knit Picks yarn scale (so wonderful to have!) I have 0.78 oz left. I'm going to be a little generous with this one and give myself 5 days to finish since I'm so new to spinning. I think two days for spinning, two days for plying, and one day for washing, drying and skeining.



2) Op Art. I have four stripes left on this blanket. That sounds pretty manageable, until I think about how each stripe contains both more rows that the stripe before and more stitches per row. I'm going to push myself and give myself 20 days here. right now it's taking me about 35 minutes to do one row. I'm guessing I have 60 hours left on this puppy so I'm going to have to give it 3 hours each of it's days. This is going to be my biggest challenge.



3) Hope for Change socks. My oldest WIP to date. I love the way this pattern looks, it's just not my favorite to knit. One sock is complete the other sock is about 2/3 up my instep (knit from toe up). I'm only giving myself 3 days to finish these babies. One day to get past the heel, two days for the leg and cuff.



4) Mojo socks. These are so close to being done I can taste it. I have 45 rows left. These get one day.



5) Yeah for Fall (Green Gable sweater). This went so quickly when I was working on it. I knit the whole body in about a week. I'm going to give it one more week. 3 days to finish the sleeves, 3 days to finish the yoke and hood, and 1 day for blocking.



5) Birthday socks (Air Raid socks). The first sock is finished. The second sock has one repeat of 6 done on the leg (knit from the top down). The first sock went very fast. There is no real reason these have taken so long other than they are my "purse" project and I haven't had to wait very often (knock on wood). I will give these 5 days.



6) Selbu Mittens. One mitten is half done. These take complete attention because I have to follow the colorwork chart carefully. With school starting on the 30th complete attention is going to be hard to give. I'm going to be a bit lax with these and give them 14 days since full devotion will be hard to muster.



7) Baby Surprise Jacket. This will go quickly once I turn my attention to it, I have just been focusing on other things recently. I am giving this 3 days.



8) Victorian Scarf. Lace, like colorwork takes a lot of attention. Also, this project is pretty huge. I have 3 repeats of 42 done, plus the center panel, which is skinny but looooooong. I am going to give this project 18 days. That is 3 repeats a day for 14 days then 3 days for the center panel and 1 for blocking.



9) Pomatomous Socks. These are fun to knit but all of the twisted stitches are slow going for me. I am 1/3 through the leg (knit top down) on the first sock. I'm going to say 10 days for these socks.



10) Test Knit - Bashful. I can't show you a picture of this one, but I'm test knitting a hat for Marly Bird aka Yarnthing on Ravelry. The hat is slouchy and DK weight but I can't tell you anything about it until the pattern is released. So far all I have knit is the ribbing. I'm giving it 2 days since it's a hat and hats are smallish quickish projects.

11) Test Knit - Whirligig bolero. This is a test knit for Stephanie Japel to help her up-size a pattern that was originally only in baby/toddler sizes. She is going to re-release it with bigger child and adult sizes. I'm testing one of the child sizes. It will either go to one of my cousins' kids or to charity, but when the pattern is release I will have the adult sizes muahahaha. I haven't actually gotten the pattern yet or my assigned size (supposed to come out today) but it has to be done within 3 weeks so I'm going to give myself 21 days.

That is 108 days to finish all my projects. That means on November 25 I will be done with this little adventure. That gives me one month to do any Christmas knitting I need... More than enough right...

WIPs march of shame (part seven - the finale)

Hello friends! I have one last WIP to show you and then you are all caught up on my knitting exploits (except for one project that I can't share with you until I finish completely because it is somewhat secret).

Anyway, you'll never guess what this is.





I know it's impossible to tell from that tiny little strip but that is the infamous Baby Surprise Jacket by the infamous Elizabeth Zimmerman. I am knitting mine from this:



It is a Knit Picks Sock Blank that was dyed for me in the Dyed Sock Blank Swap on ravelry. This blank was dyed for me by schknitz of ravelry. I think it looks like a watercolor of a sunset when knit up.

I started this on a whim (wanted to make one of the great patterns and thought it would go fast--I'm knitting with two strands held together) but haven't made much progress as you can see. It's not that there's anything wrong with the pattern, I happen to love garter stitch. It has, however, become painfully obvious to me after looking at other people's renditions of this sweater that I'm going to run out of yarn.

Rather than undo what little I've already done, I think I'll add stripes as so many before me have done. I'm just not sure what will stripe well with this yet... I'll have to spend some time with the stash and pull out something more neutral to tone down the loud colors.

