Work in Progress Wednesday 209

Hey guys! Sorry I'm late for this but just realized it's Wednesday. I'm so hard at work preparing for the Vista Fiber Fiesta, I'm not sure if I'm coming or going. That's the problem for working for yourself, days of the week don't really matter. Sadly, I'll be able to keep track of time better soon as hockey season is starting. I usually know what day it is when, as I keep track of when my teams are playing.

Anyway, I have an update on my Skull Shawl (the pattern is called Jolly Roger shawl). I've started the lace skull border and I have to say, so far this has to be one of my favorite projects I've ever made for myself.

Isn't it awesome!? The whole border is in the Pumpkin Spice. I'm using Candy Skein Savory fingering in Pumpkin Spice and Oyster. Depending how it looks after the border, I might add a few rows of Oyster garter stitch to it before binding off.

That's it for me today. I hope you have a great rest of the week.

FO Friday 175

Hi everyone! Happy Friday. Yes, I finally posted FO Friday! Shocking, right? Sorry I've been slacking lately. Not only am I posting a FO Friday, I HAVE a FO!

This week I'm going to share the Rondelay I made with Candy Skein Yummy fingering in Atomic Jelly Beans, the March '14 colorway. This shawl/scarf is made with all short rows and has to be one of the most fun things I've ever knit. Just as the pattern calls for, I used a size US 6 needle and a 40" cable, as at the end you have 412 live stitches. I'd highly recommend this pattern. I used one full skein of yarn.

Just a reminder, Atomic Jelly Beans and this quarter's 3 month pack (April/May/June) will only be on sale until the end of the month at Candyskein.com


I hope everyone has a great weekend!

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Work in Progress Wednesday 190

Hi everyone. I hope you are having a good week. Nothing exciting in my neck of the woods. I've been busy with life things and work, so haven't gotten as much knitting done as I had hoped.

I'm still plugging away on my Rondelay and on the last row! I got nervous thinking I didn't have enough yarn, so didn't actually do the first knit row of the border, but now I think I do. I debated on ripping it back and adding the row, but I don't it would really add much. Sorry for the crappy photo! I'm in the middle of the row so can't pull it out and it's terrible lighting.

That's pretty much what I've worked on! Nothing too fancy. I started the second sock of my Socks on a Plane, but it's seriously 4 rows into the toe, so not worth photographing. I did finish the 1st sock!

I'll try to post something for Friday, but will be out of town, so no promises. I hope you all have a great rest of the week and I'll hopefully see you Friday. If not, have a great weekend and see you next week!

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier! 

Work in Progress 187

Hi everyone! I hope all is well. So far this week has been much better than last so that's great news.

I have a new project to share, and I'm so excited because it's with Candy Skein April '14 colorway, Atomic Jelly Beans. I've had such a hard time keeping this colorway a secret because I love it so so much!

This is the Rondelay shawlette. I have to say, it's an insanely fun pattern, goes extremely fast and is perfect for all those crazy variegated skein you probably have in your stash like I do. As soon as my friend Regina mentioned this pattern, I knew right away it was perfect for Atomic Jelly Beans! Doesn't it just scream Spring?

If interested, you can purchase single skeins of Atomic Jelly Beans, or the 3 month pack for April-June at candyskein.com.

That's it for me today. I hope you have a great rest of your week!

Work in Progress 185

Hi everyone. I hope all is well! Sorry I forgot about FO Friday last week. I meant to post the Mister Linky despite not having a FO, but it slipped my mind. I hope you all had a great weekend.

 

Here's an update on my sock yarn blanket, with bonus cat butt. HA! She decided to lay down just as I put the blanket out to take the picture. As you can see on the left, I've started to add squares to the side. I'm going to be adding to the left side, but won't on the right yet, because I'm not 100% sure it's the width I like. Right now it's 13 squares wide. It's about the size of a one person lap blanket. I think a few more squares added to the width would be best, but right now I am focusing on just making it deeper. I am so in love with it so far! It's a great mindless project that I pick up when I don't feel like I want to commit to my knitting at the time.

 

I'm sure you don't remember this. I started this Herbivore shawl by Stephen West back in May of last year, and I bought the yarn, Tosh Sock in Spectrum, at Stitches West 2013. I decided to pick it up again this week and am close to finishing it soon. I took this picture Tuesday afternoon, and worked on it all Tuesday night. I've finished as far as the size based on the pattern, but since I have a bit of yarn left, I'm trying to squeeze out a little more. I can't wait to see this off the needles.


That's it for me. I hope you have a great rest of the week. I hope to have my shawl done for Friday! See you then.

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier! 

