Substitution!

Okay... so I'm calling in a pinch hitter!

Instead of one the classic socks or the clapotis... I finished another Lavalette for Emily's birthday!

What can I say... I like being flexible.

Technically this is Lavalette number 3 for me to make... and since I couldn't decide what to get Emily for her birthday I decided to make her this:



It's something she's been wanting to make or herself but hasn't had the time to make so I decided to surprise her.  Let's just say there was screaming and all around OMG's when she opened it!

So, alas, I have to finish 1 more project for my for by October goal and I have 2 and a half days to do it!  Please wish me luck... I'm going to need it.

If I don't end up making it... I've decided that I still want to buy the yarn for my sweater, I just will not allow myself to do it until I finish both the socks, and the Clapotis.

Quick update on the knitalong... we have gotten together and have decided that the Hoarfrost Moebius pattern is a crock!  Not a true moebius! Who the hell grafts a cowl with a half twists and calls it a moebius?  We've decided to abandon the pattern and look for something else... anyone know what we can do with 2 cones of Lion Brand Wool Stainless Steel?  I'm seriously considering channeling Phillip Treacy and coming out with a funky hat... I could always just make another Kusha Kusha...

These side projects are killing me!

I've made little to now headway on the socks or the clapotis since my last post... but I've been busy knitting other things (things that are TOTALLY detracting from my 4 by October Goal!) 

Last week, I designed, cast on, finished, blocked and photographed the cabled cowl pattern I will be teaching for the Beginner's Cabling Class at AKAN (Abuelita's Knitting and Needlepoint) this Saturday.  The pattern is free upon request with the purchase of any super bulky weight yarn, or is available for purchase on Ravelry for $2.00.

The idea behind this project was to create a very simple, very quick, non-threatening cable pattern that would be clear and concise for those who are not only new to cables, but are possibly new to knitting in general.

So aside from the preparation work for my upcoming cable class, which I'm sooooo excited about (it's my first project based workshop!), I was recently asked to make another Chiko hat from Jane Ellison's Noro: Men booklet. 

The Hat was made for the owner of AKAN... it was a breeze to make as it was my second one, made out of the same yarn I made the first one out of (Noro Furisode is AMAZING!  The way it looks hanked up is NOTHING compared to the way it looks when it's knitted up)

So I've just been a busy little knitter the past couple of days... working on things that don't really have anything to do with my 4 by October goal... *sigh*  What's a boy to do?

The socks are driving me a little batty... the stitches are so small... and it takes me forever to do a full round... I'm also beginning to suspect that I may run out of yarn so phooey, they may just turn into an awesome pair of toeless yoga socks... we'll see how far the yarn gets me... I really don't want to buy another ball just for the toes... I can possibly just pull from my stash of leftover yarn... but it'll be a little hard to match.... we'll see.  Off to do some more knitting!

-Chester

The Month is halfway over...

I've finished, blocked the Saroyan scarf!  Which means 2 down, and 2 more to go for my 4 by October goal, which is perfect timing because the month is almost halfway over!  I've also begun my Clapotis and I do think that it is coming out very sharp looking!


 I have to admit, it looks pretty snazzy... and it makes a nice warm scarf as well as shawlette to cover a lucky girl's shoulders!  It's going into what I call my Gift Stash, which is basically a bunch of FO's that I took on for the challenge or due to boredom.  It'll probably be given away during Christmas!

As I already mentioned, I started the Clapotis as well... finally using that rainbow ball of Color Changing Cotton that I purchased on Etsy from Wolle's Yarn Creations (it's AMAZING... the colors are so vibrant... I can't wait to finish and wear it.  I'm also almost finished with the foot decreases on my classic socks.

Quick update on the KAL... It looks like we have set a date for the beginning of the Hoarfrost Moebius... we're just waiting on one of our buddies to confirm availability!  I've also agreed to knit the Stefane sweater from the Berocco Vintage book with another buddy... Just a quick glance at the sweater, I'm sure I can get away with just making a Women's large for me... we'll see.

Four by October Status Update... or Does Destashing Count?

I began the 4 by October goal as a way to force myself to destash... I realized that my yarn stash had gotten to ridiculous proportions (4 of those 25 gallon tubs- ridiculous considering I don't have storage outside of my bedroom!).  So I had a fit of mania on Friday night to Saturday morning (brought on by an awful awful date... meeting people online is ridiculous- but let's leave my corpse of a love life out of it!)...  I ended up opening every single tub and sorting EVERYTHING...

I've managed to sort out a bunch of stuff and will either be donating, giving, or selling the yarn I don't plan to use.  I did realize a lot of things about my shopping habits... most of the high quality yarn were single skeins... most of which I remember falling in love with and feeling bad that they're all alone so I bought them!  Of course there were also ridiculous amounts of project quantity yarn (good reason for me to stick with my 4 by October goal!)  So I put away all of the stuff I'm willing to keep... and I've managed to bring 4 tubs to 1.5 Tubs!

As of now, I'm not going to amend any rules in my 4 by October goal.   I'm almost finished with the Saroyan Scarf, and have begun decreasing for the foot on the Classic socks.  Need to get my butt in gear to start and finish either the Hoarfrost or the Clapotis (I'm thinking it's the Clapotis... by buddies who want to do the Hoarfrost as a knitalong have been MIA.)

Now that I've gotten my yarn stash under control, it's time to figure out what to do with my fabric stash... I'm thinking knitting project box bags for everyone for Christmas... we'll see.

-Chester