Apparently March is Also for Finishing

The last two weeks passed by in a fugue of coughing, going through mountains of tissues, and generally feeling as though all thoughts were being processed through a vat of cold oatmeal.  After five years of antisocial and hermit-like behavior, I finally got got and contracted baby's first Covid.

We had friends over for our semi-regular D&D session Friday before last, and then woke up Saturday morning coughing.  I think the final body count was seven friends and family taken out by this thing.  0/10 stars, do not recommend.

While I did still kind of work last week, I also had tons of enforced couch time, so I was shockingly productive - and not just because this is two weeks since my last update ... although I imagine that isn't hurting any either.

I missed finishing the Wasilla Poncho in February by just a few days, but done is done, and I'm playing by no one's rules but my own.  I ran out of yarn at a weird place in the pattern and briefly considered finding another skein of the Lion Brand Mandala so I could end at a better spot.  I really didn't want to do that though because using every bit of the yarn was entirely the point of choosing a top down project like this in the first place.  I set it aside and noodled on it a bit until I was hit by a brain wave.  I had a sudden vision of a yarn that I bought long enough ago that the store it came from has been closed more than 15 years.  In my mind's eye the color and texture would be perfect, AND (get this) I knew exactly where it was.

I'm pretty pleased with myself, truth being told.  My mind's eye knows what's up.

Heady with that success (and the over-abundance of phlegm I'd recently taken on board), I turned my attention to the Beach Walk blanket.  I finished up the remaining granny squares, got them joined, and have 2 out of 8 border rounds completed.   We're still on track to have it finished by the end of the month if I can stay consistent with it. I'll try to share an updated picture next week.

And if that wasn't enough, genties and ladlemen, let me please introduce you to Delores de Colores.  She is perfect and I love her.  For all that it took me ten months start to finish, this was a remarkably fast knit.  I probably only worked on it a handful of days all in and I couldn't be happier with the results.  Plus I used some old-growth stash up, so wins all around.

Did I need a stuffed rainbow chicken?  Don't be ridiculous, of course I did.

In addition to all of the above, I moved my Riptide vest along and got both the left and right front shoulders done and the neck shaping to the point where I've joined the two together into one front piece.   It's in an unwieldy and un-photographical state at the moment, but progress is assuredly happening.

And finally, you had to know that there would be a new sock. 

Next week's plans include more progress on all the things. I'm feeling highly motivated to keep knocking down the old WIP list.  I even pulled out my 2024 Hiberknitalong Shawl to see if I could figure out where I was with it.

The border is not nearly as annoying to knit as I remember.

More specifically, I plan to:

• add two more border rounds to the blanket
• add four more repeats to the shawl border
• turn the heel on the sock (bonus points if I can finish it)
• get Riptide to the point where I can join in the round

On the one hand, that feels ambitious.  On the other hand, that feels ambitious and I like it.

February is for Finishing - 2021 Edition

Okay, so first off we're not going to even talk about the fact that I started 2020 strong with blogging and then suddenly stopped.  We all know what happened.

But if there's one constant in this inconsistent blog of mine, it's the annual airing of the WIP pile for February is for Finishing.  We're not going to let the fact that today being February 1st somehow came as a complete and total surprise to me stop us from making our list and thinking about how we're going to work on finishing up some WIPs this month.

(Seriously though, one of my besties said "Happy February is for Finishing!" this afternoon and I just blinked in shock.  February? Again? Already? Mind you, I knew yesterday was January 31.  That knowledge just didn't come with any attendant "and that means tomorrow is February 1" understanding.)

This year's list is pretty reasonable by chez woolly standards.  Neither the longest (25+) nor the shortest (4, back in 2019.  That was a year), but nicely reasonable at 7 works in progress.

As is the custom, I'll list them oldest to newest.  And dear reader, please brace yourself.  Longtime friends of the show will be shocked to learn that the Hogwarts Studies Blanket is no longer on the list.  That's right, I finished it last summer (and to my shame, I didn't blog about it.  Maybe later).

Oh hey - links go to Ravelry, so please click with caution, if you're one of the people affected by the changes to the site.

