singularknitter
A single mom trying to balance life and knitting bliss, with some other crafting and hobbies in the mix.
Homepage: https://asingularknitter.wordpress.com
Summer Wrap-Up
Posted in Knitting Goals on September 10, 2012
Let’s face it, crafters tend to be competitive… even when it’s only with ourselves. I had heard about the previous events corresponding with the Olympic games and I was prepped and ready to attack several small projects over the course of the games.
I was able to cast on my first project during the mass cast-on when the Olympic Opening Ceremony began and stayed up late working on my hat during the U.S. airing of the ceremonies, with assistance of a friend who came over to watch the ceremonies. The hat was complete the next day. This was potentially the fastest I have ever completed a project. In an attempt to keep up the momentum, I quickly entered my hat in the events it qualified for and cast on my next project.
Quick Cable Slouch Hat by Azure
I completed my second project in record time as well. This lacy cowl is knit flat and closed with two buttons. As soon as I had the pattern memorized, it flew off the needles.
Frosted Glow by Melynda Bernardi
Then I started getting ambitious. A shawl. Though, in my defense, I had heard many people discuss what a quick knit this pattern is and how they finished it in about a week. I didn’t have such luck and slowly lost steam. In the long run, I’m glad I slowed down on it as I wanted to add beads to the edging and make it a little more special. It was my first beaded project and completing the only row of beading took me an entire day’s worth of knitting time.
The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief by Orange Flower
As the summer comes to a close, I am glad to report that I succeeded in reaching and surpassing my Stash Dash goal of 1,800 grams with a total of 1,984 grams knit and spun. Though I had even bigger plans for the number of projects I wanted to complete, considering we had an insanely hot and humid summer, I’d say my productivity wasn’t too bad. Now that Fall is on its way, I have decided to cast on everything…. all at once.
Is It Getting Hot in Here?
Posted in Daily Life, Seasonal Crafting, Spinning! on August 22, 2012
The next major event in my summer crafting was Tour de Fleece. It’s a large event corresponding to the Tour de France where spinners set goals of either how much they want to accomplish or how much time they want to spin per day. The general idea is to spin every day the cyclists ride and challenge ourselves during the Tour’s challenge day.
I knew well in advance exactly what I wanted to accomplish: the pound and a half of magenta Romney/Bamboo fiber I purchased at the Vienna Fiber Farmer’s market earlier in the year. As a new spinner, it’s clearly a good idea to spin for a sweater, only three months after purchasing my wheel. But I had the fiber and I knew I would want to knit a sweater for myself this fall. However, this being the first year I was participating… and, you know, spinning at all, I was certain this was a very ambitious goal. I planned out every single day. Sunday through Thursday every week, I would spin one ounce and Fridays and Saturdays, I would spin two ounces. This would give me a few days to ply everything up at the end.
Before the Tour began, I started preparing. I went through every inch of the fiber, picking out veggie matter and separating the fiber into one ounce balls, ready to spin. I made up ziplock bags with four ounces each so I could be certain each bobbin had four ounces of singles. I had a lot of traveling back and forth to my parent’s house planned during the Tour, so I wanted everything to be easy to grab and go and be able to pick up without wondering where I left off.
The night before the Tour began, we had the epic storm where seemingly everyone in Virginia, DC and Maryland lost power. I had planned to be at a kickoff party Saturday morning to get a head start, just in case my planning wasn’t good enough. The last thing I wanted to do was spin wool without air conditioning, especially given the summer we’d been having. Luckily, the event wasn’t cancelled, but instead was held on a balcony that remains sunless for the first half of the day. I spun nearly eight ounces those first two days of the Tour… without air conditioning.
Luckily, the rest of my Tour de Fleece experience went quite well. There were several days where I couldn’t spin, but every day I did, I spun so much, it made up for it. It was this experience that taught me how much faster and thicker (as was my goal since I typically spin a lace weight two-ply) I can spin when I spin in a long-draw, woolen style.
I came out with an almost, maybe a little bit, consistent DK/Worsted (with some little chunky spots here and there) weight two-ply of 1288 yards. Plenty for a simple cardigan, that I may have just cast on! I cannot wait for fall!
Keeping Production from Overheating
Posted in Daily Life, Knitting Goals, Seasonal Crafting on August 7, 2012
I originally starting writing a post of epic proportions, laying out everything I’ve done and even just thought about doing over the last two months… it got a little ridiculous. Instead, I will break it up into a little bit of a series so that I can not only tell you what I did, but also why I chose to tackle the project during the summer months.