Recently, most of my attention has been devoted to the secret project which I will let you all know about shortly.

WIPs march of shame (part six-second to last post of shame!)

Alright, we're moving [moderately] swiftly through my embarrassingly long list of WIPs and we come now to the penultimate project of shame.

These mittens were started at the end of April right as finals-studying was getting interesting (the complexity of the project shows the depth of my denial.)





This pattern is NHM #14 by Terri Shea from the book Selbuvotter: Biography of a Knitting Tradition. I love the colorwork mittens in this book and how they're all tied to history. The yarn I'm using is Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift in Yellow Ochre and Grouse. This yarn is splendidly rustic and though it is not at all soft, I love the texture of it so much I don't think I will be bothered having it's "scratch" on my hands.

I'm slightly worried that these will come out very small. Even though my gauge is correct, they look tiny even for my small hands. The last colorwork mittens I made grew a ton after being washed, so I'm just assuming it's a weird consequence of colorwork in general.

WIPs march of shame (part five)

So close to the end of showing you all the shameful WIPs I have stashed in my knitting basket. This next one has actually been living in my purse for the past 8 months or so. It is supposed to be my "I have to wait project" so that if I'm ever somewhere with an unusually long line or am unexpected delayed for another reason I have knitting with me. The problem is, I haven't really had to do much waiting lately. I'm not at all complaining about not having to wait, it just means this project doesn't get a lot of love.





These are Air Raid Socks by Emily B. Miller. I have chosen to make my legs about twice as long as the sample sock because I think wool socks should be long. That is my personal preference since my legs are always freezing in the winter. The yarn I am using is Crystal Palace Yarns Mini Mochi in colorway 101 which is a rainbow.



This blog post would have to go on for miles if I were to accurately describe how much I love this yarn. The first thing I love about it is that it is a single. I know there are some people out there who absolutely hate to knit with yarn that is not plied, but I am not one of them. I love the way stitches look so plump when the yarn is not plied. Next, this yarn is SOFT. It's a merino/nylon blend (which makes it perfect for socks) but it's so much softer than other sock yarns. This yarn makes my feet feel like they have gone to heaven. Finally, the color. This yarn has such deep rich colors. The rainbow is very happy, which was much needed in December when I was buying the yarn, but I must have stood over the basket of this yarn in the shop for 20 minutes trying to decide which fantastic colorway to take home with me.



The pattern is also wonderful. I love how it adds some texture but doesn't get lost in the colors of the yarn. It's also very simple. I had the repeat memorized halfway through the chart. I am the tiniest bit worried that because this is a single yarn the socks won't be as hardy as I need them to be, but that I a practical after-the-fact-type matter, and I tend not to think about those when I cast on. If there is some darning in my future, so be it.

WIPs march of shame (part four)

Since I showed you my two newest WIPs last post, it's time to go back into the archives and show you another oldie. After this post, I will only have three more posts-o-shame to get you all caught up on the projects that have been languishing for more or less time in my knitting basket.

Here is my GreenGable Hoodie (rav link) by Mari Muinonen from the Fall 2008 issue of VogueKnitting.





I started knitting this in November and thought it would be a really quick knit since it's made out of bulky-weight yarn. It does knit up very quickly... when I knit on it. The problem is, winter finals came around and I stopped working on it, and I didn't exactly mark where I was in the instructions... I know it probably wouldn't take me more than 10 minutes to sit down with the pattern and the instructions and work out where I'm at, but I don't have too much enthusiasm for bulky-weight wool right now since it's been over 90 degrees here all week and I have no air conditioning.

The yarn is Knit Picks Swish Bulky 100% Superwash Wool in the colorway Adobo. I put it in my Knit Picks wish list when it was being discontinued and was lucky enough to be given 13 skeins of it. So far I've used 4 so I'm thinking I'll be able to get two sweaters. I'll have to find a pattern that's drastically different so people won't realize that I have two sweaters of the exact same color... or maybe I can make up some chunky hats and mittens to donate to the homeless shelter here in Portland. That idea kinda makes my heart happy.

Sadly I haven't made much progress toward finishing any WIP since I keep jumping from one to another working 10-20 rows on something before moving on to the next project. When you have 9 projects all growing an inch at a time it takes a while to show progress. This week I must knuckle-down and finish something.

Oops...

Alright, so remember that whole "finish-two-projects-before-you-cast-a-new-one-on" thing I had going... well I might have fallen a bit off the wagon... It's not my fault! I work in a yarn shop! Who has that kind of will power?!

