Quick Update

Well, although I haven't posted here, I have continued to not buy any new yarn at all, and the only new yarn coming into my life is from sock clubs, and the socks are getting knit up as they come to me. I've been super busy lately, but have emailed Cece to talk to her about reorganizing for another 'go' at this. However, maybe people need a summer break? Thoughts?

Hey gang!

Sorry I've been so quiet... things have just been really busy!

Since the end of Round 1, I've bought myself a Bohus Kit! But honestly, no other yarn was bought. I kind of decided in my head that I'd start again at the beginning of May, but with a different focus. Since it's summer, and I have a HUGE amount of sock yarn... I went into my stash and dug out the primo bits. I have a bunch of Lorna's Laces, STR, Sweet Georgia and other wonderful hand dyed yarn..... and since it's so little, I tend to just let it sit there. I'm a member of 2 SOTM clubs - so I get my sock knitting fix off of those, and rarely pull sock yarn out of my stash.

I decided that I'm entering my Sock Era. I found 17 wonderful skeins of sock yarn, and that is what I'm knitting. I'm hoping to do a pair a week - which will bring me all of the way through the summer. I'll have the perfect summer knitting projects AND a wonderful new sock wardrobe for the fall.

Oh yeah - and my husband mentioned when he read this declaration on my blog that I could NEVER knit that many socks in 20 weeks, let alone 17 (because I've gotten on a work out kick - I've been working out about 10 times a week). I vow right here to NOT give up on working out, but also to definitely have 17 pairs of socks done in the next 20 weeks.

Anyone in with me? That brings us from May 1st to Sept 15th. You obviously don't need to do the crazy sock knitting, but continuing on with the stashbusting...

And I'm thinking a free yarn buying day thrown in there for 'souvenir' yarn during those summer trips.

My last WIP from the first round...

It could have been the guilt from my last post - or maybe it was just in my horiscope - but this was a big finishing week for me. My Barbie was done and turned in (more on that in my blog -- or here later...), I have almost finished a pair of socks, and my hush dress from Knitty is DONE!! I started the original in October, which had to be frogged for reasons beyond my control. The new yarn came in March and now I am done!! I love it, it fits well and is flattering!! And it was my only WIP that didn't get finished in stashbusting - v.1. THere are more details on my blog! Now I am only doing small projects for a bit - I see lots of socks in my future!!

I fell off the wagon on Saturday...

Okay, first the yarn buying was a bad experience, then a LYS closed and had up to 70% off on the mounds of yarn that were left!! This is what followed me home - mia culpa! But really at 70% off - the sock yarn is Koigu, there is enough olive CashIroha from Noro for a cardigan, three bags of Noro Cotton/Cashmere/Nylon, a few pairs of addis, some Misty Alpaca Chunky, and Mission Falls 1824 cotton for baby hats... Now I will be good - I have the yarn, now I need to knit!!

wrap-up and report

I haven't blogged anything in about a month, but I have managed to finish a couple of things. I wish I had better pictures of Ella, because she was a great knit. She's much, much bigger than I'd expected, though! I had initially planned to leave out one set of increases to make it a bit smaller and, when it was halfway done, decided it was TOO small...so ripped it back and made it the original size.

Anyway, here are some sneak peeks:

I was relatively good about yarn buying--I had one lapse, to buy yarn for a scarf for my fiance...But after the sanction was over, I bought a bag of yummy bamboo yarn. I'm not that sorry. ;) In total, I think I had 10 completed projects, if you count the little dishcloths I made as one, but most were relatively small: two shawls, three scarves, three hats, glove-mittens, and the one skein petal bib (plus a few dischcloths). I'm looking forward to plowing through some more of the rashly-bought single balls from before I knew how to build a stash and then starting some large projects, like sweaters, in the fall!

Stash and UFO's

I did manage to finish one of my UFO's but I am still working on the blanket for #2 son. I had so much to knit while this was going on, like the 2ply Baby Christening Gown, which is beautiful. Would I do another one - maybe after I do a Baby shawl in fine yarn.

I didn't buy any yarn, except for the 3 balls of 2ply for the Baby Christening Gown, which was for the Wollongong Stitch N Bitch Annual Exhibition held in April.

I am still slowly knitting away at my stash, I will get some pure wool soon to knit for the Guardian Pharmacy Charity as these go to extrememly cold countries like Mongolia, other than that I really want to get the stash off my floor so I can go and buy new beautiful yarns, expecially from CRK Daisy Design's Shop at Fairy Meadow (NSW Australia - a suburb of the City of Wollongong).

Over the last few months watching how everyone did, it is amazing how beautiful the knitting is that people all over the world are doing. Congratulations to all of you, it is so nice to check out what you are knitting and what you are knitting with.

So how did I do?

As it's the end of the stash and UFO bust-along round 1 it seems like time for a little update on progress so far.

My main aim for this project was to complete my trellis scarf which I started last May and had let languish and after that I wanted to make a sweater from a packet of blue alpaca which had been sitting in my stash for a good while without telling me what it wanted to be.

Kicked into gear by this KAL and Project Spectrum I have finished the scarf and made the Refined Raglan from last winter's IK and I love both of them.

I still have things on the needles but I'm somewhat inconstant in my project affections particularly if I have something with a deadline - hence the current obsession with a baby blanket with the baby due on May 14th. At the moment there is about 1 inch of a fairisle sock that I'm figuring the pattern out for, my pink aimee which I'm aiming to finish within April/May seeing as it matched the Project Spectrum colours, a tired roses silk scarf which I cast one while waiting for the baby blanket yarn to appear, the blanket itself and I'm about to cast on a pair of socks for my husband!

However, in addition to the two main projects I have also made a mitten and hat set, 4 pairs of socks for me and 4 pairs of socks for a friend's bookbooksecret. All of that (apart from the test socks) came from stash yarn and I had made quite an indent into the stash....

.... I say had because whilst I was very good during the stashbustalong with my only yarn purchase being the baby cashmerino for the blankets, both of which are gifts, and that was a purchase on 14th April, I have been on a yarn binge over the last two days and there is now quite a bit of sock yarn either in my house or on its way to my house!!

I think to continue this forward I will continue to focus on what I have in the stash in terms of lined up projects but I would like to be able to buy yarn for a number of projects that I have in mind for over the summer, perhaps one at a time though!

I've really loved seeing everyone's projects over the past few months and I hope that aspect of this blog continues even if our credit cards get a little more exercise than of late! Plus there's a wonderful sense of community from reading a certain blog, spotting a picture and thinking "I know that sweater!" - full credit to Cece for (a) finishing marmalade and (b) being featured by a knitting legend!