One hundred degree weather doesn’t normally send people running for wool and hand knits. Yet, in the past two months I have completed five projects, spun two pounds of wool, and currently have six more works in progress. So, how is it that I’ve stayed so motivated? Other knitters and spinners.
It all started with TheKnitGrllls “Stash Dash” running June 3rd to August 12th. First, everyone participating set individual goals for how many grams of stash we would use over the course of the event, including any WIPs (works-in-progress). Since this is not the first season of this event, I watched some group members post goals way beyond my comprehension. After careful thought and consideration, based on the summer events to come, I set a goal of 1,800 grams. I pulled out the yarn and fiber, photographed it all, and assigned it to projects and dates to start and complete each project, keeping in mind my progress in other projects to make sure I wasn’t being overly ambitious.
Stash Dash 2012 goal – 1,800 grams of knitting and spinning fun!
During the first few weeks, I completed my Shaelyn Shawl, Wingspan and a cotton dress for M.
The first project was obvious, as I had been working away at it for some time, but had simply run out of yarn at the very end. I was knitting the Shaelyn Shawl out of Sweet Georgia Yarns in a very summery teal color that was heavy enough to keep me warm, while the shawl was at a loose enough gauge that it is still breezy enough to be worn during the summer. I decided to pick up more Sweet Georgia in a lighter and truer blue colorway to work the final edge pattern repeat and castoff. Not only was it a quick finish, but I’ve gotten some wear out of it at work, where the temperature constantly fluctuates throughout the day.
Shaelyn by Leila Raabe knit in Sweet Georgia Superwash Sport in the Tourmaline (main) colorway and the Saltwater (edging) colorway.
I chose the Wingspan next because I had been trying to find the perfect pattern to use some of my Mini Mochi yarn from Crystal Palace that I had been obsessing over. Though it’s a single ply, it’s definitely very fluffy and warm and I only had two balls in the colorway, so I knew I wanted it to be a fairly small project. Plus, I wanted it to be portable to knit at work and be a simple enough pattern to knit through very quickly. I haven’t had the chance to wear it out yet, but it was such an enjoyable knit and the summer heat didn’t slow me down one bit.
Wingspan by maylin Tri’Coterie Designs in Crystal Palace Mini Mochi
As for the cotton dress… sigh. I had been promising M, and my mother, a cotton dress for M for the summer. I had originally intended it to be finished for her to wear to Maryland Sheep and Wool in May.. but never got past the cast on. I love the end result. I even taught myself to do a double crochet edging around the armholes and neckline. I didn’t even really mind the feel of the cotton. But my hands we screaming at my every time I knit on this dress for more than ten minutes a day. Not a sitting, A DAY. I had knit cotton before.. but it was Knit Picks Shine in a Pima cotton. I know that Pima cotton is softer and just better, but I had found so many wonderful, bright and cheerful color combinations in the Sugar and Cream (dishcloth) cotton that I knew would be perfect for M. The pluses: the pattern is lovely and I felt completely comfortable knitting this poolside as I knew this dress would also get wet and have sunscreen all over it whenever M would wear it. Cotton a big plus for summer knitting… just maybe real garment cotton for big projects.
Elenka by Inna Aleksandrova
The rest of my summer knitting was planned out to the extreme. List after list was made to ensure that everything could and would be completed on time. Of course I totally stayed on schedule…….
Late to the Monster Scene
Posted in Knitting Goals on June 16, 2012
I might not have made it to the March Monster Madness party… but May was certainly full of monster fun! When I started spinning with my drop spindle at the beginning of the year, I knew I wanted to knit toys for M, or myself, using my first handspun as I thought it would be pretty forgiving and I wouldn’t have to have a consistent gauge. Though the first monster I started with my first handspun is still languishing, as I started it before actually finishing spinning all the fiber, I made two monsters as birthday presents.
The first present I chose, easily, the more challenging project out of Rebecca Danger’s Big Book of Knitted Monsters: Leila, Lydia, and Lucas the Momma and Baby Monsters. To date, only the Momma has been completed… but at least in time of the party! This monster is the size of a small pillow… and it was a miracle I finished it as I panicked about what else I could get for a five year old girl’s birthday! M is only two and a half, and most of the time I don’t know what to get her either… that is, until I step into a toy store and want to get her everything.