Remember I told you that in the shop I work in you "make" your own yarn? Here is the what the result can look like.



I know it's blurry, but I think you can get the idea. That yarn is actually 5 different strands of blue and green wool that have been coned together to make one fingering-weight yarn. This is one of our pre-made cones, meaning someone at the shop picked out the colors and we blended them together and are selling the finished cone. Here is a close-up of the different "ingredient" strands (again, sorry about the blur.)



I have been keeping the cone in my purse, taking it to work every day, in case the shop is very slow and I have some time to knit... It hasn't been slow yet.

Here is a cone I "made" myself, as in I picked out the "ingredients."



This cone has two strands of a pearl-colored rayon, one strand of creamy-white cashmere, and one strand of sage-green silk. It is just slightly heavier than a traditional lace-weight yarn but still far from fingering. I love how luxurious this yarn is. We sell our blends by the pound which is a pretty unique way to price yarn. This blend ends up coming to $72 per pound, but a pound of this fine yarn is about 2400 yards. I only needed 5oz to get the 750 yards I needed for my lacy scarf, which ended up being about $23.

I can't possibly be blamed for casting on with both of these beautiful yarns right away can I? I thought not.

The sock yarn is becoming... yes, socks. I worked the whole cuff of the first one last night.





It's impossible to tell since all I have is the twisted ribbing so far, but these will become Pomatomus by Cookie A. from the Winter 2005 Knitty. It is completely immaterial that I have three other pairs of unfinished socks already on the needles... Hush up! As you can see by the picture I'm knitting these on one small circular needle, which may now be my favorite method for sock knitting, no joins to worry about so no ladders ever.

The lace yarn is becoming... yes, lace. I have been in love with this yarn and this pattern since Sunday.





This pattern has a long-ass name, it is Scarf with the No. 20 Edging from "The Knitted Lace Pattern Book," 1850 (rav link) by Jane Sowerby. That whole thing is the name of the pattern, the pattern is actually in the book Victorian Lace Today. This is so soft and sheen-y and wonderful I spend equal amounts of time petting it as knitting on it. I love that even though three of the four strands are cream, the one strand of sage green tints the whole project.

This frenzy of casting on means that I have to finish 4 projects before anything new can be cast on... Wish me luck!

Another one bites the dust

(Tell the truth, did you start singing? Don't be embarrassed, I always do...) Silly blog titles aside though, I finished another project! Never mind that it was the simplest project I had on the needles, and the one most likely to be finished quickly, I finished it. Now there are only seven projects in progress, which is a big improvement on the 10 I had going. Here are my Thrummed Mittens from the pattern that the Yarn Harlot posted in her blog years ago (2004). The pattern starts in the linked posts and goes on for two more posts.





I knit both cuffs at once using magic loop, then the project sat around for 7 months, then I finished both mittens in about 5 days. The pattern is not super precise, it has directions like "knit until the body of the mitten is long enough for your hand" but if you're comfortable with those EZ style directions, then it's a pretty darn good pattern. Here is the obligatory photo of the mitten turned inside out.



I may have been a little overzealous with the size of the thrums on the first mitten, but I calmed down a bit for the second one, this means that one hand is slightly more "poofy" than the other, but I defy you to tell my which one by looking.

The yarn I used is Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool in the color Natural, and the roving is Mountain Top targhee wool from Sweet Grass Wool the color doesn't have a name, but "bubblegum" would be very appropriate. I tried to spin it last summer, and so far have one ply, but it sticks to itself so much that its hard for new-spinner me to draft it. Now that I have used what I need for these mittens, I will go back to trying to spin it.

These are slightly awkward to knit at first because there is wool roving puffing up the mitten and vying for finger space on the needles as you knit, but after the first few rounds it's not too hard to adjust and make accommodations for the roving. This is what it looks like as you knit.



In other fantastic news, I have a job in a yarn shop! It's only weekends, which is a minor bummer, but, um, it's a YARN shop! It's a really funky place, Yarnia, on SE Division St. if anyone from Portland, OR reads my blog. You make your own yarn in our yarn shop. This does not mean you spin it. We have tons and tons of "ingredient" cones in different colors and fibers, and you mix and match them, then we hook it up to a big ol' machine that puts it on a cone for you. If you can't possibly fathom what I'm saying, follow the link and watch the short video. There is also a Yarnia blog where different yarns and projects are showcased. Actually, I have to get out of my PJs and ready for work now. Next post you will see more shameful WIPs, I promise.