FO Friday 164

Good morning! Sorry I'm posting this late today. I hope you had a great week and have fun plans this weekend. Tonight we're going to Disneyland, so I'm super excited for that. We have annual passes and my husband works about 10-15 minutes away, so it works out perfect. Every year we each pick out a Disney ornament for the Christmas tree, so that's our mission tonight. Tomorrow we get the tree, which I'm SUPER excited about, except it's supposed to rain all day. Boooooo. Hopefully it all works out.

As promised, I have my second Hogwarts Express shawl to share with you. This time I knit it in Candy Skein Yummy fingering, November colorway, Mulled Wine. I used black matte square beads, which I wasn't sure about at first, but loved in the end.

I actually already gave the shawl to the friend it was intended for, because I wasn't sure when we'd be seeing her for Christmas. Rather early than late I say! I think it was the best reception I've ever received for a hand knit, and made my week. Not only did she adore it and praise it, she also called a few days later to express how much she loved it again. There's nothing better than that. I'm so honored she will cherish it.

That's it for me today. I hope you have an amazing weekend and stay warm!

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FO Friday 161

Happy Friday! It's been a tough and tiring week in my house, so we are VERY excited that tomorrow is the weekend. I'm looking forward to spending time with my husband this weekend, just hanging out at home. We don't see much of each other during the week, now that he has to travel quite a distance for work each day.

Believe it or not, I actually have a FO!

As you know, I've been addicted to making the Hogwarts Express Shawl. If you follow me on Instagram, you've already seen these pictures, but I wanted to share them with everyone here as well. I can't say enough about this pattern or this shawl. Not to also toot my own horn, but I also LOVE the new Candy Skein Savory fingering. It's such a pleasure to work with.

Materials:

Pattern: Hogwarts Express by Susan Ashcroft
Yarn: Candy Skein Savory fingering in Oatmeal Cookie
Needle: US 6 (4.0 mm)


That's it for me. I hope you have a great weekend!

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Work in Progress Wednesday 169

Hi everyone. I hope you had a great weekend and start to your week. We had a great time at Disneyland and I even finished my Hogwarts Express shawl in time to wear it for (un)official Harry Potter day at Disneyland.

 I had such a great time making the Hogwarts Express shawl, that I've already started a second one. This will be a Christmas gift for a friend. I really hope she likes it! She's always interested in my knitting and Candy Skein and I thought she would be someone who would really appreciate something hand knit. I'm using the Candy Skein November monthly colorway, Mulled Wine, which is a deep, rustic red with great tonal variation. She wears a lot of neutrals so I thought this would give her a good pop of color.

NOTE: For some reason Blogger is changing the color within my picture. Click here for the flickr image to get a more accurate idea of the color which is MUCH darker than the picture is showing with a lot more tone.



That's it for me today! I hope you have a great rest of your day and week.

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

Work in Progress Wednesday 168

Hi everyone. I hope you're all doing great. Happy early Halloween. I love love love Halloween and this year we're staying home to watch scary movies and hand out candy. I hope we get lots of kids at the house this year. :)

This has grown a bit since last you saw it. Here in this picture, I've done the body of the shawlette/scarf and am now working on the owl border. Again, this is the Hogwarts Express pattern by Susan Ashcroft. I'm using Candy Skein Savory fingering Oatmeal Cookie.

Thanks to those who helped me on Instagram last night in the bead decision. I have these blue beads, and also tan ones and couldn't decide which I liked. Almost everyone picked the blue so that is what I went with. Not the best picture, but you get the idea. Right before I typed this, I finished putting the eyes on all 29 owls.

I'm also still working on my cross stitch Halloween sampler. Unfortunately, I won't be finished by Halloween, but I will keep working on it until I finish it. I love this pattern so so much. This pattern is by the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.

For those interested, Candy Skein October colorway, Candy Corn, will be gone on Friday! Be sure to grab a skein before it goes away.


That's it for me today. I hope you have a fun and safe Halloween.

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

Work in Progress 167

Hi everyone! I hope your week is going great. Thank you all for the birthday wishes last week. I really appreciate it. We had a great weekend.

This week I feature a new WIP. I didn't want to show you my Candy Corn socks again as I have started the second one, but it looks just like the first of course. When I get a little further I'll share it as a WIP again.

I didn't really plan to start another project, but I was catching up on the Yarniacs podcast. Gayle, one of the hosts, was talking about the Hogwarts Express shawl by Susan Ashcroft. I always tend to keep my computer or phone close when listening to their podcast because they always have great pattern suggestions. As soon as I saw this shawl, I knew I had to make it. I also knew exactly what yarn I'd make it with! I'm using Candy Skein Savory fingering in Oatmeal Cookie. I'm hoping I can crank this shawl out, because we really want to go to the unofficial Harry Potter day at Disneyland on November 3rd and I'd love to wear it. That probably won't happen, but who knows.

That's it for me today. I hope you all have a great rest of your week.