The Momma (without babies) monster from Rebecca Danger’s The Big Book of Knitted Monsters
The second monster, I chose carefully. It was a present for a close friend’s two year old son and I wanted it to be nice enough to grow with him, and be boyish enough. So it had to be Gort the Gym Bag Monster, also from the Rebecca Danger book. I had half a skein of beautiful Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Sport in the Eastern Market colorway left after making another friend’s son a hat. I knew that the yarn would knit up well, creating interesting pooling and almost subtle striping throughout the monster, but that the orange color would be… manly enough.
Gort from Rebecca Danger’s The Big Book of Knitted Monsters
Though M repeatidly asked when she would finally get her monster, she was so excited to gift both of these monsters! I tried to include her as much as I could in the process, so she could feel like she helped and she was proud of the monsters when she gave them to her friends! Since then, I have spun up new yarn to make her another monster… so I guess should actually finish the first one….
May, What May?
Posted in Festival Fun, Spinning! on June 12, 2012
Deadline knitting. Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. Birthdays. Overtime. Tour de Fleece training. Oh, and two and a half year old.
So I guess it’s understandable that May seemed non-existent… but has left me with so much to show and tell! I mean, I went to my first real fiber festival, of course there’s a lot to show! The month started off with a bang as I dragged my mother (who did actually ask to go) and M to Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. We headed up with enough time to get there about 30 minutes before the gates were to open on Saturday. I was fully prepared for the enormity…. but my fellow travelers were not. As we waited in the queue to park, my mother was in shock at the number of cars already parked and the sheer magnitude of the festival. But the parking volunteers were incredible, so the very long queue went quite quickly and we were off!
Though M was promised sheep and goats the entire car ride up, I was on a mission. After spending the past week planning out which vendor booths to hit up first and mapping out the most efficient route, we simply walked briskly through the sheep barns to get to the barns set up with vendors. Who was so crucial that pleasing my daughter had to wait? Gales Art was our first stop where I managed to be restraint and only picked up one beautiful braid of polwarth/silk fiber. I had heard stories about people going crazy at fiber festivals and I did want to see what else was out there before spending all that I had saved in preparation.
Gale’s Art Polwarth (85%)/Silk (15%) 4 oz braid in the Tide Pool colorway
Then I was off to the next barn over to find Fiber Optics… where restraint went out the window as I walked into a booth full of magic. I promise, magic. My mother took M back to the sheep barns and I was left to slowly eye all that was displayed, and even some tubs that we full of fiber for restocking. It was amazing. Festivals aside, Fiber Optics is incredibly hard to come by as it is only sold in a few yarn stores, none of which are local, and the online updates sell out very quickly… I couldn’t pass it up. I picked up two braids of a Merino/Silk blend, two skeins of Superwash Merino and a drop spindle.
Fiber Optic Yarns two 4 oz braids of Merino (80%)/Silk (20%) in the Blackberry-Raspberry Layered Gradient
Fiber Optic Yarns two 4 oz skeins (1,000 yds each) of Superwash Merino in the Vitamin C Batik colorway
But this isn’t just any drop spindle. I had heard about these spindles for months from various podcasters and I had been eyeing their Etsy site. When I saw an entire display of what had to be at least 30 drop spindles, I knew it was meant to be. I carefully made my selection and then oooed and awwed over it with Kimber, the genius behind Fiber Optics, as I checked out.
Texas Jeans Drop Spindle with zebra wood whorl
After spending a fortune, I caught back up with M and my mother to look over the sheep and watch a sheep showing. We wandered a bit and found the main exhibition hall to slowly walk through and eye other vendors. I knew Loop had a booth there, but I was still coming down from my spending high at Fiber Optics so I wasn’t in a rush. When we arrived, the booth was surrounded by people, but when I asked if it was a line to get in, they assured me no, since there were only two people inside. I walked in, completely unaware of what was going on, only to find myself right next to Laura (LaLa) of the video podcast TheKnitGirllls! She was talking with Steph of Loop as I looked over the Bullseye Bumps Laura and Leslie have made famous, waiting for my time to attack… I mean, introduce myself. She was incredibly friendly and we chatted for maybe a moment before Emily of the Watcha Swatchin’ podcast walked up to introduce herself! And all the craziness began! I then also met Leslie of TheKnitGirllls and Diane of Knitabulls, excitedly accepted their podcast buttons and showed off M to everyone.
Oh, and I also walked away with two Bullseye Bumps, one of which M picked out. Needless to say one will be on my Ladybug soon!
Loop Bullseye Bump, 4.2 oz of Merino, BFL, Bamboo, Tussah Silk and Angelina in the Hot Air Balloon colorway (M’s choice)
Loop Bullseye Bump, 4.5 oz of Merino, Corriedale, Bamboo and Tussah Silk, colorway – unlabeled
We finished the festival fun with some gyros and M’s first ice cream cone… which, of course, I helped her with!