1. Weekender Blanket, started May 20, 2018.  This is a modular JAYG hexagon blanket, crocheted out of Stylecraft DK in the "cottage pack" put together by Lucy from Attic24.  I'm not in any particular hurry to finish this, just adding to it as I get the urge.

2. Scrappy Granny, started April 1, 2019.  This project is in deep hibernation - I don't think I picked it up even once in 2020.  At some point I need to decide if I'm really making this blanket or not.  I don't want to hold 2020 against it though, so it gets a stay of execution until I can decide if I want to go back to it.

3. the art of creating comfort, started November 3, 2019.  I'm also using Stylecraft DK for this blanket.  This is the "woodland pack," but with a couple of extra colors introduced. I put a lot of work into this over the last year, and it's close enough that I could conceivably finish it this month.  I've completely joined all 90 squares, and am working on the border now.

I don't have a proper picture of where I am on this one, but here's a teaser shot:

These are the only projects that were on last year's list, so when you find out I've started yet another blanket (SPOILER!) I'll thank you to remember that I've finished one and am about to finish another.  Also, I do what I want.

4. seasick crocodile, started November 26, 2020.  I have a tradition of starting a new pair of holiday socks on Thanksgiving day, while I'm taking a break during cooking.  I have spent a lot of time this past year doing my best to keep up with observing traditions, and just doing my best.  In a normal year I would have finished up the Thanksgiving day socks sometime between Christmas and New Years.  But this year I forgot I had a pair of Advent socks that I wanted to knit (I should have gotten the cuff started for those on Thanksgiving instead, but whatever) and what with one thing and another the normal tradition didn't get quite get pulled off.  And if that ain't a metaphor for 2020, I don't know what is.  

Eventually I'll finish them (maybe even this month, who knows?) and they'll be delightful.

5. first blank page, started January 1, 2021.  I got my two besties to dig around in my Ravelry stash and to pick a new pair of socks for me to knit.  Jess picked a skein of variegated with gold stellina called Glitter Gel Pen, in the Jelly Bean colorway.  The dyer, With Pointed Sticks no longer seems to have an Etsy shop, so they may be out of business.  In any case, we all agreed that glittery gel pens are exactly what's called for on January 1, a day typically given over to playing with and setting up new planners.

I chose Hermione's Everyday Socks (one of my favorite patterns) with a Fish Lips Kish Heel.  I'm about 60-65% on these, with one sock done and an other started and on the leg.   The color of this yarn is much prettier than this picture would have you believe.  I couldn't get the light to cooperate with my camera.

6. a vibrant inner life, started January 1, 2021.  This was my other January 1 cast on.  It's the Venation Shawl by Ambah O'Brien out of a set of 10 20g mini skeins.   The set is based on Strawberry Shortcake, so it was basically a moral imperative to get it.  (The yarn does not smell, it was the first thing I checked.)

Forgive the nighttime photo, I'll do a better job of capturing the gorgeous color when I do the FO shots.  The plan is definitely for this to get done in February.  I'm around 65% done with this one as well.

7. Aria, started January 9, 2021.  I told you I started another blanket.  This is Aria, by Lucy at Attic24, using her kit from the Wool Warehouse. The blanket will have 144 granny squares in a 12x12 grid, finished off with a few rounds of border.  I'm barely started, with 7 or 8 squares done.  Pictured here at 6 squares:

The final blanket is a burst of color, with reds and oranges in the center, radiating out to greens, blues and purples.  I love it, and I'm loving working on it.

The Plan

So now that I've done the accounting, here's what I plan to finish in February:

• first blank page socks
• a vibrant inner life (Venation shawl)

Stretch goal finishes would include:

• art of creating comfort (granny square afghan)
• seasick crocodile socks

I'm not really targeting the other three blankets, though I do plan to work on Aria some.  And in the spirit of full disclosure, I should tell you that I just cast off a shawl at the end of January.  I need to weave in ends and block it, but for all intents and purposes it's finished so I didn't list it here.

An Absolute Slog of a Week

I don't know what it is about this week, but everything has been an absolute slog.  Right now my job is simultaneously boring and stressful.  The house is a bit of a mess, but I can't be arsed to care.  My knitting just keeps not finishing itself...sigh... it's just all ...meh.