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

FO Friday 116

Hi everyone and happy Friday. I'm going to keep this short, because as some of you know (if you follow me on Instagram), you'll know that yesterday (well, today as I type this) I had (still have) a migraine headache. If you've ever had one, you know the last thing you want to be doing is staring at a bright computer screen.

As promised, I have pictures of me wearing the shawl! It doesn't really match with what I'm wearing in the picture, but just pretend. I had my husband take these pictures before I left to take the Candy Skein yarn to Yarning for You! Sorry for the squinting, but it was REALLY glarey outside! I'll have pictures of that coming up on the blog and I still have some studio pictures as promised. I've been lacking on that, as I've been insanely busy but things will start to calm down a little soon.

I have to say, I didn't know how I'd like the shape of the shawl, but I do love it. It's very comfortable. The beading is subtle, but more noticeable in person than in these pictures.

Here's the details:

Pattern: Quaker Ridge Shawl
Yarn: Tosh Sock in Worn Denim
Beads: Size 6 seed beads
Needle: Size US 7
Notes: I only had one skein of yarn but really wanted this yarn with this pattern, so I made it work. Out of one skein of Tosh Sock, I got 7 repeats finished, sans ruffle, but with the beaded bind off. I did have a little yarn left, and could have maybe squeaked out another repeat, but decided not to take the chance. It's a very easy shawl to knit, and would really recommend it. I had a great time with the beaded bind off, despite it taking awhile (over a day). I think it was totally worth it.

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FO Friday 114

Hi everyone! Happy Black Friday. I don't usually brave the crowds, except a few years ago we bought a new tv. This year I'll be working and then headed to a birthday party at our favorite local tiki bar/restaurant, the Bali Hai! I hope all who celebrate Thanksgiving survived! I'm currently in a food coma as I type this Thursday evening with a cup of Thanksgiving blend Starbucks coffee next to me.

Speaking of Black Friday, don't forget that the Candy Skein sale is still going on through Monday at midnight. Some of the yarn is going fast, so be sure to check out the website. All yarn is 15% off with code HOLIDAYSALE at checkout in the coupon section.

I finished my shawl! The beaded bind off took about a day and a half, but is so worth it. I will have better pictures of the shawl once it's blocked, but I wanted to share it since I am done with the knitting part! Please excuse the dark pictures, but as mentioned, I'm in a food coma.

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Work in Progress Wednesday 119

Hi everyone! I hope you're having a great week. I've had a great time so far with my friend Alea so far! We've had an insane couple of days in San Diego and Los Angeles. I haven't had too much time to be crafty, but I've bought a few things to make my crafting easier!

I bought beads for my Quaker Ridge shawl! I'm going to mix the two randomly for the bind off. I have one and a half more repeats before I'm finished and ready to go.

Don't the beads look great!!?? The blue are a little hard to see in the match awesome. I wanted a little bling but not too much.

Here's my cross stitch!I haven't gotten too much further but I just need to the inside of the owl, his beak and the number for the square. I wish you could see the white a little more on my canvas, but oh well.

Check out all my cross stitch stuff! I'm totally professional now. HA!

That's it for me today! I hope you have a great rest of the week and see you on Friday!

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

Work in Progress Wednesday 116

Hi everyone!!! I hope you had a great weekend and are having an even greater week. I've been busy with electrians, plumbers and my family in town to help build out Candy Skein studios. I will have a bunch of pictures (which you can see on Instagram right now...username Candyskein) in a post coming up in the Life as an Indie Dyer series soon!

As a sneak peak, I thought I would share this picture, which is the outside of the studio. It's a separate bungalow on my new property, steps away from my laundry/mud room and master bedroom. A beautiful courtyard separates everything. It only shares one wall, which is the garage.

The inside was a little rough when we bought the house, but wait until you see it finished! Stay tuned for pictures of the whole process.


Now on to what you've been waiting for. As mentioned, I haven't had much time to knit recently, but I figured I'd share this picture with you anyway. :) This is the Quaker Ridge Shawlette and I'm using Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Worn Denim. I've done the set up and two full repeats. For those wondering, I did end up ripping out the shawl and starting over because of that extra stitch. I wasn't very far along, and I think it would have always bugged me.

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

FO Friday 92

Happy Friday!!!!!!! I'm happy it's Friday. It's been an okay week, but who doesn't love the weekend? The weather has been gorgeous in San Diego lately, in the mid 70's F. You can't ask for much nicer than that, though I do wish it would warm up a little for the weekend so that we could go to the beach and not be cold! The last few weekends we've gone, I've ended up in a cardigan sitting on the sand. That's no fun. Are you doing anything fun this weekend?