The New Lady in Our Lives
Posted in Spinning! on April 24, 2012
2 oz of KnittyandColor Merino in the "Make Me Pretty" colorway.
Frabjous Fibers "Opulence Blend" in the Moulin Rouge colorway.
Epic Twin Tweed Sweaters
Posted in Knitting Goals on March 31, 2012
They may have started off as part of an entire set. There were hats, booties, even bibs that were brainstormed. These Ravelry searches and late-night swatch sessions left me pushing the deadline to complete the sweaters alone. But I finally cast on and finished most of the first sweater. Right before a little munchkin stole my pattern with all the notes necessary to complete the rest of the sweater and to make its twin! Silly, M.
After stalling for a week trying to find the illusive piece of paper, I decided to re-print the pattern, tediously count rows and stitches, re-write all my notes and knit along. Of course my mother found the pattern in M’s room a few days before I cast off the second sweater. However, they were completed, wrapped, and off to work in time for the baby shower for my colleague.
Ribbed Baby Jacket by Debbie Bliss knit up in Vanna's Choice Grey Marble tweed and Caron Simply Soft Black.
Buttons of perfection purchased at Uniquities in Vienna, VA
Up next on the needles is a cotton summer dress for M before I cast on for another baby gift… Friends: please stop making babies for a while. Okay, thanks!
A Pound and a Half
Posted in Spinning! on March 17, 2012
Today, I officially have a fiber stash. An enormous fiber stash considering I only have drop spindles to spin with. Though I plan to invest in a spinning wheel, I’m far away from saving enough to make the financial plunge. But this didn’t stop me from buying at the Uniquities Fiber Farmers’ Market in Vienna today. Not a bit. Instead, I purchased another spindle to convince myself that this fiber could all be spun.
However, the longer I look at the POUND AND A HALF of Romney/Bamboo blend, the more it sinks in that I will have to find a way to store this until I have a spinning wheel.
1.5 lbs of magenta Romney/Bamboo from Wool N' Quilts Triple 'R' Farm
I placed my hand in the shot to give some perspective on how much fiber this really is, but I have a feeling that the love seat behind it may also hint at how large of a pile of bright magenta fluff I now have. But I couldn’t walk away. Even my mother stopped in awe of its beauty. Oh, and it’s soooooooooo soft. I fought the urge to roll around in it after taking its glamour shots.
The event, as a whole, was quite intimidating. As we waited a half an hour to get in… do to some miscommunications within the family about what time we were to arrive, the lobby of the community center slowly filled with spinners, many with their wheels for the spinning circle. This was my parents’ first exposure to a mass of spinners and the fiber world in general. It was clear that M was the only one in our group who wasn’t a bit overwhelmed. But I went in with a plan. I needed a new, larger spindle, some fiber wash, to walk around and soak in the fibery goodness and maybe walk out with a braid of fiber. I certainly accomplished this… plus an extra braid, bag of pencil roving and clear trash bag of 1.5 pounds of fiber.
We made our way around the room to give everything a once-over before approaching any booths. My father brought M to the bake sale table to encourage her sweet tooth and to support the local high schools crew team while my mother and I started digging in. The first thing that caught our attention was the previously mentioned (and mentioned a lot) Romney/Bamboo fiber blend. We then made our way back to the Uniquities booth to purchase the spindle and fiber wash. As you may note in the picture below, I have already started spinning some previously-purchased Shetland fiber I’ve been dying to spin…
Drop Spindle with sheep heads stamped on the top of the whorl.
At this point, my father had taken M outside to eat her cookies, come back inside, washed her up and passed her along to my mother. I returned to the other side of the room, promising that this booth would be my last stop as I had seen some extraordinary colors when making my first pass through the room. It was at Wild Hare Fiber Studio that I purchased two braids of “Faux Cashmere” and one bag of “Sparkle Roving”.
2 - 4 oz braids of "Faux Cashmere" (Microfiber Nylon) in the Rose Petal colorway.
4 ozs of 63% superwash merino 20% silk, 15% nylon, 2% silver poly in the Evening Star colorway.
The photos, despite leaving the fiber in their bags, do depict the colors well. The Rose Petal colorway is full of pinks, touches of red and a bit of coral. While the Evening Star is royal blue melting into black with silver sparkle throughout.