One could make a compelling argument that the flooding (last Thursday), snow (last Friday), weird 60F temps (Sunday), and more flooding (Tues-Thurs) might have something to do with the current mood.   The other day I looked at my co-workers and with a big, dramatic sigh said, "Do you remember the sun?"   They all agreed that they did not.

February is rough, y'all.

Especially a February that doesn't seem to have any finishing in it.  What?  "No finishing?!" I hear you cry.  That's right my friends, I knit and I knit and I finish nothing.  Sysiphos got nothin' on me. 

I mean, except that I'm not knitting up hill. And arguably I like knitting.  And I can do a little crochet to take the edge off.  And as far as I can tell no one is actually coming along in the night and rolling my shawl back down the hill again...

Okay, so maybe I'm being a little dramatic. 

It just seems like nothing is moving.  I expect socks to drip from my needles, like that one fairy tale princess who had jewels falling from her mouth every time she laughed (which, in retrospect, sounds both horrific and economy killing.  But I digress.) I just want my sock to be done, y'all.

And blankets?  Don't talk to me about blankets.  Who makes 4 blankets at the same time?  Who?  Nobody sane that's who.

I just wish I understood why I'm not finishing anything.

It's a mystery.

The Annual Airing of the WIP Basket: February is for Finishing 2020

It's that time of year again, folks.   Friends of the show will remember that February is for Finishing, and that every year we begin the month with the "annual airing of the WIP pile."

I've talked a bit here and there about why February is for Finishing as a tradition has evolved for me over the years (TL;DR - I just don't have as many WIPs as I used to), but I definitely think that the practice of giving everything currently in progress a good, strong eye-balling at least annually is a good idea.

So without further ado, here is my 2020 list of Works in Progress, in order from oldest to newest.  (Links go to the relevant Ravelry project page).

1.  Hogwarts Studies Notebook, cast on May 16, 2016.  This is Schrodinger's blanket.  It is and is not a WIP, depending on whether or not I am currently in the process of adding a square.   I started this blanket not long after I started playing in the Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup, and every square has been turned in for points in the game. I have this running gag where I refer to each square as a page in my notebook, and that's where I keep all my homework.  This is one of those things where I think I'm clever and the rest of you just sort of tune out and nod at me and hope I'll stop talking.  It's okay, I get it.

I made a ton of progress on this in 2019.  I'm going to push hard to finish it this year.  I've added three more squares since this photo was taken, but this is close enough to where I am.  It's sitting pretty at 12x14 squares, and I'm targeting 12x18.  The end is in sight!

2. Weekender Blanket, started May 20, 2018.   This is a modular, JAYG hexagon blanket, crocheted with Stylecraft Special DK acrylic yarn.  I'm using the "Cottage Pack" from Lucy of Attic 24 (purchased through Wool Warehouse).  I've made significant progress on this one too, adding 4.5 rows since last year.

3. Scrappy Granny, started April 1, 2019.  Because one fingering weight blanket wasn't enough?  But you see, what had happened was... I had little bits leftover from adding squares to the Hogwarts Studies blanket, and I am only using a yarn one time in that one, and then Amy Florence from the Stranded podcast, and Caroline from the Dunderknit podcast were both crocheting one and then... It was peer pressure, okay?!  It was FOMO, pure and simple.  Also at work was a desire not to drown in small bits of fingering weight wool.

4. the art of creating comfort, started November 3, 2019.   Okay, I have no explanation for this.  No, I don't know why I have four different blankets in progress right now.  The heart wants what the heart wants, alright?   This one's also Stylecraft Special DK (this time in the "Woodland Pack" from Lucy at Attic24, via Wool Warehouse).   I'm doing 6, 8-round granny squares from each of 15 colors, and then I'm going to join the whole thing up with a gray border.  It's going to be big enough to put on my queen sized bed, and I'm stoked about it.   So far I have 17.5/90 squares done.

As an aside, you'll be pleased to note that there aren't any more blankets after this.  (I mean, I have more blankets planned, don't get it twisted, but let's finish a couple of these first, eh?)   As a second aside, the res of the projects I'll mention were cast on in 2020, so they're all brand, shiny-new.