I didn't plan to finish this shawl so quickly. I guess I started it about a month ago, but I didn't really work on it that long. I didn't start the lace until Sunday afternoon and only did a few rows Monday and Tuesday. I did a lot of it Sunday and Wednesday.  The pattern was really fun, as just when it was getting boring with the garter stitch top, the lace pattern started. It's a 4 row pattern repeat and it flew on the needles once I dug in and memorized the pattern.

This is the shawl finished and unblocked. I'm mad at myself as I forgot to measure it before blocking. I always love to hear people tell you the wing span before and after blocking. Next time. :)

This is the shawl while being blocked! To show you how much bigger it is, you can see the puzzle piece part of the boards in the top picture. I was just standing over the picture with my camera as it sat on my living room coffee table. The blocked picture, the middle of the shawl is at the same point, the puzzle piece connection part again, but this time, to get the whole shawl in the picture, I'm standing on one of my dining room chairs! I'd say it over doubled in size. Crazy right?

This is my first time blocking a lace shawl. I think there's a few areas now that I look at the pictures that I could have fixed, but overall I think it looks okay. I don't have blocking wires, so I just used a LOT of T-pins. I'm excited to see it dry and fully blocked in the next day or so!

For those who plan to do this shawl, I'll give you a few tips as once I got to the lace part, I was a little confused with row 3 at first. It's actually an 18 sts repeat. At first I thought it was 12.

I put markers at every 18 stitches of the repeat so that I knew I always had the correct amount. I also put different color stitch markers at the middle area that isn't a fan/feather until the end and then another color that was the middle 5 stitches, as well as the end sts markers. That way it's easy to see when you get a ton of stitches what is feather/fan and what isn't.


Materials:
Pattern: Multnomah shawl
Yarn: Alexandra's Crafts Merino/Tencel yarn (400 yards) in colorway Sea Anemone
Needles: US 4 (3.5MM) Knit Picks Harmony
MANY stitch markers

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FO Friday 41

Happy Friday everyone! Also, I want to wish my US readers a happy and SAFE Fourth of July! I hope you have fun plans. As far as I'm concerned, we're just going to play it by ear. My neighborhood has a community party we might head to for an hour or so. Last year we took Milo, my corgi, to it and he had a blast. It was great to get him into a large crowd with music playing and see him not freak out. He's 2 years old now, so I'm guessing he'll do even better.

In other news, I have decided to take part in the Year of Projects on Ravelry, as you can see from the button on my sidebar. That means I will now have posts (most) Sundays. I will try to keep them fresh, despite also having WIPW and FO Friday posts with the same projects. My first post for it will be this Sunday, listing my projects I have planned (though I expect them to change a little), along with pics of some of the yarn I'll be using from my stash. I'm very excited about it, and I must say, my list is INSANE!

In more news, just because I love this picture, I had to share. Yesterday I was getting ready to tag all of the Delicious lace weight yarn I've been dyeing. 7 skeins were ready for tagging, but before I did, I decided to have a little fun with the camera. Check it out.



Total eye candy, right? (Pun NOT intended! LOL) (Almost) all of these are available at Candy Skein, and more to come on Monday!

Anyway, back to FO Friday! As most of you know, I started my first shawlette on June 20th. I just finished on the 29th, and then blocked it. I was kind of silly (actually, to be honest, I started this before I had my needle set) and didn't use a needle size up (I usually have to, due to knitting so tight), so it's a little smaller than it's supposed to be. I ended up adding two rows between the last lace section and the end garter section, so the length down is pretty close to what it should be. The wing span on the other hand, is a bit shorter. I blocked it, but couldn't block it out to the size that was recommended. I also had some yarn left over. In hindsight, I could have added probably two more rows, but was so nervous I would run out of yarn, I just stopped. Despite that, I love it. It's so so pretty and love that the bottom is in the dark blue, but not a ton of it. What do you think?


Materials Used:
Size US 8 needles
Candy Skein DK (Blueberry Ripening)
Pattern: The Age of Brass and Steam
Tapestry needle

Sorry for this crappy iPhone pic with terrible lighting, but I forgot to take a regular pic when it was blocking. I ended up blocking it on a yoga mat with towels under it on my dining room table. Oh look, a sneak peek of one of my projects for Year of Projects on the front of the magazine! That was totally not planned. Anyway, the blocking went well, IMO. I didn't block it too heavily, as it didn't really need much since it wasn't a heavy lace pattern. I will say though, I wish I had gone up a needle size, since I'm such a tight knitter.

This is the shawl on my neighbor's wall. I had to hang the top over a bit to get it to stick and not fall in the dirt, but this is pretty accurate to the color.


This is the shawlette folded. Isn't it pretty!?

And folded again, but this time so you can see the back as well.

Unfortunately I was unable to get a picture wearing it, as my husband didn't get home until very late. I hope to soon!


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