Luckily, I do plan to replace my falling-apart bookcases with one very large bookcase from IKEA which should provide more storage for the smaller packages of fiber… however I may have to buy the largest plastic tub on the market to store my pound and a half. Totally worth it. I may avoid other fiber events this year, or at least until I have my wheel. But Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is only two months away……
Progress Report
Posted in Knitting Goals on March 12, 2012
After finishing the epic Thin Ice shawl, I have pretty closely adhered to my casting on goals. In order to keep my sanity regarding my stash, I have been pairing yarn with projects and actually starting each project. This, of course, results in a lot in progress and not a lot completed. Thus far, however, I have finished two preemie hats and a rather oversized cowl.
Basic Knit/Purl textured striping. Picture taken before blocking.
Glücksburg Cowl by Silke K. knit in Blue Sky Alpaca Techno in the Metro Silver colorway.
Presently, I do have quite a few projects still on the needles, some matched with their yarn, and other patterns printed out awaiting a final decision. As for on the needles, I have a pair of mittens, a textured hat, and another shawl. The mittens were part of my KAL obsession, but I fell way behind with the colorwork and I haven’t made it past the first mitten’s cuff. I love the way they are knitting up… and I’m sure I will finish them by the time we actually have a winter.
Mittens For Me! by Laura Linneman. Knit in Knit Picks Stroll in the Blue Topaz and Fedora colorways.
The hat had moved to time-out for a bit when I realized that working up a hat using six double point needles just wasn’t reasonable. It did give me a good excuse to head over to my LYS during my lunch break to pick up some new Addi Turbo Lace needles long enough to Magic-Loop the rest of the hat. I’ve started the decreases and I should finish by tomorrow. The textured pattern does show a bit more in person, but it’s a gift for a friend’s son who adores orange and I actually really like the pooling that the pattern is creating.
Vegamot by Guro Djupvik. Knit in Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Sport in the Eastern Market colorway.
Finally, I have started the Shaelyn as a quick and simple lace-charted shawl. The pattern is simple and it has been my go-to easy knitting. I haven’t had as much time to focus on it, since I have been trying to get the gift knitting completed, but I foresee this shawl coming off the needles next week. I love the Sweet Georgia yarn I’m knitting it in and I actually dream about getting some serious knitting time with this shawl. Literally, dream about it.
Shaelyn by Leila Raabe. Knit in Sweet Georgia Yarns Superwash Sport in the Tourmaline colorway.
As for future projects, I have two sweaters, three shawls and loads of baby shower gifts lined up. Time to start my gauge swatches! 😉
Crafting Under The Influence… Of Illness
Posted in Daily Life on March 2, 2012
M gets sick… a lot. She’s two years old, so it’s expected. Unfortunately, every time she gets sick, I do too. We are, however, very different when we’re sick. I just want to lie around and do next to nothing, while she wants to be no where near a bed and instead gets rather hyperactive. So when I found that we needed to take a day off for her to go see the doctor, all the while nursing my own illness, I knew it would be rough trying to get some crafting in.
The morning went well, with few tantrums (from either of us) and a lot of snuggling in bed before her appointment. Just how a sick day should be spent. Then we packed up and went to the doctor’s appointment. Of course, I brought both of my drop spindles, more fiber than I could ever spin on a day spent completely by myself, and a simple cable cowl I’m knitting up. Though it was highly unlikely that I would touch any of these at the appointment, I did take the time to carefully choose projects to bring that would require little-to-no brain power. I just didn’t want to risk knitting a challenging project under a cloud of sickness… I needed to just relax and zone out.
It was a beautiful day, so when we arrive an hour early to the appointment, we decided to park, roll down all the windows and talk while I pre-drafted some fiber. After a surprising ten minutes of M sitting still, it was time to go inside. Fortunately, we were seen right away and didn’t have to go through the waiting room torture of M racing out of the room every time I tried to sit down.
After her appointment and lunch, I thought I would get the lazy knitting and/or spinning time I so desired during nap time. I kept waiting and waiting, trying to calm, getting frustrated, leaving the room, sitting in the room, rocking. I did everything. Almost anything to get my daughter to sleep so I could rest and relax. When it was finally clear that this was a giant waste of time for both of us, I gave up. She insisted on watching 101 Dalmatians and let me spin sitting next to her.
It was just what we needed, to revert back to how our morning was spent, lounging and doing very simple crafting. She watched the movie and me spinning and seemed equally fascinated when I relaxed and felt productive at the same time. Now that she’s been on antibiotics for two days, while I continue to get worse, here’s hoping that this weekend is full of relaxing, mindless crafting while lying in bed ignoring the two hour restriction on screen time.
KnitMeter
a singular knitter 