5. Divination OWL: a secret county (Exploration Station), cast on January 2, 2020.  Would you believe I've never knit a Stephen West pattern before this one?  Where the heck have I been all this time?  I'm knitting this for my OWL in the House Cup.  This is my 12th OWL, and if I complete it on or before March 31, I will have earned the title of OWL Mistress.  Not gonna lie, I'm pretty stoked.  I'm knitting this out of Merino singles from Dream in Color and Suburban Stitcher.  This is a bit outside of my normal palette, but I love it fiercely.  Also, brioche is pretty fun. 

6. mighty in battle (Hitchhiker), cast on January 22, 2020.  So this is my sixth Hitchhiker shawl -- I knit my first one in 2013, and my most recent one in 2016.  But this is the first time I've done one with eyelets in, so there's that.  The yarn is Leading Men Fiber Arts in their Monologue base. The colorway is "And Then There's Maude."  Maude is my middle name, and those are my colors, so I was on that yarn like a duck on a june bug.  I'm farther along that this picture implies (around 22 teeth), but the picture I took today doesn't do the color any kind of justice.

7. catching or ensnaring by the foot, cast on January 25, 2020.   Did you know that the word "impeachment" is related etymologically to the word "impediment" and connotes catching someone or something "by the foot"?   Well now that's a thing you know.   Yarn is Whitebirch Fiber Arts "Study In Peach Mint."  Pattern is my standard CO 68, 1x1 rib, FLK heel.  This is the first sock of the pair.

8. bold branches bid farewell to rainbow leaves (Litmus Cowl), cast on January 26, 2020.  This will be a simple tubular cowl, knit in the round and grafted together to form a loop.  I think I'm going to run out of my contrast yarn, but that's a problem for future Bekah.  I'm using the "Autumn Rainbow" mini set from Canon Hand Dyes along with a neutral solid from Whitebirch Fiber Arts.

So that's it. 8 projects, 4 of which are blankets (?!) and 4 of which were cast on within the last month.  Unlike last February, I'm not planning to go rogue and cast on a bunch of stuff.  I plan to stay focused and to work solidly on my 4 new projects, while also getting some progress on one or more of those blankets. 

We'll see how we go!

A Cozy Nest

Do you have a knitting nest?  In my house we just call it "my spot" - as in no one sits in mom's spot, lest they get The Look and summarily booted.  

It's me.  I am the mess in my living room.

You can tell it's my spot by the way it's completely surrounded by tools, projects, yarn, and the detritus of making.   I took a couple of candid photos this morning so I could share what my spot looks like in it's natural state.

Note first the projects on the couch.  If I were a better person I would put my toys away when I was done playing with them, but when I went to bed last night I knew I'd be back and working on them again today, so enh.  Why bother?

That's my current sock, the Odyssey Shawl, and Exploration Station all in a pile.

To my left is the side table that I've utterly taken over.  There's a blue cube tucked into the table that holds spare needles, bits and bobs of yarn, the odd notion, and whatever else I shove in there when I'm trying to clean up in a hurry.  Don't lie, you do it too.

Note the emergency chocolate.  It's been a week.

On the table itself is a big wooden bowl full of minis from Row One and advent calendars.  They go into various blankets, gnomes, earbud cozies and the like, but mostly they just live there because I think they're pretty and they make me happy.

Also, I told you I didn't clean up before I took these pictures.

Also pictured are my Captain America coaster, blocks from one of my blankets, a notions tin, kleenex, because I'm not a barbarian, a yarn bowl, the charger for my fitbit, and a little plate I keep extra darning needles and stitch markers on.

The plate belonged to my dad - it's from Copenhagen, and I believe that his parents brought it back from a trip?  That part of the family lore is lost now, so I might be making that up.  Our family is from Denmark originally (at least that side of the family) so it's really special to me.  I kept it hidden away for years, because I was afraid it would get broken.   Now that the kids are mostly breaking their own stuff instead of mine, I decided that the best way to honor this family treasure is to use it and have it where I can enjoy it every day.

And present pictures not withstanding, it does help keep the table a little tidier.

What's around your knitting nest?  Do you have a "spot" or are you nomadic with your making?

