Recycle Success Grey Sweater Version

Over a year ago, I sat down in front of the Olympics and took a part a sweater. Ravelry called the event "Aerial Unwind" in their version of the Olympics. I had loved the sweater when I was a bigger person. I loved the yarn, so soft and squishy. It was my TKGA Masters program challenge, which means I designed it. I had the pattern in my computer.

I started here.

At the end of the Olympics, it had became a basket of yarn. I did a little bit each day and it was very freeing.

The yarn needed washing, which required a session with the yarn swift.to turn the balls into hanks.

After hanging in the basement to dry, it went into a laundry basket, and one hank at a time was put back on the swift and run through the ball winder.  Luckily I have acquired a lot of yarn toys like this over the years.

I had to rewrite the pattern in a much smaller size, leaving out some of the cable patterns that didn't fit, but all is finished. Yesterday, I finished the sweater, complete with buttons.

Today, I am wearing the sweater. It feels just as good as I imagined. I wound up the last of the yarn and put it away. There is over 500 yards of beautiful yarn, enough to do something with eventually. 

As with many people, I'm tired of winter and tired of wearing the same warm clothes. It's nice to have a new cuddley sweater!

Catch Up Again

I keep knitting and fighting the snow. Yesterday was one of those "wintery mix" days. It started with rain. The temperature fell. So did about 3" of snow. SPRING IN 6 DAYS!!

This year, my city has used less salt than other years, which makes the streets more challenging to drive on. They are plowed frequently, and my driveway is plowed up to 3 times a day, but really!

Olympic Knitting
I finished all my projects/events plus one extra.

The Lady Macbeth Sweater is on track to be finished by the end of the month. The body and 1 3/4 sleeve are finished. I hope to wear it to Knitter's Fantasy April 5.

The Sock Hockey event was finished. It was entered for Team sock Knitters Anonymous, and won a prize.I got a sock pattern and a skein of sock yarn.

The Aerial Unwind event was completed and I have started preparing the yarn for washing and rewinding into cakes.

The skirt is finished and I love it. That was a WIPs Dancing event. I started it in November.

I also knit a charity hat.

I've since finished two more pairs of mittens, another hat, and a pair of socks for charity.

I've given myself a Lenten meatless challenge. I'm trying new recipes and eating more fish. I made a tomato rice casserole, and have a spoon bread recipe I want to try. It's made with polenta, creamed corn and broccoli. I also have a few things in my freezer without meat. The rest can wait until after Easter.

Well That was Interesting!

I did run out of yarn for the socks, and finished with some black. After all the angst about size and yardage, I remembered that I had used the brown yarn to decorate another pair of socks. with I had put a note with the yarn. anyway they are done and will be given some time in December 2014, either birthday or Christmas.

It keeps on snowing here. I'm ready for spring!

My knitting guild has decided to decorate a Christmas tree for charity next year. They need about 200 hats and mittens, which will be donated after serving as ornaments. I knit a pair of mittens. It seems I can't count. The first mitten was knit on 40 sts. The second on 52. Since this was for charity and I had plenty of yarn, I knit another pair like this. I also finished a smaller pair.

While I was on a mitten kick, I knit two pairs for great grandkids.

I also sneaked in a pair of fingerless mitts for ME before starting my Olympic challenges.

This is a pattern that I designed a year or so ago. I used the same yarn for me, since I had given away the originals. They'll be ready when the weather decides to cooperate.

I'm working on four Olympic challenges. Early in the day I have my Lady Macbeth sweater. I may not finish this, but and hour or so a day makes progress. It would qualify for the Ravelry event WIP Dancing, but I won't enter it unless it is finished.

Secondly, I have a pair of socks: event Sock Hockey. It's a Cookie A pattern which will also qualify for SKA and Solid Socks, I'm working with Knit Companion, which is great for a pattern with a 38 row repeat. It's the socks shown on the cover of her Sock Innovation book. I've done 48 of 63 rows on the first leg.

Thirdly is my Aerial Unwind event. I'm reclaiming the yarn from my TKGA Masters sweater. Lovely yarn. A great sweater! Too big for the body I have now. I found the pattern and will reknit and publish the pattern after rewriting in a smaller size etc.

Fourth challenge is another WIP dancing event. I started a skirt from leftover yarn. This is a Gwen Bortner idea, which I am probably going to have finished by the end of the games. I'm using up lots of odd balls of worsted weight yarn.

