WIP Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Here I am! I'm not even sure that I did work on my Celeste Shawl this past week, but I thought I'd better throw it in just in case.

Other stars of this show are the well-rested Mermaidia Socks in blue-green up at the top, now only a cuff and picot bindoff away from the end.

My other OWL is the sweater masquerading here as green stringy blobs, which are a complete back and about 2/3 of a cardigan front. The pocket lining is worked overlapping with the sweater and the seams are sewn up after, so it looks like a giant hole because right now it is.

In the middle we have my latest obsession, Spillyjane's Camilla Mittens (free pattern). Some bright person pointed out that Spillyjane is having a giveaway, and everyone who knits a pair of Camillas and emails her a picture gets one of her (paid) patterns for free. I've been meaning to give some of her designs a try and this seems like a great opportunity!

I've also been spinning again... (BFL, attempting a laceweight??)

having finally cleared some yellow wool off the bobbins. As soon as I get it washed, the handspun and another finished project will be making an appearance!

A new way to brie

One of my favorite treats to snack on is a wedge of brie cheese warmed in the oven with a little homemade strawberry jam on top with crackers. It seems to hit just the right savory-sweet balance and enough of a snack to get me through to the next meal. Plus it looks fancy.

One afternoon I was feeling clever and thought I'd like to try something other than strawberry jam, so I started plotting. Walnuts and honey came to mind, and google took me to a recipe over at This Mama Cooks! I don't believe in margarine so I used butter instead, which turned out pretty tasty I think. Try it sometime!

January Stashdown Report

It's that time again, the day of reckoning between the stash and me.

I finished ten projects in January, eight of which counted for yarn out for the month. The other two were spinning projects, and like in 2010 I am just not going to count handspun as yarn in.

Of course now that I'm making a specific effort to write about everything I finish, we've already seen all the yarn out into projects! I also sent a ball of yarn to someone who contacted me on Ravelry looking for a single skein to finish a project.

January and Year-to-Date Yarn out: 3293 yards

But what did I get in January? I got some yarn to seam a blanket (630 yards).

I got my January Alina Shea Creations Yarn Club shipment, a laceweight alpaca that is oh so very soft (800 yards).

On the same day, I received my Knit Picks shipment with yarn for Paul's sweater that he requested (1644 yards and how could I say no to that?).

And since I was already there shopping, this little skein of lace jumped home with me too (Alpaca Cloud in Tango Heather, 440 yards).

In theory it looks pretty good.

January and Year-to-Date Yards In: 3514 yards.

Okay, I didn't need the hot red alpaca. But it's darn pretty.

Project 10: Swallowtail Shawl

I'm still a little surprised that I managed to pull this off, but as I reported nearly live here on the blog, I made a Swallowtail Shawl in just five days.

Tossed into the snow!

Triangles are more versatile than I thought.

It was not very many degrees out and snowing when my husband kindly helped me take these photos.

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl, by Evelyn A. Clark (free pattern)

Yarn: Knit Picks Shimmer Hand-dyed lace yarn, 70% alpaca, 30% silk, in the stained glass colorway. This skein was a destash from Shannon of Alina Shea Creations.

Needles: Size US4/3.75mm nickel-plated Knit Picks Options.

Yards: 343.2 yards

Ravelry page

Mods: none!

It's just lovely. A pattern I'd knit again, and that is a rare find.

Project 9: Zee's Baby Blanket

At the ripe old age of 20 months, Zee finally has his own baby blanket. I think he actually likes it, despite how hard it was to get this picture.

Pattern: Sideways Shell Baby Afghan, from Project Linus

Yarn: I bought it from eBay over five years ago, and I think it is Lion Brand Jamie but that's just my educated guess.

Needles: Size I/5.50mm crochet hook

Yards: 1862 yards

Ravelry page

Mods: I made the blanket wider by increasing the beginning chain, and bordered the whole blanket with a round of single crochet.

Project 8: Patchwork Square #46

Another patchwork square! Nice and straightforward.

Pattern: Square #46, Palm Leaves, from 63 Easy-To-Crochet Pattern Stitches

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver, worsted-weight 100% acrylic in country blue

Needles: Size I/5.50mm crochet hook

Yards: 45.2 yards by weight

Ravelry page (for the whole project)

Mods: none!

WIP Wednesday, February 2, 2011

(actually posted on Thursday....)

For the second week running, all I have worked on in the past week that isn't done yet is right here - my two OWLs. The green sweater back I finished Wednesday night and the Celeste Shawl is now at 59% complete.

After the Swallowtail, I feel like I've been to lace knitting boot camp and can do anything lacy much faster than before. I feel pretty good about hitting 50% on both this month, and may even finish one of these major projects ahead of time. I am no doctor, but I think I might have been abducted by aliens.