The State of the WIP-Basket

I thought I'd share what I'm currently working on, since it's been a while since I've talked about what I'm knitting with any kind of regularity.  This won't be a full accounting of the WIPs, as I have to save some content for February is for Finishing, after all.  I'll give you the full list in a couple of weeks. 

For today, let's look at my three newest cast-ons, two shawls and a pair of socks.  For a nicely balanced basket, I probably should have a sweater in the mix too, but my sweater mojo is on hiatus at the moment, so shawls it is.

Exploration Station

First up is Exploration Station by Stephen West. This was a mystery knit along way back when (I want to say 2014 maybe) but it didn't really get onto my radar as a thing I might want to knit until sometime last year when I was watching the back catalog of the Stranded Podcast on Youtube with Amy Florence (she's charming, if you don't watch her and you are a podcasty type person, you totally should).   I've been planning this knit for over six months, finally purchasing the final skeins of yarn for it last year at the SSK market.

I'm utterly charmed by how it's working up - even if Morgan did tell me it looked like a watermelon.  I don't know what kind of funky mutant watermelons she's been eating, but it most certainly does not.  Yarns are Dream in Color Jilly and Suburban Stitcher Single Sock.  The Suburban Stitcher is 100% merino and a single, so I'm not sure why the word "sock" is in the base name, lest it be to indicate that it's a fingering weight yarn. 

After I finish up the current wedge, it's time to transition into brioche.  I've got limited experience with brioche (I knit a hat once) but, as they say, it's just knitting.  I'm looking forward to it.

Odyssey Shawl

Next up is the Odyssey Shawl by Joji Locatelli.  I mentioned it briefly in my last post as one of my New Years Day cast-ons.  I'm knitting it out of Deep Dyed Yarns Still base (DK 100% merino), using US 9 needles.  I'm a little worried about gauge on this one, as I didn't fuss with a swatch.  Joji's gauge is 13 sts/4 in using US 8s.  I just went up one needle size and went for it.  There is a slight possibility that I am knitting a pocket handkerchief instead of the big, cozy shawl of my dreams.  We shall see if the blocking saves me, and if it doesn't, them's the brakes.

I'm a wee skosh farther along than I was on Friday.

no swatch we die like men

her song released the sudden spring: Tinuviel Socks

These socks are right exactly where I left them on Friday, as I've been working on other things.  My goal is to have the first one done by the 15th, so I reckon I'd best hustle.  More details can be found in my last post.

Those are my only proper knit WIPS.  I also have a few (*KOFF* FOUR *KOFF*) blankets in the works, but more on them later.

What with one thing and another, I haven't been posting regularly here at A Woolly Discipline.  That's something I'm hoping to change in 2020 (a naye yor, a naye leben and all that). I'm more consistently active on Instagram, if that's your jam, and can be found as kadollan.

Welcome to 2020!

Friends of the show will remember that we have a New Years tradition here at chez woolly.  My two besties and I have been gathering on New Year's Eve to ring in the new year, and then share brunch on New Year's Day to make plans and set intentions for ... gosh... probably over 15 years.   It's a lovely part of my personal wheel of the year, and it's a tradition I cherish.

We had to get a little creative this year, because some dear friends of ours got married on New Years Day, and asked me to be their officiant.  It was an incredible honor, and a beautiful wedding. 

Darling, You Look Wonderful Tonight

My best Koren caught a snap of Carl and I dancing to some Eric Clapton.  I'm normally not a fan of pictures of me, but I just love how he's looking at me here.  My heart!

Beautiful or no, the wedding jacked our plans up a bit, but we're clever and flexible people and we made it work.  We switched our brunch to New Year's Eve, set intentions, did some tarot readings, and worked on finishing projects.  (As an aside, my tarot reading said I should write more.  Hello!)

A second piece of our New Years tradition is to finish a project, either New Years Eve or Day (Jess does one, I do the other) and then cast on something new on New Years Day.  May we finish as many things as we start, so say we all.

I finished up these cheerful holiday socks. 

They're Rock and String Creations "Merry and Bright" in her Sashay base. I used the Heel, Toe, Do-Si-Do pattern, with very slight modification (68 stitches instead of 64).  They're sparkly, and pretty darned cute, if I do say so myself. 