I've recorded the games and plan to do a lot of sitting and knitting in the next two weeks.

Olympic kntting

I finished another sock for the Ravelympics. It's for Plymouth Yarn Co. so I can't show you. I do have a medal for the first socks. The designer event involved not only designing a sock, but putting the pattern up for sale on Ravelry. Since the sock was knit from left overs; it used stash yarn. It may seem silly, but it's fun. Finish a project, get a medal.

The snow situation here is getting deep. We've gotten less than some areas. Our airport has been able to stay open. It just keeps falling, about 8" in the last 2 days. Friday saw schools cancelled. The wind factor was high. It's manageable, but we're getting tired of it.

Busy, busy

A Valentine's Day surprise came to my shop. Someone loves me!!!

I finished the secret socks and mailed them off to the yarn company. On to the next pair of secret socks. I don't know what they are going to do with them, but the checks I get are nice. All socks are color work of some sort. The recent ones are stranded.

My Olympics project was started during opening ceremonies. Here's the chart and the beginning of the leg, which is knit flat. All yarn is leftovers from other sock projects. The second picture shows stitches on hold for the heel. The finished socks will have a seam at the back leg. The solid color is used for the heel and the rest of the foot. I used decreases to connect the color work to the solid.

Two display feet came home with me yesterday. I was so happy! I tried a sock on a foot, and discovered that I seem to have bought male feet, useful, but not what I wanted. I'll try again. I do have a picture of one sock. I think it will show better if I show more of the side, which is lighter in color.

We celebrated some family birthdays last Sunday. The Magnificent Mittens have gone to their final home. Doesn't she look happy?

The party really was for two of our grandchildren. My sewing machine was put into use here. A few years ago, I made fleece hoodies for these two. They grew, as children do, and needed hoodie replacements. Fabric was purchased early while there was more selection of small prints suitable for small clothes rather than blankets. EB loves hearts, which I didn't realize, but that just made it better.

I was able to find baseballs for her brother. Baseball is one of his interests. Everyone is laughing because he has the shirt on backwards. Much covering of the face with the hood happened before everything was turned right.

Some of the older grandchildren were playing with musical instruments, a trumpet and small tuba. Son-in-law/Dad of EB and MB plays tuba.

Much Olympics is being watched. Recording programs makes for lots of choice, except when the recorder malfunctions. We missed most of the men's figure skating long program. Disappointing!

Magnificent Mittens

Well, I haven't worn my Jester Socks yet. I kept them clean to show off at guild meeting and the library knit-in the next day. I don't want to wear beaded socks inside boots. We've had a couple of days of snow and so it's boot weather.

I promised my daughter in law a pair of Anna Zilboorg's Magnificent Mittens as a late birthday present. They are finally finished. Yes, I beaded them. The beads are #6 clear glass. The yarn was inherited from my mother. I lined these mittens with cashmere, from a mystery cone my LYS owner loaned me. I'm to return what I don't use. Here is the pair before sewing in the second lining.

I really need to make myself a new pair. Mine have been sprouting holes this year. I've patched them for now. They'll have to wait. I have my SKA/Olympic challenge to knit starting Friday night and some secret socks for Plymouth Yarn to finish. They look like this on the inside.

I have my Olympic project kit ready. I have my inspiration and my chart. I'm using yarn left over from other pairs of socks. I've made a swatch for color and gauge. I need to tweak the chart a little. I'm doing intarsia and one edge of the leg has only one stitch of a color. I'll shift the chart a little to one side. I also need to decide exactly how I'm doing the cuff. It's rather important, since I start with the cuff.

The deal is to start a project at the beginning of opening ceremonies and finish it before 12 PM the day of closing ceremonies. I also have another pair of secret socks to do by March 1, so I kept my commitment small.

I did it!!

The vest was finished Saturday night and the socks Sunday night! Mother of pearl buttons are from my button stash. I couldn't find any green buttons that I liked.

Socks were finally finished during closing ceremonies. The pattern is written. I'm going to try to put some patterns up on Ravelry.

The Ravelry Vest award is on my sidebar. I may not get one for the socks, since Ravelry was working on Beijing time and I was working on US eastern time.

I'm busy at work, so less knitting time there.Wednesday I judge needlework at the Geauga County Fair, the oldest county fair in Ohio.