My New Year's cast ons (plural, because if one is good then two is better, right?) were the Odyssey Shawl by Joji Locatelli, and a pair of vanilla socks using Valkyrie Fibers Matte Sock in the "Tinuviel" colorway. 

And can we just talk about how well that contrast color in the socks works with the main yarn?  Not only did they not come together, they're not from the same dyer.  The contrast is Soft Sock from Teenybutton Studio.

I'm excited about this year.  I feel good, I've got plans that inspire me, and plenty of beautiful yarn to keep me busy. 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I have a feeling I've probably used that blog post title before - likely talking about spring and Passover.  Fall and Spring are my favorite seasons, and which one is the mostest favorite entirely depends on which one I'm in.

September has the same sense of anticipation of starting new things that the spring has.  Where in spring you have the fresh promise of a new growing season, summer around the corner, and the delight of being able to go outside without six layers on, in the fall there's football, the new school year, crisp weather as the heat starts to release it's grip, and a growing sense of settling in.   I love them both.

But today I love fall.  I particularly love September 1st when the new Fall Term starts in the Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup.  Starting a new school year hasn't been a thing for me in years (in fact my youngest graduated high school last year, so it's really not a thing for me anymore) but I still enjoy the anticipation of The First Day of Term.

The House Cup is an online community and game that's hosted on Ravelry.  Students are sorted into houses (Gryffindor 4 Lyf), and compete by crafting for the House and Quidditch Cups.  It's a really good time, and has done wonders for my knitting and crocheting output.   There are three terms a year - Winter, Spring, and Fall - and Fall is by far my favorite.

Of course, along with all of that new-Term excitement comes new-Term cast ons!  I had a wicked case of startosis on September 1st and I've cast on four new projects in the last five days.

Two pairs of socks -  Hello Sunshine by Tracie Millar out of  Unwind Yarn Company Celebration Sock in the Goldenrod colorway for Morgan (left) and a pair of vanilla Yulemas socks out of Colour Redefined Smooth Sock in the String the Lights colorway (right).

I also cast on a cowl using some handspun that a dear friend traded me for some project bags a few years ago.  It's a delicious merino/bamboo blend and the colors are so gorgeous I keep stopping to admire it.  I'm using the Mira's Cowl pattern by Baah Yarn, and size 9 needles for a big, squishy cowl.

And then finally, I've cast on The Crown Wools by Casapinka.  I'm barely into it, so there's not much to see yet.  I'm using Miss Babs Yummy 2 Ply in the Giant Silk Moth set, and it is stunning.  I'm excited by this one!

Now, I already had four things on needle or hook when term started, so that brings my current WIP count up to 8.  (In my defense, three of those are long-term blanket projects.   On second thought, that might be a lousy defense.) 

In any case, I'm starting to feel a little twitchy, so I think I'll concentrate on getting the cowl back off the needles quickly.

Scattershot Approach: Wherein I Knit All the Things

I spent yesterday watching the first four Harry Potter movies and knitting and crocheting all the things.  I think I laid hands on everything I've got on the needles or hooks yesterday. 

The upside of this approach is that I didn't get bored, and I could swap out what I was working based on whether or not I needed my eyes for any given scene. In fact, I may or may not have just listened to most of Chamber of Secrets... I can't crochet without looking, the way I can with knitting stockinette.

The downside, of course, is that I didn't make nearly as much progress on any one thing as I would have if I'd focused. 

On the other hand, while some of the things I've been working on do have deadlines, they are all arbitrary, game-based deadlines.   The shawl pictured above, for example, is my Order Mission in the House Cup.  It needs to be done by November 18th, or I don't get my internet points. 

I'm also working on a Boxy sweater for my OWL.  Deadline on this one is the end of November.  (I'm farther along than this picture shows.  Imagine it just like this, only more so.)   So far, even with my scattershot approach, I'm in no particular danger of missing either deadline.

I seriously considered watching more Harry Potter today, but I ended up deciding that my body wasn't ready for the emotional roller coaster of movies 5, 6, 7, and 7.5.   Maybe next weekend.

Who knows, maybe by next weekend I will have actually finished something.  Though that might require me to hold onto it for more than ten minutes at any given time.

So maybe don't hold hold your breath.